War of the Ocean

Chapter 24

Punishment. Arelena had never been punished in her life. She'd never even put a flipper out of line until now, when she'd broken the biggest rule of the ocean. Mer never, ever, go on land. And so there she was, kneeling in the main courtyard while her brother watched on from his throne on the balcony above. A wave of nostalgia hit her as she remembered the day where Tristien had executed that young mermaid. There were thousand of Mer gathered around the courtyard again, all bystanders. Only this time, she was the young mermaid and not the mermaid who had watched on from the balcony above, unable to do anything. The only difference was that this time, she wasn't at an execution. This time, she was at a trial.

There were two guards, one on either side of her and each was stone still just like every other one of Tristien's guards. They both stared straight ahead, as though there was nothing going on around them. Royal guards had always been trained to not react, to focus on their assigned task and block the rest of the world out. It had always been that way, well before Tristien came into power, before their parents even. Despite knowing this, Arelena still wished that they at least had some sort of emotion in their eyes, rather than being blank slates. That way, she would know whether or not that this trial was killing them because if it was, she'd know that they were on her side. If there was one thing that the Mer princess had to know, it was who was actually on her side. Even if they couldn't do anything to help her, she would at least know that she wasn't entirely alone.

'Let the trial begin!' Tristien called from above.

Arelena swallowed nervously. Mer trials were harsh and unfair, especially since their King made his own rules and didn't follow tradition. She would be forced to answer his questions in order to plead her case and at the end, he would decide her punishment. There was no alternative because amongst the Mer, there were no innocents. Not as far as Tristien was concerned, at least.

'Arelena, Princess of the Mer and of the ocean kingdom,' he began. 'Do you deny that you have been on land and living amongst humans recently?'

She lifted her head, keeping her chin high. It was an act of defiance that could definitely cost her, but what was the point when she had already lost everything? Besides, her brother had probably already made up his mind, the trial was just for show. 'I do not deny the claim,' she forced out, her voice coming out far stronger than she had expected. Oh, if only she had had this type of courage before, that way she would have done something sooner instead of watching her people suffer for years. She was Tristien narrow his eyes at her, he clearly hadn't been expecting her to stand up for herself. He'd likely been expecting her to break down before everyone and beg him for mercy. But she wasn't giving him that pleasure anytime soon.

'So you do not deny that you have broken a law of the ocean?'

'I do not,' her confidence grew with every passing second, until she felt as though she could launch an attack on him then and there. But she couldn't, not without getting herself killed. There were dozens of train guards around, not to mention all the sharks circling where she was in the courtyard. If she were to make a move, they'd all come down on top of her. So she remained still, waiting for his next question.

'And do you accept whatever punishment that is to come?' He asked, tilting his head.

Did she accept? No, she most definitely did not accept. But how to tell him that without sentencing herself to death? There was no possible way. She bit her tongue, thinking over her answer. 'I agree with whatever justice my King sees fit,' she said finally, letting him know how much she truly disrespected him. Every word that came from her mouth was defiant, so different to the submission she usually gave him. It was as though her time on land had transformed her, turning her into something stronger.

Up above, Tristien nodded. 'One last question before that justice is decided,' he said. 'Why did you go on land?'

Meeting his gaze, Arelena felt stronger than ever. Now was the time to let everyone know how she really felt about her brother's reign. 'I went on land to find a way to get rid of you,' she declared before all the Mer. 'You are unfit to be King, dear brother.' At last the truth was out; at last everyone knew how their princess truly felt about their king.

The strangest thing happened next, Tristien began to laugh. He doubled over on his throne, laughing at her. The ocean was silent as he did and everyone was wondering the same thing.

Why was he laughing?

When the cackling finally came to an end, the King explained himself. 'I'm sorry you feel that way, darling Arelena,' he said. 'You must really be sick this time, are you feeling okay? Perhaps you should go lie down and we can finish your trial tomorrow when you're feeling a bit better.'

He was writing her off as sick? What did he have to gain from that when his kingdom already knew how cruel was was? Not a single soul believed his pretence at being a perfect king, so why would they believe that she was sick? She could feel anger rising up inside her and she lifted her chin higher. 'I'm not sick,' she spat. 'If anyone is, it's you Tristien.'

Tristien's laughter was long gone now, his face suddenly serious. He shifted his gaze to somewhere beside her and he nodded. Arelena didn't realise what was happening until it was too late and the guards on either side of her had already clasped their hands around her arms, restraining her. They began to drag her upwards, heading straight for the balcony. All she could do was let them for she was too weak to take them down by herself.

'I'm trying to give you another chance,' he spoke quietly now, so that only the two of them and the guards holding her could hear them. 'You can pretend to be unwell and I will be able to let you off. Yes, you will have had to spend a few months locked up so that our story becomes believable, but afterwards you can be free again. What do you say?'

A chance at freedom? He really would give her that? For a moment, Arelena was too stunned to say anything. 'Why?' She finally whispered.

For a second, his face softened and he gave her a little smile. 'Because you're my sister, Arelena,' he replied. 'I don't want to hurt you.'

'You should have thought about that earlier,' she had recovered now and narrowed her eyes at him. 'You should have thought about that before you murdered our parents, exiled your best friend and then locked him away upon his return so you could execute him later. Everything you do hurts me, even when you're hurting others. Especially when you're hurting others. I. Hate. You!'

'If that's how you really feel, darling sister,' Tristien was speaking loud enough for all to hear again. 'Then I shall tell you your punishment. You are to be stripped of your title here and now. From this moment forward, you are no longer princess of the ocean and have no rights. You will spend the rest of your life down in a cell beneath the palace where criminals belong because as of right now, you are a criminal too, Arelena.'

Then, the King rose from his throne and swam back inside, leaving the Mer to look on, stunned. But none of them were as shocked as Arelena.

I LOVED writing this chapter, it makes me feel pretty evil. Don't relax now that it's over, the worst is yet to come ;)