Damon woke from her pleasant dream to see that, while she had a good night's sleep, she doesn't feel that much refreshed. That feeling of lightheadedness was still very much present, much to her dismay.
"Why do I feel so… off?"
Damon turned to see Prince Liam sleeping right next to her. She couldn't lie, the merman looked adorable as his egotistical demeanor is put to the side while enjoying the last few minutes of his dream.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Damon gave Prince Liam a soft kiss on the cheek. That surprised Damon, was she really going to fall for him after everything he had done to her?
The mermaid's brain wasn't sure but her body said otherwise as her slender red tail was comfortably snug against the merprince's strong tail.
Damon got up from her bed and looked around to see the sun's rays starting peep through the ocean's surface. A new day has started.
It was then that Damon felt flapping coming from her stomach.
Damon looked down to see that her belly had grown just a bit rounder. Her eyes widened as she saw the bulge moving just a tiny bit before settling down.
"No way…" Damon whispered.
She tried to deny it but everything made sense. The near fainting and lightheadedness, it all happened not because of her change into a mermaid… It all happened right after Prince Liam had his way with her.
Damon was...
"Pregnant."
She didn't know what else to say. Something told her that she was supposed to be delighted but all that could be mustered out of her was a sense of melancholy.
On one hand, she was looking forward to raising a child of her own. On the other hand, she didn't expect to have a child with a prince she barely knew. Liam was a sexy and cute merman, for sure, but she definitely didn't spend enough time with him and his kingdom to develop feelings for him, let alone trust him to be a supportive father.
But the thing that really downed the mood was the fact she hadn't seen her father or brother at all since the storm. Are they looking for him? Are they alright?
"Would they even recognize me?" She wondered.
How would one even think a mermaid nursing a baby was once their human brother?
Damon has all morning to feel sorry for herself and her situation but right now she was feeling hungry. No doubt her pregnancy was giving her cravings.
She swam out of Prince Liam's room and looked around the castle nervously. The entire castle was foreign to her. Its massive baroque architecture, decoration and art seemingly intimidated the poor mermaid who was just a commoner human yesterday.
She never even went inside a Disney castle before, let alone a real one underwater. While Prince Liam knew the place by heart, Damon could only swim around, praying that she was near a room with food in it.
"Oh man, where do I go? What do mermaids even eat? How can I ever get used - omph!"
Damon was so deep in thought that she didn't notice herself bumping into something. No, someone. She looked up to see a pair of sapphire eyes looking back at her.
The mermaid was beautiful. She was fair and golden-haired, with caucasian skin and scales of dark blue. It was as if a fairy tale princess was right in front of the pregnant mermaid, bare-breasted and with her legs replaced by a fishtail. Damon's eyes widened as she saw a large crown resting on top of the mermaid's lovely hair.
This was Liam's mom. The Queen!
"Oh god. I'm so, so sorry your highness. Please forgive me." Damon said as she bowed her head down.
Instead of a stern reply, Damon heard a light chuckle.
"Don't worry, little one. I won't hurt you."
Damon felt her head being raised from a hand under her chin. She was now looking at the Queen face to face.
Damon was awed, much to the Queen's pleasure.
"Judging from your red tail, you must be that mermaid I've been hearing about throughout the kingdom." The Queen spoke.
"Wow, news travels that quickly here?" Damon asked.
The Queen chuckled again. "But of course. The Safir Kingdom was absolutely buzzing about my son's "new mate." I wanted to check on you but Liam insisted to not enter his room."
"Oh… Umm…" Damon stammered as she laid her hands on her belly. "Speaking of your son, he may have… Umm…"
"He gave you a baby." The Queen poked Damon's belly.
"Yeah, that might have given it away." Damon laughed nervously.
A warm smile appeared on the Queen's face. "In all seriousness, congratulations. It genuinely means a lot to me that my son has finally has a mate."
Damon let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank you, your majesty."
The Queen chuckled again "You don't need to call me that. You can call me Evelyn. What's your name?"
"I'm… Damelliea." She said, still trying to get used to her feminine name. Damon offered up her hand to the Queen.
Queen Evelyn happily shook Damon's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Damelliea. It's good to see a future Queen first thing in the morning."
Damon shuddered a bit at that. "Yeah… Umm… To be frank, I'm not used to this castle yet. This whole pregnancy thing has been gnawing at my mind recently."
Queen Evelyn gently patted Damon's hand. "It's okay. Trust me, I was pregnant too." Her hand then moved to Damon's belly, gently caressing the stomach holding her grandchild.
Damon could see Evelyn's eyes sparkling as she spoke. "It's really quite exciting when a mercouple of different tail colors mate and have a baby. Usually, the tail colors from the father but sometimes a baby can have a tail of a mixed color."
"Oh really?"
Evelyn nodded. "It's a fascinating thing. The Safir Kingdom has had a variety of tail colors associated with it in the past, but our royal blood has had consistently blue tails in recent generations now."
"Huh…" Damon replied. "Since your son has a blue tail and I have a red tail, that means we might give birth to-"
"A purple tailed merchild." Evelyn smiled. "We never had a purple tailed ruler in our kingdom's history before. Granted, it's best to not get too excited over tails. Most likely, your baby will have a blue tail, just like Liam. Personally, I wouldn't mind that at all. If you couldn't tell," Queen Eveyln pointed to her jewelry and tail "blue's my favorite color."
Damon smiled at that. "Personally, I'm fine with whatever my baby looks like." She rubbed her belly. "I just want my baby to be healthy."
"Me, too. I hope to make you and your baby feel right at home here."
Damon wanted to say something about her father and brother, the human family she has at home, but her thoughts were interrupted as the baby moved around in her belly. This caused Damon to thrust her head back and groan.
Queen Evelyn quickly swam to her aid. "Don't worry. It's okay. The baby's just hungry. Come on, there's soon to be breakfast with my husband just down the hall."
Damon moaned as she felt her baby moving around in her tummy. "Is it good?" She blurted out.
"Extremely." The Queen reassured. "We have the best cooks under the sea. Perfect for a mermaid about to lay an egg."
"An egg? You mean I'm going to - ah!" Damon gasped as she felt her baby "kick" with its tail.
"Yes. The classic invertebrates and the fishes. The mermaid's lay eggs and the mermen fertilize them."
Damon sniffled as she tried to take it all in. Queen Evelyn heard this and spoke again. "Don't worry, Damelliea. Everything will be fine under my watch. I know being a mother will be hard but you got an entire kingdom by your side. Everything will be fine."
"That's not what I…" Damon whimpered before stopping. There's no way she could reveal her human origins to Liam's family in this condition. She needs food now.
Queen Evelyn gave Damon a gentle pat on the back as she lead her son's lover into the royal table. Not aware she's holding a former human under her arms.