Max continued to cry sadly and bitterly as he watched Phoebe and her family paraded towards the chapel where she and Drakeb would be wed. Drakeb had won the war, that's for sure. There's no doubt about that. He knew he shouldn't have made the deal with SkullMaster. The price for it was too absurd—his voice? He couldn't talk to her and he couldn't tell her how he felt about her and he most certainly couldn't tell her that he was the one who saved her that day. Norman tried to calm him down but it was no use; unable to talk about it literally wasn't making Max feeling any better.
Just when he thought he was done for, suddenly a small bottle came sinking down towards him. Max was curious—who could be sending a message? A stranded man on a no-man's island? A person dangling on a shipwrecked boat? Only people in trouble would send messages in a bottle like this. He reached over and took the bottle.
As soon as he touched the bottle, a huge black mist surrounded his hand that grabbed it. He was shocked to see SkullMaster's smiling face at him. SkullMaster waved his staff at him and said, "This is a holographic message, so listen carefully. I've been watching you for quite a while now, and I realize that you haven't been successful in your mission. Well, part of it has to be my fault 'coz I was the one who asked your voice for payment, so let me make it up to you. Drink this potion I've brewed for you and soon you will be able to talk again. Your voice wouldn't come immediately but that'll give you time to get to the wedding fast and kiss the bride. Now go, and may you be happy."
The mist disappeared, leaving Max sitting there dazed with the bottle in his hand. It sure didn't look like potion to him, what with the crystal clear content in it. It probably was just filled with seawater and nothing else. But then again, it could be true. He had been brewing many weird potions and he had used it to change his body mechanism. He loved Phoebe and would go to the ends of the world for her, so what has he got to lose with drinking this potion? What choice did he have?
"Before the moon rises on the 3rd night..."
The next thing he knew, he was emptying the content of the bottle into his gut and soon was swimming after the parade which was leaving him far behind. It tasted like drinking pepper but he didn't care. He had to get to Phoebe and fast so that he could kiss her and be a merman.
Anything is worthwhile for her.
Everyone talked in hushed voices as the wedding march was played. The chapel was quite packed with guests both young and old, rich and poor, merman and mermaid alike. They were all looking very excited to see the bride. Everyone has expected Drakeb and Phoebe being together as a royal couple. There was no doubt in their minds that Drakeb and Phoebe were match made in heaven—or sea, to be exact. They can expect for this day to be the most celebrated day of all days.
Soon Phoebe appeared in the chapel with a long flowing veil that stretched almost as far as 3 feet across the floor and it was sewn on a tiara sparkling with rubies and diamonds. Her beautiful face and magnificent figure made her wedding features look like a Sea Goddess. Drakeb widened his eyes in wonder and blushed as he stared at his bride of beauty walking down the aisle towards the altar with her father King Benedict leading her. As she reached beside Drakeb, he took over and stood before the old merman serving as the priest to minister this wedding. He spoke a short speech on how wonderful was this evening to be gathered here and all that crud before moving into the main point.
"Do you, Prince Drakeb, take Princess Phoebe as your lawful wedded wife, till death do you part?"
"I do," Drakeb replied proudly, smiling lovingly at his bride. Phoebe smiled back wryly.
"And do you, Princess Phoebe, take Prince Drakeb as your lawful wedded husband, till death do you part?" the old merman priest turned to Phoebe and asked.
"I..." Phoebe hesitated, a pang of guilt went through her heart. She couldn't help feeling sorry for Max whom she had once loved but unable to now. She couldn't help thinking about what Max was doing right now at this very moment. She had to say that she didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but things are just not meant to be right now. She never had a chance to explain and apologize to him, but she couldn't just take off just like that in the middle of her wedding.
Just when she was about to claim her 'I Do', a long gasp filled the chapel. Drakeb and Phoebe spun round and saw that it was Max barging into the chapel, panting breathlessly. Everyone looked at him and at each other questioningly, not sure what was going on.
"Maxwell!" Phoebe exclaimed in surprise. "I was looking all over for you! I meant to tell you..."
Before she could finish her words, she heard a distant singing voice. It was absolutely familiar, she couldn't forget it. It was the beautiful singing voice Max sang to her that she loved so much. As she continued staring at Max gliding towards her, she saw a bright blue glow beating like a heart in Max's throat. His mouth was opened slightly but the voice was pouring in a melodious tune from the throat. Drakeb wanted to go forward and stop him from coming any closer but Phoebe waved him away. As he came closer to her, he finally and actually was able to sing out his tune through his mouth.
"Ma...Maxwell...?" Phoebe almost breathed her words in wonder.
"Phoebe..." Max tried out his voice and he could finally hear himself.
"You...You can talk! You really are the one! It was you all the time!"
"Hey, Maxwell," Drakeb had his hands on his hips. "If you're asking for a last minute invitation, you're a little bit unorthodoxed here."
"Oh, Phoebe, I have always wanted to tell you about how I feel about you," Max blabbered, ignoring Draken's remark. "I had to make this terrible deal with this sorcerer and he asked me to trade my voice with this body and I had been through hell for you and I just wanna say that..."
"I know, Maxwell, I know how you feel for me," Phoebe stopped him with her finger on his lips. "I know that you love me and I loved you too. But...we're not meant to be. I'm sorry, Maxwell, I cannot love you back anymore."
"Wha...What?" Max was shocked. He couldn't believe his ears. Phoebe—his Princess Phoebe that he had been yearning for all his life and who had made him go through a hellish journey through death and back again—actually rejected him at his face? He couldn't take the pressure. He felt as if he couldn't breathe. In fact, he felt a little squeamish and suffocating right this minute. All of a sudden, he felt as if the water was engulfing his lungs. The pressure was building against him. He fell onto the sand trying to hold his breath and hold on to the pressure around him. Norman, who was with him, gasped and ran towards his aid. Right in front of everybody, his tail began to disintegrate. The scales began to peel and a line ran through the middle of his tail, separating it to two. Everyone gasped in horror as Max slowly turned from an out-of-the-ordinary merman to the normal young human he was.
"What...What's going on here? What the heck is going on here?" the priest obviously was out of the picture and confused for a minute there.
There was too much confusion to understand what was going on but so far, Drakeb, Phoebe and her family knew what was going on, and they knew an even bigger thing—Max seriously needed help. Without another word, Phoebe threw off her tiara and grabbed Max's arms, carrying him back to the surface. Drakeb helped her too, carrying him by the legs up towards the surface where he could breathe properly. Conveniently, they found themselves at Fishermen's Friend Village. Luckily, it was the dead of the night, or else someone would panic seeing two real life merpeople carrying their village's prized man out of sea.
"Max! Max! Max, wake up!" Norman, who had followed them behind, swam over and slapped his face lightly, trying to wake him. "Max, tell me you're alive, Max! Wake up! Wake up!"
"Uhh..." Max groaned as he blinked his eyes open. He tried to adjust his eyes to the moonlight and soon found himself staring at the relieved faces of Drakeb and Phoebe.
"Oh, thank goodness you're alright, Maxwell," Phoebe sighed in relief.
"Yeah," Drakeb agreed. "We almost thought you were a goner, not to mention a wedding crasher."
"Why, Phoebe?" Max sat up almost immediately. "After all I've done...Why can't you love me back?"
"Because...Because...I'm your half-sister."
Max widened his eyes in disbelief. Phoebe cleared her throat and explained as simple as possible about the whole story of how Blake became King Benedict and how she was born. Max heard everything but wasn't sure he was able to take it all in.
"I'm so sorry, Maxwell," Phoebe apologized again, nodding as Drakeb signalled her about the time limit they have on the surface. "I really did love you before, but...well...we're just not meant to be. I'm sorry."
With that, they both dove back into the sea and swam back to the chapel to continue their interrupted wedding, leaving Max all alone to muse over his misfortune.
"I can't believe it, Normie...I can't believe it...All this while, we've been staring at my dad and yet we didn't know it. We've been seeing him so often but we never thought that he is still alive...and...and he married someone else and...had a daughter who just so happen to be my so-called one true love..."
"I'm so sorry for you, Max...I really am," Norman comforted Max, not daring to tell him that he had already a headstart on knowing King Benedict's true identity.
"I've been through hell and back...and for what? For something that was never going to be mine...I feel so stupid…" Max said and buried his face in his palms, sobbing his heartbreak out. It felt so bad to be rejected with a reason that was worse than 'I have another boyfriend' line.
"Poor little kid...Lost a precious one now, aren't we?"
Max jerked his head up. It was SkullMaster's voice alright, but he was nowhere to be seen, and his smoky henchmen weren't there. Max stood up angrily and started yelling at air.
"Come on out, you chicken bastard! Stop hiding and face me like a man!"
"Oh, tsk, tsk, tsk. Is this the way to treat someone who had helped you?"
"Help me?! You did nothing to help me!! You made me lose everything!! You knew all along that Phoebe is my half-sister and you knew all along that I would never succeed anyway, so you decided to get rid of the spell and reap all the benefits, aren't you?! You're an all-seeing, all-knowing wizard, you should know something about Phoebe's background, shouldn't you?!"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that I didn't know anything about the little mermaid princess you've been yearning for, but I didn't say I know everything about her either now, did I? You're just a little of what I call collateral damage."
"What do you want from me, huh? What do you want from me exactly??"
"Oh, poor little boy, it's not exactly you I'm after. I have a much bigger fish to fry, and you're just a small pawn of mine to get that fish."
"What exactly are you talking about, SkullMaster?" Norman asked, curious and suspicious about all this conspiracy talk.
"You'll find out sooner or later," SkullMaster's voice replied silkily. "In the meantime, take a little rest. You're going to need more than what's in store for you in the future."
With that, Max and Norman suddenly felt their whole world spinning. Norman could feel the slight change in his body and it ached from his head all the way to the tip of his tail. Slowly, they fell, losing all consciousness...
Max blinked his eyes open and found himself in the bedroom of their cozy home near the hills. As he tried to get up, he turned around and saw Norman--in human form--lying face first on the floor beside his bed. He got off the bed and shook Norman slightly, trying to wake him up.
"Hey, Normie. Normie, wake up. We're home."
"Hmm...?" Norman groaned groggily as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "What happened? What's going on here?"
"The question is how exactly did we get home? And where's Mom?" Max asked, puzzled. Before they could investigate, they suddenly heard a loud commotion outside their house. They went to answer the door and were shocked to see a huge mob of all the people of Fishermen's Friend Village.
"Uh...hey, guys...uh...can I help you?" Norman asked nervously, not sure what was going on.
"We're here to collect your little master," one of the people from the mob voiced out.
"Max? Why?"
"Don't worry, Norman," another spoke. "The convent for boys will take really good care of him and get rid of the filthy curse he brought upon our village."
"Curse? What curse? What are you guys talking about?" Norman's words made everyone exclaiming something.
"Oh, don't play dumb with us, Max! I knew you and your mother are trouble ever since your family moved in here. There's nothing but mishap in this village and we're getting lesser and lesser people coming to our village. We're going broke, and it's all your family's fault!"
"We know that you've been to The Beastess's lair and you must have angered her. That's why our village has been cursed! It's because of you!"
"Yeah! The convent will take care of all our problems now that they've agreed to take care of you!"
"Let's get him, guys!"
Soon, everyone was coming closer and grabbing Max's arms, dragging him towards the carriage bearing the sign of the boys' convent that has come to take him away. Norman tried to help him but a few other burly-looking men came up and stopped him. Max hollered for help but in vain. Bea and Felix came too when they heard about the commotion but they were outnumbered by the villagers. Just then, out of the blue, SkullMaster appeared in the midst of the crowd and undid his hood. For the first time since he stepped into Fishermen's Friend Village, this was the first time he showed himself in front of everybody.
"Sk...SkullMaster!" Max exclaimed and broke free from the crowd towards him. "SkullMaster, please, you gotta help me! These people have gone mad!"
"It's shame, little boy. I really do want to help you, but my hands are tied," SkullMaster replied. "I tried to convince them you're innocent, but they wouldn't listen."
"You know I'm not cursed, SkullMaster. You know that. You're the one who sent me to that place for you."
"Hmm..." SkullMaster rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I may be able to clear this little misunderstanding...if..."
"If what?"
"If you let your mother marry me."
"What?! What are you talking about?" Max was surprised and confused.
"You see, your mother is another price you have to pay for your freedom. My services don't come cheap, you know."
"Never!"
"Have it your way then," SkullMaster replied nonchalantly as he stood there and watched Max got dragged away again further and further towards the carriage. He grinned evilly and was about to walk off when Norman exclaimed in the midst.
"Max has done nothing to anger The Beastess and I can prove it!" Norman shouted and held out the magic mirror The Beastess had given Max before he left. "Show me The Beastess!"
The mirror flashed and out came an image of The Beastess sitting in the room of her East Wing domain, looking faraway in the distance as another petal fell from the rose. Rusty walked in and stood on the table to face her.
"Mistress, I know it's hard for you, but please, you have to go down to dinner. You have to eat something."
The Beastess did not reply.
"Maybe...well...maybe we could do something. Create some sort of spell or something to bring the little Master back..."
"No!" The Beastess exclaimed. "You will do no such thing! He has to come back in his own free will! And...And I will wait for him, even if it means I die waiting."
"How wonderful it would be that the little Master still knows that you love him..."
The image disappeared, leaving the villagers staring in awe. Norman saw his chance and spoke.
"You see, people? None of this is Max's fault. He had brought nothing bad to the place. It never was anything to do with Max going to The Beastess's lair or The Beastess putting a curse into this village. It was all because of him! That fiendish SkullMaster! He was the one responsible for all this!"
Everyone gasped and turned towards SkullMaster who was standing there unperturbed.
"I should've known there was something fishy about you, SkullMaster...or should I say, Scott?!"
Now everyone was shocked at seeing the so-called dead Scott standing right in front of them. Even Max was shocked as he breathed the name he hadn't been calling for a long, long time, "Uncle Scott...?"
"So, you've found me," SkullMaster grinned.
"I'd recognize those evil yellow eyes of yours now. Took me a while to get it all straight, but I knew it was you all along alright. You tried to gain trust and loyalty in this village and lead it slowly to its doom for your own personal interest! I bet you are the one who killed Blake, aren't you? What's going on through your demented mind, Scott?"
"Love to stay and chat about your deductions on my plans, but I have an unfinished business to attend to, especially regarding with my future wife!"
"Mom...?" Max somehow knew what he meant.
So saying, SkullMaster disappeared in a pillar of smoke, leaving everyone gasping and coughing. By the time the smoke cleared, he was nowhere to be seen. Bea and Felix ran towards Max and Norman.
"Where could he be now?" Max asked worriedly.
The sounds of faraway bells from the church sent a flashback zooming past Norman's brain. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the direction of the church, saying, "I think I have the perfect idea where he is."
Soon, Norman could be seen running towards the church, followed by Max, Bea and Felix.
No comments:
Post a Comment