Sienna raised her fishing rod and cast it into the water. She grinned at the cara, determined to prove herself, "Alright, everyone. Let’s fish. No more interruptions, no sleeping. I have been out here for two hours and have nothing to show for it."
The rod jerked almost imdiately. Sienna’s eyes widened. Was it that easy to fish in these waters? "That was fast!" She pulled with all her strength, gritting her teeth, the line taut, her mouth straining.
In the chat, her viewers were laughing, accusing her of exaggerating her actions. No fish, near the coast, was that heavy.
Ali ran to her mother, wrapping her small arms around Sienna’s waist, barely managing to get a grip. The determined little one said, "I will help you mama."
Eli’s competitive spirit swept in and he joined in. " too, mama. I am stronger than Ali, she is just a girl."
Two guards sighed and gripped the rod from below. Like the viewers, they thought Sienna was ssing around. But when they realized that her rod seed to have caught sothing heavy, they dug their heels in and increased their strength.
Suddenly, the viewers were more attentive.
When the creature broke the surface, they gasped. It was not an ordinary fish, stone, log or suit case, like they were imagining. It was a rare sea species, scales glimring like molten silver, fins edged with gold.
[That’s a Silver Scaled Fry!]
[Money, money, money, money. She is going to be so rich.]
[Sell it! Sell it! Hurry.]
Within seconds, the livestream transford into a marketplace. Bids began flying across the screen, Beast nobles, rchants, tribe leaders logged in, offering outrageous sums.
["Then thousand beast coins!"]
["Fifty thousand gold balls."]
[Two hundred thousand!"]
Sienna blinked at the scrolling chaos. "Wait, wait, I didn’t an to---"
"Mama I want to eat," Ali jumped up and down.
So of the little one’s fans turned on her, calling her greedy.
Then a new account appeared. Official, verified unmistakable. The beast king himself.
His bid silenced the crowd. ["One million."]
Sienna nearly dropped the rob. "One....million? For a fish?"
The chat went wild.
Then, Elias rushed in, determined to outbid the king just because he could.
[Two million.]
Sienna gasped. She knew the two beast n would just keep upping the bid, not because they wanted the fish but to prove a point.
She stared at the shimring creature, its eyes wide and frightened. She felt a pang of guilt. "It’s just a baby," she murmured. "Worth a fortune, sure, but...it belongs in the sea."
Her audience protested. The bids were already at ten million, what reason did she have not to sell the fish?
[Sienna, think of the money please.]
[I beg you to conquer this mountain for humans.]
Sienna shook her head firmly. "No amount of money is worth stealing a young rare species from the sea. I am releasing it so that it can grow and have more babies."
With a dramatic flourish, she lowered the fish back into the water. The Silver Scaled fry darted away, disappearing into the depths.
The chat exploded again--half outraged, half admiring. Many were calling were insane, while so were calling her noble.
The beast king’s account posted a single line: "Interesting."
Elias did not post anything. Both accounts went inactive.
Sienna wiped her brow, laughing nervously. "Well, that was sothing. Let’s try again before it gets dark."
She cast her line once more, as far as it could go. The rod jerked violently, stronger than before. Sienna braced herself, teeth gritted. "Not the Silver Scaled Fry again, please!"
Viewers laughed, calling the fish stupid for getting caught again.
[It is just begging to be eaten. Ha ha.]
But, it wasn’t a fish. It was a boy.
A young r boy, dripping wet, glaring at her with indignant eyes. His hair shimred like sea weed, his tail flicked angrily.
"You caught !" he declared, voice shrill but commanding. "By the laws of my coven, you must marry !"
Sienna’s jaw dropped, along with the rod. "Marry you? Kid, are you crazy? I was fishing for fish. You are not fish..." her eyes road over him, "Well, not all of you."
At the BeastNet headquarters, hundreds of employees groaned.
"Why can’t she just catch a stupid normal fish?" Soone scread.
In the council hall, the King roared with laughter and ended the eting. "Sienna just caught herself a husband from the Amberis r coven. Elias is going to explode!" He slapped the table, roaring louder, and louder in amusent.
The advisors looked at the notes on the eting. They still had more items to cover. Surely, they were more important than whatever was going on in the livestream. Sienna was obviously going to send the r boy back into the sea like she had done the Silver Scaled Fry.
"Your highness...." One started.
The king put his finger to his lips. "Listen..." he urged them.
Back at the beach, where Eli looked ready to punch the r boy and Ali clung to her mother, Sienna was staring down the r boy. "Kid, go ho."
The r boy crossed his arms, tail splashing water everywhere. "It is the tradition of the Amberis r Coven. Whoever catches a r of age must wed them. I am eighteen. You pulled from the sea, therefore, you are my bride."
Sienna sputtered. "Even if you are eighteen, I am not falling for this trap. I am also already married, with two children. I did not co out to fish for a husband, I ca to fish for dinner."
The boy sniffed. "I demand that you divorce that unworthy man. I am a prince of the Amberis Coven. My dowry includes pearls, sea-horses, and ten singing clams."
Sienna laughed. "Singing clams? That is ridiculous. Also, before you call my husband unworthy, you should know who he is. Have you ever heard of Elias Veythar, the fox Lord?"
The crowd was going wild anwhile, envious of Sienna’s luck. First a Silver Scale Fry and now a prince! How fruitful was this beach?
The r prince blinked. "Elias Veythar. Well, that complicates things, but tradition is tradition and it must be honored."
Sienna walked over to him slowly, and millions of people held their breath.
She raised her right foot and tipped the prince over the edge! "Then tradition says I release you back into the sea. Goodbye, your highness."
The r boy shrieked, splashing back into the waves. "How dare you? This is not over, I will return for you and make sure you catch again!"
Sienna waved and replied. "I am never fishing again." She looked at her cara and said with a sigh, "Truly, no more fishing adventures for . The dea is cursed."
One bold comnt passed across the scene. [You kicked a r prince on livestream, worry about that more than your cancelled fishing plans.]
Sienna let out a small growl. A woman could not kick an unwanted suitor without causing a diplomatic issue!
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