Awaiting Destiny

by M. Schaefer

  Oceanna smiled perfectly, but it never reached her eyes and Destiny got the strange feeling that her aunt was hiding something from her. They walked through what seemed like a maze of highly polished, rounded corridors. Destiny tried to keep each turn straight in her mind, but her sudden sleepiness kept her from paying attention, and after a moment, she just followed Oceanna blindly. She figured she would need a visitor’s map if she had to find her way out on her own, anyway. Just as Destiny thought she was surely sleepwalking Oceanna tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Here we are at the dry living quarters,” she said, brightly.

  They went through the doorway of a round, stone door that looked at least as thick as she was tall. It reminded Destiny of a huge submarine hatch except it had a round, glowing hole, about the size of a finger where one would expect a door handle to be.

  “What is that hole in the door?” Destiny asked, yawning. As tired as she was, she couldn’t contain her curiosity.

  Oceanna glanced at the hole in the door. “Oh, why, that’s just the finger key. If the door is closed you have to have a certified finger to open it. It is a kind of an emergency security feature. Silly really,” she shrugged. “We never really have a need to close the door anyway.”

  “That’s pretty tricky,” Destiny said, impressed. She clenched her hands into fists so she wouldn’t be tempted to accidentally jam a finger in the hole as she walked through. She suspected it would take quite a bit of dynamite to break down a locked door like that.

  As they passed through, the rooms seemed to take on a homier feel. The walls were decorated with lovely, painted pictures of sharks and jellyfish and the floor was covered with a thick moss that felt like a luxurious carpet under her feet. They passed a few open doors that looked like the fancy bedroom suites pictured in posh hotel brochures.

  Oceanna stopped in front of a closed wooden door. “This will be your dry room while you are here,” she said, smiling and waving her hand at the door. The motion reminded Destiny of a glamorous game show model showing a prize car. “I think you will sleep better with surroundings that are a little more like you’re used to. I would think sleeping on a sponge bed would be a little disconcerting when you’re used to a topside bed.” Oceanna pushed the door open and entered, adding, “Of course, you may also sleep in the bath.”

  Destiny followed her into a room that she couldn’t have imagined in her most amazing dreams. “Of course, you can always trade for a wet room later, if you prefer,” Oceanna suggested with a wink. “Plus,” her aunt added coyly, “Your grandfather’s favorite sleeping bedroom is directly across the hall.”

  Destiny wasn’t sure if knowing he would be sleeping that close made the knot in her stomach loosen or tighten, either way it was twisted.

  “This is amazing,” she exclaimed, her lower lip dropping in awe. “This room is fit for a princess.”

  She spun in a little circle. Stepping into this lavishly decorated bedroom made her forget everything for a moment.

  “Hmm. Imagine that Princess Destiny,” Oceanna giggled, seeming delighted. In the center of the room was a round, ornate bed. Each post was a lovely, carved mermaid, with hands stretched gracefully above her head, holding an end of a sheer net canopy. The canopy was embedded with starfish and it sparkled and draped like a silk waterfall, pooling on the floor. The bedding looked softer then a puffy summer cloud. It was all Destiny could do not to pounce right in the middle to see if it was as deliciously comfortable as it looked.

  The desk and nightstand matched the bed beautifully, their swirling abalone shell tops held up with the strong looking hands of carved, wooden mermen. The bath took up the entire back section of the oval room and looked like a lush jungle pool complete with a seawater fall shower pouring out of the mouth of a stone fish.

  “I will go get you some nice warm clam juice and sea biscuits while you rest a little while,” Oceanna said, leaning and looking intently into Destiny’s eyes. “I think resting will make you feel calm, happy and well-prepared.” Her words left no room for doubt.

  Destiny felt more relaxed already. In fact, it was odd to her that everything Oceanna said seemed like a good idea, a rare thing for an adult. “Ok…I will be here,” Destiny, replied sleepily.

  Oceanna nodded and flashed a reassuring smile, then turned with the grace of a ballet dancer and left the room. The door closed with a soft click behind her.

  Destiny turned like a spun top and sprung like a bullfrog, landing in the middle of the bed with a great whoosh! To her surprise, it was a waterbed. Figures. She should have guessed! You couldn’t take all the sea away from a sea creature.

  She couldn’t help giggling out loud as a small, down feather shot up into the air from the comforter and drifted down to land on her forehead. So much for the absurd rumor of the King sleeping on feathers. She looked forward to letting Kincade in on that little secret.

  She lay there a moment letting every muscle in her body relax. She sank deeply into the folds, waving slightly. This must be what lying in a rain cloud would be like. She stared at the lovely canopy and her head started to spin with thoughts of everything that had happened in such a short time. It all seemed like such an amazing dream, one she didn’t want to wake up from. At least not until she found the truth about her mother.

  Her forehead suddenly started to itch from the feather that still lay there. She was so comfortable, her arms and legs felt like they were stuck in pudding. Rather than attempting to move, she pursed her lips and blew sharply. The feather lifted up, dancing in the air a moment before it started to drift back down…She was sound asleep before it landed.

  A soft rap at the door startled Destiny from her nightmare of endless scrubbing on the deck of the Seadancer, her dad hovering over her, arms crossed. He wore a Viking hat and a disproving expression.

  “Come in,” she replied, too quickly. She hated to be caught napping. It always made her feel like she was being lazy. She was wide awake instantly, and staring right at the feather that must have crash-landed directly on her nose after she had fallen asleep. She must have been more tired than she thought! She must not have even moved an inch.

  Oceanna whisked in like a sea breeze, wearing a smile that beamed so bright that Destiny almost had to cover her sleepy eyes. She carried a polished silver tray with a teapot in the shape of a dolphin and two matching cups.

  “Up, Up! Darling. We have much to do,” her aunt said, cheerily. She set the tray down on the nightstand, turned and ushered in a pair of grandmotherly women brandishing brushes and bottles like she would imagine soldiers would their swords in the midst of battle. They both had kind eyes and smiles that seemed to hold a touch of melancholy.

  Destiny didn’t even have time to utter a feeble complaint before they converged on her, oohing and aahing like she was some rare oddity.

  “Oh! She looks just like her,” she heard the plumper merwoman with upswept, olive colored hair whisper excitedly to the smaller lady.

  “Pearl, Mrs. Kelp, I am very pleased to introduce Princess Destiny Mariner,” Oceanna said formally, with a graceful wave of her hand in Destiny’s direction. “Destiny, they are here to meet you and help clean you up a bit. Not that you look bad, dear,” she added reassuringly, “I just think you will feel better meeting your grandfather if you’re nice and neat.”

  “Oh,..that’s a great idea,” Destiny said, without thinking. What did she just say? Great idea? What was wrong with her? Strange…normally the idea of having ladies clean her up would make her want to vomit. She was on an important mission, for heaven’s sake! Who cares how I look? Why does it oddly seem like a good idea now? Then she came up with the elusive answer: Because Oceanna suggested it!

  There was definitely something extraordinary about the way her aunt suggested things. Perhaps Oceanna would consider going home with her and talking her dad out of putting her on restriction…forever. Destiny would have to try to get to the bottom of this little mystery next time they were alone.

 
; But now, she didn’t know quite what to say. She plastered on a smile and tried to sound… princessy. “Nice to make your acquaintances, ladies,” Destiny said, sweetly. Perhaps she shouldn’t have said anything. The sound of her voice seemed to work them into a frenzy.

  “OH!” the tiny lady exclaimed, “You have the voice of an angel!” Instantly, hands and brushes went flying and they both rushed her, leaping on the bed and pinching her cheeks in joy and hugging her until she was sure her ribs would crack. She couldn’t help being caught up in the moment, they seemed so happy to meet her. Her!? Destiny, a regular girl from Enchanted Cove! It all seemed so strange. She felt herself blushing and couldn’t help giggling uncontrollably from the unexpected attention.

  Then, quite suddenly the ladies dislodged themselves from the tangled web of her hair and climbed up from the bed. At first, Destiny didn’t hear the hall echoing with the excited, booming yell of a man. “Where is she?!!” the voice bellowed. “Oceanna!! Where is she?”

  Destiny felt suddenly alone. Was that her grandfather? He didn’t sound very old.

  Oceanna called back musically. “She is over here, my love. No need for yelling.”

  Pearl turned to her and whispered, “We will be back shortly, dear. You will need a few minutes alone with your aunt and uncle.” Both ladies quickly scurried to the door and were almost knocked over by a breathless man. Had Pearl said her uncle?

  “Excuse me, ladies,” he apologized, without even looking at them.

  The man had screeched to a halt so fast his feet left heel marks in the plush surface of the algae carpet. Intense eyes bore down on her, looking back and forth from her necklace and her face without a hint of emotion. The room had become completely silent and filled with tension. Destiny unconsciously crept down in the bed and pulled the down comforter up until only her eyes peeked out.

  She suddenly felt like the total stranger she knew she was, and it petrified her. She felt like she didn’t belong here and his rudeness was starting to make her mad. The longer her stared, the angrier she got. She wasn’t used to being stared at like that!

  Destiny guessed he was a bit older than her dad was. He had short salt-and-pepper hair intermixed with flecks of dark blue that drifted over to one side, partially covering one steely gray eye. His nose was straight and his lips were a thin line, like a rubber band that had been drawn too tight. She supposed he was handsome in an intense, scary sort of way and he looked almost familiar, like she had seen him somewhere before.

  But Destiny couldn’t take it anymore, the silence, the staring-- and the nervousness threatened to explode from her stomach at any moment. There was no way she was going to throw up all over her newly found uncle, even if he was rude and probably deserved it! She threw the covers off, sat up stiffly, crossed her arms and jutted out her chin. “Perhaps you should take a picture to stare at,” she snapped. “I have things to do and can’t humor you forever!”

  To her amazement, her uncle’s blank expression seemed to falter slightly, then crumbled into a huge smile that showed more than a little of his white teeth. He slapped his knees and guffawed loudly with laughter. “Why, there’s no doubt about it! You are definitely my baby sister’s daughter…until now she was the one person who could look so utterly irritated with me. Destiny… my niece!” he shouted, scooping her up into his strong arms and twirling and bouncing her around the room.

  The bouncing certainly wasn’t getting the approval of her stomach. Unable to speak through the jolts, Destiny flashed a backward, pleading look to Oceanna.

  Luckily her aunt seemed to get the hint and said in her calm, elegant way, “Okay darling, … I think Destiny is happy to meet you as well. Shall we put her down now?”

  Relief flooded through her, as he seemed to come to his senses and plunked her back down on the edge of the bed. “Of course,…ahh, sorry, Destiny,” he said joyfully, with just a hint of embarrassment. “It’s just that I have been waiting for this moment for so long.”

  She couldn’t help but to laugh. The expressionless, crabby stranger of a moment ago had become quite likeable.

  “Should I call you Uncle Darling? Or do you prefer another name?” Destiny asked playfully.

  “Well, my beautiful, wonderful wife has dubs on the Darling part,” he said, with a wink in Oceanna’s direction. “But the Uncle part belongs solely to you.” He tipped his head in a charming, half bow. “Uncle Bay, at your service.”

  She peeked at Oceanna, who was reddening softly at his compliment. Destiny thought it would be hard for her to look any more beautiful, but she positively glowed in his presence. It made her wonder if her dad had made her mother flush like that.

  “Uncle Bay and Aunt Oceanna,” she repeated, liking the sound. “That makes you my mother’s big brother?” she questioned, knowing the answer but finding it awkward. “It is so weird to meet family I never knew about.”

  Bay gave her a little squeeze around the shoulders. “And there is plenty more where we came from. I know you must have a million questions and I promise each and every one of them will be answered, but do you think you can wait just a little longer?” he asked, sounding hopeful.

  Destiny groaned inwardly, suppressing the no!!! She wanted to scream!

  Instead she answered politely with only a slight hint of stubbornness, “I suppose, but I came here with the promise to learn the truth about…everything.”

  His expression turned serious and he answered with heavy sadness in his voice. “You will, Destiny. I promise. I can only imagine how you must have wondered about your mother’s disappearance. I am truly sorry. I can only hope that you may learn to understand the reasons for our secrecy and forgive us.” Destiny thought she heard his voice crack, but he tried to disguise it with a smile. “Your presence here brings us so much hope…We have waited 14 long years for you to grow up and see if you were able to control the stone.”

  She looked at him cockeyed a moment, confused by what he meant but, sensed she shouldn’t say anything. Yet. She had every intention of learning everything. Including why mer-people seemed to constantly talk in riddles. It was rather annoying.

  “All right, My love,” Oceanna interrupted. “Wouldn’t it be nice if Destiny could prepare for dinner?” she suggested sweetly, coaxing him to stand by rising from her own chair. For a moment, Destiny thought Uncle Bay would hesitate. He didn’t look like he wanted to leave yet.

  “Oh, all right then,” he answered. “I suppose I will see you two shortly anyway.”

  He reached down and kissed Destiny’s hand. She giggled, feeling suddenly shy. Her hand had never had so much attention! There was an awful lot of hand kissing in Mertopia.

  “Until later then, niece,” he said, with a wink, then turned and drew his wife into his arms and kissed her loudly on the forehead. “As for you! Don’t think I don’t know when you’re trying to get rid of me,” he chuckled, then turned and left the room, whistling cheerfully.

  Destiny listened as his tune faded, leaving her alone with Oceanna. She knew it wouldn’t be long before Pearl and Mrs. Kelp were called to continue their torture.

  “Aunt Oceanna, do you mind if I ask you something personal?”

  “Of course not, Sweetheart. What’s on your mind?” she asked, coming to sit on the bed next to her. “Well,” Destiny started hesitantly, “I couldn’t help but notice that everything you suggest seems to be a good idea. Even when it’s something that you wouldn’t like.” Oceanna sat quietly listening but didn’t say anything, so she continued on. “It’s just that I hate having my hair brushed, but when you said it, it seemed like, well, something I wanted to do. And just now I don’t think Uncle Bay really wanted to leave until you mentioned it.”

  “That is very observant of you, Destiny…. You are right of course,” her aunt said, her kind eyes beaming proudly at her niece as if she had just gotten an A on a tricky school test. Destiny was a bit confused. “I am?” she asked, wrinkling her brows together. “Exactly what am I right about?”

/>   “You were quite quick to discover my special, little, secret talent,” Oceanna said, pulling out the thin gold chain from under the collar of her simple, white dress. The end of the gold chain held a tiny, emerald stone in the shape of a clamshell. “This is a small seastone of suggestion, passed down to me from my Great-Great Grandmother Una. It is a just a small one, so only simple suggestions work, but it is surprisingly useful.”

  Destiny leaned closer to admire it. Oceanna smelled wonderful, like a fresh, tropical fruit. “It is very pretty and it definitely works! I never in my life wanted anyone to comb my hair before!”

  Oceanna smiled charmingly. “I trust you will be discreet with this information. The power of my stone relies on the fact that it is secret.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone,” Destiny stated seriously, feeling honored that her aunt had entrusted her with a secret so soon after meeting her.

  “Does Uncle Bay know?” she asked curiously.

  “Oh, certainly, dear. He just chooses to follow my suggestions because he knows what’s good for him,” Oceanna answered with a sugary smile. “I will call in Pearl and Mrs. Kelp now to finish up.”

  Oceanna poked her head out the door. “We are ready, ladies,” she called. The two were back in the room before Oceanna even had time to turn around. Mrs. Kelp was wringing her hands fretfully and Pearl, red-faced and breathless half-dragged, half-rolled in an old, pirate-looking treasure chest.

  “We haven’t got much time before dinner; I hope we can do it. I’m afraid we are a bit out of practice,” Mrs. Kelp said apprehensively.

  “I have full faith you two will do wonderfully,” Oceanna said, turning to Destiny.

  “I am going to freshen up a bit also, and will meet you back here with your Uncle in about thirty minutes.”

  Before she even had time to answer, Pearl screeched, “Thirty minutes?” and practically slammed the door on Oceanna’s departing derriere. “Now come here Destiny, we have no time to waste!” Mrs. Kelp ordered briskly, patting the side of the pool.