Chapter 3

They were like thieves in the night. Chan brought the truck around to the back street of the house and they hopped on then Chan drove away. He was heading towards the sea, he too was worried about his friends, if only he could follow them then he would and help them take back what was theirs. Unfortunately, he was only human and could not breathe in the water as they can.

He felt envious that they could live both on land and in the water. When he got close to the ocean, he could not help but resent it. This place was his friends’ home but at that moment it felt like he was taking them to their deaths.

At the back of the truck, Zane and Nazima could smell the ocean and the fear in their hearts increased. This was it, there was no turning back now. The truck came to a stop, and they waited for Chan to tell them it was safe to come out. Chan on the other hand was prolonging the inevitable.

Finally, he got out of the truck and went to tell them it was safe. They said their goodbyes one last time before the two got into the water. The moment their bodies encountered the sea water they transformed into their natural form. The Naga’s, snake people, the ones with the human upper body and snake bottom.

Chan could not believe it when he saw them, he smiled and said, “May the gods be with you.” They smiled back at him and waved before they dived deep into the water and swam away. Nazima could not believe how she looked in her true form. Her tail was longer and stronger. She felt stronger now that she was in the water, it was like the water was giving her more power. It was the sea creatures can recognize her, and they swam around her. She laughed happily, but her laugh soon turned into a frown as she remembered the slaughter of her people.

She shook her head to remove those happy thoughts from her mind, this was not a happy homecoming. She had a mission in mind and that was to free her people and take back the throne. Not to be smiling around like a kid when her people were being treated like slaves and killed by the Mer king, Caleb.

They swam deeper into the water and the deeper they swam the colder the temperature became. It was like the sea could tell that more tragedy was coming. They could also feel that they were getting close. They spotted the first of the Merpeople and Nazima did not hesitate, and she brutally killed them before they could register what was going on. Zane looked at her amazed, but he was afraid if they were not careful. The king’s guards will soon hear of the killings and capture them, and this will all be for nothing.

The Merpeople were swimming around in the water oblivious of what was coming. They have been living like royalty all these years with no problems from their slaves the Naga people. None of them would have thought that a Naga could rule the water again. That is why most of the Merpeople Nazima and Zane killed did not pay them any mind until it was too late. They saw them as nothing but slaves.

What a big mistake they made. Throughout the night Nazima and Zane killed many of the Merpeople for the king to notice. By morning, one of his patrolling guards came to him in a hurry and bowed when he got to him. “Speak!” Caleb was easily irritable, and he did not like being disturbed for no reason. “My king, we have found many of our people dead this morning while on patrol.” The guard reported and Caleb sneered.

“So? What if more of the Naga people died? They mean nothing to us.” Answered Caleb with no care in the world, the Naga people were not his people, and he was not going to concern himself with them. When the guard would not leave Caleb got irritated and held him by the throat. “You came here to advocate for those slaves!” the guard trembled in fear.

Caleb was not a merciful king, and his people knew that. The man killed his father when he was only fifteen and has been ruling the water ever since. “No..my...king. those are Mer people’s bodies we found.” The poor guard spoke with so much difficulty. Caleb released his throat and looked at him with murderous eyes. “Tell me again what you just said.” He demanded.

“The bodies we saw were of our kind, my king. They are Merpeople.” Caleb flew into a fit of rage and killed the guard. “You are all fucking useless!” he roared in anger as he squeezed the life out of the guard. “How can our kind be killed like that?” he asked no one in particular as he threw the body of the guard aside. “Find me the one who is responsible for this.” He commanded and his guards swam away in a hurry to carry out the king’s orders.

Just as they left the elders came in, the elders were made of the elders of the varied species in the water, the Fish, the Sea Horses, and more. Only the Nagas were not represented as they were nothing but slaves. “My king, we have heard reports of the killings.” One elder spoke. “We are worried my king; we have never seen something like this since years ago with the Nagas. do you think they have risen to take back what is theirs?”

The elder should not have said that as Caleb was in front of him within a blink of an eye and had him by the throat. “What is theirs? Everything here is mine! I am your king; I rule the water and there will be no other king in the water but me!” he shouted at the else while he squeezed his neck. Another elder spoke up trying to stop him. “You are right, you are our king, but what are we supposed to think when your kind are the ones slaughtered like that? They were slaughtered in the most brutal way and the exact same way they slaughtered the Nagas.”

The elder sighed with his voice softening. “My king, such brutal killings can only be done by your kind, now is there someone who is against you and would want to do something like this in retaliation?” asked the elder. Caleb loosened his hold on the throat of the elder. “My king, we are not wrong to suspect the Nagas as well, they do have a vendetta against you.” Caleb stopped choking the elder and moved away from him.

“It can only be a Merperson who is doing something like this, remember the Nagas are only our slaves and they do not do violence. It is not in their nature and that is why we killed them so easily those many years ago.” Caleb did not want to believe that weak people like the Nagas could do something like this. “I still think we should still look into them.” One elder said.

“You do it then and report back what you find.” The elder nodded receiving the king’s command. “The rest of you should investigate this matter closely, I want this person found and brought to me alive. I want to make an example of him and show everyone never to even think of crossing me.” Caleb ordered. The elders bowed, and they left the king fuming with anger. He swore he would kill whoever that person was.

Soon the water was filled with guards looking for the perpetrator. Nazima and Zane watched as they swam around looking for them. “It has begun,” Zane said, he knew there was no turning back from this. He wished the prince Nazim were the one here with him today and not the princess. Maybe if it were him here, then he would not be this afraid of losing him.

“Abandon whatever thoughts you might have now Zane, this is for my father, my brother, and our clan.” Zane looked at the princess and could not help but wonder what kind of queen she will be when all this is over. She was supposed to marry and have kids. Not carry her father’s trident killing Mer people trying to save her people, her kind, the Nagas. “To the death then my princess.” Said Zane.

This was a fight to the death, theirs, or the Mer peoples. either way, someone was going to die. “To the death,” said Nazima with a determined voice. Gone was the fear and now only determination remained.