Once upon a time there was a mermaid named Athena who was born a princess in the deep sea where her father, King Titus, ruled over the Mer-Kingdom.

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Across the other side of the kingdom there was another mermaid born on the same day and her name was Princess Mari.

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One day Athena was swimming and singing in the far ocean when she bumped into another mermaid. The two mermaids went spinning and started laughing together. Athena apologized and they both played together for the rest of the day.

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The two mermaids became the best of friends and searched the ocean high and low for shiny new trinkets that they would secretly hide in their rooms.

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One day Athena asked her father King Titus if she could go to the shoreline to play with her friend Mari.

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King Titus was angry and asked her what the number one rule of the kingdom is. She hung her head and said "we are not to go near the shoreline because that is where the humans are." Her father smiled and told her there is nothing above the water for her and to go have fun playing with Mari near the reef where it is safe.

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Even though the King ordered Athena to stay away from the shoreline, Athen couldn't help but to be very curious about the humans, so she tricked Mari into going to a shipwreck that was close to the shore.

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When they got to the shipwreck, Athena swam above the ship and told Mari she saw something on the shoreline. Mari warned her about her father's demands not to go above the water and away from shore, but Athena didn't listen.

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Athena poked her head above the water and she saw a little girl walking on the shore collecting things off of the ground. She swam closer to the shore and asked the little girl what she was picking up. The little girl said she was gathering seashells to take home to her parents.

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Meanwhile, Mari was still under the water because she didn't want to disobey King Titus' rules for the Mer-kingdom. After a while she became worried about Athena, and swam above the water to check on her.

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Mari saw that Athena was talking with a human girl, and she quickly became worried for her friends safety. When Athena saw Mari swimming towards her, she was excited to introduce Mari to her new friend. Then she saw the look on Mari's face. Mari looked angry.

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Athena was afraid for her new friend, so she quickly introduced herself and asked her what her name was so she could remember it and come find her again. The human girl said "my name is Luna and I can't wait to see you again Athena."

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Athena quickly swam towards Mari and said, "come on let's go before my father wonders where we have wandered off to." Mari followed and asked who the human was that she was talking to. Athena said "her name is Luna and we are going to become great friends."

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Mari got very upset and swam faster than Athena to get some alone time. Athena caught up to Mari and asked her what was wrong. Mari said "I can't believe that you would rather spend time with a human than me, your best friend."

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Athena got angry. "She's not just a human. Her name is Luna. She is nice and I want her to be my friend." Then, Athena and Mari swam to their separate sides of the kingdom and didn't talk to each other for the rest of the day.

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Weeks went by without spending time with Mari instead, she was secretly sneaking off to see Luna. She learned that Luna was adventurous, just like her and that she lived near the beach with her parents. However, Athena wished she could walk with Luna on the beach collecting seashells instead of being stuck in the water.

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Meanwhile, Mari's anger and jealousy worsened and she decided to tell King Titus what his daughter had been up to. When King Titus learned that his daughter had been spending her time with a human, he was furious and called for his guards to fetch his daughter and bring her home.

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Athena and Luna were talking near the shore when all of a sudden four of the King's guards rose up from beneath the water. They told her King Titus demanded her attendance at once! She waved goodbye to Luna and swam with the guards back to the Kingdom, knowing that she was going to be in a lot of trouble with her father when she arrived.

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Filled with nerves, Athena entered into the Kingdom and followed her father into her room. He demanded that she never see Luna again because it was too dangerous. Athena became very angry and exclaimed "but she is my friend and I want to spend time with her!" King Titus loudly struck his trident on the ground and reminded Athena of the number one rule of the Mer-Kingdom. Before he turned to leave the room, he struck all of Athena's trinkets with his trident's lightening bolt power, destroying all but one.

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Athena cried for days. She was lonely and frustrated by her father's demands. Then, despite what her father said, she began to sneak off to the shoreline each night where she would sing to Luna so that Luna knew she was still there.

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