"How's the king doing?" the question was odd coming from a mermaid once punished by the king. Meria knows she doesn't mean well.
Lides is standing proudly in front of her with her pair of legs. The second out of the three witches.
She have seen her before. Lides used to be a good friend of her father that's why she never expected her betrayal to the king. If mermaids practice honesty then there are surely exceptions, one of them is Lides. A vicious witch of the dark see. Was.
"What are you doing here?" Meria asked that Lides smiled to
"As far as I remember, I was vanished from Oceana." she said. That was supposed to hold grudges, but her voice shows none.
"That's because you tried to harm mermaids." Meria justify why her father did that
"I did." Lides claimed and shrugged. "What are you doing here?"
Meria once again remembered the kingdom and her father. She sigh. "The Oceana is in grave danger. There is a poison spreading. It's killing the sea creatures."
Lides eyes narrowed at her. "What do you mean?" not liking what she heard. She might not be a good mermaid before but that does not mean that she is not concern about the sea now. The Ocean is once her home. Being a human made her realize that.
"We thought it's you and the other two witches who made it, but we're wrong. There's someone else who want to cause harm to the sea."
"Why would we do that?!" Lides asked
Meria looked at her dead in the eye witch made her realize that she tried before. "I mean we tried. But that was before. We're not mermaids anymore and I haven't seen Cora and Yula for a long time. I was once against and angry with the king but not anymore. The sea is where I came from and I want goodness for it."
Before Meria could say something, a little girl came running out of the blue towards them and shouting 'mommy'.
Meria's brows forrowed when Lides picked the girl up. Her curls brouncing in excitement.
"Baby, stop shouting. I told you, you can't be noisy in here." Lides reprimanded the child
"Sorry mommy." the girl said without a hint of regret, instead she smiled to Lides with her incomplete teeth. "But daddy and I saw a turtle. Mommy can I get a turtle, pleaseeee"
Lides look at the little girl in her arms.
"Do you remember Ted the Tortoise your granpa gave you last Christmas?" she asked which the kid nodded. "You let him out and we never found him." the girl nodded. "So no. We're not getting another one."
"But he's sad mommy..." the girl reason out
"Still no."
"How about a lizard?" the girl bargained with a pout
Lides was horrified of what she heard. "Definitely not."
Before the girl could argue, a man approached them.
"Kyla, I was worried looking for you." a worried looking man came but it didn't lessen how good looking he is. Dressed in a blue suit, his hair is ruffled, maybe in worry. His features screams dominance yet he look vulnerable at the moment.
Lides chuckled at the man. "Look at you, sweetheart. You look a decade older than you are."
"I thought I lost Kyla." he said with a scared tone. Walking closer to Lides and the girl. He gave the two a kiss. The little girl giggled.
Then it occured to Meria. The three people infront of her is a family.
Lides has a family, she thought. A human family.
She can't help to feel the admiration for the three people infront of her. They look happy. The conception of her mind about Lides being the bad witch is gone. She's not the same vicious and cunning witch, but an affectionate mother and wife.
The man's attention trailed to Meria. Lides decided for the introduction.
"Oh, yeah I almost forgot." she said with a light laugh. "Sweetheart, this is Meria. She's one of my childhood friends. And Meria, this is my husband Daniel Solomon and our daughter, Kyla."
"Wow! I love your hair!" The little girl's eyes gleamed in facination. "You look like a mermaid!"
Taken aback by the girls comment, her eyes widen in surprise. She look at Lides.
"Don't mind her. She's just a really big fan of mermaids." she explained with a wink. Meria released the breath she didn't know she was holding.
She internally laugh with the thought of a child being facinated by mermaids. If she only knew.
She smiled at the little girl Lides is carrying. "I like your hair too."
"Really? Thanks. Daddy said I got it from mommy." Kyla proudly said
Meria was amused by how lively the kid is. It's another first for her. Talking to human child. A child who has a certain facination about mermaids.
"You certainly did." she agreed with the kid. She indeed got her mother's shiny and wavy jet black hair.
She greeted Lides' husband by extending a hand which he accepted with a polite smile. After a while, Daniel's forehead creased while looking at her. "You really look familiar." He said while rubbing his chin
Meria was once again shocked by another comment. She thought the same. He looks familiar. She just can't remember when, where or how. How could it be possible when she lived all her life under the sea?
"Really?" Lides asked her husband. "Are you sure it's her?"
Daniel thought harder. "Have you been to California recently?"
Meria's expression shows confusion. "I just arrived yesterday." she said
"Where are you going with this, sweetheart?" Lides interjected before facing Meria. "Wait, you came all the way California?" she asked in surprised.
Meria nodded.
"Did you visit, Melissa Turner--I mean your mother?" Lides asked again
Before Meria could answer, Daniel speak. "Wait a minute, love. You mean Mellisa Turner; the same Melissa Turner who made our wedding ring is her mother?"
Lides nodded to her husband.
"I didn't know she has a daughter." he stated. "So you came from there?"
Meria nodded. Daniel is starting to freak her out. He stared at her for a minute.
"I knew it!" he said with enthusiasm as if he figured out the whole proper logarithm.
"Knew what?" Lides and Meria asked in unison.
"Your that g---" before Daniel could finish his sentence. Kyla wiggled out of her mother's hold and run yelling "Uncle Joseph!"
All their gaze followed Kyla's tiny footsteps until she reaches the one she was excited to see.
Meria's eyebrow snapped up. Her forehead creased.
"Joseph?" Lides voiced out her exact thought. Not expecting to see him.
Meria was surprised when Lides recognize Joseph but didn't dare to ask how did she knew him.
Daniel turned to his wife and sent her a look. Lides realized what her husband was trying to point out before their daughter interrupted.
She remembered watching the gossip news this morning and the silver haired lady in the arms of Joseph Huntington.
There's sure a lot of silver haired lady in the world and it will be a great coincidence if it's Meria.
Turns out, it is indeed Meria. Joseph's intense gaze to Meria didn't slip off the couple's notice. That confirmed their theory.
Meria was the girl on the news with Joseph Huntington.
Lides send Meria a mischievous smile. "So your the mystery silver haired lady that everyone was curious about, huh."