The compliment comes from nowhere, awkwardly making its way through the man's lips.
"Oh, thank you." I smile and accept the compliment with a graceful nod. "How has Duchess Lazurin been fairing?"
I tilt my head in confusion, eyebrows furrowing at his question. I knew mother was beloved by many nobles in the court and had many admirers, but to be as bold as to ask about her while in front of the Queen...
"I'm sorry, sir. I don't believe we've met before?" I asked with a bewildered smile, and he seems to catch himself.
"My apologies..." His eyes dart towards the Queen before looking at me. "My name is Nuidis Vulko, Vizier to the throne of Atlantis. You may address me as Vulko."
"Nice to meet you, Vulko." I say as I curtsy.
"Well, I wish I could stay and chat, but the Queen was escorting us to our vessels."
I look over to the Queen, giving a subtle twitch of my brows to indicate that I would like to exit from this awkward conversation. "Ah, yes. Unfortunately, you've caught us at a poor time, Vulko."
I nod in agreement and smile regally.
"However, I'm sure the princess would be fine with a little extra time to view the recruits' sparring sessions." I do a double take and give a baffled look at the Queen.
What is she doing?
She looks at me with an amused grin and I scream internally at the sudden betrayal. What's going on right now?
Vulko looks at me, hopeful while still maintaining a degree of stoicism. "Of course, I would be honored to attend...along with Princess Mera."
She shoots me a glare. "I didn't–"
"Well then, it's settled. We'll meet here after classes end." The Queen interrupts, and Mera mirrors what I had been feeling prior.
It made me feel reassured to have company. Vulko's first impression was a bit unsettling. Though, from the Queen's insistence, he may not have meant for it to be so.
I feel a nudge on my shoulder and look next to me to see Princess Mera with a candid look in her eye. "I'm going to get you back for that."
She said so— as sure as her hair was copper red. I held back my remark, holding back a smile from her.
Best not to push her further.
. . .
The next day, after classes, the Queen leads us to the training hall. Entering, we notice that recruits are seated while two others stand at the center of the room.
They acknowledge each other with a bow.
"Begin!" Vulko's voice booms through the room, causing me to jolt slightly, and the two recruits begin to fiercely spar with each other.
It was hand-to-hand combat. The two warriors carefully throw attacks and dode with trained precision.
As the blonde haired one swings to attack, their brunette opponent lifts their right leg to attempt to kick. Narrowly, the brunette's adversary blocks the kick with their left forearm.
Blonde hair backs away to regain some space, but is followed relentlessly. They circle each other— like true predators and launch towards each other once again.
The both of them seemed to be easily matched, so the winner of the fight wouldn't be easy to determine. The fight held all of my attention, my breath hitching at the sight of a minor slip up as it would be the determining factor of the victor.
The brunette slips, sending me to the edge of my seat as the blonde goes for the kill.
The brunette quickly turns and pins the blonde under them, a large thump as their bodies crash onto the matted floor.
It was a feint!
Realizing that physical attacks weren't going to get them anywhere, the brunette resorted to out-thinking their opponent.
The match was finished and after giving pointers to both of his pupils, Vulko proudly walks up to the three of us. Queen Atlanna is the first to speak.
"That was an excellent match, Vulko. I see that your students have improved greatly since I was last here."
Vulko bows. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Pearl and Nilkis have been eager to learn and even more so to properly serve their homeland; so have the rest if the recruits.
"I was sure that the brunette would fall after that move. Never thought that I would be happy to be wrong."
"Thank you, Princess."
Lastly, Vulko looks towards me, awaiting my opinion on the fight.
"I've never seen anything like it before. I've only ever seen the siren knights of the duchy spar, and they don't have usually fight with...legs. It was an excellent fight, truly."
Vulko smiles proudly and bows towards me. "You flatter us, Princess."
I open my mouth to say more, but stop myself.
I'd seldom sought out anything for my personal interests and yet, the thought of learning to fight like the Atlanteans do, intrigued me to no end.
How would I bring up such a selfish request? The Queen notices my contemplation and nudges me.
"Is there anything more you would like to say, Princess Leora?"
My gaze flits from Queen Atlanna to Vulko, before steeling myself to ask.
"I'd hoped if there was a possibility that I could learn to fight like the recruits here?" Vulko's mouth opens slightly as he stares at me, at a loss for words before excitedly accepting.
"That could be arranged. I would be honored to teach you."
He looks to the Queen, eyes sending a message I don't quite understand.
. . .
"Hurry up, Ora!" Amara shouts at me as we swam towards tonight's meeting place.
After returning home from classes, I bid my time until mother was asleep. I would frequently sneak out of the estate to join my siren friends.
Amara is the daughter of the Ambassador of the Fishermen Kingdom. Her mother is the director of our school. We've been friends since we could talk.
"Shut up, Amara!"
She was also the only one of the few people I could be real with.
"Don't get mad at me when you know you're slow!" She smiles, relishing my annoyance.
"They should be around here somewhere..." Amara spots the other sirens, and we swim over to them.
After settling on a bed of coral, Amara calls for our attention.
"Watch this!"
Amara begins to sing, a harmonious melody erupting from deep inside her. The song is carried by the currents, coaxing sea creatures from their coral homes.
The fish dance in uniform, hypnotized by Amara's song. They form intricate patterns and do flips and turns when commanded. The singing stops and the fish pulled from their daze, quickly swim away to their homes.
The group applauds Amara, and she turns her head with a smug smile.
"My mother taught me that today!"
Amara had always been a natural when it came to her siren abilities. I, on the other hand, often needed help to hone my talents.
Seeing how much better she was than me formed a heavy weight of jealousy on my heart.
"I bet you wish you could do that!"
My eyelids lower at her. "Don't get a big head!"
I playfully shove her and suddenly. The atmosphere gets tense, chills running up each of our spines on instinct.
We quickly look around and see nothing until there it was, heading towards us.
"Shark!"
Another member of the group shouted as we dove out of the way. It narrowly misses us, its tail swatting Amara on the arm.
It circles back, its jaw ready, sharp teeth shaking us to the core. It misses again and as it readies to attack once more, I shout at Amara.
"Amara, do something!"
She yells back, voice cracking with fear.
"I can't! I'm too...I–"
Sirens had to maintain a level of composure when singing otherwise the song would be jumbled and off key. For a beginner like Mera, in a situation like this, there was no way she was singing.
The great white shot forward, sensing Amara's fear as it headed towards her while she squeals out notes, attempting to sing.
"Focus, FOCUS!"
I say as I close my eyes and remind myself of my lesson with Queen Atlanna.
"Breathe..."
My hands snap forwards and I breathe out, encasing the shark in a ball of currents. Amara immediately gets out of the way and my magic wavers.
The shark is released, looking to catch the closest prey...
...me...