The Mad Queen

Chapter Forty-Five

The First Vow:

I vow that I will be obedient to my closest male relative. If I am married, it will be my husband. If I am not, then my keeper shall be my father. If I am orphaned, then I shall do as my oldest brother commands. If I have no family, then I will be appointed a Priest to be my guardian. The Priest will act as a father and even though he may not be my blood, I will obey him without question as though he were.

~Sons of the Pure Holy Text.

We all jump back into the water. The water immediately fills my lungs again. It isn't as horrible as the first time, but the first few breaths are uncomfortable. I guess I have The Gift after all. I'm glad it finally decided to show up. Nianzu transforms into a large water beast. I grab onto his fin as he drags pulls me along after the King and Queen. I cannot swim even close to the speed that they can. We go back to the main cavern. The Red Guard who came with us wait nervously, still secured by the Mer. Upon our entrance, the room stills again to look at us.

"The deal has been made!" Queen Seraphina shouts. The room erupts into celebration. It is really weird, however. Not actually hearing the sounds of cheering and applauding. The Mer let go of the Red Guard who immediately swim toward me. Unlike the Mer and Sirens, we don't have the ability to communicate in our minds. So I just get concerned looks and odd hand signals. I nod my head and try and tell them I am alright. Prince Zoran swims up to me, his golden scales glistening.

"So what is your odd friend?" He asks. I look at Nianzu and laugh.

"Nianzu?" I ask. "Would you like to explain to the Mer Prince?" He lets out a low huff, still sulking about being caught. "My friend is a Demi-God. The Son of the Goddess of Beasts and a human. He can transform his body into any creature she created," I tell the Prince. He nods impressed.

"That explains why you weren't an easy catch," he chuckles. Nianzu chuckles in my mind. Happy that he put up a fight.

"We should go back up to the surface and talk with the Centaurs about our plan," I tell the prince. He nods his head. 

I crawl out of the water onto the banks where I was caught by the robed people earlier in the day. Water forces its way out of my mouth so I can breathe the air again. The Red Guard are all doing the same. It isn't a nice feeling. Pretty much throwing up the cold water of the lake. I turn around so I am on my back and lie panting. I sit up slowly and ring out my hair as some of the Mer begin to crawl out of the lake too. They also cough up water as they drag their tailed bodies out. We watch in awe as their bodies change. Their tails turn to strong legs, yet the scales don't completely disappear. They still decorate their bodies in various places and patterns. Creating a bodysuit of sorts. The sun makes them glitter as they walk out of the water. I look over to Wyatt. He has a smirk on his face as he eyes up the Mer Prince.

"Oh stop it," I say to him as I throw a pebble at his body. Wyatt grins at me and winks. I roll my eyes and chuckle. "I can't take you anywhere," I sigh. Though I can see why Wyatt eyes up Prince Zoran. He is beautiful. He is very muscular and his dark skin smooth. Also, the mixture of the sun shining on his wet skin and golden scales makes him almost seem to glow. His wet brown hair hangs down his back and a smirk plays across his features. He is taller than I thought he would be. He towers above me and most of the others. The Red Guard come rushing over to me.

"Princess, thank fuck you're alive," Merissa says. I smile and give her a hug.

"I've missed you," I say to her and all the other Red Guard. This group were my best friends growing up. I spent so many hours every day training with them. I grew up with them. As the Queen's trial got ever closer and we got older, my father slowly separated us from each other. Especially from the boys. Wyatt slaps me on the back, hard. I wince and curse at him. "Fuck you, Wyatt," I mutter before he lifts me up and squashes me into a big hug. I hug him back, burying my head in his neck. I almost begin to cry and I squeeze him tighter. I hold the tears back.