Inside the Galleon Whale, in the Spider King's royal cabin, a surprise awaited.

"Mer Princess, what are you doing here?" The Spider King couldn't believe his eyes.

She was there in his cabin, casualty swimming in a crystaline tank.

"What do you mean? I'm your maid, of course I'm coming with you," she spoke, her head poking out of the water.

The Spider King, without even realizing he was doing it, grasped the necklace at his neck.

Of course, she would react to that.

"Oh? What is that? What is it you're trying to hide?" She spun each time she asked a question, her blue scales shimmering in the light. Oddly excited.

Did she know? She did, didn't she? Slowly, oh so very slowly, he revealed the forbidden necklace.

"Oh my!" she jumped halfway out of the tank, splashing the water. "Is that? It is!" she exclaimed, her mouth agape in shock. "How bold, how brazen!" She fanned her blushing face with her hand. "To carry this so openly... Are you trying to make a statement? Does this mean what I think it means?" she leaned over the edge of her tank, her sapphire eyes sparkling.

"!!!"

"Ha-ha!" she laughed sweetly, splashing some water on his face. "I'm just messing with you, relax. I know why you have this necklace," she slumped back into the water. "Your dear wife, it was her idea, and I was forced to help to enchant it..."

Of course it was her idead!

"Could you, let's say, refused or something like that?" He asked just as he finished wiping the splashed water off his face.

"How could I!?" she leaped out of the tank again, dousing the King in cold water again, his robe and all. "She came to me begging. Begging! Officially, I'm her servant, so how could I refuse..." she slumped back into the water.

He wiped his face. "Hey, you keep splashing me! Don't you have Hydrokynesis?" he asked because she should be able to manipulate the water, sparing him from all of the splashing. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? To get back at me for," He saw right trough her.

"No!" She jumped again towards the edge. "Ha-ha." Her tail flicked, sending a generous splash.

"Oh no you don't, [Hydrokynesis]," he remembered he that too. The water swirled around him and then landed back into the tank. "But seriously, why?" his finger tapped at the glowing necklace.

She smiled at him, not rushing to answer. Even though it felt like hours, the silence lasted only a moment. "You're right, I was trying to get back at you. Not for what you did, but for what you didn't do." Her eyes moved to gaze at the blues of the necklace, and her hand to her own chest. "You see, a perfect opportunity presented itself, and now you're forced to wear a piece of me. My scale forever close to your heart... I find it rather romantic, and so should you."

"It is," he admitted, adding, "in a twisted sense. This is a gift from the Lamia Queen, she even engraved it. If she ever knew where the scale came from, or rather from what part..." he didn't finish.

"What does it matter? I know you like this necklace, just look at you, complaing but actually giddy like a teenager. You're happy for getting to wear something very special, she's happy for gifting you an unforgettable memento, and I'm happy for you getting to wear it. Everyone's happy, so is there a problem?"

"When you put it like that... I guess it's fine."

She relaxed, turning to float on her back. "Then, all is good, but..." she paused, her blues looking at his purples, a piercing gaze directly at the soul. "Do wear it with pride. That would make me very happy."

The room descended into near silence, there was only a silent hum coming from the necklace.

"Hey, Day," he called her by the name.

"Yes, I'm at your service." She swam up to the edge rather excited.

"You were sent here to do your maid duties, yes?" He walked close to the window of the tank.

"Yes, on the Lamia Queen's orders, I'm your maid. And on the same orders, I'm to remain in your chamber, assist with your daily needs, and spy on you." she giggled right after finishing her sentence. "Oops, the last bit was meant to be a secret," she gave him a playful wink.

"It seems my wife sent a wrong spy..." he dipped his hand into the water.

"But isn't this perfect? We get to sleep in the same room..." she took his hand in hers.

"What was she thinking..." it was very likely she wasn't thinking at all. "And how are you even supposed to do your maid duties? We're a thousand feet in the air, and you're trapped inside a water tank."

"Oh? When was that ever an issue. I am very good at my job, observe. [Hydrokynesis]!" She pointed her fingertip at the water.

With a practiced twirl of a finger, she manipulated an orb of water out of her tank. The orb flew through the air, its surface quivering ever so slightly. It flew to the ceiling corner, sticking to it. Its inside swirled in a vortex, collecting old sediment and dust. Quickly, the orb slid through the entire length of the ceiling, leaving the surface sparkling.

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"Just like that." She flicked her finger. The dirty blob flew out of the window. "All done," she gave him a self-pleased grin.

"Hmm... I want to try this too," the Spider King pointed his palm toward the water. "[Hydrokynesis]!"

The tank shook, and the water inside stirred.

"Hey, hey-hey-hey! What are you doing!" In panic, she squeezed hard on the hand she was holding.

The Spider King strained, struggling to wield unfamiliar magic.

"Hey! Careful! Easy, go easy on it!"

"I almost got it. And let my hand go, I think your interfering with my spell."

Her hand gripped even harder. "I think you should stop this. My entire body is feeling funny."

Indeed, the tank was shaking violently, its water bubbling and swirling in chaotic currents.

"Almost... Just another push!" he swung his hand up.

"Ahhh!!!" she lost the grip on his hand, her body swept by the current.

With a scream, the entire tank was emptied. Its contents were hovering in the air in a quivering bubble of water. And inside that bubble, trapped like a mosquito in amber, was Day Sapphire.

"I did it," the Spider King celebrated, his hand moving the bubble across the royal chamber.

The maiden inside the bubble tumbled like a sock in the washing machine. Eventually, she found steadiness within the water but ended up tail up and head down.

"This is no way to treat a princess! Put me down!" she flailed her arms in protest.

"Hey, I was thinking, does this count as flying? You are high in the air, so are you swimming or flying?" He asked in scientific curiosity.

"I'm on the flying ship, of course I am flying!" she tried to stabilize her body but failed. "Hey! Your magic is interfering with mine! Stop it."

"Hmm... I don't know." He gazed through the small window. "The weather is nice, let's go outside." He walked, taking the enormous bubble with him.

"No, no-no-no! I'm sorry for splashing you with water on purpose. And teasing you. I'm not good with heights, please put me back in my tank. Please!" She begged, her voice distorted by the water.

"Huh? What did you say? I think I have some water in my ears from all the splashing you did. I can't hear you."

He walked through the doors, the bubble squeezing through but just barely.

"He-eee-lp," she squeaked from within the bubble.

...

It was strange how easily some people could conquer their fears. One moment, Mer Princess was cowering in her bubble, the next she didn't want to return to the confines of her tank.

Her body was half out of her bubble, her eyes twinkling with excitement, and her hands pointing from one thing to the other, to the sky and to the earth below. Her view of the world was expanding.

"I never thought a distant horizon could be so beautiful. The ground looks like an endless sea of green, and the deep blue sky reminds me of my home. And hey, are clouds as fluffy as they look? Do you mind taking me there? I wonder how they taste."

The Spider King smiled at her childlike wonder. "Unfortunately, you can't eat the clouds. They're just miniature water droplets suspended in the air."

She ignored the boring explanation. "i've always thought that there must be a lake in the sky because how else would it rain."

The Spider King cupped his chin, his expression thoughtful. "While we're on a water topic, how come I've never seen Mer hovering in bubbles just like this?" he pointed at the bubble he had made for Day.

"Don't be ridiculous, water manipulation on this scale is impossible..." she paused, catching herself. "I mean for any normal person. A bubble like this would just cost too much mana. It's impractical."

"You're right. It is rather draining. But I think I could keep this on for a whole day," he boasted shamelessly.

"Is that so? Your mana pool must be very big. I would be a very happy woman if you could keep it up for a whole day," she winked at him, her cheeks slightly pink.

"I wouldn't mind..." he paused, his eyes narrowing all of a sudden. "What is that ahead? Birds?" He pointed at the brown blob in the distance.

[Warning! You've attracted unwanted attention]

The flock turned to fly towards the ship.

"Can't be simple birds, they're just too large," she pointed out the obvious.

"Monsters then, and they're coming right towards us." For a tiny moment, he regretted gaining that achievement.

A little spider, junior of the crew, scurried closer to the Spider King. "My King, would you like to engage the Spider Hyperdrive?"

He wavered. If he did so, he would need to stop this casual cruising and he was winning easy Mer affection points here.

"My King, would you like to blast them with cannons?" the spider offered with a happy chirp.

"Wait!" It was Mer Princess who interjected. "What if they're not hostile?"

He nodded. "However unlikely, it is a possibility. And I am curious." He strained to see better. "Let's wait and see."

As the flock approached, it became clear that they were vaguely humanoid in nature, half birds and half humanoid. A good flock of fifty of them.

The Spider King stared at the unknown monsters, his heart throbbing with excitement.

Mer Princess puffed her cheeks, her expression that of displeasure. "I get it, I do, but you shouldn't stare at them that much."

Indeed, these humanoid monster birds were all women and they were flying stark naked – not exactly uncommon for monster races. And they were getting rather close.

Overwhelmed with curiosity, he did his manly duty, taking their three sizes, "[Inspect]!" he looked for health, mana, and stamina stats.

Monster Race: Harpy Variant: Mountain HP:50 MP:50 STA:150 🪶🪹🥚 Active Perks: [WingGust], [AirSnach] Passive Perks: [TrueFlight], [EggLayer] Resistances [Wind Resistance: Lesser]

The harpy he inspected was feathered in brown plumage. Just like her feathers, her hair and eyes were brown. Her face was pretty and youthful. She had wings for arms, and claws for feet. She looked impossibly thin, famished even, however, she was still very feminine and beautiful.

The little spider fidgeted anxiously in its spot. "My King, how do we proceed?"

"It's best if we don't intimidate them. Let's see if they can talk."