Ozmoses and Aether had been a couple for so long that their every movement looked like a graceful synchronized dance. The mysterious jellyfish stopped a few paces away from Ursula and Ephram the Venerable, then flipped themselves so that their domed tops pointed toward the temple floor and their chiffony tentacles at the ceiling. They shimmied those innumerable filmy limbs downward and inverted the main dome of their body such that it was turned inside out. As they did this, their true, fairy-like bodies blossomed from the center of the new dome, and one could see that their tentacles stemmed from their waists. Above the waist, they were perfectly formed people. Aether's lower half looked like a ballgown, so flared was the half-sphere of her inverted dome; Ozmoses appeared to be clothed in trailing robes from the navel down, as he was longer and narrower than his mate.
"Thank you for coming at this hour," said Ephram.
"It's no bother," Aether replied in her musical voice.
"We woke when we felt him pass on to the next realm," Ozmoses explained. Like Aether, random words and phrases emerged from him in two octaves at times and in multi-part harmony at others. It was beautiful, if slightly unsettling.
"Do you know where he's gone, or why?" Ursula asked.
"Do you mean to which spirit realm? We should be able to find out," Aether sang. "But why do you ask 'why'?"
Ursula described the king's final moments to the two shamans. "I think it might give his family...really the entire kingdom...some peace if they understood why he died. Why he was called away and by whom," she concluded.
"We will travel through the realms and find out all we can," said Ozmoses.
"Thank you," Ursula and Ephram responded simultaneously.
"Farewell," the Diaphanous hummed in unison.
They were folding their gossamer bodies back into their original camouflaging positions as they retreated, and it was easy to appreciate how these ethereal forms were able to slip between worlds in a way that no one else could.
It was time for Ursula to leave the temple as well. The High Priest dispatched Roch to wake the royal family, and as Ursula swam toward the place she was raised, she imagined the scene of her beloved being roused from sleep to learn the the awful news. The thought of his shock and pain produced fresh tears. Nonetheless, in the back of her mind, she was relieved to be moving past the purely selfish concern of their relationship, if only for a moment. To be in touch with someone else's pain instead of nursing her own felt more noble.
*****************************************************
It was a very long and nerve-wracking day waiting for the royals to arrive. Fortunately, Aunt Melisande knew how to distract Ursula in helpful and productive ways. They talked over the vitality spell because it now presented a puzzle to be solved: if the king hadn't been called away, would the spell have successfully brought him out of his coma and restored him to long-term health? Or does it backfire when cast on someone who is ill? None of the volunteers who enjoyed the vitality benefits it offered had been sick--just old and tired. Nepp wasn't very old for a merman, so did age have something to do with how well it works? Melisande encouraged her to research the spell further and document her findings, rather than turn her back on the ancient tool she had unearthed and already used for good on so many.
Then, in her industrious way of caring, Melisande insisted on making her adopted daughter a new mourning cloak. "You haven't been to a funeral in ages so I doubt you have anything appropriate to wear," she asserted. Ursula didn't exactly agree, but rather than argue, she requested that the cloak conceal her completely.
"Oh, please make it very plain. And I want a hood that swallows up my head...I want my face and hair to be well hidden. I can't bear the thought of so many disappointed and sad eyes on me," Ursula moaned. "How am I going to get through King Nepp's funeral?"
"You'll stand with me and Dismas and we'll get though it together," Melisande answered as she stooped to measure Ursula's tentacles.
She set to work on the garment immediately and enlisted Ursula's help. Every now and then, Melisande ordered her to check on Dismas, who was preparing his work space for the arrival of the king's body. Dismas didn't have much to say, but his generous hugs conveyed everything he wanted to express to Ursula. He still thought of her as his little girl, and always would. He marveled at the serious, high stakes situation in which his child had become involved.
Melisande was finishing the cloak when the procession came to rest in front of the house. It was late afternoon. Dismas came to the front door to stand by his wife and daughter. Ursula was tremendously relieved to see that Ephram's plan had worked; Alphon and Galataye were not there. The extent to which she relaxed in light of their absence was canceled out by the sight of Triton, and she started to tremble.
The High Priest led the way. Behind him, Triton and Ganeon swam side by side, pulling their father's body along by ropes attached to a gilded platform. Nepp was wrapped tightly in cloth and his crown still encircled his head outside the cloth. He was bound to the platform and studded with lush sprigs of plant life; someone had tucked the ends of the plants into the places where ropes intersected on his body.
Psamanthe traveled beside her father, and two cuttlemaids that Ursula recognized from the temple trailed behind King Nepp's form. She suspected they were the same two that had worked under Amoret in service to the king these past weeks, and she presumed they had helped Ephram prepare the body for transit today.
Ursula kept her head bowed and eyes lowered while Ephram made introductions. Then he and Dismas ushered the deceased inside the house. Melisande offered the procession some refreshments and respite inside her home, which was politely declined. After expressing her sympathies once more, she excused herself.
The silence left in her wake was deafening. Ursula's head felt like it were made of stone, her downcast eyes even heavier in their sockets. "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am," she began tentatively. She glanced up and the shock of Triton's blue eyes fixed on her, his face inscrutable, sent frightened electricity though her core. She snapped her eyes away, landing on Psamanthe. "Words aren't even adequate..." she pushed on.
Psamanthe held up a hand to stop her. "Ursula, Venerable Ephram explained it all to us. The task of the Diaphanous, everything. You don't owe us an apology," the princess said kindly.
"I feel I failed you," Ursula protested, fighting back tears.
"We know you tried your best. We know you did everything you could," Ganeon added gently. Ursula looked at him, gratified by his kindness.
"I'm so sorry for your loss--I'm sorry I couldn't do more. And you shouldn't have to comfort me, today of all days." Ursula shook her head. "How are you all doing with this?" She risked another look at Triton.
"It's horrible," he said plainly. "And no, we don't need to comfort you."
Ursula's heart dropped so hard and fast she nearly swooned. She opened her mouth to agree, but no sound came out.
Triton shifted his shoulders into a regal stance and looked around quickly at his siblings before locking eyes with Ursula. His face was serious. "What we need to do is thank you," he continued. "You gave us time with our father that I don't believe we would have had otherwise. He had been unresponsive for so long, none of us thought we'd ever get to speak with him again. Because of your research, your spell, we had a chance to tell him how much we love him. And he got to tell us in return. Thank you for that. Thank you for how much effort you put into helping him."
Ursula was dumbfounded. Triton amazed her further by folding her into an embrace, motioning to his brother and sister to join them. Ursula shook with silent sobs, resting her face on the noble prince's chest. "Don't thank me. It's my deepest honor to serve you and your family," she choked out.
Reluctantly, she backed out of the group hug, pressing her tear tracks with both palms. "In fact, I need to talk to you all about that. About service, about honoring the family. Honoring your father."
As the royals looked at one another, mystified, Ursula searched for the cuttlemaids. They had backed away, clearly not a part of what was unfolding, and were fast disappearing against the side of Dismas and Melisande's house.
"Girls!" Ursula beckoned. They solidified into full view as they approached. "What are your names?" Ursula asked.
"I'm Wemegreth," answered the taller of the two. "And I'm Bernhardina," said the smaller maiden.
"Did you help prepare the king for his passage here today?" Ursula inquired.
They nodded silently.
"You did a beautiful job. You're free to go now. Thank you." They beamed at Ursula's sincere praise and left, whispering excitedly to one another. Ursula watched them a moment, then turned back to the royals.
"I need to tell you about a request your father made to me in his final moments. And I think we should go to my house where we won't be...interrupted," Ursula proposed.
"Father's final words? Shouldn't we wait until Halimede and Alphon and mother can join...?" Psamanthe trailed off at the sight of Ursula's emphatic head shaking.
"I'm sorry, Princess Psamanthe, but I think I should tell you now. And then it's up to you three to decide how to inform the others. It'll all make sense shortly."
"Alright," Psamanthe said warily.
Ursula faced east, toward her home. "Follow me, then."