Chapter Ten
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"Where should I sleep tonight?" I asked Nimue.

"I'll stay with you above the water and keep watch as you sleep."

"I don't want you watching me sleep," I said. I'd only just met him, after all.

"Suit yourself," he said. "But don't get mad at me if you awake to a naiad pulling you into the lagoon to drown."

"Fine," I said. "But stay at least ten feet away from me."

I climbed a tree and tried to go to sleep. But it was awkward, knowing Nimue was right there. I pulled a stick from off of a branch and walked over to where he was sitting. I drew a line in the dirt.

"Promise me that you will stay on your side of the line during the night, unless I am in danger."

He looked at the line, then up at me. "I promise."

Satisfied, I walked over to my branch and laid back down. I heard his voice.

"But know that I would not dishonor you, promise or no promise. Merrow are always honorable."

"Are they always annoying when someone is trying to sleep?" I asked, even though I was smiling in the dark.

"No," he replied teasingly. "Only me."

The next morning, I prepared to meet the king. "Are you ready?" Nimue said.

I looked into the water. It looked shallow and vacant, but I knew better. "Yes."

"Very well. Hold on to me again so I can take you there more swiftly."

I grabbed onto his shoulders, and, once again, the water was a blur as he took me to the bottom of the lagoon.

We swam to the palace. It astonded me, the way the coral towers gsparkled and glimmered in the sunlight through water. I floated along, with Nimue's hand around my wrist, as I stared in awe at everything around me. The overcrowding issues became more evident the closer we got to the palace. Stone dwellings were nearly on top of each other. Some reached as high as five stories to accomodate for all the people.

It was strange, not being able to talk or make noise as I walked along. I bet Coten would've appreciated this silence from me. I sucked on the Aquweed loudly, and no sound came out. I assumed that a pocket of air prevented me from speaking or floating to the top.

"There is a concert tonight," Nimue said. "What you humans call opera. Would you like to attend?"

I shrugged. Maybe, I mouthed. It depended on whether or not I had enough Aquweed to last me through.

Nimue led me into the palace gates. Merrow lifted eyebrows at the sight of me, but no one questioned Nimue when he said, "I have orders from the king." I assumed loyalty was important to the merrow.

We winded around hallways and staircases. The inside was very open. The frequent windows were just gaps in the walls, without any glass. I could always see the towns of merrow, from wherever I was in the palace.

I could tell when we arrived upon the throne room. Although no doors blocked the way, the entryway arch was elaborate, shaped into shells and stars.

The king sat on a throne in the middle of the room. Two people were speaking to her.

"There isn't enough space for the new arrivals," one adviser was saying.

"What should we do?"

"Leave the matter for later. I have more pressing concerns. Please leave."

They left at once, and the king turned to us. Her skin had a hint of blue, and her hair was flowy and silver, pulled back. A simple silver circlet with a blue gemstone encircled her head. Her eyes shined the most pure ocean blue I'd ever seen. It was impossible to not notice them. Or the dark circles under them. Or the fact that she looked so young. About twenty-five or so.

"Good day," Nimue said.

"Hello, Nimue," the king said tiredly. She looked to me. "And you are the human?"

I nodded.

"What is your name?"

I couldn't reply.

"Evelin Fendway," Nimue said for me.

The king looked frowned at me for not responding.

I smiled guiltily and pointed to my throat.

"The Aquweed prevents her from speaking," said Nimue.

"I see," she said. "I've heard you wish to save us, Evelin Fendway."

I liked the way she said my name, and not just "human." I nodded.

"She has visited the trolls. They trust her," Nimue said. I was wondering why he was defending me. I hadn't done anything for him, yet. Perhaps it was the merrow loyalty.

"I do not trust the trolls' judgement," the king said. "I will speak to her alone. Above."

"Shall I send for someone to go with you?" Nimue said. "A guard?"

"Get a few guards."

"Very well." He stepped out of the room and summoned a few.

I stood there, awkwardly, wishing I could speak.

The king, the guards, and I swam to the surface. Well, I was actually dragged because of my slowness.

At the surface, I realized the merrow emerged without being wet. That was not the case with me. I tried to get the water out of my clothes and hair to no avail.

"Evelin," the king said after making sure the guards weren't within hearing distance. "Tell me about yourself."

It was strange trying to think about that. The topic was much too broad. I knew how Nimue felt now.

"Are you truly a mute?" she asked.

"No," I snapped. "I am the fifth daughter of a viscount in Krialle. The sixth child. I am the wild one, out of all of us. None of my family members like me, excluding Girec, my brother, sometimes. But right now he's to concerned with Lucia--the girl's he's in love with--to care about me. So I ran away because I've always been fascinated with the Forbidden Lands, and I met the trolls. Oh, and I draw and climb trees." It came of so quickly I didn't even know what I was saying.

"So you have a sister named Lucia and a brother, Girec, who do not like you, so you ran away?" The king asked.

"No," I said."Girec's my brother. Lucia is his love. She's the princess of Krialle."

"Why do you want to help us, Evelin of Krialle?"

"You deserve it," I said simply. "You should never have been trapped in the first place. And it's obvious that you are in need of help. It's what any good person would do."

"Not any," said the king.

"Yes," I agreed, "there are some people who I can imagine wouldn't." Ava, for one. And Liam. Or his horrid sister.

"I would like you to rescue my father," said the king.

"I know. I already promised I would, Your Majesty. "

"Just Assana, please. That is what Nimue said. But I don't think you know exactly how important my father is," she said."

"He was the king before you. And you seem to need help. With him, your burden could be lifted," I said.

"That is true." Assana nodded. "But my father was also one of six enchanters. His ancestor helped cast the Enchantment to keep us in Havane."

I gasped. "Why would his ancestor cast the Enchantment?"

"She was forced to," she said bitterly. "The human enchanter figured out a way to gain control of all five enchanters' power. That person used it to shut us all away in Havane. And we are still suffering because of it."

"But if the enchanting gift is genetic, doesn't that mean you have it?" I asked.

"Not necessarily," she said. "The gift could be in me, or my aunt or my third cousin. Or my great-grandchild in the future. It could come now or in a century. And it doesn't come until my father is dead."

"Oh."

"The other significant thing of this time is that each race has an Enchanter alive in this age. Usually, only one or two are alive at a time. But all five are here. Just the way it was when the enchantment was cast."

"But this time, it's so I can free you all," I said.

"I hope so."

"So, the human who stole him," I said, "do you remember anything about him."

"That's the problem," she said, "everyone describes him differently. I saw him as a blond man with brown eyes, but others say he had black hair or red hair or blue eyes. We don't know why. I believe he has an enchanted mask or something. Which leads me to believe that the human enchanter is alive as well."

"Hmm . . . " I tapped my chin with my quill, in thought. "Something bigger must be going on. I don't know what it is, but something's happening. I need to get back to Krialle as fast as I can, once I gather all this information."

Assana pulled out a set of water colors, and some paintings out of a knapsack. "I thought so, too. Since you cannot sketch underwater, I brought you these. I painted the pictures. I am an artist, too."

"They are very good," I said. There was a picture of the town, the castle, the sky under the water, and a male merrow.

"That is my father," she said, pointing to the man.

I gasped, noticing something. "His eyes are green, not blue?"

"Sort of a sea-green, but yes. It is uncommon among merrow."

I walked over to my satchel and pulled out my old sketch book. I opened it up to the picture I'd made when I was delirious with fever. The old man with deep wrinkles and green eyes. Her father looked almost identical. Except, his skin was tinted blue. I had drawn the previous king of the merrow in a human version. The resemblance was uncanny.

King Assana gasped. "Have you seen my father?"

"No," I said. "I drew this when I was sick. I don't even remember making it."

The king looked me in the eyes. "You are the right person to be saving us. I can feel it."

She told me more about the merrow. What fish they are, what they did for fun.

"May I feel your hair?" I asked.

It was a strange question. She looked at me as if I were a fool.

"I would like to know how it differs to human hair."

She shrugged. "I suppose you may."

I felt it between my fingers. It felt almost like human hair when wet. It did not have strands, though. It felt like sheets of silk.

The king laughed. "You are so strange."

I wrote down what I'd felt and nodded absentmindedly.

"Would you like to attend the opera with me before you leave,?" she asked.

"I don't have enough Aquweed," I said.

She laid a clump of the herb in my hand. "Now you do. You can observe us merrow while you're there."

"Very well," I said, smiling. "I'd love to go. When does it start?"

"In an hour. I must go prepare myself for it. It is a rather high-class event. People will expect me to look more kingly." She glanced at what I was wearing. It was tattered and dirty.

"Perhaps I shouldn't go."

"Nonsense. I'll be right back." She dove into the water.

I remembered the guards were there.

"Hello," I said. They didn't respond.

A prolonged, awkward silence followed. I sighed. Oh, how I hated awkward silences!

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Sorry this chapter is a little rough. I just wanted to get it written and published. I'll edit later. Thank you everyone who has been supporting this story.