’Twas a radiant Summer’s day, perfect for fishing on the West Coast Sea. Jeremy had rowed his little forest-green boat all the way out of the Greenlandian Bay and into the big blue. He was alone and he preferred it that way. Audrey didn’t care how he went about his business, so long as he brought her back a catch.
And so long as he met her in secret to satisfy her other appetite, as well. Truth be told, Jeremy didn’t know if their meetings really were a secret. He suspected that his majesty, King James, did know, but didn’t care.
Or at least, didn’t care enough to actually do anything about it. Perhaps King James was too busy keeping his unruly daughter, Princess Aurora, in line. Come the Full Harvest Moon, she would be seven Solar cycles of age; and with each trip around the Sun, Princess Aurora seemed to grow more and more unhinged.
So, perhaps James was too busy dealing with Princess Aurora. Or perhaps he was too busy satisfying himself with elven mistresses in the Solar Kingdom. Or perhaps both. Rumour had spread that little Aurora Green wasn’t really Audrey’s child, after all; that she was some half-elven bastard. (Jeremy’s older brother, Raymond, who lived in the Solar Kingdom, often gossiped about King James, King Reinhard and even Emperor Sola in his booze-infused letters to Jeremy.)
Regardless, King James was busy. And Audrey was lonely. And she had quite the appetite for Sir Jeremy’s fish.
Continue reading “The Fisherman and the Mermaid”