(Author's Note: I kept Sebastian and Scuttle's names the same since I love them so much! Yes, Swinburne Island is real and an example of the ways I incorporate historical facts in my books.)
Chapter 1: Swinburne Island
"Where are they?" Sebastian the crab asked himself. It was tough enough being the tutor to teenagers, but when they constantly disobeyed, they were even more irritating. "You'd think Vanna would show up as invested as she is in her studies, but no," Sebastian muttered to himself. "The other three get her to follow every time!" He flopped back in his shell chair, knowing in his gut where they probably were - the surface. The king would be furious if he knew. Sebastian couldn't possibly swim after them himself. If he asked anyone for help, the girls would surely be in trouble. The only saving grace was that they were there together and could help each other. Their mother had had an interest in the humans and the world above. She would go up there alone, and well - tragedy struck. At least the girls were together. Even though they seemed young in human years, merfolk were ready to be independent by age fifteen. Being royalty, they were supposed to begin a special mission once the King determined they were ready. That meant the girls needed to prove they could be trusted to venture out together – just not to the human world, though! He'd still lecture the heck out of them when they returned, but he couldn't do more now. "I'm gunna nail their fins to the ocean floor," he grumbled.
Maisy stretched out and grabbed another slice of pizza. It was good to be friends with a seagull! Scuttle had teamed up with his other friends, and they flew around a delivery guy until he dropped the two pies. Then, they flew off with them. Maisy chuckled as she recalled the imitation Scuttle had done of the scene. She and her sisters were chilling out on a grassy area of Swinburne Island. There weren't many places they could go above water without being seen, and finding this place was a miracle. Vanna had done her homework and found this small four-acre island between Staten Island and Brooklyn. It used to be a quarantine location for immigrants and is now a protected Gateway National Recreation Area and no longer open to the public. It is also a nesting shore for herons, gulls, and seals - a perfect secret spot for mermaids not to be seen by humans.
Briel reached for another slice of pizza and threw her previous slice's crust over to Scuttle.
"Thanks," he said, "this is really good I squawk, squawk, squawk."
"Hang on, Scuttle," Maisy said as she reached for her bag. "The magic is fading." Inside her gold drawstring bag, she took out a piece of rainbow-colored food and tossed it to Scuttle. "Better?"
"There we go! That's much better!" Scuttle smiled as he spoke normally again.
Deep in the ocean, there was a rainbow seaweed that allowed fish to talk to their merfolk friends. It was farmed by the merfolk of their Kingdom and used as food by the inhabitants of the kingdom. When merfolk ate it, they could understand and converse in any language, even different human languages! Not that they'd had the opportunity to converse with humans. Their father would be outraged if they talked to a human. Heck, he'd be furious if he knew they were above water now.
Maisy tossed her red pigtail over her green shoulder and put her bag to the side. The sisters were quadruplets, but Maisy was forever the baby sister. They were each given a magical gift for their fifteenth birthday this year. Hers was the 'Valise of Vastness,' a gold drawstring bag that could fit anything inside. The oldest, Leila, has the 'Key of Kindness,' a magical key necklace that can unlock anything. Briel's item is the 'Manacle of Magic,' a golden bracelet with unknown powers. Vanna has the 'Pearls of Wisdom,' a beautiful pearl necklace that could glow and give her information. Apparently, they were supposed to use these items for a special mission destined for them. Father wouldn't say what the mission was, only that he would allow them to pursue it "when they were ready." Knowing how their father babied them would probably be on their fiftieth birthday. Until then, they were to get used to their magical items and continue boring lessons with Sebastian.
"Oh, bubbles!" Maisy exclaimed in alarm. "We were supposed to have lessons with Sebastian today!"
Leila rubbed her temple and ran her fingers through her blue hair. "He is going to be so mad! That's the second time this week we've been late!"
"Before you go, I have a present for ya." Scuttle flew toward one of the run-down buildings and flew back with something in his beak. It was a flat, round, shiny disc with a hole in the middle. He passed it to Vanna, "It's another 'see-dee!'"
"Thank you, Scuttle," Briel said as she looked over Vanna's shoulder. Vanna handed Maisy the CD, and she put it inside the Valise of Vastness. The sisters waved to Scuttle once more and dove beneath the waves.
In the distance and unbeknownst to the mermaids, a device followed them. This weird little box had been recording them and stopped once they returned to the water. The box followed but kept its distance. Once they were close to the castle, it swam off in the opposite direction of the mermaids. Sometime later, it entered a dark cave. In its depths, it came to a halt, and something freaky emerged from the shadows. A giant brain with tentacles floated over to the device, pushed a few buttons, and watched the footage of the mermaid princesses from today. Somehow these girls would fit into her plan. She just needed to figure out how.
This device was luckily smuggled out of the Technodrome before her idiot brother sent her here. They'd had an argument about how to conquer Earth while she was collecting some of her belongings. He wanted to utilize some human he called 'Shredder' and his army known as the 'Foot Clan.' She didn't want to trust any human. At some point during the argument, he opened a portal that brought her here.
Now she was trapped in this cave. For some reason, she couldn't leave the entrance. There was some kind of invisible barrier preventing her from leaving. She'd exhausted every scientific reasoning she had; the only explanation left was magical. Now this device was her eyes, ears, and hands. She started spying on the nearby castle and discovered that the king had a trident with magical properties. If only she could get her tentacles on it, she may be able to break the barrier. But it was always with him and tightly guarded while he slept. While spying on the castle, she quickly discovered the one weakness of the mighty king: or rather, four weaknesses. His daughters were headstrong, disobedient, and intent on visiting the human world. She just needed to find the perfect timing. Somehow those girls would lead to her total control of the entire universe, beginning with planet Earth.