4 Chapter 3

Queen Maria frowned, this being clearly had no fear of her and her guards, she'd even see it's eyes linger on the 3 ancestors protecting her in the shadows. They were so well disguised that even Grant, the captain of the royal guard wasn't able to see them, so this entity being able to easily identify them far surpassed her expectations.

"You would do well to mind your behaviour, this is not your kingdom anymore."

Leon laughed, "Oh I'm sure I would."

One of the Queen's guard stepped fowards angrily, or swam technically, "How dare you disrespect her majesty!"

Bowing low Leon mockingly apologised, "Oh I'm terribly sorry."

"You! You-you!"

The guard had been trained well and despite Leon's provoking words, he remained in his position. What he'd done however was completely expected by the Queen and her entourage, in fact they'd have been more surprised if he hadn't contradicted the being's unruly attitude.

"Stand down." The Queen placed her hand on the guards shoulder who immediately composed himself and apologised.

Losing her polite facade the Queen asked, "Do you have a name?"

"Why yes I do! It's..." Leon paused, for some reason he wasn't keen on telling these people his real name, "Lion."

"Lion?" The queen said doubtfully.

"You don't believe me?"

The Queen smiled, "Of course, sorry. Now LION could you tell me your purpose here?"

She'd deliberately emphasised Leon's false name and even a fool could tell she wasn't genuine, naturally Leon could too.

"Tell me, what would your name be then esteemed fish lady?"

...

Silence fell on the queen and her entourage, but moments later a powerful pressure descended.

"What did you call me?!"

Bang!

Leon slammed onto the sea floor, blood trickling from his mouth.

Jagged fangs suddenly appeared in the Queen's mouth and her temperament shifted to that of the ferocious hunter that lay beneath her gentle appearance.

"Ple-ase spa-re me-" He tried to continue but it only brought up fresh blood.

With a smile that stretched from her eyes to her chin the Queen caressed his face, "You're far better looking than my usual meals, I'll enjoy you greatly!"

"Sorry, not a big fan of the whole crazy fish lady thing."

Whoosh!

The Queen had been suddenly pulled backwards by one of her hidden guard, but the guard only paid the price in her stead.

To the Mermen however it was if the guard had never existed, only the Queen was witness to what had just taken place.

The instant the being's fist had touched her guards chest his entire body had crumpled into nothingness, not even a drop of blood remained.

"PROTECT THE QUEEN!!!"

Although they no longer remembered the killing of the guard, instinct told the others to immediately prepare for combat.

Leon rubbed his temples, "Calm down, calm down. I'm not a fan of violence."

He'd thought that erasing their memory would solve the problem, but it seemed the guards were more aware than he thought.

"Look I'll leave you alone, just give me a map will you!"

At first no one moved, but upon seeing the frustration on Leon's face the Queen quickly took action, "GIVE HIM A MAP!"

The main party was slow to react, but one of the Merman ancestors had appeared in front of Leon and started to talk, "I can guarantee you this map is greatly superior to anything anyone else has to offer, even that of my fellow elders...but I have a condition."

Leon raised an eyebrow, although he didn't mind it, it was still very presumptuous for someone in the ancestors position to be asking for an equal exchange.

"I agree."

"But you haven't even heard my condition?" The ancestor said with a frown.

Leon shrugged, "Don't need to."

For a moment the old Merman was stunned but he soon roared back to life, "Haha! Darling your grandpa is coming!"

Taking off at full speed the Merman remained oblivious to the twitch in Leon's expression, for the first time since he'd arrived in the new world it was a trace of true laughter. Not the kind created by TV shows and crabs falling onto their backs, the real kind that could fill an entire room and awaken long lost feelings.

'Peace wins again.' Leon thought before dashing after the disappearing Merman.

The old Merman stopped in front of a small tunnel, it lead directly into what appeared to be an underwater volcano and the heat was incredible.

Turning, the Merman was slightly surprised to see Leon standing just behind him, "You're a quick one aren't ya?"

Ignoring his words Leon asked, "Care to give me some info on what exactly I'm gonna be doing?"

Shifting on his tail the old Merman dodged the question, "I'm coming in darling, you're gonna be all better soon."

This only peaked Leon's attention and he followed in after the old man, wrinkling his nose at the ever increasing humidity levels Leon abruptly stopped, "I'm afraid you're going to have to give me a little more information."

Immediately the old Merman's face turned grave, "You're going back on your words?"

Leon looked him in the eye, "Depends on what you tell me doesn't it."

Seeing Leon's casual attitude the Merman reluctantly started to explain, but still subtly walked forwards as he spoke, "We Mermen can live for over a thousand years and our bodies hardly age throughout our lifetime, but this longevity and beauty has spurred great interest from the human race. They seek to uncover the secrets within our bodies and enslave our kin, however our incredible fighting strength under water has prevented them from doing so. Naturally we have become even more sought after, resulting in the humans inventing more and more ingenious ways of capturing and killing us. My granddaughter, Celeste, was captured in one of their raids, but managed to break free by severing her tail. As Mermen our tails are not just for movement , they are a vital source of our bloodline; without them we can no longer control water and our physical function is severely weakened...it also has some...appearance altering effects."

Leon had sensed the old Merman's emotions as he talked and knew he'd reached his maximum, more information would only upset the old Merman and he didn't want to appear that way to his granddaughter.

"I understand."

The old Merman looked into Leon's eyes, he felt as if he was staring into a galaxy, a never ending mesh of starry lights and swirling clouds.

"Grandpa?"

Shaking his head the old Merman extracted himself from Leon's gaze, he know fully recognized the strength of the being in front of him.

In a gentle and loving tone the Merman responded, "I'm coming darling." But then with a whisper like voice he added, "Don't be afraid...she's all I have."

A shadow suddenly fell upon the old Merman's head, "Grandpa you're back!"

Leon caught first sight of the Merman's daughter and had to stifle a gasp, of course he did it so naturally you'd never even know he'd thought otherwise.

"Who's this grandpa? I don't get many visitors anymore." The speaker was a strange creature, vaguely similar to the old Merman, like him it had the upper body of a human, albeit female, but unlike the elegant and muscular tail, she had a sprawling mass of purple black tentacles.

Grasping her hands the old Merman revealed his true nature - a parent. "He's going to heal you darling, you'll be able to leave this shelter and see the world again."

Leon watched as the creature's brain puzzled over what was happening, he doubted it's impaired intelligence really understood but certainly it knew he was going to fix her.

Smiling Leon stepped closer to her, "Close your eyes for me."

The girl looked to the old Merman who immediately nodded, but then as if suddenly recalling something recoiled to the corner of the room.

"You! You cut my tail, it hurt!!!" Weeping, the girl stroked the writhing tentacles that covered her lower body.

"No darling he's not! I promise, he's going to fix you!" The old Merman tried to help but the girl was too far gone.

Leon no longer wanted to stick around, he knew perhaps he should but the scene left a sour taste in his mouth, once again he was witnessing the damage humans could do.

"Here." Waving his hand Leon sent a small drop of red liquid floating in the girl's direction, within moments the old Merman knew what it was.

Blood of The Sea!

The Blood of The Sea was a sacred item formed in the most turbulent of storms when countless sailors lost their lives to the waves, no manmade creation could match its power and the many tribes within the sea viewed it as a gift from a god.

It was capable of purifying and strengthening any bloodline to an incredible degree, though of course it was far more effective on oceanic life. Even a simple crab could become a titan with just a drop of the miraculous liquid, plenty of creatures had rose to power through a lucky encounter with Blood of The Sea.

"I'll be off now then, I've already taken the map and you're granddaughter will heal slowly. As she is she cannot handle the Blood of The Sea and so I have sealed it in her body, in perhaps a few months it will be fully unlocked. I've also left behind a whisp of my power to ward off any potential thieves."

Then Leon disappeared, leaving the old Merman and his granddaughter alone once again.

"Grandpa? Where am I, where's mummy?"

The old Merman embraced her tightly, tears running down his face. "It's alright my dear, it's all going to be alright."

In a few hundred years time Celeste would go on to establish a powerful empire and search for her saviour to repay his gift.