Caylis's Necklace: Part Two

      For a long while, no one spoke. Caylis had nothing more to say, Isca didn't know what to do, and Schala, for her part, was utterly frightened.

      At last the Cybunny spoke.

      "Uh... Caylis? I think that you – and Isca – should tell the king around here," she said in a small voice. "He's bound to know what to do."

      Isca sighed.

      "Sweetie, I already tried that," she explained. "He didn't listen to me."

      "Besides, he absolutely despises me," Caylis added. "He'll think that the evil things are going to appear right behind me at any moment. He'll send me away from Maraqua, or have me thrown in prison. That is just how he is."

      "Well," Schala said, "I certainly don't agree with the fact that he banished you in the first place, but unless I'm mistaken, it was told that he offered you entrance back in after Scarblade was defeated, right? I think that our best option is talking to him, and based on what you've said, I think I should go alone –"

      "NO!" squealed the Aisha sisters together.

      "Please don't," Isca pleaded. "It is far too dangerous for one as inexperienced with our world as you are. I have seen many horrid beasts in these depths. You were very lucky that Caylis was there when you fell from your ship, or you might have been lost forever. Don't do it, please."

      "But –"

      "No!" Caylis snapped. "You are not leaving this spot until I can find your family and contact them. You are especially not going into the dark waters where countless who-knows-what dwells. And you won't blab to that fool about my prophecy! If you do, we'll both be thrown in the dungeon!"

      Isca turned and sighed again. Her voice was laced with utter hopelessness of what was to come. She slowly floated away in the direction of the city's safety.

           "Humph," Caylis groaned, planting herself on a rock chair inside. "If that ridiculous Koi won't do anything about this, it's up to me. Schala, don't even think about it. I won't have a little girl risking her life."

      Schala gave a tired gasp, and floated away to her room. She rolled onto the seaweed bed and began to think. No matter what Caylis said, there was no way she was going to save Maraqua on her own. For a split second, Schala thought that it might truly be no more than a nightmare, but then she remembered. Caylis and Isca's dreams were always prophetic if they could remember them so vividly.

      She would have to go to the king herself. She didn't care what Caylis said; no one could make her do anything. If she wanted something done, she would have to sneak out. It was getting darker; she had better do it soon.

      She made her way to the door, watching to see if Caylis was keeping an eye on her. She wasn't; she was absorbed in some sort of spellcasting. Not once did she glance in Schala's direction.

      As quickly as she could, the Cybunny slipped out the door and swam faster than she thought she could, for fear of getting caught by Caylis.

      But oh! Out here in the watery wilderness where no light shone, Schala couldn't see a thing. She thought of returning back to Caylis and sneaking out again when it was lighter. She turned, and realized that there was no way she was going to find her way back.

      The only place to go was to Maraqua, where of course people would be putting up lights. There, she would speak to the King. Then she would leave. She had to find the Sakura again and let Mima and Sae know that she was all right. They had to be terribly worried.

      Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Schala caught sight of a pair of glowing lights. Except they weren't lights – they were eyes; most likely the eyes of some terrible deep sea denizen. She swam away, once again as fast her arms would take her, and stopped to relax. She had not been in one spot for a minute when she heard something roar. Schala squealed and fled.

      She did not know this, as she could not see where in Neopia she was going, but the Cybunny was headed straight for the seafloor. She felt her hands abruptly slam into the ground. Utterly shocked, she began to push herself forward, stopping unexpectedly when something grabbed her skirt.

      Schala screamed. She was sure a horrible, Neopet-eating water monster had nabbed her. She tried to swim away with all her might when she felt something slip from her neck.

      The necklace!

      She grabbed for it in desperation, and caught it safely in her paws, pulling it back onto her neck.

      It was then that she noticed whatever had grabbed her had, for some reason, not done away with her already. Curious, she felt the ground. At last her paw felt her skirt. It had caught on a shard of... something... sticking out of the ground.

      With a sigh of relief and exhaustion, Schala floated to the seafloor and soon fell asleep.

      Pit pat... pit pat... pit pat...

      Two sport boots hit the floor of the Altador Coliseum as the owner of them caught a brown Yooyu in her white paw. Schala threw the Yooyu right into the opposite goal, only to have it intercepted by Mima.

      Schala laughed. One-on-one Yooyuball was always fun. Not a minute later, it turned to a groan as her sister scored again.

      "Hey... Mima?" Schala said.

      The Acara turned her blue head.

      "Yes?"

      "What do you think it's like to live underwater?"

      Mima giggled.

      "How would I know? This is Altador, where –"

      Suddenly, dark storm clouds began to cover the sky. It happened quickly, almost as if they were the result of a Darkness Faerie's spell.

      "Schala! Come on!" Mima shouted as the rain began to pour down upon them.

      The Cybunny raced for the door, but the water was rising. By the time she had started running the flood was up to her knees. When she was halfway there the downpour had overflowed up to her waist. And finally, just as she was about to grab her sister's hand, the ocean that was being created had reached the tips of her ears. The Kingdom of Light was utterly soaked.

      Desperately, Schala began to push her way toward the surface when she saw something glow around her neck. It was Caylis's necklace.

      She had to find Mima – fast.

      "Mima!" Schala called as she swam up to the Hall of Heroes.

      No answer.

      "Mima! Mimaaaaa!"

      She flowed through the rooms of Katare Academy, the school the two sisters attended.

      "MIMA!" she screamed.

      There was no Acara in sight.

      "Mima... Mima... oh, Mima..."

      She nearly choked on her tears.

      At last she opened her eyes.

      She was on the ground. Her boots were absent, and her skirt was caught on what looked like a jagged piece of a ruined building.

      It came back to her. She was underwater, near Maraqua. She had fallen from her ship. Mima, as far as she knew, was safe and sound.

      Still, the emotion left over from the nightmare made Schala shake like seaweed. Mima, however safe she was, was probably just as teary here in the real world as Schala had been in her dream. She had to find her, and let her know she was okay.

      Delicately, she took the torn part of her skirt and lifted it off of the ruin. It was light now, so she could easily see where she was going. In that instant, she completely forgot about the danger Maraqua could be in. Her only thoughts were of finding the Sakura, Mima and Sae.

      Tiredly, but with determination, Schala headed for the surface of the water.

      With a gasp, the Cybunny broke the surface. She had not breathed air in a long while, and it was like a call home for her. However, just as she was wondering where to find the ship, a tidal wave fell right over her head. Looking up, she saw that the storm in her dream had come from hearing something very real.

      She was caught in the middle of a storm at sea. As the next tidal wave lunged forward, she realized that there was absolutely no way she was going to be able to find the Sakura in this weather. The storm was too strong. Even now, she felt herself sinking down, or the water level was rising due to the massive amount of rain. Either way, it was a sure shot that she wasn't going to find her family.

      It would be better to go back to Caylis, she decided. Caylis knew these waters better than anyone else living here, and she would be able to track down Mima and Sae and tell them where Schala was. With a sigh, Schala sank back under the water and began to head away from the Maraquan Ruins.

      She suddenly stopped. Thinking of Caylis had traced her memories back to the Aisha's most likely prophetic nightmare. Maraqua was in danger!

      She had to speak to King Kelpbeard before doing anything else. The Cybunny turned and sped like a torpedo toward the glittering underwater city.

To be continued...