It had been a few weeks since Ariel had encountered the mysterious lion, Scar. She didn't obtain much information from him, but the princess knew there was something he wasn't telling her. Her curiosity taking the best of her, Ariel decided to try to go back to where she had found Scar, in the hopes of maybe finding out something about Ursula.
Using her shellphone, Ariel called Andrina that morning, hoping she would be able to help her out. Ariel's blonde sister was the only one who would be most willing to bend some rules, in Ariel's opinion. So, Ariel instructed Andrina to take their Daddy's trident that morning and meet Ariel on the shore, to change her into a mermaid.
After the successful transformation, Ariel led Andrina through the waters of Atlantica, trying her hardest to remember the route she had taken. Luckily, her memory was her guide, and the redhead soon found herself and her sister floating in the riverbank where Ariel had found Scar. The mermaids paused there for a moment, Ariel's sea blue eyes searching the surface for any sign of movement.
The quivering grass stopped Nala dead in her tracks, somebody was following her… She shook it off continued her silent prowl when suddenly the grass shook up again, this time causing the humble zebra she was stalking to flee. "Rats!" Nala exclaimed, "Well you can come out now you've scared away my dinner!" She kicked at the dirt from beneath her paws.
The long shards of grass began to rattle again as the intruder came closer. Nala stood her ground. The grass peeled apart, revealing no other than Kiara. "Sorry, Mom, but you need to come quick! There's two fish ladies scoping out the shore!" Nala raised an eyebrow at her daughter's sighting before letting out a gentle purr. "Alright, go back to your father, Kiara, and I'll go check this out." The young lioness nodded and dived back into the sea of grass. Nala had heard of these 'fish people' arriving in the pride lands before but never had she encountered one. She wasn't sure what to expect. She positioned herself back into her low stance and made way for the river.
Ariel had slowly began to swim up to the shore, then quickly stopped when she saw a young- What are they called… Oh! Lionesses!-lioness peer into the clear water. Ariel motioned quickly for her sister to be still, and the two mermaids hovered in the water silently, their fins completely still.
Almost instantly, the lioness left, and Ariel continued to swim to the surface. She could feel her heart racing, anxious and nervous as to what she would discover upon reaching the surface.
The redhead emerged from the water, exposing only half of her head, from the nose up. She was right. This was exactly where she had found Scar a few weeks ago. She glanced around hesitantly, looking for any sign of movement.
Nala sighed as she gazed down at the crystalline water beneath her. That silly lioness must have been seeing things, Nala thought to herself whilst padding the water gently with her paw. Since there was nothing present, she thought it best to head back to pride rock. She gave the shore one last look before pacing back into the grass.
A splash of the water began to echo behind her. Nala stopped. "Huh?" she exclaimed, throwing her head in all directions. Ripples fell across the water. Nala crouched down and hid herself under the grassy canopy in wait. Moments later, something a dashing shade of red appeared out of the depths.
The red creature, evidently alert, checked left and right before revealing anymore. It mumbled a few soft words as it swam closer to the shore, revealing half a woman's slender figure and a deep green fishtail. Nala was clearly aware of what was right in front of her. The young mermaid shocked yet amazed her. Slowly she edged out of the grass in order to get a better look.
At first, Ariel saw nothing. Nothing but light brown and green grass. She raised the rest of her head out of the water, followed by her torso. Her fins emerged from the water and waved around in the air. The redhead exhaled in relief, also enjoying the feel of the breeze against her fins.
But then, she noticed something. Something moved in the grasses, almost blending in with it. She narrowed her eyes and stared, and in a few moments she realized that it was another lioness. It looked almost the same as the one before, except a little lighter.
Ariel submerged her fins again and swam a little bit back, letting the lioness know that she meant no harm, as she had done with Scar. "Hello" she said softly, wondering if this lion could talk, too.
Cautiously Nala stepped forward, she tilted her head slightly as the mermaid spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. "uh, hey" Nala answered quietly, "My name's Nala, I'm the queen over these pride lands who are you?" Nala asked as she sat herself down at the water's edge.
The mermaid noticed the lioness' body position, and she decided that she could trust her. Ariel swam closer to her, brushing some of her dripping wet hair from her face. "I'm Ariel," she said cheerfully, then lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "You're.. You're a queen?" she asked, almost unable to believe it. Since when did animals have kings and queens?
"Yes," Nala nodded, "my mate, Simba, and I rule over these lands and our daughter and her mate are next in line. Anyway, I gotta ask…" she began, a puzzled look filling her face. "Why and how did you come here?" she asked whilst eyeing up the beautiful creature.
"Wow" was the only thing Ariel could say, and she shook her head a bit. Who knew that animals had their own kingdoms? Ariel swam closer to Nala, feeling the shore creep up on her as the sand glazed over her stomach and front tail. She lifted her fins out of the water again and folded her arms on the watery sand.
"Well, actually," she began, "I came here looking for another lion. His name was Scar. I stumbled upon this bank a few weeks again and found him here." She paused. "He.. He seemed to be hiding something, but I don't know what. He wouldn't tell me. So I asked him if there were any other lions here and if I could go see them." She motioned to Nala. "Clearly, there are. But anyway, I came back here to see if I could find him and maybe get some more information from him." The redhead sighed. "But now that I'm here, I'm not really sure I want to."
"Scar…" Nala spat, "I'd leave him be if I were you Ariel, he's nothing but bad news" Nala got up and began to pace, "If you ever needed anything then you could always come find me, do not go mixing with the likes of him" there was a sharpness to Nala's tone, the sheer thought of Scar anywhere near the pride lands made her blood run thin, she shook abruptly as a chill traveled down her spine.
"However," Nala placed herself back down in front of the Mermaid "If Scar is hiding something then we ought to find out what…"
Ariel nodded, her eyebrows furrowing together in understanding. "That's what I thought. Something seemed… different, and wrong, about him." Her face contorted into one of disgust, before she relaxed and exhaled, feeling the hot sun on her fins and face.
"Thank you, Nala," the redhead smiled. For some reason, the thought of another lion "looking after her" made Ariel feel much better, and better protected, in case Scar was more trouble than she thought.
"Well," she breathed, pushing herself up on her hands as she arched her back, "Now that that's taken care of, I was wondering…" she paused, biting her lip. "I was wondering.. Are there any other lions around here? Could I see them? Are they friendly? Do they all talk?" Ariel's naive excitement was getting the best of her as she babbled on and on.
Nala chuckled at the mermaid's enthusiasm, "Yeah I guess you could say we all talk" she beamed "I'd love to introduce you to the rest of pride rock but I must get back… I was supposed to be gathering today's lunch before my daughter scared it away and Simba will be wondering where I am, do you think you'd be able to meet me back here one day soon? You intrigue me Ariel, I'd love to know more about you" The Lioness heard a hearty roar in the distance and smiled again,
"That'll be Simba."
Ariel nodded, smiling. "I understand. You better be going then." The redhead leaned to the side to see a lion behind Nala, though Ariel could only make out its silhouette.
Ariel began to slide back into the water. "Thank you, Nala, for your advice about Scar." She shook her head. "I'll be sure to stay away from him." Though my curiosity will probably get the best of me.
As the beating sun began to fade, Nala said her goodbyes and was on her way. Ariel's curiosity left Nala's head flowing with questions, she contemplated turning back to find her new friend but soon gave up on the idea, she promised to herself she would find that little mermaid again one day.
Nala hoped and prayed Ariel might take in her words but something lingered in her head telling her that she'd be seeing the mermaid again, sooner than she'd expect…
When Nala turned, Ariel paused for a moment, gazing at the large rock in the distance that the lioness seemed to be heading to. I wonder how many lions are over there..
Her sister calling her name shook the mermaid out of her trance, and she turned and headed back under the water, swimming with her sister back home. So, she didn't exactly get what she came there for. But she did gain some advice, and a friend she never knew she would ever have.