The sun was high above the small boat. Leah had never felt sweat before; she didn't understand what was happening. Terence had to reassure her several times that she wasn't melting. Finally she seemed to believe him and got back to rowing the small boat towards the island. After a while Leah couldn't take the silence anymore.
"Terence, do you know how I can turn back into a mermaid and be with my family?"
"I don't have any idea," Terence replied, "But your grandfather the King will won't he?" Leah nodded; her grandfather had turned her aunt human so maybe he knew how to turn her back to her original form. It seemed like a good plan.
"But how are we going to find him?" Leah asked, "I don't know where we are, or how to reach him!"
"Don't you have family on land somewhere?" Terence asked.
"Yes my aunt Ariel and- wait! How did you know about that?"
"The sorcerer knows a lot of things about your family. More than you probably know."
"Where is he getting all of his information?" Leah asked horrified, "Is someone spying for him?"
"Something like that," Terence replied as he continued to row, "The sorcerer discovered a- hey look over there!" Leah looked to here he was pointing. She squinted her eyes and she could just make out the outline of a small island. She could feel Terence begin to paddle faster as if he had suddenly gained more energy. Leah tried to keep up. She knew that as soon as they were on the island they would be safe.
Melody hurried to get ready for dinner. She couldn't be the last girl to the mirror! She rushed out of her room and hurried towards the giant vanity in the middle of the big room. But as luck would have it a few of the other girls had already reached the mirrors. Serena and Pearl were pushing each other away from the mirror trying to get a full view of themselves. Lily and coral were watching trying to sneak in while their cousins were fighting. Melody laughed and swam to the side of the mirror. It wasn't the best view but at least she could see. She examined her hair which Serena had done earlier in the day. Serena had braided several small pieces of Melody's hair and tied a few of them together in the back. Melody loved the way it looked when she moved in the water. The braids made her look more exotic. She thought she looked alright so she sat and waited patiently for her cousins to finish getting ready. Serena always took the longest.
The rest of the royal family was already sitting in the dining room when the girls burst through the door. They hurried to their seats and tried to act like they weren't very late. Their mothers gave them all a stern look as they entered. But they quickly forgot when they saw their niece enter the room. They forgot their royal manners for a moment as they hurried to greet their absent sisters daughter.
The royal princesses clucked and squealed over their niece. Melody tried her best to answer all of the questions that were thrown at her. "What is your mother up to these days?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Is that how the girls on land are wearing their hair these days?" and all sorts of other probing questions. They ushered her to her seat next to her aunt Arista and her cousins Coral and Cody.
When everyone was settled in the first course was served. Melody tried some of the strange cuisine, it was surprisingly good. She watched her family interact with one another. The protocol of the royals in Atlantica was very different than that of the royals on land. Here the family could interact without courtiers always watching and judging and gossiping. Melody felt free to be herself. Of course part of that she attributed to her being far away from Lady Agatha.
The dinner was for the most part, uneventful. Everyone noticed the absence of Leah at dinner but no one said anything. Alana was already about to burst into tears. Melody's aunts continued to bombard her with questions and comments. All except for Arista who spent much of her time scolding her teenage twins about how fighting at the table was rude. The King finally reminded his daughters that Melody would be with them for a few weeks and not to overload her with questions at her first dinner. Then he turned to Melody and winked. She smiled, for a grandfather and King of the ocean he was pretty cool!
The third course was just about to arrive when something strange floated into the dining room. The strange bubble floated towards the King.
"It looks like one of the messages your mother sends sometimes," Arista commented.
"Why would my mother be sending grandfather a message?" Melody wondered aloud.
Just then the bubble reached the King. It began to glow and soon the King could see colors and shapes beginning to form, soon a face appeared, it was Leah's!
"Hello? Grandfather? I hope I am doing this right, I have never sent a message like this before. I just want you to know that I am alright. I can't tell you what happened because I really don't know. One minute I was in the shell fields, the next I was somewhere else. I am traveling with a friend and we are looking for shelter as I speak but I need you to hold off the storm that is forming in the… where are we Terence? Yes… the southern islands. Terence says we should make it there by nightfall but please hold off the rain and wind for as long as you can! I will contact you again when we reach the island so you know we are safe. Grandfather someone is planning on doing something very bad. I don't know what is happening but I have seen someone who can turn mermaids into humans! Tell mom not to worry and that I will be fine. I will send you another message as soon as I can. Goodbye!"
The message ended and no one spoke. The table was as quiet as the dead. Finally Alana came out of her shock and swam to the bubble hoping that she could catch a glimpse of her baby. She reached the bubble just in time to see her daughters face. Then the bubble popped! It seemed like at that moment everyone snapped out of it and began to talk at once. Alana began to cry and her husband hurried to comfort her.
"What was that all about?"
"How did Leah look? Did she look alright?"
"Can we trace the message back? Where did it come from?"
"Southern islands? That's far!"
It took a full five minutes for the King to restore order. When everyone had settled down Triton called for a meeting of his royal advisors as well as Leah's parents. He hurried out of the dining room without another word. Everyone else stayed behind whispering and wondering what was going to happen next.
- Author's notes, findings, and ramblings -
Hello everyone!
Sorry it has been so long since my last update! I have been very busy with a cross country move and school and life in general.
But I have been doing a lot of writing now I just need to edit!
So this is where the story starts to get good! This is also the place where things will begin to look different from my last draft.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thanks so much and please read and review!
