Dark Oceans (Ocean Series Book 1)

by Rhonda Nelson

  "Fine, I'll stay."

  "Yay! You can start chopping up these nights lock berries."

  "Aren't they poisonous?"

  Rachel considered, staring down at the pure blackberries on her wooden table. "Only to humans, oh and mermaids. I guess you shouldn't eat any then. More for me and that girl. I know she will like them - her mother ate them with me all the time."

  "What do you mean 'her mother'"

  "Err...well you know! Her mother, the one that gave birth to her. Keep up, dummy," Rachel suddenly seemed nervous.

  Ben realized that he had stepped into dangerous territory. "O... k? but how do you know her?" Rachel tapped her nose in a way that said, 'that's for me to know and you to find out' He hated it when she did that. Ben rolled his eyes. "Anyway, does this girl even know how to fight?"

  "Nope! Well, at least I don't think so...all brains and no strength if you ask me," Rachel giggled. Yep. She was one hundred percent crazy. She started stirring her concoction in her cauldron as if she had just waved off the topic. Ben stood up from his chair and sprinted out the door. "Ben! Don't go, " Rachel called desperately, although Ben didn't know why she cared.

  "I've got to help her!" He slammed the wooden door behind him and raced off into the fog. He followed the elfin scent of lavender, a trail of gold showed him the way. He couldn't believe that Rachel would send an innocent girl, with absolutely no experience of fighting, to kill a fully-grown mermaid. His feet raced faster than any elf could run as he rushed in between the tall overgrown trees. The fog had no effect on him, it was as if it weren't there at all. Far in the distance, he saw two shapes, he heard a scream. High pitched and terrified. He was almost too late. As soon as he arrived at the pond, the creature already had its fangs out and its full power unleashed. Its dark brown hair dripped at the ends with water and droplets of water sparkled on her mesmerizing body. She seemed to be swimming close to the water's edge.

  A girl around his age was lying dazed under a tree as if she had been thrown backward. She had curly blonde hair and unusual grey eyes, that he had never encountered before. The blue-eyed mermaid hissed when she saw him, her teeth were pointed like fangs. She stepped out of the water, her tail shimmering into a pair of legs. Quick as a flash Ben sent a column of fire at her. But she retaliated with a burst of water. Ben summoned a completely ice crafted sword, though it slightly depleted his energy. The mermaid growled when she saw it and lunged towards him, talons ready. Ben ducked as she swiped her hand at him, the deadly claws glinted with the water. He slashed across her body, blocking the tendrils of energy she shot at him. He quickly teleported behind her and before she could react, his blade sliced through the base of her neck. Her figure burst into fragments of water and she let out a piercing scream, before fading into nothingness.

  The woods were suddenly quiet again. The silence felt deafening... He looked over at the blonde-haired girl and noticed that she was crying. She flinched when he went over. He could easily tell that she was petrified. She most likely had never encountered anything like this before. "Hey, it's ok to cry," Ben told her gently, helping her to sit up.

  She lifted her head and stared at him with stormy grey eyes. "I. I was so scared..." her voice trailed off. Ben felt sorry for her, to him it was nothing. He had grown up fighting monsters his whole life. But to her...this was like a nightmare come true.

  "You should go home now, follow that golden trail and it will lead you out of the woods," he pointed to the track he made earlier. It wound randomly through the trees and yet the girl didn't move.

  "Wait, who are you?"

  "Call me Ben or anything, I don't mind. I don't have a proper name." She nodded and shakily stood up. Her tears had stopped now, thankfully.

  Just as she was about to go, she looked down from her horse and handed Ben a dagger. "You probably need it more than me."

  "No, I can't it yours," Ben said shocked that anyone was giving him a gift. Though something stirred inside of him, yet he wasn't sure what.

  "No, take it, please," her stormy eyes told him she wasn't going to back down.

  "Well, thank you. It means a lot," Ben responded taking the beautiful golden dagger. Suddenly he felt a movement behind him. Something grabbed him by the shoulders, and he fell into the pond. Just before he hit the water, he heard the girl scream in horror. There was a rush of water around his ears, his vision of the ground disappeared. As soon as his body connected with the water, he could already feel his limbs changing. His canines grew longer, and his legs smoothly transformed into a powerful sea-colored tail. He spun around and faced his enemy; Who stared back at him in complete and utter disbelief.

  Kelsie saw a dark figure through the blowing pine trees, the person was hunched over their horse. "Alyssa!" Kelsie yelled, galloping towards her. She didn't respond. That was unusual. Her grey eyes looked a little broken, which wasn't right for a ten-year-old. "Alyssa, what happened?" Kelsie said softly in a voice she hardly ever spoke in. Travis cantered over, looking incredibly guilty. His eyes were downcast, and he had taken an interest in the grass.

  "If. It was a mermaid and... this...b. boy..." she trailed off. Kelsie was confused. What was she going on about? Mermaids? They didn't exist, only in Mr. Wright's mythology books.

  "Come on, let's get you home." Alyssa nodded. Her eyes seemed glazed. There were tear marks on her face. Her usually perfect hair was knotted and coming undone from the braids.

  "Alyssa, I'm so so sorry! I honestly didn't mean to leave you behind; it was so stupid of me! I'm so so sorry, I.."

  "Travis, shut up," Kelsie said. Alyssa didn't even look like she was listening. Her eyes were unfocused as if she were watching a memory in her head. It was really starting to creep Kelsie out

  "Ben! Just look at the state of you!" Rachel scolded. Ben looked down at his dripping wet clothes.

  "I got pulled into a pond what do you expect?"

  "What about the girl do you think she can make it for dinner?"

  "No, she's gone."

  Rachel nodded. "Yay! You've got the mermaid! This one is quite powerful, maybe the potion will work longer this time."

  "I wouldn't count on it," Ben muttered.

  "What was that? Do you want to stay for tea? Of course! But you can't sit at the table like that...hmmm...this might fit you!" She held up a boy's outfit. Simple shirt and trousers.

  "They look several sizes too big. I'm only ten."

  "Yes, yes. I know that but beggars can't be choosers."

  "Well, I'll definitely look like a beggar in that," he mumbled.

  "The last person who wore these didn't complain one single bit," She stopped as if she was giving away too much information.

  "Who was that?"

  "Erm...it doesn't matter...now how about you mix this salad together, ok?"

  "Fine." But he suddenly felt like there was a lot more to Rachel than met the eye. Trust no one. The thought just randomly popped into his head. But it was right. Trust no one.

  Chapter Three

  5 years had passed ever since Alyssa's encounter with Ben and her first monster. Her father noticed that her dagger was missing. But she didn't tell the truth. Only that she had lost it. In a few months, she was finally going to turn sixteen. Then she would finally learn how to use magic, her friend Kelsie had turned sixteen a month ago – the Duke had held a massive masquerade. She wanted the same for her birthday. But no. No one ever listens to her. Instead, her father is throwing the biggest Millay competition the world has ever known. Just great. Now she had to watch countless amounts of knights knock the senses out of each other. She started walking up the stairs to her tutor room. She was already 3 minutes and 40 seconds late. Kelsie didn't need to come to lessons since she was now sixteen. But she came anyway, to keep Alyssa company. It warmed her that Kelsie would do this for her – she knew that she hated lessons. She knocked on the door.

  "Come in." She stepped into the room and sat down next to Kelsie, placing her notes and papers in front of her.


  "So, class...today we are going to be learning about souls...yes Alyssa?"

  "But we still haven't finished our project on the history of the elfin warfare – we're still in the middle of that."

  "We're changing over now." He said swiftly, leaving no room for debate. "So, the elfish soul – it comes to us naturally when we are born, whereas in other animals...they have to find it themselves."

  "What other animals?"

  Mr. Wright hesitated. "Monsters, mythological creatures. Every single one of them has a soul – except none of them are naturally born with it." There was a heavy silence in the room. "You cannot determine whether a person or creature is good or bad if they have no soul. Take a dragon for example – if a dragon kills a human or elf you cannot say it is bad or good. Only until it has a soul – then you judge it by its true personality."

  "Sir, is it possible for monsters to awaken their soul?" Alyssa asked. Mr. Wright's face darkened.

  "Yes," he said softly. His eyes looked unfocused.

  "I'm sick of this," Ben growled. "I have to actually get out and do something."

  "How do you mean?" Rachel asked. She stopped stirring her concoction, which caused it to go a mottled green.

  "I'm just tired of fighting monsters every day and then sitting in your house doing nothing. You're the only person I actually know – I just want to go back to civilization."

  Rachel feigned hurt. "I thought you liked staying with me and making potions...I never get bored of this and I've been doing for over five hundred years."

  "But I'm bored, I'm different from you. I just want to go and actually have a life – meet new people, make friends."

  "But what if they find out who you really are?" Rachel retorted.

  "They won't – I'll make sure of it, please Rachel – I won't tell anyone about you or give away any of your secrets," Ben gave her puppy eyes. Rachel sighed.

  "Fine, as long as you don't tell anyone your past or about me." Ben wasn't sure why Rachel wanted to keep her identity such a secret. It occurred to Ben that he hardly knew anything about Rachel at all. Apart from that she was a soothsayer and said she wasn't a witch even though she made potions.

  "I think I'll try out for the Knights Millay in Mylvehil, it'll be different..."

  "Don't show them your full power," Rachel warned. "Because no elf can even hope to harness magic like you."

  "I know, I'll be careful."

  "You better be."

  "Where have you been this morning – you've made me clean out the stables all on my own – it's horrible, I think my nose is going to fall off," Travis whined. He pointed to the freshly clean stables.

  "Erm...I was doing some important stuff..."

  "Like hanging around Katie again," Travis said.

  "Yep, but she's hardly interested in me. It's always Travis this, Travis that. I bet all she ever thinks about it is you. It's not fair. I'm the better looking one." Travis puffed out his chest.

  "We look exactly the same, I've just got a better sense of style than you."

  "Yeah, like dungarees and horse poo stained boots – very attractive. I don't know what Katie see's in you."

  "Err...how about my personality? I don't act like a jerk all the time. Unlike some people." Connor snorted.

  "Whatever, Katie's just a stupid girl anyway. I don't even know why I'm wasting my time on her. Kelsie, on the other hand, is way prettier."

  "You take that back!"

  "Only if you admit I'm the better twin."

  "Never," Travis lunged at his brother and failed miserably. Connor threw a punch at him and caught Travis right in the forehead. He fell to the floor, trying to keep conscious.

  "Pathetic," Connor said. Suddenly Travis swiped his leg at Connor's ankles, and he stumbled over. Both boys leapt up and wrestled around the courtyard attracting a crowd, who promptly started yelling "Fight, fight, fight!" Connor tried punching Travis again, but he missed and staggered forward. Travis took the opportunity to kick him in the butt and send him tumbling into a dirty pile of excess hay and horse muck. The crowd cheered and laughed. Travis found it a bit immature.

  Just then soldiers parted through the crowds and took the two boys by their arms. Perfect, now Connor had just got them both arrested. The soldiers dragged them into the throne room - all the while the twins yelled insults at each other. The King of Mylvehil – Alyssa's father- looked incredibly bored as he sentenced them to jail. What was the point? It was only a stupid fight. Kings overreact too much - like fussy their father would bail them out so Travis wouldn't have to stay stuck in the same room with his infuriating brother, which could be dangerous. Travis turned his back to his brother and pointed his upturned nose in the air. He had a very interesting view of a moldy stone wall that suspiciously smelt of wee. Eww. There was a loud bang behind him.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Getting myself out – with magic." Travis noted how Connor didn't say 'us'

  "The king probably isn't that stupid, he most likely has protected the lock with magic," Travis replied sourly.

  "The king will always be stupid to me," was Connor's only response.

  Travis raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you want to start a rebellion, and they never work."

  "I know, I'm not that stupid. I just don't like the way he rules." For once, Travis agreed with his brother. He knew that the proud king ruled unjustly and many of his opinions were biased, even his own daughter agreed with that. It was strange though. Travis' mother had told him stories of the king when she was a young woman. The king from her stories was nothing like the cold dictator they had now. So, what made him change?

  Chapter Four

  "Alyssa, you've finally joined us," her father said with little to no emotion. His dark robes resembled his personality. "This is the King of Alltalos, the only other elfin empire on earth."

  Alyssa curtsied but didn't break eye contact from the King. He had strange eyes that swirled with different shades of blue. She tried to detect his emotions, but just like her father, she couldn't read him at all.

  "As you were saying – the papers will be signed in 3 months, you must stay for the knights Millay. Is your son competing?" Her father continued, brushing Alyssa off as if she weren't there.

  "Of course, my son, Prince Tristan, is the perfect epitome of an elfin warrior, he is yet to be defeated," the tall king stated arrogantly. The man next to the king smiled at Alyssa, dimples formed at the sides of his cheeks.

  "It will be an honor to fight for my lady," he said leaning down and kissing the back of her hand. Wait what was he insinuating? Her jaw clenched as she realized her father's plan.

  "The marriage will take place on the day of Alyssa's birthday," her father looked slyly at her as if to say 'Yes! I finally can get rid of you'

  "No! Wait – don't I get a say in this?" Alyssa said desperately. The two kings stared at her as if it were the most preposterous idea that she had ever suggested. "I'll take that as a 'no'" She muttered.

  "What can you possibly not like about this?" Her father asked it annoyed her how he never changed the tone of his voice. "You're being married to the most powerful prince in the land, it's every girl's dream."

  Alyssa shook her head in disbelief. "Excuse me," she said and then quickly left the grand hall. She really hated her father now; he didn't care one bit about her. If only she could do what she wanted without being questioned. 'You're a girl, you're too weak' 'Your father knows what is best for you' 'You can't do this, you can't do that' A tingling sensation went up to her spine. It was almost as if she was being watched. She looked back at the statues in the room. They can still see and hear what's going on around them. That's what Mr. Wright said.

  She shivered and hurriedly made her way back down the arched corridor. She left the palace, stepping out into the glaring light of the sun. There was a surprising amount of people around the stables, all of them were shouting something. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a group of soldiers who had spotted the fight. They po
inted down to the commotion and dragged two boys out of the middle of the crowd. One of them had hay sticking in his hair...wait was that Connor and Travis? She could hear them screaming some pretty horrific things to each other about...Katie? Alyssa's gaze fell upon Katie who was carrying a bucket of water to the palace kitchens. She saw her stop and gape at the two boys before she hurried down the steps to the kitchens. The water sloshed out of the edge of the bucket and spilling onto her simple dress. Alyssa sighed. Now she would have to bail them both out.

  Before she could do anything else, she heard a familiar voice. "Alyssa!" A smile suddenly lit up her face. She ran down the cobbled stone street and into the arms of her old friend. "Azura! I've missed you so much! What has it been like in Alltalos? You have got to tell me everything!"

  "Let's go down to our inn, we can talk there – Pete is there unpacking."

  "Pete? You've definitely been busy these past years," Alyssa laughed, her cares and worries slowly melted away. They started walking towards the small but cozy inn on the side of the market street.

  "Yes! He is sooo dreamy and you should really see his muscles..." She started blushing furiously. "Well anyway, we've come here to get married! This has been my dream – to get married in my hometown."

  "That's great, Azura," Alyssa said, feeling happy for her friend. She pushed the wooden inn door open and a delicious smell of roast chicken wafted around her. The inn hummed with chatter and the clinks of glasses. She led Alyssa up some narrow steps and into her hired out room.

  "Pete!" Her friend ran up and hugged him which to Alyssa's amusement, made his face heat up. "This is Alyssa, my friend that I've been telling you about!" The guy shook hands with her awkwardly. "So back to business, please, please, please can you be my maid of honor," she begged.

  "Yes, of course, I will! Where is the wedding going to be?"

  "Down at the grove, remember it? We used to play there as children. I bet I'll be like crying my eyes out on the day – so many memories," She smiled dreamily. "But enough about me, how have you been these past years? Any boys I need to know about?"