Welcome! Thanks for choosing to read my story! I'm back again with the new revision of this story, and likely not my last. Thanks to all of you for sticking in there and being great readers and fans. The biggest changes you'll see is the title change and description. There is also no more chapter about Alice's kids, I cut that part out, but I have other plans for it. Also I changed Belle's son's name to Beau, because it made more sense and sounded much better. Belle means beauty in French and Beau means handsome, so I thought it worked better. As for this chapter, much is the same, beside a few minor added sentences.

Keep in mind that this chapter takes place when Melody is older and The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea, never happened. I'm just using some aspects of the movie and will somewhat follow it, so keep on reading! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Disney. All rights go to the owners and creators of Disney, yada yada yada….enjoy.

Chapter 1: Melody

"Aren't you hungry?" Melody's mother asked. "You haven't touched a thing."

Melody shifted her eyes from the grand wooden clock in the dining hall to her mother's ocean blue ones. She smiled slightly and quickly looked down, taking a spoonful of the soup in front of her and shoveling it into her mouth. Her mother smiled contently and continued to eat her meal. Melody could force herself to take a few bites but she couldn't help her foot from impatiently tapping the floor.

Ariel paused eating. "Eric, darling, do you here that incessant tapping noise?"

Melody ceased her foot. "I don't hear anything," she focused on her soup, continuing to slurp down tiny spoonfuls.

Eric looked up. "Melody's right, I don't hear anything."

"I'm sure I heard something," Ariel shook her head

"I'm actually not that hungry," Melody said as she stood up from the grand dining table. "If you'll excuse me, I'll just retire to my chamber for the night."

"Alright, be sure to have someone send up something for you to eat, in case you get hungry later,"

Melody smiled. "I will, dad," She said, then turned around and proceeded to her room on the top floor of the seaside palace. She hadn't always been this obedient. She used to be adventurous and wild and free, but one day she went swimming at the beach, just right next to the palace, and her mother freaked out and brought her back inside immediately. She'd said the ocean was dangerous and told Melody to not go outside the wall again. Though, that didn't stop her from continuing to sneak out.

One evening, after sneaking away from a party being held at her palace, she took a stroll through the nearby woods as she often did. She loved it there, it was the only place she could be alone with her thoughts. It was also the closest to the ocean she could be without fear of upsetting her mother. The river that ran through the woods, poured into the vast ocean, and when she swam in it she felt somehow connected to the sea.

She continued to stroll over to the edge of the river and sang with passion and emotion.

"What would I be, without the sea? The beautiful, ever-changing, glorious sea? She calls to me, she calls to me…" She'd stopped singing as she took a rest by the river, dipping her hand in and swirling it around, feeling the smooth, cool water between her fingers.

"Was that you singing?" A voice had asked her. She'd screamed and quickly looked up to see a boy with sandy blonde hair wading in the water of the river.

"W-what are you doing in there?" Melody asked him, still a bit startled.

"Swimming," He'd replied, smirking. "Obviously."

Melody rolled her eyes. "You scared me."

"I apologize," He said, but it didn't seem too sincere. "What are you doing here?"

"Running away, breaking the rules…" Melody sighed, getting lost in her thoughts, and then a look of regret-and a hint of blush-had crossed her face. "Wait! I don't have to tell you anything! These are practically MY woods anyway. I should be asking you that question. What are YOU doing here?"

"The same as you; breaking the rules and looking for adventure," He winked.

She glared. "No one ever said I was looking for adventure."

"Oh please," He said. "It's written all over you. You're an open book and I'm a very good reader."

"Oh yeah?" Melody had smirked slightly. "Then what's my story?"

He pondered the question for a moment, with a smirk still plastered on his face. "Well let's see…here are the obvious ones. You're royalty, probably a princess, because of the way you're dressed and because you told me these woods are practically yours-" Melody looked down at her long, puffy pink dress her mom had her wear for her fifteenth birthday party-that happened to still be going on- as he continued to speak. "-and you're running away from your most likely enormous palace."

She looked back down at him. "That wasn't reading me at all! Those were just observations! Plus, I gave away some of that stuff by already telling you,"

"I wasn't finished," The smirk never left his face. "You're running away BECAUSE you're royalty and don't want to live the life you are living right now. You're parents are…controlling and won't let you do the things you want to do. Correct so far?" She just stared at him, shocked. He looked up in thought. "And...The reason they say they don't let you do the things you want and need to keep an eye on you, is to protect you, or that they want what's best for you, or there are dangers in this world…something along those lines. And that's why you decided to rebel and run away from home, because you want to follow your heart and be free, making your own decisions, yada yada yada"

Melody was speechless for a good full minute or two after the boy was done speaking. "Stalker!" She finally shouted.

"Shh! Not so loud…" He looked around, as if to imply that she would wake a great beast from its slumber if she screamed. Although, he was probably just trying to frighten her. He went back to his smirking self. "So I'm right."

"Not even close," She lied.

"You're lying."

"How dare you talk to me like that?! I'm royalty,"

He raised his eyebrows. "Sorry to disappoint ya, princess, but I'm not a part of your kingdom."

"So what are you doing in my kingdom?"

"Actually," He paused. "I'm technically in my kingdom as we speak. Kind of."

"That doesn't even make sense."

The boy then leaned back then brought his legs up out of the water, only, they weren't really legs. A…tail? Melody gasped and jumped back two feet.

"You're a fish!"

He frowned at her. "Correction. Merman."

She was silent for a moment. "That's…impossible," She was staring at him more interested than shocked now.

He smiled, his green eyes glinting with the reflection of the moonlight. "Nothing is impossible." He swam back to the edge of the river, leaning his arms on the bank. Melody came closer and knelt down next to him.

"I never thought I would ever meet a…mermaid," She said, still distracted and a little shocked.

"Merman," He corrected her once again. She just smiled at him as if she didn't hear him.

"I'm Melody. I live at the seaside palace, just right down that way,"

"Oh, yes. I've known that palace since I was little. I live…well out in the ocean. My name is Lance," He smiled a bit. "And…listen, Melody. You can't tell anyone that you saw me, or that we met. It has to be our secret, or something bad might happen."

She looked at him, furrowing her dark eyebrows. "Like what?"

"I'm not sure…but I know for sure I'd be in big trouble. Humans aren't supposed to know about us."

"So why risk it all just to talk to me?" Melody asked, confused.

Lance blushed ever so slightly. "Because I like you…and I trust you. Plus, I felt like being rebellious. It's boring down there."

Melody laughed. "I know what you mean."

"So it's a secret?"

Melody smiled. "It's a secret."

After that day, Melody continued to see Lance every time he or she got the chance. They'd tell each other stories, ask each other questions, make each other laugh…and they'd go on like that for hours. Melody considered him her best friend and they both enjoyed each other's company, all the while keeping this secret from everyone.

As Melody reached her room she walked over to the balcony from her window that overlooked the sea. She smiled; shaking the memory of the day she'd met Lance from her head and looked out to the horizon. The sun was just beginning to set and she peered out over the ocean until she spotted a figure by The Rock, waving toward her direction. That was their signal that it was okay for them to meet. There was a large rock protruding from a spot in the ocean, midway between the palace and Lance's home, that they called 'The Rock'.

Melody grinned and waved back. She motioned the signal they had for 'midnight'. He seemed to nod and dove back into the sea, his green tail splashing the water. She then turned around and went to her closet to change into a blue evening gown, gladly bidding good riddance to the puffy yellow dress she was currently wearing. She then sat down at her vanity and began slowly running a brush through her long ebony hair, while she hummed quietly to herself.

A/N: So what did you think? The first chapter is kind of short, I know. I'll try to make them longer in the future. Please review and tell me whether or not I should continue this story! Also, suggestions are welcome! Thanks! Also if you go to and search PromisesAndDreams, you'll find pictures of all of the characters so far. I made them with a website called through the herione creater, so be sure to check those out!