Creatures from the Ocean (Sciles)

11: Stilinski Reunion

"Yeah, Mom promised us that too." I mutter under my breath. With a sudden jolt of shock, I realize the horrible mistake I made. I look over to my dad to see the hurt expression on his face. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry..." I stutter, trying to apologize. Dad cuts me off before I get too far. "It's okay, don't worry about it. You did have a point." Dad sighs.

"Dad, I feel really awful for saying that. I'm really sorry." I try again, looking at my dad as apologetically as I can.

"It's okay. I know that you didn't mean anything by it." Dad assures me. We continue to walk along the beach.

"I just... Don't want you getting hurt." I reply simply, running my hands through my hair. Dad puts an arm around my shoulder. "I'll be fine. You know I'm a fighter, just as the rest of the Royal Guard is. It may take some time, but we will defeat Vanessa and her army." He tells me.

"That reminds me. I don't think you've ever told me what was so bad about Vanessa. All I've heard is that she's very evil and very powerful. What happened? What is she? What can she do that's so bad?" I ask, my curiosity over the years finally spilling over the edge. Dad sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Vanessa is a sea witch. A very powerful one at that. A long time ago, she was found guilty of transforming whoever got close to her land to stone, both merfolk and humans alike. When she was put up for trial, Vanessa begged and pleaded for us to let her go. She promised it wouldn't happen again. Of course, we both refused. We knew that she was unstable and has been that way for many years. Unfortunately, we had to banish her from the kingdom to keep our people safe and held her prison in what we thought was an inescapable whirlpool. At some point, she escaped. Maybe someone helped her, I don't know. What I do know is that she swore to take revenge on Atlantia, and she has. Vanessa has murdered many innocent mermen and mermaids to get to the place she is at now, but she won't stop there. She will continue to take the lives of innocents in order for her to get what she wants." Dad explains with serious expression on his face. I feel my heart beat faster and my blood turn ice cold. I can't help but shiver. My eyes sting a little bit. I wipe them quickly before responding. "That's awful." I comment. Dad nods in agreement. "That's why it is so important that we stop her. If we don't, she will continue to take over the ocean. Eventually, she'd have total control over the whole ocean, including all the underwater kingdoms." He sighs. "I... I never knew it was that important." I say. It's true. No one ever told me it was this bad. All I knew was that there was a dangerous war threatening the kingdom.

"I didn't want to scare you." Dad replies honestly.

"Fair enough." I shrug.

"But I think you're old enough now to understand the situation and be mature about it." Dad continues.

"Okay, thanks I guess?" I say, frowning slightly in confusion. Dad chuckles at my response.

"Let's move on from this topic. Tell me about what has been happening in your life. Has Deaton started teaching you about your powers?" Dad asks. I'm glad for the change of topic.

"Er, yeah, he has. It's going really well. I'm a fast learner." I tell Dad with a grin. He nods in approval.

"Anything else?" Dad asks curiously. Memories of the sirens, Daniel Miller and Scott almost finding out what I really am all come to mind. I decide to tell my dad about the sirens and Daniel Miller. "Well... There were these sirens that came to Beacon Hills for whatever reason. I feared that they would get out of control, but luckily, I stopped them. You can thank Deaton for that one." I begin. Dad smiles proudly.