The Lost Secret of the Silver Sea

Chapter 7: A Call to War

            Kaelonne braced himself for the tongue lashing he was certainly going to receive when he reached home, the moon too high in the sky for him to go unnoticed. Despite this, he smiled and rubbed his fingers on the chain around his neck. Meeting the human and getting to learn of his world was a lot more enticing than he originally considered. It would keep his mind occupied for quite a while.

            The young royal was caught in his musing so deep that he didn’t notice the calm of the sea was amiss until he was just feet away from the castle walls. He frowns as he notes the absence of the guards patrolling, was there a shift change going on? Not likely, the hour was not right.

            Kaelonne halted his careless wandering, ducking behind the wall where it met uncarved rock. The young royal shook his head and took a daring glance over the wall, unable to tear his eyes away from the chaos brewing below him.

            Cries of pain and terror echoed throughout the kingdom. The Mermatian guards were putting up quite the fight, weapons at the ready and teeth bared, but they were easily being overwhelmed by their enemy. Civilians were cowering, trying to shield their young ones from the destruction. Some of the braver Mermatians tried to tend to the fallen guards were possible, ducking and weaving between destroyed homes.

            Kaelonne wedged himself into crease of the rock and the wall as one of the enemy soldiers swam past him, spear raised on the offensive and teeth bared in challenge. His heart hammered and his mind warred confusion as he finally recognized their foe. It wasn’t hard to with their similar features and mind shattering cries.

            The Sirinians, or Sirens as the humans call them. Their scales an easily recognizable dull grey and white, coming from years of their life spent in caves, building their home away from any other life. Their carried the ability to unhinge their jaws to show threat, a truly horrifying sight if one were their prey.

Kaelonne pressed his body back to the wall even harder when the soldier passed directly above, ignoring the fin on his back being crushed and the scales on his tail suffering tears on the harsh edges of the rocks. It was a small price to pay for his life.

            As the solider left, Kaelonne’s ears drooping as he tried to tune out the terrified cries of their next victims, his mind raced on the wellbeing of his family. There was no way he’d be able to get to the main caves without being seen, but he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

            He scowled as he thought about the old passageways that were naturally constructed into the cave system, pushing off from the wall and flicking his tail harshly as he swam even deeper. The old cave systems were used when the Mermatians first settled here, but as the kingdom grew larger and the people were considered safer, they were abandoned due to their instability and tendency to collapse without warning. Very few knew about these old passageways, Kaelonne had come across it on one of his many explorations with Eirian and was finally planning to put into good use.

            The young royal tried to tune out his racing heart, but only seemed to make it beat even harder, the stress and worry was almost overwhelming. He cursed in fowl tones as he neared one of the few entrances to the caves, running his claws through the rocks that blocked the entrance. Kaelonne hissed in panic as he heard the whistle of a searching siren, grabbing on to one of the larger rocks and pulling as much as he could.

            He shrilled softly in relief as it budged, some of the smaller rocks falling into the depths. His heartbeat notched even higher as the siren hissed loudly, clearly hearing the commotion. Kaelonne pulled as hard as he could, watching the boulder fall and ducked into the dark cave system just as the siren chased after the dust.

            The young royal wasted no time testing his luck, swimming even deeper into the cave and letting his vision clear. He hissed as he narrowly avoided a protruding rock, grunting when it tore the fins at the end of his tail. He pushed as hard as he could, the sounds of clashing spears and shrieks of the sirens getting even louder as he neared the entrance to the main caves.

            Thankfully, the boulder blocking the exit was a lot easier to remove, the Mermatian keeping to the shadows until he was certain no one was using the halls. With a quick swing of his tail, he follows the paths, ducking under the windows that overlooked the kingdom, and prayed to find any familiar face. The rooms were empty, signs of a hasty exit visible from the overturned furniture, dressings, and armour.

            Kaelonne ducks into one of these rooms as a soldier passes by, tucking himself against the wall, just above the door. Thankfully, they pass without checking the room, mostly having done so before. He finally takes notice of just whose room he was in, swimming down fretfully and picking at the pieces of a crown littering the ground. The crystal that lit the room was shattered; darkness seemed to be soaking into the gold bands scattered on the ground. His father was nowhere to be found, his mind easing slightly as he noted his armour and spear was gone as well, no blood in the water.

            He need to find someone, needed to find out just what on Helacean was going on. There would be no answers for him in a lifeless, empty room. Kaelonne keeps his ears low as he peeked out the door, taking the silent halls as his signal to move. Someone must have noticed that he wasn’t in his room, there might be a small possibility that they were looking for him.

            The sound of chaos just beyond the walls struck fear and worry deep in the young royal’s heart. When he was still small enough to stick to his father’s side like glue, he was always amazing by the King’s ability to handle any situation, to keep a calm face even when given dark news. On those days, he’d claim to his father that he wanted to be just like him, to be just a strong and brave, to calm his guards with just a kind smile, to be able to look any problem in the eye and break it down to find a solution.

            Now that the time came to help his people, he was wholly unprepared and cowering behind the walls of his own home. He wasn’t here when the attack came to be, off breaking the rules and galivanting  with a human. He didn’t even have the slightest clue of his family or friends were even alive or why the Sirinians were attacking.

            The pathways to his room were surprisingly unprotected, but he wasn’t about to look a gift clam in the mouth. Kaelonne ducks in the room, sweeping his eyes over the shattered crystals and scattered trinkets on the floor. His heart skips a couple beats as he notices a major difference between his father’s room and his own, the scent of blood was strong.

            He peers into the darkness, grabbing his spear from its prop on the wall and approaches the figure curled up under the window. Kaelonne whistles a soft warning, the scales on his knuckles itching from how hard he was gripping the spear, the figure whistled back a far too familiar tune. The young royal rushes over, heart tugging painfully. With a small grunt, he heaves the injured figure of Eirian to an upright position, crooning in apology as it prompts a series of pained groaning.

            “Kael?” He groaned, squinting up at the young royal as he grips his injured side. Kaelonne notes the broken scales on Eirian’s tail and the numerous bruises and scratches that littered his knuckles and face. The only major wound was the open gash under his ribs, most likely the product of a spear.

            “Yea, it’s me, stay with me you goby fish or I’ll tell my sister about that crush you have on her.” Kaelonne shook him as he eyes glazed, ears drooping in despair. Eirian hisses as the wound is jostled, blue-green ink spilling from under his claws.

            “You wouldn’t dare, you sponge. Don’t call me a Goby.” The young guard-in-training scowled at him tiredly, grunting as he pushed himself up under the aid of the royal. “Where on Helacean have you been whole evening? I couldn’t find you.”

            “The surface, what happened? It’s absolute chaos.” Kaelonne crooned, his stressed heart forcing a lump to form in his throat, he forced down the undignified whistle that threatened to pass his lips. He busies his hands by grabbing one of the spilled sheets, tearing it easily and pressing it into Eirian’s hands.

            “The sirens…” The injured Mermatian grunts, voice low as if talking was a far to exhausting task, he continued despite, “It was calm one moment, the next, the guards were shouting, the royals were dressed in armour and then we were overwhelmed. They couldn’t find you, so I volunteered to stay behind in case you came back.”

            “You got injured because of my foolishness… I’m so sorry, Eirian.” Kaelonne whistled painfully, tying off the cloth and pulling his friend to rest on his chest, rubbing the scaled shoulder with his thumb.

            “No, I got injured like an i***t, that’s what happened.” Eirian chuckled, relaxing slightly in his arms, voice growing soft, “I had every chance to hide, but I saw those… those strangers raiding and breaking your stuff. I got mad, I know how hard you work to collect those things… your research destroyed by thoughtless hands. I rushed them, we fought and by some stroke of luck, I’m still alive.”

            “Yea, you’re definitely an i***t, idiot.” Kaelonne tried to stop his chest from heaving, a shaky hand running through the other’s hair. “But you’re a really good i***t, you hear that?”

            “Heh, my mother would agree too well with that name.” Eirian whispered, gripping the young royal’s hand loosely, “Falkon is already leading as much of the young ones he could find out of old lava tunnel… Idris and your father are leading the troops. You need to get out of here, now.”

            “I’m not leaving you here.”

            “You can’t carry me far without being caught, get out while you still can, Kaelonne.”

            “No!”

            “My prince, please.” Eirian’s voice is strained and it takes all of Kaelonne’s willpower to stifle the despairing shrill stuck in his throat. Eirian never calls him by his title unless something was absolutely wrong, it solidified just how dangerous the situation was.

            “Fine.” Kaelonne snarls, the anger directed at himself for his uselessness. He props the exhausted Mermatian against the wall, swimming over to his tailored armour and pulled it on, rolling his shoulders at the uncomfortable feeling, but ignoring it for the first time. The young royal picks up the dagger gifted to him by his sister on the day he was given his tattoos, roughly the size of his forearm, well balanced and intricately carve. Made mainly for decoration, but tonight, it would serve a different purpose.

            He tucks it into his belt, swimming back to the silent Eirian. With a pained look and a nod, Kaelonne grabs him under the back and tail, apologizing softly at the groans as he carried him to the side of the bed. It would be just out of sight if anyone were to enter, the natural darkness settling would be the perfect cover. “Be safe.” He bumps his nose against Eirian’s forehead, returning the small smile with a heavy heart.

            Leaving his room felt like he was leaving half of his soul behind.