Blood Pearls

V

Swimming along side his sister felt like old times, they hadn't hung out like this in awhile. With his parents trying to make sure he was ready for the throne and Yamit finding love on the surface, it was something else stuck within his mind. There was a chance he could possibly be on land with a major cost.

"He seems good for you." Penn said out loud, watching his sister from the corner of his eye. "You're happier. I can see it in your eyes."

They stopped in front of the boulder that marked the entrance for the underwater cave, once they went through Penn knew the hard part began. They would have to sneak past the guards to enter the city. They both heaved a sigh as the two siblings moved the giant rock so they could get through the small space. "Sis, y'know... as much as I would miss you, if this Dylan makes you happy. I'd go for it." He informed her as the boulder moved revealing the small tunnel.

Now wasn't really the time she wanted to discuss this. "Penn, please… I can't think about him when I'm here." She shimmied her way through the tiny cave, apparently she gained a little weight in the rear since she'd last been home. "I'll miss him too much and dart back. We have to focus."

"Understandable." With that he followed quietly behind, focused on not cutting himself off the sharp rocks.

She could see the opening up ahead and pushed another rock out of the way. Yamit successfully swam through and reached in to pull her brother through. "This thing is hard to get through on your own."

"But it hasn't stopped either one of you before, now has it?" Tethys stood non-negotiable. "I had intentions on finding one of you, but I seemed to have found another scavenger along for the ride."

Yamit's eyes widened and she glanced over at her brother. They were caught red-handed…

"Dad, we uh, were just... out for a night... stroll?" Penn questioned wiggling his way out of the cave. He immediately noticed that his father was not in the mood for joking around. He bit his lower lip, this side of his father scared him. It took a lot to get him this angry. "Dad I can explain, just listen please."

He had his arms folded over his chest. "Penn your mother and I have both heard enough of your excuses. And dragging your sister into this?"

"That's where you're wrong!" Yamit swam directly in front of her brother, shielding him. "Penn didn't drag me into anything. It's really the other way around if you even knew what you were talking about."

"Is that so?" Samudra's voice echoed from behind her loving husband Tethys. She floated next to him and looked at her children. The two youngest… Yamit and Penn had been near inseparable since his birth. Yamit often called Penn 'her baby' when she was but the size of a guppy herself.

"Mother." Yamit greeted coldly. It made Samudra wince as if she'd been struck by something. "I've been co-living with humans now for the last three and a half years."

Samudra sighed lightly. "Giving your sea life up for legs are you?" She gave a sinister-like smile. "What's his name? I'm not stupid, Yamit… who is this boy?"

Penn gripped his sister's hand nervously, "Mom, please." Keeping her close as possible. This whole thing was making him uncomfortable, since this was his mother's first time meeting him back at the tunnels.

"Don't you 'Mom, please' me child! You don't understand the dangers of the human world. Of course it's fascinating, thrilling even! But if you go up there and something happens-"

"Like what, mother? Happiness?" Yamit fired back at her. Her entire being was trembling, not with fear, with anger. "His name is Dylan, and I saved him from drowning to death almost four years ago!"

Tethys stood shocked. Had it truly been that long since she started visiting the surface? She must have formed some serious relationships up there within that time span. "Yamit, you know we aren't allowed to interfere with whom the sea decides to claim..."

"We both did. I saved someone and so did Penn." She could almost feel her brother glaring at her from behind. "You can't control us as much as you'd like and it just kills you, doesn't it?"

Samudra smirked, she would be proud if she wasn't so angered. Yamit had a lot of fire in her soul. "Don't turn this one on me Yamit, you're just mad you got caught. You, I could mostly care less about, your brother is supposed to be ruling this Kingdom shortly. I don't need you influencing your brother and feeding him poison about the land life."

She still stood her ground… as well as she could with a tail. "He doesn't want to."

Samudra barely flinched. "Let him speak for himself. Penn?"

"Mother! This is enough. How can you say you don't care for Yamit, aren't you the one always going on about family?" Penn snapped at the figure in front of him. "I don't understand how you can be so heartless, why can't you just be happy that we're happy? Why mother?"

She sighed heavily. "Look, if your sister wants to spread her newly found legs that's her business. If she wants to throw away her life expectancy… that's also her business. I won't have you wrongly influenced by her ways."

"It's not her fault though... It's mine. Four years ago when we saved those boys... I was the reason we were up there in the first place. She followed me to make sure I wouldn't get hurt, because Yamit knew if I didn't come back *you would be heartbroken mother." He now stood his ground in front of the mermaid who scared him the most, looking her right in the eyes.

"Penn, sure that might have been your fault… but you weren't the one who made me come back." She told him, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. "I know I shouldn't have saved him… but what was I supposed to do, let him die? Suffocate to death?"

"It would've been for the best and you know that, Yamit." Samudra informed her daughter. She knew what humans were capable of, they deserved the nastiest of deaths, every last one of them. "But since you turned light-hearted and all… I think you and your brother both need to turn into your chambers. Your father and I will discuss further course of action. Come."

With that both Penn and Yamit knew that it was useless to argue any further. What was done was done. What had been said was said. There was nothing else that could be done. They all swam in silence towards the familiar sights of the city they knew all too well.

"Where is my chamber room?" Yamit asked as she swam around the one giant room that seemed to belong to Penn and only Penn at this point. "Our chambers were located right next to your-" She stopped herself and rolled her eyes. Did her parents really get rid of the room she had grown up in to extend Penn's own chambers? "They didn't think I was coming back… ever. Did they?" She asked her brother hastily. She hadn't been gone that long, only a few weeks. She had been graciously staying with Dylan and his family. Yet her own family had packed her things up and tore down the wall between the two chambers.

"Oh, didn't you know? Mommy dearest is building special guest rooms for you guys, she figured since I'm to be king one day... that I would want my own suite." The male stated, rolling his eyes as he slid onto the coral chair that decorated his room.

Yamit slowly sank down to the floor and she began to aimlessly doodle upon it. "Maybe she figured I wouldn't be back." Her green eyes locked with Penn's. "It's nice up there, y'know. I've stayed with Dylan and his family. They're a lovely bunch of humans." Though they didn't know that she was a mermaid… of course. "I have a device on land that Dylan gave me to communicate with him. He's so sweet."

She didn't realize that all this talk he was hearing about the land only made him want to explore up there more than ever.

"I honestly don't know what that woman thinks." Penn stated getting up from his chair and moving towards a coral shelf he had in his room. He picked a small object up and brought it to the other. "Here." He said holding out a little crystal charm. "I wanted to give it to you for your birthday, but now seems right." With that he sat down beside the other. "Kind of matches Dylan's eyes." He stated letting it sparkle.

She felt a strong stinging sensation from the back of her eyes. "Oh Penn, it's beautiful. Thank you!" She couldn't help the tear production that had begun. She sobbed and hugged her brother close.

His heart sunk when he noticed a few pearls slowly float down to the floor.

He hugged his sister back, though he wished he had the power to give her what her heart truly wanted. "Hey Yam, how about we go see what they're planning? I mean, if we're in trouble, might as well have the upper hand at least." Penn said wearing a devilish smirk.

She thought about it for a moment. He did have a smart approach. And she was rather curious… the want to know when she'd be able to see Dylan again was too strong to let it be.

"Wouldn't you be interested in knowing what they have planned? What kind of torture they want to put us through?" Penn asked as he moved toward the opening of the room. He poked his head out to make sure there was no guards. "Unless you're scared?" He teased, looking back at the other with that daring gleam in his eyes. He noticed she smiled. It was small, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Lead the way, oh brave one." She teased him back as the two of them slid out of the room, into the hallway… they peeked around the corner to make sure no one was there to catch them. The siblings quietly maneuvered around the under water castle, their movements quick and rapid to the doors of the throne room where they knew their parents would be...

"Samudra, darling..." She paced back and forth in front of her throne. "don't you think that your words were… I don't know… a bit harsh?" She stopped in mid-pace just to glare at him. "I know your view of humans has been tainted and it was my fault." He stopped and she stared at him.

"Go on."

"It's just that," he paused. "not all of them are bad. My dwelling was terrible, yes. I was abused in more than one way… if I hadn't met you Sammy… I wouldn't be alive."

She swam over to him and embraced him. "Shh, I know. I know."

He pulled apart just slightly to look into her eyes. "My point is… I made a sacrifice to be here with you. I regret nothing. But I also left nothing behind. Don't you think that the decision for Yamit is already hard enough without your bias sea-views?"

She rested her head upon his strong shoulder. "Of course I know it's hard. I just… I figured that if she left the sea angry at me, it would make her decision that much easier to make."

"So you yelled at her, belittled her intelligence so that her decision to reside on land would be easier for her to make?" He wanted to make sure that he got all of the facts lined up.

She nodded. "Did I go too far?"

"Yes!" He answered her with no hesitation. "You told Yamit that you didn't care about her."

Samudra shifted her gaze to the coral palace floor beneath them. "I wanted to make her decision easier. If she were a mother, she would know that the love you have for your child, regardless of how many, is unconditional no matter what."

"What about Penn? You don't think this will stop him do you?"

"Of course not." She knew it was foolish to think that in the slightest. Of course it wouldn't stop Penn. He shared a lot of her personality traits. It was why they clashed as hard as they did. "I just want him to make the right choices. If he doesn't want to rule the kingdom that's ultimately his choice. I, we… *he just needs to be sure. Once he gains his legs and chooses permanently… there is no turning back."