Beauty and the Sea Beast: The Princess Tourney

A Four Kingdoms Fanfic

Isla

I stared up at the ceiling of the ship, listening to Millie’s breathing beside me. I still couldn’t believe I was on an actual, whole ship, floating on top of the ocean. I hadn’t really believed I would ever seen one that wasn’t already wrecked.

Millie’s breathing grew slower, and I waited a few more minutes to be sure she was asleep, then sat up. Something strange was going on here, and only one person could give me the answers I needed.

My family had a godmother, I knew that much. Ray had even seen her before, though he hadn’t told me much. I whispered the words to call her into the still night, but nothing happened.

Then I blinked, and she was there.

“Godmother!” I gasped. “I need your help! I think something’s wrong.”

My godmother raised her eyebrows. “Wrong? What exactly is wrong?”

“I don’t know, but Ray said no one could see me outside of Merrita, and it was true when I stopped in Marin, but here . . . they can all see me! I don’t know what happened!” Hope swelled in my chest as I realized what this might mean. “Unless . . . unless I broke the curse somehow.”

“Of course you broke the curse,” my godmother said decidedly. I sat up straighter, half ready to dive back into the water right now to tell my family–

“But only for yourself,” she continued. I deflated.

“Only for myself? But how? I didn’t even do anything?”

“Didn’t you? Didn’t you risk your life to save that of a stranger? What truer act of love can there be?”

I gaped at her. Had saving the prince really been all it took? I hadn’t even thought before doing it, much less considered what might happen to me if I succeeded.

Another horrible thought occurred to me. “If I go home . . . will I be able to see my sisters?”

My godmother sighed, a gentle sound, like she wished she could comfort, but couldn’t. “No, you won’t. All your people will be separated from you, just as they are from the land dwellers.”

I bit my lip. I had wondered why my guards seemed to disappear in the storm.

I couldn’t go back. I just couldn’t. Those few weeks of Ray separated from us had been hard enough. To experience the same thing with my sisters–

I leveled my shoulders. Now, more than ever, I needed to find a way to break the curse completely. For now, I would stay with my new friends, and with the new resources and opportunities at my fingertips, maybe I could find a way to save my people.

I stared at the three girls across the room. Just before the ball, my parents, Teddy, and I had been in a meeting with my aunt and uncle, the duke and duchess of Marin. I was still reeling from the news they had given, and my cousin Lilac looked like she felt the same way.

“We should probably go talk to them, right?” I asked. “They must be even more confused than us.”

Lilac looked like she wished to do anything else, but she swallowed and nodded, following me across the room to the other girls.

All three turned to watch us, cautiously. I smiled, hoping to put them at ease. Or, as much ease as they could feel under the circumstances. “Hello, I’m Princess Millicent of Trione, and this is my cousin, Princess Lilac of Marin.”

“Princess?” one of the identical blonde girls asked. “I thought Marin was a duchy.”

“It is,” Lilac said. “But the children of the duke and duchess are given the honorary titles of prince and princess.”

“I’m Princess Sophie of Arcadia,” the other blonde girl said. “And this is my twin, Princess Lily.”

“And I’m Princess Celine of Lanover,” the girl with the darker hair and skin said. “How long do we have to stay here?”

“Not long,” I assured them. “We’ll be let out soon for the ball, and then the tourney will begin.”

All three girls' eyes widened. “Today?” Celine gasped.

“Did they not explain?” I asked. “Surely someone must have told you . . .” I trailed off as they shook their heads.

“We haven’t been told anything,” Lily said.

Lilac and I shared a look, then tried our best to explain the tourney and how it worked. Our explanation was broken, since no one knew exactly what happened once the princesses passed through the doors of the secret room, and their hadn’t been a tourney called in several generations, but we managed to give the basics.

“So which prince called it?” Sophie asked. A slight smirk crossed Lily’s face at the question, but she said nothing.

I bit my lip and exchanged another glance with Lilac. “That’s the thing. He’s . . . he’s not here.”

“Really?” Lily raised an eyebrow. “How many princess do you have in these lands?”

“Five.” I held up my hand and counted on my fingers. “My brother, Teddy; Lilac’s brother, Jon; Oliver; and Gabe were all in the ballroom. Gabe’s younger brother, Percy, stayed home. King Dominic also has the right to call a tourney, but he’s not here.”

“Is it Dominic, then?” Celine asked. “Sure Prince Percy isn’t trying to get married. How old would he be?”

I slowly shook my head. “It’s not Dominic either.” I almost wished it was. At least then we would know what we were getting into. I hesitated, not quite willing to speak the words, as if that would make it real.

“We don’t–we don’t understand it,” Lilac said when the silence had stretched too long. “We know all the kingdoms in our lands, and all the members of the royal families. We had hoped . . .” She broke off, looking hopefully at the other girls. “I don’t suppose you have a Merrita in your own lands?”

The twins' faces set in matching looks of concern as they shook their heads, and Celine just looked puzzled. “You mean,” she started, “that the prince who called this tourney is from a kingdom you’ve never heard of?”

“King, actually,” I said, “but yes. The letter was sealed with a seal that matches those of the rest of our kingdoms, but none of us have ever heard of Merrita before. It could be a trick, of course, but the duke and duchess weren’t willing to risk it. And I don’t think the tourney would work if it was a trick.”

“Well maybe nothing will happen, then.” Celine sounded hopeful. “Maybe the tourney won’t work.”

“Maybe,” Lilac said dejectedly.

“What was the name?” Sophie asked. “Of the king, I mean. I’ve never heard of Merrita, but maybe . . .”

“Nereus. Nereus of Merrita.” I looked hopefully at the three girls, but their dark looks gave all the answer I needed.

*

The Princess Tourney was nothing like I had imagined.

I hadn’t been that surprised to find the glades of magical trees, or the mirror palace. The stories I had grown up on fully supported the idea of a magical world separated from our own. It was beautiful and enchanting, and for just a moment, I had thought I might grow to like it. At least, until the ceiling began to fall on us.

As a child, I had been fascinated by the stories of the tourney, especially since I had spent so much time at the Marines palace, with the tourney room we had all been warned away from. Some people had liked the tourneys, my grandfather had told me. Some had thrown themselves into the competition, lured by the promise of true love. Some had disdained it, unwilling to give up their positions and their choice to be bound by its rules.

Never, in any of his stories, had anyone been afraid of the tourney, but after Giselle’s disappearance, Celine’s broken ankle, and both sets of twins falling ill, I dreaded each event, and kept counting the girls, afraid one of these nights we would come home with fewer than had set out.

Celine, Sophie, and Lily were worried too, I knew, and I was grateful to them for comforting and sheltering the younger girls despite having no connection to them. I doubted I would be able to take care of them all without their help.

But slowly, the events of the tourney passed, and we all made it back safely each night. It was easier with the group events, where we could all stay together, but when the individual events began, I worried about someone getting hurt on their own.

Then Hazel won the first treasure hunt, and I began to have new worries. My heart sank at the thought of sending my young cousin to the mysterious king who had called the tourney. I knew it couldn’t happen.

Adelaide, Lily, and Sophie followed close behind her. Adelaide, being older, would certainly be a better option than Hazel, except that no one was quite sure what Dominic would do if his sister won. We all breathed a sigh of relief when she fell behind in the treasure hunts. She was clever and good at riddles, but not fast enough to keep up with Emmaline, Hazel, or the older set of twins.

Then came the physical tasks.

“You’ve got to be joking,” Celine said one night when Lily read our task aloud.

“But–” Sophie began. I knew what she wanted to ask, but a quick glance at Pearl and Opal changed her mind.

“The tourney can’t want to hurt us,” Lily pointed out. “It needs a winner.” It was hardly an encouraging thought, but she was right. Probably.

The bell rang before anyone else could argue, and all our lips were sealed. Lily and Sophie stood up first, synchronized as always. They led the way back out of the mirror palace and down to the lake, leaving Celine and I to take up the rear. I kept a sharp eye on the younger twins to make sure they didn’t try to sneak off.

We reached the lake, glittering black in the dim light, and lined up along the bank. I remembered Pearl and Opal falling in, and Sophie and Lily rescuing them. They had looked sick almost as soon as they came up out of the black water. I repeated Lily’s words in my head. It can’t hurt us. It can’t hurt us. It needs a winner.

None of us wanted to be the first to test her assurances.

Finally, Celine shrugged and hobbled to the edge of the water. She tossed down her crutches on the bank and hopped a couple steps until she could climb fully into the water. She pushed off with her good leg, then started swimming across.

One lap, the instructions had said. One lap to the other side and back. Whoever was fastest would win, but I suspected most of the younger girls wouldn’t even make it halfway before they had to turn around.

I glanced at the other girls. Giselle had said she couldn’t swim. Could Emmaline? Surely, as long as they were in the water for a few seconds, the tourney would recognize that they had tried, right?

A bell rang, and I jumped. Surely Celine hadn’t already reached the other side?

A wave crashed into the shore, dragging Celine with it and dropping her hard on the sand. She gasped, coughed up some water, then clutched at her ankle. I grimaced. She didn’t look sick, but now we had another problem.

Emmaline went next, but she didn’t get far before she started to sink, and Lily swam out to help her. Giselle did the same, and Sophie swam by her side until she had to pull the younger girl back.

Snow went next and the wave dragged her back, just as it had Celine.

Adelaide followed Snow, then silently coaxed Pearl and Opal into taking their turns. Lilac followed them, then Hazel, then Marigold. I was about to go, but then Lily jumped up. I had noticed the worried glances she kept casting Sophie, and guessed she wanted to see if it were possible to complete the task.

I doubted it. The lake was too far to swim even one way in the short time allowed. As she swam, though, I watched the water. I lay still, unnaturally so, until the large wave, right as the bell hit. I had counted the time before the bell, and I was fairly certain I could keep track of it while I was swimming.

Another wave sent Sophie crashing back into the shore, and Lily crawled over to her. I ignored them and tried to focus on completing the task myself. I waded into the water until it reached my waist, then I took a deep breath, started a mental count, and dove under.

Unlike the other girls, I didn’t stay at the top, where it was easy to get another breath. Instead I swam a couple feet below the surface. When I needed to, I swam up further to take another breath, then sank back down. About ten seconds before the bell was supposed to sound, I took a deep breath, then swam further down than I had before.

I felt the rush of water around me, but it only pushed me back a short distance, instead of to the shore. I kept swimming, counting again in case there was another bell. When the second one came, it pushed even harder, but I managed to keep most of my distance.

My legs were growing sore by the time I reached the other side, and I paused for a few minutes to breathe between bells. No one else had reached the other side, so I wasn’t worried about my time. Then I swam back, the same way I had come.

The other girls were stunned when I came back, bombarding me with questions as soon as their mouths were opened. I just laughed and said with the way things worked here, it made sense that this was just another riddle.

Lily grabbed the scores from the tree on the way back and scanned them. She frowned and handed the parchment off to me as I passed. I read the list, then froze.

Until now, I had been among the top scores, like most of the older girls, but still closer to the middle than the top. Now, however, my score had shot up, until I was nearly at the top.

*

I started spending the day in the library with Lily and Sophie. We were already a couple weeks into the tourney, and still hadn’t heard anything else from the king of Merrita. I had hoped he would show up for at least part of the tourney, but, technically, it wasn’t required. Still, it would be nice to hear from him again, if only to learn more about his kingdom.

The strange thing was, it didn’t seem to exist in any book. I searched history books, geography, and even branched into folktales just to find some hint of the place, but I found nothing. Even Old Albert, who had helped me find rather tricky answers to questions as a child, couldn’t help me. He knew the stories of the old kingdoms, but Merrita was a mystery even to him.

One day, Isla came and found me in the library. We had offered to find her a ship to wherever she needed to go, or to send a message to someone for her, but she refused. Instead she stayed in Marin with my family. Teddy was delighted. He had been quite taken with her from the moment they met in the ocean, and they spent increasingly more time together as the weeks passed, to the point that our parents had to remind him that there were other girls he needed to dance with at the balls.

Besides occasionally having to remind him of his duties to the other royals, I didn’t mind their friendship. I liked Isla, though I wished we knew more about her. It was strange, though, how quickly she seemed to become a part of the family, and it struck me that day that she had known exactly when I would be done in the library.

“Do you spar?” she asked.

I winced. “Is it that obvious?” It wasn’t exactly a “normal” hobby for a princess, and I didn’t know any others who did it. Well, Celine might, but I wasn’t sure. I enjoyed it, though, and it gave me something to do with Teddy, and no Daisy tagging along.

She blinked, looking startled for a second. Then I realized I must have imagined her surprise because she just grinned and said, “a little. Would you spar with me? I’m out of practice and I don’t like the feeling.”

I hesitated. “I’ll ask my parents. I’d like to, but there are a lot of visitors here, and I don’t want to make a spectacle of myself.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.”

I had guessed that. In some ways, she and Teddy were too much alike, leaping into things without giving them much thought. I smiled. “I’ll be right back.”

To my surprise, both my parents and my aunt and uncle thought it was a good idea. My uncle offered a couple extra swords from the guards for both of us, and Isla and I went out into the gardens (far from anyone or any fancy decorations) to practice.

Isla was good. She had a strange style I didn’t recognize, and sometimes it seemed like she was used to . . . some other type of weapon ( a spear perhaps?) rather than a sword. But she was light on her feet, graceful, and clever with her weapon.

The boys came out to watch, and each claimed a fight with her for later. I laughed and turned to go, having enjoyed my bout with her, but ready to wander the gardens a bit, but she stopped me.

“Can we go again tomorrow?” she asked.

“Sure.”

It seemed a rather strange coincidence that, a few days later, the tourney announced a sword fight as the next competition.

No one thought much of my sudden rise in points from the swimming competition, but when I came out on top after the sword fight, I noticed my parents exchange a glance. Teddy either didn’t notice, or didn’t care.

After discovering their common love of sword fighting, he and Isla had begun spending more and more time together until they were nearly inseparable. I told myself it didn’t matter. I liked Isla, and I was glad Teddy was happy, but sometimes I wanted to scream at him. Ask him if he even cared we were about to be separated, because my old certainty that I would be the one to win the tourney had come back.

Perhaps it was dramatic, but it almost seemed like the tourney was targeting me specifically. And when it had us find information in the library, focusing on geography, history, and trade, as I had done for months, I only became more sure.

Then came the night we were supposed to chose crowns.

I made it up to the tower alone and studied the options. The crowns worn by each ruler of our lands was present except the Marines circlet, but since there only twelve crowns left, I guessed that one had already been taken. The circlets worn by the crown princes of Palinar and Talinos were present as well, and I spotted four more crowns I recognized as those belonging to the Four Kingdoms, though I didn’t know which was which. Then there was one crown I didn’t recognize.

It seemed strange to have so many we would all know, and only one that was different, but if we were supposed to pick the “most important”, then it stood to reason the right crown would be the one that didn’t fit.

Footsteps sounded behind me, and I reached out and snatched up the strange crown before anyone else could take it. Once I got a good look at it, I realized that it was familiar. The style was almost identical to that of the Trionian crown, but it was made of silver, instead of gold, and studded with pearls instead of the jewels in my own family’s crown.

I puzzled over the strangeness of it all, until Marigold’s disappearance sent the mystery flying from my head.

I didn’t bother to look at the scores when we left the grove of silver trees, too tired from carrying Marigold from the lake. Lily collected the parchment as she always did, but waited to read it until we had handed off Marigold to her parents and answered everyone’s questions as far as we were able.

I watched her lips form a hard line as she read the scores, but I was too tired to worry over what it meant. She shared a look with Sophie, who turned and led me to my room, but not before I saw Lily hand the parchment to Teddy. He read it, and his face went white.

He stuck to my side like glue after that, and it took some work and Sophie’s distraction for Lily to get me alone in the garden the next afternoon. “Sophie and I have been talking. About the tourney.” I couldn’t imagine they hadn’t, so I just raised my eyebrows and waited. “You said that the tourney was created by the godmothers, but each tourney is shaped by the man who calls it.” It didn’t sound like a question, but I nodded anyway.

“We can’t imagine the godmothers created it so it could hurt us,” she continued. “Not like this, anyway.” I frowned. It was exactly that I had been thinking. “We’re afraid the tourney may be acting this way because of the king who called it.”

“You mean . . .” I hesitated and lowered my voice. I didn’t want anyone to overhear. “You think King Nereus is so evil, he’s corrupting the tourney?”

Lily shrugged, but her dark expression suggestion that was exactly what she thought. “What do any of us know about him or his kingdom? I’ve never heard anything about it in the Four Kingdoms, and I can’t find anything about it here. No one else seems to have heard of it either.”

As she spoke, I got the feeling she had made this argument multiple times before, and yet, she only shared it with me now. Why was that?

A chill slid down my spine as I realized: Lily thought I would win. She was warning me.

*

When the last night of the tourney arrived, I knew what I had to do. Teddy stuck with me for every dance, which drove away the last lingering bits of my frustration with him. It had never occurred to him that I would win the tourney, I was sure, and it wasn’t fair of me to expect him to understand my fears when I had never shared them with him.

I felt a hint of jealousy toward Lily and Sophie, who hardly needed to look at each other to understand what the other needed, but I pushed it aside. I loved my brother, and I wouldn’t trade him for anything.

After the third song, I knew the bell might come at any minute, so I dragged Teddy into a corner and gripped his shoulders, forcing him to look at me. “Teddy, when I come out of that room, I’ll be betrothed.”

“Millie–” His voice came out anguished, but he didn’t sound surprised.

“I have to, you know, but I’m sorry. I know we always said we would stick together, but if it’s not me, Hazel will have to go instead, and I can’t–” I broke off. I didn’t want to scare him with Lily’s fears.

“But you have to promise me you won’t do anything stupid,” I continued. I had heard him, Jon, and Gabe discussing the tourney, and I didn’t trust them not to try to interfere. “I may have to leave, but I’ll come back. You won’t lose me, not completely, and I can’t lose you.” I lowered my voice. Teddy wouldn’t sneak into the tourney himself, but he might help one of the others do it. “I can’t lose any of you.”

He grimaced and looked away, confirming my fears. “Gabe wants to follow you tonight. He’s worried about you.”

“You can’t let him go!” I said. “Promise me, Teddy.”

The bell rang out, and we both froze. He pulled me close, hugging me tight. “I promise.” I pulled out of his arms and walked away without looking back at him.

When I saw him next, a bruise was already forming around his eye, though he continued to look hopeful until he spotted the silver and pearl crown in my hands. His shoulders sagged in defeat.

*

“You’ll have to come visit us as soon as you can, and tell us all about this mysterious Merrita," Lily said. Her voice was light, but there was a seriousness lingering in the lines of her face. I appreciated her attempt to keep the occasion light-hearted. My family was worried enough as it was.

Under normal circumstances, my family would be the last to leave Marin, taking the opportunity to spend more private time with my aunt and uncle, but we had received another missive from my betrothed, inviting me, and only me, to come to his palace. He had promised to send an escort for me, but according to the letter, it could only come to the shores of Trione. We would all have to return home, and then I would set off again alone.

I pushed the thoughts aside and hugged my new friend. “What about you? Will you stay in Marin?” I knew the original plan had been for the three princesses and their entourages to visit each of the kingdoms, but now that Lily and Jon were engaged, I wasn’t sure how that would change their plans.

“For now,” she said. “We have to stay and work out a lot of the details of the alliance.” She made a face, and I laughed.

Sophie came up to join us. “But we can’t stay long. Not since Cole escaped. We believe he’s gone into Palinar, so the three of us are going after him.”

Since I knew Celine was going to Eldon at Emmaline and Giselle’s request, I guessed the third member of the party was Jon. “I wish you luck.”

“Thank you.” Lily sighed. “We’ll have to tell Prince Dominic, of course, and enlist his help. From what Jon’s told me, though, that’s not exactly a pleasant thought.”

“Surely he can’t be that bad,” Sophie said, though she didn’t sound very confident.

“He’s not, if you can get past his tirades and sulks.” We all jumped and spun around. I hadn’t realized how close Adelaide was. She sighed. “But there’s no way he’ll let me come along. Not that I want to, but I like the idea of sitting around the palace alone and worrying even less.”

I made a sympathetic face. I couldn’t imagine being forced to stay home like that. Teddy would never try to make me stay home from anything he did himself. Partially because he knew it wouldn’t work, and partially because we knew we worked best as a team.

A slight scuffle came from the group of younger girls clustered together, and Pearl was shoved out of the group, with Opal close behind. Pearl muttered something, and all four of us leaned closer to hear her better. Behind them, I saw Gabe’s eyes catch on his sisters, and he detached himself from his group friends to join us.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” Sophie said gently.

“You’ll have to speak up,” Gabe laughed. “No one can hear you if you mumble like that.” His sisters' eyes widened, and they flinched. A pained look crossed his face.

“We–we just thought . . .” Pearl swallowed. “Maybe you could come stay with us. Just until they find Cole, I mean.” She stared down at the ground, but I guessed the invitation was directed toward Adelaide.

Gabe’s face lit up. “Yes! That sounds like a great idea!” I knew why the idea pleased him. From what I had heard, his parents and brother were just as bad as the twins, and I was sure spending a prolonged period alone with them would drive him mad.

From Adelaide’s glare at him, I guessed she was thinking alone similar lines. Gabe had a habit of getting himself and anyone around him into bad situations. “That sounds like a horrible idea.” Pearl and Opal visibly deflated, and her gaze flicked to them. She softened. “But I suppose it’s better than staying home alone. I’ll write to my brother and let him know.” The twins brightened and hurried back to the younger set of girls to tell about their success.

My aunt and uncle appeared, finally released from the “urgent meeting” the Lanoverian delegation had insisted on. I guessed they hadn’t been pleased with the upcoming trade alliance Marin had negotiated with Arcadia.

I felt someone crash into me, and then arms wrapped around my middle. “Be careful, won’t you?” Lilac said.

I hugged her back. “I will. I promise.”

Next part coming soon!