*several months later*

  I swished my tail in the water, staring out at the blue horizon that stretched before me.

  Arden’s footsteps approached, coming down the long dock behind me.

  “Here’s your drink.” he said, settling down to my right, then handing me the brightly colored beverage in a simple glass cup.

  “Thanks!” I smiled at him, accepting the drink and taking a sip. “It’s delicious!”

  “Yeah, I’ve tweaked the recipe a little. Not that it wasn’t always good, it’s just that much better, now.” my white-haired fiance nodded, smiling back.

  We sat there for a little while in comfortable silence, enjoying the cool, early evening breeze that came in off the water. The sun was low in the sky, and sunset had just begun to paint the few fluffy clouds in startlingly gorgeous shades of red, orange, and purple.

  “Truly, this is paradise.” Arden sighed, idly reaching out and pushing his hand into my hair, and tugging his fingers gently through it.

  “Amen.” I murmured, sipping my fruity drink again, then leaning in for a kiss, which was very enthusiastic on both sides.

  "I love you." he whispered as we broke apart.

  "I love you too!" I giggled, happy to be there with him.

  The little bungalow that we were renting was perfect. It was built out over the water, along the very dock we were sitting on, in a somewhat secluded location, so we never saw any tourists.

  It was the perfect place for a mermaid and a land-dweller to live together. I could be in the water as much as I wanted, and Arden had a place out over the water where he could sit while I swam, though he often swam with me.

  We’d come to this little slice of heaven to look for my parents. Between the experts from the feylands, and other merfolk we’d spoken with, this seemed to be an area they might visit. That is, if my memories from my childhood served me right about certain landmarks I remembered when we’d gone to warmer waters for the winter.

  Upon arrival, we’d made contact with local mer-villages. I swam down, and Arden had dove down alongside me in the fancy diving gear that the palace had let him borrow.

  We asked around about my parents, and had requested that they send word to me immediately if my family showed up in the area.

  Every so often, we’d go out to the villages and talk to them again and ask if they’d heard anything from further abroad.

  “Oh, we have visitors.” I said, seeing the tell-tale ripples of merfolk surfacing several yards away.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Sometimes the merfolk that we’d made friends with would visit us, which was nice because playing host was kind of fun, and made me feel like Arden and I were already married.

  “I should go start making some more drinks.” Arden said, standing.

  But before he could turn, our guests surfaced.

  My eyes were immediately drawn to one of the merfolk in particular. She had flaming red hair.

  My heart was in my throat, and I sat up straight, clutching at my fiance so he didn't leave as I gasped, "Arden!"

  I tore my eyes away from her red hair to look at the other visitors. One was a dark-skinned merman with hair like mine, and the other was slightly lighter-skinned mermaid, who also had hair like mine. Not that my hair was particularly unusual, but…maybe…just maybe.

  The fourth had short, bright green hair. That had to be Pike, a young merman that traveled a lot in the area, and had brought us back whatever tidbits he could about nomadic groups of merfolk in the area.

  “She has red hair.” Arden murmured, blinking in surprise, half-turned back towards the water, as I'd caught hold of his trouser leg to keep him there.

  “Yes!” I whispered.

  Then they were close enough that I could see their faces, and joy welled up in me.

  “It’s you!” I cried, flinging myself into the water and dashing to my family.

  Then I was in my mother’s arms.

  There were tears everywhere, and we sank below the surface, too caught up in what had become a family hug to bother staying above the waterline.

  I could still hear Pike’s voice though, as he told Arden, “When I saw her sister’s red hair and golden scales, I knew it had to be them, it’s such a rare color combination for our people. I explained the situation, and we got here as quickly as we could."

  “I’ve found you!” I sobbed. “I-I finally found you!”

  A short while later, we were all on the beach, leaning against palm trees that sat near the water, which were easy enough for my family to get to. I was still loosely wrapped in my mother’s arms, and had my head on her shoulder.

  “So, I guess introductions are in order.” my papa said. “I’m Kai.”

  “I’m Delmarra.” My mother said, smiling warmly at my betrothed.

  “And I’m Aria.” my sister finished, squeezing my hand gently.

  Pike had gone to take the news to the village he was from that the search for my family had come to a close.

  “I’m Arden.” my fiance said, bowing slightly.

  “Arden is my fiance.” I murmured softly, feeling my face heat.

  “Oh?” My mama and papa looked surprised.

  Aria only giggled, “Good for you, sis! He’s cute!”

  Arden flushed, but arched an amused eyebrow at me, “I see it runs in the family, huh?”

  “Of course!” I grinned at him.

  “How did you two meet?” My mother wanted to know.

  I sighed, “Well, it’s a long story. I have to start with how I got separated from you all.”

  “I do want to know that, anyways.” My mama murmured.

  “And we have all the time in the world, honey.” My father assured me.

  I smiled, “Yeah, yeah we do, don’t we?”

  The end (of book 2!).