Ursula's Beginning

5. One might question your upbringing

Ursula awoke to shouting outside her front door. She had slept solidly but it was early, still dark. She threw a cloak around her body, pulled open the door, and peered out. A blowfish and a lanternfish charged at her. She watched with dread as the blowfish inflated.

"Come quickly! It's the king! He's taken a turn for the worse!" he blasted excitedly. His companion darted around her head, blinding her.

"Alright, give me a moment!" she hissed, slamming the door. "So bright, yet so stupid," she fumed, rubbing her eyes. She slipped on yesterday's crumpled shirt and rushed to the mirror; her hair was even crazier than before and there was no time to fuss with it.

"Pssst, cuties!" she whispered to a cage on her vanity. The baby piranhas inside started to stir. "Hold my hair back in a spiral, like a snail's shell," she instructed. "No swim-aways."

She lifted the top of the cage and they swarmed her head, then spaced themselves at neat intervals and burrowed in until all that was visible was the metal-gray tips of their tail fins. Their strong little jaws held everything firmly in place. "Good! Now, no funny business, you understand? You bite me, or anyone, and I'll have you as breakfast on the go."

The piranhas tittered merrily. They loved her, as she had rescued them from one of the temple's storage pods right after they had hatched. Ursula chuckled at their squeaky laughter. "Be good, and we'll get something for you to eat after my work is done, ok?" They wiggled with joy.

She rejoined her obtuse messenger and his sidekick and together they took off for the temple. It was a blur of faces and voices upon arrival; all she perceived clearly was Ephram telling her to carry out the vitality spell at once, and then she found herself alone with the king. He was struggling to breathe and more colorless than ever. She wasted no time in casting the spell, solidly memorized by now, using supplies she had stored behind his bed the night before.

There was nothing to do now but wait, and the adrenaline rush that had shot her out of bed and propelled her through her task was wearing off. She pulled aside Amoret, a fellow cecaelia that served as one of Nepp's morning attendants, and told her she'd be in the courtyard if anyone needed her. Then she weaved her way through the crowd and swam until she was hidden from view among the magical coral.

She rested, praying for the king's recovery. Then she began to slowly pace the corridors of enchanted labyrinth. Light filtered through the colorful canopy above her head and dappled the ground beneath her. She studied these soft beams as they danced upon the sand, and her mind quieted.

As she rounded a corner, Ursula saw the immense rippling back and evergreen scales of Alphon. She turned silently to reverse course, but it was too late. He whipped around, and his face lit up when he saw her. Like watching a ghastly statue come to life, she thought to herself.

"Ahh, Ursula! The woman of the hour!" His emerald eyes flicked across her body. She saw that he was absentmindedly ripping the legs off a starfish as he surveyed her, allowing the limbs to float to the ocean floor like petals from a withering plant.

She rushed him and tore the animal from his hands. "What are you doing?! Idiot!" she spluttered angrily. She crouched before him to collect the discarded legs of the tortured animal.

"Mmm, feisty. Is that any way to address your future king?" he purred.

She looked up at him, silent and furious. As she glowered, he looked straight into her eyes for the first time. A small smile played at his lips. "I like you down there. Stay. That's where you belong, kneeling before me." He cocked his head to one side. "It suits you."

Ursula shot up instantly, propelling herself backward and spiraling to leave in one quick motion. He darted around her in a flash and blocked her exit.