Ryousuke kept looking out of the window with gleaming eyes, his smile so bright it was almost blinding.
Seikan felt like death.
“It’s been so long since I traveled to such warm waters—look, our scales got so much lighter already!”
The second prince glanced at the lighter, more vivid blue of his tail. It was a pretty shade. And were the reason for their visit not something so utterly depressing, he could have indulged himself a bit more.
“We will stay two days, and not a day more.”
Ryousuke turned to his younger sibling with a frown.
“Nonsense, brother! After it took us so long just to get here, let us enjoy our stay. Also, how do you expect to get acquainted with your fiancée by staying only this long?! For someone who loves to gloat about their adventurous spirit, you are lacking drive, little brother.”
Seikan opened his mouth, yet closed it two seconds later with a sigh.
Well, I don’t want to get acquainted with her.
Indeed, Prince Seikan always had a desire to visit the Undisonus Sea. Not only did it have different species than the ones he was used to seeing, its waters were so vastly different. Clearer, warmer, brighter. It was like a whole new world begging to be explored.
Yet in the circumstances he found himself in, that was not an adventure he wanted to take.
“We were this close to securing a trading route with the Palace of Crystals, brother. Not only that but your own marriage will be held only in a few months—we had many pressing issues to take care of.”
The elder prince laughed, patting his brother on the shoulder.
“You are finally going through something that does not please you, and suddenly you become the most responsible royal of Cobalts. Not a bad sight, brother, not bad at all—ouch!”
As Seikan slapped his brother’s hand away, he averted his gaze. His words, however, showed every ounce of displeasure and annoyance in his voice.
“I just pray we will arrive and leave as soon as possible.”
And to both Seikan's joy and misfortune, his wish would certainly come true. For standing tall and proud far ahead was the Palace of Pearls, in all its splendor.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
The very second they stepped into Pearls, their carriage got surrounded.
“King Taon! We missed you so much!”
“Is the Queen still on her travels? When will she return, you reckon?”
“You folks from Corals always add so much color to these parts!”
“Are those the famous twins?! Oh my, they are so young. They look just like their parents.”
Merfolk and sea creatures alike approached the King and royals of Corals, the bright and rich color of their scales and fins making for a striking difference when compared to the pale and light shades from the merfolk of Pearls.
Eirin sneaked her way out, taking advantage of all the attention her uncle and her cousins were drawing for themselves, relieved when she was not followed as she made her way into the palace.
Though it had been years since her last visit, she navigated those halls with so much ease it made her feel uncomfortable, in a way. What surprised her, however, was when she finally realized where her tail was leading her.
Guess I really missed her, huh?
As she entered the Archive Chamber, it took her seconds to spot her sister.
The mermaid raised her gaze, her eyes twinkling for the briefest of seconds.
“Eirin.”
She smiled, closing the door behind her. “Hey, Rei. It’s been a long—oof.”
In a heartbeat, Princess Reika was throwing herself into Eirin’s arms, holding the older mermaid tightly as she buried her face in Eirin’s chest. Eirin lost some of her balance with the impact, hitting her back against the door.
Yet she was not mad.
Princess Eirin smiled, patting her sister’s head. “I already told you to control your speed. You can hurt yourself if you thrust and swim too fast.”
Reika raised her head, meeting Eirin’s eyes. Though her face was as impassive and stoic as always, the older mermaid could see the small hints of joy hidden in her crystal-white eyes.
“I was punishing you. You said you would visit more.”
Eirin gave her a shrug, her smile crooked. “Sorry…?”
Reika’s expression soured for a second. “No, you are not.”
She wasn’t.
Yet she laughed and hugged her younger sister all the same. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you.”
The younger mermaid puffed her cheeks before burying her face in Eirin’s chest once again.
“Were you enjoying yourself, at least?” Reika spoke with a muffled voice.
“The best time of my life. You should join me, one of these days. It would be fun.”
The second princess let out a weak chuckle, pulling a bit away so she could meet her sister’s eyes again.
“Forgive me if I find the act of singing to sweaty, leggy humans tedious and uninspired.”
Eirin pushed her sister away, her voice flaring with outrage and shock.
“You may dare say such words, yet I shall let you know there is much that can be accomplished by the act. I experimented with so many things, you would be left speechless and jealous, sister dear.”
Reika’s gaze shone with bore and disbelief, her voice just as static.
“Like what? Please, indulge my curiosity.”
And as Eirin opened her mouth to reply, searching her memories for all the fun things she had witnessed that would blow her sister’s mind away, her thoughts steered to slightly different places.
Places where she could hear a melodic and beautiful sound, fall into the greenest of gazes, and see how the fading sunlight would reflect and shine on the light hair.
Princess Reika lived a life just as sheltered as Eirin’s. She, too, was quite unaware of many things around the seas. However, unlike her older sister, Princess Reika was quite perceptive and observant—especially regarding emotions.
Therefore, as she saw her sister’s face get redder and redder, her eyes unfocused and lost, she decided that was not the best time to dig deeper into that.
And so, she changed the subject. “You have your hair up. It looks pretty.”
At first, Eirin blinked, confused and disoriented, before she was able to process her sister’s words. When she did, however, she realized her sister was looking quite different than usual as well. Wearing more jewels and a fancier dress.
Then, before she could smile, Princess Eirin recalled the real reason she was visiting after so long. The reason why both of them were dressing like that, why there were so many sounds echoing through the halls.
“…did it start yet?”
Others wouldn’t be able to see it, the faint light that was slowly extinguished from Princess Reika’s eyes as she noted the sorrow in her sister’s voice. She gave Eirin a nod.
“They have already arrived.”
Eirin’s body got stiffer. There was no reason for her to ask who her sister was talking about.
They were the reason she was back ‘home’, after all.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Prince Seikan of the Palace of Cobalts was…confused.
“How long has it been since the queen hosted
anything?! I thought it was a jest, yet I guess she really pulled it through.”
“Can you blame her, though…? After the king perished with the flu, knowing how they were, it was probably too painful to her.”
The reason was simple.
“They are not serving abyssal-berries this time? They’re in season!”
“How
could they? Considering how the late king passed…and so young… This is why we can never joke with allergies, you know.”
As the Princes of Cobalts waited for the ball to officially start, it was hard not to eavesdrop on all the conversations happening around them. And almost every time, at some point, the late king would be mentioned.
“To raise two young mermaids, after such a tragedy… Our queen is certainly strong.”
“Indeed, she is. Especially after losing her husband in a sandslide.”
“A
sandslide? Wasn’t he attacked by raging seals?”
Seikan shook his head, bamboozled.
How many deaths did their king go through?!
Just the one.
However, the very next day after the king’s passing, Queen Yūritsu made an official decree.
‘The full extent of the king’s death shall never be disclosed or discussed in detail.’
All that was told to the citizens of Pearls was how the king’s passing had been, undoubtedly, a great tragedy, and that he would be greatly missed. Yet since that was all they knew, even years after, no one but the royal family knew how the King of Pearls had truly died.
This, by no means, stopped merfolk from creating their own theories. Many proclaimed they had witnessed the king’s final moments, while others swore on their ‘trustworthy sources’. The results—
A chaotic hearsay mess, based on the most ridiculous rumors.
Yet what surprised Seikan was not only the many deaths of the King of Pearls.
‘A queen who was so devastated and heartbroken by her husband’s passing, she barely left the Palace.’
‘A love so deep, a bond so unbreakable, all creatures sensed the tremors in the water when it came apart.’
“…who would guess someone like who is selling away her daughter was capable of such a pure feeling,” he mumbled under his breath, twirling his drink in circles as he moved the bottle.
Words that his brother was able to hear, nonetheless.
“I’m telling you, Sei, you are being too harsh to a mermaid you hadn’t even seen."
Seikan didn’t need to meet her. He had negotiated with her. Heard her messages, seen her portraits.
All he could do was pray his fiancée resembled her mother as little as possible. Because Prince Seikan’s main goal with that first encounter was not to get along with his future spouse—
But convince her to break off the engagement.
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