Acale was busy with cooking dinner, when his mother entered the house. She looked rather pale.
"I have heard about the shark." She said and he nodded. "How is she?" What was he supposed to say. This was her first time out of the house in months, and she was enjoying herself. To end it with a shark attack and a berating from her grandmother.
"She is taking a nap. Fiscally she is fine, Aouli reached her just in time." Something that bothered him greatly, on one hand he needed to agree with Aouli she was too far away from him. Even when he called upon his magic. But on the other hand, he should have paid better attention. "I am worried about her mentally health." He finished.
"And I am worried about his." Marella said from the doorway. "He is blaming himself, for what happened." His mother looked at him and he nodded. "But he is not the one who summoned the shark." His mother and Acale's eyes snapped towards her.
"How do you mean summoned?" His mother said and Marella walked towards her usual spot at the counter and sat down.
"I mean do not one off you find it odd, that the shark came so close to the city in the first place? I know there are wards and other protection spells in place, for situations like this one. But there was no alarm, no sign of a warning." Marella looked at them. "Or did I misread that part about the history of this city." His mother shook her head slowly.
"I was thinking the same thing, on my way here." Aouli R'ula'ula stood at the front door, who was still open. So everybody who wanted to listen in could have done that. "I know for a fact that no shark and specially not a great white could have come this close to the city without a warning." He said. "Keeping the wards and special spells up was my job, until Alekona took over. And we all know what happened to him." He then looked at Marella. She nodded and looked away. "I have talked with some member of the R'ula'ula family." He said while closing the front door. "At least the ones who were willing to talk to me."
"And." Acale asked while grabbing silverware and plates out of the cabinet. He somehow knew that they would have guests over, so he made enough pasta. Marella helped him set the table.
"Well, according to them there is no member appointed to the task." He said. "But I am going out there to check it for myself. I was the former Wardener, so I believe it is my responsibility." He sat down at the table.
"Acale and Kalama will join you. As officers of our guard, they are responsible for our people's safety." His mother said, while she took place next to Aouli. Acale agreed with his mother, it was his duty to keep everybody in this city save. That included Marella and his unborn child. Marella and he placed the pans with food on the table.
"I think I didn't read that part yet, but those every family have a duty to serve the city?" Marella asked. He wanted to answer her question like he normally those, but his mother beat him to it.
"No. The P'ula'ula and the R'ula'ula have volunteered for those positions, members of different houses can apply for the guard, or to be Wardener. It is to the Matriarch of those families to include or exclude the best candidates." Marella nodded slowly.
"So what are you going to do tomorrow? Now that I am taking your boyfriend for ward duty?" Aouli asked Marella, who shrugged.
"I think I will be reading some cookbooks." She said, and Acale almost choked in his bite. That about her reading a cookbook was a joke. He didn't mind cooking for her.
"You really don't have to do that." He said. "I really do not mind cooking." She smiled at him and then took his hand.
"I know that, but I want to learn more." She said with a smile. But his mother shook her head.
"Marella, I love you for all the information you absorb so far. But you started to look like a sponge, you will join me tomorrow. You will learn more about use, when you are out of this house." His mother said and Marella's face dropped slightly.
"I already tried that, and look were that almost got me." She said. Acale's heart dropped, like a stone to the bottom of the seafloor. This was something he was afraid of, the spark of getting out there had died. Or was dying all because he was not able to protect her.
"That is not your fault, love. Like you yourself pointed out, that shark had no business getting this close to the city." Aouli said. "It is maybe a good idea that you tack alone with Lady P'ula'ula. She is a great teacher." Marella looked defeated.
"Only if you want to, Marella. Nobody can force you to get out of this house." Acale said, and snapped warning looks at the others. "It is her decision." His mother looked at him with narrowed eyes and then he sighed. "Mom this is her decision, if she is not feeling safe. Then we can not force her to go out there."
"That is not it." Marella said a bit too quickly. "I mean about me not feeling safe part. I just..." She looked at the food and then at him. His eyes grew, the nap. She had dream walked, did she visit her father again.
"What is it then?" Aouli asked and Acale looked at his mother. Hoping that she would get the message, but she didn't.
"I know where my father is." Marella said.
********
"Wait a second." Anika snapped, Kalama and she joined them after dinner. "Explain it to me one more time." And Marella nodded.
"A few months ago, we discovered that I have a rare gift. Called dream walking. So when I am a sleep I can visit my father." Marella explained. "He is held inside one of the old prisons that were build two thousand years ago. I do not need to tell you that the prisons were never used and almost all the protection spells have worn off over time. Except the one keeping the sharks and the giant squid at bay. Or that one is reinforced when Lady R'ula'ula figured she wanted to use it as a means to control my father." Anika nodded.
"Alright do you know where he is?" Anika then asked, and Acale looked at her. She wiggled her head.
"I have a suspicion." She said.
"Wait you said earlier that you knew where he was." Aouli said, he didn't get mad when Marella told him the reason why she hadn't shared this information before.
"Well, hear me out. I have been looking in to it more and more. During my visits I have seen two types of sharks, hammer and tiger." She stood up and walked over to the large book cabinet. One that Acale recently built, and grabbed two books. "There were seven prisons build, one for each family. But non were named or there was nothing that pointed out which prisons were which. But what was different was the types of shark that they used."
"But I already told you that all of those prisons could use one of those types." His mother pointed out. And Marella nodded.
"And that is true, all of them used hammerheads. But only two of them used tiger sharks." She opened one of the books and started to flip the pages. "Where in the sea's name is that map. Note in her, then it's in the other one." She did the same thing with the other book. "Ah here it is." She lay the book on the small table and pointed to the two dots on the map.
"In the sea's name." Acale sighed. The two prisons were build very away from the city. Maybe a day or two swimming.
"I personally think that he is in this one." Marella pointed to the prison closest to the city. "I think this because of what my father has said. His mother visited him on the day we saw her in the salon. Which means that the other prison can not be the one, because that one is simply too far away." Everybody nodded. "That is of course on the knowledge I have from two thousand years ago. It can that Lady R'ula'ula switched the sharks or whatever."
"Well there is only one way to figure it out." Anika said and Acale had a feeling where this was going.
"I know what you are thinking, but wait a second." He said. "Alekona told Marella that Lady R'ula'ula was planning to use that same prison to kill Marella. We now have a suspicion which one it is." Anika looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Are you really saying that we leave my brother." She snapped and Acale nodded.
"Acale is right Anika, if Alekona had a say in the matter he would choose to stay were he is. So that if that sea witch tries to take Marella, we will have at least a lead. If we bust him out now, we will lose that." Aouli said and Acale looked at his mother who also nodded. Anika threw her hands in the air and moaned.
"You are right. But I hate it. Marella just told use that he was underfed." Anika said and Aouli nodded.
"I know that Guppy, but your brother is a strong man." Aouli said and again all of them nodded in agreement.
"Alright. But Marella you need to stick with me, because my brother's fair of me running my mouth was not unfounded." Anika said, grabbing Marella by the arm. "Wait I know what we could do. We could plan a baby shower together." She said. Marella's eyes grew.
"A what?" She asked.
"A baby shower, it is a small party where people give gifts for the baby. You know toys, clothing. That kind of stuff, we also can talk about the nursery." Anika said and Acale was about to say that this was maybe not so good idea. But then he saw Marella's face. Who almost glowed up from excitement.
"That sounds like so much fun." Marella said. "Deal, I will come tomorrow to your house."
"If the P'ula'ula family allows me I will be there too." His mother said. "This will be my first grandchild, and I want to be a part of its life." The women almost jumped and down. Acale looked at Aouli who just smiled. He seemed to like the idea, and Acale shoveled to him.
"I think I need to build the nursery, I wonder..." Acale said softly.
"I will help." Aouli said. "I even want to beg for it." He said and the both of them started laughing.
