by Eric Vall
I gasped in relief and headed back up to grab Cienna and Jessamine. “Come on, ladies, this is great!”
The three of us now dove below the murky surface together, and, from underwater, I watched both my wives briefly panic, open their mouths to inhale the water, and then smile in relief.
Ariana, whose luminescent tail had returned, was watching us, and she looked glad when she saw we were all breathing again.
“And listen,” the redhead said, “you can talk underwater now, too!”
“Sweet,” I replied, and my voice only sounded a little strange and bubbly.
This was fucking awesome.
“I have an idea,” Cienna announced, and she sounded mischievous. “Let’s go raid that sunken pirate ship from last night!”
“Fun!” Jessamine replied. “I bet they left some good stuff on that boat.”
We swam down even further into the depths next to the Lady Starlight, and it got darker and darker. As we moved through the water, I noticed how incredibly agile I felt. Though I’d spent lots of time in the water during the hot SoCal summers, it was obvious the spell Ariana had cast was giving me extra strength. It seemed like I barely needed to kick my legs to propel myself several feet forward, and I could see Jessamine and Cienna swimming with ease, too, despite their armor.
We were almost down to the bottom now, and the first thing I could see in the eerie, dim light was a couple dozen bodies scattered on the seafloor. The corpses were covered in wounds and missing various body parts, and my stomach churned at the sight. I thought back to last night’s battle with horror, but I had to admit my finishing move had been pretty sweet.
We all swam over to the body of the ship, and I could see the sunken Jolly Roger fluttering in the current. The water was full of sand and other particles, but there were schools of tiny, silvery fish passing by. The vessel had been turned over onto its side, but we were able to swim down through one of the holes the cannonballs had blown through the hull into the ship’s interior.
“I think we’re in the galley,” Ariana said, and she picked up a fork.
“You know what that is, right?” I asked her, and I couldn’t help but snicker softly at the way Fairyland seemed to mirror the tales from my world.
“Yes… it’s a fork, of course,” she replied, and she gave me a strange look. “I use human tools in my research sometimes.”
“I’ll have to show you my plumber’s tools someday,” I told the beautiful redhead.
“That would be interesting.” She nodded. “I would like that.”
“I don’t think there’s much down here,” Cienna complained.
“Those pirates didn’t seem like they were in great shape last night,” I said as I shook my head. “I’m not sure they would have much treasure.”
“Would you like to swim along and see my kingdom?” Ariana asked us.
“Absolutely,” I told her, and Jessamine and Cienna nodded in agreement.
“It’s this way,” the redhead said, and she gestured out toward more open water.
“Lead the way,” I said.
We followed her out of the sunken pirate ship, and we swam along as the sea floor dropped lower and lower below our bodies. I started to see beautiful coral formations in shades that reminded me of Ariana’s tail, and small, tame purple sharks swam around our bodies along with schools of fish in all colors of the rainbow. Crabs with iridescent shells crawled slowly across the ground amongst hot pink starfish of all sizes, and we barely missed passing through a large group of multi-hued stingrays.
“Just over this cliff now,” Ariana remarked.
As we swam down across the ocean floor, a blue glow was getting brighter before us.
And then, suddenly, we could see it.
The lights of a giant, underwater city.
Chapter 8
“Wow,” I gasped as I paused to gape at the scene in front of me. “Ariana, your kingdom is incredible. How does it light up like that?”
“Thank you,” the red-haired princess replied. “It’s a technology developed from the scales of fish that create their own light in the darkest depths of the ocean. The scientists in my kingdom have worked hard for many centuries to develop all you see here.”
“You seem to know a lot about science yourself,” Cienna complimented Ariana.
“I do try to keep up on things,” the redhead said with a blush. “I feel like it’s especially important now that my father is traveling. Once we get to my palace, I’ll tell you more about what’s been happening in my kingdom. I fear there are unkind eyes and ears everywhere.”
As she said this, she gestured to groups of mermaids and mermen that had started to appear as we got closer and closer to the edge of the developed part of the kingdom.
“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Cienna said in a grim tone. “Don’t worry, Ariana. We’re here to try to help you now.”
“Holy shit, look at all those shipwrecks,” I commented. “It’s hard to imagine how many sailors have been lost over the centuries.”
It was a little creepy to see the crumbling pieces of the vessels that had been brought down over the years. Masts that were no longer attached to decks rose up toward the surface, and I could see rotting flags with many insignias, from black Jolly Rogers to the colorful crests of what I assumed were distant kingdoms.
“Yes,” Ariana said with a nod. “I always try to help humans when I can, but it’s not always within my powers. On the other hand, the treasures we have discovered on ships have greatly helped to build our kingdom and support its citizens.”
“How did you manage to find me when I was drowning?” I asked.
“Uhhh, well, there’s something I haven’t told you yet,” the redhead replied as she averted her aqua gaze. “When I was out exploring the other night, I came across your ship, and I have to admit I took a peek onboard. So, I climbed up the side and peered under the railing, and it was then I saw Joe for the first time, and I… I didn’t admit it earlier when we were talking, but Joe, I saw how you attacked the leader of the pirates with your sword. I’ve never seen power like that before. I’d love to hear more about your… ummm… sword.”
I looked over at Ariana, and her cheeks were flushed even redder than I’d ever seen them before. I could even tell she was having trouble looking at me. Her blushing was so adorable I wanted to reach out and squeeze her hand, but I resisted because I wasn’t sure how the shy princess would react.
“A-Anyway, let’s go down to the seafloor,” Ariana suggested. “I want to show you how beautiful it is down there.”
“I’d love to see it,” Jessamine responded. “I’ve never been anywhere near the ocean before, let alone underneath it.”
As we approached the seabed, I could see what looked like a giant coral reef, despite the fact that we were many fathoms below where the sunlight could penetrate, and the water was as clear as if we were directly below the surface. The coral grew in spectacular patterns in all colors of the rainbow and rose several feet above our heads, and anemones opened and closed their waving tentacles as we swam by. Fish in all shapes, sizes, and patterns swam around us in huge schools, and strange, sparkling urchins littered the sandy bottom. I could also see giant pink jellyfish with shimmering tentacles floating in the distance, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to get much closer.
“Do those sting?” I asked as I gestured at the gigantic creatures.
“They are completely harmless,” Ariana replied. “We do have the occasional shark attack, but the natural predators are honestly the least of our worries right now.”
“I understand,” Cienna said. “Do you have the power to tame animals? It’s my understanding many princesses do. I have a special horse named Starlight, and Jessamine has told me about the animals she keeps in her garden. Do you have any pets?”
“I do.” The redhead nodded. “A seahorse named Calypso, and I call her Callie for short. You can meet her once we get to the palace, if she’s around.”
We were a
pproaching the outskirts of the main city, and I could now see most of the structures were made of bleached white coral. Small houses with roofs made of colorful, iridescent seashells surrounded the palace that rose hundreds of feet above the ground in the distance, and merpeople swam to and fro around us.
The palace was composed of a series of shimmering white coral spires that ended in circular domes with points on the top, and the towers were interconnected with a series of gold spiraling bridges. Ariana led us down through a huge gate that was decorated with the symbol of a trident, and we swam through to the palace grounds.
“Ever since my father has been gone and the poisonings began, it’s been difficult for me to spend time sitting around the palace,” the redhead said in a wavering voice. “It’s been about a month, but I’ve found myself exploring the seas a lot instead of wanting to be at home. I’m glad to have you as visitors to help keep me occupied, and of course I am grateful for the help you have offered to my kingdom.”
“Of course,” Jessamine answered, and I could tell she was trying to comfort Ariana. “Princesses always help each other!”
“Well, you two are the only other princesses I’ve ever met,” Ariana told her. “It’s giving me such great comfort to know help is out there.”
We swam up to one of the largest domes, and the red-haired princess led us into a chamber that contained a huge bed with giant, bleached-coral posts at the corners. I was instantly reminded of the bed in Cienna’s room, and I felt the blood burning hotter in my veins at the thought. Seaweed in rich jewel tones of red, purple, and blue hung down like curtains, and I couldn’t help but imagine what Fiona could do with those.
“This is beautiful, Ariana,” Cienna complimented as she looked around the room. “Your palace is so spectacular. It’s very different from my castle, but it’s still so luxurious.”
“Thank you,” the redhead said and nodded. “As you can see, these are my private chambers. I used to share them with my husband, but it has been several years since he passed. The pain is no longer fresh, but, nonetheless, times have been hard. I lost my mother very early in life, so I don’t have anyone like that to depend on.”
“I understand your pain so well,” Cienna told her. “We have so much in common, and I know Jessamine does as well. We have both lost so much, too.”
“I have to admit it was hard when I lost Prince Aaron,” Ariana replied with a furrowed brow. “He still loved to sail out on the open seas, and his ship was lost in a storm. I was so sad I hadn’t been able to cast mermaid’s kiss on him to save him, and it broke my heart. I couldn’t stand to lose another prince, so when I saw Joe go overboard, I had no choice but to help.”
“Prince?” I laughed. “No, not me. I’m a plumber, not a prince.”
“Well, you are married to princesses now,” Jessamine reminded me, and a sly smile spread across her face. “Prince Joe… it definitely has a ring to it!”
“I would like to learn more about your marriage,” Ariana mused as she looked between my wives and me. “It seems different than any customs we have in my kingdom.”
“Well, it starts with--”
“Jessamine,” I hissed. “Not right now!”
“She’s going to find out sooner or later,” the raven-haired beauty informed me with a huff. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Let’s make it later,” I chuckled. I wasn’t sure at this point that Jessamine didn’t keep bringing up the ritual just to get a rise out of me, but it was working.
“Oh, no, something didn’t occur to me,” Ariana gasped and covered her mouth. “Maybe you would be more comfortable somewhere else, like the throne room. I just brought you to my chambers without thinking, but this isn’t usually where I’d meet heads of state.”
“Please relax,” Cienna replied with a smile. “We are here not only as your allies, but as your friends. This is wonderful, and there is no reason we can’t sit and talk here. Although… I’m not sure how we can actually sit down.”
She gestured to our floating bodies, and I thought she had raised a good question.
“Oh, of course!” the redhead laughed. “I can sit and rest on my tail, but I have a solution for the three of you, as well. We developed a special type of armor for Prince Aaron and any other humans who came to visit. It’s weighted, so it will hold you down to the floor, and you will be able to sit, lie down, and anything else you need to do to rest. If you need to swim again, you can simply flip a switch, and you will float.”
“Wow, that sounds really advanced,” I praised.
“Yes, the scientists in my kingdom worked hard on a solution for that,” Ariana informed me. “Let me go grab the armor for you.”
The red-haired princess swam out of the chamber’s open door back out toward another part of the palace, and I looked at Cienna and Jessamine to see what they were thinking.
“Cienna, have you started to trust Ariana yet?” Jessamine asked. “She seems so sweet and kind, it’s hard to imagine her working against us.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.” The blonde shook her head. “The greatest spies can hide their true personalities easily. But aside from that, I haven’t found anything to doubt about her story so far. I don’t know if we should share state secrets with her yet, but I’m happy to stay here and learn more about her problems. Joe, what do you think? Aside from her beauty, that is…”
“I know, I know,” I responded. “This is obviously a serious issue. I agree with you, Cienna. She seems to need help, so I think we should stay and see what we can do. I know we were on a mission to help Princess Rachel, but I’m not sure how we would reach Rachel’s kingdom at this point anyway. Ariana might be able to help, but then we’d have to tell her about the message we received. Let’s just wait and see for the time being.”
“That sounds good to me,” Jessamine said with a nod. “I really feel for her. She seems so sad about what’s happening in her kingdom--”
The dark-haired princess stopped speaking abruptly when she saw Ariana swim back into the room.
“Here’s the armor,” the redhead told us, and she held out several gleaming items. The pattern on the armor reminded me of the shimmering scales on her tail, except they were only in varying shades of green. “It is crafted of the skins of sea snakes and specially weighted with volcanic rock. I have been told you can barely feel it when you put it on, except it will allow you to walk the seafloor like a human. It just snaps around your legs. Here, let me show you.”
My legs were closest, so she took one of the pieces of armor and fastened it around my calf. I shivered a little at the redhead’s soft touch and thought I saw sparks, and I found myself wondering if she was, in fact, one of the princesses who would ultimately become my wife.
“Here, Joe, you do the other one,” Ariana said shyly, as if she could read my thoughts. “I’m sorry to presume we were close enough to put on your armor for you.”
“Oh, no, Your Highness, it was fine,” I reassured her. “I didn’t mind at all.”
“O-Okay, and please call me Ariana,” she stuttered. “Jessamine, Cienna, why don’t you put yours on as well?”
We all finished putting the shiny green hides around our calves, and I was amazed when we all immediately sank gently to the floor of the chamber. There were intricately carved stone benches placed around the room, and it was now easy for the three of us to walk over and sit down on one of them. Ariana sat in a chair opposite us, and it was fascinating to see her sit down as easily as if she had a pair of legs.
“Do you want to tell us more about what’s been happening in your kingdom?” I asked the redhead.
“Yes, I suppose it will be good to have someone to talk to about it after all this time,” Ariana sighed. “It feels like I’ve been ruling alone for so long, though I suppose it’s only been a few weeks.”
“Both Jessamine and I rule our kingdoms alone, and it was definitely hard to get used to,” Cienna replied in a comforting voice. “You’ll be able
to do it, too. It gets easier.”
“Okay, so I know I mentioned Eudora,” Ariana began. “I know she is behind all of this trouble, but she largely remains behind the scenes. In addition to the poison, there have been random attacks on my people.”
“What’s going on?” Jessamine breathed. “That sounds terrible.”
“Well, Eudora has a general who seems to be causing most of the trouble,” the redhead explained. “His name is Morgar, and he’s a huge serpent, bigger than one of the houses in the city you saw on the way to the palace.”
“Sounds like a leviathan…” I muttered.
“What’s that, Joe?” Jessamine asked.
“It just reminded me of a mythical creature they talk about back in my world,” I told the princesses. “It still amazes me sometimes that these things are real here.”
“Well, that’s Fairyland for you,” Cienna sighed. “There are monsters around every corner, so the world is lucky to have badass princesses like us and a hero like you, Joe. Go on, Ariana, please tell us more about Morgar.”
“Well, the worst thing Morgar has been doing lately is attacking random citizens of the kingdom. He has the power to send huge shocks through the water that go through our peoples’ bodies and injure them terribly, or even kill them.”
“Sounds like some kind of electricity,” I informed the princesses. “That’s what they call a big shock that travels through water and can kill you.”
“Yes, electricity, that sounds like the same thing,” Ariana said and nodded. “He seems to be striking commoners at random, and that’s part of what makes it so terrifying. And then, there’s the poison…”
“Can you tell us more about that?” Cienna asked as she leaned forward. “I know this must be very painful for you to talk about.”
“It is,” the redhead sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. “But you need to know everything if you are going to be able to assist me. So, Morgar has also been poisoning commoners. Similar to these… electricity… attacks, he releases clouds of poison near their homes. The attacks can affect many people at once, and my people, the mermaids and mermen, are terrified.”
