CHAPTER 1
Sirena was all smiles as she swam to Rita's after leaving David. She had finally revealed her secret to him. Even though she knew he loved mermaids she'd still been nervous to show him. But he'd taken the news better than she could have hoped for.
When she made it there and walked into the grotto after drying off and transforming into her land girl form. She was surprised to see her sister, Veridia, Nixie, and Lyla there. Rita, Cam, Ondina, Mimmi, Zac, and Evie were also there as well. Everyone was giving Veridia and Aquata dirty looks and she instantly knew something was wrong. "What's going on" she asks the group.
Evie looks at her and tells her. "I'll tell you what is going on. The pod is coming back but they don't want to have anything to do with Zac or me. They also don't want you girls to have anything to do with us either, even Mimmi even though she is his sister. The pod also wants all of you to give up your lives on land all together."
Sirena looks at Veridia shocked. "What, but Zac and Evie are friends and both deserve to be a part of the pod just as much as any of us. Zac risked his life to save all of us last night." Veridia nods and tells her. "I have been told what he did Sirena. However too many members of the pod still don't trust him.
While he might be the son of Nerissa, too many don't want to have anything to do with him. The pod also doesn't want any of you even Mimmi to have anything to do with him. Or any other land person either. The only reason we are coming back is because the chamber is no longer a threat to us."
Sirena couldn't believe this was happening. She'd just revealed her secret to David. Things were supposed to be better with the pod coming back not worse. David was too important to her she wasn't going to give up her life with him without a fight. Walking up to Veridia and asks.
"Can't you and the rest of the pod see that the pod needs to learn and grow? Can't any of you see how having a good relationship with a merman like Zac, as well as land people is for the good of the pod?" Veridia gives her an annoyed look and says. "Look Sirena I agree with you but I've been out voted. I know you have strong ties here on land, but if you are to remain a member of the pod you have to let them go."
Rita walks up to her and tells her. "You don't have to give up anything here on land if you don't want to. You can stay here with me if you want to. Nixie, Lyla, Mimmi, and Ondina have already chosen to live here as well." Sirena looks at Lyla, Nixie, and Ondina in shock. Mimmi she could understand because of her brother, as well as Chris the land boy she'd met at work.
But Lyla and Nixie had been back with the pod for a while. After what happened with Erik, Sirena had been sure Ondina would want to get away from land for a while. Nixie shrugs her shoulders and says.
"Zac's a friend who risked his life for our kind. I refuse to stay with a pod who is going to treat him badly." Lyla nods her head in agreement. Sirena smiles before looking at Ondina. "What she said." Is the only thing she'd say.
Aquata then walks up to her and says. "Come on Sirena I'm tired of being dry and having legs." Sirena shakes her head and says before even having to think about it. "I can't." Her sister narrows her eyes at her and says.
"You're saying that because of that land boy aren't you, the one I've heard your so fascinated with. You might miss him for a while Sirena. But once you are back with the pod you'll forget about him in time." Sirena shakes her head before telling her.
"You're wrong it was hard leaving him the first time Aquata. I missed him so much if I hadn't returned with Ondina and Mimmi when I did, I would have come back on my own eventually. I love him and I'm not leaving him again." Aquata's eyes narrow into little slits.
"You are choosing a land boy over the pod, over me your own sister? How can you love someone who doesn't even know what you really are? How can you love someone you don't even know won't reject you once he knows the truth." Sirena's eyes narrow as she tells her sister. "He already knows I just told him and he doesn't care he loves me."
Aquata gasps as Veridia asks her. "Sirena you told him how could you? While the few land people who do know have proven to be trust worthy, the more that know the more dangerous it is for us. I know you say you love this land boy, but are you sure that he can be trusted?
How sure can you be that you haven't let your feelings for him cloud your judgment? How can you be sure he didn't go running off telling people what you are to people as soon as you left?" Sirena shook her head and told her. "You don't know David he wouldn't do that."
Aquata gives her sister a dirty look before looking at Veridia. "Veridia I'm tired of having these disgusting legs. I'm going to go on to Mako and wait for the others if it is alright with you." Veridia nods her head in response and Aquata then looks at her sister. "You disappoint me Sirena I no longer have a sister."
Sirena lets out a strangled cry as her sister walks past her. She quickly turns around and cries out to her sister's back. "Aquata you don't mean that." Aquata stopped walking and sighed but didn't turn to face her. "That's where you're wrong Sirena I do." She then walked out of the room.
Sirena started to run after her but Rita quickly grabbed her and stopped her. Sirena looked at her shocked and Rita gave her a sympatric look. "Following her won't do you any good Sirena trust me I know."
Sirena starts to cry and Rita pulls her into a hug. Everyone but Veridia rushes over to comfort her while Rita looks at Veridia. "You've worn out your welcome I think it's best you leave." Veridia lets out a sigh before turning and heading for Rita's moon pool.
While the others were comforting Sirena, Cam walked out of the room and headed for the grotto entrance. Once he was out by the bookcase he pulled out his phone and called David. He picked up on the second ring and Cam tells him. "Hey mate can you come over to Rita's and I'll come to the café and help Carly?" There is a pause and then Cam tells him.
"I know we broke up last and things are a little weird between us. But something's happened and Sirena really needs you." Cam realized as soon as he learned Nixie was coming back that he still had feelings for her. He and Carly talked the night before and decided to take a break. As he'd admitted his feelings for Nixie were stronger than his feelings for her.
She'd of course been hurt but said she understood, and that if things didn't work out they could try things again later. After another pause and then Cam says. "Ok great thanks I'll let Zac know I'm leaving and to come look out for you and let you in. Ok bye." Cam then ended the call and pocketed his phone, before turning around and finding himself face to face with Nixie.
He had so much that he wanted to say to her, and he could tell that she had so much to say to him. But right then wasn't the time so he tells her. "I don't know how much you heard, but David is on the way and I'm going to the café to help out. Let Zac know so he can let him in when he gets here." Nixie starts to open her mouth and he cuts her off.
"I know we've got a lot to talk about but now isn't the time." Nixie sighs and nods her head before saying. "I know." As Cam turns to head out he hears her say. "It's good to see you Cam I've missed you." Cam turns around to look at her and says. "I've missed you too Nixie." He then turns around again and rushes for the front door.
Nixie heads back into the grotto and walked over to Zac, who was standing a small distance from the other mermaids letting them comfort her the most. While he is staring in their direction, Nixie could tell he was staring at Lyla instead of Evie. A look at her friend showed that she was taking glances at him as well. The two had developed feelings for each other before during their time on land, before they'd left to rejoin the pod.
Nixie had known Lyla had missed Zac like she'd missed Cam. As well as their feelings for them hadn't gone away but grown over time. When she'd looked at Cam she could tell it was the same with him for her, like it was with Zac for Lyla. As she reached Zac she took a look at Evie, who wasn't blind and could tell what was going on. She looked crushed and about to cry but neither seemed to notice.
Knowing they needed to stop making eyes at each other, Nixie quickly tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped before turning around to look at her. She quickly filled him in on what was going on, and he nodded before heading for the main part of the house to wait for him. She turned her attention back to where Evie had been and found her gone. She looks and saw Rita looking in the direction of her moon pool with a sad expression.
She notices Nixie looking at her and separates herself from the group before quickly walking over to her. She quietly tells Nixie that she was going go after her and talk to her, and that she'd be back as soon as she could. Nixie nods in response before going back to the group to comfort Sirena, while Rita heads out to try to find a heartbroken Evie.
Zac hadn't been waiting by the front door long when he saw David come running up. It was clear he'd run the whole way as he was sweaty and out of breath. Zac quickly opened the door and David walked in. He braced his hands on his knees while he tried to catch his breath as Zac shut the door. "Did you run the entire way here David?" Zac asks his friend as he puts a hand on his back.
David turns his head to look at him and nods before saying between breaths. "Yeah Cam called me and told me something happened and Sirena need me. He told me he would come to the café and help out. So I told Carly something happened with Sirena and I had to go and that Cam was coming. I then started running here and passed by him on the way here. I wanted to ask him what happened but I didn't want to stop."
"How much talking did you and Sirena get to do earlier?" Zac asks wanting to know how much David knew. "We didn't really get to talk at all. She showed me she was a mermaid by jumping into the water.
She asked if we were ok and I told her we were better than ok. I then told her she'd better get out of there before she was seen, and she told me to come by here after I got off work at 2, as she knew I had a lot of questions."
David then straightens up and asks. "How do you know about Sirena and the others? Wait Mimmi is her cousin and Mimmi is your sister which makes you Sirena's cousin and a merman right?" Zac smiles and tells him.
"Well I am a merman and Mimmi is my sister. But None of us are actually related to Rita or each other besides me and Mimmi. It's a long story but I'm afraid that is going to have to wait until later." David nods in agreement and asks to be taken to Sirena.
When they made it where Sirena and the others were in the grotto she had stopped crying, but was curled up in a ball on the bench rocking herself. David rushes over to her and crouched down in front of her, before touching her leg and softly saying her name. Sirena lifted her head off of her legs and looked at him shocked.
"David?" She says like she couldn't believe he was there right then. "I'm here Sirena tell me what happened." Sirena couldn't say anything she just started to cry again as she reached her arms out to him.
David scooped her up off the bench, only to sit on it with her on his lap. He then held and rocked her as she cried onto his shoulder. Mimmi whispers to the others that they should leave them alone and the others agree. They then follow Mimmi out of the grotto.
Mimmi leads them into the living room, and it is there that Zac notices that Evie and Rita aren't with them. He looks at there others and asks. "Hey where are Evie and Rita?" Lyla who was standing next to him shrugged her shoulders in response. Nixie walked over to them and folded her arms across her chest before saying.
"Oh so now you notice she isn't here. She ran for the moon pool right before I sent you to go wait for David. Can't say I blame her after seeing the way you two were making eyes at each other while she was right there." Zac and Lyla open their mouths to say something, but Nixie cuts them off saying.
"Look I get it the two of you have feelings for each other. You can't help who you have feelings for. I didn't think I'd still have feelings for Cam after he did what he did. But I do and he still has feelings for me." She then turns her attention completely to Zac.
"Judging by the look on her face, she thought your feelings for Lyla were gone. But she saw how you two were looking at each other and was crushed. You need to decide who you want to be with. If you are going to be with Lyla then you need to break it off with Evie. If you aren't going to do that you and Lyla need to stop making eyes at each other."
Zac looks at Nixie sadly and tells her. "Look Nixie I never meant to hurt her. I really did think I was over Lyla. But then I saw her when you guys got here, and I started feeling for her again. I loved Evie but with Lyla I can't help but feel like we…"
He trails off and Lyla says. "Made for each other." Zac looks at her and nods his head. "Then you need to be honest with Evie and end things with her." Nixie tells him. Zac sighs and tells her he knows.
The group sits in the living room for a while, giving the couple in the grotto some privacy. After a while Nixie decides to go check on them and see how they are doing. As she is walking down the tunnel towards the main room of the grotto, she can hear Sirena begging David to calm down. As well as David saying it wasn't right what the council had done to them. 'Great they must have started talking and Sirena filled him in on our story.' She thinks to herself as she picks up the pace.
When she walks into the grotto she sees Sirena step into the path of a pacing David and tells him. "David please calm down and listen to me. We were in charge of guarding the moon pool and keeping land people from getting on the island. We messed up and let Zac fall in. As for how they are treating Zac and Evie, yes it isn't fair but what can we do?" She watches David shake his head before telling her.
"You were and still are just kids Sirena, people our age are going to make mistakes. If the moon pool is so important to your pod adults should have been guarding it. You don't see people our age guarding important things on land adults do it. That is because they know they are too important to allow people our age watch over them.
The pod kicking you out like they did tells me they know they were in the wrong and covering their asses. As for Zac he should be treated as a hero, and Evie should be treated as part of the pod. I'd love to meet this council and tell them what a shitty job I think they are doing as leaders."
"David" Sirena says shocked that he would say such things. All three jumped when they suddenly heard clapping. They all looked over towards the direction of the hallway that led to the moon pool, and saw Veridia and the other council members with Aquata standing by the entrance to the hallway. Rita and Evie were right behind them looking shocked and concerned.
They push past them and rush over to stand beside Sirena who had moved protectively in front of David. Nixie rushes over to stand next to Rita as well. David refusing to be intimidated, lets out an annoyed huff before quickly moving to stand in front of his friends, girlfriend, and principle. "David no." Sirena says distressed and tries to get back in front of him. But he holds his arm out and holds her back.
Veridia actually smiles and says. "Not one easily intimidated I see." David shakes his head and tells her. "Not when it comes to standing up for or defending the one I love and my friends I'm not." Veridia and the other council members actually look at him with respect in their eyes.
"Seems like they feel the same about you, seeing as their all either beside or behind you." David was surprised to hear Zac's voice behind him say. "David will always go to bat for us and we'll always do the same for him." David looks behind him and sees Zac and the others had come into the grotto, and they were standing with Evie and Nixie while Sirena and Rita were of course still on either side of him.
Rita deciding to take charge of things, looks at Veridia and asks her. "What are you doing back here Veridia? I told you earlier that you'd worn out your welcome." Veridia sighs before telling Rita. "Like I told you earlier Rita I agree with you and the others. After I saw what Aquata did for her sister I knew I had to give it another try.
I had her come meet the pod half way and we worked together. We got the pod to change their minds. Mainly because of how hard Aquata argued. Telling them how hard you all fought to get Mako back, and how the land people that knew had helped.
As well as Zac risking his life to save all of us." Rita looks at her surprised and asks. "So they are going to let Zac be a part of the pod?" Veridia nods before she and the other council members walk over and Veridia tells them
"Yes as well as Evie seeing as she is a mermaid. We'd like for David, Cam, and Carly to come as well to be welcomed in as human members of the pod on the next full moon." Zac, Evie, and David all get excited looks on their faces, as do the rest of their friends.
But Veridia raises a hand and says. "However since you aren't pod members yet you can't be around the pod until you are members. I'm sorry but that is a rule and one I couldn't get the pod to break on." David, Evie, and Zac all nod in understanding but still look disappointed.
While this was going on Sirena had walked over to Aquata and asks her. "You fought the pod for us, does this means what I think it means?" Aquata gets teary eyed as she tells her sister. "I never meant any of the things I said earlier Sirena. I know how much your land boy means to you. I know how miserable you were when you came back to the pod with Lyla and Nixie.
I could tell since coming back to land your feelings for him have grown. I knew you'd never be happy giving him up, but knew if I didn't push you away you'd still leave to be with me. I'm your big sister I had to do what was best for you, even if doing it killed me."
Sirena blinks back tears before grabbing her sister and hugging her. Aquata hugs her back and softly tells her. "I love you Sirena." Sirena tells her she loves her too before pulling away. Sirena grabs her sister's hand before leading her over to the others, who had all been watching the sisters hug with smiles on their faces.
When they reach the others, Sirena stops in front of David and tells him. "David I'd like you to meet my older sister Aquata. Aquata this is David my boyfriend." David gives Aquata his best friendly smile and says. "Nice to meet you Aquata."
Aquata shakes his hand and tells him. "Nice to meet you too David, and thank you for making my sister so happy." David smiles goofily at Sirena and says. "Making her happy is my favorite thing to do." Sirena returns the goofy smile as she stares into his eyes.
Veridia looks at Rita and asks her. "Are they always like this?" Rita smiles and says. "Not always but a lot of the time, it's pretty cute actually." Veridia smiles and shakes her head before looking at Rita with a serious expression on her face. "We really should be going the pod is waiting on us. It'd really mean a lot to me if you'd come with us and rejoin the pod." Rita sighs before saying.
"I can't rejoin the pod Veridia at least not and be a full time member with responsibilities. I run the land school that Zac, David, Evie, Carly, and Cam all go to. I have a lot of employees that depend on me to be there to make sure things run smoothly. As well as the kids and all of the other students as well. Also I know a lot of them especially hatchlings will have questions about Harry.
While I have moved on it is still painful to talk about him." Seeing the kids shocked looks she tells them. "Yes I'm seeing someone. I've been seeing Andy Ross or as you all know him as Dr. Ross. We are both private individuals, so we've been taking it slowly and haven't told anyone.
But we talked last night and agreed to start telling people in our family." She then looks at Mimmi and says. "Andy asked me to make sure to ask you to not say anything to anyone you know at work." Mimmi nods her head and promises that she wouldn't.
When Veridia asked what work they were talking about Rita explained where Mimmi worked. As well as that she was out of range of getting splashed with what she did. Veridia didn't look too happy but nods before saying. "I understand you have other responsibilities and I won't ask you to take on any responsibilities.
But it would be good to have a mermaid as a member of the pod who has lived on land as long as you have. You have knowledge that could be very useful to us. Even if you were just a consultant for us on land people or represent us if we are ever discovered would be a big help to us. I'm not asking you to give up your life on land Rita.
But I'd be really happy if you'd just start coming to full moon celebrations, as well as come with us to greet the pod. I know a lot of young hatchlings would love to meet you, and our old swimming friends would love to see you again." Rita sighs before saying.
"Alright I'll come to greet the pod and start coming to full moon celebrations. As well as consult on things when needed. But there may be times when I'm busy with meetings and can't help with answering questions about land or land people. At those times I'll need you and the pod to understand and respect that I am not available.
You can always come to one of the kids here if you have a question and I am not available. If they don't know the answer and it isn't an emergency, it will have to wait until I am available ok?" Veridia nods her head and told her that was completely acceptable.
She then informs the others it was time to go. Sirena quickly gives David a hug and tells him she'd meet him at the café after while. David nods and tells her to be careful out there. She promises to be before hurrying off to join the others. While they were talking Evie walks up to Zac who opens his mouth but she cut him off.
"Look I get it. Your feelings for Lyla are stronger than the ones you have for me. If she'd stayed or come back with Sirena I probably wouldn't have gotten all the time that I did with you. Just treat her right ok?" Zac tells her he would before telling her how sorry he was. She gives him a sad smile and told him not to worry about her. That she'd eventually move on and find someone new when she was ready.
Zac nods before asking if she was ready to head back to the café. And that he'd go with her and David and hang out for a while. Evie nods before saying turning to look where David was. But he was no longer there. "Where did David go?" Evie asks turning to look back at Zac.
Zac looks in the direction where David had been before turning to look at Evie. "I don't know maybe he had to use the bathroom." Evie nods before saying. "Want to go knock on the bathroom door and let him know we will be waiting for him, and ready to go whenever he is? I go into the living room and to sit and wait." Zac nods and they head for the grotto exit.
AN I don't own Mako Mermaids
AN2 I've been away from FF for a long time. Been thinking about posting again. Here is a story I've been working on for a while. Hope those who read it like it.