Symphony had to leave quickly after she laid that information on me, making me swear I would not tell my father or use my power as princess against her. It wasn't her I was considering telling my father about, but she was persistent. I swore, begrudgingly, that I would not tell my father. If he knew I was keeping this from him...

I walked back through the trees slowly, almost dragging my feet. I didn't want to go back to the castle, knowing I would be asked to recite tax laws or name the kingdoms in our different trade alliances. You may think I will be an awful queen, since I seem to have no motivation, but that is completely false. I will be an excellent queen, which is why I don't feel the need to go through the motions of something that won't matter for another month. Besides, when I try to suggest reforming a law, or ask if a certain aspect of the taxes could be changed, I am easily brushed aside by my father or another authority figure. I want to help run the kingdom, but my parents believe I would be of more use simply sitting still and looking pretty.

I found my skirt stashed at the edge of the trees and quickly buttoned it back into place. Emerging from the trees, I took the longest possible path through the castle gardens (not my garden) and I enjoyed the quiet for a few minutes more. I thought about Symphony, and her missing sister. I had no siblings, so I guess I didn't know how to feel about a sisterly relationship. Symphony seemed pretty upset about not knowing where her sister was, so I supposed they were close. I began to wonder about this missing siren, about where she could be and why. She could have been killed by a creature living in the sea. Many sea creatures near Aglon were vicious, predatory things to avoid at all costs. The siren also could have been captured by humans, though I was sure I would have heard about it. That would have been big news, and I was the princess of Algon, after all. My thoughts continued to swirl and tumble around one another, new possibilities coming to mind every few moments.

The rest of the day was boring. I avoided my mother again. I sat in a corner of the library, abandoning the fairy tales and instead reading some of my favorite stories from my childhood. As a child, I enjoyed books about war, especially ones with horses in them. I thought I would grow up to be a great horseback rider, like Samuel Stockback. Samuel was a farmer's son who joined the war in order to achieve justice for crimes committed against his country. He rode his horse, Apricot, and as a team, they could take on five enemy men at once! He proved his worth and returned home in glory and showed everyone who had doubted him how wrong they were. I had hoped to be just like Samuel and Apricot, but I only had to ride a horse once to know that wasn't for me. Horses got jumpy around me, probably because I was quite loud. Oh well.

I also wanted to prove my worth, but my parents weren't too keen on that yet. I knew I would show them how much I could do, someday.

Someday...

Nostalgia set in as I read the stories, and I found myself remembering more and more. I remembered my mother reading to me. She wasn't very good, if I remembered correctly. She didn't do all the funny voices Aunt Audrey did. Once she was mostly confined to her room, Aunt Audrey would read to Andy and I all the time. No matter how boring the story, Aunt Audrey could make the different characters entertaining, with funny faces and silly voices. As I read in my corner of the library, I smiled, thinking about old times.

I went to bed early that night. I looked for Miles before I went to my chambers, but I couldn't find him. He probably had duties to attend to. I found myself feeling a bit blue as I retired for the evening. Before I met Miles, I was content to garden alone, or terrorize the cooks by myself. After making a few new friends, I realized I didn't like being lonely. Obviously, Symphony couldn't come hang out with me any time, but Andy was gone now too. Miles had work to do. One of the problems with having friends, I was finding out, was missing them.

The next day, I was forced to attend a conference meeting with the lords and ladies of the court, along with my parents, of course. It would surprise you how often the crown princess of Aglon is ignored in her own court. The men dominated the space of the assembly room, standing from their seats around the walls and pounding their fists on the tables as they yelled about one unfair regulation or another. I sat by my parents, who nodded and acted sympathetically toward the angry men. I tried to jump into the conversation once or twice, but I was either ignored or swept aside. So I sat, grumpily, in my fluffy gown and silly crown, listening to men complain about the quality of the food lately, or lack of respect from the servants...

"And another thing!" Lord Wallace called, stepping forward around his table. I rolled my eyes for the millionth time that day, expecting him to suggest higher taxes for the citizens or something equally ridiculous. His beard was rather scraggly, his mouth rather small, and his wife behind him looked as though she could fall asleep in a heartbeat. "I haven't been served fresh fish for several days. Is there something wrong with every single fisherman?" He threw his arms in the air, looking around at the other lords and ladies. Some were nodding in agreement, which I found interesting. Maybe there was something wrong with the fishermen.

"Well, something ought to be done about it!" Lord Wallace exclaimed. "I would do anything for some roasted salmon right about now."

The congregation chuckled, but somehow his words got under my skin. Anything? I thought to myself. We'll see about that.

I could see my father nodding to my left, but I stood from my seat before he could apologize and move on. The lords and ladies suddenly all looked at me, surprised. I didn't look at my mother or my father, since I already knew they were annoyed with me.

"Lord Wallace?" I called, speaking directly to the man who could not grow a proper beard. He made eye contact with me incredulously, almost looking like he might laugh.

"Yes, Princess?" He replied, a smirk itching the corner of his tiny mouth.

I took a deep breath, and hoped I sounded queenly as I said, "Sir, if there hasn't been any fish for several days, there are many reasons as to why that may be. Our bay could be running low on fish, in which case we can have the fishermen travel outside of our waters and into one of our neighbor's. It is also possible that our most recent catch was not stored properly, and the fish went bad before the kitchen staff could make a meal out of it." I glared down on Lord Wallace from my parents' and my platform, watching with supreme satisfaction as the smirk disappeared from his face. "If you want a salmon meal so badly, you could go fishing yourself. There is no need to blame the fishermen for something that may not be their fault."

Silence filled the large space for a moment. I sat back down, again avoiding eye contact with my father and mother. I watched Lord Wallace open his mouth, close it quickly, and open it once more before he spoke again. "I meant no disrespect, Princess. I was simply, uh, commenting on the shortage of fresh fish. If we could just, you know, look into that." He nodded his head quickly and looked at the other lords and ladies, not me.

"We will certainly look into that, Lord Wallace," My father interjected quickly, probably to stop me from saying anything else that could be considered unladylike. Ladylike, meaning sitting still and not speaking. "Princess Winifred, I believe it is time that you go on and finish your studies with Ms. Langthorn. We don't want to keep her waiting."

I was astonished, but also completely ticked off. My father had never dismissed me from a room in such a condescending, stern way. I had been finished with my lessons from Ms. Langhorn for months, but his hard eyes and set jaw showed that I was not to disobey, so I stood, brushed off my dress, turned on my heel, and walked calmly out of the room.

As soon as I was out in the corridor, I started to run. I gritted my teeth and sprinted through the castle, letting off steam and trying to block the disdainful faces of the court from my mind's eye. My skirt was held tightly in my left fist, my shoes hurting my feet and making it extremely difficult to avoid tripping. I could almost hear the lords and ladies' voices in my head, calling me young or inexperienced. I luckily did not run into anyone in my mad dash, and I ended up outside, kicking my heels off before I broke them in the soft dirt under the grass. I ran into the forest and pushed past branches, under limbs and between bushes. I wanted to talk to Symphony, not just because I had been wanting to talk to her more and more often recently, but because... well, I wasn't really sure. Her presence was just comforting to me, and I thought she might make me feel less insignificant.

Plus, I needed someone to listen to me vent. That's what friends did, right?

Bursting through the trees surrounding the inlet, it took me several more steps before I recognized anything was wrong. I stopped abruptly, staring at the woman's head smirking in the water.

She looked like Symphony. Actually, she had much darker hair, cut to collarbone length, with a darker complexion than Symphony. But something about her reminded me so strongly of Symphony that I did not immediately register what her presence meant. "Hello?"

Her full lips curled farther into a grin, one of her shaped eyebrows arching high above her wide eyes. "Why, hello there. You certainly are a pretty thing, aren't you?"

"Uh-- um..." My lungs felt empty, my head light. "Who are you?"

There were still several feet between myself and the dock, but that space began to close as my feet brought me closer to the water. The tanned woman stayed right where she was, near the dock. "My name is Catalina. What's yours?"

Her voice was so compelling that I almost answered her right away, but something about what was happening suddenly snapped me back to my senses. "Where is Symphony?"

Catalina's perfect features transformed suddenly, from a mischievous smirk to surprise, and then to anger. "Symphony? Why do you know her?"

I'd said too much, and I knew it. But as Catalina's features sank back to a more content expression, obviously trying to calm down or cover up, I felt myself take another step forward onto the dock. She was so... captivating, and perfect, and compelling... I took another step.

"Symphony isn't here, darling. It's just you and me." Catalina moved closer for the first time, coming toward the dock. "You should join me, the water's nice." Her lips were smirking again, and I was mesmerized by their shape. Another step.

My surroundings faded away. I forgot why I had come out to the dock in the first place. It seemed much less important now. All I wanted to do was go to Catalina, who reminded me of Symphony so much...

"Wait." I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. Symphony. That's why I had come to the pool. Not for whoever this girl was.

"No, you wait." I opened my eyes to find Catalina much closer to me than I originally thought she was. Her elbows were resting on the dock, and her hands were coming dangerously close to my own, offering for me to take them. Her eyes were a lovely shade of blue, and I could almost see them sparkling. "Come with me."

Her voice melted in my ears, filling my head with its silkiness. I almost gave in and went with her, diving into the water and swimming off into the sunset... except her voice reminded me again of Symphony.

I shook my head, hard, and shoved myself back from the edge. I had been perched on the end of the dock, though I was unsure when I had gotten there. I scrambled away from Catalina, who looked shocked. "No!" My voice cracked on the quiet word. I coughed, before repeating myself louder, nearly falling backwards in my panic to stand up. I was thankful that I had ditched my shoes earlier, because there was no way I would have been able to stand on my wobbly legs in those heels. My whole body was shaking as I stood, still looking at Catalina in fear. The siren's beautiful face was now twisted in frustration. I turned away from her as soon as I had my footing.

"Stop! Come back!" Her voice was achingly smooth, but I could hear the anger bubbling beneath it. I walked deliberately away from the pool, hitting more branches and trees than usual on my half asleep legs. What had she done to me? Everything was passing by me slowly as I worked my way toward the castle. My brain felt like pudding. My heart was beating much too fast. My hands couldn't stop shaking.

I made it to the edge of the trees and hurried to the castle. Catalina's words were still echoing in my head in her lovely voice, and I couldn't seem to distract myself from thoughts of her. I wasn't sure where I was headed, but I knew I needed to go back to try and catch Catalina. My father would never believe there were sirens out there unless I had actual proof.

Because I was going to have to tell my father now. Catalina had tried to drown me. I couldn't think of any other explanation to what had just happened. That meant that all of our sailors were in danger, and as king, my father needed to know.

I ran, panting and dizzy, down the hallways of the castle until I reached the kitchen. I wasn't sure what I had expected to find there, but nothing and no one was still a bit disappointing. I paused in the empty room for only a moment, trying to catch my breath, before I spotted a knife block. I grabbed a sizeable knife and went on my way, heading back toward the pool. I had no plan, but I also had no time and no choice.

As I left the kitchen, I saw a servant boy at the end of the hall with sandy blond hair. I gasped, hope fluttering in my chest. "Miles?" I called, hoping against hope that it was him.

The boy turned, and I recognized him immediately. "Miles, thank God!" I ran toward him and attempted to throw my arms around him. I sort of missed as I lost my balance a bit, and Miles sidestepped me. Rude, I thought.

"Winnie, why do you have a knife?"

Oops. I had already forgotten about the weapon in my hand. "Oh. Yes. That." I spoke between pants, still feeling breathless. "I can explain. But you need to listen while we run, because this is an emergency."

I took off toward the servants' exit again, with Miles close on my heels asking a million questions. I filled him in as best as I could while jogging through the corridors. By the time we were outside and had reached the trees, Miles mostly understood what was happening. "Okay, so what's our plan?" He asked, grabbing my arm to slow me down.

"What?" I asked, confused. "I was just gonna come running in and surprise her, hopefully... I don't know, jump on her? I guess I hadn't really thought this through."

We had reached the edge of the forest near the pool, so we slowed to a stop behind a clump of trees. "Well, let's get a visual before we go rushing into this," Miles whispered. I gave him a thumbs up, nodding. His face was only barely swimming in front of my eyes, which was better than the dizziness I was working with earlier.

We each stuck our head around the tree silently, and I gazed out into the pool, ready to capture the evil siren.

The water was smooth, clear, and empty.

My mouth fell open as I scanned the deserted area. There was no sign of the siren in the water.

I whipped my head back behind the tree to look at Miles, who was also no longer looking at the deserted pool. "I swear she was here..." I whispered, deflating slightly.

"I believe you." Miles patted my shoulder reassuringly. "You looked like you had seen a ghost when you came running at me with that knife." He glanced around the tree again, but something made him do a double take. "Winnie, look!"

I peered around the tree to see something moving through the water toward the dock. It appeared to have come from the inlet leading to the ocean. The figure was barely above the water, but before I could identify what it was, a head popped up in front of it. A head of recognizable, dirty blonde hair.

Symphony continued to pull the form toward the edge of the pool, and I suddenly understood what she was pulling.

It was a body.

To make matters worse, I recognized the limp brown hair and the usually jovial face, now motionless in the water.

Symphony was dragging Andy's lifeless form toward us.