Kingdom of Salt and Sirens

by J. A. Armitage

If I wasn’t already a princess, I’d certainly feel like one in it. Next to the dress was some beautiful white underwear. A white corset, much sexier than anything I’d ever worn before, and some pretty lace panties to match sat beside some stockings and a pair of the most beautiful, sparkling shoes. It was almost a pity I wouldn’t be wearing them. Instead, I dug a white strapless bra and pants from my drawer and put them on before easing the dress over my head. I hid the bridal underwear and gorgeous shoes under my bed and fished out a pair of running shoes, thanking my mother’s sense of propriety for giving me a dress that was long enough to cover them.

  Looking in the mirror, I saw a beautiful princess on the morning of her wedding day. If only I didn’t feel like a traitor who was just about to break her mother’s heart.

  “Are you ready?” My mother shouted from outside my bedroom door. I took one last look at myself in the mirror. I was as ready as I’d ever be.

  13

  The wedding

  My mother hovered around as the make-up artist and hairdresser worked their magic on me. It all felt like such a waste, knowing that no one was really going to see any of it. My hair was weaved into a set of beautiful braids which were then covered over with a white veil, customary of any bride in Trifork. It was this that was going to allow me to pull off the stunt that I knew would shock everyone in Trifork and possibly give my own mother a heart attack in the process.

  “You look beautiful.” My mother beamed with pride as the veil was lowered over my face. My heart lurched knowing how badly I was about to let her down. Tears streamed down her face, tears of happiness, which made me feel terrible at what I was about to do to her. She’d been acting awfully in the past few weeks, but it was out of character for her. Still, this wasn’t about getting her back or some misguided attempt at revenge. It was stopping something that I knew in my heart to be wrong.

  I lifted my hand and wiped my mother’s cheek. “I love you,” I said, wishing it didn’t have to be this way. I waited as the make-up artist touched up my mother’s face and then stood ready to head out to the great hall. My mother linked her arm in mine and walked me out into the corridor. Already I could hear the guests seating themselves in the thousands of chairs that had been laid out for the occasion. Later, the chairs would be rearranged around tables for a feast that was currently being prepared in the kitchens below us.

  I pictured Hayden standing at the front of the great hall waiting for me. He knew nothing that was about to happen, and for that, I was glad. I didn’t want him getting in trouble. He would be standing up there, dressed in his best clothing, waiting for a ceremony that would bind us together forever—or so, he thought. Outside the palace, the screams and cheers of the public and media were so loud that I could hear them through the thick outer walls of the palace. At the double doors to the great hall, my mother handed me over to my father, who was due to walk me down the aisle. He cut a dashing figure in his white suit and purple sash. My mother gave me a wink as she slipped between the double doors, careful not to open them too wide lest someone see me before they should. Behind me, my two little cousins stood side by side, a picture of cuteness in their matching purple dresses, flowers in their hair.

  “Are you ready?” my father asked, a look of unhappiness on his face. I realized then that this was not his doing. Despite being the supreme ruler of Trifork, he had no say in today’s proceedings. This was all my mother. Not for the first time, I wondered what was going on with her, but I didn’t have too much time to ponder it. I had to put the plan into action first.

  “I need the bathroom!” I lied, unlinking myself from my father’s arm.

  “Just be quick. They are waiting for you,” huffed my father. I shot him a wink and disappeared into the small bathroom reserved for guests. Like any bathroom in a public place, it was actually a set of stalls with a mirror running along the length of it with basins in front.

  One of my grandmother’s friends was in there, touching up her lipstick. She seemed surprised to see me in there with her.

  “The wedding is nearly starting. You should go and find your place,” I coaxed. She gave me a hurried nod and left.

  “Astrid?” I called quietly, bending down to look under the stall doors. Slowly one of the stalls opened and there stood my friend looking utterly radiant with her golden hair cascading in curls around her shoulder.

  “You look amazing,” I said, quickly.

  “You look beautiful,” she spoke at the same time. We both began to laugh. With little time afforded to me, I pulled the wedding dress quickly over my head. Astrid stepped into it. As she was slightly bigger around the bust than me, she had to squeeze into it. Once she was finished, I took off the veil and placed it on her head, tucking the blonde curls behind her ears.

  “Remember, Hayden is going to expect me under there. I don’t know what will happen, but with any luck, the wedding will be over when he lifts the veil and sees who he married.”

  “Do you think he really wants to marry me?” she asked uncertainly.

  I shook my head as I pulled on the t-shirt and jeans she’d brought for me to wear. “I honestly don’t know, but I do know that given the choice, he’d rather marry you than me. If the two of you decide that you want to stay married, you can have a much more intimate wedding further down the line. A renewal of vows, so to speak.”

  Astrid gave me a shy smile. “I just don’t want to marry someone who doesn’t know who he’s marrying. It’s so sneaky.”

  I gave her a hug. “I’m so grateful to you for doing this. If you really don’t want to marry Hayden this way, pull the veil up before the end of the ceremony. I only need about ten minute’s head start. I’m meeting Ari down by the rocks. Tell my family I’ll be home in a few weeks once the shock has worn off and tell them I’m sorry.”

  “That Ari is bloody gorgeous,” she mused, giving herself a quick glance in the mirror. “I can quite understand now why you don’t want to get married.”

  “You are bloody gorgeous,” I told her, and I meant it. Hayden was one lucky man. He was also in for one hell of a shock.

  When she walked from the bathroom dressed as me, I waited five minutes. Just enough time for everyone to be paying attention to the bride.

  As quickly as I could, I climbed out through the small window and dropped to the ground, landing in one of the palace garden’s flower beds. There were more guards than usual, owing to the nature of the day, plus I had to worry about the sheer numbers of media people milling around. I’d plotted my route carefully over the course of the last few days, but there was still every chance I’d be spotted.

  Astrid had left me a cap and sunglasses. It wasn’t much in the way of a disguise, but as everyone could see me walking down the aisle on big screens that had been erected around the palace, it was better than nothing. Going straight down to the rocks was impossible. I already knew how many guards were down there fending off the hordes of media. The only way out was to go to the front entrance of the palace and mingle with the crowds. It was risky. Any number of things could go wrong, and it was very possible I’d be recognized. But it was the only way I could think of to get to the meeting place we’d set up. I had to time it exactly. The short run from the bathroom window at the side of the palace to the wall at the edge of the gardens had to be done at the precise moment that Astrid was walking down the aisle. Before that, and the guards were more likely to think it was me that was escaping. It wouldn’t surprise me if my mother had put them on full alert for this to be a possibility. If I left it too late, Astrid might have already decided to lift her veil and the second she did that, the shorefront would be swamped with people looking for me. I’d picked this window because it was at the quietest side of the palace. A well-placed ladder enabled me to be able to be over the wall before I was caught and from there, I was in the outside world. I ended up in a street filled with onlookers. Thankfully, they were all facing one of the huge screens, and I was able to slip amongst them unnoticed. The streets were pac
ked solid with people, most of whom were waving the flag of Trifork. There was so much excitement in the air for my wedding—if only I felt the same way. It seemed that the only two people in the whole kingdom who didn’t want to see Hayden and I get married were Hayden and I.

  The crowds were difficult to slip through. People were standing shoulder to shoulder and to push through them would get me noticed. Instead, I slipped up a side street away from the throng and in the opposite direction from where I needed to be. It was a much longer route, but I hoped with the streets being empty here, I’d get there both quicker and less likely to be noticed.

  Two streets away from the palace and it was almost as if I’d gone into another world. All the shops were closed for the royal wedding and photos of Hayden and I filled all the storefronts. Before now, it hadn’t occurred to me just how much of a big deal this was. Worry crept over me that I was doing the wrong thing. It had seemed so right when I was under the ocean discussing it with Ari, but now, in the cold light of day, standing all alone in the quietest market street in the whole kingdom, I was beginning to realize what a mistake it was. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself onward, giving myself a pep talk as I picked up the pace.

  “It isn’t a mistake,” I mumbled under my breath. “I couldn’t have married Hayden.”

  I wondered how he was feeling right now. Nervous, probably. The wedding was being televised all over the kingdom and most of the other kingdoms too, I was willing to bet. Would he be a little bit excited or would he be heartbroken knowing that Astrid would never be his? I hoped he wouldn’t be angry with me when he found out who exactly was under that veil. I knew he was serious about Astrid, but they were both so young and hadn’t been going out that long. Maybe Hayden’s concerns weren’t just that he had to marry me, but that he was forced to get married at all.

  I gave a sigh at the mess I found myself in. In the distance, I could hear a flock of seagulls, reminding me where I was going. The call of the ocean was strong as if I’d always known I’d be a part of it someday. Of course, I’d always thought I wanted to sail above the sea but being below it was so much better than anything I’d ever dreamed.

  The sea was in sight now. All I had to do was run and meet Ari. From there, I’d spend a few weeks with him, just enough time to let this whole wedding thing blow over, and I’d come home and apologize profusely.

  I jogged until I hit the boardwalk. To my right, thousands of people surrounded the palace, but to my left, the beach was empty, exactly as Ari and I had planned. On the far left of the beach, before it turned into the sheer white cliffs that this part of the kingdom was famous for, were rocks similar to the ones behind the palace. It was at this point where Ari had arranged to meet me. With a sense of trepidation, I stepped out onto the beach. Before I took another step, I pulled my sneakers and socks off and let myself feel the sand between my toes. Because of my mother’s crazy phobia about the ocean, I’d only ever been on a beach once, and that was because my new nanny at the time hadn’t been told otherwise. She was fired the very next day. I was about four years old at the time, and Anthony was barely crawling, but I still remember how it felt to squash my feet into the warm sand. However much I wanted to, I couldn’t stand around all day, playing on the beach. I needed to get to Ari before the wedding came to a standstill. Even as I thought it, a collective gasp had me turning my head. On the large screen at the far end of the beach near the walls of the palace, I saw Astrid’s face. Seconds later, the picture dissolved into one of Hayden looking shell-shocked.

  My time had run out, I needed to get to the sea now. Leaving my sneakers behind, I pelted through the sand until I came to the rocky outcrop. I couldn’t see Ari, but I knew he was there. Walking out to the farthest point, I looked down into the water. Even though it was a beautiful day and the waves on the beach wouldn’t knock over a toddler, here, they made me nervous.

  “It’s fine!” I breathed to myself, closing my eyes. I could breathe underwater when I was with Ari, so it wasn’t like I was going to drown. Still, I’d have felt much more comfortable if I could have seen him under the water.

  “Are you there?” I asked with my mind, hoping that my thoughts would travel through the air and the water. There was no answer. I tried again, this time shouting. My voice attracted a couple of guards at the far end of the beach. They were already out looking for me. It hadn’t taken long at all!

  Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I leapt as far as I could out into the foaming sea.

  Almost immediately, the current took me and began to pull me out. I struggled to keep my head above water, waiting for those strong arms of Ari’s to pull me down to the depths with him. As the waves crashed overhead and with a sinking heart, I realized he hadn’t come, I was quite literally out of my depth, and I still couldn’t swim.

  14

  Dark Water

  The pull of the sea was strong, much stronger than I was used to. Had I not been drowning, I might have wondered why I was being swept along so quickly. The beach was a popular destination, and I’d spent many a day watching families playing there, skipping over the small waves. Even children as young as toddlers were often found dipping their toes in, so why had it suddenly become so dangerous? Below me, I could feel the sand, although here, it was covered in seaweed which made the experience so much more terrifying. With each step, I had to push up from the bottom to get my head above water so I could get a gasp of breath before going back under. At the same time, I had to fight off the fear that the seaweed was actually some gross creature.

  Every time my head went above water, I could see I’d moved further and further along the beach. Without even trying, I was heading back towards the palace. There were so many people out on the beach now, no doubt looking for me, that I knew I would be rescued if I could keep coming up for breath the way I was doing. It was little consolation. Ok, I’d survive which was good, but my mother was going to have a field day with this. This was the third time in as many weeks that I’d nearly drowned. I was beginning to think she had a point about the sea being dangerous.

  All around me, the water was dark, much more so than when I’d come out here with Ari. There was something weird going on, and I was right in the middle of it. Below the waterline, it was pitch black, despite it being a fine sunny day. On the brief snatches of time I was above water, I could see that the blackness only extended about fifty feet in every direction and I was directly in the center. Whatever this was, it was not a natural phenomenon. Something was causing this to happen.

  My lungs strained with the effort of trying to keep above water and holding my breath, and my heart was pounding so hard it was painful.

  I’d almost completely given up when someone grabbed me. For the briefest of seconds, I thought that Ari had finally come, but then I realized I was actually being pulled upwards not down. The water clung to me as I was hoisted over the side of a small boat with an outboard motor behind it. As soon as I was fully in the boat, the motor was put on full power, and we zoomed through the waves towards a small jetty by the palace.

  The strange blackness receded after I was no longer in the water. I’d not seen it at all before I’d jumped in. It just kind of appeared from nowhere, pulling me away from the beach, and now it was disappearing as quickly as it had come. It reminded me of the time just before the Erica Rose went down. Just like today, that day had been calm and serene before the water turned black. This time, I’d been pulled out and to shore before the ocean had turned too turbulent.

  One of the two men in the boat handed me a towel. Both men were palace guards. I didn’t know either of them, but I could tell by their uniform.

  I shivered as I took in the sight of the seafront. All the people that had come to see the royal wedding were now lining up watching me coming back to shore. Hundreds of cameras pointed at me, and I could see my cold, wet, miserable face projected onto one of the large screens where minutes before, the royal wedding had been showing. Right up to the boundary be
tween the palace grounds and the public walkway, people were cheering the safe return of the princess. They’d come for one show and all gotten more than they had bargained for. This was turning out to be quite a spectacle for the masses. On the palace side, things were a different matter completely. A number of guards waited by the dockside to help me out, all with somber faces. I searched the line of people for my mother’s face, but she wasn’t there. My father was also absent. Maybe they were clearing up the mess on the inside, trying to explain to the guests why Astrid had taken my place.

  Fear of what I would find when I got to the palace filled me. My parents would surely be angry with me. Maybe Hayden would be too. All the guests, many of which who had traveled a long way to see the royal princess wed, would no doubt have something to say about all of this too. I’d single-handedly messed everything up. Relations between our kingdom and the other eight would now be strained, not to mention my parents’ relationship with the Harrington-Blythes. I didn’t want to think about my relationship with anyone.

  As I stepped up onto the jetty, I remembered that I’d not done this single-handedly at all. It hadn’t even been my idea. I glanced back at the sea, now peaceful and without any trace of the sudden blackness that had engulfed me. Ari was out there somewhere. Why hadn’t he come for me?

  All eyes were upon me as I made my way through the palace, flanked by two guards. I didn’t need to hear their thoughts to know what they were thinking.

  Keeping my eyes firmly on the ground in front of me as I walked full of shame, barefoot, and dripping wet. Could this day get any worse?

  Of course, it could. I still had my parents to deal with. My father would be angry, but my mother...well, it didn’t bear thinking about.

  My stomach churned more and more with each step closer to the great hall where it looked like I was being taken. All thoughts of being able to do this privately went out the window as the great hall doors were opened and I was faced with the fallout of my actions.