fire coral in his oysters. His eyes were as big as the king’s pearls. Another year I painted his tail with kissing juice.” Lance smiled bigger. “So many girls followed him that he actually thought he was popular. But my favorite surprise was last year.”
“What happened then?” Lilliana asked, as she leaned back among the sponges and placed her hands around her full belly.
“You see, I set it up perfectly. My dear brother Pierce loves habits. He cleans his sword every morning and rubs each part of his sail until it shines. And he has a favorite feeding spot. Now you have to change where you eat so that the squid and other tasties return to the hunting ground, but this was a spot where Lance could go every month and there would be a new fish. It was a long thin cave that was just as long as his sword and Pierce would always do the same thing. He would stick in his sword to the back wall and wave it as fast as he could, then he would eat the critters as they ran out.
“He went hunting about a month before his birthday and had a delightful stash of squid tentacles. He flaunted them all around the house, and made sure I watched him eat every last one. Since we had three weeks to go before our birthday, I thought he might just save his next trip for then. I snuck out to the kelp beds and swiped some urchins. Urchins are nasty little creatures with long spines and a sour taste; they're only good to feed the otters. I filled up his hollow about halfway with the nastiest purple urchins I could find."
“I’m glad I’m not your twin,” Lilliana said, but she smiled at Lance’s obvious glee.
“Anyway, Mom took us out for breakfast at The Reef, a place the palace chef runs when he’s not cooking for the king and Pierce refused to touch any of his food until after I had tasted everything. Such a great way to get a few extra yummies. Pierce was always looking behind himself at me and didn’t want to do anything I suggested. He pretended to be tired and told Mom that he was done for the day since he had to serve the king early. I just knew he would hunt, and old needle-nose didn’t let me down.
“I swam away saying I had plans too and went to hide and watch by the hollow. Shortly after, here comes old Pierce thinking he’s so smart. He darts behind a rock and peeks around it to see if I’m following him. I almost laughed aloud right there. Then he sneaks up to his hollow, peeks inside for a moment, and pushes in his big old sword as fast as he can and as far as he can. You should have seen his eyes bug out when he pulled out his sword to find not fish, but urchins all along the length of it. They were oozing and awful. Pierce was swimming in circles trying to reach his sword to get them off.”
“Did you help him then?” Lilliana asked.
“Only after I had laughed so hard that most of the citizens had come to see what had happened, and there was proud Pierce with a nose full of purple spines.” Lance was laughing heartily. “You know,” he said in a whisper, “they still call him Purple Pierce behind his back.”
“Is that why the king is so mad at you?” Lilliana asked.
“Ummm, no. Not exactly. Wow. Look at the time. I must get these dishes back to the kitchens. I’ll come and fetch you early in the morning for your appointment with the king.” Lance gathered both trays and went out the door. He shouted to the fish by Spectrum’s bucket.
Lilliana looked out the window and noticed that Spectrum was guarding some sort of large wheelbarrow that had wisps of grass dripping from it and a few fish seemed to be darting around his feet and trying to nibble him out of the way. Every time a fish came near, he would snap at them. He did indeed look as if he might just eat fish for dinner if he could. Lance was talking to him from a distance now, but Lilliana couldn’t hear what he was saying. Spectrum was listening intently, and he backed away and bowed his head. Lance went forward and righted the wheeled bucket while several smaller fish travelled under him to swim the bucket back to the kitchens. Lance paused with something green that Lilliana recognized as sea grass hanging from his sword. He tossed the mass to Spectrum who whinnied and leapt to catch the treat.
Spectrum came into the cave, snuffling with wisps of green grass on his mouth as he came. He whinnied loudly in the doorway, and the glow worms lit up and moved away from his head. Lilliana smiled as Spectrum gazed at her face.
“You’ve certainly had fun playing with your food,” Lilliana said as she patted her horse on the withers. “We have several hours until we meet with the king. Do you suppose we should sleep?”
Spectrum tucked his legs under him and placed his large head on her lap as if in answer.
“Yes, I’m tired too,” Lilliana said as she sank into the bed of sponges.
Lilliana laid her head on her side and curled up her legs. The water on one side of her neck was still and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She turned to the other side, but the same thing happened. She had to have water moving over her neck to breath and each side blocked one gill or the other. She had been a princess this morning and now, like Lance said, she was a beastie who was part human and part fish. Lilliana moved until she lay on her back. The sponges underneath her moved slightly and she was able to get a small stream of water passing across her neck.
She was part prisoner and part guest. The mermen wanted her dead and so did the witch. What would she say to the king tomorrow? How would she get back home? Did her father know about the witch? Lilliana was so confused and so alone. She leaned to one side and reached for Spectrum to stroke his nose. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. If he could talk with her she would feel a little better. They had only known each other for a day, but it was a day that she would never forget.
Tears streaked down Lilliana’s cheeks. They felt slower and warmer than the water around her, and they traced a path down her face to her heavy chest. She missed Nana tucking her into bed and missed sitting on her father’s lap when no one was around. She didn’t care that her hair was as wild as a mermaid’s, or that her new and beautiful dress was in a heap at the bottom of the ocean being covered with waves of sand. At that moment Lilliana would have traded all her riches to be with her mother and father and Nana. She was at the bottom of the dark sea, and she was alone.
10. Star
As Lilliana lay on the bed of sponges, Nana’s face floated through her thoughts. Nana was so big and kind and she always took care of Lilliana. She had been there for Lilliana almost every day of her life, and had often said that caring for Lilliana was her calling. Mother’s face was next. She was intelligent and beautiful and always taught Lilliana the ways of royalty. She wasn’t the type to bestow needless compliments or to give abundant snuggles, but Mother was always ready for Lilliana’s questions when she had them.
Father was the one she missed the most. Lilliana sighed heavily sending a ripple of water across the sponges. He always told Lilliana that leading the kingdom was more about serving people than it was about power. He spoke of the Morning Star like he was a good friend, and spoke to him directly. Her father cared about the people of Atlantis and about his family. When Lilliana sat in her father’s arms she felt as if nothing in the world could ever touch her. She felt safe and loved, as if there was a peace that flowed out of him. She longed for her father so much that she could hear him calling her name.
There it was again.
“Lilliana,” the voice said.
Lilliana opened her eyes to the watery night. How long had she been sleeping?
“Lilliana,” the voice said again.
Lilliana looked around the room to find the source of the sound. She saw Spectrum sleeping on the ground, curled up like a foal. She saw glimmers of light from the stars on the walls. The worms she reminded herself. Then she looked out the window. There was a warm, luminous glow just over the ridge. Lilliana thought it was the light of the castle, but the castle was straight ahead and dimmed for the night.
This was a light like the sun before you can see its rays. The light made it appear as if just over the ridge was a new day. Lilliana was out of the windo
w and swimming towards the glow before she thought of anything else. She tried to remember some reasons not to go, but the light was warm and sweet.
“Lilliana, come to me,” the voice said. The sound was sweet and mellow, but big too. It was like the purr of a lion, or the rumble of thunder from a distant storm. It sounded kind, but at the same time it sounded powerful.
Lilliana crested the ridge and saw a huge room made of crystals that glowed with a pure white light. The light that came out of the crystals showered the ocean floor with dozens of prisms, little rainbows that danced and shimmered with the currents of the ocean. The crystals stretched upward and together to make a pointed top that reached towards the sky. Lilliana noticed an opening that must have been the doorway. She hesitated going in, but the warm light was so inviting. Lilliana felt awed by the majesty of this place. Did the king live here?
She swam into the room and was surrounded by light as bright as noon on the summer solstice. The light was warm, but not hot, and the water was still. Even though there was no movement over her gills, Lilliana felt as though her lungs were full of the sweetest mountain air. She smelled flowers for the first time since being under the sea and tasted the freshness of spring
The Prophecy of Atlantis Page 14