Celeste

29.

The first show started when silk streamers and underwater lanterns were tossed into the tank. Lily, who was shy and quiet, opened a box with gold bangles and chains inside. She decorates herself and Shelly in turn, and they look beautiful.

The bangles lead from their wrists to their shoulders, connecting to a silvery chain mail shirt, which looks uncomfortable. They dress me too, and clip decorations in my hair, painting around my eyes with dark stuff.

I try not to cry at my reflection, mind on the three black pearls under my bed. Shelly says the king tortures those who cry the pearls, and hoards them to gain eternal life. I managed to catch mine before she saw, and hid them under a dent in the floor, covered with a rock.

Lily quietly taught me the routine, shaking the streamers this way and that, tossing each other the lanterns.
"Why do you do it?" I asked.

"It's either do it willingly or unwillingly." She whispered, shivering at some distant memory.

Finally, the show began with Shelly going from one end of the tank to the other, pointing and waving. Lily gently pushed me out and Shelly and I both went opposite directions, often crossing over and clapping each others hands as we met in the middle.

I saw people at tables, pointing and gasping with awe. The king had his own platform, and watched our every move.

Finally, lily  joined in, rising from the middle, and raising her hands so that we stopped. In sync, we started to shake our tails to and fro, and I could feel the hum and beat of the starting music through the glass. I tried to keep up, and when lily motioned, we both turned into loops either side of her, and dove down.

Shelly had put the streamers there, and we picked them up, leaving glittering ribbon trailing behind us as we circled lily, who twisted and twirled herself to the music.
People seemed to love it, but the king made no notion of anything on his face.

Shelly gave the streamers a shake as lily dove down. We made spirals until lily began to toss us the lanterns, and we tossed them to each other as the beat sped up.
The show went by for almost three hours, with hardly a break. The main part was a mock battle using different streamers, which Shelly was the villain. People cheered as she feigned death, a pole with red streamers under her armpit as she sunk down.

We gave a glittery bow, smiling wide. The audience clapped long and hard, cheering.  The king nodded his head, and a curtain outside the tank dropped, and we were in darkness.

Shelly ripped off her bangles. "Curse that king!"
She shed like a snake, leaving glittery hoops and chains in the stone floor.
Lily picked them up, frowning. "It's only going to get worse, you know that."

Shelly skulked into the castle, muttering.
"What do you mean?" I asked, pulling at my own bangles.

She came to my aid, adding to the small collection in her arms.
"It's almost time the tank is cleaned out, and the sea water is replaced. It's about every two months he does it. He lets us change back for a while. Shelly hates it because...." she sighed.

"Because they make us wear chains, and bid us off for the day. Except for Shelly. The king makes her kneel under her feet, naked."

I gasped, and she nodded. "The blue patches on her face move when she's human. The king finds it pleasing to watch." A pearl, white as snow fell from her eye.

"She hates it, and nothing you or I can do or say will make it any better." She said factually, before swimming off.

Poor Shelly. I followed them inside.

Lily was neatly stacking the bangles and chains away. Shelly sat in her bed, head in her hands. I could only pat her shoulder as I passed.

The night continued in silence. Shelly bought home some fish, and we tucked into the tasteless meat with gusto, leaving a picked apart skeleton behind.
I was exhausted, yawning into my hand. The routine had my tail aching in places it hadn't before.

A thought raced into my head so fast I hurt, and I shuddered. What if they found my pearls whilst they cleaned? I would be in an even smaller cage, tortured for my tears until I died. I decided to destroy them. But how? I had tried before, but nothing ever happened.

Lily swam over, worry in her eyes.
"Are you ok?"

"No. I have a problem. Can I trust you?" I asked, fiddling my thumbs.

"Who can I tell? I'm in a tank with you." She replied, sitting next to me.
I reached under my bed, and fished up a handful of black pearls.

Her face would be comical if not for the situation.
"Oh. Oh shit."

I blinked at her swearing. "I've been hiding them under this rock. What do I do."
She tackled me in a hug. "We're getting out!"

"What?"

"These are explosive when they are knocked together hard enough! Yes!" She cheered.

"I've been crying explosives?" I frown.

"Sound weird, I know, I know. The last girl who made these, lolly, she told the king first. He made her cry as much as he can, until she died."

I gulp. "Good thing I came to you first. How did you know about the exploding part?"

"Oh, ruby showed me. Mitch demonstrated by blowing a heart in the mural." Her face darkens. "When I get out of here, I'm going to make sushi out of him."

"What's that?"

"I come from japan. I learned English when I was young, to fit in. My parents moved and the boat sank. I was the only one that survived. Well. Sort of."
She studied her tail.

"Sushi is fish meat on rice. It's really good." She explains.

"Well I guess I'll try some Mitch sushi with you when we explode us out of here. Will this be enough?"

She counts them. "Nowhere near."