Page 32 of Mermaid on Heels
“Where are you going?” Ella asked suddenly, her head shooting up from the pillow.
“I need to cool off a little. I shall be right back.” Liriya walked around the bed for the door.
Ella shot her an infuriating, knowing smirk before her head found the pillow again. “Sweet dreams when you get back to bed.”
Liriya pretended as though she didn’t hear the comment and exited the room. She heard Bianca’s soft snores from the room opposite them, her late parents’ bedroom, and moved towards the window that overlooked the front yard. Opening them, she let in the cool breeze and the moonlight, and leaned forward with her hands resting on the windowsill, allowing the coolness to brush her skin.
Liriya closed her eyes, her mind immediately projecting the image of the young king her eyes drank in earlier that day. Remembering Ella’s teasing, she tried to shake the image from her head but it didn’t go, as though it had been imprinted on her brain.
She sighed.
Ella was right about her being lost in her thoughts since returning from the castle, but that didn’t mean she wasdaydreaming. Liriya sighed once again, leaning against the window panel and looking up at the beautiful full moon. She wondered what tomorrow had in store for her, what she would encounter at the ball, and what would happen when she saw King Luke again.
After her mind pondered enough, Liriya felt tired and decided to head back to bed. Ella was fast asleep by that time and she couldn’t hear any more of Kitty or Sessa either. She climbed on the bed next to Ella and lay down, drifting into slumber and slipping into the exact sweet dream Ella wished for her.
* * *
Liriya stared at her reflection in the mirror in astonishment and awe. The girl looking back at her was not the same one she had seen in the last days since moving in with Bianca, whenever she looked at a mirror. This one… This was hardly her.
When Bianca had complimented her and her sisters’ beauty before, saying that they had an ethereal beauty, Liriya simply waved it off. She hadn’t given a big deal of thought to her beauty before, even when she received a lot of compliments from countless mermen, until today.
Her usually pale cheeks had color for the first time, thanks to the rouge Bianca purchased; but her lips, as red as a rose, didn’t need it. Same for her eyes, bordered with thick, long, dark lashes; they didn’t need eyeliner. However, it wasn’t her features that made her reflection look unrecognizable, but the adorning.
Bianca’s experience in working as a viscount’s daughter’s handmaiden years before came in handy to pull Liriya’s hair into an intricate updo, weaving stringed pearls—that Liriya took from their cave a fortnight ago—into her tresses and leaving out a few strands to frame her face.
Liriya loved it.
The pearl necklace from her eighteenth birthday rested around her neck. The dress—the glorious gown Bianca’s hands worked their magic on, was ocean blue in color. Made of a shiny fabric, the gown was flimsy and hugged her body perfectly, showing off her considerable curves and cascading at her feet like ocean waves. It shimmered as she moved, adding movement and drama to her every step. The neckline was adorned with blue-colored stones all the way to the off-shoulder sleeves.
“Someone would think you’re an angel descended from heaven—rather, ascended from the oceans. You look stunning in that dress—again, not priding over my work—but look at you, Liriya! That color—I’m glad that I’ve got good taste to pick the right color on people—it makes your skin texture glow. I bet you, when we return there won’t be one man whose world didn’t turn upside down with one look at you!”
Liriya composed herself from her rigid posture and turned from the mirror to her best friend, laughing at her gushing. “I had no idea you were a poet.”
“I’m serious, Liriya.”
“I know, and so am I. Gezer is about to get a heartache when he sees you in that dress.” Liriya gestured a hand at Bianca’s peacock-blue gown and added softly, “You look like a princess, my friend.”
Bianca snorted but didn’t protest, a smile fighting its way to her red-painted lips. The rouge on her cheeks highlighted as she blushed.
“Alright then, chip-chop! Time to leave, Your Highnesses.” Kitty hopped off the bed where she sat with Sessa—they were all in Bianca’s room for the dress-up—observing them in a strangely silent manner until now. Ella, though, had been actively assisting Bianca and Liriya through everything she could.
Bianca laughed at her sister’s sarcasm. “Are you that eager to kick us out now?”
“Yes, because we aren’t permitted to go with you.” She pouted.
“Aw, but we will tell you every bit of detail when we return,” Bianca cooed over her shoulder, slipping her hands into matching gloves.
“Not as fun as attending the ball.”
Bianca shot Liriya a long-suffering glance before she grabbed her matching fan and mask. “Alright then, we’re leaving.”
Bidding farewell to their sisters, Liriya followed Bianca out of the house, to the awaiting couch Bianca had hired for them. The coachman opened the door with a gracious bow and helped them in. When they began moving, Liriya closed her eyes and released a deep breath, feeling as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders—shedidhave the weight of an entire kingdom on her shoulders.
“Fret not, Liriya, I will help you as I can to get to the king.” Bianca clasped an assuring hand on hers before taking the mask from Liriya’s grasp and helping her put it on.
“I am only worried about socializing with humans. I am afraid I might make mistakes in my conversation and mess something up.” Liriya frowned, adjusting the suffocating mask. If she had a choice, she would attend without wearing one. But alas, it was tradition.
“Oh, Liriya, you won’t. But, if it makes you feel any better, I promise not to leave your side,” Bianca assured, putting on her own mask.