Treasured Heart

Chapter 2

A/N: Now that I know nothing about diving, and I've done quite a bit of research about it as well as maritime archaeology, so any and all errors regarding those subjects are mine. And, I may take a few creative liberties along the way, but nothing too outrageous.

A huge shout out to my beta, Heather, for her awesome beta skills.

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...Chapter 2.....

At quarter to six the following morning, Dad knocked on my door, letting me know that we had arrived and to wake up.

Immediately, I got out of bed and raced through my morning rituals of showering and brushing my teeth.

I put on my bathing suit before putting on a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top and then slipped my feet into a pair of sandals.

By the time I made it to onto the deck, my dad and Carlisle had gotten all of the diving equipment prepped and ready to go, and my excitement kicked in.

I couldn't wait to get in the water and begin the search for the Sirène and the Treasured Heart. Oh, I knew there was a very slim chance we'd actually find it, but that didn't diminish my excitement in the slightest.

Edward, on the other hand, looked bored to death at the talk going on around him.

"Are you going with?" I asked him, and he shook his head before telling me he was going to stay on the boat with his mom.

Thirty minutes later, Carlisle, Dad, and I were in the water, armed with dive lights and knives. Carlisle also had a small underwater metal detector, so we were following his lead.

The further down we dived, the more alive the ocean became. There were fish of all shapes, sizes, and colors, swimming about, and I took a moment to take it all in. Seeing the marine life was one of my favorite things about diving, and I took a few pictures with the underwater camera attached to the belt around my waist.

Carlisle's voice came through our diver communication units, and he told us to spread out and look around for anything that might indicate we were in the right area.

Dad warned me not to go so far that he couldn't see me, and I gave him a thumbs up because he said the same thing every time we went on a dive.

I moved a few feet away and spotted something under the sand. Gently, I waved my hand a few inches above the sand to clear it off only to reveal a rock underneath.

For forty minutes, I surveyed the area I'd designated mine, but I didn't find anything beyond a few glass bottles, some rocks, and some seashells. Some of which I put in a small bag that I had with me.

"I've got nothing over here," I said over the communication unit.

"Same," came Dad and Carlisle's replies before Carlisle suggested we take a break for a few hours and try again later.

Once we were back on the boat, Dad and Carlisle went over to the map that was located just inside the wheelhouse. The map was pinned to the wall and had divided into different grids. Once we searched a grid area, they would mark it off, so we wouldn't waste our time searching the same location twice. If anything was found, it was also marked on the grid.

Stripping out of my dive gear, I rinsed off quickly in the small outdoor shower that was on the starboard side before drying off and walking back toward the bag I'd set down.

"What did you find, Bells?" Dad asked me, and I grinned when I pulled out the two glass bottles I'd found.

"For my collection," I explained. Dad had his own collection of coins and pottery, so he wasn't about to judge my bottle collection.