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

by Brittany Fichter

  Eventually, however, she had to stop. She could not open the door. Not, at least, while wearing the gag. Leaning against the rock wall behind her, Arianna looked up at the ceiling. The thick carpet of barnacles suggested that the dungeons here were rarely used. Cut into the side of the rock below the palace, there were only three cells to begin with, and the cell on each side of hers had even thicker layers of growth on their walls and ceilings.

  Well, here we are. Arianna sighed. Michael says you always have a purpose. To be honest, I can’t see what that might be in this, but . . . she took a deep breath. I trust you.

  In response, a loud click sounded from the heavy dungeon door. A single figure slid through and closed it once more behind her.

  “Mother!” Arianna called through the rag as loudly as she dared.

  Giana held a finger up to her lips and flitted over to Arianna’s cell. She reached through the bars to remove Arianna’s gag.

  “But how did you get the door open?” Arianna asked as her mother began fiddling with something in the shadows of her unusually long sleeve. “Renata used her song to seal it. I can’t—”

  Giana held up a long, thin, metal object, just longer than Arianna’s hand. “The Sea Palace and the Sun Palace were built in tandem, each using pieces of the other’s world as a sign of goodwill and peace.” She thrust it into the little box at the edge of Arianna’s bars. When she turned it, the box clicked. “What many merpeople don’t know is that one does not need the song if one has the key.” Giana gave a triumphant smile. “Sometimes humans aren’t so foolish after all.”

  Arianna rushed out of her cell and into her mother’s arms. Giana squeezed her back just as hard, but after a moment, untangled herself gently. “You need to get Michael. Swim out into the Deeps. Renata will follow you in, but the Protectors won’t. Prince Lucas’s ship will be waiting. Get Michael out of the water and don’t let him return. And I mean never.” She reached up and pushed a stray lock of Arianna’s hair out of her eyes. “Stay with him,” she whispered, her voice suddenly hoarse. “She cannot use your voice if she cannot reach you.”

  “But what about you and Father and Lalia’s family?”

  “Your sister’s family left this morning. She will find them, but . . .” Giana sighed. “At least they can face the Maker one day saying that they tried.”

  “And you and Father?”

  Giana’s brown eyes fell a little in the light of the algae lanterns. “Your father has been banished to the Deeps for assisting Prince Lucas,” she said softly.

  Arianna pulled back. “And . . . you mean to join him. Don’t you?”

  Giana shrugged and reached up to caress Arianna’s face. “As soon as she’s crowned, we’ll be exiled. But at least we’ll be in eternity together soon. And we’ll know that you’re safe.”

  “No.” Arianna shook her head vigorously and pressed her mother’s hand tightly against her cheek. “I won’t let you. You can’t give this up for me. I found my soulsong! If we stand together, we can challenge her!”

  Giana just shook her head. “The best way I can help right now is by giving you the chance to get Michael as far away as you can. You have friends now to help you. I know how to handle Renata, for better or worse. Use that soulsong to get him safe. Don’t waste it on me.”

  Arianna was about to argue further when a Protector’s warning song sounded from somewhere above them.

  “I’ll come back for you!” Arianna whispered, embracing her mother tightly once more.

  “Don’t you dare,” Giana said as she pressed the key into Arianna’s hand. “Go and live.” Her jaw trembled as she pulled her close once more, kissing Arianna on the cheek.

  Another call from the Protector sounded above, but Arianna clung to her mother, physically unable to let go until Giana had, with trembling hands, pried Arianna’s arms off her and shoved her at the door. Arianna turned back, but Giana heaved the door open, thrust Arianna out, and closed the dungeon door behind her.

  Take care of her! Arianna pleaded with the Maker as she forced herself forward. And if they are to meet with you tonight, don’t let it be painful!

  A few wrong turns and several palace levels later, Arianna had found her bearings. She pushed herself through the empty halls toward Michael’s door. The halls were eerily empty, with the exception of a few guards that darted here and there. Arianna managed to avoid them by slipping behind other open doors and large statues that dotted the halls.

  It wasn’t light yet. She glanced out a window at the dark blue water. But had they started preparing for the coronation already? This thought spurred her on even faster.

  When she finally reached Michael’s room, her fears were realized. After unlocking the door with her key, Arianna found his room empty. She stared blankly. Where did she go from here?

  “They’ve got him in the preparation room.”

  Arianna turned at the familiar voice to find Piero floating in the doorway behind her.

  “Piero!” She threw her arms around him. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you since I arrived!”

  “They’ve kept us busy.” He pulled back and gave her a guilty smile. “No offense, but your aunt is rather demanding.”

  “So I’ve noticed. But you said he’s in the preparation room?”

  “Yes, the one they took you to, to get dressed for the coronation.”

  “Is he back under her song?” She held her breath, though she didn’t know why. Of course he would be. To her surprise, though, Piero shook his head.

  “The holy man won’t marry someone under the siren song.” He shivered. “She threatened him something terrible, but he said the Maker would only bless the marriage if both parties were in their right minds. So in the end, she gave in and locked him up in the preparation room instead.”

  “Thank you, Piero!” Arianna pecked him on the cheek before dashing off. She stopped abruptly, however, and swam back. “Out of curiosity, why are you here? Mae said she was done with me.”

  “Mae might be.” A deep, feminine voice said from behind her.

  Arianna turned to see Nereza. She was wearing her blue guard’s camicett and holding a spear, her back straight as a rod. Arianna gawked. She couldn’t remember Nereza speaking to her. Or speaking aloud at all, actually.

  “But many of us . . . most of us, in fact, believe you can still defeat Renata.” The corner of Nereza’s thin mouth tugged up. “With a little help, of course.”

  Arianna felt a ridiculous smile coming to her face.

  “Now tell us, Princess Arianna.” Piero grinned. “What do you need?”

  51

  Through the Deeps

  Arianna pressed herself up against the giant column as the arena above her roared to life. Steady, she told her heart as it thumped unevenly. She looked at Nereza for the thousandth time, but Nereza only shook her head. Arianna huffed. Her head told her that she should listen. Nereza was a palace Protector, after all. She of all people would know the best time to strike. Still, Arianna’s heart wanted nothing more than to swoop up and over the arena now, singing her soulsong until her voice gave out. Her body itched to move.

  To distract herself, Arianna peeked out at the other pillars. In each pillar’s shadow was a merperson. And though she couldn’t see all the pillars, thanks to the arena’s slope, Nereza had assured her that there were over two hundred merpersons waiting in the shadows. Even more were sitting in the crowds above.

  The crowd roared again, louder this time, and Arianna looked at Nereza once more. This time, Nereza nodded.

  Keeping behind the pillar, Arianna skirted up the arena’s underbelly. She paused before cresting the top. There were palace guards everywhere. “There will not be a single square footage of twenty cubits that is not watched by a Protector,” Nereza had told her. Then she had smiled. “Except for one.”

  “Which one?” Arianna had asked.

  “Mine.”

  Still, when she finally peeked above the arena’s edge, Aria
nna felt like an archery target. She wore her wedding dress from the day before. It would be impossible to stay invisible in such attire. No mermaid wore dresses the way she did. And few merpeople ever wore white.

  Much to her surprise, though, even the people closest to her, sitting only a few feet away, ignored her completely. Even the Protectors’ eyes were drawn to the same place as the crowd’s, and when Arianna glanced down at the stage below, she could see why.

  Michael waited at the end of a great aisle that had been created by running a long blanket of sea flora from the top of the arena to the bottom. His tail wasn’t translucent anymore, its blue-green scales almost as shiny and colorful as any merperson’s might be. The traditional three sashes decorated his bare chest, though Arianna couldn’t tell if there was anything hidden under the sashes. What caught her eye, however, was his posture. Michael held himself more erect than he ever had before. His shoulders were high and straight, and his chin was held high. The expression on his face was resolute.

  A small part of her mourned that he had never held himself so confidently at home.

  There was no time for wistfulness, however, and she was reminded of that when the giant conches were blown and the palace choir began to sing. That was their signal. Sure enough, Renata was approaching the arena from a distance. Arianna turned and looked down at Nereza. Nereza nodded once.

  Just as Renata slipped into the arena’s back row and began her descent, the water surrounding the arena began to change direction. Arianna smiled as the crowed started to murmur.

  Renata cleared her throat loudly, and the arena went silent. Several of Renata’s guards began to sing their soulsongs quietly. Their songs worked to right some of the current changes around them, but as soon as the currents began to return to their usual paths, the arena began to shake.

  Hundreds of merpeople burst up over the edges of the arena, where they formed in a circle around it. Each one sang his or her soulsong with a passion that made the stone arena shake even more. Arms of blue, green, orange, and purple coral shot up into the air, their growth so fast that their cracking and groaning was audible. And above it all, songs of chaos mingled with the choir’s sweet notes.

  Many in the crowd shrieked and began to flee the arena. Arianna wanted to see what Renata was doing, but as soon as she saw an opening in the pandemonium, she dove through it toward Michael. Keep everyone safe! she begged the Maker as she pushed through the fighting. Her one requirement for her helpers had been that they hurt no one unless it was in self-defense. She only needed enough time to escape with Michael.

  Her hope for a bloodless battle, however, dissolved as one of her singers was thrown to the ground by the force of a Protector’s tune. She dodged the song herself, but just barely. The way she jerked, however, threw off her balance, and Arianna slammed into the stone seat a few rows from the stage. She looked up just in time to see Michael pull the knife from beneath one of his sashes.

  “Michael, no!” Arianna shouted. “I’m here!”

  His head jerked up and their eyes met. And for one brief, glorious moment, he smiled.

  Unfortunately, her cry had drawn Renata’s attention as well. As Arianna pushed herself off the stone bench, Renata’s lullaby drifted toward them.

  “No!” she screamed as she swam. “Michael, cover your ears!”

  But it was too late. His face relaxed and he dropped the knife. Then he turned to face Renata. He had begun to swim toward her in his trance when Arianna slammed into him with her shoulder.

  He was heavier than he looked, even underwater. Arianna grunted as she wrapped her arms around his waist and began to push him upward. “Get to the Deeps. Find Lucas. Get through the Deeps. Find Lucas,” Arianna chanted to herself as she moved them up and out of the arena.

  But as they began to leave the arena behind, Michael seemed to regain his focus. Looking down at Arianna as she pushed him forward, he began to struggle. Their slow progress came to a complete halt as he fought to peel her arms off him and she struggled to hang on. She could hear guards charging after them with Renata leading the way.

  “Princess!”

  Arianna looked to her left to find Nereza swimming alongside her. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see more of her supporters swimming close by as well. “Use your song!”

  Of course! Arianna had forgotten she even had a song. Self-doubt whispered that it would never work, but she had no other choice. So Arianna began to sing. As she struggled to hold him, she tried to recall the way it had felt when he’d given her the parchment and ink on the beach, and her secret joy when he’d asked her to dance at Renata’s victory supper. And as she did, his resistance began to weaken. Opening her eyes, Arianna saw confusion clouding his face. She immediately pushed him forward again, but their burst of speed didn’t last long as Arianna soon began to tire.

  “They’re getting closer!” she shouted over to Nereza, who still swam just to her left.

  Nereza simply nodded. “You only have a few minutes before the sun rises. If you don’t get him out of the water by sunrise, he’ll remain a merman forever.” She glanced back behind them. “You go on. The Deeps are close. We’ll hold them off.”

  “No, come with me!” Arianna gasped. “I need you!”

  “You need to get him out of the water. And they won’t let you do that.” Without waiting for an answer, Nereza spun around and let out the fiercest Protection song Arianna had ever heard. Chills ran down her spine as she heard a dozen voices echo it. They’re going to die for us. For me. Arianna thought to the Maker as her chest tightened. Please don’t let that be in vain.

  The Deeps loomed up ahead, but as Arianna continued to press toward it, a new sorrow filled her. Suddenly, holding the confused man in her arms didn’t feel like a burden. Instead, she tightened her hold on him, relishing the way his warm skin felt beneath her fingers.

  This would be their last touch.

  The gap between Arianna and Michael and their pursuers grew as Nereza and the others held them off. Without pause, Arianna plunged into the Deeps. She had learned in her last two ventures how to feel for the heat of the vents before they went off. Zigzagging her way around the columns of heat, Arianna moved down into the colder, darker waters. This time, however, she knew exactly where she was going. She only prayed there would be time enough. Even in the Deeps, she could tell that morning was only moments away.

  Deeper and deeper she dove until the water was almost pitch black. After a few moments of panic, she found the little hole. At first, she feared he might not fit through the opening, but after pushing him in several uncomfortable positions, he scraped through. She followed easily and picked him up again, still humming her soulsong as she pulled him up toward the opening at the top of the cove. She just prayed her mother was right, and that Lucas’s ship would be there.

  When she broke the surface, Arianna nearly dropped Michael from the relief of seeing a white ship with a red stripe.

  “There they are!” she could hear Lucas call. Lucas! Her heart leapt. Michael hadn’t killed his brother. Whenever the siren song wore off enough for some of his sense to return, Michael would discover his own innocence. He would live freely.

  Even if he lived without her.

  Michael jerked so hard that Arianna nearly dropped him. Then he let out a cry of pain.

  “Stop, please!” Arianna begged as he continued to writhe in her arms. But he didn’t hear or listen as his face contorted and his muscles spasmed all over his body.

  Arianna looked back at the horizon. Sunrise was imminent. Pushing her song to a shout, Arianna held onto him as tightly as she could. She could feel the head of the yellow light begin to warm her back as she reached the ship. “Get him out now!” she screamed.

  52

  Stipulations

  A net was cast, and she rolled Michael into its center then jumped in herself. “Now pull!”

  As the net left the water, the sun’s rays exploded over the ocean. Arianna felt like knives were scr
aping her lungs as she struggled to breathe at a steady pace. She wanted to look out over the water as they were slowly hauled over the side of the ship, but instead, she could only let her head flop back as she squeezed Michael’s hand.

  “We did it,” she panted. “You’re going to be free.”

  Only when they spilled out of their net did Arianna open her eyes to stare up at the golden blue of the morning sky.

  To her joy, Lucas was among those who greeted them. His arm was strapped over his chest, and he looked a good shade paler than usual, but the young man was alive. As she was about to exclaim such, something dawned on her. This time, her aunt’s curse wasn’t temporary. Nor did it come with temporary pants. “You might want to fetch him some clothes.” She turned away from Lucas as he hovered over his brother.

  “Why?”

  Too tired to answer, she just waited, then chuckled breathlessly when she heard the men begin to exclaim at the return of his legs, which Arianna knew would be rather bare.

  Thank you, she told the Maker. Thank you!

  As she prayed, however, shouts from the crew interrupted her. Curses were uttered, and everyone began to scramble. With a groan, Arianna rolled over on her side and pushed herself up onto her elbow.

  “Pirates, Captain!” one of the men yelled down from a basket hung up on the tallest mast.

  “Where are they?” Lucas called up, still standing over his brother.

  “Everywhere, Sire. They’re coming in from every direction. Five— No, six ships!”

  Arianna’s heart fell as she remembered what she had to do. “Lucas!” she called. He quickly came to kneel at her side, and she pushed herself unsteadily to her knees. “I don’t have much time, so listen carefully.”