The Twins from the Sea

Chapter XXI

"That was dad  you rescued?" Ophelia exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock. Fiona softly chuckled and nodded.

"Yes. We went to go live in Dublin. He introduced me to his parents, claiming I was a girl he met in Scotland, and he was going to marry me. So that's what he did. We were married, I got a job and adjusted to human life. It was a change, a huge change, but I knew it was worth it, because I was with your dad. When we earned enough money to buy our own house, and I knew that I never wanted to go back to Siren life, we decided to start a family. And I had you two. The rest was history," Fiona finished.

Ophelia still wasn't satisfied. "Okay, now we know that. Why did you leave last year?"

Fiona took a deep breath. "Alright. You know about the war, right?"

"Yes. With Poseidon and Jade Bay," Moana said, and Fiona nodded and swallowed.

"Right. Well, since then it had been sixteen years since I had been to Jade Bay, and I was beginning to become nervous. You remember that time?" Fiona asked, and Ophelia gave a grave nod.

"You seemed really sick," Ophelia said, recalling the period of a month or two before her parents left. This made Ophelia furrow her brows in a sudden realization.

"Wait a minute. Where is dad now? If you're here, and dad's not a Siren, where is he?" Ophelia asked.

Fiona's face paled, and she scratched the back of her neck. "I'll get to it. Anyway, the day came and I realized I needed to go back. I didn't know anything about what was going on in Jade Bay, the war, or anything. I coudn't sleep, I was worried sick. It was so much harder to leave now, now that I had you girls. Your father agreed with me, and we lied to you. We came up with the America thing."

"We talked to Grandma. You clearly haven't been here for a year and a half," Ophelia blurted out.

Fiona's hands began to shake and her lip trembled. "I got to the water, and for the first time in sixteen years I was a Siren again. As you could imagine it was very emotional for me. Your father was there too... He'd never seen it before." Fiona began to silently cry, her shoulders shaking and her voice wavering.

"He was scared. He thought I was someone different now that I had changed forms. I became scared too. I feared he would run away from me." Fiona put her hand over her mouth as she cried. "And that's exactly what happened. He ran. He ran. And I haven't seen him since."

Moana covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed. She couldn't believe it. Her father, always kind and courageous, just leaving like that.

"Do you have any idea where he could be now?" Moana asked, speaking for the first time in a while, her voice quivering. Fiona shook her head.

"Could be anywhere. Maybe with his parents. He might have actually gone to America."

Ophelia spoke again. "Where have you been?"

"I went to Scotland. I spent some time in the water, I got a new job, and rented an apartment," Fiona said, without looking up.

"Scotland?! What happened to 'needing to go back to my kingdom'? If you weren't there, why didn't you come back to us, mum?" Moana exclaimed suddenly, surprising her mother and sister. Fiona was silent.

"Well?" Moana said again.

"I couldn't face you again, especially not without your father. Our leaving was already suspicious, and me coming back alone wouldn't have made things any better," Fiona said, quickly and quietly.

"It would have made it better for us, mum," Ophelia said, siding with her sister. Fiona sniffed.

"Why didn't you come back here, then?" Moana asked after a long period of silence.