The Sea Taketh (Alex Singer) (37 page)

             
“You can expect a thorough interrogation and assessment. After all, you are engaged to a high prince.”

*     *     *

Haunting harp music echoes through the corridor. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I’m far more nervous than even before a fashion show. Forcing myself to breathe, I follow Kerstin into the sitting room.

             
Candlelight flickers across the walls, the scent of roses tickles the nose, and polite laughter can be heard.

             
Christian meets me at the door, and I am shocked by his appearance. He is dressed in a white uniform with dark blue pants. Medals and a royal insignia decorate his chest. Being at ease in his attire, with his head held high, I know that this is the real him. Yes, he is able to let his hair down, but he is a leader in his realm. Power simply emanates from him. I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier.

             
“Why aren’t you wearing shoes?” I point to his feet.

             
He smiles. “Merfolk only wear shoes when they are in the presence of humans.”

             
“So you don’t mind that I’m wearing these?” I lift up the skirt of my gown and show him the fluffy, pink slippers hidden underneath. Kerstin gasps in shock.

             
Christian laughs loudly, picking me up in an eager embrace.  “Marjory is correct when she refers to you as the ‘smart beauty!’ I’m glad that your feet will remain warm during the course of the evening.”

             
Someone clears their throat behind us.

             
“My apologies, Father,” Christian turns around. I follow his example.

             
Kerstin was correct when she said that Christian looks very much like his father. The High King has bright blue eyes and blond hair like Christian. However, he is a head shorter than his son. Being immortal, they could easily be mistaken for brothers instead of father and son. Still, there is an undeniable power emanating from him. The Atlantic High King is not to be trifled with.

             
“Father, I would like to present you to my fiancée, Alexandra Singer. Alexandra, allow me to present you to my father, High King Kelp of the Atlantic Realm.”

             
Before I can incline my head, I am caught up in the High King’s arms. He tenderly kisses each of my cheeks. He may be powerful, but he is also kind. Kerstin was right. We will get along just fine.

             
“Alexandra, I must say that it is an absolute pleasure to meet you!” he says. “And I must tell you that, had we known about you earlier, we would have made the journey to visit you in Maine.”

             
“My son is very protective of his privacy, too protective at times,” Christian’s mother says as she joins us. In contrast to our earlier meeting, she looks me up and down, scrutinizing every detail.

             
“I have every right to be protective of my privacy,” Christian says, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Mother, allow me to formally introduce you to my fiancée, Alexandra Singer. Alexandra, this is my mother, High Queen Miriam.”

             
“I would like to apologize to you for my inexcusable behavior, yesterday,” says High Queen Miriam. “I assure you, my actions were due to my surprise not disappointment.”

             
“I have already forgotten about it,” I say, trying to be polite. I suspect her explanation isn’t true but reason with myself that it’s best if we put the whole episode behind us.

             
“Thank you for your graciousness, Alexandra.” She, too, hugs me and kisses my cheeks. Directing me to the sofa, she says, “Now, we would like to hear all about you.”

             
The High King and Queen spend the next hour grilling me about every aspect of my life. They ask me about school, modeling, and Seaside. I imagine meeting your fiancé’s parents is difficult, but knowing High Queen Miriam and High King Kelp are older than the Roman Empire makes them a hundred fold more intimidating. I am extremely grateful when we finally move to the dining room for dinner.

             
“Where’s everyone else?” I whisper to Christian when I see that only Gramps is waiting for us.

             
“The Realm knows my family is here, so the cottage is on lockdown. Henrik, Sven, Sonia, and Jen are in the security room,” he replies.

             
“Don’t you think it’s odd to have them working while we’re eating?”

             
“They loath formal occasions and are much happier where they are.” He kisses my hand. It’s interesting how much his level of formalness has increased since I first met him. I guess it goes with the territory.

             
“They’ve got the right idea,” I grumble under my breath.

             
Christian laughs, lovingly kissing my lips. “We are going to enjoy a delightful meal with my family. I even determined the menu with you in mind.”

             
The meal is unlike anything I’ve eaten before. Seven courses of the richest, most fattening dishes, all made with seafood, are served. I eat small bites of each course, so I’m not stuffed before dessert. The merfolk devour everything without a second thought. Gramps, however, is more interested in celebrating our engagement than eating. He empties glass after glass of the Kelps’ expensive wine.

             
“I do so like fresh oranges,” High Queen Miriam says as she eats a dish of orange sorbet.

             
“That is the reason there are two cases in route to the castle for you and Father for Christmas,” Christian tells her. “They are from Alexandra and me. I had pineapples and mangoes delivered to Grandmother and Grandfather.”

             
I wrinkle my nose. I thought merfolk liked seafood. Christian sees my expression and takes my hand.

             
“Produce is very expensive in Atlantis. I send fresh fruits and vegetables to my family whenever I have the chance,” he explains.

             
“While we’re on the subject of Christmas gifts,” says the High King. “Christian, your mother and I are gifting a text of Homer’s to you as we know of your fascination of his poetry.”

             
“Where did you locate it?” he asks before sipping his wine. I no longer wonder why he behaves like a spoiled brat at times. His parents gift him with priceless artifacts.

             
“In an ancient shipwreck in the Mediterranean,” he replies. “It was written on a clay jar.”

             
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I look forward to reading it.”

             
“Yes, and we also have a gift for Alexandra,” High Queen Miriam interjects, forcing a smile in my direction. “We would like to put your mind to ease. We will finance your college education.”

             
Kerstin squeals. “Alex, you just have to go to the University of Atlantis! That’s where I’m going. We can spend our free-time together!”

             
“Mother, that is very thoughtful of you. However, I plan on financing Alexandra’s education,” Christian says.

             
“Oh, no,” exclaims the High King. “Your money is to be used for your enjoyment. With how hard you work, you aren’t to want for anything. Your mother and I are delighted to have a second daughter joining the family, and nothing would make us happier than to ensure Alexandra receives a quality education.”

             
Loud, uncontrollable wailing erupts next to me. “My g-girl will be f-fine!” Gramps sobs, drunkenly. He puts his head on the table and wipes his eyes on the tablecloth.

             
“Gramps, it’s all right,” I say to him. “Do you want to go to bed?”

             
He shakes his head as he continues to bawl.

             
“Thomas, it’s been a long day,” Christian says. “Perhaps it’s best if you go get some rest.”

             
“A-anything for you…” Gramps stops talking and a loud snore finishes the sentence.

             
Christian gestures for a couple mermen to take Gramps to his room.

             
High Queen Miriam shakes her head. “The poor man, it’s a shame he’s made such a fool of himself.”

Fact #
16 – Merfolk are prejudiced against humans.

Proof – Christian’s mother
!

             
I completely lose it and break my own rule of thinking before speaking. I immediately push away my dessert and stand. “Excuse my grandfather for not having been born with the advantages of merfolk. Yes, he’s nothing but a human, but he’s a remarkable human! He was born into a poor family and has worked day in and day out since he was a child. He was blessed to find the love of his life with he was still a young man only to tragically lose her after only a few short years of marriage. Then he raised my mother by himself only to lose her, and my dad, too. Gramps wasn’t blessed with immortality, but he’s done incredibly with mortality. Everyone in our village respects and likes him. He’s a good and honest man. This is the first time I’ve seen him drunk, and the only reason he indulged is because he’s celebrating my engagement to Christian. He’s so happy to add Christian to our family that, yes, he went a little overboard, but I believe he deserves some empathy!”

I throw my napkin on the table and storm out the door.

Hypothesis #11 upgraded to Theory #10 – Christian’s mother wants to feed me to a great white shark.

Observations – Ignoring, glaring, shrieking
, and utter contempt directed towards me.

*     *     *

I shiver as trudge through the snow in my slippers. I’m so angry I can’t think straight. I simply put one foot in front of the other, not caring where I’m going. I’ve never heard someone talk about Gramps like that before, and I never want to again.

             
“Hey, Alex!” shouts Jen behind me.

             
I keep on walking, but my wet slippers and heavy dress slow me down, making it easy for her to catch up. She wraps a blanket around my shoulders.

             
“W-what’s the d-damage?” My lips tremble from the cold.

             
“I never laughed so hard in my life!” she replies. “Girl, you and Christian are just made for each other. We were watching the security cameras. After you left, Christian said, ‘Everything on my mind has already been said, and very eloquently at that.’ I left after that and didn’t hear anything else.”

             
“It was probably a bad idea to tell off the High Queen of the Atlantic Realm,” I say as we walk.

             
“No, Sven told me that we will face prejudice because we’re humans, but the quickest way to stop it is to stand up for ourselves. Merfolk respect force of character.”

             
“Force of character? Jen, what are we doing?” I ask. “It’s not like we’re going to visit another country. We’re going to a whole new world, a world that doesn’t like or want us.”

             
“It’s not like we are popular in our own world, at least I’m not.” She looks at the ground in the moonlight.

             
“People only like me because of the way I look, not because of who I am.  A lot of people think that I’m an easy, airhead because I model. I can deal with that because I know I’m not, but how do we fight biases against us when they’re true? We are humans.”

             
“Yeah, but we’re not everything they expect humans to be. We’ll just have to show them that they’re wrong, not all humans are the same.” She smiles slyly. “Maybe we should introduce the High Queen to Vanessa? Afterward, she would have to admit that you are a treasure in the human world.”

             
I look around and find I can’t see the cottage anymore.

“Jen, do you know where we are?” I ask.

              “Nope,” she says, kicking some snow.

             
“And you’re not concerned?”

             
“Nope, security’s so tight here that we couldn’t get lost, even if we wanted to. Watch this.” She pulls a small, flat remote out of her coat pocket. She pushes a button and talks into it. “Hey, my big, handsome fiancé, a little help here. We’re lost and freezing.”

             
“Turn around and walk straight, my little, stinging jellyfish. You’ll meet up with us in about a minute,” Sven’s voice replies.

             
“Could you have the chef warm up some hot chocolate while you’re at it?” Jen says.

             
“Anything for you,” Sven responds with a laugh.

             
“Shall we?” Jen turns around and gestures for me to do the same. We begin the hike back to the cottage.