“Eleda, I’m begging you. Please, I need help.”

“Well… if you insist…”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Mouse rushed off, down the hallway. The persistent ba-thump barely distracted him, nor the oddly-tacky floor. There’s no time. If I let this happen, that’s the end of my promises to both Clarita and Brittany. For Clarita’s sake, to keep Brittany from biting people, I’ve got to make this work!

“Well, well, well, look who it is,” someone drawled.

Mouse glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, hi Spar.”

Arms crossed, one shoulder propped against the doorframe, Spar raised his eyebrow. “What, is that it? That’s our whole joyful reunion?”

“I’m a bit busy,” Mouse muttered.

“Spar,” a breathy voice called from within the room behind Spar.

“...and it sounds like you are, too.”

Spar waved it away. He stepped out of the doorway and clasped one arm around Mouse’s shoulders. “No, no, not at all. Where’s my favorite lunatic rushing off to?”

“Nowhere. Go back to your girlfriend.”

“Spar, c’mon,” a husky voice added in.

“Sparrrr,” the breathy voice called.

“...Girlfriends,” Mouse amended.

“Mouse. Am I really going to abandon you for a moment’s pleasure? I’m here to help.”

“That’s why I couldn’t find you the last few days, huh?”

Spar winced. “I was busy!”

“With… your girlfriends. Who miss you desperately,” Mouse replied flatly.

Spar grabbed his chin and caught him short. Pouting, he shook his head. “So little faith! Is my little Mousey baby jealous?”

“Call me that again and we’ll all call you a gelding,” Mouse threatened, removing his chin from Spar’s grip.

“So prickly! Wait… are you trying to hide something? Is that why you want me gone?”

“Shut up. No.”

Spar grinned, raising his eyebrows. “Right, so what is it? What is it that you can’t even tell your best friend?”

“Nothing. You’re crazy.” Mouse rushed off down the hallway again.

Spar followed after him. “I’ll figure it out one way or another.”

“No, you won’t,” Mouse replied.

“So there is something,” Spar said smugly.

Mouse sighed. “Spar, please. I’m very happy to see you, but now is not the time. I--”

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Cel burst out of the intersection ahead. “Mouse! I found Gawain, she’s open tomorrow, she can go to the beach… oh. Er, hi, Spar.”

Mouse shot her a look. After all the effort I went through to keep Spar from finding out…

Spar’s eyes lit up. “The beach? All the princesses are going to be lounging around in their bathing suits, out in the heat of the sun? I don’t suppose they’ll need a muscular man to carry around their gear…”

“No. They won’t.” The last thing I need is Spar there, being a pervert and messing up all my plans! Dammit.

Spar chuckled. He scruffed Mouse’s hair and walked away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“It’s a girls-only outing!” Mouse called after him.

“Says you,” Spar said, shooting Mouse a wink.

Argh. Mouse stuck his tongue out at Spar, who ignored him. Between Spar and Brittany, I’m going to have my hands full. Hopefully things don’t go too poorly for Clarita…

He hurried over to Cel. “Is that everyone?”

“Everyone I could think of. I told them to invite anyone else they could think of who might be interested. Any princesses, any women.”

“Good. Good.” He looked down at himself and sighed. Now the hard part: how am I going to get away with this? Water interferes with illusion magic, since it’s constantly touching the illusion, not to mention the refraction where things enter the water. I’ll have to do some kind of padding, but if the padding gets wet, that’s its own problem.

Thinking out loud, he muttered, “Maybe I should just go as Twain.”

“After all that effort we put in to keep up the illusion magic while you were flailing and unconscious for months? Absolutely not,” Cel vetoed emphatically.

“It was a joke, a joke,” Mouse sighed, waving his hand. “Do we have swimwear for me?”

Cel shrugged. “We’ll have to procure some. I’ll let Dayander know, he can coordinate with the attendants.”

Mouse nodded. He took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. Now, to stop Brittany and Spar from ruining this whole mess.

--

Sun shone down. It reflected against low waves and crashing surf and warmed a rolling expanse of golden sand. A warm breeze sent Mouse’s hair streaming back. He caught the floppy straw hat before it lifted off his head and squinted into the sun. “Hard to believe an oasis like this exists so close to the palace.”

“The real trouble was closing down this section for the day. It’s a popular spot with the locals. They’d usually be crawling all over it at this time,” Cel replied.

Mouse nodded, surveying the shore. A half-dozen princesses already wandered the shore. Eleda, hair tied up in a colorful cloth, lounged under an umbrella in a green-and-gold bikini, a sheer golden dress over the swimsuit. Bessemer dug in the sand, the dwarf dressed in a polka-dot one piece with a long skirt at the hips. The fae princess strode over the dunes, a distant expression on her face. Strands of gossamer floated around her, sometimes revealing hints of a silvery, sheer swimsuit underneath. A bright flash of orange caught his eye as Gawain galloped across the shore, lofting a particularly fancy shell high, chased by a dozen half-dressed goblins. In the water, a feathery fin broke the surface, and then a tangled, curly head of salt-touched hair, scales glimmering down the mermaid princess’ forearms and body. She laughed and vanished back under water with a splash, soaking the dragon princess, who roared and spat fire, her simple,old-fashioned black swimdress dripping.

He glanced down at himself. A high-necked halter top with heavy black-and-red ruffles helped disguise the padding at his chest, while gold buttons down the back disrupted the line of his shoulder blades. A high-waist bottom in the same black and red ruffles muted his sharp-edged, flat hips, while a black sheer tie-skirt to finish the look. Looks fine so far. Now I just have to stay out of the water.

“Mouse! Thank you for inviting me,” Clarita said.

He turned. She wore a short strapless coverup which let a one-strap pink swimsuit peek through at the shoulder with a cute dark pink bow. He beamed at her. “Glad you came.”

“It’s such a lovely day for late summer,” Clarita said, adjusting her hat. A matching pink bow festooned its band.

“Indeed,” Mouse said. He glanced around, slightly suspicious. Where is Brittany?It’s making me nervous that I can’t see her. Or Spar.

“Is something the matter?” Clarita asked, peering at him.

“Not at all, not at all. Shall we?” He gestured toward the water's edge.