The Hidden Jewels

Chapter 1

Ruby POV

I can't believe it's almost our eighteenth birthday. I'm not sure what to think about it, to be honest. My sister Jade is so excited, but for some reason, I'm nervous. It's weird to think that we are twins. We look nothing a like. She got all of mom's beauty with her curly black hair and bright green eyes. She's thin with a bigger chest than me, and I've always been sad about that. Her and mom have tails that are almost identical. Long and bright green with pink flukes that are so pretty. Jades even got purple tips that shine. To explain flukes are the fin like things on the bottom of our tails.

Then there's me, I looked like a female version of our father. Dark red hair and dull blue eyes. I'm not as thin as my sister, and I have a chest but not as much of one as her. My tail is blue, and while it's ok, it's not a special color on the flukes or anything it's just all blue.

While there's nothing really wrong with that, I just feel like next to her, no one ever notices me. I guess that's why I'm more serious than her.

She's got to party and have fun while I just got to watch. I started reading a lot at a young age, and now I believe I know a lot about a lot of the supernatural world. I had heard that the human world was above us, but I never knew that there were other supernatural creatures there, too. We are mermaids, and we live deep in the Pacific Ocean. I've never even seen land before, and I don't mind that.

I feel like our lives have been pretty amazing. Jade might even say our lives have been perfect.

There's a little over a week left before our eighteenth birthday, and Jade thinks it will be amazing. I, on the other hand, feel like something bad is about to happen. We spend the day with our mom, and she takes us to get our hair done. It's a good day, and we have really great talks about a little of everything. Like how her past was and how she meant our father.

They were soul matches it's what it sounds like it's a soul mate but so much more. It's a legitimate mate. One part works and can live alone or with anyone, but when you find the match, it's amazing. The tingles alone of the bond she says is hard to explain but so much better than just anyone. The bond is so strong that if one dies, the other barely ever survives.

We talk about how we could meet our soul matches when we turn eighteen, and my sister, of course, is excited. I'd just worry mine would turn me down for my sister, which sounds stupid. I know because I am almost positive we'd each have our own, but who would want me with her as a choice. I smile and nod as they talk. We all decide to head to eat. We are almost done when a bunch of our guards rush in and beg us to leave surrounding us as we go.

Jade POV

I was having the best time out with my sister, who I love being with, and my mom, who is so much fun. We have been talking and dreaming all day. Lunch was delicious, and then suddenly, the guards came in. They had us rushed back to the castle. Our dad is swimming back and forth as we all rush in. The guards take up protective posts all around the room. Weirdly enough, we are in the meeting room.

We all take a seat, and just then, the doors open, and two more girls swim in with guards. They seem even more nervous than us and are told to take seats as two more girls swim in with guards. This happens three more times. Then strange enough the next three times its guards with two males. The last two in our one male and one female. All the guards have taken up the wall space, and they are all on high alert.

Dad sighs like he can finally feel calm and starts to speak he says," I'm sure everyone is worried and confused right now, and first we'd like to apologize. Most of you were raised in different homes and probably never meant each other, and the few that did may have been told that these are your cousins and twins just running in the family." I look around, and I realize some of these people look like us.

Ruby POV

I'm now about to freak out these people who came in look like us some. They all came in pairs, but they were like us. The pairs didn't really look alike.

Some of the girls are blonde, and some have brown hair. One of them have my red hair, and three of them have Jades black hair. Then there's the guys one. One looks like a mini version of dad and the pair that came in as a guy, and the girl looked so much alike, but i see my parents in them. This is absolutely crazy and dad continues to talk. "When you were all born, there was a prophecy that I will share with you in a few. No one had expected us to have twenty babies. The doctor said we were having two. Luckily, your mom's labor was smooth and easy. No one was here but us, and we knew as soon as you were all born, we had to keep it a secret. We wished we could have kept the birth a secret completely, but the pod was aware your mother was pregnant. They thought with twins, so we kept two of you and sent others to live with relatives. "

He takes another deep breath and continues," We have had a few issues today. A group of merman showed up with weapoms demanding the jewels. We, of course, handled them, but they were only one of three groups. They were very persistent and fought hard. The ones who survived were locked away, but they wanted the jewels. They seem to think the jewels are actually jewels, but we know better. These jewels would make great rulers they also bless all the sea and land with love and prosperity. The day you were born, the goddess

Amphitrite came to us and told us what to name each of you and that you were the jewels of the sea. We were told to keep you safe, and one day, you would bring peace to a world in war and turmoil. To us, that sounded like a great thing, but we now know some people want the jewels for evil use.

I don't know if they can use you for evil since you're not inanimate objects. We don't want to test it though and we want you all to stay safe so we decided tonight at the full moon we have to take control and send you where no merman will ever be able to find you." I gasp, and he nods." Yes, Ruby, you've read of this before you'll all be going to live on the land with humans."

Dad pauses and looks at mom for a second she sighs, then gets up to grab a book and sit by him. They open the book together, and mom points at something. Dad nods and then reads, " There will come a time when the jewels of the ocean will be used to rule all. These jewels will unite the kingdoms and bring about a time of peace and prosperity. They will help unite the supernatural world and bring about a world with no war. Anyone who holds the jewels with know love and happiness." Mom shuts the book, and she says," Ladies and gentlemen, it's time you all meant ur sisters and / or brothers. Each of you is named by the goddess herself and its way past when you should have meant like almost eighteen years past when you should have meant."

My mom stands and gestures to a blonde with the prettiest green eyes I've ever seen. She looks like mom if mom was blonde she has a good figure. Her tail is shiny and orange with pink flukes and red tips. Mom smiles and says, "This is Emerald May Delmare." She smiles and waves. Mom gestures to the next girl I focus on her, and she's almost identical to Jade. She had blue eyes that shine so bright. Curly black hair and mom's figure with the blessed chest. Her tail is bright green with blue flukes that match her eyes and red tips. Mom says, "This is Amber Vay Delmare." She nods and waves.

Then mom gestures to a girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. She has a beautiful smile, and she doesn't look up often, so she must be shy. she's a little thicker like me. I am glad to see that not all my sisters are thin as can be. She has a red tail that almost glows and bright blue flukes with purple tips. Mom says," This is Amethyst Rae Delmare." She waves shyly, and moms smiles. She gestures to the next girl who looks at us all and smiles brightly. She has blonde hair and bright, intense blue eyes that make you want to fall into them. Her figure is near perfect with an even bigger chest, then Jade talk about unfairness, and her tail is so beautiful and unique. It's white almost all the way to the flukes, but right before that, at the bottom of peduncle is every color in the rainbow, and that continues on to her flukes. Mom says," This is Diamond Jai Delmare." She waves and continues to smile at us.

Dad takes over and gestures to a girl closer to him. She's got brown eyes and short brown hair. Her face is almost angelic it's so perfect, but she doesn't make eye contact with anyone. She just keeps smiling and then looking down. She has a brown tail that turns blue closer to the bottom of the peduncle and purple flukes with white tips. Peduncle is just a different thing to call our tails. Dad smiles and says," This is Pearl Dae Delmare." She looks up and glances around. Face turns pink, and she waves as she looks back down.

Dad giggles and gestures to the girl next to her. She has black hair that's straight and perfect pale green eyes. She smiles a little but not a lot. She's very, very thin with barely any chest. Her tail is so beautiful that it almost shines it's purple with a bright pink color near the bottom of the peduncle and beautiful blue flukes with orange tips. "This is Aquamarine Tai Delmare."

He gestures to his left and smiles he may be smiling because she looks like our grandmother on his side. She has bright, curly red hair and electric green eyes. Her tail is green, but it has waves of purple and blue near the bottom of the peduncle, and the flukes are purple with pink tips. Dad says, "This is Sapphire Faye Delmare." He getures towards the next girl. She's blonde with a thicker figure, but it's what you'd call voluptuous. Everything is thicker, her hips and chest everything. She has brown eyes with bright gold flecks. She's beautiful, and her tail is gold with a bright white near the bottom of her peduncle that flares out to beautiful flukes that are orange and yellow like fire with bright glittery sliver tips. He nods to her as he says, " This is Opal Lei Delmare."

He smiles as he gestures to one of the guys. It's easy to guess why he's smiling here. This guy looks exactly like him. I don't see one difference. He is built a little thicker, like muscled with our dark red hair. He waves at us, his smile is bright, and it seems genuine. His tail is our basic bright blue, nothing fancy, which I guess also means he looks a lot like me, too. "This is Topaz Dray Delmare."

I smile as dad moves on to the next guy. This guy seems like he may be upset. He puffs his chest out. He is thinner and has brown hair and eyes. His tail is Brown and turns green around the bottom of the peduncle. The flukes are a dark gold color. Dad says, " This is Beryl Cray Delmare."

Mom gestures to the next guy, and he may be medium-sized. He has black hair with electric blue eyes there light blue but bright. He has a black tail that has a few small spots of blue like his eyes. The flukes are long and change to a silver color near the very tips. Mom says," This is Onyx Bray Delmare." He smiles brightly, maybe glad she got his name right. His voice rings out as he says, " Hi everyone."

I can't help but smile back he has an infectious kind of happiness about him. I wave and mumble. "Hi." Mom motions to the next guy he has brown hair light greyish blue eyes he has a shy smile. He is medium built slightly muscled. His tail is dark purple, and it slowly changes to a grey color similar to his eyes. The flukes glide out, turning a bright blue color. Mom's says," This is Agate Quay Delmare." He nods and waves slightly."She smiles as we all sorta wave back. Then she gestures to the next guy. He has dark brown hair with bright green eyes. His smile is slightly crooked. He has dimples when he smiles. He's maybe medium build with a slight definition. He has a dark red tail near the bottom of his peduncle it changes to a grey. The flukes slowly change from the grey to bright shiny sliver. "This is Garnet Tray, Delmare," Mom says as he glances around the room and then looks down. It almost looks like he is blushing, so he may be shy.

Mom gestures to the next guy, and he has blonde hair curly with dark green eyes. He is strong chested. With a dark green tail, it slowly turns lighter green as you reach the bottom of the peduncle. The flukes fan out turning gold as they go. Mom says, "This is Jasper Grey Delmare." Dad gestures again to a guy, and he has a slight muscle build and has mom's green eyes. He has light, almost sun colored blonde hair. His tail is bright yellow, turning orange down near the bottom of the peduncle. The flukes flow out and shine a bright golden color. Dad's clear voice says," This is Tanzanite Jay

Delmare."

He gestures to the girl next to Tanzanite, and she is pretty much a double of him. Same light blonde hair same green eyes. Where he has slight muscle build, she has a very slight bust. Then their tails are exactly the same. She smiles and waves as Dad says, " This is Citrine Ay Dalmare." Dad gestures to the next girl, and she has light red hair and pale green eyes. She is thicker in size and has a very slight, almost flat chest. This makes me feel slightly better about my chest. She has a very pretty smile with dimples and a perfectly semetrical face. Her tail is a blue green color and stays that way all the way down till her flukes,which are gold with silver tips. Dad says," This is Turquoise Neigh Delmare."

Then he gestures to the girl right next to me. She is pretty with black hair with dark green eyes that shine and almost glow. With a medium-sized chest. Her tail is light purple that gets slightly darker, then around the bottom of the peduncle turns bright white . The flukes are silver and almost sparkle. Dad says," This is Lazuli Baye Delmare." Then he gestures to me and says, " This is Ruby Shaye Delmare, and last but not least, this Jade kaye Delmare," as he gestures towards her.

"Now that you've all been introduced, we have to make sure everything is ready for tonight because it's the full moon and our only chance this month to prepare and hide you in the human world. Luckily we have some contacts and they have transportation and cloths ready for you all. We will be staying here and making it seem like our "twins" went to stay with relatives. You all will be given money to last a while like years if spent right, and we are hoping you won't be gone long at all.

If all goes well, not even a few months, but we have to stop the attacks and hunt down whoever is causing them. We didn't get to raise most of you, and we don't want any of you hurt in any way, so this is the best course of action for now. As soon as you turn eighteen, you'll all be able to telepathically talk to us no matter where you are. We will be here if you need us. we won't be able to leave the water, but we can plan to meet up if it's safe. If it isn't, we can help from afar."

Mom sighs and says, " Ruby and Jade, we need to go pack, and you can help me get the money and bags ready too." Dad says," Guards, don't leave them alone and come straight back here when you're done." We nod and head out with the guards all around us. we swim to our rooms which are in a big suite all to our selves. I rush to pack, grabbing all my shirts and anything that may be useful on land. I'm not sure if our shirts will even blend in up there or if we would need all new clothes. We obvious need to get cloths so I change tactics and I just pack my essentials like soaps and stuff I can't replace pictures of our family's and stuff I may not be able to find on land like our snacks and things.

Jade of course didn't come to this conclusion and she has 8 bags packed and guards helping her while i have two and am good to go the guards grab mine and mom rushes us down a hall to an office. She moves the desk slides forward a book case hits a few buttons on the back side of the case and we watch the wall slide open a guard brings a big box of purses from somewhere and mom digs in the box pulls out purses shoving each with weird paper in clear bags.

There are at least forty sturdy cloth bags filled to breaking with this paper and she shoves extra in our hands and in our suit cases mine had some extra space so she gave me a few more stacks of it and then she grabbed a stack of different papers and relocked everything. As we left we get back in to the meeting room and dad orders food for all of us as we pass out the bags. I was right. There are two for each of us, and I decided to keep two that seem to be bigger. I picked these for the same reason I picked any bag or purse. I chose them based on if they could hold my books. These two could hold at least six or more books depending on the size of each book. To me, that makes them great bags.