Page 9 of Sea's Secret

“You're going to be a great mother,” Finn sang with a smile. “I will say, I am very happy for you, there.”

“Thank you, Finn; I need to become more focused. I need to choose to do what is right, instead of doing what I want.”

“Meria, what is right is what you want.”

“What I want is to be the best daughter of Marren I can be, even though I often have traitorous desires. Don’t let me down, now, Finn. You have always helped me, and I can’t trust anyone else with my rebellious thoughts.”

There was a long pause.

“I love you, Meria. You are my best friend and my favorite cousin, it's true. So while I’ll never think anyone deserves you, it is true that Edmar, while boring, is a fine mer in all the ways your father desires.”

“Thank you, Finn.”

“It’s okay to be nervous, though. It’s a scary thing because it goes against your soul—”

I glared at him.

“—However, you want to be honorable, and wow—that is admirable.” Finn swam from his window seat and hugged me. “The mer of Marren do not deserve such a princess as you.” When he pulled away, his smile was forced. I could tell. “Well, that’s the best pep talk I can give you. Now, you should probably swim to your merman.”

I swam from my room, through the palace passageways, and then into the open water. As I reached the edge of the reef, I looked back toward the castle.

Seeing the castle from the top ledge of the reef was my favorite view in all the ocean. The castle was made from thousands–probably more–of abalone shells, and it gleamed under the large glowing lights that floated above Marren, the Marren Lights, which kept the depths of what would have been a black ocean, light, bright, and beautiful.

We did not know how those lights were put in place, exactly, just that they were given to us from the Ancients. There were all sorts of speculations about what they were made of.

I continued to watch as the lights, again, began to flicker in the water.

Fear shot through me as they continued to flicker and then dimmed a bit more.

We took great care of the lights which we had been given. I turned away from the kingdom and the slowly dimming lights. Father said the Ancients would come and make them shine bright again, but that had never happened.

Is there something else we could do? I wondered.

I wish I had an answer to help the kingdom.

I sped up my pace to reach the celebration, and soon, I saw other mer swimming up to the surface. I had hope that, perhaps, the tides would not only change the ocean water, but that they would also bring change to the Marren Lights, and that the Ancients would finally come and make them shine bright once more.

But I often wondered if there was anything we, ourselves, could do to fix them, if the Ancients wanted us to do something besides just wait. I shoved those thoughts away.

Be silently obedient. All will be well, I told myself as I swam up to the surface for the first time.

Chapter Three

Dominick

“Did ye run a good rig?” Veeto asked as I leaned against a barrel near the docks.

I twirled my knife in my hands, not looking up at him. Sands and I had been incredibly successful. He had already made it back to the ship, while I waited to speak with Veeto.

“Aye, I always do,” I said with a smirk and a sloppy shift. It was obvious that my speech was never even near as pirate-like as my uncle’s. I blamed it on the fact that I had to play the part of the Prince, at times, which was important to Captain Veeto. I was sure he wouldn’t agree to anything unless it benefited him in some way. Truly, his question was ridiculous. I had never once been caught. He knew that. I shifted, sloppily again, just like I always did while playing a pirate, another costume I had to wear, but the one that felt more natural than all the others after so many years.

“Are ye already three sheets to the wind? Ye better ‘ave acted like a prince,” he snarled. He thought I was drunk, but that didn’t bother him as much as the possibility of me messing up my role as Prince Dominick. He did not like my heritage on my mother’s side, but because of my lineage, I could gain entrance into royal palaces, which he could never enter. He should have been thanking me; I would not hold my breath for that one, though. I did not need his thanks. All I needed from him was to have him tolerate me, not kill me, until I had escaped from his ship and crew.

And leave it, I would.

“Aye, the best prince in all the lands!” I said with a smirk, looking directly at him.

His face twisted into more of a scowl. I acted as if I did not notice the change in his countenance, pretending to adjust the princely jacket I wore.

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