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Zuma hopes that Merliah will claim her birthright and usurp Eris. Oceana's current queen is Eris, Calissa's sister, who is a tyrant and took the throne when Calissa went missing years earlier. Zuma explains to Merliah that her mother is Calissa, previous queen of the underwater kingdom of Oceana. Merliah doesn't believe him and goes to her friends Fallon and Hadley, telling them the story.Zuma appears to the girls, confirming that Merliah is half-mermaid.
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Break explains that Merliah's mother is a mermaid and that Merliah was given to Break as a baby to raise because she was born with legs. Merliah then goes home to get her head straight.Merliah tells Break, her grandfather, of the incident. While Fallon is just as skeptical as Merliah, Hadley believes the occurrences are true. Merliah is shocked by this turn of events and tells her friends Fallon and Hadley about what happened. While underwater, she discovers that she can breathe in water, and is approached by talking pink dolphin named Zuma.
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While participating in a surfing competition, Merliah loses concentration when her hair spontaneously streaks pink and wipes out.
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