It took Kaleo five passes of the day cycle to get home to the edges of the Undine city of Anthemusa. His small coral dwelling was on the outskirts of the city. The closer he got to home, the heavier his body became, and the tighter his grip on the pearl grew.

When he opened the door, the bio-luminescent lights washed over him with green and blue light. Kaleo stiffened, gripping the pearl so tightly that his fingers went white, but nothing stirred in the house.

Entering slowly, he glanced around the door to find that the thing he was so worried about was sleeping soundly, tucked into her alcove.

Kaleo exhaled and his shoulders slumped. He closed the door behind him with a gentle nudge of his tail and moved over to the far side of the small coral home. Settling beside her bed, he laid a gentle hand on her gleaming white hair. Even in her sleep, she smiled at the touch. Carefully, he placed the pearl in the nest of her hair and rested his cheek on the edge of her pillow to watch her sleep until his own exhaustion overcame him.

When he woke, Pearl was giggling and she poked his nose. "Daddy, are you awake?"

For a moment, the entire world was her laughter and the warmth of her finger. "No, sweetfish. I'm still asleep." He cracked open an eye and smiled. "Daddy needs a kiss from a princess to wake him up."

Pearl's tiny, round face scrunched up while she thought hard about what he said.

"Momo says I am not a princess." She lifted her hands to her hair and began to twist the ends of her curly locks. "She says I'm a queen!"

Kaleo laughed and sat up enough to scoop his daughter against him and bury his face in her shimmering hair. "Lucky for me, a kiss from a queen will also wake me."

Pearl pulled back to eye him, all the world's skepticism on her face while she processed this news. "You look awfully awake to me, Daddy." She patted his cheek, making him close his eyes for fear her tiny claws would poke one of them by accident.

Kaleo huffed at the logic of his little minnow. What was he supposed to say to that? He sighed and nuzzled her head with his cheek. "Can I have a kiss anyway, sweetfish?"

Despite all her misgivings, Pearl smiled at him, widely enough to show that the wiggly tooth she'd had before he'd left had fallen out. His daughter leaned forward and kissed his cheek, giggling all the while.

Kaleo sat back on his tail to return her smile, but a glint of light caught his attention. There it was, sitting innocuously on Pearl's pillow; Calandra's vitae gem glittered with light that came from within. Even though the gem was beautiful to look at, it seemed to Kaleo that the light was menacing him, throwing the room into shadow that made his heart beat quicker with dread. All of the memories of his trip with Calandra came crashing back into his mind and the roar of the waves filled his ears.

He shivered and Pearl piped up, a beacon in the storm of his memories. "Daddy? You okay?"

Kaleo focused on her and the task ahead of him. "Pearl, I need to tell you something." His hands settled in his lap with his fingers interlocked.

Pearl looked up to him: even seated on the floor, he was taller than she was on her bed. Her eyes were intent on his face and her eyebrows drew down at the sudden shift in mood.

Kaleo took a deep breath to steel himself against this impossible task. "There was a storm while Mommy and I were on our trip." Kaleo thought he would be able to say everything after all. "It was a very bad storm, Pearl, and Calandra...Calandra..." He glanced at the pearl on his daughter's pillow and felt his throat begin to grow tight. If he didn't manage this now, it would never be said. "Your mother died."

The tears came hotly into his eyes and he bit his lip, using the short burst of pain to hold them back for the moment. "I'm sorry, sweetfish." His hands tightened their grip on each other. Kaleo waited with quiet foreboding for his daughter's tears. Pearl simply tilted her head and looked at him in confusion.

"Okay." She reached up and began to twist the ends of her hair once more. "But when is Mommy coming home?"

Kaleo's chest twinged painfully. He took another deliberate breath, focusing on his chest rising and falling before he could respond. "She's not, Pearl. Mommy is gone." He lifted a trembling hand and picked up the vitae gem, holding it out to his daughter. "This is all that is left of Calandra."

Her vitae gem cast a soft glow over Pearl's face, the remnants of a mother's love for her daughter.