#dangerouswatersfic

Finally finished this piece for the fic! The first chapter is coming soon don’t worry!

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Chapter One: The Parting

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Summery: Rhoma goes to live with her uncle on a floating town in the middle of the ocean. Some questions arise on the way.

Warnings: None that I can think of besides her mom leaving and crying?? (send an ask if you need me to tag anything)

“Mom please don’t go,” I begged tears streaming down as I watched as my luggage was loaded onto the boat. I may only be 7 but I know that this would probably be the last time I ever saw my mom again.

 ”Oh my sweet, darling Rho,” her voice was sweet like honey and was a melody I never wanted to end, ”I’m sorry that this is where we part, but Uncle Henry will take good care of you, I promise.” A tall man, one that I recognized as the man in question, approached.

 “I’d hate to cut this moment short, but if we are to leave we have to leave now,” his voice was smooth like my mom’s but gruff in comparison.

 “Why can’t we leave in the morning! There’s no way we can see, It’s pitch black!” I exclaimed I knew my uncle could easily navigate through the night but I wasn’t ready to leave my mom. At this point, I was sobbing, clinging to her as if my life depended on it, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes as well.

”Rho, I’m sorry but I have to go now, plus you will need the night to hide Gemma,” Gemma, my phoenix chirped at the sound of their name.

 Several minutes had passed. I sniffed as I wiped the tears from my face, “Okay Mama I’m ready to go.” We hugged one last time before she left the mist consuming her figure as Uncle Henry and I watched her leave. 

“Let’s get to the boat, Rosebud,” he offered his hand which I looked at for a second before he spoke again, “I’ll answer all your questions on the way there, how’s that sound,” he said clearly seeing the gears in my brain turn. I Finally took his hand, “You have a deal,” I let out.

 About 5 minutes had passed as I sat in silence, well aside from the occasional coo-ing from Gemma. Speaking of Gemma, “Why do I have to keep her a secret?” I said nodding in the direction of Gemma’s little cage, I felt bad for her, she had to be cooped up in there for so long. 

“Well the people there, how do I put this nicely, they aren’t the most opened-minded people out there,” he remarked. It was hard not to hear the obvious grimace in his voice.

 “Soooooooo,” I hesitated, “What does that mean for me?”

 “Well I’ll have some stuff to figure out, for now just don’t go tellin’ anyone you’re multi-blooded, I wouldn’t even mention the Soulful part and you’d be dead if you mentioned that you’re a siren.”

 “Mer,” I said matter-of-factly. 

“I beg your pardon?” 

“I’m a mer, sirens are winged creatures, plus there’s only three of them. Not to mention that they’re on an island somewhere in the Mediterranean. I’m a Mer, sure some of us sing but not to lure sailors into the water, the sirens do though. Even though it’s not a very good reason,” I mumbled the last part under my breath.

 “Oh and what would that reason be,” Uncle Henry prompted. 

I took the bait, “Well, they used to be the handmaids of Persephone and were tasked, by Demeter, to help in the search for her daughter. These three were being a bit lousy I guess and so Demeter cursed them. Now, they lure sailors to their deaths in spite of Hades beca-”

 I cut myself off and slapped a hand over my mouth, “Sorry, my dad used to say I can talk peoples’ ears off when I get like that.” 

I was so embarrassed, I had done it again. My embarrassment was only met with a chuckle, leaving me very confused. Seeing my confusion my Uncle explained, “Rhoma Ezra Kingsley, never apologize for being passionate about something, you hear me.”

 I nodded slowly lighting up at the aspect of being able to express my incoherent thoughts without being told I talked too much for a girl. 

My uncle chuckled one last time before getting serious again, “We should probably get back on topic.” 

“Yeah…………” I reluctantly agreed even though I still had plenty of questions that needed to be answered. “Mama said that I would work as a medic?” it was much more of a statement than a question, but I could tell my uncle caught on. 

“Yes, that’s the only reason they’re allowing you to come live with me.”

 “And is swimming out of the question?” I winced not even hearing the answer. 

“I think we can work something out, but we have to be very careful,”

 “Why?”

 “You’re in dangerous waters now,” he said right as the boat pulled into the boat lot of the floating town, the lantern giving his face just enough light to make out the basic features. The fog made everything seem ominous and I was soaking up every bit of it, stubborn as ever.

 ‘Well then I’ll just have to be the danger in the water’ I thought as we started towards my new home. I was determined not to let my new situation control me.

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Here’s the first chapter, hope you guys like it!!

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Chapter Two: A Morning of Surprises

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Summery: Rho gets ready for the day not very hopeful, but one look around the floating town gives her some surprises and a positive outlook.

Warnings: Very minor cursing (let me know if I need to tag anything else)

It was early morning, and I’d be lying if I said my sleep was restful. I’m worried about today being my first day to get to know this “hellhole” as my uncle put it. As much as I hated to admit it, he was breaking through the defenses I work so hard to keep up (you can thank my dad for those).

 “Rosebud, you up yet,” he said softly making sure that it wouldn’t wake me if I had yet to stir.

 “I’m up!” I called back in response, I was never an early riser but to be fair I never really fell asleep. Gemma squawked at the sudden noise.

 “Aww, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you like that,” I said, trying to soothe her the best I could. Gemma was coo-ing like normal after a few minutes. 

“I’m afraid that you’re gonna have to stay in here today,” I whispered while feeding her. I kissed the top of her head and threw on one of the dresses neatly tucked in my wardrobe. I hated dresses, they’re so inconvenient, but at least this one is a deep shade of indigo with an off-white trim, I can’t stand when I’m bombarded with ‘girly’ colors. I brushed my hair and headed out to the main living space, a quaint and cozy looking place and just the right size to house the two of us. 

“I don’t like dresses,” I remarked bouncing into the kitchen where my uncle had made fish and eggs.

 “Well,” he put a finger to his chin as if deep in thought, “I don’t think we can ditch the skirt, but I think we can bargain for a pair of trousers ‘for your job’.”

 The last part was riddled with sarcasm rewarded with a small giggle from me. 

After eating breakfast and finishing getting ready, we were both ready to head out. 

“Wait,” I said before Uncle Henry could open the door.

 “What is it, Rosebud?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

 “Well….,” I trailed off shifting my weight awkwardly, “I was wondering if I could identify all the artificial substances.”

 “And how do you plan to do that?” he questioned.

 “Oh please, you’re a soulful too. You know that we can sense the presence of all nature!” I exclaimed not sure why this was a confusing matter.

 “Okay,” he said, still doubting me.

 I took my shoes and socks off and closed my eyes feeling every fiber of each wood plank. I decided to spread further to the edge of the town. ‘Hmmmm, that’s weird,’ I thought to myself, ‘There’s hardly any nature that’s been altered.’ For a little bit of fun and a lot of curiosity, I decided to search underwater.

 “What?!” I yelled.

 I didn’t even realize it was out loud until my uncle said, “What is it?” 

To cover up my mistake I stated, “The only thing that is varied far from its original state is the very minimal electricity.”

 It wasn’t a lie, I was pretty shocked about that too.

 Uncle Henry eyed me suspiciously before nodding. “Sometimes I forget how fast you pick those things up,” he chuckled, “And yes, that ‘very minimal electricity’ as you put it, was only installed 2 months ago when the town nearly burned down from all the candles we used as lights.” 

“I’m not sure if you noticed, but this place is a little behind the times,” he continued after a small pause. 

“Well I guess this makes more sense,” I said looking down at my attire.

 My remark was met with my uncle’s signature chuckle and, “We have a lot to do today, we should get going.”

 I nodded following him out the door. ‘I really hope he couldn’t tell that I lied,’ I thought as I walked out my brows furrowed in thought, ‘I just can’t believe that this place is built right on top of a mer pod, and an entire network of underwater caves at that!’ A smile grew across my face.

 “Maybe this place won’t be so bad,” I said trying to keep up with my uncle’s long strides. 

“That’s the spirit, Rosebud!” my uncle replied, any sign of doubt previously on his face now completely absent. ‘Let’s see how this turns out’ I think,’ letting the bright sun warm my face taking the first few steps of one of the worst and best days of my life.

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Chapter two is finally out yayy!!

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Hello!! So, here’s the summery for my story.

‘Dangerous Waters’ is a story about a young girl named Rhoma Ezra Kingsley. Rho is a multi-blood, in this lore, being multi-blood means that you are a mix of multiple ‘creatures’. In Rho’s case, she is a mix of a Mer and what’s called a Soulful. Soulfuls are like humans but with a deep connection to nature. When Rho was 7 years old her mom had to leave for unknown reasons, now, she lives in a floating town in the middle of the ocean (not an island, they just built a town in the middle of the ocean) with her Uncle Henry. She befriends the Mayor's son, Dax. Everything seems to be going smoothly, well as smoothly as things can go when there is a war between the Mers and Humans, not to mention your two best friends are on the front lines of the opposing sides. One day the secret that her life depends upon is almost revealed and consequences may be dire. Will Rho be able to keep her secret? Maybe, I dunno, if I told you guys there wouldn’t be a story to write. So let’s find out!!

Feel free to send in asks if you have questions about the lore of the story!!

Chapters:

ChapterOne, ChapterTwo, ChapterThree, ChapterFour, ChapterFive, ChapterSix, other chapters coming soon!!

Art:

Series ‘poster’ , Nadia’s design

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Chapter Four: How to Recover a Day After Crying

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Summery: After calming down after the shocking news, Rho and Henry go to the infirmary to pick up a job, when there is nothing available, an exciting proposition arises.

Warnings: mentions of crying, let me know if anything else needs to be tagged.

Uncle Henry still didn’t put me down even after I had calmed down. It had been a few minutes since I was done crying, but that was from numbness not recovery. Soon we were starting to approach the infirmary. 

“You can put me down now,” I said quietly with no emotion behind the words. 

“You sure, Rosebud?”

 “Yeah, I’m sure,” I replied flatly.

 He hesitated, but put me down gently. We walked quietly through the doors. The receptionist looked at us with a soft smile on her face, it almost seemed genuine. Almost.

 “How may I help you?” 

This time you could tell it was rehearsed, too robotic and forced to be genuine. 

“Hello, Della,” my uncle replied, “we’re here to see what work you have for Rhoma Kingsley.” 

“My apologies, but she has to be present for me to administrate work,” the receptionist-- Della-- said, confusion laced in her words.

 “I’m right here,” I said trying to keep my annoyance out of my voice, and by her face it worked. 

“Oh,” her face lit up seeing me, a normal reaction to see a small child I guess. 

“I guess we weren’t expecting a child…….” she trailed off. “The only thing we have open is……… the open water patrol.”

 “Oh,” I said, “I guess that makes sense,” I looked down at my feet a bit embarrassed. 

Just because soulfuls develop faster mentally, doesn’t mean we aren’t still held back by physical capability. 

“With that said, I think you guys can take the day to adjust, I’m aware this is your first day,” Della said, her smile was much more believable, maybe genuine, but she’s still a receptionist.

 ‘It’s always hard to tell with them,’ I thought to myself as we were leaving. It was a few minutes into the walk home and I was starting to wonder if we were taking a long route home or if the path magically got longer. Then the wind started picking up. ‘Oh no,’ I thought as a look of pure dread flooded my face, I kept my hair down to cover my ears a surefire way to out me. They were mostly human but with an obvious point and this wind was sure to reveal them.

 Uncle Henry seemed prepared as he pulled a headband out of his satchel. The head band was gorgeous, it had the same indigo as my dress with climbing roses on it and was 6 inches wide, allowing it to be scrunched up.

 “How did you know my tail pattern?” I asked, taking the headband and placing it around my ears. I took some loose hairs out to make it seem messier.

 “Your mom gave it to me,” he remarked nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets. 

“I guess that would make sense, she’s always prepared,” I said wistfully, smiling to myself.

 We walked the rest of the way home in silence. When we walked through the door, we were greeted by the playful squawking of Gemma. I rushed over to her in excitement, opening her cage so she could cuddle into my embrace. I looked to my uncle, “We should take her flying,” it sounded more like a demand than a suggestion but I didn’t care.

 “I'm sure we can take the boat out that way she can fly and you could go swimming,” my face lit up at his response.

 “Really?!” I beamed, this was great news!

 “Yeah, we can go now if you’re ready.” he smiled gently upon seeing my glowing expression.

 Before I knew it I was standing in a patch of the most gorgeous clarkias. ‘Of course,’ I thought, ‘they represent enthusiasm.’

 My uncle looked at me in confusion.

 “Some soulfuls can conjure flora that correlates directly with our emotions, but only when we feel them in an extremity,” I said hoping that would satisfy his confusion. 

“I guess these make sense now,” He said, reaching into his satchel only to pull out a fistful of dried leaves and purple hyacinths.

 “If I’m not mistaken this means ‘sadness’ or ‘sorrow’.”

 I nodded in response, my shoes suddenly became very interesting. They were ballet flats the same off-white of my dress lacing, if I wasn’t mistaken the also seemed to shimmer from some ang--

 “If we’re going to head out we should do it now while all the ‘fishermen’ are on break,” My uncle’s voice snapped me out of my inner monologue. 

I nodded heading back to my room. I quickly put my swimsuit on and a cover-up, the only time I chose a dress over some other form of clothing.

 I looked over to my familiar patiently waiting on her perch. Upon seeing that I was waiting for her she flew to me landing on my arm gracefully. I was immediately reminded that familiars are empaths to their soulful counterpart.

 “I’m very sorry about freaking out earlier,” I whispered to her, “I had Uncle Henry but you alone locked up in here……. I don’t think I could go through that alone. You’re very strong. You know that right?”

 The response was a gentle coo telling me that I was at no fault. She then pressed her head to mine, it was her version of saying ‘I love you’. “I love you too,” I said softly before walking out of my room to head out with Uncle Henry.

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There’s another chapter done! 

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Chapter Six: Dinner Preparations and Proper Introductions

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Summery: When everyone gets back from their little “fishing trip”, they start preparing for dinner, but a very unwanted intrusion

Warnings: very minor cursing, food mention, implication of death, trauma foreshadowing, rudeness??? (send and ask if anything else needs tagged)

We had gotten back from our little fishing trip, at least that’s the farce we came up with this if anyone asked.

“It was a very unsuccessful one,” I remarked, chuckling to myself in response to one, Mayor Stonemaple.

“That’s really weird, all my fishermen have had great luck.”

“That is strange,” I remarked, bringing my finger up to my chin as if I’m thinking over why this would be. “must not be on top of the whole fishing thing yet.”

I faked a smile as I left to head home. ‘I wonder what he meant by luck with the fishing,’ I pondered to myself while walking away with my uncle. 

We made it back to the cabin with perfect timing to prepare for dinner. As I opened the door, I saw Gemma waiting for us eagerly. I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding, which was quite strange for me since I was normally very aware of my body, hence why when people say they didn’t notice they were crying,,,,,,, well I never understood. 

“Hey, Rho, do you think you can set the table for me?” I heard my uncle's voice from the kitchen. While I, who apparently stayed in the doorway, made my way to the table I got a weird feeling about Gemma. Gemma, upon my distress, moved into my room to hide. Suddenly, as if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and you wouldn’t guess who it was.

“Hello, Rho,” that voice was starting to get on my nerves and I’ve only been here less than 24 hours.

“How can I help you, Mayor Stonemaple?” it took every ounce of strength to not snarl at him.

“Oh please,” He smiled at me fondly and it makes me want to vomit, “just call me Issac.”

“Well is there something you need? Uncle Henry is preparing dinner and I’m supposed to be helping. . .” I left my sentence open ended on purpose, waiting to get an answer.

“Ah, well,” he looked a bit sheepish for being called out on his untimely intrusion, by a 7 year old no less. “I was actually hoping I could speak with your uncle.”

“Wait here, I’ll go get him for you, it’ll just be a second,” I left without waiting for his answer. Part of me was tempted to just leave him standing in the doorway until he either left or had the audacity to let himself in.

“Rosebud,” my uncle cooed, “is something the matter?”

“Mayor Stonemaple is at the door and wants to talk to you,” I replied hastily.

As we made our way to the door I got a bad feeling that this conversation wouldn’t go too well. I’m unsure how I didn’t notice earlier but Dax, his son, was also waiting with him outside our house. 

“You wanted to talk to me?” Uncle Henry said no emotion in his voice as he awaited an answer from the asshole who had the audacity to come to our house while we were making dinner.

“Ah, yes. But,,,,,,, alone,” it wasn’t a request, it was an order.

“Rho finish setting the table and make sure the food doesn’t burn.”

“Ok,” I replied to my uncle and turned a heel to go back inside and finish my tasks.

I was about to shut the door when I heard “Dax why don’t you go help her.”

“Ok, Dad,” that was the first time I had heard Dax talk and was too shocked to say ‘oh don’t worry I can do it by myself’, instead, I was frozen in the doorway. I eventually opened the door to let Dax in with me, of course the movements were entirely robotic, but still movements.

We were setting the table in complete silence for a few minutes before I announced that I was going to check on the food. I had a vague, clouded idea of how to cook, but it wasn’t enough to do anything but turn the stove off when I saw little bits of charred food. I was about to go back to finish setting the table with Dax when I realized that he had followed me into the kitchen. 

“Hi,” I said, trying to break the awkward silence that had settled between us since we came inside.

“Hi,” his voice was very small and I could barely hear it over my own thoughts.

“I’m Rhoma, but you can call me Rho.”

“Dax,” he replied. 

I heard Dax say something under his breath but I couldn’t hear it. I would’ve asked but based off of his face he doesn’t really want to talk about it and for now I have no choice but to respect that choice. We continued to set the table. We were silent but this time not nearly as awkward as before.

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Hello there’s that chapter, and I’m so excited to have some Dax-Rhoma bonding,,,,, but we have some stuff before that. hope fully the next chapter gets out sooner!

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Chapter Five: A Boating Trip

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Summery: Our main trio are able to slip away to let Rho and Gemma have some time to themselves to be “less human”. On this trip Rho meets someone new,,,,,,,

Warnings: bad parenting mention, passive aggressive arguing i guesss, send an ask if i need to tag anything else

We exited the back door and headed down the ramps until we reached the pier that was level with the water. It didn’t take long at all to get the boat. I quickly got on to get Gemma situated, glad that almost the whole town was coming back from hunting mers or ‘fishing’ as people called it.

 All the other piers were close to the infirmary on the other side of the floating town, I’ve come to know as Stonebridge. It used to be called Waterbridge but when Mr. Issac was put incharge he wanted it named after him. I honestly don’t know which name is worse, and as much as I’m glad it isn’t Waterbridge, I still can’t believe the ego of our mayor. If the town was any larger he would call himself a king.

 ‘He knows nothing about being a real king’ I thought to myself I nearly scoffed at the thought. ‘My father was a good king, sure sometimes he was a bit traditional but he always knew what was best for his people.’

 I, myself, didn't have any fond memories of him but everyone in the pod always talked kindly of him, so I guess I just had bad timing with my visits. The memories of my old pod always brought melancholy with it, but they were some of the best (and worst) memories I have.

 I realized that a few tears managed to well in the corners of my eyes. I didn’t care. I wiped them off right as my uncle dropped the anchor.

 “Ok, Rho, we’re about 30 mins from the town,” my uncle said, coming below deck where I was waiting, one of the perks of being a mermaid is that we’re so used to the natural motion of the water we don’t get ‘seasick’.

 “As long as you stay away from the town you and Gemma will be just fine.”

 After taking in what he said, I nodded so he knew I understood. I allowed Gemma to circle around in the air for a bit, it was calming to see her as she gracefully glided through the air. 

After snapping out of the trance like state, I lowered myself on the steps leading down to a platform that was a half inch above the water. I sat down dangling my feet in watching how the submerged part of my body now had fins and scales. Then, I dipped my hands in, watching as the scales and webbing grew on them. My normally short nails became almost claw-like. My patience was up as I launched the rest of my being into the water. 

The water was cool and refreshing. I never realized how tense I was until I felt all my troubles drift away. Before I knew it my fin touched the bottom of the ocean. The sand felt nice and squishy, it was very relaxing. All of a sudden I felt all the hours without sleep catch up to me.

 I don’t know how long I was asleep, but I woke up to someone poking my arm. “Just a few more minutes,” I said lazily, swatting my arm at whoever had woken me up. “Maybe I’ll let you sleep here if you mind telling me who you are,” the mysterious figure said, you could hear the ego and arrogance behind the words.

 When I turned to look at who had interrupted the only sleep I’ve gotten since I arrived, I was shocked to see another mer who looked to be just about my age. 

“I-I’m Rhoma,” I stuttered, still a little shocked to see another mer, “but I go by Rho.” I was starting to regain my composure a little more. “Well then, ‘Rho’, I have a few questions for you,” she narrowed her eyes at me.

 “Well first I’d like you to return the favor and tell me your name,” I scowled, we were basically circling each other. “Nadia, my name is Nadia,” her words were laced with poison.

 “So what are you? I’ve never seen you before so if you’re a mer, you’re not from my pod.”

 “I am a multi-blood, a mer and a soulful,” I responded, the mer-Nadia-narrowed her eyes more so, honestly I’m not sure if she can see out of them or not. 

We didn’t talk, just continued to circle one-another. Then my uncle’s anchor began to lift, catching both of our attention. “It was lovely to have this chat, but that’s my que to leave--Nadia,” I said dryly, shooting her daggers with my eyes. 

When I looked back after swimming to the boat she was gone. I rose to the surface making sure there was no trace of my argument, if you could even call it that. I wiggled my legs and toes, it was always strange switching between the two.

 My uncle came down to the small platform, “How was your swim?” He asked. “It was refreshing,” I replied, I desperately hoped he couldn’t tell how rehearsed it sounded, and if he could he didn’t show it. 

“But,” I continued, “I think I’m ready to head back.” “That’s good cause lunch breaks over,” as he said that, dread flooded my face and before he could stop me I was back at the bottom of the ocean.

 “Back so soon, Rhoma,” the familiar voice said, you could hear the smirk on her face even without looking. 

“Not quite, I just wanted to let you know that you should probably head back to your pod…………...the ‘siren hunters’ are going to come back out to the water,” I said making air quarters around ‘siren hunters’.

 “Oh………” she trailed off, the shock on her face was priceless, “Thanks I guess.”

 Without another word I swam back up wasting no time to climb on the boat, I almost fell off since I hadn’t gotten used to the switch but it worked I guess. “Step on it,” I said, going back under the deck to stay with Gemma.

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Heyyyy so it’s been a while,,, yea hope you like this chapter. Next chapter will be out as soon as I finish writing it.

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 Chapter Three: New Friends and Terrible News

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Summery: Rho and Henry head to the infirmary to start Rho’s training. An unexpected run-in on the ways brings a possible friend and day shattering news

Warnings: Crying, Mentions of a war, let me know if anything else needs tagged

It had been about five minutes since we left the house, but I still had no clue where we were going. After getting tired of trying to keep up by running up every once-in-a-while, I grabbed his hand, something I used to do with my mom.

 “What is it, Rho?” He asked.

 “Nothing,” I replied, “Where are we going?”

 “Oh, well right now we’re just headed to the infirmary to make sure everything’s in place.” 

“Oh, ok,” I said satisfied with the answer. 

I must have made my train of thought obvious because my uncle asked, “What’s on your mind, kiddo?”

 “Ummm…...why would I be dead if they found out I’m a mer?” I could see the color drain from his face and I immediately regretted asking anything

 “I think you’ll find out very soon…” 

We walked in silence,  it was what felt like forever even though it was most likely only a few seconds. I saw to people approaching, they looked like a father and son duo, the older gentleman looked like he was of high status. He held his head high, while the younger boy looked like he wanted to disappear, he wanted no part in the older gentleman’s parade around town.

 He was curious just enough for us to make eye contact. It sent a shiver down my spine and by the jitter motion he made it was mutual. We turned up to our own respective caregivers and asked the same question, “Who’s that?” A puzzled look crossed my uncle’s face before he registered who I was referring to. A look of hatred, something I’ve never seen him with, flooded his face. 

“That’s Issac Stonemaple and his son Dax.” he snarled. 

‘Son, I was right’ I thought to myself seeing Mr. Issac saying something to his son, Dax. I couldn’t quite hear what he said, but based on the facial expression he adorned mimicking that of my uncle’s, it was something very similar to what I had just been told. 

As we passed, Mr. Issac struck a conversation managing to keep the obvious disdain, from his face, out of his voice, “Hello, Oleander,” he greeted, “And who may this be?” he asked, bending down to meet my eyes.

 “Go ahead, Rosebud, you can introduce yourself,” His face and voice had softened as he spoke to me.

 “My name is Rhoma Ezra Kingsley,” I offered my hand out, “and you are?” 

“Mayor Issac Stonemaple,” he seemed quite charmed as he shook my hand, but I know people, this was nothing but relief that I spoke sweetly.

 “And this,” he continued, gesturing to the boy, Dax, “is my son Dax. I hope you two can be friends.” Dax brightened at the aspect of us being friends but did his best at hiding it, he even stepped behind his father.

 “Don’t be shy, son,” my Uncle Henry said, smiling sweetly at Dax.

 “Yes with the ongoing war I think you two won’t have much of a choice, since Rhoma here is training as a medic,” he chuckled at the end, but it didn’t have the same sweet tone as my uncle’s. There was something forced, something twisted, but I couldn’t place it.

 ‘War?’ I thought ‘Uncle Henry didn’t say anything about a war.’ My uncle only had a trace of the smile that he previously gleamed. “Yes, speaking of which that’s where we were headed. We should probably get going,” he huffed.

 “Of course,” Mayor Issac replied, cheery, as, ever. Dax and I shared an awkward smile. 

Once we were out of ear shot my uncle spoke, “You will not be friends with him, that’s my only request of you. You don’t have to give Dax a cold shoulder but you are not to get close to him, alright.”

 “And why is that?” I queried, quite curious as to why I wasn’t supposed to befriend him. 

“Ahhh,” my uncle sighed, “I know this will seem stupid, but it’s because I don’t like his dad.” My uncle looked almost shameful after admitting that.

 “Well I’m sure that there’s a perfectly good reason, but we can talk about it over dinner,” I offered. I took it as a win seeing his shoulders relax.

 “What about this ‘war’ that was mentioned?” I peppered quizzically. He sighed again rubbing his temples, “I was hoping that wouldn’t come up, but there’s no reason not to tell you,” he mumbled. Staring intently, I stayed silent awaiting his answer.

 “There’s a war between the folks here and the mers. It’s either referred to as ‘The Sirens’ War’ or ‘Man v.s. Monsters’. They don’t like any non-humans really.” 

I froze, ‘How am I supposed to react to that?’ I felt all kinds of hurt and shock. It was too much. Before I knew it there only were tears, and Uncle Henry’s comforting words. 

“That *hic* explains a lot *hic hic*,” I was sobbing at this point and I’m very glad that there weren’t any on-lookers to judge me. Uncle Henry scooped me up, his words of comfort never wavering. I was filled with so much dread I couldn’t take it. ‘I’m only 7, it'll get better, right?’ I thought, but I really doubted myself. 

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Chapter three is done now onto the next one!

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