Mr. Hansel kept on looking at Erica who was seated on the chair
" Which university did you graduated from?" Mr. Hansel curiously asked her
" Dad, does it matter? she is good at what she does, I just called her to check on the fishes" lava defended nervously hoping his dad would let it go
" I made sure everything is taken care of, so there is no point for that" Mr. Hansel said
" Dad, you never can tell, just let me handle this" he told his dad
" Since you are already here, we should go together to my public aquarium" Mr. Hansel said as lava staggered a bit
" Dad! ... "
"If you say so Mr. Hansel" Erica quickly interrupted causing lava to give her a quick stare.
" Okay, I will be back in a jiffy" he said getting up from the chair
" You don't have to do that" Lava said between his teeth
" I will be fine as long as you are there " she told him
"This is a bad idea" he said quietly not knowing Erica had her own plan.
(Riveria)
" You are here alone without your guards your majesty" king Ayata said swimming towards the Queen.
" Who would dare harm me?" She asked smiling
"No one my queen, you have ruled Riveria for years, you have proven to the siren world that you don't need a king to have a better leader" king Ayata said
"You flatter me so much king Ayata" the queen said having her brightest smile
"Who do you think the princess would choose? It's going to be a tough decision" King Ayata said
" She doesn't have to choose, I would want your son Prince Obi to marry her, your kingdom is the second largest in the siren world" the queen said
" So this was why you told me earlier to prepare my son?" King Ayata asked
" Yes... But I have to follow the procedure to let peace reign; that is why I involved the two kingdoms?" She said
" I did just what you asked, I won't fail you my queen" he said
" That's okay, I should prepare to announce the main event for the princes " she said bowing to king Ayata who did the same
(Prince Obi and Prince Luca)
" What do you think of princess Adunni?" Prince Obi asked
" She is a very special mermaid" he answered
" I think so too, I wonder who she would choose?" Prince Obi said
" It definitely won't be me, I don't think I gave here enough reason to choose me" Prince Luca responded
" It definitely won't be me too; I skipped the part that I was once a warrior, I went all soft with her" prince Obi said
" You didn't tell her you were once a psycho?from what I have heard; you got stabbed by Vashi 6 years ago " Prince Luca said
" That's a sad story I will never share with her because it's my weakness, the princess is going to think that I am weak and I can't let her know that Vashi caused me fear" he said
" Regardless of who she chooses, we are good" Prince Luca said reaching out to embrace him.
" yes" Prince Obi smiled before returning the hug
* * *
Erica walked down the stairs looking at the gigantic aquarium owned by Mr. Hansel, she felt disrespected by seeing her own family stuck on a gigantic box.
" Aren't they supposed to be in the sea?" She asked Mr. Hansel
" And what made you think they might be happy at the sea? Look at this big and most colorful aquarium; what sea creature wouldn't like to leave the toxic sea for this?" He asked as Erica balled her hand in anger
"They are all beautiful, what are they used for?" She curiously asked him
" I bet lava didn't enlighten you" Mr. Hansel said looking at lava who was following them behind
" She have never been to one before; this is why I brought her here" Lava quickly defended
" I see" Mr. Hansel said
"The humans come here to watch them?" Erica asked
" Yes; for sightseeing, the aquarium takes almost every space here" Mr. Hansel said
" you seem surprised at everything Erica, you don't speak like someone from these city too" Mr. Hansel said again looking at her suspiciously
" Yes dad, she is not from the city, that doesn't matter " Lava said
"I believe your marine biologist can speak for herself" Mr. Hansel told him as they continue moving round the gigantic public aquarium
" So you also eat them too?" Erica asked
" Not the ones in the fish tank" he responded
" How do you catch them" she asked him
" The way fishermen does, I have few fisher men that help me fish them out from the deep seas and oceans." he said
" We have our own commercial tv show too, it's called wild hunt station; you should see it too " lava told her
" What's that?" Erica curiously asked
" Hunting dangerous sea creatures and taking note of their lifestyles" Mr. Hansel responded
" There was once my dad and his men got attacked by a shark during the hunt. Thank God he had a gun with him; he shut it dead" lava said and Mr. Hansel glared at him
" Let's not feed her with too much stories, I believe she can find her way round it sooner or later" Mr. Hansel said having his right hand move the rings on his finger from one direction to another.
His phone rang, he gestured at lava to continue why he answers the call.
" Do you like what you see?" Lava asked Erica
" Yes, why not?" She said not meaning the words.
She gently move close to the fish tank and placed her hands and ear near to it
" What are you doing?" He curiously asked her
" Listening" she responded
" It's sound proof, you can't even hear anything" he told her.
When Erica had come closer, some of the fishes got closer to her which was a bit surprising to Lava. He later left her alone to meet some people close by.
Erica looked deep into the aquarium for few minutes as if she had seen something . She quickly left to meet up with lava
Mr. Hansel had stood there looking at the camera as he thought to himself that there is more story to Erica that is been hidden.
(Riveria)
" Your majesty, you called for me" a mermaid who had entered the Queen's room said.
She has scars all over her tail, her tongue was longer than the normal mermaid's tongue. One could tell she was a sea witch
" Yes Olga , I want you to help me with something, I hope no one saw you coming here?" the queen asked
" Not at all my queen, I have been hiding like you asked me to , my life is for you to take so that I can take every secret to my grave" she answered
" The very day is near, I will be having control over Marco and Oceania soon and I will make you known that you will never hide again; prepare me that skin poison you prepared for the late king years ago" she told her
" As you wish your majesty" she said bowing down to her.
" You can go, the princess will be coming in any minute from now" the queen said.
The mermaid Olga quickly departed the queen's room.
In few minutes time, princess Adunni entered.
"You have been seeking for my attention for some days now mother, I am flattered " she said looking at her mother.
" May I know which of the princes caught your eye?" She asked her
" Why do you want to know mother? So that you can poison him?" She asked.
The queen looked at her for some seconds smiling between her teeth
" You shouldn't hate me to that point Adunni, I am the only one that knows what's best for you" she told her
" I would be a fool to believe that" she told her
"Tomorrow you will be crowned the crown princess of Riveria following every rite accordingly" she told her
" Wow, I am surprised; what are you scheming mother?" She questioned her curiously
" Now you think I am scheming? You always wanted this and I think now is the time. you can only get married as a crowned princess, that way you can also rule your husband kingdom in future" she said
" Why do I feel like this marriage is one of your schemes and it isn't for my sake mother" she asked moving round the room
"The two princes will be having a duel tomorrow after you are crowned, the winner will be your future husband" the queen said which shocked princess Adunni
" What? A duel...? why did you ask me to choose a husband myself when my husband would be selected after a duel? I am not surprised; you want to use me to gain whatever you want " Princess Adunni angrily said
" Your time here is over, you can go now" the queen said
" You will never win" princess Adunni said lastly to her before leaving in anger.
* * *
(Public Aquarium)
" Oh my God, there is blood" some of the people said when they saw the trail of blood coming up inside the fish tank
" What is happening?" Mr. Hansel curiously asked why moving forward to know why the people had gathered round the tank
" I think one of the fishes is hurt dad, the blood started coming up all of a sudden" Lava silently told him
" How did that happen? There is nothing that could hurt the fish in there " Mr. Hansel said
" I think there are piranhas inside the fish tank" Erica told them
" It's not possible, we take caution of every fish placed inside there" Mr. Hansel said
" When was the last time you checked dad?" Lava asked
" Two weeks ago, my assistant have been making sure the right fishes are placed inside of it" he responded
" We got to be sure dad, the blood is becoming more visible" he said.
Mr. Hansel quickly ordered some of the security men to escort the people out so that they won't go taking videos of the incident.
Two men working for Mr. Hansel went at the back of the fish tank where it had been channeled; they entered the fish tank through it to examine and find out what the situation inside of it was.
( Riveria)
"How can you let this happen papa? Nobody told me there is going to be a duel tomorrow" Prince Obi angrily said
" It was supposed to remain a secret till this time we had agreed to tell our children's and the people. Every sea ruler swore this oath, it's a tradition called the hunter and the prey" king Ayata said
" What?" Prince Obi asked wanting to know more.
" Only the rulers of the kingdoms are bound to know, tomorrow either you become prince Luca's hunter or you become his prey. The tradition is done to know who is stronger to take care of the princess and will definitely have the power to rule over the kingdom the princess had come from according to the law" he told her
" Is that why you had been forcing me to train all this while?" He curiously asked
" Yes and I hope you did what I asked you to?" He asked
" I didn't papa, I told you I won't handle sword again, I almost died at Vashi's hand that night you sent me to sneak attack on her at the deep sea to prove myself to the people, I lost my sister there" he said almost in tears
" You dare not mention of her again, you know you don't even have to train to fight prince Luca because you are stronger. I want you to know this, you better win if you don't want my head hanged. I already told the queen I prepared you, if anything happens to me or to the kingdom of Marco; it's going to be your fault" king Ayata angrily said before leaving.
Prince Obi balled his fist in anger.
( king George looking at his son prince luca)
" I never had the chance to ask you this yesterday my son; how w do you feel about princess Adunni?" King George asked
" She reminds me of my mother the late queen, she is special" prince Luca replied
King George briefly smiled " you have been doing alot for me forgetting your own life, Now I want to ask you one more favor" king George said
" What favor papa?" Prince Luca questioned
" As much as I wants you to lose this duel for the peace of our kingdom Oceania and to be free from queen Riveria's wrath; I also want you to win this duel. Before coming here, I already knew the queen would want king Ayata's son to marry princess Adunni because the queen and king Ayata are longtime friends, But I still want you to win this fight no matter what " king George said
" Why papa?" Prince Luca curiously asked
" That was king Henry's last wish when we talked years ago, he knows the queen will do whatever it takes to bring down Oceania once she starts controlling king Ayata so he wants you to have his daughter. He blessed the both of you long ago; I think you will be the best merman for princess Adunni, I bless the gods of the siren that you love her even if you are trying to hide it" he said
" I will papa, I promise" he said bowing to king George.
(Mr. Hansel's aquarium)
" Mr. Hansel, there are really piranhas inside the fish tank , I found their nest" one of the workers who was inside the fish tank said
" What? how did that happen?" Mr. Hansel asked really stunned at what he heard
" Some fishes are bitten, I think someone mistakenly caught their nest while fishing" the worker said
" It's not possible, all fishes are checked before placed there; Something is not right" Lava said immediately
Mr. Hansel head went blank that moment
" You! how did you know that a fish was hurt and that there were piranhas?" He asked Erica grabbing her hand forcefully "I saw you talk to the fish; who are you?" He asked.