Unexpected

NOELLE'S POV,

The next day I meet Julias at the entrance of the gardens at 10 o'clock. I have seen the coral and flower gardens, but Julias told me that the water gardens are a bit of a walk.

Maya said that they are a famous sight of the Sea Realm, so I am eager to see them.

''Hi, are you ready for a walk?'' Julias asks me.

I smile at him, ''It would be great to stretch my legs for a bit and now that I am stuck in this city, I better make the best of it right?''

Julias puts his arm through mine, and we begin to walk.

''I like your positive approach,'' he says, ''So, I am curious to know more about Noelle, tell me about yourself.''

''There is not that much to tell I'm afraid,'' I continue, ''I was left at the doorstep of an orphanage when I was a baby and I have lived there till my 18th birthday. Then I planned to go explore the world and have adventures, but I ended up here instead.''

Julias replies, ''It's maybe not the adventure you wanted but you sure got one. What about your parents? You have no idea who they are?''

I feel a bit sad when I answer, ''No, the only thing that they left with me was an amulet. But enough about me what's your story?''

Julias squeezes my hand, ''I'm sorry about your parents must suck to not know where you come from. My parents died. They refused to give me up to the magic inquisition from the Mortal Realm that Hella ordered. I have a little bit of water magic nothing major or threatening. But Hella didn't care, after she tested me and tortured me for some information, she just let me rot in a cell for years. I managed to escape when she was away for some business, but no one dared to give me refugee in the Mortal Realm. I felt like I had no more reason to live so I just walked into the sea not caring whether I would live or die. I don't remember much of the exact moment but when I woke up, I was in the Sea Realm and Roan was there. I told him where I came from, and he said I could live in his Kingdom and that he would protect me. He showed me that there are still things that are worth living for and that kindness still exists.''

I can't help but feel sorry for Julias, but I am also surprised about what he tells me about Roan.

The stories about the King of the sea always portray him as a tyrant. I have even read that he flooded villages when they wouldn't sacrifice women every year. I don't know what to think about King Roan anymore.

I stop and look at Julias,

''I am sorry you have had such a bad experience in life, but I am grateful for meeting you.''

''I think we will get along just fine miss Noelle. But now you must look around because we have arrived at the water gardens.''

I look around me and I am amazed by what I see. There are ponds with fish in more colors than I knew existed. Big glass tanks that lead to the ocean where I can see seahorses, octopuses, sea stars, sharks, and more creatures that I have never seen before.

In the gardens, there is a path made of gems with stone sculptures of beautiful women on the sides. There are more sculptures than I can count, it must be thousands. Every 5 meters there is a little fountain with water that is shimmering like diamonds. I sigh from happiness at all this beauty.

Julias walks to the middle of the garden and says,

''Let me show you a little trick that I can do.''

He holds up his hands and does all kinds of weird movements with his arms. It's like he is dancing. Then the water from the fountains squirts up and it jumps from one fountain to another fountain. It looks like the water is dancing for me.

I'm still enjoying the show when Julias falls. All the water comes together in the middle and then it comes at me with impressive speed.

Julias screams, ''Noelle run!''

But the water is too fast, I hold out my hands, close my eyes and wait for the water to sweep me off my feet. But nothing happens, when I open my eyes all the water has stopped in front of me. As if it obeyed my command.

I put my arms down and the water swirls around me like it wants to embrace me. I decide to try something more, so I hold up my hands and in my mind, I picture the water going back to the fountains. To my surprise, the water obeys and goes back to where it came from.

Julias is Looking at me with an open mouth.

''OMY GOD did you see that?'' I scream excitedly.

Julias walks towards me and says,'' Why haven't you told me you have magic? And how did you command the water without using your hands?''

I hesitate, ''I didn't know that I had magic. I just pictured in my mind what I wanted the water to do.''

Julias shakes his head, ''Unbelievable something like that takes years of practice for the most gifted magicians. You must be extremely powerful. We must tell Roan immediately.''

''Why do we have to tell Roan?” I ask.

''He is the only one powerful enough to help you understand and control your powers. You must start training as soon as possible. Otherwise, your power is going to look for outbursts. You could hurt people unintentionally.''

We walk back to the castle where it seems like there is nobody there. In the dining room, we find Maya.

Julias speaks to her, ''Maya where is Roan? We need to talk to him it's urgent.''

Maya looks at us a bit sad, ''I am afraid it must wait. There has been a demon attack on the western village.''