" Jade. Jade. I cannot find Mia anywhere. Jade! "
Ruby came rushing like a maniac for help when she realized that Mia was missing.
" What rubbish? Where could she go? "
Jade was crying with her baby in her arms.
" It's been a while. We need to find her before the baby starts getting hungry. "
" But I searched everywhere. She is not anywhere near. "
Ruby protested. She was getting paranoid.
" Ruby. " Jade paused with horror. " Do you think, by any chance, she might have gone to the ? Perhaps to meet her husband? "
" No. Oh! Noo!
It's suicide. That abomination born out of the curse is lurking to catch her. If she went there, is no way she would be able to get away.
What do we do now? "
There was fresh horror in both their eyes.
" Should we ask the queen for help? "
Ruby asked.
Jade nodded. She was the last person to go to the Queen for help.
" I guess we have no other choice. Let's hurry. Let's hurry before it is too late. "
They went towards the palace without further ado.
" Let us in. It's urgent. It's about Mia. "
They were yelling together when they were stopped at the gate.
" Let them in. "
Someone from the inside asked for their presence.
They bowed as they entered the Queen's personal chamber .
There were two other high officials of the mer- world present there.
The queen herself stood up as soon as she saw Mia's boy. She quickly swam towards them and the boy carefully in her arms .
" What's the matter? Why are you here with the newborn? "
The queen asked, swimming back to her seat again. The boy calmly slept against her breast.
" Your Majesty, Mia is missing. We cannot find her anywhere.
We fear she might have gone to the shore. If she has Your Majesty, her life might be in danger.
"
They were bowing down as low as possible.
" What? She went to the shores?
Send a group immediately. Call the trackers. "
The queen herself was too shocked.
" Your Majesty, we are afraid the baby is also hungry. Though he does not cry or wail, he has been fed for hours. "
Ruby came forward.
" Indeed. This is a special child. Don't worry. He can survive on nectar. "
The queen took the boy to her inner chambers.
" We should be going with the trackers as well. "
Jade told Ruby and both of them darted off as well.
The scouts scanned the entire perimeter of the southern shores. They could not find a single . No struggle. Nothing. It was as if Mia had evaporated.
The trackers were now the only hope.
They too wandered a little before they were able to catch a sniff of her from the currents.
" Her smell is mingled with the undercurrents. Was Mia able to traverse the Multi-Aqua Space? "
The leader of the tracker was both shocked and impressed.
The question was aimed at her aunts in particular. But they themselves didn't have much clue.
" Being half wolf and Crystal's daughter, Mia did have unique abilities. However, we hardly knew enough to know the extent of her talents. "
Jade said.
" Should we not try to go after the trail she left? "
Ruby asked. She was the child in the group and the most naive.
" Girl, how old are you? Don't you know only a very few in our mer-world possess the ability to the Multi-Aqua dimensions? A handful among the maidens and the only mer-boy.
We have nothing else to do here. We must go back and report the findings to the queen at .
She can decide on whom to send after Mia. "
The tracker leader paused for a moment. Reflected on what she was thinking, then said,
" I wonder where Mia was headed through these doors? Did she have anybody she needed to with? "
" Probably, she was looking for ways to send words to her husband or her father.
We have been cut off from the mainland because of the curse. She had to give birth all alone.
She must have been feeling anxious to get the news of her boy's birthday across! "
Ruby guessed.
" Anyways... Let's head back... "
The leader stopped for a while.
She turned and sniffed the current once more. Her eyes flew open. She rubbed her hands and clean. Then kept on sniffing again and again.
" Impossible. Impossible! "
She was almost backing off with shock.
The second one in command stepped forwards. She followed the lead of her leader and began the water from the undercurrent.
" What is it? "
Jade finally asked, unable to suppress her curiosity any further.
The trackers ignored her words and tried swimming towards the undercurrent. Braving a little . They nodded and consulted with themselves.
" It is confirmed. We can safely inform the Queen. "
" It's not possible. We have been trying to track him for ages. Not even once could we trace him.
"
" It's a miracle to be honest. We were trying to track Mia but here we have the trace of not one two mer-male. "
" We need to hurry. This information cannot wait. "
They headed straight to the palace as Jade and Ruby kept staring at each other.
" What did they mean by mer-male? Two of them? "
Ruby asked herself.
"Don't look at me. I am asking myself the same question. "
Jade shrugged.
" Is one of Crystal's lost mates by any chance? Because we only have him who went missing the mer-world years ago and the other mer-boy will eventually become the present queen's . "
" Don't forget Mia's son. He is a male too. He has prominent mer-boy features as well. "
Ruby ate on her own word. She just realized what they said. They had never thought about
Mia's boy as part of their kingdom and hence they never had the Male risk factor about him in head.
They did not need to exchange any more words.
Both swam faster than the fastest sailfish. They didn't stop before they reached the palace gate, did they take a break.
*******
His alter ego
Mia found herself standing in front of the great old tree.
It however looked very different this time.
It had shades of gray between its leaves. Mia rubbed her eyes to check properly if indeed it was or was she seeing things.
Suddenly she felt a strong pull. She tried resisting with her hands by ending up being tangled in branches that were coming down like creepers that were mobile. It was like Mia was getting between the ground pushing her towards the Tree and the vines trying to tangle her its grip.
She fought for a few minutes, then realized that there was no use. She had willingly come there.
She had willingly promised to sacrifice herself in exchange for her boy's life. This was the end of life.
The realization made her give up. She stopped struggling. The vines slowly weaved a web her when she suddenly realized that she had not asked the Tree of Knowledge how it going to save her boy and her family from the curse.
" Hey. Hey. Stop. Please stop. Wait up. I have a question. I have a question... "
She began struggling again as the web around her was being spun.
There was no reply. Neither did the spinning of the web stop.
" I said stop. I need to ask something. "
Still no answer. The vines now started slowly pulling her up.
Mia struggled. But to no avail. Was this a mistake? Her thoughts suddenly became diabolical.
" You are not taking me anywhere unless I get my answers "
She proclaimed as she snapped through those vines with one slash of her wolf claws. Being in ocean had opened her faculties. She was now able to use most of her senses.
She dropped on the ground as the cocoon around her dropped in two halves beside her.
" Now, talk to me. "
She was threatening the Tree with her claws bare.
" Silly girl! Do you think you can harm me with that? "
The Tree of Knowledge finally spoke. But it appeared like it spoke with much difficulty.
" I don't care if I have two dice before ripping your trunk into two. I came here to die anyway. But
I need my answer. I need you to tell me how you are going to keep my boy and family safe from curse after I am gone. "
Her voice was unshakable. Demanding.
"I, my dear girl, am unable to do anything about the curse all by myself. "
The Tree became.
" Impossible. "
Mia took a few steps back. She looked like she was in denial.
" Impossible.
If you are not able to do anything about it, why did you want me back? Was it all a trap? Did you to draw in my life force to replenish your graying leaves? "
Mia was quick to observe.
" Past! "
Was it right? Did Mia hear the Tree scoff?
Before she could realize, another vine grabbed her from the back and pushed her body against trunk. Mia thought she was bracing for a big impact but instead she got sucked inside like . She was now standing on a dark ground, under a dark sky , against a dark backdrop.
" Was I just sucked inside the Tree just now? "
Mia tried feeling what was around her with her hands. Panicking. Not afraid of death but afraid she had left behind her loved ones in a difficult position.
She could feel the hard wood of the trunk when she touched around. It felt like she was trapped .
Suddenly she felt the ground she was standing in give way. She was having a free fall. It felt like she was having a deja vu.
The moment the landing neared, instinct kicked in and Mia found herself landing on the soft on all fours.
" Where am I? "
She asked aloud to herself.
" You are inside the Tree of Knowledge. "
A very familiar voice answered. It was not the voice of the Tree of Knowledge. But she knew the very well.
Realization struck.
Mia went on her defense format.
" Who is this? "
She asked, knowing full well what answer she was expecting.
"Seeing you in that formation I can assume you already know who I am. "
Mia gulped. Just as she had dreaded. The Wolf Prince Jin.
She was badly trapped. She had given into treachery. She had willingly abandoned her safe to end up in the enemy's den.
" Yes Mia, I am your uncle Jin. "
His statement made Mia angle her head. It called itself her uncle. Just like it had in her dream. It been so vivid that she still had every detail of it in her mind.
" Don't worry. I know what horrors my alter ego has caused you. It was the going of the curse. It nothing to do with me. I am the real Jin. Your father's brother. "
Mia straightened up. Was she dead? In another dimension like the Dream dimension? How was able to connect with the soul of the original Wolf Prince Jin?
"I know the questions running through your mind Mia. We are still inside the Tree Of Knowledge.
When I was trapped in that tower, I was able to smuggled a portion of my consciousness out latch onto this Tree. The Trees have been dying out ever since. Yet it was considerate to let me live. It's been too long Mia. It's becoming unbearable. I had no other option but trick you into a bond to come here. You are the only one that can help me out. You are the one who can help bring all these to an end. It's killing me seeing by self degrading lower the demons back in the world. Help me Mia. Help me stop this humiliation. "
The voice was almost at the brink of breaking down as Mia carefully listened to every word.