” Jade. Jade. I cannot find Mia anywhere. Jade! ”
Ruby came rushing like a maniac for help when she realised that Mia was missing.
” What rubbish? Where could she go? ”
Jade was crying her baby in her arms.
” It’s been a while. We need to find her before the baby starts getting hungry. ”
” But I searched everywhere. She is not anywhere near. ”
Ruby protested. She was getting paranoid.
” Ruby. ” Jade paused with horror. ” Do you think, by any chance, she might have gone to the shores? Perhaps to meet her husband? ”
” No. Oh! Noo!
It’s suicide. That abomination born out of the curse is lurking to catch her. If she went there, there is no way she will be able to get away.
What do we do now? ”
There was fresh horror in both their eyes.
” Should we ask the queen for help? ”
Ruby asked.
Jade nodded. She was the last person to go to the Queen for help.
” I guess we have no other choice. Let’s hurry. Let’s hurry before it is too late. ”
They went towards the palace without further ado.
” Let us in. It’s urgent. It’s about Mia. ”
They were yelling together when they were stopped at the gate.
” Let them in. ”
Someone form the inside asked for their presence.
They bowed as they entered the Queen’s personal chamber .
There were two other high officials of the mer- world present there.
The queen herself stood up as soon as she say Mia’s boy. She quickly swam towards them and took the boy carefully in her arms .
” What’s the matter? Why are you here with the new born? ”
The queen asked, swimming back to her seat again. The boy calmly sleeping against her breast.
” Your Majesty, Mia is missing. We cannot find her anywhere.
We fear she might have gone to the shore. If she has Your Majesty, her life might be in danger. ”
They were bowing down as low as possible.
” What? She went to the shores?
Send a group immediately. Call the trackers. ”
The queen herself was too shocked.
” Your Majesty, we are afraid the baby is also hungry. Though he does not cry or wail, he has not been fed for hours. ”
Ruby came forward.
” Indeed. This is a special child. Don’t worry. He can survive on nectar. ”
The queen took the boy to her inner chambers.
” We should be going with the trackers as well. ”
Jade told Ruby and both of them darted off as well.
The scouts scanned the entire perimeter of the southern shores. They could not find a single trace. No struggle. Nothing. It was as if Mia had evaporated.
The trackers were now the only hope.
They too wandered a little before they were able to catch a sniff of her from the currents.
” Her smell is mingled with the under currents. Was Mia able traverse the Multi-Aqua Space? ”
The leader of the tracker was both shocked and impressed.
The question was aimed at her aunts in particular. But they themselves didn’t have much clue.
” Being half wolf and Crystals daughter, Mia did have unique abilities. However, we hardly knew her enough to know the extent of her talents. ”
Jade said.
” Should we not try to go after the trail she left? ”
Ruby asked. She was the child in the group and the most naive.
” Girl, how old are you? Don’t you know only a very few in our mer-world possess the ability to traverse the Multi-Aqua dimensions? A handful among the maidens and the only mer-boy.
We have nothing else to do here. We must go back and report the findings to the queen at once.
She can decide on whom to send after Mia. ”
The tracker leader, paused for a moment. Reflected on what she was thinking, then said,
” I wonder where Mia was headed through these doors? Did she have anybody she needed to meet with? ”
” Probably, she was looking for ways to send words to her husband or her father.
We have been cut off from the mainland because of the curse. She had to give birth all alone. She must have been feeling anxious to get the news of her boy’s birthday across! ”
Ruby guessed.
” Anyways… Let’s head back… ”
The leader stopped for a while.
She turned and sniffed the current once more. Her eyes flew open. She rubbed her hands and nose clean. Then kept on sniffing again and again.
” Impossible. Impossible! ”
She was almost backing off with shock.
The second one in command stepped forwards. She followed the lead of her leader and began examining the water from the undercurrent.
” What is it? ”
Jade finally asked, unable to suppress her curiosity any further.
The trackers ignored her words and tried swimming towards the undercurrent. Braving a little further. They nodded and consulted with themselves.
” It is confirmed. We can safely inform the Queen. ”
” It’s not possible. We have been trying to track him for ages. Not even once could we trace him. ”
” It’s s miracle to be honest. We were trying to track Mia but here we have the trace of not one but two mer-male. ”
” We need to hurry. This information cannot wait. ”
They headed straight to the palace as Jade and Ruby kept staring at each other.
” What did they mean by mer-male? Two of them? ”
Ruby asked herself.
“Don’t look at me. I am asking myself the same question. ”
Jade shrugged.
” Is one of them Crystals lost mate by any chance? Because we only have him who went missing from the mer-world years ago and the other mer-boy will eventually become the present queens mate. ”
” Don’t forget Mia’s son. He is a male too. He has prominent mer-boy features as well. ”
Ruby ate on her own word. She just realised what they said. They had never thought about Mia’s boy as part of their kingdom and hence they never had the Male risk factor about him in their head.
They did not need to exchange anymore words.
Both swam faster than the fastest sailfish. They didn’t stop before they reached the palace gate, neither did they take a break.