A Tail of Two Mermaids

Chapter Sixteen: LORELEI

On Open Library Day, before Nixie headed to the Royal Library of Atlantis, the false princess had used bright red lipstick, created from coral pigments, to put fake Seagull Pox spots on Princess Lorelei's pale face and slender arms. For every meal, Marie, the head royal housekeeper, brought a bowl of warm clam noodle soup, which was supposed to be a natural remedy for Seagull Pox, on a tray to Lorelei's room.

Crown Prince Delmore had a beautiful and sweet-smelling bouquet of bioluminescent sea flowers sent to the true princess. Attached to the lovely bouquet was a hand-written note that said "Get well soon, Nixie! Your new friend, Delmore". Of course, Lorelei had appreciated the deeply thoughtful gesture, but it stung like a jellyfish that Delmore thought she was Nixie, his "new friend".

Would she ever work up the courage to assert herself and tell the Crown Prince of Atlantis the truth? Nixie's right. I really am a spineless jellyfish, thought Lorelei. She was terrified of the consequences of disobeying Nixie's whims.

Princess Lorelei's emotions churned like a tempestuous sea. She felt like was drowning in a tidal wave of frustration, her mind racing with thoughts of Delmore and Nixie. Lorelei tried to focus on The Submerged Kingdom, the book she had borrowed from the Royal Library, but the words on the page blurred together like schools of fish darting in different directions.

After a while, she started to softly sing an old Baltican merfolk ballad to herself. That was what mermaids from the kingdom of Baltica tended to do when it seemed like all hope was lost. "If my dear mother knew, her heart would surely break in two!" Princess Lorelei sang.

That night, she could not sleep a wink. The princess had tossed and turned in her comfortable, queen-sized bed, all night long. Lorelei's soft sea sponge pillow was stained both by the phony Seagull Pox dots on her face and her saltwater tears.

Early in the following morning, King Piscine and Lady Marguerite, the Captain of the Atlantean Royal Guard barged into Princess Lorelei's bedchamber. She sat up straighter on her bed. Lorelei felt her pulse quicken at the sight of the duo of intimidating merfolk. Had Nixie said something to them, and gotten the real princess in even deeper trouble?

The King of Atlantis audibly cleared his throat. "Young mer-lady..." the monarch uttered. "My dear son, Crown Prince Delmore, has expressed some...suspicions to me." The tone of Piscine's voice was measured and deliberate.

Lorelei's heart skipped a beat. "Suspicions, Your Majesty?" she repeated, futilely trying to sound calm.

"Yes" replied King Piscine, his green eyes narrowing slightly.

"For one thing, you don't really have the Seagull Pox, do you?" Lady Marguerite questioned. The Captain of the Atlantean Royal Guard's muscular arms were crossed over her chest.

"No..." Princess Lorelei admitted hesitantly. "I don't...".

"Tell me, young mer-lady" urged King Piscine, his voice gentle but firm. "What is the truth about you and your Tailmaiden? We sense that there is more to the two of you than meets the eye".

Lorelei shook her head. "No...I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I can't...I can't tell you..." she stammered. "I had...I mean, she made me solemnly swear to Amphitrite that I wouldn't tell anybody...". It was against the Forty Commandments of Amphitrite for a mermaid or merman to break a promise they made to the Goddess of the Sea.

The King of Atlantis appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Did you swear to the Goddess of the Sea not to write about your secrets? If you put it in writing, but did not verbally tell us, you wouldn't technically be breaking your promise to Amphitrite, would you, young mer-lady...?"

Princess Lorelei had to admit that was a pretty clever loophole. From the beginning, she had known that there were more holes in Nixie's scheme than a dozen delicious seaweed donuts. "I suppose, Your Majesty..." she sighed.

"So, I suggest that you write down the truth about you and your Tailmaiden" said King Piscine. "Please leave out no details, no matter how small they may seem. Write it all down, and we shall investigate further".

"Okay..." Lorelei murmured, and then she nodded her head.

"That's a good girl!" exclaimed the Captain of the Atlantean Royal Guard.

Marguerite continued to hover over the tail of Lorelei's bed, while Piscine left her room. A few minutes later, the King of Atlantis returned with kelp parchment, a seabird feather quill, and an inkwell filled with squid ink in his large hands.

"Here you are, young mer-lady" King Piscine said. He handed Princess Lorelei the writing materials. "We shall give you some privacy to write. Lady Marguerite, the Captain of the Atlantean Royal Guard, and I will wait outside your door. Take all the time you need".

Lady Marguerite nodded in agreement. "Be sure to write down everything".

Once Piscine and Marguerite had swam out of her bedchamber, and shut the door behind them, Lorelei pulled the seabird feather quill that her mother, Queen Alda of Baltica, had given her before she left for Atlantis out of her shell-case. She wanted to write with that, instead of the quill that King Piscine had handed her.

Her heart pounding, Lorelei began to write. I am really Princess Lorelei of Baltica. On the way to Atlantis, Nixie, my Tailmaiden, pointed a human weapon, which she had found in a sunken ship, at me, and demanded that we switch identities. Then she stole my royal jewelry. Nixie told Marie, the Head Royal Housekeeper, that I like to be kept busy from low tide to high tide, so I have worked at the palace's oyster farm with her grandson, Pons. I swam into His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Delmore at the Royal Library of Atlantis. He mentioned Open Library Day, and I agreed to volunteer at that event. Yesterday morning, Nixie pointed the weapon at me again, and told Crown Prince Delmore that I had to stay in bed due to a severe case of the Seagull Pox. Your Majesty, this was not easy for me to write, as I'm scared of how Nixie will react if she found out, but you and your son deserve to know the truth.

Lorelei opened her door and handed over her written statement to the King of Atlantis. "Do you solemnly swear to Amphitrite, the Goddess of the Sea, that you have written the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" asked Piscine.

"Yes!" Princess Lorelei affirmed.

"I must take a closer look at this in the throne room" stated King Piscine.

"I will accompany you, Your Majesty, if I may" Lady Marguerite said. "This is a matter of great importance, so I'd like to review the statement myself".

After some time had passed, the King of Atlantis, the Captain of the Atlantean Royal Guard, and Crown Prince Delmore entered Lorelei's room. "I have carefully compared your handwriting to one of your letters to my son" said King Piscine.

Delmore smiled at Princess Lorelei, his green eyes sparkling like emeralds. Her whole body tingled when he took her hand in his. "And it was a perfect match! There are no doubts in my mind that you are indeed Princess Lorelei of Baltica".

Lorelei's blue eyes welled up with tears as she heard the Crown Prince of Atlantis's words. She was overcome with a mix of strong emotions: relief, gratitude, and joy. Her pretty face felt hot, and her heart raced.

Lady Marguerite's wicked grin shot across her face like a bolt of lightning, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "I've got a great plan that's gonna give that Tailmaiden of yours just what she deserves!" declared the Captain of the Atlantean Royal Guard. "I've never liked that little sea witch, you know!".