Mewa is a mermaid princess who has abandoned her royal duties in the cold northern waters of Bursztynia to live aboard a golden, crab-shaped submarine with exiled prince Jet Mir and his crew. The story follows her journey of self-discovery as she navigates life as a runaway royal, collecting treasures, books, and memories in her small cabin while struggling with her identity and her feelings for Aleixo, a human boy in Portugal she corresponds with through letters.
The narrative opens with Mewa performing her daily ritual of polishing her tail scales in her cramped cabin, surrounded by her eclectic collection of mementos—a faded pirate t-shirt, tattoo designs she’s sketched, cheap jewelry, and her most treasured possessions: Sirense Glimmerich’s polyamorous mermaid romance novels and her Aunt Anastazja’s diary. Her close friendship with Meghna, a plump, yellow-tailed mermaid who shares her love of gossip, provides comfort and lightness in her exile.
When Jet Mir summons the crew to the chart room, he reveals their quest has reached a critical juncture. He identifies four artifacts needed as “keys” to unlock a Guardian Plate: the Basalt Weighing Scale from the Lotus State, the Winter Palace Icicle Egg from the Kara Sea, the Ceremonial Oracle Rod from the Kingdom of One Thousand Jewels, and the Dice of Oceanus from the Argolic Gulf. The crew divides on the issue of hiring additional male crew members, with Darsha and Kashvi objecting to being commanded by men, revealing fractures that have been growing since their time in Nerland.
In Sodavé, the crew delivers mail, including a letter from Jet Mir to his cousin Sha Mir, and celebrates at a luminous cavern bar where they meet Caspar Nostradamar, a pale, ghost-like occultist from the Nautilus Order. They impulsively hire him, but his disturbing behavior—claiming to sense “echoes” and “ghosts” aboard the submarine—leads to his dismissal. When Darsha and Kashvi discover Jet Mir is transporting illegal soda to Lomassa, they formally resign, leaving for Brazil to perform in a mermaid aquarium show.
In Lomassa, the crew unloads cargo and Jet Mir begins searching for replacements. They hire Adrian Salgari, a charming young merman from Antemidia who has adopted the name of his favorite pirate author, Emilio Salgari. Adrian wears a theatrical pirate-inspired outfit and speaks passionately about the stories that inspired his escape from strict social hierarchies. Mewa discovers secondhand bookshops in Merguléa, the capital city, and arranges to order four of the six missing Glimmerich novels she needs to complete her collection.
The crew learns of the League of Treasure-Burying Captains’ annual treasure hunt in the Bristlevaults, a jagged stretch of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. While Mewa, Meghna, and Adrian participate in the public contest, Jet Mir secretly discovers the Guardian Plate in a hidden chamber, unlocking it by pressing symbols matching those on his ancient scroll.
After rescuing Meghna and Adrian from a kelp-net trap in the wreck of The Malacca Ghost, where Adrian discovers a first-edition Salgari book, the crew returns to Lomassa. Mewa receives four of her ordered books and they share a heartfelt meal where Jet Mir declares them his chosen family.
The journey continues to Sambassia, a kingdom where all civic interactions begin with dance. They hire Felipe, an overly flirtatious guide, who proves disruptive and eventually attempts to kiss Mewa against her will. She breaks his nose with a headbutt, and Jet Mir banishes him. However, Jet Mir must use Felipe one last time to retrieve a package from his cousin Sha Mir—Lalit, a royal snail believed to bring good fortune, which Mewa agrees to care for.
During Meghna’s pirate-themed birthday celebration, Mewa becomes overwhelmed with missing her sister Sawa, Aleixo, and her friends in Santa Ana. The next morning, she develops a severe allergic reaction to Lalit the royal snail, with her skin breaking out in welts and a dangerous fever consuming her. In her delirium, she hallucinates Jet Mir as Aleixo and Namya as her sister Sawa, confessing her grief and confusion about her divided loyalties. Namya tends to her with gentle wisdom, helping her through the illness.
As Mewa recovers, they reach the clear waters of Antemidia, where Adrian departs to research the League’s logs at the National Library. Before his departure, Jet Mir promises to search for Mewa’s missing Glimmerich volumes. As a storm approaches, Mewa stands on the deck, clutching a pendulum for protection, reflecting on her journey and the distance between her current life and the people she left behind.
The story ends with Mewa suspended between identities, destinations, and loves, feeling both lost and strangely free, ready to face whatever comes next with the courage she has developed during her exile.
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“Stories from the Undersea World of Mermaid Princess Amelia, Vol. 2” are exclusively available for reading on Hasalynx Press. Go to Hasalynx Press publisher’s website and read it today!
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