Baetica and Nucello swam through the village towards the shore. “Where’s Cidaris?” asked Nucello. “You sure he never went home last night?”

Baetica shook his head. “I spoke to his father. He never went home.” They darted by the last building and raced towards the human lands and the cave they left Cidaris at the night before.

“This is Kellia’s fault,” Nucello snapped. “The way she treats him even though he adores her… It’s driving him mad.”

A dark shadow drifted over their heads. The two merfolk looked up at the small ship gliding above them. Something landed in the water with a muted plunk and began to sink towards the bottom of the sea.

Baetica scowled. “Those fools have no care for anything that is not theirs.” He swam upwards to grab the item and toss it back on the ship. But as he approached the object his heart froze. A shimmering scale from Cidaris’ fin was tied to a small stone and a piece of bark with words scratched into it. “Garrick.” His fist closed around the bundle before it sank lower.

“He’s challenging Cidaris.” He laughed derisively. “Must have found that in the cave Cidaris explored. Least we know that fool is still alive.”

Baetica looked at the items in his hand. “We must find Cidaris and give this to him.”

“Cidaris?” Nucello choked on the water as he laughed. “Anyone can answer that challenge.” He pointed to the shadow that was still sailing in large circles around them. Garrick had dropped more scales into the sea as he looped the boat around.

With a flick of his fin, Baetica swooped around and gathered the others. “No. Cidaris will answer this. Whether or not he answers to Garrick or Prince Setacea is his choice. But he will be the one who answers.”

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“You want Cidaris to answer the challenge? The boy who only yesterday was mooning over Kellia so badly that his parents sent you to find him. The boy who couldn’t listen when we went to the shore to spy on the humans so we sent him home. The boy who decided to slip into a cave in the high intertidal zone and refused to come out when we called him. You want that boy to answer Garrick’s challenge? You’re sending him to his death. You know that right?”

Baetica expressed a long stream of bubbles as he studied the collection of scales, rocks, and bark bits in his hands. “Cidaris does know how to fight.”

“Garrick is better.” Nucello swam in front of Baetica and crossed his arms. “He fights like it is a dance, and you know it. Cidaris…” he let the words trail off, but Baetica didn’t need him to finish the sentence.

Groaning, he flicked his fin and swam towards the kelp forest.

“Where you going now?”

“The kelp forest. Cidaris was moping in there yesterday. If he’s not still by the shore risking his life, he’s probably sulking there again.”

“You still intend to give him the challenge?”

Before Baetica could answer, he spied a merman swimming out of the gloom towards them. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Cidaris, himself.”

“Oi, Cidaris!” called Nucello. “What was that last night? Did you ever consider what could have happened to those of us who were with you if you didn’t come back?”

“Morning guys. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Nucello gaped at Cidaris. “What’s wrong is you didn’t listen. You swam into a cave last night and nearly got yourself killed.”

Baetica dropped the handful of scales in Cidaris’ hands to emphasize Nucello’s point.

“Oh.” Cidaris’ expression took on a poor example of shame as he stared at the two others, before he hid it with an angry bluster. “Well I’m sorry. But it was important, and at such times things of this importance can be more important than listening to orders.”

Nucello snorted. “Ah yes. So important.” He flicked his tail and swam around Cidaris and shook his shoulders teasingly. “See Baetica, this boy here is far too important to listen to simple fools like us. It’s not like we’ve trained him, or outrank him. Can’t even offer us the simple curtesy of saying what was so important.”

“Fine.” Cidaris rolled his eyes and swam towards the shore, dropping the pebbles and scales behind him. “I’ll show you what was so important.”

“We can’t fit in the tunnel.”

Cidaris glanced over his shoulder at the two of them and smiled. “With any luck, you won’t have to.”