All eyes were pointed on the door when the figure of a mermaid swam inside the room.
She was a beautiful maiden of fair skin and was dressed in a top made of shimmering gossamer silk. Her red and black tail was decorated with gold bangles and jewels that revealed her high status. Probably the most striking thing about the mermaid was her glittering ruby tiara and the lovely face that it laid upon.
Nate and his friends were speechless, they were in the presence of a princess! Rose felt her heart drop, Taylor’s words echoed in her head, “Princes at least until the modern age had arranged marriages to Princess, they didn’t marry commoners.”
“They didn’t marry commoners,” Rose whispered, her voice cracking. Rose would’ve broken down crying right there, in front of everyone, if Captain Adonis didn’t speak first.
“Prince Cain, allow me to introduce your little sister, Princess Amara.”
Princess Amara looked at Nate with fascination, along with everyone else at her, causing the room to be filled with a moment of tension-filled silence. Finally, the tension broke once the maid smiled.
“Brother!” Princess Amara yelled with delight as she dashed to Nate, with one strong flick of her tail, and embraced him, much to the delight of Captain Adonis and the mermaid doctor.
“The blood test was true! Oh, I’m so glad you’re back!” The princess said with joy.
For a while, Nate didn’t know what to think. Just moments ago, he was a normal human on a yacht with his friends. Now, he was a merprince reunited with his sister that he had no idea even existed until less than a minute ago.
Still, the moment felt sort of… right. This mermaid, like it or not, was family. Real family. His parents weren’t druggies that left him to be taken by the foster care system, they were royalty that thought he was killed, and they are now rushing home to be reunited with their son. Nate looked down at his sister and finally returned her embrace.
Rose looked around to see how her friends were reacting to this and found to see that their expressions were of general happiness and pride, yet some a tinge of worry. Sam and Mike looked especially concerned.
The presence of all these knights in this room could be a big wrench in their plan to escape. Not only that but now that Nate was in the tangible presence of family, he may not even want to leave or do an angry energy blast. No doubt that he would want to catch up with his sister, let alone his parents.
Sam gulped and Taylor, knowing how her boyfriend was feeling, patted him on the back for comfort.
There was still the issue of what Vapocada would even be like. If the kingdom only allowed princes to marry princesses, then Rose could be a bargaining chip for the gang to convince Nate to still be with the escape plan.
"Yeah, maybe Rose could still get us out of here." Taylor thought.
Then, as if on cue, Princess Amara gently released the embrace of her brother and had her eyes on Rose.
“Ah, you must be Rose. The doctor told me all about you. You’re his girlfriend, right?” Amara said, her voice having a melodic quality to it.
Rose looked down at her tail, not wanting to screw up in front of a royal, but she answered, “Yes. I was with him as he was on land.”
Amara grinned. “Ah! Then I thank you, Rose, for looking out for my brother.” Amara turned to Mate and reached into a pocket within her dress to pull out a box.
“This item was found inside the ship that you and your friends were on, as I was told. I believe this belongs to you.”
Nat looked at the box closely, it looked familiar. He opened it to see what’s inside.
It was the ring. The exact engagement ring he meant to show Rose in that five-star restaurant he planned for.
Nate was flabbergasted, he was about to say something before Princess Amara spoke up again. “Before you say anything. I would like to say that your marriage to Rose has my full blessing.”
"It would be an honor to serve you, madam Rose." Captain Adonis said with a bow. "I'm sure the other knights in the Vapocada roundtable will be pleased to know you as well."
“Oh…” Taylor whispered as her shoulders slumped. "Well, there goes that."