Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

again. Were all merpeople weird and hypnotic like that?
    So I just watched the water and waited from a distance.
    They had to return soon. They had to.

45
FIN

    Somehow, I’d fallen asleep. This was the last thing I wanted to do as I waited for the King to show up. I’d only closed my eyes for what seemed like a half a second when someone grabbed me and sliced something sharp across my arm.
    I looked up as a goon restrained me and another held a peculiar green plant against the cut. A tingling sensation began to trail through my limbs, taking with it all my fight.
    “ He won’t be any trouble now,” the third goon, who held the knife, said to some unseen person behind him.
    I tried to stay upright, ready for my confrontation with the King, but slumped down, suddenly overcome with exhaustion. Through the doorway two tittering mermaids entered, carrying armloads of supplies and clothing. They came towards me, singing their sweet melodies. I forgot my anger and closed my eyes while they played with my hair and put different shirts on me. Off to the side I heard Mom interacting with someone as well.
    I remained drowsy and eventually opened my eyes. The mermaids were gone. I brushed my hands over the shirt they put on me, which glistened with hundreds of tiny black, polished stones. The weight draped the garment snuggly across my chest and arms.
    “ I guess I’m all set to give up my life to Lily,” I said sleepily as I grinned at Mom.
    She looked like an angel with her hair pinned around her head, adorned with gems and shells. Only, she wasn’t smiling back. “That’s not funny. What about Ashlyn?”
    Ash’s beautiful face came to mind. “Oh, right,” I snorted, “let’s go find her.”
    She looked back horrified and shook her head. “Finley, you have to fight what they’ve drugged you with. Drink in some water.”
    I swallowed a few gulps, then burped. She sat down, resting her forehead on her hand. Even though my inebriated state made everything seem trivial, I couldn’t deny her worry. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have the strength to care.
    “ Aw, Mom,” I said and sat on the side of the chair, covering her shoulder with my arm. “It’ll be okay, just like you said.”
    She shimmied away and continued to knead her hands together when someone unlocked the door. The same goons who’d poisoned me motioned for us to exit the room. My heart, which should have started to pound, remained at a steady pace.
    They escorted us to a large ballroom in the center of the palace. I somewhat expected to see a mass of people, but found a small group of strangers in attendance—mostly females. The front of the room was typical of the décor of the rest of the palace: colorful sea anemones placed on marble columns were staggered between brilliant coral gardens. Vivid fish darted around the display. Definitely not lavishly decorated with items from all over the world, like the King said.
    Mom leaned into me and whispered, “I’m hoping for a miracle.”
    I looked at her and snickered. “Miracle? I think it’s a little too late.”
    “ Just . . . just don’t kiss Lily, whatever you do.”
    I shrugged and let her pull me inside.
    “ Welcome,” a mermatron at the door said. “And congratulations. I’m the promising coordinator. Maggie, you’ll wait here to be escorted once the ceremony starts and Finley, you’ll stand on the dais to the right of the King’s attendant. For now you can sit in a chair over there.”
    At the ends of her hot pink braids floating in the current, snake faces appeared and hissed at me.
    “ Eeew,” I said and moved backwards.
    My mother grabbed my arm. “Finley. Stop it.”
    I wrinkled my face and shook my head—the snakes disappeared. All I remembered her say was that the King would be standing up front with us. “The King is promising us?” I asked.
    Her brow creased. “No, the King’s attendant will be. The King is escorting Tatiana down the aisle.”
    “ What?” I let out a gust that flapped my lips. None of this was right. Dad should be taking her down the aisle, not Leon. “And Tatch is going to let him?”
    Mom nudged me in the side and gave me a hard look. “Fin—” She pointed to the front of the room. “Have a seat. I’ll handle the details.”
    I rolled my eyes and followed her instruction, knocking over a sea star sculpture in the process.
    Through the doors on the left of the room, a group of merboys filed in and hovered behind a huge harp. They