There is a curious flash of silvery light that Kyma knows only she can see, and the first memory unfolds itself before her. Kyma is standing in a forest full of mist, and she sees two people arguing with the mist swirling around their feet. Kyma moves to take a step through the mist, approaching the pair. She looks down briefly, only to see nothing. Not her hands, not her feet, nothing. She is hit by a brief pang of shock at not seeing herself, before understanding comes to her mind. She is in a memory, she's not really there, so she can't be seen.

Only the things that belong to the memory are visible. She takes another step towards the arguing pair, trying to get closer. The world blurs around her, and when it stops, she is standing beside the arguing pair. The man has auburn hair and slightly pointed ears, and he is wearing a silvery tunic embroidered with dark green vines. The woman has auburn hair as well, but it is so dark it almost appears to be a dark brown, like that of the western merrows.

Her hair shifts slightly, and Kyma can see that her ears are rounded like Kyma's and like human ears. Kyma stays quiet and just listens to the argument, trying to piece together where she is in history. Both people are speaking in Scottish Gaelic, causing Kyma to be glad for her lessons in the language.

"Father, I don't belong with the rest of the Aos Sí, you know that!"

"Why should I let you leave us, Mór, even knowing that? Why should I let my own daughter leave to explore the seas?"

"I have been drawn there all my life, father. Isn't it time to find where I fit in?"

Mór is fiddling with something clasped in her hands, and when she squints at it, she is able to discern what it is. A red cap, like those of the eastern merrows. A moment after Kyma sees the cap, Mór's father does as well.

"What is that, Mór."

Mór's hand clenches tighter around the cap for a moment before she releases her hold and opens her palms, revealing the cap to him. "It's a cap."

Her father shakes his head. "Don't lie to me, Mór. I can feel the magic in it, even if I can't tell what it does. In fact, how does it even have magic, you've never been able to imbue things with magic."

Mór sighs. "Fine, it's a magical cap that will allow me to explore the seas. I don't entirely know what it does yet, the magic just flowed into it. Please let me go father, I feel that it is the right thing to do. It will help me learn more about who I am."

Her father raises an eyebrow. "You aren't going to let this go, are you Mór?"

Mór gives him a grin. "No I'm not. I know what I am, but not the details."

"Oh? What are you then, Mór?"

"A maighdeann mhara, a maiden of the sea."

Her father smiles weakly. "Very well then Mór. I give you my blessing to go and explore who you are in the sea. Please don't forget your origins, your family."

Mór nods, beaming. "Of course, father."

With that, she places the cap on her head and darts off through the forest towards what must be the sea. The world blues around Kyma once more and when it clears, she is standing in a cave similar to the throne room of the Eastern Kingdom. There are three people standing in the center of this room. Kyma moves closer until she is standing beside them, just like she was with Mór and her father. Two of them are standing side by side, a woman with dark red hair, a lighter shade than Mór's, and a man with dark hair and pointed ears.

They are standing across from a young woman only a few years older than Kyma. Her hair is chestnut brown with flickers of red. When Kyma looks at the girl's face, she almost gasps. This girl is the spitting image of Mór, just with darker hair and blue eyes instead of green. However, when she looks closer, Kyma can almost see something of her own mother in this girl's crystal blue eyes. Both women are wearing a dress similar to the ones the merrows of the Western Kingdom wear, but these are a dark green, like kelp. There is a moment of silence form the small group until the older woman speaks.

"Ceana, what did you wish to speak to myself and your father about?"

Ceana smiles nervously. "I want to go west, and start a new kingdom somewhere else, mother."

Her mother frowns, and Ceana's father sets a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Why do you wish to leave, Ceana? You're my heir, you can't abandon your kingdom and your people."

Ceana shakes her head, her braided hair swinging from one shoulder to the next. "I can't explain it, mother. It feels important to go. The selkies started a new community a decade ago, why not us?"

She is about to continue when her mother cuts her off. "Because we are not the selkies, Ceana! We are merrows. I will not speak of this further."

She turns to go and even takes a few steps before Ceana calls after her. "Queen Sorcha! Mother, please listen."

Sorcha turns, dumbfounded. "Very well, Ceana. I will listen. Why is this so important to you?"

Ceana sighs. "Like I said before, I don't know the exact reason. But when I think of going west, every single scale on my tail tingles with excitement and the westward current pushes me to swim there."

Ceana's father raises a brow. "You're sure it's not just the normal current?"

"Father, I am absolutely certain. The current is never this strong, never. But it is so when I think of the west."

Sorcha sighs. "You're still my heir, Ceana."

Ceana smiles. "Mother, you are healthy and still young. There will be no reason for you to die and for me to take the throne. This means that you can wait for Mairsaili to come of age."

Sorcha hangs her head. "Very well, Ceana. I have no argument to keep you from going."

Ceana is about to smile in excitement when her father speaks. "I will not let you leave with only yourself and those you take with you. Wait."

"Why, father?"

"I will make something to protect you."

Kyma is getting the impression that Ceana's father is the maker of the dagger. Almost the moment she finishes that thought, the world blurs again. When it clears once more, Kyma is still standing in the cavern but Sorcha is gone. Ceana is standing in front of her father with her green dress now refashioned into a top and pants. Her hair is still in its long braid, slung over her right shoulder. She is holding a bag over her left shoulder, and Kyma can tell by the material that it is waterproof like her own.

Behind her is a group of close to two hundred people, all dressed in various shades of green. Ceana's father is holding something in his hands, wrapped in green cloth. He steps forward to hug her, and Ceana gratefully lets herself be folded into his arms. They stand like that for several minutes, until he finally pulls away, tears sliding down his cheeks. Ceana's cheeks are dry, but Kyma can see the unshed tears pooling in the corner of her eyes.

"You said you have something for me, father?"

He nods and uses the back of one hand to wipe away his tears. "This is a special dagger, it will teach you how to use it. There are some other things with it, but I will leave you to discover those on your own."

Ceana nods. "How will it teach me to use it?"

He smiles sadly and touches the base of the dagger with his index finger. A ball of light emerges from the dagger and makes its way over to Ceana. There is a tense moment where it just hovers before her, until it finally moves closer to her face and enters her head. Ceana gasps and her eyes flutter closed. Her feet collapse from beneath her and she falls towards the floor. The people behind her gasp and a few of them jerk forward to help. Ceana's father was ready, however, and he quickly catches her before she hits the floor. It's only a few moments before she wakes up again and is standing on her own two feet. She hugs her father once more before the world around Kyma blurs again.

It clears and the world around Kyma is full of bright light now. Kyma looks around her, trying to figure out what is happening in this new memory, but all she sees is water. In fact, she seems to be standing on top of it. The water in front of her ripples and Ceana leaps out of the water. Her tail is silvery, like Kyma's, but it doesn't have the same pearlescent sheen to it. As she continues through her leap, her tail melts into legs.

She twists over herself in a roll as she falls back down towards the water so that her feet are beneath her, pointed towards the water. When her feet are about to enter the water once more, she stops like she had just landed on a solid surface, leaving her to stand atop the water with Kyma. In the split second Ceana had been in her roll, she had refashioned her tunic into a top and pants, so she is clothed once she is standing on the water. Her face shows Kyma that Ceana has aged, but she is still young. She smiles warmly at Kyma.

"Hello, Kyma."

Kyma's eyes widen. She had thought no one could see her in a memory. "How can you see me, or talk to me? Aren't I in a memory?"

Ceana shakes her head. "No, not anymore. I must speak with you."

Kyma wants to know what Ceana wishes to speak with her about, but she is too distracted by the fact that she is no longer in the memories. "How can we speak like this, is this magic?"

Ceana laughs. "Kyma, we are magic. We are of the Aos Sí. But yes, I suppose it is. The magic of the dagger that connects us, and my own magic, beyond that of the merrows."

"You have other magic?"

"Yes, my father was not a merrow, he was one of the Unseelie. Similar to you, but not quite."

"How'd you know my father wasn't a merrow?"

Ceana shrugs lightly. "I just did. Now Kyma, I do have something important to say."

Kyma nods. "Sorry."

Ceana smiles. "It's alright. I understand your curiosity. Here is what I need to say. Kyma, you must go north. There is something you have to do there. Once you have completed it, take the starlit snow and return to the Old Land. There is a wrong you must right." Kyma opens her mouth to question the vague message, but Ceana holds up a finger. "No questions, Seachild. I have given you what you need to know." She turns and crouches, about to dive back into the sea but stops and looks over her shoulder. "And Kyma, you bring honor to the ruling line. Thank you, and welcome to the family."

She jumps into the air and dives into the water without a sound. The same moment her feet disappear beneath the surface, Kyma feels a shooting pain in her hand, the one with the pearl. She pulls it back instinctively at the pain, forgetting that it is the same hand holding her larimar pendant to the memory wall. As her real hand pulls the pendant away from the wall, the memory world dissolved into nothingness.
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Well this is the longest chapter I've ever written, and will probably be the longest chapter I write, at least for this story. I hope you enjoyed it!

I have some awesome news for you guys! Stolen Scales has finally hit novel length!(50,000 words/200 pages)

What do you think Ceana meant by what she said? What happened to Kyma's hand? Tell me your thoughts, and tell me if you have any questions for me!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.