The sight of their youngest in such distress struck a chord of deep sympathy within Ariel's sisters. Her approaching sobs caused them to halt their morning ablutions, and when she burst into the room and threw herself upon her bed six hearts clenched in unison. They had felt the power of the trident, their father's rage carried on the current in a dense mass. After what they had learned that morning the possibility of Ariel being its recipient had crossed their mind, but none had truly believed it. Surely their father could not feel such hatred towards his own daughter.

Aquata, when all had woken to find their little sister missing, had revealed her, had told them of her late night adventures, begging that they keep her secret as she had. Attina had been hardest to convince, firstly because she had been tasked with reporting her misdemeanours, and then out of fear that her continued absence was due to some harm befalling her. If there was any uncertainty to Ariel's safety then their father mustbe informed. Aquata had implored her to wait, at least for a little while. Now she was beginning to wonder whether that had been the correct decision.

Ariel's body seized with violent tremors, revealing the extent of her anguish alongside the tearful cries that filled the room.

Attina was the first at her side, checking her for any sign of injury. But it appeared that this was a different kind of hurt, and none had seen it since the loss of their mother. She touched Ariel's arm, her irritation forgotten. Any reprimand that she had planned could wait, for her sister suffered enough.

Arista's features twisted in empathy. It was awful to witness such sadness, though it was at that moment unknown exactly what had caused it.

'Talk to us,' implored Attina, as Ariel's sorrow reduced in time to muffled hiccups. 'Aquata told us you've been sneaking out. What happened?'

With much effort, her limbs heavy, Ariel sat up. Her eldest sister was beside her, the other five perched on the next bed—Alana's. All eyes were on her. Aquata's held a silent apology, but the loss of her secret was of no consequence to Ariel now, for her father already knew.

'Daddy's done something terrible,' she said meekly.

Attina put an arm around her sister, she and the others extending by way of their silence an invitation to continue. And she did. She told them everything. A tale unraveled from the tip of her tongue, of the boy she had met in the kelp forest and of the adventures they had shared. Of what he had taught her and what he had shown her, and of the blossoming relationship between them—at this particular detail Alana and Adella shared a small smile, their secret theory confirmed. There came no interruption, and when she told of the life he lived six mouths fell silently open.

'He came to ask Daddy for help,' Ariel concluded, 'he only wanted to be normal. Now he's been taken to the dungeons and if I don't get him out he'll...' Here she trailed off, too distressed by the finality of such an outcome to speak it into existence.

She looked between her sisters, struggled to gage the bewildering plethora of reactions before her to the news that she had been spending her nights at the surface, and with one who had been human at the time.

'What's his name?' asked Andrina, forever yearning to know the finer details of her sisters lives.

Ariel opened her mouth to answer, but it was not her voice which filled the silence.

'Eric.' All eyes turned to Aquata, none with such surprise as Ariel's. 'It's Eric, isn't it?'

Silence followed, born of confusion. Ariel could only stare, mouth agape. How could she possibly know that? Adella, ready to squeal in delight at Ariel having found love, was halted by the alarm on Attina's face. She looked ill, white as a spectre.

'Do you... do you know him?' Ariel asked hesitantly. She was certain Eric would have mentioned it had he known any of her sisters. In fact she remembered him explicitly stating that he didn't.

'We all do—'

'No! Stop it!' Attina's voice was sharp, cutting Aquata short. Father had warned them to forget, had gathered his eldest daughters and demanded they cease to mention his name—the others would forget in time, being too young to retain the memory. Attina had dutifully followed his instruction to ensure his wishes were adhered to, she couldn't let it go to waste now.

'Attina.'

Triton's eldest looked up at Aquata's pleading voice, trembling now. 'Father said—'

'He was wrong.'

Attina hung her head, ravaged by doubt and defeated. How could she make them understand when they refused to listen? Did they not remember what he had done? The news that he was alive was a shock, and that Ariel had been meeting him in secret even more so—though she clearly had no idea of any previous connection. Her father had never disclosed to them his fate, that he was so suddenly entering their lives again perturbed her. Her arm fell from around Ariel, her strength sapped.

The others watched this argument, still coming to terms with Ariel's story whilst also trying to figure out the hidden meaning of this brief exchange. There was a tension in the water, an anticipation that kept them riveted.

As the fight left Attina, Aquata returned her attention to Ariel. 'He was our brother.'

Disbelief rippled through the waiting sisters.

'Not biologically, Mum found him alone at the surface and took him in.' Not accurate, perhaps, but Aquata struggled to recall the exact circumstances under which he came to be with them. She remembered her mother's kindness though, her resolute desire that they take care of him.

'He was a human, I remember now,' added Alana. She had never been as close to Eric as some of her sisters, and over the years he had slipped from her mind with relative ease, but he was being dragged from the deepest recess of her subconscious now. 'Daddy transformed him so he could live with us. Mum wanted—'

'He's the reason she's not here!' Threatening tears took a conviction from Attina's words, to such an extent that it became dubious as to whether even she believed them.

'He isn't,' was Aquata's calm response. 'Dad thought so too, but Eric was just scared, we all were. He froze and Mum went to help him.' Here she paused, her sister's all knew how that ended. 'After that... well we don't know what happened to him. We assumed him dead, Dad had been so blind with anger that it seemed likely; but he isn't. You found him, Ariel!'

'But...' Ariel could hardly speak. She had so many questions that she hardly knew what to say. Her head was spinning in a dizzying attempt to make sense of what she was hearing. She took a breath to compose herself. One at a time. 'Wait, was he always a human at night? Surely when Daddy transformed him he could've made it permanent?'

'He did!' Arista piped up, please at being able to contribute. 'I remember him being here at night. He was crying and Mummy sang to us.' Her brow creased in concentration as she reached for these memories.

Whilst the others pondered over the change, Ariel struggled to hold back her tears—it was Eric she would weep for, not herself. She swallowed her grief. 'He doesn't know,' she uttered tearfully. She thought of his desire to know himself, how it troubled him to have so many unanswered questions. He could never have completed the puzzle, for the fragments of his life were scattered like sand upon the current. Not one individual could have told all. Her heart ached for him.

Andrina and Adella shared a look, both utterly lost. No brother existed in their memories—adopted or otherwise—it had always just been the seven of them. There had never been any mention of Eric, neither by their father nor the sisters who now spoke so openly.

'You've never mentioned him before,' mentioned Andrina.

'Dad forbid it,' replied Aquata regretfully.

'And for good reason!' Attina sounded desperate. 'He was human. He was dangerous. Father only wanted to protect us, to ensure we didn't share Mother's fate.'

'Do you honestly believe that!' demanded Aquata.

Ariel's head hurt, exhausted by emotion and by what she had learned. But Attina's estimation of Eric was wrong, and she would defend him to her last breath. She placed her hand upon her sister's arm.

'He's never hurt me,' she told her. 'I've only ever felt safe with him.'

There was such pain in the face of Triton's eldest, her inner battle engraved in the lies of her face as she was forced to consider this news alongside those feelings that had plagued her for so many years. Her father had been resolute, but she seemed to be the only one of her sisters who shared his views. Why was that? Her mother's words echoed then in her mind, 'as long as we protect him, and love him, and care for him he'll never be a threat to us. I promise.' But they hadn't done that for him, yet Ariel vouched for his amiability. Attina dropped her head into her hands, the trust she had for her father stretched taut. Never had she been so torn.

'Wait a minute,' interrupted Alana, steering the conversation back to Ariel's original fears, the reason for her upset. 'If he becomes human at sunset and he's been locked up down here, that means...'

The here and now pushed aside their reminiscing, though there yet remained many unanswered questions in the minds of all present. It would have to wait though.

'He'll die if we don't do something,' confirmed Ariel. She wondered whether her father knew this, certainly his anger at seeing Eric seemed to suggest so. His intention was to kill him then, and all he had to do was wait for sundown. If as much were true then she despised him. She looked to her sisters, hoping to find them more sympathetic. 'Will you help me?' she asked.

Aquata agreed without hesitation. Arista too, though she feared the repercussions of such deliberate disobedience. Alana, Adella and Andrina followed suit, each buzzing at such a daring prospect. First a long lost brother and now a prison break! How long had it been since they'd seen such excitement? Only Attina remained silent, shaking amidst her own inner turmoil.

'Tina?' It was Aquata who spoke so softly, reaching across the gap between the beds to take her hand. 'Mum would never have let Dad treat him like this. She loved him, and she asked us to as well. We can't just sit here and do nothing.'

Usually Attina would have snapped at her sister, berated her for using the memory of their mother against her, but she simply didn't have the strength. Her father had warped her memories, poisoned them, and she was struggling to come to terms with that. Her sisters faces held such a myriad of emotion that their exact feelings on the matter were difficult to read, but there was an unmistakable determination in the features of each, the surfacing of a long dormant love for the brother they had lost.

She met Aquata's pleading gaze... and nodded. She would help.

The dungeons were unkempt, indeed it was rare for any cell to be occupied. Triton's rule was absolute. None dared commit such an offence as would land them in here and those who did the King sought to punish in other ways. There was little to be achieved from keeping a person locked up, banishment would serve to teach them better he felt. It had failed on this occasion though, and the restriction of imprisonment meant more to this boy than any other. It was a death sentence.

Triton could not have explained why he chose to visit the condemned, for he did not truly know. The boy was not worth his time, and yet there existed within the King a strange longing to look upon him once more.

The guards stationed at the crumbling arch bowed deeply as he passed through it's shadow. Only dregs of the city's heavenly glow fell here, seeping through the high trench at the bottom of which the dungeons were located. Sealed gates lined the seabed, regimented like a guard of honour as the King passed through. Only one was in current use. Triton paused before it, his shadow casting a darkness over the cell.

'How long have you been seeing my daughter?' His voice was low, threatening.

The darkened cell remain silent, motionless, as though there existed no life within its algae-slick walls. Then the boy shifted, pushed himself up, and presented himself bravely before the King. His surprise did nothing to hide his exhaustion.

'Why did you come here?' continued King Triton, before guessing, 'Nastasya sent you.'

Eric's body ached, both from the physical blow dealt by the merman before him and from the emotional exertion of the past day or so. He shook his head in response to the King's assumption.

'She doesn't know,' he admitted. How he longed to be with her now! He felt he could forget any previous misgivings for the chance to see her again.

'Then why?'

Eric, desperate to explain himself, wasted no time in pondering why the King had bothered to seek him out. 'I came to ask for your help,' he began.

Triton scoffed. 'And do you truly believe yourself worthy of my assistance?'

The boy's impertinence astounded him, to expect anything after what he and his kind had done! Triton felt he had been more than benevolent in allowing him to live, but back then he had been swayed by the memory of Athena, had wanted to respect her wishes at least in part. Now he no longer felt her presence, it had been so long that she ceased to offer guidance. He had thought that coming down here, seeing the boy she had so doted upon, would have prompted some remorse in his tormented soul; but it hadn't. Instead, the sight of him merely reminded the King the part he had played all those years ago.

'I gave you a chance once before,' he seethed, 'I won't give you another.'

Panic flared within Eric as the King turned to leave. 'Your Majesty, please!' he begged, 'I'm human! At night. I... I won't survive down here!'

The King paused, and for one moment Eric dared to hope that he would at last be heard. He couldn't understand why he had been condemned so swiftly, why the King refused to listen.

Triton glanced back in the boy's direction. 'I know you are. I made you so.'

Eric felt his words like a physical blow. So stunned by this notion was he that he had not the energy to dispute the King's departure. He sank back to the seabed, mouth agape, hands trembling and mind reeling, as Triton's retreating form was swallowed by the shadows.