Rose lied in the bed in their room, well it wasn’t truly their room it was and it wasn’t. It was hard to really say for sure. It was a sweet of rooms which belonged to Nate…well Cain now that he had returned as crown prince of this merfolk kingdom it seemed more like a hotel room to Rose. There were five rooms in total, a master bedroom where she and Nate currently slept in, a sitting room, a dining room, library and a guest bedroom, there was also an outdoor balcony and three bathrooms. All of the rooms where furnished in items that were far beyond anything either of them could have ever had hoped to afford in the human world. Still it felt strange, as they had moved around the rooms, it felt more like a hotel then a home.
On some levels it made sense, these rooms where set aside for when a Prince or Princess was old enough and wanted to live separately then the main royal household but still close enough to be protected by the royal guard.
Amara had her own set of apartments and when she had visited her chambers it felt more like a home with family photos and personal touches. The family chambers for the King and Queen, Nate’s parents it felt like a home as well, with family photos and the like.
“Just give it some time.” Said Rose to herself as she got out of bed and stretched a bit, flicking her new red tail as she then swam out of the bedchamber into the bathroom. She opened up bathroom mirror and found a pill box. She took the single pill in the one meant for today.
“Well…tonight may be the night.” Said Rose as she put the pill box back, the mermaid doctor had pulled her aside after she talked to her friends. They had gotten her birth control pills and theirs was much more effective then on the human world, she could have taken one that night and had a less than 10% of getting pregnant, after 9 nights the number dropped to below .001% and if Nate wore their version of a condom it would drop even lower. Since having a royal baby out of wedlock would cause nothing but trouble, Nate and her had decided to wait, well the wait would be over tonight, that would if they were not too tired
Over the past 10 days it had been almost none stop madness, multiple teachers who would normally come to ornate them on the way the merfolk world work was coming to the Palace. Normally these teachers would be teaching them in a center near the island and they wouldn’t be the best of the best in their field. Now that Nate was found to be the Missing Crown Prince Cain the teachers where coming to them in the Summer Palace and they were the best of the best in their field.
Rose swam out of the bathroom and to the bed and nudged the still sleeping Nate awake.
“Sorry but time to get up.” apologized Rose as Nate groaned a bit as he rolled over and looked up at Rose.
“Could we not do anything today.” Admitted Nate in a tired voice. “I swear all this is tiring and I just want a day off, it is worse then finals week."
“True, but none of us is getting a day off at the moment.” Admitted Rose before she let out a sigh, they where having so much put on all of them so fast. In the morning all of them sat together and learned about everything about basic merfolk society ranging from Holidays, society make up and basic biology. Rose didn’t even know until one of the teachers told her, that the reason why mermaids and merman had fins in different spots was to help pull themselves together during sex. Kelly and Kenny already knew that and noted that while the lack of legs took away some of their favorite positions mersex was amazing. That caused the teacher, to blush a bit or maybe it was because the two of them where friends of the crown prince and that would bring embarrassment to the royal family and government.
After lunch, came the more one on one teaching. Teachers…well Professors really from the best schools in the Kingdom had come to teach them. Some considered it an honor, most of all the computer/technology teacher who almost fainted when learning that he would teacher the future King about his field. Even with all their advancements it seamed that computers where still a newish field to them and having a future King be taught in that field was a bag of prize for their field. The medical doctors who came to teacher her also seamed very happy to teach a future Queen and they seemed impressed with her knowledge even if it was limited to the similarities between Human and merfolk bodies.
The two lawyers who came to co-teach both Stacy and Sam in the laws of the Kingdom where not as pleased, they wanted to teach a future King or Queen but honored either way. The architecture professor who came to teach Mike was a stick in the mud but seamed to like Mike as the two of them swam around the palace talking free form about their field. Taylor was doing the same, going around the garden with an herbalist and learning about the undersea plants she would spend the rest of her life studying. Something Rose wished she could do, instead of looking into the mountain of books she had to go through. Kenny who had gone to school for veterinary had an almost matching mountain of text books but he had least had already taken a marine biology class so had ideas about how some of it worked, she hadn’t and he went to what was basically the royal stables to study the animal life there. Kelly had gone to school for mechanical engineering and math was math even under the sea.
Strangely the one with the easiest work was Amanda, teaching merfolk and teaching humans required a lot of the same stuff and therefor she had the least to learn. However she had the most emotional weight to deal with everything. The one piece of news which Rose thought would lift Amanda’s mood was that gay and lesbian relationships where not only legal but totally acceptable and common place among the merfolk. If it did Amanda didn’t swim for joy for it, maybe it was the lost of her “girlfriend” or crush that wasn’t sure wasn’t with her or her own religious upbringing clashing with her own feelings.
Nate/Cain had the most work, because in the evening when everyone else was getting a break or studying Nate/Cain had to learn about all the Royal Protocols and the like. Rose knew she would have to learn those as well, but she wasn’t a Crown Prince and her duties would be much lower until she and Nate where married.
Her thoughts on Amanda reminded her of what was going to happen this morning.
“Have you thought about who you want to ask to offer to become a merperson?” inquired Rose as Nate nodded his head.
“Ya…I have.” confirmed Nate looking up at the ceiling. “I wish we could have just sat down and talked this all out together.”
“Agreed.” confirmed Rose, it had been Stacy’s idea and on some level she understood it.
All of them would put 1 name forward and do it in one-on-one meeting with the Minister of former Human affairs. That mermaid would then pick who they would offer the chance to become a merfolk. The idea was that having each of them pick a single person to nominate and do so privately would avoid any fights breaking out between friends. This also meant that boyfriends and girlfriends could pick for themselves for example Taylor could ask for her mother and Sam could ask for another one of his friends or even one of his family members if he wanted. Rose was not even sure who she would ask for she had it down to two or three but wasn’t sure whom she would ask for.
Still she knew that Taylor was going to ask for her mother, Sam might even ask for Taylor’s mother as well. His relationship with his own family was strained but he did have a few friends outside of the group who was with him. Amanda was almost for sure going to ask for her girlfriend/crush but whoever that was she was keeping close to her vest, she hadn’t even officially came out to anyone yet. Stacy and Mike where both only children but had friends outside their social group. Kenny came from a large family so it would be impossible for him to pick them all, just like Rose couldn’t but he was close with a few of them. Kelly hated her family but had a pair of friends who where like siblings to her in high school so maybe one of them. It was hard to say who everyone was going to put forward.
When the time came, Rose swam into a sitting room to find a mermaid in vest waiting for her. Like everyone else she made the case for her pick and the mermaid, the Minister of Former Human Affairs took notes and asked her questions. Then after a while Rose swam out of the room and Nate came in after her to give a name and information for the Minister to consider. The likelihood of them getting everyone they wanted was extremely low, they had been told the best they could possibly get was 4 or 5 people, more then likely they would get 1 or 2 and that wasn’t even taking into account the people they would offer turning it down. With seven of them total, odds where most of them would be disappointed but still they had a better shot then most newly turned merfolk because Nate/Cain’s father was likely to sign off on almost anyone and same for his aunt who was the Prime Minister.
The rest of the day went semi-normally as they all sat down for dinner, as they did the Minister came into the room and cleared her throat. Everyone even the King and Queen, along with the Prime Minster turned and looked at her.
“Excuse me my King, Queen and my Prime Minster but I have reviewed the cases of those possible mermaids and mermen whom you have brought before me and I have made my choice.” Said the Minister
“Please tell us.” Ordered the king as everyone around the table held their breaths and waited.