Transformation

by Michael Ocheskey

  Captain Orion’s mind wandered into the past….

  At the edge of the city, just outside the barrier, there was a young girl, twelve years of age, furiously flipping her tail in an attempt to swim. Her attempts were failing miserably. Watching her was a boy of fifteen. At seeing her useless flopping in the water he began to laugh scornfully. He was rolling on the floor with laughter, attempting to imitate the pathetic display of swimming he saw in front of him.

  “I can’t believe this! What an idiot!” After finally suppressing his laughter the boy stepped up to the barrier and asked, “How can someone your age not know how to swim? It’s ridiculous!”

  Infuriated, the girl began to cry. In the water, her tears formed into gorgeous sapphires that coasted slowly down into the mud. “Shut up! My father has never let me leave the city until today! Of course I wouldn’t know how to swim!”

  Shocked by her direct, piercing gaze and scornful confrontation the delinquent boy had been struck speechless. As he stared into the face of the gorgeous girl in front of him a new feeling began to encompass him. A feeling he had never known before. Compassion for a stranger?

  “I’m so sorry. Honestly. I never should have laughed at you.”

  He stepped through the barrier and was engulfed by a radiant blue light. When he emerged from the light his legs had been replaced by a long tail and dolphin’s fin. He swam gracefully to the girl’s side. He grabbed her hand and began to instruct her. “Here. You don’t need to try as hard as you are. Just move your tail slowly. Once you get the feel of it, it’s really no different from walking. That’s it! You’re getting it now.”

  Guiding her by the hand, he swam in a large circle with her. When they had returned to the barrier he released her hand and said, “Okay. I have to go now. Again, I’m sorry I laughed at you. By the way, my name is Orion. What’s yours?”

  “Princess Alana,” the girl replied heatedly, trying to pierce Orion’s heart with her name alone. This Orion boy had been extremely cruel to her and she wasn’t sure if she liked him or not. She wanted to make sure that he understood that fact. If her tone hadn’t told him, her body language conveyed the message perfectly.

  “Princess!” Orion shot backward like a bullet from a gun. “I didn’t know you were Princess Alana. I’m really very sorry about what I did. Please don’t tell King Aquarius about this? Please? I’m begging you.” And he was. Orion had already folded himself over in a deep bow, terror etching its way into every syllable he spoke.

  Alana floated silent and still in the deep blue glow of the water, contemplating. True, Orion had been rude to her, but he’d also helped her. She decided it would be better to forgive than hold a grudge, especially over something so trivial.

  “I’m sorry I spoke so coldly toward you, Orion. I guess you upset my pride and I wasn’t willing to forgive you so easily. I won’t tell father about this, so you don’t need to worry.” Alana swam to Orion’s side, placed her hands gently on his shoulders, and stood him back into an upright position. “I hope I get to see you again. I could use some friends. The only people I’m ever around are the palace guards.”

  “Of course,” Orion smiled sincerely and swam through the barrier back into the city. His fins replaced by two sturdy legs. “I’ve got to go now.” He waved and walked away from Alana, muttering, “The palace guards, eh?”

  After a distance, Orion turned back to see what Alana was doing. Horror struck his very soul. From a distance he saw Alana and some creature that was bleeding profusely being chased by a Gargantuan, a sea serpent of immense size and lithe body. It resembled an eel, only with a body as wide and thick as a house. It was at least thirty yards long, slithering through the water after its prey.

  Fear held him in place, but only a moment. Orion bit his lip hard to wake his body up and raced toward the palace. Just outside the palace gates stood an armory filled with Water Tridents. Orion burst into the armory and stole one of the tridents. The guards at the palace gates saw this and assembled the entire royal guard to chase the thief. As Orion rushed toward the barrier, the guards all grabbed Water Tridents from the armory and followed after him.

  Orion had a fair distance between him and the guards and rushed through the barrier toward where he’d last seen Alana, but she wasn’t there. He feared the worst until she erupted from the side of the mountain cliff. She had hidden herself inside a cave within the cliff face. Relief flooded Orion's veins as he saw her until another figure appeared in the darkness. The Gargantuan had managed to break through the mountain rock in an attempt to get into the cave. Stone crumbled all around it and bits of dust clouded the darkness. Now it was continuing the chase.

  Orion swam with all his might, praying he could reach her before the Gargantuan. The serpent was swiftly gaining ground. It opened its mouth to swallow Alana and her fish companion whole, mere feet behind them. Then it let out a blood curdling screech and spun its head around.

  Orion had finally reached the serpent. He’d thrust upward with the trident and sliced a large gouge into its left flank.

  “Princess! Run!” Orion turned his gaze away from the serpent long enough to meet Alana’s eyes. She nodded her assent and he returned to his assault. He held the trident up valiantly toward the Gargantuan and it began to glow blue. A fierce heat erupted from the tip of the trident, sending a beam of boiling water at the serpent’s head.

  As Alana swam for the barrier, she noticed an onslaught of royal guards coming to aid in the fight against the monster. All of them were carrying Water Tridents except for one. He carried an ordinary trident which would do practically nothing against the Gargantuan.

  With the entire royal guard’s assault, it took mere minutes to destroy the monster. After the fight, however, there was another matter to deal with.

  The captain of the guards grabbed the Water Trident from Orion and thrust him back into the waiting arms of two other soldiers. Orion was led back to the barrier with his arms bound. The captain had a stern face and began to reprimand Orion. “How dare you break into the royal armory and steal one of our sacred Water Tridents. You’ll be facing serious punishment for this.”

  “But I had to. Princess Alana was in trouble and I needed to help her.”

  “You needed to help her? You’re just a boy! What could you do to help her? You could have gotten both Princess Alana and yourself killed. You should have just come to get the royal guards from the start instead of making us chase after you.”

  They reached the edge of the barrier where Alana swam over the wounded shark. She had discovered his name was Tiger. Dr. Algie had just finished looking over Tiger’s wounds and had given Alana instructions for his care. He had also offered to train her in first aid. When the guards approached, Dr. Algie took his leave. Alana stood dumbfounded. She couldn’t understand why Orion was being carried away like a prisoner.

  As the guards were about to enter the barrier, Alana found her voice. “Please, let him go!”

  The captain turned in disbelief toward his Princess. “But Princess, I can’t just let him go. He’s a thief. This isn’t the first time he’s stolen in this city. He’s always escaped us in the past, but now we finally have him.”

  The news of Orion’s thievery was unexpected, but didn’t faze Alana. She knew there was something strange about Orion and his behavior. “I don’t care. He risked his own life to protect me and he doesn’t deserve to be punished for committing a noble act.”

  “That’s correct, my dear.” King Aquarius had snuck up upon the parade of guards. “Let him go, guards. As for his past, I have had one of my spies observing this boy for a long time now. It seems that his thievery was nothing more than an attempt to save his mother’s life. She was dying of an illness that Dr. Algie wasn’t able to cure. The food, blankets, and medicine that he has been stealing were all in order to protect her and help her health improve. Sadly,” King Aquarius paused momentarily and stared intently into Orion’s eyes. “Your mother has just passed away, so there is no long
er a need for you to steal anymore.”

  Orion jolted and swallowed, “My mother’s…dead?”

  “Yes. According to my spy, she saw you rushing toward the barrier carrying that Water Trident and chased after you, but her body was too weak to carry her and simply shut down. She died in the street about two blocks from your house. I’m sorry you had to hear about it like this.”

  “Then…then it was all my fault. I killed my mother.” Orion let himself sink to the ocean floor and began to cry sapphire tears.

  “No, it wasn’t your fault. Your mother would be proud of the bravery you’ve shown here today.” King Aquarius bent down and helped Orion back to a standing position. “Now, however, we must deal with your current situation.” King Aquarius pondered for a moment. “I’ve got it! Why don’t you join the Royal Academy? You will have a roof over your head, three square meals a day, and above all else, a future. I think you would make an excellent royal guard. What do you say?”

  Orion, still unable to speak from shock, simply nodded and let King Aquarius lead him through the barrier, into the city, and toward the Royal Academy gates. Alana left Orion to his grief and began searching for Tiger’s next meal. He was currently too injured and weak to hunt for himself.

  Captain Orion broke away from his memories and returned his attention to the present.

  King Aquarius added, “After Dr. Algie helped save Tiger’s life he invited Alana to learn first aid from him. I encouraged her; telling her that it would be wise for a ruler to know how to protect her people in more ways than just diplomacy. Yet, she took my advice farther than I ever anticipated. She learned far more than just basic first aid from Dr. Algie and now has as much knowledge in medicine as any of Dr. Algie’s nurses.”

  King Aquarius contemplated for a moment and added, “I don’t really care who she falls in love with as long as that person makes her happy, but if she does choose this surface dweller it brings up a few concerns. What if he decides to leave and have nothing to do with her or Atlantis? What if he can’t accept her since they are from different worlds? What if he never wakes up from his coma again? I don’t want her to have to suffer through such heartbreak.”

  “Sire, are you serious?” Orion couldn’t hide his jealousy or his bewilderment. He was barely able to keep his rage suppressed. He spoke carefully in order to avoid offending the king. “Would you really let her marry that surface dweller?”

  “I don’t know. I wouldn’t let her go off with some random surface dweller, but that Thomas boy seems different. I know you’ve heard of how he ended up in a coma. You were there when I first heard it. It was a valiant act. Rescuing those people at the potential loss of his own life. That kind of nobility is hard to come by and if he really is that noble by nature then I see no problem, but what if he doesn’t really possess a noble nature? What if it was just some fluke that went completely against his usual personality? I worry about those things all the time. I promised Alana I wouldn’t kill him, but what if he isn’t the man I’ve imagined? What if he is the kind of surface dweller who would prove dangerous to us? I will be forced to.... Oh, we’re here.”

  They came upon a row of guards lining each side of the street. Captain Orion joined the assembly and barked out orders for the guards to stand at attention. King Aquarius then began his monthly inspection of the Royal Guard.

  As midday approached, Alana was busy dabbing Thomas’ head with a wet cloth when to her surprise he stirred and groaned. She set the cloth in the bowl on the bedside table and leaned forward, wiping the moisture from his face with her hand. Slowly, waking from his daze, Thomas opened his eyes. As they focused in on Alana’s face he smiled and attempted to stand. Alana placed her hands on his shoulders and gently motioned him back to the bed.

  “You mustn’t stand.” Alana’s words came out in a gentle, motherly tone. She continued to stroke Thomas’ hair. “You need to move slowly so your body has time to recover.”

  “What?” Thomas’ words seemed as if from a distance. He squinted his eyes into focus as he stared into Alana’s eyes. “I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you.”

  Alana, knowing this would happen, placed her finger serenely over Thomas’ lips, a gesture to remain calm and quiet. She then picked up a tiny metallic cylinder lying on the table, the translator her father had told the guard to bring her. Speaking reassuringly to Thomas so as not to frighten him, and continuing to stroke his hair with one hand, Alana placed the metallic cylinder underneath his nose. The cylinder sprouted hundreds of minuscule feet. It crawled up Thomas’ nose and began to penetrate and burrow its way into his brain.

  Terrified by what was happening inside him, Thomas tried to struggle free. Alana held him down and pleaded with him to stay calm. As they struggled on the outside, the cylinder continued digging deeper into Thomas’ brain. When it reached the center its legs shot out like bullets in all directions, attaching to multiple portions of his brain. The translator began working immediately, sending electrical signals from one portion of the brain to another like a vast, electronic spider’s web.

  “Calm down, Thomas!” Alana pleaded, “There isn’t anything to worry about. That thing won’t hurt you. It’s a translator.”

  “A translator?” When Thomas realized that he now understood Alana, his body relaxed in her arms.

  Alana released Thomas and ran her hand through her now disheveled hair. “Yes. It enters your brain and connects to every synapse. It is more than just a translator. It is also a memory circuit. It helps you to learn things at a quicker rate and also helps you to retain the knowledge you acquire. Every person in the Seven Cities is implanted with it after they are born. It is what allows us to understand all of the spoken languages of surface dwellers and merfolk. I’m sorry I forced it upon you, but it was necessary.”

  “There is no need to apologize. I’m glad you did it. I’m sorry I freaked out. I admit I was scared at first, but anything that allows me to speak with you is well worth a little terror.” Thomas smiled weakly at Alana, his eyes betraying his innocent tone. He was still wary about having such a thing inside his brain. “Does this mean that I’m speaking your language?”

  Alana shook her head slightly and replied, “Oh no. The translator works by taking my language and translating it into your native tongue. You are speaking to me in your language and I’m speaking to you in Atlantian, but with these translators we can understand each other. Listen carefully to what I’m saying and see for yourself.”

  Thomas listened hard as Alana continued to speak and his eyes popped in amazement. He was hearing her speak in English, but underneath that he heard a strange collection of sounds he didn’t recognize. The syllables and syntax were from a completely unrecognizable language.

  Alana smiled as Thomas’ eyes lit in amazement. “The translator will enable you to learn my language, and I yours, in time. All you need to do is listen very carefully to what I’m saying. If you can hear the sounds I make, then the translator will start to teach you my language. After a few weeks, you will be completely fluent in Atlantian and I will be fluent in…what is your language anyway?”

  “I speak English.” Thomas began concentrating hard on every syllable Alana spoke in hopes to learn her strange language as soon as possible. “You said you speak Atlantian? You can’t mean Atlantian as in the lost city of Atlantis, can you?”

  “I do not understand what you mean by ‘lost city’, but yes, this is Atlantis, the Sapphire City.”

  “And you said something about merfolk. You aren’t talking about mermaids, are you?”

  “Of course! And mermen. You seem surprised, but according to this article,” she held up the newspaper clipping, “you said that you believe in mermaids.” Alana handed the article to Thomas and he read it, turning paler with each paragraph.

  “I’m dead?” Thomas was utterly bewildered and shook as the blood froze in his veins. With deep sorrow and a quiver in his voice, he continued, “I’m dead to them? They called off the search for me aft
er only one day? How long have I been out?”

  “For nearly two weeks. My father sent some soldiers to the surface world to investigate who you were because he was curious. You see, our law states that any outsider, especially surface dwellers, who enter Atlantis without royal permission will be killed immediately, but I convinced father to postpone your death.”

  “Postpone?” Fear settled once more inside Thomas’ eyes. “You mean I’m going to be executed now that I’m awake?”

  “Oh no!” Alana looked aghast. “Father wouldn’t do that. He promised me that since you didn’t enter Atlantis of your own free will he wouldn’t kill you. He can tell you the full details, but he promised me that you won’t be harmed.” Sensing that Thomas wasn’t convinced she reassured him with a gentle touch. “You have nothing to fear. He sent the soldiers to investigate you to see what kind of a person you are and he believes you can be trusted.”

  Thomas had broken into a sweat upon hearing he might be executed. Now, as relief washed over him, he wiped his face. The two of them continued to discuss what had happened to them. Alana told Thomas about how Tiger and she had found him; how, together with Eri, she had carried him into the palace; and how she had been constantly watching over him since he arrived in Atlantis. He in turn had many questions, most of which he didn’t feel comfortable asking directly after waking up, but some of which he needed to ask.

  “What is your name? What is this place?”

  “My name is Alana; just Alana. People in the Seven Cities don’t have multiple names like surface dwellers. This is my home, the palace in the center of Atlantis. Atlantis is one of the Seven Cities. They are the seven ancient cities that are inhabited by merfolk. Each city has its own Gemstone of Power, and ours is the Sapphire of Power, located in a chamber room on the top floor of the palace.

  “The Sapphire of Power is sacred to our people. It keeps a protective barrier around the city to prevent enemy attacks. It is also a power source for the city. I am still young, only twenty years old, so I don’t know very much about the Sapphire yet. But it is said that the Sapphire is our Lord and Creator. I’m not sure I believe that, though. Something about it seems false. My father would be able to tell you more. No one knows more about the Sapphire than the king.”