Yuju swam gracefully yet quickly through the water. It was still early morning, the sunlight caused the water around her around her to shimmer. It was a rather long journey to the bottom of the ocean, but it was worth the trip. The light faded as she swam deeper but her eyes adjusted to the dimmer water quickly. Soon, a large underwater kingdom came into view. The lights from the kingdom lit up the dark water in front of Yuju. Her tail naturally moved faster as she became more excited to see her friends and family. She swam through the gates and greeted the two guards politely, earning a smile from both of them. Yuju was well known within the kingdom, as proven by this event.

The scenery around her had changed dramatically compared to what she remembered. The kingdom looked much more modern. Mermaids and mermen swam down the boulevard holding shopping bags. The once old-fashioned kingdom Yuju remembered had evolved into a chic city. To Yuju's delight, one place remained unchanged — The palace

The palace could be seen in the distance. Its creamy yellow towers contrasted greatly to the cooler tones presented in the shopping center. Although the castle could be considered old-fashioned, it brought back many fond memories. However, those memories were cut off by some sudden chatter around her.

"Oh my! Isn't that the princess?"

"No way! Did she really return?"

"That's definitely Princess Yuna!"

Although it was obvious the mermaids and mermen around Yuju tried to speak quietly, she could still hear them well. The townspeople knew that Yuju left to live with some land-dwellers, as the merfolk referred to them. They were always excited when the princess returned. Yuju waved to them, causing some squeals from the mermaids and some blushing on the mermens' cheeks. The princess swam away laughing silently at the reactions of the people around her.

"She's even prettier than the last time I saw her,"

"I know! Oh my gosh, her tail is so shiny!"

"Honestly, those creatures she's living with must be so jealous of her,"

"Those land-dwellers are so lucky~ They get to see her every day,"

Yuju listened to the chatter about her as she swam towards the palace. Some of the merfolk despised the five girls Yuju decided to live with while others were envious that they got to see the princess so often. Yuju always tried her best to visit often so the underwater community wouldn't cause an uproar about the people stealing their princess.

The constant talking died down as she got closer and closer to the palace. Guards lined the pathway that led to the elaborately designed golden gate. The guards bowed their heads as Yuju swam by, only looking back up once the mermaid completely passed them. The gate opened slowly, allowing Yuju to pass through into the courtyard outside of the main entrance. Some underwater plants provided numerous colors in contrast to the creamy yellow walls. Yuju watched a herd of seahorses zigzag between some strands of seaweed before she heading off to the large double doors. The guards at the door bowed immediately and unlocked the door. Yuju thanked them quickly and made her way into the castle.

Yuju dragged her finger lightly along the corridor's wall that led to the throne room. The corridor's decoration was quite intricate, the red decor matched very well with the yellow theme of the castle's architecture. 

Yuju was directly outside of her desired location. Satin red curtains were hanging in front of her, blocking the view of the room behind them. She pushed them aside and went into the throne room. There were four thrones lined up along the wall, one for each od Yuju's parents, one for her older sister, and one for her. Yuju's sister was the only one seated on her throne. She appeared to be reading a book. Yuju guessed that her parents were attending a royal meeting given their absence.

Yuju cleared to get her sister's attention. The older mermaid looked up from her book before dropping it onto the floor and springing up from her seat. 

"Yuna!" Her sister squealed as she swam briskly towards Yuju. She practically attacked Yuju with a hug which resulted in them spinning around for a moment. 

"I missed you so much!" Her sister shouted while squeezed her tighter. Yuju laughed and hugged her sister tighter as well.

"I missed you too!" Yuju said as she and her sister finally separated from the hug. Both mermaids couldn't stop smiling at one another.

"How have you been? The others are nice to you, right? And they look after you?" Her sister began the typical checking-in questions. 

"I've been good, if they weren't nice to me I wouldn't stay with them, and we all look after each other," Yuju answered her sister's questions with a smile. Her sister continued the questioning for a few minutes before Yuju finally cut her off.

"Where are mom and dad?" She asked while looked around the room before focusing her attention back on her sister.

"They had some important business to take care of. They didn't tell me anything about it but they should be back tonight," Yuju's sister said with an apologetic smile, knowing that Yuju wanted to see her parents since it had been a while since she visited.

"Hopefully before I have to leave," Yuju said lowly before smiling at her sister once again.

"That just gives me more time to mess with my older sister," Yuju said impishly as she playfully punched her sister's arm. Her sister gasped and grabbed the part of her arm that Yuju hit.

"You dare hit royalty!?" Her sister said in the most stereotypical royal voice she could muster, causing Yuju to burst out laughing before playing along.

"Oh, I dare!" She said as she lightly hit her sister on the other arm. The two continued to play fight just like they did when they were kids. After an exhausting but enjoyable 15 minutes, the princesses decided to talk over some snacks.

Yuju's sister led the way to the kitchen, Yuju trailing just slightly behind her. The aromas from the kitchen started to invade Yuju's sense of smell as they got closer. There was a large wooden door in front of them. Yuju's sister opened it quickly. Mermaids and mermen wearing aprons could be seen preparing meals and snacks. 

"Excuse me, could one of you make something for me and Yuna?" Yuju's sister asked politely. A few mermaids volunteered and started putting together some fruits and other things for the princesses. One of the cooks handed Yuju's sister the tray full of food. She thanked everyone in the room before swimming away, Yuju once again followed closely behind. They made their way to Yuju's sister's room. Her sister set the tray on the bed and both settled onto the soft mattress.

They spent a good amount of the day on the bed talking about their lives. It was calm and relaxing, which is some things Yuju rarely got to experience since she met the others, particularly Yerin and SinB. 

Yuju looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. It was time for her to leave and yet her parents weren't back. Her sister glanced up to where Yuju was looking and immediately understood the depressed sigh she heard. Offering Yuju an apologetic smile, she grabbed her hand. She gently rubbed the back of Yuju's hand as a type of comfort.

"Don't worry Yuna, I'll tell them you stopped by and that you miss them," Her sister understood that Yuju was upset. She came all this way but couldn't see her parents. 

"I'll make sure to come back soon. Maybe they'll be here next time," Yuju tried to stay positive and gave her sister a smile.

"I'll lead you out," Her sister said as she got up, pulling Yuju up as well. They swam hand in hand to the front door. Yuju was pulled into a strong hug by her sister. Although shocked, Yuju hugged her sister back immediately.

"I'm sorry about mom and dad. I know you wanted to see them too," Her sister's voice was slightly muffled but Yuju could hear her nonetheless. 

"It's fine, at least I got to spend the whole day with you," Yuju said as the two mermaids separated. The guards opened the door and Yuju began to swim out.

"Bye Yuna, see you soon," Yuju's sister said as she waved. Yuju waved back and smiled brightly before swimming off into the distance. Her sister only stopped waving when Yuju's figure disappeared into the darker waters.

SURPRISE! I'm back~ Sorry it's been so long. I was really busy with a conference for a school organization so I didn't have any time to work T^T I can't make any promises on when I'll get to SinB's and Umji's chapters just because I'm busy with my summer homework *sigh* I'll try my best though! Thank you for those of you who stayed around and waited for me~ Love you and bye!