As I swam away from Audrey's room, I couldn't quite figure out why I agreed to give her legs. I had been stuck down here my entire life, so she should too. As a monarch, that should be the reasoning behind refusing to turn her into a human. As her Aunt, I have to do what's best for her. My brother, King Trevor, is a total asshole. He's homophobic and if anyone ever says something he doesn't like, that person is in a whole lot of trouble. Maybe that's why I said yes to her crazy plan. Because through her, I can be my true self too. That's something I've always dreamed of. That and being a bio queen. I already am a bio queen though. A pretty good one at that. The merfolk love it when I go to bars in drag. They don't know who I am though, obviously. That's the part that stings the most. Being loved for what you do but never getting any acknowledgement for it. That's probably another reason I said yes to Audrey. At this point though, it doesn't matter why. It matters how.
Over the next couple days, I ponder and puzzle out how I'm going to get Trevor and the guards out of the palace. Finally, I realize how I'm going to do it. Quickly, I make my way to Trevor's wing of the castle.
"Trevor!!! This is an emergency!" I yelled, swimming around quickly to entice panic.
"What is it Uri? I'm busy!" Trevor called back, poking his head out of a door to my right.
"It's absolutely terrible! I can't even fathom why someone would do this! It's disgusting, a waste of merfolk!" I rambled, trying to get Trevor worked up.
"Uri, you know I hate it when you ramble. Tell me why you need me so badly!" Trevor said, frustration seeping through his voice.
"Ok, ok. I was going for my daily swim to clear my mind. I was out near the corals, the ones behind the east garden, when I saw it. There were two mermen. And they were together. Not just together, together together. When I spotted them, I immediately told them to stop. They didn't listen though. I tried to approach them but they swam away too fast. Before they got too far, they said that they were going to infect our family! And soon we would all be like that!" I cried, feigning despair and making up a lie right on the spot.
"I managed to send guards after them but I don't know how that went. I saw them swim towards Gari Bay. Trevor, I think they're going to attack us and make us gay like them! You need to go after them. You are the only one who can do something about it! You should bring your entire guard to protect yourself. We don't want you becoming gay as well!" I continued, not letting Trevor get a single word in until I was finished. At that point, I fell silent, letting Trevor talk. I had to fight to hide a smile because his face was bright red, steam practically coming out of his ears.
"I will make sure to punish them accordingly. Nobody is gay and gets away with it. Thank you for informing me of this." Trevor said, struggling to keep his voice steady. With that, he swam away, calling all the guards to report to the throne room. 'No one gets away with being gay huh? How about your own daughter? She's getting away with it just fine.' I smirked to myself as I made my way back to Audrey's room, ready to set her free.
Quickly, I got to her room and pulled open her door.
"Audrey, let's go! We have an opportunity but Trevor will quickly realize it was a lie." I said, wanting to get this over with quickly.
"Ok! I thought about it and I probably shouldn't bring anything considering it's all mermaid stuff." Audrey replied, swimming over to me.
"Good thinking. Now let's go and make you human!" I told her, grabbing her hand and starting the swim to the surface.
It took a little bit but I managed to find a rock that wasn't too far away from the sand and that hid us well.
"Ok, are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to turn back." I asked, wanting confirmation just one more time.
"I'm positive, Aunt Uri. I can't stay when my own Father hates me for who I love. I'm ok with losing my voice, possibly forever. I promise." Audrey said, her eyes fierce and passionate.
"Ok then. Since this will be the last time I see you, I love you Audrey. You were my favorite and I always knew you were gay. I'm glad that you were able to come to that realization by yourself." I commented, smiling at my niece for most likely the last time.
"I love you too Aunt Uri. I hope things get better under the surface for you. Thank you for doing this again and thank you for always being there. Oh, and thank Fiona and Juliet for always keeping an eye on me." Audrey told me, her smile bright but also sad.
"I will. Now let's start the process. All I need is for you to sing. As you sing, I'll cast the spell and your voice will be taken by my shell which will in turn, give you legs. Understand?" I asked her, preparing myself and my shell.
"Yes, I understand." She replied. As she began to sing, I allowed my eyes to shut. Gripping my shell tightly, I started mumbling the incantations to perform the spell. Suddenly, the singing stopped and I felt power rush through my veins. As soon as it came, it left. I opened my eyes. Audrey was sitting on the rock in front of me, staring open mouthed at her brand new legs. I watched as she tried to talk but nothing came out.
"Remember, you don't have a voice. I have to go now Audrey. I have to be back in the palace before Trevor returns. I hope you find your true love and have a good life. Goodbye, I love you" I said, diving back down under the surface. 'You better be ok Audrey. I care about you too much to allow anything to happen to you. And now I have to deal with my brother's wrath. He's going to be absolutely furious when he finds out.' I thought to myself, laughing at the image of Trevors red face.
Soon, I was back in my room at the palace. I laid down on my bed and blocked out the outside world. I wanted to be left alone with my thoughts. Many scenarios were playing in my mind, all of which involved what would happen to Audrey while she was on the surface. Most of the scenarios ended with Audrey being discovered as a mermaid and being killed for that. I didn't really think she would find true love, but she is determined. She just might pull it off.
"URI!!!!!!!!!" A yell could be heard by most, if not all, of the castle. Smirking, I knew exactly what it was about. I swam out of my room to see my brother swimming madly at me.
"Yes dear brother? How did the capture go?" I asked, feigning innocence.
"You bitch! You lied to me!" He spat out, brandishing his trident at me. The spikes got dangerously close to my face. Not wanting to be scratched, I grabbed the trident.
"First of all, don't ever try to do that again. You may have been mom's favorite, but I am the more powerful one and you know it. Not necessarily with the tides and control of the sea, but you know I can beat you in an instant if I so chose. Second, I'm not lying. I know I saw at least one gay." I replied, bitterness clear in my voice. I almost said that his youngest daughter is the gay I saw, but since he hasn't brought that up, I shouldn't mention it.
"Then how come we asked all the merfolk nearby and in Gari Bay and nobody saw anyone!?" He shouted, still clearly very angry.
"I said I thought they were heading that direction! Not that they were going to Gari Bay itself! That's not my fault! I came to tell you as soon as I found them!" I answered. Before Trevor could say anything else, a guard came rushing over to us.
"King Trevor, Audrey is no longer in her room!" The guard said, barely sparing time for a bow. Trevor's eyes practically became flames. He spun back towards me.
"What did you do." Trevor told me, a furious expression settling on his face.
"I did nothing dear brother!" I replied, flashing a smile.
"I know you did. Once I find out exactly what happened, you will be getting the proper consequences." Trevor snapped, swimming away to figure out what happened. I smirked while he retreated. 'I can't wait until he finds out~' I thought, swimming back into my room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few weeks passed. I hadn't heard anything from Trevor but I knew he was still mad at me. His eyes were full of fury every time he looked my way. I was sitting in my room when I heard a knock on my door. I opened it to see Trevor practically shaking in anger.
"Why can't the tides find her." He said, his anger seeping through his defenses. I debated on continuing to lie, but I decided I wanted to have some fun.
"Because the tides can't search on land. And that's where your youngest daughter is!" I sang, happy I could help my favorite niece. Trevor became a spluttering mess of fury. He couldn't seem to even piece together one word, let alone a coherent sentence.
"You! She was a disgrace! She was a mistake! She thought she was gay Uri! How disgusting is that!" Trevor accused, trying to get me on his side.
"You know what, I've put up with this shit my entire life. I'm done with it. Trevor, I'm lesbian. Oh and you know that bio queen, Star? The one you've tried to sleep with before? Hi, you're looking at her. That's right! I'm lesbian and I'm a bio queen. A bio queen who is more popular than you! And for your ignorant ass, a bio queen is a drag queen who was assigned female at birth" I announced, no longer hiding myself. Trevor seemed completely at a loss for words.
"Don't forget one thing, Uri. I am your king. I hold all power over you. You admitted to helping a prison of the king escape and being gay. Those crimes-" Trevor started.
"Being gay is not a crime! Don't ever utter those words again! I will end you if you do! People can't choose to be gay or straight. We are born the way we are and your homophobic traditional ass needs to accept that right now!" I interrupted, seething with anger. Trevor moved a bit closer to me, trying to be intimidating yet failing miserably.
"Being gay is a choice and a crime. A choice you will pay for! From this moment onwards, you are banished to the surface! You may come back if you are hand in hand with my worthless daughter. You either come back with Audrey or never return. You will leave everything behind, your friends, your position as a ruler, your reputation as a bio queen. URI, YOU ARE BANISHED FROM THE SEA!" Trevor commanded. He swept his trident through the water and I was pulled up, up, up towards the surface. I tried to fight it, but it was helpless. What I thought was my forever home was taken from me in an instant. All because of Audrey.