Treasuring the last mermaid (Now published so sample size only)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"I need a moment." I might have said the words in a calm voice but my turbulent emotions meant I was anything but calm.

"Coralina, I would like to complete your naming day as your father asked me too." Lin stated.

"Right at this moment I'm going to attend to my human duties. After that I'll return to discuss the matters I have just witnessed."

I came up with the only excuse I could. With a flick of my tail, I left my momentary glimpse into the future. Heading back to the palace, my mind swam with everything I had learned. All that I had known now lay before me as a bunch of lies.

I paused only when I ended up in the place where I could glimpse all of the history of the mer. What a glorious history we had, until now. Watching the seasons roll by, it startled me to see that we had suffered a previous rebirth of our civilisation. This time was due to a group of mer trying to branch out and take over. I peered closer at the images as they swirled by me. History was not as clear cut as I always thought.

"If you watch these walls long enough, you will see back to the first mer. We haven't always had the best or the fairest civilisation. Mer are just as fickle and greedy as we see the humans. We are one and the same." Lin had caught up to me as I studied our species through history.

"There are good humans." I thought about Mel and Donovan.

"Yes, and there are bad mer. Now you know the truth."

I stood there in my human body with a sense of defeat, but also a strange slice of hope growing within me. Considering that yesterday I thought I was the only mer, today had ended up quite informative.

"Do you think there are other mer in hiding?" I dared to ask.

"I have much more hope that there are other mer now that I've found you, or that Byron found you. If you let me complete your naming day we will find out." Lin tried to convince me but I shook my head.

"I can't do it today. I need time to consider all that I've learnt." With a wave of my hand, I pointed back to where I'd seen the prophecies.

"I understand, my queen. Perhaps we can try tomorrow." Lin sounded so hopeful that I hated to disappoint him.

"Tomorrow," I agreed with a nod. "Now we should go to the aquarium." I said as I turned to Byron.

"You're not working at the aquarium anymore, Coral. You've got a hundred more important things to do as the queen of the mer." Byron said and I stared at him for a long moment.

"I work at the aquarium." I spoke the words slowly in case he'd forgotten.

"You did. Do I have to fire you so you'll stay here and look after things?" Byron appeared both amused and slightly exasperated.

"Fired? Are you going to strike me down with fire?" I asked in confusion and he let out the cutest chuckle.

"No, it means that as the boss I told you never to come back to work."

"Like Susie?" I frowned at him.

"Exactly like Susie." He nodded his head.

"But I didn't do anything wrong! Humans are very weird." I concluded and Byron laughed.

"True, but you need to be here looking after mer things." He waved an arm around at the palace.

"Yes. The first thing is to make sure Lin's secret entry remains inaccessible. Next time you want to come here you only need to ask to enter." I said to Lin who nodded.