The Sea Fairies

"Ho, ho!" laughed the monster on the other side; "we do, Slibb, my boy; and we don't think much of fairy circles, either!"

"They have foiled our enemies many a time," declared the Princess, with much dignity.

"Ha, ha!" laughed one; "that's why we're here now."

"Ho, ho!" laughed the other; "we've learned a trick or two, and we've got you fast this time."

Then all the sea devils – those above and the one behind, and the two on the sides – laughed all together, and their laughter was so horrible that it made even Trot shudder.

But, now the queen stopped short, and the others stopped with her.

"I will go no farther," she said, firmly, not caring if the creatures overheard her. "It is evident that these monsters are trying to drive us into some secret place, and it is well-known that they are in league with Zog the Terrible, whom they serve because they are as wicked as he is. We must be somewhere near the hidden castle of Zog, so I prefer to stay here rather than be driven into some place far more dangerous. As for the sea devils, they are powerless to injure us in any way. Not one of the thousand arms about us can possibly touch our bodies."

The only reply to this defiant speech was another burst of horrible laughter; and now there suddenly appeared before them still another of the monsters, which thus completely hemmed them in. Then the creatures began interlacing their long arms – or "feelers" – until they formed a perfect cage around the prisoners, not an opening being left that was large enough for one of them to escape through.

The mermaids and the girl and sailorman kept huddled close together, for, although they might be walled in by the sea devils, their captors could not touch them because of the protecting magic circles.

All at once Trot exclaimed: "Why, we must be moving!"

This was startling news, but by watching the flow of the water past them they saw that the little girl was right. The sea devils were swimming, all together, and as the cage they were in moved forward our friends were carried with it.

Queen Aquareine had a stern look upon her beautiful face. Cap'n Bill guessed from this look that the mermaid was angry, for it seemed much like the look Trot's mother wore when they came home late to dinner. But however angry the queen might be, she was unable to help herself or her guests just now, or to escape from the guidance of the dreaded sea devils. The rest of the party had become sober and thoughtful, and in dignified silence they awaited the outcome of this strange adventure.

12

The Enchanted Castle

All at once it grew dark around them. Neither Cap'n Bill nor Trot liked this gloom, for it made them nervous not to be able to see their enemies.

"We must be near a sea cavern, if not within one," whispered Princess Clia, and even as she spoke the network of scarlet arms parted before them, leaving an avenue for them to swim out of the cage. There was brighter water ahead, too, so the queen said, without hesitation:

"Come along, dear friends; but, let us clasp hands and keep close together."

They obeyed her commands and swam swiftly out of their prison and into the clear water before them, glad to put a distance between themselves and the loathesome sea devils. The monsters made no attempt to follow them, but they burst into a chorus of harsh laughter which warned our friends that they had not yet accomplished their escape.

The four now found themselves in a broad, rocky passage, which was dimly lighted from some unknown source. The walls overhead, below them and at the sides all glistened, as if made of silver, and in places were set small statues of birds, beasts and fishes, occupying niches in the walls and seemingly made from the same glistening material.

The queen swam more slowly, now that the sea devils had been left behind, and she looked exceedingly grave and thoughtful.

"Have you ever been here before?" asked Trot.

"No, dear," said the Queen, with a sigh.

"And do you know where we are?" continued the girl.

"I can guess," replied Aquareine. "There is only one place in all the sea where such a passage as that we are in could exist without my knowledge, and that is in the hidden dominions of Zog. If we are indeed in the power of that fearful magician we must summon all our courage to resist him, or we are lost!"

"Is Zog more powerful than the mermaids?" asked Trot, anxiously.

"I do not know, for we have never before met to measure our strength," answered Aquareine. "But if King Anko could defeat the magician, as he surely did, then I think I shall be able to do so."

"I wish I was sure of it," muttered Cap'n Bill.

Absolute silence reigned in the silver passage. No fish were there; not even a sea flower grew to relieve the stern grandeur of this vast corridor. Trot began to be impressed with the fact that she was a good way from her home and mother, and she wondered if she would ever get back again to the white cottage on the cliff. Here she was, at the bottom of the great ocean, swimming through a big tunnel that had an enchanted castle at one end, and a group of horrible sea devils at the other! In spite of this thought she was not very much afraid. Although two fairy mermaids were her companions, she relied, strange to say, more upon her tried and true friend Cap'n Bill, than upon her newer acquaintances to see her safely out of her present troubles.

Cap'n Bill himself did not feel very confident.

"I don't care two cents what becomes o' me," he told Princess Clia, in a low voice, "but I'm drea'ful worrited over our Trot. She's too sweet an' too young to be made an end of in this 'ere fashion."

Clia smiled at the speech.

"I'm sure you will find the little girl's end a good way off," she replied. "Trust to our powerful queen, and be sure she will find some means for us all to escape uninjured."

The light grew brighter as they advanced, until finally they perceived a magnificent archway just ahead of them. Aquareine hesitated a moment whether to go on, or turn back; but there was no escaping the sea devils behind them, and she decided the best way out of their difficulties was to bravely face the unknown Zog, and rely upon her fairy powers to prevent his doing any mischief to herself or her friends. So she led the way, and together they approached the archway and passed through it.

They now found themselves in a vast cavern, so great in extent that the dome overhead looked like the sky when seen from the earth. In the center of this immense sea cavern rose the towers of a splendid castle, all built of coral inlaid with silver, and having windows of clear glass.

Surrounding the castle were beds of beautiful sea flowers, many being in full bloom, and these were laid out with great care in artistic designs. Goldfish and silverfish darted here and there among the foliage, and the whole scene was so pretty and peaceful that Trot began to doubt there was any danger lurking in such a lovely place.

As they paused to look around them, a brilliantly colored gregfish approached and gazed at them curiously with his big, saucer-like eyes.

"So Zog has got you at last!" he said in a pitying tone. "How foolish you were to swim into that part of the sea where he is powerful."

"The sea devils made us," explained Clia.

"Well, I'm sorry for you, I'm sure," remarked the Greg, and with a flash of his tail he disappeared among the sea foliage.

"Let us go to the castle," said the Queen, in a determined voice. "We may as well boldly defy our fate as to wait until Zog seeks us out."

So they swam to the entrance of the castle. The doors stood wide open and the interior seemed as well lighted as the cavern itself, although none of them could discover from whence the light came.

At each side of the entrance lay a fish such as they had never seen before. It was flat as a doormat, and seemed to cling fast to the coral floor. Upon its back were quills, like those of a porcupine, all pointed and sharp. From the center of the fish arose a head shaped like a round ball, with a circle of piercing, bead-like eyes set in it. These strange guardians of the entrance might be able to talk and to tell what their numerous eyes saw, yet they remained silent and watchful. Even Aquareine gazed upon them curiously, and she gave a little shudder as she did so.

Inside the entrance was a domed hall, with a flight of stairs leading to an upper balcony. Around the hall were several doorways hung with curtains made of woven seaweeds. Chairs and benches stood against the wall, and these astonished the visitors because neither stairs nor chairs seemed useful in a kingdom where every living thing was supposed to swim and have a fish's tail. In Queen Aquareine's palaces benches for reclining were used, and stairs were wholly unnecessary; but in the Palace of Zog the furniture and fittings were much like those of a house upon earth, and, except that every space was here filled with water instead of air, Trot and Cap'n Bill might have imagined themselves in a handsome earthly castle.

The little group paused half fearfully in the hall, yet so far, there was surely nothing to be afraid of. They were wondering what to do next, when the curtains of an archway were pushed aside and a boy entered. To Trot's astonishment he had legs, and walked upon them naturally and with perfect ease. He was a delicate, frail looking little fellow, dressed in a black velvet suit with knee breeches. The bows at his throat and knees were of colored seaweeds, woven into broad ribbons. His hair was yellow, and banged across his forehead. His eyes were large and dark, with a pleasant, merry sparkle in them. Around his neck he wore a high ruff, but in spite of this Trot could see that below his plump cheeks were several scarlet-edged slits that looked like the gills of fishes, for they gently opened and closed as the boy breathed in the water by which he was surrounded. These gills did not greatly mar the lad's delicate beauty, and he spread out his arms and bowed low and gracefully in greeting.

"Hello," said Trot.

"Why, I'd like to," replied the boy, with a laugh, "but, being a mere slave, it isn't proper for me to hello. But it's good to see earth people again, and I'm glad you're here."

"We're not glad," observed the girl; "we're afraid."

"You'll get over that," declared the boy, smilingly. "People lose a lot of time being afraid. Once I was myself afraid, but I found it was no fun, so I gave it up."

"Why were we brought here?" inquired Queen Aquareine, gently.

"I can't say, madam, being a mere slave," replied the boy. "But, you have reminded me of my errand. I am sent to inform you all that Zog the Forsaken, who hates all the world and is hated by all the world, commands your presence in his den."