Aqua

I didn't know what I had expected to see when I decided to come here. All I knew was I needed help and Father was the only one powerful enough to give it. 

Seeing The Nesting now, I felt terrified. 

Terrified he might throw us out without help. Terrified he was still upset with me. Terrified because he was my dad, and well, I betrayed him.

The Nesting was my home, it was where our pod lived. A vast spread of dark coral caves greeted us. At this time of night, it was sure all merfolks would be sleeping. Tucked away on their seaweed beds. 

Stopping at the largest cave of all, the King's quarters, Octoria left us to speak with another guard at the entrance of the cave. Crystal and the two other guards stayed put, waiting for more orders from their leader. 

Shelliot swiveled around to face me. "I should probably go inside first," she explained with sadness in her eyes. 

No doubt, my parents would not want to see me as their guard break the news of my mishap to them. Heck, I didn't want to witness the disappointment in their stares. 

Grateful for what Shelliot was doing, I gave her hand a light squeeze paired along with an encouraging smile. She returned a smile of her own then disappeared into the dim-lit cave with her sister. 

Nervous could not even describe how I felt. I tried to muster as much patience as I could or would ever have. Deciding to concentrate on the power flowing through my veins, I blocked out all the other voices around me. It was better to be calm during crises. A terrible decision was not what I wanted right now. 

"Aqua!" My mom's voice pulled me out of my meditation. 

"Mom!" I hugged her before rambling on, "I can't control him. I tried but it only got worse." My gaze flickered to my father's." I need your help, please."  

He and two male guards, along with the females swam up to us. 

The realization then covered his features. Stormy blue eyes bulged while his grip tightened on his trident. "The Storm?"

Ashamed, I responded, "Yes, he created it."

I thought it was in my power to handle such a situation. The truth was I made it worse. 

My mother stared at my dad. It was something they often did. It took me years to realize they were having a silent conversation. It was what couples often did. They were so close and in love that words weren't needed to be uttered for them to have an understanding. 

Mother was the first to speak, "So, you want us to take away his powers?"

I nodded too afraid of my voice to speak.

It would be better when it was gone. Marvelon was a toddler. Yet, he was able to conjure a storm. How would he live amongst land people with such power? If they weren't taken from him, it would be his downfall. Land people were often too curious. If anyone found out he was different, they would take him, and experiment on him. His life would be ruined. I would never let that happen to my baby. 

"This would mean he won't be able to have the sea as his own. He would never be a part of it like he was meant to be." Mother's voice was low, almost to a whisper. 

It was evident she wanted me home, but there was no way I would leave my husband behind. My friends were on land. Father still had years on the throne. They didn't need me. Regardless of my thoughts, I never spoke on the matter, but remained silent. It was bad enough, I disgraced them once. 

Father looked at the child then stated, "I need to see him to find out what can be done."

In other words, he needed to look into him for further steps to take. 

He beckoned us with his trident, "Come, we need to get to The Bedding. Tell us how this started."

A feeling of relief washed over me as I tried to fill in the blanks. "He was just nine months when it started. When he got upset, it would cause tremors. Then, as the months passed, the tremor evolved into an actual shake. Until he could call the wind, make little waves."

My gills struggled to pull in oxygen. My pace lessened while I tried to calm my nerves before continuing, "One day we went out, and forgot the stuffed dolphin Peter gave him. You should have seen him, he'd look so scary. The tantrum that he threw escalated into an earthquake. He took various amounts of spells and energy to get him calmed.

"It never stopped there, though, as he grew, so did his powers. I know that I should have come to you then, but I thought I could handle it."

Mother laced my fingers in hers and pulled us to start moving again.

I took a deep breath. "I used my powers on him, putting him in sleeping trances in an attempt to calm him down. He always fell asleep. However, the trance made him angrier the next time." 

A shaky laugh escaped. "Peter is the only one who could have made him relax." The laugh petered out, and sadness took over. "Peter left yesterday morning for a business trip. Marv asked Nola—his babysitter— for his father and she must have told him he was gone. I came home from work early. The house was quiet. Too silent. I walked into the kitchen and..." 

Mother squeezed my arm. 

Why did I wait until now? How stupid could I be? 

The scene played across the forefront of my brain. It was horrible. "He just stood there staring at her. Blood was pouring from everywhere...her eyes, her nose, her mouth. I cried his name but he wouldn't stop. He just wouldn't stop. I did the only thing I knew best, I cast a sleeping spell on him. When he woke up everything got worse. He started crying then the storm came, so here we are."

My mom rubbed my back in soothing motions. That's when The Bedding came into view. A soft glow illuminated the area. Fishes were nowhere in sight, florals swished in lazy strokes. 

The Bedding was a sacred place for us. It was where our dead folks lay, where their magic remained. It was said the King could summon all the power of the ancestors with his trident once he was in The Bedding. Down here nothing was impossible. 

There were stories of how past kings used it to defeat their enemies. Down here we could save anyone. Even land people. Once the ancestors were with us, no one stood against us. 

The minute we entered The Bedding a warmth like nothing else circled us. All sad emotion was lost and calm invaded our neurons. Merfolks called this experience 'the ancestor's embrace'. The ancestors could sense our pain and embrace us, getting rid of the ache we had in our hearts. It was as if they were showing their support. 

At the farthest end of The Bedding, there was a Cave. Inside, half the cave was buried under the water while the other half was elevated enough to be out of it, like land. Though this was the case, we were in the middle of the ocean. No one knew why the cave was like this. Not even the ancestors. 

Father ushered us inside.

Father asked Octoria to put Marvelon on the stone that was on the far end of the cave. The top was lifted out of the water. He nestled himself in front of the stone so only his top half was out of the water while his tail gave gentle strokes underneath it. 

He raised his trident and placed his right palm on Marvelon's forehead. Father's eyes shone bright blue as he stood still like he was trapped in a trance. 

It felt like he was there like that forever, then he spoke, "King Rainard!"

My mother tensed beside me.

What did my late great grandfather have to do with anything? Grandpa Rainard was the most powerful king ever born. He reigned longer than any other King. He also had powers every sea creature dreamt of having. Sad to say, when he died, the powers went with him. Father never inherited those special abilities. Neither did his father. He was like any other king with regular kingly powers. 

Father turned to us. "I can't take this child's powers. His is too great. His powers are even greater than the ancestors." 

"What?" Mother asked. Her voice was laced with astonishment. 

Who would blame her? No one was more powerful than the ancestors. Grandpa Rainard was a part of these ancestors. No one was more powerful than him. 

"However," Father spoke up, regaining my attention, "with your help, we can suppress the child's powers until he gets older." 

Without hesitation, I confirmed, "Yes, let's do it." A few years would give me a chance to be prepared.  There was still a problem, though. "What does my late ancestor have to do with this?"

Father touched Marvelon's forehead again, and explained, "His powers resemble King Rainard's." 

My eyes flashed to my son. "I don't understand. Grandpa Rainard is your grandfather. Yet, you didn't get his powers. Your father didn't get his powers. How can my...how did my son get it? It's not possible."

It had to be a sick joke. Marvelon was not even a full-blooded sea creature. He was also human. Humans have had no power. They were puny creatures. Other creatures had to look out for them. 

I held my forehead. 

Oh, god, this couldn't be happening. 

"I had my suspicions from what you told us," Father confessed. "Aqua, this child possesses the power of not only controlling the sea but the earth."

No. 

He paused for a second, letting it sink in before continuing, "Since his power is similar to King Rainard, his power feeds from his emotions. Aqua," Father called again, trying to gain my attention, " I know this is alot, but we can't do this without you. You understand that, right?"

Did I? 

Even though I was indecisive, my head bobbed. 

"Okay," Father stated. "When we do this, you're going to have to train him how to control his temper before he gets his powers back. Sad to say, if   The Bedding's was more powerful, we would take it all away, but this is not possible." 

The information traveled through my ear canals and swirled in my brain. Why did it have to be my child? Of all the kingdoms and princes being born, it had to be my child. How was I going to explain this to Peter?

"Aqua?" Father's voice drilled it all in. My weary eyes crawled to his. "We need your help. Your blood runs through his veins. After which, I can conjure the powers of our ancestors to do the rest."

Nodding, I drew in a gill of oxygen, trying to gain more courage. I went and nestle on the opposite side of Father, placing my palm on the side of Marvelon's head while Father palmed the other side. 

Within the next moment, we were no longer in the cave, but on a shoreline; my ancestral Grandpa stood before us. Instead of a tale, he had legs. Scales decorated each green-bluish-colored foot.  One foot was planted on land while the other was in the water. There was a certain energy that radiated from his body, resembling that of a God's.

This was the first I got a chance to see him. His stories were told throughout generations. Now, I was able to see and feel what the fuss was about. 

In a blink of an eye, a crowd gathered around us. Marvelon came out of nowhere and ran to him. He was laughing. It sedated my heart and my shoulders slumped. 

The toddler stopped in front of King Rainard. The tall man towered over the child, but Marvelon didn't seem to care. He laughed, clapped, and copied Grandpa's stance. Like Grandpa, Marvelon glowed. His legs took on the features of the old man's scaled legs. 

Grandpa smiled, looking down at the child while his hand disappeared into Marvelon's chest.  When it emerged, it bore a light in its palms. The light was raised above Grandpa's head as Marvelon slowly fell to the ground. 

My breathing ceased. My eyes widened. 

Oh god, he was dead. 

"Aqua?" The voice was mighty, yet, calming. I tried to force my eyes from Marvelon's motionless body to my grandfather. "Aqua, this is not the end. He needs training. You must train him or he'll end us all." 

My brain took a while to process his words. He said Marvelon would end us. He would... 

I rubbed my forehead. Again. 

With that warning, King Rainard took the light and left. The next moment, I was sucked back to reality. 

No! Wait! I wanted to know more. There was more. 

Confusion engulfed me. "Father, train him how? His powers are no longer intact. How would I train him without his powers?"

Father smiled. "You'll know, my child. When the time is right, you'll figure it out. Come, we must take him home now. He should wake up on land." 

I wasn't given another chance to ask more questions, Octoria took up Marvelon,  and we left the cave. 

I left the ocean for love. Who would have thought this love would create my worse nightmare?