The Mermaid And the Sea Snake

Chapter 19

     Jet and I spent the next few days training and shadowing Ron and Doris. We thought that we would be able to learn a lot from them and also keep track of what they where doing and if anything seemed off or suspicious but we came up empty. 
    'Maybe we are sniffing up the wrong tree,' I sighed plopping down onto my bed, 'Ron and Doris seem to be absolutely devoted to the King and Queen.'
     Jet sat down beside me rubbing his hand up and down my back, easing the tension that was rising up in my body, 'We haven't tracked Sonia yet.'
    My head shot up, 'Sonia? Do you really think?' my mind was racing, she had been nothing but supportive of us, even guided us here, there was noway she could possibly be on Vivian's side.
     Jet shrugged, 'We can't rule her out completely just because she has helped us doesn't mean it can't be her.'
     I nodded, even though I was confident it wasn't Sonia, he was right, we couldn't cross her off the list just yet. We needed to be 100% sure, 'Well I guess tomorrow we track Sonia.' I placed my head on his shoulder.
    Jet wrapped his arm around my waist pulling me closer, 'Just to be safe,' he whispered as he kissed my head softly.

     Shadowing Sonia the next day was exhausting, she never paused for a break and was always busy with one task or another for Darian and Avery. Her dedication for her kingdom was admirable and she was able to teach us many valuable things as the day went on.
     I was utterly convinced that it definitely could not be her as I plomped into an office chair, 'well it's not her, that's for sure.'
     Jet pulled me up from my chair, me protesting slightly at being dragged from my comfortable sitting position, 'I know that you are tired but let's go for a swim around the kingdom, we are yet to do that alone.'
     I smirked at him, 'that does sound lovely, lead the way.'
     Jet continued to gently guide me out of the palace and into the courtyard. We swam slowly around the kingdom, talking to merpeople and taking in all the beautiful sights along the way. It really was a stunning scene that laid before us, all different types of fish and sea creatures passed through, some lived in the caves that surrounded us.
     A family of sea turtles swam above us, peaking my interest, I adored sea turtles, I pulled Jet towards them, swimming quietly along side them. Watching them, studying their movements, moving with them in awe.
     'Ava, I think we should head back,' Jet said, pulling me from my trance.
     I looked around, trying to gather my bearings, 'oh, where are we?'. We had swam into dark water, high mountains surrounding us. I had been so enthralled with the turtles that I hadn't even noticed we had left the borders of the kingdom.
      Jet glanced around, pointing behind us, 'I am fairly certain we came from that direction.'
      Fear was starting to fill my body as I realised we might be lost, all I could see was darkness, I was frozen my body ridgid.
     I felt Jet wrap his arms around me pulling me close, 'We'll be fine, we can't have swam that far.'
     His words calmed me slightly but my anxiety was still growing. My brain was moving a hundred miles an hour when Jet jolted me behind a massive rock, 'what are you doing?' I asked, worried about what might be lying behind the rock. Anything could be lurking there and I didn't want to be it's afternoon snack.
       Jet motioned towards a shadow moving towards us, I gasped as Jet put his hand over my mouth, quieting me. My heart was racing as the shadow moved above us, my eyes trying to adjust and focus on what it could possibly be. It swam down closer towards us, stopping on the other side of the rock. I held my breath as I peered over the rock willing whatever it was to keep moving.
       I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised it was Sonia, I looked up at Jet with a smile, we were safe! But he was still frowning he moved his finger in front of his mouth, wanting me to keep quiet. I flashed a confused look at him but kept still as we continued to watch her.
      Sonia glanced around her, as if to make sure no one was watching, and then she spoke, 'Ocean and sea, please listen to thee, open up the lines and show Vivian to me.'
     Suddenly the water in front of her started swirling, creating a clear circle and staring back at her through the portal was Vivian and Sam, 'What news, do you have for me?' Vivian demanded from the other side.
       Sonia bowed her head at Vivian, 'Your Highness, they are preparing Ava to be Queen, training her in magic and combat.'
      A villainous laugh erupted from the sphere, 'They think they can train her to defeat me?! She is far to weak!'
       'I have to agree with you Your Highness but she will have the King and Queen on her side and of course there is Jet.'
       Vivian's face twisted in rage, 'that good for nothing snake, his betrayal will not be forgotten.' I felt Jet's body tense beside me as he heard the harsh words.
       'Leave him to me Sonia, I can't wait to see my brother squirm under my power.' Sam spat, his smile unsettling.
       Vivian smiled at her son, 'At least you never swayed, my loyal snake.' she turned her attention back to Sonia, 'keep making the preparations and keep us updated. Our plan to overthrow on her coronation day is still on track.'
      Sonia bowed her head again, 'of course Your Highness.' She swiflty swished her hand before her and the image dissolved into nothing. She turned towards us, Jet pulling me in closer to his chest, neither of us daring to breath.
      We watched silently as she passed above us and disappeared into the darkness, neither of us speaking a word as we moved in the direction she had come.
      It was only a short swim until we could see the kingdom again, a small amount of tension leaving my body at the thought of not being lost in the vast ocean but nothing could ease the massive knot that was sitting in my stomach. Sonia was the enemy and I had been so sure she was on our side.
     We were greeted by guards as we entered the kingdom, one questioned us about our whereabouts and I gave him the weak story about following sea turtles, he had looked confused at first but seemed to accept it as he let us return to the castle.
     Still not speaking a word to each other we swam silently towards Darian's office, hoping he was there and that we wouldn't have to wait to see him, we knocked gently on the door, and heard his booming voice from the other side, 'Enter.'
      We swam in both sighing with relief to see that Avery was present as well. We both took the seats before the desk, holding each other's hands for support.
       Jet smiled wealky at me, letting me know he was going to let me talk, I cleared my throat, still not believing what we had seen, 'Mum, dad, we know who has been talking to Vivian.'
      Darian dropped his pen and looked up from his work, Avery moved closer, her eyes roaming over us, looking for any sign of a lie, 'how?' she breathed, almost a whisper.
      I glanced from Darian to Avery, 'We saw her, we saw her talk to her through some sort of portal.'
     Darian raised and eyebrow, 'Saw who?'
     'Sonia,' I answered softly, the name tasting bitter in my mouth.
     A look of disbelief washed across their faces, 'no, it can't be, she, she is our main support, she has been nothing but loyal to us.' Avery said as she took a seat, her tail weakening at the news.
      'I didn't want to believe it either,' I offered, my heart hurting for them, 'but we saw it with our own eyes and heard them talk.'
      Jet and I recalled our story of what happened, Darian and Avery not speaking a word, their faces pale with disbelief.
      After a while Darian cleared his throat, 'for now we shall act as though all is fine. Then the morning of coronation, we will strike, they shall suspect nothing.' he put his hand on Avery's squeezing it softly, 'we have two weeks to finalise our plan, we must all keep our eyes and ears open and make the enemy believe that all is well.'

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