Chapter 2: A Tail From The Past

5 years later

Charlotte sat on the back porch looking out at the beach, she remembered so vividly how she used to swim in the ocean as a mermaid, she missed it greatly, but it wasn't worth what it turned her into, she just wasn't cut out for being a mermaid. She used to dislike the girls but now she highly respected them, even if it was far too late, they had mastered their powers, almost on a spiritual level and had been one with their powers and the ocean, a true affinity.

'Auntie Charlotte' came a voice and she turned to see Kayla running up to her, my god she looked more and more like Cleo every day, her skin was already quite dark and exotic despite only being 6 years old and her hair was a dark chocolate brown.

'Yes sweety, what is it?'

'I'm bored, Elayne is too, can't we go to the Marine Park?'

Charlotte smiled 'you always want to go to the Marine Park, you're just like your mother' she said quietly.

'What do you mean auntie?'

Getting up and kneeling down in front of her she said 'your mother used to work at the Marine Park you know and she loved dolphins just like you do' she tapped Kayla's nose making her giggle.

'You never speak much about mama' Kayla said 'why not?'

Charlotte sighed 'I'll tell you girls everything, one day, when you're older.'

Kayla looked sad, sensing the tears coming on Charlotte sighed 'ok, come on, I'll take you girls to the Marine Park, go get ready.'

The three of them walked along the path in the Marine Park, watching the dolphins in the water. Dolphins still made Charlotte slightly uncomfortable but she wasn't as scared as them as she used to be.

'Auntie, can we get ice creams' Elayne asked, jumping up and down excitedly; she too looked a lot like Emma, with her blue eyes and golden blonde hair but as she didn't know the father who the other attributes were from she wasn't sure.

'Yeah, I think that would be ok, but not too much alright' Charlotte said as they approached the ice cream cart.

While the girls ordered their ice creams she looked around and suddenly saw a familiar face, Sophie Benjamin, she hadn't seen her for at least a year. The two girls that walked either side of her must be Roxie and Becka; Roxie was instantly obvious to her, she had the same light blonde wavy hair and blue eyes as Rikki. She'd never met Bella but based on the photo, she was turning out to look just like her.

Charlotte paid for the ice creams and then started to walk over to Sophie but the moment she saw Charlotte she guided the two kids away in the opposite direction.

'Was that Becka and Roxie' asked Kayla curiously.

Charlotte looked down at her 'you know them?'

'No, I've just seen them around, is that their mom?'

Not sure how to answer that one, Charlotte finally said 'no, she just takes care of them, she's Becka's auntie.'

'Are they like us' Elayne asked as she licked her ice cream, Charlotte smiled, Elayne always had been smart, just like Emma.

'More than you know' Charlotte said quietly, she doubted the girls had heard her; they had lost interest and gone back to watching the dolphins.

Later that evening, after the family had their dinner, Charlotte tucked the two kids into bed 'auntie, tell us a story' Elayne said.

Charlotte sighed, wondering if maybe now was a good time to at least tell them some of the truth, even if it was in the form of a story.

'Alright' she finally said 'I'm going to tell you a story about three mermaids; they lived right here on the beautiful Gold Coast. Ilana was beautiful and exotic and had the power to move water and control the wind. Coral was cool, strong headed but soft at her core and she had the ability to freeze water and make snow. Anna was fiery, passionate, untameable as the ocean itself and could boil water and create lighting.

The girls listened intently, clearly enchanted by the story already.

'The three mermaids were able to walk on land when dry and walk with normal people, there they met and fell in love with boys but they feared their secret would be discovered and no one would understand' Charlotte continued.

'Why wouldn't they understand' Kayla asked, confused.

Elayne rolled her eyes 'because their mermaids dummy.'

'Hey don't call me a dummy' Kayla said angrily.

Charlotte shushed them 'girls, don't be mean to your sister Elayne, but you are right, people would not understand.'

'So what happened next' Kayla asked frowning.

'A fourth mermaid arrived, Aqua, she was a powerful and cunning mermaid, she had all the powers the others had, she was jealous of Ilana for she loved the same boy. When Ilana and the boy broke up Aqua used her devious ways to keep the boy to herself.'

'She sounds really mean' Elayne said frowning.

Charlotte smiled 'she was, but Aqua learned that too much power is a dangerous thing, too much magic can get out of control and she was beaten by the other three mermaids.'

'How' asked Kayla 'she sounds so much stronger than them?'

'There is a magic moon pool where the mermaids lived and when the full moon hovers over every 50 years, any mermaid in the pool loses her powers…for ever, the three mermaids almost lost theirs but instead they managed to drop Aqua into the pool' Charlotte explained.

'I bet that taught her a lesson' Elayne said smiling.

Charlotte nodded 'it did indeed, but you must remember girls, everyone deserves a second chance, even people like Aqua, one day I'll explain to you more, but for now, you get some sleep.'

After Charlotte left the room Elayne turned to Kayla 'where do you think auntie gets such amazing and imaginative stories from, they sound so…real, almost as if she experiences every second of it.'

Kayla shrugged 'I don't know but I watch her sometimes, when she thinks nobody is around, she looks at photos and stares into space…she says one day she'll tell me what her connection was to mummy and your mum too.'

Elayne nodded 'she's been saying that for years though.'

Meanwhile over at Sophie Benjamin's house Roxie and Becka lay in their beds but they weren't tired.

'Roxie' Becka said sitting up to look at her sister.

Roxie frowned, she kind of found her sister annoying, especially when she was so happy and bubbly, it just didn't seem normal for someone to be like that 'what?'

'I was just wondering' Becka said thoughtfully 'why do you think Auntie Sophie doesn't like us talking to Kayla and Elayne?'

Roxie just shrugged, the thought had never really crossed her mind, she never really thought much about things 'I don't know.'

'Maybe the Charlotte lady is a witch' Becka said thoughtfully.

Snorting Roxie smirked 'don't be silly, no such thing.'

'How do you know' Becka snapped back.

Just then they heard Sophie's voice 'girl's, go to sleep, don't make me come up there!'

The two girls curled up and went to sleep, dreaming strange and magical dreams; dreams of the sea, of dolphins, of mermaids but when they woke the next morning they remembered nothing of it.