Author's Note: Everything published here is what I had published through a vanity publisher (bad idea). After reading it over a few times, I have decided to revisit the story and do some more world- and character-building while enhancing scenes. If there is a scene that you would like to see enhanced or something that you feel needs more clarification, please notify me about it in the comments on that portion and I'll do my best to get to everything as soon as I can. Keep in mind that I'm working on another larger world as well and this is more of a side project until I am done with one section of that world's manuscript.
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In the underwater world of Mer there are two rules that apply to every kingdom:

1. Any mer-person who willingly swims to shore is outcast instantly.
   1. If washed ashore, they get legs for a day but must be bak in ocean by nightfall. If not, legs are permanent, and they are outcast from the world.
2. Every city must have a king, and the eldest princess must mate with a prince from another kingdom to keep merfolk united. The prince moves to the princess's city when she turns 5,840 coldfalls and takes over kingship when the king dies.
   1. If the king dies and no prince has mated (or is due to be mated) to the eldest city princess, the kingship goes to the eldest unmated brother who must them mate any mermaid in the city within 730 coldfalls, and the visiting prince returns home. The princess's fate is determined by the ruling brother.
   2. If there's no unmated prince from the city, kingship goes to the military commander, and the princess is outcast.

Princess Seira of Amphilora is one of the rarest mermaids in the underwater world of Mer and the only princess in Amphilora. As such, she is restricted to the palace and palace waters for her safety. While all the other merfolk have the same color eyes as their tail scales, Seira's eyes are azure with tail scales that are typically yellow with a golden tint. What makes her even rare and more unique is the fact that her tail scales change color with her mood. With her second to last chance at staying in Amphilora being a marriage to Barracudon, the oldest prince of a kingdom on the other side of the ocean and her exact opposite, Seira’s not happy. She likes to break the rules; he’s a stickler for following them. She loves to make herself happy before doing what is required from her position; he prefers to do what his position demands and forget about his happiness. Can the two of them find some kind of even ground that allows Seira to stay in Amphilora, or will she get tired of being treated like her father’s precious artifact and swim to shore?

"Good night, my gem of the sea. I'll be in our chamber soon. I only need to see to the final problem," Barra said as I nodded my head.

"Good night, my king. I'll see you when you arrive." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and I smiled as he swam away to tend to his duties, before turning and swimming to our chamber.

"Seira, come to me," Barra said as he raced into our chamber moments later. I sat up and looked at him, but his face gave nothing away. "Seira, now." I heard a sense of urgency in his voice and swam riht to him.

"Barra, my kinng, what's wrong?"

"Rogues are surrounding the city walls. I refuse to lose my gem of the sea to those uncivilized creatures."

We weren't always like this--loving to each other, polite, protetive--and I certainly have changed since we met. You're probably wondering whom I am and what the heck I mean. Let me backstroke for a moment, and I'll fill you in so you can see for yourself how good I have it now and what my world is like. My name is Seira, and I'm the most unique mermaid in all of the thirteen kingdoms. I have beautiful long blond hair, eyes that are as blue as the deep blue ocean, finns as pink as the pink sea urchin, and tail scales that are as yellow as the yellow tang with a golden tint to them. But that's not what makes me Barra's gem of the sea. That name comes from the fact that my tail scales change color with my mood. When I'm mad, stressed out, or frustrated, my tail scales turn as red as the Mediterranean Red Sea Star; and when I'm sad, I can blend in with a crowd of normal mer-folk since my tail scales match my deep sea blue eyes. No other has these traits. That's how unique I am--why I'm Barra's gem of the sea.

You see, where I live, every kingdom is ruled by a separate king, but there are two rules that every one of us  must follow. One, no swimming to shore, and two, every city has a king; but while you humans follow the male line, we merfolk follow the female line. There are little details for both though. For example, if we’re washed ashore, to help keep our world a secret, we’re given legs for the day but have to be back in the ocean by your nightfall or our legs are permanent. Now, what I mean by us merfolk following the female line is the eldest princess takes over the city with her mate when her father dies, at least in Amphilora. True, her mate becomes king; but here in the world of Mer, the prince who takes over is from another kingdom and the queen holds all the power. Our kings take care of the more generalized issues and deal with occasional meetings in the Central Station, while we queens command the military, handle the day-to-day affairs, and set the harvest dates.

While you humans measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years, we have two measurements of time—warmings and cold falls, although the warmings don’t last long. The more cold falls you have, the older you are. I’m 9,125 cold falls, but in your terms, I’m only 25. Barra, my handsome mate, is 10,950 cold falls. In each of the thirteen kingdoms, there’s a different language spoken, and we all look like the humans on the shore near us so that we can blend in easier. We each speak at least one other language, but in the Central Station, there is only one language allowed—common Mer, or the language of business. It’s the same in my city of Amphilora. The only language spoken in our market ring is the language of business, although we typically speak that language all over the city to make everything easier on our visitors. From what Barra says, his home city of Glacada in the northeast waters does the same, and four of my brothers claim that their new cities do the same as well.

I would say that it’s my own knowledge, but queens and princesses are not to leave the safety of the city due to our duties. Until I was mated, I was confined to the palace and palace waters. Barra says that now I’m not to go any further than the military training waters unless he’s with me. I’ve tried sneaking past the training waters, but he always found out when the military commander brought me back to the palace. He says that it’s for my safety and because he doesn’t want to lose his gem of the sea.

Our cities are dotted along the rim of what you call the Atlantic. Including Amphilora, there are four in the northwest waters, two in the northeast waters, three in the southwest waters, and four more in the southeast waters. As I said before, travel to shore is forbidden and results in us being exiled from our world, but the shore is a different direction for about half of our cities. Here in Amphilora, travel to the west is strictly forbidden because that’s swimming to shore, and travel to the east is only allowed by our military and those in the cable cars that are heading to the Central Station, where they can catch another cable car to go to another city. To the north lies our coral reef where we get most of our supplies like shells for the females, pearls for jewelry, sponges for beds and pillows, and other things like that. To the south lies the seaweed fields where the majority of our food comes from, although we do occasionally eat fish, crab, lobster, squid, and octopus when we can catch them.

I bet you’re probably still wondering what I meant when I said that Barra and I weren’t always like this. Let me go back 3,285 cold falls, and I’ll tell you everything

“Siera, this is Barracudon. He is to be your mate if you accept him by your 7,300^th cold fall,” said my father.

I looked over Barracudon; and even though he was cute with his black hair, gray eyes, and gray to black tail with a tattoo on his left side, he didn't seem like my type. “And if I don't want to be mated? I'm only 5,840 coldfalls, Father.” He narrowed his gold eyes at me, and his gold tail swished down angrily.

"And you must at least agree to be mated by your 7,300^th. Plenty of time for you to get to know him. If you refuse, then your eldest unmated brother decides your fate. If your brothers are all mated and you don't accept Barracudon, then you will be outcast from Amphilora when the military commander takes the ruling upon my death. You know the law, my rare beauty.” I looked away from my father and sighed, hating that he always called me that. “Be polite and greet your future mate, Siera.”

“Nice to meet you,” I grumbled out as I looked back at Barracudon and my father.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he said is he took my hand in his. “I admit to having my doubts about your supposed looks, but I'm glad to see that our fathers were not acting as dolphins. You really are a beautiful rarity,” he said as he kissed my hand.

“Ugh,” I said as I rolled my eyes. I turned in swam off, heading back to the palace and my chamber so that I could avoid him. I stayed at my window on the ledge until just before coldfall when I went down to join my family for dinner.

“I'm assuming Sierra already met you, Farah?” Infants voice as I reached the seagrass curtain. His full name was Finnegan, but we always called him thin. He was my oldest brother and had gray eyes, gray tail scales, and black edges on his tail fin. He always acted so much like my father that it drove me shark raving mad.

“Yes. She didn't seem too pleased that I was to be her mate, but I'm going to do what my position requires of me.”

 Of course he'd be having dinner with us. I suppose he's living with us, too? I thought bitterly as I swam through the curtain.

“Nice to see you out of your chamber, dear sister,” set Oshi, the middle of my five older brothers. His full name was Oceana and he had green eyes, green tail scales, And light green edges on his tail fin.

"I didn't feel like seeing anyone earlier," I said as Trenton, my second oldest brother, swam to me.

"Seira, what are you mad about?" he asked softly.

"Later," I muttered. He nodded and took my arm, swimming me to my seat at the table. "Thank you," I murmured as I looked at his smiling, kind face and purple eyes that matched his purple tail scales, although they clashed against the brown edges on his tail fin.

"Cheer up and be happy, Siera. You don't have to go to a new city when your future mate which is 5,840 coldfalls, unlike us princes," he muttered in my ear. I smiled and held in a laugh.

"True, but I have to deal with a new guy in my home. I have enough of you in here already." He chuckled and went back to his seat, between my other two brothers: Seaton and Fjord. Seaton, or Seeti as we called him, had blue eyes like me; but his tail scales were blue with light blue edges on his tail fin. Fjord had orange eyes and tail scales, but the yellow edges of his tail fin blended in perfectly with his scales.

"Siera, you should be sitting by your future mate from now on," came my father's voice, making me look at him.

"So? I don't want to sit by him. I don't even know him." My mother let out of sigh and most of my brothers held in a laugh, but Finn and my father glared at me.

"Siera, do not make me say it again. Move to your new seat," my father grumbled at me.

"I'm not hungry. Good coldfall, everyone." I pushed up from my coral seat and left my plate still full, stopping just as seagrass curtain closed behind me so that I could listen to what everyone told Barracudon.

"Just give her time, Barra. She'll come around and warm up to you," said my father.

"I doubt it will be anytime soon, Father," said Finn. "She's as strong as you and was mad when she came in for dinner, even matter when she left."

"Do her tail scales change color? I thought they were yellow with a hint of gold when I met her earlier, but just now they looked red," asked Barra, sounding shocked.

"Yes. Red when she's mad and blue when she's sad, but yellow is her normal color," came my mother's voice.

"That is definitely a rarity. I've never heard of that," Barra said. I rolled my eyes and swam to my tower chamber, sitting back down on the window ledge and looking out at the city that I wasn't allowed to explore. I never let that stop me though. I would usually sneak away from the palace and palace waters just before the warming and go to the market ring to talk to others. I was curious about how they survived when nothing was ever done for them, but every time I asked, I always got the same response: "We do it ourselves."

"Siera?" I turned and saw Trenton floating in my doorway. "May I come in?" I nodded. "Don't like your future mate, do you?" He asked as he swam toward me.

"Not at all," I said, turning my back to the city to face my room and Trenton.

"At least you've gotten to meet yours. i'm still waiting on Father to send me to meet mine."

"And you'll probably be head over tail for her the same way she'll be for you because she'll be like every other princess and be obedient. I'm sick of all the rules. I'm not to go see the city I meant to rule. I have to mate the merman Father chose for me or leave my home. Don't you ever get sick of it all?"

"At times, yes. I have to mate the princess Father agreed upon with some other king whom I've never met. I have to be consistent with everyone, regardless of whom they are or what the situation is and I'm required to be myself at the same time through all of that."

"At least you're allowed to go see the city and people whom you're meant to rule. I'm not allowed to leave the palace waters. I'm sure if Mother and Father had their way, I wouldn't be allowed out of the palace," I grumbled. Trenton's arms came around me and gave me a comforting hug the only he had ever been able to give me.

"Perhaps, but when you're the queen of Amphilora, you'll have more allowance on where you can roam. Just look at Mother. She can go to the market ring without anyone with her."

"That's Mother. Father would never tell her no," I muttered, hearing Trenton chuckle.

"May I know why you don't like Barra?"

"Because I don't know him. Why should I like someone whom I know nothing about?"

"Then why not spend the next warming getting to know him? It'll show you what he's like, dear sister. Just give him a chance. It's hard moving to a new city to mate someone whom you have never met or heard of." I sighed and looked at my tail as I played with my pink fins for a moment but nodded and got a kiss on my temple. "Thank you, Sierra. I'll let him know you want to spend it with him when I pass his chamber on the way to mine. Have a good coldfall." I nodded again and he pushed off the ledge, swimming through my seagrass curtain and heading to his chamber. 

I woke up just before the warming when everyone else in the palace would start waking up and swam out my window, heading toward the market stalls in the market ring. "Seira? Where are you heading? I thought we were goiing to be getting to kknow each other. Or did Trenton have his warmings mixed up?" I came to a stop and spun at the voice that came from behind me just as I reached the edge of the palace waters, and saw Barracudon swimming toward me.

"No, he didn't have them mixed up. I was just going for a swim."

"You're not supposed to leave the palace waters," he said, looking confused about something as he stopped in front of me.

"And?" I asked, feeling my anger at him already building.

"You're almost at the edge of them, and it didn't look like you were going to stop."

"Because I wasn't. I'd like to go see the city I'm meant to rule, but I can't do that if I follow these stupid laws." The onfusion cleared from his face, letting him look a little ticked but hopeful, and I saw the same look from him that my brothers gave me when they'd catch me out in the city.

"You're not to leave the palace waters, Seira. Coe for a swim with me instead. We'll swim around here all warming, and we'll get to know each other. I'd like to at least try to get to know the mate who was seleted for me before she decides to accept or refuse our mating."

"Well, that makes one of us. And I'd rather go learn about the ity and it's inhabitants," I said, sounding sick of talking to him.

"You leave the palace waters, and I'll have to tell the king, Seira," he said, his face showing only anger. "I'd rather not do that. How happy would it make your parents to see us swimming the palace waters and getting to know each other? Your father has already said that he wants you to sit next to me at meals from now on." I sighed and looked away from him, looking longingly at my city. "Please, Seira. Don't make me wake the king," he said a little softer. I rolled my eyes but turned away from the city, deciding to try to get to know Barracudon to uphold my promise to Trenton. "Thank you, beautiful."

"Don't even try with that. Pretty coral names for me aren't going to make me like you," I grumbled.

"All right. See? Learning about each other is easy. We just have to talk." I rolled my eyes again and started swimming off slowly. "Is it safe for me to assum that you don't like being called rare or unique as well?" he asked, swimming next to me.

"Very safe. Call me those again, and we'll never talk again."

"Understood." We swam in silence for a bit while I thought of what I could ask him.

"So what did you do with your spare time in whatever city you're from while waiting for me to reach mating age?"

"I'm from Glacada. Know where that is?"

"Northeast waters, right?"

"Exactly. It's the northernmost city in those waters. Before Father sent me here to you, I spent most of my time in the military training waters."

"So you're more of a soldier than a prince?"

"In a way, I'm a bit of both. See, in Glacada, the princes are expected to have some sort of backup plan in case their assigned princess refuses to mate. Since I'm the elsest son, my backup choice was made for me. I trained as a soldier in case you refuse the mating, and my sister is to be mated to someone from the southwest waters. If she refuses that mating and you refuse our mating, I take over the ruling upon Father's death, and my military training aids in the protection of the city."

"What about your other sisters? Isn't the ruling supposed to go to one of them?"

"Glacada law says that only the eldest princess can take the ruling if mating. If she does not accept her chosen mate, her eldest brother takes it, who is me. I prefer these warm waters more, so I'm sincerely hoping you accept our mating."

"But what if your sister accepts her chosen mate and I don't?"

"Then I become a soldier in Glacada."

"Are you any good?"

"I've been training with our military for the last 2,920 coldfalls. I would hope I'm good," he said with a slight chuckle.

"You should keep up with your training. Our military will be glad to help you. And maybe you have some moves they don't, so it would help them as well."

"You're already refusing the mating? After one coldfall?" he asked, stopping his tail and falling behind me a bit.

"No. Just a precaution for you since I'm probably not going to want to spend much time with you, Barracudon," I called over my shoulder.

"Call me Barra. It's easier to say," he said as he caught up to me.

"Fine. I'm still not going to want to spend much time with you. So that means we won't be getting to know each other much more after today, and you can spend your time in the training waters with our military." He swam in from of me and stopping in my way, blocking my path each time I tried to go around him and looking ticked.

"Seira, that's not getting to know me. That's not even going to give us a chance. Why not be more of an adult about this and at least give a better attempt at getting to know me?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I don't see the point in getting to know someone just because my father wants me to mate them. Maybe because I shouldn't have to be mated to rule the city I grew up in. Maybe because I'm sick of following rules. Either way, it's mostly because I already know that you just like me for my looks and rarity," I snarled. I swam off, leaving him in the palace waters, and went straight back to my window, swimming in and sinking down onto my sponge bed.

For the next 1,089 coldfalls, I placated Father by sitting next to Barra, but only when I joined them for meals which were becoming few and far between. That's not to say that I wasn't eating. I just wasn't eating with my family. I'd swim to the kitchens and have the cooks give me something to eat before everyone else came in or after everyone else had left the dining chamber. Thanks to Barra catching me that warming, I stopped sneaking off to the city just before warming and started waiting until mid-warming to sneak off. It somehow seemed easier, but Barra was almost always in the training waters. I saw him in there one day as I was sneaking through and allowed myself to pause for a moment and watch him while I stayed out of sight.

He actually is pretty good with a sword. I wasn't expecting that. He's confident, calm, dodging strikes from our military... It almost seems like he's taunting them, I thought as a smile curled my lips. I watched him for a bit longer and then continues on my way to the city, making sure he didn't see me.

"Seira, why were you in the training waters mid-warming?" Barra whispered to me over dinner that coldfall.

"Take a guess," I muttered softly, not wanting to be talking to him.

"You were sneaking out again, weren't you?" I pressed my lips together, but my smile still came out.

"Why were you taunting our military?" I whispered, fighting my smile down. I saw a brief smirk from him.

"I wasn't trying to taunt them, but I have to slow down for them. If not, I'd be loding training partners, and Amphilora would have no military."

"Sure you would," I said, fighting not to roll my eyes at how cocky he was. I knew we wouldn't get along for more than a moment. Why did I bother responding to him?

"Don't act as if you know me," he whispered with a little anger in his voice, making mine flare up. "You haven't tried for that since the warming after we met."

"Perhaps because you only wanted to go by what our fathers said about my looks and rarity when we first met," I snarled softly in reply. "Good coldfall, everyone." I pushed off my coral seat and swam through the seagrass, going straight to my chamber. I sat in my window on the ledge, looking out at my beautiful city as a smile curled my lips. As it started to get colder, I moved to my sponge bed and laid down, drifting off to sleep shortly after.

I skipped breakfast with my family and snuck down to the market to spend the whole warming down there. Something felt odd as I swam into the market, but I brushed it off and went about my day. I saw a few mermen who looked hungry and got them some food and then continued on my way when they were full. None of my family understood why I always wanted to be down here, and they never took the time to ask; but the first time I had snuck down here, I saw many people looking hungry, some asking for coins, and a few even sleeping between the market stalls.

Over the coldfalls when I was supposed to be getting to know Barra, I'd help many of these mermaids and mermen get food, jobs, and housing; and everyone in the city treated me like a good friend, not a rare possession. Before I started helping our people, Amphilora had been a city that respected the king and queen because they were royal. now, our people respected me because they knew I cared for their well-being. A couple of them had asked me once why I cared so much for the merfolk in my city. When I told them that without the merfolk the city wouldn't prosper, they citizens went from respecting me to loving me.

I saw a small girl floating by asana's stall, and she looked to be thinking if something would be a good idea. I knew that merkids were not to swim the market ring on their own and looked around for her parents but didn't see them. Asana waved at me, and I swam to her. "Princess Seira. How are you this warming?" She had blond hair, pink eyes, and pink tail scales, showing that she was nothing but compassionate. I'd hidden behind her stall when I saw my brothers swimming the market a few times and had always heard Finn stop to talk to her. She'd told me later that she had feelings as deep as the Central Station trench for him but knew that he was promised to someone else.

"Wonderful, Asana. How are you?"

"I'm doing quite well."

"And how are you doing, young one?" I asked, looking at the girl. She seemed scared of me and backstroked a bit.

"I can't get anything from her on whom she is or where her parents are, Princess. I was hoping you might be able to help." I looked at the girl again and saw a flash of sadness in her eyes behind the fear.

"You don't have any parents, do you?" I asked softly. the girl shook her head, and some of the fear left her eyes, only to be replaced by more sadess. I opened my arms to her, but she swam back a bit more. "You don't have to be scared of me. I won't hurt you or let any harm come to you. I swear it, sweet child. What's your name?"

"Adrea," came the softest whisper from her as she slowly swam to me.

"Your name is Adrea? Oh, that is beautiful. You're so lucky. I'd love to have a name like that." I saw a flash of gray and black swim behind a group of other merfolk further behind her but put my focus back on the young girl who was now safely in my arms. "What happened to your parents, Adrea? Why are you in the market on your own?" I asked gently, not wanting to scold her or make her feel like she was in trouble.

"I never had any," she murmured. "I'm here because I want to get a new pair of shells, but I don't have enough money," she explained. I swam to the mermaid who'd been telling me earlier that she and her mate wanted a child but hadn't been able to have any yet.

"I'll make you a deal. If you promise to stay with Melody and let her and her mate take care of you, I'll get you a beautiful pair of shells from across the ocean," I said, stopping in front of Melody.

"Is she nice?"

"Oh, yes. I'll introduce you if you promise to stay with her." Adrea nodded her head, and I turned her to face Melody. "Adrea, this is Melody. Melody, this is Adrea."

"Nice to meet you, Adrea."

"Melody, Adrea here has never had any parents. I remember that you said you and Drake wanted a child but hadn't been able to have one yet. Well, now you have one." Tears filled her eyes, and she wrapped her arms around me and Adrea.

"Princess, you are amazing and wonderful. Thank you so much."

"She's promised to stay with you and Drake and let you take care of her. She was in the market for a new pair of shells, but that my part of the deal now," I said, letting go of Adrea and giving her hand to Melody. "I'll go speak to someone who can get the prettiest ones for you," I said, looking at Adrea. She nodded and gave me another hug and I turned, swimming back to Rayna's stall to have her get a pair of gold shells from Abysrius, seeing a flash of gray and black dart behind another crowd. Brushing it off again, I continued on my way to Rayna's stall. She was the old sea hag who knew everyone in the city and went to Central Station regularly, buying special request items for everyone. she was also the only shop keeper who dealt with our exotic goods that came from other cities.

"Princess, what a lovely surprise. Two visits in one warming," she said with a smile.

"Rayna, I wonder if by chance you can get a set of gold shells from Abysrius for me."

"Princess, as royalty, you're only supposed to wear pearl." I chuckled at her remark.

"They're not for me. I'm getting them for a young girl who had no parents."

"Had? You just helped her find some parents, didn't you?" I nodded.

"Melody and Drake. Their new daughter is Adrea."

"She'll love them as parents. It may take some time, but I'll speak with my friends in Central Station to see if they'll be able to get me a pair."

"Thank you so much. How much do I owe you for them?"

"I'll only charge you if they cost me a high price. Gold Abysrian shells are the most beautiful, but they also tend to be the harder ones to find."

"Thank you again, Rayna. I should head back to the palace before anyone notices I'm missing. Oh, how I'd love to just stay down here," I sighed out.

"Perhaps, but think of the good you can do as queen. Look at what you've already accomplished as a princess. You've turned the city from almost the brink of rebellion to loving the royal family."

"I only accomplished it because I was breaking the rules. I break them every time I go out of the palace waters, but I can't stand to think of my people going hungry for one warming or not having shelter for a single coldfall."

"And as the queen, you would have much more opportunity to change the city. By the few rumors I've heard trickle down from the palace, you don't like the mate your father selected for you. Am I correct?"

"Very," I grumbled, not wanting to think of Barra. "Don't get me wrong. He is cute, but he's more of the 'do-what-you're-supposed-to-do-and-forget-the-rest' kind of merman. I'd rather everyone be happy."

"Opposites do attract, Princess," she murmured, cupping my cheek. "Give it time. Have you given him the chance to get to know you?"

"We don't get along at all, Rayna," I said sadly, shaking my head.

"Jeep trying, Princess. The coral reef wasn't grown in one warming." I nodded and swam off, heading back to the palace.

"Seira, what were you doing in the market ring?! You're not to be outside of the palace waters!" Father roared at me.

"I was getting to know the people who live here so that I can rule them better when I become the queen!" I screamed back at him. Mother was sitting in her seat next to him at the table, keeping quite as always. She never said anything during our fights, and my brothers never stood up for me, but now I had another face in the crowd watching me get in trouble for the thousandth time. Instead of slightly glaring at me like the rest of my family though, Barra was looking at me sympathetically.

"But if you don't accept the mating with Barra, you won't be queen, much less the queen of Amphilora! Instead of spending your time on pointless matters, you should spend it getting to know your future mate! For the next three hundred coldfalls, you are to spend all warmings with Barracudon and get to know everything about him, and every coldfall will be spent in your chamber! If I hear of you sneaking off to the market ring again, I'll cast you out of the palace and give the city to Finnigan! And furthermore, you will have every meal us us with sitting next to Barracudon! Am i understood?!" I floated there for a minute as what he said sank in, and I gave in to the fight.

"Go ahead. I'd rather live in the market ring than spend another coldfall listening to you say how I have to do this or how I have to do that. At least out there, I'm treated with love and respect. In here, I'm nothing but your captive when I should be your daughter," I said softly, glaring at my father. I turned and swam off to my chamber, waited until everyone would be at dinner, and then swam out my window to the east and down to the market ring. I curled up between two market stalls, wrapped my arms around my tail, and just sat there with my head on my arms, feeling something stuck in my throat.

"Princess Seira? Is that you?" came Rayna's voice from in front of me. I looked up, saw her kind smile, and gave her one back, trying to hide my true emotions at the time. "Is everything all right?" I nodded.

"Yes. Yes, it is, Rayna. I'm sorry if I disturbed you. You can head home for the coldfall if you'd like."

"Princess, I know your tail scales better than that. You're upset right now. What's wrong, my dear?" she said, offering me a hand and helping me up.

"I promise, Rayna. I'll be fine," I said, floating in front of her.

"Seira, you've helped so many of us through hard times. Please, let me help you through a hard time. Talk to me. What happened, dear?" she murmured, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I told her everything that happened when I got back to the palace from my trip to the market ring and told her my new rules from Father as she swam me through a curtainway. "This is my home, Princess. You'll be safe and warm for the coldfall. I'd let you leave and go back to the palace right now if you wanted, but you won't make it before it's too cold to be out."

"I don't want to go back, Rayna. If my father wants to give the city to Finn, then let him. I'm sick of all the rules that I'm required to follow. I'm sick of him not treating me like his daughter, but rather as a rarity in his city." She sat quietly and listened to how my father treated me all the time, how he normally addressed me, and what he was expecting from me all the time.

"Seira, my dear. You have the hardest life of all of us in the city. As the princess, you are expected to follow certain laws such as mating the prince your father selected for you. As the only princess in the city, you are expected to remain in the palace waters for your safety. To get out from under your father's command, you have a few options. One, you can agree to mate this Prince Barracudon and hope that he will allow you more roaming waters than your father does. Two, you can swim away to the east and risk your life with the rogues. Three, you can go to Central Station and travel to another city, but you may not be able to do as much there as you can here. Or four, you can swim away to the west, but you will never be allowed to return to your home if you do that." I sat in silence for a short time and thought.

"Which corridor is right for me to take though, Rayna?"

"It depends on what you want, sweet princess. Look at how hard you've worked to get your city thriving again. The merfolk of Amphilora love you. We respect your mother and father because they are the king and queen, but that is the extent of our love for them. We love and respect you because you care about us. You understand that without us common merfolk, you wouldn't have a city. You help us all get what we need, and some of us get what we want. Would you like to stay in the world of mer, or would you rather take your chances at experiencing the world of humans and having probably a worse life up there?"

"I'd rather stay here in the world of mer."

"Then the last option is out of the question. What about taking your chances with the rogues?"

"No. Completely out of the question," I said without hesitation. She smiled and looked relieved.

"Good. So your options are to agree to mate Prince Barracudon or to take the chance on going to another city. Don't forget that if you go to another city though, you may not have things they way you do here."

"What do you mean?"

"You would have to abide by the rules of that city. No one there would know you, so you wouldn't have pull with the royal family like you do here. You would be expected to work and provide yourself with shelter every coldfall and food every warming, and you would no longer be allowed yoru pearl shells that look lovely on you. And who knows what may happen if they find out that your tail scales change color with your mood. You may be taken to the palace and confined to the palace itself or worse to the dining chamber and your chamber only."

"There are cities like that?"

"Yes. It's why I love Amphilora so much. The warm waters on my old bones feel good, and the princess cares about the citizens in her city. You don't have to decide right now what would be the best corridor for you to take. You can stay here until that moment arrives but I have one more piece of advice for you before I leave you to sleep, my princess.

"What's that, Rayna?"

"Don't think just of your desires. Think of what is best for your people as well. Is it better if they have a taste of what life would be like under your rule and then have it snatched away because of an argument you had with your father, or is it better for them to have the opportunity to live under your rule and prosper to bring this city back to glory?"

I scrunched my forehead in thought as Rayna swam off to bed for the coldfall, leaving me alone with my thoughts. So my choices are to mate a merman whom I don't know or like or to go to a new city and more than likely have a harder life, if not more restrictions.Everything there is so murky, I can't see the answer. What about that last question she gave me--what's better for my people? I saw how it was before when I started coming to the market ring--people sleeping between market stalls for warmth during coldfalls, hungry, and so poor they couldn't buy any food, new shells, or shelter. Is it fair for them if I swim away to a new city? They all have shelter now. I don't see anyone without money to buy items they need. But there are still the hungry here. If I swim away, who will feed them? Who will make sure that evvery paretnless child has parents? Who will make sure the hungry are fed daily? Finn wouldn't He's too much like Father, but yet he's the one who would get the city if I swim away. Can I really put my people through that? These citizens are my friends. Giving them a taste of a better life and then taking it away is not somethingI should do to my friends. That means that I shouldn't swim away to another city, eaving me with the choice of mating a merman whom I don't know or like. But I don't want to mate Barra. We don't get along, I know almost nothing about him, and the little I do know is not good. What should I do?

I laid down and curled up, placing my head on the sponge Rayna had given me for a pillow; and although I was glad to have the shelter for the coldfall, I missed my sponge bed. Waking up at first warmth, I looked around at the chamber Rayna had let me sleep in last night. This is how I would be living if I were to swim away to a new city--no luxurious sponge bed, no one doing anything for me, no family telling me that I have to mate a merman I don't know or like... If it weren't for the loss of my sponge bed, I might be fine with just leaving the palace now.

"Good warming, Princess. I wasn't expecting you up so early."

"I always rise early, Rayna. Thank you for the shelter and the talk last coldfall. I am thinking about what you said, but I'm stuck with mating Barracudon when I don't like him or know him. How am I supposed to do that? Arent' you supposed to love your mate berfore getting mated to them?" I asked, making her chuckle as she handed me some seaweed.

"Love is an elusive creature, Seira. It's like a one-horned seahorse. Even though many merfolk want it, we rarely find it. You may have been lucky enough that your father selected the merman who will be your love, or you may be as unlucky as the rest of us and be stuck with someone who wants another. The only way to know is to try and get to know him."

"Do you need any help at your stall?"

"No. I'll be all right. You take the day to swim around the market ring and think of what we talked about." I nodded and finished my breakfast, swimming her to her stall. "Oh, one more thing, Seira," she said, just as I turned to head around the market ring a few times. I turned back and looked at her. "Keep your eyes open. Look at this city and what you have done for its people. Think of how their lives have been changed by the small actions you've done." I nodded and smiled and then swam off. Thiss was my routine for the next five warmings. I'd wake up, have some breakfast, help Rayna open her stall, and swim the market, looking at everyone and thinking while hiding when I saw my brothers. It had become a game when I was playing with Adrea my third day in the market, and we called it "Staying Free." just before the end of my fifth warming in the city, she came racing toward me and gave me a comb, saying that she'd made it for me out of a shell that she shaped. The sixth warming after I swam away from the palace, Rayna said she needed help at the stall for a bit. Happy I could pay her back for all the help she'd been to me and how kind she'd been, I helped her open and stayed there.

If I at least stay in the city, then I can keep helping my people, and Father can give the city to Finn like he wants, I thought while there was a calm moment at the stall.

"Seira! There you are! Your family has been worried sick about you! Where have you been this whole time?" I looked up at the voice that said my name and saw Beaara speeding toward me.

"Is that all that was worried about me?" I asked, letting very little emotion out as I kept straightening things behind Rayna's stall.

"I didn't think that you'd care if I told you that I'd been going crazy since the warming after your fight with your father." I looked up and saw something flash in Barra's eyes that I hadn't seen before, but it was so quick that I didn't know what I saw.

"Why would you have been going crazy? Worried that I'm going to refuse the mating and send you back to the cold waters of Glacada?"

"Yes, but that's a small part of why I've been going crazy."

"Then why?" I murmured.

"Cant' you tell? I'm head over scales for you, Seira. Please. Come back to the palace with me. Show your family that you're all right. Make amends with your father. Or rather, let him make amends with you. At every meal since that fight, we've been telling him how wrong he was to say those things to you. Finn has refused to take the ruling of the city unless you refuse our mating, as have all your other brothers. Even COmmander Bay said the same. Any of them would give it to you upon his death."

Yeah, head over scales for me because of my looks and rarity. "Father won't make amends with me. If he wants to give the city to Finn, then he can."

"And Finn has refused it unless you refuse our mating. I promise, Seira. Your father wants to make amends. Please, come with me," he said, holding out a hand.

"I'm busy." I looked back down at he things on Rayna's stall and started straightening them, ignoring the fact that they were already straight.

"Princess, I can handle things from here," Rayna said from in front of me, making me look up. "Thank you so much for the help, but you should head back. You've thought of the difference that you've made in the city, correct?" I nodded. "You've thought of the result if you swim away?" I nodded. "Then you know the corridor you must take. Whether you like it or not, the best option for your people is reaching out to you." I sighed but swam to her.

"Thank you, Rayna, for all your advice and the kindness you showed me for the past six coldfalls. Are you sure you'll be all right for the rest of the warming?"

"I'll be fine, my dear. You head on home."

"If it's home, then why does it geel like I'm swimming away from it?"

"Because that's your desire to make your city better. But you can't be here to do that. You have to be in that palace." I sighed again but nodded and swam around the stall, heading toward the palace.

"I found her!" Barra called as we swam into the palace dining chamber. My mother rushed in and gave me a hug, followed by all of my brothers.

"Seira, where were you? Why did you swim away?" Trenton asked.

"She's home now. That's all that matters. Oh, we've been so worried about you, Seira," Mother said. It felt good being back in my home and getting hugs from my family. I hadn't seen any of them in six coldfalls and hadn't realized how much I'd missed them.

"Sweet Seira," came a murmur from behind me. I turned and found my father floating there with arms open and a kind smile on his face. I swam to him, and he gave me a strong hug. "I'm sorry, my child, for the things I said. I don't care where you went as long as you had shelpter every coldfall and food every warming," he said as he let me out of the embrace.

"I did. Rayna found me as she was headed home for the coldfall. She provided me with food and shelter."

"Rayna? You mean the old hag in the market ring? I forbade you from even going there, and you swam away to the market ring and went to the old hag?!"

"Marinus! Enough! All that should matter is that she had food and shelter! Whom she was with should not be of any concern, let alone if it was the mermaid who had been kind enough to take her in! Do you want her to swim away again? Because that is exactly how you're acting. We've all spoken with you incessantly since that fight about your behavior during it and the words you said. You know that we'll do it again, and you know that the boys and Commander Bay will not take the ruling unless the law is followed where Seira refuses Barra! There is still plenty of time for her to accept him! Do I need to suspend your ruling until you learn how to speak to our daughter? Barra told you how the city looked that warming he arrived. We were on the brink of rebellion, and she has single-handedly turned it around. If you attempt to scold her for befriending the citizens of Amphilora ever again, I will suspend your ruling indefinitely and have one of our sons take over your duties!" Mother shouted at him. Like me, all of my brothers jerked their heads back in surprise. Mother had always kept quiet and never defended any of us during a fight with Father, but for her to threaten the suspension of his ruling was a full surprise.

"You can't suspend my ruling. The boys won't be believed in Central Station among the rest of the kings."

"Then try to scold her for what she accomplished. I promise you that you will regret doing so. I am Queen of Amphilora, and you know as well as I do that the queen holds more power than the king. Seira knows the citizens, and she knows how to handle my duties. She can take control here for a few cold falls while I ride the cable cars to Central Station with one of the boys and proclaim your kingly duties on them until Seira's acceptance or refusal of Barra." Father's tail swished angrily, but he turned and swam off, heading toward his private chamber as Mother turned to face me. "I'm sorry, my dear," she said softly. "I should have stepped in and defended you long ago. We've been struggling to find a way to make the city better and avoid the rebellion I saw growing. I want to thank you for saving us from that battle. You are more than ready to take the ruling of Amphilora, but you must be mated to do so. It is one of the laws that I cannot change, even being queen. If you refuse, you may still be able to stay in the city or even the palace, but that decision resides with your brother who will take the ruling. At this point, it could still be any of them. Please, my dear. Try to get to know Barra. I can see what a wonderful queen you would make, and he would complement your ruling by taking the kingly duties." She pressed a kiss to my forehead and swam off.

Father didn't speak to any of us for a dozen coldfalls after that. I was worried that I was never going to hear him speak to me again, but he finally spoke over dinner. "Sweet Seira. I'm sorry, my child. I should not have been scolding you like that. Nor should I have said that I would give the ruling to Finn. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course, Father. Life's too short to be stuck in a clam," I said, swimming to him and giving him a hug.

"I'm still going to demand that you get to know Barra for the next three hundred warmings. And since you continue to sneak down to the market ring with no protection, you are to spend the next three hundred coldfalls in your chamber."

"But father--"

"No, Seira. That's final. You need to get to know Barracudon, and this is the only way I can see to ensure you that you do that. I haven't seen you try to speak with him since the warming after he arrived." I looked at my mother, but she shook her head.

"You need to be punished for ignoring the rules, and you need to get to know Barra." I huffed out a sigh and looked away from them. Glancing past Barra, I saw hope and kindness in his eyes as what Rayna had said flashed through my mind.

"The best corridor for your people is reaching for you," I thought as I looked back at my father, slowly moving my eyes past Barra to see him give me a soft smile. "Fine. I'll spend my warmings trying to get to know him," I muttered.

"And your coldfalls?"

"Will be spent in my chamber." Father gave an abrupt nod, and I swam back to my seat next to Barra but didn't look at him as I sank onto my coral seat.

Fifty warmings into getting to know Barra, and I was dying to swim down to the market ring. "Please, Barra. This isn't whom I am. If you want to know me, we have to go down to the market."

"I've already gotten to know you, Seira. At least a bit, anyway. I followed you the last time you went down there, just before you got into trouble and swam away."

"You're the one who told father?!" I felt my anger surface faster than ever before but didn't care to try and calm down.

"No. I was following you and keeping an eye on you for your own safety. I never said a word to your father aout you being down there."

"Then who did? Someone had to tell father. And it was someone with gray tail scales and black edges on their tail fin. You're the only one in the city who looks like that."

"No, I'm not. There's one other. How do you know what their tail looked like?"

"I saw you darting behind crowds every time I would turn around," I snarled.

"You weren't seeing me," he said, shaking his head.

"How do you know?"

"Because I didn't hide. I wanted you to see me, to see me watching over you, trying to get to know you, even if you didn't want to get to know me." I was completely stumped. I couldn't figure him out. I knew he only liked me for my looks and rarity, but for him to say that he was wanting to watch over me... It didn't match up. "You know who told your father, don't you?" he asked gently.

"No. If you claim to have not said a word to him I have no idea."

"Whom do you know who has gray tail scales and black edges on their tail fin and would be able to get into the palace to tell your father about you adventures to the market ring? And do not say me. We both know I didn't say anything." I thought for a while but still came up with a blank. Shaking my head and looking at Barra, I gave him a confused look. "Think about it until coldfall. You'll know whom by dinner time."

He swam off and left me floating just inside the palace waters on my own as I thought about who would have been able to get into the palace without trouble and if they had a gray and black tail. I swam around the palace waters for the rest of the warming, thinking about that tail, wishing I could go down to the market, thinking about getting to know Barra, and thinking of what Rayna had told me.

"Seira, why were you swimming the palace waters on your own? You're supposed to be getting to know Barra. You can't do that if you aren't with him," Father siad the moment I swam into the dining chamber.

"Am I not allowed to have a warming every so often just to think of things, Father?" I snapped. His head jerked back a bit in surprise at my tone, but he opened his mouth.

"Mari, let her be. She's been glued to Barra as you requested for the last fifty warmings, she's stayed in the palace waters the whole time, and she's spent every coldfall in her chamber. She's doing what you requested, so let her be," Mother said gently. I knew Father wanted to scold me for not spending the warming with Barra, but I'd least attempted to today before he swam off.

I glanced around the table as I sat in my coral seat, knowing that my mysterious tail owner had to be someone in the room. Finn refused to look at me, so my eyes moved over to Trenton, and I got a kind smile from him. His purple eyes told me instantly that he wasn't the cause of my punishment. I looked at Oshi, and his green eyes told me the same, as did Seeti's blue eyes and Fjord's orange eyes. Letting out a silent sigh, I ate my dinner quietly as I kept thinking about that tail until it registered who told Father. Finn. You pile of whale blubber! How yould you?! I'm trying to help our citizens and city, and you tattle to Father that I'm out in the market again?! "Good coldfall, everyone," I said, racing up from my seat and swimming out the curtain as fast as I could. I stopped just outside of the seagrass curtain and waited for Finn to swim out since I knew he would be done first, and a short while later, he came out of the dining chamber.

"I thought you were going to your chamber, Seira," Finn said as he saw me swim into his pathway.

"Why would you tell Father that I was in the market ring? I am trying to help our city and our citizens, I asked him as I fought my anger down.

"Because you're not supposed to be outside of the palace waters. If it were up to me, you wouldn't be allowed outside of the palace," he snarled, trying to keep his voice low.

"You're not even sorry for doing it, are you?" I asked, studying his eyes for a moment.

"Yes, I am. That fight you had with Father did not go at all how I thought it would. I'd expected you to show Barra your true colors and scream back at Father for hours."I shook my head and looked to the side as I felt my temper surfacing faster than I could control.

"Do you know what this city was like the first time I went down there? There were merfolk sleeping in the market ring and between the stalls for warmth, they were begging for coins to be able to pay for their shelter, and they were begging for food and starving. Mother said this city was on the brink of a rebellion, and I'm the one who stopped it from happening. Why would you be a tattletail and get me in trouble? Did you know that Asana didn't have that market stall until I helped her get it?" I was still ffighting my anger down so I wouldn't attract attention from the dining chamber, but Finn put a stop to that.

"Don't you dare bring her into this conversation! Do you have a jellyfish for a brain?!" Barra came racing out the seagrass curtain in a heartbeat, and Father was close behind him.

"Prince Finnigan of Amphilora! Do not ever speak to your sister like that again! She is not stupid! She's to be the next Queen of Amphilora!" Father roared at Finn.

"Seira, are you all right?" Barra murmured to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me toward his chest, but I shoved him back away from me and took one stroke closer to Finn.

"Never stalk me again. And you'd better hope that I don't have a jellyfish for a brain, because if I do, then I'll blab to her and tell her everything about how you treat me. She'd never look at you the same way if she know how much of a hammerhead shark you really are," I growled. I spun and took off to my chamber, leaving Father glaring at Finn as Barra watched me. I swam through the seagrass curtain and sat on the ledge in my window, looking out at my beautiful city and missing it.

"Seira?" came a voice from the entrance to my chamber. I turned to find Barra floating just inside the seagrass and motioned for him to come on in.

"I'm sorry for accusing you off telling Father, Barra. I should have opened my eyes more and seen you following me instead of placing wrongful accusations."

"That's why they want you to stay in the palace and palace waters where you're safe. With as many as there are in the city it's not possible for you to see every person around you," he said as he sat on the ledge next to me. We spent part of the coldfall talking about why I was able to swim the market ring without being in fear and what I'd meant by what I told Finn until it got too cold. Then he headed to his chamber. Something between us had changed now, and although I wasn't sure what it was or if i like it, I wanted to know more about it. I spent the majority of the next two hundred warmings with Barra and all the coldfalls in my chamber. The warmings that I didn't spend with Barra, I claimed that I'd spent in my chaber, but really had snuck down to the market ring to see everyone and check on how things were going for them all.

By the 260th coldfall of getting to know Barra, I was starting to give up since I wasn't learning anything about him that I liked, but Rayna's voice kept coming into my head. Keep trying, Princess. The coral reef wasn't grown in one warming.

"I bet you can't catch me, Seira," Barra said as he swam past, stopping just a few strokes ahead of me.

"I'm sure I could," I scoffed out.

"Prove it. Let's see how long it takes." He darted off, leaving me somewhat confused. "You have to move your tail if you want to catch me!" he called back over his shoulder. I raced after him as fast as I could, but he kept just out of reach. After our third lap around the palace waters, I had an idea. I let him get a good distance ahead of me and then darted through the palace, coming out just as he passed by. I grabbed his arm, laughing when he spunn to see me. "You weren't behind me when I came around this side of the palace. Where di you come from?" he laughed out. I just smirked and took off, going a little to one side or the other when he got too close to grabbing me.

He's got a playful side. That's nice to know, but as a queen, I won't have much time for playing. At least I would have a partner to play with when I do have the time. My arm got tugged, and it spum me to see Barra holding my hand with a smirk on his face.

"Got you." I laughedand rolled myyeyes.He brought my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. "It's fun chasing you, Seira, but I like catching you more," he murmured.

And now I find that he can be sweet. He's making no sense. All he's ever shown me is that he's like FInn--do what you're supposed to and forget the rest. Now he's showing me that he's playful and sweet. What in the oceanic world is going on with him? Well, at least now we have a base to build on.

"So how did you catch me, Seira?" he asked softly.

"I went through the palace. You never said I couldn't You just said to catch you." He chuckled and shook his head.

"You've got intelligence that you keep hidden. Sneaky intelligence, but still," he said to himself.

"I'm the future queen. I have to have intelligence."

"You're only the future queen if we mate." I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand back away from him, turned, and started to swim off, until my hand got tugged again. "It's only a fact, Seira. Please don't get upset at me."

"I'm not. I'm just sick of hearing that law. Why do I have to mate to rule the city I grew up in?"

"Because your king takes care of half of the ruling duties so that you can focus on the more important aspects of ruling your city"

"The most important aspet of my city is the citizens. If there are no citizens, what's the point of having a queen or king?"

"And to ensure the citizens are properly cared for and respected, you need to take the ruling which can only be done if you mate. Having a mate will allow you to focus on what's best for your citizens. I was the only prince your father selected for your mating. If we don't mate, the ruling goes to one of your brothers. Be honest with yourself. How sure are you that any of your brothers will continue your idea of ruling with a gentle and caring hand?" I thought for a bit but didn't want to admit the truth to him that none would.

"Any but Finn. Trenton would probably be the first one."

"Seira, I've gotten to know your brothers since the warming I arrived. Don't try to hide the truth that we both know. You know as well as I do that none of your brothers would continue your style of ruling." I looked away from him, still not wanting to admit the truth that he was right. "Come on, Seira. You know I'm right," he murmured softly.

"Unfortunately, you are," I muttered. "So why are you so playful this warming?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you were all about doing what's expected of you, not what you want." He smiled.

"I'm somewhere in between you and Finn. I have my days where I'm more like Finn and just do what's expected for my position, and I have my days where I'm more like you and just do what I want. I can't handle too many warmings of doing what I'm told." I smiled and chuckled.

"I don't know how you can handle them at all." I looked off toward the city and sighed. "I like you more like this," I said softly.

"Like what?"

"Playful. You seem more relaxed and open, like you're inviting me to get to know you, not demanding it. I know you've been here this whole time for me to get to know, but I don't want to get to know someone who's like Finn and my father. They're boring."

"Becuase they just do what they're supposed to?" I nodded.

"It makes them too predictable."

"How so?"

"You've trained as a soldier for a while, right? You know how they think?" He nodded but looked confused. "Think about this from a military viewpoint. You're defending your city from an attack. What is the fastest way to lose the battle--doinng something that your enemy will predict for you to do or doing something completely crazy that your attacker would never expect?"

"Very good point, Seira," he said after thinking for a moment. "Moves are easily countered when you know what the other is going to do. Do you realize how long it takes most queens to figure that out?" I shook my head. "About five thousand coldfalls after they become queen, if someone doesn't tell them first or they learn it during their first rogue attack. Is that why you like being playful?"

"Of course. If no one outside of the city thinks I'm going to make much of a queen, then they'll either be less likely to attack or they'll attack and lose the majority of their soldiers because I won't be predictable."

"You will make an amazing queen if we mate, Seira. I don't think anyone would survive going into battle against you," he murmured before pressing a kiss to my forehead. It earned him a smile, but I wasn't sure what was happening between us; so I took the next nine warmings to think about what was happening and snuck down to the city to see everyone, somehow managing to sneak back into my chamber unnoticed.

"Why are you pushing me to accept you as my mate right now?" I asked. I was fully frustrated with Barra. I couldn't figure him out, even after spending the last 270 warmings getting to know him.

"Because I'm your last chance at staying in this city," he snarled, making my frustration turn into anger in the blink of an eye.

"No, you're not, Barra. Law states that if my father dies and I haven't mated, the kingship goes to my oldest unmated brother who decides my fate."

"Then you may want to start begging your brothers to let you stay," he snapped. He swam into his chamber, nearly smacking my face with his tail as he turned around.

Any of my borthers would let me stay, you stupid cuttlefish. Deciding it'd be a better idea to check with them anyway, I swam down the corridor toward my oldest brothers' chambers.

"Seira, can we speak to you for a moment?" called my mother just as I reached Finn's curtainway. I smiled and swam to her.

"Anytime, Mother. What do you need to talk to me about?" I asked as she led me to the chamber she shared with my father.

"We all need to speak with you," she said, moving the curtain of seagrass to the side, letting me head in to see my whole family in the room.

"About what?"

"Sweet Seira, you must mate with Barracudon. He's your last chance option at staying in Amphilora," said my father.

"But what about the law? The one that says my ruling brother decides my fate?" I asked as I looked at them to see them shake their heads. "Why not?" I asked looking directly at Finn, already feeling the anger building.

"I love you, dear sister. You know I do. But I don't want to have disobedience in my city. You're constantly breaking the rules, so why should I believe that you'd change?" he said.

"Seeti? Do you believe the same?"

"Seira, Finn is right. Disobedience should not be tolerated, least of all in this city. We are the closest city to humans. If you disobey at the wrong time, it could expose our world to them."

"Oshi?" I demanded. I could hear my anger in my voice but was so mad at what they were saying and doing that I didn't care.

"Don't get mad, Seira. We all love you dearly, but I'm not going to punish one for disobedience when my sister won't even follow the rules I lay down."

"Fjord?" I asked, fighting back the sadness I could feel my anger turning into.

"As optimistic as I am, Seira, even I know that you won't change enough to follow any rules that are laid down."

"Trenton? You'd let me stay, right?" I asked, hearing my voice crrack a bit. He held out his arms, and I swam to him, getting a hug with all the comfort I needed.

"Seira, listen to me," he murmured. "You know I'm not intending to hurt you, but I have to be honest with you as well. You tend to do what you want and forget about the rules. The rules are there for your safety, not to keep you contained. You break the rules every warming, sometimes multiple times a warming. What would happen if you got hurt in the market ring or taken by the rogues who live in the open waters out east? None of us would know until you failed to come hom at coldfall. And by then, it'd be too late to save you, and we'd all feel bad. Please, dear sister. Mate with Barra. He can keep you safe from all of the rogues, and he loves you." I shoved out of Trenton's arms and swam back a couple of strokes.

"He doesn't love me. He loves the way I look and how rare I am. What is wrong with you all? You want me to mate someone like that? So much for your family being the ones you can turn to." I spun and swam off, ignoring my mother and father calling me. Swimming up to my tower chamber as fast as I could, I dove onto the sponge bed I had and curled around one of the sponges, using it to comfort myself.

"Seira?" I looked up at the voice and saw Barra, floating in the doorway.

"Go away. You're the reason I'm upset right now."

"Just talk to me. I'm sure we can figure this out," he said gently, swimming toward me. I sighed and moved my tail to let him sit next to me on my left as I sat up. He place an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side a bit, letting me feel some comfort that I needed.

"Do you think I don't follow the rules?" I asked softly.

"Honest answer? No, you don't follow them, but you show your strength each time you break the rules. I know you think I only want to mate you becuase of your looks and rarity and because it's what's expected of me." I rolled my eyes, knowing that it was the truth and expecting him to say that it was. "This may come as a surprise to you, but those are simply what my father thinks will attact me most. What really does that is how you show the ocean your strength."

"Really?" He lifted my face to his and nodded. "You're really not attracted to me because of those?"

"Not entirely, but they do help for a first impression," he said, making me smile again. "You are much more than a beautiful rarity, Seira. You have an adoring family and a strength that I can see inside you that I doubt you even know your have. You're loyal to your city, you're playful, and I'd swim through a whale-sized cluster of fire coral if you aren't as fiercly protective as I think you can be." I smiled at his description of me and looked at my tail for a quick moment before looking back at him. "I know what rules are in place for you, and I know they're for your safety. What I don't know is if you want to stay in Amphilora."

"Of course, I want to stay. It's my home. It's all I've ever known."

"Then mate me. I know you don't like me, but unless you managed to talk one of your brothers into letting you stay, I'm your only hope. We can work on building our mutual respect later. But you have to be mated or due to be mated in the next thirty coldfalls to have the lawful right of taking over the kingdom. Based on your mood when I came up here to apologize for the way I acted earlier, I doubt that you managed to talk any of them into letting you stay," he said as he set a hand on the upper part of my tail.

"Even Trenton said he'd exile me," I muttered as I looked away from him.

"Mate me, Seira. I'm your only hope of staying in the kingdom. As the queen, you'll be allowed to roam more waters."

"The outer ring?" I asked hopefully, looking at him again.

"If I'm with you, yes. On your own, it still wouldn't be safe." I sighed and felt my shoulders drop. "The military commander told me when I arrived that there'd been too many rogues near the city lately. And rumor had reached him that they were after you. I know you've seen me in the training waters with som of the city's military, trying to keep up on my training."

"How do you know I've seen you?"

"Because I saw you watching me as you were sneaking out one warming. And you've asked why I was taunting the military," he said, making me smile. "You know I can protect you. You know I'm head over scales for you. You know the result if you don't at least agree to mate in the next thirty coldfalls. At least think about it. If not for me, then for your own happiness." A soft smile curled his lips.

"What?"

"I'm glad to see that you're not sad anymore, my gem of the sea." I felt my lips part in shock at what he called me. No one had ever called me such a beautiful name before, and it made me look at him in a new light. "What is it?" I shook my head and looked away from him, but he moved over in front of me and turned my face back to him again. "This will only work if we talk, Seira. Please, talk to me."

"I've never been called something so beautiful before," I whispered.

"Well, now you have. Mate me, and I'll all you that all the time." I gave a sad smile.

"How can I mate someone I don't love, Barra? It's not right."

"I know, but I'm your only hope of staying here. Think about it, my gem of the sea. You have twenty-nine coldfalls to decide since you have to make the announcement on you 7,300th coldfall." He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead and headed out of my tower chamber, leaving me to think in peace.

I sat in my tower chamber, looking out at my city from my sponge bed and ignoring everyone who came to talk to me after Barra left. All my family had come in one at a time--my mother trying to convince me to mate with Barra, my brothers trying to apologize for the way they were treating me, and my father who was in my chamber now trying to talk to me. "Sweet Seira, listen to me. We--"

"Leave, Father. I have no desire to talk to anyone," I said, refusing to look at him or let him hear any emotion in my voice. I heard him sigh but still didn't turn to look at him.

"Dinner is ready if you want some, my rare beauty." I rolled my eyes, hating that name.

"I'll eat when I'm hungry and can handle seeing any of you. Now leave my chamber." I swam to my window and sat on the ledge looking out at the city, letting my mind flirt with the idea of mating Barra just to stay in my home.

I know he said that we could work on our mutual respect later, but I don't love him. I barely even like him. Right now, the best thing he has going for him is that he doesn't want me because of my looks and rarity and doesn't call me his rare beauty. Maybe I can get him to swim around the market ring with me tomorrow and take the chance to really get to know him since I can't do that here. We'll be constantly interrupted by everyone. By halfway through the coldfall, I'd made up my mind to keep getting to know Barra better, but still hadn't decided if i wanted to mate him just to stay in the city. At least I still have twenty-nine more coldfalls to deicde that. I wonder if he'd be willing to talk to me right now. He's probably asleep, but I can at least check to see if he is. Maybe seeing him while I think about this will help me figure out what I should do.

I left my chamber and swam down the corridor to Barra's chamber. I pulled the seagrass to the side and peeked in, seeing him on his sponge bed. He looked to be asleep, but I swam in anyway. Sinking to the ground next to his bed, I studied him for a bit before looking down as I played with one of my pink fins.

He really is a handsome merman. He'd be a smart choice for a mate--intelligent, dependable, and better than most of the military when he's armed. So what's stopping me from agreeing to mate him? The fact that I don't like him. But how can I like someone who was chosen for me when I know nothing about whom they are?

"Are you all right, my gem of the sea?" came a soft mumble from in front of me. My head jerked up, and I looked into Barra's gray eyes, seeing a soft smile curl his lips.

"Just thinking. Go back to sleep, Barra. I didn't mean to wake you. I'm sorry," I said softly as I pushed myself from the ground to leave.

"You can stay," he said as he grabbed my hand. "I like opening my eyes to see you beside me." I smiled and sank back down. "It seems easier to relax with you there. What are you thinking of? Perhaps I can help."

"Everything. How I can mate someone I don't love and how I'm supposed to like the mate my father chose for me when I don't know much about him, and I'm also wondering if you'd mind going for a swim around the market ring with me tomorrow."

"The first two topics are just doing what's expected of you. However, the last one, I find myself wondering why you'd like to go way out there." His thumb traced a gentle line down my cheek as he cupped my face.

"Because we'll be left alone out there. We can actually talk and get to know each other, whereas if we stay here, we won't be left alone for long."

"I see. Will your family be all right with you leaving the palace waters to go out there?"

"If you're with me, I doubt they'd say no. They probably see you as having the only hope of controlling me," I grumbled.

"I don't want to control you, Seira. I just want you safe and happy." I smiled and looked down for a brief moment. "That's where the problem on my side is though." I looked at him, completely confused. "To keep you safe, I do need to have a bit of control over you. I need to know that if I tell you to hide, you'll hide. If I tell you to stop what you're doing and come to me, you'll stop and come to me."

"That's wanting to control me, Barra," I said, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"Only to a point. There are only two reasons that I would need to control you. And those are the only things I would say for them."

"And what are the reasons? Making my family happy and to confine me?" I asked, feeling my anger start to build.

"Human activity or the rogues coming to the city. Both are excellent reasons to need control. And the control wouldn't be over just you; it'd be over everyone in the city."

He is right about that. "That one I can agree to."

"Really?" he asked, seemingly shocked.

"Yeah. Those are valid reasons, and the king who protects me should have undisputed control of me at those times." A smile curled his lips. "Does everyone expect me to say no to mating you?"

"Most of the military thinks you'll refuse. Your family has started to worry that you won't, and from the rumors I've heard from the market ring, not many in the city at all think you'll agree to mate me. Those who still think you will are holding on to their hope because they say you never do what everyone expects you to." I looked down at my tail to think about doing what no one expected, but Barra turned my face to his again. "Try to get some sleep, Seira. I'll speak with your mother and father at first warmth and ask if they'll let us swim the market ring to talk." I nodded and pushed off the ground but leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Good coldfall, Barra," I murmured into his ear.

"Good coldfall, my gem." He pressed a kiss to my cheek, and I swam back to my chamber, lying down on my sponge bed and trying to go to sleep.

A gentle hand landed on my arm and woke me with a start, but my eyes opened to see Barra sitting next to me and smiling. "Hello, my gem. Let's go get some breakfast with your family. Then we'll go for a swim in the market ring."

"Really? They're letting us go explore out there while we talk?" II asked, sitting up.

"They're letting me escort you around the city," he said with a slight smirk making me chuckle.

"It's better than nothing."

"I've already studied the layout of the city from all the windows possible, with the exception of your parent's chamber. There's no way that I know of for them to be able to see what we actually do out there, so we won't worry about me escorting you around. If they ask, that's what you tell them, though." I smiled and nodded, pushed off my sponge bed, and swam to my mirror to comb out my hair. Setting the comb down, I turned to see Barra smiling at me.

"What?"

"You seem to be shining today, Seira. Before we go to the city, I'd like to stop at the training waters to get a weapon so I can keep you safe if need be."

"We've been over this before. No one in the city would dare harm me, Barra."

"Perhaps not, but remember what I said during our talks last coldfall about the rogues coming too close to the city. I'll need a weapon to protect you to the best of my abilities." I nodded and swam to him, wrapping my arms around him and kissing his cheek.

"Thank you, for putting up with everything I've put you through already." He gave me a smile and swam me down tothe dining chamber for breakfast.

"Seira, you listen to Barra while he's escorting you through the city. Don't give him any trouble," Father said as we finished our meal.

"Barra, would you like me to have some of the city's military go with you? Just as assistance and extra protection for the two of you," Mother asked.

"No, your majesty. Thank you for the offer, but we'll be fine. If anything happens, Seira will be protected first. Then I'll bring the princess back before aiding with the military if they are needed, which I'll let them know on our way back if they are." Mother nodded, and we headed off, swimming through the palace toward the palace waters. "So where would you like to start?" Barra asked as we exited the palace.

"Let's start in the northern part of the market ring."

"Looking for a new pair of shells?" he asked with a smirk.

"No. Just browsing. Seeing what everyone has gotten and how everyone is."

"There's no way that you know everyone in the city."

"Not everyone, but I know most by name. And I've been out to the market ring enough to see everyone and know who lives in my city." Barra looked stunned that I could know that many of the citizens.

"You've had 1,460 coldfalls to get to know me, and you went out to get to know your citizens that won't be yours if we don't mate?" I nodded. "I want to see what that earned you."

"Their love and respect. Why do you think I say that no one in the city would dare harm me?"

"I still want to see it, Seira."

"Fine. Come with me." We swam through the training waters and military housing rings to the shell stalls in the northern part of the market ring.

"Princess Seira. What are you doing out of the palace waters again?" asked one of the shopkeepers with a smile in her voice. I looked to my right and saw Asana.

"I'm allowed to be this time, Asana. I have a protector with me," I said, rolling my eyes since I knew Barra was behind me. Her eyes widened, and she took one stroke back.

"Prince Barracudon. I didn't see you back there. My apologies, your highness," she said, bowing to him.

"Please stop with the niceties for royalty. I'm just trying to get to know Seira today."

"As you wish," she murmured. We chatted a little more, but she stopped me when I said that we should be heading off. "Oh, Seira. Rayna was looking for you. She said that if I saw you, I should send you to her stall. She has something for you." My eyes widened, and I drew in a breath.

"Oh, she must've finally been able to get them. I'll head over to her now. Thank you so much, Asana. The new shells look lovely on you, by the way. I hope Finn's princess refuses so that you can be happy with him. I know you'd make him happy and it'd let him stay with you."

"When is he leaving? Do you know?" she asked as he joy dropped a few notches.

"In twenty-eight coldfalls. By the time he arrives, the Tsurei princess will be at mating age. From what I've overheard Father telling him, she can be rather harsh. She makes poorly thought-out decisions and demands full control and complete obedience of all the citizens under her current ruling level." Asana shook her head.

"She won't like Finn at all." I shook my head.

"He won't like her. They may come to an agreement on a mutual refusal which would let her choose a different mate whom her father had selected."

"Will you tell him I said hello and I'd like to see him before he leaves if he can get down here?" She had a saddend look in her eyes, so I nodded at her request. "Thank you, Seira. Best head to Rayna now." I gave her a hug to cheer her up and turned, heading the long way toward Rayna's stall.

"How do you know Finn and Asana like each other?" Barra asked as we swam through the crowd.

"A little sister who sneaks off to the market to get to know the citizens always ends up knowing more than she really should, especially when she hides behind the stall that her brother stops at so he can flirt with the shopkeeper." He chuckled. I said hello to a few other merfolk, and we stopped to chat with a few others before reaching Rayna's stall.

"Princess Seira!" shouted a little kid's voice. I turned to see Adrea swimming toward me as fast as she could.

"Adrea!" I said, catching her and back-stroking a bit as she collided with me. "How are you, beautiful?"

"I'm great. You look really pretty today, Princess."

"Well, thank you. It's all thanks to that haircomb you made for me. I use it every warming. Even Prince Barracudon noticed that I looked prettier this time." She smiled and giggled.

"Adrea, time for lunch, sweet child. Let Princess Seira go about her business," said Melody as she came and took Adrea's hand. "Hello, Princess. Having a good warming?"

"Wonderful. Thank you. Are you having a good warming as well, Melody?"

"Absolutely," she said, slightly forcing out a smile since Adrea didn't want to let go of me. I held in a laugh and motioned for her to hold on.

"Adrea, why don't you go get your lunch with Melody? I have something that I am going to pick up from Rayna for you."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise. Go get your lunch. I'll find you by Asana's stall later, all right?" She nodded and swam off, with Melody looking happier.

"You really are loved here. I'm astonished, Seira," Barra said as we swam to Rayna's stall on the eastern part of the market ring. We saw an old merman sitting on the ground between a couple of stalls just before we exited the southern food stalls, and he looked hungry.

"I'll show you why I'm so loved," I murmured, stopping Barra as my smile fell from my face. I swam over to the old man and set a hand on his shoulder, feeling a familiar hum of energy. "Sir?" He looked up at me. "Are you hungry?" He nodded. "Come with me," I said softly with a smile. Helping him up, I swam him over to one of the stalls.

"Princess, how can I help you?" asked Mako.

"Fill him with food, please. On me," I said, handing a small bag to Mako.

"I won't take that, Princess. You know better. Come with me, sir. Let's get you some food," Mako said, taking the old merman by the arm and leading him behind his stall so he could eat in peace.

"Princess Seira. I was hoping to see you today. I have the golden shells you requested from Abysrius," Rayna said, making me turn at her voice.

"Oh my gosh. Thank you so much, Rayna."

"Unfortunately, they were rather high priced for me to get since I had to go to Abysirus to get them myself."

"No problem. You know I'm happy to buy them. How much?"

"Twenty gold coins." I pulled out thirty and handed it to her. "Only twenty, Seira," she said, handing me the extra coins back.

"No, Rayna. The extra is for the work you did to get them for me and for the kindness you showed me when I swam away from the palace. Keep it. Please." She smiled and nodded and pushed the coins into her bag as Barra and I turned to head toward Asana's stall again to complete our round and give Adrea her gift.

"You know how often I've snuck down here from the palace, right?" I whispered to Barra as a strange merman swam by us, making me stop my tail while I put Adrea's new shells in my bag.

"Nearly every day since I've arrived, and however many times before that," he said with a chuckle.

"Well, I've never seen him here before," I said, making Barra stop chuckling as I followed the strange merman with my eyes. I swam back over to Rayna. "Rayna, is he new to the city?" I asked, pointing in the merman's direction. She looked at his retreating tail for a moment before answering.

"He must be because I've never seen his scales here before, Princess." Turning around to go back to Barra, I saw the merman spin back and start coming toward me at a high speed. He pulled something shiny from a bag he'd been carrying, but when he raised his hand as he got closer to me, I realized that it was a dagger. I knew I should be swimming for my life, but I couldn't get my tail to move. Suddenly, Barra shoved me out of the merman's path, barely getting his sword up in time to block the swing from the dagger. It was over in moments, but their fight seemed to last forever. Barra's sword moved like a sailfish through the water after that block and sliced across the merman's stomach, going across his throat on its way back to Barra's side. The merman floated there for just a moment as red started to flow from his wounds, but he plummeted to the ground like an anchor a moment later, his head rolling a short distance away as someone near me screamed in shock.

It finally hit me hard enought that I should be swimming back to the palace for safety, and I took off as fast as I could, over the city. Coming from behind me, Barra grabbed my arm as he sped past and raced back to the training waters with me in tow, going so fast that I could barely keep up with him. "Commander, send your troops to the market ring. The rogues are in the city. I'll join momentarily. I need to get the princess back to the palace for safety."

"The rogues have never ben able to penetrate our walls, Prince Barra," Commander Bay said as he looked up at us from polishing a spearhead.

"Well, they have now! One just tried to attack her!" Barra yanked my arm as he took off toward the palace again. Once we reached the palace waters, Barra let go of me and spun. "Go tell your mother, Seira. There are no windows in my chamber, so stay in there until I return. I want to know you're safe while I'm gone." I nodded, and he took off back to the city as I swam to the palace.

"Mother!" I called the moment I saw her.

"What's the problem, my dear?" she asked as she turned. I nearly collided with her as I stopped, and her arms came around me. "Seira, baby. What happened? I've never seen your scales this color before."

"Barra and I were swimming through the market ring and getting to know each other. I had just finished speaking with one of the shopkeepers when I saw someone I hadn't before. When I asked Rayna if he was new, she said he must be because she had never seen him here. As I turned to head back to Barra, the stranger charged at me and drew a dagger. Barra save me, but the city needs to be searched for any more rogues."

"Where's Barra?"

"He went back to help the military search the market ring for more rogues."

"Go to Trenton's chamber and stay there. Now, Seira." I took off and swam toward Trenton's chamber as she rushed off but passed my brother's chamber and went through the seagrass into Barra's like he'd told me. I sat on his sponge bed, waiting for him to return, but my tail scales caught my attention. They were a mixture of yellow, red, and blue.

What in the world? My tail scales have never been like this. I guess each color appears separately unless I'm terrified. I sat in Barra's chamber for what felt like an eternity. I heard my entire family calling for me, but I didn't make a sound and swam to the darkest spot in Barra's room. I want Barra. I want to know that it's safe for me to come out into the palace again.

"Seira? Are you in here?" came Barra's voice as the seagrass moved to the side. I cautiously swam into the light and saw him sigh in relief as he opened his arms. "It's safe, my gem of the sea. You're safe. There are no more rogues in the city," he murmured as I swam to him, throwing my arms around his neck. He wrapped his strong arms around me and held me tight to his chest, turning and swimming me backward. I felt the seagrass curtain brush against my back and then heard a throat get cleared. I let go of Barra and smiled at him.

"Thank you for saving me."

"Why didn't you swim away from him?" he asked gently.

"I couldn't get my tail to move. I don't know why, but I couldn't. It was like I was frozen in an iceberg." Barra nodded and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"Your family is worried about you. You might want to let them know you're all right," he murmured with a smirk. I turned and saw everyone floating right there, looking upset by relieved.

"You were told to hide in Trenton's chamber, Seira. Why were you in Barra's?" Father demanded.

"When Barra dropped me in the palace waters, he told me to hide in there since there are no windews in his chamber." My father opened his mouth, but Mother laid a hand on his arm and shook her head when he looked at her.

"Good thinking, Barra. On the slim chance that any rogues had gotten past the training waters, they would not have been able to sneak up on her through a window. Thank you," Mother said.

"I refuse to see her harmed if I can stop it," he said from behind me.

"Dinner time, everyone," Mother said gently. We swam to the dining chamber, and I ate a little bit but left and went to bed when I left lost my appetite. I laid down and let myself doze off, but a scream woke me with a start. I jolted up on my sponge bed just as Barra came speeding through my curtain. Feeling a ball of something in my throat, I wrapped my arms around myself and curled my deep-sea blue tail as close as I could, trying my best to slow my breathing and racing heart.

"Seira, are you all right?" Barra asked, sinking down in front of me and looking up to see my face. I nodded, but he moved next to me and wrapped his arms around me as he sank onto my bed.

"What happened in your dream?"

"I saw the rogue coming at me again," I whispered out. "I was able to swim away from him this time, but I couldn't escape. He kept getting closer until he reached me, and his dagger sliced open my side, from scales to shells." I just barely managed to hold back the part that I found scarier--that I couldn't find Barra anywhere.

"Seira, you're fine. The attack is over. He never touched you and he'll never again have the opportunity to try," he murmured to my hair as he held my head against his chest. My heart had been racing when he came in, but the feel of his heart beating slow and steady on the other side of his bones calmed mine, making my breathing slow. I don't know when, but Barra laid me back down on my sponge bed and sat beside me all coldfall, holding my hand to keep me calm. I woke early warming and found him still sitting beside my bed with his head resting next to mine and felt a smile curl my lips.

"Barra. Time to wake up," I murmured softly, setting a hand on his arm. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he gave me a soft smile.

"Hello, my gem. Any more bad dreams?" I shook my head and smiled at him.

"Thank you for comforting me. I don't know what brought that dream into my mind, but I'm hoping it doesn't return. You feel cold, Barra. Is everything all right?"

"I'll be fine. I just need to start moving around." I nodded, but promised myself I would keep an eye on his health for the next few warmings since it was the least I could do to repay him for yester-warming. Pushing off my sponge bed, I swam to my mirror  and combed out my hair but stopped Barra before we left for breakfast. "What is it, Seira?"

"I still need to get those shells to Adrea. I promised her yester-warming that I'd meet her at Asana's stall after her lunch."

"Don't worry, my gem. I've already worked something out. I went past Asana's stall after your attack and asked her to let Adrea know what happened and tell her you'd be back down today." I let out a soft sigh.

"But how am I supposed to get back down there? There's no way Mother and Father will let me go again after my attack."

"I'm taking you out. They'll let you go. Just let me worry about asking them." I nodded, and we swam down to breakfast.

"Good warming, everyone," I said, swimming to my seat next to Barra.

"Good warming, Seira. Feel better, my dear?" Mother asked. I nodded.

"Why was Barra in you chamber last coldfall?" Father asked.

"I had a bad dream. He was comforting me."

"I went to check on her and make sure she was all right before heading to my own chamber but heard a scream just before I reached her curtain. I comforted her until she fell asleep and then sat next to her all coldfall to keep her from having the dream again," Barra said.

"You were already coming to check on me?" I asked, getting a nod in return. "Why?"

"You didn't seem relaxed at dinner like you normally are." I smiled and looked at my plate. "I wonder if it's possible for Seira and I to swim around the market ring again today, your majesties."

"Even after the attack on her yester-warming? Why would you put her through that, Barra?" Father demanded.

"She knows what every merman, mermaid, and merkid in the city looks like. She would be able to tell is for certain that we got all the rogues."

"That's a wonderful point, Barra," Mother said as Father opened his mouth. "Make sure to stop at the training waters and grab a weapon again. I'm also sending a small group of soldiers with you as protection and to aid in the search."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary, Queen Adrielle."

"It most certainly is. If there's more than one surrounding you, you'll need the help to protect Seira."

"Mother, the soldiers would get in his way. The fight he had with the rogue who attacked me... Two swipes of his sword and the rogue was dead."

"And how long did it take for him to get in those two strikes?"

"He pushed me out of the way, blocked the strike from the rogue's dagger, and took his two stikes to kill the rogue. He's swift, Mother, and better than our military. Don't worry about sending the soldiers with us. I'll be safe. But if you insist on sending military with us, why not spread them through the market ring so that they stay out of the way but are close if help is needed?" She thought for a moment as she looked at Father who seemed surprised at the idea. My brothers, however, had stopped in mid-bite of their seaweed and looked like jellyfish had taken over their brains. "What's the matter, Finn? Have a jellyfish for a brain?" I asked, making everyone laugh as Father rolled his eyes.

"All right. If you're sure you can keep her safe on your own again, you can take her. I still request that you stop at the training grounds for that weapon though, Barra."

"I won't go to the market ring without a sword if Seira is with me." My parents nodded, and we ate our breakfast in peace but I could feel my brothers staring at me in shock for wanting to go to the market ring again. We pushed off to leave, but I stalled next to Finn and leaned down, whispering in his ear.

"Asana wants to see you before you leave. Should I pass along a message?"

"Today" was all he whispered back. I could see him fighting back a sad smile and promised myself that I would stay down there as long as I could so thatIi could talk to him before he saw her.

I sped to my chamber and grabbed the bag I put Adrea's shells in and then swam out my window and to Barra who was waiting for me at the edge of the palace waters. Barra and I stopped at the training waters to let him grab a sword and then headed down to the market ring. "Anyone you see whom you don't recognize, let me know." I nodded and kept my eyes open, making sure to look at every citizen we passsed. Many said hello to me, and a few stopped us to check on me, but no one seemed new.

"Princess Seira, are you okay?" Adrea asked as we reached Asana's stall.

"Yes. I'm fine. Thanks to Barra here. I have your shells that I'd promised to get you. I know it took Rayna a long time to find them, but she had to go to Abysrius to buy them. These never make it to the Central Station," I said, tugging her new shells from my bag. Her shells were the color of new gold coins, and her jaw dropped open, making me smile as she took them. She flung her arms around my neck and thanked me softly. "Do you like Melody and Drake?"

"Yes. I've started calling them Mother and Father."

"Then that's thanks enough, Adrea. You needed parents when we met; they wanted a child. Take these shells straight home or over to Melody so they stay safe. You can change shells next warming." She nodded and swam off as I turned to Asana. "Finn will be here this warming. I don't know when, though." She nodded, and I swam around with Barra some more, keeping my eyes open for any new merfolk in the city and Finn since I had a suggestion for him. When we spotted him, I swam over, and Barra stopped a few strokes away so that we could talk alone.

"Finn, from what I've overheard, you won't like this princess, and she won't like you."

"Perhaps not, but it is my duty to at least try to have a mutual respect with her."

"Is she the only one Father agreed to for you?" He nodded. "Then consider a mutual refusal with her. If that happens, you are free to mate any mermaid who is not already mated, in any city you choose. If a princess is still available and you get refused, you must attempt mating with her, but otherwise you're free to mate whom you want and live where you want. Home city is only allowed by ruling queen's approval, though." His face turned into one of confusion, but I could see the urge to repeat that it was his duty.

"Where are you swimming with this, Seira?"

"If I refuse Barra, you'll need to mate quickly, but can choose any mermaid in the city. If T accept Barra, I'll be the ruling queen. Even though I know it's not reciprocated, I would let you stay. You make Asana happy, and Asana makes you happy."

"I'm going to do my duty and attempt to mate the Tsurei princess," he growled at me.

"Just promise to think of it, Finn. A mutual refusal gives her the ability to find the mate who compliments her ruling, and it leaves your reputation as pristine. Think of it, please. For Asana. You two love each other. Do you know how hard it is to find a mate you love? Love is a one-horned seahorse, Finn. Don't squander this opportunity." He swam off without looking back at me, but at least his eyes seemed to say that he was thinking of my suggestion.

"Barra, are you feeling all right?" I asked as we swam back to the palace. His skin had become a little grayer, and he seemed to be swimming slower than normal. He nodded but didn't say anything. We stopped at the training waters, and he returned the sword, but I saw him lean against the wall next to the sword rack. "No, you're no all right. Come on. We're heading to the palace, and the nurses will look at you," I said, taking his arm. His skin was colder now than it had been when we woke up. He pushed off the wall with too much strength, and we crashed against the other side of the weapons chamber.

"Prince Barra? Princess Seira? Are you all right in there?" Commander Bay asked from the entrance.

"No, commander. Can you give me a hand, please?" I asked as I squeezed out from between Barra, the wall, and the ground we'd slid down to. Commander Bay came in with a hand on his sword and looked at Barra as he slowly and carefully tried to push off the ground.

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"Barra is sick. He's having trouble measuring his strength, his skin is grayer than the normal tint it has, and he's cold to the touch. I can't swim him back to the palace on my own. Would you mind helping me get him there so the nurses can look at him?"

"Absolutely. Were there any more strange merfolk you found in the city?" he asked as he picked Barra up, setting him over a shoulder.

"No, luckily. I think he'd have been injured if there were."

"I believe you're right. I've never seen Prince Barra like this, although I am glad to see that you've taken a caring nature to him on this." My head snapped in his direction, and I could already feel anger building. "I don't mean that you've never cared for anyone," he said quickly as he glanced at my tail. "Simply that it's quite obvious to us all that you've never cared for him."

"Well, saving me from that rogue and comforting me from a bad dream might have changed my opinion on him, but I still don't know if I'll accept the mating or not."

"I would hate to see you lose your home, Princess. Consider him." I nodded as we swam down the corridor to Barra's chamber. Commander Bay laid him on his sponge bed, and I thanked him for the help before swimming off to find a nurse. The moment I found one, we rushed back to Barra's chamber, and she checked him over.

"It appears he has reef cooling, Princess. It can be fatal, but this doesn't look like too bad of a case. It should pass in about fifteen coldfalls. The other nurses and I will keep a close watch on him until then." I shook my head.

"I'll watch over him. What do I need to do?"

"Princess, he could die if he's not cared for properly," she said with tested patience.

"What do I need to do?" I growled at her. She gave a surprised look but nodded.

"He needs to be fed hot seaweed three times a day and get plenty of rest, and most importantly, he's not to leave his chamber until one of the nurses clears him. I'll have a nurse posted outside his curtain in case complications arise so that all you need to do is ask for help. All right?" I nodded, and she left his chamber as I sank down next to him.

"I'm sorry, Barra. You shouldn't have stayed in my chamber for the coldfall. Tt's colder there than you've gotten used to for our warm waters. If you hadn't stayed with me, then you wouldn't be sick now," I murmured, slipping a strand of hair from his forehead.

"And if I hadn't stayed, your dream might have come back. Don't worry for me, my unique beauty. I'll be fine," he mumble, sounding asleep. Surprised that he called me that, I kept quiet, letting him sleep while I thought about accepting the mating, but went to the kitchens just before coldfall and requested some hot seaweed. While the cook made it up, I found one of the serving crew and told her to inform my parents that Barra and I wouldn't be joining them for meals for the next fifteen coldfalls and then told her to have my meals delivered to Barra's chamber for that time with hot seaweed for him. She agreed to pass the information to them, and I grabbed the hot seaweed from the cook, taking off back to Barra.

"Barra. Wake up a bit. You need to eat this," I said softly, setting a hand on his arm. His eyes fluttered open after a moment, and he looked distant but ate the seaweed I fed him, falling asleep again the moment he was done. Over the next twelve coldfalls, I stayed in Barra's chamber, making sure he ate, slept, and stayed in bed. I heard my father calling for me in the corridor a few times but ignored him and stayed next to Barra. "Please get better soon, my prince," I murmured, pressing a kiss to his forehead. During my time with him in here, I'd given lots of thought to accepting Barra as my mate, especially since I only had sixteen coldfalls left to make my decision.

"You accept?" he murmured. He still sounded asleep, but his voice was stronger than it had been twelve warmings ago.

"Shh. Just relax and rest, Barra. We'll talk when you feel better," I murmured softly.

"Talk now," he said as his eyes fluttered open. They were clear and bright, and he looked healthy again, but I didn't want to push him for anything more just yet. "I feel fine, my gem of the sea. Please talk to me." I smiled at his name for me, and he cupped my cheek, gliding a thumb across the skin.

"I accept the mating," I whispered to him, not wanting the nurse outside to hear this until I was ready to announce it. "It wouldn't be right of me to refuse mating the merman who can protect me best and gets sick just to comfort me. How can I not love that merman? For my city to continue thriving and prospering, I must mate the prince whom my father chose for me but must also choose the best option. You are the best option for my people and my only option of staying in the city. I know it has taken me a long time to decide it, but I truly hope that you would still llike for me to be your mate," I whispered.

"How can I not want that, Seira?" he murmured, keeping the conversation between just us. "Even through the arguments we've had and the time that we weren't even getting to know each other, I've been head over scales for you." I smiled and kissed his cheek. "What's been happening the last few warmings?" I shook my head.

"I don't know. I've been by your side the whole time."

"You haven't eaten?"

"My meals were brought to me."

"You haven't seen your family?"

"Father told me to eat my meals next to my future mate from now on, so why should I leave his side to eat in the dining chamber when he's in his bed and sick?" I murmured with a smirk. Barra smiled and chuckled.

"You realize they're probably turning into stargazer fish since they can't find you, right?" I held in a laugh at the thought of my parents and brothers having their eyes move to the top of their heads while they swam around on teh ground looking for me.

"I couldn't care less. Let me get the nurse to check you over. I was told that you weren't to leave your chamber until they cleared you. I'll only be a moment." I pressed another kiss to his cheek annd swam to his curtain, poking my head out. "Nurse? He's awake and says he's feelinng better. Would you mind checking him over?" She nodded and came in.

"Princess, your family has been looking you. If you'd like to go find them, I can check Prince Barra over and then send him to find you if he's healthy again."

"I'll go find them when I know if Barra is healthy. I'm looking after him, and I'm not leaving this chamber until he's over the reef cooling."

"Yes, Princess." She checked his skin coloring, temperature, and a few other things; but when she looked away for a moment he smirked and winked at me, making my cheeks heat a bit. Just as I got my cheeks to cool off, the nurse turned to be able to see us both. "Prince Barra is healthy. He can leave his chamber again. Fantastic work, Princess. I don't think I've ever seen someone get over reef cooling in less than fifteen coldfalls. You must have a healing touch."

"I know she does," Barra said, making my smile grow as the nurse left.

"Since you're all better, I'm going to find my family and let them know I'm still alive." He nodded, and I swam out of his chamber.

"Seira! There you are!" came my father's voice as I rounded the corner heading toward my parent's chamber. I gave a huge smile and swam to him, getting my first hug and sight of family in a long time. "Where have you been?" he asked as he pushed me back a bit.

"In Barra's chamber. I--"

"You've been staying in his chamber? You're not to be doing that! You have your own chamber to stay in! I guess that you've been too busy in there to care about coming to eat with your family?! You were under orders to join your family for every meal; yet for the last twelve warmings and coldfalls, you have not been seen at all around the palace, and now I find out that you've been staying in Barra's chamber with him?!" he shouted at me.

"Didn't you see a nurse posted outside of his curtain?" I asked, feeling my anger building already.

"Yes, but do not change the subject of you being in there! You're now confined to your chamber and the dining chamber!" All my anger and fight left me, and I swam back a stroke, shaking my head.

"Perhaps if you had taken a moment to stop and speak with her to check on the health of your guest, then maybe you would have known this whole time that I've been looking after him and helping him get over reef cooling." I turned and swam away from my father, heading straight to my chamber as fast as I could and diving onto my sponge bed.

"Seira? What's wrong?" I looked up at the voice that came from my curtain and saw Barra floating there.

"I'm confined more than before because I was in your chamber," I mutter. "You might want to leave before Father catches you in here. He already thinks we were doing something in your chamber and doesn't believe that I was helping you get better."

"What does he think we were doing?"

"I have no oceanic idea," I muttered, shaking my head.

"I'll straighten his thoughts, Seira. You won't be confined for long," he said softly.

"No, don't worry about it. You could make things worse. He may try to refuse you on my behalf and send you home."

"He can't do that."

"He'll still try. He erupted like a volcano the moment he heard I was in your chamber. Didn't even give me a chance to say that you were sick with reef cooling, let alone that I had wanted to help you get over it." Barra sighed.

"All right. You say to leave things alone; I'll leave them alone. But if he tries to refuse me on your behalf--"

"I'll put a stop to this nonsense, right now," came my mother's voice from behind Barra, making him jolt into my chamber as he turned to see her. "I'm suspending his kingly duties and giving the to Oshi until you accept or decline your mating to Prince Barra. The moment you accept, you will take over the ruling. If you refuse, law will be followed, and you eldest unmated brother receives the ruling. Just remember that you have another sixteen coldfalls before a refusal is lawfully assumed."

"I understand and will have a decision made soon." Barra shot me a slightly confused look, but I ignored him.

"Thank you, my dear. You will need to look after the city and all of my duties for eight coldfalls while I go to Central Station to make the announcement of your father's suspension and while I return. And you're no longer confined, Seira."

"Don't worry about making that announcement, Mother. I'll probably have a decision made before you would get back, making you have to turn around and retract your appointment of kingly duties."

"All right. I don't think your father has anything to do there for a while anyway. Regardless, you will still take the ruling of the city the moment you accept, if you do. However, that does mean that you will have a lot of things to deal with all at once."

"I'll be fine. Thank you." She smiled but swam off looking like a great white shark with a toothache and bad temper. "I think Father's in trouble," I muttered as Barra swam over and sat on my bed next to me.

"Why didn't you tell her that you already accepted?"

"Because I want to keep it secret for a few warmings and coldfalls, I want them to wonder if I'm ever going to make a decision, and I don't want Mother and Father to think I am accepting out of spite for Father's eruption." He chuckled and shook his head.

"My cruel, intelligent mate," he murmured. He pressed a kiss to my forehead and cupped my cheek as he backed away. We spent the next eleven coldfalls hiding the news from everyone, but we'd always wait until the palace was silent and then swim to the other's chamber for a bit.

"I'll make the announcement before we eat," I said to Barra as we swam to the dining chamber for dinner.

"Would you like me to enter with you, my gem?"

"Thank you, but no. That would give away the announcement before it's made. Keep things the way the have been lately. I'll meet you at the table," I said with a smile.

"See you in there." He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead before we got too close to the dining chamber, then swam ahead of me, and went in. I stalled outside the seagrass curtain, not knowing how my family would react to this announcement.

Well, there's only one way to find out. Father chose him as my mate and they've been pressuring me to accept the mating, so they should be happy. I took a deep breath and swam through the curtain, stopping short. "I have an announcement to make." Everyone looked up at me, but I only saw Barra smile his encouragement to me. "On this, my 7,295^th coldfall, I, Princess Seira of Amphilora, accept the mating to Prince Barracudon of Glacada," I said. Barra's smile took up most of his face, and I felt joy at the sight of how happy I'd made him but wanted to laugh at how my family looked. Their jaws had dropped open, and they all seemed astonished to hear that I accepted the mating.

"About time, sweet Seira. I was starting to fear that you'd lose your home soon," said my father.

"Well, I gave it some long hard thought. I wanted to be sure of what I was doinng and that it was the right corridor for me and the citizens of the city."

"Long thought doesn't describe it, dear. Addy, my darling, our rare beauty has just grown up in front of our eyes." I rolled my eyes at being called that name yet again.

"Forgive me, your majesty; but Seira doesn't like being called rare beauty, beatuiful rarity, or any other name like that. She's just too kind to say anything," Barra said, looking at my father but drawing my attention to him.

"Then what name do you like to be called?" Father asked, looking at me and making my eyes flick to him for a moment. I looked at Barra, and he smiled back.

"My gem of the sea, would you please join us for dinner?" Ignoring everyone's unbelieving stare, I swam around the table to him and stopped as his arms came around me, letting him press a kiss to my forehead.

"Gem of the sea. I have to say that it fits her in more than just description, Barra," Mother said after a moment, making everyone look at her.

"It fits her in looks and rarity. What other way is there for that name to fit her, Mother?" asked Seeti.

"She's the only princess in the only city that is this close to humans. Amphilora is a gem city because of how close we are able to live to shore without being detected. Seira herself is a gem as well, not just from your looks or rarity," she said, looking at me, "but because you are the only princess here. For a gem to appear in a gem city is more of a rarity than any of us realizes. She should never have been getting referred to as a rarity as that is a downgrade for her. You certainly are intelligent to have figured that out, Barra. And it appears that she loves the name. Congratulations. I believe you have her heart. Don't forget the love between you two; it's better than a mutual respect," she said, slightly glaring at father. The topic of my acceptance was the main focus all evening since there wree many plans to be made now, but Mother was also giving me a list of all the things she had coming up as queen that were now my responsiblity.

"Have you thought of a mating present you want yet?" Barra asked me as we swam from the dining chamber after dinner.

"One, but I don't know if it's possible to achieve."

"What is it?"

"I want to know why there are all the rules for me. There must be a reason they were created. And I know my family did not create them, which means that the only answers are in the Central Station." Barra looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I have to go back to Glacada for a shot time to make the announcement to my parents and sister that you accepted our mating, and I'm going to grab my personal sword from my chamber so that I can protect you better. I'll be passing through Central Station on my way there and back to you, so I'll see if I can find out. Give me some time, my gem. I'll leave at first warmth after the public announcement, and I'll be back as soon as I can, but it may take up to sixty coldfalls. Just do me one favor and stay within the safety of the the palace and palace waters while I'm gone. No trips to the market ring," he said with a smile as we stopped at my curtain. "Agreed?"

"Agreed my prince. Please stay safe and hurry back to me," I murmured. He gave me a kiss good night and swam off, heading down the corridor to his chamber as I swam through my seagrass curtain.

Forty coldfalls later

Finn had left to meet the Tsurei princess three warmings after my public acceptance of Barra. Over the next sixteen coldfalls, my other four brothers left one by one to meet thier princesses whom Father had assigned them to. "My gem of the sea, I'm back," came a soft murmur, waking me. Opening my eyes, I saw Barra sitting next to me as I laid on my sponge bed.

"Barra!" I cried, now fully awake as I threw my arms around his neck, holding his close to me.

"I have your mating present."

"And?"

"There used to be fourteen kingdoms."

"Fourteen? Where was it? What happened to it? Why all the rules for me?"

"The city was Atalantis. It was the northernmost city in the northeast waters, and 76,650 coldfalls ago, the royals of Atalantis had an only child--a daughter, another rarity, but with eyes as green as the giant green anemone and blue tail scales with orange fins. The queen was unable to have any other children, but the reason was never recorded. Like you, the princess loved to explore her future kingdom. She had refused her mate, but since there was no other to take the ruling, she was allowed to stay and would have taken the ruling when her father and mother died. Two coldfalls after the king's death, rogues attacked the city. Distraught with grief, the queen did not see them coming before it was too late. By the time she had warned the military of the attack, the rogues had kidnapped the princess from the outer ring and vanished without a trace. The next warming, the princess's tail was found, floating to the city from the western waters with her body a short distance outside of the city walls. On the coldfall of the queen's death, the city itself fell to the rogues as there was no one to take the ruling. At that moment, the kings from all other cities convened and created new laws in the event there was ever another rarity like the one of Atalantis. If the princess is a rarity and an only child, she is to remain in the palace and palace waters for her safety and the survival of her kingdom. If she is an only child, she must accept the mate her father chooses. If all her brothers are mated and the princess refuses her mating, the ruling goes to the military commander upon the king's death, and the princess is outcast to live with the rogues or onshore unless she can convince the Central Station to permit her to live there."

I could feel my mouth hanging open in shock. "Why wouldn't they have told me?" I whispered out to myself.

"You would have been in fear for your life all the time if they had. And they may not have known the reasoning behind the laws for you. By not telling you, they made you stronger and more thoughtful. You would be an entirely different mermaid if they had told you what happened to the last rarity."

Trenton had been the second to leave but the first to return, fifty coldfalls after he left, with news that he and the Nyphrem princess were to be mated. Although I was happy for him, I was also sad that I'd no longer have him around. Eighty coldfalls after he left, Fjord returned to say that the Ashari princess had accepted her mating to him. He and Trenton were to be in the southeast waters, but it surprised us all that Fjord's princess accepted him so quickly. Oshi returned with the same news ninety-five coldfalls after he left, but he was to be in the northwest waters of Nautilune which was the next city north of Amphilora, making me happy to have one brother who would be close. One hundred twenty-five coldfalls after he left, Seeti came back from Leviatis, the southern city in the northeast waters, with news that he and was to be mated to that princess. Finally, 360 coldfalls after he left, Finn returned.

"Welcome home, Finn. What's the news of you and the Tsurei princess?" I asked as we met in the dining chamber.

"Mutual refusal. We made the agreement to get to know each other for 350 coldfalls, and if neither felt a mutual respect could be achieved at the end of that time, we would mutually refuse. I told her all about me and she told me of her, but we didn't match." I nodded. "Do you have any news of other princesses who still need to mate?" he asked, looking at Barra.

"None. Currently, the only princess left to mate is the Tsurei princess, but she pretty much has her choice of five princes since she refused you," Barra said. I saw a brief smile flick across Finn's lips.

"Finn, I wonder if you would mind swimming down to the market with us. I want to go see how the citizens are doing, and I'm sure you want to see some of them." Barra looked at me a little oddly but said nothing.

"I think that'd be nice. Thank you for the thought." We swam down to the market ring, and I headed straight to Asana's stall, telling Finn to stay hidded for just a moment.

"Queen Seira. A pleasure to see you this warming," she said as she saw me.

"Hello, Asana. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing all right. I still miss Prince Finn terribly, but I'm sure with time, I'll get over him. He always was one to do his duty." I motioned for Finn to come out of hiding when she looked down to straighten some of the shells on her stand.

"Well, you could try to get over him, but I don't think you ever will. And if you did, it wouldn't be fair to him." She looked up, confused, but I saw her lips part and her breathing slow as her eyes widened a touch. I swam over to Barra to get out of the way, and Finn raced to her, wrapping his arms around her waist as they spun in a circle around the other. When they finally stopped, I tapped Finn on the shoulder. "You're welcome to stay in Amphilora, if you wish." I turned and swam off with Barra beside me as we checked on some of the others in the city before making our way back to the palace.

"That was kind of you to allow Finn to stay in the city, Seira. You know he wouldn't have done the same for you," Barra said when we were finally alone in our chamber for the coldfall.

"I know. And I told him that to prove a point."

"What point?"

"That I'm a better ruler than him," I said, trying to fight my smile back. Barra laughed and kissed my forehead.

"He's older. He knows more about ruling a city than you do."

"There's more to ruling a city than just making laws and having citizens follow them, my king. You know that as well as I do. He didn't understand that. For your citizens to follow your laws, you have to know, love, and respect them."

"That's what makes you the amazing queen you are," he murmured. He pressed a kiss to my forehead as usual. Then his lips pressed against my temple, then my cheek, and then my jawbone, down to my neck and onto my shoulder. Then they went back to my neck and my jawbone and finally landed on my lips making me back from him quickly.

"I can't, Barra. It's too soon. I'm still struggling to get the hang of the queen's duties," I said softly, looking away from him and trying to hide my fear of that kiss. A finger landed under my chin, and I looked up at him.

"We have to at some point, Seira. If we don't, the city will fall upon our deaths. Do you want to have worked as hard as you have to restore the city only for it to fall when we die?" I shook my head. "Then we have to at some point." I took a deep breath to calm my nerves but nodded and pressed our lips together.

"Seira, my sweet. Can you ever forgive me for the way I treated you as you were growing up?" My father said as he was lying on his bed five coldfalls later. We knew his time was coming, and all my brothers had already said goodbye, but this was the first chance I'd had to see him. His skin had turned to the color of the sandy seafloor, and the gold of his tail had dulled drastically over the last 365 coldfalls.

"There's nothing to forgive you for, Father. I know and understand why I was to be confined to the palace waters. You were only doing youR job as a caring father and following the laws as any good king should."

"How do you know what happened, Seira?" Mother asked.

"It was my mating present from Barra." She nodded in understanding.

"As long as you understand that you may have to do the same with the next rarity." I gave her a confused look. "Rarities run in our blood, my dear. My mother's twice before me father came from Atalantis. the way my mother's mother told it, he had been distraught with grief when he learned of the city's demise and didn't like speaking of the city or his lost sister and niece."

Back to present

"Seira, come to me," Barra said as he raced into our chamber. I sat up and looked at him, but his face gave nothing away. "Seira, now." I heard a sense of urgency in his voice and swam right to him.

"Barra, my king, what's wrong?"

"Rogues are surrounding the city walls. I refuse to lose my gem of the sea to those uncivilized creatures."

"Queen Siera, come with me, please," one of the soldiers said as he swam through our curtain. "A rogue has arrived in the military training waters requesting to speak with you. Commander Bay is refusing to let him any closer to the palace, but the rogue says if he doesn't speak with you directly this coldfall, the city will be attacked." I felt fear flare up but resigned myself to my duties as I looked at Barra.

"Don't leave my side."

"He wants you to come out alone, my queen," the soldier said. "He gave Commander Bay his sword as a show of good faith that you would trust him for the coldfall."

"Seira, no. I'm not allowing this," Barra said as he grabbed my arm. "I don't trust the rogue to keep his word, and you shouldn't either." I looked down in thought for a moment, trying to decide quickly what the best corridor was.

"It's too cold to be outside for much longer. If he will allow the king to be by my side, we will meet in the palace for warmth. He will also be allowed to stay in the palace for the coldfall on the condition that he touches no weapon and accepts that there will be soldiers outside of his curtain and in his chamber for the time being to watch him. For everyone's safety, not to harm him. If he accepts, I want ten soldiers to escort him here. They will be the ones to stand gurad in the palace. Those are my terms. If he accepts all my terms, bring him and his sword to the meeting chamber."

"Seira, have you lost your mind?" Barra demanded as we swam to the meeting chamber.

"No, I haven't, Barra. However, he has arrived in the city alone and has surrundered his weapon, requesting to meet with me. If meeting this rogue means that the city won't be attacked, then I'll meet him. There will be ten soldiers surrounding him, and I have you by my side. Your gem will be safe, my king," I murmured as I sat in my seat, looking up at him. "How do you expect me me to refuse meeting under those conditions when the alternative is an unexpected battle that may take the city?"

"So the young queen of Amphilora is as intelligent as they say," came a voice from the other end of the meeting chamber. My head snapped in that direction, and I pushed off my coral seat, swimming toward him and knowing that Barra was close behind me. One of the soldiers raised a hand to the back of the rogue's head, and I stopped.

"I wouldn't suggest it, Soldier. Rogue or not, he is a guest of the queen. What would Commander Bay do if you harmed the queen's guest?" I said with restrained anger in my voice. The rogue looked behind him to see the hand fall back to the soldier's side. "Since you have shown aggression to an unarmed merman who is my guest, you are relieved for the coldfall. Inform Commander Bay that a replacement for you needs to arrive quickly. Leave." The soldier handed Barra a sword, said it was the rogue's, and then left as the rogue looked at me.

"She is also unnaturally protective," he said almost to himself with a mixture of confusion, hopefulness, and admiration on his face.

"And her king can kill fasster than any of the military," Barra snarled, tightening his grip on the rogue's sword.

"King Barracudon, that is enough from you. This merman is our guest. One more word from you and I will suspend your duties for a short time. You have no say in this meeting," I snapped before looking back at the rogue. "I apologize on behalf of the king and the soldier, sir. You should not have been threatened by either. Rest assured that if it happens, they will recieve punishment. However, I do not suggest provoking the king. He's already aggitated with me for accepting this meeting. Let's start with introductions. I am Queen Seira of Amphilora, and this is King Barracudon of Amphilora. How may I address you?"

"I'm Baltic, leader of the open water rogues stationed at Caenuria. And not to worry, Queen Seira. I've no intention of addressing the king as my people wish me to speak only with you." I smiled and gave a nod, and the nine remaining soldiers backed off to give Baltic some room.

"What is it that your people wish you to speak with me about?" I asked as we swam toward a seat that was brought in for him and placed near mine.

"A possible truce between your city and ours."

"I wasn't aware that the rogues had a city."

"That's not something that's of common knowledge to many. The last that acepted our truce was, unfortunately, killed," he said as we sat.

"By you or any of your followers?"

"By one of my followers. When he returned to the city, I killed him for breaking our hard-earned truce while my male followers watched. They all know our laws, and all know the punishment for causing the death of an ally."

"I see. May I know where your city is located?"

"About two warmings swim due east of Central Station."

"So you've traveled far," I said. It wasn't a question, but he still nodded. "What would this truce entail?"

"We would like to be recognized by the rest of the cities. To do that, however, the prince of another city must mate our princess. We would like that city to be yours as you seem to have a higher level of intelligence than the other current kings and queens. I'm trying to change the worldview of us free-mer, as well as keep my city thriving. To keep the city thriving, our princess must mate. While she is already set to be mated to one of our current high-ranking mermen, I want to ensure our future further than that."

"You have a king and queen?"

"Of sorts. Right now, the queen is my wife, and the princess is my daughter."

"Oh. I understand. Please, Baltic. Forgive me for all the questions. I'm curious of a new city that I've never known existed, let alone one that doesn't exactly follow the rules of kings and queens like most of the cities."

"It's understandable, Queen Seira. We do follow those rules, such as the princess takes the ruling. However, typically, the princess mates the commander of our military. My daughter has accepted mating him, but it was like prying open a clam." I smiled but turned to look at Barra.

"You're allowed in the Central Station. Do you know if there are any princes who have still not mated and are not ruling a city?"

"None left. They've all mated now," Barra said.

"You misunderstand a bit, your majesty. We'd like one of your sons to be the prince who mates the next princess we have," Baltic said, drawing my attention back to him.

"We don't have any children yet, Baltic." He smiled and chuckled a bit.

"I don't mean this moment, Queen Seira. When you have sons with your king and when my daughter has daughters with her mate, we would like to have one of your princes assigned to her daughter who will take the ruling."

"Oh! Well, that makes quite a bit more sense," I laughed out. "May I know what Amphilora would get out of this truce?"

"We have items more beautiful than what you have in many of your cities. We would give you first access to all of our rarer items. We also have a surplus of pearl and are highly skilled at weapon making. I would be willing to send many of my weapon builders here to advance your weapons and show you how to keep making them."

"And what would happen if I were to refuse this truce on behalf of Amphilora?" I asked, watching him carefully.

"Since you upheld you terms of our meeting and have met with me per my terms, we would leave without incident and try at another city, although, as I stated before, we would like the city we truce with to be yours since you have more intelligence than the other current kings and queens. And you are more polite than the Tsurei queen who is closest to us." I held in a laugh, but quickly composed myself.

"Will you give me a moment to think this over with my mate? My sons would be his as well." He nodded, and I pushed off my coral seat, swimming a short distance away with Barra.

"Seira, you can't possibly be considering this," Barra muttered softly.

"And why not? It's a wonderful deal that we have in front of us. We get better weapons and enhance our skills to keep making better weapons. Our citizens have more variety of items in the market, and we never again have to worry about the rogues attacking the city." He sighed and looked away for a moment. "It'll only cost us one son when we have children."

"May I ask him a couple of questions, my queen?" Barra asked when he looked back at me.

"As long as you remain polite and civilized." I turned, following Barra back over to Baltic.

"I have a couple of questions, Baltic." Baltic looked at me, silently asking if I was allowing Barra to speak with him. I nodded, and he looked back at Barra.

"Go ahead, King Barracudon."

"What would happen if we agree to this truce and Queen Seira is unable to have any sons for some reason?"

"You wouldn't be at fault. It's something that she's unable to do that will be unknown until you start having children. I would make the request that if that is the case, the first son of your ruling daughter is the one we get for our following princess."

"And for my other question. Would you still be attacking other cities and calling on us for assistance? We don't want our city to be held liable for the actions of your city because of this truce."

"I understand your concern. However, as stated when I was speaking with Queen Seira, I am trying to change the way my people are viewed. All at my city want this change. We have simply been waiting for the proper queen to take the ruling." Barra nodded, and we swam back a couple strokes to speak privately again.

"My king, I think we should accept this truce."

"I'm not hearing anything that has double meanings."

"Think of how the dagger looked that was wielded by the rogue in the city just before my acceptance. Imagine what you could do with a sword like that." His eyes glazed over for a moment as he thought about swinging a sword that light and delicate but strong. "You could move faster than you do now. They're not going to attack other cities, they're not going to attack us, we get better weapons and a wider variety of items in the market, and our weapon builders get better skills. Barra, we need this truce." He nodded, but confusion crossed his face.

"Out of curiosity, Baltic, if you were waiting for the right queen to take the ruling, why did one of your men attempt an attack on the queen when she was still a princess?"

"I'm assuming you killed him?" Barra nodded. "Good. I had made an announcemen that this was to be my next attempt at truce when the rare princess took the ruling. There were a few who didn't like the idea of truce."

"How many exactly?" Barra asked.

"Five in total. One swam into the mouth of an orca in protest, and the other four have disappeared."

"The city's military and I killed them to protect Seira. I'm glad to know that we did get all of them. My Queen, do you have any other questions or concerns for this truce?" Barra asked, looking back at me.

"No, I don't. Baltic, I hope you will forgive me one more time, but it is late and getting extremely cold. I would rather not make a hasty decision that concerns my city and its citizens. Will you let me think of this truce for the remainder of the coldfall? I am prepared to let you stay in the palace for warmth, but for the safety of us all until the truce is accepted or refused, I would be naive to leave you unguarded."

"I understand completely, Queen Seira. And thank you for the offer, but I must also think of my people who are outside the city." I looked at one of the guards who had escorted Baltic in.

"They're welcome in the city for the coldfall. Allow them access to any empty housing with a guard just inside the curtainway."

"And if there's not enough housing, My Queen?"

"Bring them here and place them in the chamber with Baltic. If that gets too full for them, spread them among the chambers coming back this way." I turned to look at Barra, but he swam off to the soldier before I could whisper to him to get more soldiers here to guard the curtain and keep everyone safe. "Baltic, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to your chamber for the coldfall." He nodded, and the remaining guards came with us to keep me safe until Barra caught up.

"Queen Seira, may I speak freely for a moment?" I nodded. "Word has reached me that you do not like being called a rarity, but you are rare in more than just looks and changing tail scales."

"How so?"

"You accept a meeting in your palace with an old enemy to your city, protect him from both your soldiers and mate--both of whom have sworn to protect you--say that you wish to honestly think about a truce offer he gives you, allow him to stay in your palace for the coldfall, and even send your soldiers to help your enemy's men find shelter for the coldfall, offering your palace to them as well if enough housing cannot be found. You're young for a queen but have intelligence beyond your coldfalls. And rather than making a hasty decision, you prefer to think for a coldfall. That's another rare trait of yours, especially from one as young as you are."

"I'd never thought of it that way. Being called a rarity isn't so bad now when I think of it using those views. Thank you, Baltic, for opening my eyes to that." I stopped just outside of a seagrass curtain. "This will be your chamber for the coldfall. I promise it's bigger than it looks. The soldiers will be just outsid the curtain and will make sure that your followers find their way to you. If it gets too crowded in here, let the soldeirs know, and they'll escort some to the next chambers down the corridor."

"Thank you, Queen Seira. I'm glad we chose to attempt truce with you first. I'm oping for your acceptance in the warming." I smailed and swam back over to Barra who was floating at the last turn I'd made.

"There'll be three dozen guards with an extra on this corridor to stop them if they attempt an attack. The extra will be under orders to come wake me if they attempt." I chuckled and swam off toward our chamber.

"Always so worried for my safety." Barra pulled my arm, making me stop and turn.

"I refuse to lose my gem," he murmured. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and we continued on our way to our chamber. I woke up with Barra's arm still over my waist. It was later than I normally work up but I spent a few moments lying on our sponge bed and thinking over the truce as I looked up at the ceiling.

It would be a good idea. They want one of my future sons to help bring them onto the map and to give the world of Mer a fourteenth city. If I give them that one son, all the attacks on current cities stop, my citizens get more goods, my military gets better weapons, and my weapon builders enhance their skills.

"Is everything all right, my gem of the sea?" came a soft mumble from next to me. I turned my head and saw Barra smiling at me, tugging a smile from me.

"Yes. Just thinking of the truce offer with Baltic."

"And your final answer for him is?"

"I accept the truce. How can I not? There are too many positives for us to refuse. And all they want is one son of ours. Of course, you would need to verify his claim in Central Station. I suggest you go with him when he leavess to verify that we are in a truce to the rest of the kings and that his city will be included when the princes are next assigned, with him having our eldest son."

"As you wish. I will see you upon my return then, Seira. No trips to the market until then." I nodded, and we got up, swimming out to see Baltic.

"Ah. Just the merman I was coming to see. Good warming, Baltic. How are you?"

"I'm wonderful, Queen Seira. I deeply appreciate the allowance to stay for the coldfall, as I'm sure my men do as well. They all had to come here since there was no open housing in the city."

"I thought there might not be. I have the answer to your truce offer." He perked up a bit. "On behalf of the city of Amphilora, I, Queen Seira of Amphilora, accept the offer of truce between the cities of Amphilora and Caenuria. May we both prosper from this, Baltic. Now, King Barracudon will go to Central Station with you to verify that we are now in a truce and that your city is to be included in the next prince assigning. He will be polite and civilized, or he will be punished upon his return for not conducting himself in the manner fit for his title as my mate," I said, slightly glaring at Barra. "If we have sons, your city will have first choice on which is to be the possible mate for your ruling ruling." He nodded and started to leave with his men as I looked at Barra again. "Answer as many of his questions as you can, my king, but don't forget to return to me quickly."

"Of course, my gem. Stay safe while I'm gonne." He waited just a moment until we were alone in the corridor, then pressed his lips to mine, and took off after Baltic.