Nerissa looked at her two children, Zac and Mimmi, both floating on their backs in the moon pool. It felt so great to touch them again, after all these years of being a dormant water dragon.
Three months ago, Nerissa woke up with the task of wiping out all mermaids, and there was no way she could ignore it. Reluctantly, and with pain in her heart, she followed the mermaid she first encountered after waking up, Weilan. After arriving at Mako Island, and seeing her two beloved children reunited, she realized there was still mother love stored deep within her heart, and despite the dragon instinct telling her to do her task, she did the opposite instead. She turned away and left, leaving the two unharmed, but every full moon she returned, hoping her children would realize it was her and would break the spell. Then one day, they did, and she could finally embrace them again. Something she had longed for, for so long.
Nerissa was pulled back to the present when she felt a slightly movement in the water, then suddenly, Mimmi yelped loudly. Worriedly, the older mermaid looked at her daughter, who was trying to fight off her brother's fingers as he tickled her. The girl screamed and laughed at the same time, begging her brother to stop.
Nerissa couldn't help but look a little sad as she realized how much her children reminded her of herself and her twin brother, and remembered the day they separated. She was only twelve years old.
"But I don't want you to leave!" Nerissa clutched her arms around her twin brother's neck and sobbed into his chest, uncontrollably. She could feel his warm and protective arms wrap around her, pulling her into a tighter hug. Despite of just being twelve years old, her brother's arms were quite strong. She had nothing but fond memories of him. He always protected her from sharks, or fishing nets when she hadn't been careful enough. They laughed together and played together. He was even there for her when she felt sad and either tried to cheer her up or just allowed her to cry as long as she needed. He just hold her in his arms and let her sob as he stroked her hair to comfort her. And because of some war that happened eons and eons ago, he had to leave and either life on land or find a merman pod. It was so unfair.
"I don't want to leave either, but I have no choice. The mermaid council allowed me to stay with the pod for only twelve years, which is already an exception. Usually they would send us away when we are still infants."
"Yeah, I know!" Nerissa sobbed. "But I always hoped the council would make up their mind and let you stay. You're part of the pod. You always followed their rules. You never disobeyed them, or ever done anything that might be a threat for us. It's just not fair! I hate them! I want nothing to do with them anymore! I want to come with you!"
The merman lifted his sister's chin up to look into her blue eyes that sparkled with stubbornness. She always had been the most stubborn. He could tell she meant every word she just said. But he also knew it was not possible.
"I'm sorry, but you know it's not possible. We are both still too young to take care of ourselves, in the water and definitely on land. There are still pods who accept young mermen, but there is no way they would accept you."
Nerissa felt her brother's fingers run through her hair. Usually it comforted her, but this time it made her only more upset. She knew it would be the last time, and the thought hurt.
"I just don't understand why they don't trust you. Why are they so scared of mermen?"
"You know why, little sis." The twelve year old boy used his thumb to remove the tears from his, three minutes younger, sister then pulled her in for another hug. Nerissa cried quietly. Her brother was right, she knew the answer to her question. The pod told them, a long time ago. They told them one of their ancestors, a powerful merman, had built a chamber during the war, for ownership over an island named Mako. Mermaids managed to defeat him and somehow the chamber was sealed, though, no mermaid had ever seen the chamber with their own eyes. They just believed the story that was told from generation onto generation.
"It's just a silly story, I know it!" Nerissa sobbed. "And even if the chamber is real, you would never hurt me or any mermaid. You just wouldn't."
"I appreciate the trust you have in me, Nerissa, but I am afraid it is real. After all, we are descendants from this merman. I felt the pull of the full moon for the first time, three days ago. It will only become stronger with every passing full moon until I can't fight it any longer. With a clear mind, I would never hurt you or any mermaid, but under the spell of the full moon, I can't be sure. What if I can't fight it and you do end up hurt? I would never forgive myself. To ensure your safety, it's best I leave, you know that."
Nerissa shook her head, vigorously and exclaimed; "NO! I can't let you do that! I need you! You are strong, I know you are! You can fight it, I know you can! You fought off sharks before, so you can fight this too."
"This is not just a shark we are talking about, Nerissa." Her brother smiled warmly at her as he made another attempt of removing the stream of tears. "Please don't cry, Nerissa. You are strong, you know you are. You don't need me. You will become an even more stronger and powerful mermaid, I know you will."
"But I will miss you."
"And I will miss you." The young merman planted a kiss on his sister's forehead then tried to free himself from her tight embrace. Nerissa refused letting him go. She knew she had to, but she just couldn't. Her brother patted her hair one more time then said; "The pod ordered me to leave by sunrise. I have to go now."
Nerissa hugged her brother one more time, very tightly. With pain in her heart she watched her brother turn away, ready to dive under, but she quickly grabbed his arm, one more time.
"I don't know how I will do it, but I will find a way. One day, mermaids and mermen can live among each other again."
The merman smiled warmly when he saw the confident glow in his sister's eyes then said; "I know you will, Nerissa. In the meantime, I'll try to do the same thing, okay? And don't worry, one day I will find you again."
Nerissa nodded and gave her brother a sad smile as he dove from her sight. Her heart broke in pieces and for the first time in twelve years, she felt utterly lonely. She dove under water and swam towards the coral she and her brother played in when they were still little. She lied down and cried for hours, hoping it was just a bad dream and her brother's familiar fingers would run through her hair to confirm it. But it was not a bad dream.
From that day on, Nerissa focused on her mermaid studies to full fill her promise. She was determined she would travel to Mako Island, find the chamber's location, and destroy it, so mermaids wouldn't have to fear mermen any longer. But sadly, a rebel mermaid named Aurora, 'threw a spanner in the works'.
The Northern pod found itself under attack by Aurora. Nerissa was twenty one years old by then and a proud mother of two children, a boy and a girl. She cared for both equally, and decided to keep them both, but after Aurora's arrival and realizing her powers rivaled even with hers, Nerissa couldn't ensure her children safety. She was forced to make another difficult decision of her life. Feeling the same pain in her heart as she felt when she separated from her brother at age twelve, she decided to give them new homes.
Nerissa headed to Australia where she left her daughter to live in the Mako pod. Knowing the same pod wouldn't accept her son, she decided to find another home for him, but closely to his sister so they had a chance to reunited. That's when she decided to leave him with the Blakely's, a young couple who wanted to be parents but weren't able to conceive a child of their own. Nerissa used a spell on the little infant that prevented him from tuning into a merman after touching water.
Heavy hearted, Nerissa returned to the Northern pod to continue fighting Aurora then return to Mako for her children and find a way to destroy the chamber on the island, so she and her children could reunite with her twin brother, and live together.
After being chased away from the Northern pod, Aurora set her sights on the Eastern pod. Nerissa followed her and fought alongside the Eastern pod for years and befriended a member of the mermaid council who introduced her to her granddaughter named Weilan.
At a certain moment, Nerissa decided to face Aurora alone. She swam inside one of the underwater caves to face the rebel mermaid, but instead she found a little, eight year old boy clutching something into his arms protectively while trembling with fear. It took a few minutes for the mermaid to gain the little boy's trust, but finally he dared to show what he was holding. That's when Nerissa saw two babies, a boy and a girl, not older than ten months. The little boy told her his name was Duryea and his siblings names were Kishi and Koralline.
All three of them had tails and it seemed like neither of them had any resemblances with Aurora, so who were they and why were they in this cave? Also, why did the small boy have a scar, looking like a claw on his chest? Were they part of the Eastern pod? Probably not, because she hadn't seen them before.
"You're friends with her?" Duryea suddenly asked. "You're friends with mermaid who took us away from papa and mama?"
Nerissa's heart dropped. Aurora kidnapped them? But why? What purpose did she have in mind with them? She shook her head in reply and sent a warm smile as she said; "No, but I will take the three of you with me and we go find your mama and papa."
Duryea nodded his head happily then allowed Nerissa to hold his siblings as they swam outside the cave. Nerissa decided to take the three with her to the Eastern pod, hoping Weilan's grandmother and the other council members knew to who the three children belonged. But before she could reach them, she saw Aurora coming after her.
Scared for the three little ones safety, Nerissa fled with them towards the beach and hides them behind the rocks. To avoid them from drying out, she used the same spell as she used on her own son when she left him on land, only this time she told herself it would be temporarily. She would defeat Aurora then return to the beach, reverse the spell and find their parents.
"Please, stay here, okay?" Nerissa rubbed the little boy's cheek before diving back underwater and started searching for Aurora. Tonight, she would defeat Aurora, for once and for all. Or so she thought.
Instead of being defeated by Nerissa, Aurora casted a spell on her, transforming the young mermaid into a water dragon that had the ability to take away mer-people's tails and powers with its cold dragon fire breath.
The mermaids of the Eastern pod were scared when they saw her, and they tried to protect themselves against the water dragon. Having lost of all her senses, Nerissa attacked the mermaids with her cold fire breath. The mermaids fled towards the only safety they could find, land.
Among the fleeing mermaids, Nerissa saw one merman, and for a moment she felt love weakening the spell when she recognized him. For a moment, she felt like she was twelve again and saw her brother come to her rescue, locking the scary sharks in an icy prison. She felt so happy and relieved when she saw the face she had waited for, for so long. Her brother had found her, like he promised he would.
Her new form totally slipped from Nerissa's mind and she swam towards the merman, ready to embrace him after all those lost years.
At first, the merman froze in shock when he saw the enormous water dragon coming towards him, but almost immediately, his survival instincts kicked in and he readied himself to attack the creature with a strong merman spell. But then, the unexpected happened. Instead of receiving a full load of cold fire breath, the water dragon stopped in front of him, it's incredibly big head mere inches away from his. It just looked at him, as if it was waiting for something. The merman couldn't help but feel like the dragon wanted to tell him something.
Nerissa looked into her brother's blue hues, hoping he would feel what she felt. Cautiously, she moved her head forward, closing the gap between hers and his face, but before she could touch him, she felt someone attack her from behind with strong mermaid powers. She turned her head and saw Aurora.
Fearing her brother might get wounded in the crossfire, Nerissa fled. Aurora chased after her until she had no way to go.
"I'm sorry, dear brother, for not being able to fulfill my promise. I'm sorry, Mimmi and Destan, for not being able to be the mother you need. I'm sorry, Duryea, for not being able to help you and your siblingsā¦" Nerissa thought to herself, right before she fell into a deep sleep, a spell cast on her by Aurora.
"Mom, are you okay?"
Nerissa snapped from her thoughts and looked up, finding both her children look at her, worriedly. That's when she realized her cheeks were wet of her own tears. She quickly rubbed them away with the back of her hand and smiled.
"Yeah." Nerissa nodded then wrapped her arms around her son and daughter and said, smiling; "A long time ago, I made a promise to someone, and it's about time I fulfill it."
Mimmi looked worriedly. "You're not leaving, are you?"
Nerissa shook her head and replied; "This time, I want to do it as a team. Well, if you're up for it anyway."
"Whatever it is, count me in," Zac smiled.
Mimmi nodded and wrapped her arms around her mother.
"Are we allowed to enter this team as well?" Weilan asked boldly as she and Ondina swam inside the moon pool.
Yup, yup, Zac's merman name is Destan (sorry, I am so terrible when it comes to picking mer-related names LOL), but I guess it's not that important, I guess. It's not like they suddenly stop calling him Zac, or anything xD
Anyway, if you like the start of this story and want to read more, please fav/or follow. Reviews about your thoughts are very appreciated and it might improve my writing, especially if you spot a mistake I really should fix.I would also love to know your overall thoughts on this chapter, but it's not a must or anything xD
