Returning to her vanity she pulled open another drawer and retrieved a little white cloth. Rubbing at the polish on each nail took time, and she spent it looking at the framed picture of Jett she’d hung next to the mirror. She liked having it to look at when she got ready for things since it helped her remember all the things he’d said he liked. It also served as a reminder of why she spent the hours braiding or painting, or dusting her scales.
The polish, purple swirled with a dash of blue, appeared to glow and Araxie wondered if Aquata had put a touch of magic in it. Of course the fish that the color had been made to match gave the same appearance in the bright light of day. Aquata really had an amazing skill with color mixing. Araxie tapped a rune in the marble, that Theia had made, and an air bubble large enough for her hands appeared. The minutes ticked by as she painted and waited for her nails to dry in the air. Several minutes later, and a quick straightening of her curtains, she left for the dining room.
Gold plates and goblets with seahorses finely etched into the border along the rim were set for the family dinner. Araxie bowed to her father before taking her seat. Court manners were always required in his presence. Her father sat at the head of the table. Theia to his right with Araxie across from Theia. With the triplets and Alea away, the dinners were much more formal, Calder sat next to Theia and sometimes Proteus was allowed to join them. Tonight was not one of those nights.
Triton lifted his fork with the first bite to his lips, he chewed thoughtfully, swallowed and he nodded his approval to the servant.
“I hear there was some excitement on your trip today,” Calder said to Araxie.
Araxie's fork slipped against her plate sending a screech through the quiet room. She glanced at her father out of the corner of her eye before answering Calder.
“I don't think exciting is the right word for it.”
King Triton cleared his throat. “Mar, told me about how a recruit was injured while at the Prison today.”
Araxie set her fork to the side. She wasn't really hungry anyway. “He couldn't follow a simple order of not touching the walls.”
“And then you were taken to that cell. Where another recruit was hurt, your friend.” Triton stabbed his fork into the next bite of his fish.
The words she'd wanted to say when she returned to the palace came out. “Mar is the only one who caused danger there. He pushed Calista towards the barrier.”
Triton chewed and swallowed slowly. “No one should have been in that room. Period. Mar was right to tell me of Proteus's error in judgment”
Calder cleared his throat. “At least the recruits assigned to the prison will have a healthy respect for the dangers there. Plus we won't have to worry about Araxie going there since she’ll be stationed at the Palace.”
The Palace had been at the bottom of Araxie's list. Calder had made it no secret that she was top of her class, without any favoritism, when she'd been submitting her preferred list two months ago at the academy. Her knowledge, skill, and exam scores should have earned her the top pick on her assignment application. She’d done everything to be at the top of her class so she could be a Protector Knight and travel the ocean to find Trite. Not swim around the palace halls and throne.
Araxie turned to her father, who was eating as if it was any other day. She clenched her fists under the table.
“You did this,” she accused.
Triton set his fork down. “You are my second daughter, and I won't have you traipsing around the sea where you could be cursed or killed.”
“Because you care so much? If I had magic like my sisters you wouldn't have any issue with sending me out. After all, you abandoned Trite to the whims of the sea.”
She still had trouble accepting her place as the second daughter in the Kingdom of Atlantis. Trite deserved to be there with them all, and now with this assignment Araxie would never be able to seek Trite out. None of them had seen or heard a word from Trite since Alea's adventure with the fishers a year ago. Araxie would never forget her banished sister or forgive her father for condemning her to leave.
Theia cleared her throat, trying to break the tension she turned to her husband. “Aren’t Calista and Jett also assigned to the Palace?”
Araxie stared at Calder, and after a quick glance at Triton, Calder nodded.
Triton ended the topic when he added, “Your assignment is to serve the Kingdom as your King demands. I can have your friends assigned at the abyss before you have a chance to say goodbye.”
She unclenched her hands beneath the table as she took a deep breath so she wouldn’t say something she regretted.
If she continued to push she had no doubt that Jett and Calista would be stationed on the frontlines. Her foolishness would put them at risk of injury, death and the much worse shadow sickness on a daily basis. Their safety was more important to her; she just had to hope that over time her father would permit her to do more.
“May I be excused?” Araxie asked.
Triton waved a hand in dismissal and Araxie gave a quick nod to her sister and Calder before hurrying out of the room. She focused on the only good thing about the news of her assignment, she'd still be able to see Jett and Calista daily. When they’d filled out their applications both of them had put the palace at the top of their lists. They were always saying how prestigious and wonderful life at the palace must be.
A small spark of joy bubbled up inside her, she could surprise Jett at the club and tell both him and Calista the news at least.
Chapter 3
Araxie flicked her tail and swam through the patches of light and shadow in the city streets. The beams of moonlight shimmered like stars through the dark blue water. Blue like Jett’s scales when he was tired after a day of training. She could see clearly in her mind the look of shock on Jett’s face when she arrived at the nightclub. His mouth would drop open before his scales would slowly turn bright blue from happiness when she gave him the news. With graduation in a little over a week, the club would be packed and he'd shout it loud enough for everyone to hear. Then they'd spend the rest of the night celebrating being done at the academy and moving on to the rest of their lives.
She swam by the entrance of the club and to the end of the line of merkind waiting to get in. Her blue scale dust still perfectly coated her scales and she resisted picking at it while she waited patiently in line to get into the club. She hunched her shoulders and tried to avoid eye contact with the mercrab Bo in charge of letting people in from the line.
Jett never liked waiting in line, but she liked how it made her feel normal. Jett would have swam to the front of the line and insisted that they be let in immediately. The way he used her title made her uncomfortable sometimes. She hated that she was treated differently because she’d been born in a palace. But he’d always explained it away as a measure for her safety or comfort. It was easier to go along with it so that she didn’t put him in a sour mood for their time together.
After waiting for an hour in the slowly moving line, feeling the muffled beats of the music from inside the club, she was sixth in line. She fiddled with her braid and stared at the ground, doing her best to blend in like she’d learned in one of her classes.
“Princess Araxie!” Bo shouted.