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"What is this place?" I asked excitedly as the sea-woman led me on towards the palace.
Her thoughts were tinged with sadness. "We lived here for many lifetimes, untill the plague came. What a great battle we fought to keep our place... But it was futile, and we were forced to leave and go to the caves. I remember this only a little, for I was young then. But it is still something to be back, even at such a tragic time as this!"
We had gotten to the palace's marble walls now and were swimming upwards towards the domed tower with many huge, glassless, windows, that stood in the center. In fact, the walls seemed to be made of windows, only divided by slim pillers. We reached the level of the tower and swam in throught one of the windows.
"I have brought her..." my guide started as we entered, but her thoughts traild off. I could see why. A high pile of brightly colored seeweed lay in the center of the tower, and on in, half entwined in the strands, was a sea-man. His fishlike eyes stared glassily out into space and his gills seemed barely able to flutter weakly. Purple welts covred his head and thin arms.
I didn't recognize him untill I felt his faint thoughts. "The...Gambino child...is she here?" The words "Gambino child" stung me, but what hurt worse was the sudden relization that this was the king!
My first reaction was unreasoning panic, and I might have leaped back out the window and swam for the surface, if a tall sea-man who I hadn't noticed before had not drifted from the other side of the room and tugged me toward the king. "Get out!" he thought to my guide, and she hastily complied. I had never heard a sea-person think like that, and I took an instant dislike to him.
But now the king was grasping at my hand with his own webbed ones. "I am glad...you are here...I feared you would not come....untill...too late..."
"Did you take the vaccine?" I asked, trying not to panic again. He couldn't die! What would happen to everyone?
"Yes, but it dosn't seem to work!" thought the tall sea-man in the same tone as before.
"It might...on others..." the king thought. "I...was hurt too much..." His thoughts trailed off, but then he seemed to force himself to go on. "Child...my child...princess...you must rule now."
"What?" I thought. Was he out of his mind? Calling me his child was quite enough, although a nice break from calling me a Gambino, but princess? The tall sea-man seemed equally shocked, but the king didn't seem to notice.
"You know...you are part one of us..." he went on, and I nodded. "The one who gave his..." A very long pause at that, and then an idea that seemed to translate to "genes". "He was me."
"What?" There was no way this could be true.
"Yes...I was young then...and as heir to the kingdom, I was the one selected... Later...my mate and young died in one of the plagues...you are the only one left...you are my child...my heir"
That seemed to be enought for the tall sea-man. "I will not be governer for a land-crawler!" he snarled, and for a moment I thought he would seize the king and shake him. "Your approching death gives you no reason to behave insanely!" He stopped, but his rage seemed to boil the water around us. "I would make the most proper heir!"
The king rallied his strenth. "If you do not wish to be governer for...my child...and chosen heir...you...may leave..." The other sea-man glowered. "At once." Still he stayed. "I said...at once!" Still he hovered. "If you do not go I shall call the guards. Now, if you respect your ruler, leave AT ONCE!" That seemed to scare off the governer, but he left a trail of rage behind him. And as he dived from a window, the king sank back into the seaweed. His gills fluttered weakly, then lay still.