Hello all. Because this chapter took longer to write than I had hoped, I decided to make it a bit longer than previous chapters, partly because I wanted to write longer, and more descriptive chapters than before, and because I thought it might compensate a bit for the time between chapters. So here we have my longest chapter of any story I've ever written before, at over 7,000 words, and I'm still not sure I did not forget any details. If you see any, kindly DM me and I will revise the chapter. Speaking of revisions, some small revisions have been added to chapters 2 and 3. You might want to re-read them before you read this.

Chapter 4

Arista sat at her vanity, brushing her hair in order to try to help calm her nerves. She sighed because she realized it was no use. Nothing could calm her nerves tonight, not after everything that had happened. At this point, she doubted she would even be able to sleep. It had been bad enough when it was just Ariel who was missing. But now there were four sisters who were gone, three of them in the human world no less. Arista could not decide which was more unsettling, the fact that one sister was missing without a trace, or the fact that three other sisters were no wandering about in a place considered dangerous to all merfolk. She could hardly even brush her hair as she was practically shaking all over from fear.

"Is that my hairbrush?" she heard Attina ask from behind her. She gasped and dropped the brush where it fell through the water and landed on the vanity. Arista did not bother picking it up, but instead sharply turned around to face Attina. "I'm sorry. I was going to put it back, I swear," she said quickly. Attina sighed and placed a hand on Arista's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright, I don't mind. Just remember to put it back in my drawer when you finish using it," she said gently before swimming to sit down in the seat next to Arista and looked at herself in the mirror. She winced slightly when she saw her reflection. A few strands of her hair had fallen out of alignment, as her bun had slowly come undone as the day went on. In all her worrying and looking for Ariel, she had not bothered to maintain it. But now that it was late, and with little else she could do tonight, she reached for another brush on the table. When she picked it up and took a closer look at it, Attina saw it was Alana's. Attina sniffled. Alana had been the first to volunteer in the search for Ariel in the human world. She was the second-youngest daughter, too young to volunteer for such an assignment in Attina's eyes, and even though she herself was only the fourth-oldest daughter, Attina had always been fiercely protective of all her sisters. That protectiveness rivaled even her father's. But even that did not seem to be enough for Attina, because when Alana had asked for one of them to accompany her, Attina had not volunteered, leaving Adella, and then Aquata, to speak up. With seemingly nothing else to do, she removed the tiara from her head and slow began running the brush through her brown hair several times.

"It's not fair," she heard Arista say suddenly.

"What's not fair?" Attina asked, putting the brush back on the table and turning her head towards Arista.

Arista placed her hand over mouth. "Oh, nothing," she said quickly.

"And yet you thought enough of it to say it," Andrina said as she swam over from her bed to join them. "So what is it?"

"No, I…it really is nothing," Arista said as she tried to brush her hair again, as if to say that would be the end of the matter. But before she could run the brush through her hair a single time, Attina said, "Come on, Arista, you can tell us."

Arista sighed as she placed the brush back on the table. "I wanted to volunteer," she said quickly, as if to say it before she could change her mind and not say it at all.

"You…what?" Attina asked with widened eyes.

"I wanted to go up there and look for Ariel. I…I wanted to try to understand why she's so interested in the human world, but not only that, it was a chance to do something exciting, and I was too scared to say anything."

"Arista, this is not some kind of pleasure trip. This is serious, and potentially dangerous," Attina reasoned.

"And you think I don't know that?" Arista snapped.

Attina started back, not expecting such a reaction from Arista. "I," she said tentatively, "I didn't mean it like that. It…it's just that," she stammered before Arista interrupted her. "If it's so dangerous, then why should Adella or Alana get to go? I mean it's not like either one of them is a model of responsibility," she snapped again.

"Got a point there," Andrina smirked.

"Andrina!" Attina cried out, "Don't talk like that!"

"Adella will probably fall in love with some human boy, too," Arista muttered to herself loud enough for her sisters to hear. Attina whipped her head around to reproach Arista. One sister in love with a human was more than enough for her. She did not need her sisters entertaining the idea of a second sister in love with one of them. It was time to put an end that kind of thinking right then and there. But before she could actually say anything, Andrina said, "Oh yeah, I could totally see that happening, because she can't even go five minutes without getting distracted by a boy." Attina then turned back around and glared at Andrina, who remained unphased and said, "Oh come on, admit it. You know it's true."

"Don't you start with me, too!" Attina scolded. "That kind of thinking will…" Attina trailed off as she tried not to think about what her sisters had said, but she realized that the more she tried not to, she only thought about it even more. And as she thought about it even more, it was getting harder and harder for her to keep a straight face. "It…it…" she stuttered but could say no more before her lips curled up into a smile as she doubled over in laughter. And for the first time that night, all three girls laughed as for one brief moment, they forgot about their fears.

"See? I told you." Andrina snickered.

"Alright, alright, you've made your point," Attina said.

"Oooh, I can just imagine it now," Andrina continued, ignoring her. "The two of them sitting on the beach looking out at the water."

"Yes!" Arista cried happily, seemingly past what she had been angry about before.

"The boy whispers something in her ear," Andrina smirked as she leaned up against Attina. "Stop it," the orange-tailed mermaid groaned as she tried to push away from Andrina, barely even trying to conceal her amusement, but this had no effect as Andrina continued, "Adella laughs, and then…" She paused dramatically.

"And then what?" Arista prompted with a smirk.

"I don't even want to know," Attina said as she buried her face in her hands.

"They wrap their arms around each other and lean in for a kiss!" Andrina cried out as she threw up her arms.

"Oh, daddy would go nuts if that happened," Arista giggled.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Attina muttered.

"Wow, way to kill the mood, Attina," Andrina snarked, rolling her eyes.

"I am serious," Attina shouted.

"Oh really? That's a surprise. When are you not serious?" Andrina said, rolling her eyes again.

"I'm sorry," Attina sighed. "I just don't feel like I can make jokes at a time like this."

Silence came upon the room once more. Andrina had no answer for that. Attina lowered her head as Arista went back to brushing her hair, while Andrina took a nearby seat at the vanity. After about a minute, Attina looked back up and pulled out one of the pins holding her bun in place, causing some of her hair to spill down her back, giving her a half-bun hairstyle. Satisfied with what she had done, she picked up Alana's brush once more and began to straighten out the freed waves.

"Attina?" Arista asked suddenly, causing Attina to slowly turn her head back towards Arista.

"Do you think Aquata would mind if I borrowed Mr. Fuzzy Finkle for tonight?" she asked softly.

Andrina stifled a giggle.

"Would she mind when she's not even here? No, I don't think you have to worry there," she teased.

"Yes, tonight you can 'borrow' anything you want, and nothing can stop you," Attina added.

"Well, not that it ever stopped her in the past," Andrina smirked.

"Maybe we could all 'borrow' something from Aquata," Attina snickered, before she realized Andrina was staring at her. "What?" she asked, nonplussed.

"I must be hearing things, because I could've sworn you're making wisecracks," she grinned.

"Oh, not this again," Attina groaned. Andrina said nothing and instead reached for Attina's tiara and placed it back on her head. "I have taught you well," she said.

Attina scoffed. "You did no such thing," she retorted.

"You know what, you're right, I'm still better at this than you are," Andrina teased as she picked up the tiara once more. "Perhaps I should 'borrow' this as well," she laughed.

"Just so long as you put it back," Arista giggled, but then stopped suddenly and covered her mouth and looked at Attina. "Oh no, now you're rubbing off on me," she whispered.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Attina grinned.

"Maybe it is," Andrina cut in before Attina turned around and swatted at her, but Andrina dodged it and added, "Oh so now I'm rubbing off on you there, too?"

"Now you're in for it!" Attina said dramatically as she moved towards her bed to grab a pillow but stopped when the door to their room opened suddenly.

The three of them looked up and saw that their father had entered the room. At that moment, he did not look like much of a king. Dark circles had begun to form under his eyes, which held a distant, haunted look, the same look that Attina now remembered she had seen in her own eyes just a few minutes earlier. Attina also knew they would be even darker the next morning. Both his shoulders were slumped, and his right arm hung limply at his side, the trident pointed down at the floor. Under his arm he held a stack of books that threatened to fall out at the slightest movement. Attina looked at them closely. There were five books in total, most of them in different sizes and colors. He had not been carrying any books when they last saw him in the throne room, and they did not look like any of the books stored in the library or archives. That meant there was only one other place they could come from. But Triton spoke before she could ask about them and confirm her suspicions.

"Girls," he said solemnly.

"Daddy," they whispered.

"Did…did everything go alright?" Arista asked slowly.

"I believe so. I have an assignment for the three of you," he told them.

"Where did you get those?" Attina asked while pointing at the books.

"Ariel's grotto," he told them, confirming what she already knew. "We looked around for a bit before heading up to the surface, and I brought a few of them back with me so we could read a bit of them before bed. They could give us some insight into the human world," Triton explained further.

"Human books?" Attina asked dubiously. She doubted they could glean any meaningful information from them but thought better than to say it. And she did have to admit she was mildly curious.

Triton nodded wordlessly. "Follow me to the conference room," he told them. "We shall read a few chapters from each book."

…

When the three girls entered the shop, they were greeted by a short, stocky man standing behind a counter. He looked up suddenly when he saw them walk through the door.

"Can I help you?" the man asked eagerly, most likely not expecting any customers at such an hour.

"Yes, my sisters and I were looking to buy some food we can eat fast," Aquata answered him.

"Looking for anything in particular?"

"Uh, well, not really, but I don't think any of us are especially picky. As long as it's not fish, all three of us are probably willing to try it," Aquata hesitated.

"Ah, yes, well, no worry about that in my shop. I was never much of a seafood person either," the baker remarked, and it took every ounce of the princesses' self-control not to show any kind of surprise when he said that. So many questions filled their minds. A human who did not like fish? Was Ariel right, that humans were not the barbarians their father thought they were? Was it possible? So many questions went through their minds in a single second before the man spoke again. "But by all means, have a look around. Everything on display was baked fresh this morning. I'll be right here if you need me," he encouraged them. Aquata nodded as she huddled her younger sisters together.

"Let's look around the entire store. Then we can get a better idea of what human food is like," she whispered softly.

"Do we even have time for that? We should probably be getting to that inn really quick. It's bad enough we're out here alone, let alone at night," Alana shuddered.

"I don't think we have to worry about wasting time. This shop is not particularly big," Adella reassured her.

"Well, still, I think it might be a good idea if we do this quickly," Alana whispered.

"It's only going to take us a few minutes at most. How much quicker can it be?" Aquata reasoned.

"Can we please just start looking? I'm hungry enough already," Adella groaned.

As the three girls turned around, they were met with an assortment of even more things they had never seen before. There were small circular tables spread throughout the room, each displaying a variety of baked goods. Aquata wandered over to a table in the center where there were baskets filled with several long, rounded sticks the same color as sand. A small sign at the front of the table read "Baguettes." To the side were several jars, each one filled with a thick, colorful liquid. Each jar had a label, saying such things as "Strawberry Jam," "Peach Marmalade," "Butter," "Olive Oil," "Blueberry Jelly," and "Grape Jelly." Alana perused another table that had several trays of small sand-colored discs topped with small brown dots that resembled sea pebbles. The sign on that table read "Chocolate Chip Cookies." Adella wandered over to the front of the shop to browse the table there. She picked up the sign and saw it read "Strawberry Danish." When she placed it back on the table, she looked at the tray and saw several flaky circular objects with a deep red filling in the middle, and thin white lines drizzled on top. They did not know what any of these things were, but they all smelled wonderful, and they wanted to try all of them.

After some browsing, Aquata came upon a table with a small basket with a label that read "Cinnamon Rolls." She stopped when she saw the label. That was what Claudia had recommended. Inside the basket were several round pastries made of a spongey material that was wrapped around itself and covered in a white jelly. It looked incredibly soft, as well as incredibly sticky. As she examined the rolls further, Adella came up beside her.

"What do we have here?" she asked her before seeing the label for herself. "Oh!" she exclaimed softly. "These are the…what that woman said we should try."

Adella picked up the basket and brought it to the counter.

"Found something you like, huh," the baker chuckled softly as Adella placed the basket on the counter.

"We met somebody who recommended these. She told us you make the best," Adella said.

"Oh, she did, eh?" the baker chuckled again. "Well in that case, I'll have to…" he began, but stopped when Adella reached into the pouch and took out a handful of coins before placing them on the counter. His eyes widened when he saw the coins. "Oh my!" he exclaimed. "I don't think I have enough change for that."

"I beg your pardon?" Aquata asked from the other side of the room.

"Well, it's just that those coins are enough to purchase everything in my store. And I'm afraid I don't have enough money to make exact change for you, unless perhaps I could interest you in a second purchase?"

Adella hesitated. The man said "change" a second time, another foreign term, and who knows if there was an equivalent in Atlantica. "Oh, well, not that I wouldn't love to, but I wouldn't even know what I could purchase. Plus, there's the matter of a room for the night. We're, uh, not from around here see, so we really need to be heading for the inn soon," she explained.

"Ah, newcomers, huh? Not to worry, I can recommend something. May I suggest the strawberry danish? Whatever you don't eat tonight can be breakfast for tomorrow. And my pastries will be cheaper than whatever the inn will charge you, not to mention better," he muttered the last sentence more to himself than to the princesses.

"Really looking out for us, I see," Aquata smirked to Alana, whose only response was a soft giggle. As she said this, the baker went from behind the counter and walked to the front of the store to retrieve the tray of pastries. As he picked up the tray, they heard a woman's voice say, "Giuseppe, dear, is it almost time to close up?" Seconds later, a young woman came through a doorway near the counter. Long, raven black hair trailed down her back stopping at around her waist, and she wore a dark red dress that loosely hung over her shoulders. She looked up from the cloth was wringing her hands with and stopped suddenly when she saw them. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know we had customers," she apologized as she hastily placed the cloth at the edge of the counter.

It was then that Aquata noticed something strange about her. Even in her loose-fitting dress, she could see the woman was slender, except for her stomach, which Aquata now saw was disproportionately large and round compared to the rest of her body. It was unlike anything Aquata had ever seen before, and her curiosity was such that she involuntarily began staring, looking away suddenly when she realized the woman was looking back at her. "Oh, it's alright deary, it's not like you're the first person to do that," the woman said reassuringly.

"I'm…not?" Aquata asked in surprise.

"No," the woman laughed as she rested a hand on her stomach, gently rubbing it in a circle. "I am pregnant, after all," she said.

"Oh, right, how silly of me," Aquata blushed, hoping that would be the end of that particular subject. She and her sisters already had enough things to pretend they understood perfectly. "It's just…that didn't seem very polite," she apologized.

"I'm nearly seven months along, dear, trust me, I'm used to it," she laughed again before resting her hand on top of her stomach once more, almost protectively. Aquata relaxed a bit at this, even though she still did not really know what was going on. As she watched her gently nudge her stomach, the baker spoke up again. "I meant to ask you this before my wife arrived, since you said you're new around her, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you to Palermo?" Upon saying this, his wife's mouth opened in the shape of a small o before she said, "Oh, you're visitors?"

Aquata nodded. "Yes, and unfortunately, a missing sister is what brought us here."

At that, the woman gasped suddenly and covered her mouth with her other hand, saying, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. How long has she been missing?'

Aquata hesitated briefly, realizing she did not know the exact amount of time, as nobody knew how long after the argument Ariel had vanished. Plus she did not know if humans used the same measurements of time as the merpeople. This meant she would have to be vague about the matter. "Since earlier today, I wish I could be more specific," she finally said.

The baker rubbed his chin. "Hmm, if she's been gone for less than a day, that means she probably hasn't gotten very far. What does she look like?"

"About the same height as me, slender like all of us, bright red hair, blue eyes, probably wearing purple, similar design as this, but I'm not too sure," Adella said suddenly as she tugged on the edge of her dress.

"Very few redheads are around here," the baker said to himself. "So if I see anybody matching your description, it's probably your sister. How certain are you that she came here?"

"I'm afraid I…don't have much more than a hunch," she said hesitantly.

"Well if I see her, I'll tell you," he reassured her. The three girls "Now, forgive me, but I don't believe I asked for your names," he added with an embarrassed grin.

"That's okay, my name is Aquata, and my sisters' names are Adella and Alana," she said as she gestured towards each sister respectively. "Hello," Adella and Alana said together. The baker's wife lit up in a glowing smile as her warm voice said, "Oh those are such lovely names. My name is Nina." "And I'm Giuseppe," the baker added. "It's a pleasure to have met all three of you."

Aquata could not help but smile herself. More human kindness, although she did not know if such kindness would be extended if they knew her true identity. Still, she had to keep up the appearance and said in return.

"It has been nice to have met you as well, but I'm afraid we really have to get going."

"Of course," Giuseppe nodded, "I'll finish up your purchase really quick." He then picked up the tray of strawberry danish before heading back to the counter. As he walked past Nina, he said, "Don't worry honey, I'll make more of these tomorrow. I know how much you like them."

"We both like them," Nina laughed as she patted her stomach again. "Don't I know it," Giuseppe teased as he made it back to the counter and slid the danish off the tray and into the basket. "Here we are, although I'm afraid I still can't make exact change," he said placing the tray off to the side and pushing the basket towards Adella. "Thank you," Adella smiled before picking up the basket. "It's no trouble, really. Consider it a gift for your kindness," she assured him.

"If you're sure," Giuseppe said slowly. "I am," Adella smiled. "Well, thank you. And be careful with that pouch. If somebody sees that, they might try to steal it from you."

"Will do, and good night," Adella said. She quickly moved to join her two sisters who were now heading for the door. As they stepped back outside, they could hear Giuseppe call out, "Good night, and do come again!"

…

The late hour once more afforded Triton and the three daughters present the opportunity of swimming through the palace halls unseen by any of the guards. The last thing he wanted was any kind of questions. The darkened halls and the eerie silence made the day feel even more surreal than it already was. It was not uncommon for Triton's daughters to be in the room. He had insisted that they be present for occasions when Triton met with foreign dignitaries. It would, after all, help prepare them for the day that they might one day find themselves as rulers. As the three girls took their seats, he placed The Prince at the head of the table, the Bible in front of Attina, the Illiad and Odyssey in front of Andrina, and the Aeneid in front of Arista, before swimming heading back to his own seat and sitting himself.

"Best read any notes the author might have written before reading the actual book," Triton reminded them. He then watched as the three girls opened their respective books and began to read before he turned his attention to his own. It began with some biographical introduction about Machiavelli, who had evidently written the book several centuries ago and some other writer was offering his own commentary. As he read on, however, he came across something that grabbed at his attention. He read that Machiavelli's native land, a region called Italy, had begun to move away from Latin and was beginning to develop its own Italian language. Triton froze. He knew Latin. It was an ancient language, one that had not been spoken in a long time, and somehow it had come to exist in the human world, too. Curious. How had the language reached there, or had it originated there and came to Atlantica? Legends abounded of the merpeople interacting with the human world in olden times. Some of those legends even involved a mermaid becoming human in order to marry. It was a possible explanation for the langue was spoken in both worlds, as well as the likely source or Ariel's interest in the human world.

Triton fought the urge to roll his eyes as he read the first sentence in the short dedication letter that preceded the essay. It was addressed to "the Magnificent Lorenzo de' Medici." Triton hated flatterers and sycophants, and whoever this Niccolò Machiavelli was, it appeared that he had not even bothered trying to hide what his intentions were. But as he continued to read, he saw that the book was, in fact, not a work of flattery, but was instead supposed to be some sort of political essay, and his previous dismissal of the work now changed to more of a guarded curiosity. That curiosity grew even further as he began to read the opening sentences of the first chapter.

All states, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and are either republics or principalities. Principalities are either hereditary, in which the family has been long established; or they are new.

Triton therefore saw that Atlantica shared another similarity with different parts of the human world, as he had inherited the throne from his father, Poseidon. He furrowed his eyebrows at the word "republic." Another form of government, one that was foreign to the merworld, interesting. Although his curiosity remained, he met frustration as the author spoke of people such as Francesco Sforza and Pope Julius, as well as places called Naples and Spain. With little knowledge of human history or geography, he began to wonder if his reading would be in vain. He now wished he had kept the atlas for himself rather than giving it to his daughters, because he could have used it to discover where these places were. There were enough maps in his own archives to piece together the coastlines, but they would not show the names of the lands, and it was doubtful he could find another map. He would make plans to go back to the grotto the next morning to see if there was another atlas there as well as to bring back the rest of the artifacts for study. His frustration grew as he began the second chapter.

I will leave out all discussion on republics, inasmuch as in another place I have written of them at length, and will address myself only to principalities. In doing so I will keep to the order indicated above, and discuss how such principalities are to be ruled and preserved.

Triton sighed. This was getting nowhere, and he was disliking this author more and more, as now he was leaving some of his questions unanswered because he had supposedly written about them in some other work, which had conveniently not been part of Ariel's book collection. "How typical," he muttered under his breath. He slowly looked up to see if his daughters were faring any better than he was. Attina was scribbling out some notes on a sheet of paper, while reading further ahead in her book. He could not help but notice Attina was shuddering slightly. Something in her book must have upset her, but he said nothing and instead turned his glance over to Andrina. Her lips had twisted into a grimace as she traced a finger over each line she read before she turned the page. Triton felt uneasy at her expression as well. He slowly turned to Arista, hoping that she would fare better. Arista scanned over the page with narrowed eyes, seeming captivated at what had been written there. Triton continued to watch her for a minute or so and was beginning to continue his own reading when her eyes widened suddenly and she gasped, covering her mouth as she did so. Attina and Andrina both looked up suddenly as the two of them, as well as their father, turned and looked at her.

"Daddy," she said quickly as she held up the book, "you're in this."

Triton could almost feel his blood turn to ice at Arista's words.

"What did you say?" he asked incredulously. Before Arista could answer, he held out his hand for the book.

Arista understood and swam from her seat to give it to him. As he took it from her, he picked up his own back and handed to her, indicating that she would now read The Prince instead. Arista went back to her seat while Triton opened to the first page and began to read the author's notes. More references to Latin; in fact, according to the notes, this book had been originally written in Latin, in the early days of a state called the Roman Empire, and written during the reign of its first emperor, or "Caesar," as the Romans called it. That emperor's name was Augustus. Reading further, Triton learned that the book had not yet been finished at the time of the author's death, and it had been published against the author's dying wish. He scanned each line, reading that the work was a story of a man who fled the city of Troy as it was sacked by the Greeks. Triton once more felt a chill. Another language the humans knew. How was this possible? According to legend, the descendants of Aeneas, the story's protagonist, would ultimately found the city of Rome in the year 753 B.C. which would serve as the capital of one of the largest and most influential empires in the history of the world for over a thousand years. B.C. A form of human dating on the calendar, and no idea what the letters stood for. Whether it was 753 years leading up to a certain event, or 753 years following, he could not say. And what kind of event was it? His question went unanswered by the time he got to the actual text, the first of what would be twelve books. He read the opening lines.

I sing of warfare and a man at war.

From the sea-coast of Troy in early days,

He came to Italy by destiny,

To our Lavinian western shore,

A fugitive, this captain, buffeted

Cruelly on land as well as on the sea

By blows from powers of the air – behind them,

Baleful Juno in her sleepless rage.

And cruel losses were his lot in war,

Till he could found a city and bring home

His gods to Latium, land of the Latin race,

The Alban lords, and the high walls of Rome.

It was a poem, or at least it was supposed to be a poem, but strangely, it did not rhyme. But never mind that, he was more interested in the poem's contents, so he read on. He read through about how Juno, an individual whose incestuous marriage made him revile her the instant she was introduced to the story, treasured the city of Carthage, which was doomed to destruction at the hands of the descendants of the Trojan refugees, and that she refused to do nothing and simply allow this to happen, and so she went to King Aelous, who was said to have held dominion over the winds and bribed him into unleashing them upon the Trojan ships. Triton frowned. He could see that these deities were incredibly selfish and petty. If these were the sort of entities humans looked up to, then they were an even sorrier lot than he had previously thought they were. Such deities did not even deserve respect, let alone worship.

Her bribe consisted of promising Aelous a nymph in marriage. Aelous accepted the offer and released the winds. A storm unleashed itself upon the Trojan ships, and it was then that Triton was introduced to Aeneas, holding out his arms and lamenting that he was not among the fallen at the walls of Troy, for in his eyes, they were more fortunate than those who lived. Perhaps, Triton thought, this Aeneas fellow might be right, as he read on. At least those who fell in battle must surely have been given a swift death, unlike the remaining Trojans huddle together in their ships. The skies darkened as the storm raged. Ships were tossed about the waves, some smashed to pieces as men drowned. Triton continued to read until he came across exactly what he was looking for.

During all this, Neptune became aware

Of hurly-burly and tempest overhead,

Bringing commotion to the still sea-depth

And rousing him. He lifted his calm brow

Above the surface, viewing the great sea,

And saw Aeneas' squadron far and wide

Dispersed over the water, saw the Trojans

Overwhelmed, the ruining clouds of heaven,

And saw his angry sister's hand in all.

He called to him Eastwind and South and said:

"Are you so sure your line is privileged?

How could you dare to throw heaven and earth

Into confusion by no will of mine,

And make such trouble? You will get from me-

But first to calm the rough sea; after this

You'll pay a stricter penalty for your sins.

Off with you! Give this message to your king:

Power over the sea and the cruel trident

Were never his by destiny, but mine.

He owns the monstrous rocks, your home, Eastwind.

Let Aelous ruffle in that hall alone

And lord it over winds shut in their prison."

Before the words were out, he quieted

The surging waters, drove the clouds away,

And brought the sunlight back. Cymothoë

And Triton, side by side, worked to dislodge

The grounded ships; then Neptune with his trident

Heaved them away, opened the miles of shoals,

Tempered the sea, and in his car departed

Gliding over the wave-tops on light wheels.

Triton stared down at the pages. The events described in the early part of this book where unlike anything he had ever done. He had never helped free ships that had gotten stuck on rocks, and he certainly did not have this Juno for a sister. The very name made his skin crawl, such a vile creature. He could not help but picture the image of Ursula in his mind as he read this. Ursula was cruel, conniving, vengeful, and showed a complete disregard in anybody she might hurt in order to get what she wanted. In fact, hurting others might also be part of what she wanted. Was this not also an apt description of Juno as well? Triton was no longer so quick to dismiss the book as a complete work of fiction, an ancient relic of the past. Perhaps Virgil had been onto something when he wrote this. Even if the contents of the book had not actually happened, it could still be a valuable tool, especially if Ursula had indeed played a part in Ariel disappearing. Perhaps Ursula might employ the same tactics as Juno, giving Triton an opportunity to anticipate them and counteract. He eagerly picked the book back up and began to read again.

…

"Oh, these are delicious!" Adella shouted after she bit into one of the cinnamon rolls. The three of them were now sitting at one of the benches near the fountain, the basket in the center of the bench, having decided that they had enough time to eat before heading for the inn.

Aquata nodded as she bit into one of the strawberry danish. "I have to hand it to you, Adella," she conceded. "I don't know how yours tastes, but this is far better than anything I've ever eaten before."

"I wish we had food like this back in Atlantica," Alana added.

"Don't say that," Aquata whispered harshly. Adella and Alana looked up at her. "Don't you remember what daddy said? We can't let anybody know where we come from," she explained. "We have to pretend as though we have been humans our entire lives. But you're right, Alana. I hope all human food is this good," she whispered.

"I'm starting to worry that's going to be impossible," Adella murmured. When her sisters looked up from their food, she said, "Pretending we're humans. I feel like there will be too many things to learn on our own."

"I don't even want to know what pregnant is," Alana interjected with a shudder.

"Oh, it can't be that bad, whatever it is. It didn't seem to bother her," Aquata pointed out.

"Not that bad?" Did you see how big her stomach was?" Alana blurted.

"So? She made it seem like it wasn't that big of a deal," Adella shrugged.

"Girls," Aquata sighed, "can we just finish eating, please?"

Adella muttered something through a full mouth as she was already eating a second cinnamon roll. "But do save one for me," Aquata smirked as she took another bite from her pastry. Adella looked up at her but said nothing as she continued chewing. As she popped the last bite of the roll into her mouth, she saw the sticky dark brown and white goo was all over her fingers. Dipping her hands in the fountain would surely clean them, but she did not want to do that. Her lips curled into a grin at what she decided to do instead. With her father far away, and her sisters not paying attention to her, she licked all over her fingers, trying to make sure she could eat every last bit of it. Satisfied that she was now full, she rested her hands in her lap. "That was wonderful," she said as she looked at her sisters. As she waited for them to finish, a loud ringing sound came from out of nowhere. Adella followed the sound until she saw a tall tower attached to a large building on the back end of the square.

On each side of the tower was the same image as inside the lockets that Adella had seen in the grotto. The longer needle was pointing directly at the XII, while the shorter one was pointing at the X. After chiming a short series of notes, a much louder bell slowly rang out ten times. When the tenth and final chime began to fade, Aquata looked up at the night sky and then back around the square and realized that few humans were still around. "We should probably get going," she whispered to her sisters. "I don't feel comfortable staying out here, at night, alone, in a strange land."

"Yes, let's continue this tomorrow. Where did that man say the inn was?" Adella asked as she stood up. Aquata turned and scanned the area once more. "I think he pointed that way, but he said it wasn't too far, so if I'm wrong, we can always just go down another street."

"Then let's go," Alana said as she stood up as well, and with that the three of them headed off down one of the streets out of the square. They passed by several buildings, with indicated by signs that read such things as tavern, gunsmith, library, and winery. But they found no inn. As they passed a crossroads, Aquata stopped suddenly and covered her hands. "Oh no," she whispered.

"What? What is it?" Adella asked worriedly.

"I think we went in the wrong direction," she explained.

"So, we just turn around then?" Adella shrugged. "I don't think that really means anything serious," she said but was cut off by a raspy voice that made their insides freeze.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

…

Oh boy, another cliffhanger, and it looks like the three of them are about to have their first bad encounter with humans. Not to worry, this will likely be resolved very soon, as shortly after publishing chapter 3, I decided that I would begin writing all excerpts and ideas for the entire story, not just for the next chapter. That means that a good portion of chapters 5 through 8 have already been written by now.

Excerpts of The Prince come from a translation by Harvey Mansfield, originally published in 1985. I was thinking of dedicating a portion of the next few chapters to each sister reading and reacting to each of their respective books. That would mean more excerpts from each work will follow. It will also necessitate that I read The Iliad in order to write up a reaction scene for Andrina, as I have never read it before.

Excerpts of The Aeneid come from a translation published by Robert Fitzgerald in 1983. I had also considered using the 1697 translation by John Dryden, as well as the H.R. Fairclough translation appearing in the Loeb Classical Library. Even though the translation would not have existed at the time of this story's setting, I chose the Fitzgerald translation mainly because it is one of only two translations of which I own a physical copy. I also own a copy of a 2003 translation by David West, but at the time of writing, I did not know where it was.