My Weird Secret Life

Chapter 7: Watching My Mouth

      Now I was in deep trouble. I had "tried to steal the queen's treasure," my big mouth started talking, I had talked without permission and I almost froze the so-called "queen." I'm not sure if that last one was a crime though . . . I ducked my head back down and softly apologized. The queen hissed at me,"Watch your mouth, little peasant!" Then she spoke up so the whole ocean could hear her roar,"The audacity to question me as queen! To the dungeon! NOW!" I winced. The guards started swimming toward me. I didn't know what to do. I was starting to panic again, I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. My hair flailed up, like in the cave and white flashed across my eyes. The guards that had been advancing toward me, paused and looked over to their queen for an order. The queen gazed for a moment longer a little distressed it looked, but made the guards continue their work. I couldn't burst out into white streaks like I had in the cave. I might've hurt someone. I closed my eyes and held my breath. Then slowly, slowly, let it out to catch myself. The guards grabbed me by the arm and put on handcuffs . . . made of shell. "Sorry is never a good enough answer. Remember that!" I thought I heard a hint of emotion in the queen's voice that didn't reflect anger and I looked up. I was so close to crying, again, and my breathing was acting up again. When suddenly, Kai couldn't stand it anymore either. "Don't take her. It wasn't her fault. It was me, I led her here and-" If looks could kill. The queen glared so hard, Kai shrunk under his cloak. "Fine! If you want to protect her so badly then you both can share a cell. Now take them out of my sight. But please, someone grab the girl a blouse first, my goodness." After the last comment, was when I realized all the women were wearing a fabric blouse to cover the scales across their chest. I flushed and pulled on the cloak as best I could to cover me up. Then I stared at Kai and thought, he seems like a good fella. Loyal too, unfortunately, he stood up for me for nothing because now we were both going to the dungeon. I frowned and followed the guard. Kai smiled a bit when he caught up to me. "Just a moment," the queen said. The guards, Kai and myself turned around to see the queen pointing at me. "Bring her to me later on tonight. We are going to have a chat." The men and women behind the queen shook their heads sadly, some looked like they were praying. What were the queen and I going to talk about? What would she do to me? The guards nodded and we were off.
      After swimming quite a ways around the palace, we arrived at a dim, stone place to which no living being swam around or plant lived. The guards guided us into an elevator, up a few floors, past sleeping merpeople and into a gray, mucky, old cell with algae growing from the bars. And there was a tiny window up by the top smaller than my hand. Even better, the ginormous open clam with a single pillow might I add, was brown. Gross. Was it supposed to be a bed? They threw us inside and one of them said,"We'll be right back." Looking around, I noticed Kai staring at the open clam. "Why are you staring at the clam like that? Is there something wrong with it?" "Yeah, are we supposed to share this or did they go to get another?" Kai was right. How were we both going to sleep comfortably? Were we going to take turns? Were one of us going to have to just lay on the floor, because I was most definitely not sleeping in the same bed as someone I just met. "Oh, I really hope they're getting another bed. Not that I wouldn't wanna sleep with you." My cheeks had never darkened as red as they did then. "That came out really wrong, b-but right at the same time. I mean like-I don't want to technically-" fortunately, the guards interrupted.
      "We came back with food and your blouse. There is a list of things to do tomorrow and what you're going to do for your service." I swam to the cell barrier and asked,"Do you mind if you get another clam? We kinda need it, as you can see." The guard looked around the small room, then to me, then to Kai. "I don't know, and honestly I don't really care because it's like not my job to do that kind of stuff." The guard yawned. I slipped on the black blouse with white emblems and swirls, still embarrassed by the fact that I had swam around the kingdom with no blouse! I didn't know what to do. Kai that whole time was just staring at me. When I turned around he said,"We could take turns." I threw myself on the floor and said,"I don't know if we should do that, this floor is really uncomfortable. And we would float in the ai . . . I mean the water, of course." Kai looked at me like I was missing something. "If you didn't know, inside of cells, well where I come from, there is no floaticity so we wouldn't float." What was he talking about? And what was floaticity? "Oh um, yeah, I had that too where I grew up. I know what you're talking about." I swam over to the bed, threw the pillow at Kai and curled up in the clam.

    Someone was shaking me harshly. I grabbed their arm and pulled it. A frightened woman yanked her arm back,"Don't do dat! It hurtz!" I exhaled and rubbed my eyes,"What do you want?" I moaned. The woman grabbed my arm and pulled again,"Where are you taking me?" I whisper-shouted, I didn't want to wake up Kai. She practically dragged me to the queen's bedroom. The woman politely knocked and the queen answered,"Come in." The queen sat in a huge clam made for six and everyone would still have space. The glamorous and ginormous chandelier above us shown colors of purple, pink, and the slightest tint of orange. The queen took off her sleeping mask and sat neatly in her bed with her hair straightened out behind her unlike the braid bun she was wearing the last time that made her look so intense. She sat peacefully on her bed and no matter how superior and angry she had looked earlier with her crown and sitting on her throne, she looked undeniably beautiful now.
      I floated still. The queen waited for the woman to leave and then motioned with her finger for me to swim over. Reluctantly, I swam beside her bed and waited for her to speak. It took her awhile like she was trying to think of the correct words. "Where do you get your information from?" She asked slowly. Information? "I'm sorry to say that I don't know what you're talking about." And honestly I didn't, but maybe I had a small hint. "Where did you get the preposterous idea that I am not the true queen?" She said faking a small smile. "I apologize for what I said earlier, it was wrong for me to doubt such a-" I gulped down a smart comment about her queenliness,"great queen such as you are, your Majesty." I bowed and turned to leave but her voice cut me short,"Don't you dare try to swim away. Come here, right now."
Her voice was so cold and vicious I thought I felt a breeze go over. She patted the spot beside her. I sat down but was ready to swim as fast as I could away from the crazy lady. She took a deep breath calming herself. "I don't know who you are, and I don't get out much, but I know you don't belong. At least not here." She was straining her voice as if she was containing so much of herself from strangling me. I gulped, her voice was icy. "I know every face in my kingdom and you aren't one. Yet . . . you are so familiar." Familiar? Did she know my mom? Could she see the resemblance?! Did she know who I was?! Will she . . . was she going to KILL ME?! On the inside, I was thinking of all the possible ways she could kill me and all the possible ways I could escape, while on the outside, I was calmly listening to the queen. "Understand this peasant," she spat. "if you ever try to embarrass me like that again, there will be way worse consequences than just a talk-to. If you know what I mean." She grabbed something under her silk pillow. Something shiny, then I saw the handle of a butcher knife. I hopped off the bed, eyes wide and not trying to hide my fear anymore. She gripped my arm pulling me down so fast and so far that she was whispering in my ear. "Don't cause any more trouble, my koi will be watching." She shook me away from her and with sweat gathering on my T-area, I did a slight bow. A guard escorted me back to my cell but I couldn't go to sleep. I mean how could I when someone higher in ranks than me just threatened my life?