The Princess Who Wasn't

Chapter Thirteen: Wondering Minds

When Merilla came to she looked at her legs propped up on the edge of the boat and couldn’t remember exactly what had happened. She vaguely remembered thinking she saw a fish tail where her legs where supposed be but her legs were dry and just legs. It must have been the reflection of the water, she thought, or the stress from the day messing with her eyesight. Or maybe even both. She pulled a gallon of water and took a long drink. She was happy with her decision but she knew she would have to be wary going forward.

Merilla would not put herself in another situation where she had to rely on others. Even at her young age of 15 she had learned the dangers of trust and reliance when she had no one to love and care for her. She would be strong and she would be her own love. She wasn’t closed off to the idea of finding somewhere she belonged, she welcomed it. She wasn’t hard or cold. However, she would be smart in this new place, wherever her new place would come to be.

As she got lost in her thoughts Merilla didn’t pay attention to which direction the current pulled her. She didn’t have a destination in mind anyway. She allowed her boat to drift as much as she did her mind, the ocean lulling her like a lullaby and bring peace where she had never had any before. The sun began to set before the realized it and her belly growled as if it knew this was the time she normally filled it. She pulled a small portion of food out of her stores and took her time consuming it. Merilla knew she would have to conserve the food as much as possible because she knew not when she would next reach shore. As her stomach settled so did her mind and she drifted back off to sleep.

*-------------*

Bryon, King Jasper, and Queen Mirabelle frantically swam through the ocean in the direction the king and queen had felt the pull. However, as the three mer-people swam against the current they grew tired quickly and had to float atop the water on multiple occasions in order to replenish their strength. It was during one of these rests, as the moon shone brightly down on them, the queen slapped the waters surface and started crying in frustration. King Jasper and Bryon quickly came to her aid, fearing somehow she was injured.

Queen Mirabelle lifted her hand in a gesture to hold them off, “I am fine, I am fine,” she repeated with as much frustration in her voice as she felt in her entire body. “What if it was a fluke? What if our daughter is back on shore and moving further away from us?” The queens voice started to quiver as fear over took her frustration.

King Jasper pulled her against his chest in a tight hug, “If our daughter has returned to shore surely we will swim into the right one. We will mount the shore and search every land dwelling and surrounding caves until we find her. We will not be returning home until we have found her.” King Jasper had more assurance and confidence in his voice than he actually felt but was not going to let that on to his wife. He loved her dearly and wouldn’t have her in pain anymore.

“Thank you, my dear. I am ready to continue if you two are,” Queen Mirabelle smiled through the still trickling tears at her husband and friend who both nodded back to her.

Quietly, they all started back against the current with a new found stubbornness. They would find the princess and they wouldn’t return home until they did. It was time she came home and her parent hearts were returned to the peace and joy they once knew. Queen Mirabelle still thought about her shell, though, and wondered in what condition she would find her daughters heart.