Cadence

by China Dennington

  ​“Are the royals assembled?” she asked.

  ​The guard nodded sharply.

  She swiped her card and said, “Emergency code clearance, priority one.”

  The guard, who up to this point had been composed in every movement, gaped in horror as he fumbled with the controls on his pad getting the door open. Effie didn’t wait for the slick white doors with black swirling patterns on them to slide open all the way before entering. The five merpeople sitting on cushioned pedestals looked up as they entered. The royals. The oldest merman stood up and gave a curt nod.

  ​“What is your news?” he asked. His bearing was regal and he wore bright, colorful garments, just as the rest of his family. His pedestal was the highest of the five, and on either side of his were two more. The ones directly on his left and right were lower than his, and the outer ones were the lowest. The brightly dressed royals wore silver arm bands and delicate silver crowns on their heads.

  ​Astrid gaped. Effie nudged her. This was a nightmare that Astrid had thought would only ever be a fantasy. Facing the rulers of her kingdom, a sixteen. Would they scorn her too?

  ​She swam closer and bent her tail back and her upper body forward in the equivalent of a mermaid curtsy. “Royals, I was doing a scientific experiment and I discovered that the melions in the core are beginning to fluctuate unsteadily and in six weeks the core will explode.”

  The king’s eyes flew to her arm.

  “What business do you have doing experiments? You’re a sixteen, it’s against the law,” he said tersely.

  “I know, but listen, if we don’t do something then everyone is going to die.”

  The king didn’t look like he was listening, he turned his eyes toward Effie, then they narrowed.

  “Did you let this sixteen in—and did you know she was doing these tests outside of her caste?”

  “Yes! But I strongly suggest, as one of your royal scientists, that you listen to her!” Effie said, emphasizing with her hands and trying to break through the king’s limited point of view.

  “Did you actually do the experiments?” he asked.

  “No...but I’ve examined the results.” Effie replied.

  The king waved his hand dismissively.

  “Spend no more time on this. Sixteens are always dishonorable. She likely faked the data.” Astrid cringed. “Take her home with you. She will be dealt with this evening as she did break the law. But we currently have more important things to worry about than a wayward sixteen.”

  ​Astrid’s face blushed with embarrassment and she was barely able to hold back her tears, “But it’s true! In six weeks our planet will be destroyed and you will be sorry that you didn’t listen to me. Just because I was born as the sixteenth child doesn’t mean I’m dishonorable.”

  ​The king’s face was starting to turn red.

  ​“Come on,” Effie whispered as she put her arm around her sister’s shoulders and gently led her out of the room and through the palace. Astrid’s tears poured out of her eyes and into the equally salty surrounding ocean.

  Chapter Two

  “What should I do, Effie?” Astrid moaned as she tried to get over the humiliation rushing through her. She looked around at the familiar apartment. This was her second home. The white walls and organized shelves might have looked cold to anyone else, but not to her. They were comforting in reminding her of her favorite sister’s love. Which was ironic because Effie possessed everything Astrid had always wanted, everything she’d always dreamed of having.

  The eldest mark, the opportunity to be a high-profile scientist. Respect. Astrid would never have any of these. The realization hit her all at once like a brick. She had known these facts her entire life, but now she truly understood. The pieces clicked. She would never be accepted as anything but a servant, she would never be treated with anything but disdain. There was no hope. Her heart burned with sadness.

  It didn’t matter anyway. She would be gone within six weeks now, her world forever shattered. Literally.

  Astrid looked at the circular bright black-and-red emblem on her arm. A twisted circle made out the circumference, then within it a twisted infinity symbol held by a different looping circle. The symbol for sixteen.

  Effie’s normally playful face twisted with frustration as she stared at the notetablet, combing it over and over, hoping to find mistakes. Then after a few minutes of silence she slowly looked up at her sister and whispered, “You need to go.”

  ​Astrid’s head whipped up in alarm and she stopped picking at her golden scales. “What?” she replied sharply.

  Barely discernible bubbles floated off of Effie’s eyelashes.

  ​“You have to go. Soldiers will be coming soon to take you to prison. We...no, I, didn’t think this through. I can’t bear to see that. Besides, there are two other tribes. They must be warned.”

  Astrid recalled what little she knew about them. The two other tribes. Velee and Fillerra.

  All three tribes used to be one nation called Atoa, but eventually they split because of a civil war. Each faction had a different idea about how the government should be run, and their disagreement was the planet’s undoing. The Atoan war decimated much of Dalanda’s ecology and wiped out the majority of the population. That was two hundred years ago. It was a rare occasion when they came into contact with each other. They all just let the others be, still painfully aware of their shared history.

  Her mind snapped back to what Effie was saying. “Warn them, if not all the people will be saved, at least some of them will. Hopefully they will listen.”

  “No. I can’t leave you here to die! I need you!” Astrid spoke frantically.

  Her eyes softened and she tilted her head with a small smile. “No, you don’t, baby sister. You don’t need me. I have every confidence that you will be able to make it just fine. Don’t worry about me, I will stay here and try to convince the royals that everyone needs to flee.”

  Effie got up out of her chair and briefly went into the other room. When she returned, she began opening and closing drawers as she put various items into a sack. Then, when she was done a few minutes later, she turned back to Astrid.

  She thrust the small pack into her hands, “You have to go.” She led her to the door. Astrid stared into her older sister’s eyes with fear.

  “What about…”

  Effie calmly interrupted her. “You’ll be fine. Now go. Go fast and don’t let them catch you. Trust me, I’ve been to the prisons. You don’t want to end up there.”

  As Effie shut the door Astrid couldn’t tear her eyes away from her face. This could be the last time I ever see her. Her heart cried out as she slowly began to back away, then turned and sped through Akayta with her pack hidden under a jacket Effie gave her on the way out.

  It was only a short time until she was out of the city, but every minute felt like an hour. Her eyes kept darting around looking for palace police or officials. Her heart pounded faster and faster. She felt like every single person was observing every little move she made. At least this time her insignia was hidden. Finally, just as the giant lamps that lit the city at night came on Astrid exited her city and her tribe, leaving behind her sibling and everything she’d ever known.

  She was in a dusky area, the light from the city could just get to her and she knew that she would have to go farther tonight. Right? She sat down on the light brown, crystalline grains of sand on the south side of Akayta and dug through her bag until she found the lightcard. She turned it on and looked through the rest of her bag, since she hadn’t really paid attention when Effie packed it for her.

  She rummaged through it: food, water, necessities, and a coordinate director. It appeared that that was all she packed. Astrid closed her eyes, How should I even begin trying to find them? When she opened her eyes, the surrounding sea and sand just seemed bigger. She sighed, I’d better get going. She stood up, and as she did, began to repack the supplies.

  As she was about to put the food back, she r
ealized something. There was a small weight in the bottom of the bag. She reached inside and felt something smooth, small, and cold. She brought it out.

  It was a silver disk. The outside shone bright like it had just been polished, but it seemed as if it also held the wisdom of age. She turned it in her hands and traced the intricate engraving of graceful twisting lines and flowers. As she ran her fingers over it, she noticed a bump on the rim. Astrid examined it more closely. It was a latch. What is this? It took a minute before she figured out how to unclasp it. Then it clicked. As she opened it, it felt like the water around her was just waiting to see what was held inside. It was silver on the inside as well, but there was no engraving. More importantly, there was something else folded neatly inside. She drew out the thick red slip of a flexible substance called palare. She gently unfolded it. Blue ink twirled around in Effie’s beautiful handwriting:

  42.62897, 34.25943 Travel to these coordinates, Astrid. They are the last recorded location of one of the other tribes. Whatever you do, don’t let this fall into anyone else's hands. There is more to this than it seems. Hurry.

  The message mystified Astrid as she read it over and over again. There is more to this than it seems. What is she talking about? After sitting there for a few more minutes she sighed. Effie said to hurry and I’ve already spent too much time on this. Astrid reluctantly closed the silver disk and replaced it in her pack. Then she switched on her coordinate director and turned to face the unknown.

  CHapter Three

  The merman sat in a dark room with the high commander. His air was cool and confident...almost sinister. Black hair waved around a firmly set jaw and cutting green eyes.

  The other merman’s manner reeked of arrogance. The pomp etched into the lines of his face didn’t make him look any younger. He crossed his arms and looked up impatiently. “Well, what do you want. I have a meeting in five minutes.”

  The first man smirked. “From now on you will take your orders from me. When I tell you to draft a new law, you will comply. When I tell you to commute a sentence, it will be done.

  ​The high commander scoffed, “Do you know how ridiculous you sound? You have no power over me.”

  He started to get up when a slight smile lit up the first man’s face, as if he knew something the other didn’t.

  “As I see it, you have two choices. One, you follow my orders, and then I give you the coordinates to a paradisal planet when I determine you are ready. Or two,” here his eyes glinted with a dangerous light, “I will have you assassinated before the end of the day. Besides, have you heard of Cog?”

  “The weapons inventor? Of course,” he said, tension edging into his voice .

  “He works for me now. I wouldn’t disobey if I were you. The weapon he made will wipe out all of Velee in an instant. You are the high commander of Velee...and now you answer to me if you want to keep your life.”

  A cold fear pierced the high commander’s heart at the calculating insanity in the other man’s eyes. But he laughed, raising his eyebrows with a false confidence.

  “You couldn’t kill me even if you wanted to.”

  ​The first man smiled sickeningly as he leaned forward, “Yes, I can. My assassins surround you. You’ll never know who they are until it’s too late.”

  ​The high commander paled and stuttered under his breath, “You’re behind the political assassinations.”

  ​The first man smiled, “You will report to me at these coordinates.” He got up, handing him a piece of palare. He began to swim away and then stopped, turning his head back. “If you betray me, you die.”

  ​He swam away, leaving the high commander of Velee sitting frozen in fear.

  ~

  Time seemed to stand still as her lightcard flickered off.

  “No!” she grunted as she was left in complete darkness except for the almost indiscernible glow of her coordinate director. Astrid sat down on the sand, which had changed to a deep red color as she got further from her tribe, and huddled up, her tail aching. She stared at it trying to see its golden hue through the blackness.

  Her tail color was rare. Dalandian tails came in many shades. From deep green, to stunning magenta and indigo, but few had golden tails. It was another factor that made her unique. Something that people weren’t used to seeing. Red-and-blacks were the most looked down upon of all Akaytans, but they were also a small part of the population. On average, Akaytans had four children. The ones who did have many children, lost many as well. Due to their biology, mermaids who had more kids were also the ones who usually lost at least half of them at birth. But I still have the mark, even though fourteen of my siblings died at birth. I’m part of a special class designated for the expression of hatred.

  She’d been traveling for hours now. It seemed like the night would never end. The coordinates were surprisingly close. She was only a few hours away from them now. Even the stars, which were usually shining bright, were covered by a storm in the upper atmosphere. Astrid felt like she was cut off completely from the world as she sat in the darkness. It seemed to press in on her, so she closed her eyes— not that it helped any. Which tribe am I going to? And how can we not have been in contact with them for hundreds of years when they are this close? Well, we always have been a selfish people, not caring to look at anyone but ourselves, she thought sarcastically. That was the way most people in Akayta appeared to her, even if she herself wasn’t that way. She looked down at her coordinate director. Travel was still possible, but she decided that it was better to rest and wait for the piercing light of day. The stage of her mind gave way to a memory as she slept.

  She was fifteen once again. She kept her head down as she swam across the path to another black and white home full of arches that looked exactly like her own. Even though she’d been careful to wear a cloak today, the people who knew her gave her looks of scorn as she passed. It was always this way, but that didn’t make it any less painful. She quickly banished the thoughts from her head and tried to focus on where she was going. When she reached the door it opened immediately. The merboy inside eagerly motioned her in. His face was serious, but held a soft smile, his unruly strands of black hair floating slightly away from the top of his head. She looked toward the insignia on his arm that she’d seen so many times before. The red-and-black circle had a twisting x inside with a line through the middle. Eleven. Astrid lifted her head and smiled.

  “We could go visit in the coral field today,” he said.

  Her smiled faltered as she looked toward the door. “That’s a long way to swim.”

  “I understand,” he said as he briefly glanced at his mark and then hers. “We can just read then.”

  Rune had been reading to her out of a science book for hours. That was about the best education that red-and-blacks could get. They were taught the basic skills of reading and writing, then left on their own. Astrid looked wistfully at the ceiling, these experiments and how everything worked was so fascinating. “I wish I could be a scientist. You know how I love it,” she said suddenly, interrupting Rune. He looked at her with a spark of determination in his eyes. He focused on her intensely and took her hands. “Never forget this Astrid, you can be anything you want. Anything. Don’t let that restrict you,” he pointed to her mark. A fire burned in his eyes.

  After that day she never saw him again. He simply disappeared, which was unheard of in Akayta— at least in the history that she remembered. She cried for months. The only person that ever treated her as an equal besides Effie. All of her other siblings and parents had died. Where was he? Was he okay?

  Astrid woke with a start panting and could feel her heart accelerating. She put her head in her hands. The memory of the day that Rune disappeared was so clear. The dream haunted her. Even though it had been almost two years, tears started to leak out of her eyes and disperse into the surrounding water.

  She turned her face toward the white sun. She’d once read that it was the brightest star they’d ever found with their space sea
rching instruments. One thing was certain, it showed clearly through the water atmosphere.

  Dalanda. She wasn’t sure if she loved or hated the name of her planet. She loved the planet itself, but the people were cruel. She looked into the distance. At least most of the people she’d met.

  Astrid picked up her bag and started off again, her curiosity nagging at her. As she continued to swim, she passed colorful coral forests, kelp forests, and sometimes just vast expanses of red or brown sand. Some stretches were silent in their lack of movement, but every now and then she would catch a glimpse of a bioluminescent creature above her or to the side. Their usually slow, squishy forms gave her the comfort of knowing she wasn’t the only living thing in this expanse that seemed like it never ended.

  She looked at the coordinate director over and over again. It seemed so close, yet so far.

  The city emerged on the horizon. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it as she drew nearer. Velee spread before her, so unlike her own home. Colorful buildings twisted everywhere, no sharp lines and very few straight ones. They were much taller than Akaytan buildings. Dozens of them were temples scrawled with the names of gods she didn’t recognize. Every structure was different, unlike Akayta. Even from this distance she could see masses of merpeople swimming by.

  It all struck her as chaotic. There was no order, no one took the time to make sure that any of it complimented each other. It was a jumble and clash of colors and shapes that didn’t fit together. It was especially hard on the eyes because all of the structures were extremely close to each other.