"Dar, it's a little too early in the morning to be pacing. Can you please sit somewhere and wait for Marty like we're doing?" Her mother asked while trying to distract herself from the thought of her daughter leaving her loving home.

"Sorry, mom I'm just nervous. What if Marty freaks out and doesn't believe me? I couldn't live with him thinking I was crazy or something while I'm away." Denise sighed and put her magazine down on the table and looked up at her nervous daughter.

"You've known Marty since you were in pre-k and he's loved you like a sister since then. I think you two have spent more time together than the two of us. He will believe you and understand that you need to see your father's world. He may even handle it better than me." Darya stopped pacing and listened to what her mother was saying. She was right, Marty was basically her brother and they were closer than close, he would understand.

All three of their heads turned to the front door when they heard it creak open. Marty shouting for Darya let them know it was him and his fathers that were coming through the door.

"Hey, Darya!" Marty shouted when he entered the kitchen and engulfed her in a tight hug that she was happy to give back to him. They pulled apart when Michael and Ramon brought up the rear.

"Denise, you didn't tell us your guest was still here. How's your head?" Ramon asked his caring doctor personality coming out for a moment.

Raj looked at him with a confused expression until he realized they were to two people that helped bring his unconscious body into the attic room not long ago. He stood to greet them and did so by shaking Michael and Ramon's hands before sitting back down.

"So what's with the early morning wake up call?" Michael asked as he took a seat.

Darya wanted to start pacing again but it would make her look weird in front of her family. She sucked it up and turned to face them with her news.

"It's hard for me to say this but I am going to spend the summer with my father." She looked over at Marty who looked very confused which made Darya realize that she hadn't introduced Raj.

"Sorry everyone, this man over here is Raj formerly known as Dane, my father. He's offered to take me for the summer so we can get to know each other. But there is something else. Something I need everyone to keep an open mind about." Marty had now taken a seat in an extra chair in front of Darya as she spoke about her news.

"What's more weird about your father coming back into your life after fifteen years?" Marty asked with a bit of an irritated tone. Marty was protective over Darya and she knew it but this was something new. Usually, he had to defend her from the holes at school but this was different. He believed he would have to protect her from her father now.

"Well, the reason Raj left in the first place was that he had to defend his kingdom during a war. Yes, he was born into royalty and so am I but that's not the shocking part. His kingdom lays beneath the water quite far from here. I will be spending the summer there and I wanted to explain why this is the first summer I won't be able to spend with you, Marty." She turned to him and tried to read his twisted face. It was something between sadness and pain which hurt Darya.

"This is a lot to swallow but we're very happy that you'll be bonding with your father and his family. We'll miss you of course and yes I'm ignoring the possible mermaid part because my brain is not processing it correctly." Michael admitted while sitting back in his chair to try and think about it.

"They are defiantly real, we saw one last night. One of Raj's guards came to tell him that he's needed back home which is why this will be Darya's last night home for a few months." Denise tried to say without choking on her words.

Darya noticed this which made her feel even worse about leaving. She was glad that Michael and Ramon were taking it well but when she looked back at Marty all she saw was pain and sadness again. She wanted to hug him and tell him that it would only be a few months but even that was a bit of a lie. She knew just as much as he did that it would be the most time they've spent apart from each other and that hurt. Plus this was huge news about her father's side of the family.

"Marty I'm sorry about this. I know you're upset but this is something that I have to do. Can you understand?" She asked him in a low tone but when he suddenly stood up and left the room using the back door and exited the house completely.

Michael started to get up to go after him but Darya held up her hand to halt him and went after him herself. She slid the back door open and walked out to him standing on the porch.

"Are you mad that I'm leaving for the summer? I'm sorry it's the first one we'll spend apart." Darya apologized for everything she just mentioned in the room behind them.

"It's not just that, it's your father coming back so suddenly and the princess thing and maybe even the fact that you're not technically human now and it's a bit shocking. I'm mad at him that he wasn't here to raise you and then expects you to just leave everything behind and spend part of your life with him. And yeah half the reason is you being gone for the entire summer. What if you love it so much there and don't want to come back?" As the sadness engulfed his face he pulled Darya into a tight hug again hoping they would never part.

"I know it's going to be strange and I hate that he just came back to and expected me to just go off with him too, mom even yelled at him yesterday when he offered the first time. She doesn't want me to go and is unsure about the mermaid thing too. But this rash doesn't lie and it's covering up what I am supposed to be, it's time for me to discover that. But believe me when I say I'll want to come back. I'll count the days even and I won't meet anyone else like you while I'm down there. I love you, Martin Todd and that will never change." She hugged Marty tight and tried to savor this last one before she had to leave tomorrow.

"I love you too Darya King, soon to be a princess, somehow I knew you were bigger than the part you were playing in this life. I just didn't expect this. You're the best sister a boy could ask for and the best friend." Their hug ended and they both wipe tears from their own faces. They turned to go back inside to face their parents and the terrible day they will both be having tomorrow.

"You may look just like your mother, but those eyes are definitely your father's. I'm glad you've finally been able to meet him, I just have the most uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach." Marty confessed.

"You're not the only one. I have to grow a tail for christ's sake. Before I go we will plan a meet up in a few weeks and check in on each other, does that sound good?" She asked him and he nodded his head happily. Marty reached for the sliding door so they could go back and face their parents.