Prologue
The waves crashed against the smooth sands of the beach in a hauntingly rhythmic way, gently caressing the bare feet of Prince Eric. His clothes were torn, his body completely dehydrated. He fought to stand up, his legs shaking. He knelt down, taking a deep breath. It was necessary for him to pick his movements carefully, he noted, as any prolonged movement would get him in trouble.
Clumsily did he step, wandering the beach lands, before finally discovering what he was looking for.
Ariel.
The mermaid's body lay, almost as if she were sleeping, by a rock, bloodstains covering the side of the rock which her corpse was resting under. Gently, Eric brushed his fingers along her, noting all the broken bones. There were few, if any, which weren't broken. Her face was still as beautiful as ever, with those wide eyes open in shock, horror, rage, and pain. Carefully, and whispering a prayer, he shut those terribly beautiful eyes, in such a state that they would remain.
Sighing, he turned his head toward the ocean, towards Ariel's home, and he saw her. The demoness' eyes aglow like a cat's, her grey arms crossed across a black bosom and a red smirk across that grotesque face of hers. Ursula. The murderer.
"Bring…her…back!" Eric seethed, adrenaline flooding every channel of his body, preparing him for the fight of his life. "Now!"
"My my," Ursula snickered. "Such a temper for a to-be king, hmm?"
"BRING HER BACK, YOU…"
"You never learn, do you?" The sea witch replied wistfully. "Or you must at least be slow at it." She waved her hand towards Ariel's broken and beaten body, and the mermaid's eyes fluttered open. "Now, here's the deal." Ariel's eyes widened in fear as her ears discerned those words, last time had been frightening. "You two will get to do whatever you wish with each other, it does not matter to me….as long as it's done on your own time."
"Our own…" Ariel whispered, and there was a brilliant flash of purple light. Eric jumped into the water, a silver tail trailing behind his torso.