Ursula's Beginning

10. Working out according to my ultimate design

Ganeon was in hysterics. Ursula huddled in the corner of her living room with Triton and Psamanthe as brown-haired prince flipped, rolled, laughed, and babbled to himself. They could barely make him out for all the bubbles he was creating; Ursula wished she still had some piranhas on her vanity. That would sober him up in a hurry, she thought darkly. What is it with these princes, that a girl has to have piranhas on hand just to keep them in line?

Psamanthe was losing patience. "Ganeon, enough!" she bellowed. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Ganeon fell silent, mid-roll, and grinned at them maniacally. His sister darted over to him and jerked him upright by his arm.

"Our father died today and you're celebrating? Because what? You want to be king and now you have father's blessing? Is that it?" she spat angrily.

"No, no...I am sad about father, believe me. It's just that..." he burst into laughter again, and Psamanthe shot Triton a furious look.

Triton steadied his older brother by the shoulders with two firm hands. "Brother, I had no idea you hoped to be king someday," he said quietly.

"I don't want to be king at all!" Ganeon crowed. "I'm not suited for it. I want you to be king! And I've been researching how to make that come about for some time now!"

Triton was thunderstruck. "This...this? This is your latest research project? Explain yourself," he commanded.

"I was actually researching something else at first. It was a history project involving Pacifica. Perhaps I should back up and explain that part before..." his eyes were starting to wander across the ceiling in ponderous academic rapture.

"No!" three voices shouted in unison. "Just get to the part we need to know," snapped Ursula.

"Fine! Long and interesting story short," he began, shooting a reproachful look at Ursula, who rolled her eyes at him, "I found a protocol for challenging the typical order to the throne. Normally when a king dies, it goes to his eldest male heir. If multiple sons are in the picture, their entry to the throne is based on birth order. If there are no sons, then daughters may rule. If no daughters, then the king's wife may rule. Right?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with this ridiculous system," muttered Ursula. The three royals looked at her in surprise. She ignored them. "Go on," she ordered Ganeon.

"There have been times, however, in our kingdom and in certain others, in which it doesn't unfold this way. Under special circumstances, a royal that isn't next in line can publicly challenge the one who is!" Ganeon clapped his hands together with glee.

"How?" asked Triton.

"The usurper must announce the challenge after the funeral of the recently departed ruler and before the coronation day scheduled for the next-in-line. That gives them just under a week. They must send a message out to every ocean kingdom about the challenge, and in that message they must state their grounds for challenging."

"Why?" asked Psamanthe and Triton in unison.

"Because the matter is decided by a Council of Elders—one councilor from each kingdom. The next in line and the usurper are given a set period of time to prepare for a public hearing presided over by the Council. The Elders will question both aspirants on any number of topics. Then the Council votes and the outcome must be honored."

"How come we've never heard of this, as royalty?" Triton inquired, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Maybe because the last time it happened here was almost 850 years ago. Also, it's highly discouraged because it's disruptive to kingdoms. It creates bad blood in families and divides the public into factions based on their support for one future king or another. It tends to shake things up for awhile. Also, if the upstart fails in his endeavor, the king can banish him from the kingdom."

"Oh, is that all?" Triton asked sarcastically.

Ganeon laughed heartily. "Oh brother, but you won't fail! I'm going to help you! All those nights studying in my room...it's going to pay off."

Triton scoffed. "I haven't agreed to this! You're swimming ahead of yourself. As you're prone to do."

Ganeon ignored him and began to pace around the room, hands at the small of his back. "You see, I knew long ago that Alphon would make a horrible king. I'm simply overjoyed to learn that father felt the same way. I stumbled across mention of the protocol when he first became ill. And that was no accident...I'll forever believe that was a gift from the gods." The copper-eyed prince kissed two fingertips and extended his arm upward. He was perfectly serious.

The pacing resumed. "As father got worse, I knew I had to learn everything I could about these archaic rules. It became a matter of urgency, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you at his bedside more often." Again, he looked at Ursula pointedly, who pretended not to notice. "But as I told you, there are deadlines to be observed, a format for the letters going out to the other kingdoms that must be adhered to. I had to uncover those details before we missed our window of opportunity. And now I know that father would have approved of my course of action." He smiled triumphantly at his audience.

Psamanthe darted over to her middle brother again, this time to hug him. "We understand now. All is forgiven," she said.

Triton reached over Psamanthe to ruffle Ganeon's hair. "I knew you loved father as much as we did, and that you cared about the kingdom a great deal. But I'm confused about something. You said a challenge like this can happen under special circumstances. Father's parting words would qualify, I imagine, but you couldn't have anticipated them. So before today, on what basis did you imagine this challenge could unfold? Certainly not just because Alphon's mean...?"

"Mean? Mean? Does mean even begin to describe it? Did you see him display any emotion today whatsoever?"

Triton and Psamanthe shook their heads sadly.

"This is someone who has been torturing and killing small animals as a hobby since boyhood... when he's not beating and torturing me, that is. And his other hobby is defiling females. The more young and naïve they are, the more fun it is for him!" Ganeon exhaled sharply, then addressed Psamanthe. "I've even seen his gaze linger too long on you and Halimede. Has no one else ever noticed?"

"I've noticed," Triton said quietly. Psamanthe hung her head and crossed her arms defensively in front of her chest. Ursula tentatively reached out and put an arm around her; when the princess didn't rebuff the gesture, Ursula pulled her closer.

"He's selfish and heartless and hot-tempered and greedy. And I have it on good authority that he's fascinated with humans!" Ganeon was flushing and breathing heavily, excited to deliver this final blow against his elder brother. He was met with stunned silence.

Finally, Triton questioned him warily. "Who told you that?"

"I'm friends with a gull named--"

"A gull?!" Triton moaned, slapping his forehead. "You're getting your information from a gull? Ganeon, everyone knows gulls are the most unreliable –"

Ganeon cut him off. "Not all gulls are unreliable. And they are in a unique position to observe humans interacting with our world. With merfolk. You can't argue with that." The two brothers stared at each other for a long, tense moment. 

Triton looked pained as he addressed the room. "We have much to think about and discuss. Can we simply agree to not say anything to Alphon or mother about this subject until the day after the funeral?"

Everyone nodded. "Can I tell Halimede, though?" Psamanthe asked in a small voice.

Triton's face softened into an indulgent smile. "As if you could ever keep a secret from her," he chuckled. The princess grinned sheepishly.

With this, their conference was over; Ursula saw them to the door and thanked them for coming. Her mind was racing in multiple directions at once: a complicated algebra was fast unfolding in which the good of the kingdom, her promise to Nepp, her determination to be with Triton, her position in Atlantica, and her concerns about everyone's safety around Alphon were begging to be balanced and solved. 

Triton's face was grim as he turned and left with the others.