The Aquarian Crown

Atlas blinked at Levi in surprise. No one had ever asked about his trident before. He'd found it in the hidden room along with the Triton family records.

It looked like any other trident, except for an intricate carving right below the prongs. It looked like a crown situated on top of a trident. A bit redundant to him, but other than that, Atlas hadn't noticed anything unique about it.

After looking around to make sure that they were still alone, the Merfolk King offered the trident to the Great Leviathan. He was a bit smaller than Atlas at the moment, so he could hold the weapon himself. Extending his arm with the trident in hand; he lent it to Levi to inspect.

The Great Leviathan augmented his claws into hands, then held them out to take the treasure. His eyes sparkled like an overexcited child's as he took the trident. Taking care, Levi held it like it was the most fragile thing in the world as he examined it.

The trident itself looked like it was made of gold, but that wasn't true. The Greeks assumed it was gold because of it's color, but the metal was far stronger and rarer than that. It was called Primordium, and came from the ore found in Mount Othrys. The original home of the Primordial Gods.

When the Titans overcame Uranus, Cronus had ordered their home stripped barren. The majority of it was later used in the creation of Olympus, but the elders of the Cyclops had stolen some of the ore before their brother had locked them away within Tartarus again.

They appreciated Zeus and his siblings for saving them and their children so much, that they took the ore that they had saved, and created the Olympians' weapons. From Zeus' Thunderbolt, to Poseidon's Trident, to Hades' Bident; all of the Olympians' weapons were created by the Cyclops.

Before the war with the Titans, Poseidon was trying to convince the God Atlas to join their side. He admired Poseidon's Trident greatly, so the Sea God offered it to him, so long as he fought on the side of the Olympians. When the time came, however; he betrayed the Olympians.

Atlas fought with the Titans instead, and when they lost, his punishment was severe. Instead of being sent to Tartarus with the rest of his family, Atlas was sentenced to be the Axis between the heavens and earth. To forever be the pillar that separates Graea and Uranus until the end of time...

Levi marveled at the historically significant item in his hands like it was the most important thing in the world. His mouth gaped slightly as he ran his fingertips over the symbol. It was a legendary weapon, second only to Zeus' Thunderbolt.

After nearly ten minutes of Levi admiring the trident, Atlas asked; "Do you think Iris will hate me after she finds out who I am?"

Levi's expression completely changed as he looked at the Merfolk King and said; "There's a high probability of it, but that may also depend on how she finds out. If you tell her yourself, she may be able to forgive you. However.."

Levi paused to give Atlas back his weapon before he continued; "If she does find out who you are through someone else, she may very well hate you.. And I'm not talking about you being the Merfolk King, either."

Atlas knew exactly what the Great Leviathan meant.. 'Yeah, I'd be kinda pissed if I found out whom I was marrying through someone other than my future partner..'

"But HOW do I tell her? We're going to have to get married, and we hardly know each other! I don't even know what her favorite color is! Or anything like that!"

"Is there some cultural significance to a mate's preferred color when it comes to mortals?" Levi asked while trying to hide his curiosity.

Atlas didn't notice, though; he was too busy freaking out. He began to swim-pace in a small circle. Making sure to stay behind the rock.

Seeing his panic, Levi added; "If you want, I can tell her-"

"NO! *cough* I mean, no thank you. I will tell her myself...as soon as I can get my fin to stop twitching."

Levi chuckled at Atlas. If it weren't for his deception of Iris, Levi might even like the Merfolk King. He was honest, if not a touch emotional for a monarch. He was happy not to find a cold, calculating Aquarian, but still worried about Iris' emotional state.

Her powers were linked to them, and if her state of mind became too chaotic; Iris could inadvertently destroy kingdoms. As Levi talked with Atlas, the sun began to pierce the blue veil of the ocean..

The morning hours were upon them as Atlas and Levi finally parted ways. Iris' meeting with the council was a few short hours away, and the girl needed to be prepared. As Levi shank back down and swam off, Atlas silently wished Iris the best of luck, then swam off as he contemplated his conversation with the Great God Leviathan...

************

As Iris awoke to Selena's gentle voice, the day's events hit her like a ton of bricks. Shooting up in bed, Iris quickly swam over to her 'bathroom', and began to ready herself.

Instead of her normal wrap, Selena had chosen a beautiful flowing white dress that reminded Iris of a toga. It wrapped around her similarly to her usual clothes, but split in the front where her tail started, and flowed outward.

All Aquarian dresses had tiny weights sewn into the bottom hem. It kept the garments from floating up and around the wearer. A slit ran halfway up from the bottom on the backside, to make sure that the dress didn't interfere with the motions of the wearer's tail.

As Iris looked herself over in a mirror, Levi commented; "The garb of the gods looks good on you."

The Queen beamed, but Selena flashed a sheepish expression. Levi had noticed it and added; "As well as you, Selena. You look beautiful today."

Selena blushed prettily as she thanked Levi for his compliment. She kept a gentle smile on her face the entire morning. Up until the Council meeting. As they swam closer to the Delegation Chamber, Iris was nothing but a scaly ball of nerves.

Before they swam up to the doors, Selena pulled Iris aside and inquired; "How do you feel?"

Iris swallowed hard; "Like I'm gonna blow bubble bites all over the senators.. How bad do I look?"

Selena's face scrunched in a telling way; "Oh, not so bad.. Better than this morning, at least."

Clearing her throat, Selena tried to comfort the Queen; "I know that you're scared, but don't be. That room is filled with nothing but stuffy old men that think of themselves Far too highly.."

Patting her shoulder kindly, Selena added; "Let's go kick the legs out from under them.."

Iris smiled at Selena for her encouragement, but inside: she was ready to faint. Swimming up to the doors, the guards on either side grabbed their respective handles, and opened them...

As the Queen of the Undines enter the chamber, all the senators stood and bowed respectively. A couple smiled at Iris genuinely, while others barely concealed their contempt..

Senator Arlong sat down before anyone else, and immediately cleared his throat to speak; "Greetings, Your Highness. We have summoned you here today to discuss matters of grave importance. Not only the damage you caused to the palace, but the very future of our kingdom."

The Senator went on and on for a solid twenty minutes before he'd actually gotten to his points. The council wished to hold a demonstration of her powers, and wished to discuss the possibilities of marriage to an Undine noble. Is was what the previous generations had done whenever the Fate's Spindles didn't recognize a mate by a certain time..

Once Senator Arlong finished, he asked the other senators whom the Queen's opponent should be. Iris blinked in surprise, and spoke before she realized that she had; "You're joking, right?"

Everyone on the council looked at their Queen with equal shock. Iris never spoke unless directly asked something. And she had never questioned the council before.

The head Council member, Senator Ishmael Gravi quirked an eyebrow at the Queen; "No, Your Majesty, we are not. I understand how you may be insulted by us questioning you, but I promise it is necessary. The rumors of your loss of power have caused instability within our own kingdom, as well as damaged our position with the other kingdoms."

"This demonstration will be done publicly, and it will be done against our strongest, most veteran warrior. As long as the Council agrees to it."

"I refuse," Selena stated, throwing off Iris.

Iris didn't understand if Selena was disagreeing to the fight, or to being the fighter until the senator spoke again; "You will do as instructed, High Acolyte.. Putting your personal feelings aside is part of your duty. You and Queen Iris with have a match within the hour, or the Queen will be stripped of her crown.."