Silent Mermaid: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid (The Classical Kingdoms Collection Book 5)

by Brittany Fichter

  Though she couldn’t see him, Arianna could still hear Prince Lucas’s voice. “Mother will be late again. She says she can’t find the gown she had wanted to wear. She has two servants tearing the room apart.”

  “As if they don’t have better things—” But then Prince Michael stopped and turned to stare at Arianna, his jaw going slack. Before he could say anything, however, a shriek sounded from the hall door.

  “You little thief!”

  Arianna turned to see an elegant woman around her mother’s age standing at the entrance of the room. And the woman was pointing directly at her. Arianna blinked a few times and glanced at those around her. Surely the woman didn’t mean her. But the woman’s glare didn’t soften as she stalked forward, her hands balled up into fists at her sides.

  “You come into my home against my wishes, and then you have the audacity to steal my gown and jewelry?”

  Oh. This must be Queen Drina.

  Arianna swallowed hard. She had heard stories of the queen’s extravagance. And her temper. Arianna dared a glimpse at the little girls, who sat at the end of the long table. They had both ducked as low as the bench would allow them. Hoping the queen hadn’t seen her glance, Arianna immediately straightened and tried holding the queen’s gaze.

  “Mother, I am sure there is an explanation for this,” Prince Michael said. “There is no way she could have stolen your gown. She can’t walk. Now please, come and eat.”

  The people around them were silent, suddenly finding their empty plates quite interesting, and Arianna got the feeling that this kind of outburst wasn’t unusual. That didn’t make it any less unpleasant for her, however.

  “Then how did she get here?” Queen Drina whirled around to face her son.

  “The . . . She was pushed here.” He paused. “In one of Rolf’s contraptions.”

  Though Arianna could not decide what she thought of this new adult Prince Michael, she was suddenly grateful to him for keeping the girls’ whereabouts hidden. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to fool the queen.

  “Where are my granddaughters?”

  No one moved.

  “Girls!”

  Finally, Claire stood, but she wouldn’t raise her eyes from the floor. “Here, Grandmother.”

  “Did you take that dress from my wardrobe?”

  Slowly, the little girl nodded, suddenly seeming much younger and smaller than she had earlier.

  Arianna’s throat tightened. Her grandparents had visited her several times, and though they were stern, they had never spoken to her in such a way. She suddenly wished for a voice for an entirely new reason. Yelling at the queen might get one banished from the palace, but she would have felt vastly better, at least.

  “What have I told you about touching my things?”

  “Mother,” Michael said, but the queen ignored him.

  “I have specifically forbidden you from entering my chambers when I am not there!”

  “But you gave her the ugliest dress in the kingdom!” Claire finally lifted her eyes and met her grandmother’s baleful glare. “You could have given her that blue one in the back of your wardrobe. You’re too plump for it now!”

  Arianna thought she might die of embarrassment.

  “Mother!”

  Finally, the queen turned, her dark eyes burning.

  Prince Michael was now standing, and his voice cut like a shard of glass. “I think it is time for supper. We can discuss such things at another time.”

  “If that wench damages my gown—”

  “We will talk about it later. Please sit down.”

  The queen and her son glowered at one another for a short eternity before she finally turned with a sniff and glided to sit beside Prince Lucas, her face taut.

  The prince stayed standing, however. “Before we say our thanks, I wish to introduce you all to Arianna.” He sounded bored, but he did gesture toward where she was sitting, at least. “She was found injured on the shore yesterday. It appears that the fright of the incident has stolen her voice. She will be staying with us until she is able to join her family again. Please treat her with kindness.”

  When he turned to look at her, Arianna dared to send him a smile. How wonderful it felt to hear him say her name! The way he said it was smooth and clear. But instead of smiling back, he only looked at her for a moment longer, his face devoid of any warmth. Then after he said a prayer of thanks, he sat back down and began speaking with the portly gentleman across the table.

  After that, Arianna didn’t dare try to look at either of the princes. Thankfully, though, she had little need to as the meal was finally served.

  As the servant girl placed the food in front of her, Arianna decided that it looked filling. But it was definitely not as elaborate as Arianna had expected after seeing the Sun Palace and all its grandeur. She thought back to the preparations that had been made for the ball five years before, but the hordes of servants were nowhere to be seen, and neither were the tables of delicacies that had stood out on the terrace.

  Instead, the plate in front of her held a slice of simple brown bread and several kinds of plump plant-looking items she was rather sure they called fruit. The fruit was easy, and Arianna found herself wishing for more as the thin fruit skins popped off and the tangy, sweet juices burst in her mouth. As for the bread, Arianna had never eaten it before, but once she learned to swallow the dry, coarse, spongy food, she realized it wasn’t that hard.

  The wine, however, was another story. Arianna stared at her goblet with a frown, then at everyone else around her. It seemed she had only to lift the cup to her lips and then let it run down her throat. Drinking out of a cup seemed simple enough.

  Her attempt to do so proved otherwise, however. As soon as the bittersweet liquid rolled down her throat, Arianna dropped her goblet on the table, choking and sputtering. Her scene drew the attention of most of those around her, including Prince Michael. Unlike the others, however, he didn’t look confused. Actually, much to her annoyance, he looked as though he were trying to suppress a smile.

  When she met his eyes, he glanced pointedly down at her lap. Arianna gasped as she realized she’d spilled red wine all over the queen’s pink gown. Her face heated as she tried desperately to mop it up with the little square of cloth that had been placed beside her plate. She looked up at the prince, pleading silently. If Drina wasn’t going to have Arianna’s head before, she surely would now.

  The prince looked back at the queen before gesturing to someone at the far end of the table. Arianna followed his gaze to see Bithiah.

  The servant gave him a slight nod, then stood and walked casually over to Arianna, bending over as though to refill her drink. As she did, she dropped another of the cloth squares in Arianna’s lap, covering the stain completely. Arianna gave her a grateful look, but the servant wouldn’t meet her eyes.

  In just one evening, the only people she hadn’t offended were Prince Lucas and the girls, Arianna thought with a sigh. She couldn’t imagine what grief the servant would suffer if she couldn’t get the red splatters out of the pink material.

  A course of thin clam soup followed. Arianna watched her neighbors for a longer period this time before attempting to eat with her spoon as they did. Though the result wasn’t pretty, it was far less disastrous than the drink incident had been.

  But who could blame her, though. Arianna crossed her arms petulantly. One hardly had the chance to drink underwater.

  Aside from the queen’s outburst, supper was a rather quiet affair, and once Arianna realized no one else had seen her ruin the queen’s gown, she found an unexpected sort of enjoyment as the meal progressed. From the clinking of eating utensils to the other guests’ murmurs and the occasional guffaw, there was something happy about being in the middle of many people. It was the first time, as far as Arianna could recall, that she had ever enjoyed a meal with those other than her immediate family. Taking a deep breath, she nearly thanked the Maker for such contentment. Of course, it would probably all end
tomorrow—or even sooner, she thought as she looked down at the dress.

  The guests began to excuse themselves before Arianna had eaten her fill. Bithiah was soon at her side, taking her chair by its thin handles and turning to wheel her out of the room. Before they got ten steps, however, the queen stood up, knocking her chair backward.

  “What have you done to my gown?” Her voice was nearly inaudible, like the quiet before a violent squall.

  Arianna looked down in horror to realize that one of the cloth squares had fallen off her lap, and the great red stain was peeking out from beneath.

  “Claire!” the queen shrieked. “Claire, get over here!”

  Claire did as her grandmother bid. Her eyes became nearly the size of sand dollars when she saw the mess in Arianna’s lap.

  “This is your fault! Now, you and your sister can go to your room without dessert for the next week!”

  “We haven’t had dessert in months,” Claire muttered as she turned back.

  “I meant it! Go! And you!” The queen turned her bright eyes back on Arianna. “Get out of my sight! I don’t want to see you for the rest of your stay here! You’ll not be staying a single day longer the moment you can hobble!”

  Bithiah had Arianna out of the room before the queen could scream another word. Only when they reached a friendlier room with food scattered about and piles of strange empty dishes, did Arianna realize that she was shaking. She could still hear arguing from down the hall as Prince Michael tried to reason with his mother. Bithiah shut the door and pulled down the window coverings before holding up the ugly gown Arianna had been wearing before.

  “I think it would be best if you give that dress to me, and I will see what I can do with it. For now, you would be wise to wear this.”

  Arianna nodded and let the servant help her change clothes, not even minding that someone else was there to see her strange new legs unclothed. At least she was getting out of the gown that had caused the nightmare. Immediately, Bithiah set it in a tall hollow dish of sudsy water, then she helped Arianna change into the ugly brown dress.

  As they were heading back toward Arianna’s room, voices echoed from the hall they were about to turn into. Bithiah stopped and waited, presumably, Arianna guessed, so that they wouldn’t intrude. For it seemed as though the voices belonged to none other than Queen Drina and Prince Michael.

  “This was why I didn’t want her here!”

  Arianna frowned. A ruined dress seemed hardly a reason to cry.

  “Every time I look at her face,” the queen said, choking with sobs, “I see them. I know she looks human. But I still see them!”

  “I know.” Prince Michael’s voice was strained. “But we can’t just dump her back on the beach alone. Father never would have approved.”

  “Your father is dead because of her people! And your sister!”

  “A fact that has haunted me since I first laid eyes on her.” Michael’s voice broke at the end. “But she saved my life. I owe her at least a recovery.” The queen continued crying as Michael added softly, “It’s not as though I want her here, either.”

  Bithiah put a warm hand on Arianna’s shoulder and gently squeezed, but that didn’t stop the tears. Ferociously, Arianna tried to wipe them away. The last thing she wanted was for the prince or his mother to see her cry. Crying would look weak, and she couldn’t afford to look any weaker than she already did.

  But inside, she was breaking.

  15

  One Sun’s Time

  Arianna let the sand slide between her fingers and blow away in the wind. After four weeks in the palace, the grandeur had begun to close in on her. The healer had finally declared her ready to use a crutch that morning, a full week later than he had originally predicted, and the girls had immediately decided they should have a day on the beach.

  Navigating the sand with her crutch had been more than a slight ordeal, as Arianna was still unsteady on her feet. The girls had been forced to help her most of the way, as the wheeled chair couldn’t navigate the sand. She just knew she had to get back to the sea, even if only to survey it. But as her first hour passed, then the second, nothing changed. No monsters surfaced. No aunt. The blue-green waves only continued to roll and crash like glass breaking into foam upon the sand.

  As always, though, the girls managed to make her smile. Their giggles and screams were comforting sounds against the roar of the waves. When she was out here, she could pretend that the prince didn’t ignore her every time they were in the same room. She could ignore the dozens of stupid, girlish fantasies she had spun during those lonely hours in the sea, imaginings where he had drawn her into warm embraces and smiled down at her with easy familiarity. In those scenes, he had chosen her.

  If she touched the water again now, would she change back into a mermaid? Arianna fingered a shell as she stared thoughtfully out at the waves. It would be the easiest way to break free. She would no longer be a burden to Prince Michael, and she could search for Renata.

  As soon as she’d thought it, however, Arianna banished the notion. Even if she turned back into a mermaid, she couldn’t leave immediately. The children were her responsibility now. No, it would be best if she stayed out of the water just a few hours longer, at least until someone else came down to look for the girls.

  A particularly loud squeal pulled Arianna from her brooding, and she opened her eyes to see Lucy splash through the waves up to her knees. She pulled herself up on the crutch and had started toward the girls, who were still chasing one another, when something dark slipped up to the surface of the water and then back down again.

  Arianna gritted her teeth against the pain in her ankle as she broke into a clumsy run, tripping over herself again and again. Just when she reached the girls, Lucy stumbled and fell to her knees. Arianna dropped at her side and was trying to pull her to her feet when something began to splash in a frenzied state. One second before the pointed black barb flew up from the water, Arianna threw all her strength into dragging the child from the water and falling back onto the beach. When she turned and looked once more at the water, she found herself staring into the inky eyes of a very large stingray as it hovered just inches from where the waves lapped at the sand.

  Its colorless eyes confirmed what Arianna had already guessed. This creature had been to the Deeps. Without the guards to hedge the boundary, it had found its way into the Deeps and come out changed. Just like the shark that bit her.

  Lucy started crying, and Arianna let her head fall back in relief. When she opened her eyes again, the queen was staring at them from the top of the beach near the palace’s steps. Arianna immediately felt a flash of guilt. She, of all people, knew the dangers of the ocean. She never should have allowed them to take her to the beach while she was still so injured. It was selfish and had almost cost Lucy her life.

  Queen Drina began to make her way down to them with her slow, stately walk. Today she wore a blue gown with several layers, despite the warmth of the day. She really was a handsome woman, with her strong angled features and her silken brown hair, and would have been more so, had her countenance not been so proud.

  “Claire, Lucy,” she said when she finally stopped a few yards from their little huddled group. “I would like to speak with Arianna alone. Go back inside and change your clothes. Bithiah has lunch ready for you.”

  Claire nodded and began to walk back up the hill, but Lucy still clung to Arianna, shaking. The queen’s eyes narrowed as Arianna did her best to pry the girl off and send her after her sister. Only when the girls were halfway up the hill did Drina speak again.

  “It seems,” she said with resignation, “that you are in fact capable of watching the girls, though I hope you choose more prudent places to play in the future.”

  Arianna tilted her head. The future?

  “I won’t mince words. My son had to dismiss the girls’ nurse just days before you arrived. It appears,” she pursed her lips, “that we no longer have the funds to employ a qualified instruct
or, so for the time being we will just have to make do with you . . . should you accept.”

  Arianna looked at her incredulously. After the month of hateful looks the queen had sent her way, and all the ways her son had worked to ignore Arianna completely, were they truly offering Arianna employment?

  “We couldn’t afford to pay you in coin, of course,” Renata continued, fussing with one of her sleeve cuffs, “but you would keep your bed and continue to dine with us each day. That is more than you will be offered anywhere else in the kingdom at this time. I suggest you take it.”

  Despite her surprise at this turn of events, for Arianna had been sure they would turn her out any day, she couldn’t help wondering at the grandmother’s lack of desire to spend time with her grandchildren. For a woman who spent all day examining her wardrobe, Queen Drina had precious little time for the girls.

  “Well?”

  Arianna looked back out at the sea. Though she had no desire to face more monsters like the one she’d just saved Lucy from, she couldn’t simply leave Renata. She hadn’t been strong enough to walk down the beach without help. But she was still a human, and humans needed to eat. Arianna held up one finger, then pointed to the sun.

  “You’ll do it for one day?” Drina crossed her arms.

  Arianna shook her head and repeated the motions until understanding lit the queen’s eyes.

  “Absolutely not. Those girls need a nurse sooner than later. I fully expect you to begin your duties immediately if you choose to stay with us!”

  “If she needs just one day to prepare, then I think that is reasonable.”

  Arianna turned to see Prince Michael walking up behind her.

  “But the girls—”

  “Can spend one day with their grandmother.”

  As the prince and his mother argued, Arianna looked out at the waves once more. I’m coming, she promised her aunt quietly. Just hold on a little longer.

  16