When Lisha arrived at the enclave, a surprising sight met her eyes - she found her mother giving Braana a stern lecture (which the girls referred to as 'nagging') about when and when not to use her restless imagination. The little mermaid had concocted a tale of sea snakes frolicking around beds when the occupants were asleep. It was originally directed at scaring Prisha and it worked perfectly. The frightened mermaid wouldn't sleep anywhere else other than right next to her mother, with her mother's arms around her. But the worst part was that she would wake up at odd hours out of fear for snakes, due to the very horrific and vivid picture Braana had planted in her mind. Lisha was much elated to see the sour and contrite face of her youngest sister as she received the angry tongue-lash from their mother. She was more than happy to let it run its course, so she patiently waited until Maana finished her lecture and dismissed the now sobbing mermaid who would certainly find comfort in Rana's arms.
"What is it, Lisha?", Maana sighed as her second daughter sidled up to her.
"A lot, Mother."
"What lot? And by the way, where have you been all evening?"
"On the land."
"Without my permission?"
"I'm an adult, Mother," Lisha grumbled defiantly.
"So what? Does that give you the right to flout my orders?"
"That's not important for now, Mother. I have news. Very big news."
"What news? Has Ben been found?" Maana asked anxiously.
"No. But I know who has him. Sli... I mean, Thansa."
"What! Where did you get that from? Did his friend..."
"I saw it with my own eyes, Mother. I had gone to ask that Joey guy for updates and suddenly, I saw someone that I thought looked very much like Thansa, so I called out to him. But he didn't reply. So I ran after him. Before I could catch up with him, he had gone into a building. But when I looked through the window, I saw Ben.. in chains and very weak."
"Oh God of the stars. Have you told all this to his friend?"
"Yes, Mother. He even..."
"Mother, we need to talk," Rana said as she swam out of the enclave. But before her mother could turn her face away, she had already caught the shocked expression on it. Seeing Lisha with her further heightened her suspicion that something serious was up. 
"What is it, Mother?", she quickly asked.
"Not..."
"Thansa's the one holding Ben. I saw him myself," Lisha offered, cutting her Mother off and earning herself an angry glance from the woman.
"What! Mother! You were planning to keep this from me, weren't you?", Rana accused.
"Well, not that there's anything much you can do. Your sister has already told your fiance's friend and I'm sure he'll call the police or some other people to handle everything. Ben will surely be okay."
"You don't know that, Mother! I want to be there. I've stayed away for too long, pretending that there's nothing I can do."
"But..."
"You can't stop me, Mother. I will go to the land and make sure my Ben gets out of the clutches of that evil monster."
With that and a pair of flashing eyes, she whipped her tail around, ready to put her words into immediate action. But her mother quickly grabbed her by the hand.
"But you can't go tonight, dear. Why not rest, gather some strength and wait till tomorrow?", she pleaded.
"Mother's right, Rana," Lisha concurred. "We can even leave at the very early..."
"Will you shut up your careless trap, you insolent brat! Now, get out of here!"
Maana waited till Lisha had gone out of earshot before turning to her eldest daughter again.
"Look, Rana. I am truly sorry that all this has happened to you and everything I have done has been in your best interests. I still do not think that it is necessary for you to go on the land yet, at least not until your fiance is found and rescued. But if you insist, you're free to go. I only wish that you stay till tomorrow, rather than rushing out tonight."
"I've heard you, Mother," Rana clipped and stormed back into the enclave.
Maana sighed in relief as she watched her go. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to be caught in the middle of any nasty crossfire between testosterone-filled men. She had no doubt whatsoever that the reason Thansa had kidnapped her fiance was to hold Rana to ransom. If she were to get involved in any rescue effort, it would mean that she had played directly into Thansa's hands. Hopefully, the rescue mission would have been concluded long before morning.