Charlotte’s castle home is beautiful. It’s rich and filled with architecture that was made with love and adoration for the royal family and the history of the merfolk - with much of their species’ history being represented by lovely statues, illustrations, and decorations.
Damon and Monica were awestruck by the sheer magnificence of the Merkingdom’s palace. Charlotte noticed their enchanted faces and smiled.
After a long time of traveling and touring the castle, Charlotte and her guests were approached by a castle guard.
“Your Highness. Dinner is ready. Please take your guests with you.”, he asked politely to the mermaid princess.
Charlotte nodded and gestured Damon and Monica to follow her.
Soon, the three were sitting at the royal table, with Charlotte and her parents sitting right across them. Damon was eager to eat what the merkingdom had to offer.
Monica, however, felt differently. She never considered herself a fan of seafood and the idea of eating food completely alien to her made her feel unsure. She didn’t want to come off as rude in front of royalty and had respect for Charlotte, she decided to whisper to herself.
“I wish the food being served right now tastes delicious to everyone.”
The rainbow flashed a little on her neck and Monica raised her head to see the castle staff nervously serving the food.
The castle chiefs had a rough time in the kitchen today. Equipment malfunctions and tiredness aside, much of the staff were stressed trying to teach some new interns on how to cook while making it worthy of being fed to the royal family. The chief staff was not proud of what they made, to say the least, but it was too late, there’s no turning back.
“Bon... Appétit, your majesty.”, the server said.
The food consisted of a mixture of food found on land and sea - a special occasion for Damon and Monica since they were once human.
“Hmm... The food looks a bit... odd”, the Merking said.
“Indeed, the food usually looks appealing. Did something happen?”, The Merqueen questioned.
“We had a… much different time in the kitchen today teaching our... lovely new interns.”, the server said, angrily glaring the new interns just outside the kitchen door.
Charlotte decided to take a bite of the food and taste it for herself. “Mmm… This is good!”, the merprincess chimed.
The Merqueen took a bite as well. “Oh wow, this is really good. In fact, it’s delicious!”
After a bit of thinking, the merking decided to take a large bite. The server and the cooking staff winced - expecting an angry merman king to punish them soon.
But the Merking wasn’t angry. In fact, his face lit up. “Good, this is scrumptious! You and your new interns really outdid themselves!”
The cooks were shocked to see how everything went well, they were sure their mishap would spoil the food, but they took the compliment to heart and left the royal family and their guests alone.
Monica smiled, she just saved the jobs of skilled cooks who just had an unlucky day. She took the food and ate it.
Damon enjoyed the food and gobbled down the meal, much to the delight of the royal family - flattered that their guests were embracing their merfolk culture.
“So Damon and Monica… What’s life like on land?”, the Merking asked.
“Yes, it’s quite interesting how you both left your lives on land to be merfolk the moment you had a wish stone.”, the Merqueen added.
Damon and Monica told the royal family about the tall square buildings, the blue sky that turns pink and then dark blue as time passes, the shining of the sun, the feeling of walking on the grass, the usefulness of the trees, and the many land animals that roam around the surface in forests and caves.
The merfamily was enchanted by their words, asking the two questions about more aspects of the surface. When they finished their explanations, the family was amazed.
“Oh wow, the land sounds wonderful. Just like the ocean!”, the Merqueen smiled.
“Yes, yes. The land is quite interesting. But one question still lays on my mind”. The Merqueen spoke. “Why did you two leave the surface to become merfolk?”, he asked.
Damon and Monica were silent and looked at each other. That was a good question.
Damon looked at his blue fish tail and sighed. “In all honesty. I got bored with land. I hate working day in and day out just to pay the bills to live in my apartment. Monica was the reason I still continued on and on.”
Monica looked at Damon, but couldn’t help but agree. “Indeed. The surface is amazing, but life as a human... isn’t. Once Damon found a wish stone to turn into something more… magical, I took the chance and wished myself to be a mermaid with him.”
The Merking and Merqueen were surprised and looked at the two with sympathy.
“I apologize for asking such a question like that. I didn’t know it was so personal to the both of you.”, the Merking said.
“No, no need to apologize. It felt good to let it all out.”. Damon said. Monica looked at her boyfriend and smiled at him for being honest, yet polite to the royal family.
Charlotte looked at the couple and spoke for the first time in what felt like a long time, “But… don’t you two miss your parents?”