Chapter 14: The Water Spirit
As I was clapping my hands, eagerly waiting for Elis to arrive, I felt something move in my palm. When I opened my hands, palms facing up, it asked, “How am I supposed to get out of your hands if you don’t separate them after clapping?”
“I didn’t know you’d actually appear in my hand...” I defended myself, and it smiled sheepishly.
“You're right.” It swam across my hand with its tiny tail, stopping about a stone's throw away from my face. It plucked a scale from its tail, pursed its small lips, and blew on it. The red scale transformed into the blue of the sea, growing into the size of a dress. “Would you like me to braid your hair while you wear this?” it asked with a smile.
“You know I’m in a hurry, I can’t spend time on these things.”
“I can braid your hair super quick! Plus, I can’t let you wander around our palace all dirty like this.” I didn’t know how I looked, but assuming I’d just climbed out of a wardrobe, it wasn’t good.
“With those tiny hands? Who knows how many hours it would take?” I said, glancing over my shoulder at my hair.
Throwing the dress on the bed and placing its hands on its hips, it frowned. “You shouldn’t underestimate me, my heir.”
“Oh…” I murmured, shaking my head side to side sheepishly. “Sorry, sometimes I speak without thinking, but your hands are still small.”
It must have been because I shrugged nonchalantly at the end of my sentence, but it narrowed its eyes and pursed its lips. I couldn’t see it for a few seconds as I lifted the dress I was wearing to take it off. When I got free from the dress, I couldn’t find it where I last saw it. When I felt something in my hair, I looked up without moving my head. Its tiny tail was swinging above my forehead, its body not visible. A few seconds later, it appeared in front of me saying, “Your hair is ready…” While slipping on the bright blue dress, I thanked it.
“I can’t wait to show you around here!” it said as it emerged from a seashell.
I cleared my throat slightly. “Before we start exploring, I’d like to see the Water Spirit.”
“Our lord will meet you in the evening.”
I stopped in my tracks and reminded, “I don’t have much time.” The duel, the celebration of existence, would be over when it ends.
It spoke with great pride, wagging its tail where it stood: “Our lord knows why everyone is here. He has arranged the most suitable time for you.”
I sighed with frustration. I had never encountered a Water Spirit before. I knew of it, what was told to us, and believed it wouldn’t open its palace doors if it wasn’t going to help. I had no choice but to do as it said, to wait.
We were passing through an area where houses made of seashells were denser, like I was on a street under the sea. Entering a larger, beige-colored seashell than the others, I said, “You must love the Water Spirit a lot.”
“Of course, he’s our lord!” it immediately replied. When I saw the long table in the middle of the room, I grinned with appetite. My empty stomach greedily rumbled at the sight of the variety of breakfast foods on the table.
While Elis chuckled at my state, it sat down next to my fork on the table. As I pulled out a chair and sat, it curiously asked, “Don’t your people love you?”
“Of course they do, I do everything for them.”
“Our lord does everything for us too.”
Reaching for a mossy food with my fork, I asked, “Could you tell me a bit about him? What’s the Water Spirit like?”
“Our lord’s skin is the blue of the sea, he wears white dresses. Sometimes he’s as cheerful as to make his sea laugh, other times he’s angry enough to create a disaster with the waves; no one can analyze my lord’s spirit.”
He was as calm and as fierce as the water. He gave life and took it away.
Puckering my lips, I said, “I’ve heard some think Water Spirits are the most respectable beings.”
“That’s right!” it immediately protested. “There was water before anything else. My lord is the protective spirit of the beginning!”
“But not all seas, oceans, lakes, and springs are his. Every Water Spirit is the guardian spirit of a water body. Actually, he’s not that powerful. There are many Water Spirits like him.”
“No!” it exclaimed as if shocked by my ignorance. “He doesn’t need to own all the water in the universe to be powerful. My lord can do what the Water Spirit who brought disaster to Noah’s people did, and what the one who opened the paths for Moses did. All my masters are very powerful, extraordinarily beautiful, and respectable.”
“What I mean is; while I sit on my throne in Elysian, controlling both Earth and Elysian, your lord can only protect the water he is in while sitting in his palace,” I explained more clearly.
“Ah... My heir, your perspective is quite narrow!” it said angrily.
I chuckled. “As someone who has lived among humans for years, I can confidently say that I have a rather broad perspective.”
“If my lord hears these words, he might shatter your throne with his water,” it said, as if it hadn’t heard my previous words.
“I hope your lord isn’t just keeping me here for nothing because I really am in a hurry!” I complained.
“Our lord knows the right time, trust him.”
“I have no other choice anyway...” After mumbling, I took a bite of a red food. The unfamiliar herb’s sour taste made me scrunch up my face.
“Didn’t you like our food?” it asked with pure disappointment, puckering its lips.
“No, I liked it,” I said quickly. “It’s just a taste I’m not used to.”
“I promised my lord I’d take good care of you. You should tell me if there’s anything you’re unhappy with, and I’ll fix it right away.”
It had the aura of a human baby. Smiling, I replied, “I’ll tell you, don’t worry.”
After breakfast, we went to a bustling underwater market. Elis excitedly showed me around all day, introducing me to many of its friends. At our last stop, I let myself fall onto the ground.
“What are they doing?” I asked, looking at the little mermaids opening glass bottles.
“There was a time when these bottles were constantly thrown into the seas and oceans. When the creatures of the water picked them up out of curiosity, they found papers inside with emotions like hope, disappointment, and love written on them.”
After settling on my shoulder, it continued, “We read these notes and deliver them to their intended ports.”
“Like Ravi...” I murmured, watching the expressions of the mermaids change as they read the notes. Some pursed their lips, others smiled broadly.
“Who’s Ravi?”
“The tree in Elysian that delivers dreams to Earth,” I briefly explained.
“I wish you could show it to me...” it said, letting
its lower lip droop.
Turning to my right shoulder to look at its face, I asked, “Can you breathe outside of water?”
Shaking its head no, it asked curiously, “How can you breathe underwater?”
“The ruler and his family can perform magic.”
Quickly getting off my shoulder and standing in front of me, its eyes sparkled with curiosity as it could barely stay still, moving left and right. “How do you do magic, do sparkles and colorful smoke come out?”
Laughing at its childlike enthusiasm, I said, “No! Most of it happens reflexively, like breathing underwater in vital situations. For things like teleportation, there are magical words.”
“If you tell me the magical words, can I teleport too?”
Again with a smile, “No.” I said. “We were blessed at birth for magic to accept us, even if you say the words, you can’t do it because the magic isn’t with you.”
Puckering its lips in dissatisfaction, it nodded in acceptance. I enjoyed telling it things and watching its reactions as I explained.
“I only teleport when someone claps their hands thinking of me. It’s terrible! Anyone can drag me wherever, whenever they want.”
“I’m sorry. Luckily, no one called you today, I wouldn’t want to be here alone.”
“My lord bound me to you for today, so no one could call me,” it explained. “Our lord values his guests very much.”
When the conversation shifted in the direction I wanted, I couldn’t help but smile. “Do you have visitors often?”
Shaking its head from side to side, it supported its negative answer with, “No. Not everyone knows my lord. It’s quite rare for creatures to come down to the water by mistake.”
“I see... So, was there anyone else who came today or yesterday, besides me?”
Narrowing its little eyes in thought, it murmured, “I don’t know...” “Are you referring to your duel opponent?”
“Yes.” I said briefly. While waiting impatiently, all I could hope for was that he wasn’t ahead of me. I didn’t know who else in the water could help him besides the Water Spirit, but it was impossible he hadn’t thought to ask the Water Spirit for help.
The person who told us about the protective spirit of the water when we were young and loving siblings was Bilun. We were sitting at the breakfast table in our silk dresses, quietly waiting for our parents while Felin was admiring her blessed beauty in her gold-plated mirror. Eva, much more reserved back then, was rubbing her hands together. Hesna’s eyes sparkled with anticipation for our mother’s beautiful chair. I was looking at each of them, wondering why we weren’t talking. Bilun, as if reading my mind, said, “I’ll tell you about the story my nanny told me.” Now we were all attentive. She talked about a magnificent palace under the sea, about a guardian water spirit of legendary beauty. “Do you know?” she said, widening her little eyes as if she was about to say something very strange. “They don’t celebrate the day of creation because they believe everything was created from water.” We listened to her in amazement, we were children, falling while she was an adult.
“My heir...” Elis, swinging in front of my face, snapped me out of my thoughts. “It’s time, my lord is waiting for you.”
I nodded and stood up eagerly, “Let’s go.”
Within a few minutes, we were next to a large rock. Elis swam, and I walked down the stairs extending from under the rock. We reached a large hall filled with colorful, glowing plants, various seashells, and pebbles. After greeting the Water Spirit standing majestically in front of the hall, Elis proceeded back the way we came, leaving me behind. We watched each other as we waited. The Water Spirit had smooth skin as clear as water, without hair or eyebrows. The blue fish around it were so small that I had to squint to see what they were.
“So you’re the Heir of Elysian,” it broke the silence.
Nodding politely, I said, “I’m glad to meet you.”
It smiled. “The honor is mine.”
“I don’t mean to be rude but...” I started. “I’m in a hurry and you know why I’m here. I ask you to guide me.”
“You’re not in a hurry.” It said calmly. “Your sister hasn’t solved the first riddle yet.”
“My eyebrows raised. “Is she here too?”
It shook its head side to side. “Somewhere in my sea, she chose a different path. Frankly, it flatters me that you’re asking for my help.”
“Does this mean you’ll help me?”
It laughed, probably because I turned the conversation to my advantage. “Why not, if you do what I ask in return?”
I wasn’t surprised. I never expected to find such a rare thing as a favor without expectation in return. I understood why Bilun didn’t come to the Water Spirit. She sought another way to avoid owing it.
“What do you want?” I asked quickly.
With the impatience in my question, it asked, “You like to win, don’t you? Or you can’t stand losing.”
Honestly, I said, “Both.”
“Well... Then I won’t drag this out.” After a few seconds of waiting, which made me want to roll my eyes, it continued, “If you stop any fish in my water and talk about the bird in the sky, telling them it doesn’t live in the water and drinks it, they won’t believe you. They would be astonished, ‘It drinks water?’ Because every creature’s world is as big as they know. In my water, there’s no other creature that can feel or imagine besides the mermaids. When you become ruler, I want you to send emotions and dreams from Elysian to all the creatures in my sea.”
“Why would you want that?” I asked in surprise. “You must not be aware of the state of the world. Humans are unhappy because they are slaves to their emotions, they have no will because their desires control them. Emotions are curtains in front of most people’s eyes. With the arrival of emotions, you start managing a chaos.”
“I’m surprised you blame the enslaved humans’ condition on emotions,” it said, word by word. “A creature without emotions is no different from a soulless body. My creatures differ from robots by having instincts, and from humans by being programmed robots just to survive. I want them to taste life.”
“Wanting to create differently shaped humans in your water is strange, humans are disaster machines.”
“Actually, a human is a simple puzzle that mankind hasn’t solved.” Human was indeed a simple puzzle. The answers were selfishness and pride. This foolish spirit wanted the finned versions of humans who betrayed their own Earth in its water.
Biting my lower lip, I thought for a while. Could I handle the chaos underwater while the world above was already exhausting me? Sighing with irritation and drooping my shoulders, I couldn’t afford to lose to Bilun even before becoming a ruler. I had a people to impress with displays of power.
“I can only agree if you accept some conditions too,” I finally said.
“What are they?”
“If there’s chaos here and it doesn
’t affect Elysian, and if you can’t manage it, I have the right to take back this privilege and you’ll return to your former state,” I laid out my terms.
Without waiting, it confidently said, “I agree, but I want you to swear in this direction.”
“I swear between the third and fifth month of my reign, on any day, I will visit the Water Spirit of the Elysian Sea to discuss our agreement and fulfill your desire according to our terms, on the souls of my ancestors turned into Sacred Spirits.” The water rippled for a few seconds before calming down. Simultaneously, the blue color of the fish around the Water Spirit turned neon and then returned to normal.
“Your turn,” I said, looking at its face glowing with satisfaction.
“How much of the riddle have you solved?”
“I think I need to find a coffin,” I said, and it nodded smilingly.
“Correct...” It said. “You’re looking for a coffin but what you’re really looking for is not under my water. Now, I’ll teleport you next to a sunken ship, you need to enter one of the wooden coffins you see first and wait to be teleported to where you need to go.”
I closed my eyes and waited to be teleported. The last thing I heard from it was, “If you haven’t fulfilled my request between the third and fifth month of your reign, you will taste my curse.”
When I opened my eyes, I was indeed next to a sunken ship, in front of wooden coffins as it said. Looking up, I saw I wasn’t alone.
Bilun and presumably a noble she called for help were staring at my suddenly appearing body. Calling the spirit of the four elements, Ova, to find her way in the water was quite a smart solution. After all, a noble didn’t have the right to make such requests as the guardian spirit of the water.
Her hair was messy. She wore the dress she had on before being thrown into the water. Its tears and the lace coming off clearly showed it wasn’t an easy journey. Unlike hers, carrying a bright and new dress made me smile. The winner was too apparent too early.
We looked at each other in the ship, resembling a cemetery with dozens of coffins, some broken, some intact, and without wasting time, we moved into action. Both of us reached for the nearest coffin.
When I teleported for the third time, I was on the lands of Earth.
