SHELLY FELL ON HER SEA FAN bed and sobbed. “I can’t believe Grandpa kept the truth from me all these years.” Shelly’s parents had died when she was quite young, and her grandfather had raised her from a small fry. Never in all the lessons he had taught her about royalty had he ever hinted she was a princess. Was she the only one who didn’t know? No, if Echo knew, she would have told her the truth. Shelly was sure of that.

Shelly rolled over and stared at the bioluminescent plankton that glowed on the ceiling of her small room. She still had so many unanswered questions. What was she supposed to do, now that she was a princess? Would she have to move out of the People Museum like Pearl said? Could she ever see her friends again? She had a terrible feeling in her stomach. She had always lived in Trident City.

Shelly usually didn’t like sparkly things, but the plankton’s bright flashes of light were pleasant.

“I guess if I really am a princess, I’ll have to get used to lots of glittery things,” she told the plankton as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

Shelly sighed and tried to picture herself as royalty. She closed her eyes and imagined a grand undersea castle. Soon she fell asleep and dreamed. Wearing a shiny crown and a glistening dress that shimmered with diamonds and emeralds, she sat in a large pink shell carriage drawn by majestic dolphins, bigger than any she’d ever seen.

The dolphins pulled her along in a parade. She waved to all the merpeople as she passed by. They cheered, “Long live Princess Shelly! Long live Princess Shelly!”

Suddenly one of the merpeople reached out and grabbed her. Shelly screamed and sat straight up in bed. Grandfather Siren floated beside her, his hand on her arm. “I didn’t want to wake you,” he said, “but, my little shell, I need to explain.”

Shelly shook her head. “You already did.”

“Well, not the whole story,” Grandfather said. “But I promise I never meant to hurt you. The truth is, your mother was a princess, but she wanted to live a normal life. Your father, my son, married into royalty. When they died, I knew someday you would live as a royal. I kept it a secret so that other merchildren wouldn’t treat you differently. Very few people in the ocean even know about you.”

Shelly remembered how everyone had stared at her in the cafeteria and started saying all kinds of ridiculous things. Especially Pearl and Rocky. Shelly nodded slowly. “I’m sorry about what I said. It’s just so hard to believe.”