Stephanie Kate Strohm - Once Upon a Tide: A Mermaids Tale

Copyright 2021 by Disney Enterprises, Inc.

All rights reserved. Published by Disney Hyperion, an imprint of Buena Vista Books, Inc. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Hyperion, 77 West 66th Street, New York, New York 10023.

First Edition, September 2021

Designed by Phil Buchanan

Cover art 2021 by Sara Gianassi

Cover design by Phil Buchanan

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020053189

ISBN 978-1-368-07932-7

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For my mom, and the first swim of every summer

T here are a lot of misconceptions about being a princess.

But maybe the biggest misconception of all is that princesses dont kick tail.

This princess?

Yeah, she kicks tail.

Last one to the anemone park is a blobfish! I shout. Well, I dont shoutyou cant really shout underwater. Merpeople communicate telepathically. We can hear each others thoughts, but only the thoughts we want to be heard. And, honestly, thank Poseidon we dont hear every single thought. I cant imagine swimming through the sea, being bombarded by what every single merperson is wonderingwhat to have for dinner or what shells to wear tomorrow or whether the weather topside will affect the waves. But luckily, mer-telepathy is nothing like that. The way we talk is just like humans talking, only there isnt any sound. Its sort of like sending a message straight to someones brain. Land-livers dont get it at all, even though its not that complicatedbut thats a typical land-liver for you.

No imagination.

Lana, you promised you wouldnt call me a blobfish anymore! Aarav huffs. Hes so far behind me I can barely hear his thoughts.

Keep up, and I wont!

I blast through a school of fusilier fish, their yellow tails swishing back and forth like crazy as their silver bellies glimmer in the clear water. As the fusiliers scatter, they reveal a coral outcrop. I swim over the coral, narrowly avoiding scraping my belly on the rough surface.

Coral! I call behind me. I may want to destroy Aarav, but I dont mean literally. Hes the most forgetful, disorganized merperson I knownot to mention as slow as a manateebut hes also the best little brother in all the seven seas.

I let out a few bubbles in a sigh while Aarav twists out of the way of the coral. It would be so typical of Aarav to collide with a coral outcropping even when hes had plenty of advance warning.

Thats another land-liver thingthey think were all graceful, floating around the ocean like little bubbles drifting peacefully through the waves. Clearly, those people have never seen Aarav. One time he swam headfirst into an abandoned lobster trap and got so tangled up, he was stuck there until a Sea Scout troop happened to pass by on a nature swim.

Safely past the coral, I propel myself through a tangle of kelp, twisting and turning to keep from getting stuck in the long green strands of seaweed stretching up toward the surface. With one last flick of my tail, Im through, and then I can see it in the distancethe anemone park.

Clarion is the most beautiful kingdom under the sea, and the anemone park is my favorite place in all of Clarion. Anemones of all shapes, sizes, and colors line the ocean floor, thicker and more beautiful than any plush carpet or meadow of wildflowers you could see topside. Gently, I lower myself down on top of them, their squishy little tendrils comforting against my back. I blow a bubble and watch it float up, up, up to the surface.

Up to where Aarav will be tomorrow.

Without me.

Several minutes later, Aarav arrives, somersaulting toward the seafloor as he dramatically collapses, pretending to faint from exhaustion.

Looks like slow and steady didnt win the race this time. I poke him, and he rolls over, laughing. Sailfish wins again!

The Blobfish and the Sailfish is a fable, Lana, not a factual account of true events. He blows a bubble, and then I blow one, too, and we watch them float up, together. Its just supposed to teach perseverance. Literally, of course a sailfish is faster than a blobfish.

And a Lana is faster than an Aarav.

Aarav sighs. At least an Aarav is faster than a blobfish.

True! Thats Aarav, always looking for the positive. I blow a quick stream of bubbles toward the surface.

Fourteen, Aarav counts as the last bubble disappears above us. Bet I know why thats on your mind. I cant believe its finally here! Your birthdays tomorrow. Its a big deal.

I know. Im practically glowing with pride. I look down at my hands, half expecting them to be see-through and luminous, like Im part crystal jellyfish. Fourteen must seem like a big deal when youre a wee merbaby of twelve, I tease.

I have the social and emotional maturity of a quinquagenarian, Aarav scoffs. Which is why Im not going to deign to respond to your slanderous ageism. And also why I say fancy words like quinquagenarian instead of simply merperson in their fifties.

My bad. Please forgive me. Youre a very fancy prince with an excellent vocabulary.

And youre a very speedy princess with a decent vocabulary. Whos going to be the best queen Clarion has ever had. Typical Aarav, to go from teasing to heartfelt in an instant. Hes always ready to make any conversation into A Moment. Sometimes I think he might be part cephalopod, because hes got enough feelings for three hearts. I cant believe youre going to start learning how to run the kingdom. Thats, likeveryserious.

I am very serious. I cross my eyes, stick out my tongue, and puff out my cheeks. Aarav laughs. But joking aside, I am serious about government. Thats another misconception about princessespeople think were just sitting around combing our hair with forks, waiting for a handsome prince to float by. As if. I want to learn how to be the best ruler I can.

One day, Ill be in charge of all of Clarion, just like my dad. And tomorrow, when I turn fourteen, Ill be taking government classes every day, learning about diplomacy, economics, foreign relations, statecraft, and, well, everything Ill need to become queen. I cant wait!

But I seriously cant believe youre not coming with me. Aarav sighs.

I know. I try to make my voice sound as sad as possible so Aarav doesnt think Im excited about ditching himbut because Im starting my lessons tomorrow, for the first time in seven years, I wont have to spend a week on land visiting our mother for the Royal Festival. Ive got a get-out-of-the-festival-free pass, and I couldnt be happier about it.

Youre gonna have more fun without me, I tell Aarav. He looks like he doesnt want to admit it, but deep down, we both know its true. Come on. You love being on land. The horrible way it smells, the way it gets so hot and makes everyone all uncomfortable and sweaty, how itchy all the clothes are