Chap 11
"How long have you been here?"
The mermaid laughed.
A quiet sound.
Sad enough to make Penny regret asking.
"I don't know."
Her fingers traced the crystal wall beside her.
"I stopped counting winters after the first hundred."
Penny froze.
The floating cushion drifted gently beneath her.
One hundred years.
The words settled heavily in her chest.
Above them, sunlight spilled through the lake in trembling golden beams, painting shifting patterns across the crystal walls.
The chamber suddenly felt much smaller.
Much deeper.
Like a beautiful grave.
Yet Alyrina smiled as though she hadn't said anything unusual.
Penny swallowed.
"How did you get here?"
The mermaid brightened immediately.
The loneliness vanished from her face.
"Oh."
She rolled onto her stomach atop the floating cushion.
"We met on the ocean."
A dreamy smile touched her lips.
"It was night. There was music, and I wanted to see where it was coming from."
Her tail flicked lazily through the water.
"I saw him."
The smile deepened.
"And I thought he was the most beautiful man I had ever seen."
Penny had a horrible feeling she already knew who him was.
"Then a storm destroyed his ship."
Alyrina's expression softened.
"I saved him."
She laughed quietly.
"I sang until he woke up."
The mermaid touched her lips.
"He kissed me."
For a moment, she looked like a young girl remembering her first love.
Then she smiled toward the ceiling.
Toward the kingdom above.
"My family told me not to go with him."
Her fingers traced circles through the water.
"But I love him."
Penny fidgeted with her fingers beneath the water.
She tried not to look nosy.
Tried to convince herself she was simply curious.
That the strange knot of jealousy twisting in her stomach was nothing more than swimming too soon after breakfast.
"So what happened then?"
Alyrina giggled.
"We had a baby."
The words were so unexpected that Penny nearly slipped from her floating cushion.
Alyrina smiled dreamily.
"It was wonderful."
Then the smile faded.
A shadow crossed her face.
"Then I lost my legs."
Penny blinked.
"How do you lose legs?"
Alyrina ran a hand down the length of her shimmering tail.
"I slowly gave all my magic away."
Her fingers traced the silver scales.
"Little pieces at a time until there wasn't enough left for me."
Penny's hand flew instinctively to her throat.
To the ribbon hiding the king's bite mark.
"How did he drain your magic?"
Alyrina looked genuinely confused.
"He didn't drain me."
The answer came immediately.
"I gave it to him."
A soft smile returned.
"It made him happy."
The simple certainty in her voice unsettled Penny more than any horror story.
She pushed the thought aside.
"What happened to your baby?"
Alyrina brightened immediately.
"He serves in the king's guard now."
Pride filled her voice.
"He visits whenever he comes to the garden."
Penny stared.
The baby was still alive?
Old enough to serve in the guard?
Just how long had Alyrina been trapped beneath this lake?
"Did you have a vampire baby?"
The reaction was immediate.
Alyrina recoiled.
Horror flashed across her face.
"Oh no."
Her silver hair swayed around her shoulders as she shook her head firmly.
"That wasn't me."
The force of the denial surprised Penny.
Alyrina looked away.
Hurt.
"I know everyone blamed me for her death."
Her fingers drifted through the water.
"But it wasn't my fault."
The sadness in her voice deepened.
"It was that horrible girl."
Penny stayed silent.
Alyrina rarely paused long enough to need encouragement.
"She held the mother beneath my lake until she stopped moving."
The mermaid's gaze dropped.
"Then she left her there."
For a moment neither of them spoke.
The lantern light rippled across the crystal walls.
Finally Alyrina looked away.
"If that's why you came, you can leave."
The words were quiet.
Tired.
"I don't need more rocks thrown at me."
Penny immediately sat upright.
"No, no."
She waved both hands.
"I only got here yesterday."
Alyrina looked back.
Confusion replaced the hurt.
"I was stolen and sold to the king."
The mermaid stared.
"You were stolen?"
"As far as I know."
Alyrina looked genuinely baffled.
"But why?"
She sat up straighter on her floating cushion.
"The human villages choose their flowers."
Penny frowned.
"What?"
"Every year."
Alyrina spoke as though explaining something obvious.
"The prettiest girl and boy are selected."
"Their families are paid."
Her tail flicked lazily through the water.
"A great deal, from what I understand."
"If both flowers come from the same family, they receive enough money to buy an entire farm."
Penny's stomach tightened.
The picture Alyrina painted sounded nothing like kidnapping.
Nothing like chains.
Nothing like being sold.
"It's considered a great honor."
Alyrina smiled.
"Families celebrate when one of their own is chosen."
Penny stared at her.
Then another question surfaced.
One that had been bothering her since she arrived.
"Then why do they need all the babies?"
Alyrina blinked.
For the first time since they'd met, she looked completely bewildered.
"Do you not know you're in the vampire kingdom?"
Penny gasped.
"They eat the babies?"
Alyrina stared.
Then laughter burst from her so suddenly it echoed off the crystal walls.
Penny folded her arms.
The mermaid laughed harder.
"Sorry."
She wiped at her eyes.
"No."
Penny felt herself relax.
Alyrina settled more comfortably onto her floating cushion.
"The mother and child choose where they want to live."
"What?"
"They can stay with the father. Return to the mother's family. Or choose another family entirely to raise it if they want to stay in the garden."
Her tail flicked through the water.
"Most flowers have plenty of offers."
Penny blinked.
"Offers?"
Alyrina nodded.
"Children of flowers are usually beautiful."
A smile touched her lips.
"Many grow up to become flowers themselves."
The mermaid shrugged.
"Families like the chance to win the yearly pageant money."
The casual way she said it made Penny's stomach twist.
Nothing about this kingdom sounded normal.
Nothing.
"But I saw a dead flower at the ball."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Alyrina froze.
The playful mood vanished instantly.
"Oh."
Sadness softened her face.
"That's terrible."
"You've seen it happen before?"
The mermaid shook her head.
"No."
Alyrina looked genuinely troubled.
"The invitations only happen every few months for a vampire."
Penny frowned.
"Invitations?"
"To the garden."
Alyrina spoke as though everyone should know this.
"Most vampires receive very few."
Her fingers traced circles across the water.
"They hope one of the flowers will choose them."
The answer surprised Penny.
"Choose them?"
"Of course."
Alyrina looked puzzled.
"Why else would the entire population of vampires behave, just to get an invite?"
Penny opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
For the first time since arriving in the kingdom, she wondered if she had misunderstood absolutely everything.
The mermaid continued.
"Most of them are looking for the same thing."
"And what's that?"
Alyrina smiled.
Hopeful.
Dreamy.
"A flower that falls in love."
The words echoed uncomfortably through Penny's mind.
"A flower who stays."
Her gaze drifted upward toward the kingdom above.
"A flower who gives them a child."
Alyrina sighed.
"Then they never need invitations again."
Penny's fingers drifted to the ribbon at her throat.
"Did the king ever give you a ribbon like this?"
Alyrina laughed.
"I am not human, silly."
Her tail flicked through the water.
"He never bit me."
The smile lingered for only a moment.
Then faded.
"No."
She slipped from her floating cushion into the water with a soft splash.
"The ribbon belonged to that horrible girl."
Penny paddled closer.
"The one you said killed the mother?"
Alyrina nodded.
Dark silver hair drifted around her shoulders.
"She was beautiful."
The words sounded almost reluctant.
"Long dark curls. Bright eyes."
Her expression tightened.
"Mean eyes."
Penny waited.
"The king gave her a ribbon."
Alyrina looked away.
"Then she had a baby."
The water rippled softly around them.
"What was her name?"
The mermaid shrugged.
A painfully human gesture.
"I don't know."
Her fingers traced circles across the water.
"I can't talk to them."
A sad smile touched her lips.
"They can't talk to me."
Penny's chest tightened.
A hundred years.
A hundred years of watching people come and go.
Of never asking questions.
Never getting answers.
Alyrina continued quietly.
"Her first child, a girl, became a flower."
Penny blinked.
The timeline suddenly felt much closer than she had expected.
"And her second..."
The mermaid hesitated.
"Her second became the human prince."
Penny froze.
The pieces crashed together.
Dark hair.
The ribbon.
The prince.
The baby.
The lake.
"The queen."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Alyrina flinched.
The hurt that crossed her face was immediate.
As though Penny had accidentally struck her.
"He married her?"
The question came out small.
Almost childlike.
For the first time since meeting her, Alyrina looked genuinely heartbroken.
Tears spilled silently down her cheeks.
Like tiny pearls disappearing into the water.
Penny immediately regretted opening her mouth.
She sat down next to Alyrina and wrapped her arms around the mermaid.
"I'm sorry."
Alyrina curled against her.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The water lapped softly against the crystal walls.
Eventually, the mermaid sniffed.
Wiped her eyes.
Then reached up and touched the crimson ribbon at Penny's throat.
Her expression became thoughtful.
Determined.
"I'll help you."
Penny blinked.
"Help me?"
Alyrina nodded.
Completely serious.
"We'll steal him back."
Penny stared.
"The king."
Alyrina's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.
"From the queen."