Princess of Mermaids

by A. G. Marshall

  Fiora resurfaced and sang softly, practicing her part for the ceremony and letting magic seep into her voice until waves swirled around her. She reviewed the more difficult passages in the song a few times, checking to make sure she was breathing in the right spots and perfectly in tune.

  She was. Perhaps whatever had gone wrong earlier wasn’t her fault after all. Fiora knew her notes. She had control of her magic.

  She would perform tonight as she had performed at countless Princess Tests. Hopefully with better results.

  She should swim back. The ceremony began at sundown, and she needed time to get ready.

  Fiora studied the castle a moment longer, drinking in the sights of the human world before she submerged. A man stood on a balcony looking down at the water. He was too far away for her to see more than his silhouette, which hopefully meant he was too far above the water to see her. The last thing she needed was to break mermaid law by interacting with a human.

  Fiora dove beneath the waves and swam away from the shore. When she was a safe distance from land, she sang with her full voice. She pushed as much magic as she could into the melody, creating a current in the water to carry her back to the summer city.

  6

  Gustave walked through the castle to his office, taking the long way around to avoid running into anyone who might want his input on anything. He wanted to deal with the problem of his birthday gala before he got swept up in the rest of his duties for the day. He just needed a few minutes of quiet to regroup and strategize before he faced his grandmother.

  But when he flung open his office door, the room was already occupied. Gustave paused in the doorway, wondering how Marquis Corbeau had managed to get there before him.

  “What is that?”

  The marquis stood next to a dressmaker’s mannequin wrapped in billowing, white fabric. Gustave blinked in confusion, and Marquis Corbeau shook his head in a patronizing way.

  “This is a wedding dress, Your Majesty. Placed on a dressmaker’s form to show it off to best advantage.”

  “Yes, but why is it in my study?”

  “It is for your bride, of course. Did you sleep well? You’re a little slow this morning.”

  Gustave took a deep breath and let it out in a soft sigh. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t slept well. Not that anyone actually cared.

  “Marquis Corbeau, I have told you this more times than I can count. I am not getting married until we find my father. Not to mention we are in a time of crisis as we rebuild the harbor. In spite of your impressive efforts, I have not found a bride in the short time I have been back in Montaigne, and I have no intention of doing so.”

  The marquis shrugged.

  “You’ll never find a bride with that attitude, Your Majesty. We had Princess Carina’s marriage contract practically signed, and you managed to mangle that. I’m taking precautions to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  “And how will a wedding dress help? You don’t even know that this will fit the woman I choose. It might be out of fashion by then.”

  Marquis Corbeau smirked.

  “When you do find the right woman, there will be no need to delay to plan the wedding. I’m arranging all the details now to make sure we are ready. The designers assure me this classic silhouette will stand the test of time and flatter any figure. They’ve made the gown in a number of sizes just to be safe, and the fit can be altered in a matter of minutes.”

  “Minutes?”

  Marquis Corbeau was ever an optimist and strategist. In different circumstances, it was admirable.

  Right now, it was beyond annoying.

  Was this his revenge for Gustave’s refusing to marry Carina?

  Or perhaps punishment for the way he kept going behind the marquis’s back to help merchants?

  If not, that certainly hadn’t helped matters.

  Gustave studied the dress. It was elegant, but that wasn’t a surprise. Montaigne was known for its good taste in fashion and everything else. The white satin was trimmed with pearl beads and embroidered patterns of seashells. The full skirt and trim waist would flatter most figures. Marquis Corbeau had even set white shoes decorated with matching pearls beside the dress. Doubtless those were available in a variety of sizes as well.

  “Your Majesty must marry sometime,” Marquis Corbeau said. “Why not sooner rather than later? Think how nice it will be to be fully king. To be able to make decisions without the approval of the council. The budget meeting I scheduled this afternoon to discuss Princess Collette’s hospitality would be completely unnecessary.”

  “This afternoon?”

  Yes, this was definitely revenge. Blast it all.

  Gustave was so frustrated that he considered the marquis’s proposal for a moment. Given how often he disagreed with the council, it would be nice to have the power to decide matters without their oversight.

  All he had to do was find a bride.

  Gustave tried to imagine the woman who would wear the gown. When he did marry, Marquis Corbeau was stubborn enough to insist that his bride wear this exact dress.

  Gustave’s mind remained stubbornly blank whenever he thought of his wedding. He tried to replace the wooden mannequin’s features with those of a living, breathing woman, but nothing stuck. Even in his imagination, his future bride remained far out of reach. She was something to consider when he found his father and figured out how to balance his duties as king with the attention his love would deserve.

  Right now, Gustave couldn’t even find the time to breathe.

  A breeze from the open window teased the fabric, making it dance around the mannequin. Music floated on the wind, and Gustave walked out on his balcony to look for the source of the song. Someone was singing. A woman.

  He searched the shoreline but couldn’t see anyone. Her voice seemed to come from the ocean itself.

  “It will move beautifully at your first dance,” Marquis Corbeau said. “Won’t that be nice? You and your bride twirling around the dance floor. Your arm wrapped around her waist. Her eyes sparkling as she smiles up at you, silently asking for a kiss.”

  The singing grew and filled Gustave’s senses. For a moment, he could see it. The daydream swept him away, and he pictured himself hand in hand with a woman on the beach. He still didn’t know what she looked like, but he knew her voice. She sang as they danced, providing the music since they were alone.

  The singing stopped, and Gustave came to his senses. He glared at Marquis Corbeau.

  “You’re trying to tempt me into marriage with talk of kisses? That’s low even for you.”

  “I will do whatever is necessary to ensure the future of Montaigne.”

  “I don’t doubt that.”

  The men stared at each other, neither willing to look away and admit defeat. The marquis looked decidedly unashamed for resorting to underhanded tactics.

  “Gustave, are you in there?”

  Collette danced through the door. Her smile faded when she saw Marquis Corbeau.

  “Forgive me, I didn’t realize you were in council. I just wanted to let you know that I decided to give the merchant a room for the night. He had nowhere else to go. Is that alright?”

  Marquis Corbeau gave Gustave a knowing look before turning to Collette.

  “I’m sure that’s perfectly fine, Princess. I’ll see you in the budget meeting this afternoon, King Gustave.”

  “Fine. Please take this dress with you when you go, Marquis.”

  “I think not, Your Majesty. The council and I recently decided to redecorate the castle, and we are starting with your office.”

  “That’s-”

  “Completely within our power until you marry and assume the full responsibilities of the kingship. The dress stays. Good day, Your Majesty.”

  Collette bit back a smile as the marquis bowed and left the room. Gustave raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Sorry, but he must be desperate if he’s resorting to fashion and decorating to persuade you to marry.”

&n
bsp; “I appreciate his efforts to secure the future of Montaigne, but this is getting ridiculous.”

  Gustave grimaced and looked around his study. The room was made from marble and trimmed with blue tile. Several large windows provided a view of the sea and Montaigne’s harbor. Apart from the floor to ceiling bookshelves lined with ancient texts, the room had few decorations. The swirled marble was decorative enough.

  It wouldn’t be nearly as nice when Marquis Corbeau was finished with it.

  Gustave realized he had wrapped his arm around the mannequin’s waist at some point and hastily let go. Blast Corbeau, the fabric was soft. It would be fun to dance with a woman wearing it.

  “That’s a nice dress,” Collette said. “Does this mean you’ve chosen a bride?”

  “No. You’ll be stuck with your responsibilities as lady of the house a while longer.”

  “Grandmother takes care of most of those.”

  “Yes, I heard she’s taken an interest in my birthday gala.”

  “With a vengeance, and she’s recruited Marquis Corbeau to help. I expect the guest list will consist largely of eligible young ladies.”

  Gustave groaned, and Collette’s eyes twinkled.

  “If you’re truly desperate to escape, you could tell everyone you’re heartbroken over your failed engagement to Princess Carina and pay a state visit to Aeonia. You might be able to win her away from Prince Stefan if you’re extra charming.”

  “I think it’s best if I stay away from Carina and Stefan for the time being. For many reasons.”

  Most of them being his sanity. Gustave appreciated Carina’s cleverness and Stefan’s… well… he didn’t quite have the words to describe Stefan. But their recent adventure in Santelle would make him think twice before visiting the pair in Aeonia. Even if that visit would get him out of his birthday gala.

  Collette grinned.

  “I’m joking, of course. I never thought you and Carina would be a good match. But Grandmother and the marquis won’t give up, you know. Everyone in this castle is determined to see you married.”

  “Even you?”

  Collette tried to look innocent.

  “Of course not, Gustave! You’ll find the right lady in your own time.”

  “Blast it all, Collette. You have someone in mind, don’t you?”

  She shrugged.

  “Maybe. Was I that obvious?”

  “Let’s just say you’re no Carina.”

  “Fine, I invited someone to your gala that I think you’ll like. Maybe you’ll do better with a normal girl than whatever crazy political match Marquis Corbeau dreams up next.”

  Gustave realized he was playing with the pearls on the wedding gown sleeve and stepped away from it. Blasted dress.

  “You know I can’t think about marriage, Collette. Not while Father is out there.”

  He stared out the window where the ocean stretched to the sky. The song had faded, leaving only the sound of wind and waves. His sister stood beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “But you could, Gustave. You can move forward with your life without giving up on Father.”

  “No, I can’t.”

  “Gustave, what if he isn’t out there? What if the ring is wrong?”

  “Don’t tell me you refuse to believe in magic now. After the Princess Test and the kraken?”

  “Of course I believe in magic, but you have been looking for almost a year. Father wouldn’t want you to waste your life obsessing over magic we don’t fully understand.”

  “This charm finds people, Collette. It only points light towards people who are still living.”

  “You shouldn’t pin all your hopes on a magical light.”

  But he should pin them on a single woman?

  Gustave raised his hand and stared at the signet ring his father had given him before he disappeared. It had an enchanted ruby set in a gold band marked with the royal crest of Montaigne. Dwarf made. The ruby gleamed in the sunlight.

  Gustave raised the ring to his lips and whispered to the enchanted gem.

  “Find King Francois.”

  A red light shot out from the ruby and pointed towards the sea. Gustave pulled a compass from his pocket and checked the direction. It hadn’t changed since the last time he looked.

  It hadn’t changed in months. That should have meant his father was in the same place, but their searches had led to nothing.

  “Maybe the mermaids have seen him,” Gustave said. “I should have asked them about it when I had the chance. Maybe they turned him into a frog like Prince Stefan.”

  “I hope not. I don’t think Father would do well as a frog.”

  Someone knocked on the door. Gustave opened it and did his best not to frown at the servant, who bowed low before delivering his message.

  “Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but there is an urgent matter of state that requires your attention. Marquis Corbeau requests your presence in the throne room immediately.”

  Gustave sighed and hurried away to the throne room. Apparently his few moments of peace and quiet would have to wait.

  7

  Zoe was still practicing in the library when Fiora returned. The young mermaid stared so intently at the seashell carved with her notes for the ceremony song that she didn’t notice Fiora swim in.

  Fiora circled the library as she looked for a place to hide the golden ball. The room was round like a sphere and lined with shells of every shape, color, and size imaginable. Light filtered in through artistically carved gaps in the structure and gleamed off the shells, creating a magical effect that Fiora had always loved.

  It had been a shock the first time she visited a human library. All those straight lines filled with paper books felt so static and artificial. And why did the books all look the same when they contained different information?

  Underwater libraries were organic, like something grown rather than made. The merfolk carved stories and songs onto shells in curving lines of text that followed the shell’s shape rather than trying to make everything uniform.

  Fiora found a large clam shell carved with a record of Madame Isla’s observations of the Seawolfe. That should be a safe enough hiding place. Nobody but Madame Isla was interested in the work habits of a merchant ship, and Madame Isla would be too busy sorting through the kraken wreckage to read this for a while.

  Fiora hid the golden ball under the shell and pushed it into the sand to make sure it stayed. She wished she could carry the ball with her, but she had nowhere to store it. None of this would be necessary if mermaids had pockets.

  Or clothes.

  She sighed, sending a stream of bubbles floating towards the top of the library. They gleamed like jewels in the light and caught Zoe’s attention. The young mermaid turned away from her shell and waved to Fiora.

  “How did your practice go? I’ve reviewed my notes so many times I feel like I wrote them!”

  Zoe hummed, creating a current that carried the shell she had been studying back to a crevice near the top of the room.

  “I feel ready for tonight.”

  At least, as ready as she would ever be. Zoe beamed.

  “It is exciting, isn’t it? Our first time performing with our royal sisters!”

  If Fiora had been the same age as Zoe, she had no doubt this evening would have been the highlight of her young life. As it was, this concert was simply something she had to do. Another step on the journey to prove she belonged under the sea.

  The vision of King Gustave and Carina at the picnic flashed through Fiora’s memory. Maybe she wouldn’t have to prove she belonged with merfolk if she could return to the humans.

  “Zoe, have you ever studied transformation magic?”

  Zoe’s eyes darted up to a section of the library that held large conch shells. Fiora followed her cousin’s gaze and mentally marked the spot.

  “I learned a few of the songs, but I’ve never performed them. Why do you ask?”

  Fiora shrugged, trying to sound casual.


  “I overheard someone mention turning a human into a frog.”

  Zoe giggled.

  “Kathelin did that to Prince Stefan while she was trying to retrieve the Kraken Heart. Althea was going to kill him otherwise.”

  Fiora wasn’t surprised. Althea could be rather intense and didn’t like anyone standing in her way. Not to mention that Prince Stefan was so annoying Fiora had been tempted to kill him herself a few times.

  “How exactly do the transformations work?” Fiora asked. “Do you sing them as you would any other enchantment?”

  Zoe’s face fell.

  “You want to leave again? Fiora, you just got back.”

  “No, I don’t want to leave!” Fiora lied. “I’m just curious about the magic. I was thinking about how my ring works and wondering if there are ways to accomplish the same thing through songs.”

  She twisted her ring around her finger, frowning at the useless, dull pearl. Zoe glanced at the ring, then back at the conch shells.

  “I don’t think it’s the same. Your ring relies on human affection, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes. It uses the love of a human man to transform the mermaid wearing it into a human.”

  How exactly it did that, Fiora couldn’t say. As far as she knew, her ring was the only one of its kind.

  Maybe because human emotions were fickle, and it was safer to rely on the magic in your voice than someone’s feelings.

  “Althea made the ring,” Fiora said. “Do you think she made other transformation enchantments?”

  Zoe shook her head.

  “Althea doesn’t do that sort of magic anymore, but Madame Isla uses it to help her studies sometimes. She wrote the song Leander used to transform into a human when they were looking for the Kraken Heart.”

  “Leander transformed into a human?”

  Zoe looked up to the conch shells again and frowned, as if realizing she had said too much.

  “We should go, Fiora. We need to get ready for the ceremony.”

  Fiora resisted the urge to look at the space that held the transformation songs and followed Zoe out of the library instead. She would return later to see if the shells held any useful information.