"Princess Ara Happy Birthday!" the servants of the kingdom nodded their heads in respect as I pass them. Each of them smiled, wishing me a cheerful birthday.
"Thank you all! Thank you!" I beam, showing off my smiles of appreciation to the merpeople of Alynthia. I continue swimming until I pass the room where my banquet was being prepared. I had to make sure to look normal while trying to sneak away to the forbidden waters. I needed to find Tails first, so we could venture to the sunken ship. I had some last-minute nick nacks and items to collect before my banquet tonight. As I swim past another hallway, I see my father looking over some papers in his throne room.
Oh no! How could I pass him without being seen?
I rushed over to a hidden nook just before the opening of his throne room and hide. Just as I tried to turn around to find another path to escape, I hear the rumbling tone of my father's voice.
"ARA!" he calls out.
Of course, he had seen me...
A deep breath fills my lungs before I turn to face him and his intrusive questions. "Father!" I smile, swimming towards his throne chair. "I did not see you in here!" I giggled nervously. I was trying to act as sane as possible but my father did not match my cheery disposition.
"Where are you off to Ara?" he challenges, not caring to fill our conversation with pleasantries.
"Oh, you know...?" I smiled again, praying he would not pry any further.
"I do not know Ara, that is why I asked you" he sighed, peering over the top of his lengthy scroll. Just before I thought of an excuse to give him, a sea guard barged in.
"My king, you are needed in the western wing of the palace," they announced. He looked over at them, contemplating their urgency before turning his attention to me.
"Ara, you are not going to the sunken graveyard?"
"No Father! Of course not" I objected rather extravagantly. "I would never father!" I chuckled restlessly. He contemplated my bellows of protest but knew he had to focus his attention on the developing obstacle,
"Fine...but make sure you take Tails with you and be safe. I need you in once piece for your banquet tonight"
"Oh thank you father" I clapped, swimming over to kiss his cheek before flipping away. I would finally get the last piece of shiny rock I had been eyeing in the distance. But first I had to find Tails!
"And Ara?" he calls out a final time.
"Yes father?"
"Do not be late for your banquet. Understand?"
"Yes, father. I understand" I promised, making sure to meet his eyes so he understood my sincerity.
____
"Come on Tails! don't be such a scary horse!" I whisper, dragging his tiny tail as we ventured deeper into the sunken ship. I had already found so many nick naks and thingiebobs but I had still not found the shiny rock that glowed. I needed to find it today! It was my own birthday promise to myself to see what it was.
"Squekkk Squeak" tails says. (imagine a rubber duckie squeaking)
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"No tails! Just a couple of more things and we will be done." I whispered, rolling my eyes at his timid nature. You would think after all our undersea adventures and near-death experiences, he would be accustomed to this!
I push another rigid nik-nak into my small sack to take back to Derah. He would always make sure to tell me of all the uses for my human treasures. Although he was a merman, he was more so a hermit who lived in the outskirts of the kingdom. Everyone feared him, thinking he was some sort of crazy deranged sea witch but I knew better. He was not only wise but very kind. Plus he told me what to finally do with my thingamabob. I loved it so much! Especially hanging it on the mirror near my room. It had made putting on my clothes so much easier.
I had been swimming along the murky waters of the abyss, almost giving up on my quest to locate the shiny pebble but then, I saw it! Its radiant light flashed against the scales of my fin before it disappeared again. I shot through the waters, swimming deeper to grab it, and finally, I did. It was covered by a dismembered figure of dry seaweed, but it was here.
My eyes narrowed as I took a more intimate look to distinguish it. It wasn't a pebble at all. "TAILS LOOK!" I screamed, holding the small....well..... I didn't really know what it was, or what to call it, but it was very pretty. Tails squeaked again, biting a piece of my hair to lead me away from the ship.
"Okay! Okay! I am done Tails!" I sighed, rolling my eyes at his scaredy nature. He squeaked again but of course, I didn't really understand what he was saying. "Sometimes I wish you could talk, you know?" I muttered, scratching his forehead so he would relax. I think sometimes, I pretended to understand what he was saying so I could remain sane.
He squeaks again, flipping and swirling before abruptly stopping altogether. I am still so transfixed on the shiny globbybobber, that was the name I decided to give it just now, before I turn my attention onto him. "What tails? What are you looking at?" I whisper, trying so hard to decipher the person or thing he had seen. It was weird, but it felt as if someone...was watching us?
No! It couldn't be. No one was brave enough to venture into these murky waters, plus the king had formed a barrier around these parts. No one could pass without his powerful triton. I of course had found a way around his barrier of protection. I had to or I would have never been past my room.
"Squeeeek!! Squeak squeak squeakkk!!" he squawks, pulling my tail and leading me away to the surface.
"All right! Alright, Tails I get it. We have to go anyway before I am late for my banquet. Father swore I would never touch the surface if I was. Let's go." I sigh, pushing the globbybobber in my small sack and following Tails to the safer waters of the ocean. I couldn't wait to show Derah my new find and learn all about the history behind it.
___
But what Ara did not see was someone watching her from the shadows. She did not see it that day or even the days before when she ventured away from the barriers the king had placed around the kingdom, but today was the day that person would follow her back to the place in Alynthia, They thought it was due time to wish the princess a very happy birthday.
Author Note
When Tails said "squeakkkkk squeak squeak?"
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