33 Omorfiá City

The first buildings that Iris saw as they entered the city looked like they were carved from coral. Tiny fish, sea urchins and anemones, and other variations of coral life bobbed in and out of uncountable crevices. They made the buildings look like living works of art, and put Iris in a state of awe.

Each building had at least four pillars in the front, with an open wall behind them. The shops varied building to building, and some even had structures that looked like stands out front with a wide variety of goods.

Her eyes weren't sure what she was seeing, but Iris' brain knew everything. Information about the fruits and vegetables in front of her filled her head; branching unknown things with comparisons. Looking at a tiny yellow fruit shaped like a spiky star, Iris' brain told her 'tastes like a strawberry'.

'Potatoes', 'wheat', 'raisins'; her mind filtered it all. The only thing she was having issues discerning was a mouthwatering smell that reminded her of beef. The human in her craved the familiarity of it, and the Undine side agreed.

Searching for the mystery smell, Iris gazed in wonder at everything around her as they swam further into the city. Her pace kicked up, making it hard for Selena to keep up without leaving Levi behind.

In his current, non-threatening-looking size; Levi couldn't keep up. Five minutes into Iris' unsustainable pace, he'd latched onto Selena's dress, and hung on for dear life.

The structures shifted from the artistic coral buildings, to more Greek-Roman styles as they swam. The architecture reminded Iris of the Parthenon; minus the Athena emblems and statues. In their place were ones representing Poseidon.

Most of the buildings looked like they were carved from rock, except for one building. It was made from the same pearl-like material that the palace was created from. Staring at the building, Iris wondered if there was a correlation between the two..

Finally catching up to Iris, Selena realized that they had reached the center of the city. She'd been swimming for over forty minutes non-stop trying to keep Iris within sight. She was like a child in a toy store who'd broken away from a parent.

As Selena grabbed her wrist and flashed her a hard stare, Iris realized her hasty actions. She'd lost the scent of the food, but was too taken in by the scenery to want to double back yet.

"I'm sorry for taking off like that.. I kinda got over excited," the Queen rubbed the back of her neck as she apologized.

Selena sighed heavily; "I understand that, but please do not leave my side again, alright? ...How do you still have this much energy after everything?!"

Iris shrugged; "Honestly, I was writing it off under 'Athena's blessing thingy'.. That's kinda the saving grace for my sanity right now."

Sighing deeply again, Selena nodded, but held her attention. Iris had been awake for nearly thirty-six hours; researched all night, dealt with the Council, fought Her, and nearly died! The girl needed a break: whether she wanted one or not.

"Well, how about we go find somewhere to eat? I Know you're hungry, and it would help save my sanity if I knew you ate something."

Iris grinned; "If it's the stuff I smelled earlier, then hell yes!"

"Shush! People are staring!" Selena chided her with a stern expression.

The Undine people had been watching the unfamiliar duo as they passed by. It was rare for them to come across someone they didn't know, but no one had stopped and asked them who they were.. Until that moment.

An oversized Undine came swimming over to them, ringing a bell in Iris' head. His gruff features and dark-turquoise color were faintly familiar, but it was his voice that cracked the bell..

"Hey! Get out of the road if you're going to stand there and talk-oh? It's you two again. Are you lost or something? Or do you just have no sense in your heads?"

"Excuse me, sir, but be mindful of whom you speak to," Selena remarked automatically, not thinking.

The man crossed his arms over his chest, and spoke to an unfazed Selena cockily; "And Whom, exactly, is that? From the way to two are dressed, I'd say that your 'entertainers' of some sort. Based on your manners, language, and the way you two are dressed: I assume it's for private parties only.."

Selena shrugged of the insult, but Iris was automatically on the offensive; "Did you just call us hookers because we were talking in the street? ...Oh, this is not your day, buddy."

The Undines began to gather around them as the overgrown man swam closer to the two women; "My name is not 'Buddy', and I was going to say the same thing.. to Commander Selena."

Selena stared at the man a moment before recognition lit her features. She quickly shifted into a smirk; "Marlo.. Good to see you."

The man sneered; "Is it? I lost my job as a guard because of you!"

Selena scoffed; "YOU lost your job Yourself by harassing that maid.. If you openly place blame, at least be smart enough to do it correctly."

Marlo seethed with his rising anger; "She came on to me! Then made those accusations when we got caught! That flounder just didn't want to lose her job, so I lost mine! And it's your fault!"

Selena grinned maniacally, waiting for him to do something foolish. She was the one who'd caught them in an empty room together. Drawn there by the girl's pleads for him to stop. The girl had ran to Selena with tears in her eyes the second that she'd opened the door.

The maid was untouched, but traumatized all the same. Marlo was an up-and-coming guard at the time, but his career was cut drastically short by the incident. He was released from the Royal Guards, and had to return home, to work at his parent's farm in shame.

With rage clouding his judgement, Marlo swam at Selena with intent; "It's all your fault!"

Before he could move more than a few feet, Levi jumped away from Selena, and nearly instantly grew to Undine size. Marlo had actually yelped when he'd nearly swam into him.

"Go near the High Acolyte or the Queen, and it will be the last thing you Ever do!" Levi practically roared as his eyes glowed red with murderous intent.

Random Undines passing by gasped and screamed at the sight before them. They all swam away, but didn't leave. They had caught what the monster had said..

"Queen Iris?! Is it really the Queen?"

"Which one is it?"

"You idiot! The blue one!"

"What's the Queen doing out here?! Why isn't she hold up in the palace? Like always?!"

As the people fussed and speculated, Marlo's eye shined malevolently. He looked over to Iris with plot gleaming in them, but all she did was snort derisively. After glancing at Selena with a telltale smirk, she turned towards the behemoth of an Undine, and slowly began to swim towards him as she spoke.

"Now that you know who I am, how about you apologize for the comment before, and we'll call it even?"

As Marlo looked over at Levi, then back to the Queen; he wondered if he could grab her quick enough to where the creature couldn't react in time..

'If I can injure the Queen on that seahag's watch, she'll be stripped of her rank and shamed even worse than me!'

Reaching for Iris, he didn't expect her to dodge so quickly. The Queen Iris that he was familiar with was the original one..

Similarly to how she'd flipped Selena when they fought earlier; Iris grabbed Marlo's wrist, twisted it, then flipped him over her shoulder. Making him slam against the ocean floor with great force.

A large sand cloud kicked up in his wake, making Iris lose track of him. By the time the sand had cleared, he was gone. Levi instantly shrunk down by half his size, and did something to the shape of his body.

His nostrils flared as his nose elongated, and his claws turned into tiny fins. Looking at Levi: now he Really looked like an eel.

"I'll track the guppy down and kill him myself! I'll meet you at the palace!" Levi's deep tone made those near shudder.

Iris nodded in the positive before Levi took off after Marlo, leaving her and Selena alone with a gathering crowd. A beautiful array of colors filled Iris' sight as more Undines than she'd ever seen appeared before her.

Some looked enthusiastic, and some looked angry. The majority of those gathered just seemed confused by her appearance. By both Queen Iris being in the city, and her attire.

"Aren't Royals supposed to dress fancy?"

"Right?! What's with her rags for clothes?"

"Maybe she's incognito?!"

As the speculation began to grow out of hand, Iris raised her arms up to speak; "I know that their have been many rumors about me lately, and I can assure you that they are false! I also came here today to meet you! And hear any comments or complaints directly!"

As the Undines whispered amongst themselves, an older gentleman with a soft expression swam forward. He stared at Iris with a small smile before saying; "It is a pleasure to have our fair Queen visit us."

Both she and Selena grinned broadly at the Undine as Iris replied; "Thank you, Mayor Ugo. It's a pleasure to see you again as well.."