Jade shot up right. Her breathing was heavy and there was sweat on her forehead. A nightmare. About what she couldn't remember but with everything that had happened to her in just over 24 hours she wasn't sure she would really want to know. She ripped the fleece blanket off her overheating self. She stretched, there was knot in her back were the uneven woodland floor had dug into her and her neck was sore from the hard bundle of blankets she had been using as a pillow. She looked over at Zachariah, he had shoved his staff into the ground. It glowed in the night, re enforcing the protection spell he had conjured to protect them while they slept. She looked around further and was thankful to see Ethan had returned. He had been gone for hours but he must have come back after they had fallen asleep. Something told her he didn't want to come back but he had because he was duty bound. If she had learnt anything about Ethan it's that he was ferociously loyal to his Kingdom and took his orders dead seriously. Jade heard the sound of rippling water. She turned her head to look but it was hard to see anything in the dying light of the fire. Was it the mermaids? She wanted to get closer, she wanted to see what a mermaid looked like but she wasn't sure if she dared. Zachariah had warned her about how dangerous they were and yet she found herself getting up and slowly walking towards the water edge regardless. When she was just a few feet away she could make out the silhouettes of three heads poking out of the water. She stopped. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest, she wanted to get close but at the same time she didn't. They would kill her and she couldn't die. Her death would bring about the end of the universe.

"We're not going to drown you." Said a silky female voice from the water. It almost sounded like she was singing the words in Jade's direction.

"Y-you can talk." She stuttered back.

"Well of course we can talk." Replied another silky voice, much higher in pitch than the last.

"Come closer." The third beckoned. It took everything Jade had to stay put, there was something about their voices that drew her too them.

"How do I know you won't drown me?" She questioned them.

"Because if we did we would have already done it." The first answered.

"You did give us the perfect opportunity earlier." The third said with a small laugh.

"Then why didn't you? Zachariah said you drowned humans."

"The wizard is very untrustworthy of us but we do not drown all we come across." The second mermaid said.

"Only the ones we don't like." Added the first.

"So...you like me then? Why?"

"Because we heard you." The second said.

"Heard me? What do you mean?"

"Earlier this evening you made contact with the water, we could hear your thoughts we you did. We heard your longing to be somewhere your not so alone." The third told her.

"You do not belong here just as we do not belong." The first said softly. Jade was taken back a little by their words. She didn't believe it, these creatures Zachariah had described to be so vicious weren't as bad as they seemed at all. Jade took one step forward and the three mermaids swam closer to the water's edge. Jade glanced back, convinced that her male companions were still fast asleep she knelt down at the water. She could see the mermaids a little better now. One had dark blonde hair, the other was so dark it looked black in the moonlight and the other had hair so red it looked like the same shade as blood.

"My name is Daryah." The dark haired one of the three said. "And these are my sisters Meribella." She pointed to the blonde mermaid. "And Sereia." The beautiful red headed mermaid gave her a small nod.

"My name is Jade." She told them all.

"We already know." Meribella, the blonde mermaid answered her. She had been the one with the high pitched voice, her sister, Daryah had been the third mermaid to speak.

"We want to show you our world." Sereia said, she had the most hypnotising voice of them all.

"I-I can't. I can't breathe underwater."

"Well of course not." Daryah laughed. "That is what this is for." She pulled up her hand about water to reveal a plant that looked like seaweed.

"And...what is that exactly?"

"It's a special plant that grows in the very depth of the ocean. When consumed by a human is allows you to breath under water for a limited amount of time." Sereia explained.

"Are you sure that this will work? It's not some sort of plan to drown me."

"The opinions of that wizard have tarnished you're views on us." Meribella spat glaring in Zachariah's direction.

"Believe us we do not wish to drown you. You are one of us, one that does not belong. You know nothing of this world and you are one of the few that do not think us revolting creatures who are to be killed on sight." Seriea told her.

"Killed? They kill you?"

"They do indeed. It's a sport for humans but of course the staffed man left that part out." Daryah said with disgust. "We will make sure you return safely, trust us and we can show you what no human has seen before." She held the plant out towards her. Jade looked at the three and then back at the sleep figures several feet away. She was hesitant. She was risking a lot but they didn't seem to be lying. Then again she had always been a bad judge of character. If was just her life she was risking she would have jumped at the chance, who else can say they have seen the way in which a mermaid lives? Except it wasn't just hers. It was Ethan's, Zachariah's, her parents back home, Katie and everyone in existence. Would it be selfish to risk all of that for a glimpse at a mermaids life?

"I-I'm afraid I can't. If something were to go wrong, it's not just my life that will be at risk." The three sisters looked to each other. They didn't seem to understand what she was getting at.

"You seem to be caring a lot on your shoulders." Sereia's voice smothered her worried mind like a Mother's touch soothed her distressed child.

"Trust me I do. I would love to see what is below but I can't. There is to much at stake if I did."

"You care a lot about others. Perhaps too much." Meribella commented.

"Maybe." Jade answered her.

"Is there anyway we can help relieve this great burden of yours?" Daryah asked. Jade looked at her and then to her sisters. They were all patiently waiting for her answer, they really wanted to help her.

"I don't think so, not unless you know how to kill a dragon without dying." She had said it as a joke but the words made her mouth dry with worry. The three looked at each other, their eyes were wide with shock.

"You mean to tell us you plan to kill Salazar?" Meribelle asked her gilded forward a little more.

"Yeah why?"

"Salazar is the last dragon to live and the strongest by far. In a fit of rage to burned the whole Kingdom of Hearts to the ground in a matter of hours." Darya told her.

"The Kingdom of Hearts? I thought that there were only four Kingdoms."

"There is now yes. The Kingdom of Hearts sat in the middle of the land, where the great dragon sleeps now. They were the most powerful of all the Kingdoms. They wished to rule the land and tried to force the other Kingdoms into submission."

"However the others would not conform. To do that would mean giving up everything, no royal family or it's Kingdom would ever just lie down their everything. Not even the Kingdom of Meadows and they do everything in their power to avoid conflict." Meribella explained.

"The Kingdoms took up arms against them. The Kingdoms of Grass and Meadows fell and the famous alliance between the Kingdoms of Mountains and Sky was formed. Together the two defeated the Kingdom of Hearts." Darya said.

"But what has any of that got to do with Salazar?" Jade inquired.

"Well the Kingdom of Hearts weren't ready to surrender yet. They looked to the sky for their answer. The dragons were the most powerful magical creature in the land, it they could control and command them the other Kingdoms would roll over without a doubt."

"That was the theory at least." Seriea said. "Dragons are proud creatures. They would bow to no man no matter who he may be. They fought back and the Dragon war began. The Kingdom of Hearts called to others for aid but none answered. The Kingdom of Hearts stood alone."

"They almost won too. They were strong, much stronger than anyone realised. The effectively made weapons designed purely for killing dragons, their defences were like no other. They killed the all of them...all but one. The dragon king Salazar." Meribella told her.

"After witnessing the death of his mate and offspring he flew into a furious rage and he destroyed the Kingdom in one night. He then made the remains of the Kingdom his home and all the Kingdoms riches have been unreachable to everyone ever since." Daryah concluded.

"He's really that strong?" Jade whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "What hope do the three of us have for killing something like that?" The sisters looked at each other. Daryah nodded to the others and they turned back to Jade.

"There might be something we can do for you." She told the worried young girl.

"Really? What?" Jade's eyes lit up.

"It's not much but there is a spell that we can give to you. You'll only be able to use it once however. Once you have used it we can be of no more use to you."

"What is it?"

"Once released it will summon a large body of water. When going up against a dragon it might be useful, after all a wet dragon cannot breath fire. All you will need to do it hold your arm out and say 'release.'" Seriea informed her.

"But we will warn you. This spell, once used will take a drastic toll on your body. It will drain you of all energy leaving you weak and vulnerable. You must choose your moment carefully or even with it you will end up dead." Jade's eyes feel to the ground as she thought about what the had said. That would be helpful and now that she thought about it, it would be the only thing she would be able to bring to the fight. Ethan was trained in combat and a great swordsman. Zachariah was a wizard who could probably do a large manner of things with that staff of his in his hands. What had she been hoping to do? Just sit there and watch? She had no fighting skills, no knowledge on how to kill a dragon, she barely understood what was going on around her most of the time. At least with this spell she might be of use to them. She might be able to be more that the 'damsel in distress.'

"Can I ask why you want to help me so much?"

"Mermaids have never been the dragons biggest fans. They control fire while we control water. The own the sky while we reside in the deeps of the earth. In many ways they are our opposites but we would not wish them all dead. They are after all creatures of magic like us." Daryah explained.

"Then why help me kill off the last dragon?"

"Because you do not belong here and you need to kill him to get back to where you belong. We are willing to help you get there, nothing should have to feel like they don't belong. It's the loneliest feeling in the world and we do not wish that upon a kind soul like yourself." Seriera said softly.

"Oh...well...thank you. What do I have to do?"

"You only need to extend your arm." Jade did as the dark haired mermaid instructed and watched as the three sisters each grabbed a part of her forearm with there webbed hands. Their skin was slimy to the touch and on top of ever finger they had long, pointed fingernails made for vicious acts. Jade watched closely as the three mermaids all closed their eyes and tilted their heads back ever so slightly. Then they began to sing. It wasn't in a language that Jade understood, not one she had even heard of before but what she did know was that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard in her life. Jade could feel her eyes becoming heavy, all the worries and stress she had been feeling over the last 24 hour evaporate from her body. It left her feeling the most relaxed she'd ever felt in her life and before she knew it, sleep took her...