Chapter 1: The Kingdom Of New Mermaidrissia
Once upon an extraordinary time, in a world where faraway lands are surrounded by endless blue waters, there is a vast amount of multiple growing civilizations on every corner of the planet. Each and every other landscape have colonies made by man. They have built towns, cities, kingdoms and so much more. But the real tale however, begins somewhere out there in the deep blue ocean.
Many tales foretold by sailors that deep underneath the crystal waters, hidden amongst the reefs, lies a secret world where no man could ever have discovered it, let alone, reach the depths for it. A place where other sea life roam freely amongst the civilization that no one knew that it possibly would exist. Many sailors have told stories of a rare race of sea creatures that are living in the bottom of the ocean floor. Those creatures are called mer-people. Mermaids and mermen. They are depicted to have the upper bodies of men and women, but from the waist down, they don't have legs nor bare feet. In fact, their bodies ended in a long tail of a real fish, complete with scales all over them that kinda resemble a unique mixture of gun-like metallic textures along with shimmering rainbow sheen reflecting on the scales and fins whenever sunlight hits upon them.
They all live in a magnificent kingdom of New Mermaidrissia. Once ruled by many kings and queens for generations to come. Now the current monarch, King Oriathnius has ruled the undersea kingdom at fairer hand. All of the merfolk and sea creatures adored him and his royal family. The sea king lives inside of the palace alongside with his beloved mermaid queen and their seven mermaid daughters. He cherish his family so much.
One day, the king took his family to the surface of the sea, where they would reside in the waterfall aisle, enjoying nature on land and watching the sunset in the far west. The daughters would always play around, splashing the waters, chasing each other and the other few would make sand castles on a mini beach shaded by tall trees. Of course all the other merfolk are with the royal family. It was the happiest time of their lives. But then, that very happiest moment has abruptly come to an end.
Just from afar, there were two warring ships beyond the horizon. A ship full of pirates attempting to rob the other ship and kill everyone that is onboard the vessel. But the English crewmen is not going down without a fight. Unfortunately, the merfolk is caught in the crosshairs with the human ships waging war on the high sea. King Oriathnius order his mermen guards to get the mer-people safely out of harms way. Alas all the mer-people retreat to the sea with their lives. King Oriathnius gathers his daughters and they have flee the scene successfully. The mermaid queen however, is not so fortunate in the endeavor. While she is helping her subjects, the pirates began firing deadly cannonballs at the other ship, but also indirectly blasting the rocky waterfall from behind. The boulders fell off the edge from above and crashed into the aisle below. King Oriathnius sees this and he hurriedly swam towards the aisle to save his queen. But he was too little too late. The mermaid queen has been crushed by all of the earthly rubble. In the midst of it all, the English ship is now ravaged by the pirates. Then a minute later, the pirates are nowhere to be seen.
The sea king and his mermen guards lift the boulders with all of their strength to find the queen. Sadly, they found what was left of her in the form of an crushed crown. King Oriathnius held the queen's crown in his hands. Heartbroken by what he witnessed, he couldn't bear to look at it. So he told his guards to take the crown from his hands for he never wanted to be reminded of his greatest loss. The sea king's mermen carried out his orders. Thus they all submerge into the sea.
A few days after the tragic event, the mer-people attend to the queen's funeral at the edge of the ravine. They were all heartbroken by the loss of the queen. But the heart that could never heal was King Oriathnius's own. With his final wish, he have the palace staff threw half of the queen's remains into the cold dark ravine below the Mariana Trench. So from that moment onward, the sea king's heart remains unhealed. And he vows to protect his family at all cost, even if it means forbidding every one of his subjects to ever speak of anything relating to the dry world above the surface and out of the kingdom grounds.
Ten years later, the underwater kingdom of New Mermaidrissia still remains the same. The mer-people were all gliding happily through the colorful reefs. Every sea creature on the ocean floor is doing their daily routines as usual. And inside of the royal palace, there was a special occasion that will be happening later that evening. All of the palace staff are working very hard to make sure that everything is absolutely perfect for it's the birthday of the youngest daughter. While the staff is putting everything in place, the royal advisors are supervising them, making sure that every little detail is on point in the castle's golden ballroom. The sea king is swimming down the hallway with his mother whom has moved into the palace, to help her son raise his seven daughters, years after the queen's tragic death. They both have entered the ballroom to see the progress of the staff's work. The royal advisors swam to their side.
"Good evening, your majesty." said one of the advisors.
"How is everything coming about in here?" asked King Oriathnius.
"Well it is all set in place, sire." said the other advisor. "We made absolutely sure that every single detail is the upmost importance."
"The florist are making the most spectacular display in the ballroom." said the third advisor as he shows the progress of the staff. "The floors are well polished, the furniture is finely renovated, the orchestra are practicing their medley as we speak. And we will have anything all set for the guests to show tonight. We can ensure you that this is going to be the finest party ever conducted."
"After all, it is her majesty's sixteenth birthday." The head advisor remarked proudly.
The sea king is pleased with the progress of the staff's efforts.
"Very good." said King Oriathnius. "Carry on then."
"Yes, your majesty." the royal advisors complied as they swim off.
King Oriathnius and his mother continue their swim to the outside balcony. As they watch the gardeners trim the sea bushes to perfection in the courtyard, the grandmother sparks a conversation with her son.
"I'm really looking forward to this astonishing event." said the grandmother.
"As am I, mother." says King Oriathnius. "The birthday celebration is going to be the best. One that she may never forget for the rest of her life. Not only that, all of my daughters will be performing their medley in the memory of their mother. I can ensure you that they're going to be spectacular."
"Oh yes they are, my son." says the grandmother. "These girls are going to be spectacular alright. Especially the youngest who is going to sing her heart out on her birthday. She has a voice that resembles her mother's voice. I can't wait for all of the merfolk to hear her sing."
"So am I, mother." said King Oriathnius, smiling.
So the sea king and his mother left the balcony.
In the rehearsal chamber, the musical conductor is preparing the notes for the mermaid princesses. Throughout their years, the mermaid princesses have all grown up so beautifully, just as beautiful as their late mother. However, let it be said that the youngest one is the most beautiful mermaid of all. According to those who asked. As the conductor has finished putting everything in place, he rounds up the princesses whom were all giggling the entire evening.
"Now now, your highnesses! Please gather around!" says the conductor. "Line up! Take your places and in order. So have you girls remember your numbers?"
The eldest one, Cara, has swam in front of her other sisters.
"Yes, sir. We all have memorized our musical routines day and night." said Cara. "And we have practice wonderfully for the medley this evening."
"Very good." said the conductor. "Now we shall begin. Let's roll call!"
The mermaid princesses each took their assigned spots as the conductor checks for every single girl in the rehearsal chamber. All of them are present, except for the youngest. The minute he got to the last called princess, then he suddenly stops to notice that the youngest princess is nowhere to be seen. The conductor begins to panic.
"Oh no! One of you has to be missing!" the conductor bellowed frantically. "Where in the Neptune's waters is your youngest sister!?"
"We don't know, sir." says Theresa, the third oldest sister. "She should've been here with us by now."
"I thought she was in the royal garden when I've last saw her." says Irene, the fifth younger sister.
"Ugh! Does she always have to be so carelessly forgetful?" groaned Aquanette, the fourth older sister. "She never seems to take everything seriously. Especially when it is her own birthday celebration."
"This is unnecessarily bad." said Fraya, the second oldest sister. "Father has specifically arranged this birthday ball all just for her."
"Yeah! And this is how she thanks him?" scoffed Dahphina, the sixth younger sister. "Now talk about ungrateful, even on her part."
"Now calm down, sisters!" says Cara as she defuse the situation. "The birthday ball is only a few hours away. So we still have time to go look for her and then we can finish our rehearsal, just in time for the ball."
"Well what are you girls waiting for?" said the conductor as he then frantically command. "Find your sister! Hurry!"
"Yes sir!" the mermaid princesses replied in unison. "We will be right back!"
Then with a swish of their shimmering rainbow sheen tails, they all have left the chamber to search the palace for their youngest sister. The conductor sighed in pure frustration for he fear that the mermaids may not make it back in time to prepare for the ball.
"Oh no... This is a disaster." said the conductor, facepalming for the rest of the few short hours. "His majesty is not going to like this. Not one bit..."
The mermaid princesses searched the entire luminous palace from every sector of the building, but they couldn't find their youngest sister. And the birthday ball is only a couple of hours away from now. So they must continue their search for her before the time.
Meanwhile, in the outer reefs away from the palace grounds, there was a beautiful young mermaid swimming about across the ocean floor. That mermaid is the youngest crown princess of New Mermaidrissia. She has eyes as aqua blue and green as the deep blue sea, lips as pinkish red as the fiery coral, her skin are as a richly shades of vibrant melanin colors, her long silky goddess-like dreadlocks as black as the nighttime sky, along with highlights and lowlights of a rose gold. And her long shimmering gun-like metallic, rainbow sheen tail is the tropical colors of the sunset, complete with scales and fins that are the colors of fluorescent lemon yellow, fluorescent hot pink and golden yellow hues. The same can be said of the scales on her torso and fins on her arms. Her name is Khyraphine, a rarest name given to her from her mother. And it means the radiant serpentine of the golden sea.
The little mermaid Khyraphine swam through the coral reefs and over the cavernous ravine, until she has stopped by the oceanic meadow. She admires the sea flowers surrounding the area. Just as she was taking in the scenery, this just in, she can hear a familiar voice shouting out her name from the blue.
"Khyraphine! Wait up!" a voice echoed through the blue sea.
The little mermaid turn to notice that her two friends is catching up behind her. It is a pink saltwater fairy fish named Serene, and a big blue dolphin named Wade. When they are both halfway through the meadow, Khyraphine waits for them in mid water. And she smiled.
"Come on, slow pokes." Khyraphine teased whilst giggling.
Wade and Serene has finally caught up to her.
"Whew! Even I have to admit, you're one heck of a fast swimmer, Khyraphine." says Wade, panting out of breath.
"Yeah. You should definitely slow down for us. Okay?" winced Serene.
"Oh okay. Next time, I'll give you guys a head start." said Khyraphine as she giggled afterwards.
Then suddenly, Wade turn to notice the sunken ship in the midst of the ocean floor.
"What is that over there?" Wade wondered.
"Oh that?" said Khyraphine as she too noticed the ship. "I think that's another sunken ship. It must've been lost during a storm. Or maybe, a leviathan has attack it. Or a kraken."
"So do you wanna go inside the ship?" asked Wade, feeling adventurous.
"Why sure, Wade." said Khyraphine. "I was thinking about the same thing."
"Uhh I don't think we should go anywhere near it." said Serene as she protests the idea. "Remember that you're father said that no merfolk or any other sea creature are to be anywhere near human related things."
"Oh Serene. What he doesn't know, wouldn't hurt him." Khyraphine complied. "And besides, I have never been inside a sunken ship before."
"Well I say let's go see what's in there." said Wade as he circles around his friends. "I wanna find something in that place."
"Okay! Let's do this." beamed Khyraphine as she swam ahead of them first.
"Right behind you, Khyraphine!" Wade shouted as he tags after the mermaid.
Serene doesn't feel all too chipper about the endeavor that her friends are partaking in.
"Oooohhhh... I don't like this..." Serene whined. "We are so going to be in huge trouble for this. And I hope it's not a real huge one too."
The pink saltwater fairy fish hurries after her friends as they all swam towards the sunken ship.
Once the three friends have reached the upper deck, Khyraphine swam up to the open wreckage. She peeks into the hole of the ship.
"I wonder what is inside of there." says Khyraphine.
"Ooh I don't think we should go in there." winced Serene. "It looks so spooky and damp. And not to mention that there's monsters lurking in the dark corners of the ship. Ones with sharp teeth and claws, angry red eyes and a mean attitude. Let's not go in, please!"
"Ha! Scaredy-catfish!" Wade teased the fairy fish.
"Hey! I'm not a catfish!" pouted Serene.
Khyraphine shook her head amusedly and turns to the opening wreckage.
"Okay then. If you don't want to go inside, you don't have to." said Khyraphine. "Wade and I can go inside the ship. You can just stay up here and be our lookout, make sure that there's no sharks or other predatory creatures around. Does that sound good to you?"
"Oh okay, Khyraphine." Serene replied.
The fairy fish stayed behind from above the deck, while the little mermaid and the big blue dolphin swam through the hole. Then suddenly, Serene caught on to the fact that Khyraphine mentions sharks and other dangerous sea creatures earlier. And she became very frantic.
"WHAT!? SHARKS!? OTHER PREDATORY CREATURES!?" she panicked as she quickly swam into the hole. "Khyraphine! That's not funny!"
But little do the three know that there are other creatures surrounding the murky depths inside of the sunken ship. Some are hostile, some others are not.
While inside the ship, Khyraphine and her friends went exploring from one room to the other. The ship's hallways are dark and there is little to see because of it. But Khyraphine's beautiful tail can create her own bioluminescent light, whenever she is in a dark place.
They each have found a few treasures in every quarter of the wreckage. But sometimes, they found just bones of those who drowned with the ship. It frightens Serene. But Khyraphine and Wade are not for they are both too excited of the thrill of adventure than to be afraid. Even of the unknown.
They continue swimming through the corridors of the lower deck, until they came across what appears to be a treasury department right next to the ballroom. Once they head inside the treasury department, Khyraphine is astonished by her discovery. She and her friends examine the objects and items in the room.
"Wow! There's a lot of things in here." Wade uttered in awe of the discovery.
"I never seen anything so wonderful in my life." says Khyraphine as she examines a telescope. "I think all of these treasures come from the dry world above the sea."
"But why would they throw them in the sea?" wondered Serene.
"I don't think they throw them away down here, Serene." said Khyraphine. "I think they've lost them. Somehow. Maybe through a storm or something. Who knows? But I don't see why they want to throw them away. These things are so fantastic. Oh if only I could keep some of them."
"Khyraphine! You shouldn't." Serene reprimanded. "Besides, your father said that nobody is supposed to speak about the dry world, let alone, possess some of the artifacts that belong up there. You know that, do you?"
Khyraphine felt a little distraught about her father's strict rules that Serene brought up. But she knew better than to argue with her friends about the fact.
"Oh okay, Serene. I guess you have a point." Khyraphine sighed.
She puts the telescope down on the shelf. Then suddenly, Wade call out to his friends from the other room.
"Hey, you guys! You gotta come see this!" Wade shouted out.
The little mermaid and the fairy fish rushes to the room that Wade was in.
"What is it, Wade?" Khyraphine asked.
"Check this out." says Wade as he press his flipper across the panel.
The panel's code is activated. To their surprise, the unknown technology still works despite the fact that the whole ship has been underwater for quite a few years. And it unlocks the security mechanisms, opening the secret stairwell that leads downward to an unknown place. Khyraphine is just as amazed of this discovery as does her friends.
"Good job, Wade. That's awesome." said Khyraphine as she turns to the stairwell beneath her. "I wonder where this leads to? And what's down there?"
"I was thinking the same thing, Khyraphine." says Wade. "So there's only one way to find out once we head down there.
"Oh I don't know, guys." said Serene in fearfully doubt. "I don't think we should go down wherever it leads to. And it looks so dark in there, that I can't see a thing."
"Serene, will you relax?" says Wade, petting his friend. "Nothing is gonna happen to us. I promise."
"Wade's right." Khyraphine added. "Besides, you can just stay close to me. I can glow in the dark because of my tail's bioluminescence. I can light up the way as we go."
"I suppose I can do that." Serene replied in relief.
"Great! So come on, you two." says Khyraphine as she swims to the stairwell.
The little mermaid and her friends swam down the secret stairwell.
As they swam downward the darkened passage, little do Khyraphine know that she and her friends are not alone, as they soon are going to find out. In the corners of the darkness, there's another feminine figure whom is also exploring the dark depths of the sunken ship. And just like Khyraphine and the rest of the extraordinary merfolk, she too has a beautiful tail that has a radiant bioluminescence. She has long black hair, her skin are as richly tan as warm honeysuckle, her eyes are as a hazel topaz as the sea and sky, and her lips are as a deep shade of red as the water rose. She has scales and fins on her torso as well as her tail, the colors of fluorescent green, fluorescent aqua blue and a bright golden yellow. That figure is another mermaid named Elenabelle. And tagging alongside with her are the two creatures; an octopus named Ottoman and a seahorse named Norie.
As they were swimming in the dark corridors, Elenabelle saw what it may appear to be a luminous bright yellow glow in the near distance. She immediately knew that it has to be another mermaid inside of the shipwreck, because merfolk of their species can recognize their own. Just as her friends has caught up with her, Elenabelle peeks over her shoulder whilst her back is against the wall.
"Could it be? Is that another mermaid inside of a sunken shipwreck?" Elenabelle uttered under her breath.
"What did you see, Elenabelle?" Norie asked the mermaid.
"I believe I just saw another mermaid down here." said Elenabelle.
"What? Another mermaid? Where?" Ottoman asked whilst peeking over his friends.
"Over there." said Elenabelle as she points out to the yellowish light.
"Oh! I see her now." says Ottoman.
"But wait a minute! Don't all of the merfolk, besides you and others, want nothing to do with humans nor their things?" wondered Norie.
"That may be, Norie." says Elenabelle. "But perhaps not all of them. I think she's different from anyone else. Maybe, just maybe. What if she is just like us?"
"Well that explains everything." said Ottoman. "But what is she doing here anyways?"
"There's only one way to find out, Ottoman." said Elenabelle as she swims out of hiding. "Come on. Let's go follow her."
The other three swam across the corridors in order to follow the little mermaid's light.
As the other three venture through the darkest wreck, Khyraphine and her friends made their way towards the end of the ruinous hallways. At the end of the hall, lies an opening hole to another room. Khyraphine and her friends swim through the hole. What they found inside the room, surprises them with a slight astonishment. It turns out to be an sacred chamber of extraordinary treasures along with ancient technical archives that manage to survive being underwater for long periods of time. Possibly for many years. Khyraphine is at awe of her latest discovery.
"Oh wow! Look at all of this, you guys!" Khyraphine beamed with excitement. "Have you ever seen anything so wonderfully amazing in your whole life?"
"Yeah! It's so cool." says Wade. "But what does it all mean?"
"Hmmm I don't know. But I bet there's a lot secrets hidden amongst the treasures. And I have to see what this place might hold." says Khyraphine.
She swam all over the chamber, examining items from small trinkets to pieces of broken devices. One of them happen to be connected to the ancient technology built by man themselves. During the discovery of the chamber, Elenabelle and her friends has made it to the hole, where they hid themselves in a huge piece of broken wreckage, spying on the little mermaid and her friends. They've watched the other three explore the sacred chamber. In the middle of the moment, Elenabelle was surprised by Khyraphine's curiosity of the unknown man-made artifacts. And that is when the other mermaid is having a feeling that the crown princess might be different than any other mermaid or merman that she has ever known. Same can be said of Norie and Ottoman for they too have also felt the same way about the little mermaid and her friends. As the three friends explore the chamber, Serene turn around to look behind her, as if she felt that they were being spied on. When the pink fairy fish swims closer to the wreckage, Elenabelle and her friends quickly hid themselves so they don't get caught by her. Although it made her even more cautious than before.
"Umm guys? Is it just me or am I the only one who has a feeling that we're not alone here?" says Serene out of caution.
"I don't think we are being watched, Serene." said Khyraphine as she swims to the panel. "There's nobody down here but us."
"Yeah, Serene. What makes you think that?" Wade asked.
"I don't know, Wade. I just had a feeling that we are being watched." Serene winced cautiously. "Maybe we should just get out of here, before something bad would happen."
"Serene! Just relax, will you?" says Wade as he swam to the fairy fish's side. "Like I said, nothing bad is going to happen to us here."
Of course how wrong the big blue dolphin was. As the little mermaid continues to scavenge for many other treasures, little do everybody in the sacred chamber know that there is a frightening creature lurking amongst the shadows of the ship. Its ominous big eyes peeks through the hole. By the time Norie was the first to notice the big eyes, she starts to panic. Thus blowing their cover.
"Yikes! Everyone! Look out!" screamed Norie. "The monster!"
Khyraphine and her friends were immediately alarmed by the seahorse's voice. As does Elenabelle and Ottoman. Then all of a sudden, an enormous sea monster emerge from the hole of the chamber. It is a deadly creature known as the Black Sea Dragon. Far more scarier than an average great white shark. It nourish its jaw full of razor sharp teeth as it is about to attack the little mermaid and her friends. Fortunately, they quickly evade the Black Sea Dragon's bite. Now they have to get out of there before the Black Sea Dragon makes them its lunch.
"Oh ok! There's a monster in the shipwreck!" panicked Wade.
"See!? What did I tell you guys!?" screamed Serene out of fear. "We are going to die!"
"We are not going to die, Serene!" screamed Wade.
"Let's get out of here!" said Khyraphine.
The three friends swam out of the sacred chamber as fast as they can. The Black Sea Dragon begins to chase after them in frightening speed. Elenabelle sees this as does her friends. She immediately knew that if she doesn't do something, the crown princess mermaid will be eaten by the ferocious aquatic beast. So she spurts out of hiding and swam out of the chamber. Her friends tag after her.
"Elenabelle! Where are you going!?" Ottoman shouted out from behind the mermaid.
"We have to help them!" Elenabelle responded.
"But how are we going to do that!?" Norie wondered.
"I don't know! We have to do something!" says Elenabelle.
They swam into the darkness of the the shipwreck. The Black Sea Dragon chased Princess Khyraphine and her friends all over the ruinous shipwreck with its jaws opening wide for the big bite. Khyraphine and her friends continuously evade the monster's bites, all the while they desperately look for a way out of the shipwreck. But due to its size, the Black Sea Dragon keeps crashing itself through the walls, thus causing the ship to nearly collapse upon everyone. Just as they saw their way out, the exit is blocked by the wreckage, entrapping the little mermaid and her friends inside with the monstrous creature. Now they are at the mercy of the beast. Serene hid herself in Khyraphine's long dreadlocks in fear. Wade prepare his body to defend his royal friend. The Black Sea Dragon corners them in the wreckage below. It is about to eat them alive. Just as they were about to accept their fate, then an octopus shows up to squirt out a cloud of ink to blind the Black Sea Dragon. It was Ottoman. It appears that Elenabelle and her friends arrive in the nick of time to save Khyraphine and her friends from their fate. Not only that, Elenabelle saw the opening from above. Now it is their chance to escape the crumbling shipwreck. All of them at once.
"Quick! Follow me up this way!" Elenabelle shouts out to the little mermaid.
Khyraphine nods responsively to the mermaid. And she and her friends immediately make their escape. Then they all abscond to the open hole above. Just as the Black Sea Dragon regains its sight, it ferociously charged after them. But before it can take a bite on them all, the ship's wreckage fall on top of it. And the entire sunken ship collapsed, entrapping the monster. Thus allowing the two mermaids and their companions to escape with their lives.
They all have made it to the colorful reefs in the oceanic meadows. Now that they're all safely out of danger, the two groups of three are all getting acquainted with each other in a moments notice.
"Whew! That was close." said Serene, feeling relieved.
"Yeah, you said it, Serene." said Wade whilst panting heavily. "Here I thought that we were all goners for sure."
Khyraphine turns to the mermaid who has went out of her way to save them. Same to her friends as well.
"Thank you for helping us back there." Khyraphine thanked her.
"You're welcome." said Elenabelle as she runs her fingers through her long dark hair. "If we hadn't done something sooner, you guys would've been eaten by that gastric monster."
"I'll say that we're not on that Sea Dragon's main menu." Ottoman joked. "And I'm not planning to be on anyone or anything else's menu anytime soon."
Everyone has laughed along with the octopus's witty humor.
"Oh Ottoman. You sure know how to make light of everything, even in the troublesome of times." says Norie, giggling.
Then Elenabelle turns to the crown princess.
"Please forgive us for prying, but we happen to saw you guys exploring in the shipwreck back there." said Elenabelle. "So I have to ask, what were you guys doing there inside the place?"
"Well we wanted to see what was inside of the ship." says Khyraphine. "We just happen to come across it, and then we decided to go explore the place. And we have found a lot of treasures in the deepest part of the sunken ship, especially the chamber. That place has a strange big thingy in the middle of the room. But I have no idea what it was."
"Yeah. We notice that." says Elenabelle. "We were there too."
"Oh you were?" Khyraphine asked.
"Yes. We were." said Elenabelle, nodding her head. "And to be honest, I was just as amazed of these treasures as much as you are. I never seen anything like it before."
"Yeah. I guess that makes two of us." Khyraphine chuckled innocently. "Or make that six of us here."
The mermaids's friends chuckles abashedly as they all gotten acquainted as they go along the meadow's reefs.
"Oh I forgot that we haven't introduce ourselves earlier." says Elenabelle as she introduce herself to the crown princess. "I'm Elenabelle."
"Well please to meet you, Elenabelle." said the little mermaid as she too introduce herself. "I'm Khyraphine."
"What a beautiful name you have there." said Elenabelle, complimenting the little mermaid's name.
"Thanks. Your name is beautiful too." said Khyraphine, complimenting her back.
"Thanks back." Elenabelle giggled.
Khyraphine turns to introduce her friends right beside her.
"These are my friends. Wade the blue dolphin and Serene the fairy fish." Khyraphine said, introducing them.
"Hi there." greeted Serene, although a little shy.
"Hey there." greeted Wade.
"Nice to meet you two." says Elenabelle as she too introduce her friends as well. "I want you guys to meet my friends. This is Norie the seahorse, and this is Ottoman the octopus."
"Hello there." said Norie, shaking Serene's flipper.
"Yo! What's up?" said Ottoman, shaking Wade's flipper.
Now that everybody has become friends, they all swim through the oceanic meadowlands. They all have a great conversation about whatever it is they saw in the sunken shipwreck.
"So what was that weird thingy in that chamber back there?" asked Elenabelle.
"Honestly, I don't know what it does." said Khyraphine. "Wade was the one who happen to found it."
"All I did was touch the flat surface of the thing, and then it was making the strangest sounds when I accidentally activate it." Wade remarked.
"You mean it was kinda making sounds like music?" Ottoman asked the big blue dolphin.
"Yeah! Something like that." Wade responded. "It was making music. Not the orchestral kind of music, but it kinda sounds like it."
When the big blue dolphin mentions music, Khyraphine suddenly remembers that she and her sisters are going to sing on her birthday ball.
"What? Music?" gasped Khyraphine. "Oh no! I completely forgot all about that!"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Elenabelle asked in confusion.
"Today is my birthday!" Khyraphine replied frantically.
"Oh!? Well happy birthday?" says Elenabelle with an puzzled expression.
"Oh that's right!" said Serene as she remembered the event as well.
"I completely forgot that I'm having a birthday celebration with my family." says Khyraphine as she turns to her friends. "I have to go! I'm so sorry for leaving you on a short notice, Elenabelle!"
"Hey, no problem, Khyraphine..." said Elenabelle, although still puzzled by the little mermaid's actions. "Well it's been nice meeting you..."
"Yes, it's nice to meet you too." said Khyraphine as she hurriedly swims off. "Thanks for everything! Goodbye! I hope we meet again sometime soon!"
"So do I..." says Elenabelle as she watches her go.
Ottoman and Norie swim to her side. They too said their goodbyes to Wade and Serene as they too tag along with the little mermaid. Elenabelle and her friends watch them swim away.
"Wow! She's sure in a hurry." Ottoman uttered.
"Yeah. I know, right?" said Norie.
"Whoever she is, I'm having a good feeling that Khyraphine is not like most other mermaids around here." says Elenabelle as she then smiles. "Perhaps we just found another one that our other friends might like too."
Then the mermaid turns around to swim away back to her home.
"Come on, you two. Let's head back home before the others are going to start getting worried about us." said Elenabelle.
"Okay, Elenabelle. We're coming." says Norie.
"Right behind ya." says Ottoman.
The three friends swam away, leaving the meadows.
Meanwhile in the outskirts of the kingdom, the little mermaid Khyraphine and her friends swam to the palace grounds as fast as their tails can carry them. The perimeter is heavily guarded by the strongest, toughest mermen guards in the kingdom. So Khyraphine and her friends must sneak their way into the castle without being spotted by one of the guards or the staff. Now that they are in the clear, Khyraphine has made it back to the palace, safe and sound. All thankS to her friends. The three bid their farewells and both Wade and Serene swam off into the blue. Now what is left to do is for Khyraphine to sneak pass the crowds of merfolk without detection.
As she quietly maneuver around the hallway, she unwittingly bump right into her six sisters, whom were all looking for her. And now they found her, just in time before the birthday ball was about to begin in a short minute of time.
"There you are!" said Irene.
"Where have you been, Khyraphine?" asked Theresa.
"We was looking all over the place for you." says Dahphina.
"I'm so sorry that I'm late." says Khyraphine.
"You were late to the rehearsal earlier!" snapped Aquanette. "Not to mention that you didn't bother to show up at all!"
"Give her a break, Aquanette." Fraya said, chiming in to defuse the tension. "True that she missed rehearsal. But she is here now. And right on time for the medley."
"Fraya is right." said Cara. "We can still make it to the ballroom stage."
"But Cara! I-" Khyraphine uttered, but got interrupted by her eldest sister.
"No excuses, Khyraphine. Now let's go get you dressed up." said Cara as she push her sister into the dressing room. "It's your birthday ball and you are not going to waste every second of it for everyone, including yourself."
The mermaid princesses hurried into the dressing room in the backstage. They all quickly gathered around for the seamstresses to dress them into their gowns made of the finest silky kelp and seaweed, decorated with pearls and other aquatic jewelry. Now if they all hurry, the mermaid girls can make it to the stage.
In the ballroom, all of the merfolk were chatting the evening away, all the while they waited for the celebration to begin. Even the rest of the guests are coming inside from the courtyard to see the performance of the mermaid crown princesses. As they all gathered in the ballroom, the palace lights dimmed down, the orchestra tuned their instruments and it seemed that the celebration is about to begin.