“State your purposes, mermaid,” The guard on the right spat, looking at Sireena like a pulp ready to be crushed. The guards bang their trident on the seabed floor in unison, inducing the sand below to pool together like smoke. It was enough to intimidate anyone.

But Sireena held her gaze on the two guards. She didn’t even blink.

“I told you–I am Sireena Da’agat, The Princess of Thalaria, Daughter of the Water Realm,” she said with all of her might, dropping her sweet voice she uses to lure mersirs, and replacing it with an authoritative tone. “Now let me through, or I’ll have my father hear about this.” 

“Nice try, mermaid, but you’re no Princess of Thalaria,” The other guard on the left mocked her, and both of them laughed.

Sireena groaned. These imbeciles.

This is why she never goes home after the sunrise. The guards in the morning shift are stricter and harder to convince. The ones who are stationed at night are already used to her shenanigans, only a nod to them would suffice. 

“If you two coral heads don’t believe me, then fine. Call Celeste. She’s my house maid. She’ll tell you the truth,” Sireena said.

The two guards looked at each other, and as if they had telepathic communication, they both nod. And the guard on the left swam to the others who were guarding inside the pearl white gate, probably informing them. 

It’s already been ten minutes since she arrived, and Sireena thanks the Triton for having the Mainstream more secluded than the Backwaters. The waters here are cooler, the heat more bearable since there’s less light seeping through this region. 

And the deeper they are in the sea, the more protected they are from intruders from the land—a privilege the higher merfolk holds.

After a moment, a slim figure draws near the gate, her auburn hair neatly tucked to a bun, and her white tail is too familiar. Sireena could distinguish who the mermaid was a thousand Neptuian miles away. 

“Celeste!” Sireena called out. And as soon as Celeste recognized the mermaid outside the palace gates, she hurriedly swam to her.  

“Princess Sireena, where have you been? Your father is looking for you. It’s almost the first meal,” Celeste worriedly said, her voice soft and melodic.

“I know, I know. But as you can see, the guards here need more convincing.”

“Guards! What is the matter with you? Open the gates!” Celeste fumed. One of the many things that Sireena loves about Celeste is that she doesn’t care how fiery she gets when it comes to defending Sireena, even if it means she’s just one mermaid against all of the palace guards.

The guards beside Celeste gritted their teeth. 

“What? Don’t make me say it twice,” Celeste sneered at them. The palace gates start to move, the Thalarian steel roaring as it opens for them. 

Sireena breezed past the guards with a straight back, elongating her whole figure. The guards bowed. “Your Highness,” they all greeted in unison. Sireena said nothing, she’s not required to anyways. 

She’s the Princess of Thalaria after all.

***

“You could’ve told me where you went, Princess. This is the second time I couldn’t cover for you when your father asked me about you,” Celeste said, the softness of her voice returned. She opened the large doors of Sireena’s quarters and waited for the princess to enter before following her inside.

“And it’s also the hundredth time I went out at night without notice. Aren’t you used to me already?” Sireena flashed a grin at Celeste before she plopped down on her bed, allowing the buttery soft silk of her sheets to melt in her skin and tail.

“I’m used to knowing when you’re sneaking out, Princess,” Celeste sat at the edge of Sireena’s bed. “I believe one more reply of ‘I don’t know’ to your father, and he’ll have my head!” 

Sireena broke into a laugh.

“This isn’t funny! Your father is scary, you know.” Celeste pouted.

“My father wouldn’t do that. You’re my best friend.”

“I’m also your house maid. You’re still my responsibility.” Sireena didn’t retort back, because it was true. Whatever happens to Sireena, Celeste will be the first one to be questioned.

When silence enveloped them, Celeste was the one to break it.

“So…” Celeste shook her head and smiled, “…who was it this time?”

“Oh, interested now, aren’t we?” Sireena teased.

“Even if your rebellious antics would have my head, I can’t deny a good story. Can you blame me?” Sireena can’t. Celeste is a house maid of the Thalarian Castle, which means she’s never allowed, ever, to go out of the castle. The house maids know too much about the routines, locations, and key merfolks stationed inside that it would be a risk to let them out casually.

“He was nice and sweet. He’s a regular I met down at the Tipsy Beluga.”

“Good looking?”

“At night, yes.”

“Sex?”

Sireena shrugged. “Vanilla,” They both giggled. “We just kissed and fondled, and that’s it!” 

Truth is Sireena wanted more that night. But of course, the more she’s done this, the more the numbness begins to seep in. She understood the limits.

“I’ve always wondered if you'll ever fall in love,” Celeste said, her voice soft but probing. Her words carry a deeper, unspoken question: 

If Sireena’s doing all this to do so. 

After all, who could fathom the exploratory and slightly scandalous nature of a princess like her—one who should have been the picture of innocence?

“I don’t know. I just want to have fun, that’s all—not stay trapped in here like a fish in a bowl. For all I know, my father might’ve done the same when he was a princeling. Sneaking around, having fun, collecting his mermaids, until he met my mother. If a mersir like him could do it, then why shouldn’t I, a mermaid?” Sireena said, but deep down, she’d be lying if she told Celeste she’d never pondered the same thing. 

Sireena, too, had spent her fair share of time wondering if she could ever find the kind of love her father and mother had.

“At least you get more action than I do,” Celeste jokes.

“Don’t you have anyone here in the palace? A palace guard, perhaps?”

Celeste’s cheeks reddened. “Oh gods, no! They infuriate me. As if you don’t know them—they’re a mer of a few words, and…” she paused, her eyes widening at the thought, “...utterly dense. Imagine that in the bed!” Sireena burst out laughing. And then it hit her.

Sireena propped up. “What if you come with me next time?” Celeste looked at her to find any hint of a joke on the Princess’ face. But there wasn’t.

“What?”

Sireena got up from the bed and sat beside Celeste. “Come with me to the Backwaters. We’ve always talked about this, right? Then why not make it happen now?”

“Sireena—Princess, it’s too dangerous for me. My work. If they find out—”

“They won’t. You’re with me. Imagine all the fun we could have—The songs we’ll sing at the pub, the beers we’ll drink, and the mersirs who will hit on us.” Sireena elbowed her.

“I know, but if something were to happen to us—”

“Oh, stop it. Nothing would—”

“Princess Sireena!” Celeste looked at her with a judgemental face, the one she plastered if Sireena’s being too unkind, insensitive, or… dense. 

“If something were to happen…” I would be the one to blame, Celeste would’ve said. “It’s too risky. I may be a fish trapped in a bowl, but it’s a duty I need to uphold.”

Sireena winced, only because Celeste has something that she should have—a sense of responsibility. 

Sireena’s sneaking out because she craves a taste of freedom—and because she could, whenever she wants to. But Celeste is doing her job with the hope of earning the freedom she could one day enjoy in the future. Whether it was saving for a house to retire in, going back to university, or starting a family—Celeste couldn’t afford to risk it all for something as fleeting as a mermaid-night-out.

Sireena’s mouth agape. All she wanted was to share a privilege with the mermaid she cared about the most. For Sireena, as ungrateful as it might seem, the ordinary is a privilege. To roam the depths of the sea, to explore beyond the palace walls—those were privileges in her eyes.

But Celeste had her own definition of it. And once again, Sireena couldn’t blame her house maid.

Celeste got up from the bed and swam towards the door, “It’s time for the first meal, Princess.”

Sireena only nodded as the door to her chambers clicked shut.