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Ariana helped the citizens of the floating kingdom find safe passage to the ancient underground citadel. She stayed with her father until every last of the merfolk were safe. She blasted any dark creature that tried to stop them. Ariana now wanted to find Victor.
The sea king embraced his daughter and gave her his ring. Brutus stayed inside the underground citadel as the last defense against the siren queen. The armies of his allies stood guard in front of the citadel.
Brutus prayed they would stop the dark sea army from infiltrating the underground citadel.
Ariana could not find Victor anywhere. She searched in vain but retreated once she saw the siren queen approach with her dark sea army. There in the front of her army stood Victor. He was under the siren queen’s control.
“Surrender now and accept what is inevitable,” the siren queen said.
“The ocean stands against you. We will not let you win. We will not let you destroy our home,” Ariana said. The armies of all the allied kingdoms beat their shields with their swords in solidarity. Ariana felt her courage rise.
“We will see how long you all last before the might of my army,” the siren queen said. She signaled her army to attack.
Ariana heard the cries of battle all around her. Victor stayed where he was, near the siren queen, waiting for her command. As the army of the allied kingdoms pushed back, the siren queen ordered Victor to attack.
Ariana shuddered as his expression turned menacing.
“Take care of the selkie army!” the siren queen ordered him.
Victor waved his hand, and threw a huge portion of the selkie army away, like matchsticks in a hurricane.
Ariana felt all hope drain away from her. Victor had been at her side through everything. To see him being under the control of the siren queen felt like the world was ending.
“Now, I want you to finish the princess. Kill her!” the siren queen commanded.
Victor cast a spell, and a huge ball of flame erupted from his hands. Ariana diverted his attack, but did nothing else.
Victor growled and moved forward, and then the dance began. He would launch attack after attack and Ariana would simply dodge and move out of the way.
To those watching them, it seemed like they were doing a dance rather than fighting. Their moves are perfectly synchronized to one another. Ariana thought about her dance with Victor under the moonlit sky. He had been in love with her then, but she only saw him as her opponent. She hadn’t trusted Victor, even if she agreed to dance with him.
Now, it was Victor who saw her as his enemy. Someone he wanted to destroy. And Ariana? She would have given her life to see Victor be himself again. To see the light come back in his eyes, rather than the darkness that had taken over.
“Please Victor.. it’s me, Ariana,” Ariana pleaded, hoping that some part of him would remember her. She thought she saw Victor waver.
Ariana watched as Victor shook his head, as if trying to shake off the siren queen’s spell.
Whatever it was, it soon passed as she saw Victor send another ball of flame towards her. She had been too distracted. It was too late for her to get out of the way!
Ariana closed her eyes and felt the ball of flame pass over her head. Victor had missed? She turned to see that Victor had incinerated one of the siren queen’s hideous sea creatures. She hadn’t seen it advancing for her.
Had Victor saved her? Ariana thought. Did it mean that he was not under the siren queen’s spell anymore?
“Enough!” the siren queen said. “I will finish her myself!”
She lunged her claws at Ariana, but stopped short of her throat. Victor was holding the siren queen back with his magic. His eyes were no longer black, but had returned to normal. Ariana saw the lightning in Victor's eyes.
“Ariana! Get out of the way!” Victor said.
The siren queen screamed. She gave out another terrifying call, and Victor held his ears in anguish.
He was resisting her spell, but that was all he could do.
“You are a useless creature!” the siren queen spat at Victor. This time she lunged towards Victor.
“No!” Ariana screamed as she jumped in front of Victor, taking the brunt of the siren queen’s attack.
“Ariana!” Victor yelled and helplessly watched her slump on the ocean floor.
The siren queen’s attack had disintegrated Ariana’s immortality ring completely, but she had dropped her father’s ring. It rolled on the floor, stopping in front of Victor.
The sea king’s ring remained unbroken.
“What good is the king’s ring without him to yield it?” the siren queen laughed.
Victor picked up the ring. It felt heavy in his hands.
“I shall wear it, and I will destroy you,” Victor said with courage.
“You think you can destroy me? Greater beings have fallen before me, for I am an ancient and terrible power!” the siren queen hissed.
Victor put the ring on and felt a power like he had never felt before. He thought that his body could not bear the burden. He fell to his knees, unable to stand anymore.
The siren queen laughed, “You who cannot bear wearing it, intend to use its full power? You do not have the heart or the courage, boy.”
Victor thought that perhaps the siren queen was right. He was too weak for the ring’s power. He would perish long before she could kill him... but then, he heard a voice deep inside of him.
It was his mother’s voice, “Victor, my son! Get up.”
His mother had sacrificed his life for him. Victor would not let that go in vain.
It was the sea king’s voice, “I entrust you with protecting the ocean.”
Victor will protect the king’s trust in him. He will not forget his responsibility.
It was the voices of Onyx, Amber, and Scarlet, “We were too late to see it, but her hunger for destruction is insatiable! Destroy her, Victor, before she destroys the world.”
Victor will not forget the siren sisters. He will kill the siren queen before she goes too far.
It was the voices of the human mothers who lost their children. They were crying, "She took our children away from us. Do not let her take any more souls."
Victor will fight on their behalf. He will not let the siren queen win.
It was Ariana’s voice, “Save the kingdom, Victor. Save all you love!”
Ariana had saved him from the siren queen. She had taken her attack by jumping in front of him.
“Oh, Ariana..” Victor thought.
The voices filled his heart with courage. Victor stood up to face the siren queen.
The siren queen laughed, “You are determined to die? No one can save you now. There is no one left to save you.”
“No one expected the sea witch’s son to be the hero of the story. Not even me,” Victor said with a wicked grin. “But here we are.”
Victor summoned all of his power and unleashed it on the siren queen.
At first, she laughed, shielding herself from his power. She thought he would get weaker. But as his power grew, the siren queen screamed.
Victor summoned a great bolt of lightning and struck it at the siren queen's heart. She gave a terrible scream, until she crumbled before his eyes.
Victor had done it. He had used the ring’s full power and destroyed the siren queen.
He took one last look at Ariana before the darkness consumed him.
————
Victor knew he was in the otherworld when he saw his father, Vladimir, in front of him.
“Father?” Victor said as the darkness cleared. His father still looked like he was made of mist.
“My son! My warrior! I am so proud of you, my dear boy,” Vladimir beamed with joy. “All of us are.”
Vladimir pointed to two other figures that appeared.
It was Helena and Ursula. Queen of the seven seas and Empress of the dark lands. Both had come to see him. They too, like his father, appeared like mists.
“Am I dead?” Victor asked. “Is this the otherworld?”
“It is a glimpse of the otherworld, my dear. It is not your time. Your trials have just ended and you have a long life ahead of you before you come here,” Helena said kindly.
“My dear son,” Ursula said. She looked happier than Victor had ever seen her. “You did what I couldn’t.”
“I am sorry, mother. I am sorry for what I said to you,” Victor said, with tears falling down his cheek. “It was so wrong of me to think that you didn’t love me.”
“You were the one bright spot remaining in my life after Vladimir died,” Ursula said. “I am sorry that I let the darkness take over my heart.”
Victor reached out his hand to touch his mother, but she was like mist in his hands.
“I wish I could embrace you, Victor,” Ursula wept. She kissed Victor’s forehead, and he felt a soothing feeling in his heart. Victor felt it again when his father placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Go back, Victor. Now is not your time,” the three of them said together.
“Before you go, Victor. Send a message to my husband, Brutus. Tell him I forgave him. Tell him I will wait for him in the otherworld,” Helena said smiling.
Victor nodded his head.
“Be well,” His father said, smiling. “I love you, son.”
“I love you, too. My angel boy,” Ursula said, beaming.
Victor stopped himself from breaking, from falling apart at their loving words.
“Take good care of Ariana,” Helena said, smiling.
Victor watched as the three misty figures waved to him and disappeared into the darkness.
———
Victor opened his eyes. He was back in the underwater realm again.
Victor looked at the sea king’s ring. So this was what his mother had wanted all this time? He thought. Victor had the ring to rule the seven seas, but he did not want it.
Victor’s thought went towards Ariana. He rushed towards her and held her in his arms.
She was not waking. He called out her name, but she didn’t answer. In a last desperate attempt, Victor placed the sea king’s ring on her finger. He felt himself breathe again, when Ariana finally stirred.
“Victor?” Ariana asked, weakly.
Victor felt he could cry with joy.
“Yes, it is me. You are alive, Ariana!” Victor said, but Ariana was crying bitterly.
“Are you hurt?” Victor exclaimed.
“No, my ring is gone, and so is my father’s,” Ariana said.
“You still have your father’s ring. You are wearing it,” Victor said.
“What happened to the siren queen?” Ariana asked, finally out of her stupor.
“She is dead. She is but a bad dream of the past,” Victor replied.
“I have to go to father. I need to give him his ring back,” Ariana said, but as she rose, she fell on the floor again.
Victor said nothing about the ring. It was not his decision to make, but he listened to Ariana’s wish.
As she was too weak to swim, he carried her in his arms back to her father, the sea king.
Brutus refused to take his ring back. Ariana pleaded with her father, but it was no use.
“Why, father?” Ariana cried. “Why are you doing this?”
“You are all that I have left of her, my dear daughter. I hope that when I see Helena next, she will forgive me for what I did to her,” Brutus replied, with a sad smile.
Ariana’s heart broke, but she knew she couldn’t say anything to her father to change his mind.
—————-