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Mermista was sulking because Krishell had left to go home. "Whhyyy?" She moaned as she soaked in a warm tub full of bubbles.
"She's around your mother's age and has a girlfriend that lives with her, that's why." Marika said, sitting on a light gold towel that was covering the toilet. "Are you coming to SeaWorthy with me or moping around the castle today?" Marika added, "We're out of all the ice cream too. I need to make a note for the staff." She left the bathroom.
Mermista lifted some bubbles out of the water and played with them. "Oh look I can air juggle the bubbles." She said to herself listlessly. Then she juggled them a few seconds longer before making them all crash together and pop. "A. Should I make up with SeaHawk or B. Not make up with him? Or C. Ignore him and pine for him til I break?"
"D. Kiss him and tell him you love him." Amara said from the doorway. "I'm about to head out. Do I tell him that you're coming today? You know he asks about you every day you're not around."
Marika came back. "Do you need me to stick around?" She asked Mermista.
"I might come later today." Mermista said and saw Marika cross her arms. "Yeah, you'll show up when the guys are out fishing and having their adventures. Then you'll leave before they return. You've done this crap before, Mermista. On purpose. You want to avoid the guy that loves you. Oh, and you love him too."
Amara knelt down beside the tub. "Stop being miserable and make up with him."
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Marika helped her sister up. "Let's go, Meranda's waiting on us." She picked up the towel and threw it into the hamper that said, 'Wash Me,' on it.
Mermista went to her father's room after her bath and looked around some more. She dug around in the chest and found a stack of letters. She smiled, grabbed them and sat on the bed. They were wrapped with pink ribbon and she removed that. The first letter said, 'Mercia, read me.'
Mermista read the short letter. It said that Alina wanted to know if he wanted to date her. If so then meet on the beach in SeaWorthy on Friday at noon. The next letter was to Alina from Mercia and it said he'd had a wonderful time on their date and would love to see her again.
Mermista got lost in the love letters . There was a good twenty of them.
"You enjoying those letters?" Mercia said, looking down at them.
Mermista nodded. "Yeah, I am. You and mom were so cute. I read that her parents didn't like you at first."
Mercia sat down. "All parents think the boy and sometimes the girl aren't good enough for their own kid. I did have to win them over. It was a hot mess when she got pregnant with you. They wanted to keep us away from each other."
"And what did you and mom do?" Mermista asked, very curious.
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Mercia laughed to himself. "Snuck around to see each other. I asked her to marry me and we secretly got married before you were born. When her parents found out they freaked. Mine did too. Alina and I wanted a life together and you. It wasn't easy, but we made it work."
Mermista opened another letter and a picture fell out.
Mercia reached for it and looked at it. "This was taken a week before she told me that she was pregnant."
Mermista looked at it. They were on the beach in Salineas and the castle was in the background. "So grandfather retired when you got married?"
Mercia shook his head. "My mother and father spent almost a year teaching me and Alina how to run the kingdom. I'll be around to give you advice and answer any questions you have."
