the Little Mermaid (2023) [H.S. x J.C.]

Chapter seven

Harry isn't the only one whose silly obsessions are causing some frustration. Above the sea, the morning sun rises over the royal castle, and Queen Monique, the adoptive mother of Prince John, sits at the dining table for breakfast. Luke sits to her right, but the place set for John remains conspicuously untouched.

Luke is finishing an update on the crew's recent misadventures. "I'm afraid that most of the cargo is unrecoverable," he says. "A few minor injuries, but thanks to John's bravery, the men fared well."

John's bravery has always been one of his most admirable qualities, but it's also one of the main reasons the queen finds herself in a constant state of worry. Minor injuries, Luke says, but there was nothing minor about the panic she felt when her son was brought into the castle half unconscious and bleeding from the head.

He's okay, she reminds herself. She looks up at Luke. "Well, thank goodness no lives were lost."

He nods. "Indeed."

The queen sighs. "This restless nature of his concerns me. Undertaking these dangerous voyages—" She cuts off as John enters the room. His head is bandaged, and his skin has taken a concerning pallor, but at least he's finally up.

"Any sign of that boy yet, Luke?" John asks.

Luke and the queen exchange glances. After all he's been through, this is the first thing on his mind?

"Have some breakfast, please," the queen insists. She even asked the chef to prepare some of his favorites.

"We looked, sire," Luke tells him. "There was no boy."

"You were lucky to have made it to shore before you passed out." the queen adds.

John shakes his head, with a familiar stubbornness blazing in his eyes. "He was real. He saved my life."

"Sit down, John."

"I'm not hungry, Mother."

Why do children never take their own well-being seriously? She couldn't possibly have been this difficult when she was his age.

"I'm worried about you," she says. "You've not been yourself since the shipwreck."

John turns to Luke. "Have you checked the neighboring islands?"

"Not all of them, but—"

"Then I will."

At this, Queen Monique must put her foot down. "No, you will not. You are not leaving this castle until you're feeling better." Especially not to search for some mystery boy no one else has even seen! she thinks.

John pulls the bandage off his head. "I'll feel better when I find him."

His mother crosses her arms. "Do not think you are using this boy as an excuse to run off again, risking your life on some trade ship for the sheer adventure—"

"Sheer adventure?" John is incredulous. "I'm reaching out to other countries, so we don't get left behind. Did you know on this last trip we traded our cane for twenty cases of quinine? They use it in other countries to treat malaria—"

"And where are those twenty cases now? At the bottom of the sea." John's intentions are noble, but they aren't enough to lessen the risk of his behavior. "How many shipwrecks have there been in our waters this year, Prime Minister?"

"Six, Your Majesty."

The queen nods triumphantly. "Did you hear that, John?"

John holds back a half of frustration. "Of course I did."