A Tail of Two Mermaids

Chapter Fifteen: DELMORE

Crown Prince Delmore of Atlantis could not help but notice that there were many things about Princess Lorelei of Baltica that just didn't add up. In person, she acted like a completely different mermaid from the sweet and scholarly princess who had been his pen pal for years. She was blatantly flirtatious, constantly batting her eyelashes, which he found far more irritating than it was endearing. He also once happened to overhear her arrogantly bossing Nixie, her faithful Tailmaiden, around.

In her letters, Lorelei had often written about how much she loved to read. The princess had claimed that whenever she swam into a library or book shop, her anxiety seemed to completely melt away. No one else in the Baltican royal family shared her passion for reading, so Princess Lorelei immensely enjoyed discussing merfolk literature with him in their correspondence.

He had so looked forward to showing Lorelei the incredibly impressive Royal Library of Atlantis. Delmore had understandably assumed that the princess would be quite eager to explore the Royal Library as soon as possible. But much to his surprise, when he had suggested that they visit the Library, on her first morning in Atlantis, she had adamantly insisted that they go to the Atlantean Indoor Shopping Centre instead. At the Shopping Centre, Crown Prince Delmore couldn't believe that she showed no interest in browsing through The Deepest Depths of Knowledge, his favorite bookstore. She had begged for him to buy her a new, expensive seashell bra top from Fin & Fashion, the most exclusive boutique in the Shopping Centre.

The next day, she had once again refused to visit the Royal Library of Atlantis, so they went giant seahorse back riding through the Atlantean Royal Gardens. Even though Felipe was supposedly Princess Lorelei's bonded giant seahorse, she had shockingly fallen off the majestic, copper-colored sea stallion's back, not just once, but twice.

Lorelei had told the Crown Prince of Atlantis in her letters that she liked art almost as much as she adored books. Last Feast of Amphitrite, Delmore sent her a watercolor painting of the Goddess of the Sea that he had painted himself. She wrote him that she loved the painting so much and hung it above her bed. Yet whenever he asked the princess what she thought of this or that piece of art decorating the corridors of the Atlantean royal palace, she abruptly changed the subject.

She even seemed pretty uncomfortable when he talked about majoring in Arts and Mermanities at the University of Atlantis. Crown Prince Delmore was currently on semester break from the prestigious University.

When Delmore swam into Nixie at the Royal Library, he was the struck by the stark contrast between the Tailmaiden's gentle smile and the vain and shallow attitude of the princess he had been spending time with. As he exchanged a few words with Nixie, he realized that she was so much more like the Princess Lorelei he had expected to meet. She was intelligent, kind, and genuinely passionate about books. In fact, Nixie seemed to embody everything that Lorelei had claimed to be in her letters.

With her petite figure and heart-shaped face, the Tailmaiden even looked exactly as he had expected Lorelei to. As far as Crown Prince Delmore was concerned, Nixie was more beautiful than Princess Lorelei, though he acknowledged that a lot of mermen would disagree.

The Crown Prince of Atlantis had been so glad when Nixie had agreed to volunteer on Open Library Day. His heart had sunk like an anchor when Lorelei let him know that her Tailmaiden was, all of a sudden, bedridden due to a bad case of the Seagull Pox. Seeing Princess Lorelei place a copy of Of Sea and Land: The Untold Story of a Mermaid Princess by MerLisa Dwyn, which was supposed to be one of her favorite novels, on the wrong shelf in the Royal Library caused something to click inside of the Atlantean prince's brain.

Ever since he was a little merboy, Delmore occasionally had psychic dreams that revealed important information to him. The night after Open Library Day, the Crown Prince of Atlantis dreamed that both Nixie and Lorelei were floating in front of him. As he looked closer, their pretty faces began to blur and shift, just like the sands on the ocean floor. Suddenly, Nixie's lovely face transformed into Princess Lorelei's face, and vice versa. "I am Princess Lorelei of Baltica, and this is my Tailmaiden, Nixie" said the mermaid who he had thought was Nixie. Then Delmore woke up and sat up straight in his seashell-shaped bed.

"Nixie is really Princess Lorelei, and Lorelei is really Nixie..." he whispered to himself.

Crown Prince Delmore sought his father, King Piscine, out. The King of Atlantis was an early riser who usually began holding court in the throne room before low tide.

King Piscine looked up from the kelp parchment scrolls he was reviewing and raised an eyebrow. "Delmore, my dear son, what brings you here so early?"

"Father, I think something very fishy is going on..." Delmore said, his voice low and urgent.

Piscine's green eyes widened in concern, and his brow furrowed slightly. "What under the sea do you mean, my son?"

The Crown Prince of Atlantis took a deep breath and started to recount his dream and his suspicions about Princess Lorelei and Nixie. His hands gestured animatedly as he spoke, emphasizing his points. Piscine listened intently, his expression growing more serious by the minute.

King Piscine leaned forward on the raised crystal dais that served as his throne. The monarch stroked his white beard thoughtfully. "I see" sighed the King of Atlantis. "And what do you propose we do about it, Delmore?"

Delmore hesitated, his silver fins twitching. He was unsure of what to suggest. But he knew he had to get to the bottom of things, one way or another. "I think we need to investigate further, Father. Maybe there's a way to definitively prove, once and for all, that Nixie is really Princess Lorelei, and vice versa".

"Very well, Delmore" King Piscine said, nodding his head.