Hi everyone. The Reina kingdom in my story is based off of the Prague Castle in Czech Republic. At the end, Shika will explain an interesting concept of the "sister pearls" that I created. Anyway, enjoy.


Chapter 14: The Kingdom of Reina

-Ocean-

In the early morning, the seven Mermaid Princesses, Kaito, Nagisa, and Masahiro aboard a ship heading for South Korea.

In their room, Lucia shared Julie's seventh dairy entry with everyone.

"So the White Mermaid Princess is Akari?" Hanon asked.

"And the Black Mermaid Princess is Miyuki?" Rina questioned.

"Yes, it said so in here." Lucia showed them the entry.

"It seemed like Julie know the two very well." Noel comments.

"Yes, I do." Julie's voice entered everyone's mind.

"Julie?" Seira called out.

"Yes." Julie's spirit then appeared before everyone. "Like I wrote in my dairy, those two are very sweet. However, like I told you before, they are used as pawns. You-" Julie gasped as she faded at the sound of the door knocked.

"Come in." Masahiro respond. The door opened to reveal the captain's man.

"Sorry for the intrusion but we are almost arriving to South Korea, though I must warn to stay cautious. There are dangerous pollen in that area." the captain's man explain.

"We'll be fine." Kaito told him.

"Alright. I bid you a same trip." the captain's man told them as he closed the door.

"I guess we'll be there soon." Hanon replied.

-South Korea-

Once they reached their destination, the ten of them got off of their ship as they are trying to find the way to the Reina Kingdom. While they are walking around, they notice that the place seem deserted and quiet.

"Where is everyone?" Karen questioned.

"They must have left because of the pollen." Coco answered.

"Then how are we going to find this kingdom?" Hanon stressed.

"Everyone, the kingdom is not too far from here." Julie's voice can be heard.

"Where can we find it, Julie?" Lucia asked.

"Follow the the light of my pearl." Julie told them as the light her Red Pearl leaved from Lucia's pendent.

"Let's go." Rina replied.

"Mm!" everyone agrees as they followed the red light.

-Reina Kingdom-

Once the followed the light, it suddenly disappears.

"Is it here?" Coco questioned.

"Yes, there is a barrier put around this kingdom just like mine to keep humans from discovering it." Julie's voice answered.

"Then how are we going to see?" Nagisa asked.

"Those who know about the mermaids and have a good heart will be allow entry." Julie's voice replied.

"Then let's go." Lucia told them as she enters first. Everyone else follow.

When they entered the Kingdom of Reina, everyone was dazzled by the sight. Despite the castle is a bit far away, the towers can be seen from where they are standing. When they got closer to the castle, Noel notice a sign.

"Welcome to the Reina Kingdom, a place ruled by King Tamotsu. This kingdom is devoted to the Sea Goddess and all of the Mermaid Princesses. Their history shall be etched at this kingdom in honor of them." Noel read.

"Tamotsu... That name sounds familiar..." Coco stopped to think. "Oh, I remember! He was the king who was in love with Aqua Regina."

"I wonder why he dedicated his kingdom to Aqua Regina and to us." Hanon ponder.

"We don't have time for that. Now we have to find Akari and Miyuki." Karen reminded them.

"I think I see someone in that tower." Seira pointed to the highest one.

The group runs towards the tower to get a better look. When they arrive, they see that where Seira is pointing is correct. Her eyes must be keen to be able to make a right assumption from such a distance. They saw a figure on top of the spacious balcony from the highest tower.

"Let's go there." Kaito suggest.

Before they could even enter the highest tower, they heard singing. The melody did not affect the Mermaid Princesses since it's not sung directly at a pearl. Plus, it was more like a warning.

Kono nukumori wa doko e yuku no
Ashita ni nareba kiete shimau no
Mune no kodou o awaseta naraba
Onaji fukami e orite yukeru no

Everyone then looked at the top of the tower. Standing on the balcony is a girl of eighteen. She has long golden hair and clear blue eyes. She is the wearing a full cream dress, lacy fingerless gloves, and slippers. A flower crown made out of different blossoms sat on her head. Despite the distance, they can see the white shell pendant on her neck. She is the one who is singing.

"That must be Akari." Noel comments.

Suddenly the ground shake as a monster came out of nowhere. It has eight heads that looked like dragons.

"What is that thing?!" Karen shouted.

"I think it's a Hydra!" Noel exclaimed.

"Let's transform!" Rina suggested.

~Pink Pearl Voice!~

~Aqua Pearl Voice!~

~Green Pearl Voice~

~Purple Pearl Voice!~

~Indigo Pearl Voice!~

~Yellow Pearl Voice!~

~Orange Pearl Voice~

Itsumo itsumo soba ni iru yo
Donna tooku kimi no kokoro ga mayotte mo

However, before they got a chance to sing, the Hydra roared very loudly as Akari's singing continues. The girls and boys looked up to see someone else next to Akari. Clinging onto the White Mermaid Princess is a little girl of twelve. She has dark brown hair that looks almost black. Her grey eyes are staring at the mermaids as she points at them, commanding the Hydra to attack.

Kurayami no naka ni futari de tadayoinagara
Mujaki na kotori no you ni tsubasa o yosete ita
Sabishii toki ni wa egao ni kakureru kimi wa
Tokenai koori no yaiba
Kono mune o sarashite
Dakishimeru
Zutto…

All of them manage to dodged the impact of it's tail but it crumbled the ground.

"Ahh!" all of them screamed as they fall into that forest.

-Forest-

"Lucia... Everyone, are you all right?" Julie's asked as her spirit is next to Lucia. The mermaids and boys groan in pain as they got up from their rough landing.

"Julie?" Lucia called out. Julie was smiling at them until she was flickering. "Julie, what's wrong?" she then notice that for some strange reason, she didn't have any wounds despite that large fall. The other began notice that they don't have any wounds also, in fact, they don't feel any sort of exhaustion from that little battle.

"I used a bit of my magic to heal you... All of you, but those wounds don't just disappear without another to take it. In other words, all of your energy is replenished while mine is deteriorating." Julie spoke quietly as she faded.

"Wait!" Lucia exclaimed, but she is too late. She felt shocked, but shook her head. She then turned to her friends.

"Where are we, anyway?" Hanon asked.

"Most likely a different area of the kingdom." Coco noted.

"What's that?" Masahiro pointed to a dome shaped area.

"Let's go find out." Kaito suggest as they head towards it.

-Shrine-

When they reached the domes, they found out that's it a shrine for Aqua Regina and her Mermaid Princesses. In this shrine is a statue of Aqua Regina looking beautiful as ever. On the plaque below the statue are the words: May the Sea Goddess, Aqua Regina, protect us along with the graceful sea.

The group notice that there are two doors on the opposite sides of each other. They decided to take the left one.

-Courtyard-

In the courtyard, they group see a statue of Lucia in her mermaid form, sitting on a rock, next to the lake. In one hand, she carries the staff of the Sea Goddess and in the other is a gem to represent her Pink Pearl. Pink flowers are in her hair. Lucia went over her statue to read the plaque

Lucia, Princess of the North Pacific Ocean, Keeper of the Pink Pearl:

The loving princess, Lucia, is the Mermaid Princess of the Pink Pearl, the pearl of destined love and friendship. After saving a prince since she was little, the princess and her friends faced many peril. After overcoming many hardships, the princess is now destined to take her place as the future Goddess of the Seas.

"What's that, Lucia?" Seira asked as she points to a sparkling crystal in one of the flowers.

"I don't know." Lucia replied as she picks the crystal up.

"I think I've seen that somewhere before." Noel spoke as she studied the crystal careful. "It's a Memory Jewel."

"How does it work?" Hanon questioned.

"If I remember correctly, you need to wet it in order to see a memory." Noel explain. Lucia went to the lake and place the gem in the water. It started to glow.

-Memory-

The memory shows eleven year-old Julie, along with Akari and Miyuki. The two eternal princesses were showing Julie around their home.

"Oh, this is a statue of Lucia, my sister!" Julie exclaimed. "She looks very beautiful."

Lucia blushed a bit out of embarrassment. She didn't know that Julie admire her that much, then again, she never met her, only heard of her.

"Nee Akari, Yuki, why don't you come with me?" Julie suggested happily. Akari and Miyuki looked happy at the idea, but they suddenly frown. "What is it?"

"Julie, we love that idea, but... We can't." Akari told the girl.

"Why not?" Julie became confused.

"This kingdom... It's been our home for a very long time. Even if we can return to the sea... We don't know where to begin. Not only that, but Yuki was mostly raised here." Akari explain.

"Even if we wanted, it's probably not the right time yet because..." Miyuki stopped herself. Julie wanted to know because what, but she decide not to push them.

"Then let's make a promise. One day, if I come back and you can leave, we'll go on an adventure. Just the three of us." Julie suggested.

"Alright." Akari agreed as Miyuki laugh playfully as they pinky promise.

-Memory Ends-

The girls and boys are touched by the sweet past of the three princesses, but now is not the time to be thinking of it. They moved on to the gardens.

-Royal Gardens-

In the gardens where many flowers grow, is a statue of Julie. Her mermaid stature shows her sitting on a bed. Red roses are in her hair and in one of her hands. A rose specter is in her left hand while white irises surrounded her. Briars grow around her protectively. The plaque says:

Julie, Princess of the Nether Ocean, Keeper of the Red Pearl:

The compassionate princess, Julie, is the Mermaid Princess of the Red Pearl, the pearl of strength. Ever since the pink mermaids rise, the Red Princess wishes to see and meet her half-sister. Despite that the red mermaids are forgotten, she continue to devoted her life to help her only family and the other Mermaid Princesses whenever they needed it, even if they don't know of her existence.

Lucia stared at the statue of her sister worriedly.

"Is something wrong, Lucia?" Kaito asked.

"I was just wondering, did Julie always have such sad eyes? And if she knew she was going to get captured because she is always leaving clues whenever she go." Lucia explained.

"We'll save her, I promise." Kaito assures her.

"Wait, I see something." Lucia replied as she took a closer look at the statue of her sister. On her lap is a box. Lucia picks it up as it begins to glow. Her Pink Pearl and the Red Pearl started to react to the box as it opens. Lucia removes the lid to see a piece of paper. To her confusion, the paper is blank when she unfolds it.

"There's nothing." Kaito took notice.

"Why would Julie keep a blank piece of paper?" Lucia questioned.

"I don't know, but it might be important in the future." Kaito told her as Lucia put the paper in his backpack. The group moved on to a different part of the kingdom.

-Ballroom-

In the ballroom, there is both a mermaid statue of Hanon and Rina on opposite sides of the dance floor. They went to Hanon's first. The statue of the Aqua Princess has her kneeling on her tail with her hands in her hair as if she could be combing or styling it. Cherry blossom petals fall on the ivory statue. Hanon read hers:

Hanon, Princess of the South Atlantic Ocean, Keeper of the Aqua Pearl:

The friendly princess, Hanon, Mermaid Princess of the Aqua Pearl, the pearl of tranquility. Curious of the human world, the princess become more fascinated with humans. With one love gone, she learns to love another. With her second love, the princess understands the feeling she felt for him and his for her. Longing for her love to learn the truth about her, she continue to hope that one day they can be happy together.

"Wait a minute, why did they say that I'm friendly? They should've said that I'm fashionable or wonderful." Hanon complained.

"Either way, it would have been fine." Nagisa comments. They went to Rina's next. Rina's statue has her standing on her tail with her hands cupped together as if she's holding something. The vines of ivy surrounded her.

Rina, Princess of the North Atlantic Ocean, Keeper of the Green Pearl:

The serene princess, Rina, Mermaid Princess of the Green Pearl, the pearl of growth and protection. With the strong heart of a princess, this mermaid have a goal to protect those she loves and care about. Spending more time in the human world, the princess found a human whom she cared deeply. She hoped one day, her love will discovered her real self so she can be at peace with her conflicting life. Until then, she has been waiting patiently.

"And that wait is finally over." Masahiro comments as Rina blushed a bit.

"Oh, Rina's blushing. He, he, he." Karen teased.

"Karen!" Rina shouted.

-Grand Staircase-

The group traveled to the staircase. On both sides of the stairs are Karen's and Noel's mermaid statue. Both statues have the twins hold a hand out as if they are reaching for the other. Many purple and dark blue flowers decorate their hair and grows around them.

Karen, the Princess of the Antarctic Ocean, Keeper of the Purple Pearl:

The mysterious princess, Karen, Mermaid Princess of the Purple Pearl, the pearl of ambition. Never meeting her twin sister, separated by birth, the princess set out to find and meet her. After her desire was granted, the princess can enjoy her new life for she has found love. However, conflicted by her duties and love, the princess' new wish is to be happy with her love one and desires for him to understand her.

'That's true, unfortunately.' Karen thought.

Noel, Princess of the Arctic Ocean, Keeper of the Indigo Pearl:

The intelligent princess, Noel, Mermaid Princess of the Indigo Pearl, the pearl of knowledge. Never knowing of her twin sister, separated by birth, she longs to meet with her. Her wish came true and now her new wish to seek the love that will grant her happiness.

"Is that really true?" Rina questioned. Noel nodded timidly.

"I hope your wish comes true, Noel." Seira encourage her.

-Grand Balcony-

As they are getting closer to the towers, they've reached the grand balcony. Closer to the left minor balcony is Coco's mermaid statue while to the right is Seira's. They went to Coco's statue first. Coco's statue has a golden ball of light, many yellow flowers surrounded her while smaller ones are in her hair. Coco read the plaque:

Coco, princess of the South Pacific Ocean, Keeper of the Yellow Pearl:

The devoted princess, Coco, Mermaid Princess of the Yellow Pearl, the pearl of sincerity. Ever since at a young age, the princess have met another princess from a different country. Even when she was set free, she remained loyal to her childhood friend and stayed at her side. Now that she manage to bring back her friend, her happiness and gentleness came back along with her determination to aid the other Mermaid Princesses in their mission for the peace of the sea.

They then went to Seira's statue. Her statue has a heart shape gem in her hands. Peach blossoms decorated her hair.

Seira, princess of the Indian Ocean, Keeper of the Orange Pearl:

The kindhearted princess, Seira, Mermaid Princess of the Orange Pearl, the pearl of never-ending hope. Becoming the new ruler of the Indian Ocean, the princess' birth was unfortunately delayed. However, despite her long slumber, she continue to offer the other princesses her help and guide. Once born, she hopes to be like the other Mermaid Princesses when she grows up and find the love that she was taught about.

Seira is happy, but at same time, sad. It's true that she wants to be like her friends, however, her love for Takumi is still being threatened. Her confession as a mermaid made her proud, but for her to do it again as a human... Can she do it?

The group were about to move on when suddenly, the Hydra appeared. It roared and destroyed some of the walls.

"Look out!" Rina shouted as she avoid a tail whip. What it did next was unexpected. It used it's tail and grabbed Seira.

"Kyaa!" Seira screamed as she is being taken away from her friends.

"Seira!" Lucia cried out as the Hydra left after it crumbled the ceiling. Large pieces almost fall on the boys and princesses if it haven't been for Kaito. The Panthalassa mark appeared on his forehead as it's light shield everyone. The large pieces either crumbled into smaller bits or got thrown back.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked. He got mostly nods and the answer yes. He then walked over to Lucia. "Lucia, are you hurt?"

"No, but we now have to save Seira!" she exclaimed as she started to panic.

"Hey, hey. Like I said before, we'll save them." Kaito assures her.

"Kaito..." Lucia trailed off. "It's just, what do they want with Seira?"

The group went to one of the main towers, not the highest one, but one of the main ones.

-Main Towers-

In the main towers, on the left side, there is an entrance with a beautiful white curtain with a hint of pink. It appears peaceful compare to the entrance on the right. The right entrance has a ripped up dark curtain. It looked... Eerie. They choose to pick the left entrance first.

-Shrine-

When they reached Akari's shrine, they see a statue of her as a mermaid. Despite the ivory stone like all the other statues, the details tell so much about the White Princess. It's just like her human form except the fact that it's her mermaid self, her hair is much longer and surrounding her are many colorful flowers.

Akari, Princess of the Mysterious Ocean, Keeper of the White Pearl:

The innocent princess, Akari, Mermaid Princess of the White Pearl, the pearl of forgiveness, light, and blessing. The first Mermaid Princess of the ocean. Her birth happened many years ago. However, as the Princess of Light, another has to be her opposing side to balance the world out, the Princess of Darkness- her sister. For years, the princess has comfort her little sister, for she is her sister's only hope. Therefore, Akari spent all her time with Miyuki, who've became dependent on her since their powers have no effect on each other. So there goes of the tale of the legendary White Mermaid Princess.

The group then went to the other shine. Unlike Akari's, whose shrine is filled with light and warmth, Miyuki's shrine was filled with darkness and coldness. Some glowing stones are the only light in the room. Miyuki's statue has her hands holding onto a Wisteria Flower.

Miyuki, Princess of the Mysterious Ocean, Keeper of the Black Pearl:

The cursed princess, Miyuki, Mermaid Princess of the Black Pearl, the pearl of the unknown, darkness, and misery. The second Mermaid Princess and the only black mermaid of the ocean. Her birth happened a few years after Akari's. As the Princess of Darkness, the Princess of Light, Akari, has to balance her out. As time goes by, the girl have discovered a terrible, hidden power as the Black Princess. Just like what her pearl represent, she brings nothing but darkness and misery wherever she goes. Her only comfort is her sister, Akari, who is immune to the effects of her curse. She, too, is forgotten along with her sister as they both disappears from the ocean.

"Miyuki... She looked like she has a sad past." Coco comments.

"But still, why did she seemed glad that she attacked us with that Hydra?" Karen questioned.

"Something is wrong. Miyuki is suppose to be one of our friends." Lucia argues.

"Maybe something happened to her that caused both her and Akari to turn on us." Hanon suggest the idea.

"But what?" Rina questioned.

"And how does this involves Seira?" Noel added.

"Whatever her intentions are, we must stopped her." Kaito told them.

"He's right. We don't know how much longer the people can last. The pollen is still spreading." Masahiro replied.

-Sea Cave-

In her lair, Shika is sitting on her throne. She is using her powers to show Lady Bat, Lanhua, and Alala the mermaid's current situation. Unfortunately, they didn't get to see their human forms so they don't know what they would've looked like.

"It's very interesting, Shika-sama." Lady Bat replied.

"How did you ever captured those sisters of light and dark?" Lanhua questioned.

"It was very easy. I simply bring out the side the Black Princess feared the most. She doesn't like to harm the people she loves, but she ends up doing it anyway. How stupid." Shika laughed.

"Wait a minute, why aren't we capturing them?" Lady Bat asked.

"Because the Black and White Mermaid Princesses are doing it for me. And even if I lose my pawns, the game is still on. I'll still get what I want, the Red Mermaid Princess." Shika answered.

"Ano... Why are you so interested with those mermaids, especially the Red Princess?" Alala asked.

"I guess I'll let tell you." Shika decided as she used her powers to show them an image of the White, Black, Purple, Indigo, Red, and Pink Pearls. "There is something very interesting with these three sister pearls. Each have their own uniqueness and own set of rules."

"What do you mean?" Lanhua questioned.

"Allow me to explain. For example, the Indigo and Purple Pearls are twins, therefore the Mermaid Princesses born from them are twins by fate... But if a princess were to die, then a new princess cannot be born yet without the other sister of the previous twin gone. It can only be done is the remaining sister either dies or relinquish her pearl. Once the twin pearls have no owners left, the process starts over with the new twin Mermaid Princesses to claim them." Shika explain as the trio were speechless.

"I see..." Lanhua trailed off.

"As for the Red and Pink Pearl, they are half-sisters because the Red Pearl is the original and the Pink Pearl is the new. Unlike the twin pearls, the rules are different with the half-sister pearls. If the Pink Princess were to die, it won't have any kind of effect on the Red Princess since she is immortal. A new Pink Mermaid Princess would simply be born. For a new Red Mermaid Princess to be born, the only way to do that is if the current princess renounce her pearl to the new princess. However, I don't think Emi- or rather, Julie, would even consider giving up her pearl." Shika further explained.

"What about the White and Black Pearls?" Lady Bat asked.

"I was getting to that. Anyway, the White and Black Pearl have the most interesting set of rules of all. If something were to happen to one of the pearls, its sister pearl will follow." Shika answered.

"I don't think I follow." Alala replied.

Shika sighs, "You can't have one without the other. Light needs dark and dark needs light. Even if they are separate, eventually they'll come back together to become one. The White and Black Pearls are linked together as with the hearts of their princesses. If one of the princess goes down, her sister will follow... Unless the endangered one is saved, then they both will be fine. There are exception to rules, even immortality. That is why when the pearls were born, the White and Black pearls are eternal. They can never be destroyed and even if a sister dies, the other shares the same fate. Then the new sisters claim the pearls."

Oh, I get it now." Alala told her.

"And finally, the-" Shika got interrupted.

"Wait, there's more? I thought you said that there are only three sister pearls." Lanhua reminded her.

"I did but I decided to save this last one. I was planning on explaining it before the eternal pearls, but it has a different concept from the others that it gets to have its own say in it. The Red Pearl itself is also a sister pearl, however, I don't know why. The Red Pearl along with Julie have complete power. Her heart shines brightly as the others, but for some strange reason, her full potential is only half of it, even I can't figure it out. My only conclusions are either she made contact with the other Mermaid Princesses despite others before her didn't, she doesn't plan on relinquishing her pearl like the former princesses, or her desire to meet her sister is stronger than fate." Shika told them.

"So, what you're saying is..." Lady Bat trailed off.

"Yes, there are a total of ten pearls, however, that means that there are suppose to be eleven princesses. Another is either to share the Red Pearl with Julie or has one of her own." Shika finished. "The final pearl is hidden just like its sister- just like Julie. We have the White and Black Princesses who disappeared centuries ago. After them is Julie, whose kingdom is sealed off from the others for their own safety. The last one- Julie's sister is the 'Final Forgotten Princess' that we need to find... And I think Julie, herself, know where she is..."


Julie has a sister! What?! Are you surprised by that sudden twist or what? Anyway, I haven't been thinking of that idea for a long time. Just recently. And I was thinking "If I wanted Julie to have a sister, how will that idea fit in with the sister pearls concept?" And snap! I figured out a way. If you are interested in the idea, tell me if you are. The song that Akari was singing is Synchronicity from Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations sung by Yui Makino. I picked this song because the sisters of light and dark are always together. More clarification of the sister pearls in later chapters, like in chapter 20ish. Anyway, see you soon. And remember to Favorite, Follow, and Comment.