I wrote this as an assignment for school where I had to play with an existing narrative. I decided to explore the story of Ursula, why was she the way she was in the Little Mermaid. I thought I would share it and see what people thought. I wrote it in the style of the original story by Hans Christian Andersen but used the Disney Movie version as a basis of of Ursula's story.
Please enjoy.
In the lowest depths of the ocean lies the great Kingdom of Atlantica. Atlantica's King Poseidon and his Queen had one child; a son called Triton. But they had had another child before Triton was born; a child all of Atlantica were led to believe was a stillborn, but she was still very much alive.
The Queen's first pregnancy went swimmingly. For months she glowed with happiness and maternal pride. The whole Kingdom rejoiced, for this child would be the heir to the throne, their future ruler. When the Queen's labour began, celebrations started and a monstrous feast was held throughout the night. Her labour was difficult; she was in excruciating pain for hours. No one was allowed to help her, as was customary.
King Poseidon was beside himself with worry. At the top of the grand castle, high above the celebrations at the bottom Atlantica, his heart broke like a shattering glass every time he heard his beautiful Queen cry out in pain. Because she was beautiful, the fairest of all the mermaids in Atlantica, and Poseidon loved her dearly.
Her cries stopped abruptly and Poseidon swam towards their room, but remained outside waiting until she called for him. He instantly entered upon hearing her quietly whimper his name. Upon entering he knew something was wrong. His Queen was not smiling. In her arms he saw a small bundle and his face lit up.
"Is it male?" he asked hopeful.
His Queen hesitatingly shook her head and Poseidon's smile dropped. Disappointed, but remaining true to his nature, he told his Queen that he did not care about gender and asked to see his child; his daughter.
Again, his Queen shook her head and this time she turned from him, keeping the child from his sight as he came closer. But she did not turn fast enough, for as she turned Poseidon saw what looked like a small baby hand; it was purple. Fearing his child stillborn, he rushed forwards and forcibly turned her around and looked closer at the bundle. Her attempts to shield the child from his view were unsuccessful.
The Queen's inability to stop him, or to cry, left her devastated.
Looking down into the arms of his Queen, his heart sank. For in her arms was not a dead child, but a baby not like any he had ever seen before. Like himself and his Queen, the child was a mermaid, but her colours were wrong. Her tail was pitch black, and her skin, so alike to her parents in form, instead bore a purple hue.
The small baby opened her eyes and looked up at the faces of her horrified parents. Unaware of their dismay, she smiled and reached out, grabbing one of Poseidon's fingers.
The parents looked at each other in despair. A merchild of such colours was always feared, for prophecy declared that this meant that the child was cursed. Immeasurably so.
Custom in these situations was a sacrifice; a cursed merchild could not be allowed to stay alive, for she would inadvertently bring havoc to the entire Kingdom with her presence alone. Yet both Poseidon and his Queen could not fathom such a fate for their first child.
King Poseidon was kind; loved and respected by all. His nature would not allow him to kill his own child, regardless of the consequences. So it was decided that the child, named Ursula, would remain hidden.
The couple announced a stillbirth and Atlantica went into mourning. The child was taken to the far reaches of the underwater Kingdom and given to the care of the eel patriarch Litesam, for he and his family could protect the child from harming herself, and from bringing harm to others.
Years later, the Queen reluctantly fell pregnant again. Terrified of another cursed child she withdrew into herself and the pregnancy remained a secret. This time, she did not glow, she was not happy; her happiness was sucked away when her daughter was taken from her. When the time came for the child to be born, she felt no pain.
She felt nothing.
Instead of the feared black child she was expecting, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, with pale skin and a beautiful blue tail. Overjoyed, she called out to her King and they proceeded to celebrate the arrival of their son: Triton, the heir to the Throne of Atlantica.
Triton was raised spoiled. He was the King and Queen's pride and joy. He was courteous and kind to all and was also brave and strong. He was the perfect heir.
Triton never knew of his sister. No one was permitted to mention the tragedy of the Kingdom's first born stillbirth, and he was never allowed to know that his sister was still alive. Niether was Ursula allowed to know of her birthright and family.
Far away, in the eel colony, Ursula grew up to be a fine child. She was beautiful and had a voice of the angels. Litesam had two sons, Flotsam and Jetsam, with whom Ursula grew up with as siblings. They formed a strong relationship. The three siblings were mischief makers and explorers. Every so often, Ursula would dare her brothers to accompany her to the surface, but they would always decline, knowing that the surface was the one place they did not dare go.
However, Ursula went to the surface multiple times for she was a curious creature. Being bought up with the eels, she was unaware of mermaid customs regarding breaching the surface but even if she did know, she would not care. For the surface revealed to her a world full of wonder and colour. She would often sit on the rocks a way off shore and watch the strange human creatures she saw there. She would sing to them, her greatest desires, to find someone new she could know, to explore a world unknown.
She was also a generous soul and loved helping people. She would constantly help preparing food, cleaning up, and she would never be shy giving others advice, even if the advice was not sought, or wanted.
On her sixteenth birthday, Ursula discovered something about herself that would change her life forever. She discovered she could do magic. It was a slow discovery. It started with bubbles spontaneously appearing in her hands under water, to when she somehow momentarily turned Flotsam red in a rage one day. Litesam was befuddled at this new development, for he had never heard of a mermaid that could wield the power of magic. It was only ever a gift for the merman heir, and even then, only when a trident was used to harness the power. However, he was strictly prohibited to tell Ursula of her heritage, or to ever venture to Atlantica. So he left her to play with her magic.
She increased her knowledge and ability through practice, and eventually her magic became part of her generosity. Without asking, others around her would occasionally receive magical help for their problems.
Poseidon and his Queen were exceptionally happy with their son. He obeyed the rules with duty. Eventually thoughts of their hidden daughter were pushed to the back of their minds. For whatever terror the cursed child could have brought had not passed.
On Triton's sixteenth birthday, as was customary, he was allowed his first trip to the surface of the ocean. To see what was out in the other world he did not know. He had heard wonderful stories of the surface world, of beautiful blue skies, fantastical creatures that flew above, and the gorgeous shine of the bright yellow sun. When he reached the top, however, he was stricken by the ugliness of the surface world; all he saw was black. The sky was so dark it felt like it was swallowing him whole. The water crashed on him, trying to trap him. He was so afraid of his experience of the surface that he vowed to never return to the horror that awaited anyone above.
He told his parents of the surface he saw, and they brushed off his fears, for they knew Triton just had the misfortune of experiencing a thunderstorm, but Triton was not appeased.
That evening, however, Poseidon noticed that his Queen was deathly silent while preparing to sleep. He asked what was wrong and she shook her head, but Poseidon knew his Queen so well he knew she was hiding something. After some persuasion, the Queen finally told Poseidon that Triton's story of the surface and its blackness had reminded her of the daughter they had left behind. Again they both wondered why nothing horrendous had happened since their daughter was born. Could it be that the fear of the curse was unwarranted?
"We must bring her back," the Queen implored, "She cannot be the heir for she is female, but she is still my child, she belongs with us!"
But Poseidon trusted prophecies and they stated that a child so black could never be trusted. However, his Queen was the one person he could not resist. He too felt the pang in his heart for his hidden daughter, and his Queen's desperation to see their daughter again forced his to reconsideration.
His decided that they would visit the eel colony and call upon their daughter and see her for the first time in eighteen years.
They did not tell Triton or Atlantica, for they feared the prospect of their daughter returning to the Kingdom potentially causing great havoc. So they went on their journey, under the guise of giving Triton experience as a ruler and entrusting him with the throne and Poseidon's trident for a few days. Triton, being only sixteen, had not been allowed yet to learn the magic of his birthright, but he did know that it was purely by the trident that a King's power be wielded. As his parents left, he was instructed to take care of the trident and the Kingdom and he swore he would do both.
Poseidon and his Queen travelled to the farthest corner of the underwater Kingdom and found the eel colony for the second time. Shocked at their arrival, Litesam hustled them inside his family cave, so as not to alert the others of the royals' presence.
"Why are you here?" Litesam exclaimed, as by their agreement he expected to never see the King and Queen again.
"We have come to see our daughter," Poseidon explained.
"Will you tell her who you are?" Litesam asked.
They did not answer him.
Litesam explained that Ursula was not there at that time, she was off exploring as she always does.
Poseidon and his Queen patiently waited.
When Ursula returned to the cave after a long afternoon above the surface singing and playing with the mystical birds, she saw two strangers, two just like her, a merman and a mermaid. She froze at the mouth of the cave, for she had never seen anyone of her kind before.
The Queen was so overjoyed at seeing her daughter all grown up and beautiful that she rushed forward and brought her child, no longer so young, into her embrace. Ursula remained distant to the mermaid as her confusion grew.
The Queen calmed and released Ursula. The couple then explained who they were, of her birthright, and hence who she was. Ursula was understandably confused and angry, but her overwhelming relief of finally knowing who she was and where she came from pushed her confusion and anger away.
The family spent the entire day together. The King and his Queen discovered that their daughter was alike to the King himself in her generosity and curiosity. She showed them her cove of trinkets she had collected over the years and they were so happy to see her smile. Their happiness increased the more time they spent together because it was clear in their minds that their daughter was no more cursed than either of her parents.
That evening, they left the eel colony and Ursula behind and returned to Atlantica to find their son dutifully still perched upon the throne, trident in hand. They did not tell him where they had been that day.
After her parents left, Ursula, no longer distracted by their presence, crumbled into a monstrous rage. How dare they send her away, then expect her to be satisfied to stay hidden and exiled for doing no wrong! Flotsam and Jetsam were terrified of their sister's fury as she remained unaware of the power she was releasing. The already gloomy caves became darker and darker until there was nothing but black.
They were oblivious to the colossal thunderstorm above the surface that was now tearing through the buildings on land. It had appeared suddenly and without warning.
Many ships sank that day.
Nothing stopped Ursula's anger, so the eels resorted to their own defences. Litesam swam towards the furious young mermaid and laid his tail against her body. Ursula's magic combined with the electricity and what was emitted brought the whole colony to a standstill.
Once the shock was over, Ursula collapsed on the cave's floor as the light returned. Ursula lay recovering for a few days.
Days later, when Ursula finally woke, she was still angry and she decided that she deserved to return to her people. She wanted to prove to Atlantica that she would not bring harm, for it was her belief that she had never done so before.
It was a few weeks before she saw her parents again. Since they had visited her the first time, they had still yet to tell the Kingdom and Triton of her existence. However they told her she would be let into the Kingdom if she would agree to remain inside the castle at all times. Poseidon and his Queen also explained to her that she was not to tell Triton they are siblings, and that Triton was the heir, the only heir. For an adventurer as herself, the suggestion was preposterous, but Ursula was desperate to return to her family so she hastily agreed.
They travelled to Atlantica together and when they arrived Ursula was rushed into the castle and led to a room where she would spend her time.
She simply did not understand these restrictions. If her parents did not believe she would bring chaos, what harm was there in telling people who she was?
But she relented and stayed hidden.
Concealed inside the room alone all Ursula could do to pass time was practise her magic. She still had yet to master her full powers so she practised every day. Her magic was the only thing she had not revealed to her parents simply because they had not asked. Her exile caused her to be unaware of the merpeople customs, and it was for this reason she did not know that magic was never bestowed upon a mermaid.
Desperate to remain true to her parents' wishes, she stayed in that room away from the merpeople of the Kingdom. Only occasionally were Poseidon or his Queen able to visit her. So Ursula became very bored so began to experiment with new magic.
She had always yearned to learn how to help others with their love, especially those who were unlucky in love. The advantage of the room she was kept in was a small opening that looked out at the ocean floor. Not many went down to the very bottom, which was hence why the King and Queen chose the room for Ursula. But those who did spend their time so deep often had tales of woe, sadness they could only express in song.
Songs of regret, of pain, of heartbreak, Ursula heard them all. By her generous nature, she ached with them and hoped that one day she could learn to use the magic gifted to her to help these poor unfortunate souls.
One day a young mermaid appeared at the clearing. She was the ugliest of mermaids, her tail a putrid yellow and her face was scarred. She sang of her heartbreak, of a merman that did not know she existed and of the merpeople that would turn from her hideousness. Despite her poor features, she had such a sweet voice that when Ursula listened to her sorrows, she could almost taste the sweetness. This young mermaid returned many times over, and each time her tale remained the same. She still felt the same pain in her heart, a pain that Ursula started to feel herself.
After a few weeks of listening to this mermaid's story, Ursula could not cope being unable to help So when the mermaid returned again Ursula defied her parent's orders and emerged from her room, revealing herself to the mermaid. At first the mermaid was shocked at the sudden appearance of another, but very quickly her shock twisted into terror, for she, as all merpeople did, had heard the stories of the cursed. She began to retreat from Ursula until Ursula called to her.
"Please do not fear me," she implored, "I will not harm you."
The young mermaid was hesitant but the expression on Ursula's face calmed her fears, for on Ursula's face she could see compassion and a fear so recognisable. Ursula asked of the mermaid her greatest desire.
"I desire to be as beautiful as my voice," she said.
Ursula asked if she wanted that desire to come true.
"With all my heart," She exclaimed.
Ursula then asked if she wanted Ursula to try to make her desire a reality, and without hesitation she said yes.
Ursula bought her magic into her hands and pushed the magic out towards the young mermaid. The water surrounding them swirled, enveloping her within its grasp. Ursula continued to concentrate.
Once her magic ran out, she dropped her arms to her sides and slumped against the walls of the castle. She closed her eyes and calmed her racing heart. Upon opening her eyes and peering upon the young mermaid in front of her, she smiled and her heart jumped with joy. For in front of her she saw a transformed mermaid. Her tail was coloured as if it were made from the sun and her face the beauty of the sky on its best day. The mermaid's face broke into a smile and she twirled. She found the nearest reflective shard and looked upon her new face and her eyes sparkled, for she was now as beautiful as her voice.
She was so thankful to Ursula that she vowed to return everyday to visit her and Ursula was blissful that she was able to help someone so monumentally using the magic she loved so dearly.
Despite the mermaid's promise, it was a few weeks before Ursula saw her again. She was still as beautiful as she was the last time Ursula saw her, but her face was now twisted in pain, for the change in her physical appearance had not helped her. The merman she chased and the merpeople that turned from her did not recognise her and so their attention towards her made her feel empty. The empty feeling multiplied as the days drew on and when she returned to Ursula she exclaimed that she did not want this new face, and her pain grew worse.
Ursula was distraught. Since she learned of her magic abilities, she had only wanted to help people. What she had blessed this mermaid with was what she hoped she could grant many others with. But blessing desires had a price. For changing what was already there was surely to manipulate fate.
The mermaid left cursing Ursula, "You are as cursed as the stories say!" she exclaimed. Ursula never saw her again.
Ursula collapsed into despair. She holed away in her room and exiled herself. She did not hear the songs outside her window. Months passed by and she grew thin and depressed.
One day, months later, King Poseidon came to Ursula's room and was shocked at what he saw: his beautiful daughter now a shadow of herself. He asked what was wrong but she just brushed him off and refused to speak. Poseidon mistakenly assumed she was upset with her arrangements and restrictions and he explained it to her again; how fearful the Kingdom would be if they saw her.
When Poseidon left, Ursula's misery transformed into a great fury. All she wanted was to help people and she had the ability, but her damned colouring was all that was keeping her from her calling.
She decided to defy her parents again and she later emerged from her room, but instead of staying near the ocean floor, she swam up towards the centre of the Kingdom, where her parents held court. She ignored all she passed, and did not notice their fear. She entered the court and King Poseidon and his Queen's faces dropped. They demanded everyone leave, including Triton who was perched upon a throne alongside his parents.
It was the first time that Ursula saw Triton, and the first time that Triton saw his sister. He did not know who she was but they both felt a pull to one another. But Triton was nothing if not obedient, so he left his parents in the room alone with the strange mermaid he had never seen before.
The rage on Ursula's face scared Poseidon and his Queen, for they had never seen her angry before. Ursula yelled at her parents her dismay at being exiled to another colony, her pain with being locked away in her own Kingdom, the sorrow she felt being isolated and her frustration with being unable to do what she wanted to do: to help. She cried and shouted desperate for her parents to understand. The Queen's heart hurt with her daughter's cries but Poseidon maintained that she could not be revealed to the Kingdom as their daughter.
In desperation, Ursula conjured her magic in front of her parents in an ill fated attempt to change her colours like she had the young mermaid all those months ago. She was desperate to show her parents she could be normal, and to banish her purple skin and black tail, but her magic did not work on herself, for this exact spell was one she had tried to perfect while she was down in her exile.
When the spell failed, as all past attempts had done, she looked up at her parents faces and her heart dropped when she saw the fear in their eyes.
"The curse is true," Poseidon whispered, "No merperson can do magic but the King."
Ursula pleaded with her parents, that this was a gift, not a curse, and that she wanted to use it to help people. She told them of the mermaid she helped, the ugly putrid mermaid she transformed, but her story did not soothe the King.
He reached for his Trident and held it between himself and his daughter. Ursula was afraid and did not understand what was happening until a wave of magic slammed into her chest. Poseidon was trying to force the magic out of his daughter in his own desperate attempts to bypass the curse, but Ursula's magic fought back. It fought back so fiercely that The Queen had to hold onto her throne as to not be thrown from it. She watched in fear as her King and her daughter fought for power and her heart shattered.
Suddenly Ursula's magic leapt from her body and slammed into her father, throwing him into his throne. Her magic then combined with her father's and surrounded her. The force of the magic trapped her and she felt like her body was being ripped apart from the inside. She cried out in pain, a cry so loud it was heard by the entire Kingdom.
Poseidon and his Queen could only see a swirl of water and light surrounding Ursula until there was a flash of black. Then another, and another. Once the water and magic settled neither parent could believe their eyes, for their beautiful daughter was now changed. Where her midnight black tail was now were eight long black tentacles. She was now no longer a mermaid, but a creature unlike any they had ever seen before.
Half human, half monstrous octopus.
Her beautiful face was now contorted in anger, for she could feel the spell her father had used. They could take away her freedom, but not her magic. She now knew her magic made her special.
She looked down at herself but was not shocked at what she saw. She felt special and unique, and now her body reflected how she felt. In that moment she knew she would never be able to satisfy her parents, nor would she ever be able to be seen as good as she perceived herself to be.
With one last fleeting look at her parents, she turned and swam quickly out of Atlantica. She swam as fast as her tentacles could take her. The other merpeople cried out in fear when they saw her. She took the long journey to the eel colony and when she arrived she found that Litesam had passed away since she had left.
Instead of the sorrow she should have felt, all she felt was anger at her parents, for Litesam was her true father, and they took her from him.
She was their first born, and while she was female and unable to be the heir, the Kingdom still owed her for taking away her life.
For now, however, she decided to make a home for herself. She found Flotsam and Jetsam and together they chose a cave away from the colony which Ursula transformed and hid using her magic and they built a home there. Ursula was overjoyed to be back with her true brothers.
King Poseidon used all his resources to find Ursula, but all attempts failed. Months passed and the Kingdom slowly began to forget of the strange cursed creature they witnessed that day.
Every so often, Flotsam and Jetsam would go exploring and would come across a mermaid or merman singing songs of sorrow. They would ask the same questions that Ursula asked that young mermaid all those years ago, and most often they would agree to be helped. The brothers would lead the unsuspecting merperson to their cave where they looked upon Ursula. Ursula still had the same desire to help others that she always had, but felt that she was not respected for her abilities and generosity, so whenever a merperson would come to her, pleading her help, she would ask for something in return. If they were unable to give her what she asked for, they would inevitably be caught by Ursula's conditions, and would be trapped forever.
Months turned to years and Poseidon fell deathly ill and died in the arms of his beautiful wife and dutiful son. From that day Triton was the new King of Atlantica, his mother by his side to guide him. Poseidon's trident was passed to Triton and the magic and responsibilities of this object were explained to him. He was only allowed to use the magic it harnesses to protect Atlantica.
Triton was still never told of his sister. All he knew of Ursula was that she was a dangerous Sea Witch and he warned all to fear her. He also forbade all from breaching the surface for it was a dark ugly place. Years later he found his own Queen and together they had six beautiful daughters. Only having daughters, he abolished the law that stated a royal mermaid could not inherit the throne.
All this time Ursula waited patiently for the day that she would be able to take back the throne that was rightfully hers.