Princess Master 3, page 19
I hiked toward the opening in the whale’s mouth using Genie’s Wrath as a walking stick. I silently implored the sword to stop flashing so it wouldn’t call attention to me, and my thoughts seemed to have an effect. The violet stone grew dim, and I smiled with relief. The closer I got to the fishes’ entryway, the more it seemed like this was actually going to work.
I’d almost made it when I noticed a fish headed back out into the open water, and an idea popped into my head. If Aquaman had been able to commandeer fish, I thought maybe I could, too. I was somewhat terrified at the thought of swimming again, but the sooner I was free, the better.
So, I released the switches on my leg armor, and I swam as fast I could to make it to the fish I was targeting. The animal was almost out of my grasp, but then I shot myself forward and grabbed hold of its gills. It tried to reach back and bite me, but, before I knew it, the fish started to swim forward again, and we made it out through the opening.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief to be out in the open water again, but I soon realized my small size made me a target for most sea life right now. I looked back up at the whale for a moment, and I thought about the way my wives and I had been surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of whales just a few minutes prior. The parade of the majestic creatures was now even more overwhelming than it had been when I was the size of a regular human, and I wasn’t sure what to do as I looked around in vain for my wives. I called their names, but my tiny voice barely made any sound at all over the rushing of the currents.
And then, suddenly, everything froze around me.
“Cienna!” I shouted. I knew my blonde wife was saving my life right now, and I hoped she’d be able to find me.
Before I could yell out again, though, I was scooped up from behind, and I turned around to see the blonde’s giant, beautiful face.
“Joe!” Her voice seemed to boom through the water, and her azure eyes towered over me as she brought my tiny body close to her face. “You’re alive! We were so scared and didn’t know what to do!”
“Me, either,” I shouted, but she didn’t seem to be able to hear me, so I gestured upward at her, and she put me on her shoulder next to her ear. “That was fucking crazy!”
“Yes, it was fucking terrifying,” Cienna repeated with a smile on her face, but then it crumbled into tears. “Joe, I have no fucking clue what I’d do without you. Don’t… don’t ever get eaten by a whale again.”
“I won’t,” I promised, and I really, really hoped it was a promise I could keep. “Where are Jessamine and Ariana?”
“They’re over there,” Cienna sniffled and gestured vaguely off to the side. “Let’s go see them. They’re going to be so glad to see you, you don’t even know.”
“I think I do,” I laughed as I held onto her earlobe. Then time rushed back into motion, and I had to scream even louder. “I’ve never missed anyone so much before as I missed the three of you.”
We headed over to Ariana’s chariot, which was parked well away from the stream of whales. Jessamine and Ariana sat in the front row with mournful frowns, but as soon as they caught sight of Cienna with me on her shoulder, they squealed with excitement and swam out to come see us.
“Joe, that was so crazy!” Jessamine shouted as she headed in our direction. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”
“Could you hear us?” Ariana gasped, and her aqua eyes were huge and wide. “We took out the rock and turned it back into the turquoise amulet, just in case that would help. Then, I felt a lot of buzzing, and I couldn’t believe it when I heard you speaking in my head. And here you are, and you’re small, and everything’s alright!”
“Tell her I said everything is okay now,” I instructed Cienna, and then a sly grin spread across my face as an incredible idea popped into my head. “But, one of you could make things better.”
I gestured down at Cienna’s breasts, which looked like they were the size of massive boulders, and I wiggled my tiny eyebrows.
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Cienna rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide her grin.
“Don’t think what?” Jessamine asked with wide eyes.
“I think this little guy here…” my blonde wife began and gestured to me, “I think he wants to touch our giant boobs.”
Jessamine looked over at me, and I nodded vigorously.
“What did you say?” Ariana asked with bright red cheeks.
“Tell her I want to ride around in someone’s bra,” I snickered.
“Joe, you’re insane,” the blonde snorted as her shoulders shook with laughter. “I just think you’re weird, but maybe Jessamine will do it.”
“What will I do?” my dark-haired wife asked with a smile.
“C-Can J-Joe ride around in your b-bra for a few minutes?” Cienna could barely get the words out because she was laughing so hard.
“Um, okay…” Jessamine replied, but apparently her sister-wife’s laughter was contagious, because she started cracking up, too.
“Tell her I’m serious,” I said into Cienna’s ear. “Tell her it’s my honest-to-god fantasy right now.”
Cienna relayed my words to Jessamine, and my dark-haired wife shrugged.
“Okay, why not?” the raven-haired beauty asked. “Anything for Joe, right?”
Jessamine plucked me off Cienna’s shoulder and inserted my small body into the front of her metal swimsuit. I wished she was wearing something a little softer, because the armor was cold and hard against my skin, but I soon forgot about all that when I grabbed hold of her giant breast and began climbing up toward her nipple. It was like a hill of soft, sweet skin, and her golden nipple was the size of my head.
“This is fucking amazing!” I squeaked in my tiny voice, even though I knew no one could hear me.
Jessamine had started swimming toward the chariot while I explored my new fantasy. My cock started to get hard, and I snickered at the thought of the next natural step, which was fucking her using my entire body as a dildo.
“Alright, Joe, you feel like a mosquito,” Jessamine laughed, and she pulled me out of her top and killed my train of thought. “We need you to protect us, so I’m going to make you big again.”
“You already did,” I managed to get out while I was still tiny. My own jokes were cracking me up, but before I knew it, a familiar tingling sensation zapped through me, and I was regular-sized Joe again.
“So, I guess that really was your fantasy.” Cienna gestured at the front of my tented shorts.
“I told you I was serious,” I chuckled and winked at my blonde wife. “Don’t blame me. Next time, it’s going to be your bra.”
“Yeah, right, next time!” Cienna laughed and rolled her eyes.
“In any case, it’s nice to have you back,” Ariana said as her cheeks flushed even brighter. “What was most amazing was our communication while you were in the whale’s mouth. What was it like for you?”
“Yeah, that was crazy,” I admitted. “My head started buzzing really loud, and everything sounded really distorted, and then I could hear you talking about hypnotizing the whale. Well, I could only hear one word at a time, but it definitely seemed to be the important ones. I could hear you talking, Ariana, but I even heard Cienna at one point, too.”
“Wow,” Ariana breathed, and I could practically see the gears turn behind her aqua eyes. “And then your words came through into my head. It was just like you described. It was all fuzzy, and then I heard you say ‘small.’ I told Jessamine, and she transformed you, and here you are…”
The redhead’s eyes filled up with tears, and I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in for a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, it’s okay, I’m back now,” I reassured her, and she smiled at me.
“Yes, you’re back,” Ariana repeated, and she took a deep breath like she was trying to compose herself. “Everything is okay, and we’re definitely going to have to test our telepathy more. I know we’ve all gotten stronger since we got Eudora’s necklace, so there’s a lot to figure out. In the meantime, I guess we should get going. These whales were… amazing… but I don’t want to see one again for a long time.”
“Yeah, I hear that.” I grimaced. I didn’t know if I was ever going to get the whale scent out of my nose after this, and I still felt like I was covered in slime from being in the giant animal’s mouth.
Ariana climbed into the front seat of the chariot, and I climbed in next to her and laid Genie’s Wrath on the floor in front of me.
“Bye, whales,” Jessamine said as she turned back to look at the incredible beasts migrating, and then she slid down into the seat next to me.
“Actually, I think I should be on the outside,” I told her, and I then stood up and let her and Cienna scoot by me to sit next to Ariana. “I wish there were two of me so I could protect all of you from both sides, but I suppose this will have to do, for now.”
“Two Joes?” Cienna laughed mischievously and stroked my thigh. “Imagine everything we could do with that. But seriously, Joe, you saved my life when the chariot got hit by the whale. So, thank you.”
“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” I replied to the blonde before a shudder ran through my body, “but I have to tell you, being in that whale’s mouth was the grossest thing that’s ever happened to me. And as a plumber, that’s saying a lot.”
“Yeah, you kind of smell,” Jessamine laughed and wrinkled her nose. “But don’t worry, the saltwater will wash you clean soon enough.”
“In any case, I’m going to get us moving,” Ariana told us, and she pulled up on the reins and commanded Callie to go.
“Where do you think we’re headed now?” I asked her as the chariot jolted back into motion.
“We’re just going deeper and deeper and closer and closer to Eudora,” the redhead said with a shudder, and then she focused her full attention back on directing the seahorses.
“Yeah, it seems to be getting darker,” Jessamine said, and she shook her head. “I hope it’s not going to get too scary from here on out. Almost losing Joe was bad enough.”
“As long as we all stick together, I think we’ll be alright,” I tried to reassure my wives.
As predicted, the ocean got dimmer and dimmer the longer we traveled, and I started to catch glimpses of creepy lanternfish and other monstrous, skeletal creatures. I thought we were at least as deep as the Boneyard, because I had the same slight burning sensation in my lungs and throat that meant we were getting really, really far down.
We traveled for a few minutes in silence, but little seemed to be changing around us. The only light left was from our lanterns, and I wondered what was next.
“I… don’t like this,” Cienna whispered, and she wrung her pale hands together in her lap. It wasn’t like the blonde to be overtly scared, but I knew everyone had been shaken by the whale incident.
“I don’t, either,” Ariana said, and she set her mouth into a firm line. “I just have to keep telling myself we’re strong enough to handle anything, especially now that Joe is back.”
“Wait!” Jessamine suddenly cried out. “Do you see something? Really, really far ahead?”
I squinted into the murky water ahead of us, and I was incredibly relieved to see what looked like the lights of a small village off in the distance.
“Thank fuck,” I sighed.
Chapter 11
As Ariana urged the seahorses on as fast as they could swim, I kept my eyes on the lights off in the distance. The past few hours hadn’t exactly been relaxing, and I hoped we could find at least a little respite in the town ahead. As we sped through the dark water, though, my shoulders knotted up with tension because I hated not knowing what kind of creatures were lurking around us in the dark sea.
We finally reached the outskirts of the village, which really wasn’t more than a cluster of ten or so buildings, so it made the town with the sandfalls look like a booming metropolis. Ariana pulled the carriage to a halt near one of the small buildings, and we all looked around at each other in the glowing green light of our lanterns.
“It’s so dark down here,” Jessamine groaned. “I don’t know how people live like this.”
“It must be tough,” Cienna said with a nod. “Although, Ariana, at least there isn’t a whole crowd of people waiting to see you.”
“Yes, thank the gods for that,” the redhead sighed. “I’m actually really concerned about the merpeople who live this far out. They’re so much closer to Eudora’s lair than we are at the heart of the kingdom, and I wonder what they’re going to have to say about her.”
“Let’s go find out,” I suggested. “I’m ready to rest, so I hope we can find some sort of inn.”
“Me, too,” Jessamine yawned. “It feels like it’s been a really long day already.”
“Yes, it really has.” Ariana caught Jessamine’s yawn and simultaneously stretched her arms over her head.
“I don’t think we have to worry about the chariot out here, since there doesn’t seem to be anyone around,” I remarked, and Ariana nodded. “Although, I do want to grab the chest with the stone in it.”
So, I got out and pulled the trunk I’d mentioned out of the back. My wives emerged from the carriage, the mermaid gave Callie a farewell pat, and we swam closer to the building we were parked next to. Although the village was tiny, it was brightly lit with phosphorescent lanterns that were strung up between the buildings. The effect was beautiful and reminded me of Christmas lights, and I found it very reassuring.
As we approached the simple white structure, I caught sight of a merman sweeping shell fragments and other debris away from the sandy ground in front of the door. He didn’t look up until we got very close, so he swam back when he finally saw us. I realized he hadn’t seen the chariot arrive, and visitors were probably extremely rare this far out from the palace.
“Hello…” the merman said with a wary expression. He had neatly trimmed, bright white hair and what appeared in the dim light to be a deep blue tail. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, sir, I’d like to introduce myself.” Ariana swam forward and held out her hand, but the merman just stared at her strangely, so she dropped her arm. “I’m Princess Ariana, King Liron’s daughter, and this is Princess Cienna, Princess Jessamine, and Joe. We’re traveling the kingdom to try to help our citizens, and I wanted to see how things have been going in your town.”
“Princess… Ariana?” the merman replied with a doubtful look in his eyes. Then he looked down with a strange expression at Cienna’s, Jessamine’s and my own human legs. “O-kay… I’m not trying to be rude, but I have to admit I’ve never heard of you. The king, yes, but you say you’re his daughter?”
“His youngest daughter,” my mermaid wife said with a nod. “I want you to know that I completely understand your suspicion, but we’re only here to help.”
“There’s no doubt we could use some help out here,” the merman sighed. “I’m Jeffrey, and I suppose you could call me the mayor, though we only have a few citizens.”
“I’m so honored to meet you, Jeffrey,” Ariana told him with a big smile. “I suppose we’re looking for a place to stay and any sort of meal you might have for us.”
The merman stared off into the distance for a moment, and I wasn’t sure he’d heard what the redhead had said.
“So, you’re the princess…” Jeffrey said at length with the same faraway look on his face. “I’m glad you’re here now, but where the hell has the royal family been for so long?”
“Hey, now--” I interjected, but Ariana put a hand on my arm to stop me.
“No, Joe, please, let’s let him speak,” the mermaid said in a gentle tone. “If our citizens are unhappy, I think we need to hear about it.”
“You’re right,” I sighed before I nodded at the merman. “Please, sir, go ahead.”
“People have been disappearing for months now,” Jeffrey told us, and he squeezed his lips together before he began to speak again. “And it doesn’t seem like there’s anything we can do.”
“Disappearing?” I asked, and I wondered if the white-haired merman had heard of Eudora. “What do you think is happening to them?”
“We have no clue.” Jeffrey shrugged. “One day here, next day… poof, they’re gone.”
“That’s so horrible,” Jessamine breathed, and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before she turned to look at me and her sister-wives. “It sounds like it could be related to the story Vivian and Ronan told us.”
“Yes, it does,” Ariana said in a grim tone. “Jeffrey, have you heard of Eudora?”
“Oh, gods, don’t say that name.” The merman visibly flinched. “We try not to speak it around here in the chance it will invoke her. We haven’t seen her in person for a few years, but I believe she’s involved with the disappearances.”
“Who has disappeared?” I asked as I leaned forward to hear the merman better. “How many people?”
“Well, we don’t have many citizens,” Jeffrey told us, “but it’s been close to half our population, seventeen merpeople in total, and it’s largely been children. The rest of us live in fear all the time, so times have been very dark, I’m not going to lie to you.”
“I hate to ask you hard questions when it comes to Eu--the sea witch,” Ariana said in a soothing voice, “but were the disappearances all at once or over a period of time?”
“It’s been over a period of time, which is worse, I think,” the white-haired merman sighed and rubbed his brow. “We never know when it’s going to happen. Just watch, it could be me, right now. That’s how we live, in constant fear.”
“Sir, we are here to help you,” I tried to assure him. I wasn’t sure that the words of a human who had appeared out of nowhere would be helpful, but I still wanted to give him my word. “The entire point of our mission is to defeat the evil witch and bring back peace and hope to your village.”
