Emilee was terrified. She had no idea where she was or what she was doing there. All she remembered was letting Tracey go after his rampage, and now found herself stuck in a blue, blob-like prison under the sea. What she did know was that she was in a sunken building, and guarding her was the Kraken. No longer was it in its humanoid form, but the form most seen in movies, its octopus form. It looked just as terrifying as its humanoid form, though. The Kraken had the face of a sea serpent: four eyes and rows of sharp teeth. The rest of its body was sea serpent and octopus-like.
It swam around Emilee's cage, growling, and her eyes followed it. "What do you want from me?" she shakily asked, but the Kraken hissed.
Emilee covered her ears, but dropped her hands when she heard, "Excellent," from one of the building's pillars.
The Kraken stopped, and Emilee shivered when a huge, dark figure swam toward her. She tried to speak, but her words stuck in her throat. It wasn't long until the new figure stopped before Emilee's cell, and her mouth dropped.
Off to the side, the Kraken bowed.
Poseidon's eight, Kraken-like arms swayed, and he held his trident in his right hand. His blue eyes glowed, and his long, white beard danced with his arms. Shells, seaweed, and the wheel of a boat were stuck in his beard, two pairs of golden bracelets adorned each of his wrists, and he wore a gold crown.
Emilee had a hard time believing the man was Poseidon. She thought he was nothing but a myth, but then again, it had been proven that the Kraken was real.
In his booming voice, Poseidon said, "Finally. Well done, Gene." His eyes rolled over to the Kraken and then back to Emilee. "Thanks to you, I finally got… Wait a minute." Poseidon tapped on Emilee's cage, and she yelled as she fell. Crawling back, she observed as he put his face close to the blob. "It's a human!" His face turned red. "Um, Gene."
At the sound of his name, the Kraken immediately hurried to his master and floated beside him.
Poseidon put his free hand on his back and led him forward. "You understand your mission was to bring me Tracey, right?"
Gene excitedly nodded and waved his tentacles.
"And," Poseidon continued, pointing at Emilee, "does that look like a fairy to you?"
Gene glanced at the woman with him, nodded again, then shook his head.
"You fool!" Poseidon boomed.
Emilee covered her ears again.
The Kraken jumped and hurried away, hiding behind a pillar.
"You and your stupid games!" Poseidon shrieked. "You didn't bring me Merlin's apprentice; you brought me a human!"
Emilee soon lowered her hands and asked, "Merlin's apprentice?" in a shaky voice. "So, he was magic after all?"
The Octopus Man didn't answer, continuing his outrage. "I have no use for a human!" He swung his trident and shattered a few pots that had sunken to the bottom of the sea.
Emilee jumped, but kept her cool. "Why not? If you're so intent on capturing a magical being, then why am I still alive? You have a very immodest approach toward things, sir."
Poseidon stopped, then turned to her again. "It's not just a magical being; it's Merlin's apprentice! I've searched for him for seventeen years since Atlantica was destroyed! A fairy as powerful as him will guarantee me new worlds and rulers of the Atlantic Ocean! It will guarantee me protection from hideous creatures like humans!"
"Is that all you want?" Emilee questioned. "What makes humans hideous to you? Did you have a bad experience with them?"
The Octopus Man again didn't answer and swam toward the room's sunken door. Emilee watched as it opened, and in swam a Great White Shark. She gasped and quickly retreated to the back of her cage. It was official... She was dinner.
Poseidon shut the door and faced the shark, questioning, "Well, Kabato? How did the mission with the Devil's Heir go? Is that annoying Wizard Fairy destroyed?"
Emilee was very confused. Devil's Heir? Wizard Fairy?
Kabato met his master's glowing eyes and spoke to him in shark language. "Well, Master, it's like this. The fairy wasn't exactly destroyed, but he was injured pretty badly. The Chief Wave thingamabob took him to the Chamber of Reestablishment."
The Octopus Man's entire face turned red. "The Chamber of—?" He tightened his grip on his trident. "And what about the Devil?"
Kabato gulped and rubbed his front fins together. "Well, when the Wizard Fairy was unconscious, the Chief Wave appeared with the Metamorphic Fairy, and she pulled it into a dance which eventually destroyed it."
Poseidon screamed the second he announced the news and broke more pots. Once they were nothing but bronze scraps floating in the ocean, he wrapped two tentacles around his head and yelled, "I have had it with that princess!" Instantly, he snapped his neck and glanced at a terrified Gene. "Gene! Prepare for war! Gather the sharks, sirens, and claxtons!"
The Kraken quickly nodded and looked in Emilee's direction. "Yes, sir! As you wish! What do we do about the human?"
Emilee placed her palms on the cage's wall and gulped.
It wasn't long until Poseidon answered, "Leave her. We're not going to kill her... yet. She's going to be bait."
"Bait?" Emilee shouted. "Are you crazy?"
The Octopus Man said nothing more. He gave Kabato orders to guard her, and he and the Kraken exited the room together.
Emilee soon plopped down and pulled her knees close. Her eyes followed the movements of Kabato, who showed his teeth, circling the cage. Emilee soon built up the guts to ask him something.
She inhaled and looked up at the Great White. "Where am I?"
Kabato stopped swimming and met her eyes. For a minute, there was silence between the two. Then, in English, the Great White answered, "The lost city of Atlantis in the Bermuda Triangle."
***
Just staring at Ethelinda up close made Makenna realize how small she and Silvey were.
Silvey soon bowed and nudged Makenna.
Feeling her, she quickly picked up her dress and curtsied. "Oh. Hello there, Ethelinda the Great."
"Please rise," she said, continuing to hold up her head.
Makenna and Silvey did. Makenna couldn't get over how beautiful the Guardian was.
It wasn't long until she said, "You are strong, Miss Delling, to defeat a creature such as the Devil's Heir. They are very difficult to defeat, but thanks to you, you saved your friends. Don't worry about Ash. He'll be fine. Just give him a few hours to rest that head of his. While he does, you will seek out Evelyn and then come back to the end of the island to finish your search for the Wizard Fairy. For now, how about I transport you and Silvey out of this dark place and back into the light?"
Makenna wanted to ask her what the Chamber of Reestablishment was, but was too shy. She really didn't want to hear another lecture about how much she had hurt Ash. Her fairy instincts told her his life was in danger, all because of that brain injury.
With a smile on her face, the Guardian offered Makenna and Silvey her large hand, and they climbed aboard.
Makenna peered into her face and asked, "But how are Silvey and I going to make it without drowning?"
"Just because you don't have your wings doesn't mean you still can't breathe underwater. Silvey knows a spell that will help her."
"So, Silvey can use magic, too?" Makenna glanced at the fairy dog.
Ethelinda chuckled. "She can. Now, hold on tight."
Makenna nodded and grabbed one of her fingers.
With a small splash, Ethelinda dove into the underground river's largest pool and left the secret passageway behind. It wasn't long until the turquoise-colored water returned as she swam through an underwater cave filled with seaweed, fish, and coral.
Makenna watched the fish excitedly flitter in the water.
Ethelinda peeped over her shoulder. A few fish approached her and started to dance.
Makenna playfully touched one of them on the nose, and it fluttered by her ear.
Ethelinda soon let out a gentle sigh. "Miss Delling, I want you to leave this tunnel knowing something."
Makenna stopped playing with the fish and looked at her. "Okay."
"You were chosen to be a Metamorphic Fairy for a reason," Ethelinda elucidated, "but you don't know that reason yet. Because of that, the mission is turning harder each day. Did you know that you are the only Metamorphic Fairy in the world?"
"Huh?" Makenna looked confused, but curious at the same time. "I am?"
Ethelinda nodded. "You are. That tells you and yourself that you are very special. Tracey brought you that horse-head necklace when you were seven because he saw the purity in your heart. Deep down, Miss Delling, you are a very sweet girl; a girl willing to do anything to save her friends, her family, and her two worlds from harm. You showed that side of you today against the Heir and with these fish. You don't know this, but Metamorphic Fairies are considered the princes and princesses of the Human and Magic Worlds. There is a princess within you. When you were chosen, we knew we were looking at someone who would grow up to be a kind and gentle person, much like your long-lost family member."
"A kind and gentle person?" questioned Makenna. "A princess? No, Ethelinda, you have it all wrong. I'm not kind. I'm nothing but a witch."
Ethelinda let out another friendly nod. "I understand. Just keep these words in mind as you work together with your friends to win against The Mincing."
Makenna doubted she had any friends left. Tracey and Ash would never forgive her.
The tunnel led outside to the bright morning sunshine of Coutarine Island beside the Wizard Fairy's house.
"Well, there it is," Ethelinda brought her head to the surface. "The Wizard Fairy's house. You know, I'll be extra nice and take y'all to Aluna, too. How does that sound, Makenna? Makenna?"
Makenna didn't answer. She wasn't there. She had slipped away behind Ethelinda and Silvey's backs and taken a swim to the coral reef. The reef was a perfect place for her to think, even though the salt water caused the cut on her forehead to sting.
Makenna swam to a rock and rested her arms and elbows on it. Nothing but guilt and sadness showed on her face. "I'm not the fairy the Human and Magic Worlds deserve," she mumbled, bubbles escaping her lips. "None of this would have happened if it weren't for me. Ethelinda calls me a princess, but even if I were one, I am not ready to rule. I'm nothing but a girl from Seabrook Island, a girl who nearly kills her friends each year. People like me don't deserve a place in this world. I might as well call it quits." There, she sighed and rested her head on her arms.