The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 304: The water is sweet

I stood at the edge of the village square, my arms crossed and my head pounding. The walk to the well had turned into a full-blown parade.

Behind me, Thalor was walking on the path with a strange, high-stepping awkward gait, clearly still trying to figure out how his knees were supposed to work inside a leather skirt.

But the real show was the crowd. On one side stood the predator tribes—wolves with grey ears twitching and leopards with long, spotted tails lashing in curiosity. On the other side, the sheep tribe folks had already gathered.

The moment the sheep saw Thalor, they didn’t recoil. Instead, they let out a collective bleat of joy.

To them, the Mer-folk weren’t legends; they were the silent guardians who had watched over their shores for years, protecting the ’pure and soft’ sheep simply because they liked them.

But we all know that already. I think it’s just the excitement of seeing the merman on land, on legs, something they’ve only ever heard of and have never seen in person.

Not to talk of this merman being a prince.

They might as well shoot their shops.

"Prince Thalor!" one of the sheep-girls squeaked, her little fluffy white tail wagging furiously behind her. "You’ve come to the land!"

Thalor gave her a gentle, regal nod.

"I have come for the Land-Mother." He said and I scowled.

"Well, this ’Land-Mother’ is currently having a migraine," I muttered.

The peaceful vibe lasted about five seconds before Talia shoved her way through the crowd. She had gathered three other disgruntled mothers, much like before, their wolf ears flattened back against their heads in a display of pure aggression.

"Stop this nonsense!" Talia shouted, pointing a clawed finger at Thalor. "Noah, how can you stand by while she parades this... this creature in front of our children? The West Way is in a state of ’change,’ yes, but this is lascivious! She’s collecting mates like they’re seashells while the rest of us are struggling to rebuild, and she won’t even admit it!"

Gosh, could she get any nosier than she already was?

I thought I already broke her spirit before with all my grand talk, but she’s just like a cockroach. Not knowing when just to give up and lie low.

Must she buzz around me at every chance she gets?

The crowd of predators stirred. Talia was playing on their fears and current insecurities, trying to make my private life look like a public insult to the kingdom.

I stepped forward, my eyes locking onto Talia’s.

"Lascivious? That’s a big word for someone who spends all day gossiping behind a tent. If you’re so worried about the ’state of the kingdom,’ why aren’t you helping the sheep tribe fix their fences?"

"We are worried about the water!" one of the other mothers snapped, her leopard tail twitching.

She had this fierce personality about her that made me want to hit her. Seriously, who does she think she is putting her hands on her waist and looking at me like I was beneath her?

She must have been really eager to get a high position in the kingdom that she snuck into Noah’s bed and bore his pup.

And now she talks about water, when all she wants is to drag me down from my seat and be the one with the crown.

How respectable of her.

"How do we know he won’t poison the well? The sea is full of salt and was recently poisoned. He might be here to get revenge, while acting all nice and friendly, and when they happen..." She narrowed her eyes at me. "You’d have been the one to lead him to the stage!"

How very hypocritical of them all.

I looked at the murky, grey sludge sitting at the bottom of the stone well. How did the well they were using even get this dirty?

Or had it been like this from the start?

If so, I’d understand why they’re so disgruntled and untrusting. They would rather continue with the sludge for water than settle for one that’s likely poisoned.

But I don’t care.

I can’t bear to look at this mess for another second, just because they think this and that.

I looked at Thalor.

I haven’t known him for long, and I have no idea if he has a secret motive, but I do have a hunch about the kind of person he is. And my hunch has never been wrong before.

"Talia," I said, my voice turning ice-cold. "You consider him a threat, and assume I’m making a mistake in my quest to better the lives of the beasts in the kingdom, right? Well, fine. If you’re such a patriot for the ’Old Ways,’ come take a drink of this ’pure’ tribal water right now."

I hauled up the vine rope of a poorly made wooden bucket, and brought out some of the grey, silt-heavy mess, holding it out.

"Go on. Drink up. Or are you only brave when you’re attacking me?"

Talia recoiled, her wolf ears pinning back even further. She didn’t touch the bucket and instead looked at it with disgust in her eyes.

Yeah, that’s right. She might very much be drinking from some hidden stream that only she and some of the other mothers know about.

She doesn’t care about the people and only cares about what she stands to benefit from anything she does.

The crowd went silent, watching her cowardice play out in real-time, and began to whisper.

Talia’s tail flicked nervously, and she gulped. There was no way she was going to drink that stuff to make a point.

"That’s what I thought," I said, turning my back on her. "Thalor. Show them what you can do, and how the sea has blessed them by bringing you here."

Thalor stepped to the edge of the well. He looked at the sheep, who were watching him with wide, trusting eyes, and then at me. Then, he held his hands over the opening, his palms facing upward, just like he did before.

The small, crystalline vial shimmered into existence on his palm, appearing out of thin air.

This left all eyes staring in awe and amazement.

Damar, who had been watching silently from the back with the cubs, hissed under his breath once again. His eyes narrowed at the vial, his serpent-like focus memorizing the magic... If he can actually memorize it, I’ll ask him to do the same magic later, haha.

But I’m sure only the sea prince can do this.

Thalor tipped the vial slowly and a single, heavy drop of deep blue liquid fell.

Plink.

The ripple didn’t just move the water; it transformed it. From the depths of the well, a soft violet light rose upward. The grey silt vanished, replaced by water so clear it looked like liquid air.

A crisp, cool scent—like rain falling on a hot stone—filled the square and Thalor turned to me, his eyes filled with that look as if he wanted me to praise him.

"It is done," he said.

The sheep elder standing next to Robin didn’t hesitate and took. A step forward. He first took a look at the water, then fetched a little water. He dipped a wooden cup in and drank.

Everyone watched, waiting to hear his review or watch him pass out from a possible poisoning.

But the poisoning never came. Instead...

"It’s... " It’s sweet!" he cried out. "The bitterness is gone! The water is pure."

The crowd immediately erupted in cheers. The sheep rushed forward, cheering and praising the ’Land-Mother’ and the sea prince.

Even the skeptical wolves and leopards began to push forward, their thirst overriding Talia’s lies. They cheered for their queen and her new ’Hydration Officer’.

Talia stood frozen, her face turning a sickly pale color. She had tried to start a fight, not once, not twice, but she could never beat me.

And this time, I didn’t just talk her down, I had given her a miracle that she could never beat. Her legs trembled, but she tried to sink her feet in the dirt and not fall, all while looking like she’d seen a ghost.

Finished. Was what I read on her face.

There was nothing she could do against me anymore at this point.

Noah walked up to me with a smoldering look in his eyes.

"That was... impressive," he murmured.

Fenric also cheered.

"The fish has quite the skills." He added, rubbing his chin, but he definitely didn’t like to add this to his potential suitor’s resume.

"Right?" I chuckled and then turned back to look at Talia.

I dropped my hand on her shoulder and leaned in, glaring right into her soul.

"Now," I said, my tone shifting to something cold and final. "Go back to your pups. Be the mothers you claim to be and do not appear before me with the intent to start a fight, because I will definitely give you that fight."

Her legs, which she had been trying to keep steady, finally gave out right there.

She dropped to the dirt, trembling, her face going pale like she’d seen a ghost.

"Boys," I turned around to face them. "What’s next on the agenda?"