5 Princes and I(Preview Only)

Chapter 62 Not so Friendly Fish

Chapter 62 

I was thinking of a fish mutant, but I guess a mermaid is acceptable.

"Haven't you seen one before?" She said and flipped her hair.

I closed my mouth - not trusting myself to speak - and shook my head. Her eyes cast downward towards the bota bags beside me and her eyebrow raised. "Getting some water?" She asked.

I nodded my head as my answer because I was so tempted at this point to scream.

"Let me help you with that." With one powerful push of her arms, she hauled herself up, scooped the bota bags, and swam a semi-circle around the lake at an impressive speed before coming back to shore. "Believe it or not, the water is fresher at the center. You're welcome." She said and placed the filled bota bags beside me. When I didn't speak, she started to frown. "What? Can't you talk?" She said.

This time, I tried using my voice to avoid offending her. She's friendly, and it would be rude for me not to say thank you. "Um...Thank you." I said.

Her face seemed to light up, and she did a backflip in the lake before coming to the surface again. "You can talk! And you have a beautiful voice." She said.

"Thanks...you too," I told her bashfully. A mermaid just said my voice is beautiful! Now, this is something that I have to brag to Stella.

"My name is Hira."

"Rose."

She rested her hands on the edge and stared at me. "Never have I seen a girl come into these woods before. And judging from those bags I carried, I assume you're not alone? Are there more girls with you here in these woods?"

I snorted as I thought about the princes. "Yes, I am not alone, and no, they are not girls. They're boys, actually."

At the mention of 'boys,' I noticed a change in her facial expression. It became sour and bitter like the word alone was poison. "You're traveling with men?"

"Princes."

"And they're princes?" Her voice rose, and I could see her face turning red. She started to swim around and mutter something that I couldn't quite understand. She was making me dizzy with all her movements.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Men. Princes!" She yelled and swam back towards me. "A pretty girl like you traveling in a group full of those.....creatures!!"

"Is...that a problem?" I was gradually backing away. When I see a red flag, I know it. Trust me, I am an accident-prone person, so I try to be as cautious as possible.

"Yes, it is!" She screamed. "Men only bring women misfortune! Take a look at yourself. They're ordering you to bring them water! Those slacker pigs." She gave a snarl.

"To be honest, I kind of volunteered for the job."

"Women should not perform heavy labor!" She hissed angrily. "Women should be considered superior to men. They are the reigning monarch!"

With the way she was behaving right now, I was getting so uncomfortable hanging out with this sexist mermaid that I wanted to grab the bota bag and flee. "Sure," I said as I reached out to grab the bota bag's straps without her noticing. "Do you think they should get down on their knees and kiss our feet or tail?" I said for the sake of humoring her. Before I could reach the bota bags, her hands shot up and she grabbed my hand. I screamed.

"Exactly!" She said. "And you are not going back there again with those men."

She caught me off guard, and I looked at her with fear in my eyes. "What?" I made a squeak.