Part Four: The Selkie palace
It
is not only humans who are threatened by storms. Other creatures are also put
in peril. Seagulls are torn from the sky, porpoises thrown upside down so they
breathe in water instead of air, lobsters have their legs broken and jelly fish
end up even more bent out of shape. This is why Selkies exist: their job is to
rescue as many creatures as possible from the waves and winds of thunderstorms.
Even with their Queen dying the Selkie Guards braved hurricanes and needle
sharp rains to bring as many lost creatures down into the sanctuary of the
underwater palace. So it was that the thief too was rescued.
Because
the Palace is magical it is perfectly normal for mammals to breathe there. The
thief awoke then to find he was lying on a large blanket made of green and
brown kelp. Around him tired seals swam about attending to an assortment of
dazed creatures: here a befuddled starfish; there a dolphin with a black eye;
in one corner was an ancient bearded sailor who – even as his broken leg was
being set in splinters - was demanding the right to smoke his pipe. The seal
attendants were the Selkie doctors and nurses. They were physically exhausted
because there was too few of them to attend to the many storm damaged
creatures. Their spirits too were weak, as they – like all other Selkies –
grieved at the bleak news bulletins concerning the condition of their Queen.
The
other paramedic Selkies were up in the Royal chamber, along with Selkie
wizards, astrologers, even dieticians. The Royal Chamber was crammed with all
manner of professional Selkies, each espousing opinions whilst the Queen lay in
her beautiful human form, growing paler with ever second that passed.
Eventually, with heavy hearts, the attendant Selkies all agreed that the Queen
could only be cured if her Royal seal skin coat could be found.
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