People had begun to gather quickly. There hadn’t been a Sorthileige case in over a year.
“There is a reason only the Sea Crown himself is to enter the Deeps, and this is why! The Sorthileige—” Lorenzo directed his glare at a group of small children who had crept in for a closer look—“will take your mind and body and twist them into a monstrous work of darkness.” The children pulled back a bit as he held their gazes. When they were finally with their parents again, he continued. “You may think you are too quick to be touched by the dark water. You may have even dabbled in playing on its edges before. But sooner or later, the Deeps will drag you in, and you will find yourself imprisoned by a force far more powerful than you could ever use or want. It will control you—”
Someone screamed as the man’s face began to contort. Arianna gripped the rooftop’s coral edge tightly as gills began to cut their way into his face; gills that looked much like the ones on the large white sharks. He twisted and bucked against his restraints as the holes continued to grow in his cheeks.
“Arianna!”
Something cool touched her back, and Arianna shot up from where she was resting. Looking down, however, to her relief and immediate embarrassment, she saw only her Aunt Renata. And Renata did not look pleased.
“This is no place for a princess. Come.”
For once, Arianna was grateful for her aunt’s firm tone. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep if anything else had happened to the merman. Still, she knew from the stories exactly the fate of those touched by Sorthileige. She shivered as she swam after her aunt. At least she wouldn’t have to watch.
As they swam, she realized that not the entire city had turned out to watch the man’s agonizing end after all. Arianna followed her aunt, gliding above the domed city dwellings, and slowly, the sounds of daily work and friendly chatter helped quiet her thundering heart. Growers sang their songs to budding gardens on the seafloor. Other Growers could be heard singing in the baby nurseries, fish farms, and the towering kelp forests farther out of the city. A few were so bold as to swim halfway to the surface and hum at the boxed oyster beds above them. Nurturers did much of the same as they sang to their pods of children, schools of young dolphins, and even homes that just weren’t growing fast enough. Brightly colored fish swam lazily in and out of the small and large coral dwellings that the Growers and Nurturers were still building, and larger creatures, such as sea lions, looked on with a lazy interest.
The sound of one Nurturer in particular caught Arianna’s ear and made her pause. Renata stopped and came back to float beside her as Arianna tilted her head and listened to the familiar sound.
There were many Nurturers out with their pods of children, for the water was warm and inviting as the early summer sun cut all the way to the seabed from the surface above. There would be no lessons in their coral dwellings today. This particular Nurturer had the children perched on a natural bed of coral instead, higher than most Nurturers took their pupils. Her willingness to bring the children so high was a practice Arianna had always loved about her. For though Arianna had been unable to remain low enough to join a pod of children herself, she had spent many hours from afar listening to this Nurturer teach her little ones.
“Wasn’t that Rinaldo’s Nurturer?” Renata asked, moving closer to Arianna.
Arianna nodded as she watched the scene intently. The woman began to sway her arms from side to side, and the children began to sing.
Child of sun,
Child of sea,
Destined to silence,
Destined to sing.
One nature to rule,
One nature to fight,
Only when owned can two peoples unite.
“And just what is that face supposed to mean?” Renata was studying Arianna with one eyebrow quirked, but Arianna just rolled her eyes and flipped her tail a little harder as she resumed their swim to the tower. “No,” Renata said, keeping pace with her easily. “You can’t tell me that you still doubt the prophecy.”
Arianna only swam faster, so Renata grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “That prophecy was given to us over five centuries ago,” she said.
Just another reason not to pay it heed, Arianna thought, holding her aunt’s gaze unflinchingly.
“Just because you can’t sing doesn’t mean this doesn’t involve you.” Renata still grasped Arianna’s arm. “The holy man who made that prophecy could see the division that was forming between the Sea and Sun Crowns even then. He saw the estrangement of the Sun and Sea Crowns far before his time, and that gap is only growing wider now.” She glanced down at the children and their Nurturer, her brown eyes softening. “Don’t blame them for hoping.”
Then she turned back to Arianna, her gaze narrowing again into one of her best glares. “You may not think it affects you, but a third of what we use here comes from the Sun Crown and his people. If your father cannot find a way to bridge the gap for the time being, I’m not sure how much more trade there will be.” Renata pursed her lips. “If you ever paid attention on holy day, you would know this by now.”
Arianna listened with painful fortitude as her aunt spoke. Interrupting with a gesture or scribbling a note would do no good when she was receiving such admonishments. It was easier to bear them silently.
What Arianna did not tell her aunt as they continued their swim, however, was that she did listen on holy days. That she always had. For years, she had tried to work out her place in the orderly world the holy man seemed to believe existed for every one of his listeners. But for a mermaid without a voice, those particular speeches about such a prophecy of song could be paid little heed. Pinning her hope on a miracle such as that which had been denied Arianna completely seemed of little reason. If the prophecy were true, it concerned someone else.
The Sun Crown’s ball, however, didn’t.
Suddenly she grinned, remembering what she had wanted to ask her aunt. She touched her aunt’s arm then pointed to an outcropping of ancient volcanic rock that overlooked some of the sponge and the bottom of the floating pearl farms. Her aunt nodded, so they turned and settled upon the shelf’s edge. As soon as they were sitting, Arianna pulled the bag from her shoulder and dug through it until she found one of the waxy leaf parchments, the sheet of slate rock, and her pressing knife. Placing the thin leaf up against the rock sheet, Arianna cut her question into the waxy surface and then handed it to her aunt.
Renata took it, but Arianna could immediately see her dissatisfaction with the question. Shaking her head, she handed the leaf back. “Your father will say no. You know that. Now, it’s time to practice your sums.”
Arianna just stared, refusing to give in to the nagging sensation that her aunt was right. Shaking her head, she wrote again. No merman will marry me when I am grown. I won’t be able to go down to live with him, and he won’t be able to come up to stay with me so near the surface. Shouldn’t I have a night every now and then to enjoy a celebration of some sort where I can be everyone’s equal?
“Married or not, you are a princess,” Renata said firmly. “And a princess needs to know how to manage and organize resources. Your brother and sister have learned such, and you must as well. Now, figures.”
Arianna pouted, but did as her aunt instructed and pulled another waxy leaf from the bag. This leaf had lines and columns of numbers already aligned for her, cut in the heavy hand of her father’s steward. But the numbers in their neat lines and columns could not occupy her, and it wasn’t long before she was cutting words between her numbers.
Why is the ball even taking place? What’s the occasion?
Renata only crossed her arms, so Arianna tried again.
Thirteen is only four years from marriageable age. I am old enough to know.
They glared at one another, but after a few long moments Renata sighed and uncrossed her arms. “You are old enough, aren’t you?”
Arianna nodded emphatically.
Renata sighed again, then stared out at the fields aro
und them, pulling her fins up to her chest. Her dark hair floated about her face as she thought, and when she spoke, her voice sounded old. “Your father hasn’t told me as much himself, but I think it will be a meeting about the pirates. Your father thinks the Sun Crown isn’t doing enough to protect us.”
That sounds boring. Why is there a ball then?
Renata laughed. “Precisely because such a discussion is boring. Besides, it’s more difficult to be uncivil when you’re surrounded by your family and everyone is dancing. The wine helps, too, of course.”
Then why shouldn’t I go?
Renata studied her for a long moment before shaking her head. When she spoke, her voice was gentle. “Very well, then. Finish your sums, and as soon as you’re done, I’ll make the request to your father.”
Arianna hugged her aunt as hard as she could. Then she remembered the gift she’d snatched from the surface. Digging through her bag again, Arianna pulled the red flower out and presented it to her aunt.
“The red poppies are blooming!” Then Renata’s smile melted and she leveled a hard look at Arianna. “You’re sneaking up to the surface again.”
Arianna simply grinned. Her aunt knew exactly where she went every day. Arianna rarely brought proof home, however, to further incriminate herself. She half-expected another lecture about what her father would say if he knew, but instead, Renata only held the flower close. It was somewhat battered from bouncing around in Arianna’s bag, but Renata touched each petal with the tenderness of a mother. Arianna’s grin faded as Renata bit her trembling lip.
“He would have liked you so much, Ari,” Renata whispered. “Your spirit is much like his.” She gave a shaky laugh. “Sometimes I don’t know what I shall do with you, but I am always aware that I could never make do without you.”
As she wrapped Arianna up in a tight embrace, Arianna decided that she had a good feeling about the ball after all.
3
Preferences
Arianna would very much have enjoyed watching the sunset from her favorite rock above the surface, but the discussion she knew her parents would be having that evening was far more tempting than a stolen pink sky from above.
As she settled on her usual spot on their roof, she thanked the Maker that her parents’ tower was so much higher than the other mansion chambers. If she was careful, she could remain above their window for just under half an hour before the ocean’s weight became too great and she was forced to return to her own tower.
“For once,” Giana was saying, “Renata is right. Arianna deserves to do something.”
“And, pray tell, just how does she while her days away, since she apparently does nothing for the rest of the time?” Amadeo retorted.
“She’s sneaking to the surface, you know.”
“I am well aware of that. Here, come tuck this in, will you? I can never get the abominable thing to lay straight.” He paused, and Arianna imagined him frowning at the mirror as he tried to lay his charm flat beneath his ceremonial sash. “Rinaldo!”
Arianna heard a door open. “Yes, Father?”
“Get your charm and Lalia’s from the charmer’s shop, will you? And for the love of the triton, hurry your sister! Remind her that this isn’t a trip for niceties.”
Despite her adoration for her older siblings, Arianna couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy at such instructions.
“Don’t change the subject,” Giana said once the door had been shut again. “Arianna craves the time and attention just as much as Lalia ever did. Just because she can’t dwell with us down here doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to.”
“So what do you suggest I do about it? If my own father couldn’t awaken her voice or render her able to live with us, what do you expect of me?”
“We already know that she can remain above the surface without negative effects, even without a charm and in the sun, no less! All of her hours spent above testify to that. Renata says she’s no different after surfacing than before. Why not give her a charm and let her have an evening of walking about with us?” Giana’s voice fell so near to a whisper that Arianna had to strain to hear it. “Why not be a family for once?”
There was a pause, and Arianna prayed as she had never prayed before. Her mother might not be able to stay with her comfortably for more than a few hours at a time, but tonight she spoke as though she could see into Arianna’s heart. Arianna strained to hear her father’s answer.
“No.”
If Arianna had been above the water, her eyes would have welled up with big tears, and if she had the legs a charm would have afforded her, she would have kicked something.
Giana began to protest, but Amadeo cut her off. “We don’t know enough about her form as it is. Who knows if she will even be affected by a charm? What if its powers are ineffective and her hopes are dashed for nothing?”
“Don’t you want her with us? Don’t you wish to have three children instead of two?” came Giana’s cry, nearly a sob.
A long moment passed before he spoke again, and Arianna wondered bitterly if he was consoling her mother or simply fiddling with his charm again. “I would prefer a daughter who is far off, to a daughter who died because of my stupidity and selfishness.” He paused before calling out in a louder voice, “You understand that, don’t you, Arianna?”
Arianna sighed and swam through the window into her parents’ chamber. She peeked up sheepishly at her father. As she did, a writing tablet and waxy leaf caught her eye. Darting over to the desk, she snatched up the writing utensils. I won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work. I promise. Just let me try.
Amadeo shook his head and returned to trimming his silver beard in the mirror. “It’s too dangerous.”
Arianna jabbed the words into the waxy leaf. Why?
“Because I said so.”
You let Rinaldo go when he was five. And Lalia went for the first time when she was four.
“Arianna,” her father said. “Let it go.”
Why? she wrote again in very large letters.
“I am not keeping you here for my health!” he roared, throwing down his trimming scissors. “I am trying to keep you alive!”
She crossed her arms and set her jaw.
Amadeo rubbed his eyes and spoke in a softer tone. “Suppose that word got out that the youngest princess was out in society. ‘A gentle, quiet soul,’ people would say to one another in their daily gossip. The pirates would eventually hear about it from someone.”
“Amadeo, don’t you think you’re being a bit dramatic?” Giana asked, but Amadeo only shook his head and continued talking to Arianna.
“I know your aunt hasn’t told you this yet, but I’m going to tell you now. Pirates don’t just attack our guards. They take merpeople and torture them. They put them through agonizing pain until the merperson shows them where we keep our pearl storehouses. Then they auction the merperson off to the highest bidder to be kept as a pet . . . or worse!”
That won’t happen to me, Arianna wrote. I’ll be safe with you.
“You’re not listening! It’s not just tonight that I’m worried about. Do you know what lengths men would go to get you, once spotted? And worse, when you couldn’t sing to show them the treasure they demanded of you, you would be considered a novelty for all sorts of other debauchery. I do not know who will be at this ridiculous gala, and I will not have you gawked at like a speckled crab in winter.”
Arianna glared at him, but he continued.
“That you’re a princess will only make you more intriguing. No. You are not going.” He held up the charm she’d begged out of the Charmer, and Arianna gasped. Where had he found that? She thought she’d hidden it well.
“And if I find you trying to pilfer one of these again, I will lock you in your room myself until this horrid night is over!”
4
Stolen Moments
“If you absolutely must go, then at least wear your black camicett.” Renata eyed Arianna from her perch by the tower window. Though A
rianna’s aunt rarely used her monocle, as she claimed it made her look old, she peeked through it now, her leaf and pressing knife still in hand.
Arianna would have protested on any other occasion, but her guilt was too great this night to argue. That Renata wasn’t reporting her disobedience to her father was a gift enough in itself, so she flipped back into her little chamber and changed into the black camicett as requested.
Arianna inwardly groaned at the tight, slick material as she pulled it over her head. Wearing the night apparel felt much like she was wrapping her top half snugly in waxy leaf paper. Her aunt was right, though. Swimming about at night was a trifle to most merpeople. For them, the black camicett was simply a precaution, a preventive measure against being seen by pirates. A mermaid without a voice, however, couldn’t be too careful, and the sleek black shirt would make her less visible in the inky waters of the eve.
As she launched herself through her tower window, Arianna felt a shiver of dual fear and excitement run all the way from her shoulders to her tail. Her father would pop a scale if he could see what she was doing now. Darkness had begun to fall, and the sea already felt different. The waters were eerily silent, no longer filled with the working songs the merpeople spun throughout the day. Only the Protector songs of the distant guards were audible as they continued their constant murmurs at the edges of the Deeps.
The water was still warm from the day, but all the pleasure its heat should have brought her was chased away by the guilt that gnawed at her stomach. True enough, Arianna broke the rules daily with her excursions to the surface. Amadeo rarely reprimanded her, though, and even the guards turned their backs whenever she swam by. The absolute warning in her father’s voice earlier that evening, however, had been steel and stone. He did not want her going to the ball.
Silent Mermaid: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid (The Classical Kingdoms Collection Book 5) Page 2