Ava and Blake sit on Blake's bed. Blake strokes her hair while she cries on his chest. "Shhh.. it's okay.." "No Blake.. it's not," Ava chokes through tears, "Why won't they just say it? We never hide secrets from each other. And why can't they trust me?" "They must have a reason hermanita." "What reason could be good enough to hide it from us?" "Maybe it's a big secret between more than them." Ava perks up when she hears this and wipes her tears. She puts on her best detective face. "So you're saying they aren't the only ones keeping the secret?" "Yeah." "Wait.. what if merpeople were all keeping this secret. Uncle was told to be a Two in our kind, so maybe he was the one to hide it, and they all kept the secret." "Maybe.."
"Lets dissect this. It has to do with a lightning bolt and a triton. I'm pretty sure the triton belonged to our grandfather, so that's out of the way. But why would my dad's uncle have it?" "Maybe they had a grudge between each other? Or since you said his uncle was a Two, he had the authority to keep it safe since grandfather passed." "That's very likely. So what's with the lightning bolt?" "For one, I know it belongs to Father Titan, the god of all Titans. He died a few decades back, but wouldn't his son take on the responsibility of it?" "I'm not sure.." "We need answers. And I have an idea of how to get them." Blake goes through his luggage, which he never had time to unpack. He spots it, and takes it out. It's a box of four pills. "What are those?" "It's a special pill. We somehow give it to our parents, and they will tell us nothing but the truth." "Omg that's brilliant!! Thank you bro!!" Blake backs up, nervous. "How are we gonna actually give it to them? They won't take pills from us. It's kinda sketchy." "We can ground them into their drinks." "That would work. And it's almost lunch time." They go downstairs and they see their parents in the kitchen. Eric is leaning on the counter, on his phone, and Ariel just finished making a few sandwiches. Ariel sets the table and Eric sits down, so they hide in the kitchen. They pour the grounded pills in the tall cups, which belongs to their parents. They stir it in, and they bring the drinks on the table.
They sit in silence until they notice their mother's weird behavior. She is pouring Nutella and a Chinese sauce called Hoisin sauce in her sandwich. She then dips the whole sandwich into pickle juice. They ignore it, and their parents both drink the juice. "Do you guys feel any different," Ava asks. "Yes I do.. My stomach is making this weird churning sound and my head is having another migraine," Ariel states. "Guys, why did dads uncle have the ancient lightning bolt?" This time Eric answers:
"In ancient times, the merpeople were murderers, cannibals, and they hated all other species. They almost killed off the whole land, sky, and core population. We were horrible-" My mom finishes, "so our people stole the lighting bolt of Father Titan, causing his death. Since Erics uncle led the invasion, he was killed. So was his entire family. His daughter was the only survivor since she was only 7. She followed her fathers last words and hid the bolt in this house. She is now 47 and hiding out in the Savannah." Blake and Ava are speechless. They couldn't believe that THEY were the ones in the wrong. Those killers wanted them dead because of their past, not just to kill them. "Any other secrets," Ava says, hesitating, "Ariel is pregnant, and is planning on killing off the baby. And I agree," Eric says with a straight face.
"Oh my god..." Ava falls back. She hurts her back, but she can't think about that right now. Her mom wants to kill off a LIFE?? "WHY?? WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING THAT??" "I'm getting old. I'm 35 honey." "I thought merpeople live longer?" "Once I hit 35, my age starts rapidly going. Once I actually give birth, I could be 45." I sit back down, and I hide my tears. I can't let a child die. "I'll take care of it," Ava suggests with a serious face. At that time, the pill wore off. "Take care of what honey," Eric asks. "Moms baby. I'll take care of it." "What? how did you-" "It was a pill, get over it. Now like I said, I'll take care of it." "No sweetie, I can't do that to you. You're only 16." "So? I can't let you kill off the baby." "Sweetie please. Let me do this." "NO! I WON'T! I won't let you kill off an innocent child because of YOUR OWN MISTAKES!" Ava runs up the stairs, probably going to her room. Blake holds his head, having a headache from how many times his sister has cried today. He feels her pain. "Way to go guys. Parents of the year." "Taking care of a child is a big responsibility," Ariel yells after Blake as he goes upstairs.
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Explaining the whole Two thing:
There are castes in every species, except they are all perceived a different way. For humans, the highest caste is called the President/ Queen, but for Titans, demons (people who live in the core), and merpeople, the highest caste is called a One. The kings, queens, and royal family are all Ones. Twos are the secondary family of the royal family. Threes are the people who work for the royal family, and people who are born in a noble background. Fours are peasants, or normal people. They have an okay salary. Fives are artists, singers, and people who raise money by doing fine arts. Sixes are the poorest. They are the servants, and receive little pay. They are treated horribly. If a One married a Two, the Two becomes a One. It's not possible to marry down, only if you request to marry down. If a Two wants to do karate, she/he has to marry a Five, and request to be married down.