Salighayan; A Taboo Love Story

Chapter 18

~ In the deep ocean

Selena was filled with worry and fright as she swam towards the queen goddess' chambers, she had suddenly been summoned and she could very well guess why.

The princess had not returned since yesterday and her absence would be felt by now, surely the queen goddess must have known by now that her daughter wasn’t in the palace for a while now.

The usual singing and jeering up of people by her was missing, and there was a long line of those with petitions that she should’ve attended too by now.

While it was true that both the princess and Selena had foreseen this situation and made plans for it, it still wasn’t comfortable for Selena especially when she had to deal with princess Mylie’s mother herself.

Selena kept justifying the reasons and excuses she is about to give in her mind, hopefully the queen goddess wouldn’t catch her lying. That is literally the worse than can happen and it can only get worst if the truth itself got out.

‘No’ Selena thought as she shook her head, the queen goddess must never know that her daughter, Princess Mylie has gone to the human world.

“Come in” Selena heard the queen goddess say just after her first knock, ‘Here goes’ Selena thought to herself and heaved a deep sign.

She entered and saw the queen goddess positioned by her see-through window, called so because you can only see through it from within and not from the outside.

“Selena? What is going on? Why do I feel this sense of danger, as if something bad is about to happen, the kind of feeling you get just before a huge storm hits” the queen goddess asked.

Selena felt the question had to be rhetorical, but she decided to answer so as to keep them talking about something else rather than the actual matter she was sure is the actual reason the queen goddess called her in.

“Oh my queen, you are the mother of us all, you are probably feeling this way because of your excess love and care for us all, I am sure it is just your incredible concern for us all that is making you feel this way” Selena answered.

The queen goddess chuckled before replying, still not facing Selena though, “Well, while that is true, I can’t help but be wary, I have a feeling that some forces somewhere are gathering up arms to come against us” she said to Selena again.

Now Selena started to think rationally, it seems the queen goddess hadn’t called her because of the princess after all.

“Oh queen mother, who would dare? We haven’t lost a battle since the beginning of time, everyone knows our forces are quite formidable, so who would dare try to bring up arms against us?” Selena replied passionately.

The queen goddess turned around to face Selena and the expression of her face was that of dead calm and seriousness, such that Selena gulped and reminded herself to breathe.

“In answer to your question, someone who has forgotten about our triumphs, someone who wants to test our might and see if we still as formidable as fabled or someone just stupid and adventurous, anyone with any of these mindset can and will definitely take up arms against us. Selena, I’m sure of what I’m saying, call a council of the chieftains, we need to have a war meeting” she said to Selena who passionately received the wisdom of her queen goddess.

“Yes queen mother, I’ll do that right away” Selena said, she waited a few seconds and then made to leave.

“And uhm, call Mylie as well to the war council, although I’d come to see her before we convene it, nevertheless, let her know beforehand” the queen goddess added.

“Yes queen mother” Selena said and left.

*

Selena kept swerving back and forth the chambers leading to the princess' own, she was filled with dread and worry.

It had all been going fine till the queen goddess had finally requested about her daughter, who wasn’t still around yet and even more to Selena’s dismay, the queen goddess was coming to see her daughter, what was she to do now!

‘Should I go look for her at that beach? No if the queen mother comes and also finds that I’m missing then she will know that something was really wrong somewhere, especially considering the fact that she is filled to the brim with dangerous suspicions of looming war already’ Selena thought to herself.

‘Oh what am I to do!?’ she kept drilling herself, then suddenly she heard the door open, ‘oh no’ she thought ‘the queen mother is here’.

She was about to hide further into the chambers but then swimming in to view was Princess Mylie herself.

Selena was filled with so much relief that she almost fainted, then her relief switch to anger in one fell swoop.

“Where the heck have you been! You know what, this is getting out of hand if you cannot judge for yourself to know how precarious this situation we are actually is” Selena shouted at her best friend with a hushed voice,

“I was worried sick and had you arrived a moment later, the queen mother would have entered and the deal might have been exposed!” she continued in her silent shouting anger.

But Princess Mylie wasn’t really concerned with all her friend had just said, all she really wanted to do was give her the new details she had just discovered about her not-so-human prince charming.

She was about to start appealing to her best friend so that she could give her the gist, but then the door opened again and this time the queen goddess swan in.

*

~ Princess Mylie’s PoV

Whilst swimming back to the deep, my underwater city, I had the hunch that somehow things could have gone sideways due to my absence.

But in all sincerity I trusted Selena to have it well handled, that mermaid is a really smart one, smarter than she gives herself credit for.

Well I found out I was right by trusting her, things were still fine and in order, save for the fact that she was fuming angry with me.

I didn’t have time for her anger though, I needed to tell her about my new discoveries about Mike, my no-longer human crush and love.

But Just as I wanted to apologize to her so that she would be quiet and I could tell her all that had happened, Mother swam in. ‘oh bummer’ I thought to myself.

“Hello Mother” I said and gave a short bow but Selena was bowing really low, I figured it mist be because she does not want mother to see her angry expression.

“Hello daughter, it been a while, I can see you are doing well personally seeing this happy look on your face, but the from the looks of it you are relaxing in your duties, the petition line is too long and the orchestra is set up at all, the whole city feels like its mourning” Mother said to me.

“Uhm actually, well, I’m sorry, I just had some other crucial matters to take care of” I replied hoping she would let me off at that.

“Well, daughter, your citizens and their fairing should be crucial as well! Do take point from this, don’t let this repeat itself, be the good leader you’re meant to be” she said to me and I gladly received the tongue lashing, I really truly deserved it.

“Now let us go and convene the council, I’m sure Selena has brought you up to speed already?” Mother asked me.

I was taken aback at first, I had no idea what she was talking about, but then Selena gave me a slight nudge with her tail fin.

“Oh yes mother, do let us go” I feigned, I stole a glance at Selena and I saw her mouth the words “War Council”

My mind started reeling at that, what the heck had happened in just the one night I didn’t return back to the deep? What could have happened to warrant convening a war council?

I followed mother closely behind as we exited the chambers, before I came out the door though I pushed back Selena with my tail fin and dropped something with here then I closed the door.

Mother looked back and when she couldn’t see Selena she asked “Where is Selena? She is to join us as well” she said with raised eyebrows.

“Oh really? I am sure she knows, probably she went o quickly sort something” I said to Mother, deep down my more rational subconscious mind warned me to ease off with the lies I’m telling mother, she has a nose for lies and can pick on them pretty easily.

If not for her mind that is being distracted as of late, she would have already known that there was something “fishy” going on with I and Selena.

But then should she have pressed further and gone back to look for Selena, I really don’t know how I would explain the magazines and art books I had brought from the surface to use to explain things to Selena.

I drooped it with her so she can go hide them somewhere, we’ll come to that later when Mother is away once again.

Although I don’t know when that would be, seeing as a war council is being convened, those things take a whole lot of time, to plan, to strategize, to figure out the enemy and how best to get them, really those kind of things aren’t my kind of thing.

I’d rather talk love, peace, understanding, but mother, she’ll only return fire for fire, I just hope this type of trouble wouldn’t be so disastrous as I can already envision it to be.

I thought about Mike and how he must be feeling right now, my boss, my crush, my love.

I’ve only come to even love him more now that I’ve discovered that there is more to him that meets the eye.

I’ll see you soon my love, I thought to myself and followed mother to the war council.