Chapter 78: There Was No Winning Here, Was There?

When Zale came to visit, Aila noticed that he didn't seem displeased. He was usually fairly emotionless when he came to her chambers but tonight he was in a noticeable good mood. 

"…did things go well with the surface-dwellers?" she asked before she could stop herself. 

He nodded in satisfaction. "Very well. Those witches are fascinating. I have heard a lot about them from Tali but meeting them for myself exceeded my expectations. I look forward to the fruits of our alliance."

That was more information than she expected to get. He normally didn't say much when directly addressing her. He truly was in a good mood. 

"She has told me quite a bit about them as well," Aila said. "I believe working with them more will benefit us."

"Right? I can't believe no one else considered it before now. They're what keep our borders safe from humans but they can do so much more!" Zale said with a shake of his head. "Granted, I wouldn't have known how to propose working together further without Tali being involved with them already. We got very lucky."

She knew how this had all happened. Talori told her how she used to sneak out to collect surface items and ended up saving Brennan and keeping him hidden so they could ask each other questions for a few days before Zale sent her away with him to protect her from being married off to a deep-sea merchieftain. 

Quite a story there. Talori was very talkative and had told the whole thing to Aila freely after explaining why and how she supposedly came back from the dead. 

There was nothing Zale wouldn't do for his sister. He had faked her death so thoroughly to protect her from having to go into the dark. It was strange to Aila that someone so cold could love so deeply. 

She hadn't figured him out. His mermen were very loyal to him so he must be someone worth following. His sister adored him because he adored her first. He was a much better merking than his father had been. Gossip bounced right off of him, leaving no meaning behind. 

That was most likely because he didn't care what anyone thought. Why would others' opinions matter when they themselves didn't? 

Aila knew her opinion didn't matter to him either but he still seemed pleased she agreed with what he was doing with the surface-dwellers. She doubted it had anything to do with her. He was pleased things had gone well today, that was all. 

"I am glad things are going to your satisfaction," she said diplomatically. 

Being diplomatic was the best way to deal with her husband since she didn't trust him. She had to be the perfect merqueen on the surface since he had chosen her to keep her in line. He didn't trust her either. 

Aila hadn't expected much out of a political marriage but she had hoped at the very least that she wouldn't have to fear her husband. Those low expectations had gone out the window as soon as he proposed. She had realized how dangerous he truly was the day she saw him drop his façade. 

Zale was endlessly patient. Those were the most dangerous sort of strategists. 

"As am I," he said with a satisfied smile before reaching out to pull her onto his lap. He certainly didn't waste time doing what he came here for. 

Aila didn't expect him to stay after they were done. He never did. He had better things to do. This would be worrisome if there were other concubines around because she would worry she had already lost his favor but it wasn't because she had guessed it was because he couldn't be bothered to cater to a wife. 

He was a busy merman. One who never did anything that didn't benefit him. Spending the whole night in his wife's chambers didn't benefit him so he didn't. Simple as that. 

She didn't know whether she should be relieved or insulted. Honestly, she experienced a combination of both. 

Aila wished she knew how she was going to survive here long term. Gaining her husband's favor seemed impossible. Her only defense was trying to be as useful to him as she could and getting on Talori's good side. He cared about her opinion at the very least. 

In dangerous situations it was often best to cling to the most powerful one in the room. In this case, it was the weakness of the most powerful one in the room that would offer the most protection. 

Talori was Zale's weakness. It was why he was so protective of her. Though she had many duties to attend to as the liaison, she was never found without a guard. Neither was Aila but she suspected that was more because her husband wanted to keep an eye on her than because he wanted to protect her. 

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She wished he knew she would never do anything to oppose him. He frightened her too much for that. Besides, she had no reason to since he was a better merking than the last. 

He could do whatever he wanted with her full support as long as it didn't bring harm to her or her family. She saw her parents whenever they visited the palace but it wasn't nearly often enough. And without privacy, she had to be careful what she said to them so it wouldn't be reported back to her husband and seen as rebellion. 

Her father was very supportive of the new policies because he had been worried about the pollution for quite some time. He worried about his daughter because of the nature of the merking but didn't let it show using his words. 

Aila understood what he meant. They were talented at holding silent conversations with each other. 

She spent the next day while the surface-dwellers were still here doing her best to brush up on her English. She wanted to understand what they were saying at the very least even if she couldn't speak confidently by their next visit. 

She wasn't the only one either. She noticed over the next week after they left that the majority of the royal guard was trying to learn as well. The library was rather crowded as Talori lead the lessons. 

It had started with solely the two of them until Sir Cyreus and Sir Aeces (who were guarding her and the princess) wanted to learn as well so they could be more useful to their king. She ended up teaching a full-on class before long as others heard about it. 

Talori was a surprisingly good teacher. Aila wouldn't have expected that. 

She was very patient and when complimented on it she said that she had learned it from her friend Brennan when he was teaching her things about the surface. It had taken her months to acclimate and he had been an excellent teacher as she did. 

"Thank you for the lesson, Princess," Sir Nerio said as he prepared to leave since he had other duties to attend to. 

"You're welcome! But you really don't have to call me Princess. We're all friends here, aren't we? Please feel free to call me Talori. I grew used to that during my time on the surface."

All of the mermen present seemed surprised. "We couldn't possibly disrespect you in such a way."

Talori insisted. "Please, it isn't disrespectful! You all call Zale by his name so you can do the same for me. I prefer it that way." 

They all exchanged glances. "I suppose if you prefer it…" 

"Do you truly consider us friends?" Sir Aeces asked hesitantly. It seemed that he wasn't the only one with that question on his mind because the others listened intently to see what her answer would be. 

Talori smiled warmly at them. "Of course! We are spending time together, aren't we? That's what friends do."

All of the mermen executed a perfectly timed salute and chanted together, "It is our honor to be considered your friend. Thank you, Talori."

Her smile grew even brighter. "You're very welcome!" 

Everyone but those personally assigned to Talori and Aila for the day left then and she couldn't help but think yet again that this mermaid was odd. Not in a bad way but definitely odd. Had she always been like this or had her time on the surface changed her? 

It must have at least to some degree. Clearly she had let them all call her Princess for decades before this. And hadn't been friendly with them. 

Or perhaps they hadn't been friendly with her and she had been afraid of upsetting the way things were. It was hard to tell. Either way, she had been very bold in speaking her mind today. 

Aila wished she could be so brave. She had to hide her true feelings and desires so she wouldn't get in trouble here in this new place she was still struggling to navigate.. Perhaps she needed to be friendlier to the guards as well…though that might be perceived as a betrayal if she got TOO friendly. There was no winning here, was there?

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