Fairy Tale Treasure (Book Two: The Road to Ever After)

Chapter Nine

The Royal Chamber beneath the Sea was at this moment alive with the festivities surrounding afternoon tea. Mermaids carried teacups made from shells in their daintiest fashion, nibbling on sea cucumber sandwiches and chatting amiably through cycles of girl talk. Pastel corsets and hair ribbons kept the company looking like dolls of refinement, almost porcelain perfection against their milky white flesh. Little girls of Once-upon-a-Time would have delighted in the sight which so charmingly mirrored the way in which their toy mermaids played in the a Time River.

Princess Sarah, however, was not quite naïve enough to be bedazzled by this scene. She stood, as best she could against the water's motion, at the edge of the many cliques enjoying their tea. The human really did not want to mingle, especially as she noted the merfolk did not want her to invade their friendly gossip. When mergirl eyes turned with sneering laughter in Sarah's direction, the princess smiled back with acid coolness. So Sarah played the wallflower, bitterness filling her cup to the point of overflowing.

Queen Aquastasia appeared to be enjoying the daily fete even less than Princess Sarah. She sat atop her proud throne and gazed down on her subjects with an intimidating aloofness. Even when a servant brought her tea and tasties on a tray, the monarch neither spoke nor looked the server in the eye. The queen made it very obvious she considered herself far and away above those other mermaids she ruled. She would not deign to regard a single one. She demanded respect, much like the Pirate King, but without reinforcing that favor with genuine concern and personability that also won her their love.

It's a wonder the Sea of Diamonds doesn't freeze over, Sarah mused to herself. Queen Aquastasia is such an Ice Lady, I can't believe it hasn't affected the waters around here.

And yet...Princess Sarah tilted her head as she looked on the queen on her pedestal. In fact, Sarah felt somewhat sorry for Queen Aquastasia. It was emotionally exhausting to be the odd one out, the respected loner. A position of authority did not induce familiarity. While the merqueen was doing nothing to help her sad state, Princess Sarah understood one unfortunate effect of a royal title was a solitary existence.

Sarah ran her thumbs around the smooth edge of her shell and saucer, deeply brooding on her own prospects. She faced that life of loneliness too, and it turned her thoughts to Prince Daniel. Whatever aspects of his character repulsed her for their sickeningly sweet goodness, Sarah had to admit a life with him was infinitely better than what she witnessed from Queen Aquastasia's example. Perhaps a marriage based on friendship and mutual respect would not be the worst?

Perhaps.

A flighty motion a few feet away brought Sarah out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Princess Eleanora swimming gleefully towards her. Sarah smiled. At least she was not completely friendless down here, beneath the Sea.

Eleanora rubbed her shoulder up against Princess Sarah's arm. "What a serious face you had on just now," she said with wickedly delicious curiosity, "Who were you thinking about? A boy?"

The human princess lifted an amused eyebrow at the way the merteen extended the word "boy" to maximum teasing. Why was it inevitable for some girls to become boy crazy even when there were no fellas in their vicinity?

"Yes," Sarah told the gossip hungry mergirl, "As a matter of fact, I was thinking of a boy. Or, rather, a young man. He's not really a boy anymore."

"And would he be pleased to know you were thinking about him," Eleanora asked. Male-female interaction was a mystery to her, so knowing a princess from up above presented her with a unique opportunity. The mermaid couldn't help but be intrigued by the idea of romance when her queen was so obsessed with enslaving the Pirate King into unholy matrimony. Though still very young, Princess Eleanora discovered her underwater life was missing the sparkle that a touch of masculine fondness can bring.