Of Fins and Feathers

A Lovely Walk

Tommy sits across from his mother, curious about something, yet too scared to ask.

It was simple sense, but he couldn't help but feel that it would be a betrayal on his part.

Not to mention if it was even possible, him being a siren was supposed to be a secret in the first place anyways.

His mother sat there patiently reading a letter from their new guests, trying to see if they had requested anything.

Tommy was nervous, that no doubt was obvious, but his mother didn't seem to mind.

"Sit up straight dear." She says calmly as she looks up to meet his eyes.

He immediately straightens his back and swallows the saliva that seemed to be building up in throat.

"Well?" She asks, an eyebrow quirking up as she sets down the letter and turns her attention completely on him.

"I uh- I was wondering if I could maybe- um, maybe hang out with the new guests?" His foot is tapping on the floor, and his nerves are shooting through the roof.

"If they want your company, and you want there's, I don't see why not. If this is about your genes, you cannot speak to them about it. It's probably hard to not have anyone like you-" She had no idea. "-but we haven't formed an alliance that is near strong enough to tell them one of our deepest secrets. I love you dear, to death, but it's really not possible." She smiles sadly and looks at him with utmost pity.

"Yes mother. Thank you for speaking with me." He turns his head downwards, ashamed and a little disappointed.

"Now now, run along, you have a whole day ahead of you, don't want you to stay here with me the whole time!" She smiles and laughs while shoo-ing him off.

"Alright, I love you mother!" He smiles while walking towards the door.

"Oh I love you too dear!" She has a beautiful bright smile one her face and he knows her words are genuine.

_____

Tommy had a roaring headache, it was so bad that if that one bitch of a servant, Jared, came by, he wouldn't be so sure he could hold back from strangling him after the guy said a single word.

Luckily for Tommy, Jared was off for today, although, I guess that's also lucky for Jared.

Tommy was walking to his room before being stopped by Duke Samuel, his headache made him want to curl up under a blanket in a dark room, but the Duke had other ideas apparently.

"Excuse me young prince, do you happen to know where the gardens are?" The Duke asked, his voice calm and collected.

"Yes, I do, I could lead you to them if you wish?" It was one of those questions that was said more out of courtesy rather than genuinely wishing to.

"If it wouldn't be a bother I would like that," Samuel paused looking to Tommy, seeing Tommy nod his head. "Of course, you don't have to, but it would be nice, and I haven't had the time to truly chat with anyone from the Antarctic Empire."

"Well then, let me lead the way." Tommy said as he started to head down the hallways of the building, his headache was still a nuisance, but he was taught to be able to hide his weaknesses.

"Oh my, are you two on your way to the gardens?" Captain Puffy asked as she saw Tommy and Duke Samuel walking by.

"Yes, Prince Theseus is bringing me to them, as I have forgotten the instructions Prince Wilbur gave to us." The Duke looked slightly embarrassed as he looked downwards.

"Well, do you mind if I tag along?" She asks turning her head to look at both of them.

"Of course you can, if it's alright with the young prince?" He directs his question to Tommy.

"I don't see why not." He says as they make on there way.

________

There was idle chat between the Duke and Captian, and Tommy joined in a couple of times, but his headache prevented him from being very talkative.

Once they made their way to the gardens, the two others looked in awe.

"You know, for a place that's covered in snow a majority of the time, you sure do have tidy and lively looking gardens." Captian said as she raised one of her eyebrows is a silent question.

"Well, we only plant annuals, plants that come back every year, and propagating plants, with the exception of really hardy plants like amaryllis and Christmas cacti, but we also have greenhouses for that reason as well, every one of the royals has their own flower to their name so we have greenhousesto grow them." Tommy says as he moves his right hand in the direction to the greenhouses.

"Wow, that's so interesting, would you tell us what the flowers are?" Captian says, seemingly very intrigued.

"Well, Prince Wilbur is a Desert rose" Tommy says, withholding the reasoning behind Wilbur's flower.

"General Blade is monkshood" The beautiful blue flowers popping up in his mind and the words.

"Emporer Philza is bleeding hearts" As beautiful as tragic.

"And Empress Kristen it the withering rose." It resembles her way to be kind, but ruthless all the same.

"And yours?" Duke Samuel asked.

"That's the thing, we don't know what our own flowers are, you'll have to ask my brothers, but you can't tell me once you figure it out though." He was curious, but he liked not knowing, the flowers most of the time, marked your danger level, his father's was surprisingly one of the least.

"If that happened to me, I'd be digging so deep to find out what mine was." Captian said.

"Well anyways, here's the gardens, what were you looking for?"

"Oh, your mother made that pool, it's really bad for mer to be out of water too long!" Captain Puffy smiled.

"I didn't know that." Tommy said, looking down to the ground.

"Well, you wouldn't, you're not a mer." Samuel said patting Tommy on the back.

"Well, it's the last greenhouse beside the gardenias." Tommy says after awkwardly laughing.