He explained to his pirates that such figures were miles poles for morgens, and it was forbidden to touch them. He would not tell the crew directly all of Cassandras secrets. Sometimes you can make things up as you go along. Once, an oncoming sculpture winked at Desmond. It was alive, though it seemed carved from white wood.
But the purple mermaid didnt look like a sculpture at all. The jewels on her were magnificent. If they werent attached to her skin, the crew would have tried to take them off and split them up by now.
Is she asleep under the influence of some magical elixir? Desmond guessed.
If you know too much, youll grow old, the morgen said sullenly.
Its an Earth proverb, Desmond caught his eye.
Sometimes it pays to borrow something even from Earthlings.
I thought you morgens were too proud and independent. Youd rather drown an Earthman than imitate him.
One morgens tentacle wrapped around Desmonds neck.
Dont make me angry!
Desmond didnt have time to answer. The tentacle bumped into the amulet and burned. Morgen had to let the corsair go.
So whats her name? Yasmin? Aisha? Mirelle? Lorelei? Anemone? Mirilla? Etea? Amirana? Elegy? Foletta? Morelia? Serpentina? Korephea?
How do you know the names of the sea kings daughters? The morgen hissed indignantly. Surely there must be spies in the Underwater Kingdom. This is outrageous! The man knows the names of the entire list of sea queens!
Which one is she? Desmond insisted.
She is none of them. You dont know her name.
Thats right! He didnt know it. Unless
Her name is Merediana, Desmond made one last attempt.
It was clear from the morgens doomed hiss that he was not mistaken.
She is Princess Merediana, the morgen corrected. She is her underwater highness.
She is a future hostage of the King of Opal, who dreams of conquering the seas with magic. What are you going to do with her?
Why do you care?
I have a right to be curious, because Im transporting her. And thats risky! The ships already been attacked.
If you hadnt broken the instructions, there wouldnt have been an attack, the morgen poked his tentacle at the open lid, tried to close it again, and couldnt. Even he didnt have the strength.
The underwater creatures wouldnt have smelled it on your board if the top defenses hadnt been removed.
Desmond had already realized that himself. Curiosity is a bad thing. Thats what Cassandra was saying. Some newt, supposedly in love with her, had been playing on his shell whistle for a long time, calling Cassandra to go down to the bottom. Cassandra was hesitant, though she was curious to see the underwater world for herself.
Cassandra knew the recipe for a potion that would help her breathe underwater for a couple of hours, but she was still hesitant to follow the newt to the bottom. He might not be so good-natured in the sea and would not let her go back.
Cassandra wouldnt have advised Desmond to open the chest, but then he wouldnt have seen Merediana. Seeing her once was better than possessing all the treasures of the sea kingdom.
Are all princesses of the sea so beautiful?
You must have thought her jewelry was beautiful. You pirates are only attracted to expensive things. Alas, they cannot be removed. Theyre part of her body. But the King of Opal will reimburse you for their value.
Desmond would have been better off keeping the mermaids chest. Even if she doesnt wake up, its a pleasure to look at her. When shes around, you feel like youre in a realm of magic. But something strange is happening on board. A bloodstain is spreading all over the sail. The blood is even visible on the other sails. Its as cold as an icy desert. A crust of ice stretches across the masts and hoarfrost on the ropes.
The morgens of the royal family know how to freeze the sea. Didnt you know that?
No, I didnt, Desmond shook his head in denial. How could he know such intricacies? He didnt know the rulers of the sea, and he didnt gossip about them.
Merediana must be the eldest of the sea kings daughters, Desmond sensed the power emanating from the sleeping mermaid.
No, she is not the eldest, but the most treacherous.
Is she treacherous? Desmond couldnt believe it.
They all have innocent faces, but their souls are black, rotten, magic, morgen hissed angrily.
Desmond had never even considered that mermaids had souls. All he had seen was Meredianas body. It reeked of magical currents. Even asleep, she subdued him.
One time he even wanted to throw her overboard and dive into the waves after her. Surely that was her wish, not his. The sleeping mermaid silently tells him what to do.
No, this trick wont work. Hes in command! A beautiful mermaid cant woo him. Desmond struggled to muster up the will.
Weve got to get her into my quarters.
It will be better in the hold. Ill draw signs on the entrance and on the bottom of the ship to keep her from getting loose.
Wait! Then I wont see her for the rest of the voyage.
Morgen tapped the deck sympathetically with his tentacles and tried on again to close the chest. He failed again.
You shouldnt have opened it! Now well have to move it somewhere else. Otherwise, well all be in trouble.
But shes asleep!
Youre so naive! Ill never mess with a human again!
Morgen grunted like a nagging old wife. As if someone had forced him to make a deal with the pirate captain! Hed forced himself on him, hadnt he? And now hes not happy. Dont the morgens know how inquisitive people are? The corsair was no exception to the general rule. He opened the chest and it was as if he was addicted to the mermaid. Even people who get used to the narcotic candy called ette dont feel so addicted.
Desmond felt uncomfortable that the morgen was touching the chest with the mermaid. However, the chest was soon empty. The tentacles coiled around Merediana and pulled her out of the chest. It wasnt easy. The mermaids jewelry was stuck to the walls.
The morgen was much better at sorcery than Cassandra. He was able to freeze the water into ice, and from the ice create a container as high as the ceiling of the hold. The container of ice was as clear as glass. Now the mermaid was inside this container.
Let her sleep!
What if the water melts?
It will not be, The morgen drew some symbols of water near the container, which also froze with glittering ice. Dont bother her anymore! Suddenly, after a long sleep, she will become the Queen of Opal.
Are you kidding?
The morgen let out either a wrenching laugh or a growl. Desmond felt uneasy.
He looked back as he left the hold. He felt purple webbed fingers touch his shoulder, and Meredianas voice called to him.
Hes never even heard her voice. How would he know what it sounded like? Maybe mermaids have husky, ugly voices. What if, closer to land, a beautiful mermaid shrank and turned into a wrinkled ugly woman? On the water, these creatures can only pretend to be beautiful and trick people with sorcery.
You are not even a man, but a pirate, Desmond remembered the curses he had heard both on land and from enemies defeated at sea. All you pirates are worse than cattle. Youll all end up in the noose and die in agony.
As he locked the hold, he truly felt like the last of the cattle. After all, the princess of the sea was left there alone in the dark, amidst the magical symbols that were probably draining the life out of her.
Should he let her go? But then hed be killed himself. Everyone knows that mermaids drag sailors to the bottom. Has anyone ever heard of an exception?
In his heart Desmond cherished the hope that he would be the exception and the mermaid would love him instead of drowning him. But mermaids are very dangerous and cruel mistresses of the sea.