The Wanted

by Rory Miles

  I turned over in my water bed, which swayed like the ocean surrounding the castle, and stared at my room. A faint white glow came from the castle walls. The goddess- blessed magic created the perfect nightlight. I didn’t need one. I might have had bad dreams, but I wasn’t scared of the dark. The glow from the goddesses magic was comforting; a reminder that a divine being watched over us and cared about our well-being.

  Magic sculpted the castle from the water--walls, turrets, halls, windows, and everything else flash-frozen by the goddess's magic. Our hair and belongings didn't float toward the surface. The magic anchored the castle and those within it, providing an artificial, water-free, land-like gravity.

  Outside the castle was the vast ocean where we needed our tails to move about. In the castle, we walked like the land people. Every mermaid had basic magic, the ability to transform tail into legs. While I liked walking around like the people of the Lands, I spent most of my time in the water. Transforming my tail to legs wasn't hard, but legs just weren't natural, and as a mermaid, I felt more at home in the water than I did in the castle.

  I didn't understand why the goddess made the castle the way she did, but I was sure it had something to do with the land people and their innate ability to drown if submerged for too long. Or maybe she provided the castle as a place to develop our balance before we ventured above the surface of the Blue Waters. Nothing spelled weak like a freshly beached mermaid who couldn't walk. The goddess wasn't weak, and neither were we.

  I shifted up in bed, looking out my window at the base of the ocean floor below. The only movement came from the sentinels swimming around the perimeter. I hoped Aiden was out on patrol, but they were too far away to make out any distinguishing features. I sighed and laid back; my body swayed on top of the water bed and I felt sleep creeping up on me. I welcomed the dreamless void waiting for me with open arms.

  My eyes were closed, my mind tried to convince my body it could sleep for ten more minutes when Mia swept into my room, bustling about and picking up discarded things and putting them in their rightful places. I groaned but kept my eyes closed, ten more minutes. Morning and I got along like orange juice and toothpaste. No one liked us together.

  "Ezme," she scolded, "you have ten seconds to get your tail out of bed before I drag you out by it."

  I stifled a snort. "You shouldn't threaten someone if you don't plan on following through with it." I peeked at her from over my shoulder before I was whipped out of bed and flung to the ground.

  "Mia!" I feigned shock. "You can't do that. I'm a princess!"

  "Princess or not, your mother wants you ready for breakfast by nine, and it is already eight thirty." She crossed her arms in defiance.

  "The queen wants this. The queen wants that. Doesn't anyone ever stop to think about what other people want?" I quipped, but Mia didn't laugh. Her face sobered with the reminder of her servitude. No one would ever ask what she wanted. Except me.

  Mia was like a sister to me. At twenty-three, she was only a few years older. While my mother was busy ruling the Blue Waters, Mia kept me company. Mia helped me practice my magic. She had been there for the things my mother should have taken care of. My first period. My first breakup when I was fourteen, though I admit it was a silly notion to be heartbroken over a sentinel twice my age who hardly looked my way and our so-called "relationship" only existed in my head.

  But Mia had been there through it all. Soothing my broken heart, ushering me into womanhood, braiding my hair, and belting out songs at the top of her lungs with me. Aiden may have been my best friend, but for what it was worth, Mia was my family. If only in the secrecy of my heart.

  “I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

  "It's all right. Now get up and brush your teeth so I can fix your hair." She snapped twice and pointed at my bathroom. I closed the door behind me and scrubbed furiously. Tired green eyes stared back at me as I rinsed the seaweed- based toothpaste clinging to my teeth. I watched the dirty water as it swirled down and out of the purge drain before new water washed the sink out. Gotta love magic plumbing.

  Mia knocked on the door and I hurried out and sat in my vanity chair. She set to work, her delicate fingers weaving intricate braids in my hair. She was unusually quiet this morning, but I attributed it to the pressure she felt to get me ready in time. She pulled back one side of my hair, letting the rest fall over one shoulder in a combination of loose waves and braids.

  "Now get dressed. I laid out the purple gown." I smiled. My mom preferred I wear blue to match the color of our royal banners, but purple did wonders for my green eyes. Mia surprised me by choosing a more formal dress today, but I didn't have time to ponder her reasoning. I stepped into the gown and Mia laced up the back and completed a final inspection, picking flecks of lint off fabric and straightening a wayward piece of hair before she deemed me worthy. She worried her lip and I paused, wondering if her silence was due to more than the rush to get ready.

  "Is everything all right?" I asked her. Her ice-blue eyes flitted away from mine and she fidgeted, a sure sign she wasn't going to tell me a thing. I sighed. My mother had provided Mia with details but had used magic to forbid her from speaking to me about it.

  I figured out her manipulations early on and it hardly surprised me anymore. Refuse to attend one royal meeting and everyone got their tails in a bunch. Now, whenever she worried I might ruin her plans, she compelled Mia to silence. Based on the dress Mia had selected, I assumed we'd be meeting with members of high court today.

  "Fine, but we will discuss this when I return," I grumbled. We had to come up with some loophole, maybe sign language? We'd already tried notes but that hadn't worked. We were both disappointed when Mia's hand had hovered frozen over the paper, unyielding to the magic.

  "Have a good breakfast," she said, eyeing me with a pity that set my nerves on edge.

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