“Well, about twenty years ago, Iaira ran away from home. You see, siren princesses always have a birthday that falls on a blue moon at some point. The tradition is that once that birthday comes, the princess will go wherever she pleases for one week, return home, and be crowned the next year. But Iaira wasn’t planning on leaving for just one week. She ran away from her kingdom and stayed here in the Lagoon. Apparently, she saved a man from drowning during a blue moon eighteen years ago. But suddenly, she stopped coming to the Lagoon, hiding from everybody, and then, sixteen years ago, she left the area and was crowned as soon as she returned home. She hasn’t left her kingdom for anything except important meetings with the other World Ocean powers ever since.” I look down at my tail.

“Okay...well, can you tell me about the world powers and all of the races you mentioned earlier?” I mumble, changing the subject. Gloria clears her throat.

“Alright then. Let me start with the temperate mer. They live in Kaniga, Okairi, and Andina. They are the most common mer race. They don’t tend to know any languages besides Mermali, and their tails match different species of fish in the area they are born in. Their skin tone also depends on what area they are born in. Kaniga is known to humans as the Indian Ocean and is ruled by a queen. Her official title is Rani Rishima of Kaniga. Okairi is known to humans as the Pacific Ocean, and its leader is a merman whose official title is Tennō Uminoyama. Andina is known to humans as the Atlantic Ocean and is ruled by King Edward. And yes, a lot of us have non-ocean-themed first names.

“There are freshwater mer. They are very territorial, and like temperate mer, their tails mimic tails that live in whatever river they are born in. The same goes for their skin tones. A mermaid born in the Mississippi River may have dark skin, while a mermaid born in the Danube River in the human country of Hungary may have very fair skin. They love collecting abandoned human trinkets and since they live so close to humans, many of them know the human languages of their area, as well as Mermali. Many of them keep lots of pets. They are ruled by Királynő Vanda, and she lives in the Danube River. Then there are coral mer. They live in coral reefs all over the world, and their tails are very colorful, matching the many different species of fish that live in their reef. Since they are so close to humans, they tend to know many human languages. They also pick up animal languages due to living with a myriad of sea creatures. They are ruled by the Great Chieftain Minjarra, who lives in the Great Barrier Reef colony, the biggest one in the world.

“The last three races of mer are the only ones who innately know a human language. First, there’s the polar mer, who live in the kingdom of Ísríki, which humans know as the Arctic Ocean. Their tails aren’t fish tails. Instead, their tails mimic those of different species of whales that live near the Arctic. Since they aren’t exposed to the sun very often, they are very pale. They are very tolerant of frigid temperatures. In fact, they hate the heat. Almost all of them never leave their kingdom. They live similarly to the human Vikings. They even have their own language called Arctic Mermali, a language similar to Norwegian. Speaking of which, they innately know Norwegian as well. They are ruled by a king, whose official title is Konge Ragnar Erikssonn.

“Then there are the Atlantean mer. They live in the kingdom of Atlantída, which is known to humans as the Mediterranean Sea. They have extremely unique tails. The common people have solid colored tails that shimmer and sparkle. The nobles have sparkly gold and silver tails. The silver tails are higher in rank than the gold tails. There are even rare occasions that a gold or silver tailed mer is born from common parents. I’m one of these rare occasions, because before I was born, there hadn’t been a gold or silver tail born in a common family for more than 200 years. If this happens, the descendents of these mer are instantly nobility, while their ancestors are not. Those born with gold and silver tails are considered destined to serve in the imperial court. The imperial family, however, are not born with silver or gold tails. Instead, they are born with copper tails. Atlantean mer innately know Italian, but the nobles are expected to study Greek on top of that. Atlantída is basically the capital of the Mermalian Empire, with the empress’s palace and the queen’s palace both in the capital city. The queen’s family was wiped out about 300 years ago, and until a new queen is chosen, the empress serves as the queen of Atlantída as well as being the empress of the world oceans. The regina and empress is Imperatrice Luciana di Mermalia.

“Finally, there are the sirens. They are the only race with one tail color, which is black. The queens are born with unique tails that we call ‘abalone tails,’ but they’re really just black tails with an iridescence that’s just like abalone. They are a matriarchal society, because there is no such thing as a male siren. They don’t marry, which is why they don’t have last names, usually having children with a merman merely to have a daughter. If they have a son, they will be whatever mer race the father is. If they have a daughter, she will be a siren. They are the only race with a unique ability, which is their Siren’s voice. They are also the most ancient race of mer. They all look very similar because they all look like what Ancient Greeks thought was the ideal woman. They all have the same tail, body type, and fair skin. The only difference is their hair and their eyes. They also innately know Greek. They live in the kingdom of Sirena. It used to be in the Mediterranean Sea, but when the Atlantean mer took over that area, they moved to what’s known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle. Their queen’s official title is Vasílissa Iaira of Sirena.”

I take a deep breath. “Wow. That’s a lot of races. I didn’t know that merfolk could be so different. And the universal language you speak is called Mermali, right?” Gloria nods. “And since I’m a halfling, I can do everything a human and mermaid can do, as well as some cool stuff of my own?” 

“Yup.” Gloria replies, seemingly more excited. I stare at her intensely for a few seconds. 

“I don’t get it. Why can’t I read your mind? Is it not an easy thing to do?” I complain. 

“Oh, right. I’m doing a very difficult technique called mind blocking. Both mer and humans can do it because it’s not magic. Halflings are very good at it. At least Demitrios was. Only a select few can do it, since it takes a lot of training. There is also a technique called mind breaking. It’s basically breaking through somebody else’s mind block. It’s even more difficult, but Demetrios was notorious for being able to do it easily. Only royals tend to have enough power to put up a thick mind block and break other mind blocks. Queen Iaira is very well-known for being a master mind blocker and breaker. The empress though, is very weak when it comes to that. The imperial family is known for being the best at mind blocking and breaking. Only Demetrios surpasses them, which means other halflings probably can as well. But the current empress is young, you see, and she can mind block, but hers is easy to break because it is so weak. Even novices can break through it. She doesn’t know how to mind break, either. But you can probably do both easily. I can only put up a decent mind block, but I can’t mind break at all. You try mind breaking.” 

I take another shot at reading Gloria’s mind, trying for real this time. Lo and behold, I can read Gloria’s mind and emotions like an open book. “Are you still mind blocking?” I ask, continuing to see into Gloria’s mind. 

“Yes. By the way, we can’t tell if our minds are being read, so you should learn how to mind block, too. Mind and emotion reading is child’s play, but reading a blocked mind is insanely difficult.” I focus on my mind being closed off, silent. I imagine a chest that can’t be opened by force. 

“And there we go. I could see into your head right up until two seconds ago. And I still can’t see anything.” 

I cheer. “That’s awesome!” 

Gloria and I laugh together for a little while when a thought comes into my head. 

“Gloria?” I ask, quietly. 

“Yes?” She answers with the same softness. 

“You said that the Lagoon is a safe haven for the wrongly convicted, outcasts, and runaways. Why are you here?” 

She sighs.

“I’m the only Atlantean mer in the entire Lagoon. On top of that, I’m a silvertail. I came here because I ran away from home. You see, I was born in the capital of Atlantída, which is Theris. My family is common, and I was born from two blue tails but I came out with a silver tail. Once my family saw my tail, they immediately brought me to the Istoría, which is what you would probably call the imperial librarian of sorts. Her job is to preserve mer history as well as name nobles. Tradition states that if a gold or silvertail is born from a common family, he or she must be brought to the Istoría straight away to be named. The Istoría took one look at me and declared since I was the first one of my kind in two centuries, that I surely would lead a glorious legacy. And so, she named me Gloria. 

“After that, I had to move to the noble district of Theris which surrounds the imperial palace in the center of the city to eventually attend the Academy of Nobility for Girls. It’s basically a finishing school, but it teaches noble mermaids starting at age eight, so it starts much younger than a normal finishing school. Growing up there was horrible. I wasn’t allowed to leave the noble district of the capital and I was constantly bullied by the other girls there. Being the only common-born, I was cast out very early in life by the other nobility. I thought that since I was a silvertail, which are uncommon and much more high ranked than golden tails, the others would respect me. But I think that being a silvertail on top of being a common-born only made things worse. The other girls called me many names, all of them related to me being born from common parents. They also bullied me for my name, saying if I couldn’t even swim like a noblewoman, how was I supposed to make a good mark for myself? In order to cope, I focused on my studies, becoming quite distinguished in Greek. I also studied English in secret, and I think I’m fairly proficient at the language. 

“Once I got older, I would sneak off, swimming closer to the human country of Italy to take in the beautiful sights. I especially liked Sicily. After a few years of doing this, a human boy saw me. I was scared at first, but eventually, we started talking to each other in secret. His name was Antonio. Eventually, after talking to each other for a while, we fell in love. We would watch the sunset together, give each other gifts, and kiss under the moonlight. But we both knew this relationship couldn’t happen. If I was found out by humans, they would put me in a laboratory and do experiments on me. If any mer found out, I would be exiled. So, I ran away. Away from the secrets, the pressure, the teasing. After several weeks, I ended up here, where I was accepted with open arms. I got a job as an entertainer at the Lucky Oyster and I’ve stayed here ever since.”

“How long has it been since you’ve arrived?” I inquire. 

“It’s been about a year. We all get along so well, we don’t need laws. We’re extremely tight knit, like a family. We don’t have money, but we make do. We don’t owe anything to anybody. If we need food, we get it. If a child is sick, we care for it. We all feel like brothers and sisters, because we’re all here for the same reason. To start over.” 

I sigh. “I’m sorry if you feel like I’m grilling you, but I have just one more question.” 

“Sure, shoot it.” Gloria enthusiastically replies. 

“Why is everyone in Delaris affected by the moon?”

Gloria looks at the moon. “About four and a half thousand years ago, a Mage lived on this island. He wanted to find a way to give mer the power to use magic. So, he and some other Sorcerers built a stone circle underwater to take a little power from the humans and give it to mer. It worked, but not as they’d planned. Humans started disappearing one by one on the full and new moons. On the lunar eclipse, they would die a brutal death. On the black moon, their bloodline was cursed with a young death. On the blue moon, people drowned themselves. The Mage and the Sorcerers realized that the circle was taking human power, but not as they had intended. Magic is in the soul, you see, and on those lunar events, people’s souls, and therefore, their magic, would be taken by the circle and distributed across the world ocean, but mer wouldn’t be able to use it. To this day, there is a radius around this entire island that is affected by the circle. That’s why people disappear or die.”

“Woah. And is there a way to release the curse?” I ask. 

Gloria shakes her head. “None that we know of.” She looks away from the moon, facing me. 

“You must return, before anyone realizes you’re gone.” I nod, jumping into the water. 

“It was nice to meet you, Gloria.” I wave to her, she waves back, and I swim away.

I swim over to where I left Abigail. She’s still waiting on the beach. 

“So, find anything out?” She asks. I tell her everything Gloria told me. About the mer species, my mother, and the moon curse. 

“Wow. My brain hurts. But, hey, at least we know how to get your legs back.” 

She takes a towel and dries my tail. And lo and behold, once the tail’s dry, my legs come back. We run back home, and I make sure to leave no evidence of my little night excursion.

The song which is my alarm interrupts my slumber. I rub my eyes, turn off the slow tune and stare at the ceiling. Was that all a dream? Did I ever go to the lagoon? Did I ever meet Gloria? Did I ever learn about my mother? I pull off my blankets and look down at my body. My eyes widen. I’m still wearing that black silk dress. I must’ve forgotten to take it off when I got home. 

“So that wasn’t a dream.” 

I say to myself. I get ready, making sure to put the dress back in the box with the others, and walk downstairs. 

“Good morning Dad.” I greet him as I’m walking into the kitchen. 

“Did you enjoy your little adventure last night?” He asks nonchalantly. I stiffen. Play dumb, Lyra. 

“What are you talking about?” I playfully reply. 

“Oh you know, how you stole the house key and you left in the middle of the night, and when you came back to put the key in my nightstand, you smelled like the ocean.” Dad answers, turning around, staring me dead in the eye. I freeze. How do I respond to this? He’s cornered me at checkmate. Game over. I take a deep breath. Play it cool.

“How did you know I snuck out?” 

“I was awake when you took the key from my nightstand. You could’ve just asked to take a night walk. You wouldn’t have gotten in trouble either way.”