Hectic. This was the atmosphere at Prince Marvelon's home. Ah, the prince title no longer suited him. King Marvelon was his right name now. His power had grown tremendously overnight. Last night the royal summoning woke me from my slumber. No doubt, it did the same to all the other merfolks on land. King Marvelon, the King of Kings, ruler over land and ocean, ordered a census of merfolks residing on land. Young and old got the order. Even the location of where to collect the royal documents lingered at the forefront of my mind. The command was clear and precise. No one could reject the decree. Not even a child. The King had passed a rule and it was being carried out. Guardian Shelliot and Sophia conversed strategy. King Marvelon has been out of it. Whatever happened last night either exhausted him, or it startled him. It could be the latter, though. There were a lot of people he knew who were merfolks. Maybe that was why he wandered around like a zombie. 

Guardian Torus strolled ahead of us in the direction of his office. "Right this way, human," he threw over his shoulder at Sophia. "This human has a name," Sophia trailed after him. "It's Sophia. I prefer that." He already knew her name. One of his amazing abilities was to remember everything. He could recite an entire statement from anyone when they said it once. However, he disliked Sophia, or rather what she was. Therefore, he would treat her as if she was trash. Guardian Torus shrugged, not turning to look at her. "You are a messenger. It's not vital to know your name." Non-sense. It was crucial to know the identity of every messenger and their names. This helped to avoid deception. If it wasn't, anyone could swim into the Royal Court and cause destruction. No Kingdom wanted or needed such tragedy. "Really?" Sophia drawled. "You might be right, merman. I mean, it's not like we a

"I feel odd," I whined, fixing my couplings. Sophie decided that it would be better if we all dressed formally for the business meeting. She was playing the role of my executive assistant. Therefore, she bought everything to play the part. She had spent two hours to know everything about the man we were meeting. He owned a few hotels along the coast. The building I was thinking of buying was one of the first he has ever owned. However, he wanted to expand and improve the hotel like his others, but its location prevented him from doing so. Therefore, he lost more than he gained. People were willing to book his other hotels and not that one. In the long run, he moved the hotel to another location. I made the offer to check out the old building before he could decide what to do with it. Sophie helped me with my tie. The thing was like a rope, hanging me. I wondered how Dad lived in these things. "Oh, stop whining,

The hotel wasn't that bad. Everything was still intact since the owner was using it up to the minute the other hotel opened. A hundred and ten rooms, a gift shop, an indoor and outdoor pool area, a private beach, a gym, a daycare area, a teenage lounge or gaming room, an outdoor and indoor bar area, a restaurant, and a spa area. I could say this place was the right fit for the merfolks. Most of the rooms were large enough to transform into apartments. The indoor pool could be used for transformations while the outdoor one could be used for enjoyment. I was thinking we could change the gift shop, teenage lounge, the daycare area, and the indoor bar into apartment areas. However, Sophie suggested it was best to leave as is. The gift shop could be turned into a mini-mart. It would allow employment. And, for those new merfolks, shopping where they lived would make life easier for them. The teenage lounge would remain the same. I could add a few more gam

'We shouldn't be friends anymore.'Sophie agreed. She didn't even put up a fight. Were we that disposable to her? The thought shattered my heart. I struggled to breathe through the pain in my chest. I gritted my teeth. "It's for the best." Then why did it hurt so bad? This was my idea. I should be the one composed and aloof. Unaffected by the situation. However, like always Sophie managed to turn it on me. Damn her! Sophie's footsteps disappeared. The soft click of the bathroom door snapped louder than it should. I wobbled out of the bedroom. My feet wanted to give way under me. The need to break something shook my body. When the door closed, there was no sound. My intention was to leave. Regardless, my body and my mind fought an intense war. I was stuck at the door. My palm refused to release the doorknob. I wanted to march back into the room, to demand Sophie's attentio