And the Meek Shall Walk

4: The Princess and the Purpose

At the palace, the king was livid. The party for Princess Aren's birthday was already underway and the guest of honour was nowhere to be seen. When she finally came into view, he stormed over to her, trident waving wildly.

"Where have you been? You were meant to be here hours ago! The party has already started! We have guests!"

"Sorry, father," said Aren, quietly. She always addressed him as 'father' when he was angry - which was fairly often. He was an imposing, intimidating figure, even to his own daughter, and anything else, more informal, seemed out of place. "I lost track of time. I was making you something."

King Trinity's face softened. He had a soft spot where the princess was concerned and found it difficult to stay mad at her. Often, when she frustrated him so, as she did now, he would direct his anger at someone else. She was too gentle, too naive. He wanted her to keep her innocence for as long as she could. When it came time for her to rule in his stead, she would be a fairer, kinder queen than he had been as a king.

"Making me something? What is it, my dear?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon, when I've finished it."

She hadn't been making him anything, but would have to now. It was the easiest way to divert his attention, though. If he thought she'd been doing something for him, he'd be quicker to forgive her lateness. Aren knew what her father thought of her. He saw her as weak and easy to push around. In his eyes she needed protecting. She resisted a smile.

"OK, Aren, but you really should try to be on time for your own party, you know."

"I know, father," she said. "But I'm here now."

"Go and mingle, Aren. It's your birthday. You need to show these people you appreciate their coming."

"Of course, father."

She kissed his cheek. Appreciate their coming? She knew a handful of the hundreds of merfolk in the Grand Hall. The rest were lords and barons and the like from towns far distant from the palace. The party was an excuse to fawn about the king or to wear the attendance of the function like a medal, promoting your ego and social standing in the process. They didn't care about her - or at least not personally. There were the odd younger mermen who were intent on vying for her attentions. They would try to chat nonchalantly or sweet talk her or, even, come on strong and demanding, as if she were their property. She anticipated this and did her best to avoid them all, nodding and smiling when she had to and making excuses when such ploys didn't work.

After far too long, a hand caught hers, causing her to spin around.

Edris!

Edris was the son of a dignitary from a town only a short distance away. He seemed to, genuinely, be doing his best to be liked by the princess. While the others were smooth and oily and Aren felt, sometimes, she needed to wash away contact with them using sand and starfish crusts, Edris came across completely differently. He was nice, in a non-suffocating and only slightly too-sweet way. Under other circumstances, the princess might even have fallen for his winning smile and confident with a hint of humility manner.

She couldn't quite imagine what those circumstances might be, however. She had neither the time nor the yearning for a relationship of any kind. Though she knew her father would be delighted if she and Edris were to get together, Aren preferred her solitude and besides, a partner would impede her plans. How would she be able to kill the sailors unlucky enough to fall into the sea or to be pulled overboard when no-one was looking? How would she be able to go unnoticed as she gutted or decapitated them? They'd feel the need to stop her. She'd have to play at being affectionate, something she could manage in small doses to fool everyone into thinking she was much more pleasant than she actually felt, but couldn't keep up for any real length of time.