Chapter One

The walls of the palace were covered with coloured coral, breathing life onto the ocean bed of the palace. Elkhorn branched out its orange arms, climbing the walls of the throne room, the branches crossing over each other elaborately, creating a wall that was almost entirely made from coral. The floor of the place was nearly carpeted with blue, purples and reds, with little pockets of sand peeking out. Large spheres of yellows and greens acted as lounges for the tied mers, and an acropora, a coral ledge, clung to the wall, it was usually surrounded by council-mers, but it was now empty. The colours were all muted, the rainbow colours melting together prettily.

Crabs scurried along the wall, hiding within the coral, while tube worms spread their plumes in a vibrant red display. Small fish darted through breaks in the coral, and light filtering in through the open roof reflecting off their scales sending colours flashing against the sand as they swam. Patches of shadows danced upon the sand as mer's swam above the palace walls, curiously looking down into the throne room, all vying to see who the king was meeting with.

The water was brimming with life, but the princess' voice was loud enough to send all wildlife darting into the walls of the palace as she curled her tail angrily, the only flashes of colour came from the light reflecting from the palace gems. Amera caught her father's eye, and as she noticed the anger in them she shrunk back, regret at having raised her voice coursing through her. The fierceness in the king's scowl caused a lump to grow in Amera's throat and she wished she was small enough to disappear into the coral.

The water was stagnant, absent of life, but fear lingered in the water, a visual representation of how Amera felt. Her gills pulsed, filtering oxygen, as she stared back at her father defiantly. She secretly wanted to curl into a ball and sink to the ocean floor, but, rather than give in to her weaker side, she clenched her hands tightly by her side and followed the hard lines of her fathers wrinkled face to calm her thundering heart.

'Amera.' Her name was spoken curtly, and lined with undeniable anger, his voice warbling through the water. Triton lifted himself out of his throne, glaring at his daughter through narrowed eyes as he drifted down from his chair.

His throne was raised on a pedestal of marble, a decision that meant he loomed over anyone who dared come to him to seek his help. It had been his throne since the beginning of his rule and it had eroded from its gold plating to a beautiful combination of coppery red and rusted blue. Despite its ruin the chair had never looked more wonderous, and the legend of its beauty had reached the depths of the seven seas.

Triton settled beside his daughter, the sand billowing up around them as his tail settled upon the seabed. He inhaled deeply trying not to frighten her too much. 'This is not up for discussion.' He said gingerly, resting a weathered hand upon her shoulder. Amera trembled under his firm hold, unable to look away from his claw like hold of her.

'I do not want to go on land.'

Triton's laugh lacked any humour. The harsh sound sent ripples through the water, and when it echoed off the coral walls and back to Amera her whole body shook, the harshness had come back worse in its echo. She was paralysed, praying to the gods that she would make it out unharmed. 'That is not exactly your choice, now is it?'

Amera's shoulders went stiff, her mouth falling open in shock, a familiar rush of water filled her lungs as salty water flooded down to her airway. She blinked, once, twice, trying to make sense of her father, and how he could ask her to do such a thing. She reminded herself that she had meant to be brave, so she steeled her back and pulled away from his tight hold. 'It is my choice. You raised me to make my own choices, fight my own battles-'

'This is bigger than you and me, Amera. I might be King but-'

'You are my father as well!'

Her outburst had an effect, and he stilled in gentle unease. The Mers overhead suddenly darted away, fear that they would be caught watching a family moment flooded them away. Her blunt reminder made Triton pause, he thought about what she said, his tail disturbing the sand as he flicked it angrily, pulses of water rippling the sand around them. Quietly, and in a gruff voice, he asked, 'can I at least explain why?'

Amera looked up at her father, gazing over the tough leathery skin on his worn face. The stress of century as king had caught up to him, and Amera recognised the weariness deep in his eyes for what it truly was for the first time in her life. 'You can try, Father,' she sighed, resting her tail in the sand, 'but I do not think I will see the benefit of forfeiting my life here, to be unhappy on land.' After she'd said what she wanted him to hear she turned slightly, regarding him with closed off interest, examining him she saw the vulnerability that shadowed his authority.

'I have tried, my daughter.' He sighed, unhappy with the turn of events, air escaping his mouth in a drawn-out sigh, bubbles rising around him. 'It was easy once, when man's word was all they had, and no one even believed a man's word. We were free to live peacefully in the sea's embrace, to develop and flourish as a people.' He paused, reflecting on his own past mistakes and the grievances they had caused him. Triton thought back to a time when the seas were untameable to man, when they feared its vastness and the unknown. He remembered the life of pirates and sailors, men who were only curious about where the world ended, and to him it was as if they had only stopped yesterday. 'Man's world is developing too quickly; I am unable to keep up. Poseidon cannot interfere in their lives without them interfering with ours, and Zeus refuses to smite them.'

'How am I supposed to help on land?'

He ignored her question, his eyes following the first sign of life daring to swim through the throne room, a brave school of Damselfish, their scales, blue and yellow, flashing as they swam across the room. 'They are close to finding us, and I am afraid that if I do not do anything they will find us, and our people will be in danger.'

'I have only been alive for sixteen migrations, Father.' Amera tried to understand how she was supposed to help. She was young. She tried to be brave and thought of her sister, Irvetta, who had only been twelve when she'd gone off to fight the vicious war against the dolphins. Then she thought about her brother, Tide, who was eight, and was an active member of several groups dedicated to keeping the oceans clean, he routinely swam near human shores to make sure the pollution stayed close to land. She didn't know how to be brave like them, she'd spent her life protected from all the terrors of the ocean, and now that it was her turn to do something she was terrified at the thought.

'You're still a fingerling, I know.' Triton sighed. He watched his daughter as she bent her head sorrowfully, eventually he reached out, lifting her by her chin so their gazes would meet. 'Man needs to understand that we pose no threat, and that we have rights, just as they do. You, my dear Amera, were born to do great things, things your siblings could not even imagine doing.'

'Father, I cannot. I am sorry.' Amera whispered, her eyes stung as she bent her head again, she didn't want to look up at her father as her eyes stung, she tried to blink the sensation away her eyes kept downcast, the look of disappointment on her father's face would make her feel useless if she saw it. 'Please do not make me go.'

Triton turned his back on his daughter, his powerful tail swishing once through the water, propelling him back to his throne as silence started to wedge between them. He held his body rigid, one hand holding onto the seat of his throne, as he looked down at her, trying to understand her fear. He couldn't help but feel disappointed as anger flared within him, but he thought of his people, and their needs, and he thought his anger at his daughter was justified. He'd been counting on her trust, cooperation, and willingness to help her people for years, waiting until she was old enough to accept the mission, he'd never counted on her turning it down. Seeing her swim away, without even looking back, crushed his fatherly heart as he tried to think of a possible way to convince her to agree.

***

'It is stupid.' Amera cried, floating on her back as the current drifted her through the water. 'I cannot believe he would ask me to do something so dangerous.'

'I think you are over reacting, sister.' Amera's younger sister, Nyneve, announced to the group as the five sisters drifted through the current.

'You have to remember, Neve, Amera is still a fingerling.' Larina challenged, rolling in the current to edge her way closer to her sisters, her blue tail flicking slightly in the water. 'The land is a terrible place for anyone, much less a fingerling.'

'I am not a fingerling!' Amera cried in distain, upset by her sister's words. Larina was only a migration older than Amera but the older mer had held that over her sister since her mother had left her with their father. Amera found nothing more infuriating than Larina, her sister's blue scales, long blonde hair and attractive smile meant that Larina found it easy to charm all Merpeople. Amera wasn't fooled by her sister's acting, she thought Larina's most spectacular talent was her ability to think herself above all people, even the king himself.

'Alright then,' Larina pulled her sister out of the flow of the current, pinning her with a nasty smirk, 'go to the land dwellers. Feel the green blades cut the bottom of your feet, and when you think it cannot get any worse, they will curl around your newly formed feet fingers and slice them off.'

'Larina!' Thalassa pulled herself out from the current's pull and cuffed her younger sister behind the ear, ignoring the icy glare Larina she got in return. 'That is enough.' Amera hid behind their older sister, Larina sneered at both of them and for a moment with the horrendous look in her eyes she appeared ugly. 'The way you are acting, I would think you to be the fingerling, not Amera.'

'Is that really what happens on land?' India peered at her older sisters, swimming against the current so she didn't drift away. She was the youngest of the sisters, only six, and the terrors of land had not yet reached her ears. Nyneve plucked her from the current with ease and tucked her under her arm until the young mer's fear started to disappear into curiosity. 'Is it?'

'That's why they wear those protections around their feet, to keep them safe from the little green blades.' Nyneve's voice was calm and smooth, and even though the words she said were still frightening to little ears, they didn't seem to have as much effect on India as Larina's vicious attempt to scare Amera had.

'I think Amera made the right choice.' Thalassa declared to the group of sisters, her shoulders straight as she turned her gaze from each girl, putting an end to the conversation. 'She is not prepared for any such journey, and Poseidon's curse has no place among the Merpeople. It is best not to speak of the matter again.'

The sister's fell quiet, their conversation suddenly cut short. The silence followed them until India, the first one brave enough to speak after their dispute, started asking questions about land dwellers. Her sisters were all too happy to entertain her for a while, teaching her the terrors of folklore, and curbing her curious side so she never sought out land.

Thalassa was the first to stop concentrating on their conversation, her eyes searching the distant waters as she noticed something heading in their direction. 'Oh no.' she gasped, moving to gather up her sisters when the swimmer came into focus. She flicked each of her four siblings with the tip of her tail, urging them to get up from the sand. 'Corali is coming. Quick, get up.'

Larina snorted, quite unladylike, and turned her eyes to the swimming figure. Corali was the only one of their siblings who had seen twenty-five migrations and still lived at the palace. 'What does she want?'

Their youngest brother, Cove, followed after Corali, laughing merrily, bubbles escaping from his mouth as he swam circles around his sister. 'What are you bubbling about, mister?' Thalassa caught the young fry in her arms as he glided past her, her words only causing him to giggle some more.

Thalassa tickled the delicate skin along his ribs, causing him to squirm in her arms. 'Stop!' he giggled, thrashing about happily. His gills worked hard to supply oxygen to him and he eventually fell limp in Thalassa's arms.

'What is it?' Nyneve asked curiously, turning her gaze from the brother-sister duo to their woman who had helped raise them all, Corali.

Cove wriggled free from Thalassa's arms and began swimming circles around the girls, 'Father's with a woman!' he giggled, darting out of the way as Thalassa made a grab for him. He swam around a bed of coral, sending a school of brightly coloured fish darting out of the way. 'Do you think I'm going to get a new brother or sister, Thal?'

'I do not know.' Thalassa told him sharply, grabbing his tail by the fin so he couldn't get far, she grunted as he flopped in the water, falling upside down, giving all his weight to her. 'What have I said about calling me that?'

Cove's smile faded into a grimace, and he grumbled, 'not to,' as he wilted onto the oceans floor.

'Do not be so dramatic.' Corali snatched the boy from the sand and heldhim tightly at her side. 'Girls, father would like to see you all in the throneroom before you go off to visit your mothers. He would like to introduce youall to this woman.' Corali turned her steely gaze to Amera, sending a chilldown her younger sister's spine, 'Her name is Aphrodite.'