CHAPTER NINE
I was very quiet. Talk continued, and although I could feel Mabelle's eyes on me, she didn't seem inclined to tell the girl to stop talking or send me away.
"It's ridiculous," said another girl. "She's been high and mighty for the past eighteen years, and now she wants to be friends?"
"I'm just interested in the motivation behind it," said the first girl. "I don't much care if she sees fit to visit or not --- it's hardly my concern --- I'd just like to know why."
"Isn't it obvious?" said someone. A few of them glanced my direction and quickly looked away. The redheaded girl, however, turned to me.
"What do you think?" she asked. I jumped at being addressed.
"This is the first I've heard of it," I said. She raised her eyebrows knowingly.
"Typical, isn't it? Keep the people most concerned in the dark. Well, there's not much to tell. Rochelle's announced that she's sending an envoy here to attend your birthday and coronation celebrations. This is the first interest she's shown in having anything to do with us, since the first attempts on your life, you know; I personally don't know how sincere she is." She clucked her tongue and turned back to her work with a skeptical expression.
"She was far too in love with the king," said a girl, shaking her head. Another laughed.
"You mean his money. She never gave a fig for him, or so my mother says. I wasn't old enough to remember, but she knew as much about it as anyone."
"Well, either way, she's too jealous for her own good. Mind, I don't know what good sending a delegation up is going to do. It's not as though the king will be won away from Her Majesty now."
"She just wants to strengthen her position," said one of them sagely. "It's hardly good to remain on Merlana's bad side. My bet is that she wants to convince you, Highness, that she's got nothing but warm fuzzies in your direction."
I laughed dryly. "I'm sure I'll be convinced." The girl grinned.
It was some days before the news of Rochelle's delegation became common knowledge. Little was said to me, but whenever the subject came up, Lisette's lips became tightly pursed, Pearl's eyes flashed, and Ryne's jaw clenched.
"I wish we could just refuse them admittance and be done with it," Lisette said one evening as she was helping me take out the elaborate hairstyle I'd been put into that morning.
"Why can't we?"
"No one has a good enough reason. The fact that she's an enemy is known enough, but she covers her tracks too well --- it's impossible to pin anything on her. Anyway, there's no telling how she'd retaliate. Ryne hopes that if we allow her in, she'll play by our rules." Her voice made clear what she thought of this, but she said no more.
The next day brought with it a long-expected venture out of the palace gates. Today, I was to be taken down to visit Atlantis. I couldn't deny some nervousness --- in between the deep-water thing, the immortal Jaws-induced shark possibility thing, and the having to be alone with Pearl for half the day thing, it was a little scary. Lisette tried to reassure me, but I wasn't inclined to trust her. She had told me a while ago that I wouldn't have to ever wear one of the dreaded corsets if I didn't want to, and within days one of the stupid ladies' maids had conned me into one. I wasn't sure if I would ever forgive either of them.
The morning was cool and calm. Pearl and I headed out alone, through a side door in the gates, and down to a cove I hadn't seen before. It was truly lovely, sheltered on all sides but one by trees and an ancient rock wall, with the sea lapping quietly at the shore. Pink dawn tinged the otherwise gray horizon.
"Sailor's warning," Pearl said, smiling. It was the first she had spoken beyond telling me to watch my step.
"What?"
"'Red at night, sailor's delight. Red in the morning, sailor's warning,'" she said, as though reciting something. "Old mariner's rhyme. But we won't be sailing." She dipped a bare foot in the water. "Cold," she said after a pause. "It'll only last a moment."
We shed the loose-fitting gowns that had been put over our "bathing costumes," as they were called. These, I had to admit, were gorgeous. They had been worked in some material, like linen crossed with silk, and had elbow-length sleeves of loosely-woven strips and long clingy skirts of the same light, quick-drying material. They were both a dark greenish-blue, unfortunately, but I forgave it.
"All right," Pearl said. She took a deep breath of the air coming up from the water. "We're going to go down. Lisette said you can swim?"
"Not well."
"Well or ill, doesn't matter. Here." She handed me a small flower. I looked at her.
"What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Eat it," she said. "It'll help you breath under the water. The sensation is not pleasant, but I trust you will find it well worth the discomfort."
I did as she said. She was right; it was disgusting. The taste was salty, and first coated and then filled my throat with a wet mucus. I gagged and made a face. Pearl smiled sympathetically as she swallowed a flower of her own, and then she stepped into the water with a look that told me to follow.
It was cold. Really, really cold. I was shivering convulsively by the time we were in up to our necks. She dove under; I did the same with a nagging feeling that this would be a painful way to die. To my surprise, however, the chill was gone within seconds to be replaced not by warmth, but with a temperature that could best be described as nothing. Warm and cold no longer had meaning. I forced my eyes open, and found that they, too, had been coated with the slime, which now seemed to be protecting and enhancing my vision. The throat stuff seemed to be keeping water out of my lungs while letting air in. It was decidedly awesome.
Pearl waved a hand and started to swim off. I followed her, moving much more slowly and much less elegantly. Well, I would. I wasn't a former mermaid.
It was very gloomy at first. The water was dark, and all I could see down below was a murky green, which I assumed was some sort of seaweed covering the floor. After a while, we started heading deeper. A momentary rush of claustrophobia ensued, and then Pearl was pulling me down towards the green. It was seaweed, I saw, feathery and thick. She seemed to be heading straight towards the plants, though they looked very likely to strangle someone; I followed her, figuring that if I was going to die, at least this was a unique way of doing it.
She pushed through, holding my hand tightly. I scrunched up my face as we passed through the barrier. Bits of the stuff got into my nose and ears in a particularly disgusting manner. Thankfully, the ordeal was over soon; we broke through into clear water. I shook my head, pulled hair from my face, and opened my eyes.
We had come down onto a hill that looked down on a shimmering city. It was full of light dancing in patterns. After a moment, I saw it had come from a complex system of mirrors suspended in the water, bouncing surprisingly strong light back and forth until it reached the city. Before us was a large palace with beautifully carved stone walls, and all around it were homes and larger buildings that I soon recognized as businesses and schools. There were mermaids everywhere. Most of them were utterly gorgeous, with long hair, wide eyes, and unusually long, slender fingers. Some of them glanced our way as Pearl led me down into the city. They smiled and waved, but otherwise left us alone.
I finally became aware of noise. The way down had been silent except for the hollow, echoing sound of being submerged. Now my ears filled with voices, some high, some low, all with same musical tone as Pearl's. There was something different about the sound, as though it had been softened around the edges, but it was otherwise quite intelligible.
"This way," said Pearl. Her voice too had taken on the strange quality. She led the way, looking for all the world like one of the mermaids. I, on the other hand, thought I resembled a drowning porpoise. It was rather embarrassing, but I figured that being a human was some excuse. After a few minutes, I didn't need an excuse anymore, even if it was just to pacify my ego; the world around me was too beautiful to ignore for the sake of vanity.
The water cast a strange sort of light to everything that illuminated more elegantly and cast more secretive shadows than ordinary sun. Everything was in movement save the buildings: hundreds of flowers and seaweeds, some planted in gardens and some left to grow free, swayed with the currents, and the people were never still. Tails flashed silver and orange and pink and purple all around, catching light and reflecting as though covered with sequins, minus the tacky factor that usually came along with sparkle. There was something different about mermaids, too, something wild and deep that shone past their everyday smiles and gestures and conversations.
We went up into the palace. It had steps, though I couldn't imagine why, that led up to an enormous archway and beyond that, a set of wooden double doors that were propped open. The wood had gone soft and pliant, but their sheer thickness left little doubt that they could keep in or out anything they pleased. A guard stood --- or rather, floated --- on either side. They nodded to Pearl as we passed, and cast me surreptitious glances. I smiled; they pretended they hadn't looked.
Just a little inside the doors, hovering over a marble mosaic floor, was a merman. Though he wore no crown and held no scepter, he radiated authority. Pearl immediately launched herself into his arms, and they embraced.
Her dad.
Yeah. Neptune. That one.
"I heard you coming," he said, with a warm smile. "You swim very noisily."
I hated to think what I must sound like.
"Not another word about the legs," she said with a laugh. "It's far too late to go back now. Daddy," she added, taking my hand and pulling me closer. "This is my daughter."
He gazed at me for a moment with shockingly clear blue eyes. It would have been unnerving had they not been so friendly; as it was, he made me think of Santa Claus, albeit a more muscled, longer-bearded version.
"Welcome to Atlantis."
"Thanks."
"How are you adjusting?"
I was sick of the question, but made a polite reply about how very lovely I thought Merlana was. He nodded.
"Diplomatic enough answer," he said. "You're doing well in that regard, anyway."
"Dad," said Pearl warningly. He raised his white eyebrows.
"I wasn't going to say anything. Come," he said to me. "I'll show you around, unless my daughter objects."
"Go on, then," she said. "Don't frighten her."
"Would I?"
We swam off. He was very patient with me, and I found his honesty refreshing. Although I supposed he probably could be tactful, he chose not to, and said exactly what he thought without reserve. His daughter he loved madly but found a little too headstrong, tolerated Ryne for her sake ("Self-important little individual, if you ask me," he said, "though don't let my opinion influence you!"), had never seen the Palace Merlana but had heard much about it and demanded to know whether I thought Atlantis more beautiful (I did and said so), thought I was rather too skinny and clearly wasn't enjoying life as much as I should (for which he blamed Ryne for trying to push too many royal duties on me all at once), and declared a passionate dislike of turnips, of all things. I liked him enormously.
Pearl was busy pulling weeds alongside a merwoman when we got back outside. They were talking and laughing, and I saw for a moment how she had fit into this world. She waved us over.
"We'd better head back soon," she said, straightening up. "I promised Ryne we'd be back a little after noon."
Neptune gave me a significant look. Pearl rolled her eyes.
"Daddy, he's just concerned. It's all this Rochelle business."
"I'll gladly blow her out of the water," he offered. She shook her head firmly.
"I'd rather Atlantis not get involved," she said. "If we can solve this all without any kind of conflict, I'll be satisfied."
"Well, let me know if you need any violence inflicted," he said. I grinned. She assured him that she would, and then the two of us headed back the way we had come. I glanced back one more time at the city before we went through the seaweed wall. It was stunningly beautiful --- the light, brighter now, cascaded down from the mirrors in shimmering beams, rippling and dancing over the textures and colors. As soon as we passed through the barrier, it was gone, replaced only by a murky green.
We swam in silence, finally breaking the surface not far from shore. Pearl swam ahead and waited for me in the shallows. She was busy exfoliating her legs with the sand when I arrived. It was an amusing sight, although, for someone who probably prized legs very highly, I guessed it made sense.
"What did you think?" she asked, rinsing. She stood up, and I did the same.
"It's gorgeous," I said. My mind was still back there, images of orange flowers swaying to the music of the language. "Why did you ever leave it?"
She glanced out to sea, then up at the castle.
"Love," she said. Her tone was rueful, but without any real regret. "I heard once that all the stories said I was obsessed with land." She laughed. "It's so far from the truth. I loved Atlantis; I still do. But when you fall in love, you find yourself doing things before you think. You find yourself in situations you'd never imagined, and then you make the choice you would have thought least likely." She looked up at the palace, towers just visible above the trees. "It's nonsensical."
"Your dad seems enamored of Ryne."
"Oh, indeed," she said dryly. "I always knew he'd resent whoever took me away, but to take the king of the sea's daughter away from the ocean entirely? I thought he'd never speak to either of us again." She shrugged. "Still won't give Ryne much more than the time of day, but I'm working on it."
She handed me my gown, which had remained on the beach. The slimy sensations from the flower were beginning to fade, drying up, perhaps. I shook the sand from my dress and put it on, and then turned for a last look at the ocean, sparkling now in afternoon sun. Off on the horizon there was a black speck. I shielded my eyes.
"What's that?"
"Hm?"
I pointed. Pearl gazed at the dot, brushing sand from her hands. A concerned look spread itself over her features.
"Alas," she said mildly. "Pirates."
A/N: Sorry this took so long --- I blame a visit from the muse on another novel I'm working on, school stuff coming up fast, and the impossibility of writing an underwater scene I'm happy with (WHY it's so hard to write about underwater, I don't know, but it is). Whether you accept this excuse is up to you...
Slipshod: Thanks! I like Mabelle, too... She's a blast to write.
Silver Sparklze: Lol, I didn't catch the Lilly/Boris thing! Amazing the way your subconscious pops up at unexpected moments...
Piratess of Summer: I love the new name --- very appropriate! More delegation stuff shall arrive soon. After the pirates, which are there mostly because... well, because I saw a pirate costume and it got me in the mood.
teardrop456: Thanks! Hopefully the long update hasn't scared you off. :) I'm normally much more prompt.
teenchic2004: Thanks. You've got Mabelle in a nutshell there --- nicely done!
Allyp: Um... wow... laughs head off I can totally see your mumsy going off on The Word. And you're right, I should've put B Major in there. B Major scares me. Mabelle is Mabelle, although she doesn't care if I spell it Mabel because I am her Author. Anyone else does it, though, she may just hit them upside the head with a ball of sourdough.
Loudolly: Thanks! I like Nessie... she's fun.
To everyone: Since people like Mabelle so much, I'll let y'all in on a little secret: Mabelle's actually a recurring character in my fairy-tale-based stories. I just like her too much not to throw her into everything I write --- and besides, every castle needs a know-all no-nonsense cook, don't you agree?