The Sea Princess and The Storyteller

Chapter Thirteen: DERIN AND JEWEL

      Following a delicious breakfast of sea bean falafel, Derin and Crown Princess Jewel had an absolutely lovely time riding giant seahorses through the Reddian royal palace's magnificent Floating Gardens, chaperoned by her two Tailmaidens. The four young merfolk playfully raced each other on seahorseback, their joyful laughter reverberating through the crystal clear waters of the Scarlet Sea, for about an hour.

After returning their oversized seahorses to the royal stable, Jewel and Derin swam back into the palace, hand in hand, with Mayim and Kamilah trailing behind the happy couple. "The two of you are so cute together!" exclaimed Mayim.

All of a sudden, a frightening tremor, unlike anything they had ever experienced, pulsed through the water. The Crown Princess of Reddia gasped, clinging tighter to Derin.

"Seaquakes are supposed to be very rare in Reddia" the former Cave Urchin stated, a frown forming on his handsome, goateed face.

Kamilah shook her head. "I really don't think this is a seaquake..." she said uneasily, her dark eyes narrowed. For a second, the coral walls of the palace corridor blurred and distorted, almost like a shimmering mirage on a blazing hot day in the desert, up in the human world. The quartet of merfolk breathed audible sighs of relief once it subsided at last.

"My precious Jewel! Are you all right!?". King Bahr and Lord Yam suddenly dashed down the hallway, toward the Crown Princess. The monarch's regal face was etched with fatherly concern. Even the Grand Vizier appeared slightly shaken.

"We're all fine, Father" Jewel reassured him.

"I hope no one in my kingdom was hurt due to...whatever in the seven seas that was...". The tremor in the King of Reddia's voice mirrored the one that had shaken his palace moments before.

They all followed King Bahr to the closest sea glass window and peered outside. "Jewel, I've got a feeling we're not in Reddia anymore!" Mayim blurted out, her pretty pink mermaid tail twitching in apprehension. Instead of the familiar sight of the gates encircling the palace, and the many driftwood and coral buildings of downtown Reddia in the distance, the royal palace was now apparently somewhere in the Wilderness. A silvery, Wild European sea bass, that was three feet long, swam by the window. That was a species that was indigenous to the waters near Mediterrania, but was basically unheard of in and around Reddia.

Then a large, dull pearl was thrown through the window, breaking it. "But pearls are made of calcium carbonate, which is softer than glass! It should scratch the sea glass a little bit, but not break it!" remarked Jewel. Even though the Crown Princess of Reddia was extremely sheltered, spending so much time in the palace's library made her surprisingly knowledgeable about a variety of subjects.

Shards of broken sea glass were floating in every direction. Two jagged shards landed on Lord Yam's tail, tiny drops of blood blending in with the Grand Vizier's crimson scales. "Ouch!" he cried.

It was a rather tight squeeze, taking into account his exceedingly brawny build, but Adir was able to enter the palace through the broken window. Deniz swam in after him. "Brother, you're such a pathetic guppy!" uttered Adir, with a roll of his eyes. "That's not even a deep cut!".

"That's not even a deep cut!" Deniz reiterated.

Jewel looked back and forth between Adir and Lord Yam. She hadn't met the Grand Vizier's identical twin brother before. His downright sociopathic reaction to his brother's injury was disturbing.

Adir picked up the Pearl of Wonder and made a show of fidgeting with it. He then cleared his throat dramatically and pointed directly at Derin. "I wish...to undo the ridiculous wish of this wretched little Cave Urchin!".