Chapter 8: The Sea Legend - 7
UNDER THE SEA
"We need to throw a party!"
Silence befell the arena, and with that rushed in the thoughts and scattered mind links. Some were clever enough to block their thoughts from being heard, while others weren't accustomed to doing such a thing.
'-Huh?'
'Is he joking?'
'Should I laugh?'
'Keep a straight face, keep a straight face.'
Lia scanned the audience for any sign of movement and found though they were thinking, none of them actually planned on leaving or made any disrespectful moves toward the king. Maybe it was because of the guards standing in front of the doors or because they just didn't want trouble.
Noting how everything was getting out of hand, the king watched with a smile. His black eyes were glittering, and it reminded Lia of the way parents looked at their children when they did something silly, thinking that they were being adorable.
All of this had made warning bells ring inside Lia's head.
Swallowing back her thoughts and pushing away the idea of asking her mother, who was just seeing everything playing out with a blank face. As if she had nothing to do with all of this. But Lia knew that her mother hid a treasure of thoughts, that she probably didn't wish to share with anyone.
She had learned long ago to never ask, for the answer will always be the same.
As Lia continued assessing the crowd and their reactions, she saw something weird. On the opposite side of Lia, there was a mermaid that had deep blue crystal scales and only one eye. The mermaid herself had different body characteristics than that of Lia's, as her tail was longer overall and her fins divided to four rather than to two. Her scales were rough to the point that Lia felt that if she touched any of them, they would cut her. And rather than stopping right on her waist, the scales continued to spread out until they reached her breasts, almost completely covering her up to the neck.
Moreover, she looked young. What gave away her age was the way her skin was still translucent, and jelly-like - a feature that separated adult mermaids from teenage ones.
But it wasn't her appearance that made Lia focus on her. If anything, it was the way her body was trembling and her agitated moves. It was as if she couldn't just stay right in her seat.
Nobody paid any attention to her as they were all preoccupied with themselves, but Lia saw how the blue mermaid was frantically searching left and right for something, and biting her lips every now and then.
The more Lia watched, the more she felt something pulling her toward that mermaid. And a nagging feeling inside of her told her that there was something wrong with her. Her suspicions were correct when the young mermaid accidentally made eye contact with Lia, and she saw how the mermaid's gray eye widened and she bolted right out of her seat, rushing out of the doors and disappearing out of Lia's visions.
A frown appeared as she saw none of the guards stopping her or reminding her that she was in a public formal setting. Their eyes just followed her as she opened the doors and walked out, but they didn't move from their places.
Lia thought that this was her chance of rushing out too and investigating, but the moment she wanted to move out of her seat, a guard stopped her right in her place with a firm look.
"I know that this might sound weird to many," Marcus sighed, "Why would we celebrate such a sad event? Well, I mainly thought that this would bring us closer as a community." The natural smile was still on his face. "Now, more than ever, we need to be together to be able to pass such a disaster. That's why, I cordially invite everyone to the party, inside the palace."
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Lia stood in front of the beautifully positioned plants. Her pink hair scattered behind her ears and flew with the water, playing a game of push and pull. She gently stroked the sea anemone with her tender fingers, enjoying the simple reaction of its hairs as it shied away from her fingers and hugged itself.
Lia squinted her blue eyes in satisfaction, totally immersed in the little game she was playing with this beautiful creature and completely disregarded the slight itch it gave to her fingers as its natural poison was trying to its job by protecting it.
Why should she worry anyway? She was already immune to such stuff.
The little pink plant continued to sway left and right, trying to escape from her clutches. Feeling a little sorry for the plant, Lia caught a small fish swimming freely in the little garden, and pulled it closer to the plant, watching as it paralyzed the small species and began devouring it.
She didn't know when, but Lia found herself humming a gentle song. It was only a simple melody, but because it was coming out of her, it sounded a hundred times more enchanting and beautiful. Even a few fishes swam closer to her, wanting to hear more.
When Lia turned around and saw five or more fishes just standing still and hearing her, she chuckled softly, flicking them with her hand, which made the current around them carry their small bodies away from the garden.
After all, she didn't want her plant to eat all of them.
"You seem oddly happy. I wonder why," she heard her mother say. Her tone told nothing about her mood or feelings, and when Lia tried to look at her mother to discover what she might be thinking, she saw nothing but her cold face.
Yet, the way she had said those words, and the way she had been silent ever since they came back from the announcement, had made Lia sure that her mother was definitely mad. It was better for Lia to play it safe.
"Nothing, just trying to enjoy the serenity." She knew her mother didn't believe her words from the way she raised her eyebrows.
Her mother's golden eyes seized up the garden that her husband had once built and took care of before he disappeared. Now, her daughter took on that job and maintained the utter elegance and beauty that these plants possessed.
The garden itself was built into more than one level, almost like a staircase, Each was divided into sections, merging certain species together because of their compatibility or color. All in all, it was carefully planned and put together.
Vanora didn't want to interrupt her daughter's enjoyment, but when she had heard the way she was singing happily and how her body gracefully went from one plant to the other, talking to them and teasing them, she couldn't help but feel memories resurface.
Vanora nodded. "Be careful so that no one misunderstands your optimism." She swam toward a nearby rock, letting her golden tail swirl around the rock to keep her stable as she sat on it. One of her hand touched the rock table and picked a jelly biscuit. "I also want you to be careful,"
Lia stopped stroking the sea anemone when she heard that. Her back was to her mother, so she was glad that Vanora couldn't see her expression.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm sure he is planning something. Especially with the way he had invited everyone to his castle." What her mother was saying was true. The king was a very private person and didn't like to throw parties or invite everyone unnecessarily to his place. In fact, it had been such a long time since Lia saw the castle or walked inside it.
The last time she had visited that place, was before her father…
"He will probably ask something from the people," Lia heard her mother continue, "and under no circumstances, do I want you to participate." No, Lia wasn't imagining things; her mother wasn't only suspicious of the king and his actions, but also of her own daughter.
Again, the thought of her mother knowing her plans rushed to her head. It had been such a long time since she voiced out her dreams of walking onto the land, and even then, she was never taken seriously. So, Lia doubted her mother knew what she wanted.
That didn't mean she didn't suspect something.
Not to mention, the way her mother was referring to the king's plans and to Lia's thoughts, made her sure that the king was moving things exactly how she wanted them to play out. And that meant that she was getting closer to reaching her goal.
If her mother really knew what she wanted, and what she was going to do, she would probably never let her go to the party or even inch closer to the land. She would disappoint her mother more than ever and would betray her trust.
She knew all of these things, but even then, her heart couldn't stop beating frantically at the thought of her achieving what she wanted.
So, Lia only smiled gently. A smile her mother couldn't see. A smile that contained millions of meanings and there was a gleam in her eyes that would surprise thousands of mermaids who thought of her to be a beautiful, meek mermaid.
"I understand."
Chapter 9: The Sea Legend - 8
ON THE SURFACE
City A, Inside Phantom Ent. Company.
Key held his jacket closer to his body as he felt chills running down his spine. He didn't dare to look forward or at anyone present today. His eyes mainly stayed trained on the windows.
It was mid-afternoon in City A. The weather was extremely hot this time of the year, and most people were seen sitting inside cafes or enjoying their time shopping in malls rather than walking on the streets.
But for him, looking at the situation he was in, he wished he could go outside and walk underneath the sun, maybe even melt. Anything was better than being stuck in this type of situation.
Key wasn't sure if the A/C was put on blast, or if the atmosphere itself was down a hundred degrees. In his brain, he was pretty sure it was the latter. He regretted his decision of entering such a business.
The only thing he gained was muscle pain and headaches. Not to mention that his blood pressure kept rising because of troubles and problems he didn't even cause or had any hand in.
See, his wife was absolutely correct. She had warned him that he would regret his choice. He should've definitely listened to her.
A stern voice reached his ears, "Where is your artist, Key?" Key swallowed thickly, holding onto the last bits of his courage and looked straight at the person who was sitting at the head of the meeting table.
The man in question had razors gray eyes, piercing deeply into Key's bones, reminding Key that his job was at the tips of his hand. He had one hand placed on his mouth and his other one rested comfortably on his lap. His shoulders were wide as he relaxed his back onto the seat and he kept observing the scene.
He was in total control. That was the only way Key could describe Axel at that moment. The man was ten years his senior, almost in his fifties. The only proof of that was the few wrinkles on his temple and the experienced glint in his eyes. Oh, and the millions of dollars he had in his bank account and his connections and-
"I asked you a question Key," Axel reminded, breaking Key out of his zone. Key cleared his throat embarrassingly and straightened up his posture.
"I will call him again, sir." He stood up, picking up his phone from the table and was ready to bolt out of the door for a chance of a breather.
"No, no," he was stopped in place by Axel, who extended his hand and motioned him to sit back down. "Contact him here, I want to hear this conversation." The faint smile that Axel offered assured Key of nothing.
He let out a trembling breath and nodded silently, before searching in his contacts list for Lucas' number shakingly and pressing call. He didn't know whether he wanted him to answer or not. If he did, his answer would likely make matter worse, but if he didn't, then Key would have to bear all the blame.
The ringing noise continued for what seemed like forever, and Key unconsciously started tapping his foot. He stared at his phone so intently that it was a surprise it didn't blow up.
In the end, Lucas didn't pick up the phone, and the silence again presented itself in the meeting room. Key, once again, cleared his throat and looked at the businessmen and women who were sitting around the table.
All of them were trying to avoid making eye contact with either Axel or Key as if that alone would determine their fate.
"How professional of your artist to not answer his manager's phone call." The tone that Axel used might have been light, but it didn't match with his expression at all.
"He has a tour soon, so he has been pract-"
Axel interrupted him, striking his hand onto the table. All the calm and collected demeanor he had a few minutes ago had vanished. "What tour? He has a program to take care of!"
Key shrank back in his seat, wishing that the leather could suddenly extend around him and swallow him whole. He didn't dare to reply back. He only watched as Axel inhaled and exhaled before fixing his suit and sitting upright again.
"Let's begin the meeting." His eyes zoomed in again at Key. "We won't be waiting for your artist, and I have given him enough space already. There are rules and regulations to follow in this company, so you better remind him of those." He then gestured for the man to begin his presentation.
For the rest of the meeting, Key had been counting the seconds and minutes to leave. His mind kept wandering to ways he could convince Lucas with. The last thing he wanted was for Lucas and Axel to bump heads again and fight.
He didn't want dark history to repeat itself. It would cause a major loss for the company and Key himself.
"The program itself will have a few pilot episodes to help us analyze the citizens' reactions and from there we will try to expand the show,
"In these five episodes, we will introduce the characters and let them travel to various countries to experience each culture and become more independent. It will have a variety of stars that might want to spread their name worldwide,
"Jone, Dev, and Luna have gotten back to us that they want in. What left is…," The man trailed off as his eyes glanced up at Key, making Key look away unsure.
Axel nodded silently, assessing the graphs in the powerpoint. "That won't be enough,"
Everyone shared looks around the table, fully confused. Anyone who had read the premises and seen the cast could tell that this show would be a hit. Especially with the coming trend of traveling and sharing experiences.
A woman sitting near Axel nodded her head respectively, "I agree with Mr. Axel. Jone, Dev, and Luna are all mediocre at most, which means that Lucas would be carrying the whole show onto his shoulders, and that would undoubtedly bring in a lot of attention,
"But, it will merely work for so long. After all, Lucas isn't known to be social and would mostly ignore the rest of the three, which might cause an issue and drama. While that is fun to watch by itself, we can't let the show survive only on it." The one who spoke was the chairman's right hand. Between her fingers laid the intended 'script'.
Hearing what she said, everyone's eyes lit up. Suddenly a few started writing information on papers and other flipping through the pages.
It was true. These three idols — they weren't even artists — were all mostly known from single hits or scandals. None of them had enough fans or content to be compared to Lucas. In fact, they were selected mainly because of how diverse their personalities and likings were.
The two managers who were responsible for these three idols held their words back, but both of them had a dark look on their faces. The speaker had mentioned lightly that they 'wanted in' in the project, but in reality, they had begged Phantom Entertainment to let them in this project since their idols' fame was staggering.
They could only grit their teeth at their luck. Someone like Lucas got to throw away such an opportunity without even looking back or pondering, but for them, they had to beg for this.
There was no way they were able to agree or disagree with what she had said. So, they stayed silent.
In contrast to their expression, Axel had a slight smirk on his face. "Exactly what Rose has said. We need to introduce a new factor. In fact a fresh one. Someone or something that will be able to connect those four." He intertwined his fingers together and leaned onto the table, looking directly at Key.
Key knew exactly what that expression on Axel's face meant. After all, he had worked with him for the past ten years. The slight narrow of his eyes, the slight rise in the corner of his mouth and especially the way he was looking down at Key, all of this told him that Axel had a profound plan that he knew how to implement.
And whether that plan was to bring down Key or Lucas, he wouldn't know.
"Because of how critical this part is, I would like to assign this role to Key. After all, he was able to bring talent such as Lucas' to us. I don't think that such a task would be impossible for him." Those words had sealed Key's life.
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As everyone stood up and walked out, Axel was the last one to remain seated. Near him was Rose collecting and organizing the files around the table.
"You need to bring it down a notch, you know," she finally said after everyone had left the room. Her lovely green eyes kept looking at the files in a relaxed manner. A perfectly manicured hand lifted each file and placed it right where it supposed to be in the pile. Her leisure movements released a sense of peacefulness and elegance.
Axel, who was watching the sun slowly go down, carelessly replied, "what are you talking about?" those words did nothing to stop Rose from smiling gently. Her hands stopped moving when she placed the last file where she wanted, and she moved from her place to where Axel sat, leaning slowly onto the table and placing her hand on his shoulder, touching the luxurious fabric of his suit.
This move alone had brought Axel's attention to Rose. His expression was still stone cold. She leaned in and smiled gently, letting her soft perfume tickle his nose. "Your hatred toward Lucas."
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