Chap 12
"No."
Penny shook her head.
"I want to go home, not marry the king."
Alyrina sighed dramatically and touched the ribbon at Penny's throat.
"You're the only one who can save him from that horrible girl."
Sea-green eyes filled with tears as she looked up at Penny.
"Please."
The single word carried a century of hope.
"Even if he doesn't want me anymore, I still love him."
Penny groaned.
Homesickness and guilt wrestled somewhere deep inside her chest.
"Fine."
Alyrina gasped.
Penny pointed a finger at her.
"But we do my plan."
The mermaid nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes."
"I haven't told you the plan yet."
"Yes."
Penny laughed.
Alyrina looked far too pleased with herself.
"What plan could it possibly be except you marry the king and we become best friends forever?"
Penny buried her face in her hands.
The frightening thing was that Alyrina seemed completely serious.
"No."
She pointed toward the ceiling.
"Step one is me leaving."
The mermaid looked personally offended.
Penny continued before she could interrupt.
"My mother sent me a sea-spell."
That got Alyrina's attention.
"A wishing spell."
The mermaid nodded eagerly.
"Good. Good."
Then she froze.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait."
She pointed.
"You're a sea-witch?"
"Stop interrupting."
Penny laughed despite herself.
"I'm not a full witch yet."
Alyrina bounced in place.
"Still counts."
Penny pushed on.
"My plan is to make the potion and wish for the king to marry you. Then you as queen let me go home."
Silence.
Alyrina stopped moving.
Stopped blinking.
Stopped breathing.
"You'd do that?"
The question came out barely above a whisper.
Penny shrugged.
"I don't want a king."
The mermaid slapped both hands over her mouth.
Tears immediately filled her eyes again.
This time from happiness.
"You'd wish him to me?"
Penny nodded.
"If I can get seawater."
For one long moment, Alyrina simply stared.
Then she launched herself forward and wrapped Penny in a crushing hug.
"Oh, I like you!"
Penny wheezed.
Alyrina squeezed harder.
"I have seawater."
The mermaid pulled back just enough to beam at her.
"I am getting my prince back."
Penny blinked.
The confidence with which Alyrina declared this was almost impressive.
Almost.
"Can you get to the sea from here?"
Finally releasing her, Alyrina pointed beyond a field of waving seagrass.
"There's a pipe that feeds fresh seawater into the lake."
Her eyes sparkled.
"I just need a bottle with a lid."
Penny stood, trying to see over the grass.
She saw nothing but swaying green fronds.
"Then I guess it's time for me to get back to the surface and find one."
Alyrina darted toward the discarded gown floating nearby and gathered it up.
"You might need this."
She handed over the dripping mass of fabric.
"Humans get all funny when you walk around naked."
Penny raised an eyebrow.
"How do you,"
Then she stopped.
Actually, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Shaking her head, she laughed and took the dress.
"Never mind."
Alyrina looked relieved.
"You can tell me next time."
The mermaid froze.
"Next time?"
The squeal that followed bounced off every crystal wall in the chamber.
Penny immediately dropped the dress and clapped both hands over her ears.
"Alyrina!"
The mermaid shrank slightly.
"Sorry."
Penny groaned and retrieved the soggy gown from the water.
When she looked up again, Alyrina was holding out a hand.
Hopeful.
Penny smiled despite herself and took it.
Together they slipped back beneath the water.
Up through drifting lantern light.
Past swaying reeds and silver fish.
Every few moments, Alyrina would pause and press another breath-giving kiss into Penny's lungs before continuing upward.
At last they broke the surface beneath a curtain of lilac branches drooping over the lake.
Hidden from the garden.
Hidden from the world.
Penny pushed wet hair from her face.
"Alyrina?"
Only the mermaid's eyes remained above the water.
"Do you want to understand everyone the way I do?"
The silver-haired mermaid nodded immediately.
Penny glanced around the shoreline.
No flowers.
No attendants.
No curious vampires.
Satisfied, she placed her hand against the lilac bush and sang softly.
Petal soft and petal true,
carry words in morning dew,
let no tongue stand in the way,
let the words find their stay.
The bush shivered lightly beneath her fingertips.
Penny plucked a single blossom.
"Open your mouth."
Alyrina immediately rolled onto her back.
Floating motionless on the water.
Mouth open.
Eyes closed.
Like a dead fish awaiting instructions.
Penny laughed.
Then placed the petal on her tongue.
"If the magic wears off, just eat another."
Alyrina nodded solemnly before vanishing beneath the surface.
The lake swallowed her without a ripple.
Silence settled around Penny.
She looked down at the sodden gown hanging from her hands.
The dress looked considerably less magical now.
With a sigh, she attempted to pull the wet fabric over her body.
The gown fought back.
The sleeves stuck.
The skirt tangled.
And somewhere in the struggle, a seam tore with a sound that made Penny wince.
"Wonderful."
Without attendants to lace it properly, she finally gave up and turned the entire thing around.
The laces ended up in front.
The embroidery ended up in back.
At least she was dressed.
Mostly.
With no mirror to judge the damage, Penny gathered her ruined skirt and climbed the grassy bank.
Wet.
Disheveled.
And looking considerably less like the king's precious flower than she had an hour ago.
Penny sat on the edge of the lake and let the sun warm her back.
Her fingers worked through the bits of lakeweed tangled in her hair.
Eventually she gave up.
Dividing it into three sections, she braided it the way her mother had taught her when she was little.
A length of sturdy lake grass tied off the end.
Good enough.
Looking down at the muddy gown, the torn seams, and the wrinkles, Penny sighed.
Hopefully nobody cared too much about ruined dresses.
She had barely reached the nearest path when a shriek split the garden.
"What happened to you?!"
Mary came running toward her, red hair flying behind her.
A very pregnant flower hurried after her as fast as her swollen belly allowed.
"Didn't you hear?" the pregnant flower gasped.
She bent over, clutching her knees.
"I heard Celeste tried to drown her."
Mary immediately demonstrated.
Both hands wrapped around her own throat.
Tongue hanging out.
Eyes crossed.
Penny laughed.
Then pointed at herself and nodded.
Why not?
Mary gasped dramatically.
"I knew it!"
She grabbed Penny's wrist.
"Come on. We have to tell Sable."
A wicked grin spread across her face.
"Maybe they'll finally kick Celeste out of the garden."
"Tell Sable what?"
The familiar voice came from behind them.
Penny turned.
Sable and her usual collection of followers were walking down the path.
The moment they saw her, the entire group stopped.
Then came the gasps.
Penny suddenly became very aware of the twigs sticking out of her braid.
The mud coated her dress.
And whatever suspicious stain had found its way onto the hem.
Sable slowly circled her.
Studying the damage.
Then she smiled.
"This is perfect."
Penny didn't like that smile.
Not one bit.
"Someone get an attendant."
Two girls immediately took off running.
The attendant arrived moments later, carrying a silver tray piled with breakfast pastries.
She took one look at Penny.
The tray hit the ground.
Pastries were scattered everywhere.
The attendant looked horrified.
Twigs.
Mud.
Torn silk.
And what may have been fish droppings.
Sable folded her arms.
"It was Celeste."
The statement came with absolute certainty.
"She tried to kill her."
"We have to wake the king."
The attendant immediately lunged toward Penny.
Penny took a step back.
"Stop it, she doesn't understand," Mary pleaded.
"No, this is serious."
The attendant advanced again.
"The king must be informed immediately."
Sable watched Penny retreat another step.
Then glanced at the girl beside her.
"It looks like Celeste beat her up, buried her in mud, and somehow she escaped."
The girl nodded solemnly.
"That's exactly what it looks like."
Penny decided she wanted absolutely no part of whatever was happening.
She turned and ran.
Shouts erupted behind her.
Attendants.
Flowers.
Servants carrying trays.
Everyone seemed determined to catch her.
Penny darted between fountains, slipped around hedges, and ducked beneath reaching hands.
The garden blurred past.
White stone.
Flowers.
Laughter.
Shouting.
Then silence.
At some point she had lost them.
Penny grinned.
Victorious.
A thick wall of brambles offered the perfect hiding place.
She shoved herself inside.
Thorns immediately objected.
They snagged her dress.
Scratched her arms.
Pulled loose strands from her braid.
But they hid her completely.
So Penny considered it a fair trade.
Attendants hurried past.
Flowers searched nearby paths.
Nobody looked inside the thorn bush.
Penny happily ate handfuls of bush's dark berries while watching the search continue.
By the time the garden finally settled down, she had stained her fingers purple and accumulated several new tears in her gown.
Worth it.
She crawled back out of the brambles.
Leaving behind a few scraps of silk.
And possibly some dignity.
With a handful of berries, she wandered toward the nearest path.
Then stopped.
The gate.
She knew this gate.
Beyond it, the male flowers moved through their garden.
There seemed to be fewer than before.
Penny popped another berry into her mouth.
Then she saw him.
The man with sea-blue hair.
He stood beneath a flowering orange tree.
Sunlight turned his skin to gold.
For a moment, he simply watched her.
Curious.
Penny looked down at the berries in her hand.
Then held them out.
The blue-haired flower blinked.
And started walking toward her.