The wooden queen has already sunk, its the turn of the living queen, she repeated, looking into the magic mirror.
The mirror immediately showed her a piece of wood from the bow of the ship that was bobbing in the waves with mermaids splashing around it. It was part of a carved female figure, the kind usually used to decorate ships. Indeed, it looked like a statue of a queen. In the salt water of the sea, the wood would quickly rot and turn black. There will soon be nothing left of the beautiful figure.
Desdemona could not recall this figure or any other adorned the bow of the sunken Queen of Aquilania.
She is queen now! Is the queue for her?
Come to me! The voice was definitely not calling from the mirror, but it suddenly showed the sunken temple. Its spires and domes curved in relief over the inky black water. The sun was setting, illuminating them with bloody light.
Desdemona felt a sudden impulse to go to the sea. It was as if someone whispered in her ears:
You were born to swim, not to walk on land!
It hurt to step. It was as if small broken glass had fallen into her feet. Desdemona took off her shoes and examined her feet. Scales had erupted under her heels and toenails. Her feet had become like two fish.
Swim! said a commanding voice.
Was it the wind itself whispering? Desdemona looked around for the speaker, but she had no strength left to stand on the shore. She found it hard to breathe. She didnt remember how she had fallen into the sea. The corset that squeezed her breasts had burst, or she had torn it. Instead of the exquisite brocade of Aquilania, a stiff purple scale stretched across her chest. It felt like armor. Her legs, once in the water, were joined by a tail and long fins.
So shes a mermaid! It was in real life, not in a dream. Desdemona struck the waves with her tail and darted forward. No sailboat could sail that fast. She had the feeling that she was flying ahead of the waves. There was only one thought in her mind: she had to hurry, because someone was waiting for her. That someone was calling her. The call came as if from the sea floor, but she had to swim forward to the horizon.
Overhead, seagulls shrieked frantically. The wedding ring somehow didnt sound the alarm. Apparently it was itself surprised to find itself suddenly on a mermaids hand instead of the queens finger. Desdemona had deceived it so often that it must have thought she had quietly traded it for something. Pearl yawned sleepily, but didnt raise a panic. Apparently it had grown tired of its past mistress and felt more comfortable on the silent sea maidens finger.
It was worth diving deeper under the water for a moment and Desdemona saw a stunning world of bright colors, magical fish and sea wonders. Singing shells shone in the depths, lacey networks of seaweed swayed, sandy pyramids were towered. Sunken treasures glittered. But she had to hurry. The call, coming from afar, pulled her forward magnetically. The sky above the sea was darkening rapidly, a storm was coming. A storm was about to break. Desdemona did not notice the impending danger.
Swim to the temple! Someone called out.
The temple! What direction is it in? Desdemona looked around. There are only waves. They are getting stronger and higher. The water is getting darker and darker. Soon it will be pitch black.
Desdemona had sailed so far that the shores of Aquilania were no longer visible behind her. She had only been at sea for a few minutes. Can mermaids really swim so fast? She hadnt been a mermaid all her life and suddenly she was. It was just before her nineteenth birthday.
Alarm bells went off in her brain. What if her transformation was a birthday present, followed by a deadly ritual? A voice, coming from an unknown place, was calling her to the temple. Which temple, she somehow never doubted for a moment. The sunken one!
But how was it to get there? And should she go there at all? Shes not crazy enough to willingly sacrifice herself. She has Moran, her lover and her king. She should go home to him. Hes more important than some creepy deity demanding tribute in girls lives.
In defiance of the calling voice, Desdemona turned and swam back to the shores of Aquilania. Someone was very angry with her. She felt someones fury gathering over her like a black cloud. As luck would have it, there was a thunderstorm. It was the beginning of a storm. A gust of strong wind literally threw Desdemona under the water. In the depths was a little calmer. Jellyfish and swordfish tried to swim away from Desdemona. Probably they feel that she is an enchanted mermaid, not a real one. But who bewitched her? Was it an ancient god whos been waiting for her for a long time? Shes not even sure if he even exists or if its just a scary legend to scare the people. Shes never seen Darunon with her own eyes. And shed do well not to in the future.
One living sea legend, Moran, was enough for her. Desdemona came to the surface with difficulty. It was like a counterweight had been attached to her tail. Some force was pulling her down.
Being a mermaid is good and pleasant only as long as you feel weightless in the water. Then the waves carry you forward like a grain of sand. Desdemona tried to regain the feeling of lightness and swam a little. The sea was getting stormier and stormier. It darkened rapidly. Soon it would be night, and she was alone on the open sea, with a scaly tail instead of legs. She wondered if the mermaid packs would mistake her for a tribeswoman if they saw her. So far there were no other mermaids or newts around. Desdemona came upon a log bobbing on the waves and was stunned. It was the same carved figure from the bow of the ship that the magic mirror had shown her that morning.
Up close, the wooden queen appeared beautiful and sinister. The empty eyes seemed cunning for some reason, as did the wooden lips curved in a sneer. Desdemona felt as if she had stumbled upon the corpse of a drowned woman, or worse, a sleeping magical creature. Moran had said something about oceanids being able to harden themselves to escape persecution.
Are you alive or wooden? Desdemona touched the exquisitely carved face. Every wooden curl, every prong of the crown was carved so skillfully that the figure seemed asleep. Curious as to which of the queens of Aquilania it was made in honor of? It was not Lilophea. She never became queen of Aquilania because she went to the sea kingdom. Could this wooden queen be a copy of her mother?
Swim back! To me!
Desdemona missed the last call. It could have been just an illusion created by the howling of the storm wind.
Suddenly, something pulled her harder to the bottom. Her tail seemed to split. The scales on her chest began to disappear. Desdemona gasped as she realized she was drowning. What a bad time to be a girl again. It would only take her five minutes to swim back to shore.
She tried to grasp the wooden queen, but her fingers only slid across its surface. She seemed to have picked up a splinter. It didnt matter! Another wave hit her head.
The Queen is drowning! squeaked the suddenly awakened ring.
How belatedly it had awakened! All it took was to turn back into a girl to rouse its vigilance.
Something like an octopus limb wrapped around Desdemonas ankle and pulled her down. And the storm was getting worse. This is the end! Desdemona prepared to drown before her fateful nineteenth birthday, when suddenly someone incredibly strong grabbed her around the waist. He swam up suddenly, just surfaced from the stormy wave and embraced her.
Hold on! It was Morans voice. It was sweeter than heavenly music in the stormy sea.