by Nikki Dean
Her skin sensitized against the movement of the water, growing heated as she couldn’t help but think of his wide shoulders and lovely green eyes, with their flecks of gold in the centers. She recalled how his pupils had widened as she leaned close, his lips barely parting as though in welcome.
She wasn’t unfamiliar with the idea of kissing, as mermaids frequently engaged in such gestures of affection, although she, personally, never had done it. Celeste wondered what it would be like to take him as her first, his warm, soft lips meeting hers with the waves lapping against his little boat around them. No one need ever know.
Lahni giggled as she dipped her fingers into the currents that swirled around her sister. “You do like him. I knew it.”
Startled, Celeste looked over at her and noticed what she was doing. The currents immediately stopped, the water swirling for an instant as it settled.
“Be quiet.”
Chapter 7
Celeste
The next morning, King Tidus leaned back on his throne, his expression a mixture of vague interest and annoyance as he listened to Celeste’s account of the disappearing ship.
“I’ve heard rumors about such things,” he said softly, regretfully, as though admitting it aloud would make it something that he had to deal with. His gaze was hard as he stared at Celeste. “But this is the first time that the wild tales have been substantiated by someone whose judgment I can trust.”
Celeste stiffened, immediately suspicious of his tone. She couldn’t recall the last time he’d paid her a compliment, especially in public.
“But,” he continued, “I will tell you the same thing that I told those who brought these rumors to me. It is none of our concern!”
Lahni made a strangled noise of protest as she attempted to swim up to him, assumably to plead her case to help the humans, no matter what Sam had asked. Celeste caught her arm, forcing her to remain before the dias.
“Do not interrupt me, Lahni!” King Tidus thundered at his youngest child. “The fewer of these barbaric, screaming heathens that we have to endure on our waters, the better off we all are! They do nothing but pull the fish from the sea, trapping whole schools with their giant nets, uncaring about whatever else is trapped along with them! Dolphins, turtles, sharks, they don’t care for any of them and merely discard their bodies as though nothing matters except their insatiable greed. Whatever this force is that is stealing their ships, we should be thankful for it! Perhaps it will dissuade them from leaving the land and causing such destruction in our home.”
Celeste saw the horror in Lahni’s eyes as her mind replayed the sailors’ screams from the night before, their desperate attempts to climb the rigging to escape the blue lightning. Their terror as they rolled along the decks, covered in it.
But what could she have expected? The humans were well-known for their disrespect for anything around them, including the ocean and her inhabitants. There was no love for them in the King’s heart.
Yet, she could see the blossoming stubbornness in her little sister’s face, the way her brows lowered and her mouth thinned, a sure sign of the tantrum that was to come. Celeste squeezed the hand that she still held, silently willing Lahni to keep quiet. Not here, not now. Hold yourself together, girl, and don’t embarrass your father in his own throne room.
“The better question is, how did you see all of this? The details in your description lead me to believe that you were very close. Right next to it, even. But I know that’s impossible, since you wouldn’t dare to go to the surface, would you, girls?”
They remained silent.
“Of course you wouldn’t. It’s forbidden for any mermaids to surface, especially within sight of the humans, and my own daughters? Why, they would never disobey their father in such a way. Right?” His long hair, unbound as usual, twisted in the agitated currents that swirled around him, never a good sign.
On the other hand, Celeste could clearly see where Lahni got her dramatic temper from.
“And yet, here you are, telling me that not even the slightest bit of wreckage floated on the waves after the ship disappeared. Nothing at all remained.” His loud voice boomed through the cavern, causing the gaudy chandelier, no doubt relieved from a pirate captain’s cabin, to shake in the aftermath.
“Is it true that you disobeyed our most important rule, and surfaced? Right beside a ship full of humans?”
Lahni squeaked a little as she tucked into Celeste’s side.
“Yes.” Celeste said miserably, knowing that to lie here would certainly mean a worse fate than whatever he had in store for them. “It’s true.”
“But, Papa,” Lahni chimed in, “Whatever they saw… they’re gone. It doesn’t matter now.”
“Does it not, child?” He looked at her as though she had just turned into a crustacean before his eyes. “How do you know that? Where are they? Can they return? Are you so very certain that they all died, and are not right now telling more humans that they saw mermaids, and those mermaids cast their ship from the sea with a cloud of doom and blue lightning?”
“But we didn’t do that!” Lahni shot back. Celeste shook her head at her sister’s foolishness.
“Do the sailors know that?!” Tidus roared in fury. “No! All they know is that they saw magical creatures, and then were transported by magic! Of course they will blame you!”
Celeste was suddenly glad that they hadn’t told the king about the harpoons that the sailors had thrown at them. Such a detail would surely convince him of their doom.
“Can you truly not see the danger, you silly child? You should hope that they perished in whatever disaster befell them, because that might be the ONLY thing that saves us from your stupidity!” he ranted, uncaring who watched.
“Tell me, why in the seven seas you were up on the surface in the first place? There is nothing, nothing, important enough that you should be anywhere near the surface!”
Celeste shot a glance at Lahni, preparing to take the blame. Unfortunately for the both of them, Lahni spoke up first.
“It was my fault, Papa!” she cried, hands coming up in a silent plea. “We were swimming together, watching the orcas play. I... I saw something floating up on the surface,” she paused as his expression grew stormier, his anger only increasing at her words. “It was small! Not the ship! I didn’t know what it was, and the sun was about to set, so I swam up. I wanted Celeste to follow me so that she would see the sunset.”
King Tidus continued to glare.
“I only wanted to watch the sunset. It’s so beautiful.”
“You let a twelve-year-old child outswim you to reach the surface? Why did you not stop her before she got up there?” he demanded, turning his withering look upon Celeste. “Are you so incompetent that even she can outswim you?”
They both bristled at the derision in his voice, but as usual, it was Lahni who refused to control either her temper or her tongue.
“At least she cares enough to spend time with me! All you ever do is sit here in this room and tell everyone else what to do!”
“That will be enough of that!” he thundered, leaving everyone shaken at the force of his power. The chandelier swung wildly again as the water swirled throughout the room, knocking over bowls of coral and sending puffs of sand everywhere.
“She,” he stabbed one ring-encrusted finger in Celeste’s direction, “is your guardian and I am not just your father, but also your king! You would do well to remember that the next time you speak to me in such a disrespectful tone, young lady! You are little more than a squirt, yet you flit around the sea as though you know everything! And you,” he bellowed once more, focusing on Celeste this time, “have shown yourself to be utterly incapable at keeping her to her studies, as she is supposed to be focusing on!”
Celeste struggled hard to control her temper and was marginally thankful that her father had already lost his to the extent that the very ocean was agitated. Perhaps the movement would hide her fury as well.
“In light of
this near-disaster, you will both be confined to Lahni’s quarters until I can think of what better to do with you. I can’t trust you to stay out of trouble on your own, so you’ll have to remain here and suffer the consequences.”
“That’s not fair-” Lahni began to protest, but was cut off by her father’s roar of outrage.
“I am not trying to be fair, I’m trying to keep you alive! You’re a child, and it wouldn’t be fair to me, or the kingdom, if you got yourself discovered by the humans, or killed! Guards, take them to their rooms!”
Celeste hissed as one of her fellow guardsmen took Lahni by the elbow. He released her immediately and she hurried to Celeste’s side once more. None dared to touch Celeste, herself, as they were escorted from the throne room.
Once they were alone inside her chamber, Lahni threw herself into her sleeping net and wept. “He hates me, he hates me! He’s going to send me away!”
“He doesn’t hate you,” Celeste said matter-of-factly, earning a sniffle and a glare. “And where in the seven seas would he send you away to? Even he knows that leaving Morwen would be your dream come true.”
“Didn’t you hear him in there?! He was so angry!”
“Of course he was angry, you broke the law. If he can’t count on us to at least obey the rules, then who can he count on? I’m a royal guard and you’re the next in line for the throne. We’re the last mermaids that should be on the surface, stirring up trouble. But he can’t hate you.”
“Why not?”
“Simple. Without you, he doesn’t have any family left. He loves you, truly, he does.”
“What about you? You’re family, too.”
Celeste finally gave her little sister a smile. “You silly little thing. You’re the only reason that I stay in Morwen at all. Besides, I think he stopped thinking of me as family a long time ago,”
“The day the prophecy was read?” Lahni guessed.
Celeste swam to one of the huge windows that opened up to an outdoor terrace. Two more guards swam below, keeping watch over them.
“I don’t believe it, you know.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
Lahni sat up and settled onto her back in her net. “I just don’t. It says that you’ll destroy all of Morwen, all of the mermaids around the world. But that’s impossible, even if you wanted to. And I know you, you would never do that.”
Never say never, sweet girl. “Thank you for your confidence in me.” Her dry tone wasn’t lost on her younger sister and Lahni threw a hairbrush at her.
“Really, Celeste, I think they must have made a mistake. Who believes in a silly old prophecy, anyway? It’s probably all just made-up nonsense.”
“Nonsense or not, it’s definitely made an impact. Just the other day, some mermaid saw me and grabbed her babes, forcing them out of my way. They couldn’t have been more than four or five years old.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lahni’s eyes filled with tears at the story. It was only one of many that Celeste had nonchalantly mentioned, as though they didn’t matter in the slightest, that always made her want to do awful things to the prophet that had ruined their lives.
Celeste shrugged. “It’s not important. Just remember actions matter, and what you say or do can have effects far beyond what you originally intended.”
Lahni nodded miserably.
“For example, just think of how angry your father would be if he found out you’ve been speaking with Sam, much less sitting in his boat. Or on his lap, for heaven’s sake.”
The younger girl flinched. “Please don’t tell him. It wasn’t like you’re making it sound, I swear. You were there the whole time. I think he sees me as a little sister or something, like you do.”
“Ha. You don’t sit on my lap.”
Silence was her only answer.
Is that what she wants? Does Lahni want to cuddle onto someone’s lap and feel like a babe again? Then again, I can’t think of any time she’s ever done that. Her mother died when she was just a little squirt, and the king has always been too busy. As have I. But isn’t she too old for that now? Celeste looked at Lahni with new eyes.
“But you can, if you want to.” The words felt awkward even as Celeste said them, hunching her shoulders up as she tilted her head at her little sister. I should have been there for you more. I’m sorry. As usual, the words that were the most important were also the most difficult for her to say.
Luckily for them both, Lahni broke the uncomfortable nature of the moment and giggled. “You look like a dolphin,” she teased, “Come to find out what’s going on. It looks as though you’ll roll over at any moment.”
Happy that her sister seemed to be finally putting the trauma of last night’s ordeal behind her, Celeste rolled in the water, flashing her belly exactly like a dolphin calf. Lahni rewarded her with a smile.
“Did your Sam have anything important to say when I was swimming? I didn’t hear everything, especially after he handled you so roughly.”
Lahni’s eyes twinkled as her smile grew wider. She looked down at her nails, picking at one as she answered. “Only that he wanted to marry you, but is afraid you’d just glare at him all the time.”
“What?!”
Laughter was her only answer, and Celeste glared once more. Crossing her arms over chest, she waited for an explanation.
“He said something about humans marrying to form alliances, and was trying to imagine you inside his home, but said you wouldn’t stop glaring at him even then.”
“Inside his home? Does he live in a lagoon, perhaps with a floating bed to sleep on, or a floating table to dine at? Of all the ridiculous things to mention.” Still, the idea that he had imagined her as his wife was unsettling, to say the least. No one had ever thought of her in such a way, as far as she knew, even if it was merely for an alliance.
Most were too frightened of her to even speak. The fact that he wanted her to talk to him, and thought of her inside his home, no matter how silly it was… she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
Intrigued, to say the least. They fell into silence, both contemplating their fates.
Several hours later, someone pounded on the door, pulling both of their gazes. Lahni was still in her sleeping net, having dozed off earlier.
“Do you think Papa wants us back already?”
“I doubt it,” Celeste replied as she tilted her head, listening. No one said anything from the other side of the door, announcing their identities or requesting permission to enter. Celeste’s gut clenched. They’re here for me. They’ve heard that we drew the notice of the humans, and think it’s the prophecy finally coming to fruition. She didn’t know how she knew, but once the thought took hold, she didn’t even try to argue with herself. The usual guards would have announced themselves.
“You need to hide. Now,” Celeste barked the order as she glanced around the room for a weapon. All she could find was a small dagger that she’d given Lahni months ago, when she first attempted to teach her how to defend herself. The lessons hadn’t gone well.
“What? But why?”
“Don’t ask questions, just do it! Now, Lahni!” She didn’t wait to see if the girl obeyed or not as whoever it was began pounding again. Angry voices rang out on the other side, followed by a thud, and then the door handle moving.
Celeste threw herself at the portal, hiding behind it as the lock clicked and it slowly began to open.
Lahni still sat in her sleeping net, eyes wide with confusion.
“Lahni, go now! Through the window!” Celeste cried as she slammed the door closed again, sandwiching the first intruder’s head squarely between the door’s corner and the doorjamb. She crumpled into a soundless heap, but someone behind her swore.
Celeste wrenched the door open again and darted forward, the little dagger held out before her. Its point sliced through the water with hardly any effort, leaving blood in her wake as she hit her mark, laying the flesh of the second attacker open.
The unknown mermaid screamed in pai
n and rage, swinging wildly back at her with a piece of decorative coral she’d no doubt liberated from a pot in the hallway. Celeste rolled her eyes.
“Decor, really? You’re attacking with the decor? I don’t think you gave this plan much consideration.” Or they expected Lahni to be alone. Celeste narrowed her eyes at the realization and allowed her next cut to sink a little deeper.
“Or did you expect my little sister to be alone, after you either paid off or defeated her other guards?”
The look of guilt that flashed across the other mermaid’s face was confirmation enough. Celeste took her down, ensuring that she would need immediate medical attention, and that she’d never think of this day without regret. If she lived through it.
Three more mermaids stared at her in the hallway, their gazes flickering between Celeste and their two fallen comrades. Celeste gave them a feral grin, almost daring one of them to volunteer as her next victim.
Which made it all the more surprising when the one in the center struck, her fists flying out to either side and knocking her companions unconscious. Her features began to change, shifting and resettling like a pattern in the sand and it was a moment before Celeste understood what she was looking at.
“Fairy,” she hissed, pulling her weapon up into a defensive position. “Why do you want my sister?”
The fairy laughed, the sound almost gruesome in her savage glee. “Who said I want her?”
“Sef!” Celeste bellowed the name, hoping against hope that the guardsman she had seen earlier was still on shift, and that Lahni had obeyed Celeste’s order to escape while she could. Lahni never shut anything behind her, and Celeste was now gambling on the possibility that the guardsman could hear her call for help.
It didn’t matter in the end, for the fairy skipped forward, opening her hand and blowing a strange powder through the water into Celeste’s face. She fought it, instantly hardening the water to prevent the foreign substance from reaching her gills, but it was all for naught.