Everyone started to scream at the same time, and DOHNK pulled out her sword. She looked at Liam and Ezra and saw their confused looks. She explained, "The Kraken is a sea monster. It only attacks now and then, but few survive when it goes after a ship. The captain raised the sails to try to outrun it, but it looks like it's targeted us!"

The ship continued to pick up speed. Liam wondered if it would be fast enough to outrun the Kraken, but then he saw the shadows under the water. The creature clearly had no trouble keeping up with them. He could see a dark form circling the ship, even at such a speed.

The water off to the side started to foam, and they could see the monster was about to surface. Men screamed again, and the captain began to weep. The despair could almost be felt across the deck of the boat. The body of the Kraken could clearly be seen under the water, surrounding the ship. The captain called for the men to furl the sails and drop anchor. They couldn't outrun the beast. With the Kraken surrounding the ship, they needed to come to a halt so the hull would not break apart on the body of the giant sea monster.

The Kraken broke the surface and rose up beside the ship. Four of the sailors fainted, and the captain fell to his knees and started biting his nails.

Liam looked at the beast in awe. He looked at its face, its neck, its eyes, the body that stuck up out of the water, the mouth. It was, by far, without a doubt, the most adorable creature he had ever laid his eyes on. If it were small, he would not have been able to resist wrapping his arms around it and giving it a big hug. He had never seen such cute eyes. They were like the eyes of a kitten, times one hundred. Its smile put Liam's heart at ease, and its furry neck and body seemed soft and comforting. Even its sharp teeth seemed friendly. From beside him, he heard Ezra say, "Ahhhhh" and could tell he wasn't the only one taken by the cuteness of the creature.

Liam walked to the edge of the ship and hollered out. "Hello there, wittle guy. Are you wost? Did you wose your mommy?" He was finding the urge to give it a hug almost unbearable. The beast roared as vicious a roar as Liam had ever heard, but at the same time, even the roar was adorable. It was like Liam's three-year-old nephew who liked to pretend he was a tyrannosaurus rex. Sure he was supposed to be dangerous, but when a toddler walks around pretending to be a dinosaur, it's just cute.

At the same time, Liam knew he should not mess with the beast. Though it truly was adorable, it was a dangerous creature, and he needed to give it some space.

He just couldn't stop himself. "Does the wittle Kwaken have something in its thwoat?" Liam asked. He was having trouble not treating it like a baby. He wasn't sure it was the wisest move, but the Kraken was just so adorable he couldn't help himself.

The beast appeared to become more agitated each time Liam spoke, but there was just no way to stop. "What's a matter, wittle Kwaken? Do you have a booboo?"

The Kraken seemed beside itself with anger. It looked like it didn't know how to respond, but it knew it didn't like what Liam was saying. It began to shake its head back and forth and roar its adorable little roar with even more ferocity. The entire crew and Liam's whole team motioned toward him to try to get him to stop the baby talk. Liam could see how it was a problem and wished he could stop, but it was like he was watching himself through someone else's eyes. The words just flowed out of his mouth.

Liam stepped up on the railing, balanced himself and stretched out his arms before the great beast. He realized he had come too far to turn back now. It was time to bring the hug in for a landing. "Come here, wittle guy. It's time for some wovin'."

The Kraken began to shake. Its eyes flashed red (an adorable red), and it showed all its teeth. Although Liam was taken by the monster's cuteness, he could tell he had crossed the line long before that point and the beast was likely more enraged now than it had ever been in its entire life. It started to flap the little fins which ran down each side of its snake-like body and even the captain of the ship, convinced his life was minutes from coming to an end, let out a little squeak at the cuteness of those fins.

When the rage had reached a peak and Liam, still balanced on the side rails of the boat, thought it was all over, and he was about to die the death of cuteness, a large tear formed in the eye of the Kraken. It started to cry. Not a little sniffle, but a loud, wailing sort of cry. It wept, and tears fell. The tears made huge splashes in the Achtor River. The Kraken was clearly a lonely creature, and that was perhaps the first time anyone had ever shown any affection toward him. He leaned in, and Liam wrapped his arms around the beast's neck, and the two of them wept together.

After a long while, the Kraken pulled back and began to weep even harder. Liam stepped back onto the deck of the boat. The weeping had reached a new level which involved snot and an unfortunate amount of drool. The cries began to come in loud, sobbing bursts. The beast, as cute as it had been while angry, was clearly an ugly crier.

Liam started to gag a little bit, and the entire crew began to feel uncomfortable. The beast just kept on crying, and chunks of snot were getting on the deck. It then leaned in and blew its nose on the front sail.

That was too much for the captain. He looked at the sails and began to gag. Between gags, he called for the anchor to be raised and the sails to be put up. The ship lurched forward. The Kraken still wept, but its body no longer surrounded the ship. They moved on, thankful to be alive.

I hope you are enjoying Arestana: The Key Quest. Keep reading to find out what happens next! If you want to get a hold of this entire story, you can pick it up from Amazon, Chapters, Foyles or just about everywhere else!

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