02 Preparing for the hunt.

"You don't think he heard us, right?" Liam's second uncle said.

"don't worry my aura is strong, unless he accidentally entered it, he shouldn't have heard anything." Said Liam's grandfather.

"I know him better than anyone here." Said Liam's father. " I am sure he didn't hear anything. That kid is too righteous. If he heard something like that, he would act instantly, so stop worrying like some babies." Little did he know. Liam didn't act because of the sheer shock he was experiencing.

***

"Took you long enough." Hayley said to Liam, but there was no response. "Hey, are you alright? You appear quite shaken. Did something happen?

"No, no. Don't worry. I'm just a bit nervous about this whole thing. Being our first hunt and all. A lot of people are counting on us. Liam said Awkwardly. "I can't worry her now, and I probably just heard wrong. I'll just be making a scene for nothing."

Tantaraaa! tantaraaa!

"Oh, I think mom said that's our signal to go on the stage.

As the two brother and sister walked out onto spotlight on the deck. The cheers from all around them could be heard. Most of the crowd was gathered on the deck but a lot of them were also in the sky, flying.

"Look, Mother's over there" Hayley said excitedly. But Liam could barely muster up the strength to look that way. It was apparent what he heard before was taking a toll on him.

"First aunt and uncle are over there to the right." Hayley exclaimed yet again. But Liam didn't even look this time.

"And second and third uncle. I mean they are all hear to accompany us on this hunt. I can't help but feel exited." Hayley was barley resisting the urge to jump right there and then. "Hey, are you really alright, you can't be nervous right now. AAA! There's grandfather, and father is right behind him. They are going to give there speech now. We must get into place"

"I should stop worrying. If they really planed what I heard. They will tell everyone right now, so we can work together to fix the problem. Right?" Liam thought to himself in uncertainty.

"Hello, Ladies and Gentleman. You all probably know why we're all gathered here. But for tradition's sake, I'll explain it to the little ones." Liam's grandfather said in a booming voice, with great vigor. The crowd went a bit insane. The love and respect towards the royal family was apparent. Some girls even started throwing roses to the young males in the royal family.

"Today, in just a few hours, the currents outside this bubble, that protects our Coralopolis will subside and calm down. All of the members of the royal family will have exactly 2 days to go out and collect as many spiritual herbs as they can, before the strong underwater currents return. As you may know, this kind of opportunity happens every 2 and a half years. To make it easier for the little ones to understand, I shall explain it like this. This huge monster comes every 10 years. We must feed it processed spiritual herbs, until its hunger subsides. Then we have 3 opportunities to gather herbs yet again, getting ready for the next time it comes. While that monster looks very scary, don't worry. We are here to protect all of you. The royal family will forever stay loyal to its people, serving its quest, to protect Coralopolis!" Liam's grandfather finished his speech and began to head back alongside Liam's father.

"Thank You!"

"I can't believe how lucky we are to have people as great as this ruling over us!"

"I want to marry my daughter to your crown prince!"

"Me to! Mine is prettier, so stand back!"

"Stop fighting you two, your daughters can't compare with mine!"

"Oh yeah? Well, let's ask the prince which one he would like to choose."

The whole place was rowdy, as everyone had something to say. That's when someone pulled Liam and his sister, a bit away from the crowd.

"Father?" Hayley reacted first. "Why did you bring us here?"

"I just wanted to speak with you, see how you're doing before the hunt. Even without the current's you know it can be quite dangerous out there. I must make sure that nothing unimportant is on your minds." As he said that last sentence, his eyes slightly drifted to look towards Liam.

"We're all good father, don't you worry about us." Liam said happily. " I was right, I must have misheard before, there is no way they are planning something like that. Father would tell me if they did."

"It looks like I was worrying for nothing" Their father said, giving a slightly relived look towards Liam. " Oh, I almost forgot, I need to prep you for outside. I did say it was dangerous, didn't I. Luckily other than the Leviathan there appear to be no other beasts of worry. My theory is, whenever some get too strong, the Leviathan makes a meal of them. The only dangerous thing outside, other than the currents, are the herbs you're going to collect. Most of them are going to be fine. But some of them, can be quite dangerous, like a trap. And they usually use some kind of poison. That's why, just in case everyone must go in at least a group of two. Over the years, we have noticed a pattern. The most ordinary looking plants are the most dangerous, don't forget that."

"Thank you, father, we will make sure to be careful. And you shouldn't worry, we are old enough to take care of ourselves.

"And don't forget, Ancestor's satchel and knife have a special property to count the energy value of everything you two collect. Don't obsess about it, but try to get a high score. It will do wonders for your position in the family, later on."

"We will try our best, thank you for everything you have done for us." Liam said, slightly bowing down, to show his sincere gratitude.

"I should probably go now, in about 10 minutes, your grandfather and I will be the first ones to exit the bubble. You two wait to go last. That way it's the safest." Their father said, as he waved them goodbye and made his exit.

"Aren't you just so exited Liam? Because I sure am. I want us to get the highest score out of all the people before us. Do you understand!" Hayley said with great enthusiasm. "I believe in us. We can definitely do it."

"Ha-ha, okay sis. Don't you worry, with my ability we can easily get the best score. I will instantly be able to see which herb has the highest content of energy." Liam said smiling with confidence, giving his sister a thumbs-up.

"Let's go!" Hayley said, even more excited than she was before.

"Hey, look. Father and grandfather are entering. And so many people are following after them." Hayley called out to Liam, seeing the spectacle that it was becoming.

"Well from what I counted when I was a child. In Coraopolis there are about 8000 homes which should be enough for at least 30 000 people. With 80% being normal citizens. and around 15% being to young to participate. There should be around 5000 royal family members going in there." Liam started to quietly mumble to himself. But his sister managed to hear him.

"Stop with your stupid math and take a look at this, it's so amazing. I mean how can you think about boring stuff like that, when you're about to leave the bubble for the first time." Hayley said, it seems she doesn't quite like being confined to this bubble.

"Sis, I can see you're quite excited about going out." Liam said laughing a bit, at her reactions.

"OFCOURSE I AM. How couldn't I be? We will have the freedom to go and roam around. See the vast amounts of creatures and plants in the water. I mean how amazing is that!" Hayley said giggling to herself like a little child.

"What if we discover a completely new species?! I mean, they taught us in school about a wide variety of fishes and plants but those deep waters are so vast. I bet we have a chance of finding a new variant." Hayley continued to fantasize. "Maybe we'll find a... Yellow shark with blue dots on it! Yes, I don't think the teacher has ever mentioned about a creature like that."

"You can't predict if you'll even find a new creature, and here you're trying to predict it's colors. But I understand why you're so excited. I can't help but feel a bit exited myself. Sis, I think it's time. The last of the royal family members are going in. It's almost time for us to go as well." Liam said as he looked at the last few people left, going into the deep waters.

"Okay brother, if you're ready. Let's go!" Hayley said as she headed towards the walls of the bubble. It was their time to go explore the deep waters.