It Isn't Easy Being Queen

47. Long Live the Queen

Everything was going fine until three of my minions dove into the lake and immediately sank to the bottom.

"Good work, ladies!" King Triton laughed.

I turned around and glared. "Not funny, Triton! Rescue my minions! I'm going to need them for manicures and stuff. Probably." (Truth was, I did not know what I'd do with the minions. I kind of wanted to free them from servitude and whatnot, but I'd have to take it slow. When you're a new monarch, it's wise not to change everything immediately.)

"Of course, Your Majesty," Triton said, trotting toward the lake and diving in with an enormous splash that soaked my dress. Icy water dripped down my neck. Luckily, a handsome blond minion handed me a towel. (See? Minions can be super helpful!)

"Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome, Your Majesty," said the minion.

"Eh, Your Majesty was my mom. Just call me Rowen. What's your name?" I added, so I didn't sound like a jerk.

His eyes widened. "You want to know my name?"

"Yeah?"

"It's just that no one has ever asked before. I'm Hansel." (See! I'm a queen of the people! Wait. Hansel? As in THE Hansel?) But before I could ask him whether he was a fairy tale celebrity, he backed out of my presence, like I was some kind of royalty.

Oh, right.

I kept forgetting.

In the meantime, Triton rescued all three minions at once, carrying them out of the lake in his massive arms. Once no more minions were in peril, Triton returned to the stage. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to determine if he had intentionally splashed me. His handsome face remained stoic, giving nothing away. And oh my, his ab muscles glistened, and I might've drooled a tiny bit.

Blade who?

Only kidding!

Maybe I ought to give Triton the benefit of the doubt vis-à-vis him splashing me. A man/supernatural being with abs of steel was worth keeping around.

After the nymph/siren performance, fountains of water, like massive geysers, shot up from the lake into the air. Oh, come on! This was a coronation, not a Taylor Swift concert!

Finally, the lake disappeared, and the sirens and the nymphs mingled back into the crowd. The fireworks ended. The music came to a crescendo and stopped. My heart was thumping, my ears rang from the din, and ghostly pinpoints of light leftover from the fireworks floated across my eyes. Geez! Glad I never had to be coronated ever again.

But now what?

I turned to my instructors, hoping for some sign of what I should do next. I'd skipped Coronation Prep, and I certainly would not be asking Tyra (who was supposed to be my Coronation Prep teacher) for any tips!

"What now?" I mouthed. Please say it's time to change your dads back into smoothie-obsessed humans!

Doryu stepped forward, bless him, and knelt before me. "Long live Queen Rowen!" he roared. Fire shot out of his mouth, and I barely had time to leap out of the way, though burning this dress would've been a good idea. Just not with me inside it.

The crowd followed suit. Not the fire part, the bowing part. It was hard to tell if the mushroom people were bowing because ... mushrooms don't have knees, but you get the idea. Everyone yelled, "Long live Queen Rowen!" (Or some version of that in another language. Again, hard to tell.) The bowing was so enthusiastic it was as if they had been worried that not bowing sooner might result in head loss.

"They should've bowed immediately! You ought to send them to the dungeon for all eternity," hissed a voice in my left ear. It sounded like Petronella. I turned to look, but no one was there.