The afternoon sun danced on the ocean's surface sending beautiful beams of refracted light down upon the reef below. Schools of colorful fish could be seen poking around the wide variety of coral, while a leopard shark glided over the sandy sea floor. There were a couple of turtles bobbing up near the surface. None paid any mind to the larger creature that belonged there just as much as any of them. A mermaid.

Being mer was great. Being mer with your best friends and your boyfriend, even better. They could swim and have fun together in ways that few would ever experience. And yet oftentimes Rikki found herself needing to go out alone and give herself the time and the space to think. She found that there was no better place than out there surrounded by beauty of the sea. This was one of those days Rikki really needed some time to herself.

Rikki had left school early on Wednesday, skipping her last class because she knew it would only be revision: a common enough habit, but a choice that Emma would still reprimand her for later. She swam fast out to the reef slowing once she was there to take the time to admire her surroundings. Maybe now she could sort through some of the thoughts in her head.

While the others were processing that they would one day be having mer families, or that their new heritage included war and sacrifice, Rikki couldn't help but think about the fact that they probably weren't alone. There were other merpeople out there in the world. People just like her who could swim with the dolphins and have amazing powers over the weather. It was a little sad to think that the unique experiences that she had had since becoming a mermaid were perhaps not as unique as she had once thought. Was it a selfish assumption that they were the only ones, that there was no one else like them in the world? Maybe. Everything that had gone down with Charlotte was certain to make her wary at the idea of other mer. She supposed though she couldn't base her opinions of all mer on one psycho's mistakes.

But if there were others as Arethusa had insinuated, why had they never seen them? True they had never strayed more than a few miles, but surely they would have seen someone. A passer-through? A visitor to the Southern Temple? She decided that she wanted to talk to Arethusa. None of them had gone to the temple on their own, but perhaps this was better as it would give her opportunity to learn more about their strange friend without the seemingly endless influx of questions from Lewis and Emma.

She made it to the northeastern shore, steamed herself off and made it up the cliff trail they had been using the last few days. She opened the door to the temple and found the place lit up and glittering more beautifully than she had remembered from just yesterday. They must have cleaned up the place in preparation for full moon. That's what Arethusa had told them the other spirits were there for anyway.

Rikki made her way over to the waterfall fountain only to find it lifeless. Arethusa must be somewhere about. Not one for wasting opportunity, Rikki turned to the right through a passage under the staircase heading in the direction opposite they usually went to find the library. She made her way slowly through the hallway: a mirror image of the one she was used to. Without the usual hurry, she found her curiosity difficult to ignore. She went to open one of the many doors only to find it locked, then walked to another to find it locked as well. Giving up, she meandered through the place making note of her turns so she wouldn't get lost.

She finally came to an open door but was a little surprised when she heard voices from inside. Not wanting to interrupt, she cautiously poked her head in to see a beautiful atrium with a large central pool. Columned alcoves lined the walls adjacent to the window wall. In front of which were Arethusa and the male ocean spirit.

"No good ever comes from your meddling." Rikki could hear Darius speak.

"I merely gave them a push in a direction they were already heading!" Arethusa defended. Both were facing away from the door, so Rikki took the opportunity to sneak into the nearest alcove and listen in.

"Some push! More like messing with fate. You of all people should know how dangerous that is. Besides, how do you know this was the right direction? Maybe they were born human because they were supposed to live as humans? Did you think about that? They could have gone on about their normal lives." Darius ranted clearly upset.

"Yes. Completely normal lives. Mated to mermaidens." Arethusa's words dripping with sarcasm. "Do not pretend their relationships could have continued without issue! In any case, I was not the one to bless them."

"And you know well Arethusa, she almost never rejects anyone." He scoffed.

"She will tomorrow if it is not meant to be." She sighed. "It is good we are almost ready. Thank you for your help Darius. I know you are only here to keep your eye on me."

"To prevent another tragedy! Three souls permanently scarred because of your interference!"

"A burden I carry every day. But this time will be different I assure you."

"And yet you have not told them. They trust you. What happens when they find out what you have done?"

There was a silence that hung in the room. Rikki who had remained completely silent held her breath now desperately praying she would not be discovered.

Darius broke the silence with a wry chuckle. "All of this over some silly prophecy no one knows of but you."

"They had visions! I have complete trust that what she told me was true!"

"And I trust that she died a few days later!" Darius shouted.

"You would dare blaspheme her name!" Arethusa shouted back.

There was a brief silence. "I apologize," he sighed, "I did not mean any disrespect. But I sincerely doubt they would have wanted this."

"I doubt they would have wanted I spend eight centuries in a sleep of despair. Waiting, holding on to that hope year after year only to be disappointed. Yet here we are." She sighed, "But you are right, I do not know how they would react if they knew the truth. After tomorrow though it will not matter."

"If it does not work they will still be mermen."

"Yes, which is why I have found a spell for them to use if they so choose." She replied with sadness before resolving with a smile. "Everything will be alright."

"I should hope so, or all of this work will have been for nothing."

"Indeed." Arethusa sighed.

Rikki breathed a sigh of relief after watching the two spirits walk out the door. Shaken by and unsure of what she just heard, she determined that she needed to get out of there. She waited a few more moments before leaving the room herself. She hurried through the halls silently praying she would not run into anyone, thankful when she was able to make her way back through the entrance and down the stairs.

At the bottom of the cliffs she checked her phone. She had no signal, but at some point she had received a text that they were all meeting at Cleo's house. Rikki pushed her phone back in her pocket and took off in the water faster than she had in a long while. As little air bubbles tickled her face, the only thought in her head was 'What did I just hear?'.

By the time that Rikki arrived everyone was already there. She kept her head down in thought even as she walked through the Sertori's front door. This must have caught Cleo's attention as she then asked: "Rikki, what's wrong?"

Still slightly stunned she looked at everyone in the room all eyes were on her. She slowly sat down in the chair not sure where to begin. "Arethusa. She's hiding something."

"What do you mean? I thought you said you trusted her?" asked Zane.

"I said she wasn't lying, but we all know that there's a lot she hasn't told us." The group looked at each other without protest to that statement.

"What makes you think she's hiding something?" Lewis asked.

"I went back to the temple."

"What, by yourself!?" Zane asked incredulously.

"Lecture me later." Rikki responded in a huff. "She wasn't in the fountain, so I went looking around. I found her in some pool room talking to one of the other spirits. The ocean spirit… the uh… brother."

"Darius." Ash input.

"Yeah. He was upset over something. I went and hid in an alcove so I could eavesdrop. They didn't see me."

"What were they talking about?" asked Emma.

"Us, I think. He called her out for meddling, that she was messing with fate. Then there was something about a prophecy, and that someone wouldn't like what she's done."

"Who wouldn't like what she's done?" asked Lewis.

"I don't know. But she said it wouldn't matter after tomorrow."

"Well, tomorrow's full moon." said Zane.

"And she still hasn't told us what this Moon Ceremony is going to entail." Cleo spoke up a little annoyed.

"Guys it sounded like she might have hurt someone."

"Who?" pushed Emma.

"I don't know!" Rikki shouted. "Look I don't know what's happening, but she clearly didn't want us to know about it."

Lewis resolved, "I think that's all the more reason to find out what it is."

A/N: DUN DUN DUN!

Hey friends! So what's up with Arethusa?

Sorry for the wait! I had to get back into the habit of school and then found myself falling into a new fandom (JATP rocks!). I'm back though and the inspiration bug will hopefully stick around to get a few more chapters up soon!

Thank you for all of the love and support. It really means a lot to me.

As always if you have any questions or comments: Reviews are most welcome!

Much Love,

Odd Lady :)