Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original The Little Mermaid or The Little Mermaid II characters. I do, however own characters of my own creation such as Christella.

Great big thanks to everyone who put this story or me in their favourites or alerts lists!

DD, my awesome beta, you rock girl! Brit, thanks for the very important encouragement!

Oh, and I'm going to revert to third person with Chrissie this chapter… Please tell me what you think.

Last Time:

She rubbed her temples with her fingers. It was time for her to return to the sea, and something in her heart told her she was never going to leave it again.

Chapter 17:

"I really should've got lost by now," Chrissie mused to herself, it all seemed just a bit too easy. She spotted her classroom where the last few students were swimming in and rushed the last few meters so she wouldn't have to endure the stares that were associated with arriving by yourself. She scanned the classroom and saw only one vacant seat, making things a whole lot easier, but then again sitting in front of Mariya was definitely going to be fun Chrissie thought sarcastically. Just thank the Lord, no Neptune! Thank Neptune that she didn't have her phalanx of trusty airheads with her…

She quietly took her seat between an extremely pale mermaid with black hair, nail polish and 'tattoo' on her wrist drawn on in pen and a merboy with a face that was not extremely handsome, just boyishly cute. He didn't look anything really different or special. She could already feel Mariya's death stares she has employed on Draphomii boring into the back of her neck. She looked to the front of the classroom where a flamboyant youngish mermaid sat on the desk. She had a bright pixie-like face, with black spiky hair to match and a hot pink tail. Paired with her electric blue shells she was an eclectic yet stunning beauty.

"Hey everyone! If any of you guys haven't met me before I'm Lana, unless of course anyone important happens to be in the room, in which case I'm Miss Vi. Vi, like V I, not V. Got it?" The difference between her and Mrs. Bulbé was extreme. "Ok, so you guys are learning Mythology, right? If your not you can stay anyway. The point is Mythology is pretty interesting, and we won't just learn about the myth that you all probably know. For example, what do you know about the myths of the infamous water demons? Or the tribal mermaids from the Barrier Reef? Or even myths from above the sea…" she said casting a quick glance as Chrissie.

Chrissie was completely absorbed throughout the entire lesson and definitely jumped when the bell rung, ending the lesson far too quickly. Chrissie swam quickly to her gold room and as she turned the key in the lock she noticed Mariya and the -ia's approaching. Mariya held a key identical to Chrissie's, but shining silver. Chrissie quickly slipped into her room and flopped onto the couch and pulled out her food, which she chewed on half-heartedly. It was so quiet, amazingly no sound from the corridors was audible in the room. She sunk into a series of meaningless thoughts, successfully avoiding thinking about everything that was going wrong.

But then somehow her thoughts fell onto Derek. Even though she hadn't known him for long she felt like she had known him for much longer. How cliché, she thought, but even clichés must have their origins. She thought about Mariya and realised that she loathed her. She'd never hated anyone with such a passion before, of course she was no saint that loved everyone either, but this hate was so amazingly powerful it almost scared her.

She was wrenched out of her own head by the ringing of a cute little bell rigged up near the ceiling as the normal bell would be undetectable in this room. She grabbed her some books and the text books for her lessons, Comportment and Art, and the all important map.

ooOoo

Ray saw the face of that girl again in his mind. He was so sure he had never seen her before, but he knew her and her name. It was so annoying, eating away at his thoughts…

"What are you thinking about Ray?" Rhiannon inquired, she was lying with her head in his lap as they sat in the room that was now theirs, relaxing, thinking.

"Nothing really," he said nonchalantly, playing aimlessly with her hair, "Just that girl I saw in the gardens… How I feel as if I've seen her face, and I know her name."

"You may have dreamt it somehow," she reasoned.

"That's probably it," he said, trying to dismiss the thought. Silence. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I know," she said with a smile to match and wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her.

ooOoo

Melody sat in the garden, dazed. She kept replaying that short section of time over and over in her mind. Him with that girl… That girl who had stolen him. It didn't make sense though. She had only known Ray a little while but it did not seem at all right. Something didn't fit. She recalled how he had said her name, as if he didn't know her; as if he didn't know why he knew here face and name. She sighed and decided to wallow in self pity for a little while longer.

She closed her eyes as if it would block everything out, which of course was rather ineffective. She tilted her head one way then the other, stretching her neck. It cracked and although it wasn't painful it seemed rather ominous. She contented herself with just sitting, beyond the physical world… She realised she could see Ray, it were as if a film was playing on closed eyelids. She could see only him, he was surrounded by darkness. She could hear his voice, though it was muffled and she only picked up a few words.

"… that girl… seen… know her…" She strained her ears, trying to pick up what he was saying.

Before he could say anything she felt a hand descend on her shoulder and her senses rocketed back to where she was sitting. Her head felt like it was spinning and she pressed a hand against her temple as she realised she had a shocking headache and felt positively exhausted. A kind face swam into focus before her. The merwomans mouth was moving, but all Melody could hear was the rise and fall of her voice. She could probable work out some of the syllables her mouth was making if she concentrated enough, yet that was well beyond her at the moment.

ooOoo

Moira looked at the dark-haired mergirl blinking at her in a dazed sort of way, and realised she did not understand a thing she had said. She looked at the girls face closely, it seemed familiar. She smiled as she recognised it. She had seen that faces near twin just that morning, though wreathed in red hair, not black.

"Princess Melody, yes Darcy told me of you… Though he doesn't realise that my loyalty lies most definitely with the palace and my treachery to him will ensure I remain there… That is hardly a burden, that kitchen is one of masters and Jarah will be happier to if I am not mistaken," she said to herself. She shrugged and picked up the now shivering mermaid with unexpected strength, she had her plans and though simple to her they would change the future of the Oceans.

gaspeth! How dramatic… Exam block should die… Anyway, I am thinking of making this story two parts and I may change the name to suit my developing plans… So opinions on that please. I'm so annoyed though! Things aren't getting where I want them to be quick enough! I feel like I need to write what I envisage right now, lest it run out of my head… But otherwise the usual, review blah blah… (insert threats/bribes here) It's late so ignore my ramblings… 'Til the next chapter then! Let's see if it's less than a month. :P