"Are you all ready?" Ariel asked everyone.


    She had asked everyone to stand in a circle while facing outward. She wanted everyone to be inside the same air bubble so that they could have chats while they were underwater.


    When she got the go-ahead signal from everyone, she created a huge air bubble with everyone inside, except Damien obviously.


    Ariel slowly lifted her palms. And the bubble also got lifted into the air along with everyone.


    "We aren''t going to fall down, right?" Zach looked down at his feet and asked.


    Though it wasn''t visible, everyone could feel that there was an invisible nk inside that bubble that was allowing all of them to get a good foothold.


    "You won''t. Don''t worry so much, Zach," Arielforted her cousin while slowly descending towards the ocean''s surface.


    And in no time, they all were underwater.


    "Oh, sweet heaven! This is incredible," Zach was the first one to get excited when they were underwater.


    "Tell me about it!" Nih lightly pressed her palms on the bubble wall. She stared at the water and fishes that were passing by. Her eyes were twinkling with excitement.


    Not just Nih, but everyone was equally excited to be underwater.


    Everywhere they looked, they were surrounded by blue water. And as Ariel kept on taking them deeper into the ocean, they came across several sea creatures.


    Keh pointed at a school of fish that was passing by and said, "Look, those are called mackerel."


    "They are so beautiful!" Ariel looked at their shiny scales and smiled.


    "Er…" Ramon widened his eyes when he saw a few huge fishes swimming directly in their direction. He poked Keh and asked, "And… what are those called? Is it just me, or are they really carrying a sword in their mouth?"


    "Sword? Where?" Nih asked Ramon in a worried voice.


    Zach and Ariel also focused their attention on those same fishes.


    Keh turned to look in the direction that Ramon was pointing at. He silentlyughed and answered, "Those are called swordfish. They can attack their prey with it."


    "Uh-huh." Ramon kept on staring at those swordfish and asked, "And what are we to them? I hope they aren''t seeing us as their prey. They don''t eat us, do they?"


    "They don''t eat us," Keh calmly answered. And he further added, "But they will attack us if we provoke them. So, don''t tease any fishes out there."


    Zach nervouslyughed and then he asked Ariel in a whisper, "This bubble won''t burst if they do attack us, right?"


    Ariel shook her head, "I''ve created a vacuum inside the water with great air pressure."


    Zach gave a confused look to Ariel and asked, "And… am I supposed to understand what you just said?"


    Ariel chuckled and rified, "I meant to say that the bubble won''t burst until I maintain the pressure from inside."


    Zach sighed in relief and continued to sightsee.


    All of them enjoyed looking at the small and big fishes, turtles, nts, and other several things that the ocean had to offer.


    After staying underwater for almost half an hour, Ariel asked the others, "I think we should now go back to the ship, yeah?"


    "What? Already?" Zach pouted and whined like a baby. "Let''s roam around for a bit more."


    Ariel gave a corner nce to Zach and asked, "And weren''t you the one who didn''t want toe down to the ocean?"


    "That was before you said you could show us around the ocean like this. This is so much fun." Zach gave a puppy-eyed look to Ariel.


    Ariel rolled her eyes and scolded Zach, "Ugh! Stop with that look. You''re not a baby anymore and you don''t look cute doing that."


    "Tsk!" Zach clicked his tongue and folded his arms.


    Ariel sighed and said, "Alright! Five more minutes then."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Zach pped his hands and grinned. "You''re the best!"


    Ariel shook her head and slowly began taking the bubble towards the surface.


    Suddenly, Ariel''s heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on a silhouette of what looked like a man. However, before she could see who it was, the shadow dissolved into the water.


    Ariel frowned and thought to herself, "Who was that? Was it Damien? Or was it someone… no, I think it was Damien. He might havee down to see what we were doing. It has been quite some time since we came down here."


    Ariel then said to everyone, "Okay, I am at my limit now. We will do this again tomorrow."


    "Okay, let''s head back to the ship." Keh instantly agreed with Ariel since she mentioned that she was at her limit.


    Ariel had been keeping them within the range of their moving ship. So it was easier to locate and return back to the Endeavor.


    Once they were back on the deck, the first thing Ariel did was look around to find Damien''s aura. She noticed the aura a little further away from them and smiled.


    Damien also smiled back at Ariel although he knew that she couldn''t see him. He couldn''t exin how happy he was to be acknowledged by Ariel.


    The Royals then went to the living room and sat down on thefortable sofas. Damien also quietly followed them and leaned on a wall.


    There was silence in the room for quite a while.


    Ariel rested her head on the headrest of the sofa. She looked around at everyone. They were lost in their daydreams.


    And she said in a sad voice, "I wish Joyce was also here. I miss her so much."


    "Me too," Nih replied with a slight smile on her face. "She would have made our ears hurt by bbering non-stop about her spells and nts."


    "I miss Damien as well." Ramon gave a sad smile and looked down.


    Stay connected through empire


    Damien felt his heart skipping a beat when Ramon mentioned his name.


    Ariel unintentionally looked at the corner where Damien''s aura was lingering in the air. Keh also followed her gaze but saw nothing there.


    Ramon mumbled while still avoiding the gaze from everyone, "I wish he was here. It is times like this that I miss him the most."


    Damien also smiled with teary eyes and replied in his mind, "I also miss you, buddy. Just a few more days, and we will meet."


    Keh looked at everyone''s sad expression. It was a reminder to him that he would have to work harder to have a simr ce as Damien in everyone''s hearts.


    Ramon smiled while reminiscing the past and said, "Damien and Joyce used to entertain us with their little fights so much. There never used to be a dull moment with them around."


    Zach giggled and agreed, "Yes, they used to fight so much. It was as if they were long-lost siblings."


    Damien smiled and nodded. And he thought, "Yes, she was indeed like a sibling of mine. I hope I will get to meet her soon."


    Nih then looked at everyone and spilled a memory that she had kept a secret until now. "I once saw Joyce crying alone in her garden. She was looking at that gift that Damien had given her and..."


    Nih looked at Ariel with teary eyes and said, "And she was ming herself for what happened to you two in Mihir. She was saying that had she not been greedy about that nt and agreed to help you two, Damien wouldn''t have disappeared from our lives."


    Damien felt a lump in his throat when he heard that. "I hurt all of them..." he thought and pressed his fist into his mouth. He tried his best not to make any sound.


    Ariel got up and sat down beside Nih. She sniffled and said, "It was no one''s fault. We were all young and we didn''t know any better. Besides, that nt saved your life, Nih. So, I say that Joyce did the right thing."


    Damien furrowed his brows because he didn''t know what they were talking about. And it looked like he was the only one who didn''t know.


    Nih smiled and nodded her head. "I wanted to thank Damien as well. But I guess I will never get the chance."


    "You will," Ariel gave a reassuring smile to Nih, knowing that they all would soon meet Damien.


    ---


    While everyone was busy reminiscing about their past, the silhouette reappeared in the ocean again.


    He smiled and thought to himself, "Ariel… I always wondered why I couldn''t get past the borders of Wyverndale. Now I know why. Grandfather was hiding you from us."