On the first day of her sixth month as High Priestess, Prince Ganeon surprised Ursula. She had made a habit of meandering around the gardens and through the labyrinth each morning to plan the day ahead, and he must have noticed this, for he was waiting inside the maze for her.
"Morning!" he called out when he saw her approach. She had to peer into the latticework of coral for a long moment before she found his outline. They laughed as she tried to figure out how to get over to him. Soaring over the walls would be cheating.
"You're not even trying!" she shrieked, giggling.
"Serves you right for that other time you drug me in here against my will," he retorted. "You know how long it took me to find my way out that day? I was so mad it didn't even occur to me to swim straight up."
It became a game: finding Ganeon in the garden each morning. He hid somewhere new every day. Then they'd talk as she took her morning constitutional. She came to love the ritual. She vented about the strains of her position, about Cosmas and the cuttlemaids. He told her about his research projects and intimated that his mother was pestering him to find a wife "to set an example for Triton." Then they reached further back, sharing the details of their childhoods. By the third week, Ursula had confided in him about the nautilus shell, though not in great detail.
One morning, she sent the eels ahead of herself to find the prince, and she spoke through them. A shout of alarm arose in the far right quadrant of the garden. Ursula snickered as she swam over to him.
"That was very disconcerting!" he scolded her.
"Oh, you're fine. Imagine how I felt the first time they spoke!"
"What else does that shell let you do?" he asked, studying the cape that concealed the pendant on this particular day. She had admitted to him that the nautilus was behind her recent change in wardrobe.
"I'm still learning," Ursula replied. "But it has made me more sensitive to sounds for sure."
This was an understatement. Ursula was obsessed with sounds now. She was picking up on things she could never hear before: whale songs that had been out of range, the heartbeats of those around her, the groan of ships passing so far above they may as well have been in a different realm. Every day was packed with auditory delights and revelations. She figured out how to replay Triton's precious declaration at will—she had to recall his face, the words themselves, and how she had felt in the moment of their utterance, and they would issue from the nautilus as clearly as he had spoken them that day.
In the final week leading up to Ursula's birthday, as well as the expected end of her time as High Priestess, Ganeon's manner shifted from jovial to wistful.
"It's been so wonderful having you in the palace," he sighed one morning. "The parties, our walks...I've never had such fun. I hate to think it's coming to an end."
Ursula smiled mysteriously. "Maybe it doesn't have to."
The prince came to a halt and waved at her to stop.
"What is it?" she asked as she reeled around to face him.
He deliberated a bit before speaking. "I thought once Ephram returned, he'd resume his position for awhile. You mean to tell me he's not? You're going to remain High Priestess?"
"No...he'll have to resume it or find someone else. This was meant to be a trial for me—and I suspect, some kind of symbolic gesture to acknowledge what I did concerning Alphon, some kind of honor—and the trial has revealed I'm not a good fit. I want more time to myself than the position allows. I want a personal life, you know?"
"Yes," Ganeon whispered. "I think I do know."
Ursula blushed and couldn't meet his eyes. Clever prince! He knows me so well, and his brother so well, I can't be surprised he's figured us out. Ganeon always knows more than he lets on!
"So, how can you stay at the palace if you relinquish your position and the quarters that come with it?" he prompted.
Ursula bit her lip, suppressing a laugh. "Oh, stop playing innocent. You're not going to get me to confess anything today." She torpedoed away from him, and he gave chase.
"Confess what?" he called after her.
She swiveled to face him and swam backwards at an alarming clip. "If I hear you say it first, Ganeon, I may confirm it. Then again, I might not." She wiggled her eyebrows at him playfully.
"You're terrible!" he growled as he closed in on her and captured her in a tight hug. She squeezed him back, pressing her cheek to his. They spun in the water as one, laughing. Ursula could hear his heart racing from the sprint.
She broke out of his embrace and took him by the hands, suddenly serious. "If it were the case, what do you think your mother would say?"
"Oh, don't worry about that."
"Really?" Ursula gasped.
"Really. Don't give it another thought. Leave it to me." He kissed the top of her hand in a genteel manner, then spun her around as if they were dancing once more to one of Sebastian's songs. It propelled her out of the labyrinth. She blinked in the brighter light of the open garden.
"Thank you, Ganeon."
"Of course! I've been planning a surprise for your birthday party for awhile now," he murmured as they approached the temple door. "And I think you're going to love it."
"Another drinking game? Oh Ganeon, really..." she shook her head.
"How dare you! You love my drinking games! But no, this is better," he laughed.
"It better be," she said cheekily as the disappeared through the door. "I did so much for your family's birthdays, didn't I?"
Ursula was grinning so widely her fangs were showing. She marveled at having such a confidante, such a friend...and soon, such a brother.