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“I am the mistress of this sea, and everything and everyone here is subject to me, so no one has the right to trespass on my prey,” Merediana explained to the captive.
“So I am your prey?” Desmond was flattered. “I’ve never been preyed upon by a pretty girl before.”
“But the Coast Guard must have hunted you in regiments.”
“That’s right.”
How did Merediana know so much about life up there? Did she often swim dangerously close to people? It doesn’t look like it! A miracle like her would only be caught for her jewelry. Desmond’s heart squeezed when he imagined that someone might try to catch the sea queen with a net just to pick the jewels out of her skin.
He was probably worrying for nothing. Merediana would probably tear the net and use destructive sea magic against the hunters.
But she couldn’t break the chest, and she didn’t break the cube either. She needed a helper. Probably, fate itself sent her a corsair, who fell in love with the mermaid at first sight.
The intimacy with the queen of the sea drove Desmond crazy. That’s who he would be willing to do any feat for. He had once agreed to use her himself as a precious cargo. Now if a mermaid sent him to kill the King of Opal himself, he wouldn’t hesitate to do it.
“I don’t like leaving ghost ships on the surface,” Merediana hummed, “but a ship that dares to take a sleeping mermaid aboard will meet a dire fate.”
“Don’t tell me I’ll be without a ship. I’m already without one. If you remember, you dragged me to the bottom.”
“And you, if you remember, you stole me out of the sea.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“It was Udo! That’s what I thought! A simple man couldn’t have been so clever.”
Is it an insult that the Princess of the Sea called him a simple man? He’s not a simple man. He’s a brave pirate captain. Even as a corsair, it wasn’t easy to become a captain. If the mermaid knew how much effort he had put in. The respect of the pirates had to be earned too. However, now that the pirate captain has been kidnapped by a mermaid, it is unlikely that any of the crew will wait for his return or look for him at the bottom. Most likely, he will be put into the drowning and a new captain will be chosen. The enviable spot won’t stay empty for long. The crew might even fight over the rank of captain.
“So you don’t know how to draw sea runes?” Merediana concluded.
“You guessed right.”
“Then you’re perfect for me.”
“Suited for what?”
“It is to annoy my father and sisters.”
“I thought you needed a personal bodyguard.”
“I already have bodyguards – sea dragons.”
Merediana whistled musically, and immediately the huge silhouettes of blue water dragons rose from behind the pearly pyramids.
“These are the Morags – sea dragons,” she introduced. “They are the authorized bodyguards of the Sea King’s daughters.”
The Morags squinted suspiciously at Desmond.
“Where were they when Udo kidnapped you?”
The morgen who held a grudge against Merediana was probably named Udo, though he didn’t introduce himself to Desmond.
The mermaid was suddenly angry.
“It is none of your business, corsair!” She hissed, squeezing Desmond’s shoulder painfully. Her claws dug into the flesh to the bone.
Desmond felt the pain. The dragons sniffed at the smell of blood, but did not dare to attack. Merediana’s presence made them behave.
“I see, we can’t ask you about your business. You have secrets from the sea king and the bodyguards of the queens.”
“You talk so much! I should tear out your tongue!”
Merediana’s eyes glittered in a way that could have frightened him.
“Don’t you need a companion?”
“If I do, I’ll talk to the singing shells or the magic psaltery.”
“But they can’t tell you about the land, but I can. I’m the only earthling here.”
“How self-assured you are!” Merediana snorted. “I’d like to drown you, but you don’t.”
The mermaid glanced at his amulet.
“Is it a gift from your beloved?” She asked.
Is she jealous? Desmond’s heart thumped with joy.
“No, it’s not from my lover. A fortune-teller made it for me. It’s a good luck charm. Well, I’ve had good luck. I’ve met the Princess of the Sea.”
Not long ago he would have called Cassandra a girlfriend, but now, under Merediana’s iridescent gaze, that was impossible.
“So you want me to tell you about the land? Your shells can’t do that.”
“I’ve swam to land before, there’s nothing particularly interesting there.”
“That’s because you’ve only been to the shores. Everything interesting is inside the continents.”
“I’ve been inside, too.”
“Can you conjure up legs instead of fins?”
“No, I can’t. You are a stupid corsair!”
“Why am I stupid?”
“Don’t you know that all sea creatures can enter the world through springs, pools, fountains, any kind of water vessels? If you run away, for example, I can reach you through any pitcher or bowl you want to drink from. A webbed hand will swim out of there and strangle you.
“It’s that simple!”
“You humans are vulnerable until you learn to do without water. After all, we Morgens own the water.”
“It’s so easy for mermaids to catch and drown boys! Is that how you’ve caught every prisoner that escapes from you?”
“No one’s ever escaped from me, and I’ve lived for over a hundred years.”
“You’re that much older than me? What a surprise!”
“Humans have a short lifespan, but we Morgens are immortal beings.”
“So you’ll still be alive even after I’m dead?”
“And I don’t need your stories about the earth. If I want to know about the wonders of the earth, the observation mirrors will tell me everything.”
“Observation mirrors? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“People don’t know anything about anything. If you get a mermaid thing, it’s useless to you. But if a mermaid gets a harp from a sunken ship, it will play and report to the underwater people about everything that happened on earth and with its masters, and with its owners, and with itself. Bring me your friend’s comb, and I will tell you all about her. Her comb will tell me all her heartfelt secrets.”
“Cassandra is not my girlfriend!”
“So her name is Cassandra,” the mermaid looked questioningly at the amulet. It glowed and blinked more and more alarmingly.
“She is Cassandra!” Merediana repeated in a high-pitched voice.
Desmond thought her singsong voice echoed across the sea bottom and could be heard as far away as the coast. It was as if Cassandra had heard a mermaid’s call.
Perhaps his imagination was running wild.
“I don’t like coastal sorcerers,” Merediana interjected. “They’re all frauds, liars, and lechers. They’ve fooled so many pirates!”
“Are mermaids more honorable? Don’t you drown fishermen and sailors by the thousands? Don’t you play your shell flutes to cause storms and send whole armadas to the bottom?”
Merediana was silent for a long time. Apparently, she was tormented by her conscience.
“You’re too soft-hearted for a pirate,” she said at last. “How many have you killed in sea battles yourself? It was all for profit.”
“And what do mermaids drown people for? Is it for fun?”
“It is for love!”
Merediana suddenly turned around and pressed her lips to his. The kiss stunned him. For the sake of it Desmond was ready to become dumb as a fish for eternity and not to judge Merediana for anything else. A mermaid’s kiss is pure magic!
It was like Desmond was floating in the sky instead of drowning underwater. Too bad the kiss didn’t last long. Someone was calling Merediana. Somewhere in the distance, a horn was blowing.
“They are Marshals of the sea!” She determined by ear. “It seemed the court was seriously concerned about my disappearance, even though I hadn’t been gone long. They sent a whole army after me. If you had brought me to shore, the coast would be in trouble.”
“What can Morgens armies do on land?” Desmond asked brazenly.
The answer stunned him.
“They can flood the whole country!”
Yes, Merediana was best not to be confronted. He had the nerve to kidnap such a marvel! She alone could flood an entire continent. He didn’t doubt it. And armies of monsters would have come to the rescue.
“Are you going to put me on trial right away? Or will you find Udo first?”
“I’ll find someone to investigate, but in the meantime, you’ll be my hostage.”
How sweet that sounds! Desmond prepared himself for the pleasures of paradise in the company of a mermaid, but a very different fate awaited him.
As soon as the magical gardens were behind him, the vast blue seaweed plantations appeared ahead. They stretched into infinity and resembled earthly fields with crops. A path ran between the stubble. Desmond thought he saw creatures hiding in the seaweed. On earth such creatures would be called leprechauns, but what were they called here?
Merediana dragged Desmond swimming over the algae plantations. The plants appeared to be alive. The seaweeds deftly wrapped themselves around Desmond’s knees. They were as strong as ropes.
“It is not now!” Merediana pulled her captive out of the net of algae and floated a little higher so they wouldn’t reach Desmond’s legs again.
Contrary to expectations, the plantations did not appear to be endless. At the end of them was a huge pyramid decorated with large pearls. Mermaids, tritons, and other creepy creatures like large octopuses swarmed toward Merediana.
“Your Highness!”
“Where have you been swimming for so long?”
“Who is that with you?”
The questions came in a chorus, but Merediana imperiously stopped all inquiries.
“Stop being a hypocrite! You’ve already seen everything in the observation mirrors. This corsair has broken all the laws of the sea, disregarded his treaty with the sea king, conspired with the traitors of my dynasty, tried to kidnap the daughter of the sea king. He will be tried by King Seal himself.”
“But your highness,” muttered an octopus dressed like a waving priest’s robe. “His sea majesty, King Seal is busy negotiating with the ocean dynasty. He won’t be free for another century at the earliest.”
Desmond was relieved. He’ll be dead in a century.
“I’ll hurry my father,” Merediana tossed Desmond into the tentacles of the large octopuses, which resembled the slave traders of Pion. The tentacles immediately wrapped a strong net around Desmond.
“Dor,” Merediana beckoned to the huge morgen that looked like a sea giant. “Let him be a slave on your plantations until my father passes judgment on him.”
“But…” The blue-skinned monster named Dor hesitated. “He’s quite handsome. Handsome men are usually sacrificed in the temple of Darunon. Or they are given to mermaids for fun. Are you sure you don’t want to keep him or give him to your sisters as a gift?”
“Don’t talk too much!” Merediana was furious. “He’s a slave from now on! You must be strict with him! Let him work on the sea plantations and realize how free pirates live without the interests of the sea king.”
What a mess! Desmond looked hopefully at Merediana, but she turned away from him. It looks like he really did not go to the paradise of mermaid love, but to the sea hell.
Slaves of the sea kingdom
The slave branding and collar were not the limit of Desmond’s dreams, but they were what awaited him. The brand proved to be red-hot even in the water. It hissed and wriggled like a living thing. It must be magical. It wasn’t the only one the wardens had. Dor brought three different brandings. One branded victims for the temple, one branded slaves for the sea plantations, one branded workers for the underwater mines. All those branded were doomed.
“People are treated like cattle here,” Desmond said noisily.
“Do you think a captured pirate would be treated more gently on the surface?” Merediana arched her purple eyebrows haughtily. What a beauty she was! Desmond’s heart sank at the sight of her riding a huge seahorse. The curvature on its back was as if it had been specially adapted as a saddle for a mermaid. Merediana curled her tail into a ring and pulled on the reins.
