Princess of Mermaids

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Princess of Mermaids Page 8

by A. G. Marshall


  Fiora blinked, and the moment passed. She should probably stop talking to statues if she was going to imagine things. She studied the man’s face. His expression was sad and resigned. A strange thing to carve, but the craftsmanship was incredible. His beard was just as detailed as the statue she had noticed Leander moving yesterday. Perhaps they had been carved by the same artist?

  “Stop being pathetic,” Fiora muttered to herself.

  How desperate did you have to be to procrastinate facing your family by studying a statue’s beard?

  The ground rumbled, and Fiora dove back into the grotto. Perhaps she had been stupid to sing again. What if she had awoken another kraken?

  When the ground stopped shaking, Fiora peeked out from the grotto. Nothing seemed damaged, and there was no sign of kraken.

  What was causing the tremors then?

  Whatever it was, she didn’t want to stick around to find out. Fiora hummed a tune to speed her journey back to the city. Her red hair glistened in the morning sun as she swam. She darted behind buildings on her way to the castle, not eager to face any more merfolk than she had to. She swam up the side of the castle and ducked into an opening that led directly to the throne room.

  “There’s no sign of her,” Madame Isla was saying. “You must admit it looks-”

  She clamped her mouth shut when Fiora entered. Fiora swam down through the room and settled next to Zoe. Her cousin gave her a tentative smile.

  “Was anyone hurt last night?” Fiora signed.

  Zoe shook her head, and Fiora relaxed a little.

  “And the kraken?”

  “Asleep,” Zoe answered.

  Fiora relaxed a little further. Everything was alright then.

  So why was everyone on the royal council looking at her like that?

  “Fiora, where have you been?” Queen Gallerus asked.

  Fiora winced at the accusation in her grandmother’s voice. The words carried just a trace of magic, and the merfolks’ hair stirred in the current it created.

  “A human fell overboard during the attack. I took him to shore and was too tired to swim all the way back. I spent the night in the statue garden.”

  Kathelin and Zoe sighed with relief. Althea and Queen Gallerus remained stoic. Madame Isla and Leander looked like they didn’t believe a word she said.

  “What happened to your singing yesterday, Fiora?” Kathelin said.

  Fiora winced. So they were just going to jump right in then. She should have expected this. Mermaids tended to be more direct than humans.

  “I got distracted. I’m sorry.”

  “Distracted?” Leander said. “You accidentally woke a kraken because you got distracted?”

  The disbelief in his tone made Fiora stiffen.

  “Yes, I was distracted. The oysters were pinching my fin, and there was a lot going on.”

  “I see. You were distracted by oysters. The same oysters everyone else was wearing.”

  “Fiora’s magic isn’t very strong,” Zoe said.

  Fiora turned to her cousin in surprise, and Zoe smiled as if she had said something helpful. Queen Gallerus considered Fiora for a moment before turning to her sister.

  “Madame Isla, what do you think?”

  The human scholar looked distinctly uncomfortable.

  “It seems unlikely that a few out of tune notes from a weak singer would completely cancel the Kraken Heart’s enchantment. However, if they were carefully planned-”

  “Wait. Do you think I woke the kraken on purpose?”

  Leander swam forward, putting himself between Fiora and Queen Gallerus.

  “Your Majesty, Princess Fiora has spent the last ten years among humans. It is possible that she was sent back to the ocean to spy on us and sabotage us however she could.”

  Fiora gasped.

  “You think I tried to sabotage you?”

  “The kraken attacks started when you arrived.”

  Leander’s face was calm, and his hazel eyes remained serious. Fiora looked at the other mermaids, hoping to see her own disbelief mirrored in their expressions.

  Kathelin and Zoe looked bewildered, but Althea, Madame Isla, and Queen Gallerus seemed to be considering the idea.

  Fiora’s tail flicked in irritation, making her float a little higher than the rest of the merfolk. Leander swam higher as well, keeping himself between Fiora and the queen.

  “That’s ridiculous! That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I would never sabotage you! Even if I wanted to, my voice isn’t strong enough to control a kraken!”

  Leander turned to Madame Isla.

  “Kell is one of the more magical human kingdoms, is it not?”

  “They do have their own style of magic, and it seems unaffected by whatever caused the rest of the human kingdoms to give up the art of enchantment.”

  “Don’t lecture me about Kell’s magic!” Fiora said. “I lived there for ten years!”

  “Then you know it,” Leander said.

  Fiora sputtered, too angry to speak. As a matter of fact, she didn’t. Her stepmother had declared her too old to learn magic and shut her out of the rooms where such things were studied.

  But if the merfolk believed she was capable of waking dark creatures to rampage through their cities, they would certainly believe she was capable of lying about her magical education.

  Queen Gallerus turned to Althea and Kathelin.

  “What are your thoughts on this matter?”

  “Fiora would never do such a thing!” Zoe said.

  “Quiet, dear,” Kathelin said. “Of course she wouldn’t. Queen Gallerus, Fiora is family. Our royal sister. Nyssa’s daughter would never attack us in the way Leander suggests.”

  “But she’s also the daughter of the human responsible for Nyssa’s death,” Althea said.

  “What did you say?”

  Althea’s face stiffened until it seemed made of stone. Fiora clenched her fists, desperately trying to keep her voice under control.

  “What do you mean that my father is responsible for my mother’s death? What are you saying?”

  She looked around the gathering, hoping to see something in their faces that would refute the statement.

  Instead, the mermaids refused to meet her gaze.

  “That can’t be true.”

  “We don’t believe he did it on purpose,” Kathelin said gently.

  “So you think he killed her by accident? And you didn’t bother to tell me?”

  “That is not the matter we are discussing,” Queen Gallerus said. “The past can be sorted out later. Right now, the important question is the matter of Fiora’s voice. If it is at all possible that she woke the kraken-”

  “I didn’t wake the kraken!”

  Magic rippled through the water as Fiora yelled the words. She swallowed and tried to calm herself.

  “I didn’t wake the kraken,” she whispered, desperately trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. “How can you think that? Since I returned, I have worked as hard as I can to help. I have studied every song. Given my best to every assignment.”

  “I certainly hope that wasn’t your best,” Madame Isla said.

  She pulled a fork from behind her ear and combed her hair. Fiora clenched her fists.

  “I’m trying! Why can’t anyone see that I’m trying?”

  Her words rumbled through the throne room, pushing the merfolk away.

  “Perhaps it would be best to imprison her until we can evaluate her magic and investigate her ties to the human world,” Leander said.

  “No!”

  This time, Fiora unleashed her magic on purpose. She pushed the merfolk against the walls while she swam through a hole in the ceiling. She raced towards the first building she saw.

  The library.

  She would rather wear oysters on her tail again than let them put her in prison. If neither of her families wanted her, she would escape and make her own way.

  She didn’t need them.

  What had Alt
hea meant, saying that her father was responsible for her mother’s death?

  Fiora didn’t know exactly how her mother had died. Only that it had been a complication from the magic that had allowed her to live as a human and be with the man she loved.

  In her darker moments, Fiora had thought perhaps her mother’s death had been related to giving birth to her. That perhaps she had been the cause, and that was why no one would ever discuss it with her.

  But apparently that was not the case.

  Why hadn’t they told her?

  Why didn’t they trust her?

  Fiora wiped angry tears away and ducked into the library. She swam towards the shelf that contained transformation charms and grabbed the largest conch. That seemed a good place to start. She read the first lines of the elegant script that wound around the shell.

  “An enchantment for transformation into a human.”

  “Fiora?”

  Fiora clutched the shell to her chest and spun around. Zoe floated slowly towards her, shaking her head when Fiora tensed to swim away.

  “I’m here to help,” she whispered. “Fiora, I know you didn’t wake the kraken. If anything, I probably sang a wrong note. I’m sure it was my fault.”

  Zoe looked like she truly believed that.

  “No, you didn’t, Zoe. I’m the one who sang off-key, but it wasn’t on purpose.”

  Zoe frowned at the conch shell in Fiora’s hands.

  “You’re not planning to run again?”

  “What choice do I have?”

  “Talk to them. Explain.”

  “They won’t listen. They never listen! It’s why I ran away the last time!”

  The emotion in her voice swept water through the room, knocking shells out of their places. It pulled the clamshell off the golden ball Fiora had hidden. The metal glinted in the light, distracting Zoe for a moment. Then the young mermaid shook her head and turned back to Fiora.

  “Then let me talk to them. I can convince them.”

  Only Zoe would believe that was possible, but Fiora couldn’t bear to extinguish the hope in her cousin’s eyes.

  “I’ll hide in the statue garden while I practice the transformation song. Come alone and sing the healing song as a sign if they change their minds.”

  Zoe nodded and darted through the library ceiling. Fiora swam through the hole nearest the floor. She moved slowly through the city, staying in shadows so the sunlight on her red hair wouldn’t give her away.

  Her hair always gave her away. She would need to do something about that.

  Fiora changed course and swam to the kitchens. She ducked in and grabbed a bottle of squid ink before she left the summer city.

  14

  Gustave woke up to darkness. He untangled himself from blankets and sat up. Where was he?

  His heart rate settled into a steady rhythm as his eyes adjusted and he realized he was in his room. Familiar sounds washed over him. Bird songs. Wind in the trees. People bustling through the hallways.

  Normally Gustave slept with the curtains open so he would wake with the sun, but someone had pulled the thick velvet drapes closed last night. Probably trying to ensure he would sleep in.

  Gustave swung his legs over the edge of the bed and groaned. His whole body was stiff, and his head ached. What had happened?

  Right. Kraken.

  Blasted dark magic.

  He stood and stretched out the stiffness in his muscles. All things considered, he felt better than expected. He opened the curtains and blinked in the sunlight. It was still fairly early. He could make it to breakfast if he hurried.

  Meals were the one time he could count on his family and council being in the same place and relatively undistracted. If he wanted to arrange another search party for his father, breakfast would be the best place to start the conversation.

  Gustave pulled on a robe and opened his door. It crashed into a servant standing outside his room.

  “Oh! Good morning, Your Majesty!”

  Gustave’s eyes narrowed.

  “Did they station you here to watch me?”

  The servant bowed.

  “Dowager Queen Bernadine gave orders that you should sleep in as late as you could and were not to be disturbed. I’m to summon Doctor Batiste as soon as you wake.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I feel fine.”

  “Her Highness’s orders, Your Majesty.”

  Gustave considered this for a moment, then shrugged in surrender. As partial king, his orders should take precedence over the dowager queen’s. In reality, servants were much more likely to listen to her. He could probably convince the servant to ignore orders, but not without a great deal of effort. And then he would have to explain to his grandmother why he had refused to see the doctor.

  Gustave didn’t feel like fighting that battle today.

  He returned to his room and dressed for the day. Then he passed the time reviewing the enormous stack of paperwork on his desk. Marquis Corbeau wasn’t wrong when he said that the partial kingship created a lot of extra work. Multiple people had to approve and sign each edict.

  Gustave read and signed several building permits for repairs to the harbor, then picked up Marquis Corbeau’s proposed gala budget.

  Or rather, a request for more funds for the gala.

  The event was in three days. How could the marquis have incurred so many extra expenses at the last minute?

  Gustave looked closer at the itemized list in the report. Ten formal gowns. White shoes in every size available. A deposit on lilies, with the balance to be paid on delivery.

  The marquis was sneaking wedding expenses into the gala budget.

  Blast it all.

  Someone knocked on the door, and Gustave pushed the report away, grateful for the distraction. The fight could wait until the next budget meeting. Perhaps it would give him some leverage when arguing that Collette should be allowed to spend whatever she liked to host those affected by the kraken attacks.

  “Your Majesty should not be working!”

  Doctor Batiste’s bushy, white eyebrows rose in alarm when he saw Gustave hunched over his desk. Gustave shrugged.

  “The kingdom won’t run itself, Doctor.”

  “And your body won’t heal without rest. Now tell me what happened.”

  Gustave left the desk and sat on his bed so that Doctor Batiste could examine him. The doctor was a short, portly man, and it was easier for Gustave to sit than for the doctor to stand on a chair.

  “Your Majesty seems to attract trouble lately,” the doctor scolded as he pushed Gustave’s hair aside and checked his head. “Two kraken attacks are too many for a lifetime, let alone a few weeks.”

  Gustave shrugged. What could he say?

  Doctor Batiste continued his examination, checking Gustave’s old wounds and looking for new ones. He clucked to himself as he worked, creating a strange rhythm of vocal sounds that always made Gustave nervous.

  The doctor ruffled through Gustave’s hair one last time, then stepped back and met his king’s gaze.

  “How exactly did Your Majesty get back to shore?”

  Gustave tried to remember, but thinking back made his head ache. He rubbed his forehead.

  “I’m not sure. I remember falling off the ship and waking up in the sand. The rest is a blur.”

  Doctor Batiste clucked to himself again. He seemed to be weighing his words carefully, deciding how much information to share with his patient.

  That made Gustave even more nervous.

  “Apart from the memory loss, Your Majesty seems to be in excellent health.”

  “You don’t sound happy about that.”

  The doctor swallowed.

  “If I’m honest, your health is a little too good. Not only have you suffered no ill effects from a kraken attack and an evening floating in the ocean, but your wounds from the last attack have healed completely.”

  “What?”

  Gustave hurried to a mirror and pushed back his hair. A thin scar was b
arely visible under his hairline. It looked like it had healed years ago, but yesterday it had been an open wound.

  Doctor Batiste shook his head at Gustave’s questioning look.

  “My best guess is that Your Majesty came into contact with some sort of magic. It seems to have had a positive effect, but our understanding of such things is incomplete. It would be best if you spent the day in bed and avoided unnecessary exertion.”

  “No, I need to go to breakfast.”

  Now more than ever. If someone had helped him with magic, maybe they would be willing to aid the search for his father. He just needed to find the person who had rescued him.

  “Your Majesty, there is no need. I’ve already arranged for a tray to be brought for you.”

  As if on cue, a servant entered carrying a tray of food. Gustave shook his head.

  “I appreciate your concern, Doctor Batiste, but I have an important matter to discuss with my council.”

  He hurried out the door before the doctor could express further objections. Gustave understood the doctor’s reasons, but he felt fine.

  Better than fine.

  Now if he could just remember why.

  Gustave passed an open window, and a breeze swept over him. It carried the scent of the sea, and Gustave’s head cleared for a moment.

  There had been a woman and a song.

  He froze as the memory washed against him like waves on the shore.

  Her voice. It had felt like magic.

  Based on his quick recovery, it probably had been.

  Had she healed him somehow? Had the singer been responsible for delivering him safely to shore?

  Or perhaps that had been the mermaids.

  If they had saved his life, why weren’t they willing to speak with him? They were the only hope Gustave had of searching for his father in the ocean.

  He needed to go back to that place. Kraken or not, Gustave needed to contact the mermaids.

  He sprinted through the castle and burst into the dining room just as the waiters finished serving the first course.

  The usual people were there. Collette and Dowager Queen Bernadine sat at the head of the table. Thomas sat nearby, translating for the dowager queen.

  Marquis Corbeau and Marchioness Rouge sat at the other end. Gustave had hoped to find more council members present, but those two were senior enough to approve a motion if they agreed on it. Although they rarely agreed on anything, so that could be difficult.

 

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