The Siren Queen

Chapter Nine

The Crown Princess of Pacifica and her faithful giant seahorse companion, Stormer, continued northward. They eventually arrived in the merfolk kingdom of Pugetia, which was located in a cool, greenish bay off the northwestern coast of a human kingdom called Mukiltea.

"It is nice...to be in...kingdom again" Stormer said. Nerissa nodded, taking in the sights around her. Of course, she had learned about Pugetia during her lessons in royal diplomacy, but she was visiting it for the very first time.

Like in Pacifica, a wide variety of Civilized sea creatures lived in Pugetia. Some of the most abundant species of Civilized marine animals in this kingdom included salmon, herring, rockfish, Pacific cod, and Dungeness crabs.

Even though Pugetia was a much smaller kingdom than Pacifica, its royal palace was twice the size of Pacifica's coral castle. The impressive structure, built out of stone and driftwood, towered over the tiny huts with seaweed rooftops that the majority of Pugetians resided in.

Nerissa noticed that most Pugetian mermaids wore plain, ill-fitting seashell bras, and very little jewelry and hair accessories. Clad in her stylish, pale blue SeaSatin bikini top, still wearing the bracelet that Lord Zale had given her for her birthday, she felt like she stood out like a shipwreck in an open ocean.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?". A gorgeous merman with golden blonde hair and a well-muscled physique approached Nerissa. He had emerald green eyes and a matching tail, which swished cockily as he moved. "A little lost mermaid princess from subtropical waters..."

"Prince Everett...". It took Nerissa a few seconds to recognize him, as it had been two years since she had last seen him, at her first official royal ball in Pacifica. Of all the visiting foreign royalty at the ball, she recollected that Everett was the snobbiest and most arrogant. Most of the other young mermaids there had been attracted to his flawless looks, but Nerissa couldn't look past his personality.

"I must say...your choice of transportation is...unconventional, Your Highness". Prince Everett eyed Stormer with disdain. "Surely, a Pacifican princess deserves a more elegant mode of travel than this...unworthy creature...!" The usually stoic Stormer puffed out his chest defensively.

Nerissa resisted the urge to roll her eyes, or worse, lose her temper. Everett was positively insufferable, but the royal family of Pacifica prided themselves on their diplomatic skills. After all, the name of her kingdom was derived from the word "pacificus", which meant "making or tending to make peace", in Latin, a human language. Pacifica hadn't been involved in a war in over three centuries, so they had the smallest standing army in the four oceans. Her father, King Poseidon, had taught her to do her utmost best to always be civil to other royals to their faces. "Stormer has served me well, Your Highness" she stated curtly.

"May I offer you a tour of our magnificent palace?" proposed Everett, following a moment of awkward silence.

"Sure..." the Crown Princess of Pacifica agreed cautiously.

"Your...Stormy...may stay in our royal stables..."

"Stormer...!" corrected Nerissa.

Prince Everett showed Nerissa his own bonded giant seahorse, a pure white thoroughbred sea-stallion named Kamiak. "He won a silver medal in show jumping at the last Olympic Sea Games" he boasted, his nose in the water.

"That's nice..." Nerissa said flatly.

Next on the tour was the Pugetian palace's ballroom. "Where under the sea did you manage to acquire this much gold from...?" asked Nerissa. The driftwood walls were trimmed with gold, and a massive gold chandelier, even though merfolk obviously had no use for candles, dangled from the high ceiling.