Princess master 3, p.7
Princess Master 3, page 7
“Yes, my usual fish and sea vegetables,” King Liron chuckled. “Why, did you have a better idea?”
“Well, you know the palace drainage system?” my red-haired wife asked her father. “And how… how I used to be able to dry out rooms for Prince Aaron?”
“I do know you used to do that for Prince Aaron,” the king responded and furrowed his thick white eyebrows. “But if I recall correctly, the two of you still ate palace food most of the time because the process to cook dishes from his world was so difficult.”
“Well, I’d like to try to dry out your chamber today, because my magic has gotten stronger… lately, and Princess Jessamine has come up with a solution for the food problem!” Ariana replied in an excited tone, and I thought it was cute how proud she was of her sister-wife.
“Oh, is that so?” King Liron raised an eyebrow at Jessamine.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” my dark-eyed wife answered with a respectful nod. “I’ve been working on a magic spell that allows me to create different kinds of surface food for us to eat. If you’re interested in any sort of foods that aren’t available under the sea, I can craft them for you.”
“Oho, that is interesting!” the king replied with a sparkle in his aqua eyes. “That’s never occurred to me before. I didn’t get to spend as much time on the surface as I would have liked this time around, so I didn’t get to eat some of my favorite foods. Tell me, Princess Jessamine, can you make a turkey?”
“A whole turkey?” my dark-haired wife asked, pursed her lips, and then she grinned. “I would love to do that for you.”
“Wonderful!” King Liron rubbed his palms together. “Well, then, why don’t I escort you into my dining chamber, and we can all sit down together for a hearty meal and a drink?”
“I think you’re forgetting something, Father!” Ariana giggled. “Will you let me drain and dry out the chamber first?”
“Ah, yes, I suppose that would be helpful,” the giant merman chuckled. “Ariana, I always love to see you work your magic.”
“Thank you, Father,” the mermaid said as a blush ran up her cheeks, and she swam over so she was close enough to flip the switch on the grate on the wall that allowed water to flow out of the room. “So, this will be the first step--”
“Ariana, I’ve never actually been through this process before,” Marinus interrupted, and then he laughed. “I assume either the king or you can transform me into a human the same way you do for yourselves, but I’m not exactly sure what it’s going to feel like once my tail is gone.”
“Hah!” King Liron laughed in his booming voice. “Well, that’s a little hard to explain, especially in mixed company. Let’s just focus on your clothing, and you can figure out the rest for yourself. What would you like to wear?”
Since Ariana nearly always wore a bikini, I suddenly had an image in my head of Marinus and King Liron in Speedos, and I had to choke back a snicker.
“What Joe’s wearing looks fine,” Marinus said, and he gestured to my shorts. “Those look comfortable enough.”
“Yes, they do,” the king agreed with a nod. “Although, I always prefer to wear leather pants, myself.”
I caught Cienna’s eye for a moment, and when my blonde wife winked at me, I had to try for the second time in a row to control the expression on my face, since I’d just ditched my leather pants in the magic hot tub the night before.
“Well, the shorts are certainly doable,” Ariana said. “Jessamine, maybe we could work together to transform Marinus and create his clothing.”
“Absolutely,” the raven-haired beauty replied. “I’d be happy to.”
“Working together, I see,” King Liron bellowed, and he nodded his approval. “It’s my understanding that princesses are much stronger in pairs, or in groups, than they are alone, although I’ve never seen the process myself. Ariana, please continue with what you were doing.”
“Jessamine, will you come stand by me?” Ariana asked, and my dark-haired wife complied. Once they were standing next to each other, the redhead grasped Jessamine’s hand and flipped the switch on the grate.
As the water level grew lower and lower, I watched the expression on Marinus’ face, which grew increasingly nervous, and once the liquid got below his chest, I saw the merman look down and gulp.
“Well, here goes nothing, I suppose.” Marinus stared down below his waist and watched in amazement as his tail shifted into a pair of legs covered in shorts identical to my own. “Hmm, this is… interesting.”
“It certainly is,” King Liron guffawed, and then he looked at me and winked.
I wasn’t sure how to react to my father-in-law talking about penises, so I just chuckled weakly.
“Ahem,” Ariana cleared her throat, and I saw her cheeks were bright red. “In any case, there’s a second step to this process I’d like to show you. I’ve actually never performed this specific magic anywhere… anywhere other than my chambers before, but it will make us all a lot more comfortable since we’re just standing here dripping wet. Jessamine, Cienna, could you both assist me with this one? I know I’m a lot stronger now, but a little help never hurts.”
“Of course, Ariana.” Cienna came over to stand over by her two sister-wives, and they all held hands in a circle. After a moment of concentration, the room dried out, and my red-haired wife looked up with pride.
“What do you think of this, Father?” Ariana asked.
King Liron looked around at the newly-plush furniture and the moistureless walls, and then he examined the lower half of his body and his dry leather pants. The carved coral couches and chairs had been replaced with sofas upholstered in bright colors and covered with soft pillows, and the room was way warmer than the seawater that had filled it just a few moments before. Ariana had even created a thick, green carpet again, which was one of her newest tricks.
“Very clever, daughter!” the king exclaimed as a broad grin spread across his gigantic blue face. “I’m quite impressed by the three of you. Princess Jessamine, Princess Cienna, I’m sure your individual magic is interesting as well. Jessamine, I know you’ve been assisting Ariana with your illusions, and you told me you were going to make me a turkey, so of course I love that. Cienna, what have you been working on?”
“Oh, Cienna is incredible!” Ariana cut in before the blonde could answer. “We had to fight an angry group of octopuses, and when Jessamine was in danger, Cienna actually reversed time to save her.”
“Reversed time, you say?” The king regarded Cienna with a new look of respect on his face. “That’s very impressive. Nice work, and thank you for helping my kingdom. In fact, I have a lot to thank all of you for. Now, can I show you to my dining room so we can sit down and properly talk?”
“Yes, Father, that would be perfect,” Ariana replied with a smile, and we all followed King Liron into one of the other rooms that adjoined the first chamber.
When we got to the dining room, there was a huge table set for at least twenty people, and I was relieved to see the chairs surrounding the table were mostly suitable for human height, although the king’s carved-coral chair at the head was, of course, massive.
I pulled out each princess’ chair, which I had to admit was a more awkward and lengthy process than doing it for just one date. I caught King Liron smirking at me for a moment, but I supposed that just went with the territory. Ariana and Marinus sat next to the king, Cienna sat next to Marinus, and I sat next to Ariana, with Jessamine to my left. As soon as we were seated, I reached down and squeezed both Ariana’s and Jessamine’s hands for a moment.
“So, about this turkey…” the king boomed, and he gestured to the plates of fish and vegetables he’d mentioned earlier. “Jessamine, work your magic!”
Jessamine closed her eyes for a moment, and when I looked at the table again, a huge, golden brown roasted turkey sat there, and it was as impressive as anything I’d ever seen at my grandmother’s for Thanksgiving dinner. The delicious smell, combined with the fact I’d skipped dinner the night before, made my mouth water instantly.
“There’s your turkey!” Jessamine smiled and dusted off her hands. “What else would you like, Your Majesty?”
“I have some bottles of ale, but I was hoping for some chilled white wine,” King Liron replied with a thoughtful expression, and then he looked around at the rest of us. “I do apologize for not having us properly served by the palace staff, but then we’d have to transform all of them, and we are going to be discussing sensitive matters.”
We all murmured our agreement as Jessamine produced the wine and a set of glasses, and then she glanced around the room.
“Who would like something else to eat?” my black-haired wife asked. “Joe, I’m sure you can come up with something.”
“Hmm… what about some mashed potatoes?” I suggested with a shrug. Then I laughed to myself as I thought about when Jessamine had tried to make me an Egg McMuffin and imagined trying to explain the complexities of green bean casserole.
“Whatever you’d like!” Jessamine smiled, and the requested dish appeared before us on the table’s glossy surface. “Anyone else? Cienna? Sir Marinus?”
“This is all new to me,” the advisor said and shook his head. “I’m just going to keep an open mind and try everything.”
“Hmm…” Cienna muttered as she pondered what she wanted to eat. “Ooh, I know, what about a chocolate cake?”
“Delicious!” King Liron declared, and he slapped his palm on the table. “I’m so excited to feast with you all. But first, I’d like to declare a toast to you, Ariana, for handling the kingdom while I was away. From what I have heard of Morgar’s defeat, it was truly thrilling.”
The king held up his wine glass, and we all followed suit.
“To Ariana!” Marinus cried out, and we all repeated his toast except for the mermaid, who was bright red and looking down at her lap by this point.
“Thank you, but the toast should be for Joe and the other princesses, too,” Ariana said, and she looked up at me through her eyelashes as I sipped on my drink.
I took a bite of my turkey and marveled at the way Jessamine was able to transform any food into other things, including the delicious, juicy meat that filled my mouth. I licked a drop of grease from my lips before I took a bite of the rich, buttery mashed potatoes, and I only missed the green beans a little.
“Tell me more about the fight with Morgar, Ariana,” King Liron requested as he gazed intently at his daughter, and he took a huge bite of turkey. “What exactly happened?”
“W-Well, it was amazing, and we all worked together to defeat him. We all used our magic, and Jessamine was even able to replicate my singing voice to hypnotize him, but it wouldn’t have been possible without Joe and Genie’s Wrath.”
My mermaid wife shot me another adoring look, and a hot charge ran through my body.
“I have to admit one highlight for me was when I got to stab Morgar in the face with my trident,” Ariana continued. “But in any case, we have been working hard to protect the kingdom, and obviously Morgar’s defeat was a huge victory for us.”
“And what of the poisonings?” the king asked as he continued to lean forward and eat. “Have you discovered anything further about that?”
“We visited a mermaid whose home was being reconstructed after one of Morgar’s attacks, and while we were there, I performed some tests on her crops and I didn’t see any evidence of poisoning,” Ariana explained. “I mainly did it to test my equipment, because I’ve come to suspect Marinus may have been the only one targeted in that manner. However, I haven’t been over to test his crops yet because I know he’s been eating all his meals at the palace. And of course, I’d like to take random samples from around the kingdom, too…”
The mermaid trailed off in thought, and her father looked at her with pride shining in his aqua colored eyes.
“Brilliant as always, Ariana,” he said, and he smiled broadly. “I’m so happy I have a daughter--and her family--that I can trust while I’m away.”
I realized this was the first time he’d openly acknowledged my marriage to his daughter, and I contemplated this as I continued to shovel down potatoes. I knew marrying the princesses made me a joint ruler of their kingdoms, and I’d asserted myself as such yesterday when I was talking to the men at Cordelia’s house. But some of the complexities of Fairyland’s politics were unknown to me, and although I got the picture that me and my three wives were a royal family of sorts, I was still slightly confused about what the king considered us, or, rather, me in particular.
“Joe? Hey, Joe!” I looked up and realized Ariana had been talking to me while I was lost in thought.
“Just thinking about the kingdom.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “What’s the question again?”
“My father was just asking your impression of what’s been going on since he left,” the mermaid explained.
“Your Majesty, I’d love to tell you what I was thinking about,” I said as I made eye contact with the king. “In my view, we can’t deny that while we won the battle, the war still isn’t over. Eudora will definitely be our next challenge, so I was wondering if you had any further information on where to find her so my wives and I can execute the bitch.”
“Indeed, Joe,” the king responded loudly as he looked at me with his eyebrows raised. “We definitely need to talk more about her. I’d like to tell you all more about what I heard when I was briefly on land during my trip. I actually made it to a Princess Rachel’s kingdom for a very short time--have you met her?”
“No, although we did receive communication she was seeing signs of possession in her land,” Cienna said, and she leaned forward in her chair.
“Well, Princess Rachel is an interesting woman,” the king chuckled. “She seems very smart, and is a great ruler, from what I’ve seen. You’ll meet her one day, if the prophecy is true. After she told me about the possession, I was surprised to learn she’d heard of Eudora. Apparently, her kingdom has many sailors, and even the pirates who ravage their ships live in fear of the witch.”
“Your Majesty, if I may interject,” Jessamine began. “If what we’ve seen during our travels has been any indication, I’d guess Chernabog is probably involved, as much as I hate to think that.”
“Yes, Chernabog’s powers seem to only be increasing,” King Liron agreed, and he stroked his beard in thought. “I’ve managed to keep Fairyland’s larger troubles from my people under the sea, but I’ve been well aware of the situation on the surface. There’s no doubt in my mind Chernabog has at least some influence over Eudora, and he may even be making her stronger. But for the time being, Joe, and the rest of you, along with Marinus’ help, are in charge of the kingdom while I travel. If Eudora and Chernabog are, in fact, connected, I believe defeating her will help Fairyland at large.”
“I’m here to protect our undersea kingdom,” I promised with a resolute nod. “Our fight is the same, and I know Princesses Jessamine and Cienna feel the same way.”
My two human wives nodded with solemn expressions on their faces, and I saw Ariana flash them a grateful smile.
“That’s wonderful to hear.” King Liron leaned back in his giant chair and intertwined his fingers. “So, with that being said, I do have some intelligence on Eudora’s whereabouts I was thinking might help you out on your mission, Joe.”
“Thank you,” I said with a nod. “Any information you can provide us with would be great.”
“I’m grateful for a leader like you, and I know you’re going to beat her,” the king replied. “From what I hear, Eudora has been hiding out in her cave, and someone’s going to have to go find her. I don’t think there’s anyone better suited to the task than the four of you. And, while Marinus always has a seat at my table, I asked him here today specifically to familiarize you with some of the geographical… peculiarities of the undersea world you may encounter along the way. Marinus, please go ahead.”
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” Marinus began with a pleasant smile, and he ran his hand through his wavy, salt-and-pepper hair before he addressed the rest of us. “Like King Liron said, there have been many reports that Eudora is hiding out in her cave. I think I told you as much when you visited me after you killed Morgar.”
“Yes, Marinus, go on,” Ariana said, and she stared at him intently with her large aqua eyes. “I’m starting to think there’s more to this hiding than you’re letting on.”
“Well, since I last spoke with you, other reports have been coming in as well,” her advisor explained. “They’ve described other ways Eudora has been lashing out at citizens who live further on the outskirts of our kingdom, such as turning them into evil plants and possessing them to do her bidding. She seems to be able to do this even as she hides herself away, and I don’t know how. I’m also not sure if these are exactly the same as the possessed humans you’ve been seeing on the surface, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there was some sort of relationship. But since I haven’t heard of any sightings of the witch herself, it especially scares me to think she’s able to possess merpeople from a distance. I don’t think there’s any choice but to hunt her down at this point.”
“Which is, of course, where we come in,” I said, and I drained my glass of wine for a little liquid courage. “I just want you to know I’m here to protect both the kingdom and the princesses.”
“We know that, Joe,” Marinus assured me. “It’s obvious how much defeating Eudora means to you, and we want to do everything to support you on your mission. You saved my life, and I’m never going to forget that. But I did want to tell you more about where you’re going to be able to find the sea witch.”
“Where exactly does she live?” Ariana asked with wide eyes. “I know the general location, and I’ve read about our geography, naturally, but you know I haven’t traveled that far…”
“So, you’ve been to the Pirate’s Boneyard, of course,” Marinus said, and he looked at each of the princesses and I in turn as we nodded. “Well, think about what you experienced there, except a whole lot deeper, and a whole lot scarier.”
