King Paleon lambasted his captors. Two of his own guards had ambushed him in the barracks and snuck him out of the castle on a vegetable cart. Strangely, they apologised, clearly embarrassed by their actions. However, that didn’t prevent them from keeping their own King bound and gagged. By nightfall, he had been escorted to the store house on the river mouth. More men emerged from the trees to meet the kidnappers, this time simple mercenaries instead of soldiers. They exchanged words and hustled the King into the storage tower where his bonds were cut. Paleon immediately began demanding his safe return to the castle on pain of death, but one warrior’s sword quickly ceased the King’s commands. “There’s someone here to see you.” the man stated, turning to look out the open door at the river bank glinting in the moonlight. A sound rippled as Paleon made out the shape of something emerging from the water. A man, or what seemed to be a man, rose into the darkness, naked with what looked like scales on his legs. The newcomer approached the door of the storage house and stopped, hidden in silhouette. “Greetings, your majesty.” Paleon hesitated at first but then spoke his mind. “You can cut the cordiality. You have me prisoner without wanting me dead. I assume you want to discuss something?” The man almost seemed to smile as he chose his next words. “No, but there is someone else who would like to speak with you. She’s rather impatient and demanding. Likes to have things her way. You might want to adjust your manners.” With that, he turned and began walking back towards the water. Two of the sentries forcefully suggested that Paleon follow suit. The King fell in behind, tentative and suspicious. “Who sent you?” Paleon asked. The man continued walking, wading into the black water until only his upper half was visible. “Oh, you know exactly who sent me.” Paleon suddenly realised where they were taking him. He looked up at the sky and screamed as the sentries guided him into the shallow water. “Mother!!” The man smiled and said, "There's a chance it could become permanent." "What will?!” the exasperated King shouted. “The change. You’re going to be like us. It depends how long you're down there. But then it's the same for us. The longer we stay on land, the more we run the risk of losing our gills. It's a vicious cycle. Ultimately, you have to choose one or the other." Paleon swallowed hard as he felt hands grasping at his ankles, pulling him under the surface to become a merman of the sea.