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

by Brittany Fichter

  “Then I will marry him and do it myself.” Her song then continued from the back of her throat, and Michael placed his lips against her temple and closed his eyes with a rough sigh. “That is not what I want, Arianna,” she said. “For you or me! But our people need us. There is no other way. So, what is your answer?”

  Arianna felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. “No.”

  Michael moved his mouth across Renata’s brow, down her cheek, and finally to her lips, moaning a little as he kissed her with a passion Arianna had only dreamed him capable of.

  When he was done, Renata extricated herself from his arms and walked over to Arianna. She wrapped her in a tight embrace. “When I die,” she whispered in Arianna’s ear, ignoring Arianna’s struggles and pleas, “it will be because doing this eventually broke my heart.” She looked down then and nodded.

  Something metal clicked around Arianna’s ankle, but before Arianna could see what the pirate had done, she was falling.

  The world rose up below her as she fell headfirst into the water. Flailing her arms for something, anything to hold on to, Arianna found nothing. She only felt herself sinking deeper, dragged by the metal ball and chain that had been attached to her ankle.

  Let me turn! Arianna screamed out to the Maker. Let me turn! I can’t breathe!

  But the weighted ball only continued to pull her down as the light above her disappeared.

  35

  Fleshly Bonds

  Michael felt as though someone had rolled a boulder on top of his body, and his head throbbed. Opening his eyes was hard, and getting them to focus was even harder. The first thing he was able to make out was that he was lying on a large yellow cushion with holes in it. It wasn’t particularly flat, nor was it a perfect rectangle or even circle.

  Was he underwater?

  Michael scrambled up to a seated position to look around him. Sure enough, the building he was in seemed to be made of several different kinds of coral—even the floor. The room itself was large and lavish in its furniture and decor, with doors leading outside to three balconies. A large vanity sat close to the foot of where he lay, and a little divan was positioned on the other side. He tried to lie back and look at the rest of the room behind him, but upside-down, all he could make out was a door. Propping himself back up on his elbows, he studied the only obvious way of escape. From what he could see of the balconies, the outside of the room looked strangely like the inside.

  It sounded insane, but could he possibly be in the Sea Crown’s palace?

  A few little bumps to his chest got his attention. Looking down, he realized he was wearing not one, but three little shells, much like the one Arianna always wore.

  How deep down was he? To go to the funeral, he had only needed one shell. Michael tried to stand to go and look through the balcony, but when he tried, he was yanked back down. Somehow, he had failed to notice the gigantic purple anemones sitting on each side of the bed, or the fact that each anemone had wrapped one of its fleshy tentacles around his wrists.

  “Hello?” Michael yelled, half-expecting to choke on the water that surrounded him. His voice carried with surprising force, echoing loudly throughout the chamber. “I need . . .” He scrunched his eyes shut as he tried to remember just what had happened. What did he need? “I need to talk to Ambassador Amadeo!” he finished. “His daughter is in danger!”

  No one answered his cries, however, and Michael wondered if perhaps he was wrong. Maybe this wasn’t the Sea Crown’s palace. As it was, he had no memory of being brought in.

  Of course, he’d been wrong often as of late. His last memory was blurry at best. But he could have sworn he’d seen Arianna falling from the ship, though he couldn’t remember why she was on the ship in the first place.

  No. A woman had pushed her. But who was the woman? And where was Arianna now? He felt sick to his stomach as he recalled the way the jelly creature had hunted her down near the Sun Palace. How much worse would the creatures be out in the middle of the ocean?

  A movement by the door caught his eye.

  “Hello?” Michael called even louder.

  The door, more like a circle than a rectangle, opened just a crack, and a merman with a pike stuck his head in.

  “Keep it down. We have better hearing than you do, you know.”

  “Please!” Michael stretched out his hands toward the merman, and in doing so, realized that if he didn’t move too quickly, the anemone tentacles let him stretch their arms just a bit. So he began to inch forward slowly. “I need to speak with Ambassador—”

  “He’s not an ambassador anymore, thanks to your people.”

  “It’s about his daughter! She’s in danger!”

  “You’re in no place to be raising such accusations. Your place here is to wait. Silently.” The merman began to close the door again.

  “Wait!” Michael searched his pockets for anything of value. The only thing he could find, however, was his father’s ring. He snatched it off and held it up. “If I give you this, will you get me an audience with Amadeo?”

  The merman froze, his eyes welded to the ring. He swam inside and hummed a little tune before moving over to Michael. Michael heard the sound of the lock click shut on the door behind him.

  “If I bring Amadeo to you, you’ll give me this ring?”

  Michael nodded.

  “Very well. Hand it over.”

  Michael pulled it back. “Not until you bring Amadeo to me personally.”

  “Sorry,” the guard reached out and grabbed Michael’s hand, trying to pry it open. “I like my way better.”

  Before he could get Michael’s hand open, Michael struck him hard in the nose. As the merman’s nose made a satisfying crack under his fist, however, a sickening sensation began to pulse through him. Michael felt his muscles seize up as he collapsed and floated slowly back down onto the bed. The pain had started in his wrists. The man hummed a little as he straightened himself, and the blood stopped flowing from his nostril. Michael couldn’t move, but he watched as the man bent and pulled the ring from his hand.

  “You’re a fool if you think guards can get audiences with the royal family.” And chuckling to himself, the guard left.

  Michael began to shake, though from fear or the effects of the anemone’s shock, he couldn’t tell.

  “Arianna!” he finally managed to cry out. With every second he lay there, screaming her name, the more real her death felt. He had no idea how long it had been since she’d fallen into the water. But he did recall his betrothed—yes, that’s who she was—pushing Arianna off the ship. And as he had watched from the ship, she had sunk and her fins had not reappeared.

  36

  Prophesied

  “Are you sure she’s not just hungry? My daughter does that when she’s hungry, even in her sleep.”

  “Look, she’s trying to talk. How can you not see that?”

  Arianna tried to open her eyes, but moving her eyelids was hard. Breathing was hard. Moving anything was hard. Her whole body felt as though it had been placed under a tight net that held her securely to the ground, or whatever surface she was lying upon.

  Again, she tried to mouth her cries for help. But whispering under water was impossible.

  “She’s trying again. Mae! Mae, come quickly!”

  The water around her began to churn as multiple creatures moved in and out of the area, and Arianna could feel bodies surrounding her, growing closer as they gathered. Who were these people? And why couldn’t she open her eyes?

  “Look, Mae! Her eyelids are fluttering! I think she’s truly awake this time!”

  “Yes, I see, Piero. Nereza, please hand me that charm. No, not that one. The green cockle shell. Yes, that one.”

  Arianna felt her head being lifted and a small weight being placed on her chest, similar to her aunt’s little conch. Unbidden, her hands flew to her throat to search for her aunt’s shell. Other hands, however, grabbed her wrists and held them down.

  “It’s working,”
the female voice named Mae said, “but perhaps we should take it off and speak to her first.” With that, the little weight was slipped back over Arianna’s head again, and the water pressed Arianna’s hands to her neck where they sat.

  “Our apologies,” Mae said, her mouth very close to Arianna’s right ear, “but if you push the charm off, you’ll be immobile again. Leave it on so we can talk, please.”

  Arianna’s breath raced in and out, a strange sensation underwater after she’d been above for so long. But she worked to calm her beating heart and do as they said. Though she wasn’t convinced of the strangers’ intentions, she would do no one any good stuck to the ground, or wherever she was. She could only assume that Renata’s intense training in deeper water was the reason she was still alive now.

  The charm was placed around her neck again, and for the first time, Arianna’s eyes were able to open. As they focused, she realized why she hadn’t been able to move. The sun was so far away and its light so distant in the water above that she had to be at twice the depth she’d ever reached. Even with the charm, breathing took more effort than ever before, and moving made her feel as though she’d gained twice her weight.

  She blinked again, trying to focus on the blobs surrounding her, and with some effort, she began to make out faces. There was a small merwoman with unruly gray curls. Arianna could only assume she was the one named Mae. Three mermen and three other merwomen surrounded her. And they were all staring at her.

  “Come, come!” Mae fussed at everyone else. “Give the poor girl some room. You wouldn’t want to be gawked at after sleeping for three days.”

  Arianna let her head fall back again. She had been unconscious for three whole days? She glanced down at her legs, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw her fins back in place. But what about Michael? What had happened to Michael and Renata and the pirates? With some effort, she pushed herself up onto her elbows to study the room she was in. There was a single hole in the ceiling above her, but everything else was made of rock.

  “Out, now!” Mae was still ordering everyone around. “I will call you back in if I need you. Donna, take Bo to the front of the cave and keep watch. We don’t need any surprises today. And Nereza.” Mae turned to a tall mermaid with the longest arms Arianna had ever seen on a female. “Stay here with me. I’d like to have you close by.” Mae gave Nereza a meaningful look, and Nereza nodded once.

  She’s a Protector, Arianna realized. Wait, were they keeping a Protector close by because of her? The thought nearly made her laugh.

  “Please, Mae,” a young man who could have been no older than fifteen years paused and swam back into the room. He sounded like the one who had called for Mae after Arianna had awakened. “Let me stay. I won’t be in the way, I promise! I just want to see her!”

  Arianna looked back at Mae in confusion. He wanted to see her? She couldn’t think of a less interesting specimen to watch when it came to merpeople. A silent mermaid was hardly an interesting mermaid. And yet, he continued to stare at her as though she were the sun itself, his face a mixture of fear and awe.

  “Fine.” Mae rolled her eyes then turned back to Arianna. “You’ll have to excuse Piero. He’s just excited, that’s all. But now to you. You must be hungry. And wondering where you are, no doubt!” She shook her springy curls. “Piero, go get Princess Arianna some kelp and tuna.”

  Arianna had been examining the dark porous walls that encircled them, but as soon as she heard her name, all thoughts of her surroundings fled.

  “Yes, I know who you are.” Mae waved a hand and busied herself straightening the sea flower blanket that someone had draped over Arianna’s lower half. “In fact, the whole kingdom knows the Sea Crown’s silent granddaughter is being raised by her aunt. What few knew before this, however,” she fixed her eyes on Arianna, “was that Arianna Atlantician would fulfill the prophecy.”

  Arianna just stared. The woman must be mad. But even as Arianna thought this, she remembered her aunt uttering nearly the same words three days earlier. Shaking her head, she motioned for something to write with.

  “Piero,” Mae called to the boy, who was just returning with the food. “Put that on her bed, then get her some writing tools.”

  Piero did as he was told, and to Arianna’s surprise, Mae didn’t ask any more questions until he had brought a slate, waxy leaves, and a pressing knife.

  Why do you think I’m the prophesied one? Arianna wrote as fast as she could and held it up.

  “I have since I heard that you were silent at birth. Others,” Mae nodded at Nereza, who hadn’t moved since going to hover in the corner, “have had their suspicions as well. But Renata kept you so hidden that some even considered sneaking back to see you for themselves.”

  Had Mae considered doing such a thing? How many are you? Arianna wrote. How many were that delusional?

  “That believe? Dozens. Scattered about the kingdom, of course. Piero, here, works in the palace, as do Nereza, Elda, and a good deal more who are not able to be here right now.”

  Do you live here?

  “In this cave? Goodness, no. This is just our meeting place. I live in a quiet little house on the outskirts of Gemmaqua. I sell healing charms in the city market, so I have no need to be near the palace. The others have been dropping by as often as they can to see how you’re progressing.” She paused. “You know, we counted it a miracle that Piero saw you fall from the boat on his way back from work.”

  So they weren’t far from the palace. Was that where Renata had been taking them?

  “How did it feel to have your legs change into fins? Or fins to legs? Or however it happens?” Piero stepped closer, his round face alight with wonder.

  Arianna gave him a quick smile, then wrote again. But why do you think I am the prophesied one?

  Mae pulled herself up to her full height, which was even less than Arianna’s, and she 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.

  Arianna was unimpressed. I’ve heard the prophecy, she wrote. And I can’t sing.

  “But don’t you understand?” Mae knelt beside Arianna. “We’ve all heard how you can stay in the sunlight without feeling pain! You were destined for silence. And now,” she floated up again, “you’re destined to sing. Your two natures are battling against one another, Princess Arianna.”

  But I can’t sing!

  “You must find a way for your merblood to rule within you before it can rule without!” Mae’s cry echoed off the cave walls.

  Arianna stared at her for a long moment. Finally, she wrote, Why is it so important that I find my voice?

  “Your Aunt Renata,” Mae leaned forward and whispered, “has been a very bad girl before.”

  Piero cleared his throat and glanced nervously at Mae, who nodded. “And we think she’s planning something even worse to take place as soon as the Sea Crown passes.”

  Arianna, of course, wanted to know exactly what they thought her aunt was up to, but when she asked, Mae only said that they’d talk about it later. Now, she insisted, Arianna had exerted herself enough and needed to rest. This was not at all what Arianna had in mind, but as soon as she was laid back in her sponge bed, and the flower blankets were covering her once again, she felt her eyelids begin to droop.

  Instead of sweet, restful sleep, however, the last image Arianna saw again and again in her mind were Michael’s lips as they traced her aunt’s brow and then moved down into the kiss.

  37

  What It Means

  “You’re not choosing, Princess!” Mae rubbed her temples and shook her head. “You have to let go of the sun and embrace the sea, or you’ll never get your voice!”

  Then why have legs in the first place? Arianna wrote back, pressing into the waxy leaf a little harder than necessary.

/>   “A sign, Princess!” Mae let out a dramatic sigh. “It was a sign to show us whom to look for. Nothing more. From now on, your concern is with sea matters, not the sun!”

  If it was just a sign, then Arianna was sure it was a rather inconvenient one.

  “We’ll try again,” Mae said.

  What did she think Arianna had been doing for the past three days?

  “Now, focus your heart. Think about what it is to be a mermaid.”

  It was probably a good thing Arianna couldn’t talk sometimes. Her words would have gotten her into much trouble, she was sure.

  “Think of all the reasons you love your home, and how wonderfully the Maker has created it. You must find the place in your heart that loves the water more than the sun. Then hold it tightly until your love of the ocean eclipses your past admiration for the surface.”

  Arianna sighed and closed her eyes as she had been instructed to countless times. She pictured the ocean in the change of seasons. She thought of the pearl farms and baby dolphins, and even the great whales who passed through their waters, filling them with exotic, foreign songs. The constant undulating of the giant kelp and the way the seal mothers cuddled their young.

  But with every image of the ocean a thought of the surface crept in as well. And as much as she tried, Arianna couldn’t chase away thoughts of the warm sand or the way the sun enveloped her in its complete embrace. She saw the palm trees waving in the salty breeze and Lucy and Claire as they ran shrieking with joy through the grassy fields.

  “Try again, Princess.”

  Arianna opened her mouth and pushed. But as before, nothing came out.

  “Princess Arianna, you’re not trying hard enough! You have to want it!”

  One would think Mae had coached silent mermaids before. Arianna squeezed her eyes shut again. As if merpersons lost and regained their voices every day! What gave Mae the authority to interpret the prophecy anyhow? She was just a charm maker, no better than anyone else. Dozens of people followed her, and for what? Because she believed in some stupid prophecy?