Our Second Chance

Authors Note: This isn't my first Elena fan fic but it is my first fan fic I've written down. I have been doing audio fanfiction for the past year and will at some point type them up and post them. But this is a what if story. Elena's ma-,ma will be featured in this but I'll be using Gabriella instead of Lucia! I hope you enjoy! Thank you to my best friend LoveLikeElena for beta reading! You're the best and I love you!

Desc: I don't own Elena! She is owned by the amazing Craig Gerber!

Prologue

Five years earlier

It happened so fast Gabriella barely had time to comprehend it. One minute she'd been inside an enchanted painting and the next her legs were gone, replaced with a tail. She didn't remember getting out of the painting. She only remembered waking up in a bed underwater.

It took her a few months to adjust to her new life underwater but she never stopped thinking about her familia. Were her daughters alive or had Shuriki killed them? She didn't know it would be five years later that she'd find out what had happened to them.

Chapter One

Five Years Later

Marisa swam back and forth in front of the doorway that led into Gabriella's room, a once human turned sirena who'd joined their colony five years ago. She lived in the palace and was in charge of watching over the kids of the palace staff. She'd been gone the last two weeks on vacation, visiting another sirena colony with one of the palace maids. They'd gotten back a couple hours ago but Marisa hadn't gone to see her. Not with this huge secret.

That she'd met and was now friends with Gabriella's daughter Princess Elena.

"Hi Gabriella how was your trip? Oh by the way your daughters are alive."

Yeah. No. Not the best way to break the news.

"Kid, are you gonna pace in front of her door all night or are you gonna tell her?" Daria, the general said from behind her.

Marisa swam toward her, clamping a hand over Daria's mouth. "Not so loud." She sighed, looking at Gabriella's closed door. "And yes. When I get up the nerve."

"Well you better do it soon. Marzel is headed down with Elena and her sister." Daria folded her arms, glaring. "I don't understand why she has to come down here all the time! She's human!"

"Does the word duh mean anything to you?" Marisa said with a roll of her eyes. "She's my friend and she's coming to talk to Papa. And her sister Isabel is really sweet." Marisa looked at the closed bedroom door. "When will they be here?"

"Marisa!" Elena's voice called from down the hall.

"Now." Daria swam away.

Marisa yanked Elena back in the other direction and pulled her into her room, closing the shell-shaped door. "Where's Isabel?"

"With Marzel and Coco. Coco's taking her for a ride." Elena's eyebrows shot up in confusion and Marisa's stomach sank. "Que pasa mi amiga? You look like something's wrong." Her lips turned down into a frown. "Your papa changed his mind didn't he?"

"No. No." Marisa waved her arms in front of her. "He signed the peace treaty. You're welcomed down here any time and honestly I 'm going to be sad when you and your familia have to leave to go back to your palace." Marisa turned away for a brief second. "I have something to tell you but I have to tell another person something and—" She swam toward the door. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

She opened the door and swam out into the hall, closing the door as Gabriella came around the corner. Marisa took a breath and let it out. Here went nothing.

"Marisa!" Gabriella called as she came down the hall. "There you are! Daria said you were looking for me! Is everything okay?"

Marisa looked down at the ground as Gabriella's white and purple tale swished back and forth. Oh man. How did she tell her something like this? "I have something to tell you. It's a good something but its kinda huge."

Gabriella's eyebrows raised. "You can tell me anything, mija."

Marisa took another breath. "Elena and Isabel are alive."

The color drained from Gabriella's face and her dark eyes widened. "What?" She asked in a choked whisper. "How-"

"Well—" Marisa was cut off by Elena's voice coming from down the hall.

"Marisa? Can we go pearl hunting? I thought Isa would—"

"Elenita?"

Elena's eyes widened. "Mamá ?" She swam up hesitantly, like she was afraid her mother would disappear if she swam any faster. "What—"

"I was gonna tell you," Marisa cut in. "Your Mamá was away when we met and everything went down. It's why I didn't tell you. Either of you." Marisa laid a hand on Elena's shoulder and could feel her shaking. "You want me to go get Isa?"

Elena shook her head, swallowing. "No. Not yet. I want to talk to Mami first. I'll tell you when to go get her." Elena's face changed but Marisa couldn't read her expression. Her eyes, though, said volumes, "Gracias," she whispered. "You have no idea what you just did." Elena's voice shook and before Marisa could prepare herself Elena's arms were around her in a bone crushing hug. Pulling back, she placed her hands on Marisa's shoulders, tears glistening in her eyes. "Go stay with Isa. And tell her not to eat too many seaweed cookies."

Marisa chuckled. "I won't." She patted Elena's shoulder. "Go talk. Come get me when you want me to bring Isa in."

"Okay. Thanks."

Marisa swam into the kitchen where Isa was seated at the table, eating a cookie. Marzel was across from her, telling a story.
"Hey," Marisa tried, hoping she sounded normal.
"Marisa, what's going on?" her rother demanded.
"Nada. What makes you think-"

"Don't giveme that. We're twins! Besides, you're playing with the ring Papa bought you for your birthday. Whenever you do that, you're hiding something."
Marisa sighed.
"Elena had to take care of something really quickly," she answered half truthfully.
Marzol raised his eyebrows.
Marisa shook her head.
"What happened?" Isabel asked.
Marisa turned her attention to the pre-teen.
"Nada. She just had to talk to someone about something. We're still going pearl diving," she assured her. "We just have to wait a while."

"We are just not for a few minutes. But I have some awesome books I've been wanting to show you..."

Elena wiped at her eyes. The moment the door to her Mamá's bedroom had closed, the tears had flowed as her mother's arms came around her. Something she didn't think she'd ever feel again. But now it was time to hear her Mamá's story of how she was here and a sirena.

"Elenita, you don't have to put on a brave face for me," her mother whispered. "We may have spent forty three years apart but you're my daughter and I've known you since you were born, which means I know there's something you're not telling me."

Elena sighed and pulled out of her mother's embrace. She told her everything, from the moment she discovered Shuriki was back to the final battle and Shuriki's end. "I never thought it'd end like that, she choked on a sob and couldn't stop her voice from shaking. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, staring at the blue bedspread on her mother's bed. "She took everything from me—from us and she deserved what she got I just never thought I'd be the one to kill her." She wiped at a tear but more kept coming and in two seconds her mother's arms were around her again. A sob tore through Elena's throat and her mother's arms tightened around her. Her body shook until she could no longer stand and her mother gently brought her to the ground, the hug never breaking.

"You did what you had to do, miel. You defended yourself. You defended our kingdom and our familia."

Elena tried to take in her mother's words. Yes she'd done all of those things but she'd still killed someone. "I can't believe you're here." She buried her face in her mother's shirt. It'd been so long since her mother had held her like this, running a hand through Elena's long dark hair. She wanted to stay like this forever. But they couldn't do that.

"What happened to land you down here and turned into a sirena?" Elena's voice was quiet, muffled by her Mamá 's shirt.

Her mother's chest rose and fell with a heavy sigh. "I was able to escape before Shuriki could cast her spell. Your papi pushed me out of the carriage." Her voice shook and she swallowed, her chest rising and falling in quick breaths.

Elena sat up so she could look into her mother's eyes. So full of guilt and years of pain. She took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "How did you get into the palace?"

"I snuck into the door you always used when you would sneak out to meet your friends."

Elena's cheeks reddened at her mother's narrowed eyes.

"Anyway." Her Mamá cleared her throat. "I made it to where Alakazar was putting everyone into the painting but he'd already done so when I arrived. Luckily he was able to get me into one before Shuriki found me."

A shiver went through Elena at that thought. Her Mamá had nearly died trying to get back to her.

"I dont know what happened after that. After I was let out of the painting, I ended up here. I had several injuries and was barely—well—I was told I was barely alive when I was let out and the only way to save me was to turn me into a sirena."

Elena swallowed back another sob but it tore through her throat without permission. She flung her arms around her Mamá again. The sirenas had saved her mother's life. She owed Marisa and her familia everything.