The following day, the Aqua Senshi got up before Oki. So, they decided to treat her and Delphin to breakfast in bed! It could be the perfect way to relax after all she had been through. Lina went to check the mail, and her nails turned grey. She was perplexed to find a bouquet of black roses with a note attached!
Of course, Lina wanted to read the note, but it was for the queen, and she did not want to be nosy, read other people's mail, or spoil the pleasant breakfast the royals were having.
Karen, who liked food, had outdone herself: Avacado toast, eggs, bacon, fruits, yogurt, muffins, pancakes, and water! Figuring it would not hurt, Lina tried cutting the thorns off one of the roses and fitting it into her hair. Sitting down to eat with her friends, she dished out everyone's mail and dumped the rest of the roses and notes onto the table.
"Who are those for?!" Noel yelled, knowing black roses mean death, tragedy, loss, sorrow, malice, danger, and black magic!
"Our queen..." Lina replied slowly, not knowing why the light blue mermaid acted so alarmed.
"Nothing good comes of black roses." Sara taught everyone what black roses are supposed to represent.
"I think we would look prettier with roses in our hair!" Seira squealed at how elegant Lina's locks looked with the flower.
"Maybe we can look into that after the danger has passed?" Orca smiled sweetly.
Seira's smile brightened, eyes grew wide, and her nails lit up yellow as she underwater somersaults with delight! Floating in front of a mirror, she imagines what flower would go best with her hair color and skin tone.
"We lost Seria." Coco sighed.
"I'm still paying attention to the situation!" Their short teammate whined indignantly.
"Girls, we shouldn't be fighting." Sara lightly chided.
Behind Sara, Karen copied her movements, mocking her silently as a joke, and the other girls bit their lips to keep from laughing, but the insightful young woman could tell something was up by their nails shining bright yellow.
Soon, everyone began to wrestle, even Lina playfully. Yes, the green mermaid could be fun...when she wanted to. As the servants entered with the food, they were bewildered to see the princesses acting like barbarians! While the mermaid princesses could cook, they had servants who would do it if desired.
"AHEM! My cooks worked extremely diligently to prepare your orders to your liking. So, we all would appreciate it if you acted like proper young ladies, zip your yaps, and sit your butts down!" Their head chef, Ms. Aquafin, loudly scolded.
This head chef could be intimidating as she was a burly mermaid with jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes, so everyone always listened to her! Most girls tried to look abashed, hiding their nails so the color would not betray their feelings.
"We were just having some innocent fun." Seira piped up.
"While I understand how stressed we all are, there is a time and place for fun, and the dining room isn't it. I will talk with your parents about your careless attitude." With that, Ms. Aquafin turned swiftly and left.
Do you think the Neo-Senshi have a head chef as short-tempered as ours? Hannah knew they never really asked the girls much about their servants.
"I hate to admit it, but the kitchen wouldn't be as efficient without her." Lucy tied her blonde hair back so she could eat without it floating in the way.
Lina, Karen, Noel, Coco, Sara, and Seira sat against the ocean current so their hair never got in the way, an intelligent decision.
"I think it would be best to wait until lunch to give our queen her...um...gift." Lina quietly spoke regarding the bouquet.
"Good idea." Orca agreed, with the others supporting the seaweed green-haired mermaid's decision.
When Orca was handed the flowers to deliver to her mother, another thought struck the blonde Mer princess, and she promptly tossed them down the trash disposal, her nails the only red color now!
"What did you do that for, Orca? I thought we agreed-" Seira began to ask.
"I don't think Dad would appreciate them." Orca kindly reasoned with the little mermaid.
Despite Seira being the same age, she is still shorter than the others, and Orca knows how to speak nicely to the girl.
"Still, we need to know what the Queen wants us to do about the Sirens." Sara reminded them.
"Well...no time like the present, I guess..." Their aquamarine-tailed princess sighed as she did not expect this discussion to be easy.
Luckily, Oki looked in a better mood than she had lately. This conversation may be alright after all.
"Your Highnesses?" Lucy bowed with the rest of the Aqua Senshi.
"Oh, good morning, girls! Arise." Hearing their queen's voice sound happy was refreshing. Even King Delphin looked relaxed.
"While I am relieved to hear you sounding so chipper, my queen, we are here to hear your decision on our grave matter," Lina explained.
"Oh, yes, the Sirens...Lina, what's that in your hair?"
They had forgotten to throw out the black rose on the Dead Sea princess's head! Oki's daughter had to explain what happened. Angry and embarrassed, Lina tore the delicate blossom out of her locks.
"I approve of what was done with them, but one of you still should have told us." King Delphin lightly scolded.
"Things were going so well. We didn't want to ruin it first thing in the morning." Karen knew this was not the best argument, but it was the truth.
"Regardless, I still insist on my demand of you girls staying here until we discover all we can about the Sirens." Oki stood firmly on her commands.
"Back to square one...!" Hannah moaned.
"Don't think of it like that. You discovered who our suspects are, and checking up on what the Neo-Sailor Senshi figured out was a brilliant route to go as you knew you could trust them." King Delphin smiled kindly.
Trying to feel proud of themselves was difficult, even if they did find out a lot, as what could they do with this information if not allowed to leave the palace?!
Not willing to miss the sunset over the water, Seira bolted to the surface to see it. She vowed to herself she would not be long; she would be back before anyone noticed.
As the water turned dark around Seira, she prepared to dive back down, but something grabbed her waist and pulled her back out of the water and into the air! Her screams faded as she was taken out of sight!