Mirage sat on her throne, bored as hell. She didn't want to go to Agrabah yet. But maybe there was another place that needed to be visited by her. Oh that would be too good. She walked to the glowing floating sphere that she used to see other places outside Morbia. "Hum… what kind of place can I go today." She wondered. The sorceress waved her hand above it and an image formed. "Oh that's perfect!" She said.
"Come my pets!" Mirage said, calling the fiery cats that worked for her. "Go to that place, and feed on their fear!" The cat-sorceress ordered to the minions. "That will be fun."
Ariel sat on the beach, the sounds of seagulls and the ocean waves, the feel of the wind blowing through her long, red hair, and the smell of the salty sea water enveloping her.
She was daydreaming again, her anxiety levels increasing. She was wondering about Ursula and Morgana, and where they were now. Did they already know she was pregnant, even if she and Eric hadn't told anyone yet? Were they watching her at this very moment, through one of their crystal balls? The princess shuddered and bit her lip, trying to keep herself relaxed and focused on the ocean.
Mirage left Morbia, to watch the work of her minions. The looked like ordinary lynxes, except for the fact that they were on fire and they used to feed with other's fears. The cat-woman looked at the beach. "What a happy and calm place." She said to herself. "This has to change now." She continued. Then Mirage spotted a read haired woman there and ordered her minions to wait for her signal.
The sorceress approached the woman, with no emotion in her face. Mirage was good at identifying the kind of people that had spirit. Like the one in front of her. "Well, this is a change of scenery." She said out loud, to warn the princess about her presence there.
Ariel was so lost in thought, she hadn't heard anyone approach her. At the sound of a woman's voice, she gasped and turned around sharply, her red hair gathering on one side.
The princess wasn't sure of what to make of what she saw. It.. It appeared the woman was.. A cat? No, that can't be. These types of things didn't exist! Except in the ancient times, in desert cultures. Weren't there some kind of statues.. Or something? Ariel racked her memory for any trace of what the creature could be. For some reason, she thought she had read about creatures like this when she was learning about human history.
The cat-woman looked at the one in front of her. "And who are you?" She asked. Mirage was already used to receive those kind of looks because of her appearance, so she didn't mind with that. In fact she always liked the way that she resembled with that Egyptian goddess, Bast.
"I-I'm Ariel," the princess stuttered, her body rigid. Something didn't seem right, but she wasn't sure what. But this was her home. She should be the one asking the questions.
To remove herself from the vulnerable position, Ariel stood up and faced the strange creature, noticing she was a bit taller than Ariel. "And who are you?" she asked lightly.
"I'm Mirage." She answered. From their hiding, one the lynxes approached Mirage, but it wasn't on fire yet. The sorceress caressed the lynx's fur as she looked around. "And what's the name of this kingdom?" She asked.
Ariel began to reply. "Well, Mirage, what brings you to-" She stopped, however, when she noticed a large cat brush up against Mirage. The redhead glanced around, wondering where the cat came from, or if there were more.
Staring at the cat, Ariel blankly replied, "Well, um, you're.. You're in Denmark. A small kingdom of it, anyway.." she trailed off.That cat looks like a large catfish! Except with legs and spots..
"Denmark. What an interesting name. I'm just talking my pets for a little walk and I'm sure that you won't mind if they walk through your little kingdom." Mirage said. The lynx started to walk away from her, and a few others joined him as he ran to the kingdom. Their fur were on fire and the chaos spread in the streets. She watched Ariel with the corner of her eyes, to see her reaction.
"Uh.. Um…" Ariel stuttered, eyes growing wide as she saw the big cats bound away. She started walking after them quickly, hoping not to offend Mirage. "If you wouldn't mind, could you.. Um.. Could you at least put them on a leash, or something?" Her voice was becoming frantic, but she tried to keep herself as calm as possible.
"Oh they don't need that, they just going to have some fun before coming back." She said. Mirage moved her ears, like she was trying to hear something. She ignored the sound of the salty water. "Hear that? It's the sound of them having some fun for once." Mirage said, as she heard the screams. Soon, the kingdom would be nothing but ashes. How delightful.
Ariel starting running, now growing angry at the stubborn cat-woman. "If you don't mind, they're scaring everyone! Please!" she yelled at Mirage, chasing uselessly after the cats.
The redhead raced into town, thankful to see that no one was outside anymore. She saw a barrel of apples by the market and, on a burst of adrenaline, picked it up and emptied the fruit onto the cobblestone street, tripping a few of the cats. "I really shouldn't be doing that much heavy lifting," she mumbled to herself.
Then, she ran up to one of the cats and smashed the barrel onto its head with much effort, causing the feline to go spinning backwards. Ariel exhaled heavily, already feeling fatigued. She wasn't even showing yet, and she was already so tired so quickly?
Mirage hissed, just like a cat, when she saw Ariel hitting one of the cats. She seemed tired, what Mirage could use in her advantage. "What's the matter princess? Tired already? My pets are just getting warm up." She said. As she spoke, the cats start to set things on fire. One of them approached Ariel, his fur on fire.
"Now, my pet, remember to play nice." She said to the cat. Mirage put her hands on her hips, laughing. That was truly something fun to her.
Ariel exhaled sharply, looking at Mirage in confusion. "Wha.." she stammered, shaking her head. "What did we do to you!? I've never met you before. You've never been here before. I was just trying to be nice and polite." She glared at her in anger, hands on her hips. "But clearly you aren't planning on being nice. So leave."
That was just too fun. "Did I fail to mention that I'm the Evil Incarnate? Oh bad Mirage, bad." She said, giving a gentle slap on her hand.
She obviously was being sarcastic. Nothing was better than destroying a kingdom. Especially a nice kingdom like that one. "And no one tells me to leave." She said.
Ariel narrowed her eyes and took a step back, feeling a bucket of water sitting on one of the tables. The flaming cats were still approaching her.
In one swift move, Ariel grabbed the bucket from behind her and threw it onto Mirage and the cats as she yelled, "BAD KITTY!"
The princess turned and started running for the castle, seeing that the cats were no longer on fire.
Mirage raised her arms to attempting to protect herself from the water, an instinctive movement. The sorceress looked down at herself, she was totally soaked. She looked at Ariel, her green eyes shining dangerously. She scratched the air, sending a blast of magic cutting toward Ariel. Luckily, the magic just destroyed the bucket, since Ariel had begun to run.
Then she teleported her pets back to Morbia, but she teleported herself so that she would appear in front to Ariel, just before she could get inside the castle.
"This time, you won princess. But we are not finished!" Mirage said, disappearing. Her last phrase echoed for a little bit after her disappearance.
A little bit more. Almost there. Ariel felt her legs weakening as she raced to the castle. Just as she reached for the door, Mirage appeared again. The redhead screamed and jumped back, her face a look of panic.
But then, the cat-woman disappeared. Ariel stood there for a minute, trying to catch her breath and recap what had just happened. Okay. So maybe she shouldn't trust everyone she meets on the beach. Encountering Ursula so many times should have taught her that by now.
This time? She's gunna come back? The redhead shuddered, inhaling deeply. Just what she needed. Another person to worry about. She didn't even know why Mirage was after her. Probably working with Ursula.
Ariel went inside the castle, deciding to spend the rest of the day waiting for Eric, so she could tell him about the fiery problems the kingdom had encountered that day, as well as to make him aware of the looming presence of Mirage.