The Servant Girl and The Sea Prince

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: MELINDA AND POSEIDON

After Poseidon introduced Melinda to his five younger sisters, and briefly explained how he had used an ancient power contained in the Enchanted Royal Aquamarine of Pacifica called the Transformation of True Love to irreversibly turn her into a mermaid, she had the best night's sleep she had in ages in one of the Pacifican royal palace's many guest rooms. The kelp mattress and soft, yellow sea sponge pillow was more comfortable than any bed she'd ever slept on before.

Melinda swam to the dining room of the palace, still getting used to her new body. One of the things that intrigued her the most was that her fair-skinned hands weren't the slightest bit waterlogged, even though she had been fully underwater for several hours.

The large dining room was similar in size to the one in Huntington Manor. The long table was carved out of repurposed driftwood, and electric eel lamps, imported from faraway waters, provided warm lighting. Small, low, driftwood stools were set around the table instead of chairs.

She sat down across from Pearl, Poseidon's 14-year-old sister. The dark-haired, golden-tailed teenage mermaid princess glared at Melinda with a stoic suspicion in her chocolate brown eyes. The bookish Pearl was a budding environmentalist who wasn't fond of humans, because they polluted the oceans, though not to the borderline hysterical level of Prof. Yellowtail.

A Civilized octopus serving maid named Ruby used her numerous lengthy arms to serve multiple merfolk their breakfast at once. "Thank you!" exclaimed Melinda politely, with a grateful smile on her face. As a former servant herself, she vowed to treat the Pacifican royal family's household help with the utmost respect and kindness.

Poseidon had described some kinds of merfolk food to Melinda, but she was nonetheless unsure of what to expect from Pacifican cuisine. The clam fritters, which were finely chopped clams mixed with seaweed tempura batter and deep-fried in bioluminescent algae oil, turned out to be extraordinarily delicious.

Most of Poseidon's five younger sisters ate quietly. Still grieving the untimely passing of their late, great father, King Neptune, they were in pretty somber moods. They were all wearing plain seashell bras, and none of their usual jewelry and hair accessories, as it was an age-old tradition in Pacifica to avoid glitzy adornment for the forty-eight hours following a loved one's foaming.

"I decided to drop Prof. Yellowtail's Humanology class", announced Poseidon, breaking the awkward silence.

"You can't!" Oceana objected.

"I have a much better Humanology teacher than Prof. Yellowtail now" Poseidon stated. He flashed a smile in Melinda's direction.

"Melinda, you've gotta tell me what all of the human stuff in my collection is used for!" asserted Oceana.

"I'd be happy to!" Melinda promised.

"Now that I'm the King of Pacifica, my classes in politics and diplomacy are far more important anyway. Professor Fishman, my diplomacy professor, is so brilliant that I'm gonna ask him to be my Chief Foreign Policy Advisor". As a very young monarch, Poseidon was going to assemble a sizeable team of knowledgeable advisors that would help him govern his kingdom, for at least the first few years of his reign.

Melinda kept glancing back and forth between her own human shift and Poseidon's sisters' seashell tops. "I really need mermaid clothes" she declared.

"I'd love to take you shopping, at the marketplace" offered Marina. 13-year-old Marina was the most fashion-conscious of Poseidon's sisters.

"I'll come along too" Thalassa said.