GOW Part Four
The king knew Gow didn’t like the formalities held at court so, instead, Gow met him in his chambers for breakfast. They chatted about non-important things mostly. The queen joined them, and they all laughed together. When it was time for Gow to head out, the king escorted him to the gates. They were followed by his normal guards, of course.
In front of the guards, they could not hug their goodbyes. They had been friends for so long, it hurt Gow’s heart to leave. The missions came first. One day, he would be able to spend much more time with his old friend. With a wave, Gow swam off in the direction of his new target.
Hundreds of kelp fields glowed off in the distance as Gow passed out of Amadahy’s boarders. The Great Waters could feel so serene at times. Then there were other times that it was the most violent environments ever. It didn’t matter what was happening up above in Kaer Aes, down here it was a different world.
Getting to this great trench was going to take a while. His thoughts drifted back to his glow fish. He was relieved they knew how to care for themselves since it looked like he was going to be gone longer than usual. Most people took their glow fish for granted but Gow knew how intelligent they could be when properly cared for.
A sharp nip brought him back to the present. Gow stopped swimming and looked down at one of his webbed feet. A young crab had taken it upon himself to snip at him. Gow lowered down to the soft floor. “Now, young one, that was rude. Where is your mother?”
The little crab fiddled with his small front claws. The back ones tapped nervously in the sand. Tiny bubbles floated from his mouth.
Gow looked around and finally saw a much larger crab come skuttling sideways from behind a considerable coral formation. She made a b-line straight to the smaller one Gow had confronted. The mother struck the young one on the back of his shell while producing countless more bubbles but no sound. When the little one pointed one claw at Gow, the mother struck him again. She pointed toward the coral and the little one slowly crawled that way with his front claws dragging behind him.
The mother crab then looked to Gow. She placed one large claw just under her mouth and slightly bowed to him.
“It is fine. He is young. You are a good mother to teach him the way you do.” Gow reciprocated the hand gesture.
She emitted a few more bubbles and then went off in the same direction as her son. Gow smiled to himself. The raising of children was never part of his life plan, but he sure could respect those who made that choice.
When the mother was well hidden behind their coral home, Gow continued on. Another tide cycle later, Gow stopped for a meal. If the king hadn’t given him more rations, the ones he left home with would never have lasted. The king always gave him free reign with the kelp fields but there was no need at this point.
He watched the multitude of fish swimming around. Schools swarmed here and there while singular sizable fish drifted alone. This was one of the peaceful moments Gow cherished.
Several meals and tides passed as Gow swam. His energy was draining and knew he should try to sleep. The closer he got to the trench; the less likely sleep would happen. It would be too dangerous.
Gow looked around for a safe place to rest. This would be difficult. He needed to hide so any predator that came by wouldn’t snatch him up. Most of the best rocks and shells were spoken for by any number of other inhabitants.
A hefty broken shell lay on its side causing Gow to stop. He glided over to it and lightly knocked on the outer surface. “Hello? Is anyone home?” There was no answer. He tried again with the same result.
Exhaustion tugged at his mind. He had never been awake this long before. He could usually go a couple of tides but never this many. He had no choice but to venture into the shell and hope he wasn’t bothering anyone.
As luck would have it, no one was there. It looked to have been vacated for a while. That was strange. Even in its broken state, it would be a fine home. Gow wasn’t going to look a seahorse in the mouth, though. He quickly made himself comfortable and tried to sleep. When he woke, he knew this peacefulness would end. The trench and the kraken awaited him.
