The Sea Prince's Love

Chapter 16

Thirty soldiers were sent to Alivina's house. It didn't take long to get there. They stormed in and looked around in confusion. Nobody was there. They then searched the house for any secret passage she might have. They had almost given up when one of the king's soldiers finally found a tunnel behind a painting. It led to Alivina's hideout. They stormed in and found Alivina reading on a chair, looking wide-eyed and innocent and as pretty as ever. She blinked her long lashes. "Is something wrong, officer?" She asked sweetly. The officer in charge shifted uncomfortably. This can't be the right person, he told himself. She doesn't look like she has stolen anything in her life! He cleared his throat. "Miss Alivina?"

She nodded. "That's me." She said in a melodious voice.

The officer felt sure this was not the person who stole the Trident. However, he had his orders.

"You will need to come with me."

"Where are we going? Wait, don't tell me. I do love a good mystery! Just let me get my things." She bustled around, gathering up a few things. "Ready!" She said with childlike cheerfulness.

"Just a minute, miss. I'm going to have to check that bag."

A look of anger flashed across her pretty face, but then it was cheerful again the next second. "Okay." She gave her bag to the officer. He opened it and looked through its contents. Some food was in there, as well as four small glass bottles full of some strange liquid. He picked them up and showed them to her. "What are these?"

"Oh, those. They are just medicines. I am a bit sick, but it's not contagious."

He nodded, but he thought she didn't look sick at all. She looked the picture of health. He continued to search the satchel. He found the book she had been reading. He opened it and found it was written in a language he didn't understand. He looked at the pictures, which were stars and the moon, and merfolk under it. He looked at another one. It showed a very old mermaid doing magic and making herself change form. The officer tucked the book and medicines in his pocket. He would show them to someone later. He returned the satchel to Alivina. "Let's go." He swam out the door leading Alivina, making sure she was surrounded be the other soldiers. She swam along willingly, until they went into the kelp forest. As they went in, she reached into her bag, but, when she didn't find her "medicine", only food, a look of intense anger came into her face. "You took my poti-- uh, medicine!" She screamed. "I will die without it!"

The officer looked at her calmly. "As soon as we reach our destination, you can have your medicine. We are not far now." Alivina pouted, but went along. She had planned to use the potions to create a cloud so she could get away. Her book of spells was taken too. She might be able to kill one of the soldiers, but that would leave twenty-nine more. She summoned an invisibility spell instead. She knew that one well enough so that she did not need the spell book. She just had the dark spell ready when the king's soldiers grabbed her arms and stopped the spell. The officer said, "Well, what have we here; A witch that practices black magic? The King won't be too happy to hear this."

Alivina scowled. If they had waited one second longer to stop the spell, they would never have gotten her. She decided once more to try to rid herself of these mermen, but she couldn't do it in this body. She would have to cancel her eternal beauty before she could shape-shift. As the soldiers were watching her, she began to age rapidly. She looked fifty years older for each minute that passed. Before eight minutes had passed, she looked like only wrinkles and bones. Now just a minute longer... A few minutes later, in place of a young, golden-haired mermaid, there was the oldest and ugliest mermaid anyone had ever seen. The soldiers gasped. Before their eyes, she began to change once more. Her skin tightened and became smooth and gray, her tail rotated so that it was vertical, and when she smiled at the soldiers mockingly, instead of straight, gleaming white teeth, there were innumerable huge, jagged teeth. The soldiers drew their swords and held their ground. Her body grew and grew and kept forming into a great white shark. Once the transformation was complete, she smiled at them with a deadly grin, and attacked furiously.