Some of the guest that arrived to the palace came regularly to the balls and feasts organized there. Some others did not. Monsieur Bisset, for instance, had never been invited to any event at the palace. He was not a very refined or kind man, but the best war horses were raised in his land, so Melody received him and his daughter as kindly as possible.
"I expected Prince Eric to received me personally", he said while he walked into the palace with no grace at all.
"My parents are preparing everything for your staying, Monsieur", Melody said.
He was going to protest against when his daughter, Celine, interrupted him, talking gently.
"Thank you. We're pleased to be here".
Opposed to her father, Celine was a kind woman with a warm smile. She was not very young anymore; probably a little older than Princess Ariel. But her beauty has not diminished. She looked at Melody with her big brown eyes and smiled.
"You must be young Princess Melody", she said. "What they say is true: you're a very pretty girl".
Melody smiled back; she liked her already. The young girl indicated a maid to take them to their rooms and stayed at the entrance receiving the guests. She hoped none was as rude as Bussey, and certainly she hoped some were as nice as Celine.
Prince Eric resolved to talk about the alliance with the guests after dinner; it would be better to make them feel welcome first and then go into business. As they were only about 30 people, dinner was served on a long table decorated with the most exquisite tablecloth, embroidered with golden and silver thread. On it, many different plates were full of the most delicious dishes of all kinds, except, of course, seafood or fish.
Celine entered and looked all around. She had never been in such a beautiful place. In the corner, the string quartet played a sonata she thought she recognized. Suddenly, by chance she spotted a stool in a corner, on which a small bright red crab was conducting, waving a tiny baton with dexterity. Wait a minute? A crab? Cundicting? None of the other guests seemed to have notice him, but Celine approached discreetly. She had heard rumors about this kingdom and how marine creatures in these shores used to be... diferent. Smarter. But that had been a long time ago.
"I need to talk to that crab", she said to herself.
Celine moved among the crowd, pretending to mingle but getting closer and closer to where the crab was, moving his head to the music. But just when she was going to reach him, princess Melody came and took him with her. The little girl seemed to murmure something to the crustacean and they both left the ballroom. Celine sighed; she yearned for something extraordinary, but that would have to be another time. In that moment, her father approached to her with a serious expression.
"Celine", he snapped. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing, father".
"You were not talking to a man, were you?"
"No, father, of course not."
"Nor a boy?"
"No. I'm all alone," she said. Celine sighed. She was alone not only right now. But all her life.