Every one of them was nervous, including their mother, but she was just better at hiding it. Hearing the mermen's voices outside was adding to their nervousness. Would they take forever in admiring the decorations? The mermaids wanted them to come in, so all this would quickly end.

"Stay calm, girls," their mother said, more to encourage herself than her daughters.

Rana was already beginning to regret why she had gone to extra lengths to ensure that the enclave's entrance was sweetly decorated. If she hadn't done so, the men would not spend so much time outside, giving the mermaids unnecessary suspense. Oh, here they come. The girls quickly positioned themselves properly as the head of Manis appeared in the doorway. They waited till most of the party was in before they launched into their welcome greeting.

"Our esteemed guests, we're glad to welcome you to our home," they all chorused in unison and bowed all at once.

The men were thrown off their feet. They hardly expected this. Even Minusa was surprised for once, but he quickly recovered himself and fell into his usual sullen mood. The twelve girl-mermaids were lined up in a pentagonal row behind their mother, arranged in such a manner that the tallests were in the middle while the shorter girls were to their right and left.

Each girl was decorated in different colors, but instead of a color riot, they all blended nicely. Their mother was decorated in her favourite green. Her large caudal fin was painted green and her fat tail dotted with lines of green and yellow. Her hair was laced with little different colored flowers and she wore on her head, a wreath made of multi-colored plants and algae. All her daughters were similarly dressed, each with her own different color combination. No two women had similar combinations. Aaalthansa who had been indifferent to the visit was beginning to change his mind very quickly. A smile spread over his features as he admired the mermaids while Minusa leered at them from where he stood in the background.

"Wow, we're glad to be here," Manis spoke for the group.

He was impressed with the show and readily showed it. The rest of the men especially Thansa nodded enthusiastically in concurrence. In fact, he was sporting a Cheshire grin as his eyes ran across the row of beautiful women as if he was a judge at a beauty pageant. He wasn't ugly, this strong muscular youth. Rather, he had handsome smooth features that belied his strength of body and mind, just a younger version of his father Manis. And like Manis, he was also a renowned warrior.

"Ahem," Manis coughed as he grappled with the respectful silence of the ladies. "Um.. you see, we're very glad to be here and we're impressed with everything."

Aaanmaana, the mother of the girls simply bowed respectfully. Standing erect, her hands clasped in front of her while her tail wiggled back and forth ever so lightly, she looked the model of 'authoritative humility' and this was having an almost subduing effect on the mermen.

"Uh.. you see," Manis continued. "You know why we're here, Maana. Your late husband, who was my friend, had an agreement w..."

"Excuse me, Aaalmanis," Maana cut in. "Sorry for interrupting, but I'd like to dismiss the girls."

She turned to her daughters and asked them to go play outside. Most were glad to be out of the tension-filled enclave, but natural gossipers and rumor peddlers like Lisha and Braana were not very happy with the idea. Nevertheless, they all swam out, dragging their nicely colored tails behind them amidst compliments from most of the men. Thansa settled for a wide smile as his eyes followed the one he had pre-chosen while Minusa ignored them completely, his arms folded across his chest as usual.

"I can't see any reason why Mother would send us out," Lisha grumbled as she picked at the bunch of green seaweed at the foot of the enclave's entrance.

"That's because she wouldn't want a different version of the discussions to be spread by professional gossip peddlers like you," Maalina hissed.

"I think you better mind your business, Lina. This has nothing to do with stranded sailors and their bottles with..."

"Lisha, what on earth are you doing?", Rana screamed as she sighted her restless sister picking at the seaweed. "Why are you taking apart the decorations, huh?"

"But the men have already had their fill. What's the further use for them?"

"What will they think when they come out later and find that the decorations are gone? Oh, get out of here before you ruin the reputation of this family."

"Hmm," Lisha sighed as she swam away from the entrance. "You act as if you're the only one who knows that this family has a reputation."

"Whatever. Go play with the rest and stop causing problems."

Lisha swam to join her sisters who were gathered around and admiring a rare jellyfish, grumbling as she went.

"What a child!", Rana sighed as she watched her younger sister swim angrily away.

"What do you think they're discussing, sister Rana?", Braana, who was the baby of the family, suddenly asked from behind Rana, startling her.

"Oh.. I don't know," Rana shrugged carelessly.

"I think they're discussing your marriage with the Lord Aaalthansa," she whispered and smiled, showing her incomplete baby teeth.

"Oh shut up. How do you even know about such things? Come on, go play with the rest."

Braana flashed her sister another smile and then swam away gracefully, her tail turned up in a delightful curve as she propelled herself with her hands. She was the most graceful and flexible of all the girls and every one of them envied her for it, but she also had a knack for seeking and spreading rumors, caring less whether they were true or false. Rana shook her head as the incorrigible Braana swam off. As the eldest of the girls, she had great work cut out for her. Each girl had different characteristics and they all had their bad sides. As their mother grew older, Rana was slowly sharing in the management and control of the younger girls. She missed her father so much. She had been the only one born at the time of his death in the war between two opposing factions of merpeople, other of her mother's eggs being lost or destroyed during the war. It was just after her father's death that her mother discovered that she was pregnant again and later gave birth to eleven incorrigible mermaids.

*****

The discussions were over and the men had returned to their homes, taking with them a good impression of the family, of course with the exception of Minusa who never had a good impression of anything or anyone. When the girls had re-entered the enclave, Maana had taken her eldest daughter aside and informed her that she was the centre of the earlier discussions. Rana was surprised, but she was shocked by the next bit of information her mother revealed: the men had come to ask for her hand in marriage to Thansa. Rana could hardly believe her ears. No wonder the sly dog had been smiling at her at every little opportunity! She felt stupid as she recalled what Braana had told her. It seemed her younger sisters were far more informed than she was.

"So what do you think?", Maana asked, intently studying her daughter's expressions.

"I.. I'm flattered, Mother. I mean.. I feel honored for a great man like Lord Thansa to deign to look at me in such light, but.. that's the best I can do. I don't love him, Mother, so I can't marry him."

"You need to understand, Rana," her mother shook her head slowly. "I was only asking you as a formality. Actually, you have no say in this.. neither do I. Your dear father, before his death, had promised you to Manis' son so.."

"But that's not fair, Mother," Rana wailed, close to tears. "I'm supposed to choose whom I love and marry him!"

"Life's never fair to anyone, my child. It's what your father wanted. We can't do anything about it."

"But you're the new head of the family. You should make the decisions and correct Father's wrong ones. I'm sure if Father were here to see what the man he promised me to has turned out to be, he'd have changed his mind."

"Look Rana," her mother said, drawing her closer. "You're my eldest daughter. I'd like to see you married as quickly as possible before I die. Your father's decision is not the only reason I'm resigned to this marriage, it's also because there're not many men around. Most of our young men were killed in that crazy war and the few lucky ones left like Thansa, we have to make do with them. God knows I have no much love for the man... with his obscene muscles, tricky smooth face and crazy ponytail, but you know, half a loaf is better than no bread at all.. or do you prefer a man like Minusa?"

"Oh God forbid, Mother," Rana exclaimed. "Why would you even think of such a thing?"

"Then bring home a much better man and I'll tell Thansa and all his ancestors to go to hell."