Siren Song || Tedros x Reader

Chapter 6: Wish Fish

I met up with Agatha on my way to our next class.

Animal Communication, taught by Princess Uma, took place on the lakeside banks of Halfway Bay. For the third time that day, we arrived to find the class was Girls Only. This whole stereotype thing didn't sit right with me. Here in the Good Towers, the boys went off to fight with swords while girls had to learn dog barks and owl hoots. No wonder princesses were so impotent in fairy tales. If all they could do was smile, stand straight, and speak to squirrels, then what choice did they have but to wait for a boy to rescue them?

Princess Uma looked far too young to be a teacher. Nestled in prim grass, backlit by lake shimmer, she sat very still, hands folded in her pink dress, with black hair to her waist, olive skin, almond-shaped eyes, and crimson lips pursed in a tight O. When she did speak, it was in a giggly whisper, but she couldn't make it through a full sentence. Every few words, she'd stop to listen to a distant fox or dove and respond with her own giddy howl or chirp. When she realized she had a whole class staring at her, she cupped her hands over her face.

"Oops!" she tee-heed. "I have too many friends!"

I couldn't tell if she was nervous or just an idiot.

"Evil has many weapons on its side," said Princess Uma, finally settling down. "Poisons, plagues, curses, hexes, henchmen, and black, black magic. But you have animals!"

Hopefully those animals are wolves or bears, or at least something useful. Don't get me wrong, I loved animals, but I don't think a bunny could help me against an axe-wielding henchman. Judging by the others' faces, I wasn't the only one unconvinced. Princess Uma noticed. The teacher unleashed a piercing whistle and a barrage of barks, bays, neighs, and roars blasted from the Woods beyond the schools. The girls plugged their ears in shock.

"See!" Uma chuckled. "Every animal can talk to you if you know how to talk to them. Some even remember when they were human!"

With a chill, I thought of the stuffed animals Agatha had told me about in the gallery. All former students, just like them.

"I know everyone wants to be a princess," said Uma, "but those of you with low ranks won't make good princesses. You'd end up shot or stabbed or eaten and that's not very useful. But as a sidekick fox or spying sparrow or friendly pig, you might find a much happier ending!"

She squeaked through her teeth, and on cue, an otter bobbed to shore from the lake, balancing a jeweled storybook on its nose. "You might keep a captive maiden company or lead her to safety," Uma said, holding out her hands. The nervous otter bumped the book on his nose to find the right page—

"Or you might help make a ball gown," Uma said, eyeing the bumbling creature. "Or you might deliver an urgent message or—ahem!" With a yip, the otter found the page, slid the book into her hands, and collapsed from stress.

"You might even save a life," said Uma, holding up a brilliant painting of a princess cowering as a stag speared a warlock. The princess looked just like her.

"Once upon a time, an animal saved mine and in return, it received the happiest ending of all."

"So if you want to be like me, you need to do well in today's challenge!" chirped their new idol, summoning the girls to the lake. I noticed Agatha looked nervous. Another fail and she'd serve a similar fate to all the animals here.

"But if animals are going to help us, first we have to tell them what we want!" Uma said, kneeling before the gleaming blue lake. "So today's challenge is . . ." She swirled her finger in the water and a thousand tiny fish surfaced, white as snow.

"Wish Fish!"Uma beamed. "They dig inside your soul and find your greatest wish! (Very helpful if you've lost your tongue or voice and need to tell a prince to kiss you.) Now all you do is put your finger in the water and the fish will read your soul. The girl with the strongest, clearest wish wins!"