Kanoni's Struggle To Be Queen

Once upon a time in an underwater kingdom, there lived a mermaid princess named Kanoni. The king of the seven seas had seven children, one for each sea. Kanoni was the fourth child. Meaning she would rule the Mediterranean sea when she came of age.

On Kanoni’s 10th birthday her father swam into the castle.

“Kanoni, it’s time to start your training. It won’t be long before you become the queen of the Mediterranean Sea.” Her father said.

“Can’t I just stay the princess forever? I won’t be a good queen.” The princess pleaded.

“No daughter, the mer-people of the Mediterranean Sea need you. After your training you will be excellent.” Her father promised.

But Kanoni didn’t believe him. She knew she didn’t have what it takes to be queen.

The next day a tutor came to the palace to start Kanoni’s training. Kanoni swam into the room where her tutor sat on a pile of kelp. Her tutor was a beautiful mermaid, with a shimmering, pink tail and long pink hair that matched. The tutor taught Kanoni how to swim in a straight line, how to do the mermaid waltz, and how to sing without weakness. Kanoni had no taste for the stuffy things the tutor made her do, and wished instead she could be swimming with her dear pet shark, Fin.

Later another tutor came, he was a boring merman, with a gray tail and gray hair cut short and combed neatly. He spoke for hours about the history of the sea in a listless voice. When he was finished he made Kanoni repeat the entire speech aloud and take a tedious test.

Kanoni spent many days repeating the same static pattern. Many of Kanoni’s teachers disapproved of her and said that she didn’t have what it takes to be queen. That a queen shouldn’t be so shy and unsure of herself. Kanoni couldn’t resent her tutors for saying such things because she knew they were true, Kanoni herself believed she shouldn’t be queen.

The only comfort in her life were the times Kanoni managed to sneak away and swim with Fin—her pet shark—in the kelp forest.

One day when Kanoni was swimming amongst the clusters of kelp with Fin, she spotted a naked hermit crab crawling on the ocean floor. Kanoni knew that the crab had outgrown it’s shell, and if it never found a shell it would get eaten by a predator. So she untied the seashell necklace from around her neck and handed the large, pink shell to the hermit crab. It crawled inside and started to walk away, but it turned around and looked at Kanoni.

“Thank you so much!” The hermit crab said, in it’s squeaky crab voice.

Kanoni smiled and said. “No problem, I didn’t even like that necklace anyway.”

When the crab was gone Fin turned to the princess and grinned. “Wanna race?”

Kanoni swam off at top speed.

“Hey that’s no fair!” Said Fin—the shark—as he took off swimming.

After a dreadfully agonizing day of training Kanoni collapsed on her sea sponge bed, tears in her eyes.

“Oh, why must they insist on torturing me? I told them I wouldn’t make a good queen! I told them I just wanted to be a princess!” Kanoni cried, pulling her seaweed-weaved blanket over her head.

“You will make a good queen, Kanoni. You just need to believe in yourself. You are more powerful than you realize.” Fin said, swimming in circles near the ceiling.

The princess wiped the tears from her eyes and watched them swirl into the seawater. “You’re right, Fin!”

Fin smiled a toothy smile. It was a disturbing sight, his teeth looked very sharp and there where fish pieces stuck between them.

“I'm going to prove my tutors wrong!” Kanoni pumped her fist. “I’m going to be a great queen!”

Kanoni impressed all of her tutors and excelled in all of her studies. Her father was proud. She was proud. Kanoni knew she would ace the last big test and be the greatest queen the Mediterranean Sea had ever seen!

To celebrate Kanoni and Fin went for a swim. Kanoni and Fin had hours of fun swimming in the kelp forest and when they got bored they swam to the coral reef. The coral was a smattering of all the colors of the rainbow and more and when Kanoni got close she could here the coral polyps whispering to each other.

“See the mermaid!” One said.

“She has such a beautiful purple tail.” Kanoni heard another say.

“Oh no!” a green clump of coral exclaimed.

Kanoni turned around and saw a green loggerhead sea turtle struggling to swim, a red cloud of blood trailing behind it. She hurried to scrape up a clump of clay from the sea floor and swam to the turtle. Kanoni pushed the clay into the turtles wound to stop the bleeding.

The turtle looked up at Kanoni with sad eyes. “I'm going to die, aren’t I?”

“No. You’re going to get better. I promise.” Kanoni said.

She swam to the magical seaweed forest and picked a bunch of healing seaweed. She swam super fast back, but halfway there she had to take a break because her tail was sore.

When Kanoni got back she heard the coral crying softly. Then she saw the turtle lying limp on the seafloor. Dead.

“No! It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have taken a break to rest my tail!” Kanoni flung herself to the ground and sobbed.

Fin tried to comfort her but Kanoni insisted on being alone.

The next day was the last big test, if she failed this test then she wouldn’t become the queen.

Kanoni was in her room studying for the big test when her closest sister, Pearlie swam in. Pearlie was the youngest of the king’s children at five years old and had a yellow tail and her hair was cut into a light orange bob.

“Kanoni will you come outside and swim with me? Please?” Pearlie asked with puppy dog eyes.

Kanoni looked up from her book. “No, Pearlie. I have to study.”

“Okay I’ll have Reef take me.” Pearlie said. “I know you will be the queen Kanoni. And you will be mer-tastic!”

Kanoni frowned. “No I won’t, Pearlie. You’re foolish to believe that. I will never be a good queen!”

Pearlie’s lower lip trembled and Kanoni saw her start to cry before she swam out of the room.

After a series of tests Kanoni waited for her results. She saw her father swim into the room, a disappointed expression on his usually regal face.

“You failed, Kanoni you will not become queen of the Mediterranean Sea. I’m very disappointed.”

Kanoni looked into her lap, feeling too shameful to look her father in the face. “I’m sorry Father, but I warned you.”

Her father just swam away, his shoulders slumped.

Fin swam into the room.

“I failed, Fin.” Kanoni said.

Fin said. “Kanoni I think all those thing that they tested you for weren’t right. Why would a future queen need to know about a war that happened two thousand years ago or know how to sing in five octaves? Honestly I always knew you had what it takes to be queen—”

“No, I don’t have what it takes. I failed!” Kanoni cried.

“That test was silly. You have always been a good friend to me and you helped all those animals who were hurt. You tried to save the turtle, yes it died, but what matters most is that you tried. That’s what you need to be queen. You need to be a good mer-person and you need to believe in yourself.” Fin argued.

Kanoni swum up. “Your right Fin, that test was not important.”

“Great now you can go tell the king!” Fin said excitedly.

“I have to do something first.” Kanoni said, swimming off.

“Okay.” Fin said, following the princess.

Kanoni saw her sister Pearlie playing a game of tic-tac-tail in the castle’s garden.

“Pearlie I’m very sorry I snapped at you before. Do you want to go for a swim after dinner?”

“I forgive you Kanoni you had a lot of stress.” Pearlie said.

Kanoni gave her little sister a hug and said. “You’re the best Pearlie.”

Kanoni explained everything to her father and waited anxiously as he thought.

“You’re right Kanoni those tests are ridiculous. When I had my training I had to balance a pearl on my nose while swimming up and down. It was ludicrous!” The king's laugh echoed off the walls of the palace. “When you turn eighteen you can be the queen. I will teach you some real useful things for your training, like how to barter with eels.”

“Okay. Thank you Father!” Kanoni said.

“No biggie, but I think it’s time for dinner.” Her father said.

And they all lived happily ever after the end...

WAIT THIS STORY IS NOT ENDING!

When Kanoni, Pearlie and Fin came back from their swim, they found a baby dolphin in the palace.

"Where did you come from little dolphin?" Kanoni asked.

"The sea turtle saved me from the hoomans." The dolphin said.

"The sea turtle that I tried to save?" Kanoni asked sadly.

"Yes." The dolphin said.

"What's your name?" Pearlie asked.

"Dolly." The dolphin said.

"That turtle was a hero." Kanoni said.

"Yeah." Fin agreed.

Kanoni's father built a turtle statue in honor of the sea turtle who died saving Dolly. Pearlie adopted Dolly. And they all lived happily ever after. For real this time.

THE END.