The Bennett House

"Well I need to head out. I have a couple business meetings to attend to while I'm in town." Said Harrison as he stood up.

Zane, Rikki and Kiada stood up as well and followed Harrison to the front door. As he opened it to leave he turned around to face them.

"Thank you for talking with me.. I know..."

"Don't think anything is forgiven dad. It's going to take a lot more." replied Kiada, a little harsher than she meant, "But…you're welcome."

Harrison shook hands with Zane and Rikki before walking out the door. Closing it behind him Zane turned to face the two most important women in his life.

"So we have about 2 more hours until we need to meet the gang at the café. What should we do?"

"'I'd actually like to find a jewelry shop." Said Kiada holding up the locket, "the chain is too short to wear it anymore and I'm actually thinking of turning it into a bracelet instead."

"I'll go with you. Want to come Rikki?"

"Actually I'm going to head home and see my dad for a little. He knows I was here but I haven't seen him in days. I'll meet you guys at the café."

As the trio headed out the door they parted ways, Rikki towards her house and the twins towards downtown.

Downtown

The twins walked along joking around headed to the jewelry store. As they neared Zane turned to his sister.

"I'm actually glad Rikki couldn't come with us and that you wanted to go jewelry shopping."

"Why?" Ki asked shooting her brother a questioning look.

"Well, I want to buy her an engagement ring. I was kind of hoping you would help me find one."

"Oh of course Zane! That's so exciting! You really love her don't you?"

"I do."

The twins continued chatting as they entered the jewelry store. They explained that they had a dual purpose being here, for the locket along with the engagement ring, and that the second part was meant to be a secret. Kiada angled herself in a way so that she was blocking the tray of rings that Zane was looking at. From outside one would just think they were buying a bracelet. The shop owner would place the locket on a chain and then as they looked on would be explaining the properties of the ring in Zane's hand instead of the chain. They had been looking at rings for about an hour but nothing was catching Zane's interest. He wanted something that would stand out and would encompass Rikki's persona. Yet each one just seemed too…normal…for Rikki. And he knew she'd never be a normal girl.

"Do you have anything a little more unique?" Zane asked.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well my girlfriend is amazing. She has this fire in her and I want something that represents that. A diamond ring just doesn't seem to embody the type of person she is. I want her to know it comes from the heart and isn't just a normal ring. I want it to mean something, to show her I pay attention and care."

"I think I may have the perfect ring. I'll be right back."

As the shop owner headed to the back the twins found themselves deep in conversation. It amazed them that after all these years they had such an easy time going back to their old ways. Sure they had talked on the phone all the time but it wasn't the same. They were always playing catch up on the phone and not just enjoying each other company. Unbeknownst to them while they were in the shop someone stood outside taking photos of the pair. Minutes later the shop over reappeared. As discussed in the tray sat two items, a chain for the locket and a ring. Placing the tray down he picked up the chain and laced it through the locket before walking over to Kiada and placing it around her wrist.

"Now this one may be more to your liking Mr. Bennett. The center stone is a ruby and on either side sit matching citrine stones. It is set in a gold band."

Zane looked at the ring and breathed, "it's perfect", he said. The ruby in the center reminded him of Rikki's original locket, the one he dove in to retrieve after the Miriam fiasco. And the citrine reminded him of the fire both within the woman he loved but also the fire that she could create. It was the perfect combination.

The pair finished up packing the chain and ring into the same bag so that to anyone outside of the shop it would look as if they'd only purchased the chain. Looking at the time they realized they should head back to the café.

Rikki's Café

The café had just closed and the last of the staff were leaving as Zane and Kiada arrived. Walking inside they found the majority of the group already waiting by the counter. Once Emma and Ash arrived Zane introduced them to Kiada. As they greeted one another Emma couldn't help but ask.

"So, Zane says you're like us?" gesturing to the other girls in the room.

"Yeah, I am."

"If you don't mind my asking, how long? And how?"

"I don't mind. I was 11 when I changed so, 9 years…"

"Wow. That's amazing"

"I guess. As for how…well…"

"Oh! Also did you get any powers?" Exclaimed Emma before clamping her hand over her mouth, "Sorry I got a little excited. Please tell the story."

"No worries and yes I do. I can create a shield of sorts that protects me from turning when touching water and I can control the earth."

"So cool!"

"Anyways when dad sent me away it was to a boarding school in Hawaii. Kind of funny how he just sent me from one island to another. So anyways my new school was on the big island but they had this welcome back camping trip that they always took the students on at the beginning of the year. They transported all of us to one of the smaller islands, that was uninhabited near by. We were set up on the beach with a bonfire, tents, and games. It was…for lack of a better word…an experience. So anyways my new roommate Mia and I got along really great and had become good friends in a very short amount of time. After awhile we decided we were bored and went exploring. We wander around the island and then found ourselves to be a bit lost." Kiada stopped before continuing.

"As we tried to make our way back there was this little waterfall that just disappeared into the rocks that caught my eye. As I bent down to take a closer look I slipped. I screamed reaching out and managed to drag Mia with me. After we landed we looked around to see that we were in some kind of cavern and down to the left there was a tunnel that at the end of we could see light. We knew we couldn't get back up the way we came down so we decided to wander down the tunnel. It opened up into this beautiful opening with a pool of water in the middle. Overhead it was open to the night sky. We looked around but couldn't find any way out so we decided to see if maybe the pool connected to the ocean somehow. We were already in our swimsuits so we decided jump to in and see what we could find. We dove into the water, and at that very moment, as the moon floated overhead I felt at peace. Suddenly I just felt like I was home. After all the years of only having Zane to lean on I finally felt like I had something to keep me going." As she took a moment Kiada saw the other girls nodding their head in understanding.

"The moonlight bathed us in this eerie glowing light and I just stared up at it, completely enthralled by its beauty. After a few minutes we looked at one another and decided to try to get out so we ducked under the water and swam. It didn't take long to reach the ocean luckily and when we came up for air we found ourselves to be right down the beach from everyone else. So we made our way to the shore, climbed out not thinking anything of it and headed back to the group."

Kiada sighed taking a deep breathe before continuing on.

"The next morning I woke up on the beach next to Mia, we had decided to sleep under the stars. After breakfast they broke us up into groups and we began to explore the island. That's when I found out what I had become. I stepped in a pool of water and it splashed my legs. Seconds later I toppled over and I was staring down at a tail. All I remember is being terrified of what the other kids would think. I just prayed that I could hide myself from them. Suddenly the earth around encompassed me into a cocoon completely hiding me from view. As my group moved away I managed to pull myself out of the water. Once I had dried I ran to catch up with my group, avoiding the water. Mia was my best friend and I couldn't hide this from her. When we got back from the trip and were in our room on the big island I told her…only to be shocked that she was just like me. The only thing we could think of was that it must have been from that pool. We had become close so quickly when we first met and after that we were the best of friends. We protected one another. Being roommates we knew not to let anyone in the room without verifying the other was good first. Finding someone that I was that close to, was once in a blue moon. She was the only other person, besides Zane, who I was that close to. I had found someone that almost filled the void that was left by not being able to be with my twin anymore. She meant everything to me."

Zane put a hand on her shoulder knowing that this story was hard for her to tell. While he never knew that she was a mermaid, he did know about Mia. Kiada had told him so much about their friendship and their adventures together and that day. Somehow she managed to never reveal their secret in the process, though looking back it made the stories even better if you added in that fact.

Lewis, being the perceptive one of them, couldn't help but say out loud what was on his mind.

"You said was and were. What did you mean?"

"Mia and I shared everything with one another. A few years later, we were like 15 or 16 I think, we had finally started becoming interested in boys. I had a boyfriend who was just amazing. He never questioned my "fear" of water or tried to make me do anything I didn't want. So there was this guy that Mia really liked. She liked him and he her so even knowing the danger when he invited her she decided to go out on the water. He didn't know about her "fear" and she didn't let on. So there she was on a boat with him, his friends and their girlfriends."

Kiada's voice began to shake. No one in the room dared to speak as she took a moment.

"Unfortunately there was a freak storm that came out of nowhere. Before the rain started they tried to pull everything in and get into the cabin. Out of nowhere a huge wave crashed over the bow and they all fell overboard. The rest managed to get back to the boat but they couldn't find Mia. They searched and searched for her but couldn't find any trace. I tried to help them as well, as best I could considering. I could tell he really did care for her and was distraught thinking it was his fault. Knowing what I knew I had just hoped. Hoped she had taken off when she fell in to protect her secret, our secret. Hoped that she would pull herself out of the water on one of the islands and just wait till she was dry and then call for help. I hoped for so long… I swam to each of islands hoping I would find her washed up or hiding waiting for me. But I never did..."

By now Kiada had tears running down her cheeks. Zane had move towards her and took her into his arms trying to be the supportive brother. This was even harder the second time around, because the first time he was only on the other end of a phone. This time he was able to see his sister's face. See how broken she was. He held onto his sister and gave her the embrace that he wanted to give her years before. He couldn't even imagine.

"I'm sorry Kiada." Said Emma a tear slipping down her cheek.

"You didn't know. Please I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I haven't given up just yet. It's silly I know but I imagine that she's still out there living her best mermaid life swimming with the dolphins not a care in world. Maybe she found a pod and decided to live in the ocean. Trust me. I'll be okay."

She wiped the tears away and then a bright smiles covered her face

"Come on now! Let's just have a great time. There is no full moon to worry about. No one we need to be hiding from. We can just actually enjoy ourselves and have a good time. I want to learn more about all of you and about what my brother has been up." Kiada said the last bit a small smirk crossing her lips.

A little while later Kiada tears had dried and the group was interacting as if they had all been friends for years. The night went on filled with games and enjoying the time together. It was a nice break not having to hide anything and just feeling like everything normal. In any other situation they were always still on high alert, but now, in this moment they could just relax as there was no one to hide from. They could just be themselves. Of course…moments like that, when you're a mermaid after all, weren't meant to last…