Breakfast was just ending when the doors to the chamber opened as multiple mermaids and merman swam into the room each of them carrying large boxes, some of the boxes had smaller boxes under them with a blue crystal which gave off a slight buzz in the water. The boxes where lowered to the ground and that is when they noticed that the merman pushing them where holding handles. They pulled the box off the crystal box and from the point of view of the former humans it looked like a hand dolly with a glowing crystal at the end.
“These are them?” said someone in what sounded like a French accident filled the room, coming in beside Princess Amara was an older merman who was rather thin and wore a vest which had multiple sharp points on it, it looked like something straight out of the 1970s or early 1980s.
“They are.” Confirmed Amara with a smile “Allow me to introduce….”
“Please I introduce myself.” Said the merman as Amara gave him an annoyed look but let it pass. “I am known simply as Jacques.”
“Ok…” said Taylor as Jacques strike a poss.
“I would have been a world wide name if I didn’t fall off a cruise ship, my designs where forward thinking and a head of their time.” Said Jacques as everyone looked at each other, this man was playing into the stereotypical French fashion designer to a T.
“I grant he is…interesting.” Stated Amara clearly wanting to say something along the lines of crazy. “But outside of some of the cloth designers in the capital he is the best and he is local to the area so I could get him quickly, I have worn a few of his works.”
Jacques seamed a little offended by saying that he wasn’t the best but he let it pass.
“Now…I have brought a number of pieces for the new mermaids and my counterpart in the room across the hall has many pieces for the merman.” Said Jacques “Who is Rose?”
“I am.” Answered Rose as she raised her hand, almost at once Jacques swum over to her and began to study her. Swimming around her his eyes running up and down her as if she was a piece of meat, she wanted to punch this man then she realized while really offending he was imagining her in different clothing pieces.
“I will start with you.” Stated Jacques “It isn’t often that I get to dress a Princess.”
That took Rose a back for a moment, she was the daughter of a dentist not a Princess that is how she thought of herself but she wasn’t that anymore was she.
“Ah…actually why don’t you start with my friends I have a question for Princess Amara.” Said Rose as Jacques looked a little offended.
“It will give you time to plan out what you want.” Added Taylor as she stepped or was it swam into the conversation giving her friend a way out without upsetting this man’s tinny ego.
“Very well…gentlemen will you please go across the hall, I must get to work on the ladies.” Said Jacques as he swam up to Taylor who had spoken and began to study her.
“Is something wrong?” inquired concerned Amara as Rose and Nate swam up to her, the guys where going across the hall heading toward a matching chamber which would be their dressing room for the moment.
“Ah…well, the engagement ring that Nate gave me, keeps falling off.” Explained Rose as she slipped the ring back on and waved her hand, the ring almost went flying off since it couldn’t fall down far enough because of her webbed hands. “I notice now that merpeople don’t wear rings, so what do you use?”
“Necklaces mostly.” Answered Amara before looking at Nate and then Rose. “I would hang on to it for the moment and once we get to the Summer Palace I get in contact with one of the major jewelry companies and see if he can arrange to modify your ring.”
“Modify it how?” inquired Nate, he had picked that ring out himself, he didn’t know that Rose had done the picking for him but he still felt pride in his pick as Amara looked at Captain Adonis
“Captain, can you follow me into the hall and please show Prince Cain and Rose your wedding band.” Inquired Princess Amara
“Of course Princess.” Said Captain Adonis as he swam over, singling two of his fellow guards to swim over as well. They helped him remove the breast plate armor, to show a simple white T-shirt, however over it a necklace but it looked almost like a solid 3 to 4 inch wide disk which wrapped around his shoulders and attached in the back. It reminded both Nate and Rose of a modernized necklace from ancient Egypt. “Mine is a customary solid disk with gold and silver but it has some bronze in it as well, they come in many different styles. A women’s necklace is different than a mans.”
“Your grace, I can show mine if that is required.” Offered a female guard as Captain Adonis and Princess Amara nodded her constant as a female guard removed her armor and showed a much more ornate necklace which came to a point and had a higher collar. Hers wasn’t solid but made out of multiple metal pieces, some gold, some silver and a few jewels mixed in. “Mine is a more modern style, my wife has one like it but the pattern is reverse.”
“Thank you.” said Rose as she touched her neck, she understood why necklaces made sense but still to have that much gold/silver around your neck would be strange to her, at first at least.
“Yes, Madam Rose.” Said the female guard as she started to put her armor back on.
“We can get your ring modified of course, fit it in the center piece of a necklace but in the mean time hold on to it.” Explained Adonis as Rose nodded her head. “I am sure Jacques will have a few belt bags you can choice on one.”
That is when Rose noticed for the first time that Amara had a belt which had multiple small bags on it, it didn’t take much to realize that without pant pockets it made sense.
“I am making the arrangements with hope we can take an overnight transport to the Summer Palace and arrive early in the morning.” Said Amara as she looked at Nate. “The public doesn’t know about your return yet and longer the public isn’t made aware the longer you have to adjust. As soon as they find out the press will go crazy, a lost prince returned and a royal engagement it will be crazy. I am not looking forward to dealing with this craziness.”
“I understand.” Said Nate “But wouldn’t a Palace have media people to help deal with it.”
“Yes of course but I am going to school for press/media so I am will have a fin in dealing with it.” Explained Amara “Now go get some new cloths, the sooner we are all done the sooner we can get to the Palace.”
“Well I better go get some new cloths, same as you.” Offered Nate
“Ok.” Said Rose as she swam back into the room to see Jacques going a little crazy as he and Taylor fought over what color went best with her tail. He wanted blue and she wanted purple, Rose wasn’t sure who would win that fight.
In the end it was Taylor, but it left Jacques bewilder as Kelly went up to bat. By the time she was done, Jacques was even more upset, Amanda and Meiko where more to his liking taking in his ideas and only making sight modification requests unlike Taylor and Kelly where fought him at every turn. Taylor was over color choice; Kelly was over style. It was from Kelly that they learned that because their gills where on their sides just below breast line that corsets couldn’t be skintight there, no cloths could be. Water had to flow out or else a merfolk couldn’t breathe, so everything there had to be modified.
After lunch in which Jacques complained about wishing he was back on land so that he could smoke it was Stacy and her own turn. Stacy was simple and straight forward and took only a few minutes and didn’t want anything special. It was then her turn.
There was a slight fight to say the least as Jacques wanted to put her in one of his own designs which showed way to much flesh. She was possibly going to meet a King and Queen and likely would meet a retired King and Queen in Nate’s grandparents in this outfit and showing up in what looked to be see through silk with nipple coverings wasn’t going to fly in her book.
“I wish you would let me do more to make you stand out but this will do.” Said Jacques, before he went back to Taylor and repeated the process. In the end everyone ended up getting three outfits, one of which were basically new bikini tops and it was fun to have a little bit of girl time with her friends even if they where all processing what was happening to them.
It was just before dinner when everyone was done and the girls got to see the boys and show off what they had gotten.
When they entered the hallway about the same time as the guys. Rose was wearing a tight bright red open shoulder top with a high collar which stopped right above her gills and had no sleeves, but her midriff was covered with a white semi-see through silk which attached to a white belt which had multiple bags which held or rather would hold items. Nate was wearing a dark blue shirt with orange collar tabs, it looked almost like a military uniform like something out of the Civil War only with bits of silver armor on his shoulders and arms.
“You look good.” Said Nate in wonder.
“I could say the same thing, but what is up with the military look?” inquired Rose as Nate blushed a bit.
“It is a royal uniform, the guards around the palace wear them when they are not officially on duty and as the crown prince he is the second in command of the guard behind our father.” Explained Amara as she swam up. “He doesn’t have to patches yet, that has to be reward by our father and no offense brother you aren’t ready for that.”
“I don’t think I am ready for any of this yet.” admitted Nate
“Give it time brother.” Reassured Amara before looking around, everyone was in new cloths and looked amazing in their own way.
Taylor in deep dark purple top which looked a lot like Rose’s top only with a larger open back and no covering over the midriff, her boyfriend Sam was in a top which looked almost like scales but in a mixture of black and red like his tail. It really gave him a striking look with red and black tail, matching top and his new red eyes and black hair.
Mike had kept it simple with a white shirt and vest, the shirt was loss around his gills and the vest had a green scale pattern. Stacy had gone a similar route with a black shirt and a tan blouse over it.
Kelly and Kenny had the most skin showing each, Kelly with a modified totally modified navy color corset which left the skin around her gills, shoulders and sides open. The one bit of modesty which had been forced on was extra fabric which hid some of her cleavage. That had been forced on her and she had only expected after being pointed out she may meet a King/Queen. True they royals would focus more on their missing son/Rose but their friends would be noticed as well. It was something that would have been frowned upon wearing on the surface but was semi-common down here. Kenny had on what looked to be a black jacket which almost looked like leather or the undersea leather with maroon lining around the edge.
Amanda had the most covering with a white long sleeve top, a purple blouse over it and finally a dark purple jacket over it. She was clearly shy and still was not comfortable with how much flesh everyone else seamed to wear and which was acceptable. Meiko had gone with a simple lose white top, edged in rose pink.
“Well is everyone ready?” inquired Amara as she looked around.
“I think so.” Confirmed Nate
“Good follow me.” Said Amara as she swam down the hallway, already the guards where ahead of her as they reached the more natural hallway and made another turn. This time leading them out of the network of tunnels under the island.
Direct sunlight hit them for the first time, as it passed through the water and filled the ocean with light. They had clearly moved as they where now entering a city of some kind. Maybe a city was the wrong way to say it, the city was on the other side of a large building which looked like a cross between a roman/Egyptian temple. It had a colonnade in the front but two large obelisks flanking a slopping ramp which had multiple mermaids/merman swimming up and down it. Most of them where royal guards but not all, some called out to Princess Amara and waving but didn’t seem to really notice him all that much. He was wearing the uniform of an off-duty guard and was believed dead. Amara waved back and smiled but kept swimming until they reached a large platform which looked like a train platform only instead of a train something closer to a submarine was sitting there.
It was long and narrow with a small tower near the front, there where multiple windows on it all tinted, at the end of the thing was five of those blue crystals they had seen earlier on the dolly but much larger.
“Princess Amara, the transport is ready.” Said a voice as a merman swam up, this was the first merman/merperson whom he would call fat, but he was far from being unfit. His arms had to be at least the size of Nate’s head and his hands looked able to crush stone. He didn’t have six pack abs but one could tell that while he was heavy it was all muscle. It reminded him of either a professional athlete, like an Offensive or Defensive lineman in the NFL or a Maori Warrior from New Zealand. He looked able to beat anyone up if he wanted and wasn’t afraid to if he had to do it.
“Good, thank you for getting ready so quickly.” Thanked Amara to the man who nodded his head.
“Of course, Princess, the cabins are prepared, and we can leave in minutes.” Said the merman.
“Thank you, Captain, tell your crew we will leave once we are all onboard and with all possible speed to make for the summer palace.” said Amara as the merman nodded and went off yelling at another merman telling him to double check the crystals. When he had gone a good distance, Amara turned and looked at everyone. “Sadly, there isn’t enough room on this model of transport for all us to eat together in a dinning room, but every couple has their own private rooms and Amanda has a room all to herself. So feel free to do what you want, we should arrive at the Summer Palace in the early morning so please get aboard.”