Arthur decided to go forward.
He was an independent merprince who wasn’t going to let some spooky looking castle scare him away. Besides, his curiosity was peaking.
“What could be inside?”, Arthur thought to himself.
His mind turned to images of beautiful human women and gold that was just inside. It was a childish fantasy, but it was a nice piece of motivation for a young merman. He certainly wasn’t going to find a mermaid easily in this environment.
Quietly diving down, Arthur gently flicked his tail further - cautious not to provoke the human guards.
Suddenly, he could see the grey skies transitioning into a brown ceiling illuminated by a light just left of him. Arthur could hear talking from where the light originated.
He carefully raised his head above the water and looked to see that he was inside of a throne room, with a decorated man with a crown standing in front of what can be presumed to be the Jester and the Chief of The Guards. There seems to be nobody else present.
The King of the castle looked large and imposing already, but the intense anger on the man’s face didn’t help either.
“What do you mean you can’t conquer that kingdom right away?”, The King bellowed.
Arthur looked to see the kingdom's Jester cower in fear while The Chief stood upwards, seems to be used to anger like this.
“Well, you see, your majesty. Our knights aren’t done training yet. Our army needs just a bit more time to prepare for such a conquest like this. Luckily, we can take it over next week.”
The king’s facial expression didn’t seem to improve much, but he let out a harsh sigh.
“Curses… I don’t get how you care so much about training and such.” The King spoke.
“My job is to make sure there’s little to no casualties in this takeover. Keep in mind, our resources are low and we have virtually no money. Our army’s all we got.”, the chief replied.
The king looked straight at his chief. “It’s not like the kingdom we’re targeting is even that powerful. They couldn’t even win a war with merfolk. Merfolk, I tell you. How is it possible to call a truce against creatures that can’t even fight on land? It’s pathetic.”
Arthur's eyes widened. “Merfolk… War?”
His mind went back to when, during one night in his bed, his mother Charlotte told him of a time where her kingdom and Damon’s were at a war for resources. It impacted both of them greatly and would later lead to his father Damon wishing for peace between the two kingdoms - leading him to marry Charlotte to secure peace between humans and merfolk long ago.
“No, he can’t be talking about my father’s former kingdom. He just can’t.”, Arthur thought with worry.
The Guard Chief spoke sternly to the angry king, “Need I remind you that it’s because of the peace deal that followed the war that now King Aaron’s kingdom is rich with resources and publicity?”
Arthur was stunned. “King Aaron... That’s my uncle! This castle is going to destroy his kingdom!” he thought
Arthur’s heart started to beat rapidly and the merprince’s expression grew cross. This mad king is going to try and conquer his father’s former home for himself. Arthur was thinking of notifying his family on land and sea right away when he heard the king laugh maliciously.
“Well, his kingdom might be prosperous for now, but once he surrenders, I’ll cut off his head along with the head of his wife and rip the skin off his child’s flesh right in front of the whole kingdom!”, the king raved as he put raised his arms to the sky.
Arthur let out an audible gasp and immediately closed his mouth with his hands.
“Who made that sound?”, The King sneered.
Arthur froze, he’s in big trouble now. He immediately wanted to swim as fast as he could as he saw The King’s head look around before settling on a single person.
The King pointed his hand at The Jester.
“You. You made that sound. Didn’t you?’, the King questioned.
The Jester jumped, “N-No, Your Highness! Why accuse ME of all people?”
“Because you’re a coward and a child in an adult’s body. Every time I propose something, you always cower in your boots the moment I say something honest. You have outlasted your purpose at this point, I’m considering sending you to the guillotine just like King Aaron.”
The Jester jumped back and shivered.
“Your Highness. Your plan is admirable, but naive at best. Why kill Prince Alex as well when he could be a suitable husband to Princess Samantha?”, The Guard Chief spoke.
Arthur's eyebrows raised, noticing the King’s once powerful and intimidating stance slowly slump - with The King’s face seemingly losing its fury.
“Why did you have to bring my daughter up?”, The King sighed.
“I apologize for bringing such a touchy matter like this, Your Majesty. But Princess Samantha needs a groom in order for our kingdom to survive. She’s been of age for a while, I don’t see why we can’t arrange marriage and take advantage of King Aaron’s wealth.”, The Chief asked.
The King looked down at the floor, “I know you mean the best for my kingdom, but I can’t force my daughter to marry someone like that.”
“Life just hasn’t been the same since your wife passed away.”, The Jester commented.
The king nodded, “Indeed it has. Do you know what it’s like to be a ruler of a kingdom that’s been rotting in its core for centuries and having a daughter doesn’t even want to look at you in the eyes?”
The king looked straight at The Guard Chief. “This is why I must conquer King Aaron’s kingdom. Their kingdom has been living with endless resources and just entered a new era of peace, while they don’t even acknowledge our Kingdom’s existence. This is our chance at revenge and have my daughter be proud of me once and for all!”
The Guard Chief stood firm and took a step forward. “I hope you realize that should you destroy kill Prince Alex also, Princess Samantha will never want to talk to you again.”
“Don’t you DARE use my own daughter to talk me out of my plans! She’s my angel and the last thing I want to hear is her name being used against me. Are you with me or not, Chief?”, The King growled.
The Guard Chief nodded. “I’m always at your side, Your Highness. Forgive me for my blasphemy. I will get my army ready for next week and make quick work of that kingdom as painless as possible.”
Arthur grinned, “I’m going to destroy that king without using a single weapon.”, he thought.
The merprince sneakily swam further up the stream and he could hear young guards training for the conquest, he was definitely at a training room of some sort.
“Where could this Princess be? She has to be here somewhere.”, Arthur wondered to himself.