The Crook and the Crown

by Debbie Dadey

  Contents

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  1 FIT FOR A PRINCESS

  2 SCREECH, CLICK, SQUEAL!

  3 A CROWN OF JEWELS

  4 ZEE ROYAL TAILOR

  5 SADDLE UP, SEA HORSE!

  6 TIARA TROUBLE

  7 SEAT OF HONOR

  8 A ROYAL REVIEW

  9 PICTURE PERFECT

  10 BELLES OF THE BALL

  11 THE THIEF REVEALED

  POSTCARDS FROM NEPTUNE’S CASTLE

  THE MERMAID TALES SONG

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  GLOSSARY

  TWIST AND SHOUT EXCERPT

  ABOUT DEBBIE DADEY

  In memory of my mother,

  Rebecca Ann Bailey Gibson

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to Laasya, Anna, as well as all my fin-tastic readers at St. Margaret’s School in Woodbury Heights, New Jersey.

  Fit for a Princess

  OH MY NEPTUNE! QUEEN Edwina sent her own royal carriage for us!” Pearl squealed.

  Shelly Siren and her friends Pearl, Echo, and Kiki stood outside the Trident City People Museum as a large killer whale stopped beside them. The orca was pulling a sparkling shell carriage. Two tailmen wearing bright-blue coats with silver sashes lowered a glittering step from the carriage onto the ocean floor.

  Another tailman, also wearing a blue coat, but with a gold sash, said in a loud voice, “Princess Shelly, it would be my honor to escort you and your servants to Neptune’s Castle.”

  “Hey, we’re not her servants!” Pearl snapped.

  “It’s all right, Pearl,” Kiki said. “Let’s just bubble down and enjoy the ride.”

  Pearl stuck her nose up in the water and frowned at the tailman but didn’t complain anymore.

  Shelly hugged her grandfather good-bye before floating up the carriage’s diamond-covered stairs. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. Blue gems lined the ceiling and the seats. Shelly could see her reflection shining in the walls.

  “Ooh,” Pearl said, running her hand over the jeweled seats. “I’ve heard of this. It’s aquamarine and very rare in the ocean.” She turned to Shelly. “This is a carriage fit for a princess! Good thing you are one!”

  Shelly smiled, but inside she sure didn’t feel like a princess! Still, her great-aunt was Queen Edwina of the Western Oceans, and that made Shelly royalty.

  As the carriage sped away, Shelly waved to Grandfather Siren until she couldn’t see him anymore. Then she sat back with a sigh. This was it! She was actually going to visit Neptune’s Castle—the palace named for the very first king of the sea. When the queen had suggested that Shelly bring her friends to the castle during a school vacation, it had seemed exciting. Now it just felt scary.

  Echo pushed back her dark, curly hair and turned to Shelly. “You’re so quiet! Are you feeling all right?”

  Shelly shrugged her blue tail. “I’m just nervous about visiting the castle. I’ll be meeting all my cousins for the first time.”

  Even though her mother had been a princess, Shelly had only recently found out she was royal. Her parents had died when she was just a small fry, so Shelly had been raised by her grandfather in a tiny apartment in Trident City. She had never met her royal family, except for Queen Edwina.

  “It’s natural to be a little afraid,” Kiki said. “But we’ll be with you the whole time.”

  Shelly smiled. She knew her friends would do anything to make the visit a success.

  Pearl shook her head, and her long blond hair swirled around her. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’re going to a castle! There will be parties and everyone will want to meet us. They’re going to love me—and you, too.”

  Shelly nodded and tried to act happy. But inside, her stomach felt like it was full of butterflyfish. After all, she’d much rather play on a Shell Wars team than wear a frilly party dress. And she wasn’t sure if she could do the things a princess was supposed to do. What if she wasn’t royal enough for her relatives?

  Shelly’s thoughts were interrupted by a squeal.

  “Sweet seaweed!” Pearl gasped. “We’re being invaded!”

  Screech, Click, Squeal!

  THE MERGIRLS LOOKED OUT the carriage window. They were surrounded by huge black-and-white killer whales!

  “There are at least fifteen of them,” Echo said, her dark eyes wide.

  “They’re going to kill us!” Pearl screeched.

  Kiki shook her head. “Killer whales have never attacked merfolk before.”

  “Maybe they plan to start with us,” Pearl said nervously, pushing away from the window and closing her eyes.

  “I think they’re beautiful,” Shelly said, leaning out the carriage window to watch the enormous creatures. Their fins were taller than her grandfather!

  “Did you know that killer whales actually aren’t whales at all?” Kiki told them. “They’re the biggest of the dolphins.”

  “Did you know that I don’t care?” Pearl snapped, her eyes still closed. “They’re scary no matter what they are called!”

  Suddenly, loud squealing noises filled the air.

  Pearl put her hands over her ears. “What is that horrible racket?”

  “The orcas are talking to one another,” Shelly explained before making the same whistling noise. “They came to say hello!”

  Kiki, Echo, and Pearl stared at Shelly in surprise.

  “You know how to speak killer whale?” Kiki asked.

  When Shelly nodded, Kiki said, “No wavy way! You have to teach me.”

  “Sure,” Shelly said. She made a screech, followed by a click. “This means hello, nice to meet you.” Kiki tried to do the same. Even Echo gave it a try, but Pearl frowned and sat with her ears covered, humming the newest song by the popular merboy band, the Rays.

  A chorus of sounds answered Shelly. She waved at the crowd of orcas near the carriage.

  The killer whale pulling their carriage let out an especially loud whistle, and Shelly gulped. “We’re almost there,” she told her merfriends. “Our orca said to look to the right.”

  The mergirls leaned over to gaze out the window, and Shelly let out a cry.

  “Oh my Neptune!”

  “What’s wrong?” Echo asked, peering over Shelly’s shoulder. “It’s beautiful!”

  “It’s enormous,” Kiki said with a gulp.

  Shelly nodded. “I knew it would be big, but this is grander than I ever dreamed.”

  All four mergirls stared out the windows as their carriage glided past large stone posts with fire spouting from them. Rows of spectacular seaweed formed paths that were dotted with statues, bubbling fountains, and coral displays. The gardens alone were overwhelming, but they led to a glistening castle that took Shelly’s breath away.

  Pearl gasped. “This is a mermillion times better than the drawings I’ve seen in MerStyle magazine. Check out that tower!”

  Shelly looked up and down and all around. The palace had so many round buildings and domed roofs it was hard to take them all in. This was Neptune’s famous castle! She couldn’t believe she was in the place where the first king of the sea had lived many mercenturies ago.

  “The windows really are made of blue sapphires—just like Mrs. Karp told us when we studied jewels,” Kiki said.

  A long line of merpeople stood in front of the large bronze castle door.

  “Do you think those are my relatives?” Shelly whispered as their carriage slowed, then came to a stop.

  Pearl shook her head. “No, those are probably the queen’s merservants welcoming you.” It was then that Shelly noticed the merpeople were wearing royal uniforms, some with aprons.

  “But there are hundreds of them!” Echo told Pearl.

  “Well, it is a bi
g castle,” Kiki said with a giggle.

  Shelly looked at Kiki, and they both laughed. Echo chuckled too, but Pearl snapped her fingers. “This is no time for silliness. Inside the palace will be another line of people for you to meet—your royal family! Don’t forget to curtsy to them.”

  Shelly stopped laughing. This was it! She was about to meet her many cousins. Her mind swirled with thoughts. What if they didn’t like her? What if she wasn’t royal enough? Did they know she had grown up in a tiny apartment instead of a gigantic castle? Suddenly Shelly wished more than anything that she had stayed home with her grandfather.

  A Crown of Jewels

  I’M SCARED,” SHE WHISPERED.

  Echo looked nervous too, but she still squeezed Shelly’s hand. “Don’t worry, we’re all here for you.”

  Shelly took a deep breath and floated outside the carriage.

  A chorus of voices greeted her. “All hail Princess Shelly!”

  Shelly was so surprised she fell backward. Pearl helped her up and whispered, “Start waving!”

  Shelly remembered how her aunt had waved and nodded to the crowd when she’d visited Trident City. Shelly did the same.

  As she and her merfriends floated toward the door, the many merservants bowed or curtsied. When they arrived at the castle’s huge bronze doors, Shelly held her breath.

  All at once, the doors flew open and Queen Edwina gathered Shelly in her arms. “Welcome, Princess Shelly! We are delighted to have you and your friends visit Neptune’s Castle. Let me introduce you to your many cousins.”

  A large crowd of mergirls, merboys, merwomen, and mermen bowed and curtsied as Queen Edwina called each of their names: Princess Cora, Princess Corinne, Princess Corrisa, Princess Sapphire, Princess Sephira, Prince Gifford, Prince Fritz, Princess Brenna, Prince Fami, Princess Rosa, Prince Yaron, Princess Daphne, Prince Nils, Prince Dimitri, and Prince Orly. Shelly’s head spun, trying to remember all the names.

  Finally, the Queen reached the very last one. As Shelly stared at her youngest cousin, she knew she would never forget her name: Princess Lorelei.

  Lorelei smiled at Shelly and did a little curtsy. Shelly did the same, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Lorelei’s face.

  “No wavy way!” Echo whispered in Shelly’s ear. “You two look exactly alike!”

  Queen Edwina held up her hand, and immediately a servant appeared with a fluffy piece of pillow lava. Perched on top was a sparkling silver tiara. Several cousins, including Lorelei, exclaimed aloud when they saw the small crown.

  The crowd murmured as Queen Edwina placed it on Shelly’s head. “This is the Crown of Joy. It was my very first tiara. It was also your mother’s first tiara, and now I want it to be yours.”

  Shelly thought she saw a tear in Queen Edwina’s eye. She couldn’t believe her mother had once worn this very crown. Shelly felt like crying herself, but she was pretty sure princesses weren’t supposed to to bawl in public. So she bit her lip and smiled. “Thank you so much. It is beautiful!”

  “Of course! Every princess must have a tiara to wear to royal dinners and events,” Queen Edwina said with a smile. “Now, you’re probably quite tired from your morning’s journey! Thatcher will show you to your room.”

  As the queen’s personal tailman led the mergirls up a wide marble staircase, Shelly’s tail caught on a step and she fell forward. The tiara tumbled off her head, but luckily, Pearl caught it before it fell to the ground.

  “That crown is worth more than all the jewels in Trident City!” Pearl squealed. “Be careful with it!”

  Shelly put the tiara firmly back on her head. When she’d first come to the castle, she’d been frightened her cousins wouldn’t like her. Now she had something else to worry about: making sure she didn’t break the Crown of Joy!

  Zee Royal Tailor

  THIS DAY JUST KEEPS GETTING better and better!” Pearl shrieked. “We get to live in the best room ever for our entire trip!”

  Shelly felt like she was in a dream. She sat on her huge breadcrumb sponge bed and looked around their circular room. The ceiling was filled with pictures made from brightly colored pieces of polished glass. Furniture carved from shells and studded with rubies and emeralds made the room look quite fancy. There was even a big glass mirror in the corner. Four bedrooms surrounded the main room, each a different color to match their tails—blue for Shelly, pink for Echo, purple for Kiki, and gold for Pearl. Glittering seaweed curtains decorated with beach morning glories and pink pearls hung in each doorway. The curtains were pulled back so the bedrooms were open to the main living room. It was perfect!

  “I can’t believe how soft this sponge pillow is,” Echo said, floating over to Shelly. Then Echo grinned and swung her pillow at Kiki.

  Kiki laughed. “Pillow fight!” With seventeen brothers, Kiki had probably had plenty of pillow fight practice. She bopped Pearl in the nose with her pillow.

  Shelly very carefully put the Crown of Joy on the shell table beside her bed. Then she joined in the fun by smacking Echo’s tail with her pillow.

  Before long all the mergirls were on Shelly’s bed, whacking one another with pillows and giggling. Bits of sponge fell and floated around the room.

  “What is going on here?!” screeched an angry voice. An elderly servant stood in the middle of the room, frowning at the kelp comforter that had been tossed off Shelly’s bed.

  “Sorry!” Shelly said. “We’ll straighten this up.”

  As the girls scrambled to fix the bed, the servant introduced herself. “I am Helga, the head housekeeper. I run this castle with an iron tail.” She slapped her green tail on the marble floor.

  “Hey, you can’t talk to us—” Pearl started to say, but Helga interrupted her.

  “You royals are all alike,” she grumbled. “You just come here to cause trouble for the queen.”

  Shelly shook her head and opened her mouth, but Helga didn’t give Shelly a chance to speak. “You mess up the jousting ring, wear out the sea horses, litter the picnic grounds, and dance the night away.” Helga jammed her thumb into her chest. “But Helga knows everything that goes on inside this castle, so don’t try to pull anything over on Helga!” She shook her head and swam away, muttering angrily as she went.

  Just before she reached the door, Helga turned and looked at Shelly. “With all this mischief, I almost forgot! You and your merfriends are to be fitted for gowns. The royal tailor will be in shortly to take your measurements.”

  Helga slammed the door behind her so hard that the shell furniture rattled. The four mergirls looked at one another before bursting into giggles.

  “I guess everything isn’t perfect here at the castle,” Shelly said.

  Pearl put her hands on her hips. “That Helga is grumpier than Mr. Fangtooth!” Mr. Fangtooth was a cafeteria worker at their school who was known for being very cranky. “Don’t let her talk to you that way,” Pearl told Shelly. “After all, you are a princess.”

  Shelly shrugged. She still didn’t feel like a princess. Instead of being fitted for a gown, she’d much rather be out in the ocean, exploring caves. But she didn’t say anything, because a tall, skinny merman wearing a long purple robe burst into the room, followed by several assistants.

  “Hellooo, merladies! My name eez François. You are about to be dazzled by moi, zee royal tailor!” François exclaimed, flinging his hands around.

  “Hi,” Shelly said. “My name is Shelly.”

  “Princess Shelly,” Pearl added. “And I’m Pearl. This is Echo and Kiki.”

  “Oh darling!” François said with a frown at Shelly. “We simply must do something about zees hair.”

  “But I like my red hair,” Shelly said softly.

  “What’s not to like, my pet? ’Tis like zee queen’s,” he said. “But we must match it to your gown—and I didn’t bring zee right fabric.” He clapped his hands, and his assistants scurried away. They were back in seconds with different pieces of sparkling kelp.

  François held up a piece. �
�Mmm, zees is lovely. Actually, zees would make a mervelous mersuit for moi, don’t you agree?!” he asked Kiki, holding it up to his waist. “I do love beautiful things.”

  Kiki nodded, but Pearl snapped, “Hey! What about our gowns?”

  “Of course,” François said, glaring at Pearl. He looked at each mergirl and then studied the fabric in front of him. He tapped his chin twice with his tail and clapped his hands.

  “I have made zee decision!” He held up four glittery scraps of kelp. “Zees goes with red hair, zees with curly hair, zees with black hair, and zees with zee blond hair.”

  His assistants swooped up the pieces and swiftly wrapped each girl in the correct one. They draped and measured until the tailor clapped his hands once more.

  “Enough! We must be away,” François said. “I have an important appointment I cannot miss!”

  “But when will our gowns be ready?” Pearl demanded.

  “Do not fret! They will be zee most beautiful dresses you have ever seen,” François said as he and his assistants soared out of the room. “You will have them in time for zee royal ball tomorrow night.”

  “Ball?” Shelly squeaked. “You can’t wear gowns to throw a ball around!”

  “I think he’s talking about a dance,” Kiki said.

  Pearl nodded. “A fancy dance.”

  “But I don’t even know how to dance,” Shelly said, feeling butterflyfish in her stomach again.

  “Don’t worry,” Echo said. “I’ll teach you.”

  Shelly nodded. “Okay,” she agreed. She decided not to think about the ball just yet. “So what do you want to do now?”

  “Ride sea horses,” Echo blurted.

  “Visit the ballroom!” Pearl shouted.

  “See the royal library?” Kiki suggested.

  Unfortunately, they all spoke at the same time. Shelly looked around at her friends’ disappointed faces. No one liked anyone else’s suggestions.

  Shelly rubbed her forehead. One thing was for sure, this was going to be one long visit if they couldn’t agree. What was she going to do?