While the gates at the end of the path seemed similar to the one at the front, the protocol was polar.

The guards did not seem apt to open the gates at the sight of Isabelle, and the ones that looked turned their noses up at Eleanor. Whatever was behind these gates was not for the general population.

"Open the gates," Isabelle commanded, eyes narrowed. "I am not in the mood to play games."

Eleanor scanned down the line of guards at the gate, noticing that none of them moved to let them through. The whole scene was becoming surreal.

"If only I cared about your moods," the guard directly in front of the pair said, his voice gruff.

Eleanor wondered at that moment if all merfolk looked so toned or if she had only happened to see those who needed strength and physique to do their jobs. She had seen Isabelle and the guards so far, no regular civilians that would cue in as to what an average citizen of this city would look like. There was an abundance of similarities between her world up above and down below, but nothing quite identical.

Isabelle cleared her throat and crossed her arms, letting go of her captive's shoulder to do so. "You may find it acceptable to toy with my time, Castiel, but the queen is a different matter. I assure you all that she will not be amused when she is left waiting for us both because you decided to be stubborn." Isabelle said, scolding the guard with her tone.

"Is the queen aware of the human?" The guard furrowed his brow.

His jaw muscles clenched hard enough to be visible to Eleanor.

"What do you think the appointment is about to begin with?" Isabelle asked, the end of her fin twitching. "Even someone in your station knows how it works. We need her to finish the process, and no one will be happy if we miss the chance. So either let us in or send someone to explain why you thought the next ceremony won't be necessary after all. I have done many things over the years to earn my reputation, but I have never done any of it to sabotage this of all things."

"Yes, your maj-" Castiel started as he began to step sideways, clearing the path to the gate.

"Enough. Just open the gate, and we can both keep our mouths shut about this," Isabelle said with finality.

"Open the gates!" Castiel boomed. He made no further attempts to engage.

Instead, he focused his eyes in front of him and waited for his command to reach through his ranks of other guards. Eleanor respected the position of power and had recognized the commanding voice. It was one of the last interactions she had gotten to have with her men aboard The Zephyrus.

She felt a butterfly in her stomach at the thought. Would she be able to escape from here somehow and get back home? Back to her ship, her crew, and life on land? Would her feet touch down and force her legs to carry her weight, or would she drift swim and steer her body around this strange watery grave?

The thought rattled around her mind as she watched the gate open and listened to the sound of the guard's hands on the mechanisms and parts.

"Bones," Eleanor said.

She hadn't intended to and felt the familiar warmth greet her cheeks as the tiny bubbles floated by her face. Her muttering was taking control of her still. She didn't always realize she did it, but the bubbles were an annoying giveaway.

She hadn't spent much time examining them with purpose, but now she had seen them. She had passed them in water and on land. She had visited old graves, dug up new ones, and seen death where it wasn't intended to occur. They weren't human, that was for sure, but some larger creatures' bones were what made up these gates.

"Not metal at all. Bones," She said.

Isabelle's fingernails were digging into her shoulder again.

"Let's go," her escort said through clenched teeth. And so they moved forward through the second gate.

Lost in thought about the arch of some animal's bones she had just walked through, Eleanor didn't brace herself for the sound the gate was going to make as it closed behind her. She jumped a second time.

Even though her escort didn't say anything either time, she wondered what it said about her that such a simple sound made her so skittish. What is said that she felt so skittish about the entire trip they have made through the ghost town of a mermaid cove so far. Just two days before had considered herself confident and poised. She led men that treated her with respect.

They pillaged, plundered, and fought. Now the sound of a gate had her jumping for cover. She wasn't sure if her fortitude was to blame, but she couldn't help but add it to the equation.

Could she be pulling up her bootstraps and fighting more? She didn't think it very possible, considering the gate behind her that was manned by at least a dozen mermen. If she turned and fled and fought, she wouldn't make it out alive. If she took that route, her best-case scenario would be turning back around and heading back this way, with less trust than whatever she may have earned so far. At least as it stood, she could swim her way forward instead of being carried. Her less formidable year's experience weighted her current decision-making as the better course. She had a chance to talk her way out of whatever lay at the end of this path.

Eleanor could feel the pressure of the hand on her shoulder and pushed her body forward again. Her movements felt limited and awkward underwater like they were, but the hand on her shoulder had actually been helping. The extra ounces of weight kept her grounded and moving in the right direction. Full-on swimming would have been much more difficult in this scenario, especially with the length of the path they had taken so far.

Eleanor looked down towards their feet as they moved forward. The ground all looked the same on this side of the gate. There were no coral and rock markers to create the faux road they had been swimming over. This was not a quarantined part of the city. This was not kept guarded for the rest of the city. This was guarded against the rest of the world.

Isabelle and Eleanor walked along the other half of the semicircle spotted outside the twin gate. At the end stood a tall, robust, magnificent castle.