Triton watched his youngest daughter looking towards the beach-towards the man-the Human-that she had grown to love so much. Ariel had grown up to be so beautiful, and her long red hair reminded Triton of Athena, when they were courting. How much Ariel reminded him of his late wife-her manners, her voice, her love of the sunshine, and yes, even her fascination with the land and Humans.
Triton simply didn't know if he was prepared to lose his little girl to the Humans; he'd lost Athena to the Humans, and now his youngest child had her heart set on joining their ranks. Yet, Triton knew, deep down, that this man on the beach wouldn't take his daughter away in the same way that other Humans had taken away his wife.
He looked down at Sebastian; the little crab had so faithfully kept watch over Ariel, through all of her rebelliousness that Triton felt as though his faithful servant could possibly reassure him that what he was about to do was right.
Sebastian only smiled at his King; he knew what was in the great merman's mind and he was pleased. He knew it would be hard for Triton to lose his daughter to the Human world, but he knew it was the right decision. He watched as his King touched the surface of the water with his trident and a line of golden power progressed towards the young mermaid lying against the rocks.
Ariel sensed that something was happening and looked down at the shallow waves to see the line progressing towards her-she knew immediately what was happening!
Several weeks later, Ariel leaned over the side of the boat to give her father a huge hug. She knew that it had been hard for him to let her live on the land, and she couldn't possibly thank him enough.
About ten years later, Ariel watched with distress as her daughter frolicked in the ocean waves with her newfound mer-friends. Melody had said that she wasn't quite ready for legs again-she wanted to swim in the sea a little bit longer. But, Ariel knew the little girl would soon have a huge decision to make.
Triton called his youngest daughter, her husband, and his young granddaughter to his side,
"Melody," he said, "I can see how much you love to swim and play with all the young mer-folk, and well, I talked it over with you mom and dad last night, and they think you should decide-would you like to come live in the sea with me, or live here on land with your mom and dad?"
Ariel hadn't ever thought she could be so nervous! Exploring sunken ships, with sharks lurking around, had nothing on this!
Young Melody looked from her new friends, to her mom and dad, and back again, as she weighed her choice. Then her eyes came to rest on the shiny gold trident that her grandfather held. She reached for it and swept it across the sky-dissolving the wall that had cut her off from the ocean for as long as she could remember.
"Why can't we all just live together?" she asked, simply, before flipping her fins back into the water to rejoin a game in progress.
Those who were watching cheered.
Later that night, after things had settled down, and the big moon threw sparkles of silver light across the smooth ocean surface, Ariel sat on the wharf, with her feet splashing in the water. Her father surfaced and swam to her. It was so good to be able to see and talk to his little girl again-after all those years when she'd had to live behind a wall to protect her own little girl.
Ariel couldn't help but throw her arms around him,
"Thank you, daddy, for all you've done for us these last few days," she stifled back a sob, "I've missed you all so much during all these years! I'm so glad that all the trouble is over and we can be a family again-I didn't even get to attend my sisters' weddings-Melody had so much fun with her cousins!"
She laughed, "And, of course, I had a blast talking to my sisters and brothers-in-law!"
"They are great mer-men," Triton agreed, with a happy twinkle in his eyes, "All my daughters have married great men-on land and sea."
Ariel smiled, "Oh, daddy!"
Then she thought back to the pain she'd felt that afternoon, when her daughter had had to choose between the land and the sea.
"Daddy?" she asked tentatively.
"Yes, Ariel?"
She hugged him, "Thank you for letting me live on land-I've always known that it must have been hard for you, but now, I really understand how much it must have hurt, and well, I'm so glad you did it anyway."
Triton smiled, over her shoulder, still wrapped in her embrace, "You're welcome, sweetheart."