The underwater Story was incredible. The sun shone through the waters above, giving the whole ocean a glowing and mysterious sheen. Fish swam by Rachel and Merlin, unafraid. Merlin reached out and touched one. "This is fantastic!" he said.

Rachel appreciated the beauty of the ocean as much as Merlin, but she had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She looked around, trying to determine the cause. "Merlin," she said quietly, "are we being watched?"

Merlin flicked his tail once and stopped beside Rachel. "I'm not sure," he answered in the same tone. "I've had this feeling like someone's breathing down my neck, but I just can't tell. The water's dampening my magic."

That was concerning. Rachel concentrated and found her magic unavailable as well. "This is bad," she told him.

Merlin happened to glance down, and Rachel saw his face pale. Wrapped around the bottom of his tail were several pieces of seaweed. "Rachel," he said, obviously trying to remain calm, "I can't swim."

Rachel floated down to the seaweed. A piece tried to latch on to her arm, but she drew her sword and cut it. "This is bad!" she repeated. "We walked into a trap!"

"Swam into one," Merlin corrected her. "Hurry up!"

"Oh, sure," Rachel snapped. "I'm taking my sweet time. I'm trying not to slice off your fins, for heaven's sake!"

"I don't care if you accidentally cut me," Merlin said. "Just get it off!"

Rachel gritted her teeth as she cut at the seaweed. Whenever she cut a piece, two more took its place. It was a hopeless battle. She moved down from Merlin's tail and started hacking at the pieces towards the bottom. The fins on the bottom of Merlin's tail twitched, making an already-difficult job even harder. "Stop fidgeting!" she grunted as she cut through another piece of seaweed.

"I'm not!" Merlin answered, his voice rising an octave. "Rachel—incoming!"

Rachel turned and caught a sword on hers just before it could slice her in half. A merman was attacking her, and she had no idea why. Merlin gave a strangled shout as a mermaid grabbed him from behind, yanking him free from the grasping seaweed. Merlin, unarmed, was helpless as the red-head mermaid pressed her sword against his throat. "Cease your struggling!" the woman ordered Rachel.

Rachel stopped fighting; nothing was worth having one of her friends lose his head. The merman plucked her sword from her unresisting grasp. "Tak," the mermaid said. "Now we take you to the Dronning."

"Take us to the what?" Merlin muttered to Rachel as he was shoved beside her. The grasping seaweed wrapped around their wrists and bound them behind their backs.

"The Dronning," Rachel answered in the same tone. "The Queen, in Danish. I thought you used to be a Guardian; didn't you learn all the languages?"

"Some," Merlin said, his blush giving away his lie. Rachel rolled her eyes. A sword pommel hit the back of Merlin's head.

"Stilhed!" the merman ordered.

Merlin looked angry, but he managed to keep his temper in check as he and Rachel were prodded through the ocean.

They saw the city from quite a way off. It was huge and shone like the sun under the water. Buildings spiraled out of the ground, the light pouring from the windows. Even in their current predicament Rachel and Merlin had to pause to bask in its beauty. "That's fantastic," Merlin breathed.

Rachel had no time to answer. Their captors pushed them forward, and before they knew it they were being taken through the city. Merpeople stared at them, most hiding behind objects, others looking ill. No one met Rachel's eye. She wondered what they were all afraid of.

They entered the huge, spiraling castle and were taken to a massive hall; at the end sat a young woman, probably mid-teens, on a black metal throne. Her blue tail was draped over the arm of the throne, black hair flowing in the water behind her. Multiple guards lined the throne room, each armed and covered in armor.

Rachel and Merlin were brought to a halt in front of the girl. A crown of pearls sat on her luxurious raven hair. "I would recognize those blue eyes anywhere," the girl said, her own sea-blue eyes scanning Rachel. "You're an Andric, aren't you?"

"Rachel Andric," she answered. "And you're the Little Mermaid."

"Eline," the girl corrected her. "And him...a sorcerer. The ocean is disgusted with your filth."

"I'm not especially pleased with the ocean, to be honest," Merlin said.

"Then we shall attempt to remove you from the ocean as soon as possible," Eline replied coolly. "Bring the other two!"

The other two? Rachel only had to wonder for a moment. A door behind Eline's throne opened and Guinevere and Alan were shoved inside. She turned to Eline. "How are they breathing?" she demanded.

"Landwalkers," Eline said with a good deal of venom. "I surrounded them with a bubble of oxygen. It will only last for twenty-four hours, though, so if things don't work out to my tastes...I will kill them."

"No need for that," Rachel said, holding up a calming hand. "We've come seeking knowledge. Have you seen a man named Guy of Gisborne?"

"Injen," Eline replied, shaking her head. "But you are not to be asking the questions! You came to my Story, seeking a man? Honestly?"

"If I remember your Story correctly," Merlin said irritably, "you underwent great pain for a man! You even died rather than kill him."

Eline snorted. "That was simply how I was written," she said. "I am weary of playing by the Editor's Story!"

"I changed The Story," Rachel soothed her gently. "You don't have to do anything the Editor told you to do anymore. You can choose your own life. All I ask is that you tell me if you know anything about the Editor."

"You cannot guarantee anything," Eline retorted. "If I must die a thousand more times...I will simply not be able to continue. It takes all meaning from the sacrifice I make to have to repeat it, over and over, only remembering when a Guardian speaks of it. Imagine the pain of watching your dear brother perish, Rachel Andric, over and over. That is what I must do, except it is I who is dying."

"I understand," Rachel said. "And I've fixed it, I promise. You get to make your own choice. No one is forcing you to do anything. You can remain as a mermaid for your whole life, instead of becoming human and undergoing such pain. The Story has been molded for you to decide, not anybody else."

"Usandt," Eline retorted. "You have deluded yourself into believing you have free will. In The Story, there is no such thing. Everything we do is controlled. All we can do is ensure it is in our favor."

"I don't like the sound of that," Merlin muttered to Rachel.

"Queen Eline," Rachel said, struggling to remain calm and resist the temptation to hit Merlin, "let me help you. You don't understand, you—"

"Rolige!" Eline shrieked at them, causing Merlin to shrink back. Rachel remained upright and unfazed. "I am finished with your arrogance, Morpheus. I have come to a decision. Vagter, arrestere dem!"

"I don't think I need a translation for that," Merlin said. Two of the guards grabbed him. "Oi! Watch it!"

"Eline!" Rachel yelled as they were pulled away from the Queen. "What are you doing?"

"I've been offered a new Story—if I give you to the Editor!" was the laughing response from Eline.

Oh man. That's not good. "This is insane! I can write you a new Story!" Rachel cried.

"Too little, too late," Eline replied. "Goodbye, Rachel Andric." The throne room doors slammed shut as the four were dragged to the cells.