The Kiss Chapter 1 Daphne "Daphne, no!" my boyfriend Marin yells. I look at him and see him frantically running towards me. "Come, Daphne" says a man who has the same carmel colored skin as me but had jet black eyes, short brown hair, and a cute upturned nose . "Okay" I say enchanted by his face. We start to walk into the water. "No, please resist for me Daphne." "I'm sorry Marin but you should have thought about that before you decided to lie to me." Crrrrrrack! I woke up with a start. "So nice of you to join us Daphne." says my social studies teacher Mrs. Black. I had started to doze off in the middle of a lecture about the Treaty of Versailles when she had dropped one of those very heavy text books on the floor right besides me. "Since you seem to feel like you know all about the Treaty of Versailles, answer this question. What did the Treaty of Versailles do?" All of the kids, who by now had figure out that the teacher had focused her attention on someone other than themselves, watched me waiting to see if the "new girl" was going to get silent lunch for not paying attention in class. "She'll never figure out this question because I haven't covered this yet, either way the answer is the treaty was designed to blame Germany for the war and prevent Germany from having an army." I jumped unsure if that was the correct answer but I'll try it out. "The correct answer is the treaty was designed to blame Germany for the war, and to prevent Germany from having an army." "That is correct!" my teacher says astounded. I look around the filled to the top with books classroom and see that the students look just as surprised that I answered the question right. I pretended that I knew what I was doing while inside I was freaking out about what just happened. My best friend, who I think knows me better than myself, gave me a confused look because she knows I am absolutly, positively shy. I can't even pester my boyfriend to kiss me. I'll try but after he says no the first time, I give up trying. Brrrrrrrrrrrring! The bell rang signaling the end of the classes and the end of the day. My boyfriend, Marin, was waiting at my locker to take me out. I took a closer look at him and realize that he looks exactly like the boy I was talking to in my dream. "What?" he asks. I don't want to bother him with my woes. "Nothing, I was just wondering if what I'm wearing is okay for or date." I say glancing at my sea green dress that brought out the blue specs in my brown eyes, it also made my chocolate colored skin an jet black hair really stand out. I was also wearing cute two in. baby blue heels and dark blue ribbons in my hair. I hoped that wearing all of this would remind Marin of his hometown near the sea. "All right, just let me put my books away and we can go. By the way, where are we going?" "We are going to that seaside restaurant that you love so much!" "Yay! We can feed each other fried seafood and watch the sunset." We drive there and see that there are a lot of open outdoor seats. "Oooh! Let's sit outside to see the sunset better." "Sure my little Queen-of-the-sea." "You are the one man of my #life, Marin!" Then our food comes and we start to eat. By the time we had finished eating the sunset had just begun. As soon as it was over, we left to drop me off at home. We drove in silence each of us thinking our own thoughts. Five minutes later we got to my doorstop. "Well, goodnight Marin." I say as I turn towards the door when........"Daphne wait!" Marin shouts just before I got into the house. He seems to be fighting himself when finally he kisses me. When we broke away we were both breathing heavily. "Well goodbye then!" I say as I go inside. I get inside and I start to feel very lightheaded. The world turns to dark as I pass out. Chapter 2 Marin “Aargh!” I yell as I drive home. I can't believe I just did that. I can't believe I just kissed her! I have doomed my girlfriend Daphne. I don't know what came over me, she was just so beautiful and enchanting. I drive myself home in a state of happiness and anger, happiness because I kissed my girlfriend and anger because I have doomed her without her even knowing. There is one secret I have been keeping from her since we started dating. That secret is…… I am a merman. Yes a m-e-r-m-a-n, merman as in half human, half fish or a human with a fish tail. My family fled from Tatanica when I was seven because the reign of the monarchy had come to an abrupt end after Queen Sarafina died, failing to produce an heir after her daughter, Diamond, was lost to us in a tsunami. After she died, Lord Bethwick took over ruling over us with an iron fist. A bunch of people fled from Tatanica, my parents and I being one of them, before Lord Bethwick closed the boarders and had guards patrolling the boarders. My parents were captured trying to rescue some friends that were having trouble finding a way out. I remember waiting for my parents for hours. Their friends came to get me and I never saw my parents again. My parents friend took me to my aunt who had decided years before to live on land instead of underwater in Tatanica. She has brought me up ever since. "Marin!" my aunt exclaims jolting me out of my memories. "There you are! I have been waiting for you....... Is something wrong?" she asks seeing my downcast expression. "I have doomed my girlfriend." "How have you doomed your.........Don't tell me you.....how could you, you know the consequences!" "I couldn't help myself, she was just so beautiful!" "You know you have to tell her the truth about what you are now." "I now Aunt Sauphina, I'll tell her tomorrow since it's a Saturday, if she doesn't want to be bonded to me, then we will have to risk going to Tatanica so that we can be unbonded." I say with a sigh. "It'll be okay. I'm sure she will still love you no matter what you are and if she doesn't than maybe she isn't the one for you. ~ Later I am up in my room in my room when I have a sudden longing to kiss and hold Daphne. "Oh no!" I say fearfully "The bonding has already begun!" I reach out to grab my phone when it starts ringing with Daphne's ringtone. I pick it up and say "Hey Daphne, we need to talk." "This isn't Daphne." says a strange voice. "Who is this and what have you done to Daphne!" "I am Mr. Sandez, Daphne's dad." "Oh! Hello Mr. Sandez I'm sorry for that I was just......." "Is it okay if my wife and I can come over we need to talk to you." "Sure, I'm not doing anything." confused I hang up the phone. Chapter 3 Lord Bethwick "My Lord, the oracle is here to see you." "Well, let her in Icee." "Yes my lord." I watch her with a satisfied look bow and swim hurriedly away . All of the servants have been taught to do things quickly without talking or singing but Icee had been very difficult to break. She was often found singing or laughing in one of the castle gardens that I destroyed. I finally had to resort to whipping and meager food rations. "Excuse me my lord." the oracle said. "Hello Oracle Starine, what is it that you wanted to tell me this time." "I'm begging you please renounce the throne. I saw a vision that the last REAL remaining heir came back and claimed the throne." "Who is this so called last remaining heir?" "Her name is Daphne, this afternoon she will be at the Glendon Cove." "Then I will her and if I find out that you at lying it won't matter that you are an oracle, you will be tortured then killed." "Yes, my lord." the oracle says showing no fear. ~ Later that day after I had made my rounds and collected all of the taxes I had placed on my people, I decided to see if what the oracle had said was true. Just in case it was a trap, I brought along my personal bodyguards. When we got there I saw a girl looking dazed as if she were wondering how she got there. Normally I wouldn't care who she was but she looked exactly like the late Queen Sarafina. "Hello?" she said cautiously "Is someone there?" "Hello child, who are you" I say from the water using my mesmer. "I am Diamond, Princess of Tatanica." she says sounding exactly like Queen Sarafina. I was shocked, the last remaining heir to the throne was still alive. She hadn't been killed by that awful tsunami. "Come closer my darling." I say. She comes closer, when she gets close enough I kiss her. "What was that for?" she yells confused. "Aaah." I say ignoring her question "You have already bonded with someone. Who was the last person you kissed?" I asked. "My boyfriend Marin." she say automatically still under the mesmer. " Well sit down Daphne, we have a lot to talk about." Chapter 4 Daphne "Wait a second. So what you're saying is that I am not only a mermaid but a mermaid princess." I say interrupting Lord Bethwick. "Why yes, Diamond you are mermaid royalty." he says irritated. "Okay, let me summarize everything you just told me. I am Diamond princess of Tatanica. I was captured by my supposed parents, Octupous and Sauphie. In the struggle to get me out I bumped by head against a rock and got knocked out, I also lost my memory." "You're doing good, keep going." he says calmly. "They have had me under lock and key ever since. My mother Queen Sarafina died sad because she couldn't find me. Oh! And my boyfriend, Marin, and his family are also mermaids and mermen. They have been watching me for any sign that I remembered what happened. My boyfriend never loved me, he only pretended to so that he could get close to me." I say close to tears. "There, there Daphne it's okay. You will finally get the chance to be free. I want you to live with me in my castle." he says trying to console me. "Sure I would love to……" "Daphne, no!" my boyfriend Marin yells. I look at him and see him frantically running towards me. "Come, Daphne" says Lord Bethwick. "Okay" I say enchanted by his face. We start to walk into the water. "No, please resist for me Daphne." "I'm sorry Marin but you should have thought about that before you decided to lie to me." I say angry at him. "Goodbye forever Marin. Do not come after me if you do I will kill you." He looked shocked I had said that. "Daphne, we must leave now." Lord Bethwick says gently. "Let's go I have nothing else to say to him." I spit those words out with as much anger and contempt as I could. He jerked back like I had hit him. I walk into the water since Lord Bethwick never left the water and we submersed ourselves into the water. Lord Bethwick already had his tail which was black with red strikes. I gasp as my two well toned chocolate colored legs turn into a royal blue tail with magenta and bright pink streaks and swirls. "Whoa." I say shocked. "Hmm" lord Bethwick says studying my tail. "Hmm what?" I say suddenly self-conscious. "Nothing" he says in a tone that says that it really is something. To avoid an argument with the person who freed me I let the matter drop as we swam towards Tatanica. I marveled at how fast we were going, which was 100 mph, and how powerful my tail was. Even the slightest flick made propelled me 70 miles away from where I had flicked my tail. "Daphne, welcome to Tatanica." Lord Bethwick says. "Whoa it is amazing!" I exclaim as I look at the shimmering city in front of me. The buildings were camouflaged to look like coral and the sea. From what Fabiro, Lord Bethwick's first name, told me the only people who can see Tatanica are the mermaids. Chapter 5 Marin "Daphne!!!!" I yell a little bit after she had gone into the water. I was shocked she had that much anger in her. Why had she thought that I had lied to her? If only I had gone out looking for her as soon as I heard that she was missing instead I stated to wait for her adopted parents to come over. I went over the conversation in my head while I started to drive home. "Thank you for allowing us to come over." her dad said. " Your welcome but what was so important that you couldn't tell me." "I see you are one to get straight to the point." "I only do that when something important is going on." "The thing is Daphne is gone, she went missing. We traced her cellphone all the way to the cove but after that she disapeared." "That makes no sense I dropped her off at her house not 15 minutes ago." "There's one other thing, we know you are a merman." "A merman! That's impossible mermen don't exist!" "You didn't let me finish. We know you re a merman because we are ones ourselves." "What?" "When we got home, Daphne was on the floor passed out. We felt the bond on her almost immediately. There is one thing that you don't know about Daphne she doesn't even know it herself. she is the last remaining heir to the kingdom of Tatanica." "So you are saying that she is Princess Diamond? That can't be possible! Princess Diamond was lost to us in a tsunami." "She was, we found her on the beach passed out with human legs." "That means she has to be half human!" "We have to find her before she falls into the hands of Lord Bethwick." I suddenly felt excruciating pain and could hear Daphne screaming in the distance. "I think it's almost too late." I say "Lord Bethwick is trying to get her already. We must hurry towards the cove." Rrrring my