Chapter Four
It was the next morning. Cleo couldn't get any sleep from what had gone down the day before, so went for a swim.
She has been swimming for ten minutes before she saw Lewis, standing as if he was waiting for her.
She swam towards him.
"We need to talk." He said with a stern look and a serious tone. Cleo got out of the sea and dried herself, they then headed towards Rikki's.
"What is it you want to talk about?" She asks bluntly.
"I know you still love me, and that you always will." Cleo hated it when he was right.
"So?" She said, keeping a barrier between them.
"Listen i need you to take me down to the kingdom? i want to film some parts of it." Lewis blurted out.
"I don't think so. My dad's not going to be happy, neither will the girls. Plus if i take you, the mers will notice there's a human." She pointed out.
"I know. That's why i want you to film it." He said waiting for her reaction.
Her reaction? She had no idea what she was going to do.
"Look yes i still love you, and always will. You were my first love, and probably my last. But i don't know." Cleo told him.
"I should probably let you know i have a few mers with me. More like captured. If you don't do as i say, i will kill them." He said irritated and impatient.
Cleo was terrified, she didn't want her first act of royalty to be, letting humans kill her kind.
"Fine. I'll do it." She replied, knowing she's going to regret it, but knew it was for a right cause.
Back at the kingdom
"What are we going to do Poseidon? I can't let her do this." Don says to his advisor/right handman.
"I say we give her one piece of information and tell her, that's all we know." Poseidon suggests.
"But she will just come back for more information." Don points out.
"Uncle Don." Bella, Emma, and Rikki says in unison.
"Do you know what to do next?" Bella asked frightened. He just shakes his head.
"Maybe we should burn the evidence she has so far." Rikki suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement, but knew if they did Sam and Lewis will just swim down themselves.
"Hey has anyone seen Cleo?" Emma asks.
"No. Not since last night." Rikki replied.
"Maybe she's gone out for a swim." Poseidon pointed out. They just nodded in agreement.
In reality Cleo was in the kingdom filming the merpeople for Lewis.
"This better be worth it." She says under her breathe.
Aftwr she was done swimming around the kingdom, recording every little thing she swum back up to the shore and gave Lewis the video.
"It's time to release them." She demanded.
"Oh Cleo. Sweet sweet Cleo, we never talked about releasing them." Just like that he left with the video, leaving Cleo speechless and guilty.
"What have i done?" She says.
The next day...
Lewis and Sam were at Rikki's cafe.
"Alright everyone settle down." Sam spoke up.
"We have footage that of an amazing discovery, and we're going to show you." Lewis continued.
They played the footage, Mrs. Gilbert and her son Elliot saw the footage and chiked on their own smoothies. Everyone around them were also gobbsmacked. They didn't know if the footage was fake or not. Sam and Lewis saw this.
"They are real. I would know, my ex-girlfriend is one. I found out a couple years ago, but now i know not to hide them." Lewis said.
Everyone believed them. Zane came out wondering what all the commotion was all about, then he saw the footage. He looked at everyone's reaction until he saw Mrs. Gilbert and her son and gave them an apologetic smile.
Elliot and is mum left, going towards the sea to let their family know.
Rikki was on land heading towards the cafe.
"Hi Mrs. Gilbert. Hi Elliot." She said when noticing them. She saw worry on their face and asked them if everything was ok.
The mum and the son looked at each other, then back at Rikki. Mrs. Gilbert told her what had gone down in the cafe, and telling Rikki's face. An emotion they never thought Rikki could feel. She was scared. Frightened.
Rikki excused herself and dived into the water and swam away straight to the palace to tell the others.
"RIKKI!" Bella shouted out.
Emma saw Rikki's face and knew there was something wrong.
"Rikki is everything ok?" She asked her cousin with concern.
"They know." Was all she said.
"They know. What do you mean they know?" Don came in hearing everything. Cleo was by his side.
"Lewis and Sam had footage of the palace and the merpeople. They showed it to people in the cafe. Emma your brother and mum came to tell me." Rikki stated.
"But how? Anyone here would have noticed a human swimming and filming?" Emma pointed out.
"It's my fault." Cleo said feeling guilty and used.
"I let my feelings for Lewis get to me and i told him i'd do it. I'm sorry." Was all she had to say. But they weren't mad at her. They were mad at Lewis. They all knew how much Lewis meant to her.
They forgive her.