Queen Of The Castle

Chapter 8

Taking some time for myself, I sneak out after lunch. There was too much going on, and I felt overwhelmed. I went to my room to soak in a warm bath. Like Kai said, I felt much better afterwards. Once I got out, I still felt a little sore, but nothing could stop me from exploring.

I walked towards the door that I had noticed while Tasia and I were walking back from the training room. The door wasn't like other doors; it didn't require using magic to access the other side, so I thought I could sneak out if I ever got the chance. I slowly opened the door, just enough for me to walk through. As I stood outside the door, the freshest breeze passed by me, and it felt like I was breathing again. It's been hard to process the loss of Alana for me, and I have been feeling incompetent ever since. But now, it felt so much easier to breathe once I was outside the confining walls of the castle.

I slowly walked towards the stream, walking along a pebbled path that wasn't used much. Along the path lay a very structured garden. Not a leaf was out of place. It was surrounded by happy tittering and squeals with little Joys and Plops all around. They worked along with other people by their side, some of whom looked up and smiled at me. A few Joys recognised me from the other day and waved at me. I felt invisible here; no one knew who I was. There was a sense of comfort in anonymity, and I wanted to cherish it for as long as it would last. People went about their daily tasks, and I just followed a rough road towards the stream. The closer I got to the stream, the more elaborate the road was.

The road was surrounded by vivid greenery, and a slight arch decorated the end. As I move out of the arch, I let the tips of my fingers graze the leaves. Even the plant here was different. It was so soft that it tickled my fingers.

The stream flowed naturally towards the castle and went around it. As I followed the stream, my eyes landed on the castle. It was even more beautiful from the outside. However, it wasn't as lavish as I expected it to be. Stone walls decorated the bottom, and you couldn't see the inside through the water flow. It didn't seem archaic, but it didn't look very modern either. It was perfectly balanced.

The water looked so appealing that I wanted to take a dip. I decided to do just that, but instead of going in all the way, I'd just let my feet dangle. I pull up my leggings and remove my shoes and socks before slowly putting my toe in. The water was colder than I expected, and I squealed and pulled my toe out.

"cold, cold, cold, cold," I murmur and jump around. Steeling myself against the cold, I put it back in-this time, I was more prepared. I slowly let my feet go in and sat down along the edge. The water felt very calming, and I could feel my tension ebbing away with the flow. I let out a huge sigh and relaxed further.

Down the stream, I saw some mermaids jumping about. They seemed to be either angry or playful towards each other. I couldn't tell which from so far away. They were very different from what animated movies portrayed them as. They had scaled skin and webbed hands. They didn't have legs, just a fin to rely on, but they didn't have long flowing hair either.

The water around my feet started bubbling, and just as I thought I should maybe pull my feet out, a hand grabbed onto my ankle and pulled me in. I let out a short scream that was cut off by water suddenly pouring into my lungs. I look down and see the siren that had disappeared moments ago, had grabbed onto my feet and pulled me deeper into the water. Her face had scales all over it, and in place of her mouth, there were stitches decorating her face. I flailed and tried to scream but couldn't because even more water entered my lungs.

The world started fading out, and I again heard the same tinkling that I had listened to the day that Riyo came to visit. I was suddenly very aware of everything that was around me. There were different voices, and I could listen to them all. Some sounded concerned. One voice in particular sounded menacing. I focused on that voice and heard, "How dare she try to come into our territory. Her fraud will be revealed. I will be awarded greatly for my services to the queen." for some reason, I could tell the voice belonged to the siren pulling me down.