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By 9am I was bathed, dressed in a high-waisted pencil skirt that showed off my slim waist and shapely hips and a pretty floral shirt.
One of the maids, Paula, had styled my hair into a high ponytail and fashioned it with a ribbon. It was so unlike anything I had ever worn. I’d grown up wearing my mother’s hand-made shift dresses or my father’s old jeans torn into shorts and his old chequered shirts knotted at the waist, despite my mother despising the sight of me in them.
My insides tingled with excitement. I couldn’t wait to explore this underwater city and find out what its people were like. Though I considered myself an introvert and liked my own company most of the time, I still genuinely enjoyed the company of others – crowds more so because you could lose yourself within a crowd, keep company with your own thoughts but still share the same space with others – as long as I was not the centre of attention.
While I waited for Frano I took out the little slip of paper Lukas had left for me to find and read his small note over and over.
I could practically hear his voice, imagining that it would sound somewhat like Frano but perhaps with a gentler tone to it.
It would be nice if we all get could get to know each other together. But this was obviously going to be a challenge with Frano having Lukas ‘put away’ while Frano and I got to know each other.
I had trouble believing that Lukas would be jealous of me. It certainly wasn’t the impression he’d left on me. Why bother introducing himself to me and leaving behind the note. Those were not the actions of a jealous person. They were the actions of a curious individual if anything.
There had to be a deeper reason behind Frano wanting to lock his brother away. And I aimed to find out as soon as possible. I’d ask him during the tour of the city. Perhaps demand that there be no secrets between us should we even begin to consider marriage. I’d also consider fessing up that I’d met his brother already. That way we could both start afresh, with honesty being the foundation of our growing relationship.
A knock came at the door, startling me from my thoughts.
‘Frano?’ I called, my heart running away from me as I recalled our kiss the night before.
‘It’s Hans. Head castle guard. I have an urgent message for you.’
I glanced at the clock. It was already 9.15am. Something must have happened. Surely not to Frano? The only person I knew here?
Alarmed, I opened the heavy door enough to allow the guard to see my face.
‘Is Frano alright?’
The guard nodded. ‘Yes, miss. Frano has asked to pass on his apologies. Something has come up. He is deeply sorry. It is important and couldn’t wait.’
I swallowed thickly. ‘But he’s not in any danger?’
The guard smiled. ‘Oh no. Not at all. Unless a whale eats him while he’s out there.’
‘Out where?’
The guard chuckled softly. ‘Has Frano not shared with you his... his great ambition?’
For a few seconds I stood there, dumbfounded. What was this man speaking about? Though I’d gotten to know Frano a little more at dinner last night, the fact that I didn’t know Frano’s great ambition was a reminded to me that I still had a lot to learn about the man I was considering to be my future husband.
‘What is his great ambition?’
The guard shook his head. ‘I won’t be risking King Frano’s wrath any time soon so I’ll leave that up to him to tell you.’
He stepped back away from the door.
‘What time will he be back?’ I called out.
‘Not long. I shouldn’t think it will take more than two or three days for him to realise that he’s chasing a dream and a myth. Again.’
The man chuckled to himself.
‘Thank you.’ I turned away from the door, wondering what it was that had caused Frano to cancel on me.
Did Frano’s mermaid drawings have anything to do with his great ambition? Is that why he was at sea? Had somebody tipped him off to a possible mermaid sighting? I tried to recall what Frano had said to me the day that I’d met him. Something about his exploring days, that they were over now that he’d found what he’d been looking for. ‘A living mermaid.’
Not many men believed in mermaids and I found it curious that the man I was considering for marriage would share the same unusual belief as my own father had.
I sighed and paced the floor a little, wondering what I should do next, when it occurred to me that I could still visit the city without Frano. It would have been nicer with him by my side, showing me around, but nothing was stopping me from exploring the city’s delights myself.
I slipped out the door, not saying a word to the guards, and started down the long stretches of light crystal studded corridors, and after a few false turns, finally reached the double doors which led to the city.
‘Good morning, Miss,’ both guards who stood on either side of the entry greeted me simultaneously as they opened the grand doors and allowed me through.
Outside, the air smelt sweet and fragrant with flowers. Everything was brightly lit by large light glowing crystal lanterns, which were suspended far too high for me to study too intently. They gave enough light and warmth to resemble a regular morning on the mainland. It was mind blowing. The only giveaway was when I tilted my head and gazed past the light crystals at the distant dark ‘sky’ above and around us. At the thought of being buried beneath so much water, a shiver shimmied its way down my spine. But I shook it off and smiled as I stepped away from the castle.
The air was warm and as I happily skipped down the steps, an exhilarating rush of excitement zipped through my veins. An intense sense of happiness and freedom overwhelmed me.
No more hiding from Mama’s suggested future husbands for me. I had found my own life, my own way.
And it had been my choice.
No one would ever control me again.
Just as my foot hit the pavement at the base of the steps, somebody gripped my wrist and stopped me from going any further.
‘Excuse me, miss. No visiting the city without Frano. He wants to be the one to show it to you. Please, kindly return to the castle.’
I tugged my hand free from the tall, muscular man’s grip.
‘No. I wish to see the city. I feel cooped up in the castle and I will die from boredom if I stay within four walls any longer. You can tell Frano that if he didn’t wish me to visit the city alone, then he should not have left me here all by myself while he is off chasing... whatever it is that he is chasing.’
The guard frowned and rubbed his chin. ‘I can show you the library if you want. Any book is yours if you’re a good reader. How about that? Don’t do this, miss, please. If you don’t follow me back in I’ll likely lose my job.’
Great. He had me now. I stared out at the city and sighed. It would have been nice, but I didn’t want the man to lose his job either.
‘Thank you. That would be lovely.’
I sighed and followed the guard back up the steps, enjoying the last tickles of fresh air against my face before the dark shadows of the castle swallowed me whole again.
‘Do you like reading?’ I asked the guard as we made our way to the library. He scoffed.
‘I don’t know how to read.’
‘Oh. I can teach you if you like,’ I offered, because he seemed friendly and, though I liked being a hermit back in my village, right now I felt I needed some company – any company.
The guard raised his brows. ‘I’m not sure that would be...’
‘Do you want to learn?’ I asked.
The guard stopped at a door and placed his hand on the brass knob.
‘I do.’
I thought about Frano being away for a few days.
‘Well, how about tomorrow morning at 9am? A quick half hour lesson. If this library is as good as you claim we should have books at all levels.’
The man frowned, seeming to like the idea less and less.
‘Sounds hard already.’
I smiled. ‘Oh no. Once you get over the hard bits at the beginning its easy and you’ll want to read more and more.’
He laughed. ‘Okay. But for now, let’s keep it our little secret.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Klemin.’
‘Nice to meet you, Klemin. I’m Nada.’
He laughed. ‘I know. Everybody knows. You’re the name on everyone’s lips.’
My stomach swirled with this knowledge and an ache to be back in my safe little bay, swimming with my sea friends, tugged at my insides.
‘So tomorrow at 9am. I look forward to it,’ I called over my shoulder, feeling glad that I had made my first friend without Frano’s knowledge or introduction. It had irked me that he could run off and explore the sea without so much as a personal goodbye, but it annoyed me even more that he had ordered the guards to not allow me to visit the city.
I stepped through the open door and gasped.
The room was literally filled with books, wall to wall, floor to ceiling.
I laughed and spun around.
‘Have fun,’ the guard said, his eyes twinkling as he closed the door.
‘Oh wait,’ I said, feeling like I could trust Klemin a little.
‘What do you know about Frano’s brother, Lukas?’
The guard’s muscles visibly tensed beneath his black fitted clothes and the smile from his lips disappeared.
‘He’s none of your business or mine. It’s best to stay away from him.’
‘Why?’
‘Don’t go near him. If you see him, walk away.’
‘Is he unsafe? Unstable?’
The guard swore beneath his breath and stepped into the library, shutting the door behind him.
‘Stay away from him. I like you and want you to be safe.’ He bent his head to meet my gaze. ‘Frano has orders to keep Lukas away from you and I need to follow those orders through.’
I nodded and the guard seemed satisfied by my response.
When I heard his footsteps disappear down the long corridor I threw myself onto a green velvet chase and sighed, allowing my head to dangle off the edge of the couch, the ends of my hair brushing the rich, lush, carpeted floor.
‘Now what,’ I said aloud.
I sat up and grabbed a nearby book off the coffee table by the velvet chaise and settled back against the cushions to have a read.
The book was so old the title had been worn away. The edges were well worn and there was a bookmark at page 65.
I wondered if Frano had been reading it.
Just as I opened the book to the first page, the bookcase across the room began to tremble, causing the spines to rattle and shake against the wooden shelving.
I set the book down on the chaise and watched, my heart skipping a beat, as the entire bookshelf began to turn and Lukas stepped out from behind it.
Clapping a hand across my mouth, I stifled a scream. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the guards warning about Lukas being a danger or because the library had a secret door.
‘Where on earth did you come from?’
Lukas smiled.
He pointed to the nearby wall and mimed something.
‘The walls are magic...’ I whispered.
He nodded and did the mime again and this time encompassed the domed underwater city.
‘They entire city is magical?’
Lukas nodded and stepped forward.
He began miming again but when I frowned and said I didn’t understand him he took a notebook and pencil out and scribbled something down.
‘Would you like me to take you to see this magical city?’ he asked.
When I hesitated, Lukas scribbled another note.
‘My brother will be gone for days. Off chasing his fancy. He will not think of us until he returns,’ the note read.
I stared up into Luka’s eyes.
‘What does ‘chasing his fancy’ mean? What is Frano chasing?’
Lukas wrote down one word in large print.
‘MERMAIDS.’
‘Mermaids?’
Lukas nodded and raised a single brow, glancing in the direction of the secret door.
Though disappearing behind a wall with Lukas seemed a little reckless, the fact that Frano was issuing control over me via his guards was enough to awaken the inner rebel in me. Plus, my gut instinct had always been reliable and right now it gave me no concern.
‘Yes. I’ll come.’
Lukas smiled and took my hand in his and led me to the blank side of the bookcase where he began pushing on it until it started to turn and pulled us into pitch blackness.
I could see nothing, only feel Luka’s hand gripping mine tightly, and hear our breaths, quick and shallow.
Now that we were alone in the darkness, the guard’s words of warning seemed less silly and more serious than I’d originally thought.