Portal to the Fairy Tale

The Down Kingdom – Chapter 1

"What about?"

"Ehm about-"

"Your Highness Princess Yves is back," exclaimed the bodyguard who accidentally cut Hesley off.

"Thank you, Gorgo." Yves turned to greet the enthusiastic looking bodyguard.

"H-hi ..." Sapa Hesley awkward. The guard just stared at him cynically.

"What did you say?" Yves asked Hesley.

"Hmm, just later."

"Oh, yeah." Yves nodded briefly.

Yves takes Hesley to the Silver Down royal palace. The bodyguards and mermaid nation saluted one of the royal members, but did not pay homage to Hesley for seeing his form as an ordinary human being. Even he had to endure the cynical gazes of the mermaids. All those gazes were exactly the same when he first met Yves while in Glory prison.

Arriving inside the palace, Yves was again greeted by the royal core guard and the Queen who was sitting elegantly in her throne seat, beside him two mermaid guards who were ready to protect the queen.

Yves bowed in salute to the Queen who was also his mother. Hesley followed what Yves did to bow before the Silver Down ruler.

"Bless your head, Yves." Say the Queen softly. Hesley stayed down because his name was not mentioned.

"I'm sorry, Mother .. I didn't manage to bring back our scepter."

"Here you go, Yves .. You don't have to worry about that stick, the most important thing is that you go home okay."

"Mother, introduce this-"

"Hesley Emily Lane." Cut The Queen.

"Mom knows?" Yves cringing.

"Yesterday I got a message from the Forbidden Pixie kingdom, they asked us to look after a girl named Hesley until her brother came to pick me up." Reveal it.

Hesley raised her head in a jolt when she heard her brother called. "really? My brother's coming to pick me up?" Ask ensures.

"That's right, and for now you'll stay until your brother comes yeah ..." Said the Queen.

"Okay, Your Majesty."

"But what if Glory realizes that I'm here? Will you not be in danger? I don't want to harm anyone just to protect me." Hesley was worried.

"I won't let that happen, Hesley." Reply Yves.

"Yves?"

"I'll protect you."

"Why do you want to protect me?"

"Because you've convinced me that we can work together to protect each other."

Queen Yvette smiled as her eldest child began to think of adulthood. It's time he abdicated this Silver Down royal throne to Yves.

"Sister!" Excited someone from behind Yves and Hesley. They turned their heads and found the little mermaid swimming quickly towards the two.

The little mermaid hugged Yves with a smile on her face, a sign that she missed Yves terribly.

"Son't okay, is he?" Ask the mermaid to Yves.

"I'm fine, Yvia." Reply Yves.

"Thank God, I really miss you, brother!" The little mermaid hugged her sister tightly. Yves returned the hug warmly.

Seeing the phenomenon of sister hugging Hesley so remembered the last time he hugged the brother. Well, apparently when he was 7 years old, it was still plain. Growing up, they sometimes did not care about each other let alone cuddle like that.

"Who is he?" Yvia asked Yves after seeing Hesley's presence among them.

"My name is Hesley. You must be Yvia, right? Hello to you." Hesley introduced himself.

"Do you know my name?" Confused Yvia.

"Sure, your brother told me before he got in here."

Yvia smiled and returned Hesley's greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Hesley. Let's go for a walk, I'll take you to the best places in Silver Down." Take him very excited.

"Really?"

"We can tell each other about each other's world, I'm very curious."

"All right,"

"Mother, Brother Yves, me and Hesley go first!"

"Don't go far, Yvia ..." Exclaim the Queen.

"okay! Go, Hesley!"

"Ehm .. I go first yes, Yves."

"Hesley, take care of Yvia yeah, sometimes she's unruly." Yves' message to Hesley.

"Ohh, okay ..."

During down the silver river, Hesley was unceasingly amazed to see the beauty of the Silver Down kingdom that was truly beautiful. The color of the water is really silver coupled with various types of aquatic creatures that also add to the impression of an underwater kingdom that is amazingly perfect, the, Hesley could not even speak of seeing everything with his own two eyes.

In addition, Hesley also often met with several mermaid residents of Silver Down. They are not as friendly as Yvia and Yves, they always stare cynically wherever Hesley goes.

"Hesley, have you eaten yet?" Ask Yvia.

"Ehm, not yet ..."

"One morning! I'll take you to a place where you can eat a lot of food all over the ocean."

"Ocean? Isn't this a river?"

"That's true, but seafood is also available at Silver Down. You wanna come?"

The excited Hesley immediately followed Yvia away, they would eat seafood in the silver river. What will the taste of the food be? Hopefully not fish shit anymore. Hope to worry Hesley in her little heart.

It turns out that seafood in that place is not much different from those in London, it is very rare seafood served in London, and usually expensive for the middle to lower classes.

As they were eating voraciously, Hesley suddenly heard a faint singing voice sounding. He looked in any direction to find the source of the beautiful voice.

"What's wrong?" Tanya Yvia looked at Hesley's strange gawk.

"Do you know who is singing right now?"

Yvia almost choked on the food to her surprise. "Singing?" Suddenly anxious.

"Yes, I heard it, but vaguely. Her voice was sweet and made me want to keep listening to her."

"Quick cover your ears, Hesley."

Panicked Yvia suddenly told Hesley to cover both her ears.

"W-why?" Confused Hesley who still did not close his ears.

"Hurry, just close it!"

"I-yes, fine."

A few minutes later Yvia's tense and panicked face subsided, she heaved a sigh of relief.

"What the hell is that? Why are you telling me to close my ears? Though the song was very melodious," complained Hesley who was disappointed because he could not listen to the song until it was finished.

"You mustn't listen to the sound of that song, Hesley."

"Why indeed? What's wrong?"

"It's a Siren song."

"Siren?"

"Ssttt .. don't speak out loud, later the mermaid will hear." Yvia.

"Siren said?"

"I'll tell you briefly. So, in Forestopia Sirens also live just like us, they have their own kingdom. Sirens are aquatic creatures that are physically almost the same as the mermaid nation, but they are given advantages with a melodious voice. But, behind that beautiful voice they hate humans so much, because it's humans who keep them locked up in the bottom of the deepest ocean."

"Mariana's Palms?" Guess Hesley.

"How do you know?"

"I've heard that legend."

Yvia nodded briefly. "Their voice can make people forget themselves and the Sirens are able to manipulate the human mind with their singing. That's why only you can hear that song, we mermaid can't hear it."

"But you said they were locked up in the Mariana Trench, in the deepest ocean. Why can I hear their singing in Silver Down?"

"You heard it vaguely, didn't you? Well that's why their voices can still be heard even from the deepest ocean."

Hearing the story, Hesley swallowed his saliva strongly, and if Yvia did not immediately tell him to close his ears, it was possible that the deadly song would ruin his mind.

"It's awful, isn't it? The point is if you hear that song again, close your ears immediately so that your mind is not manipulated by them. Understood?" Yvia's message to Hesley.

"All right, I get it."

"But what happens if I keep listening to that song?" Ask Hesley.

"You'll be manipulated, even you'll die unwittingly."

"Well, next time I'll close my ears when I hear that terrible sound."

"Good, then let's go back to the palace."

"Okey."

...***...

"There are humans in Silver Down" one Siren told the other.

"Did he hear our singing?"

"He heard it, but the mermaid told us all about us and our deadly song."

"I don't think that man is an ordinary man, how did he get to Forestopia? Is this Glory?"

"You mean the bad boy that kept us locked up here?"

"Yes, is he still alive?"

"Curtain! That kid ... looks like he's going to do something beyond our means."

"That's absolutely true, O Sirens ..."

"Glory?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Hi, how are you guys? Doesn't look good." Glory LEDek.

"What do you want, Glory?"

"I will free you from this place, but on one condition."

"Condition? What'sthat?"

"I want you to bring Hesley to me."

"Hesley? Who's she?"

"Man who heard your deadly song. He is my precious vessel."

...***...