Chapter 5: Party!!!
"Oh, look at you, damsel," Kambiri praised as she came up behind Nomali, staring at her in the mirror.
They had swum into a beautiful shop and with a tap of the shop owner's hand, Nomali's hair was styled into a ponytail, her lips were beautified, and her eyes were lined.
Nomali stared at herself wide-eyed. Was all of this necessary? Did she really have to dress like this just for someth-
"Listen, Kam," Nomali said as she gazed at her sister through the mirror, her eyes sparkling. "Do we really have to go? Can't we focus on something else-"
"Turak!" Kambiri exclaimed, her voice piercingly loud, causing Nomali to close her eyes. "We are going to see Turak, and you want to back down? By the way, you look out of this world. I'm sure he will notice you!" She clapped.
Nomali felt a pang of repulsion in her stomach. Notice her? Turak was the man of their world, all right. Fair skin, well-toned chest, black hair neatly trimmed, and a charming smile that could make anyone fall at his feet. Although she hadn't seen much of him, she was as eager as Kambiri. But he wasn't someone she had romantic feelings for. In fact, she would rather hide behind a big rock than let him see her. Whoever ended up with him would be just as famous as him.
Kambiri soon sat in the chair, and with a tap of the shop owner's hand, her hair was braided and kept on one side of her shoulder. As the woman used a fluffy feather on her face, her makeup was done.
"Oh, look at you," Nomali whispered in her ear, "Turak's bride."
Kambiri bit her lip as she stared at herself. She blinked repeatedly, her eyes flickering like a bulb. "You know how Mother is. She would never let us ruin our reputation by being with someone like Turak. You know, celebrity and royalty don't mix," she pointed two fingers at each other and then raised both hands separately. "She would say it would be a distraction from royal duties."
"You are as uninterested in royal duties as I am," Nomali squeezed her shoulder and gave her a small smile. "But maybe if you tell Mother that you love your free life, then she might understand."
Kambiri averted her gaze from the mirror towards Nomali. "Understand?" Then she tilted her head and scoffed, "Did she understand you when you told her about going to the surface?"
Nomali frowned. She really didn't want to think about her never-happening goal. "It's different. My goal is a rule that must not be broken."
After placing some shimmering beads in the shop owner's hand, they left, now swimming along the flower route that had many colorful flowers. "I wonder what will happen if those rules are broken. I mean, they could be suffocating," Kambiri nudged Nomali.
Nomali tried to think like Kambiri as well, but she didn't let her mind wander again. It was wrong; breaking the rules was wrong, and there could be a valid reason why those rules were set in the first place. What if there was something out there that she wasn't supposed to see?
"You know, maybe you should do the queen-in-line test. With that, when you finally become queen, you can do as you want, setting new rules an-"
"No," Nomali shook her head. "I will not remove any rule if I were queen. There could be a valid reason why those rules were set." It wasn't as if it were tempting to unfollow the rules if she ever became queen, but if she was so bent on her goal, then she would have to find out why those rules were set before breaking them.
Kambiri held Nomali's hand firmly and gave her a nod as if reassuring her that she would respect her decision without uttering the words.
As they swam deeper, they came across big and tiny water bubbles floating around them. The flowers below them flashed different colors of lights, from yellow to blue to red and so forth. Bluebell flowers were bouncing up and down as if about to shoot out from their roots, giving out song beats.
Kambiri swung her hands in the air, her waist swaying to the beat. The excitement was evident in her eyes as she squeezed Nomali's hand and said, "It is almost time; the party is about to start."
Nomali nodded, smiling as her sister seemed to be having all the fun. Despite sneaking out to parties led by Kambiri, she still couldn't bring herself to get used to it. But then, what was there to sulk about? This was the first party of Turak that she was attending. She had only seen him from afar when he had been passing by and heard about him from other females.
As they reached the crowd of male and female merfolks and other sea creatures were already jumping and swaying to the beat, above them was a stage, a mighty big butterfly wing was set as the stage decorations.
Some females with harsh red lipstick and too much mascara held trays in their hands, with cocktail drinks of different colors and sea round fruits placed on top.
What surprised Nomali was a cocktail that was black in color. Her eyes scrutinized as she stared at the woman passing with the tray, only stopping when someone needed one.
"Made out of grape," Kambiri raised her eyes towards the black cocktail, "But it has some toxins in it. When you take two or three sips, or worse, drink all of it, you will begin seeing tiny stars and saying incoherent things," she whispered the remaining words.
Nomali blinked, staring at her sister innocently, "What kind of things would make you see tiny stars?" Despite having come to a few parties, she was clueless about anything happening around her.
Kambiri smiled, shaking her head. "It's best if you don't know."
Nomali frowned, narrowing her eyes. "I'm not a baby. Come on, tell me."
Kambiri sighed, "It's a plant. I'm not sure I remember the name, but it can only be found in the forbidden part of the sea. I heard scary things creep around there." Kambiri nodded at Nomali when she saw her wide eyes.
"So why risk your life to go there?"
Kambiri shrugged, "It's for fun. I mean, anything to see the little tiny stars and enjoy the feel of the party."
Nomali squeezed her eyes, staring at the other merfolk instead. No matter how hard she tried to put her mind to it, she just couldn't think of a valid reason why one would go to the dangerous part of the sea just for fun – what if evil creatures got a hold of you. Nomali shook her head. It can never be a good idea to go to the—
"Where has your mind wandered to, sister?" Kambiri came in front of her, smiling. "Where, where, where?"
Nomali shook her head, "Cocktails."
"Oh, you should have just asked your dear sister," Kambiri smiled then swam to one of the ladies with a tray and returned with two cocktails of red and pink colors. She handed the pink one to Nomali, who was hesitant to take it. Kambiri rolled her eyes, shoving the drink into her sister's hand, "This is safe. No tiny stars, just safe juice."
Nomali nodded, taking the drink from her. As she took a sip, her eyes grew wide. "Woooo, this is so good," she said, then took another sip. "Good, good," and another sip until she finished the whole cocktail. "Wow, how come you never gave me one of these when we went to parties?"
"That's because Mr. Crab makes the best cocktail, by the way," she leaned towards Nomali's ears, "You are meant to take it sip by sip while you enjoy the party."
Nomali rolled her eyes, "Do not worry, I can always take another one," and she did when another lady passed with a tray, replacing it with her finished one.
"Oh, look, look, it's Mr. Crab," Kambiri announced excitedly as she pointed towards the stage.
Mr. Crab emerged on stage. He was one of the oldest and fatest crabs, almost as big as every merfolk, his red skin glittering under the colored lights flashing on stage.
"Welcome, Merfolk, and every sea creature to the opening of a new recipe for our cake dessert."
There was an uproar from the crowd; everyone cheered and clapped. Mr. Crab raised his two big hands up, and there was silence again. "But before we unveil our new recipe, let's welcome our guest, our celebrity, the voice of the sea...
Turak!"
There was now a louder uproar, especially from the girls. Nomali even saw a girl screaming and crying beside her, another looking as if she was convulsing, her whole body vibrating, and she kept yelling, "I would die, oh my Turak."
Even Kambiri was yelling and jumping, "Turak, oh how I love you."
Nomali rolled her eyes. When she looked at the stage, she saw Turak waving his hand, and the screaming did not stop, causing Nomali to sigh. What was the deal with them and with celebrities?
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