Sorry for the long wait :U I get lazy and only write when I want to. Which is a lot. But it's mostly Kuroshitsuji stuff or stuff for my other Mermaid Melody project. Yeah ^^; So this chapter will be longer. There's a bit of filler, but- snap, lost my train of thought. Derailed.

….

Maria grabbed her umbrella and scooted over the limo seat to the door. The door opened and she looked out to see her very large, and not to mention person-empty, mansion. It was surrounded by trees and other greenery with ivy and grape vines growing up the brick-red outside walls.

She opened her umbrella and stepped out, right into a puddle from yesterday's rain. Since it was dry earlier in the morning, it probably became caught in the wind and fell from the trees. She slipped, but this time when she went down, she didn't have two girls trying to catch her, but a man with defiantly strong arms, wearing a suite, who caught her before she hit the ground.

"I'm sorry." She said as the man lifted her back to her feet. She felt like crying again. How is it a person like me is supposed royalty?

"Sorry for what?" He asked, shutting the limo door. He smiled at her, unknowingly making her feel even worse.

"For being so clumsy." She replied, looking at the ground.

"Everyone falls once in a while and most of the time, it can't be helped. You have no control over it, so you shouldn't worry."

She put on a fake small smile. "Thank you, Shawn." She said sincerely. Twirling her umbrella, she said, "When we get inside, could I please have some tea? I'll be out back for a while."

"Sure thing, Princess."

Princess. Something he had called her since she was about five, around the time she really wanted to be a princess. But now that the words might have some actual meaning, she no longer wanted to be called that. But she wouldn't say anything about it.

Why me?

….

The trio arrived at the mall. It wasn't far from the beach, so obviously, they walked. Rose had refused to answer any questions until they went in.

"Okay, shoot." Rose said as she let go of her friends' arms. "You may now start ruining our 'girly' shopping trip."

"Isn't a crowed place like this the perfect spot to be overheard?" Orabelle asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Between all the anime, games, fanpeople, role-players and cosplayers in Japan talking about all that crap, we'll just sound like normal teenagers who are also talking about it." Rose replied.

"First question," Spencer said as Rose dragged the two over to the escalators. "Magical, really?"

"Not exactly sure how that works." Orabelle answered.

"Her answer's as good as mine." Rose said as they were taken to the second floor.

"Hm, I guess if you don't know, I have no chance at knowing…" Spencer said. He readied another question for the second round. "So…you two are really princesses?"

"Yup. There's seven of us, and we're as royal as royal brats can get."

"I'm not a brat." Orabelle mumbled, frowning.

"It's an expressive term." Rose said as she stepped off the escalator and onto the second floor of the mall. Orabelle and Spencer followed closely behind. Oddly, it was almost empty. "To save three more questions, no, singing isn't our only power, no, I have no idea why singing is our main power and yes, all mermaid princesses are beautiful color-coded fishies with more than just ass-long hair."

"Well, that saves three questions." Spencer said as they continued on. "I guess the next question would be, what was with the bubbles and dying talk earli-" He frozen, stopping mid-sentence and mid-stride.

"What is it?" Orabelle asked, not knowing what store they were in front of. It said 'Peach John' on the front in pink and the inside looked similar to a typical little girl's daydream of a castle ballroom.

"No." He said. "Just no. I am not going in there."

"Oh, come on!" Rose exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm and shaking him. "It's just a clothes store!"

"It's not 'just a clothes store', it's a lingerie store! No!" He replied. "Why would you drag me here?"

"First off, not all underwear is lingerie and second, do you have any idea how gay you just made yourself sound?"

"Oh, damn it, Rose." Spencer grimaced. "Did you really just have to say that?"

The duo's bickering was interrupted by Orabelle breaking out in a fit of laughter. Laughter so powerful that she was holding her stomach and leaning against a large marble plant pot that happened to be next to her. People stared, rolled their eyes and walked on, but she didn't care. Probably because she had her eyes closed and couldn't see them.

"What's so funny?" Rose asked, letting go of Spencer's arm.

"You are!" She said as she tried to stop laughing. "You two are so silly!"

"Oh, who's silly?" She questioned again, grabbing Orabelle in a headlock as she ran her fist through the brown-haired girl's tresses.

'Hey, stop that!" She exclaimed. "It hurts!"

"Make no mistake, when people say Rose is a hands-on girl, they're referring to the fact that she's probably almost strangled them several times." Spencer said as he watched the two girls. Rose frowned and let go of Orabelle before putting him in the same headlock and messing up his hair.

"Your turn!"

"Rose, stop! Your nails are sharp! It hurts!"

Orabelle fell back laughing again. Truthfully, she had never seen two people act so silly. She'd never seen anyone act like that. Everyone at her kingdom just had to act so prissy like they lived in a castle. Which they did. She didn't bother to make friends with anyone, because people would act different around her as to not offend her because she was the princess. Plus, they would only nag her about her princess duties even more than her very absent advisor, probably to see what work a princess does.

Rose let go of the now very messy-haired, red-faced Spencer, whose glasses threatened to fall off the tip of his nose.

"Now back to serious matters." She said, definitely sounding like a princess for the first time in months. "We've got some important business to attend to and standing around isn't going to cover Yellow's butt!"

'Yellow' obviously referred to Orabelle. Spencer's face turned one shade darker of red as he fixed his glasses.

"Your non-discreetness is wonderful." Orabelle said with a smile, failing at sarcasm.

"I have to agree with her." Spencer added, stepping back. He could see the gears turning in Rose's head, probably trying to figure out how to do a double-noogie without growing two more arms.

Rose bit her lip. "Come on already." She said. "Clothes are clothes. Just because it's made of less fabric doesn't mean it's embarrassing."

"Fine then," Spencer replied. "I guess you wouldn't mind telling us the color of your underwear today?"

Rose linked her arm with Orabelle and started dragging her into the store. "With that, we'll be going." She said quickly.

Spencer flashed a triumphant grin as he watched the girls hurry (in Orabelle's case, drag) away. He sat on a near-by bench and waited for them.

….

Maria sat on a chair in the 'backyard'. 'Large empty green space with flowers' would have been a more accurate description, but this doesn't matter.

Now changed out of her school uniform and into a short dark-blue dress, she tried to drop everything in her mind for once. That didn't work.

Sighing, she grabbed her still-open umbrella and got up, walking out into the yard. It was still cloudy out, but it didn't matter. She couldn't go outside without her umbrella anyway.

Could I really be a princess? She wondered as she walked through the yard. I'm already a mermaid, but…how could a mermaid, much less a princess, be someone like me? I guess it could happen to anyone…I guess the first step to figuring this out is to find that necklace. She walked over to a tree that had a swing hanging from it and sat down there. But where would I even begin to look…?

….

"Before you ask, which you probably won't because you don't know where and what this is, no, it is not just all lacey garments that look confusing to put on." Rose said as the two walked over to part of the store that had large mirrors and changing rooms. "There's also normal garments that look confusing to put on."

"Well, that's great to know." Orabelle replied and she watched herself twirl her skirt in the mirror. "Swishy."

Rose rolled her eyes. She grabbed Orabelle by the shoulders and turned her around to a wall of hanging undergarments. "I don't know what size you need, get shopping! And you're going to need a human bra, too! "

After several minutes of confusion and trying things on, Orabelle and Rose walked out of Peach John with a shopping bag to spot Spencer near a bench, jumping up and down while a boy much taller than him, also wearing their school's uniform, held his glasses above his head while someone else in a school uniform stood by laughing.

"Don't be pathetic! Jump higher!"

"Give me back my glasses! I can't see!"

"Jump higher then!"

"Oh, what the Hell?" Rose exclaimed as she stomped over to the boys. Orabelle followed behind, almost tripping over her feet. Mermaids will just about never be graceful when they go from fins to feet. She hoped that it wouldn't be permanent.

"I can't jump higher! Give them back!"

Being the athletically built-for-swimming teenager that she was, Rose had no trouble jumping high enough to snatch Spencer's glasses and return them. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?" She asked, directing her question to the person who stole the glasses.

The boy that was laughing stopped, and the one who took the glasses frowned. "We were just playing."

"Yeah, just playing." The other boy chimed in.

"I'm no expert," Orabelle said, recalling everything she had learned on land. "But that didn't look like playing."

"Hey, aren't you the cute new girl?"

Her face turned slightly red. DAMN IT, you have to get used to it! Just because they aren't mermaids doesn't mean it's embarrassing, now stop acting like a sea anemone!

"Back on topic!" Rose exclaimed. Spencer took a step back because someone was about to get on her bad side, and he really didn't want to be that person. "You didn't answer my question!"

"You're pretty when you're mad." The boy who stole Spencer's glasses said. He put a hand under Rose's chin and tilted her head up. "Any other day you're cute, but when you're mad, it's really attractive."

Rose smacked his hand away. "Touch me again and I'll break your fingers."

"Aw, seems she doesn't want to play." The other boy said. He then winked at Orabelle. "How about you, Bella?"

She frowned. "It's OraBELLE. Not 'Bella'. You don't even know me well enough to be calling me something so informal."

"We have a princess!"

"Guys, let's just go-" Spencer started to say, but the second boy pushed him back.

"What's a computer monkey like you doing by hanging out with two cute girls who are quite obviously out of your league?"

Rose smacked his hand for touching Spencer. "Touch HIM again, and I'll break YOUR fingers."

"But what if you touch me?" The first boy asked, winking.

She became livid. "Then you'll be in the hospital!"

"Aw, don't play like that." He said, grabbing Rose and pulling her close. She reacted without even thinking; her hands flew out, punching him in the face while she used her other hand to punch the second boy in the face. She quickly pulled free, grabbed Orabelle's and Spencer's hands, and ran for it.

….

"There you are, missy!"

Maria looked up to see Shawn, her butler, running up to her in a goofy way. He always attempted to make her smile and laugh.

"I wasn't hiding." She replied, scooting over where he could sit next to her.

"Really?" He asked, sitting down. "Because you seem troubled. And when you're troubled, you tend to hide."

"I'm not troubled." She lied. "Just bored."

"Really?"

"Well, I might be thinking something over…" She looked at the sky, trying to put on a bored expression.

"And what would that be?"

She bit her bottom lip. "…My old baby stuff is in the attic, right?"

"Of course, but it's a bit dusty up there. May I ask why?"

"You can always ask." She said, twirling her umbrella again. "No reason, I was just wondering."

….

"Did we lose them?" Spencer asked as the three hid in the back of a clothes store.

Orabelle fell down, panting and coughing. "I've never had to use my lungs like that before!"

"Yeah." Rose answered. She then patted Orabelle on the shoulder. "You'll be fine. It takes a little getting used to, but you'll be fine."

"Not sure I WANT to be used to it." She coughed. "But it's a good thing we got out of there, I was about to go into princess mode and tell them to leave."

"You can't do that in the human world." Rose said, wagging a finger in front of her face. "We're supposed to be humans, remember?"

"Hate to break it to you," Spencer cut in. "But you aren't actually humans."

"Thank you for the blond observation." Rose replied. "Wait, I take that back. Only dye-jobs are dumb. Probably because of the hair bleach seeping in and killing brain cells. Anyway! Let's finish this shopping trip and go."

"Okay." Orabelle coughed again, standing up.

Half an hour later the three left the mall. Rose decided to go back to the café with Orabelle, and she continued to drag Spencer along with her.

"One minute," Orabelle said to the two as she went up the stairs. "Need to go put stuff down."

"We'll be here!" Rose called back.

"…She lives here?" Spencer asked.

Rose shut the door and grabbed Spencer's hand. "C'mon! I needa go do something before she comes back!"

Orabelle dropped the bags down on her bed and dumped them out. The Peach John bag had the obvious, underwear, and the red bag that said 'Cherry Palace' had a yellow blouse, skirt and dress, a wallet, a small yellow purse, a school bag and the rest of her money. She decided to get everything in her favorite color, except for the school bag, which was brown.

She changed into her work uniform and went back downstairs as she tied the apron behind her back. Rose and Spencer weren't at the bottom like they said they would be, so she decided to check the kitchen.

"Anyone in here?" Orabelle asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Freezer!" Alice called out. It sounded like she was fumbling with boxes.

"Need any help? It sounds like you have things falling on you."

"Nope! I'm fine!"

She walked over to the door to find Alice stacking boxes, not dropping them. "Did Rose come in here?"

"The freezer? No, but she might be somewhere in the kitchen."

"Okay- EEEEP!"

Someone had snuck up behind her and grabbed her shoulders. She turned around to find Rose giggling with Spencer next to her. Only, she was dressed different; instead of the tank-top and jeans, she was wearing a uniform the same as her own, only pink.

"Surprise! We're gonna stay color-coded!"

….

Maria dug through the boxes in the attic, sending dust all throughout the room. She coughed as she pulled out baby toy after baby toy, but she wasn't going to let dust stop her.

She emptied the last box and frowned. No shell necklace out of the four boxes of baby toys. There went that idea.

She put everything back in the boxes and left the attic, coughing all the way. She tripped down the stairs, down, down, down, to be caught by the butler.

"Maria, are you alright?" He asked, lifting her up.

She coughed again. "Just peachy." She lied, rubbing her forehead.

"What were you doing in the attic?"

"Looking for something." She replied as Shawn set her back on her feet. She coughed again, and fell back, only to be caught again.

He picked her up and started down the hall. "Come on, let's get the dust off of you."

Maria sighed. "I don't want to be sick again…"

….

Later that night, after closing up and dealing with nightly business, Orabelle and Rose sat at a table in the main room while Alice swept the floor. Spencer had already left.

"Now that we aren't busy and you have time for a million questions, why didn't you tell me you were coming to work here?" Orabelle asked.

"Well, it was a surprise." Rose replied plainly. "It's no big deal, really. My last job sucked, and I asked Alice yesterday when you were out of the kitchen to work her with you. It gives us more time to work out this super-heroine stuff."

"I guess…" Orabelle said, drifting off into thought. "Before I get started on that, how did you get a uniform like mine, but in pink?"

"We're magical heroes, Belle!" Rose exclaimed, making a face. "Rule of magical girls. We're all going to work at the same place, have color-coded outfits and go to the same school. Unless this is Sailor Moon…"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Orabelle shook her head. She had a lot to learn about the human world. "But anyway, evil in the sea. I don't know about you, but I have no experience with this kind of thing and I don't know that first thing to do. Actually, scratch that, second thing to do. We should get all the princesses together, right?"

Rose shrugged. "That's how it works in anime."

"Rose, seriously…"

Rose stood up out of her chair and walked over to Orabelle, then sat on the table. "Okay then. Let's start off with the major issue; Maria's pearl."

"Snap, I didn't think about that." Orabelle said, biting her bottom lip. "My question is, how could she have lived without it?"

"I dunno." Rose replied. "But we need to find it. We're fucked if we need all seven princesses and Maria has to sit it out. But unfortunately, I don't have a pearl radar."

She sighed. "Well, there goes that."

Rose hopped off the table and started untying her apron. "We'll talk more tomorrow; I've got homework waiting for me."

"Ah! So do I!" Orabelle exclaimed, jumping out of her chair. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

She ran upstairs, took a quick bath, put on her pajamas and grabbed her social studies homework. She was pretty sure she would fail it since she knew next to nothing about the human world, and substituted things from the mermaid world where she could.

….

So that's the end of this chapter. I'm going to have assloads of character development coming in soon.

Oh and~ Before anyone goes thinking this is the original MM with different characters, juuuust wait. It's not what you think.

And did you hear the news? The MM dub might actually be released in December, so cross your fingers!