A/N: I do not own anything you might recognize from anywhere, only my perception of Ariel and some other things here and there.
The beautiful artwork illustrating the story is by the most talented artist Selina Fenech.
This is a short chapter to give you some background on my Ariel.
Hope you enjoy and please review!
PROLOGUE
Ariel rested her head over a stone. Her blood red hair waved with the silent sound of the water, her eyes were closed, but she was awake. She listened to the endless quietness around her with care. She could feel it was day already, in the outside world, she could feel the clarity of the sun bathing the sea, she smiled still with her eyes closed and felt a shiver down her spine when an enormous shadow started to cover her figure. She heard the hisses and opened her eyes to meet the shining eyes of her kin all around her, hiding among corals and stones.
The red head looked up to realize a ship was sailing slowly over her. This was a big one. Ariel knew this one. She waved her bluish green fin as she swam away, as far as she could, leaving all of her kin to appreciate and prepare an ambush. But not Ariel, Ariel had her share last night, and she needed not to eat. Neither did her sisters, but they appreciated what they did.
Ariel was brought up like every other mermaid. When her egg hatched she and her sisters who hatched the same day learned to live by themselves, when matured they would be able to find their entire school of mermaids with only their senses. Mermaids had splendid vision and hearing skills, they heard and saw things inside their heads. Even miles and miles away they could make up what was happening aboard the ships that traveled the seas, more than enough to prepare to attack.
She swam into an island shaped like a cave not too far from where the ship was. Ships could dock outside to the land, but to enter the cave, only with a small boat. It was Ariel's cave; she lured the sailors there so she could feast alone. Many other mermaids had their own ways, and this was hers. But she wasn't there to feast; she was there to observe from afar, her favorite pastime.
Mermaids communicated with each other by hisses and small sounds, but they also spoke the language of men. The rare times Ariel actually had the chance to speak to one of her sisters, she was appalled to be told that she was an odd one; the others didn't care for what humans did and how they lived, but not Ariel, she was curious and she always dreamed and wished of one day being able to be among them. When word spread out that Ariel had thoughts like that, her sisters maintained a distance and Ariel got used to being alone.
As soon as she entered the cave she emerged from the water. Her fair white skin almost glowed in the darkness of the cave. She emerged only up to her tiny waist; her long curled hair covered graciously her bare breasts, the curls looked as if they never touched the water, the bright blood red of her hair contrasted deeply with her skin. She looked outside, to the ship. She smiled to herself when she confirmed her thoughts; she knew that ship, it was a royal ship. She saw it the night before: the sailors were feasting and singing and she observed from far away. Her bright dark blue eyes fixed on the man that seemed like the centre of all attention; she heard the others call him Eric.
She smiled, remembering last night and imagining what could be like to have legs, to walk on land. She could come ashore, but her breath would quickly go away if completely deprived of salt water. And humans, oh, humans would kill her. And with reason. Ariel and her kin were monsters and killers, they deserved no less. And Ariel couldn't blame humans being scared of her. But if she had legs, they would never know...
Ever since she was hatched, Ariel never understood the ways of her people. There were no male mermaids; during mate season the mermaids would feast on many humans at a night and leave out legs as they swam away. They never know who their mother is: they are all one. But that does not bring them together if not to kill and ambush ships; the mermaids were predators and only the most skilled and cruel ones were adored. Ariel never understood any of that; she wished for a change every day of her life. She loved to watch humans feasting, talking, laughing, she wanted that… If only she could find a way to have it….
"What a desperate, desperate soul," Ariel was stunned by a dark deep male voice; she jumped, her fin waving in the air as she went underwater again.
"I'm not going to hurt you," the voice continued in her head, as if it was inside her. She wiggled, desperate something had caught her, but she was alone.
She emerged again, slowly, and as soon as her eyes popped out of the water she saw a hooded man sitting inside the cave. She didn't move an inch.
"I can grant your wish, Mermaid," the voice said, this time soundly around the cave. "I can give you legs."
How did this cloaked men knew what she wanted? Ariel's fin wiggled with fear.
"I know how to spot a desperate soul," the cloaked man said, as if he could hear her thoughts. "You are not desperate enough for what I need. But," he made a pause and only then Ariel could see his lizard eyes and skin. "You can help me find it."
"What do you want?" she managed to say as her head slowly popped out of the water. Her voice sounded as sweet as a melody.
"You see, sweetling," the man said, his eyes never leaving hers. "I really need to find a desperate soul. The skin of mermaid fin, a creature filled with ways of luring delusional men, is just the thing I need."
"Do you want my fin?" Ariel asked, growing interested, she swam closer and emerged all the way to her waist again. "I don't want to have only legs. Swimming across the sea is the only happiness I know."
"Nah, not yours," he said. Despite his dark voice, he seemed almost… friendly. "You can turn back and forth with just a thought. The skin I can get from your sisters."
Ariel pondered. She didn't really know her sisters; it was all hisses and traps to ambush ships, and the occasional odd looks they shot her ever since she opened her mouth to ask what they thought of humans. Why should she care? But she didn't answer right away, her eyes wandered in the water around her. Legs! She could have legs! She could go on land and talk and hear stories, and feast, dance and travel through forests and kingdoms! The kingdoms she saw in the minds of her victims when she sang to them before killing them.
"Name is Zoso," the voice spoke when Ariel held her silence for way too long.
"I am Ar—"
"Ariel, I know," he interrupted her and she could swear she saw a glimpse of a smile. "So, will you trade with me, Ariel? I give you the chance to have legs whenever you wish so and you give me the hiding place of your sisters."
Ariel eyes unlocked from Zoso's, her glance gazed on the water around her, she looked at her fin waving slowly underwater, giving her balance and then she heard it: a sweet melody of voices, enchanting and lavishing in desire, she turned around and observed as the royal ship seemed to have stopped, its men all on the main deck of the ship.
"Tick tock, sweetie," Zoso's voice called from behind her. "Or your sisters will dine on Prince Eric."
"He's a prince?" Ariel turned again to Zoso's suddenly. She saw a mischievous yellow crooked smile under his hood.
"Oh yes," he answered simply. The same smirk across his face. "If we make a deal now, I can stop your sisters from attacking the ship. The sailors will be confused when the spell is broken and will want to return to their land. You can follow them and meet your prince there."
Ariel looked back at the ship, still hearing her sisters singing in a sweet melody. She saw them popping slowly out of water, their hair waving with the ocean breeze in a seductive dance to their preys. She could stop that, she could finally leave all this, she could go to land, meet Prince Eric and his friends. Be human.
"Will my kiss still be poison?" she looked back at Zoso.
When the sailors jumped or crashed their ships intentionally to meet the mermaids, they kissed them. The mermaid kiss poisoned the poor man's veins and his heart would stop immediately, only then the mermaids would feast on their preys.
"Now, true love's kiss would never kill anyone, love," Zoso answered in riddles. Ariel glanced at the ship again and saw as some men started to climb ropes to jump overboard.
"Deal," she said at once and glanced back at Zoso in time to catch him standing up as he filled the cave with a dark laughter.
Zoso gestured to Ariel with his hands and she felt a shiver. Purple sparkly smoke filled the cave and evolved around her whirling in her direction. She closed her eyes with fear, expecting pain, but only felt a small sting on her fin and suddenly felt as it transformed into a pair of beautiful long legs evolved by the skirt of a dress made entirely of what seemed like a silk organza fabric, very light and flowy with the same blueish green of her fin. The fabric went up her waist and covered her breasts on a princess cut sort of top held by a tight knot on her back.
When the smoke started to fade away, Ariel lost her grip and started to drown, but quickly recovered and moved her legs, swimming up again as if she had them her entire life. She swam to the border and hesitated when Zoso offered a lizardy greenish hand to help her up, but took it and stood up on the rock beside him. She looked down at her legs, amazed, and felt tears filling up her eyes. She jumped and whirled around on her legs, but stopped as she met Zoso's serious eyes in front of her.
"Where?" was his only word. Ariel sighed anxiously and hesitated for a second before pointing in the direction of the ship.
"Many feet down, some of them are there, then go east, the others are there," she said lowly. Zoso managed another mischievous smile and bowed respectfully before a whirl of black smoke surrounded him. Ariel followed with her eyes as she saw the smoke swim down the ocean and disappear miles away.
Suddenly the melody of the mermaids stopped and gave room to a shrieking scream. Ariel observed as the men on the ship started to pace confusedly on board and was horrified when she started to see the blood filling the water. She ran to the water and with a blink of an eye transformed her legs back into her fin before jumping, she swam in the direction she sent Zoso and stood witness as Zoso's smoke cut all of her sisters in half and disappeared with their fins, leaving only their human part behind. All of them faced the same fate.
Ariel felt her heart slamming with fear on her chest as she observed the scene horrified and swam around trying to find survivors. The shrieking scream of the mermaids started to cease slowly, but Ariel continued to search, only to understand she had agreed to exterminate all of her kin for a chance to walk on land. Her tears of regret mixed with the salt water around her as she swam, lost, around the torsos of her sisters and the blooded water for hours and hours.
