The Hidden Jewels

Chapter 3

Amber POV

I'm in a car heading to, I don't know where with two of my sisters, and I don't think I know either of their names. I'm nervous about how things will go when we get to our rooms. We pull up to a big, I guess, building the guy calls it a hotel. I met up with Aquamarine, and we walked in together. They go to the counter and tell the people that we were models from the swimsuit shoot and needed our rooms. The humans behind the counters started rushing around while one started grabbing our bags and rushing to help.us. Based on this behavior, I'd assume we were big customers, not to mention with how many of us there are, and it would be a decent amount of money. It's probably way too much money, but I don't know how to use this money yet.

Aquamarine POV

We had to split up to take the elevators. There were three, and we used all three. First, some guards went up with the bell hops. Then we followed with more guards, and then a few more guards came up. They shared that they had rooms across the hall. They would take shifts stationed in our rooms and in the halls. We were split up and showed two huge rooms. These rooms are like many houses. We are on the top floor.

The view is pretty from something called a balcony. The bell hop showed up this in the first room. There's four rooms with two beds in each room. Then, each other's room had two pull out couche beds. So each room could fit ten people. The rooms also had a door you could lock that connected both these rooms together. We opened it, and no one planned to shut it, so we all had access to each other.

Lazuli POV

When we all are here, it seems we'd be here for at least a few months. They are bringing in bags, and they said they'd take us shopping tomorrow since they didn't really know our sizes yet. I just hope we don't make to many mistakes out in public since we don't know alot of stuff the main man seems to know things and he is gonna show us stuff in the morning before we go shopping so we know some stuff. I'd hate to be shopping and ask what something was, and people hear me and be confused.

We decide since it's still super early to sleep some, and when we get up in a few hours, he can teach us some and go shopping. I fall asleep fast and wake up what feels like a few mins later, but it is really nine am. The main guy shows up with the rest of my siblings in toe, and he starts by sharing his name, which is Charles . His job is that he is the lead of our security, and he knows about everything. He knows what we are and how we won't know a lot, so he wants to teach us stuff before we leave. We eat breakfast as we start to learn everything we need to know.

We are first told about the team he is in the morning lead working from midnight to noon. There is another guy who does the noon to midnight shift his name is Maxwell. These two know the whole story and can help with anything we need. The other guards think that we area actually models, which is why none were invited into the room right now so we could all talk and be taught some things. The guards all faced away during the spell and were not allowed to look till we were all ready. The story they know is that if we ever seem confused, it's because we aren't from here and may not understand some stuff. That's not a bad idea. To be honest, if we have any weird tendencies or accent, it would make sense.

He starts by explaining human money some. It doesn't seem too hard they say what they're worth on them. It seems it will just be making sure I know the prices of what I grab and stuff, but that's the same with shopping in general. Then he gets on his phone as he calls this little box he's holding. He says we will also all be getting one of the phones. He says we need eachothers numbers and a few of the main guards' numbers too for emergencies. Not that he expects any just says better safe than sorry. He pulls out pictures of some types of clothes, and it's all so much. Ironically, the things human women wear and call bras are all we pretty much had to wear in the ocean. It may be closer to the bikini top, but either way, it wasn't much we needed. There is the bras and underwear. Then the socks and shoes. There's so many options stuff called lingerie, which is lacy or soft and strange.

The swim suites those are weird but nice, and we all agreed we wanted some. We are by a beach, after all. I also think the bell hop mentioned a pool, and a guard mumbled something about since they are staying here going for a swim. I decided to just ask," Hey, umm, Charles, can you tell us what a pool is? I heard the bell hop mention it, and then one of the guards said something about swimming." He nods and says," Pools are for swimming. It's kind of like a human-made pond, but the one here is inside and heated. We can go swimming soon if you guys want to." We all get a little excited about that, and we continue to look at things we may buy today.

There are pants,shorts,skirts, dresses, shirts,sweaters,jackets,night gowns, and pajamas. I'm sure I'm missing some things because there's just so much. The men would have it slightly easier. They have less its basically underwear, socks, shoes, shorts, pants ,belts, and stuff. We all decide we are as ready as we can be, and we head to a place he called the mall. When we get there, it's not what we expected, but it's big and has so much in it. The first place we go is lingerie and under cloths.

Charles goes in long enough to tell the staff we lost our luggage and need all new clothes. He explained that we are models and that we could also use sizing help. They took each of us back and helped us get our sizes. While this was going on, guards stood at the doors, and he went off with the guys to shop elsewhere, I'd assume. The woman here took us shopping after we were sized. We each had a shopping partner and she helped me find alot of stuff that is really rather nice before we came here we hid are money in something called a safe in our room and only brought a few wads that we separated into five hundred dollar bundles so we didn't have to pull out alot at a time in comparison.to what we would of pulled out with the huge bag fulls we had.

I spent pretty close to five hundred here, and this is just stop one when I left a guy wrote my name on my bags then he tied them closed and took them to the car. This was repeated for each of us at every store. We bought everything we could ever need, coats ,hats, gloves,scarves, dresses, skirts, and so much more. When we were done, they had to send one car and empty it while we stopped for food, then they came back and got us. My fave things to shop for were probably pants and shoes.

Pants and shoes because it's like our tails we can dress them up sometimes. Bright colors jewels or lacy on jeans or leggings with designs. There are so many options and choices, and you can wear something different every day. I miss my tail already, so it's something, at least. When we get back, we unpack, and the girls who brought stuff they used to wear packed it away back in the back of the closets.

Turquoise POV

Hanging out with all my siblings so far has been kinda fun. At the mall, we'd show off some outfits and complimented eachother alot. They all seem pretty nice. We even have some stuff in common, and it's fun to talk about it. We all think human food looks weird, but some of it tastes so good. We tried somethings I think Charles called them sweet treats after lunch, something with the word cream in it. It was very cold, and the guards said if we ate it too fast, we'd get a brain freeze or something.

It was very good and like clothes came in so many different choices. I had wondered if I could ever try them all. We ended up getting the phone things, and they were nice and made communication easier. We did as Charles asked. We added our number to eachothers phones, then practiced and learned how to use them. Texting is weird, but pictures are fun. Sending pictures is fun to and Ruby and I texted back and forth already about what we should wear tomorrow.

It's weird, but we all thought if people think we are models, we should be dressed nice when we can. In that vein of thought, tomorrow we are going out for the day, and we are dressing like we are off to as Charles calls it a shoot. We will dress in something nice and head out all at once. Then we can spend the day out and about. The girls suggested we try some new things. Charles came up with a list of things we could do, so we would be trying all kinds of new stuff and hopefully having fun. He just said he'd be here bright and early with breakfast and the plans.

Citrine POV

I was the first one out of bed today. I've been walkinga round, waiting for everyone to get up. I started to get excited when my siblings started to join me in the living room. The doorbell got our attention, and it was Charles. He came with breakfast, and we all sat and ate quickly as he told us our day plans. First, he was taking up to a restaurant that had games in it. Then, a movie which he said was going to be fun but hard to pick one we'd all like.

Then, lunch, then he said we would be stopping to see some stores, something about pets not sure what a pet is though. Then, after dinner and dessert, he said half an hour and then swimming. I don't get the half an hour pause, but he said something about swimming after eating, causing clamps, or something. The new information is a bit fast, but I know it's important to try to keep up or at least learn some.

Tanzanite POV

I woke up probably later than everyone or at least most of them. I tend to be a late riser. I see Citrine and I'd bet with all my money like all of it she was up first. She's amazing, though she has always been one of the reasons I keep pushing to do my best. Such support and help when it's needed. I can't wait to see how things go when all our siblings figure out how great she is.

We get dressed in our pre organized outfits and head out. It's crazy and you can almost feel the excitement in the air. I decided to hang out by the guys just to spend some time with them. I've been sort of judged by the other merpeople or at least the kids. Citrine has always loved me for who I am, but you never know if everyone will. I'd just really love it if all my siblings loved me the way i am. So maybe I can get them to like me before they learn anything that they may not like.

The morning was actually a lot of fun. The place with all the games was so great we weren't the best at the games, but we are learning. Citrine loved this game that was about moving your feet. I think it was called dance something. I enjoyed any aiming game. I was good at throwing, and after some practice, I did pretty good at hitting my targets. We decided since we were here, and it had been well over four hours since we ate, and we'd been running around all morning to just eat here. I enjoyed it. I had this meat called chicken. This is quickly becoming my favorite food.

Onyx seems to like it, too, and the same goes for the games with aiming. We were both getting good at it, and Charles said he'd help us learn more about them. It's around one, and we meet up with a woman outside a line of stores. Charles introduces her, " So everyone, this is my wife Miranda, and she's here to help me with a few things today. First, I want to take the guys to the barber shop across the street then since it's just for a visit and not everyone will want a cut maybe to the sports bar down the road. Miranda is amazing at all things beauty related, and she has offered to take the ladies to the salon here. She even wants to teach you about makeup and stuff, which I'd never be able to do."

Miranda smiles and says," Charles has made plans to steal the guys because this could take some time, and he knows that because I'm a beautician, and there are thirteen of you. This will be an undertaking, but I know you guys have more plans, so I will try to be as quick as possible." She tells the girls to follow her, and I wish I was able to go too. However, we were led across the street, and it was ok. They showed us a book with hair styles, and my hair was cut recently, so I just said I'd get a shave to get my scruff gone.

We didn't take too long, so the sports bar was next. I'm glad I came now. Some of the aiming games were on the television. He showed us a few sports, and he told us there, names, and how it worked sort of. There are a lot of rules for some, so it will definitely take some time to learn it all. I liked basketball ball a lot, and most of the guys seemed to love football. It was ok, but I preferred basketball. We watched some of the games and learned about some rules and regulations. We had some frys which are also becoming one of my favorite foods. Then we got sodas for the road.

We went back outside and meant all the ladies by the salon. We handed out all the drinks. Then we all sat down and talked while we drank them and shared some of our experiences at the bar and salon. Citrine looked really nice, and the girls showed us their nails on their hands and feet. It was awesome to see how they got them painted. They had all bought some makeup, and Miranda was going to teach them how to use it after we go swimming tonight.

Onyx POV

I think Tanzanite could be my new best friend / brother. We have a lot in common, and he isn't just a follower like all my old friends were. We talked about a lot from our past and our old plans for our futures. We call them old because with this big change, no proof its going to work out this way anymore. We all enjoyed how happy our sisters were. I just love having sisters it was something I always thought I should have.

I was always like, "Why don't we have any sisters? All my friends have sisters. which wasn't even true. There were lots of families that only had one kid, just I was sure I should have sisters. May be I just knew more than i thought about things. Like subconsciously, I remembered we weren't actually just twins, and I had more people to look out for than just one. Who knows, maybe I was just going crazy and am winning now because I have so many sisters to love.

Beryl POV

I had a friend before we left. Hopefully, I still do have this friend, but I didn't get to tell him I was leaving, so who knows. He was very straightforward with me about stuff. He didn't hide anything, and he told me the first day he talked to me that he was interested in guys and thinks I'm attractive. I was equally as honest I told him that I hadn't had interest in guys as of yet and that so far I had only liked girls but that I wasn't upset he liked me and we became friends. He was pretty much my best friend. We hung out all the time, and he told me about the disastrous dates he'd been on.

I haven't been on many dates yet. My parents wanted me to wait. They said to be eighteen and find my soul match before I messed things up, and I took that to heart. I don't want to meet mine, and she doesn't want me because of something dumb I've done in the past. I talked to him about that his name is Timothy, and he was sad. He said that he didn't know if he'd have a soul match since he wasn't interested in women, and I wasn't sure what to say.

I wouldn't think that our goddess would put him with someone he doesn't want, but what if I said that and he did get stuck with a woman or worse, no one ever was found. I think he's the sweetest guy, and he deserves a soul match that is perfect for him, so I believe the goddess will let it happen for him and make him happy. I don't know why I was thinking about Timothy. Maybe I'm just missing my friend. I decided long ago that I would never judge anyone on anything, and it's made me so happy. I make friends easily, and I can't wait to meet my soul match. I hope I meet her soon so I can tell her my heart was hers long ago and about my mom's words to wait.

I love hanging out with my brothers so far. Onyx and Tanzanite are cool, and they helped me pick a hair style that looks great on me earlier. I suck at those kinds of things, but I can see us all being great friends. I know we are brothers, but you can be friends with siblings. Agate and Garnet are great they both love football as do I. We also have been talking about our childhoods to catch up on everything, and there are some similarities.

Then Jasper and Topaz, well Jasper is just cool he has stories I'd just die to have. The day he almost got killed by a shark. Then the day he hid inside an octopus and almost died of fright when he realized it wasn't kelp and it wasn't happy. He said he had barely gotten away. I guess they could be exaggerated, but they are still crazy amazing.

Topaz is definitely the lover, not a fighter type he's also not very talkative, but when he talks, he shares things without sharing things. For example when Jasper shares the reason he hid in the octopus, which was because he was being chased by a group of bullies he stood up to for a friend. Topaz said,"I'd love to be able to do that, but I'd never be able to." Then when Jasper explained the shark thing. Jasper said," So I saw this cool reef that had some weird stuff around it and I went to explore it.Normally I'd look closer but near the bottom was a few pieces of a broken ship and I was swimming around one when a shark swooped at me I don't know if he planned to eat me or she I don't know it's gender. I didn't want to stay to find out either of those things. I took off. The shark chased me and I ended up using a cave I'd been in b4 to lose the shark I knew there was a small hole at the back I could get out of so the shark was stuck. Not stuck stuck when it realized it could back out, it would be fine, but I'd have time to be long gone by then." Topaz said." I don't know. Exploring isn't really for me."

I know it doesn't sound like much, but to me, it feels like he is more into love and not fighting. That's fine. Lots of people prefer not to fight. I'm sure if the time comes and it's needed, he would be there for anyone he loves in ways we couldn't imagine. I think love makes everyone stronger. It's actually amazing to see the changes people go through when they find their other half.

Topaz POV

I had watched a few of my school friends meet their soul matches. It's strange to see, but something I always loved and couldn't wait for it to happen for me. It's like watching a person change to who 6 meant to be. I had this crazy as all get out, friend. The woman wouldn't calm down at all. She was always talking and freaking out about every little thing. She turned eighteen a few weeks ago, and she had all these insane plans. She would say things like," Now that I'm eighteen, I'm gonna travel the oceans swimming into caves and old volcanos. I'm gonna see if I can live with the sharks and learn everything about them. Maybe I can even fight one and eat like them. Now that I'm eighteen, my parents can't tell me what to do anymore. I just can't wait till school ends so I can really start living."

School had about a week left init when we left, but we'd done our tests, and it was mostly just for catch-up. I'm sure all our parents handled school for us. She had all those plans, and it makes sense now why she did, but she calmed down a little almost instantly. A bunch of our friends were hanging out, and my friend Mark's cousin was coming over. He always talked out how cool his cousin was, and we'd heard stories about him like," He goes to the most dangerous places and takes the best pictures you'll ever see." or " My mom told me his parents had a heart attack because he was attacked by a shark. The strange part is it doesn't seem like he got hurt, and i don't know how. So the next time I saw him, I asked. He said well there is something we should all know about shark's you see, If they think you're after their young, you're as good as dead. So it stood to reason if I headed toward a momma shark and her babie she'd attack and hard so I swam down and she collided face first with this shark who had wanted to eat me. She almost killed him when he was finally let go he was bleeding from so many places. I enjoyed my visit to the sharks. I got some really great pictures of them, and that fight I got epic pictures of that."

This guy was named Travis, and when he showed up, it was a magic moment. The ladies had been across the room, and Mark had yelled to come meet his cousin. We were all shaking hands. The girls name was Alyssa she was at the back of her group as all the girls came over. The faces they made at Travis were crazy good he was good-looking, and they all saw it as they said hi, nice to meet you or welcome. Then, as Alyssa got closer, she looked up at him, and their eyes meant. That's how you find your soul match, lock your eyes, lock your soul, then your life changes, and you'd do anything for them.

She swam into his arms, and he caught her holding her tight. He mumbled the one word he could, and she finished it with the one word she could before they kissed. "Soul.." Then " Match" it was amazing. They both left right after an intense make-out session that almost got rated R, and the next time I saw them, they caught me up. "We bought a house and are expecting our first baby." They had eachothers marks on their necks. A mermaid or merman can mark a few different ways most decide to do all of them. A bite that we can see to let everyone know they have been taken and not to touch. A small mark hidden that claims them as a part of you and a melding of their soul to make them whole and connected as one.

This topic seems to be a big point among us all. I'd assume because our birthday is getting closer. We headed to our hotel, and we went to the restaurant inside it. We all eat a ton in a hurry and then head upstairs to get ready to go swim. We are sll so excited, but Charles stopped us, saying," Let's listen to some music and hang out for a few.Remember can't swim for half an hour after eating." We listened to two songs, then headed down to the pool in was strange to see inside this building, but we all loved it almost instantly.