"Alright, you girls enjoy yourselves. Me and my men will wait here until you are ready to go. We have some maintenance that needs to be completed," Leo grunted, already spinning away to go to his men.

"Oh no," Oceana giggled. "That simply won't do! We are all dying to meet the man that our sister will be marrying! Surely, you can't turn down the request of dozens of lonely sirens." 

I watched as she wrapped her delicate hand around Leo's wrist. It was as if he was being throttled by a brawler at a tavern. Every inch of him tightened with resistance. He dug his heels into the wood and green flashed as he glanced at his crew for help. 

I knew this look too well. And I knew exactly what it felt like to be wearing it.

"Oceana, can you get the queen for me? I'm sure she would love to be the first person formally introduced to the prince," I murmured, gesturing to the crumbling castle.

Oceana lit up. Her grip released. "Yes, of course! Silly me!" She darted off the ship like a giddy child, nearly squealing with joy as she went.

I turned to Leo, my thrilled façade falling away. I glanced at his confused crew, making sure they were too far away to hear. "You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid," he spat back. Like a cornered dog, hackles raised instantly. "I brought you here so you could see your family, because you weren't feeling comfortable with the life they provided for you through marrying me. I was just a means of transportation."

My shoulders shrugged and I cast a quick look at the crowd of girls who were gathering at the base of the plank, waiting for us to greet them. All I saw were women that I loved, women who raised me or grew up beside me. Women who were relying on me. All Leo saw was creatures with fingertips that crackled with power.

"They see you as someone who is giving them a chance at a better life. They would never do a single thing to hurt or offend you. As far as they are concerned, you are a messiah. In their minds you have rescued me from this dreary place."

Leo snorted and rolled his eyes. "You certainly don't act like I have rescued you."

"They haven't stared at the most vile parts of human kind like I have," I defended, then caught myself. This moment was not about me. "But that doesn't matter. My sisters will never compel you, never use their powers on you. In fact, I'm sure that they will be so stunned and delighted to see a man that they will forget they have powers all together. Just say hello, and if you don't feel comfortable, I will tell them not to bother you for the rest of the trip. You can say you tried and spend each day and night on this ship."

I watched the indecision flicker over his features. I knew the way his gut was twisting, telling him that it wasn't safe while his mind was telling him to take the risk.

"Let's go, together," he finally agreed.

We descended the plank side by side. It wasn't a graceful return like I sometimes imagined. But it also wasn't surfacing from the sea, dragging soaked clothing with me either. Girls and women stood in two groups, leaving a gap in the middle where the queen stood, her pearl and shell crown glimmering upon her head. Had it always been so damaged? Had there always been cracked shells? Had her dress always been that tattered with fraying seams?

"Prince Leo, welcome," my queen greeted, nodding her head in acknowledgement. "I have heard so much about you from the letters your parents sent. Unfortunately, your pigeon is getting rather old and can't deliver letters as often as they would like so I still have much to learn about you and your kingdom."

I had always known that my marriage had been arranged somehow, without my queen ever leaving the island and without any visitors coming to us. But knowing that my future had been decided through letters caused my spine to straighten and my lips to press together. A little pigeon and some paper were the reason that I was in this situation. A few scribbles words carried over the sea had determined my future, without my say.

"I'm sure we both have some learning to do. And I know that Ember was eager to return home," Leo replied diplomatically. 

And that was all it took for the formality to disappear. The initial welcome was out of the way. A girl rushed forward, clasping both of my hands in hers. "You look like a real princess! Your gown in beautiful! And your shoes are so new!"

I swept my hands over the mustard color gown I had stitched together just a short while ago. "Oh, this is nothing. I met another queen, a lovely lady who rules over werewolves with her husband, and she had dresses in every color! Red and purples and greens! It was enough to make my dizzy!"

"There is another queen?!" someone demanded.

"How does she keep her dresses from fading?"

"You are so lucky!"

"What is she like?"

My heart squeezed in my chest, filling my body with warmth. I had so much to share, so much to tell. This is what I dreamed of. This was exactly what I wanted. My sisters welcoming me back with open arms and listening ears.

"Leo, can you get the trunks off the ship please?" I asked, not concerned about what he would say when I blatantly gave away property that I stole from the palace. I just wanted to make my family happy, to finally do something right.

Once the trunks were unloaded and the girls calmed down after squealing over the other crew members, I cracked open a lid and revealed the dresses that I had made. Then the squealing resumed, even louder than before. Everyone grabbed a gown, holding it up to their chest, comparing it to others, swapping for a color they preferred. I even saw two of the younger girls curtsey to each other and pretend to dance.

"Try it on!" I encouraged, watching Oceana sigh over a gorgeous pale dress I had made with her in mind.

"Oh no, then I won't ever take it off," she protested.

"Then don't. These dresses are here to stay. I tried to make a few different sizes so everyone would have something new, but-"

There were screams of joy. Someone threw their arms around me and squeezed me tight, but I was in the arms of another before I could even identify who it was.

The whole cycle repeated when shoes were brought out. There weren't enough pairs of sizes for everyone, but that didn't ebb the joy. I vaguely wondered what they would say if they saw all of my dresses, ones that had been handpicked and stitched just for me. Would they care that they came at a high prince?

The queen managed to get everyone settled down enough to file into the castle for supper. All of the girls watched in awe as the crew members came onto land once more, bashful and uncomfortable with all of the female attention, but joining us for food no less. The hallways were now so crowded and so full of optimism that I almost didn't notice where the walls leaked and how few candles they had left to light the way.

We all settled in the dining hall and three girls darted around, placing freshly cooked fish and potatoes in front of myself, Leo, and the queen. My stomach rolled at the sight. I had become so used to eating different meals every day. Seeing this was enough to make me queasy, but I poked at something green on my plate, my bent fork spearing the unappetizing mound.

"It's seaweed. It took some trial and error, but we found a type that we can consume. It's helped vary up our diet," the queen explained.

"Oh, how wonderful," I said, forcing a grin. In the back of my mind, I wished that I wouldn't have to come back until the next growing season was in full swing. I also couldn't begin to imagine what 'trial and error' looked it.

Thankfully, I didn't have to pretend to enjoy my food because Oceana was staring at me with stars in her eyes from one of the smaller tables. "Tell me about the other queen and tell me about her dresses."

I was more than happy to spill every detail. I talked about the curtains that I cut up to make the dresses, talked about the sweet rolls I ate in town, and the guards who tailed me everywhere. The girls were nearly falling out of their chairs when I told them about werewolves, creatures that looked perfectly human, but could apparently shift into wolves at a second's notice.

"How did you get there? You said the kingdoms are so far away," Amaya asked, a young woman who shared our massive bedroom.

"We ride horses, just like you see in the fairytale books. They are strong and fast and have no issues carrying riders for miles," I gushed. "My horse's name is Pirate and he took very good care of me."

"Of course he did," my queen piped up. "Poseidon created horses and you are one of his daughters. The horse would sense that. To them, you are precious cargo."

"Oh please," River interjected, a snide smirk on her perfect mouth. And I knew, I knew right then that I would loathe anything that dripped off her tongue. "Ember is hardly a siren. The horse wouldn't know her from a farmer's daughter. It's a miracle she didn't get bucked off into some bushes."

This day had been filled with so much joy. I had listened to my sisters laugh with each other and gasp over new dresses. I had given them a gift. After years of being the odd one out, the one that was strange, that didn't quite fit in, I had been accepted with all of the love in the world.

And just like that, it was taken away from me. 

The fork that I had been gesturing with settled on my plate with a final clatter. My cheeks flamed and I was suddenly unable to lift my gaze from my lap.

"Well, I was there and I can tell you that Pirate knew that Ember was something special." Leo's voice startled me. He hadn't said a word through the entire dinner, sitting silently beside me. Now, his voice was booming and strong. "And even if a horse didn't recognize her, even if she was a farmer's daughter, she has already won the hearts of many. Most women would be terrified to meet a werewolf, even more so their leaders. Ember invited the challenge and she is in high favor with the werewolf queen. Ember is the reason my kingdom has stability today."

Now it was River's turn to turn scarlet and I had to repress the urge to smirk in triumph. 

The queen's mouth quirked up. "I'm so glad that Ember is what you need as a bride. Now girls, let's clean up and head to bed."

The night wrapped up smoothly. Leo went to his ship, claiming he wanted to spend the night with his crew like he always did. I returned to my old bedroom with half of my sisters. It was all giggles over the cute crew members and listening to tales.

"Can you please invite some of us to the wedding? I know that we aren't supposed to go to the mainland yet, but please? It would mean so much! Even if one of us could come, then we could tell the others!" Amaya begged.

"I'll talk to Leo, but I'm sure that it wouldn't be an issue," I lied. My smile was easy and steady.

But as the girls fell asleep, the weight on my chest was heavy.

~~~Distraction Section~~~

So sorry for not posting yesterday. I was having some computer issues!

Question of the Day:  What TV show could you binge all day?