The Tail of Emily Windsnap - Liz Kessler [54]
Mr. Beeston bowed low and kissed Neptune’s tail. He avoided looking at me or Mom. “If I may refer to my notes . . .” A line of bubbles escaped from his mouth and floated up through the water as he spoke.
To your lies, you mean, I said to myself.
“Your Majesty, last night I was tricked into a rescue operation involving a yacht and a small motorboat. I was beaten around the head with a boom and tied up while the accused —” He looked quickly at Mom, then at me. Suddenly breaking his flow for a moment, he looked away again and coughed quietly before continuing. “Before they carried out their unlawful plans. Thankfully, the accused were amateurs and not equipped to deal with a high-ranking professional such as myself.” He paused and turned toward Neptune.
“BEESTON — do not presume to look to me for compliments! CONTINUE!”
Mr. Beeston’s face reddened. “Of course, Your Majesty. And so, I disembarked and sought the strong fin of the law.”
“You swam for the guards?”
“Indeed I did, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you.” Neptune banged his trident on the floor. “DEFENSE!” he bellowed. “Mr. Thinscale? Your first witness?”
The merman in the black suit jumped up. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I looked around the court, wondering who his first witness was going to be. “Get up,” the guard next to me grunted. “You’re on.” Then he pulled me out of my seat and pointed toward the throne. I swam nervously toward Neptune. Taking my cue from the others, I bent to kiss his diamond-studded tail.
Neptune pulled on his beard and leaned down. “You understand the charges?” he asked in a slightly quieter voice.
“I think so.”
“Speak, then!” he snapped. “Do you HAVE anything to say in your defense?”
“Well, I —” I stopped and looked around the courtroom, and at the merpeople watching on all sides. Some were staring at me. Others were talking quietly or laughing — at me, probably. My tail turned to jelly, and I was about to say, “No,” when I caught Mom’s eyes. She removed her mask for a second and forced herself to smile.
“Do not make me wait,” Neptune growled.
That was when I realized what I had to do.
“Um, sir, Mr. —”
“Do I LOOK like a sir? A Mr.? Do I?”
I flicked my tail a little, propelling myself higher than my three feet eight inches (presuming my tail was as long as my legs — I had never checked), and looked nervously around at the courtroom. “Your Majesty,” I corrected myself. “I know this might sound weird, but, well, it’s actually kind of nice to be here.”
A murmur flickered through the room and along the rows outside it. The reporters scribbled furiously on their pads.
“‘Nice,’ did she say?” I heard someone ask.
“Is she being sarcastic?” another one replied.
“It’s what I’ve always wanted,” I added quickly. “Not being in court about to get locked up for the rest of my life, obviously. But being here. With all of you. It feels right.”
I glanced at Mom. “I mean, I know I’m part human, and my mom’s fantastic. She raised me all on her own and everything. But my dad’s great, too. Not just because he’s a merman, so I get to be part mermaid.” I paused and looked Neptune in the eyes. “Although that part’s absolutely wicked,” I said.
Neptune leaned forward. He scowled, narrowing his eyes at me.
“I mean, it’s fantastic — it’s swishy! But more than anything, I’m proud of him because of his belief in love.” I pulled the poem he’d written out of my pocket and held it out. “My dad might have been locked away, but his feelings weren’t.”
I glanced at Neptune. A tic was beating in his cheek, a glare shone in his eyes, but his body had softened a little; the grasp on his trident had loosened. “You can’t make people stop loving each other just because a law says it’s wrong,” I said.
The dolled-up mermaid with the pet crab wiped her eel across her cheek. Another took a hanky out of her coat pocket. A few merpeople were nodding.