WHEN THE SEA CALLS
Chapter 82: Rhea in a strange land.

Chapter 82: Rhea in a strange land.

The least they had expected was Rhea to be the new Aqua they all had been waiting for.

"You?" Maia pointed. "You... you are the new Aqua?"

Rhea nodded. "Yes. I am."

"Mom, is that true?" April asked.

"She is telling the truth. She has the star sign," Leslie answered. "And you both, need to protect her. You both are the new protectors."

The thought of Rhea being the Aqua was more shocking than the thought of them being the new protectors.

April moved backward. "I can’t take this."

Rhea moved closer to her and tried to touch her. "Don’t," April mumbled. "Don’t touch me. I need to get a drink."

April headed to the kitchen. "April?" Rhea called after her.

"You should let her be," Leslie answered.

"I am going to get a drink too," Maia said, heading to the kitchen.

Rhea stared at Maia entered the kitchen and she sighed. Maybe she shouldn’t have told them yet. Wouldn’t that be worse?

"Come and sit, Rhea," Mira said. "They are still in shock. Don’t worry, they will come around."

Rhea sat opposite Leslie and Mira. She was still worried about April and Maia.

"How was your first transformation?" Leslie asked.

"It was smooth," Rhea answered. "Thanks to April and Maia."

"Weren’t they surprised when they saw your tail?" Mira asked.

"They were but they were also surprisingly calm too."

"I did not expect that. They seemed to be mature now," Leslie answered.

"I can tell that," Mira answered. "I think they can start their training now. Don’t you think?"

"They are still in shock. I don’t think it’s the right time to tell them about that," Leslie said.

Rhea watched Leslie and Mira talk for a while. She could hardly understand what they were talking about. She kept looking at the kitchen door.

When will Maia and April be out? She wondered. Should she go to them? She shook her head. That is not a good idea.

"Rhea?" Leslie called. Rhea looked at them. "Do you want to go talk to them?"

"Can I?" Rhea asked.

Leslie nodded. "You should go and meet them."

Rhea stood up and went into the kitchen. When Maia and April saw her, they stopped talking.

"Maia? April?" Rhea called. "I..."

"Did you say you want a cup of orange juice?" Maia asked.

"Of course I do," April answered.

"Maia? April?" Rhea called again, walking closer to them this time.

She doesn’t like the silent treatment they are giving her and she hopes they will forgive her quickly.

"Can we talk please?" Rhea added.

"Do you think we should forgive her?" April whispered. "She is going to be our Queen, you know."

Maia sighed. "That is why we shouldn’t forgive her so easily. We are supposed to be the Queen’s best friends and we don’t even know. Do we not have the right to be angry?"

April furrowed her brows. "Is that the reason why you are angry?"

"Is there any other reason I should be?"

"I thought you were angry at her for not telling you," April said.

Maia shook her head. "Of course not. I also kept a secret from her and I know she had a reason to have kept it just the same way I have a reason to keep mine. Why are you angry with her, April?"

April chuckled. "I am not angry, Maia. I am just shocked that the Aqua is so close to us and we did not know."

"Really?" Maia asked.

April nodded. "Yes. I am also worried she might not want to be friends with us now that we know she is the Aqua."

Maia shook her head. "I don’t think she will. She would have done that if she wanted to."

"Then I think we should talk to her," April answered.

They turned to face Rhea, smiling. "Can we talk please?" Rhea asked again.

They moved closer to her. "I don’t think that will be necessary," April answered.

Rhea furrowed her brows. Do they really not want to talk about it?

"But..."

"No, but. We should be the ones apologizing," Maia answered.

"We of all people should understand you better," April said.

"I shouldn’t have hid it from you," Rhea said.

"But we did the same too," Maia answered.

"That makes us even," April said.

Maia sighed. "It’s good to have an extra person to talk about the sea with."

"You don’t have to worry, Rhea. We will help you adjust quickly," April said.

"I am sure with you being the Aqua, adjusting will be easier," Maia said.

Rhea smiled. "Thank you, Maia. Thank you, April."

"You are welcome," Maia said.

"And welcome to the mermaid family," April added.

"Let’s go back to the living room. We still need to talk to my mother about how you can avoid water," Maia said.

They returned to the living room to join Leslie and Mira.

"Did you girls make up already?" Leslie asked.

"We did," April answered.

"I thought you planned to stay angry for a long time," Leslie said.

"Mom, who wouldn’t want to be friends with the Aqua," Maia answered.

"It’s not just about being friends with the Aqua. You have to protect her too," Mira answered.

"We will try our best," April answered.

"Mom, It’s Rhea’s first transformation. How is she going to stay away from water?" Maia asked.

"Rhea is the Aqua. Her process is going to be different from the rest of us," Leslie answered.

Maia and April furrowed their brows. "What do you mean Mom?" Maia asked.

Rhea was confused too. She wants to know what Leslie meant by that.

"She doesn’t necessarily need to stay away from water," Mira answered. "According to books, her full transformation will take a longer time. Which means she won’t transform every time she comes in contact with water but anytime her body is comfortable."

Isn’t that worse? Maia wondered.

What if she changes at school? April wondered.

How will she know when her body is comfortable? Rhea wondered.

"You don’t have to worry though," Leslie answered. "Until you finally merge with the stone. You won’t transform."

"What stone?" Maia asked.

"The legendary bluestone," Mira answered.

April blinked. "R-Rhea has it?"

"I do," Rhea answered. "And I am already merging with it."

"Can I see it?" April asked.

"I want to see it too," Maia answered.

"You both cannot see or touch it until she merges fully with it," Leslie answered.

"When will that be?" April asked.

"That will depend on how ready her body is," Mira replied.

"Since she already experienced her first transformation, it shouldn’t take long," Leslie said.

Maia sighed. She can’t wait. She has always heard about the legendary bluestone stone. Who would have thought their friend had it.

Leslie’s phone began to ring and she picked it up. "Rhea, your father is here," she said. "He is coming in. Do you want to tell him about it?"

Rhea shook her head. Not yet.

"I won’t tell him yet."

Leslie nodded with a smile. The doorbell rang and Maia stood up to get the door.

"Good evening sir," she greeted.

Mr. Odin walked into the house and exchanged greetings with Leslie and Mira.

"Thank you for hosting her for the day, Leslie," Mr. Odin said.

"It’s nothing, Odin. I love having Rhea around," Leslie said.

"Can I see you for a minute please," Mr. Odin said.

"Sure," Leslie answered.

She went to speak to Odin for a few minutes and after they returned, it was time to go home.

"I will speak to them about it when I get home," he said.

Rhea began to wonder what her father wanted to talk to them about.

"Rhea, have a nice day." Leslie waved.

Rhea waved back. She exchanges her goodbyes with Maia and April before leaving the house with her father.

They got into the car and he drove off. "Rhea," he called. "Did you enjoy your stay with Leslie and her daughter?"

Rhea nodded. She did.

"I did, Dad."

Mr. Odin smiled. Maybe it will not be difficult for him to make them stay with her until he returns from the conference.

Rhea yawned. "Are you feeling sleepy?" Her father asked and she nodded. "You should get some rest. I will wake you up when we get home."

Rhea smiled. "Thank you, dad."

She adjusted herself to a comfortable position and closed her eyes to sleep. Rhea dozed off in a few seconds.

She must be very tired. Her father thought. He had called her name but she gave no reply.

The car suddenly came to a stop and Rhea opened her eyes. Her father wasn’t beside her which was strange.

"Dad?" She called.

"Rhea?" She heard.

The voice wasn’t familiar. The car door opened and a force pulled her out.

Rhea became sacred. What is going on?

"Rhea?" She heard again. "Come."

Rhea refused to take a step forward. She doesn’t know who is calling her. Why should she answer?

A force pulled her forward and she began to walk down a strange part. No matter how she tried to stop herself from moving, she couldn’t. The force was stronger than she was.

In a short while, she was standing in front of the sea.

"Come, Rhea," she heard again. "Come."

The sea became bright, it almost blinded her. The force that had been pulling her, pulled her into the sea and Rhea screamed for help. She had thought she would drown but she did not.

"Open your eyes, Rhea, and see."

Rhea opened her eyes and in front of her was a new world she had never seen before.

Where is this place? What strange land is this?