“I will, Mother,” she said. “Trust me; I will.”
— — —
Serena grabbed Hazel’s hand as they swam through the front doors of the palace into the atrium that was already crowded with jittery young mermaids all dressed in their best shell tops. The wealthy girls were easy to spot. Their hair did not swirl around them in the water because it was so weighed down with trinkets.
“Stay close to me, Hazel,” said Serena.
“Serena, I’m not a baby,” said Hazel, trying to pull her hand away.
“I meant stay close because I need you. I’m so nervous,” said Serena, squeezing Hazel’s hand tighter so that she couldn’t pull away.
“Oh,” said Hazel, a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth, “so you’re the baby.” She giggled softly and intertwined her fingers with Serena’s.
The hand that was not in Hazel’s was shaking. Serena’s breath was shallow and excited. Mermaids were bumping and shoving, some of them quite viciously, all trying to get to the front of the queue. Serena felt no urge to rush to the front. She didn’t need to be the first one Triton saw. She just needed a few seconds near him to speak the spell, and he would be hers.
She looked at Hazel and smiled, biting her lip nervously. Out from under Moira’s shadow, Hazel looked rather lovely all dressed up. She was wearing her best, white shell top that tied halter-style around her neck. Serena had braided her long, light-brown hair and placed a large pink and white flower at the top of the braid. Her dark green tail looked shiny and healthy with a fresh application of jellyfish extract. Serena’s own royal blue tail was just as shiny. Her dark brown hair was pulled back from her face by two braids that connected in the back. She had woven small, orange seaside flowers all throughout the two braids to match her favorite coral-colored top.
“Ladies, can I have your attention, please?” said a male voice.
Serena and Hazel craned their necks and pumped their tails to float above the crowd and see the merman speaking from the entrance to the far corridor that led to the grand dining hall. Instead of silence and attention, the merman was met with screams of excitement. He cupped his hands over his mouth, trying to be heard, but it was no use. He floated in the corridor entrance with an annoyed look on his face until the noise settled.
“Ladies, if you will follow me in an orderly fashion, the dining hall is now open,” he said.
He didn’t seem to be finished talking, but the mermaids surged forward with even louder screams. The merman was shoved aside in a tidal wave of tails and nails and hair. Serena and Hazel were roughly shoved forward by the late-comer mermaids behind them. The corridor was tight, as crowds five mermaids wide tried to shove through all at once. Serena would have lost Hazel in the chaos if they had not been holding hands. A blonde mermaid with a deranged look on her face tried to crash her way through Serena and Hazel’s interlocked hands. There was a crack, and the blonde mermaid was tossed back, flipping tail over head in the water. Serena and Hazel looked down at their hands with matching expressions of surprise and then looked up at one another and started laughing. They laughed the whole way down the corridor and into the dining hall.
The light from the surface was fading, but the hall was lit with blue, underwater flames, created by the Trident’s magic, in torches along the walls. All around the room were stone pillars shaped like upright dolphins and seals, their noses holding up the ceiling. In the middle of the room was a dining table so long that the short, open, stool-like chairs on the far ends were only a few feet from the walls of the massive room. The centerpieces were arrangements of hundreds of pearls and white shells fastened together and shaped to look like fish at play, dashing around one another and leaping out of the water. Instead of chairs, two large stone benches spanned the length of the table. There was plenty of space to the sides of the benches, and the mermaids spread out, some of them chatting, others floating alone and looking nervous (Serena thought that if she hadn’t had her sister and her locket with her, she would have been one of that group), others glaring at their competition and fussing with their hair and jewelry. The merman who was supposed to lead them into the hall followed them in looking disgruntled.
“Ladies, ladies, please,” he said. “If you would all arrange yourselves along the benches and wait at attention, King Poseidon and Prince Triton will join us for the evening’s meal.”
There was a whirlpool of tails and a symphony of squeals as the mermaids scrambled for the best bench seats near the end chairs. They had a fifty-fifty chance of picking the one Triton would sit in. Hazel moved forward to go find a seat, but Serena put a hand on her shoulder to hold her back. The two sisters watched with a mix of amusement and disdain as several fights broke out. It was mostly a lot of hair tugging and scratching, but Hazel and Serena both let out a soft, “Ouch,” as one redheaded mermaid slapped a brunette across the face with her tail. The middle-aged merman was starting to look slightly panicked, swimming back and forth and attempting in vain to break up the fights. Finally, he swam up above the dining table and shouted, “Ladies! If this does not stop at once, the dinner will be cancelled!”
Serena doubted he had the authority to do such a thing, but the mermaids were not about to take the risk. The fighting ceased at once. There was still some shoving as they settled onto the benches, but certainly no more tail slapping. Serena and Hazel squeezed their way into a space no one wanted in the middle of the long table. Quiet settled over the room. Serena actually heard the merman’s sigh of relief as he floated above her head. He snapped his fingers and two adolescent mermen appeared in the doorway with large conch shells. They blew a single, short breath into them.
“Presenting their Royal Highnesses, King Poseidon and Prince Triton of Adamar.”
The table erupted with a low roar of excited murmurs and soft giggles stifled behind hands. Poseidon and Triton swam through the doors slowly—royals always moved at a leisurely pace. Poseidon stopped and rested his hand on the chair closest to the door. He held the golden Trident in his other hand. When he held himself upright with his tail curled behind him, the three tips were in line with the point of his crown and the bottom extended past the curve of his tail. The mermaids sitting next to Poseidon’s chair were not able to hide their scowls of disappointment as they looked down the table at the mermaids at the other end. As Triton approached, some of them were lost in a fit of giggles, their eyes slightly deranged with a feverish sparkle. Others went white as a beluga, their mouths clamped shut and their eyes wide with panic at being so close to the object of their fantasies.
“She looks like she’s about to have an accident,” said Hazel with a snort about one such mermaid. Serena put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. It was true.
Others batted their eyelashes, flipped their hair, and bit their lips seductively.
“She looks like a beached seal in heat,” said Serena, her brows creased in anger.
The mermaid in the seat to the right of Triton’s chair was leaning over the table, using it to push up her considerable breasts, and beckoning to Triton with a come-hither finger. She patted the seat of his chair with her other hand. Hazel went into a fit of poorly suppressed giggles, clutching her stomach. Serena glanced over at her sister, and her angry expression softened into a smirk. When Triton, looking bored and morose, reached his seat (Serena was happy to note that he stood to the left of his chair, giving the beckoning mermaid a wide berth), Poseidon spoke.
“Welcome, young mermaids to the first dinner party. Tonight, you will all be given the chance to make an impression on my son. At the end of the month, after all the dinners have been served and all the eligible mermaids have been given their chance, if he still remembers your name, you just might become princess of Adamar.”
There were no squeals in the presence of the king, but many mermaids sucked in their breath, and all sa
t in rapt attention.
“Now, let the feast begin!” said Poseidon.
He struck the bottom of the Trident against the floor and sparks tumbled across the stone. Heaping plates of food—mollusks and clams in sauces and seasonings that Serena had never seen before, kelp and sea grass prepared in every way she had ever heard of, and sweet algae cakes—appeared from nowhere, summoned from the kitchens. Serena smiled in surprised delight. Many mermaids clapped their hands in excitement. One mermaid near Serena almost fell backwards off the bench in shock.
Despite her nerves, Serena began to salivate. She and Hazel looked at each other with matching smiles. Poseidon and Triton took their seats, and after they had been served their food by two bustling maids whom Serena knew and the king took his first bite and gave an approving nod, everyone else tucked in, serving themselves. Well…almost everyone else. There were a handful of mermaids who kept picking up the food and raising it to their mouths, but they never seemed to actually swallow any of it.
It was all delicious, the best Serena had ever tasted, but she ate slowly and only had small, single helpings. Her skin was warm and flushed from the accelerated speed of her heartbeat. Her dream was within her grasp. It made her feel lightheaded, free, and happy to the point of giddiness, but also slightly nauseous. Watching the mermaids at Triton’s end of the table flirt and dither around him made her even more nauseous, so she kept her eyes on her plate most of the time, only casting demure looks at him every now and then, and she thought perhaps he noticed at least once.
When Poseidon had cleaned his plate of his second helping, the merman who had escorted the mermaids appeared again and said, “The palace band will be your entertainment for the evening. Please, do not crowd or…” he cleared his throat, “stampede the Prince. Mingle amongst yourselves, and he will make his way around the room.”
“Poseidon must be really desperate for grandbabies,” said Hazel as she and Serena did as they were told, moving to float next to one of the stone dolphin pillars as the band appeared and started playing. “This is just awkward. This isn’t how normal palace dinner parties go, is it?”
“I guess we’ll find out,” said Serena with a wink, her hand going to the locket again. She rubbed it nervously with her finger, and the cool gold became warm as the magic inside it responded to her touch.
Poseidon retreated to the far corner of the room where his chair was brought to him. He sat with the Trident in his hand, observing silently, his eyes always on his son. Serena and Hazel stayed close to one another, talking to no one else. Serena could hardly speak at all. Her heart was pounding a fast, steady beat in her ears. Hazel looked torn between pity and scorn as she watched Serena fidget. Just looking at Serena, being there at a party with her, confused Hazel. She loved Serena, sometimes loved her fiercely, but the jealousy was powerful and unforgiving. It clouded her affection with a smoldering rage. The two emotions were always at war, tugging Hazel along for the ride.
Triton too looked torn as he made his slow rounds through the throng of eager mermaids. His displeasure with the arrangement his father had made for him was clear in the occasional wrinkle of his nose or baleful sigh, but some of the mermaids present were quite beautiful, and his flirtatious smile, almost like a smirk, presented itself every now and then, particularly when he came across a redhead.
Finally, he approached Hazel and Serena. As he swam over to them, recognition crossed his face. He locked eyes with Serena and gave her a sheepish, somewhat sad smile. Her heart jumped to her throat, and she feared she wouldn’t be able to speak to him. He remembered her. He might just turn away, thinking he shouldn’t waste his time because there was no way he could marry her. The thought made her want to cry, but she bit the inside of her cheek and held herself together. He did not turn away, and his sad smile did not fade. She returned with a small smile of her own.
“Serena, right?” he said.
Serena thought she might faint. She could not speak, so she nodded instead. He had remembered her name. He actually remembered. She wasn’t “maid” or “you there.” He knew her name.
“And, you are?” Triton said, his eyes on Hazel.
“Hazel. I’m Serena’s sister.”
“I can see the resemblance. You both have lovely smiles. Very pleased to meet you, Hazel.”
“Likewise, Prince.”
“Oh, please, call me Triton,” he said. He turned to look Serena in his eyes. “Please, I insist.”
Serena nodded again, dumbstruck, and Hazel suppressed a giggle.
“It’s a pleasure, Triton,” said Hazel, “for both of us I’m sure.”
Triton smiled at Hazel and then turned back to Serena. Hazel didn’t mind that his attention was on Serena (much to her own surprise); she appreciated the smile.
“Serena, ever since you returned to the palace, I’ve been wanting to speak with you.”
Serena’s heart soared. He had noticed she was gone. He had noticed that she came back. Perhaps she didn’t need the potion hidden inside the locket after all. She mentally scolded herself. It wasn’t enough. It was a good sign—a wonderful sign—but it guaranteed nothing, and Triton’s affections had been placed on a deadline.
“I would…,” Triton hesitated, drawing in an uncomfortable breath through his teeth and rubbing the back of his neck, “I would just like to apologize for the way my m—” He cut the word off suddenly, as if he had been slapped. He looked up at the ceiling, biting his lip. He seemed to be fighting back tears, and Serena felt a horrible stab of guilt. She didn’t want him to go on. When he looked back at her and seemed like he might continue, she cut in.
“Oh, your Highness…I mean, Triton.” She said his name lovingly, softly. It felt right on her lips. “There’s no need. I accept your apology gladly, though I don’t think it is needed in the first place.”
The smile he gave her broke her heart with the sorrow imbedded in it. She wanted to touch him, comfort him.
“Thank you, Serena,” he said.
At the sound of his name on her lips once again, she knew she had made the right choice. He could love her. He would love her. The love potion was a necessary step because of her station and Poseidon’s deadline, but she would not need it forever. And Moira had been right; the price she paid for the potion was a mutually beneficial one, for Triton as well.
“Triton,” said Serena, holding herself with confidence now, preparing herself to harness her inner power, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you as well.”
Hazel tensed and held her breath. Triton looked at Serena expectantly.
“Storms of the ages and winds of the sea,” said Serena, closing her eyes and focusing on the warm sensation in her gut. Triton looked puzzled. Serena continued, “Shall have only half the strength of the force ‘tween you and me.” Triton’s quizzical smile slackened along with the rest of his face. His eyes never moved from Serena’s, but his mind seemed elsewhere. Serena’s skin felt alive and tingly. Hazel’s eyes darted between the two of them as a thin, pink tendril of liquid smoke seeped from the necklace and reached out towards Triton. Serena continued, “One shall live for two, and two shall be one. Only by true love’s kiss may this spell be undone.”
The small wisp of pink smoke was sucked up Triton’s nostrils, and he breathed it in with a happy smile. Serena put her hand over the locket, concealing it, as it glowed a soft pink and grew warm against her skin. Serena and Hazel had their backs to the dolphin pillar, and Triton had his back to the pack of mermaids still waiting to speak with him. Hazel looked at them, trying to tell if they had noticed the potion seep from the locket. They were all studying the back of Triton’s head, pushing each other and craning their necks to get a good look at him, whispering amongst each other, wondering if he actually liked the two brunettes he had been talking to for quite some time. They looked frustrated, but they did not look
suspicious.
Triton blinked rapidly for a few moments and then focused on Serena again. His eyes grew wide. His jaw went slack. He blinked again, as if trying to decide if what he was seeing was real. He seemed to decide that it was because his flirtatious smile came on full force. It was so enthusiastic, in fact, that it looked a little lopsided and goofy. Hazel giggled softly behind her hand. Serena was barely breathing, afraid to believe it had worked.
“You look absolutely radiant tonight, Serena,” said Triton. “Has anyone told you yet?”
“No,” said Serena with a small laugh, her joy overwhelming her. “I don’t know if you know this, but everyone here is prepared to bite off heads for your attention. They aren’t exactly handing out compliments.”
Triton laughed. The happy, rumbling sound made Serena smile so big her cheeks scrunched up against her lower eyelids. Triton said, “Well, it’s a shame. You should be told you’re beautiful at least every hour.”
Serena blushed, and he took her hand gently in his. Every mermaid in the room was watching now. Poseidon swam up towards the ceiling to look over their heads. Hazel smirked at the livid expressions on the other mermaids’ faces. A few looked as though they might start crying and screaming curses all at the same time.
“I don’t know what it is,” said Triton softly, his face inching closer to hers, “I feel like I may have lost my mind, actually, but I can’t stop looking at you. I…I want to know everything about you. I hope it’s not too forward of me.”
“Not at all,” said Serena, her voice coming out with difficulty as her heart threatened to burst out of her chest.
The Sea Witch (The Era of Villains Book 1) Page 10