A Merman's Tale

Seirra: Chapter Twenty-One

     Nothing happened.

     King Tideus gave his daughter a fatherly hug when we came to see him before the Ceremony of Kys. Then he launched into a short but firm lecture about how I should treat his princess. Marina had secretly rolled her eyes at her father while I simply nodded in agreement to his terms.

     A few moments later, we were facing the crowd of eager Aquanians. Some were there to get a first glimpse of their newfound princess; the others excited about the union of the youngest Celari leader and the only remaining princess of the land; while the rest were there to see for themselves if the ceremony would really end the troubles they had to face ever since the veil had started to malfunction.

     Erma began the ceremony by mentioning the importance of the veil and the kiss that strengthened it through the Crystal Key of Saol. She then continued with the history of the Fates—who, in this case, were Marina and I. When she was finished narrating the tales that had bonded the Fates, Lukos came up and chanted the song of the ancient tradition:

            Seek the woman that must be kissed,

            The power to protect, it will release.

            Search for your princess and find true love.

            Use the key to hide from above.

     Upon the ending of the song, King Tideus faced us and waved the Trident over the new pair of Fates. Magic in the form of lightning struck out of the three points of the fork-like staff and wrapped both Marina and I in a swirl of water, current, colors and sparks.

     The magic slowly died down and left the two of us surrounded with red, purple, blue, green and white sparkles. In all truth, it made me feel like a newly-polished artifact on display.

     Being surrounded by sparkles was…ugh. Too fancy.

     I was told the colors were the idea of a mermaid who was fascinated when her human friend showed her the effects of this thing called glitters. Apparently, the elders liked it and decided to add that effect for this particular ceremony.

     I shivered.

     Then it was time for the ceremonial kiss.

     We were made to face each other and as I looked into Marina’s eyes, I told myself that there really wasn’t too much of a choice. This was the right thing to do—the only thing I could do. I saw Marina’s hesitation, not only because she knew the whole story but also because she obviously didn’t want to do it. I gave her a small smile of regret and she responded with a slight shrug which meant ‘Let’s just get this over with’.

     So I held her cheek and leaned down to touch my lips to hers, hoping to really get it over and done with. We opened our eyes almost at the same time then moved back from each other.

     Nothing happened.

     Everybody’s faces registered curiosity or surprise. Marina looked like she wanted to laugh at me. I felt annoyed that we were being humiliated in front of everyone and so I pulled her close again and kissed her—this time, a bit longer than the previous one.

     Still, nothing happened.

     I didn’t know what consumed me but I suddenly kissed her over and over willing the Key to change its colors and do its job.

     I didn’t leave Margaret for this, was the thought I kept hearing each time the kiss failed to trigger the Key.

     I kissed Marina again and again that it was almost comical. Finally, she wriggled out of my strong grasp to rub the pain away from her tender arms.