Fins (Transformations: Book 2)

“You’re wearing your ring,” Dr. Grey observed as he approached Freya. “I hope that means you like it and you’re not just trying to be polite.”

She laughed at the remark. “I love it. Don’t worry.” She held out a thin package. “This is for you.”

“For me?” He took it with a surprised expression, opening it to find a children’s book on the goddess, Freya.

“I thought it might help you remember.”

He gave a brief laugh at that. “I will read it tonight.”

She smiled, noting that he actually seemed to be happy about the gift. “You’re certainly an odd one, Dr. Grey.”

“So, I’ve been told,” he said. “Repeatedly.”

“Well, I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” she assured him. “I don’t think I’d want you any other way, to be honest.”

Her words were rewarded with a blank stare. “You don’t think I’m too distant or distracted.”

“I think you’re passionate about what you love and you let that passion overrule you sometimes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. As long as you’re not hurting anybody, why should anyone be bothered?”

He continued to stare at her for a minute. “You are truly, a fascinating person.”

“So, I’ve been told,” she said with a smile. “Repeatedly.” She spotted Aria coming in and figured she should go check on her, so she wished Dr. Grey a merry Christmas and headed over. “You could, at least, try to look like you’re having fun and not carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

Aria gave her a distracted smile. “Sorry. There’s a lot on my mind.”

“I’m well-aware of that,” Freya assured her. “Even so, this is a Christmas party. Tomorrow is Christmas eve. Let your worries wait until after the holiday. I promise they will still be there.”

“That’s not exactly comforting,” Aria informed her.

Freya just shrugged. “Do you want me to lie and pretend everything’s going to be fixed after Christmas.”

Aria considered that for a moment. “Only if you can sound convincing.”

Freya smiled at that. “Alright, then. Christmas is a magical time and no great problems can survive it. By the time the holiday is over, the necklace will have appeared somewhere perfectly obvious and you will find it. The Glemoran royals will then believe you had nothing to do with the theft. They will feel so guilty about accusing you that they will listen to everything you have to say and you will be able to correct their ruling errors. After that, nobody will be mean to anybody ever again and Kai will be free to marry whomever he wishes. After all, the world is fair and decent people always win out in the end.”

Aria stared at her for a few seconds after the explanation before replying, “Liar.”

Freya laughed and took her hands. “For tonight, we will believe it because it is Christmas.”

Aria relented and gave a brief nod. “Because it’s Christmas.”

“Are you alright?” Dr. Grey asked when he found his intern, standing alone on the edge of the party.

Eric was surprised that the doctor had even noticed, but he put on a smile, certain it would fool the man. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You seem distracted.”

Eric almost laughed at that. “You’re one to talk.” The words slipped out before he could stop them and he immediately felt his cheeks go red. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

Frederick offered him a kind smile. “I think you did and I can’t really argue, can I? Even so, if something is bothering you, I’d like to be able to help.”

Eric knew he couldn’t explain the situation to his boss, but he smiled all the same. “You seem to have become more observant, lately. It’s surprising.”

Frederick shrugged and glance across the room to where the mermaids were chatting. “It would seem my attention has been focused differently of late.” He looked back at the intern. “What about yours?”

Eric sighed and nodded. “My attention is a few different places, right now. A few weeks ago, I thought I knew what I wanted, but everything’s been turned on its head.”

“That’s life, isn’t it?” Grey commented. “A simple life where everything makes sense and there are no trials might be peaceful, but I don’t imagine it would be worth living, do you?”

Eric considered that for a moment. “No, I guess not.” He looked over at Aria and sighed again. “But, sometimes, I just wish somebody could show up and give me the answers I need.”

“Don’t we all?”

“My lady, you have guests in the foyer,” a maid called through Sapphira’s bedroom door the next day.

The princess frowned at the plural use of the word. One guest could mean Kai with news. More than one made that unlikely. Even so, she left the security of her room and made her way to the entrance hall, where she saw her least favorite twins waiting.

Alyssa’s necklace glowed softly, as it always did. Alexander’s matching pendant was noticeably absent, reminding Sapphira of the delicate situation Alizarin was in with them.

Sapphira comforted herself in the knowledge that they wanted to see her. Under the current arrangement, they could take Alizarin out with them any time they said they needed a bodyguard. However, they didn’t usually bother to speak to Sapphira before doing so. Sometimes, she would see them leaving with him, but she realized she probably wasn’t always even aware that they had come. Nobody felt the need to keep her informed of such a thing, after all.

“Good morning, your highness,” Alyssa said. “I hope we didn’t wake you.”

Sapphira forced a smile, wanting to keep them happy, if possible. “I was already awake, so it’s fine. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“We haven’t spent much time together, of late,” she explained, “I was just thinking of how much fun we used to have and we thought we should visit you.”

Sapphira continued to force a smile as she thought about that. Since the twins were part of a high-ranking family, they had been brought as playmates for Sapphira since she was a child. She hadn’t particularly enjoyed playing with them, but they were the most company she was permitted, so she’d never complained.

“Ah, yes,” Sapphira said. “I remember. It has been too long, I suppose. I’ve been rather distracted, to be honest.” She did her best to come up with a good excuse for having avoided them for so long. “Since the peace treaty was formed, I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“I suppose anyone would be distressed, knowing she would have to marry a boorish Valadoran.”

“Exactly. It’s cause me so much concern, I fear I may have neglected my dear friends.” Sapphira took her hand to make the feelings seem genuine. “Come in and we can talk as we used to.” She was willing to do anything to keep them from leaving with Alizarin for as long as she could.

Alyssa just smiled and the pair followed her up to her room, where they had played so many times as children.

Sapphira closed the door behind them. “I wouldn’t want others to hear me speak ill of the treaty, but I’m sure I can trust you two, can’t I?”

“Of course, you can,” Alyssa promised. “We’re your friends, just as we have always been. We will always look out for you. Didn’t we prove that when we took care of your pet red-tail for you before?”

Sapphira’s smile became more strained, but she managed to keep it plastered on her face. “Of course. However, I would prefer you not treat him so harshly. It wouldn’t do to have my bodyguard damaged.”

“But he’s not your bodyguard for the moment,” Alexander pointed out.

“Even so,” Sapphira took a breath to remain calm. “I would like him to be in one piece when the matter is settled and he’s returned to his usual duties.”

“Don’t worry,” Alyssa’s smile was much easier to maintain than Sapphira’s. “We won’t allow any long-term harm to come to him.”

The princess was decidedly uncomforted by that promise, but she elected not to argue. “Have you had any luck finding your necklace?”

“If we had, I’d be wearing it,” Alexander pointed out.

Sapphira nodded her understanding. “Of course. I suppose I just hoped it might have turned out to simply be misplaced. It would be convenient, wouldn’t it?”

“It would certainly be convenient, but it’s not particularly likely,” Alyssa commented. “He never took it off, as I’m sure you realized. Therefore, it would be difficult to lose it. It must have been stolen during the party, when we were distracted. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if a siren helped and we just didn’t realize. They can be sneaky, after all, and they got us before when they kidnapped your pet.”

“I doubt that,” Sapphira replied, not wanting them to start something with the sirens, as well. “They are mischievous, but that oceanidis fond of the land girl, so I doubt the aurai would allow them to continue the game this long.”

“I don’t see why a nymph would care so much about her,” Alyssa remarked. “She’s nothing special, but everyone seems to be obsessed. Even the prince who is meant to marry you seems to focus more attention on that irritating creature.”

“He is fascinated by what he doesn’t understand,” Sapphira explained. “He’ll lose interest, soon enough. Besides, our engagement is hardly romantic, so who cares if his eye wanders a few times before we are properly bound.”

“It’s disrespectful,” Alyssa said. “With someone like you as his future bride, he should not feel the need to look elsewhere. He certainly shouldn’t be distracted by a land girl.”

“Well, I won’t argue for her,” Sapphira replied. “I find the girl as irritating as you do. However, she is only able to see our world until after the comet passes, so I try not to worry.”

“And if she decides to become a mermaid, at that point?” Alyssa wondered.

“She won’t be welcome in Glemora,” the princess stated. “At best, she may be permitted to become a Valadoran, but that will surely depend on whether they believe she threatens the treaty.”

“Do you believe she threatens it?”

Sapphira shook her head. “The prince is a fool, but he will not disobey and order like this. His eyes may wander and he may even believe himself to be in love with that girl, but he won’t forget his duties to his kingdom.”

“You have a lot of faith in a Valadoran, your highness.”

“I have seen the way he behaves around his parents. He is little more than a child around them, so there’s no reason to expect he would disobey.”

There was a knock at the door and a servant called out, “Your highness, your parents sent me to remind you that your lessons will begin soon.”

Sapphira frowned at that. “I will be there in a moment.” She looked at the twins. “I suppose you have lessons to attend, as well.”

Alyssa shook her head. “We completed them before coming here. We’re early risers.” She looked at her brother. “We thought we might do some exploring, today.”

“Ah.” Sapphira realized that meant they would probably take Alizarin out. “If you’d be willing to wait, I would like to come with you. I haven’t been out much, of late.”

“You are always welcome to join us, later,” Alexander told her. “We dislike waiting, though.”

“Right.” Sapphira couldn’t think of a good argument for that. “I will try and find you when my studies are done, I suppose.”

They nodded and she saw they to the foyer, where they informed a guard they would be taking Alizarin with them. Sapphira looked back at she swam away and saw Alizarin being brought to the twins, his expression carefully blank, as usual.

As the three swam away, Sapphira thought back to the first time the twins had met Alizarin.

They were ten and had been coming to play with Sapphira frequently. Alizarin visited every few days, but nobody knew about that. The days of his visits were ones the princess enjoyed most.

During this particular visit, the twins had been bombarding Sapphira with questions about Alizarin, but she pretended not to know anything. Apparently, they had heard about him and developed an interest since they’d never seen a red tail, before.

As they were leaving, Alyssa grabbed her mother’s hand. “You were supposed to ask if we could see him.”

“Alyssa, don’t be rude,” their mother commanded.

“But you were supposed to ask!”

“Who does she want to see?” the queen asked with a curious smile.

Their mother gave an embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry, but they heard you keep a red-tailed boy here and they keep talking about wanting to see him. I’m sure you understand the curiosity of a child. Of course, I’m sure it would be too much trouble to ask you to bring him out.”

“It would not be so difficult, but I fear they would be disappointed. He’s not particularly interesting.”

“So you spend time with him?”

The queen continued to smile. “Not directly, but the servants see him from time to time. We can risk him running off. I’m sure we’ll find a use for him, eventually.”

“Is he really tame, then?” their father asked. “You hear stories about these people…”

Sapphira didn’t like the way they were talking about Rin, but she sensed she shouldn’t say anything.

“He seems to be quite tame,” the queen replied. “Of course, we generally keep him locked up. There’s no point in inviting trouble.”

The other woman nodded. “So, I expect it would be bothersome to ask you to let us see him. I must confess to being curious, myself, though. I’ve never actually seen one, after all.”

“Well, if you are really so interested…” The queen looked at one of the guards. “Would you mind fetching him for us?”

The guard nodded and swam away, returning a few minutes later with and uncertain-looking Alizarin in tow. The boy caught Sapphira’s gaze, but didn’t say anything.

The queen looked at her daughter. “I suppose this is a shock for you, as well, Sapphira, but we won’t let him hurt you, so don’t worry.”

The princess remained silent, irritated by the way they were dragging him out to be shown off like some strange fish.

“Look how ugly his tail is,” Alyssa announced, pointing at it.

“Well, such deformities happen occasionally,” their mother said, even as she stared at it. “Has he had any violent outbursts?”

“Not that we’ve seen, but we take precautions.”

Before anyone could stop them, the twins swam over for a closer look.

“You shouldn’t get too close,” their mother warned.

“I wouldn’t worry,” the queen said. “The guard is right there and we haven’t allowed any sign of a temper to fester.”

“Doesn’t he talk?” Alyssa asked as she stared at him. “Say something.”

Alizarin looked down, clearly uncomfortable. Sapphira hoped they wouldn’t make him stay there much longer.

“Can’t you hear?” Alexander asked before pinching him. “She wants you to talk.”

Alizarin pulled his arm away and covered the spot with his hand. “I don’t know what to say.” Even his voice was small and nervous.

“You’re pretty dumb, aren’t you?” Alyssa asked, looking down at his tail. “Does it feel the same?” She ran her hand over it, making him jerk back.

“Gross,” Alexander said with a smile. “You touched it!”

“Can’t you just leave him alone?” Sapphira demanded when she couldn’t bear the scene any longer. Everyone else fell silent and stared at her. “Can’t you see he doesn’t like it?”

It was a minute before anyone spoke. Finally, the queen said, “Now, Sapphira, they were only having some fun. There’s no need to get so carried away.” She offered their mother an apologetic smile. “It seems my daughter has developed something of a soft heart. We’ll have to teach her better than that, I suppose.”

The other woman gave a chuckle. “Oh, she’s just a child. They get funny ideas in their heads, anyway. Besides, it’s getting late, so she may be tired. That can make a little girl more prone to such outbursts.”

“Thank you for your understanding,” the queen said. “I look forward to seeing you, tomorrow.”

Alizarin was taken back to his room and the twins left with their mother.

The queen took her daughter to her room before turning to her. “You were rather rude, tonight. I hope you won’t embarrass me like that, again.”

“But they were hurting him,” Sapphira argued.

“He is a red-tail.” The queen spoke, slowly. “I know it is hard for you to fully understand what that means, but his well-being is none of your concern. Besides, it’s good for him to be reminded of his place. He may forget it if he has a princess defending him.” The queen thought about it for a moment. “I suppose we’ll have to something to rectify the situation, now.”

“What do you mean?”

Her mother sighed and kissed her head. “It’s not for you to worry about. You are the future ruler of this kingdom. You can’t allow yourself to become distracted by someone as low as him.”

Sapphira stared at her mother, realizing she was never going to protect the boy and nothing the princess said would make a difference. “Why do you hate him so much?”

“I don’t hate him,” the queen replied. “I simply realize he is not someone to worry about. He is a red-tail and is fortunate to live in a palace, at all. We can’t risk such a thing going to his head, though.” She gave her daughter a gentle smile. “You will understand, one day. For now, try and get some rest.”

Sapphira nodded, just wanting to get her mother to go away so she wouldn’t have to listen to her, anymore.

“Goodnight, Sapphira,” the queen said, before she left the room, locking the door behind her.