AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I wasn’t really making a proposal,” said Merletta carefully, still trying to read the normally unemotional merman. “I was just thinking aloud.”
“Yes, well. Your desire to improve the system is admirable,” Wivell said, unconvincingly. “But you can rest assured that on all such matters, wiser and more experienced heads than yours have considered every angle and selected the best option.”
A small cough drew Merletta’s attention to Jacobi beside her, and he sent her a smirk. She just stared blankly back at him, wondering how he could really think that she had been the one to come out of that encounter looking foolish. She subsided, but inside she felt a sinking disappointment. Instructor Wivell’s chastisement had been almost identical to that of Instructor Ibsen. Smarter merpeople than you have reached this decision, and it’s not for you to question it.
She had hoped the Center would be different, that as a trainee she would be encouraged to ask questions, to think differently, to seek answers that might improve the way things were done.
But she was quickly discovering that for all its luxury and opportunity, the Center was more like the grimy charity home than she would ever have imagined.
* * *
Merletta swished her tail absentmindedly as she chewed her way through a modest serve of squid. Her thoughts were once again on the land she had discovered. Only two more days until the next rest day, when she had every intention of going straight back there. Ibsen’s incongruous claim that dragons were the only intelligent land creatures had only increased her determination to explore the structures further, and to figure out exactly what it was she had discovered.
She pulled her thoughts back to the present, glancing at the food in her hand. She had to admit to herself that she enjoyed being able to eat what had previously been the rarest of treats for breakfast every day. She eyed a bowl of oysters nearby, but drew her gaze away quickly. Thinking of Tish, who was almost certainly eating kelp and cod for every meal, she couldn’t bring herself to partake of such extravagant luxuries.
Still, perhaps she should try the unusual looking fish in the table’s central basin. She was sure she hadn’t tried that type before, and since it seemed to be fish, it didn’t feel as decadent as oysters.
She piled some onto her plate, glancing around the dining hall. Her forehead creased slightly as she looked from the bustle of the long table to the empty seats around her. She had stopped avoiding the main meal times, figuring that if they all needed to work together, the other trainees would just have to get used to her. So she was here at the normal breakfast time, and had no idea why the round table was empty except for her.
“Good morning.”
She looked up, surprised to see Sage greeting her. The coral-tailed mermaid wasn’t overtly rude like some of the others, but she didn’t usually go out of her way to speak to Merletta.
“Good morning,” she replied, glancing around and seeing that Sage was alone. She gestured to the basin before her. “Fish?”
“No, thanks,” said Sage quickly. “The rest of us ate early, so we could be at training on time.” She glanced at Merletta’s food, and started visibly. “You’re not eating that, are you?”
Merletta stared at her. “I was going to. Am I not allowed?”
“That’s pufferfish!” Sage said, eyes wide with alarm.
Merletta pulled her hand away from the basin with a gasp. She would never have guessed that the innocuous looking dish was one of the most poisonous foods in the ocean.
“How in the sea did it get served in the dining hall?” Sage said, her face pale. “It’s used as pest control, but I can’t imagine how it got confused as merperson food. Anyone preparing food should know it on sight.” The mermaid scrutinized the other tables carefully. “It looks like it’s only on this table, so hopefully no one’s eaten any.” She waved a servant down and explained the situation. He hastened to remove the dish, eyes wide with horror.
“Thank goodness I came looking for you,” Sage said, still looking shaken. “I can’t imagine how such a mistake was made. I’m sure the kitchen staff will have a fit when that servant reports it.”
Merletta’s eyes were narrow as she gazed around the room. Sage seemed genuine, but Merletta didn’t have any difficulty imagining how a poisonous dish had ended up at just the trainees’ table, when she was the only one still to attend the meal. The truth had dawned on her the moment Sage used the term “pest control”.
“Well,” she said mildly, “thank you for warning me.” She wasn’t fooled into thinking it was some accident, but she had no intention of showing her hand. She knew very well how these things worked. Anyone at the charity home who went crying to the carers when another beneficiary pulled a stunt like this learned very quickly that they had just put a target on their back.
“Did you say you came looking for me?” she prompted.
“Oh, yes,” said Sage, shaking herself out of her stupor. “I saw you weren’t there, and wondered if you knew we start early on training days…”
Her words trailed off as Merletta surged quickly from her seat, all thoughts of the prank forgotten. “I’m late?” she asked anxiously.
“Not if we hurry,” said Sage, her brown braid swirling around her as she turned toward the door. Merletta hurried after her.
“What do you mean training days?” Merletta asked as they swam out of the dining hall. “Are we doing something different from normal today?”
“So no one did tell you,” said Sage, half to herself.
Merletta couldn’t resist a small snort. “Are you surprised?”
Sage remained silent, and Merletta let it drop, not wanting to push when Sage was showing the first sign of concern Merletta had received from anyone in the Center.
“Usually on the last two days of the week, we all train with Instructor Agner,” said Sage, her forehead still creased. “We didn’t last week because he was putting Oliver through some practice tests.”
