Descendant of the Deep (Siren Song: Book One)

Chapter Eleven: Full Moon

     My arms ached from being held up for so long and my fins hurt from constantly flapping to keep me afloat. Madam Elise was at my back, her bony fingers tightening a stiff corset to my body. With each tug I drew a sharp breath inwards, years of slouching making the tightness of the corset seem unnatural.
     Madam Elise muttered under her breath, strands of her salt and pepper hair drifting in the water. I'd found her to be a sour woman in the three miserable hours we'd spent together. Because of how new I was to the whole " Royal Ball" thing, Elise had gone into great detail into everything I needed to do, ranging from etiquette to dancing. While helpful at first, my brain was about to explode by the end of her ranting. Now all I wanted was for her to grab a damn dress and call it done.
     It was already the afternoon and I had not even seen the dress yet.
     I pinched my eyes closed and tried to adjust the corset to a more comfortable position. My hand was immediately swatted away by Elise.
     "What are you doing?! It took me ages to get that right!" Elise cried, her bloodshot blue eyes wide.
      I sucked in again as she moved the cursed death trap back into position. This woman...
     Elise straightened herself and brushed off her skirts. "Now. Remember what we talked about, Lady Britta. When I put the dress on, you are not to fiddle with it, take any part of it off, or..."
I stared out the window in boredom. A school of tiny fish was swimming to and fro in the water, the sunlight reflecting off of their scales. Lucky.
The feeling of smooth fabric wrapping around me jolted me from my thoughts. My eyes caught Elise fitting a navy blue dress around my body. Finally! The dress itself was admittedly beautiful, with black lace covering the torso and sheets of blue fabric flowering from my hips. It was almost impossible to believe that this was me in the mirror, swathed in elegant silk. Just last week I would have been wearing ripped jeans and a sweatshirt, a far cry from a ball gown. I missed that.
Once the dress was on, Elise poked and prodded at it, making me feel like a bug under a microscope. I shifted uncomfortably, causing several dirty looks from Elise. Ash had said that most servants would never speak ill of the residents of the palace, and while Elise surely had not said anything blatantly rude to me, she'd expressed that she did not care for me. Whenever our eyes met, she looked as though she had a bad taste in her mouth. I recalled what Sophia had said about many Mer believing that humans were an inferior species. Maybe my upbringing disturbed her.
Now I was the one with the sour flavor in their mouth.
When Elise finished, she swam back and admired her handiwork. Grinning smugly, she swam over to my front, touching up any possible mistake she could have made. She found none, which one part of me was glad for (no more prodding), but the other almost wanted there to be a chink in Elise's armor. I swallowed hard at the thought.
Elise exited through the servants door and came back with a girl with flaxen hair and a pale pink tail. She could not have been more than ten.
Elise pulled out a cushioned chair in front of an ornate vanity. I combed through my hair with my fingers, pulling it closer to my face.
I swam over and sat down, forced to sit rigidly straight by the stiff claw clamped around my chest. The small girl floated behind me, her slim fingers working and twisting my hair into an elegant upsweep with curls framing my face. The girl's talent was amazing, especially because of how young she was. I couldn't French braid my hair until I was twelve, nevertheless style something so beautiful.
The girl finished by placing a crystal comb in my inky black twist.
Elise smiled at the girl with warmth that I hadn't expected from her. "Thank you, Lina."
Lina grinned and swam off.
Elise noticed my confusion. "My niece. You're free to go, my lady."
Her coldness had returned. Most of the Mer I'd met so far had been kind, but Elise did not seem to fit this description. Even though she was not obviously opposed to me like Rancover was, she seemed to be able to contain her dislike. I didn't know which was worse.
I swam out the door, my dress floating through the water. I smiled childishly and twirled the skirts around in a circle, imagining what my younger, Princess-obsessed self would think. I started to head to the library to do that research that I'd been planning to do when I spotted a familiar face. Sophia.
She wore a deep green gown studded with diamonds, a tiara resting on her head of curls. Her eyes were glued to a painting, deep in thought. I didn't want to tear her away from her thoughts... Okay, yes I did. I needed to know why she lied to me.
I approached her just loudly enough to grab her attention. She turned around and smiled.
"Britta! Hello, I didn't see you coming. How was your fitting session?"
God awful. "It was an experience I will surely remember." I feigned a smile, trying to be light before I interrogated her.
Sophia shot a smile back at me. "Well, that's great. You look amazing."
I nodded stiffly."Thank you."
Sophia chuckled. "The ball is only in a few hours. Music, food, dancing... Speaking of dancing, I wonder if that Aiden boy will ask you to dance."
My friendly persona dissolved. My cheeks flushed a bright red. "How do you know about Aiden? You weren't there..."
"Word travels surprisingly fast in the palace. My chambermaid spotted you two in the gardens. She said you were a match made in heaven."
Embarrassment racked my body. I didn't know why, as Aiden and I barely knew each other.
I changed the subject quickly. "Why is the Queen holding a ball tonight? That seems a little fast."
Sophia turned. "She wanted it to be this night in particular. Full moon. That's when a siren is the strongest. It's all just a show of power, that we're not afraid of them. Personally, getting the entire palace together in one place seems like a terrible idea, but I don't make the decisions."
Full moon. Tonight. The chances of the siren being out tonight was almost guaranteed. I looked over the stone rail at the groups of advisors and nobles swimming about. I spotted Aiden in the crowd and felt the urge to hide. I looked over to see if Sophia was watching, but she wasn't there. I growled under my breath. Id never gotten the chance to ask her about her lie.
I looked back down at Aiden, his hair slicked back and his coat a royal blue. He caught sight of me and our eyes met.
My mind pictured that dance.