A long time ago two merpeople, the king and queen of an underwater empire, decided to create a small village that humans could live in. To protect the village from flooding, they used rare magic to produce a dome. This enchanted dome would keep the water out, but it would have to be reinforced yearly. The mermaids decided that a small price should be paid, for this kind of magic was hard work. Crystals were a vital part of their lives, so then the price of ten crystal was set.

Many people began to fight over who would get to live in the village, so the mermaids kicked them out of the tours. It was like an open house down there, people everywhere.

Group Photo!

Finally, the mermaids made their choice. They chose the politest, most respectful people who came to be allowed to stay in the village. In all, there were 50 people chosen. The village was up all night celebrating. They thanked the mermaids over and over again.

Soon, however, tragedy struck. An enormous tsunami struck the mermaids' kingdom. The palace was destroyed and the king and queen disappeared! Search parties went out and signs were posted throughout the entire ocean, and everywhere else where merpeople lived. The king and queen were not to be found.

Missing!

Queen Alicia and King Micheal disappeared in the tragic tsunami that struck on March 5th, 1658. Anyone who has information is required to inform Princess Brianna, who is filling in for her parents in their absence.

The spoiled princess Brianna did not have her parents wisdom or kindness. She was still furious that her mother and father had permitted humans to share her ocean, let alone give them the crystal mine. She did not understand the deeper reasoning in her parents' choice.

Brianna had greatly underestimated her parents wisdom. They had been afraid of this and had set up a government system that prevented any person substituting for the king and queen from making any big decisions until the week was up and the sub became the official king/queen. Brianna was furious...again.

Soon word reached the town about the missing queen and king. All the townsfolk were very upset, both for the loss of such kind people and because even they could see Brianna would rule unjustly.

Their new home would be destroyed as soon as the princess gained full power over the empire! This was the only thing the townsfolk were certain of. They gathered together and had a meeting in the largest house. The meeting was only for adults, though. All the grown ups thought kids would be a big distraction for such an urgent matter. The kids listened at the door.

The princess is spoiled and wants crystals. Maybe we should give her a lot of crystals to make her happy! That has to work.

Somehow this plan didn't seem quite right. The kids realized that more gems would only make the princess greedier, just as getting a little food when you are hungry makes you hungrier. They had to solve the problem before the grownups put this faulty plan into action!

Finally the kids made a plan. If the princess thought that she had gotten everything they had, maybe she would leave them alone. They disguised some of the mine openings, and hid or covered others. Soon the only openings were to abandoned mines. Then they took a small cart and filled it with gems, 18 to be exact.

A day later the kids called the princess and told her that they were going to give her the last of the crystals. As soon as Brianna arrived she demanded the crystals. The kids calmly handed over all 18 crystals. Before Brianna left, the kids showed her the empty mines for proof that those were their last crystals.

The last crystals!

When they finally told the adults, they were met with staring gazes and admiring looks. But their problems were not solved completely. The magic dome would need to be reinforced soon, and their was no way Brianna was going to do it, especially not when she thought she had all the crystals.

Of course, the grownups thought they could handle this all alone and sent the kids out to play. But the kids knew that no one except the king and queen could solve this problem. Not even the grownups. They had to find the king and queen, but how could they if all the mermaids put together could not. There was only one possibility: the king and queen were no longer in the ocean.