Story Name: The Little Mermaid…With a Twist
Disclaimer: I do not own the Little Mermaid, or any of it's characters.
A/N: This is a story I had to write for AP Psych last year. We had to rewrite a childhood story with one of the main characters having a psychological disorder. I have to say I had a lot of fun doing it. So tell me if you can guess which disorder Ariel has. Enjoy ^.^
~.~.~.~.~
Once upon a time there was an enchanting underwater kingdom, and that kingdom was Atlantica. In this kingdom dwelled the most mystical of creatures, mermaids. The people of Atlantica were ruled by a fair and just ruler, King Triton. King Triton had seven daughters, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, Alana, and his youngest and most beloved daughter Ariel.
Ariel was a special young mermaid, she was blessed with one of the most beautiful voices in all of Atlantica, but she was also known to be a most rebellious child. She would often miss choral practices with her sisters and she would often disobey her father's orders. But what got her father most angry with her, is her trips to the surface. Ariel would often go to the surface and talk to a seagull, and he would tell her all the things he know about land folk. Ariel was fascinated by all the marvelous things the seagull told her, and it made her do many more things that her father did not approve of. She went to shipwrecks and collected the many items left behind, and then she would hide them in her secret cove of treasures so that her father would not see them.
One evening Ariel went to the surface because she saw big flashing lights. When she arrived to the surface she saw a ship, and she heard music and merriment. She wanted to take a closer look so she grabbed onto a rope and she pulled herself up to a small ledge on the side of the ship. What she saw was something that was going to change her life forever. She the most handsome young man with raven locks and the most captivating cerulean eyes she had ever seen. In that moment she knew she had fallen in love. She watched as the young man enjoyed the party and she loved to watch him smile. Ariel knew that she had to leave the ship soon or her father would be furious with her so she dives back into the water and returns to Atlantica.
Upon returning home she could not stop thinking about the young man, so she snuck off in the middle of the night to catch a glimpse of the man again. When she arrived to the surface the sight that greeted her eyes horrified her. The ship was engulfed in flames, and she saw that the young man was still on the ship. All of the other men were on a small boat screaming over to the man to jump off the boat. But the man had stayed behind to help his dog get off the burning vessel. He grabbed his dog and jumped off the ship and they landed into the water. After a moment the dog emerged from the water, but the prince was nowhere to be found. The young man did not surface because his leg was caught on a rope tied to the burning ship. Ariel dove under the water and swam toward the man as fast as she could. By the time she arrived to the young man he was unconscious. She freed his leg from the ropes' grasp and she then put his arm around her neck, and then she swam to the surface as fast as her fins could carry her.
When she got to the surface the small boat was nowhere to be found, so she had no choice but to swim him to shore. Ariel and the young man arrived at the shore at the break of dawn. She laid the young man on the beach and she looked upon his sleeping face. She started to sing to the young man as he slowly awakened. As the young man was waking up he heard the most beautiful sound to ever grace his ears. He started to open his eyes and what he saw was the most beautiful image he would ever see. He saw a young maiden with long flowing hair and with eyes that would hypnotize you. Ariel wanted to talk to the young man but she heard voices off in the distant and she heard that they were coming closer. So she quickly made her escape back into the sea before anyone could see her.
She watched from afar the young man being helped to his feet and being escorted to safety. Once she knew that he was safe she quickly returned home hoping her father did not notice her absence. She arrived home and everything seemed to be alright, so she went to her secret cavern to enjoy the many wonderful treasures that would now remind her of the wonderful young man.
When she entered the cavern she was not alone. Ariel saw her father looking at all of her treasures. King Triton knew that Ariel snuck off in the middle of the night and he was going to follow her but he got distracted by a strange light illuminating from a cavern. He entered the cavern and was shocked by the things he saw. King Triton faced his daughter and asked her what all these things were and where she went last night. Ariel told her father the truth, she did not want to lie to her father, and she also told her father that she loved the young man she saved. Her father became furious and in his rage he destroyed all of Ariel's precious treasures. Ariel begged her father to stop but he did not. Ariel looked at her once precious cavern and fell to the sea floor crying. Her father left her there to think over what she had done.
Now that Ariel knew that her father would never accept her love for the young man, she needed to find a different way to see the prince again. Ariel then thinks of the sea witch Ursula. King Triton banished Ursula from Atlantica long ago. Ariel was desperate so she goes to Ursula's cave to seek her help.
Ariel arrives at Ursula's cave.
Ursula greets Ariel as if she was a long lost relative and asks her to make herself comfortable. Ariel was about to explain her situation to Ursula, but Ursula already knew what Ariel wanted and she told Ariel that she could give her what she wants. Ariel was excited to know that Ursula could help her, but Ursula told her that there is a price for her to do this for Ariel. The price was that Ariel would have to give up her voice in exchange for her legs. Also, the spell would only work for three days and in order for her to stay a human forever is to get the man to kiss her, but not just any kiss, but the kiss of true love. Ariel was reluctant at first, but she was mad at her father, and her love for the prince was enough for her to sign the contract with Ursula. Ariel signed the scroll and Ursula preformed the ritual that would take away her voice and give her legs.
Once the ritual was done and Ariel had swum to the surface, but little did Ariel know that Ursula had also given her something other than legs that would make it difficult for her when she reached land.
Ariel rose to the surface and she gasped for air, she swam over to land and sat down on the beach and marveled at her feet. She then realized that she had no clothes on so she went in search of something to drape over herself. She finds a discarded cloth and rope and she put it on. Ariel looked at herself in the water's reflection and saw that something was not right with her clothes. She saw that the cloth was not symmetrical, and she saw that the bunched up in some places. Ariel did not like this at all; she needed her clothes to be perfect. So she put on the cloth again but this time making sure everything was even and that nothing was out of place. After she checked her clothes she looked at her hair to make sure that it all was in place and that there were no strays.
All was good and well until she heard a strange animal sound, she saw a dog coming her way and she ran up onto one of the jetties nearby. The young man came running after the dog and told the young girl that he was sorry. When the young man took a second look at the girl he couldn't help but think he had seen her before. He asks the girl if they had ever met and she nods her head in yes motion. The young man got really excited and asked her for her name when she tried to speak her name no words came out. The young man then gets less excited because this girl couldn't be the one who saved him. But he sees that this girl needs help so he takes her hand and leads her back to his home.
When they arrived at his home she couldn't believe what she saw, it was a palace, he must have been a prince. The young man, by now she knew his name was Eric, handed her off to one of his maids and told her to get this girl cleaned up and ready for dinner. After Ariel was cleaned up she looked at herself in the mirror and admired the maid's job of keeping everything perfect, not a wrinkle in the dress and no hair out of place. Ariel was then escorted down to the dining hall. She saw Eric sitting at the end of the table with one of his servants and as he was about to finish his sentence he saw Ariel walk in, he had to say that he was stunned by her beautiful appearance. He got out of his seat and did the gentlemanly thing of pulling out her chair for her. She sat down and smiled at the prince.
She looked down at her plate and saw that the utensils were crooked and their symmetry was off, so she reorganizes the utensil in the order she feels is right and looks at the work she's done. She looks up at Eric and his servant and can't help feel that they were looking at her in a slightly odd way, but she brushed it off. She listened in on their conversation and she could not help but notice that one hair on top of Eric's head was out of place. She was quiet annoyed how his hair was not perfectly in order. She had a really big urge to fix it, and to make it perfect, but before she got the chance to fix it someone came into the room and said the food is now ready to be served.
So when the food came in Ariel could not wait to try land food. The lid to the tray was removed and what was on the plate was what Eric called chicken, peas, and rice. Ariel couldn't help but notice that all of her food was touching each other, so she grabbed the necessary utensils and separated the foods from each other. Then she ate the food happily.
After dinner she was taken off to bed, she was given a night robe and a hair brush. She saw the bed and again couldn't help but notice that the pillows were not even with each other and that the covers were crocked. So after Ariel fixed this she tended to her hair, and before she was finished she made sure that not a hair on her head was out of place. She then went onto the bed and she made sure she was exactly in the middle and then she drifted off to sleep.
For the next two days, Ariel went on outings with Prince Eric and they had the most wonderful of times, it was only went she found something that was out of place, or just quiet not perfect is when they ran into a slump. It was now the evening of the second day and she still had not kissed Eric, she knew she had to kiss him by tomorrow or she we turn back into a mermaid. Eric then suggested that they take a little boat ride, and Ariel agrees and sees it as her chance to kiss him.
While they were on the boat Eric was trying to guess her name, after many trials and errors, he finally came across the name Ariel, and she was happy he found out her name. After that moment things turned toward the romantic. The mood was right, they were alone, and nothing could get in the way of their kiss. Except for the pesky piece of hair on the top of Eric's head, it came out of place again, this time Ariel could not ignore it.
So Ariel started to lean towards Eric and Eric saw this as a sign that she was going to kiss him so he starts to lean toward her too. Right when Ariel was about to fix the princes' hair, he kissed her. Then something magical happened, sparks flew around them and then suddenly her voice came back to her.
She was so happy she was able to talk again, so she started to sing for Eric the song that she sang for him when he she saved him that day. Eric then realized the girl he was looking for was right here this whole time. They embraced each other and they kissed once more. The next day they got married, and lived happily ever after, but every now and then Ariel would fix Eric's hair because a piece was out of place.
~.~.~.~.~
A/N: Well that's thestory, hoped you liked it!
