Chapter 14

Emma had called Miss Chatham and so the following morning, Emma, Lewis, Cleo and Rikki were going to see her.

"Welcome, welcome," Miss Chatham smiled as she ushered the group inside her room at the retirement home. Lewis grabbed a few extra chairs from the hallway.

"Now, my lovelies, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

"Have you visited a mermaid city – and if so, how do you blend in?" Emma asked.

"Have I visited a mermaid city?" Louise repeated with a smirk. "How can you explore the ocean and not visit a mermaid city?"

"Well…" Lewis began.

"Why are you asking?" Louise interrupted.

"We need to find Aegeus and there are some people in the kingdom of Shieldaea that might be able to help us," Cleo said. "We want to visit and not be recognised as outsiders – just in case it gets back to Arkaan and that prince."

"Hmm," Louise considered this. "Every mer-kingdom is different and I have not visited all of them – fortunately, I spent some time in Shieldaea some decades ago."

"What can you tell us about them?" Emma asked.

"Shieldaeans are proud people, they have a distinct class structure – it's been around for centuries. Some would say their system is unjust and unfair, but the majority are firmly set in the prejudice. Difference is not tolerated well. This is a common thread amongst the larger kingdoms off the coast of Australia. Zerailians are viewed by many as the lowest of the low – they are seen as disabled. In Shieldaea and Arkaan particularly, the tail is a prized possession. There are beauty competitions regarding the shiniest scales. Seeing mermen showing their tails and swimming abilities while wearing pageant sashes was a laugh," Miss Chatham seemed to disappear into the memory for a second. Rikki smirked – she would love to see that.

"So how would we behave while there?" Cleo asked, getting Louise back on track.

"Just swim in like you own the place – the citizens there respect that. To be honest, avoid conversation – accents and land-dweller ways of referring to things is a dead giveaway. If you're planning on speaking to the Zerailians, I suggest that you do it as secretly as possible. Unfortunately, if you look to friendly with them, the people you may need to speak with will shun and ignore you. This is one of the reasons Zerailian babies are cast out of their homes – to be able to survive in the community, one needs to have friends."

"Right. Do they need documents or anything to get into the city?" Lewis asked.

"Not usually, if you have shiny scales and a tail, generally you're in," Miss Chatham replied.

"What happens if we are asked for documents?" Cleo asked. "Did you have any?"

"Yes! I had forged ones…for my age – if you know what I mean," she winked uncharacteristically. Rikki chuckled.

"And how did you get believable ones?" Rikki asked.

OoOoO

"I cannot believe that some mers choose – choose! To live in the drain water outflow!" Emma exclaimed.

"Well, I guess when its illegal you'd go to a place most mers wouldn't like to swim in," Cleo replied with a shrug.

Emma, Rikki and Cleo were swimming in an expanse of water that Miss Chatham pointed them towards – grey and green with dirt and debris floated amongst it. It truly was grotty – they usually avoided this kind of water. Miss Chatham had explained that it was a hidden mer-venue – powers had to be displayed for the market to be visible. A large circular boulder was the landmark. The trio stretched out their hands to gain access. The rock seemed to glow momentarily registering each girl's powers. Suddenly, where there once was a sandbank, they saw six or seven markets and many mer-people swimming between stalls.

'This is amazing,' Rikki grinned.

'Excuse me,' Cleo asked a merman swimming past, reaching out with her mind. 'Do you know where I can find, ah, Deimos?'

The merman flashed her a smirk. 'Green around here, are ye, ladies? See that end stall, yeah, that's where ole Deimos is. Are you sure he's who you're lookin' for?'

'Yes,' Emma replied.

'Alright then,' he grinned. 'Remember his scales are worse than his bite,'

They thanked him and swam towards the end stall. Any wondering about what the merman meant by his saying was answered when they saw the merman manning the stall. He was large and old and had deep red brown scales that seemed to be cracking with age. He had long white hair, flowing in the dirty water. A scowl adorned his face and his eyes were wise and angry.

'Well, Miss Chatham did warn us…' Cleo murmured.

'He totally looks like a mer-thug,' Rikki said.

'Mr Deimos?' Emma began. The man's eyes snapped to hers. She gulped as he stared her down.

'What do ye want?' he growled.

'Um, you see, we would like some documents…so we can get around the kingdoms,' Cleo said.

'Ye mean, forged documents?' He asked, staring at them as if he was trying to read their very souls. 'Who do you take me for? I'm an honest businessman,'

The girls looked at each other. 'We were told to come to you – that for the right price you could give us new identities,' Rikki said bravely.

Emma nodded.

'If that were true, how much are you offerin'?' Deimos asked with a growl. Rikki opened a coin purse she had brought with her. She showed Deimos the two rubies and pile of gold coins inside. She had found them within one of the shipwrecks she had explored.

'Is that all?' Deimos let out a harsh laugh. 'Get outta here,' He began to swim towards his tent.

'Deimos,' Rikki called out. 'We really need the documents. What are you asking? The friend that sent us to you, Louise Chatham, said that it would be enough!'

He turned around and narrowed his eyes. The three, even Rikki, were thoroughly intimidated. They jumped when he exhaled a loud laugh. 'Louise? Well, why didn't you say so?' The scowl was suddenly gone and he gestured towards his tent. 'Come inside, would ye?'

They all felt shock at the old merman's about turn in personality.

'How is the old girl doing? I haven't seen Louise in years!'

'She's doing well,' Emma replied hesitantly. 'You were friends?'

'Oh yeah, more than that at one point too – ah Louise was good fun,' Deimos chuckled. The girls exchanged a look – that didn't sound like the mysterious and well-held woman they knew.

'So, how can I help?'

'We need to get into Shieldaea without raising suspicion if asked,' Cleo began. 'We are from…' She stopped herself.

'Oh, you don't need to stop their on my account – I have no prejudice against morph- or hurmaids – in fact, my mother was one. I think I get the idea – you don't want to be seen as strangers. So real names, but fake origin?'

They all nodded.

'Perfect. Let's get started, shall we?'

Again, I'm terribly sorry it's been so long! Life and multiple stories to juggle equals delays. I hope you are still enjoying this story and are interested in it. Please tell me what you think! Sorry it's a shorter chapter - it just felt like a good place to stop and the update would have had to wait longer if I didn't get it up now.

Thanks so so much to everyone who supports me and this story. Thanks especially to fictionlover94, Mermaids Forever, Sunset17, CrazyHayniac, AinsleyWright, and kaito1412 for reviewing the previous chapter. I write for you guys. Thanks so much!

I love you!