Key/Guide: "Words" - human speech, "Words" - mer speech, 'Words' - human thoughts, 'Words' - mer thoughts, *Words* - mind link (Pitch and Pearl), *Words* - telepathy (for Pitch and Pearl to communicate).

Seven Years Later

No One's POV

Two mermen were sitting on a rock, looking over the ocean. They were singing, letting their emotions from the day out in a song. The song had no words, but it was beautiful none the less.

But that beauty was cut off by a scream. Both of the mermen were about to jump back into the sea when they were caught in a net. It rubbed against their scales and it hurt. "Caught them." a male voice said behind the mermen. "Don't struggle. It'll only make things worse." a female voice said. *What do we do, Pearl?* Pitch asked. *I don't know Pitch. I don't know.* Pearl replied sadly.

"You'll be a nice display for the royals. Probably kept as pets, too." the male snarled. The mermen stiffened at that. 'No. We can't leave the sea unprotected.' the mermen thought. Soon, the mermen were brought into the back of a truck that had water in it, still in the net. They were driven off, away from the sea and towards the kingdom. (A/N: So what?! They aren't that behind in tech! Humph.)

*Where do you think they're taking us?* Pitch asked Pearl. *I don't know. But we're getting farther from the sea. Look.* Pearl told Pitch, pointing towards the direction they came from. Pitch looked where Pearl was pointing and saw that they were indeed getting farther from the sea.

A couple hours later

No One's POV

The male came out of the truck and grabbed the mermen, still in the net. He threw them into a bin that had water in it, and rolled it to who knows where. "Your highness." the woman said and bowed. "Hello Maddie. Jack. What do you have now?" the queen asked. "We caught two mermen. We decided to bring them to you to decide what to do with them." Jack said as he brought the netted mermen out.

At that moment, Sam came into the room and looked at her parents and the mer-hunters. Then she looked at the netted mermen and made a decision. "Mom, dad." Sam said, gaining everyone's attention. "What is it, Sammy-kins?" her mother asked. "Can I have them?" Sam asked, pointing to the mermen. Her parents, the king and queen, looked between each other. "Why yes. We'll have an aquarium built into your room so that you can look at them. It will have enough space for them to move. Alright?" her mom asked. "Yes. That will be fine." Sam replied.

A couple hours later (I know, I'm lazy...... But do these workers build fast or what?)

No One's POV

"And now, to add the finishing touch." Jack said as he dumped the two mermen into the tank and out of the net. The mermen tumbled out of the net in a jumble of limbs. Jack went down the ladder and left Sam's room, leaving only Sam and the mermen. After a moment of silence for Sam to know that she was completely alone, she went over to the glass and looked at the mermen unjumble themselves.

"I'm sorry about what they did to you. Not all humans are like that." Sam told the two mermen once they were free from each other. The mermen looked at her. *What is your name?* one of them asked her, but she couldn't tell which one. "You can use telepathy?" Sam asked, completely amazed. *Yes. And again, what is your name?* one of them asked, Sam still unsure of who 'talked'. "The name's Sam. I have friend who also feels the way I do about mer-people. I can go and get him, if you'd like." Sam told them. *Alright. Please come back.* they said in unison, which Sam could tell they both 'spoke'. "I will." Sam said and left the room, leaving the mermen alone.

"What should we do Pearl?" Pitch asked his twin. "I don't know Pitch. We can only hope that we get out of here, and soon." Pearl replied.

Soon after, Sam came back with a boy. "This is my friend, Tucker." Sam introduced. "Nice to meet you." Tucker said. *Nice to meet you Tucker.* one of them replied. "You weren't kidding when you said that they had telepathy." Tucker told Sam. *We can hear you.* they both said, annoyed. "Sorry. Also, how can we tell when one of you are speaking?" Sam asked. *Well, my voice is lighter than his. And his is a bit deeper than mine. When we actually talk, we both have an echo to it.* Pitch told them. "But also, who are you? We haven't gotten your names yet." Tucker said. *Oh, sorry. My name is Pitch.* Pitch told them. *And I'm Pearl.* Pearl told them.

"Why aren't you two talking? I think that it's been proven that humans and mer-people understand each other. The only thing different is the accents." Sam said. Pitch and Pearl sighed. *It's because....* Pitch trailed off. "Because of what?" Sam asked. Pitch and Pearl looked at each other, then nodded. *It's because we are the only male sirens, and you might do something if we were to talk.* Pearl stated. Sam and Tucker looked at each other.

"Um, believe it or not, but, seven years ago, Tucker and I were at the beach when we saw two mermen that looked about our age, and they were singing. It was beautiful, and we constantly went back to hear it. I think that it was you two that we saw." Sam said. *Oh, so you were the humans that we heard.* Pitch said. "Wait. You knew that we were there? Since when?" Tucker asked. *When we first went up to the surface world, seven years ago.* Pearl said.