14 years earlier…..

In the early spring of Kelley’s seventh year, Patrick had a surprise meeting with Poseidon. This time Poseidon was meeting him on land, not on a ship and told Patrick to bring his family with him. An unusual request from Poseidon, he usually preferred that Patrick leave the family at home. Patrick was cautious of the intention of the family being there, but Peggy was excited to get away for a weekend, and so were their kids. It was a long three-hour journey to where they were supposed to meet Poseidon. Patrick was told to bring a special crystal that he was given to be able to get to where they were meeting. Kelley and Lucy would stare out the windows, occasionally argue causing Peggy to have to separate the two of them. When they finally arrived, they were in front of what looked to be a castle still being built. As they were getting out of the carriage two massive doors opened and Poseidon began walking out. He was the tallest man Kelley and Lucy had ever seen.
“Patrick!” His voice boomed through the courtyard. “I’m glad you were able to bring your family here for a visit. How’s the girl doing?”
“Thank you for allowing me to bring my family this time, Your Majesty. Verity has been fine, she refused to come with us this weekend. She said she needed a break from these two.” Patrick looked down at Lucy and Kelley, “She’s staying with Morgan while we’re away.”
“What are your children’s names again?”
“This is Lucille and Kelley.”
“Daddy its Lucy!” Lucy said pulling on the sleeve of his shirt.
“And how old are you two?” Poseidon knelt down so he was closer to their level.
“I’m five, and Kelley’s seven!” Lucy grinned from ear to ear. Her rose gold curls bouncing with every move she made.
“Why don’t you two go down to the lagoon. My daughter Aquaria is down there right now, she’s your age Lucy. Your father and I have much to discuss.” Poseidon said sweetly to her.
“Come on Kelley!” Lucy pulled his arm.
“Can we go Ma?” Kelley asked.
“Yes, just be careful.” Peggy said.
Kelley and Lucy ran down a big hill to a lagoon with a huge waterfall. They didn’t see anyone down there when they got to the water.
“You two can come in if you like.” A woman had just poked her head out of the water said, “My name is Theia, you have already met my husband Poseidon. What are your names?”
Theia had golden blonde hair, with beautiful waves. She had dark purple blue eyes, and a kind smile on her face. They could only see her from her waist up, but the shimmering scales starting to climb up her waist gave away that she was a mermaid. The scales on her waist were the same colors as her eyes. She had a tattoo on her bicep of a blue wave that was circling her arm.
“I’m Lucy! This is my big brother Kelley, he’s a little shy.” Lucy said confidently as she started to walk into the water.
Kelley stopped her from walking any further. “Lucy, we don’t know her. We don’t know if we can actually go in there.” He whispered.
“Don’t worry Kelley, your parents know me. Would you like to meet my daughter Aquaria? Well if I can find her, she’s a little shy at first.” Theia started looking around for her, occasionally ducking under the water.
“Ummmm…. Okay…” Kelley said nervously. Lucy ran into the water, but stopped when it reached her waist
“Aquaria, it’s okay, you can come out.” Theia said to a small girl hiding under the dock. They could only see the top of her head and her eyes. She swam a little closer, but stopped at the edge of the dock, holding tight to the post. More of her was out of the water now, revealing her face. She had blonde hair just like her mother, but had a few aqua highlights. Her eyes were the same aqua has the water and her hair. When Kelley saw her face, he thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. His cheeks burned when their eyes met. She ducked behind the post, then slightly peeked around the side of it. Kelley began walking into the water and walked toward her a little. Theia swam over to her, grabbed her hand and brought her closer to Kelley and Lucy.
“Aquaria, this is Lucy she looks to be around your age.” Theia said, Aquaria just hid behind her mother. “Aquaria its okay, they won’t hurt you. They are here to play with you this weekend.”
She looked up at her mother, with fear in her eyes. Kelley walked further into the water, then grabbed Lucy’s hand and helped her swim over to them.
“Lucy, do you not know how to swim?” Theia asked.
“Not yet, we don’t go to the water that much.” Lucy said shyly.
“Here I will help you.” Theia let go of Aquaria’s hand, and took Lucy from Kelley, and began helping Lucy swim.
Kelley swam over to Aquaria, “I’m Kelley, it’s nice to meet you.” His words were shaking as he tried to talk to her, he was trying to be confident, but, he was nervous. He had never met anyone so pretty before.
“I’m Aquaria.” She said shyly. She was scared, he was the first human she had ever met. But when she looked into his eyes that feeling went away. She slowly swam around him. “I’ve never seen a human up close before.”
“Really?”
“How do you swim without a tail?” She asked curiously.
“Ummm… I kick my legs I guess.” He lightly laughed.
She giggled at him, “What is it like on land? I’ve never been on land before.”
“Why not?” He asked.
“Well I don’t have legs.” She said as she splashed water at him with her tail.
“Can’t your father just give you legs, like he has?”
“He says I can have legs if I just dry off my tail, but I’ve never tired. This is the closest I’ve ever been to land before.”
“Would you like to see what it’s like? I’ll walk around with you.”
“Really?” She said excitedly.
“Come on, I’ll take you.” He extended his hand out for her.
“Uummm… alright.” She said taking his hand gently. Her hair started to change color, but neither of them noticed. They swam to shore, and he helped her out of the water. She was lying on her stomach in the sand with him until her tail dried off. Theia watched them from the water as she helped Lucy swim, she smiled watching how well they got along.
“How long is it supposed to take?” He asked.
“I don’t know, I’ve never done this before.”
“Would your mother know?”
“No, she has to wear a special bracelet that gives her legs. My father says that I can change like he does because I’m his daughter. I don’t really understand what that means, but a lot of things he says doesn’t make sense.” Her tail slowly started to fade, but they didn’t notice, they were too busy talking.
“What do you do for fun?” He asked.
“Oh the usual stuff. I like to read, collect sea shells, make new hair combs, explore the reef, play with the fish and dolphins. You know normal stuff.”
Kelley laughed, “That must be normal for a mermaid, not really for humans though.”
“Really? Well what do you like to do?”
“I like to run around, I play with some of the other kids in town a little, I play fight, ride horses, and other things. My friend Gerard and I love to climb trees and fight. Lucy likes to do different things though, she plays with the other girls around, dances, plays with her dolls, but she loves to ride horses.”
“I’ve never even seen a horse.”
“I can show you! We have a couple here with us. Let me help you stand.” He stood up and took a small towel that was sitting nearby, and handed it to her
“But my tail.”
“Your tail is gone now. Use the towel to cover yourself, it looks like there wasn’t anything under your tail.”
Aquaria looked at where her tail once was and saw legs for the first time, she didn’t quite know what to do. She smiled and kicked her legs a bit, she let out a whimper from the pain she felt moving her legs. After a couple of minutes of moving them, the pain went away. She took the towel and wrapped it around herself. Kelley extended his hand to her, she gently placed her hand in his as he helped her stand up. She fell to the ground from her wobbly legs. Kelley caught her before she completely fell.
“Don’t worry I’ve got you!” He said.
“Thank you.”
“Are you alright?”
“I don’t know. It hurts to stand. It feels like I am stepping on urchins, or being stung by jellies.” She said
“Here I will help you, keep you steady.” He looked into her eyes as his heart began pounding harder in his chest.
She stared into his eyes for a moment as he held her up. The aqua in her hair had completely vanished, it was now turning into a soft pink. “Thank you.” She said softly.
“I didn’t know your hair could change color.”
Aquaria’s cheeks flushed. “It changes with my emotions.”
“What does pink mean?”
“I don’t know. It’s never been that color.”
“Well it’s very pretty. I like that it changes colors.”
“Thank you.” Her cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink.
“Do you want to try to walk again? Maybe we can go see the horses.”
“Sure, but is it okay?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“You don’t know my father.” She muttered under her breath, knowing how overbearing her father was.
They saw Peggy coming down the hill, she came right to the two of them. “Kelley who is this?”
“This is Aquaria, this is her first time on land. Do you have any of Lucy’s extra clothes with you?”
“Of course.” She reached into a bag she was carrying, and pulled out a dress. “Here you go dear, hopefully my son was respectful.”
“He was, he gave me this before helping me up.” She gestured to the towel.
“Kelley, you can let go of her, I am sure that she can stand just fine on her own.”
“But ma, she…”
“Actually I can’t, this is my first time standing, and I’m a little wobbly.”
“Oh I’m sorry sweetheart. Here let me help you.” Peggy then helped her put a dress on. Once she had clothes on Kelley came back over and took her hand, and they started to walk towards the hill. “Kelley where are you two going?”
“She wants to see the horses, she’s never seen one before.”
“Alright, but where is your sister?”
“My mother is teaching Lucy how to swim.” Aquaria gave her a soft smile.
“Alright, you two be careful, Kelley help her walk, she still seems a little wobbly.”
“I will.” He put his arm around her waist holding her up, and her arm around his shoulders.
Kelley walked Aquaria up the hill to the house. They had to be careful, the house was still being built, so there were a lot of men running around with tools. They carefully walked to the front of the house. Aquaria was now walking fine on her own, she didn’t need Kelley to help her anymore, so he let go of her hand. Her hair turned back to blonde by the time they reached the front. Kelley took her right to the horses, she was scared of them at first, but Kelley showed her how to approach them. Poseidon and Patrick were just walking back out front, they had been inside looking at the construction. Poseidon watched as his daughter had a big smile on her face, brushing the horse’s mane.
“Well they seem to be getting along quite well. We will have to get our families together more often. Help her learn about the human world more.” Poseidon said.
“It seems so.” Patrick replied as he watched Kelley, laughing and smiling with a smile he had never seen before. They walked over to them.
“Aquaria, you got your legs!” Poseidon said with a huge smile on his face. “I am sorry I missed your first time getting them.”
“Father! Isn’t this wonderful? I can’t believe that you’ve never taken me on land before! Can Kelley and I explore some more? I would love to see some other things!” She said excitedly running over to Poseidon’s open arms.
“Of course my pearl, just be careful around the house, you two could get hurt. You two have some fun, you can show him a little of our world as well.” Poseidon said.
“Thank you father!” She shouted and jumped into his arms. Then ran back to Kelley, “Kelley what else can you show me?” She was excited to see things she had never seen before. Aquaria and Kelley ran off towards a bunch of trees that were being planted.
“Aquaria do you want to play a game?”
“Sure! What is it?”
“Do you know how to play hide and seek?”
“Of course!”
“Alright, I will count and you hide, but the water is off limits. I can’t swim as deep as you can.”
She giggled, “Alright! You count to thirty.”
Kelley began to count as she ran off. She followed the lines of freshly planted trees, and reached some bushes hiding behind them. He started running around through the trees looking for her, he wasn’t able to find her anywhere. Then he heard some giggling off in the distance. He ran in that direction and found her. After playing a few more rounds they found a swing, she had never been on a swing before. She sat down and he pushed her for a minute, the swing went over the lagoon. She could see her parents down in the water and waved to them.
“Kelley, the swing is big enough for both of us. Come sit next to me. You have to see this!” She said excitedly.
“Alright!” He said, he pulled the swing back far, then ran as he pushed her and hopped on the swing with her.
“How did you do that?” She asked
“I just ran and jumped.” He said smiling at her. She grabbed his hand as they went over the cliff, and her hair turned pink again.
They continued to run around and explore, after a while they started holding hands while exploring. He noticed that she really loved all of the pink flowers, so he picked a bunch and tied them together making them into a crown.
“Here I made this for you. I saw how much you loved the flowers so I turned them into a crown for you.” He said as he placed the crown on her head.
“Thank you, it’s beautiful.”
“Well you’re a princess, so you should be wearing a crown.” He said as he sat down next to her.
“It’s perfect.” She said smiling at him, and her hair turned pink.
Kelley blushed, he had never felt like this before. He began to feel butterflies in his stomach, and also felt as if he should never leave her side. He couldn’t say anything, just smile.
“What else is there you can show me?” She asked.
“I don’t know, what have you always wanted to know about land?”
“OH! I know! I want to try some food! All I ever eat is food from the sea. I want to try some from land!” She was so excited and happy that her hair began to glow a golden glow.
“Your hair glows too?”
“Oh yeah, sometimes.” She began fiddling with her hair.
“Your hair is amazing!”
“Oh.. ummm… thank you.” She continued twirling her hair.
“Let’s go find you some food.” He stood up and extended his hand to her, she took his hand and helped her up. When she touched his hand her hair turned pink again. “Why does your hair turn pink every time we touch?”
“I don’t know. I am still learning what the different colors mean. My father’s hair changes too, I’ve seen it turn pink many times, but I never thought to ask him what it means.” She said sounding a bit embarrassed.
“Well I think it’s really pretty in your hair.” He smiled at her.
“Thank you” She blushed.
Kelley took her back to the house, and looked in their carriage for some kind of food. He didn’t find anything, then he decided to go into the house.
“But Kelley, my father said to stay out of the house.”
“No, he said to be careful around it. Come on, there has to be a kitchen or something in here.” He said pulling her into the house with him. They walked around a little, it was messy, he could see that they were nowhere near done building. Then they found the kitchen.
“Where are we?” She asked.
“In a kitchen. Haven’t you ever seen one?” He replied.
“No. My food is always prepared for me. I show up in the dining hall and they bring me my food.”
“Here sit on the counter while I look for something. There has to be food in here somewhere.”
“Why do you want me to sit on the counter?”
“Because it’s cleaner on the counter than the floor. Here, I’ll help you.” He lifted her up a little and she climbed on the counter and sat down, legs hanging off the side. Kelley was searching all over the place, then he saw the basket they brought with them.
“OH! Found it!” He brought the basket over to her and climbed onto the counter as well. “My mum makes some of the best cookies! You will love them!”
“What are cookies?”
“It’s a baked treat. A dessert.”
“Is it good for you?”
“Probably not, but it tastes amazing!” He said as he handed her a cookie.
She nervously took the cookie from his hand and ate it. Her eyes lit up after her first bite. “Kelley this is the most amazing thing I have ever had! Is there any more?”
Kelley laughed, “Yeah but my ma will kill me if we eat too many. How about just two more. She shouldn’t notice.”
“Okay! I will take whatever I can get.” She giggled “What else is there?”
“Umm, we have some apples. They are my favorite fruit, so ma always packs a bunch. Some of those trees that are growing out there are apple trees, so one day you can get apples from there anytime you want.” He said smiling at her.
“Can I try one?”
“Sure! Here!” He handed her an apple, she looked at it, unsure of how to eat it.
“How do you eat this?” She asked.
He lightly chuckled, “Like this silly!” He took a bite of the apple to show her. “Just make sure you bite hard, to get through the skin.” He said handing the apple back to her.
She took a bite of the apple, and her eyes lit up again. “Why is all your food so wonderful?”
Kelley laughed, “I don’t know, I guess it just is.”
After their snack they went back down the hill to the lagoon with everyone. Unfortunately, everyone was packing up.
“What’s going on?” She asked.
“It’s getting late, we need to go home.” Theia explained.
“But I don’t want to go home! Can we just stay? I want to keep playing with Kelley. We had so much fun, and I got to go on land and try new things. Please can we stay?” She begged.
“I’m sorry but we need to get going, it will be dark soon, and too late to travel. We will be back tomorrow.”
“But then they will have gone home.” She began to tear up.
“Oh no, Aquaria. They are staying the night here. You will see them in the morning I promise.” Theia said.
“Really?” She replied excitedly.
“Yes really, now come on, we have to get going. Don’t make me get your father.”
“Let me just say goodbye.”
“Make it quick, you will see him in the morning.”
She ran over to Kelley and gave him a hug, “Thank you! This has been the best day of my life!” Then she whispered in his ear, “I wish I could stay here with you forever.”
“Me too.” He whispered back, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
She let go of him and ran back to the water. He watched as her legs turned into a beautiful tail again. Once in the water she took the dress off and had her mother place it on the dock to dry. Patrick and Peggy walked over to where Kelley was, and waved goodbye. Patrick carried Lucy who was sound asleep back up to their carriage. Then they left for the nearby town of Carraroe and stayed the night at the Inn.