“I’m Amelia. I used a human girl but, just like Prince Oliver, I suddenly got turned into a mermaid after taking a swim in the lake.” Amelia answered, trying to make her lie sound as convincing as possible.
“Oh, well, it’s nice to meet you, Amelia.” The Queen said. “Would you like for our kingdom to notify your home as well?”
Immediately, Amelia shook her head. “Please don’t. My parents, and really much of the kingdom I come from, are very much against magic. If they ever find out I’m a mermaid...” Amelia gulped. “I might be punished severely for it.”
Damon felt awful. The magic associated with his merman body most likely forcibly separated a girl from her family for good - This whole situation wasn't meant to happen, he only really wanted to transform his fiancee. Scarlett could see the solemn look on Damon’s face and tried to comfort him by laying a hand on his shoulder.
The king could sense the tension in the room and tried to mitigate the mood, “Well, it’s unfortunate that such a kingdom would be so prejudiced against magic users. Here in Rubrum, we see value in all magical creatures, especially in people who have knowledge of magical abilities such as yourself, Amelia.”
“Yes. I believe you’re exactly the kind of help we’ll need in the upcoming age of human and merfolk collaboration.” The queen chimed in.
“Maybe you can help find a cure to get rid of that clone in my home kingdom…” Damon muttered silently.
The mermaid could sense a smile appearing on her face. For the first time in what felt like forever, she feels right at home. She turned her head to see the delight in Oliver’s face before she quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat.
“Why yes, thank you very much,” Amelia said, trying her best to hide in the excitement in her voice. “But I believe the main focus of our meeting is Prince Oliver and delivering a message to his home kingdom of Prasinus.”
“Oh yes.” The king replied. “Is there any kind of specific message you would like to send to your family, Prince Oliver?”
“Just tell them that I’m here, in the Rubrum Kingdom, as a merman and that I’m alright.” Oliver shrugged. “My parents like their messages to be quick and to the point.”
The king nodded. “Understood, we’ll send a messenger right away.”
“I do have some concerns regarding your kingdom, Prince Oliver,” Scarlett said.
“Oh? What is it?” Oliver asked.
“It’s nothing major, really. I just hope that your family will be open to merfolk in their kingdom. After hearing Amelia’s story, the last thing I would ever want to happen is for the two of you to get harmed due to your fish tails.” Scarlett replied.
Oliver turned to Amelia and he remembered the short story that his mother would read him every night - The story a man still loving his wife, even though she was forcibly transformed to be a cervitaur. The mermaid and merman nodded to each other and faced the Rubrum royals with confidence.
“I know my family will accept me,” Oliver said with assurance.
“That’s very good to hear.” The Queen said happily. “Should it not be the case, you’re always welcome to remain here at Rubrum. We’ll make you two matter in our castle.”
The queen didn’t want to admit out loud, but she would prefer it if The Rubrum Kingdom had a monopoly on housing merfolk - It would make battles at sea much easier and faster with merfolk easily defeating the human soldiers of other kingdoms.
Oliver and Amelia smiled. The meeting went much more smoothly than they thought. They only wanted one more thing.
“Does your kingdom have any beds to spend the night? It’s been a tough day for the two of us, to say the least.” Amelia asked.
“Oh…” The king said, seemingly embarrassed that his castle couldn’t even accommodate two more merfolk.
Wanting to save the face of her father, Scarlett chimed in. “You can sleep in the gardens if you want. There’s plenty of room there, it’s where Damon and I met.” She said as she hugged her future merprince. Damon smiled and returned the hug.
“Thank you very much, your majesty. It’s an honor to be assisted by your gracious kingdom.” Oliver commented.
“No need to flatter us,” The queen replied with a smile. “We hope that this is the beginning of not just collaboration between humans and merfolk, but also an alliance with Rubrum and Prasinus.”
Oliver grinned. “I’ll think about it.”
Amelia and Oliver followed Damon and Scarlett throughout the kingdom until they reached the gardens.
Flowers of various colors decorated the field. Trees stood proudly as they stood against the clear moonlit sky. Beneath the water lay the seabeds, perfect to house merfolk for the night.