This is something I've been dreaming up for a while now and decided to actually get it out there! Hope you enjoy, it's my version of Disney's "The Little Mermaid" basically. Hope you enjoy it if you read it :)
"Oh, come on Bastian! Don't be such a guppy!" Ariel taunted happily, shooting ahead of the young merman with a flash of her green tail. He flicked his own powerful blue one to catch up to her.
"I am not a guppy and you know it!" he called out to her as he sped to catch up. She only laughed as she zoomed ahead, her red hair flying out behind her. He had always been awed by the intense hue of her hair. It stood out in the ocean like a flame under the water, always managing to catch anyone's eye that she happened to be around when she swam by. It also got the attention of several of the Mermen, and those glances always put Bastian on edge. He was, as Ariel often put it, "overly protective" of the young princess.
"Ariel..." they at the edge of the reef, overlooking a large expanse of plain ocean floor, blank and eery. "I still don't think this is a good idea." he had said it so many times before, but it had never done any good.
"Bastian it's fine, how many times have we gone out there and nothing has happened before? Hmm?" She smiled over at him as she crossed into the barren underwater wasteland. She was drawn to this place for some reason, most likely for the sense of danger that pervaded the area as well as the shipwrecks.
The shipwrecks were her favorite. She could always find interesting things in the bellies of the great sunken vessels; forgotten treasures that fascinated her. She gripped her bag excitedly, wondering what items she would bring home today.
Bastian sighed and followed after the young mermaid, keeping an eye out for any trouble that may come their way.
It wasn't long before they found one, a giant hulking form in the distance.
"There it is!" Ariel cried excitedly, shooting forward toward the massive sunken ship. "Bastian come on!"
They entered by means of a large hole in the bow of the ship, swimming carefully so not to scratch up against the jagged wood. Ariel swam through the wreckage, darting about and looking for anything that might catch her eye. Bastian stayed behind to keep watch by the way they had come, glancing occasionally at Ariel to make sure she was all right.
She disappeared further into the wreckage, out of Bastian's line of sight. He followed her, finding her shoving pieces of debris aside to see if there was anything interesting underneath. She struggled with a heavier piece, grunting with exertion.
"Here, let me help you with that." Bastian took her place and shoved at the heavy beam of wood, effectively shoving it out of the way.
"Thanks Bastian." She flashed him a stunning smile, making his heart squeeze.
"Sure..." he muttered quietly as Ariel examined what had previously been beneath the heavy beam. She gasped and resurfaced, waving a strange object around excitedly.
"Look! Look what I found!" she grinned, her eyes sparkling happily.
"What is it?" Bastian took the object in his hand, turning it over. It was hard and cold, reflective when he rubbed the grime off of it's surface.
"I don't know! But isn't it beautiful?" she took it back from him, gazing at it lovingly. Bastian watched her with a sinking heart, knowing that she would never look at him like that. Even after all of these years...she still didn't know how much he really cared about her. He didn't have much of a chance with her anyway, she was the princess! He was a nobody.
"Come on, we should be getting back." Bastian grabbed her hand and lightly pulled her toward the exit, leading her while she just stared at her newfound treasure.
What neither of the two young merpeople hadn't noticed in the time they had been exploring the ship was a dark shape lurking just out of sight, watching them.
"Let's just get that thing back to the grotto and get you home. You know your father doesn't like it when you come out here."
The dark shape moved then, coming out of the shadows and trailing after the preoccupied pair.
"What should we call it?" Ariel asked, smiling giddily as she scrubbed the remaining grime off the surface of the object.
"I don't know, you're usually the one who names the things you find."
"That's not true, you named the one we found in the-"
"Wait." Bastian stopped abruptly, causing Ariel to bump into him from behind. He glanced about, searching for any sign of danger. He felt a cold tingle in his spine, a feeling of unease setting him on edge.
"What is it?" Ariel placed her treasure in her bag slung over her shoulder, gripping Bastian's arm tightly in fear. Bastian scowled, looking around once more, searching for what was setting his teeth on edge. He studied a particularly dark place underneath a craggy rock ledge, searching for any sign of movement.
When he saw nothing, he turned to Ariel to see a look of fear and intrigue on her face. "Let's go. It's nothing."
Just then the shadows moved and a massive great white shark came barreling toward them at full speed, mouth gaping wide to reveal thousands of razor sharp teeth.