Melody: The Princess of Disaster

As Melody stood hidden alongside the armoire until a guard passed her, thankfully unaware of her presence, she could feel the ocean water drip off her body and onto the soft, castle carpet. Melody could feel the wet material between her toes as the carpet became wetter the longer she stood there. But she didn't care if she ruined the carpet. She simply longed to be able to remain in the salty water instead of getting yelled at for being soaking wet and being ordered to dry off and put on an uncomfortable gown and heels for the night.

She wished her parents never planned a stupid birthday party. Looking at the decorative walls that seemed to close in more and more each day and the tall ceiling above her that wasn't nearly tall enough, Melody wished the ocean was her home instead of the stuffy castle. She simply wished...she was a mermaid.

But there was nothing simple about her wish.

It was impossible.

Melody glanced down at Sebastian peeking out of her beaten-up seashell collecting bag. Carefully, she closed the bag to conceal the crab from any bypassers. She then made her way down the hall towards the staircase leading up to her room.

Peering into the ballroom to make sure no one was watching, she hurried past the entrance of the grand room. But Melody was so caught up in looking behind her to make sure no one saw her sneak by that she was unaware of the group of kids standing in front of her.

"Woah!"

To Melody's horror —this was something that could be straight out of her nightmares—she had bumped directly into Lady Anabel who was accompanied by Lord Lucas and Lord Victor.

They were all insufferable snobs. The young nobles always wanted to capture the perfect definition of hierarchy and nobility. Their favorite pastimes included making fun of the poor and critiquing other kids for their backs not being straight enough or how they weren't wearing the latest fashion. And, of course, their favorite person to make fun of was Melody, Princess of Disaster.

It seemed whenever she was attending an event with them, Melody would always hear them whispering and glancing her way, followed with an eruption of laughter. If she ever looked their way, they would all smirk, quickly huddling back together. And even if they weren't around, she could hear other kids whisper the rumors or embarrassing stories they spread about her. She hated that they were guests at her party.

"Oh, Your—Your Highness…" Lady Anabel addressed, peeling a piece of wet seaweed off her dress that Melody had unknowingly brought in from the sea. She held it daintily between her fingers before flicking it to the floor.

Melody held her precious seashell bag behind her back, eyes wide in horror. "Sorry. My fault," she muttered. Scrambling for some excuse as she backed away from them and towards the staircase, she said, "I...gotta go. Can't go to the party without shoes!"

...and a dress, and a tiara, and makeup, and hair not looking like a tangled-up disaster...

The princess dipped behind the wall along the staircase, separating herself from the group. Holding her bag close she heard them say:

"If you ask me, she's a little strange."

"I heard she actually talks to fish."

"It should make for an interesting party."

And there it was. She looked down at her bag, letting it fall away from her chest. Melody wasn't sure why she bothered sticking around to overhear what she knew was only going to hurt her. Slowly, she turned and headed up the stairs.

"Stupid nobles," she muttered to herself.

Why did they always think they were better than everyone else? If anyone was better than everyone else it was Melody—only after her parents of course. She was the crowned princess. Those brats would have to listen to her in the future. Melody would be in a position of power one day where she could ruin their lives if she wanted to and strip them of their titles.

Of course, she would never do that—she would never stoop that low—but it irritated her that they knew she held power, everyone did, yet they still acted out against her, as if her power, as if perhaps Melody herself, was invisible and worthless. It was like she didn't even matter.

Everyone thought she was worthless, yet they still held such high expectations for her. What even was the point?

"Stupid expectations," Melody mumbled as, carefully as to not slip, she took each marble step of the staircase one by one. Some days it seemed that there were too many steps in the castle for her to climb.

Melody was expected to be interested in her studies and excel in them. She was expected to pay attention during her boring etiquette classes and act as a proper princess. She was expected to associate herself with people of class. Melody was expected to be the perfect princess, especially since she was destined to be queen.

But Melody didn't want to be the perfect princess.

She wanted to go on adventures in the sea. She wanted to be allowed to come inside with no shoes on and the ocean dripping off her. Melody wanted to associate herself with the creatures of the sea. She simply wanted to be herself.

Her stupid, stupid, stupid self…

She wasn't at all what she wanted herself to be.

Melody knew she didn't want to be as rigid as the nobles, but couldn't she at least act the part to fit in? Couldn't she at least be somewhat normal so she wouldn't stand out as much? Couldn't she at least know what to say and do instead of muttering awkward responses and tripping over herself?

She arrived at the top of the staircase and began her way down the long hallway that would take her to her room, the second place where she felt most comfortable—the first being the ocean...of course. Why was it that the ocean, of all places, had to be where she felt at home? Yet another example of how she couldn't just be normal.

Lady Anabel was known to be a regal dancer. Lords Lucas and Victor were both outstanding horsemen. But Melody was known as the girl who could be found covered in seaweed and talking to fish, not creating a very regal picture.

Melody glanced down at Sebastian, his head peeking out of the bag just a bit. Despite what people thought of them, the sea creatures were still her only best friends, so yes, Melody did talk to the fish along with the crabs, seagulls, dolphins, and seahorses. She wished that Sebastian and Scuttle could be at her party with her. It wasn't as if any of the guests would be interested in talking to her, or even interesting enough for Melody to want to talk to them.

They passed the many tall portraits that hung on the wall, most of them being Melody's ancestors or important political figures. Sebastian's eyes seemed to focus on a portrait of Melody's mother holding her as a baby.

The portrait captured a rare moment of Melody being a perfect princess. Her mother sat in a rocking chair in the nursery. All Melody had to do was smile and look adorable in the tiny, yellow gown her mother chose for her that day as she was held in her arms. Her infant years were the only time Melody ever made a good princess since there wasn't much to expect from a baby.

Her mother must have been disappointed. She was so happy in the portrait, smiling one of her brightest smiles ever as she held her newborn daughter. But little did she know, her daughter would be a disaster of a princess, unable to meet her expectations.

Melody often wondered how she could be her mother's daughter. How could she be the daughter of such a perfect queen who was loved by everyone? One could wonder how Melody was a daughter of a woman of such poise, elegance, and success when Melody demonstrated nothing less than awkwardness, disaster, and failure.

How did the beloved queen who stayed away from the sea give birth to Melody, the Princess of Disaster, who was addicted to the sea?

She knew her mother was disappointed in her, as a princess and as a daughter. They were supposed to be best friends, but anymore they had an awful mother-daughter bond, always arguing over something, mainly the sea.

Why did her mother hate the sea so much? Melody could never figure it out. She assumed it was out of fear. The sea could be a dangerous place: sharks, drowning, gigantic waves, storms that could sink a ship. But all of those could be avoided and they were no reason to avoid the sea completely.

Perhaps something had happened that had scared her mother so much. Melody just couldn't uncover the truth. She tried asking her father, but he gave just as little information as her mother. From the sound of her father's heavy sigh when she asked him about the sea, Melody could tell that there was something more he wanted to tell her, but the most she ever got out of him was, "She has her reasons" and, "It's all out of love".

Or maybe it wasn't out of love. Maybe it was out of spite. Melody often considered that her mother simply found enjoyment in keeping her from the place she loved most. Was it punishment? Melody couldn't figure out what she had done wrong. Once she had even tried being on her best behavior for two weeks before asking her mother if she could go out for a swim, and she still received a stern "No".

She looked down at her bag. How could her mother hate something that could hold beautiful treasures such as the seashells she collected? How could she hate something so wonderful and mystical? How was she able to settle for just a life within their own castle and kingdom?

Yes, Melody knew that this stuffy castle was her home, and she knew she was extremely lucky to call it that, and she also knew that there were far worst kingdoms to be stuck being a royal of, ones that were less peaceful or ones that were less progressive and lead far more traditional royal lives than her own, but her home was still a castle. It was full of the inevitable people: guards, maids, staff, and politicians were always there. All those people expected Melody to be that perfect princess. She never got a break. The castle was always about business. Appearances had to be kept up constantly.

She arrived at her room, her own small part of the castle where she could at least be alone. Melody entered and smiled in relief, setting her seashell bag on her bed. Later, she would organize them and add them into the rest of her collection.

The smile on her face faded as she turned away from her seashells and looked over at the corner of her room. On a mannequin was her ballgown for the night. The party.

It was simple, but very beautiful. The seamstress had made it according to how Melody had wanted it. It was her favorite shade of pink, and its simplicity would hopefully make it more comfortable than some of the other fancier designs.

Melody really did enjoy getting the chance to look pretty on occasion, but it wasn't like it really mattered. It helped her look the part but did nothing to help her act it.

The dress continued to stare her down from the corner of the room. Melody knew putting it on was inevitable. The party was inevitable. Making a fool of herself was going to be inevitable.

Leaving Sebastian and her seashell bag behind her, she made her way over to the dress. Touching its delicate sleeve, Melody wished that she was somewhere else for the night. It didn't even have to be the sea, just anywhere other than the party.

But she took a deep breath, glancing at the ocean waves through her balcony. The sooner she could make it through the party, the sooner she would be freed from it and able to swim in the sea once more. All she had to do was put on the dress, look pretty, and keep to herself for the night. Hopefully that would minimize the chances of anything going wrong.

And if nothing went wrong, then perhaps, just for the night, Melody could be the princess the kingdom deserved and could prove she was worthy of her crown. Perhaps, she could be the daughter her mother deserved.

Perhaps, just for that night, she wouldn't be Melody, Princess of Disaster.