v e r s i o n 1 - b l u e

back to Mirin Selcea
Cassia ran about her quarters like a madwoman. She hummed frantically, and searced desperatly for her dress. It was her birthday, her thirteenth birthday to be exact. This was one of the most important occasions in a Neptunian’s life, as this marks the first day of their adult life. Although Cassia, and her twin sister Emily would have preferred something less extravagant, the lifestyle of a princess demanded the best. As all the other royal children of her age had been invited, it was sure to be a formal affair. This was not the best day to be forgetting things, esepcially if the thing you forgot was the dress you were going to wear.
She had asked nearly everyone, and most of them had suggested that she wear another dress. However, Cassia was a naturally stubborn person, and when she wanted something done the way she planned it, she would see it through exactly. This was the only dress she wanted to wear. Seeing her sister, she ran up to her.
“Em, are you positive you haven’t seen my dress?”
“Cássië, for the fifth time, I have not seen it. Pick another one.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Well then find your dress!”
“Calm Down!” Exclaimed Queen Dora, their mother. “Cássië I’ve found your dress.”
“Oh!” shrieked Cassia. “Where was it?”
“Under your bed.”
“Oh.” Cassia studied her boots and blushed furiously in a vivid shade of aqua, while Emily stiffled a snicker.
“Well, anyway, it doesn't matter now, I’ve gotten Minen to wash it, so you get in it as fast as you can, understand?” Although to an outsider Dora may have appeared easygoing with her children, the girls could distinctly detect steely undertones in her voice that told them “they had better do as they were told”. This was a trait shared by both queens of Ninenir and Ristelir.
“I don’t see why you’re laughing at her Emilien.” she used her full name instead of the informal “Emili” that her daughter preferred to emphasize her state of unhappiness. As soon as the name left her mouth uneasiness stole it’s way over Emily’s face. “You’re not even changed yet.”
“That’s true, but at least my dress wasn’t...yes Mother.” Hurridly finishing, she took her leave as soon as she could.
Upon reaching her bedroom, Emily took her time selecting a dress from her closet. She had several options, and debated each of them in silence until coming to her descision. After dressing herself, her hair was braided and secured with a golden clasp. Her face she left unadorned, but around her neck were several strands of pearls. Her bracelet was also of pearls, and several gold rings decorated her fingers.
The elder of the twins left her bedroom, and met her sister. Likewise, Cassia was wearing pearls, and a beautiful dress, but the younger preferred silver to gold. Time for speech there was not, as the loud silver doorbell announced their guests were arriving.
“Princess Neledhia Cirrus of Venus.” was announced, just as Cassia and Emily descended the exquisite staircase, and smiled at the tall, golden skinned princess at the door. When they got to the bottom, Neledhia clutched the edges of her sky-blue gown in her slender hands, and curtseyed. Her white polished, long nailed hands shook slightly with nervousness, but on seeing the smiling faces of her hostesses, she felt more at ease.
“Happy birthday.” she said shyly. Cassia smiled at her, wishing her to forget the formalities that were drilled into her head from infancy. She wanted all her guests to be completely at ease.
“Come in!”
“Is anyone else here yet?”
“No, you’re the first one.”
A maid relieved of her cloak.
“Thank you.” Neledhia said politely. The humble serving-girl blushed, and curtseyed.
The twins escorted her across the hall, her big blue eyes taking in all the details. Ninenir was known for it’s dedication to their aquatic ways of life, and their artwork and architecture was a mirror of that. Pillars, staircases, windows, and gargantuan mosaics all represented a lifestyle foreign to the visiting princess. Eyes already almost as wide as dinner plates expanded further when she spied the fountain. Water cascaded, tumbeled, bounced, sprayed, and splashed, and at the end of it’s journey running, and flowing over a landscape of intricately carved white marble, then finally pooling into a deep basin covered in smooth white stones at it’s bottom. White lillies floated on the surface in subtle tranquility amongst a myriad of aquatic life. As they went on, Neledhia noticed that the pool extended, in streams, and pools, throughout the whole palace. Her admiration did not go unnoticed.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?”
“Yes.” she breathed.
Cassia smiled.
“I can’t seem to ever get enough of it, and I’ve lived here all my life! I love going swimming in it!”
“You can swim in it?!”
“Yeah! There’s trap doors down to it all over the place. You just slide down in. But, if you don’t really know the castle that well, you have to check the weather before you go.” at Neledhia’s raised eyebrow she continued, “If there’s a storm, the trap doors get bolted down. Usually there’s an air pocket at the top, but it gets sucked out.”
“Have you ever been caught down there?”
“Yeah...Em and I went swimming there, and we forgot to check. We found there were other ways out though. We don’t use the trap doors so much anymore.”
“Where are they?”
“Pardon?”
“The other ways in.”
“Um...we .. can’t tell you that...sorry.” Cassia was a bit embarrased a her secrecy, but it was necessary. The twins were probably the only people in all of Ninenir to have found the interesting passagways, but it was not selfishness that moved them to keep these sacred places unspoken of.
“Princess Maia Narcharn of Narchir.” Emily and Cassia rushed back to greet the new guest. Maia looked radient with her deep golden complexion making her look as one of the exotic foreigners that every child dreams of meeting.
“Come in!” Cassia invited, her contagious smile as bright as the sun. “Nedelhia’s the only one here already, you’re second!”
Maia stepped in with more grace and balance than the two girls had ever seen embodied in a single person. They led her to where the princess of Ristelir was waiting. Cassia was about to begin conversation again, just as the deep tones of the doorbell chorused out throughout the palace again.
“I’ll be right back.” She said over her shoulder to the two princesses as she walked accross the hal. Emily followed not far behind.
“Princess Anika Siminaten of Soranir.” The doorman’s sonorus voice boomed out, almost rivaling the deep ringing of the bell. Anika looked as nymphlike as her name suggested as she stood at the door.
“Ani!” Cassia gave her good friend Anika a hug, and she and Emily started to lead her back to where the others were waiting, but they only got halfway accross the massive hall when the doorbell rang out for a third time. Emily and Cassia hurried back to the door.
“Prince Mattias Tawar of Nadar, Prince Caran Avorn of Murthair and Princess Norui Avorn of Murthair.” Mattias and Caran were tall and striking. They looked much the same, however Mattias’s eyes suggested a nurturing, and curious nature, and in Caran’s looked as jewels crafted from the fires of war. With her brother’s arm on her shoulder, smaller Norui had nothing to fear from anyone. Cassia and Emily led them back to where the rest were waiting, and then onwards to the room designated for the party where they found Poseidon arranging chairs in a large circle.
“He’s adoreable!” Excllaimed Neledhia. The boy walked up to her, squared his feet, put his hands on his hips, and looked up, way up, to meet her eyes with his.
“I am not! I am Poseidon, the mighty sea warrior!”
“I’m terribly sorry, it’s my mistake. Thank you very much for aranging our chairs mighty warrior.” she said with a suprisingly straight face.
“The pleasure’s all mine m’lady.” he replied, and with a sweeping bow, then walking out of the room. The moment the large doors swung closed, smiles and laughter filled everyone’s faces.
“How old is he?” Neledhia asked between fits of giggles.
“Only six, but he fancies himself a great warrior who has won many battles for his planet!”
After a while, the laughing died down, and they sat down in their chairs.
“Well...it’s been terribly formal so far, so I think we should all go by nicknames, don’t you? You can all call me Cássië.”
“Uhm...people usually just call me Ani.”
“Well, I really don’t like my first name, so you all must call me Tinnu.” That was all they got through, because right after that, the doorbell boomed out again. Apologizing to their guests, Cassia and Emily left the room to see who was there.
“Prince Jerome Gwannath and Prince Phillip Gwannath of Gyellir.” Both the boys were tall, pale, and grim. Undaunted, Cassia greeted them with the utmost warmth, and soon they showed they were at ease by smiling along with her. Emily did not know if it was in their nature to smile so like the sun, or if Cassia had rubbed off on them, but she was struck by how great the change made to their appearance.
The princes were escorted to the room where everyone else sat waiting. It was Jerome’s turn to give a nickname.
“Well, I don’t really have a nickname. Call me what you will.”
“Eh...call me Phillip. Like my brother, I have no other names.”
“Even though my name is Maia, sometimes people call me Tryn.”
“Well, people usually call me Hima.” After Norui, they didn’t have time for anymore, because a loud booming noise announced someone else was here. Cassia and Emily got up and walked slowly to the door.
“Princess Theodora Taewcrist of Iengir, and Princess Eirien Uiretinno of Baniëir.” Although they had seen eachother many times, the girls were again struck by how much Theodora’s pale skin contrasted with her black hair. Eirien’s was a different loveliness. Her golden hair and freckled skin was as blindingly radient as the first time they had met.
“Hey, Thea! Eiri! How are you?” Emily asked.
“You two look lovely!”
“Happy brithday.” Eirien said with a smile.
The four girls made their way to the room where they resumed telling eachother their nicknames.
“Em...some people call me Máti, but that’s up to you.”
“Caran’s all I’ve ever been called.”
“I go by Eiri mostly.”
“Most people call me Thea.”
“Call me what you want, I don’t mind. Mostly people call me Emili.” Just as she finished speaking, the Queen walked in, Poi at her heels.
“I’m glad you are getting to know eachother better. Now, if you will all follow me–”
“You mean us.” Poi put in.
“Us,” she corrected herself, “we shall go down to the dining hall.” They rose from their seats and followed her down a large corridor. After the hallway, they came to an extremely wide spiral staircase. Water cascaded down the white marble pillar that held it upright, and Cassia trailed her slender hand through it as she climbed. When they came to the end, they found themselves in a large hall. From there doors and corridors were lead off to various locations. Dora opened a door, and ushered them inside.
The table was marvelously decorated with all the cutlery finesse of Ninenir. The guests seated themselves without fear of place settings, and from there conversation began. At first shyness overcome almost everyone, but at the end of the meal they had all become the best of friends. Dora opened the door when it was reported to her that they had finished.
“Children? How do you feel about a ride in our chariots?”
“Oh! Wouldn’t that be lovely!?” was one response she heard, the rest were all mingled together, but they sounded positive to her.
“Well, come on out here, and we have some clothes you can change into. It might not be too pleasant riding in your finery. Cassia, Emily, go find something in your rooms. Not your school uniforms please, you need those clean for Monday.
“Yes mother.” she heard, as they raced up the stairs. When they were changed, they raced down the stairs again. All the children were lead outside by the King and Queen of Neputne. The children were taken to the stables, where they watched the giant conch shell get hooked up to the large seahorses which were used for pulling such things as the chariots and sea-wagons.
Their father strode up towards them before they went in.
“Princess Cassiopeia Orchid Triton of Neptune, and Princess Emerald Wolff Triton of Neptune. You are now thirteen. I give to you your rights to the sea.” he handed each of them a small shell on a silver chain. Cassia’s was a petite moonshell, and Emily’s was a tiny oyster. “Now that you have these, you can use your fins at will. When you wear these, you have but to think of your favourite memory of the Neptunian sea, and you will be transformed. To change back, merely recall to your thoughts your normal selves.”
“Thank you very much.” both girls said together. This was a solemn occasion, and although their guests could not understand it, they certainly felt the weight of importance that accompanied the speach.
The chariot was ready, and they all got in with assistance where needed, and watched the mainland float away. The sun was on their face, the wind at their back, and they were all perfectly at ease.

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