Hey! For those who don't know me, I'm Sorrel. I tried a Disney fanfiction before, and it didn't go according to plan, so I'm hoping this one while be better. The cover art is my own, and it represents Melody and the story's deutragonist.
I haven't seen the Little Mermaid 2 in a few years; I loved the original, and while I didn't really enjoy the second one as much, it's not bad as Disney sequels go. But I liked Melody - everyone does love the idea of a beloved character having children, so maybe this is why I like her. I was watching the Little Mermaid a few months back, when I remembered the sequel and Melody, and I got an idea.
This story is set when Melody is seventeen, five years after her film. Okay, I hope this goes well - take it away!
The waves lapped upon the stone steps, gentle and alluring. A small line of sand and pebble was all that separated the entire waterline from the limestone stairs, since at this moment the tide was starting to come in - and after the last five years, the once-smooth edges were starting to wear down somewhat, after the water and the more frequent use. Around the staircase, sand stretched out on both sides, forming the beach.
Some distance from the palace steps, further up the beach, the sand was golden and perfectly smooth except for some shells and pebbles. The water washed up the shore, moving toward a form in the middle of the beach. A young woman lay on the sand, her eyes closed, as the sun poured across the coast. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, with a thick, sea-green ribbon - she once had it in a simple green band, but she had decided to give it a change. Melody had been asleep there for some time, but as the incoming tide tickled her toes, she smiled, awoken by the feeling.
Opening her eyes, Melody sat up in a daze, tired and covered in sand. She shook her head to try and shake some off; the sun caught in her raven hair as her ponytail swept back over her shoulder. Melody quickly looked at her ankles, hoping that there wasn't some ridiculous tan line. She had awoken one day last year after sleeping on the beach on a very hot Summer's day; upon return home, Ariel had burst out laughing, while Eric had nearly choked on a piece of bread. Looking in the mirror, Melody had been mortified to see that she had a tanline - white streaks from her hair lying across her face, with the brown lines on the exposed skin. She certainly didn't want a repeat of that.
Melody stretched, before finally standing. Squinting into the sea, she smiled at the sight of a familiar mint-green tail. Zafrina was sitting on a rock, waving enthusiastically, beckoning her over. Running into the waves, Melody dived in, and started swimming strongly toward the mermaid.
"Hey, Mel!" Zafrina greeted, grabbing her arm and pulling her up onto the stone. Melody had learned about her several cousins a few days after the seawall had been brought down - and her six aunts. Aquata, Attina, Andrina, Arista, Adella, and Alana had all had children at some point during the last years. All were married, too - Attina, Andrina and Arista had travelled away to be queens of their husband's kingdoms, although they often visited, while the other three had married commoners.
Melody had met many of her cousins and all of her aunts, too, but Zafrina was her best friend. Alana was her mother, and a darker-skinned merman from a southern, foreign kingdom was her father. As a result, Zafrina was mixed race, as were her sisters, Zoe, Zaidee and Zelda, forming a band of siblings collectively known as the 'Four Z's.'
Zafrina was eighteen, over a year older than Melody, exotic in appearance. Zafrina did have her mother's nose and facial features, but she did take after her father's foreign heritage. With light brown skin, and a soft, curvaceous figure, Zafrina was stunningly beautiful; many a time had Melody seen her be flirted with by some infatuated merboy. She also had, gold-tipped, dark brown hair that reached the bottom of her seashells, and it was styled in its usual messy braid. Out of the water, it was curly, but underwater it lost the curls. She wore mint-green seashells, to match the colour of her long tail.
Melody smiled, pausing to squeeze the seawater out of her hair. She glanced at her reflection, examining herself. She still had a petite structure, the same thick eyebrows, and the ebony black hair that had grown a bit longer since she was twelve – she liked long hair, but it wasn't as long as her mother's, who had retained her waist-length locks despite being over thirty. Her eyelashes had become longer and thicker, and her lips had become a rosy pink. A series of freckles had appeared on her complexion – maybe that was due to fact that the downing of the wall had allowed her to access that little bit more sunlight, and she spent more time under the open sky.
"How's it going, Zafrina?" Melody asked. Zafrina opened her mouth, ready to speak, but somebody interrupted.
"-I'll tell you how it's going!" A red thing scuttled across Melody's lap, making he jump, but then realized it was only Sebastian. "Zafrina, your mother is furious!"
"Oh, man!" Zafrina complained, looking down at Sebastian in annoyance. "So what if I smashed that vase and didn't clean it up? We swim - it's not like anyone's going to trip over it or step on the pieces..." She winked at Melody. Winking back, Melody stood, and dived into the water, with Zafrina leaping in after her - they soaked the red crab with water, and while he was spitting out water drops, they retreated behind the rock.
"Get back here!" Sebastian scolded, jumping in after the two teenagers, but to him, they were gone. Muttering in irritance, the crab swam his way back toward Atlantica. After he was gone, Melody and Zafrina peered back over the same rock, laughing.
"He always falls for that!" Zafrina laughed. She pulled out the piece of kelp that kept her braid together, before rebraiding, for it always loosened whenever she went swimming. "Anyway. Doesn't someone have a birthday tomorrow?"
"Oh, yes..." Melody groaned. She didn't really like birthdays - getting into fancy and uncomfortable dresses, dancing with some egotistical, pompous prince trying to flirt with her. This year, all she really wanted was to go swimming with her family and merpeople friends.
"Well, in case I don't see you tomorrow..." Zafrina grinned, and reached down into a rock crevice. She produced a large, woven bag, like the cream one Melody used. "Happy seventeenth!" She exclaimed, beaming.
"Really?" Melody asked, in surprise. She took the bag, and pulled it open. "Oh, Zafrina..." A series of beautiful shells caught the sunlight, sparkling - Melody frowned, not recognizing the unique shapes and dazzling colours.
"A gift from the family; me, mom, dad, and my sisters. Sourced from my dad's home kingdom! He took us all there a few weeks ago, since it's been a few years since we all saw his family. It's gorgeous and exotic, including the shells. We all went shell-hunting, since we know how much you love sea souvenirs." Zafrina plucked up a red and pink one. "This one is my favourite. I was so tempted to keep it myself, but then I found this one..." Zafrina held up a long necklace; a twisting, spiky gold and teal shell hung on a long, braided rope. Putting it around her neck, the shell rested a few inches above her belly button. "You like them, then?"
"What do you think?" Melody exclaimed, hugging her cousin. "Thank you - and tell them I said thanks, as well."
"You are most welcome." Zafrina chuckled, before sighing, glancing at the sinking sun. "Sorry, I have to go now. It's getting dark, and I'd better get back before mom loses it about the vase. It'll be fine - stick it back together, put some coral in it, it'll be good as new."
"Good luck sticking it back together." Melody said, pulling the bag of shells closed.
"See ya! I'll try catch you tomorrow." Zafrina then leapt into the sea, and with a flick of her mint-green tail, was gone.
Melody watched the mermaid go - and not for the first time - felt a pang of jealousy. She wanted to see Atlantica again. She remembered seeing it briefly with Tip and Dash; since it was too warm down here for them, the penguin and walrus had returned to the tundra, although they occasionally came down to visit.
Seeing Atlantica in her locket wasn't enough. Melody wanted to see her merfamily properly, wanted to explore the deep corals and crevices that she couldn't reach soon enough before being forced to go to the surface for air. She wanted to watch a blue whale pod hunting krill, miles out to sea, and leap with a dolphin pod. But she couldn't go that far out to the ocean without drowning.
As much as she despised Morgana, she'd give her one thing: turning her into a mermaid had been one of the most spectacular experiences of her life, before it had all gone wrong.