"You guys, get this, so Flounder told Starfish who told Seahorse who told..."
"We get it Adella, just spit it out," demanded the oldest; Aquata.
"Well," Adella continued. "Apparently when Ariel signed the contract to become human, she knew that it would mean she would never see us or Daddy again!"
"Wow," Alana exclaimed sadly.
"All for a boy!" Adriana professed.
"You would have done the same thing Adrina," spoke Aquata. The sisters giggled.
"Yeah, well you're just jealous that it was Ariel got a man before you did," conversed Adriana.
"Oooooooh," said the other sisters in unison.
"I wonder what Ariel gave Ursula in return for legs," Arista spoke up.
The girls turned to their sister who was sitting at the windowsill.
"I haven't heard her talk since...I don't remember when..." the girls whispered amongst themselves.
"What do you mean Arista?" asked the oldest.
"About a year ago," Arista spoke glancing out the window. "My friend Crystal went missing. No one knew where she was or what happened to her. I thought she was dead. When Daddy's trident reached the sand after the battle with Ursula, all of the little creatures turned back into merpeople. One of which was Crystal."
Alana put her hand on Arista's shoulder; comforting her.
"You see, when you go to Ursula for a spell, she asks you for something in return; a trade. She also gives you a time limit. If you run out of time before fulfilling your duty, she turns you into a plant-like creature. She knows your strengths and has you trade them for what you came to get to make it impossible to fulfill your task. Crystal was the best swimmer in our high school, she would win a race against anyone. Ursula's task for Crystal was to win a race against five sea horses before the sun went down in two days but Crystal traded a one fin for beauty."
"Maybe Ursula took Ariel's youthfulness!" guessed one sister.
"Or maybe her sense of adventure," guessed another.
"She took my voice."
The girls' jaws dropped and eyes opened.
Ariel swam through the doorway and began to explain the whole story.