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«I have long ago accepted that the throne is not for me. My whole strategy in the war for possession of the king of the sea has failed, and the foolish peacock sent to you failed to inspire fear of the terrible creatures that come from the waves.»
«After all, it was you who taught Seneschal to sing a song about how dangerous were for mortal girls relations with watermen,» reproached Lilophea.
The sea fairy did not raise an eyebrow.
«For mortals, yes, but you’re not a mortal. I didn’t realize it at first. I thought you were born ugly, like the other two.»
«Morena and Lirena. You mean them?»
The vial she held in her hand cracked. The blue liquid, which looked like water, spurted out, and burned her fingers badly. The white leaves of her outfit hissed in pain as if they were alive, began to shrivel, covered in ash, even bleeding. The white fairy urgently sought out a jar of some ointment to correct the oversight. She managed to heal the burn, but the leaves growing out of her skin didn’t heal immediately.
«Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you were born ugly,» the fairy apologized. «I call those who aren’t born the way nature intended, ugly. But that’s the way it is with humans and non-humans. In your case, the anomaly is that you were born normal, human-like. No wings, no thorns. I thought you’d live a little and then die like all humans. But now, I see, I was very wrong about you. Not everything is on the surface. In all your predecessors, you could tell all their abilities at once.»
«What do you mean?»
«They are descendants of the union of humans and higher beings.»
«Did my mother also come from Heaven?» Lilophea recalled the stories of the fall and war of the celestial races in the heights above.
«She is not from heaven. She is from the depths.»
«I don’t believe you. Seal says you all lived in the heavens in the beginning. And then there was war.»
The sea fairy merely jerked her shoulders, and her lacey white wings flapped gracefully.
«But about the forerunners…» «It was embarrassing to even bring it up. «I was dreaming about twins. They were creepy twins. Two girls who looked exactly the same, but one had a human body, and the other had morgen-like growths all over her body and tentacles under her dress. And then they came to me in real life and began to assure me that they were my own sisters.»
The white fairy dropped some sort of vial again and cursed quite like the tipsy pirates of Morissa’s company. She must have heard them swear when they passed her islet on their ships, mistaking it for a mirage. Fortunately, this time there was no mishap. The potion in the vial proved harmless. It merely produced a palm tree with blue leaves and blue fruit. They didn’t look like coconuts or bananas. Lilophea reached for one, but the fruit burst, and a blue winged creature emerged.
«I was saving it for a special occasion,» complained the fairy. «Now I have to make a new one. Everything in my fighting arsenal must be kept in stock.»
The word «warrior» made Lilophea uneasy.
«Who are you fighting?»
«There’s no telling who will attack from the ships that pass by.»
«They’ll mistake the island for a fata morgana.»
«Not all of them. Besides, there’s a threat from the sky.»
«You mean the eagles from Sultanite?»
The fairy pretended not to understand her, and Lilothea clarified:
«It is the crowned eagles.»
Ariana bit her colorless lips sadly.
«I have recently seduced a dashing pirate captain to protect my home from them,» she admitted. «He had a very fine crew of crossbowmen. They didn’t miss. It worked for a while. Gryphons are enchanted, but you can hurt them if you grease the arrowheads with a solution I made. The gryphons charged and flew away in a hail of arrows, and then their leader found some means of making her feathered armor irresistible. Her flock mauled my pirates and sank their ship. And I was left alone.»
«Perhaps you could find a use for this.» Lilophea gave her the amulet taken from the skeleton.
«You think I have to be an eagle to hold them off, don’t you?» Ariana made a grimace.
«Well, maybe you could make the most of it. You’re a sorceress!»
«And you’re not?»
«I’m a novice and you’re a professional.»
Ariana liked the flattery. She accepted the amulet. Lilophea was relieved when she parted with it. Perhaps it was too evil for her to control on her own.
The Empty City
Seneschal was still hovering over the shell road, waiting for her. He should have flown back to Aquilania right away. Lilophea wanted to raise a scandal with him, but what was the point. There was no way the liar would be convinced. It was now clear why Seneschal was so reluctant for her to visit the sea fairy. Unlike him, Ariana proved too proud to degrade herself to a lie. It was one thing to send an agent to someone and another to lie face to face. Good thing the fairy accepted defeat with dignity and didn’t sharpen her claws at her rival. Seneschal, on the other hand, was yet to be dealt with.
The talking peacock lied all the time. Even in the underwater kingdom, where everything is saturated with magic, he had the strength to tell yet another deception.
Lilophea looked at Seneschal with condemnation. Was it possible that her rival had deliberately sent him to dissuade her from marrying the Water King? She thought he was helping her, but his aim was to drive her from the throne of the sea to make room for his mistress. And she, by the way, lost him, a living and reasonable creature, as a soulless purse of coins. Where do servants get their loyalty to their cruel masters? If only the peacock can be called a servant. He’s more like a pet.
«So it was Ariana you wanted on my throne and in the arms of a water king? And what profit was it to you? You can’t even breathe underwater without magic grass.»
«I would have stayed in charge on her island,» Seneschal realized it was no use lying anymore. He was exposed.
«Not you! There is a very assertive Siren there.»
Seneschal bowed his crested head.
«Did you or did Ariana make up the hymns about the dangers of dating watermen? Don’t tell me you learned them from Seal himself when he sent you to me as a gift.»
«I reworked the songs I heard on the ships that passed by. They sang to beware of sea robbers, and I replaced them with water robbers.»
«You are a wise liar.»
Seneschal took on a very guilty look.
«Forgive me, Lilophea.»
«Perhaps you would like to go back to your mistress?»
«Having a friend is better than having a mistress.»
«What does that mean?»
«That I want to stay with you.»
«So you can spy on me again and talk me out of my fate?»
«I said I was sorry.»
«But have you made amends?» Lilophea hesitated.
«That’s what Minister Baldwin told me at first. Then I convinced him I could be indispensable to him. Now he sends me to the ambassadors. I pretend not to speak, listen carefully, and then tell him the whole story. One feathered spy is better than the whole royal scouting party.»
«You are the meanest magic bird!»
«How many magic birds do you know? By the way, I can use my meanness to your advantage.»
«Prove it!»
«I’ll do anything you ask,» Seneshal flapped his wings cheerfully.
«Go back to Aquilania and tell everyone at Court, especially Baldwin and Father, that I have more comfort here than I have at home. Tell them that you have seen for yourself how much treasure and servants I have, and that I am quite happy here.»
The peacock bowed his head.
«You have no use for me at Court. If I were to come back, you would have to pay attention to me again and give up your important position as a royal spy. Even a magic bird doesn’t have enough energy to be both the princess’s companion and a clever scout.»
«Do you think so?» Seneschal hesitated. «I would even bring you flowers from the garden in my own beak if you came back.»
«And look how many beauties there are at court. You’ll carry them. And ask Baldwin for payment for his services. He has a right to pay them from the treasury, since you work for the good of the state.»
«That’s right,» Seneschal didn’t think of it himself. «You’ve really gotten wise. The Sea King must have taught you the tricks of the trade. You wouldn’t have thought of it on your own. I remember how charmingly simple you were when I flew up to you in the garden. So you’re telling me to demand ringing dough from Minister Baldwin. Then I’ll start playing a little. Even the ladies play cards in the evening.»
It would be a fantastic spectacle! But Lilophea held back a laugh.
«Maybe you’ll start drinking wine too.»
«I am. I’m given a choice of glasses of spirits and a bowl of coconut juice. I’m an unusual bird, so I have an unusual menu.»
He must have done Baldwin a lot of favors to be taken care of like this.
«Go on, fly!» Lilophea walked the rest of the way down the shell road. The only thing to do now was to dive back under the water.
Is there really a war on the borders of the ocean? At the bottom of the sea it is so nice and calm. Jellyfish and stingrays swim around, spreading their fins like hoods. Sometimes the voices of mermaids can be heard from afar. But there is no echo of the battle. Lilophea closed her eyelids and tried to listen to what was happening in the distance, many thousands of miles away. As a Morgana, she was bound to have super-sharp hearing. For a moment she thought she heard battle cries, the clang of weapons, and the crushing force of blows. All the noises of battle blended into a cacophony. Suddenly it was cut off by a roar, as if a giant was at the bottom of the sea and had decided to tear the place apart.
All the menacing sounds quickly faded away, as if someone had plugged her ears. Lilophea swam forward a little. She was lost again. It was time to ask the sun pendant again which direction to swim in.
A gate with golden faces showed up ahead. This was the same place Seal had dragged her to after her kidnapping. The gate leaves were closed. Bas-reliefs of beautiful and ghastly faces squinted unfriendly at the Queen of the Seas. Did they not recognize her?
«Behind!» suddenly one of the faces sang out. It was crowned with twisted horns and had snakes instead of hair.
«What do you mean?» Lilophea expected some new stream of confused phrases like prophecy, but the shouts of the faces sounded more like a warning.
«It is behind your back!» They shouted in unison. Their musical voices cut into her ears with a continuous hum.
Lilophea knew she had to turn around. She didn’t want to believe the faces. Their expressions were very sly. If someone was behind her, they’d be better off letting her pass into the gardens beyond the gate rather than warning her in vain. Even with a whole regiment of enemies behind her, what could she alone do against them?
But there was only some ragamuffin huddled behind her. Probably the madman Seal had spoken of. Had he really been tortured by the whaling ship’s trappers? There were tentacles and tails sticking out from under the cloak. There were no wounds or injuries to be seen.
