The Twisted Tale of The Little Merman

_-*Chapter 35*-_

Tendou POV

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"No." Queen Agatha stared coldly at us, "Absolutely not. Even the Mer King's own son cannot convince me to rise against him. I may despise him, but I am not foolish."

We arrived at the Swordfish Kingdom three days after leaving our hideout. We were met with the guards at the palace gates; they were expecting us thanks to Oikawa's letters of forewarning that arrived before us.

The Queen was busy at the moment so we stayed the night under the gracious host of the Swordfish princess, who took quite a liking to Wakatoshi.

Now, we stood before the Queen trying to convince her of our plan.

"But-" Atsumu started to argue but I held an arm out.

"We understand your argument, Your Majesty," I said slowly, planning my every word carefully, "I have come to the same conclusion multiple times myself."

"Exactly," The regal woman nodded in agreement.

"But," I continued with caution, "I realized that a sole kingdom alone doesn't stand a chance against my father, but multiple ones united will. Especially if they are in cahoots with people who know the king and his weaknesses like no others."

The Queen pursed her lips. Atsumu glanced nervously at me and Wakatoshi was staring intently at the Queen.

"If the kingdoms unite, then the King will stand no chance," I ended my argument with a hopeful expression.

The Queen was silent for a few moments and I restrained myself from fidgeting.

"I stand by my choice," She said finally, "Besides, the kingdoms are fine the way they are."

I sighed in defeat and was just about ready to leave when Wakatoshi spoke for the first time in the entire meeting, "Your Majesty, pardon me if I sound indelicate, but your job is to govern your subjects with their best interests in mind, am I correct?"

The Queen was not taken aback by his abruptness, in fact, she looked rather amused, "Indeed, young mer."

"It is common knowledge that war and conflict are almost never something a citizen would want," Wakatoshi continued and I furrowed my brow in confusion. Isn't he kind of contradicting our claim? But I trusted him, so I stayed silent, "But, in this case, the Mer King's greed goes beyond the welfare of his subjects—and any other kingdom's subjects."

The Queen sat back slightly, an indescribable look in her eyes, "Go on," She urged.

"Well, he won't stop at controlling his own kingdom. He knows it is well within his means to conquer the other kingdoms as well. And what is stopping him from doing it? If the kingdoms stand divided and refuse to join, believing they will lose, there is potentially nothing stopping the king from expanding his influence."

"You're convincing me," the Queen folded her hands, "but why do you need my army if there are so many other stronger kingdoms?"

"Because you have a reason for protecting your throne," Wakatoshi gestured at the young princess peeking out from the doorway, "and no one fights harder than someone with a purpose. We have a purpose as well, so do the other kingdoms—even if they themselves are unaware of it."

"That may be true," The Queen maintained her poker face and I chewed my lip nervously, severely hoping Wakatoshi had a good plan, "But the Mer King has a motive too, does he not?"

Wakatoshi seemed at a loss of words and the Queen smiled knowingly.

But before she could speak again, Atsumu spoke up once again, "Allow me to speak, Your Majesty?" He waited for her approval which she gave hesitantly.

"You are right," He said defeated, "the King does have a motive, to rule forever, no matter what. My father wants nothing more than to reign supreme in land, sea, and heavens. And there is nothing stopping him because of people like you."

Wakatoshi and I visibly stiffened with horror, shock evident in both our faces. The Queen looked offended and sat forward in her throne slightly.

"Sooner or later, the King will decide that he wants more power. He wants control of the Orcas, the Barracudas, the Octalio, every kind of fish out there. And once he has them under his control, what's to say he won't want YOU under his thumb as well?! And if you try to stand up? He will destroy everything you love, and then he will destroy you."

The room was silent, so silent that you could hear a bubble pop. I was stupefied. Wakatoshi's brain must've misfired because his eyes were wide and his hands twitched at his sides.

Atsumu glared at the Queen. She sat on her throne, an unreadable look on her sharp features.

The silence seemed to last a lifetime.

Then, it broke.

She giggled.

The giggle turned into a chuckle.

The chuckle turned into a laugh.

Soon, the almighty Swordfish Queen was howling with laughter on her throne.

"Well met, young mer," She said as soon as she regained her posture, the humor still in her tone, "My army is at your disposal. And so am I."

She rose from her throne and bowed her head to us, two of us were still riddled with shock but the three of us still bowed in return.

"I hope this alliance will lead to an eternity of friendship between the new, rising Mer Kingdom," I replied, grateful for my brother's sharp tongue.

"As do I," Queen Agatha smiled gracefully, "Now, where must we go to discuss battle plans?" She grinned.

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