The Queen made her way slowly down the steps with a smile upon her lips, her features only enhancing in their beauty as she came closer.

Alena could now see a golden pearled comb that sat safely tucked away amongst the Queen's waves of soft brown hair, the pure white contrasting wonderfully with the darkness of her hair and skin.

Damari appeared to be taken in as well as his hippocampus came to a stop only a few feet away from Amphitrite, his eyes rounded in astonishment at just how beautiful she was.

Her mouth widened in a glorious smile as Triton slid off his steed and swam to her side, her arms enveloping him in a long hug as she squeezed him tight.

"Oh my dear Triton! It's been far too long since I last saw you!"

His chuckle was deep and compassionate as his mother tightened her already firm grip on him. "Mother, its only been a few weeks has it not? You never react this way when Rhode and Benthesicyme are gone and believe me I would know."

Leaning out of her son's arms, Amphitrite hit him smartly on the shoulder. "Your sisters make sure to keep in contact with me, unlike some sons in this family."

Triton scoffed and looked over her shoulder towards the palace. "And you're telling me that Otus and Ephialtes make sure to say hello every few weeks while they're out on their escapades?"

The Queen winked at Triton before laughing and allowing her gaze to fall on Alena and Damari. "And they're always on time too dear, now, who are these lovely guests that you have brought with you?"

Triton turned towards Alena who had slid off her hippocampus, bringing her to his mother with a gentle hand on the small of her back. "This is Alena Cali, Mother, the one known as--"

"The Cursed Siren, yes I know dear, I have been around for quite some time now I'd think I'd know a thing or two about such things."

An unmistakable light pink tinge smeared across Triton's face while his eyes morphed from their fiery red to a smoky pink.

Alena curtsied as best she could while the Queen looked down on her with kindness. "Do not worry, my husband may have thought it wise to turn you in to the head council, but I am not my husband, and you look like you would do well with lodgings and some rest."

Her smile was not the only thing that was surprising as the Queen wrapped her arms around Alena's shoulders and guided her up the steps of the palace, ordering the men to return the hippocampus' to the stalls.

Damari skipped up the steps as he rushed after the two, leaving behind Triton and his men to stare at the Queen for a few seconds with confusion at her orders before hurrying off to complete them in fervor.

"Now I must apologize to you, Alena, if my son has been rude to you as of late. He never has had a way with words, especially when it comes to beautiful women like yourself." The Queen said with a smile.

A series of hacking coughs sounded after the Queen spoke, causing her to turn and see Damari standing hunched over with an arm propped against one of the columns.

"Are you all right, dear?" she asked with concern, her gown rustling as she reached out an arm to rest it carefully on his shoulders. "I guessed the water may be getting deep and a bit stifling for you."

Damari waved her off with an unconvincing smile. "I'm..all right...your Majesty... just winded..is all." he gasped out, holding a hand to his ribs as his breathing started to even out again.

Alena rolled her eyes and followed the Queen past the large crystalline gates that led to the main entrance of the palace, marveling at the numerous gems that adorned the walls and ceilings of the great room.

Amethysts, rubies and emeralds glimmered with light as Alena swam into the main hallway. There were so many jewels that it was impossible to count them all by herself, like the stars she had seen so many times above her in the night sky.

"Your Highness," Alena spoke quietly, her voice echoing throughout the hall and rising up into the glass dome that displayed a group of dolphins swimming past its crest, "why are you being so kind to us? When it goes deliberately against your husband's orders of turning us in?"

Amphitrite smiled at Alena and guided her down the hall until they stopped at a door that was decorated with silver. "My husband has always been rather stiff when it comes to following the rules, never bending them much until it comes to women," she smirked, but it was one that betrayed her inner turmoil, a soft sadness and stabbing pain that weighed down her features. "I believe I should be granted the fairness of bending them a time or two myself, don't you?"

"I do, your Highness." Alena said lightly. "I must thank you for being so gracious and kind to me and my...companion on our journey."

Opening the door with a flourish, the Queen smiled and gestured for the two to walk inside. "Oh it isn't a problem at all, it isn't often that my family receives guests and it's my honor to welcome you to Aegea. I also must speak with you about your journey, it is important that you hear this."

Alena looked over at Damari who shrugged his shoulders and turned to take in the room around him, his jaw proceeding to drop when the entirety of it came into view.

A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling while three auger shells swung from its heights, the reds and yellows of their exterior accenting the large king-sized bed that sat in the middle of the room with basins of water and shell made bowls nestled in a tiny shelf next to the bed.

While a pair of French doors led to a balcony that looked out over all of Aegea, two chairs were placed next to each other, decorated with plush pillows and in perfect view of the townspeople below, the bustling sounds and activity creating a bubble of light amidst the infernal darkness of the sea.

Damari sprinted to the center of the room and threw himself onto the comfortable bed, smiling with content as he realized the bed was moving, conforming itself to every curve and bone in his body.

Alena sat down in one of the chairs that was situated in the doorway of their room, finding that the chair also moved itself accordingly to fit her body composition.

"What is this furniture made up of, your Majesty?" Alena asked curiously. "I must admit it's finer than any substance I have ever seen before in my lifetime."

The Queen ran her hand over the smooth surface, watching it bubble before it adjusted to the weight of her hand. "It is a rare species of sea sponge that Poseidon discovered when out on a hunt once, it was so comforting and pliable to sleep on that he believed it would serve as a good cushion."

"He chose wisely." Alena hinted vaguely, allowing a current of double meaning slip into her tone.

Amphitrite smiled warmly. "Indeed he did, and now, for means of your journey--"

"Your Highness?" A voice called out from the hallway, a young lad then stuck his head into the doorway of the room before fully revealing himself and bowing. "Have I caught you at a bad time?"

The Queen shook her head and held her hand out for the boy to take. "You're all right, Curtis. What is it that you needed?

Curtis straightened and puffed up his chest to appear more regal. "I was sent here by the head of the Guard, your Highness, to inform you that your daughters have arrived at the front gates."

Amphitrite's ears perked up at this. "Rhode and Bea are here? At the palace? Right now? What for Olympus' sake are they doing at the front gates?!"

Curtis shuffled where he stood and scuffed his leather shoe against what appeared to be a diamond cut floor.

"Rhode said that Triton had summoned her and Benthesicyme from her island to discuss something with them, something involving Rhode and her husband, Helios. That is all I was able to relinquish from her, your Highness."

Amphitrite hugged the small boy and reached behind her chair for a bowl that Alena hadn't seen before.

Its contents swirled around with the brightest of colors, and obviously the boy knew what it was because his eyes lit up with excitement.

Curtis stood next to the bowl and watched as the Queen dipped her hand into the swirling colors, an unnatural warmth emitting from its center.

Her hand began to remove itself from the concoction and Alena studied it in wonder as a circular object wrapped in silvery foil lay delicately in Amphitrite's hand.

"A gift." She offered willingly. "And do have my daughters escorted here, I'd appreciate their company at the moment." Her chuckle was soft when Curtis grabbed the delicacy from her hand, bowed swiftly, and departed from the room in a hurry.

"The children always enjoy candy." Amphitrite quickly filled in. "It's a trick I learned long ago from my mother, it has been made to produce the finest candies in the seven seas."

Her wink didn't go unnoticed and Alena genuinely smiled at the queen, feeling the muscles in her back and shoulders relax as the cushion of the sponge molded to her body.

It had been years, Alena thought, since she had truly relaxed, maybe even decades in the way that time flew past her.

She'd always been concerned over whether she would be discovered and hunted by the humans due to her sloppiness in killings, but the few men who were brave enough to try and explain her existence met the tragic end of insanity among their people.

Her back ached and her muscles screamed as she leaned back further into the chair, but she couldn't find a better reason to move away from the seat, convincing herself she deserved the small amount of relaxation for once in her life.

Instead, it seemed the Queen had other ideas. "Now I must tell you," she said softly, "some of the gods have been persuaded against you, using everything in their power to stop you from getting to the Underworld before the solstice."

Alena's eyes flew open, her figure going stiff as she sat up to look at the Queen. "But your Majesty, with gods going up against us, there's no possible way Damari and I will be able to reach the gates in time."

"That is why I planned ahead of time, dear girl." Amphitrite said with a sly grin, folding her hands together before standing up to make her way to the door. "My daughters are here believing that my son sent for them, when really, I needed them to help me."

"Help you?"

Amphitrite stood close to the doorway, tapping her foot impatiently. "Yes, my dear. They're the only ones that will be able to help me in the next step of your journey."

"How are you going to do that?"

"With technique and stealth." The Queen smirked, a joyous smile breaking out across her face when two young women made their way through the door. "Rhode! Benthesicyme!"

The two were unable to stop themselves from being attacked by their mother, her arms wrapping around them both. "I must apologize in advanced girls because I believe I may have deceived you ever so slightly."

"Ever so slightly?" The taller of the two asked, her moonlight pale skin revealing how dark her raven colored hair was. "What exactly do you mean by that, Mother? Please say this doesn't involve another of the councilmen's sons, you know how awkward it was for poor Bea and Calder."

The brown haired girl with a plaited braid swept her flowing gown out from beneath her feet. "There are no words to describe my humiliation." she whispered before glaring at Rhode. "Thank you for bringing that up. Again."

Rhode shrugged and moved her curly hair behind her shoulder with a dramatic sigh. "Well it's not my fault you decided to--"

"Girls there's someone I'd like you to meet!" Amphitrite shouted above the two bickering girls, her eyes glaring vehemently at her daughters while Alena took a cautious step back from the Queen, hoping that she would never get stuck in a situation such as this.

Well you don't have a mother so its probable that it won't, she thought, momentary blip of sadness overtaking her, like a dark cloud on a stormy day.

Listening back in to the conversation, she didn't believe that she had missed much considering Rhode and Bea were staring at their mother like she had grown a third head.

This surprisingly wasn't all that uncommon to some peoples dismay, and the Queen looked as if she were about to throw one of the girls off the balcony.

"They need the bond!" Amphitrite finally screamed, her chest heaving and her hands shaking as she struggled to calm her frustration.

Rhode's eyes widened with disbelief as Bea put a hand to her mouth in shock. "You're kidding aren't you, Mother? Please tell us your kidding."

Queen Amphitrite grabbed ahold of their hands and dragged them towards the bed where Damari lay with his body sprawled out and his arms thrown over his head.

"No I am most certainly not kidding, young ladies, you must understand the severity of the situation now!" Amphitrite shouted, drawing Damari out of his somewhat peaceful slumber to find three beautiful, but exhausted looking women standing over him.

Alena made her way to the bed slowly and tried to hide her look of interest in seeing Damari's sleep ridden eyes, the lazy way in which his eyelids opened and drooped closed before popping back open again.

She found herself wishing that he would lean over just the tiniest bit to display the small patch of skin that lay above the leather of his pants. No doubt the skin was smooth and silky and creamy just like she imagined it would be...

WOAH NO! She thought with a hurry, she was not thinking like that, refused to. Her blood boiling at just the thought of giving into the pleasure of running her hand over his flat and alluring stomach.

Nope, not going to do it.

Swallowing the shaky breath she had been holding, Alena instead decided to move closer to the Queen. "What exactly is this bond, your Majesty? And who needs it?"

Amphitrite looked at Alena hurriedly before darting her gaze back to her two daughters, only to have them shrug their shoulders as if to say that she was on her own.

"Well dear, you see, you and Damari are going to the Gates of the Underworld correct? You don't plan on turning around?"

Alena frowned quizzically, taking another look at Rhode and Bea who were now muttering between themselves in quiet whispers, glancing up at their mother every once in awhile.

"Yes we don't plan on turning back, why?"

Damari raised himself up from the bed, his body more relaxed than he had been when he had laid down, listening intently to the Queen's every word.

"Like I told you before-- you see, there are many gods and goddesses that have sworn their allegiance to prevent you from making it to the Underworld and...one of those goddesses is Hecate, the goddess of the crossroads."

Damari and Alena exchanged looks, nodding at the Queen while being reluctant to hear what she had to say.

"You both will be tested," she muttered with a cringe. "When you're tested, there shall be a task so difficult that you will not be able to pass without each other."

Damari chuckled and fell back onto the bed, burrowing deeper into the comfy surface. "Yes we know that, your Majesty, we haven't come ill-prepared I assure you, we have each other."

"Not in the way that I speak of." Amphitrite choked out, raising a hand to her mouth to bite at her nails, catching Alena completely off guard. "This is much more deeper than that."

"What do you mean by deep? There is no way we could possibly help each other more then we do every other day is there?" Alena asked, approaching the basin filled with water and sinking her fingers into the bowl, wondering how on earth she could feel it's coolness when she was submerged in water already.

Rhode flinched at her words and eased down into a chair next to the bed. "Oh it's a lot more complicated than that, Alena Cali, trust me."

Bea nodded silently and sat next to her sister patiently. "Going up against a goddess like Hecate will be an unbelievably difficult challenge, without the bond you will be powerless to her manipulation."

"Manipulation?"

Rhode snapped her fingers into a thumbs up. "You got it, and a lot of it too. That woman is to manipulation as Bea is to mermen. You'll need a lot of strength to get through that one."

"Rhode!" Bea screeched, hitting her with one of the bowls that was perched next to the bed, not caring when it shattered on her sister's arm harmlessly.

"What? It's true and besides how else are they going to prepare themselves for that lady? The bond is the only way!"

"Will somebody just tell me what this bond is and get on with it!" Damari shouted. "I'll never get a nap with all your fighting!"

Rhode crossed her arms and Bea sighed, both of them leaning forward until they were a breath away from Damari and Alena.

"Here's the down low." They both whispered.

~*~*~*~*~