Transformation

by Michael Ocheskey

  By this point, Cutie had fallen asleep from boredom. She lay sprawled out on Draco’s shoulder, her cat-like purr of a snore floating into his ear. Draco had to fight hard to keep from laughing. When the speech finally ended, Cutie woke as if coming out of a trance.

  “Is it o-over?” Cutie yawned directly into Draco’s ear as she fluttered her wings and stretched out her entire body.

  The questions that were asked of Alana and Draco were pretty much what he had expected. Will you love and protect each other from this day forth? Will you swear to stay by each other’s sides through good times as well as bad? Will you help each other to govern this kingdom to the best of your abilities, taking into account the needs and wishes of the citizens? All of these questions lasted only a few minutes, followed by the goblet.

  King Aquarius winked at Draco as he took the cup from Alana and Draco soon found out why. He put the goblet to his lips and tipped. The most putrid taste filled his every sense. It was like swallowing a mixture of mud, seaweed, fish paste, and salt water. No, Draco was convinced that was exactly what he drank, since its consistency was that of a solid turned liquid. Fighting back the urge to vomit, Draco smiled the best that he could towards Alana and saw her knowing gaze. She seemed to be telling him “Gross, isn’t it?” with her eyes.

  After the ceremony came to a close, the guests turned their chairs toward the tables. Right on cue, the palace servants brought in large platters of food and dishes, setting them at each table. Draco took advantage of the commotion to ask King Aquarius, “What was in that goblet?”

  Holding back a laugh, King Aquarius replied in an attempt to remain regal, “Exactly what you thought it was. It was ocean mud, different types of seaweed, ocean water, and ground fish scales. It is a symbol of loyalty towards the ocean world. By taking the ocean water, ocean floor, and ocean life into your own body, you are pledging that the ocean will always remain a part of you. I told you it would be gross, but at least this will be the last time you have to drink it.”

  The reception that followed the wedding was marvelous. The feast was of the highest quality Draco had eaten since coming to Atlantis. The music was also beautiful; made more so by dancing with Alana. Draco spent the rest of the day dancing with Alana and mingling with the wedding guests, while Cutie sat on Draco’s throne, moping and wishing she could dance with him as well. When the party came to an end, Alana and Draco both went into Alana’s room, while Cutie went into Draco’s room.

  Cutie curled up on Draco’s pillow in an attempt to sleep. She had known from the start that this was how things would end up. Draco and Alana belonged together and she was just a fairy servant. She could never be what Draco needed. Still, she hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did. Knowing that Draco and Alana were spending their first night together as a married couple was enough to make her blood boil.

  She spent a lot of time convincing herself it was enough for her to remain friends with Draco. She was happy if he was happy. She'd worried he would send her away after she told him how she felt, but he was so kind and caring to her. Still, nothing could make this moment any easier for her.

  With that final lonely thought, Cutie drifted off into a restless sleep filled with visions of Draco. First he was running toward her, preparing to embrace a Cutie who was now as tall as a human. As Draco reached out his arms and she closed her eyes, preparing for the embrace, none came. She opened her eyes to see Draco holding Alana and kissing her gently. Alana broke lip contact with Draco and gave Cutie a vindictive smile. Before she realized it, Cutie’s entire body shrank back down to normal size and Alana stomped on her.

  Cutie awoke the next morning to find Draco and Alana standing over her, smiling warmly. Both of them were still wearing their wedding garments. Draco slid his hand underneath her and lifted her up to eye level.

  “Did you have a nice nap? Alana and I went into her room last night to start planning our search for the Ice Diamond, but you never showed up. We thought about coming to get you, but you seemed so tired that we didn’t want to disturb you. Let’s go. We want to know what you think about our plans and then we’re going to start searching and also work on our magic training. It would be nice if you could help us train. Please?”

  “What? You guys were planning last night? I thought it was your honeymoon? Shouldn’t you have been doing something else?” Cutie was still in a sleepy daze. Draco took his finger and rubbed her cheek in an attempt to wake her up fully.

  “What are you talking about? You aren’t thinking anything dirty, are you?” Draco teased. “We promised the Sapphire that we would start our quest the day after our marriage. Besides, it wouldn’t be smart to do something like that before starting a quest. What if Alana got pregnant? We couldn’t handle a baby while on a quest.”

  When Cutie seemed fully awake, Draco stopped rubbing her cheek. As he lifted his finger, Cutie latched onto it with both hands, continued to rub her face against his finger like a cat on its owner’s leg, and let him pull her up to a standing position.

  Cutie rubbed her eyes as Draco and Alana told her their plans. “Of course, I’ll help you train.” She replied, continuing to stretch out her body, her bones cracking slightly. Sleeping in the fetal position really took its toll on her, “The only problem I have is the water. How am I supposed to leave the barrier with you guys?”

  Draco smirked and Cutie’s hair began to flutter slightly.

  “I’ve learned how to create a wind barrier. I’ll need to test it in the bath first, to make sure it’s safe, but it should work. It’s designed to suck oxygen out of the water and place it inside the bubble, so you won’t run out of air.” Draco took Cutie into the bathroom. The tub was already full. Draco had filled it before waking Cutie up. “Jump in. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be right here to protect you.”

  With every confidence in her master’s abilities, Cutie took a leap of faith. She dove into the water, but there was no splash and she remained fully dry. She spun around in a circle to see what surrounded her. She was in a sphere of air. Upon closer inspection, she could see the water around the air sphere gyrating in a set pattern. She could fly inside the bubble as if she was in the sky. No matter how she moved inside the bathtub, she remained in the bubble’s center.

  “This is amazing, Master! You really are an excellent sorcerer! Okay, let’s begin training.” She burst out of the bath water and zoomed toward the bedroom door. In her eagerness to get outside, she opened the doorknob herself. Both Draco and Alana laughed. “It’s not funny!” Cutie shouted defensively to the both of them.

  “I know it’s not.” Alana stopped laughing and apologized to Cutie. “It just looks so cute. I’ve never seen something so cute.”

  “See, Cutie,” Draco interjected. “I told you that you looked cute when you did that. When we get to the surface world I will definitely take a picture of this so that you can see for yourself.” Cutie didn’t know whether to be upset at being laughed at or glad that Alana and Draco both called her cute. She settled on an awkward smile and a full-body blush.

  They made their trek to the barrier with eager steps to start their journey.

  “Tiger,” Draco swam steadily forward and leaned his face close to Tigers. “I need you to do something for us. We are heading up to the surface world to search for the Ice Diamond. I need you to alert all of the sea creatures you can. Tell them to keep their eyes open for a large diamond and report any findings to me. Set up an oral chain that stretches through the entire ocean world. Can you do that for us, Tiger? Please?”

  “Of course, Draco. I’ll do anything for my Mistress and Master.”

  “Master?”

  “Of course. As my Mistress’s husband, that now makes me your protector as well as hers, Master.”

  “Well, thank you for the honor, Tiger. One more thing. Keep the other animals from informing the merfolk about this. The only people who can know about this are Alana and me. The sea creatures will have to keep this a secret because this quest is impo
rtant to sorcerers. If the merfolk or the surface dwellers find out about the diamond, it could jeopardize our chances of finding the diamond intact, understand?”

  “Affirmative!” Tiger mockingly pretended to swim to attention.

  “Ha, ha, ha.” Alana gave a false laugh. Alana was now beside Tiger and petting his head. “We’re counting on you, Tiger.”

  “Don’t worry, Mistress. I won’t let you down.” With that, Tiger was off, vanishing into the black of the distant ocean depths.

  Draco turned back toward Alana and Cutie.

  “This is the last time you’ll see Atlantis for a while. We are going to the surface world to train and then see if we can find the Ice Diamond on land. I suggest both of you say your farewells before we depart.”

  “Are you sure that the surface world will be the proper place to start?” Alana questioned as they swam back toward the barrier.

  “Definitely. Greed is a part of human nature. If the surface dwellers have found the Ice Diamond, they will no doubt have it on display, either through a private collector or at a museum. Besides, our magic powers won’t allow us to survive in the ocean yet.”

  “What do you mean?” Cutie turned in curiosity.

  “Look at your bubble,” Draco explained. “I can’t keep your air bubble active while I’m asleep, not just yet. Also, if we were to be attacked, I’m not sure we would have enough control over our magic to effectively use it in the water. We need to learn how to control our magic or else we could kill innocents.”

  Alana’s face tensed. “Innocents? How could we kill innocents?”

  “Without proper training, we won’t be able to keep our magic under our control completely. An electrical shock, fire, whirlpools, ice, these will all kill innocent sea creatures because we won’t be able to keep them isolated. If we tried to burn our enemy, we would heat up the water and cause it to kill the surrounding fish. Ice would freeze the water, entrapping us and everything around us in an icy tomb. Electricity would spread out as far as it could travel and kill everything in its path. Do you see what I’m saying? We need to learn how to harness our magic so that it only affects the target we want it to affect. The best way to do that is to train out of the water. Then we can come back into the water after we have complete control.”

  “Then, how long do you plan on staying above the surface?” Alana and Cutie chimed as one.

  “As long as it takes for us to master our magic. It could be a few months or even years. This quest is long, but without our magic, we will never be able to succeed.” Draco raised his gaze to see the blue light barrier, Atlantis beyond it. “I’m really going to miss Atlantis. It has become my new home. It will be hard to leave my friends and new family behind, but I’ve got to. I don’t know why, but I can’t help but feel this pull toward the Ice Diamond. Ever since I learned about the existence of the Ice Diamond, I’ve known that I would have to find it. It’s as if I’m being called by the Diamond itself.”

  “I know what you mean.” Alana stopped just outside the barrier and turned toward Draco. “I have also felt the urgency to find the Diamond. Perhaps it is in your blood. You are a descendant of kings whose duty was to protect and govern all sorcerers. Perhaps it is your lineage that is pulling you toward your goals. Let’s go say our farewells.” At that, they swam through the barrier and into the city once more for what could very well be the last time in years.

  Back at the barrier, the trio prepared to start their epic quest. Captain Orion, Eri, Dr. Algie, and King Aquarius all came to see them off.

  “I don’ know what yer thinkin’ lad.” Eri stared at the ground, trying to hide his wet eyes. “But ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Wherever life takes ya, don’t forget us.”

  “You make it sound like I’ll never see you again, Eri. We’ll be back when we’ve finished what we need to do, and no, I can’t tell you what that is.” Eri had gazed up in hopes that Draco would let part of their journey slip.

  “Well, ya’d better take this.” Eri handed what looked like a coin bag to Draco. It was filled with pearls and sapphires, as well as some sea onions and a dagger to force tears. “Ya may need these to barter on yer journey. Miss Alana, it has been a real pleasure knowing ya. Take care, now.”

  “Well, Draco,” Captain Orion stepped forward. “I’m sorry to see you go so soon. It’s been fun, my friend.”

  “That it has, Orion. I’ll be seeing you later. Take good care of King Aquarius and watch out for lightning.” Draco snickered and winked mischievously. Then the two of them hugged and patted each other on the back.

  Dr. Algie stepped forward and held out a long box for Draco. “Here, Draco. The entire city chipped in for this. It is a trinket to keep us near your heart on your trip.”

  Draco opened the box to find a beautiful pendant. The circular pendant was about two inches wide and about a half an inch thick. The back, sides, and edges of the front were made of silver. The center housed the purest blue sapphire Draco had ever seen, shaped like a triangle. Surrounding the sapphire was a dark red crystal.

  “The entire city donated some of their blood to help create the pendant, the sapphire came from King Aquarius’s tears, and the silver of the pendant and necklace were collected by palace guards who went to the surface world a week ago. It is your wedding present from all of Atlantis.” Draco had to turn away from the pendant for an instant to compose himself. He had never been as touched by a present as he had by this. It gave him new-found strength to know the entire city was on his side.

  He pulled himself together and turned back to accept the present.

  “Thank you, everyone. Please let all of Atlantis know this means more to me than they could ever realize. Thank you. Thank you.”

  Everyone smiled as Dr. Algie took the pendant from its case and slipped it over Draco’s head. It suited him perfectly, glowing against the silver of his clothing and situated in the middle of his chest, next to his heart.

  King Aquarius was speechless. He burst into tears and grabbed Draco and Alana, holding them in a group embrace. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, seeing his daughter grow up, marry, and leave with the man of her dreams. Finally finding his voice, he bawled, “Take care, you two. Son, I’m counting on you to protect my daughter. You’ll do that for me, won’t you? I’ll see you when you’ve finished your journey.”

  He burst into tears again and ran toward the palace. Everyone stood in silence. They had never seen King Aquarius lose his composure before.

  After a minute of stunned silence, Draco spoke up.

  “Alana, Cutie, let’s go. We have to leave soon if we want to get to our destination before it is too late.”

  They both nodded and the trio stepped through the barrier. The same silver light protruded from Draco’s body, showing his elegant silver merman form. Dr. Algie and Captain Orion, who had never seen this form, both gaped in awe as the trio vanished into the distance.