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