"She's fine. Her gills should have formed by now and she should be breathing normally. Once her tail forms completely she will come back up. I am not holding her down, child." Raj bit back without even looking over at Marty who only sat back in an angry huff.

"Raj, he's right. It's been a while, is she going to come up soon?" Denise asked with a worried tone.

"Both of you need to be quiet, her entire world is changing and I'm sure she is nervous enough," Raj spoke in a low almost threating tone, one that Denise didn't like at all. When this was over she promised herself she would give him a swift punch in the face. She leaned over where she was kneeling on the stones of the cave to peer into the water almost wis.h.i.+ng she could see Darya's face again.

The closer she got to the surface of the water the tenser her muscles became until suddenly the water splashed into her face and a pair of pearl white, scale-covered hands popped out and scared the c.r.a.p out of her. The hands grabbed onto the rocks right in front of Marty and Denise and pulled on them until Darya's face broke the surface tension of the pool.

Marty and Denise gasped at the same time. The girl that went under the water only ten minutes ago was not the same on that came out. Her hair was of course still the brownish red that it had been before, but the sides of her face and throat were now speckled with s.h.i.+mmering pearl white scales. Denise and Marty were so transfixed on the scales that they hadn't noticed the bright smile on Darya's face.

"Hi, mom, Marty. I want to show you everything, but this pool is too small." Darya complained and it was at that moment that they noticed a slight change in her voice. It was maybe half an octave higher than usual but just enough for them to notice a difference.

"Raj, can we go outside, is there a way for her to get out of here underwater?" Denise asked him not knowing he had slipped under the water for a moment. Noticing this she gave a scowl over to the spot he was treading water at until his face broke the surface and he came back up.

They looked over at Raj who now had matching scales along the sides of his throat and a bit up by the bottom lids of his eyes. Denise was taken aback by his transformation, just as she was with Darya's. It was still very new to her.

"To answer your question from before, there is an opening at the bottom that feeds to the ocean. We will meet you out there." Raj answered Denise and they took that to get up and leave the cave and meet them at the border of the rocks that formed the sh.o.r.e.

"How long are we supposed to wait for them? How do we know he isn't just going to tell her to swim away from us?" Marty asked Denise.

"That won't happen, Darya wouldn't just leave us without saying goodbye," Denise said, tensely.

"Did you hear her voice? That didn't sound like Dar, it sounded like some mythical creature." Marty commented.

"Well, she kind of is now," Denise confessed. She didn't want to think of her daughter as a part of that world but she had no other choice. Before her next thought could form they heard a splash come from the left of them. Both of them looked over to see two heads pop up above the water and while they gently glided to the rocks Denise and Marty met them at the edge.

"Darya, are you feeling alright?" Denise asked as she kneeled on the rocks to meet her as close as she could.

"I feel great mom. Yeah, it was painful and burned at first, but once it was done I felt this new energy. I can breathe underwater now!" She said excitedly making Denise smile down at her.

"Do you want to see my tail?" She asked her mother and Marty while they exchanged a glance towards each other.

Her mother swallowed a lump in her throat, if she were to see the tail then all of this would be so much more real. She took a proper seat on the rocks below her knees and Marty followed suit.

"Go ahead sweetie, amaze us," Denise announced while trying to hide her apprehension.

Darya's face lit up at her mother's words, she dipped under the water and when she reappeared about a half a mile out she waved her hands for them to watch her. Before their eyes, Darya dunked back under the water with her new big fin following after her. The s.h.i.+mmering pearl white fin s.h.i.+ned under the sun while Darya performed a few twists and turns that showed off her new tail.

"Raj, she'll be safe right. The war that's going on there, there isn't a way she'll get hurt or put in the middle of it...Right?" Denise asked while she kept her eyes on Darya and her tricks.

"She is the princess, there isn't a single merfolk down there that wouldn't lay their life down for her if something did happen. But nothing will happen, the emergency down there is probably a small one that will only need a few hours of my time and then I can show her the rest of her heritage." Raj promised her.

"How can you be sure?" She asked with a small waver in her voice.

Marty kept his eyes on Darya, even when she began to swim back to them. He was amazed and scared at the same time. This was in his best friend this whole time and neither one of them knew it. There was this whole other side of Darya and Marty loved it but he was nervous for his best friend. A whole new world to discover and he would have to sit this one out.

"Raj, dad, why are our scale colors the same and that man from the other day had a more greenish hue?" Darya asked Raj which made him smile at her curiosity.

"Pearl white is the mark of royalty. The green shade that man had before is a mark of the royal court. Since he is one of my guards he has a pale green color in his scales. When we enter our kingdom you will see the different shades and I'll teach you more about them later." He told her and watched the gears in her head begin to turn with the new info.

"It's time to go Darya. Our time moves differently there and I am needed back." Raj announced as he glided away from the sh.o.r.e to give her some time with Marty and Denise.

"I have to go, mom, Marty. I love both of you so much. If there is a way to contact both of you then I will as soon as I can." Darya said her parting words when Raj came back up.

"Actually, use any sh.e.l.l that all three of you have touched or handled and you'll be able to give her a notice that you want to speak with her. We can take it from there." He tried to explain. Denise had a sh.e.l.l in her mind and nodded her head letting them know she was ready for her to leave. Darya and Raj nodded their heads as well before they pushed off the rocks and headed out into the ocean.

Denise pulled Marty into a tight shoulder hug and they stood there for a second watching Darya's s.h.i.+mmering tail swim away from them.