Mermaid Princess Amelia – Best Mermaid Book Series For Teenagers

The Hospitable Sea (Black Sea) – A Mermaid Kingdom in “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony” by Maxine Foti

The Hospitable Sea’s actual name is the Black Sea. It is a heart-shaped, inland sea located in south-eastern Europe, bordered by Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

The Hospitable Sea as a mermaid kingdom is said to be ruled by a president. Its prime minister’s right hand is Edith Dvali. Judging by her looks, mermaids from that region have dark black tails similar to betta fish.

It looks like, the country had strong mythological roots. One of Edith’s hobbies was painting folk scenes from her country’s history. One such story was the one of Master Dragomir and his young wife, Ivana. It was said, Ivana pretended to be two different people, to rule both parts of her country when it was divided.

The artifact from that sea are hairpins made of different shades of black pearls. It’s unknown, though, why they’re so important.

Edith stated she wished that there was cheerful atmosphere in her country. However, her people can’t leave houses on certain days, because of ships extracting oil.

Not much is known about culture of the Black Sea. Edith mentions only one dish: khachapuri.

The Hospitable Sea (Black Sea) in “Stories from the Undersea World of Mermaid Princess Amelia, Vol. 2” by Maxine Foti

The Hospitable Sea is a mermaid state. Edith is the state’s teenage prime minister. She is seventeen for most of the story and later eighteen. The real prime minister is a woman who is understanding and allows Edith more time when she cannot decide. Edith’s position is limited-term, and she was chosen largely because she was considered one of the most neutral teenagers inhabiting the palace. Her duties are basically those of a full-time assistant to the real prime minister: she attends meetings with other world leaders, appoints cabinet ministers, and participates in other government affairs. She finds politics boring and hates it, because almost everyone she knows in the field is there for personal gain, and the endless strife between groups gives her a headache. Still, she tries to be objective and fair.

The Capital, Palace, and Court

The capital of the Hospitable Sea is called the Most Hospitable City. When Edith was seventeen, she was put in charge of the Caspian royal family’s visit to the capital. She showed them the old districts: the great fortress, old harem buildings turned into private living quarters, and ceremonial halls now partly vast restaurants and partly shopping arcades. These buildings were in a classical style, with dark colors and stunning mosaics, heavily inspired by the Ottoman and Byzantine empires that had ruled the nearby lands. The guests were especially enchanted by the gates, arches, and entrance portals. The newer districts also received praise for their dazzling front porticos, frescos, and murals.

The palace has an art room on the upper floors. To reach it, Edith swims up a vertical corridor lined with classical portraits of important people who once inhabited the palace, including her own family. Everyone in the portraits looks serious, almost somber, probably because of the black robes they were traditionally required to wear. The palace also has opulent rooms, a kitchen, and a small garden in the back with lush, dark vegetation, air-bubble fountains, and glorious tilework. Grisha is the court messenger. Mariam belongs to one of the most important families inhabiting the palace, as does Edith.

Edith’s family life is miserable. Her family members argue endlessly, and there is no end to the rancor. She hates everybody there, and her parents are hardly ever present. Her mother works all the time, and when she does not, she is always with her sister. Her father lives in the Mediterranean and was recently transferred to another diplomatic post somewhere in the Adriatic. Her grandfather’s sister once told her, “You want to leave? Then leave! And don’t come back, ever. Nobody will miss you anyway.” Edith grew up in total hell, criticized, ridiculed, and shamed almost daily. She tried apologizing and correcting herself, but it never worked. Her best strategy became avoiding everybody and making herself invisible. She wore boring black robes every day and never spoke her mind. There were no safe places in the palace, not even her room, because family members would swim there too, shout from behind the door, or bang on it so violently that it shook. Edith was always scared they would break it down.

Government and Foreign Policy

The Hospitable Sea has diplomatic meetings with other world leaders, appoints cabinet ministers, and participates in government summits. The central political dilemma in the story is whether the Hospitable Sea should ally with the Caspian Sea or the Sea of Marmara, and where to draw the line of cultural and economic influence—especially regarding the Sea of Marmara’s influence on the Black Sea. The goal of those meetings is to decide which sea will become their main ally.

The Caspian Sea is surrounded by land on almost all sides. It is inhabited by an ancient and rather hermetic mermaid civilization, one that developed away from the sea world. The Hospitable Sea has contact with it only thanks to rivers and underground channels. The Caspian Sea has no allies besides Delshad, which is located in the northeastern part of the Persian Gulf. Because of this, it seems it could become a very loyal ally to the Hospitable Sea. However, if the Hospitable Sea signed a pact with the Caspian Sea, it would become somewhat isolated from the Mediterranean. Their access to those waters is controlled by the tiny Sea of Marmara.

The Sea of Marmara is inhabited by a very fierce nation that has never let any empire conquer them. They are gatekeepers, and they know how to use that fact to their greatest advantage. If the Hospitable Sea picked them as the main ally, trade possibilities would improve significantly—especially with the Aegean Sea. But many countries occupying the southern part of the Mediterranean are wary of influences from eastern seas and might set new, restrictive regulations. Mariam says an alliance with the Sea of Marmara is obviously the right choice because it is the only way the Hospitable Sea can join the Mediterranean Union, which would give many development opportunities. Demian says that if they turn away from the Caspian Sea, they will not lose anything at all, but they can lose much if they turn away from the Sea of Marmara. After talking with Demian, Edith’s decision begins shifting toward an alliance with the Sea of Marmara and moving their line of influence farther into the Hospitable Sea.

Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov is explicitly part of the mermaid state called the Hospitable Sea. Grisha was born there. Demian is also native to the Sea of Azov, just like Grisha. Beyond those facts, the story gives no further direct description of the Sea of Azov.

Black Sea

The Black Sea is mentioned once explicitly. Grisha says that if it were up to him, he would draw the line right there. He feels that the Sea of Marmara should not have more influence than it already has on the Black Sea, unless the Hospitable Sea wants to make the Sea of Marmara its principal ally. This ties the Black Sea directly to the question of the Sea of Marmara’s influence and the alliance decision. Beyond that line, the story does not elaborate further on the Black Sea itself. The story also does not explicitly state whether the Hospitable Sea and the Black Sea are the same body or separate regions; the Black Sea appears as a named area affected by the political line being debated.

Education, Art, and Culture

The Black Pillars Academy is considered the best university in the zone. Demian teaches classical art there. He studied art in the Caspian College and travelled through the Sea of Marmara countless times during his journeys around the Mediterranean. Ehsan, from the Caspian Sea, is one of his students and wants to stay in the Hospitable Sea for a master’s degree. The Sea of Marmara sends some of its oligarchs’ sons and daughters to study in various academies throughout the Hospitable Sea. After that, the Caspian Sea renews its education exchange contracts as well.

The palace art room is open only at certain times. It is filled with still-life props, color palettes, and fresh canvas. Edith paints mostly still lifes and seascapes, but sometimes she paints old boats moored in seashore meadows, faraway islands blossoming with tropical flowers, and beaches glowing with bioluminescent creatures. Demian calls her personal style “her line.” He has a vast knowledge of visual arts and techniques and often quotes remarkable artists from the zone. Edith picks something from each of them and combines it into her own style.

In the palace kitchen, the girls take Turkish delight, a confection made from sugar, lemon juice, ground pistachios, rose paste, and other ingredients imported from land. It looks like small cubes in pastel colors: light pink, orange, bright green, lavender, and white. Edith also discovers The Lihiriental Sea Tales, a collection of mermaid stories based on One Thousand and One Nights, extremely popular in Lihirient and Delshad. Lihirient is a mermaid empire located in the Arabian Sea. Edith is inspired to draw her own comic book based on the tales, especially the main story about the legendary mermaid queen Gamila, who is based on Scheherazade.

The Caspian Sea and Delshad

The Caspian Sea is an ancient, hermetic mermaid civilization, almost entirely surrounded by land. Its capital is Caspian City, known for well-preserved and extremely old architecture, many markets, mausoleums, and citadels that seem timeless. Its people love to eat, drink, and enjoy life. They never stop travelling around their sea, no matter how old they are. In the past, few mermaids and mermen were bound to one place; many were nomads looking for food or merchants travelling to exchange goods. Now more live in one place or travel outside, but not so many. Ehsan personally would not venture farther than the Hospitable Sea or Delshad.

Ehsan’s father owns an agency that controls almost all the trade between the Caspian Sea and Delshad. After the Hospitable Sea chooses the Sea of Marmara as its ally, the Caspian Sea breaks its diplomatic ties with the Hospitable Sea. Ehsan’s parents summon him back home immediately. Now that their country has no other choice but to turn toward Delshad, they decide to marry him off to the shah’s youngest daughter, Saliffa. She is the only daughter left in court, since her six sisters were wed into various royal families. Originally, her father wanted to arrange a marriage with someone from the Caspian Sea’s ruling family, but there was no single man of her age, so they chose Ehsan, whose parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had been trading goods with the gulf for centuries.

The Sea of Marmara, the Mediterranean, and the Aegean

The Sea of Marmara is tiny, fierce, and never conquered by any empire. Its people are gatekeepers to the Mediterranean and use that position to their advantage. After the Caspian royal family visits the Hospitable Sea, the sibling rulers of the Sea of Marmara visit too, fearing they will lose influence. Later, they send oligarchs’ sons and daughters to study in various academies throughout the Hospitable Sea. An alliance with the Sea of Marmara would significantly improve trade possibilities, especially with the Aegean Sea, but it could also provoke southern Mediterranean countries that are wary of eastern seas influences into setting new restrictive regulations. According to Mariam, the Sea of Marmara is the only way for the Hospitable Sea to join the Mediterranean Union.

Aftermath and Edith’s Future

The prime minister chooses to ally with the Sea of Marmara, and everything turns upside down. The Caspian Sea breaks diplomatic ties with the Hospitable Sea. Ehsan is summoned home and forced into an arranged marriage. Edith is filled with a sadness that drags on like a persistent cold. She cannot go back to living as if she had never met Ehsan. What hurts most is not that he will marry another girl, but that after the alliance collapse, it is unlikely they will meet again. Mariam helps her through it.

Mariam no longer lives in Batumi; she has moved to Tbilisi. Edith later calls Tbilisi “her city,” even though she never really lived there. It feels like a safe space, sheltered from everything sad. The palace cannot be that place, because it is her own private haunted house.

By the end, Edith is eighteen. The prime minister’s son has come home, and Edith hears they want to give her a break for three years. She would like to move out on land. She considers the Atlantic Coast and Portugal, because she has always wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean. She thinks about taking a crash course in one of the local Undergrounds, posing as younger than she is—perhaps fifteen—and then enrolling in a proper high school. Mariam notes that many mermaids do this, since mermaids live longer than humans and are often clueless about the human world. Edith also once discovered a forgotten relative in Nerland and took up that country’s language just for fun. She has been considering moving abroad one day.

The Hospitable Sea (Black Sea) in “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Destiny’s Theater” by Maxine Foti

The Black Sea: The Hospitable Sea’s Connection

The Black Sea, also known as the “Hospitable Sea,” appears in the search for Destiny’s Theater as a potential area for research into Turkey’s islands. This body of water, connected to the Aegean through the Sea of Marmara, represents the easternmost extent of the search for the theater. The sea’s connection to the broader Mediterranean world and its role in mermaid trade routes made it a logical place to look for information, even if the theater itself was not located there.