Darkness will descend on the Seven Marine Kingdoms
and the Light that illuminates them
will inevitably fade.
The Pearls of Destiny must come together
and find the Realms of Life, so their colors will glow and bring peace…
and the Light will shine again.
«Hey Nimue, what are you up to? Still closed between your old shells of knowledge?»
The jovial voice of the young mermaid made the old mermaid's hand, that was holding the shell with the recording of an old prophecy, move away from her ear. «You're just like Liam!» The gaze of the silvery-haired settled on the face of her sweet heir, her lips stretched in a maternal smile: «Like mother like son, they say.»
The younger one took the shell and put it at its place among the others, not paying too much attention of what it said.
With a sunny laugh, she gently took the hand full of wrinkles. «Come on, come out of this place! The ceremony will start soon, aren't you excited?»
The old siren replied by widening her smile and letting herself be helped to get up. The two swam side by side through the illuminated corridors of the castle, the soon new Queen who kept up with her predecessor, who, despite the more than seven centuries that she had on her shoulders, was still lucid and able to move quite independently.
Halfway down the corridor, adorned with marine flowers, fluorescent colored mosses and corals, the two sovereigns saw a merman coming towards them, both of whom they knew well. Smiles of different nature went to paint on the faces of the two.
«Mother, let me help you.»
Nimue didn't gave Liam much attention, instead she placed her eyes on the face of her successor. One thing that had never been successful in Hena was to hide her emotions; Nimue had scolded her several times and the blonde managed to control herself better in public, but when it came to Liam, there was never anything to do about it.
The old mermaid shook her head with a slight sigh and stopped shortly before reaching the threshold of the salon, behind which the celebrations were just waiting for the three of them to start, earning two pairs of perplexed eyes looking at her. Without saying anything, she gently took the hands of the two young lovers and made their fingers intertwine in front of her, her eyes fixed on the union. «This is your moment. My time is over and you two must definitely take over the kingdom by now. You don't need me anymore.»
Hena's eyes became worried, but soon that feeling was thrown into oblivion, thanks to her partner's grip on her hand, being replaced by positive emotions as soon as her blue eyes met with his honey-colored ones. A now confident and grateful smile spread her face, while together the two entered the Hall of Ceremonies, let the guards announce them and went towards the two thrones that dominated the huge room.
Nimue remained to observe the two lovers so dear to her while they took their rightful place within the Marine High Society. Affectionate and pride mixed in her heart, creating a harmony of emotions she had the joy to feel just few times with such purity, despite her long life. Life which was about to fade, but she wasn't worried about it at all: her heir, Hena, the mermaid not even 150 years old by her son's side, was more than ready to reign without needing her help anymore.
She still took some time before entering the room and letting herself be taken by the etiquette that High Society claimed with such fervor, observing what was shown to her just outside the castle. She observed the coral gardens that surrounded the perimeter of her house, the expanses of nacre that guided guests inside like a trail of diamonds, the sea creatures of all species and sizes who enjoyed playing with each other. But her gaze didn't stop at the surroundings of her castle, no: it wandered further, towards the rest of her home, Atlantis. From the illuminated palace, she could see her whole city, circularly arranged around the castle.
She wished she could devote a little more to that moment for herself, but the guards came to call her: she was needed to continue the ceremony. The Coronation was a special event, it marked the beginning of new eras for the marine world, and this could not have taken place if the previous queen did not physically pass the crown to the new one.
For more than a century, Hena had been at Nimue's side and had gradually learned everything she needed to reign over the Seven Seas, exactly like the queen she expected from her to be. Of course, she never expected that such a deep love would blossom between her son and her heir, but Nimue loved life for this reason too: it was full of unexpected events. She had been very happy for the two of them, she had long considered Hana to be like a daughter and had been thrilled when they had talked to her about them with so much transport and honesty from the beginning. She truly hoped, deep in her heart, that the two could continue and support each other on that arduous path that was, not only the life of a ruler, but also the marriage.
Nimue took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief moment, then headed for the hall, escorted by the guards. While swimming towards her successor, she crossed the sovereigns of the Seven Marine Kingdoms, who handed over to the two guards who escorted her their offer in honor of the new Queen.
«Our species lives in water. The element of water has always been intertwined with the female image, so traditions want: Arctic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Antarctic Ocean. Each of the Seven Seas has its own sovereign, which governs as she best wishes on her kingdom. I now, Seven Sovereigns, ask you if you agree with the coronation of the present Hena of the Aegean waters as the new Queen of the Seas. Are you ready to follow her, refer to her guidelines and indications for your Oceans, thus starting the new Marine Era?»
The seven mermaids stood side by side in front of the thrones, each bowing reverently in front of the sovereigns while making their oath.
«I, Dyra of the Barentes waters, ruler of the marine kingdom of the Arctic Ocean, swear absolute loyalty on my part and on my people to the new Queen of the Seas, Hena.»
«I, Kaylin of the Bering waters, ruler of the marine kingdom of the North Pacific Ocean, swear absolute loyalty on my part and on my people to the new Queen of the Seas, Hena.»
«I, Kalei of the Apomila waters, ruler of the marine kingdom of the South Pacific Ocean, swear absolute loyalty on my part and on my people to the new Queen of the Seas, Hena.»
«I, Victoria of the Biscay waters, ruler of the marine kingdom of the North Atlantic Ocean, swear absolute loyalty on my part and on my people to the new Queen of the Seas, Hena.»
«I, Madison of the Ocracoke waters, ruler of the marine kingdom of the South Atlantic Ocean, swear absolute loyalty on my part and on my people to the new Queen of the Seas, Hena.»
«I, Priyanka of the Bengal waters, ruler of the marine kingdom of the Indian Ocean, I swear absolute loyalty on my part and on my people to the new Queen of the Seas, Hena.»
«I, Hania of the Ross waters, ruler of the marine kingdom of the Antarctic Ocean, swear absolute loyalty on my part and on my people to the new Queen of the Seas, Hena.»
Nimue turned to her own heir, who was facing the bowed heads of the rulers of the Seven Marine Kingdoms, a true reigning look in her eyes. The blue eyes of the young mermaid met at that moment with the silvery ones of the old one and only after a few seconds she bowed and pronounced her oath: «I, Hena of the Aegean waters, agree to abandon my name and become the Queen of the Seven Seas. I swear absolute loyalty to my vassals and agree to provide them with service and assistance, making me their humble servant and sovereign. I swear loyalty and collaboration to the current rulers of the Seven Seas, who will be my arms in the administration of the Seven Marine Kingdoms. I will keep the traditions of our people alive, honoring the Gods and Ancestors and accepting their judgment, humbly asking for their guidance and willingly accepting their punishments, praying that they will fall on me, just me.»
«From this moment, I, Nimue of Atlantis, name you, Hena of the Aegean waters, Hena of Atlantis and Queen of the Seas.» An almost unreal silence dominated the room at that moment, while the Queen took off her crown and rested it on that of the new regent. «From this day forward, a new Era begins for the marine world. The Era of Hena of Atlantis.» Only then Hena did open her eyes, lift her head and stand up, letting the room fall under her gaze. «Make sure yours is a just and peaceful era, Queen Hena.»
A single chorus of voices spread across the room, perfectly united as if it were only one: «Long live Queen Hena!» Every single merman and mermaid inside the hall at that time was bowed, eyelids lowered, lower tails, palms of hands and foreheads brushing against the precious nacre floor.
Only two figures stood out in that harmonious reverence: Hena of Atlantis and the guard who stood by her side, but the new queen was too enraptured by the set of emotions she felt at that moment to notice the latter. Just as she failed to recognize the movement of the water that would have warned her of the weapon being stripped from its sheath.
Her eyes barely had time to settle on the blade that was extracted from her belly, causing a slight involuntary jolt of kickback, before everything became dark and she could no longer perceive anything.
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