by Susan Fodor
“Where are we?” I asked confused, pulling away from the embrace to look into Daniel’s dazzling blue eyes.
“Celeste’s room,” Daniel said, smiling. “The lights came on a few minutes after you...”
“Kicked the bucket,” Charlie finished, laughing at his own joke.
Mum glared at him unamused.
“It looks so different,” I said, seeing the intricate details in the wall for the first time; it was like a crystal fairy castle that glimmered in the light.
“The water is so airated that we can remain in our human form as long as we stay in the force-field.” Mum smiled, smoothing my hair protectively. “You did good honey.”
Mum beamed with pride at my accomplishment, but the fearful look in her eyes made me wonder if she would ever let me leave her sight again after the scare I’d given her.
Suddenly King Leo became reanimated and crossed the room, he patted me on the head, I almost expected him to say, “Good job, pig,” like the farmer in Babe. My near death encounter coupled with being in an enemy city had made King Leo wary, which was manifesting itself in him not having found a voice yet.
“Let me take you to your room,” Daniel enthused.
I looked at him confused, “What room?” It’d felt like I’d only been dead, unconscious, whatever, for a few minutes. Yet Daniel had prepared a room for me, which was unnerving.
“The finfolk inventors started setting up a room for you to stay so we could be together,” Daniel responded, cheerily. “We don’t need to worry about oxygen and air pressure anymore, but it was set up beautifully for you.”
“How long have I been sleeping?” I asked concerned. The task that Daniel was explaining sounded like it had taken a long time. I had commitments on land that had to be met; my friends were counting on me.
Charlie sighed, looking apprehensive. “Ten days,” he finally breathed.
“What?” I squealed in horror.
“It’s been about half a hour,” Mum said giving Charlie a playful hit.
I sighed in relief. “Jaimie would have killed me if I missed another day of school.”
“You’re not going to school,” Daniel said smugly. “I’ve set up a whole wing for you so you can start preparing to rule Atlantis.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, utterly mystified.
plans
“I love you; I want to marry you and make you my queen,” Daniel said, passionately. “I know this is a terrible proposal, and I will do it right eventually, but right now, there is so much to do to unite our kingdoms. I need you here, please.”
I looked into Daniel’s pleading blue eyes and could see flecks of gold swimming in their midst. He loved me, needed me, and wanted me to be with him. I felt a longing deep within me to stay to give up everything and be with Daniel.
Inside, I knew that it was too early. The treaties needed to be redrafted, and the royal families had to liaise with the people and each other. My mind was filled with the countless things that had to happen before I could move to Atlantis, graduating high school was high on my list.
Daniel took my silence as agreement and continued. “I’ve set up one of the spires for the selkie royalty; you’ll all be together. Father is preparing one of the districts for the Selkies to inhabit. We’re going to be one people again, just like Alamer.”
I looked at Mum who was unconvinced by the speech, and King Leo, who needed to discuss the treaty before any selkies moved into Atlantis, let alone all of them. There was an uneasy silence.
King Leo was showing respect to Daniel by refraining from contradicting him. The light had been on for less than an hour, and the old way of thinking was hard to change in such short time. My parents could see the benefits of our two colonies joining, the added security and improved living standards were a big draw card, but it was not going to happen immediately. I was not ready to be queen and leave my life on land behind. Even though the transformations were making me less and less human, I’d never felt like I wanted to be on land more than what I did at that moment.
Daniel meant well, but he was getting ahead of himself.
I looked into Daniel’s hope-filled eyes and felt guilty. "I can't stay here tonight. None of us can."
Daniel tried to interrupt me, but I placed my fingers gently to his lips. "Your motives are pure and your eagerness is commendable, but there's a whole lot that needs to happen before anyone moves anywhere. The laws need to be reviewed and the people need to be made aware of what the laws are. Treaties need to be reinstated or rewritten or both. We need to proceed cautiously with tact and wisdom."
"She's right," King Leo agreed, looking at me with pride. "Everyone needs to rest and reconvene tomorrow for talks."
King Leo’s words were heavy with the realization that he would have to return to a city where people would hiss at him and discuss how to bring our two nations together. But after years of watching selkie’s die unnecessarily from exposure and preventable illnesses, King Leo was willing to try anything to keep his people together. A city that provided clean housing, adequate food and a chance for a better life was something that my father was willing to negotiate for, no matter how distasteful he found merfolk.
"See that's why I need you here," Daniel pleaded earnestly, his golden curls bobbing. "You're my voice of reason."
"I'll be here tomorrow, because it’s the weekend and then I’ll come after school," I agreed.
"Please, Mya," Daniel said, holding my face gently in his hands.
Being invisible, no one had ever really wanted or needed me, my existence was inconsequential, but being wanted and needed was a heady drug that I could too easily become addicted to. I had to remain true to myself.
"I want to go home to my Dad," I implored. I wanted Daniel to understand that I couldn’t stay yet, that I had a life on land, and I knew how it worked. I wasn’t ready to be a wife or a queen or anything else so overwhelmingly terrifying at seventeen.
King Leo flinched at my denial of his paternity, but his face remained an emotionless mask.
I shot him an apologetic look but he’d been hurt. There was so much that I needed to work out within my own family. Not the least of which was having an actual conversation with my biological father.
Daniel sighed, realizing he couldn’t dissuade me from my decision. “Fine, let’s get you home or you’ll be exhausted, but I expect you back tomorrow.”
"Charlie will guard you until relations are acceptable between our people," King Leo stated, his voice deep and warm. He smiled at me with a look that I couldn’t decipher—was it fondness or sorrow?
"There's no need," Daniel assured. "The merfolk will leave Mya in peace."
King Leo gave Daniel a beseeching look. "Allow an old king to practice some paternal concern."
They were enemy kings, trying to forge more than an alliance, they wanted to start a whole new kingdom based on mutual respect. We were trying to become a family. Daniel didn’t think I was unsafe, but all the discussion in the world wouldn’t change King Leo’s mind. Everyone needed to make allowances, Daniel bowed his head in deference.
Mum looked torn between her two lives, till I took her hand. "Let's go home, Mum."
She followed me as though our roles had reversed; she was too embarrassed to look at King Leo. I didn’t envy the decision that Mum had to make. Since I’d turned, she could return to King Leo’s side, but Mum’s marriage to Dad was no farce, she loved him. She had to choose between her duty and her heart. Mum didn’t have to stay on land to protect me, since Charlie had been appointed as a full time guard, but I doubted that she would leave me, only time would tell.
The palace was lit up; the internal light had ignited its beauty. The walls shone like iridescent diamonds; a crystal palace glimmering under the sea. It was a different place than the gloomy building we had entered. I was looking forward to exploring the palace with Daniel on the weekend.
The lights sudden ignition had brought the merfolk to the palace ga
tes. Their faces were turned toward the palace, its brilliance dazzling them. I hoped that the drastic physical changes to the city would make the treaty transition easier between the selkies and merfolk.
Daniel, King Leo, Mum, Charlie, Dr. Conneely, Cordulla and I stood on the top step staring into a sea of faces. Their expectant expressions begged an explanation for the selkie’s in their midst, along with the hatred and fear in their eyes there was interest and awe.
"This is Princess Mya Belan," announced Daniel, holding up my hand, "your future queen, the Heart of the Sea."
The same people who had hissed at my arrival now bent the knee and bowed. Complete silence filled the air as hundreds of merfolk; both footed and finned bowed to me in deference. I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of having to care for two formerly warring nations. I was humbled by the respect they were showing me.
In such an inspiring and profound moment, all I could think was, “The whole kingdom is looking at me naked right now.”
It took all my will power to not wrap my pelt around me, or cover my private areas with my hands. Daniel made a brief speech about the new peace that the selkies had brought to Atlantis, and the extensive rewriting of the law that was to commence in the morning.
Daniel finished his speech. “We are no longer enemies, but family.”
The people were silent, their faces filled with surprise, confusion and a myriad of other emotions I didn’t want to identify. I had a vision of being attacked by the mob and thrown into open ocean. I kept my pelt close; as did the other selkies.
Then the mermaids began to clap enthusiastically, the finfolk joined them out of duty. The guards forged ahead cutting a path through the crowd. Daniel and I walked down the path holding hands. The mermaids reached over the guards to stroke my hair or touch my shoulder and arms. They wanted to touch the alien that fulfilled the prophecy. A few children offered coral bouquets, which I stopped to accept. It took a long time to leave, I felt like Kate Middleton, smiling and saying thank-you. It felt so weird and right, like it was what I was supposed to do.
The merman guards escorted us out of the city and all the way to shore. We emerged from the dark sea under Queenscliff pier. It was after midnight, I was exhausted. Mum helped me get dressed, while King Leo, Daniel and Charlie stood guard.
When I emerged dressed and shivering from exhaustion, Dr. Conneely bid us farewell. He disappeared into the shadows, and I wondered if we would ever see him again.
King Leo stood waiting regally at the shore. For a moment I thought he looked pained but he relaxed his face into an emotionless mask.
“I will see you both tomorrow,” he said to Mum and I, it sounded like an order, but a question hung in the air.
“We will be here,” Mum replied, composed.
“Charlie, take care of them,” King Leo ordered again. He didn’t wait for Charlie’s bow; he pulled on his pelt and dove into the sea.
“I don’t envy him the meetings he’s going to have tonight,” Charlie said quietly.
My teeth were chattered as a cold wind cut through my clothes.
“Let’s get going,” Mum instructed. Charlie fell in step behind me.
Daniel wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me up as we walked to the car. I was glad to be dressed despite still feeling damp and weighed down with fatigue. I clutched Daniel’s hand possessively; glad for his company, and still overwhelmed that he had chosen me.
Except for Mum's white Corolla, Queenscliff pier was abandoned. The sea roared a gentle goodnight. Charlie and Mum jumped into the car quickly, as much to get out of the cold as to give Daniel and I a few minutes alone. We’d had virtually no alone time together since I’d discovered Daniel’s secret. I had a feeling that we would have even less now that we were trying to rejoin the selkies and merfolk.
Daniel kissed me gently. "You know, people are all weird about saying the L word, like it's going to change everything ... It's stupid, because it's only going to make things better. Mya, I love you."
I smiled, unfazed by Mum and Charlie sitting in the car waiting for me.
"I love you too." I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him. "See you tomorrow." I held him a little too long like a stalker, breathing in his unique scent, but he didn’t mind, because he loved me. I kissed him happily again, before jumping into the car.
In the car I was beaming like a person with a lifetime supply of Baskin Robbins ice cream. Charlie gave me a strange look, but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t super excited about having a bodyguard, but by Monday I was sure we would have worked out some cover story and the logistics of how it would work. It seemed like a small concession, considering King Leo was allowing me to leave the colony indefinitely.
There were so many things left to resolve. I didn’t envy Mum’s choice. I didn’t want her to talk to me about it, but I was curious. I still hadn’t had a conversation with King Leo, but all those things would come.
Mum drove the car home via Corio bay. I watched the sparking lights reflecting off the silver tides, I knew my life would never be the same again.
Epilogue
Trying to unite a warring city while preparing to graduate high school was more effort than I'd ever expected. Mum decided to stay on land with Dad; she would attend the most important meetings to sign treaties, but mostly she continued with her life on land.
I would rib her about getting off light, considering everything that was expected of me. Sometimes, I really did believe that Mum had an easier royal experience because I was doing all the work, but I understood how awkward things were with her and King Leo. Neither of them spoke to me about it, I didn’t know if they really talked about the relationship between themselves, but it was a strange situation, them being married, but not.
All my after-school time and weekends were spent in Atlantis, negotiating meetings with Daniel, King Leo, Charlie, and Cordulla. There were countless laws to vote on and living condition reports to read. Selkie and merfolk relations were strained; almost every day there were incident reports of fights breaking out. A century-old feud fueled by hatred, lies, and misunderstanding was not going to disappear quickly. I tried to stay optimistic but there were days when I wondered if living on a crappy rock wasn’t better than living in a potential war zone.
While we made small progresses, the workload was overwhelming. I was grateful for the opportunity to return to my house every night and pretend that I didn't have over two thousand people counting on me. School and enjoying my friends was the only thing that kept me grounded.
Cordulla invested vast amounts of her time into crafting fashion for the new empire. While I appreciated covering my love handles with the wispy sea born couture, Cordulla's taste left much to be desired. Often she would deliberately have dresses made in the most unflattering colors and designs, just to make me feel uncomfortable. During pity parties, I felt like she was my biggest burden, because she could have been nice to me, but she chose not to be.
Compared to the high-pressure decisions I had to make for the selkies and merfolk, high school was becoming a pleasant diversion. Jaimie, Tamara, Julia, and Tammy filled my life with laughter and the perfect amount of teen drama. Even Miranda had ceased her machinations to destroy me and treated me with indifference.
Things were by no means perfect, but I was starting to feel like life was working out.
***
Daniel and I sat in the octopus' garden having a ten-minute break from the newest unrest report. It was the first day that we had spent alone together in weeks. I’d imagined that we would spend the winter holidays attending meetings and making decisions together, with some spare time to enjoy each other. Mostly our time together had been spent in meetings, misunderstandings and arguments. I’d almost wished that I’d spent winter holidays on land, but these stolen moments together were making up for lost time.
We had retreated to our special place to get away from the endless decisions and just be together. My lavender dress fluttered around m
e as I ducked through coral arches and over decorative rock formations. Daniel caught me, easily swinging me into his arms for a kiss that cooled my lips. My heart burst with love for Daniel, his beautiful face filled me with joy. Our playful interlude was interrupted by the sound of heels clacking on the smooth black-stoned garden path.
I wasn’t ready to return to the meeting, but I knew that the decisions wouldn’t wait. Daniel and I turned simultaneously expecting Cordulla or the royal secretary.
Miranda Stevens stood before us in a stunning red gown, her dark hair pooling behind her like a Pantene commercial. She could have been a goddess she was so beautiful.
Miranda paused looking at us like Sylvester the cat if he ever caught Tweety bird. She fixed her eyes on Daniel whose mouth was hanging open in surprise, "Hi Honey, I'm home," Miranda purred.
coming soon
silver tides: submerge
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Susan Fodor is the author of The Silver Tides Series.
A dreamer. Wife. Mother. Friend. Dessert enthusiast. Theologian/Pastor. Australian. Passionate.
Bi-lingual---English/Hungarian.
Overly involved with fictional characters.
Avid supporter of International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Has eclectic taste in music, food, and clothing.
Enjoys taking random photos of Tuvok her cat.
And always has time to look for the best in people.
For release dates, contests and random musings:-
Website: www.susanfodor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanfodorauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SusanFodorBooks
