Chapter one - The birth of Shellie


The clouds closed in on the sky and the fisher boat began to make it's way towards dry land as three mermaids secretly popped on the other side of it for a little look.

"Wow," Kelp gasped as she looked at the huge boat that lay before them.

"I haven't seen one of these before. What is it?" Corrine asked in a confused way, not wanting to wander off far into a different direction from the reef or near anything that might belong to a human.

"Hmm, not sure. But maybe Silky would know," Pearl replied in delight, beginning to swim off and into the direction of their new friend.

"Hey, wait!" Kelp called after her, but Corrine wasn't so sure about staying above the surface for too long. Eventually, she plucked up her courage and followed her friends.

Kelp and Pearl usually left Corrine out because she always liked collecting ocean shells and things from the reefs and ocean forests, while they liked to explore the surface and far off lands. She just hoped that the new baby would be more like her.

As Kelp and Pearl both broke through to the surface near a tiny rock, a little baby seagull was sitting on top of it as they quietly approached.

"Hey Silky," Kelp yelled at the top of her voice as the bird flew down to them.

"Hey guys," Silky replied. "What brings you hear today?"

"We were wondering what that-" She began as Pearl cut her off.

"We were wondering what that thing that was swimming on the ocean was called," Pearl finished as Kelp glared at her which she ignored.

"Hmm, that's a human thing," he replied.

"Human?" Corrine, who had sneaked up behind them, cried in disbelief.

"Yes Corrine. It's a boat," he finished.

Suddenly, a seahorse popped out of nowhere.

"Hey mermaids! Your father wants you back to the castle. You were supposed to be there for the ceremony of princess Shellie hours ago. Anyway, what shall I tell him about you two swimming near the surface?"

"Please don't!" Kelp and Pearl gasped at the same time.

"Fine, but if I catch you again..." He couldn't finish because they were already off, Corrine in the lead.

As soon as the three mermaids arrived, queen Brialena was holding their new baby as they stood sulkily in front of the king. He looked at them and they looked back nervously.

"What did I tell you?" He began and Pearl replied.

"You told us to no go near the surface and to come back-" She replied as the king interrupted her.

"You went to the surface?!" He shouted.

Before giving her best friend a furious look, Kelp answered the king.

"Sorry king Haliem," she sulked as she faced her friends father. "It was only a quick peek."

"I told you NEVER to go there and you disobeyed me," he cried in fury at their disobedience. "I am particularly upset at you," she added, looking straight into his daughters eyes. "Pearl, I thought I told you to never go off like that nearly a thousand times. Go back into the palace, Kelp and Corrine, you are dismissed to go back to your reef."

Pearl sighed and looked at her friend who whispered. "Good luck."

The princess mouthed. "Thank you."


As Pearl sat quietly in her bedroom, she sighed and looked through a gap in the rock which was her window. Her bedroom was at the far edge of the palace and out of the way of anything else like parties that she never really enjoyed. Soon she heard her father come in so turned around to see that he had brought Shellie with him.

She carefully swam up to her sister and smiled. "Hey sis," she said.

Ever since she had come back, she never really got a proper look at her sister. She had blonde hair and sea-blue eyes, a lot different from Pearl who had black hair and dark ocean-blue eyes. Her friends, Corrine and Kelp had different hair too. Kelp, bright red hair with emerald-green eyes and Corrine, who had dark-brown hair along with hazelnut-brown eyes.

"Maybe you should both go to bed," King Haliem said while putting Shellie in her seashell cot.

"Fine..." Pearl began to lie on her own seashell next to her sister and said goodnight to her father as he left. She soon, after an hour, closed her eyes and drifted off.


To be continued...