I should not be starting this before After the Fairytale is finished, but I got the idea into my head and I couldn't help myself. After the Fairytale is nearing its end though, so I might not update this until I finish with that (at least that's what I'm telling myself). Think of this as a little sneak peek. With this story, I'm continuing my trend of completely turning a fairy tale on its head. This story is completely separate from After the Fairytale though, so if you haven't read that, it will not at all affect your understanding of this one. Also, this story is going to be a lot darker than After the Fairytale, so beware of that.
"Your Majesty," a raspy voice echoed throughout the cave. "What can I do for you?"
King Triton squinted into the darkness, unable to make out anything but a fuzzy shape in the distance. "Come out where I can see you, Seer."
From deep within the cavern, a mermaid emerged. She was clearly old and her long gray hair flowed behind her in the water. But her skin was smooth and wrinkle-free, giving her the appearance of being both elderly and youthful at the same time. If King Triton didn't know that she was in fact centuries old, he would have a hard time figuring out her age at all.
"Why have you summoned me?" she asked, staring past him with murky white eyes.
He cleared his throat and clutched his trident tighter. There was something disconcerting about her. How did someone who was blind manage to see so much? "My wife is with child," he said.
"I know," the Seer replied. "I foresaw it many moons ago."
"I wish to know," he continued, "if I will finally be blessed with a son?"
The queen had already bore him six daughters and although he loved them all dearly, he wished desperately to finally have a son.
"It is not to be," the Seer replied. "At the seventh hour of the seventh night of the seventh month, the queen shall bear another daughter."
The king tried not to look disappointed. "I see," he murmured, turning to leave. "Very well then."
"Wait," the Seer hissed.
He turned back around and nearly gasped. The Seer's white eyes had started to swirl violenty, like two small hurricanes. She reached out and gripped his arm tightly. "I foresee great danger," she whispered, her voice deeper and gruffer than before. "The kingdom of Atlantica will be in grave peril in eighteen years' time, threatened by humans led here by her. The seventh princess will unknowingly bring about the demise of the kingdom and of our race by falling in love with a human."
The Seer shuddered, her entire body shaking. She closed her eyes, still clutching the king's arm. When she finally opened them, they had returned to their normal state.
King Triton stared at her, his fear preventing him from saying anything. Finally, after what felt like hours, he managed to speak. "What am I to do?"
"You have to two options," the Seer said. "First, you can end the child's life before it has begun."
He shook his head. "I cannot," he said hoarsely. "Though it is tempting, she is my daughter and I must spare her."
"The other option is this," she said. "You must keep her here, under the sea, forever. Never let her see the light of day. If she ever comes into contact with humans, we are all doomed."
"Will that work?" he asked. "If you have prophesized our demise, will it not have to come true?"
She shook her head. "We have the power to change our fate," she murmured. "Nothing is ever set in stone."
The kingdom of Atlantica was abuzz with excitement. Today was the day of the presentation of the new princess, Ariel. A giant party was to be thrown in her honor at the palace and the kingdom's most elite mer-people were invited to dine with the royal family and shower the new baby with spectacular gifts. Everyone else would gather outside the castle's gates and wait for the king and queen to emerge with Ariel, allowing the kingdom to catch their first glimpse of princess.
The king sat at the end of the table. His gaze swept over his guests, too many to count, finally landing on his wife. She sat to his left, looking as beautiful as she had the day her married her. If one did not know, he thought, one would have no idea that she had given birth merely two days prior.
"How is Ariel?" he asked her, taking a bite of his kelp salad.
"She is asleep in the nursery," the queen said. "The nanny will bring her and the other girls down as soon as we are finished with our meal."
He nodded absentmindedly, turning to the merman who sat on his other side. "Misenus," he said, "I heard that your wife recently bore you your first child."
"'Tis true," Misenus said. "A healthy young boy named Marsious."
Triton nodded thoughtfully. "I have a proposal for you, Misenus."
"And what is that, Your Majesty?"
"I wish for my youngest daughter and your son to be betrothed."
Misenus' eyes widened. "You do?"
"Yes," the king said. "Your family is a fine, reputable one. It will be a good marriage, I think."
"Is this wise?" the queen asked. "We haven't arranged any of our other daughter's marriages. And besides, you've always said that you believe one should marry for love."
"I am doing what I think is best, Athena!" King Triton said sharply.
His wife fell silent.
The king could not tell her what was truly on his mind. He did not want her to know about the prophecy. It would worry her too much. Besides, it was never going to come true. He would see to that. The Seer had said that Ariel would fall in love with a human, but he would never allow it. This betrothal was one of the ways he was keeping her safe, keeping her here. If she married Misenus' son, she would have all the more reason not to stray upwards toward land. Besides, he saw no reason why she would not fall in love with Marsious. He would make sure they were pushed together as often as possible throughout their childhood. They would grow to care about her and then love would bloom. Yes, he was sure of it. He settled back in his seat, a satisfied grin settling across his face. His kingdom would be safe.
"Your Majesty!" a frantic voice hissed in his ear. "Your Majesty, wake up!"
King Triton's eyes popped open. The court composer, a crab named Sebastian, was perched on his chest, peering down at him.
"Sebastian!" the king exclaimed, sitting up. "What in the world are you doing?"
"I was walking by your wife's room on the way to my own," he said, "when I heard her coughing. A terrible, hacking cough. I went in to see if she was all right, but she wasn't, Your Majesty. She was coughing up blood. I awoke the court doctor. He is with her now, but you must come quickly."
The king scrambled out of bed. "Is she going to be all right?" he asked, as he swam toward the door, Sebastian scuttling along behind him.
The crab's face was grave. "The doctor says it does not look good for her, Your Majesty."
Ariel was gathered with her sisters at her mother's bedside, staring down at the lifeless body in front of them.
"Daddy," the four-year-old murmured. "When will Mommy wake up?"
The king placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "She is not ever going to wake up, dearest one. She has gone to be with the angels."
"What's an angel?" Ariel asked, peering up at him with wide blue eyes.
"Hush, Ariel," her oldest sister, Attina, scolded. "Now's not the time for questions."
Ariel placed her hands on her hips and glared at her sister. "Don't be bossy, Attina. Just because Mommy is never waking up doesn't mean you get to order me around instead!"
The king gazed fondly down at his youngest daughter. She was a feisty little thing. He could already tell she was going to cause more trouble than the rest of her sisters combined, a fact which worried him immensely. Out of all seven of his daughters, she was the one he most had to keep under control. The fate of the kingdom depended on it.
He sighed, reaching down to clasp his wife's hand. "My dearest Athena," he murmured. "What am I to do without you?"
"Ariel, wait up!"
Eight-year-old Ariel kept swimming, silently urging her sea-green tail to move a bit faster.
"Ariel!" the voice said again. "Your dad said that you had to let me come with you!"
She stopped swimming and spun around. "Go away, Marsious!" she snapped, her hands on her hips. "Stop being so annoying all the time!"
The sandy-haired boy ignored her, swimming a bit closer. He smiled smugly at her, crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue.
"Go away!" she repeated.
"You can't make me," he said, he said, his orange tail flipping back and forth through the water.
She sighed in exasperation, knowing he was right. Marsious was bigger and stronger than her and, as hard as she had tried, she had never been able to beat him in a fight.
"Fine," she muttered. "You can come."
He grinned triumphantly, his aqua-colored eyes twinkling with amusement. "I knew you'd give in, Ari."
"Don't call me that!" she told him for what felt like the millionth time. "You know I hate when you call me that."
"I know," he replied, smirking at her. "That's why I do it."
She rolled her eyes and began to swim away. Marsious may have been stronger than her, but she was faster. Nevertheless, he managed to catch up with her as they reached the end of the coral reef on the outskirts of the kingdom. She was pleased to hear, however, that he was panting slightly.
"Wait," he said, grabbing her arm. "You're going out into open water?"
This time it was her turn to smirk. "Scared?" she taunted.
"No!" he exclaimed, staring out at the great expanse of water with wide eyes. "I've just never been out in open water before."
"Really?" she asked. "You mean you've never left the reef?"
He shook his head.
"Why not?" she asked. "There's so much to see out there!"
"My parents said that it isn't safe," he said.
"My father says the same thing," Ariel replied. "But he doesn't think anything is safe. I just ignore him. Can you imagine if I actually stayed cooped up inside a castle all day with my sisters like he seems to want me to? I think I'd lose my mind."
Marsious glanced over his shoulder, his gaze settling on the kingdom in the distance. "It's not such a bad place, Ariel."
She turned around, floating lazily as she stared at the place she'd called home her whole life. Her family's castle—shiny and magnificent—rose high above all else. It was made of gold and stood out easily in comparison to everyone else's coral homes.
"It's not all there is," she murmured. "I want to experience everything, Marsious."
As Marsious contemplated this, she grinned mischievously. "Come on!" she said. "I'll race you to the top!"
"The top?" he asked. "Are you joking?"
She shook her head. "Nope! There's someone up there I want you to meet!"
"You mean you've been up there before?" he asked, shocked.
She merely laughed in response, already swimming upwards toward the surface.
"Ariel!" he whined, swimming after her. "Wait for me!"
When they had almost reached the surface, he extended his arm and grabbed on to a section of her long red hair. He tugged as hard as he could and she screeched in pain, coming to a stop and glaring at him. He passed her easily and broke the surface before she did, pumping his fist victoriously as she popped up beside him, venom in her eyes.
"You cheated, Marsious!" she snarled.
"Yup!" he agreed, pleased with himself.
She muttered something under her breath, but he wasn't paying any attention. He was too busy taking in everything around him. There was water going on for miles in every direction, but off in the distance, he could see land. He had never seen land before. He tilted his head up, feeling the sun's heat beating down on his face, and smiled contentedly.
"I knew you'd like it up here," Ariel said. Her anger seemed to have dissipated, perhaps dried up by the sun.
Above them, a flying creature was circling.
"What's that?" he asked curiously.
"A seagull," she said. "It's a type of bird."
He stared at her in awe, almost asking her how she knew so much, but then thinking better of it. He didn't want her to know that he thought she was smart.
The seagull spotted them and dove down, landing on a bit of jagged rock that peaked out of the ocean. Ariel quickly swam over to him and Marsious followed.
"Hello, Scuttle!" she said brightly, resting her forearms on the rock and grinning up at the bird.
"Hello, Ariel," he greeted her, fixing his gaze on Marsious. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Marsious," she said. "He's not my friend. My father just insists on my spending time with him. I have yet to figure out why. He's obnoxious."
Scuttle eyed Marsious suspiciously. "Can he be trusted?" he asked.
Marsious rolled his eyes. "Trusted with what exactly?" he asked.
"I have something to give Ariel," the bird replied. "Something no one else can find out that she has, especially her father."
"You have another gift for me?" Ariel squealed with delight. "Oh, Scuttle, you're the best!"
Marsious watched with interest as the seagull pushed aside s few small rocks and picked up a small object. It didn't look like much to Marsious. "What is it?" he asked. "It doesn't look so special."
"This, my narrow-minded friend, is a doohickey."
"What does it do?" Ariel asked, looking a lot more enthusiastic than Marsious felt.
"Humans use it to make markings on paper," Scuttle replied. "They just hold it in their hands and press down. Apparently it can be used as a form of communication."
"Wow," Ariel murmured, her eyes wide with fascination. "That's so interesting."
Marsious rolled his eyes. "I think of a million things that are more interesting than that, Ari."
She slapped his arm. It stung and he flinched slightly, immediately hoping that she didn't notice. "Shut up!" she snapped.
"Children!" Scuttle exclaimed. "Control yourselves, please."
Ariel reached out and took the doohickey from the bird. "Thank you, Scuttle."
"It's my pleasure, Ariel," he said, flapping his wings and rising into the air. "I'll see you around, yeah?"
"Yeah!" she agreed. "Hopefully next time without him." She elbowed Marsious hard in the ribs and he retaliated by jabbing her hard in the side with his fingers.
"I hate you!" she hissed.
"The feeling's mutual!" he replied angrily, diving under the water and swimming as fast as he could to get away from her.
So there it is, chapter one of Ariel's story! What did you think? Should I continue?