Max woke up the next morning by the chirping sound of Reynard, Phoebe’s pet dolphin. The oyster opened automatically and the first thing that caught Max’s eyes was the beady eyes of Reynard. Max gasped and backed away, making a soundless scream.
“Reynard! How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t scare our guest!” Phoebe’s voice came in, sounding very exasperated as she tugged the little naughty dolphin away. Max heaved a sigh of relief. He had to get used to this kind of wake up call if Reynard was going to keep doing this everyday.
"I am so sorry, my friend," Phoebe came over to check if he was alright. "My Reynard is always excited when there are guests around the house. Rise and shine, friend. It's time you get ready. We're going to town, remember?"
Within minutes, Max got himself all cleaned up and all decorated up for the occasion. They both hopped on a dolphin each—Phoebe on Reynard and Max on Pac's pet dolphin Phoenix—and were soon heading towards the merpeople town. Once there, Max feasted his eyes on everything that was new and intriguing to him. There were people selling odd and weird things that weren't in his secret sea collection, stalls that were set up way more beautiful than the stalls he normally saw in his own home and even places where you can just relax and have a drink or so and just dance away to the music played spontaneously. There was once when Max tried the seadragon ride (one of the merpeople town's famous rides) and he rode the darn seadragon so excitedly that he almost crashed into the merpeople and the stalls around. Luckily, he was able to keep control of the seadragon after quite a while and nothing was damaged. Phoebe took it humorously and laughed like she never laughed before. Overall, it was a colourful, beautiful city busting with life and happiness. Max sure enjoyed his time, especially when it was with his darling princess Phoebe.
Norman was following around wherever they went, trying to keep up with them as they went from one place to another. The fat body given by SkullMaster sure took a toll on his speed, but he had to keep an eye on his little master. Robert just so happened to pass by and whispered excitedly, "Hey, Norman! Did he kiss her yet?"
"Not yet!" Norman hissed, much to Robert's disappointment. He, too, ended up tagging along to check out the fun. He sure didn't want to miss out anything.
After a long day's touring around, Max and Phoebe relaxed on a slow ride on a humpback whale, enjoying the starry night sky from under the sea. Norman and Robert were still following them around, trying to see what's going on and hoping something good might happen. Phoebe looked intently at Max, her face showing that she was deep in thought. Max jerked his head, meaning that he was asking what she was looking at.
"I dunno," Phoebe rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "You look a wee bit like my childhood sweetheart Prince Drakeb, but you sure are not him, that I know. And yet you really remind me of someone else, but I just can't put my finger in it. You saved me, but I can't ask you your name, 'coz you can't talk. So, uh, how about I guess your name?"
Max shrugged. He didn't mind what she does, as long as he's with her.
"Let's see. I'll figure out your name…hmm…Bingo?"
Max screwed his face in disgust, unable to believe his name was associated to a farmer's dog. Phoebe chuckled.
"OK, not Bingo. How about…Darren? Richard?"
Max shook his head at all the names. They all sounded common. His was special, and he wanted Phoebe to know that. Norman groaned and sneaked up behind Phoebe, whispering, "Maxwell. His name is Maxwell."
"Maxwell…?" Phoebe turned around, feeling weird. She thought she heard someone saying a name and muttered it to herself. Max heard her and nodded excitedly. Phoebe turned back to him and asked, "Maxwell? That's your name? That sounds kinda cute…and special. OK, Maxwell it is."
As the couple continued to glide down the sea on the humpback whale, they began to stare at each other dreamily. Nothing could get better than this. Phoebe was sure that Max was the one who saved her that fateful night, voice or no voice. She was sure now that she had fallen in love with this saviour of hers who had risked his life to get her out of the open air, and was sure that she was going to be his wife. Max, on the other hand, was trying to control his furiously beating heart. She was there, just right in front of him, her lips ready to be claimed. He had risked his life to get the payment to seal the deal, traded his voice in exchange for this new body and now all he needed was to get a kiss from Phoebe to strengthen the spell and be with his love forever. He was willing to go great lengths for this and he would do it again if he had to. Both their eyes stared and stared, seeping deep into their inner souls and seeing through what they truly want. Before they knew it, their lips came closer and closer until they were almost in the verge of touching…
Suddenly the humpback whale lurched backward and threw Max and Phoebe off its back. Norman and Robert, who were watching nervously as the two lovebirds were about to kiss, groaned in disappointment as max and Phoebe moved quickly out of the panicked whale's way. The whale swam off as if being frightened by something and left them behind. Phoebe tried to recollect herself and turned to Max, asking, "Are you alright, Maxwell?"
Max nodded, feeling weird about why that humpback whale suddenly reacted that way. He pointed at the whale with a questioning look on his face. Phoebe noticed.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I've taken rides like this since I was a kid and it never reacted this way. Weird, though. Don't worry, I gotcha. Let's go home. It's seriously late anyway. Pablio would go into a fit if I don't get home soon."
With that, Max and Phoebe swam hand in hand towards the direction of the castle, looking slightly disappointed that the steam and romantic intimacy they felt just now suddenly cut off. Norman and Robert said their goodbyes gloomily and went on their own ways. But behind their backs, a pair of smoky-looking ladies hugged each other victoriously, letting out a silent snake-like laugh as they slithered back up to the surface.
"That was close! Too close! The little tramp! Oh, he's better than I thought!"
SkullMaster was in his lair, watching Max and Phoebe from the mists emitted from the cauldron. He angrily swiped the mists away and stomped towards his potion shelves. He pushed and shoved, even making a few bottles drop and crash to the ground, looking for something. He finally found the thing he was looking for: a wilted, dried rose that he had kept in a large pink bottle. He took it out and eyed it like it was some kind of marvelous treasure.
It was the exact same rose that Max had risked his life getting from The Beastess's garden. Unknown to Max, as soon as Max had transformed into a merman and was brought down to the sea, SkullMaster had taken out the rose from his concoction as quick as he could get his hands into it before it melts down and dissolves completely in the cauldron. The rose sure meant something to him alright—he needed it so that he would be able to go back to The Beastess's castle and claim what he had longed and believe to receive for such a long time: The King of the West. The King of the West was known to rule over all the lands of the West and has been in control for many centuries until it had reached a certain generation where the ruler was a sort of disappointment to the family tree. That particular ruler ruled his kingdom with an iron fist and many suffered because of his ways. Finally the people started rebelling and fought back, bringing down the ruler. The last surviving heir of the family managed to escape and was ashamed of his tyrant father and swore never to rule the land again until there is someone worthy for the cause. He ordered his Wiseman, who was also a magician and had survived the attack, to seal the castle and all of what's left in there until fate chooses the right person to rule the West once more. But the Wiseman added an extra ingredient to the spell. He put an enchantment to all the servants who used to work for The King of the West—namely Rusty, Normie, Virgil, Junior, etc—and turned them all into animated objects and turned the last surviving convict from the dungeons of the castle into The Beastess and ordered her to guard the castle until the rightful owner returns. As she was one of the most bad-tempered and dangerous convicts arrested by the previous King, The Beastess transformation was an extra sentence to her to show her how her true bestial colours inside her were.
Of course, everyone deserves a second chance, but some people had to earn it. So before leaving, the Wiseman left The Beastess a mirror which was the only window for her to the outside world so that she can keep with the change of time. The shining rose Max saw before in the belljar was an enchanted rose and bloomed until she was about 18 years old (she was very young when she was arrested—a very dangerous crook with a bad childhood she was) before it started wilting. The rose acted as a sort of hourglass and the condition was that if The Beastess could learn to love another and earn his love by the time the last petal fell, the bestial curse on her would be broken and everyone would return back into their normal bodies again. If not, she would be doomed to remain a Beastess for all time and the servants stay as animated objects even if the true heir has returned to claim the throne.
That 200-year-old rose grew there for a reason too, but it was known only to the Wiseman. For generations, the Wiseman and his forefathers before him have predicted that this black sheep generation and this rebellion would happen. Nothing could prevent it. So his ancestor, the first Wiseman to work for the first King of the West, cast an enchantment on one particular rose among the rose bushes and claimed to it that when this rebellion happens, the rose would act as a charm to break the seal from the castle, along with a magic ring, and claim the throne. And this is where SkullMaster came in. Generations had passed and the legend of The King of the West was slowly forgotten. The only thing well known was The Beastess in a horrible-looking castle. SkullMaster had discovered a long time ago about the legend when he was in one of his voyages with his half-brother Blake. Yes, that's right. SkullMaster—or Scott, as he used to be named—was Blake's half-brother. Blake was always the favourite son of the family and it wasn't before long that SkullMaster got jealous of him. He kept thinking that there was something behind all this favouritism and believed that he should have it, not Blake. He and Blake had a crush on Virginia at the same time, but Virginia chose Blake instead, which made his jealousy even deeper.
So when Blake buying the magic ring, claiming to use it to propose to Virginia with it, he was lucky that Blake had ignored the scroll that came along with it, thinking that it was all hogwash and that it's nothing more than a ring with a little bit of destructive powers in it. He borrowed the ring and took the scroll and soon learnt about the legend of The King of the West. He was thrilled. This was his big break! Since he was just a half-brother to Blake, maybe his bloodline had something to do with this King of the West that his side of the family didn't know of! This has to be what he deserved for! 'We'll see who's the favourite son now!' he thought.
But alas, the ring was not meant for him. When Blake tried the ring out for fun in front of his crew and his trusted shipmate Norman, it glowed, just like the scroll said it would when the rightful king came to possess it. The ring can be used by anyone else of its destructive powers, but only the true heir of The King of the West is able to use it to its full potential. SkullMaster was devastated and disappointed once again to know that in the end, Blake would be King and still be the favourite son. He remembered the last conversation he had with Blake after that ring incident…
"Life's not fair, isn't it?" Scott talked to himself as he used his fork to fiddle with the noodles on his plate. "I'm always in the background, having to answer for all the mistakes my dear ol' brother does. And alas, I, who is supposed to receive my dues, shall never be king. And you, my little noodle friend, shall never see the light of another day. Adieu!"
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"
Scott rolled his eyes and sighed at Norman's disgusted voice, "What do you want?"
"I'm here to tell you that Captain Blake is on his way," Norman replied, crossing his arms. "So you better give him a good excuse for not attending the ceremony this morning."
Scott knew what he meant. It was a tradition for Fishermen's FriendVillage that every newborn baby has to be presented at the village church to receive his or her family and relatives' blessing before being baptized. Needless to say, after the cruel reality of the ring belonging to Blake, he wasn't interested in any other affairs Blake had in mind. Absentmindedly, he accidentally dropped the meatball he was about to eat.
"Oh, now, Norman, you made me lose my lunch."
"Hah! You'll lose more when the captain gets through with you. He's as mad as a lion with a thorn on his paw."
"Oooh, I quiver with fear!" Scott said sarcastically as he brandished the knife at Norman's beard. He was about to give him an instant shave when Blake came in the nick of time.
"Scott, let him go."
"In perfect timing, Captain, sir," Norman noted gratefully. Scott reluctantly put the knife down and turned to his brother with a sly smile.
"Why, if it isn't my big brother descending from his heights mingling with the commoners."
"Virginia and I didn't see you at the baptism of Maxwell," Blake got to the point.
"That was today? Oh, this is simply awful of me!" Scott pretended to be shocked, then dragged his fork on the plate, making Norman cringe. "Must have slipped my mind."
"Well, as slippery as your mind is," Norman went over towards Scott and bellowed, "as the Captain's brother, you should've been first in line!"
"I was first in line, until that little hairball was born."
"That hairball is my son and your nephew," Blake said, keeping his cool. "You should be at least proud of him; he's the first grandson to be born in our family of granddaughters, lucky for our parents."
"Oh, then perhaps I should practice my tap dance," Scott said mockingly as he went off, leaving his noodles untouched.
"Don't you turn your back on me, Scott!"
"Oh no, Blake. Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me."
Blake stormed over in front of his half-brother and grabbed him by the collar, growling, "Is that a challenge?"
"Temper, temper," Scott replied in a cool cat way, taking Blake's hands off his collar. "I wouldn't dream of challenging you."
"Pity. Why not?" Norman asked, disappointed. He was hoping Blake could give this pain-in-the-ass a good wallop.
"Well, as far as the brains and the ship crew status go, I get the lion's share and half the booty, but when it comes to brutal strength…" Scott glared his cold yellow eyes at his half-brother's sky-blue ones, then sighed tiredly and walked off, saying, "I guess I'm just the shadowy end of the gene pool."
As he disappeared out of sight and hid at one corner, he heard Norman and Blake talking to each other.
"There's one in every family, Captain, sir," Norman said. "Two can't be competent together. They always manage to ruin special occasions."
"What am I gonna do with him?" Blake sighed.
"Well, he’ll make a very handsome throw rug," Norman suddenly suggested.
"Norman, that's not funny!" Blake scolded playfully.
"Hey, just think. Whenever he gets dirty, you just take him out and beat him."
SkullMaster shook off that memory. He and Blake never clicked. There's always something that they had to fight about, and he was always to blame. Never once was Blake punished—maybe once or twice—for the things he did. It was always him. He hated it. Even when Blake tried to make peace and be friends with him, he refused to acknowledge it, thinking it was all just for show. He wasn't even satisfied when Blake had made him his first mate on ship.
He had his share of watching Max grow up, though he knew that little blonde hairball was afraid of him. Max had no idea that SkullMaster was his half-uncle, but he called him 'Uncle' just the same. He had a few words with him once when Max only the wee age of 6…
"Hey, Uncle Scott! Guess what?" Young Max asked as he bounded excitedly towards the musing Scott.
"I despise guessing games," Scott muttered through gritted teeth.
"I'm gonna be the Captain of Virginia," Max grinned delightedly. Virginia the ship was named after his mother by his love-sick father when he was younger.
"Oh, goody," Scott said in mocking way.
"Dad showed me all the ships in the jetty, and he said that our ship Virginia is the biggest and the strongest of all ships. When I grow up, I'm gonna be the Captain of Virginia and King of the Sea. And I'm gonna rule it all!"
"Yes, but forgive me for not leaping for joy. Bad back, you know."
Max rushed towards Scott who had his back turned to him, tugging on his sleeve and asked, "Hey, Uncle Scott. When I'm the Captain, what'll that make you?"
"A monkey's uncle."
"You're so weird," Max chuckled, taking the comment humorously. Scott turned to him with a mysterious grin.
"You have no idea. So, your father showed all the ship in the jetty, didn't he?"
"Everything."
"He didn't show you the ol' rundown sooty-looking boat over there now, did he?" Scott jerked his head at the ship that looked almost like the Black Pearl ship in Pirates of the Caribbean. Everyone feared that ship and never dared go near it. It was, of course, belonging to the rich eccentric bachelor man who had committed suicide. It had a really bad vibe over it and no one even dare to buy or use that ship. It even had a really dark name: Dementor (A/N: Sorry, this name just so happen to appear in my head after the experience of watching Prisoner of Azkaban ).
"Well, no," Max replied, disappointed. Always the adventurous one. "He said I can't go there."
"And he's absolutely right. It's far too dangerous," Scott replied half-truthfully, fearing that ship a little. "The owner had been to many places with the wretched ship of his. Really dark and gloomy places too, I must say, although he had been to other more beautiful places. But then again, only the bravest sailors go there."
"Well, I'm brave. What beautiful place…"
"Oh, sorry, Maxwell, I just can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Maxwell, Maxwell," Scott said in a pretend concerned voice, patting Max's head. "I'm only looking out for the wellbeing of my favourite nephew."
"Yeah, right. I'm your only nephew. Adopted nephew, that is."
"Which is why I'm a little bit more protective. Besides, a mermaid world is no place for a young boy…Oops!" Of course, Scott actually did that deliberately.
"A mermaid what?! Wow!!" Those words sure got Max's attention.
"Oh dear, I said too much. I suppose you'll find out sooner or later. You've been so clever, but just promise me one little thing," Scott brought Max closer to him, making his voice cute. "Promise me you'll never visit that dreadful ship."
"No problem," Max replied, but Scott could tell from his eyes that he had his fingers crossed.
"That's a good lad. You run along now and have fun. And remember, it's our little secret."
Needless to say those words sure got Max into trouble and earned his father's scolding, which of course, Scott backed Max up, like the 'good uncle' he should be. He realized that this child has a formidable mind and if he got into his good side, he'll have his favour in everything and soon might even get Virginia's attention. So his evil mind came up with a plan to kill Blake at sea and make it look like an accident. That fateful night before he pushed his half-brother to his death was so victorious to the end…
The winds were strong. The sails couldn't bear the wind and the strong waves that shook and rocked them like a small matchbox. The crew was hanging on for their dear lives not to die and Blake was yelling out orders to keep the boat afloat, and that means dumping unnecessary cargo. Soon, it was evident to everyone that the ship was about to sink. Blake yelled for everyone to abandon ship and quickly led his crew towards the small boats on the sides of the ship. While he was lowering the last boat for himself and letting Norman and the last batch of crew into the boat first, he accidentally slipped and was hanging desperately on the deck. By then, Norman and the crew were already on the boat and were rowing about a few feet away from the ship. Blake was about to climb back up the ship when he saw Scott standing near the deck with his yellow eyes staring coldly at him.
"Scott! Why aren't you on the boat?! I thought you've gotten on!"
Scott didn't reply. He continued to stare at Blake, ignoring Norman's frantic cry to stay there and don't move while he rowed the boat closer to the ship.
"Scott, please! Brother, help me up! Norman will come get us! Help me up!"
Scott remained there for a few moments before finally reaching over and grabbed his wrists. But instead of pulling him up, he leaned closer to him and hissed, "Long live the King!"
Blake widened his eyes, not understanding what he meant. It was obvious he still had no idea about the King of the West legend. Before he could comprehend, Scott had already let him go. He could still remember Blake's scream as he plummeted towards the sea and carried away by a sudden wave that coincidentally swept along. Norman yelled for Blake and Scott yelled too, pretending to look guilty for being unable to save his half-brother. Just when he was about to yell again, another wave hit the ship and tossed him overboard.
He soon found himself sinking deeper and deeper, not knowing when to stop…
The bubbling cauldron woke him up from his memories. The potion was ready. He plucked one petal from the rose and the concoction immediately turned from green to a bright blue. He stirred the potion some more and, when it was quite ready, scooped some of it into a bottle. He muttered an enchantment and the potion turned crystal clear, like water.
"Blake's throne will be mine! And I'll make his son suffer for what he had done to me! I'll take whatever that's rightfully mine and I'll see that little hairball wriggle like a worm on a hook!"
SkullMaster's menacing laughter rang throughout the whole village that night and even reached the ears of the worried-looking WarMonger who was getting ready to toll the midnight bells.
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