What Lies Beneath the Water

Mother Dearest? (45)

**Aqua's POV**

"Happy Birthday, Seahorse!" My dad yelled at the top of his lungs while swimming towards my bed to shake me away. He did this every year. it was one of our traditions, and on his birthday, I would grab my trumpet and play a random song as loud as I possibly could.

"Thanks, Dad!" I jumped out of my bed and gave him a hug. He kept hugging me and spun me around before straightening himself back up to his king posture.

"Seahorse, by royal decree you are ordered to have fun on your birthday." He tried to keep his face as straight and stern as possible, but when I looked him in the eyes we both broke out in a fit of laughter. "But in all seriousness, you need to go to your room upstairs and get ready for your ball. When you are done with your hair and makeup, I will be in the court dining room, waiting for you to eat breakfast." He kissed my forehead before swimming away.

The mermaid castle named Castle Arcanna Pulcherrima was as the name implied, a castle of beautiful mysteries. It is my castle named after me, the Enigmatic Princess. I had it made back when I was in Balance with Her Majesty Queen Mia Rose I. Upon returning, Dad and I moved because the old castle held too many painful memories.

Arcanna Pulcherrima was extremely unique in not only architecture but in the fact that only about half of the castle is shown to the public and that is the upper half above the ocean. It made it so that we could have foreign diplomats without having to cloak them in magic to breath underwater. It was also charmed so that merfolk could be on land without the mermaid sickness. It allowed Dad and I to keep some aspects of our lives private. With that being said I had two rooms. One underwater where I actually slept and spent my time and one above water where it is open to all those who wish to see it and it is connected to my office where I spend my time learning and doing my royal duties.

I made my way upstairs until my tail was replaced with my legs, and I grabbed the closest dress and undergarments. I then continued up to my room upstairs where they worked on my hair and makeup. My hair was a fancy bun with a few pieces of hair left out to frame my face. My makeup was very glowy, but still simple and strong. They also brought someone in to do my nails which ended up being a marbled gray with gold and silver.

They soon left my room, and I took my ring off and locked it in a safe place in my office. I then replaced it with two thin silver rings on my pointer finger, one on my ring finger, and one on upper part of my middle finger all on my left hand. I kept my fingers bare on my right hand except for my pointer finger which held my family crest.

The next set of jewelry that I put on was my earrings that were dangly circles that matched the silver circles on my dress.

I stopped there and made my way to the court dinning room where I sat in my usual spot across from Dad. I grabbed the fork and butter knife and dug into sweet peach crepes with whip cream. I just couldn't forget the whip cream. It was a staple in my diet and life.

I kept eating my food and watched how my dad was staring at me. I could tell that he wanted to know what made me so upset, but he was waiting for me to speak on my own terms.

"I had a hard time yesterday because some people that I respect immensely banned me from seeing some of my friends. The situation brought up some old feelings, and I couldn't just force them down like I used to. I had to feel that pain to get over it." I said honestly. "But if you don't mind, I would rather talk about something more lighthearted."

Dad nodded his head and took another bite of his food and chewed it before saying, "Did you hear that Tomoe and Kou took on a new student? It was all over the news after they supposedly announced it at the Academy. I wonder who it is." I immediately broke out into a fit of laughter which left my father so confused.