Chapter 16

May floated beside her bedroom window, staring at the moonlight shining down and flowing in the water. As much as she wanted to swim out and bask in the beautiful silver light, as full moons only came once a month, she knew that would be a bad idea after what she'd done.

It wasn't long before the silvery light faded away, giving way to a colorful spectacle before welcoming a golden glow. Not long after this, May heard the door to her room open and someone swim in.

"You've got some explaining to do, young lady."

May sighed and turned to face her mother, slowly floating forward until she was face-to-face with her mother. "I'm sorry, Mother," she said quietly. "I know you must be worried out of your mind right now."

"I was," Cynthia said, folding her arms over her chest. "Do you have any clue how dangerous it is to swim in the open ocean when pirates are out there?!"

"Yes," May nodded. "I knew what I was getting myself into, but I couldn't float idly in the palace while one of our own was in danger."

"You know our protocol for that kind of situation!" Cynthia said angrily. "I had the guards ready to swim out and save her when that other mermaid swam in and told me what you'd done!"

"I know," May nodded again.

"Then why did you go after her?!" At this, May fell silent, looking away. Cynthia didn't appreciate this and grabbed her jaw, forcing eye contact again. "Look me in the eye, young lady! I know you care deeply for our kind, but that's no excuse for what you did!"

"It wasn't just that!" May said, pulling away while wincing at her mother's powerful grip. "That wasn't just one of our kind, Mother. That was my friend!" She looked down in shame. "But...you're right. I was out of line. I should've let you and the royal guard take care of it. I'm sorry I made you worry."

"As you should be," Cynthia muttered, turning away in frustration. "You have no idea what it feels like to be worried sick that you might lose a loved one."

May looked up, her eyes lighting up slightly. "Actually, I think I do understand," she said.

"No, you don't!" Cynthia glared back at her.

"I was terrified that I would lose Lillie," May tried to explain. "After I saved her, I got angry with her for putting herself in danger like that." At this, Cynthia turned to face her fully. "I was probably a little too hard on her. She was probably just as scared as I was."

Cynthia's expression softened as she listened to her daughter's story. She sighed, frowning bitterly, before turning to swim out of the room. "Go to bed," was all she said before swimming out.

"Yes, Mother," May sighed, and she turned to her shellbed. After checking on Popplio, who was asleep, she slowly unwrapped the seaweed from her abdomen. She checked her reflection in the mirror. The cut on her back had faded enough that it was now barely noticeable.

"She probably wouldn't even notice," she mumbled. "Then, again, she probably already knew thanks to the seaweed." She slowly swam over to her shellbed and floated down into it. "Well, no one else will ever know, especially if I'm wearing my –"

Then it hit her.

"My sacks!"

She sprang up from the shellbed and frantically swam about the room, looking for her sacks. Her fears were confirmed when she couldn't find them.

"I was still wearing them when I went out to save Lillie!" she exclaimed. "They must've gotten cut and fallen off when I got nicked by that knife! Ohhhh!" she moaned, putting her head in her hands. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do right now, seeing as the sun was shining down, and she sadly swam back to her bed, pulling the top down over her.

"I'll have to find them tomorrow," she moaned as she curled up into a perfect sphere. "I just hope they'll be okay."

Cynthia swam out of her room the next evening, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she came to the throne room. Two members of the royal guard were there, waiting.

"Good evening, your Majesty," they said, bowing to her.

"Good evening," she replied with a nod. "Are the waters secure? Did any predators swim in to try and bring us harm?"

"No," the guards shook their heads. "The ocean is secure."

"Thank you," she smiled as she started to swim to her throne. "You are dismissed." The guards thanked her and swam away, leaving her alone. As she sat on her throne, she sighed somberly. "My daughters," she said quietly to herself, "where are you now? Have you found what you were looking for?"

"Your Majesty!"

Cynthia snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at a guard dragging a familiar mermaid in. "What in the ocean –?!" she exclaimed.

"I caught your precious daughter trying to swim out unauthorized," the guard explained, prompting May to groan in annoyance.

"Unauthorized?" the Mertriarch blinked, confused.

"I told you, I'm not a child anymore!" May snapped back at the guard, wincing at his harsh grip on her arm.

"You disobeyed the Mertriarch's orders," the guard growled. "Did you think there would be no consequences for something so heinous?" He turned to Cynthia with resolve. "I will escort the princess to her room and ensure that she –"

"Take your hands off of her!"

The guard blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Huh?" May wondered.

"Take your hands off of my daughter!" Cynthia said angrily, swimming over to them and prying his hand off of her. "You are dismissed!"

"But...your Majesty…"

"Begone!" Cynthia shouted. The guard frantically turned and swam away, leaving her alone with her daughter.

"Mother, I –" May started.

"Don't feel the need to explain yourself," her mother said, turning and swimming towards her throne. "He was out of line. It's not his place to enforce discipline." She sat on her throne above the young princess.

"Thank you," May nodded, bowing to her. "I'll be going, now." She turned and started to swim out.

"A moment, May," Cynthia said. May looked back at her and swam back, floating at attention. "Where are you going?"

"Just into the palace," she shrugged.

"No," Cynthia smirked. "You have other plans. You intend to go out into the ocean, don't you?"

May sighed. "I really can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"Not even with the smallest of lies," her mother chuckled. "Go on, then. Enjoy your night."

May blinked in surprise. "You mean I can go?"

"Of course!" Cynthia chuckled once again. "I only have one condition for you."

"What's that?"

"You must return to the palace before the sun rises. Otherwise, I will send a guard to bring you back."

May's surprise faded as she smiled brightly. "Thank you, Mother," she smiled softly. "I will return before the sun rises." With that, she turned back and swam out.

May was out in the open ocean, swimming down at the bottom of the sea, desperately searching for her lost sacks. She tore through countless piles of stone and tangled balls of seaweed all throughout the night, desperate not to let the last four months of hard work go to waste. As the night wore on, her arms and tail began to tire, but she continued to push herself. Eventually, however, she grew too tired to continue and sat on a rock at the bottom of the ocean, panting from exhaustion.

"I can't believe this," she moaned, putting her head in her hands. "All the work we did for the last four months...gone! Oh, Popplio," she moaned, curling up and burying her face in her tail. "What am I going to tell her?"

As she sat there, the light from above started to dim. She looked up and realized that the sun would rise soon. Deciding to call it a night, she pushed herself up and started swimming for home. She would have swam faster, but her tail was too tired to go that fast. Despite this, it still didn't take her long to reach the village outside the palace. As she set her eyes on the palace, thinking that a pleasant pearly massage was just what she needed this morning, she noticed a familiar glint out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw the familiar white glow of a mermaid's tail. Lillie was darting through the village, keeping a cautious eye out as she swam from home to home. She only looked left and right, as well as behind her, as though to make sure none of the other merfolk in the village saw her.

May's curiosity got the better of her, and she started to swim down towards her friend. She didn't swim too close, so as not to startle her, but she was close enough that she could see every one of her movements. As she watched, she smiled at how gracefully Lillie swam through the water, the last light of the moon glistening off her beautiful white scales.

Finally, Lillie came to a home on the outskirts of the village: the same one May helped her build when they first met. After looking around one more time, she pushed the shelldoor open and swam in, hastily closing it behind her. Seeing this, May swam down closer and floated right outside the small structure. She noticed a window in the side and peeked in. It was a simple home: no different from any of the others, she thought. It did seem to shine a bit more, however, as though whoever lived there wanted it to look beautiful.

She watched Lillie float in, looking about cautiously, before sighing in relief and floating towards another room: her room, May presumed. May was about to turn and swim back to her own home when she heard a sudden scream from inside the home. Her eyes widened in concern, and she swam over to where the scream came from. She found another window and peered in. Lillie was floating there, looking terrified, as another mermaid floated over her. Her back was to the window, but from the length of her blonde hair and imposing figure, May guessed that it was Lillie's mother.

"Don't bother hiding it," her mother said in a domineering tone. "I know you were out past curfew."

"M-Mother, I didn't –" Lillie started to say.

"Silence!" her mother shouted, causing May to nearly jump out of her scales. "I have no patience for your nonsense! When I set rules, I expect them to be obeyed without question!"

"I'm sorry!" Lillie cried fearfully. "I-I lost track of time!"

"Excuses, now?" her mother sneered, floating towards her daughter. May tensed up, fearful for her friend. "You must think yourself quite clever if you think you can fool me."

"I'm not trying to fool you, Mother!" Lillie cried, her back against the wall. "It's the truth! Please, I didn't mean to –"

"What's this?!" her mother suddenly exclaimed. Lillie gasped in terror and floated back. May looked closely at what her mother found, and her eyes widened. She didn't recognize the object, but she could easily tell where it came from.

"You," her mother snarled angrily. "You've been visiting the surface!?"

"N-No! I would never –!"

"I warned you long ago, did I not?" her mother growled, her rage making May shiver in fear. "You are never, not EVER, to go to the surface!?"

"I didn't!" Lillie screamed, now fully terrified. "I found that in the ocean and I just thought that –"

"LIAR!" her mother roared as the back of her hand collided with Lillie's cheek. "I WILL TEACH YOU TO RESPECT MY RULES, YOU LYING LITTLE BRAT!"

May couldn't watch anymore. She turned away, eyes wide in horror as her hand flew to her mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle a sob. She wanted so badly to swim in there and pull Lillie out of such a horrible situation, but she knew that would only cause more problems. As she swam away and headed for the palace, she tried hard to choke away the sobs trying to escape her throat, not noticing that the sun had already started to rise. She didn't even notice the royal guards berating her for being late to curfew as she swam into the palace and over to her room. She curled up in her shellbed without another thought and pulled the top down onto her, quietly sobbing at what she'd just witnessed. She wished she could go to sleep, then wake up and realize that this was all just a bad dream. Unfortunately, someone had other ideas, as the top of her bed opened and a familiar face looked down on her curled-up form.

"You're late."

May sighed and floated up. "Sorry, Mother," she said, facing her. "I was swimming home when I noticed the sun was rising soon, but then I got a little sidetracked. I would have made it home on time otherwise."

Hearing this, Cynthia just sighed and shook her head. "You and your excuses," she mumbled, a small smirk tugging at her mouth despite her attempts to maintain a serious facade. "Well, I suppose I'll let you off the hook this time...assuming that's the truth."

"It is," May said. "It's only fair that I follow your rules after what I did. You've always been a reasonable mermaid like that."

Cynthia smiled at this and put her hand on her daughter's cheek. "And you're quite the mature mermaid," she said warmly. She floated forward and gently kissed her daughter's cheek. "Get some sleep," she said as she turned to swim out of the room.

May smiled softly before turning back to her bed and pulling the top down over her. She was glad her mother was so reasonable, even when she wasn't. But this pleasant feeling vanished quickly as she recalled what she witnessed earlier that morning, when her friend came to her own home and was confronted by her own mother.

"Lillie..." she whispered as she curled up tighter in her bed.