Umi looked at the village in awe. Ambrose looked at Umi and started chuckling. "Was your kingdom not as big?" she asked.
"I've never seen a kingdom before. It's always been me and my dad," Umi answered. Ambrose looked sympathetic again, but quickly hid it. She cleared her throat and led Umi through the village. There were small shops and booths along the sandstone street. There was rather... interesting food in the booths. Boiled squid eggs, candied crab legs, boiled salmon, and water cantalopes. Umi's stomach gave her away and started making noise. Ambrose looked at her and Umi felt her face heat up.
"Hungry?" Ambrose asked. Umi looked down in embarassment. Before she knew it, Ambrose put something soft in her hand. Umi looked down and noticed it was a boiled squid egg. "Have you ever had one before?" Ambrose asked. Umi shook her head.
"Just use your nail to make a small slit in it and suck the insides out," Ambrose explained. Umi followed her instructions and sucked out the inside. It was soft and fluffy, almost like a chicken egg, yet it had a different taste. She couldn't quite describe it, but it wasn't the worst thing she tasted. Ambrose started chuckling.
"Different isn't it?" she asked.
"It is," Umi replied. Once they arrived at the refugee camp, dozens of small children with tails looked through the windows. Many looked like they range from ages five to ten. Some were holding infants that were crying. All of them looked filthy and starved. The building was made from an old cargo box with empty holes for windows. An elderly woman with a dull brown tail swam out to greet them.
"What do we have here? Another raid?" she asked.
"No, I found her in a nearby cave. She claims she lost her family to something. She wouldn't tell me what happened, though," Ambrose replied. The elderly woman swam up to Umi and looked her up and down.
"She looks healthy as a hippokampus! It's hard to believe she lost her family!" she exclaimed.
"I didn't see any signs she was with someone. Her name's Umi. Take care of her," Ambrose replied. After that, Ambrose left Umi with the elderly woman. Umi looked around and saw the children slowly make their way towards her. She smiled at them and waved.
"Hi there! My name's Umi. It's a pleasure meeting you all!" she said. The children flinched at her voice, then they swarmed around her and started talking at once.
"Are you a princess?"
"Why is your hair that color?"
"Can you control the tides?" Umi felt overwhelmed by their questions until she heard a whistling noise. Everyone turned to look at tue elderly woman.
"Alright, children. That's enough. Don't overwhelm her on her first day," she said. The children looked down and swam back inside. Umi felt her heart sink at the condition of the shelter. It looked worn out and in shambles. It would be condemned if it was a land building. She swam inside and looked around. It was filthy and rugged looking. The water was murky and made it hard to breath. The elderly woman sighed.
"I know it's not much, but it's home for us. The king and prince are planning on inspecting this place tomorrow. Hopefully they'll help us fix this place up," she explained. Umi looked at her. She looked tired and worn out.
"What's your name?" Umi asked.
"Roana. My name is Roana."
"Miss Roana, I hope things get better. In the meantime, I'll try to help fix things up," Umi said. She grabbed a nearby broom and started sweeping the silt into a pile. A child came by with a dustpan and swept the silt into the pan with his hand. He threw it out the window and repeated his actions with each pile Umi made.
Umi cleaned up and dusted the silt. She then found wooden boards laying around outside and some nails. She used them to replace any bent or broken floorboards on the second floor. She couldn't do much about the fraying carpeting or ripped sea sponge mattresses in the bedrooms. However, she cleaned and dusted as much as she could.
By the time it was night, her muscles were sore and she was exhausted. She went into an empty bedroom and laid on the damaged mattress. She closed her eyes and dreamt of being a baby looking at a red haired woman with green eyes.
She was woken to someone shaking her.
"Miss Princess! The King's here! We have to line up!" said a young girl. Umi's eyes shot open and she sat up. The young girl swam off as Umi followed her. She swam downstairs and Roana showed her where to stand. Umi's at the end of the line, furthest from the door. All the children were standing with their backs straight. When a man with greying blonde hair and green eyes entered, they all bowed from the waist. Umi followed suit.
"You may rise," said the older man. Umi rose and noticed another man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked like he was in his mid 20's to early 30's.
"Welcome, my King and Prince," Roana said. She curtsied and looked at the children. Her eyes stopped at Umi. "As you can see, most of the children are in poor health. All except for Umi. She arrived yesterday from a cave. We're not sure of her origins or how she managed to stay healthy, however," Roana explained. The King's eyes dilated in shock.
"She... she looks like Tsunami," he muttered. Umi tilted her head in confusion. That's when someone slapped her across the face.
"Don't you know it's impolite for a lowly siren to move in the prescense of the King!" the Prince exclaimed. Umi stayed silent and was slapped again.
"Speak, peasant!" he exclaimed. Just as he was about to slap Umi again, the King grabbed his hand and pulled him away. "This is not how royalty acts, Whiptide! We must be kind to our subjects!" the King exclaimed.
"But father!"
"No buts! She was fine!" he replied. Whiptide looked at Umi enraged. He pulled his arm out of his father's grasp and swam out. The children swam up to Umi and circled around her.
"Miss Princess, are you okay!"
"What should we get you?"
Umi looked at each of them and smiled.
"Guys, I'm no princess. I'll be fine. I've felt worse pain," she explained. The King looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. He scratched his beard and thought for a moment.
"What was her name again, Roana?" he asked.
"Her name is Umi, My King."
"Umi, how would you like to be a part of my family?" he asked.