Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The pure white ceiling flickered. Rosalynd opened her eyes and blinked. What happened? She was lying on a downy, feathery bed, her head resting on a feather pillow. She sat up to see better. Next to her bed was a little silver desk, and on it were a silver mirror with a handle and a silver comb. Both were set with pink pearls. She picked up the mirror and looked at it closely. All around the frame, there were tiny, delicate carvings of sea animals, all smiling and playing. There were dolphins and seahorses, striped fish and sea turtles. And there were corals and seaweed and sand, too. On the handle of the mirror was the symbol: R. The comb was same as the mirror, with the sea animals and the R symbol on its handle. R stands for Rosalynd, she thought happily.

Rosalynd put down both of these and looked around the room once more. At the end of the room, leaning on a wall, there was a wadrobe made of the finest birch you can imagine. The corners of it were all curled either upwards or downwards, so when you looked at it you felt as if you were riding on a wave. Rosalynd fell in love with it at once. At her left there was an emerald green door, the doorknob made of silver.

When she looked to her right she could see three big, round transparent windows. She swam over to them to see what’s going on outside, but as she got closer she noticed an unusual smell. It was that of beef steak and fries. The closer she got to the windows, the stronger the smell became. I wonder why the smell of beef steak and fries comes so strongly from here, thought Rosalynd as she reached out and touched the window.

Instantly, the window dissolved, and in its place was a plate of real beef steak and fries! They were set on plate made of diamond, with a diamond set of utensils and a piece of tissue paper. Rosalynd’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. But by this time she was getting quite hungry, and, very carefully, she picked up a fry. It was solid and hot. So it wasn’t fake! She took a bite. Instantly, the wonderful crunchy hotness of fresh fries warmed her up from head to toe. Soon, she was munching away happily.

After she had finished all of the fries and beef steak on her plate, she swam over to the next window and sniffed it. This one smelt of cucumbers and orange juice. I’d like that, thought Rosalynd, and, without waiting to be told, touched that window too. It disappeared just like the first one, and a crystal dish holding a fat, juicy cucumber and a cup of refreshing orange juice along with crystal utensils appeared on the window-ledge. Rosalynd gobbled those up, too, and then swam over to the last window. The delicious scent of chocolate pudding hung in the air. “Chocolate pudding!” she cried out loud, “my favorite dessert!” and five minutes later, the bouncy, smooth pudding had disappeared down her throat.

After finishing everything, she noticed that the windows had formed back, and different delicious scents were coming from them once more. But she had had quite enough of eating now, and decided to check out the wardrobe.

The wardrobe was a wonderful thing to feel. Rosalynd didn’t know it, but the wardrobe was made out of a birch tree, washed over and over by the waves for hundreds of years. I wonder what’s inside, thought Rosalynd, as she placed her hand on the handle. There was only one way to find out. She pulled the door open. “Wow!” gasped Rosalynd, and for a good reason, too.

Rows and rows of sparkling, special clothes for mermaids lined the wardrobe. There was a big mirror at the back of the door, and all around the frame were carvings of delicate butterflies. At the bottom of the wardrobe there were two little drawers engraved with bells, and when Rosalynd opened one of them she was nearly blinded by the sudden shininess. The drawer was divided into nine sections, and in each section there was a crown-shaped headdress. Every headdress was set with different colored jewels, and every one of them had its own unique animal sitting in the middle. There was a ruby red one set with a scorpion, a green-gold one set with a sea turtle, a radiant violet one set with a snake, a cool blue one set with a rabbit, a fiery orange-yellow one set with a lion, a sunsetty, rosy one set with a dog, and a crystal one set with a swan. Rosalynd liked the swan best. She shut the drawer carefully and opened the one beside it.

This drawer was divided into nine parts, too, of which contained nine different silver necklaces. Every necklace matched a different animal on the headdresses, and there was a delicate little jewel, matching the headdress' colors, set on the back part of each animal near the tail. Her gaze fell on the crystal swan. "Why, what a graceful swan," she said softly to herself. "Perhaps I won't have a bad time here, after all."

Just then, there came a knock at the door. "Who's there?" called Rosalynd. " A messenger of his Majesty's," replied a light, dancing voice of a young mermaid outside. Rosalynd swam over to the door and opened it. The mermaid looked a bit younger than her, with straight brown hair that fell to her waist, and wide eyes that matched her hair. Her tail was yellowish-orange, and she wore plain mermaid clothes. Rosalynd liked her at once." Come in, come in," she said to the mermaid. "Thank you, your Grace," she replied as she shut the door. "I am Adeline, and I'm 8 years old. I'm to be your servant. But now, I deliver a letter from his Majesty to your Grace.". She handed Rosalynd a pink envelope with the royal seal sealing the opening. Rosalynd tore it open and unfolded the letter inside. It read:

Rosalynd,
The marriage is to be hoisted tomorrow. You are to be ready at 8:00a.m. Adeline will lead you to the Wedding Room.
The King

Rosalynd drew in a her breath sharply.