The Atlantean Chronicles: Call of the Sea

Chapter Two

 "There you are, I've been waiting for you to come home all day!" Arielle exclaimed when Diana walked through the front door of Nelly's apartment.

Diana threw her bag down by the door with a sigh. Arielle rushed up to her and looked her up and down. "Why are you covered in sand?"

Diana was still feeling dazed from her encounter with the young man and his dog. He had been so charming and flirtatious one minute but as soon as she asked his name he became closed off and had to leave out of nowhere.

"Umm, I just had the strangest-"

"Nevermind that! So did you get the internship?" Arielle interrupted her, her sea green eyes wide in anticipation.

Diana sighed. "Right, yeah..."

Arielle tilted her head, her long blonde hair cascading over one shoulder. "Diana?"

Diana blinked up at her. "Yes, yes I got the internship," she said, smiling.

Arielle squealed in delight, throwing her arms around her sister. Sometimes Arielle acted so much like their Aunt Nelly it was haunting. Diana hugged her sister back.

"I'm so happy for you, mom and dad would be so proud..." Arielle trailed away and let go of her sister, looking away sadly.

Diana put her hands on her sister's shoulders. "That's why I'm doing this Arielle, not only because it's my passion, but to honor our parents' legacy," she said calmly.

Arielle twisted up one corner of her mouth  -the way she used to when they were little- and peered up at her sister. "They really would be proud of you," Arielle said again, her tone quieter than it had been when Diana first arrived.

Diana looked sadly at her. "They'd be proud of you too Arielle," she pointed out.

Arielle shrugged, but a small smile began to form at the corners of her mouth. 

"So in celebration, what would you girls like to have for dinner?" Nelly appeared around the corner still wearing her apron and t-shirt from the cafe.

Arielle turned around and answered before Diana could open her mouth. "Actually, I was thinking Diana and I could go out tonight, maybe tomorrow the three of us can do dinner together," she said sheepishly.

Diana raised an eyebrow and looked at their aunt over Arielle's shoulder. Nelly looked down-trodden for a moment, but she quickly blinked away her disappointment and smiled at both of them. The truth was, now that both Diana and Arielle were in college and technically adults, they hardly ever had regular dinners with their aunt. "Yes of course, you girls have fun," she said, though Diana had lived with Nelly long enough to know she was covering her sadness with the smile plastered across her face.

Arielle seemed to pay no notice. She turned to face her sister. "There's a new place on the boardwalk I've been dying to check out!" she said, her eyes held excitement but there was something else hidden in their sea green depths.

Diana frowned, trying to figure out what it was her sister was hiding. Arielle caught her staring and blinked, turning her attention to their aunt. "We won't be out too late I promise, but don't feel like you need to wait up for us," she said.

Nelly sighed and sat back in one of the living room chairs. "I'll just spend some quality time with a glass of wine and this book I've been trying to finish for the last week," she said, lifting a book off the coffee table.

Diana looked at her aunt sympathetically as Arielle dragged her up the stairs. They rushed into Diana's room and Arielle quickly shut the door. "Alright, we need to find you something to wear," she said, immediately going through Diana's closet.