The Mermaid Beginning

chapter 8

Athena came into the nursery with the conch shell-shaped crib. Ariel cried a little bit, but cooed with a smile once her mother reached for her to be held.

"Hi, sweetie..." Athena smiled at her new baby girl.

Atticus looked through the door while trying not to be seen until it would be great time to come in and see if he can help. Athena cooed and quietly soothed her youngest daughter.

Ariel smiled to her mother and looked over her mother's shoulder to see her cousin, Atticus. She kept the smile. Atticus smiled and waved at her, not knowing if it caught any attention. Ariel looked to Atticus and cooed to him.

Athena looked over and smiled to the boy. "Oh, hello there, Atticus."

"Hi, Aunt Athena, I just wanted to come and see if there was anything I could do to help." Atticus said.

"Hmm..." Athena was thinking. "Well... Do you know any stories maybe Ariel could listen to?"

"Yeah, I know some stories." Atticus said.

"Maybe you'd like to tell Ariel one." Athena said with a smile.

Ariel didn't speak since she was a newborn, but she seemed to had nodded in agreement with that. Atticus told Ariel the story of his and Cherry's adventures in Cinderella. Ariel smiled as she was gripping onto every word, but her eyes began to feel heavy. She let out a cute yawn as soon as the first story finished and she leaned against her mother, falling asleep.

Athena smiled as she saw this, then went to gently put Ariel back down to bed and tuck her in, then looked back to Atticus. "Thank you so much..." she whispered, really grateful.

"You're welcome." Atticus whispered.

Athena put in a little fish toy to keep Ariel 'company' while she would sleep, then the two left the room.

"Is she gonna cry all the time?" Adrianna asked.

"All babies cry, even guppies cry." Arista told her younger sister.

"I remember when Alana cried, I didn't think I'd ever get back to sleep," Attina seemed to be bragging since she was the oldest again. "But I settled around when Adella and Aquata showed up..."

Darla rolled her eyes slightly, was she like this when she was a darling celebrity?

"Atticus was the same as a baby." Jessica said.

"I wonder if I was... I don't remember hearing complaining about me though..." Darla shrugged.

"Were you an only child before you were adopted?" Adrianna asked.

"Sorta..." Darla rubbed her arm. "I shared a room with nine other girls when I was in the orphanage."

"And I thought six sisters was a handful!" Attina sounded surprised.

"Yeah." Her sisters agreed.

"It's true what that girl Annie said, it's a Hard Knock Life." Darla phrased.

Athena came by with Atticus.

"How's Ariel, Mama?" Adrianna asked with a smile, she was still excited that she got to be an older sister for a change.

"Fine, sleeping." Athena replied with a soft smile.

"Yeah, after I told her a bedtime story." Atticus said.

"Atticus always has interesting stories." Darla said.

Athena smiled. "Alright, why don't you all go play until the sun goes down to the surface?"

The girls giggled and went up to go swimming elsewhere.

Athena sighed. "They all grow up so fast..."

Emily still sniffled, but loved this time she got to spend with Athena.