Page 57 of Mermaid on Heels
“Liriya—”
“I want you both to tell me that I am a fool,” Liriya interrupted Ella’s words, looking at her and Sessa with pleading eyes. “That I made a big mistake agreeing to be one of Luke’s elites, that it was utterly irresponsible of me to even encourage the idea of romance and marriage when my kingdom needs me to break free from Faelina’s enchantment, that I was wrong and-and—”
“In love…” Ella cut in, her words barely above a reverent whisper and her eyes wide. “Liriya, you are… you are inlove!”
Liriya stared at her through the unshed tears in her eyes. “I am falling, angelfishes, I feel like I am falling. And there is no one to catch me.”
“Then lethimcatch you.” Ella captured Liriya’s free hand in hers and crouched in front of her. “Let Luke catch you.”
“I cannot.” Her lips trembled. “I want to, but I cannot. Our kingdom needs me.”
“A kingdom that has fallen under an evil half-siren’s enchantment?” Irritation flared in Ella’s blue-green eyes and she shook her head. “Liriya, we all know better than going back to Pearltuna, especially when we do not know how to break the stupid spell!”
“But Ella, we cannot simply give up on our mother and our people!” Liriya admonished her in a low voice.
“Then enlighten me on what other options we have!” Ella narrowed her eyes, her tone signaling her frustration. “Tell me, Liriya. We know there is nothing.Nothing!We decided to move on with our lives almost three months ago when our last attempt to find our way back home failed, with a greatly pained and unwilling heart! Why are you bringing this up now? What can we do now that we failed to dothen? Does it make any difference? Absolutely not! What? Are you telling me that Luke told you he knows something?”
Liriya shook her head, dumbly. She needed her sister’s scolding, but not this. Was Ella seriously encouraging her to let free her feelings for Luke?
“Tell us what happened—and donotmake me wait till tomorrow morning.”
Liriya wouldn’t even think of making her sisters wait until tomorrow, especially not with Ella’s temper heated. While she admired and was proud about this side of her sister, sometimes it scared her too, if she was honest with herself.
Therefore, Liriya told them everything, not leaving out a bit of detail that she remembered from the beginning to the end, all while changing from her ball gown into her nightgown.
Her sisters heaved a deep sigh when Liriya was done, a swoon swimming in their eyes and a smile dancing on their lips.
“You want me to call you a fool, right? Here we go,” Ella said at last. “Princess Liriyalda of Pearltuna, you would be the most foolish person of the century if you pushed His Majesty King Luke away. And you would be the cruelest being in the world if you break that man’s heart. So, for love’s sake, do yourself a favor and do not hide from his love. For once in your life, do something foryourself.”
Liriya blinked at her sister. “But, I am still the crown princess.”
Ella groaned and looked around her on the bed and grabbed a pillow before hitting Liriya’s head with it.
“Ouch! What wasthatfor?” Liriya grabbed the pillow and threw it at her.
Ella caught it in midair. “Thought your brain needed to be cleared of the bubbles in it before I repeat this.” She narrowed her eyes seriously before continuing, “Just because you werebornCrown Princess does not mean youhaveto be one. If you have found your love in a human king, then go marry him. The crown will fall to either ofus. Did you actually forget you have two younger sisters or are you simply power-hungry?”
“Hey!” Liriya swatted at her sister’s arm, narrowing her eyes back, playfully.
Ella fought her smile as she tried to remain serious. “Then what is your problem? I swear, Liriya, I will call you a fool for the rest of your life if you let go of him just because of this, especially when you have a loophole.”
“Me too,” Sessa added, hardly holding back her amusement and trying to look as serious as Ella.
A whirlwind of emotions swam together inside Liriya, her hope building. “Can I really do that?”
Ella’s eyes softened, and she looked at Liriya likeshewas the big sister and Liriya was the younger one. “As long as you love him, you can. So I ambeggingyou Liriya, do not mess this up,” she pleaded. “Just try to forget about all the Faelina-mess for now and focus on your future. This is your chance at happiness. Whenever we find a way to overthrow our evil half-sister, I shall take the throne; Mama will understand, save for a mini-heartache. So do not worry about this matter ever again.”
Liriya’s eyes brimmed with tears and she smiled a wide, unburdened one. Her heart felt free for the first time since agreeing to be Luke’s elite. She opened her arms for the two of them, asking, “What will I ever do without the two of you?”
“Good thing you will not have to find out,” Ella responded with a sly smile and fell into Liriya’s open arms with Sessa. “Because I am determined to bring you misery with my presence in your daily life as long as we are together.”
Her words sparked a memory, of a certain person saying the exact same words to…
Liriya laughed when she remembered who that was.
“What is so funny?” Ella and Sessa asked against her chest in unison and giggled slightly.
“I simply remembered Cedric. He said almost the exact words to Luke when I eavesdropped on them at the shore.”