Midnight Pearls

She laughed silently. Her mother would be so pleased to know that she had fallen in love with a prince. In her world, her family was also royalty. That was why Kale and Adriana had been betrothed since birth.

  Her smile faded as she thought of home and her family. She looked down at the skirt wrapped around her legs. Human legs. Sorrow weighed heavily upon her. Would she ever see her brother and parents again? She had left behind so much, was it worth it?

  James put a hand under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. As she stared into their depths, she knew that it was.

  “Do you miss your home?” he asked.

  She smiled, wondering if her thoughts had been that transparent. She nodded slightly.

  “Can I help you get back there?” he asked, his face anxious.

  She shook her head and a smile crept over his face.

  “Then I’m just going to have to make sure you’re happy here,” he said.

  He slid his hand from under her chin to touch her cheek and slowly bent toward her. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart started to flutter excitedly in her chest.

  When his lips met hers they were soft and warm and held a promise that she scarcely dared believe. She lost herself in his kiss and knew that she could never again be found.

  At last he pulled away from her, but the spell still hovered in the air around them, binding them together. “I think I love you,” he breathed.

  She let her eyes speak for her.

  They sat for a long moment just staring at each other.

  “So, this must be the young lady you swept off her feet,” a voice boomed behind them.

  Startled, Faye turned around to see a tall man who looked like an older version of James grinning bemusedly at them.

  “Father,” James said, jumping to his feet. “Faye, this is my father, King Philip of Aster. Father, allow me to present Faye. She is the one who saved me from drowning yesterday.”

  “And I am grateful to you for that,” the king told her.

  She rose shakily to her feet and curtsied as she had seen Sarah do to James.

  The king reached out and caught her hand. He bowed over it.“Thank you, my dear, for saving an old man from heartbreak.”

  She smiled shyly at him. He released her hand and stepped back. “I look forward to seeing you at dinner tonight” He nodded to his son, turned, and left.

  “Well, I think he likes you,” James said, beaming.

  Faye was relieved. She hadn’t counted on meeting James’s family so soon, at least not until she had had more of a chance to acclimate to her new environment.

  “Well, we should get dressed for dinner,” James told her.

  Surprised, she glanced down at the dress she was wearing.

  He laughed. “It’s very lovely, but not quite appropriate for this evening. It’s to be a very formal dinner. Not only is the duke dining at the castle, but his son, the marquis, has brought his bride-to-be as well. I hear she’s lovely, but I’m sure she doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

  As they rose to their feet, Faye’s heart was singing. She would do her best to look well for James tonight and to outshine the other ladies present.

  “Do you need me to escort you back to your room?”

  She shook her head. If she was ever going to familiarize herself with the castle, she might as well start now.

  She took her leave of him and made her way carefully to her room. Her legs were much steadier. The only difficulty proved in negotiating the stairs. Still, she kept her hand against the wall to steady herself and moved slowly upward, placing each foot carefully. She sighed in relief when she reached her room.

  Amazingly, Sarah was waiting for her with another gown. It was a brilliant green, brighter than the seaweed that carpeted the ocean. The other woman beamed at Faye’s expression.

  “I figured you’d be wanting to dress for dinner about now. Looks like I was right.”

  Faye embraced the woman.

  Startled, Sarah gasped and she was sputtering when Faye released her. “Milady,” she stammered, “it’s not appropriate for you to be doing that.”

  Faye looked her directly in the eyes.

  “You don’t care about that, do you?”

  Faye shook her head fondly.

  Sarah blushed fiercely, but she looked pleased. “Let’s get you changed, shall we?”

  After what seemed like an eternity, Sarah had finished. She led Faye over to a large cross on the wall. In the middle of the cross a piece of polished glass was set and Faye could see herself in it.

  The green of the dress made a stunning contrast against her pale skin. Spots of red decorated each cheek and her lips were red as well, also emphasizing the paleness of the rest of her skin. Her hair shone brightly and had been braided down her back, interwoven with green and gold cord.

  “You look like a princess,” Sarah said, sighing happily.

  I am, Faye thought.

  She ran her hand down the material of the dress, liking the way it felt cool and smooth beneath her fingers. Small, brightly colored stones decorated the neckline and glinted brilliantly in the candlelight with a sparkle that matched the one in her eyes. She looked beautiful and she hoped James thought so as well.

  At last she was ready. She made her way carefully downstairs, eager to see James. She entered the main hall and saw dozens of people seated around a long table. She saw James instantly. He was looking at someone at the table when a servant whispered something to him. Turning his head, he saw her. He leaped from his seat and came to take her hand.

  “You take my breath away,” he told her when he was standing before her.

  A warm glow suffused her as he took her arm and escorted her to the table. The king welcomed her warmly, and James helped her to her seat. Servants with food appeared from out of nowhere, and soon the feasting had begun.

  The variety of food was amazing to her. At home they ate a variety of plant life as well as some of the larger predators of the sea when they happened into mer-kin waters.

  Faye took her first bite of something someone called “chicken.” It was delicious and had a texture unlike anything she had ever eaten. It tastes like nothing I’ve ever known. She was about to take another bite when the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

  Slowly she lifted her eyes and found another staring at her. With a shock she realized that it was Adriana. The other girl was only a few seats away. Her pale skin stood out in dark contrast to her black velvet gown. Her silver hair tumbled over her shoulders. Around her neck she wore a large pearl, dark and shimmering. I’ve seen a pearl like that somewhere, Faye thought. Where …?

  “How do you like it?” James asked.

  Faye turned her attention from Adriana back to James. She smiled and patted her stomach to show her pleasure.

  “Good,” he said, and laughed. He began to heap her plate with all varieties of exotic foods, bidding her to try first this, then that.

  When she got a chance to look back at Adriana, the other was deep in conversation with the dark-haired man next to her. How strange that she should be here! It made sense, though, since she had been with the prince in the boat before it had sunk.

  She would have to find a way to see her later, alone. Did she know who she was, or had she forgotten her childhood days as a mermaid? Maybe she, too, had visited the Sea Witch in order to ensnare the man seated beside her. That made no sense, though. Adriana had disappeared when she was four. Faye herself had only vague memories of the other mermaid. She wouldn’t even have recognized her if it weren’t for Kale having identified her yesterday. In fact, the only real thing she remembered about Adriana was seeing her just before she disappeared. The events of that day had been seared into her mind.

  “It amazes me, milady that both you and my soon-to-be daughter-in-law bear such a striking resemblance to each other” an older gentleman remarked.

  Startled, Faye glanced at him.

  “Yes, it is rather remarkable,” James commented. “Truly, Robert
and I are blessed to have such beauties by our side.”

  Faye turned to James, but his eyes were fixed on Adriana. She turned to look at Adriana and noticed that the other girl was staring at James, looking flustered and upset.

  “A toast,” the king called, interrupting the silent exchange. “To women in general for their beauty and mystery, and to Pearl and Faye for gracing us tonight with their presence and reminding us what life is all about”

  “Pearl and Faye” All the others at the table lifted their glasses toward the two girls and then drank. Faye imitated the gesture and she and Adriana—they must call her Pearl—toasted each other.

  For a long minute the two stared at each other. Does she know me? Faye wondered. Does she even know herself? The man beside Adriana said something and she turned to him.

  Faye turned her attention back to James, who was now extolling the virtues of something called “peacock” She spent the rest of dinner listening to him talk and trying to communicate in turn. By the time dinner had ended, she was exhausted.

  James walked her back to her room at the end of dinner and gave her a sweet kiss before taking his leave of her. She sighed deeply as she entered her room. Her eyes were so heavy she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stay awake.

  Sarah was there waiting for her and helped her change into clothes appropriate to sleep in. Faye then crawled into the bed, and Sarah covered her over with blankets before blowing out the candle next to the bed and exiting the room with her own candle in hand. No sooner had Sarah’s candle disappeared than Faye was asleep.

  Faye sat bolt upright screaming a silent scream into the darkness. There was something desperately wrong with Kale, she could feel it more strongly than she had ever felt anything. She threw back her coverings and slid out of bed. The stone floor was cold against her feet, and she shivered.

  She left her room and padded down the hallway. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but the overwhelming need to go somewhere consumed her. Because it was late and everyone should be asleep, she walked as quietly as she could so she wouldn’t disturb anyone.

  As she moved down another corridor she heard muffled voices, proof that someone other than she was awake. She kept walking.

  “—kill the king”

  She stopped in her tracks, her heart beginning to pound. Had she heard correctly?

  A second voice, older than the first, said, “Everything is in place, but we must tread carefully. I believe James is suspicious.”

  The younger man chuckled. “James is too taken with the girl to think about anything else. Lucky for us she just came along.”

  “Yes, lucky,” the older man answered, sounding thoughtful.“We’d best rest now. We have much to do in the morning.”

  The sound of heavy boots on the floor sent her scurrying back down the corridor and around a corner. The owner of the boots must have gone down the corridor in the opposite direction, for the sound began to recede.

  Faye peeked around the corner and saw a man’s retreating back. She waited a moment before beginning to follow him. She held her breath as she dashed past the door to the room where he had been talking with the other man.

  After a couple of more turns in the corridor, the man paused at the top of a narrow, twisting flight of stairs. He glanced toward it as though debating whether he wanted to go down it. Then he shook his head and walked on.

  The hairs on the back of Faye’s neck lifted, and once the man was out of sight she hurried down the stairs. They swirled deeper and deeper into darkness, lit only by torches placed at intervals. At last they opened into a long, narrow hall lined on both sides by cages.

  She shuddered. She had seen cages before, lying at the bottom of the ocean among wreckages of ships. She had once seen a whole group of lobsters in one, their lifeless bodies a grim testament to the methods of man.

  She slowly walked down the hall. The cages on either side of her were empty. At the far end, though, she thought she caught a glimmer of movement, a flash of something white.

  She reached the last cage and saw a man standing inside. He turned his head slowly toward her. Kale! She lunged forward, reaching through the bars to touch him. What is he doing here? she wondered, taking in his human form.

  “Faye?” he asked.

  She opened her mouth to tell him it was she, but no sound would come out. She nodded fiercely instead.

  “Faye, is that really you? These hands feel like yours,” he said, carefully feeling them with his fingertips.

  Confused, she stared at him. How can he not recognize me?

  “The Witch took my sight. I can’t see you. Speak to me, please,” he begged.

  His skin was pale, almost glowing in the darkness around him. It made the bruises around his left eye stand out all the more, dark and ugly.

  Tears of frustration filled her eyes. She should have known that the Witch’s magic would come with a price for him as well. She lifted one of her hands and placed a finger across his lips.

  “Do we need to be quiet?” he whispered.

  She took both her hands and placed one on either side of his head. Gently, she shook his head back and forth. Then she took his hand and guided it through the bars. His hand was also bruised and there was blood beneath his fingernails. She took his index finger and placed it against her shoulder and then lifted it and laid it across her lips.

  Understanding lit his face. “You can’t speak?”

  With his finger still across her lips, she nodded her head.

  “The Witch took your voice and my eyes?”

  Again, she nodded.

  “I understand.”

  She moved his hand from her lips and held it between hers. She moved both their hands to one of the bars, wrapped his and her hand around it, and shook it hard.

  “I haven’t been able to find a way out,” he told her.

  “I’m not even sure where I am or why I’m here. I was talking with Adriana on the beach. They call her Pearl here. She had to leave, and just a few moments later some men grabbed me. I don’t know how many there were, or what they wanted. They just told me I was under arrest for crimes I had committed ‘against His Majesty’s subjects. ’ They hit me in the head, and the next thing I knew I woke up here.”

  Her eyes began to fill with water and it startled her. A few fat drops fell and slid down her cheeks. She knelt down slowly and touched his legs.

  “I did it for you and Adriana. I had to see her, to try to bring her home. More importantly, though, I had to make sure you were safe.”

  More water found its way down her cheeks as she stood back up. She grasped both his hands and methodically lifted seven of his fingers into the air. She left them alone for a moment, and then firmly pushed one of the seven down.

  “Yes,” he answered softly. “I had seven days as well. Now, it seems, only six remain.”

  She drew her finger across his throat.

  “And then we die.”

  They stood for a moment, the silence stretching between them. At last, Kale spoke. “Have you found the human you came here to be with.?”

  She grasped his head and nodded it.

  “Does he care for you?”

  She nodded his head again.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Now, if only I could find Pearl.”

  She pulled his hand to touch her shoulder again and then moved his fingers to gently touch her eyes.

  “You’ve seen her?”

  She nodded.

  “Where is she?”

  She took his hands, spread them slightly, and then waved them toward the ground.

  “You mean she’s here?” he asked excitedly.

  She moved his hands back to her head and nodded.

  “Please bring her to see me.”

  She wanted to tell him that she would try, that she would do her best, but she was at a loss as to how to express it. So, she grasped his hands and squeezed them, praying that he would understand.

  “You should go
now,” he told her. “I don’t think it would be good for them to find you here.”

  He was right, although she wished he wasn’t. She gave his hands a final squeeze before dropping them and moving away reluctantly. She couldn’t bear to see him caged, and her heart ached for him. The best thing she could do for him, though, was find a way to communicate with Pearl.

  She turned and left, moving back up the stairs, stopping every so often to listen for the sounds of anyone approaching. There was nothing, though. When she reached the top of the stairs she felt a little more at ease, but she still raced through the corridors until she made her way back to her own room.

  Once inside she collapsed on her bed in relief. Her hours of life were slipping away; she could feel them going one by one, leading her closer to death. Now she held Kale’s fate in her hands as well, and his life was slipping through her fingers. She had to find a way to communicate with Pearl. If Pearl and James did not agree to marry them, then she and Kale were dead.

  She fell asleep and dreamed of the lobster cages by the wreckage of the boat. Only instead of the decaying bodies of lobsters, it contained the bodies of herself and Kale.

  At last she was standing before Father Gregory. Robert reached out and took her hand. The touch of his skin sent cold chills through her. She stared into his eyes, searching them for a spark of warmth, but there was nothing except the glittering ice. This then was her fate, her destiny.

  “My betrothed?” Pearl asked, a kaleidoscope of emotions rushing through her.

  “Yes, child. The Marq—Robert, came by to ask for your hand.”

  “And you said yes?”

  “Of course we did,” Mary spoke up. She moved to Pearl and wrapped her arms around her.

  “Why me?” she asked. Of all the questions burning in her mind, that one stood out.

  Robert smiled. “A long time I have watched you from afar, admiring you. You are so beautiful and so kind. I know my cousin, James, thinks the world of you.”

  “He didn’t want me to have to marry the black-smith,” Pearl breathed, realization dawning.

  Robert shook his head. “No, he did not. I am in need of a wife, and you a husband. I hope you don’t think me too fanciful, but I love you. It was James who gave me the courage to come forward and tell you, and ask for your hand.”