I've had this idea for quite a long time. This is in Ariel's point of view as she searches for the answer to her question about these strange creatures called "humans".

Disclaimer: I do not and will not ever own Disney nor its characters.

Chapter One: Under the Sea

Daddy called them barbarians. Fish-eaters, killers, the foul names the merfolk have for the creatures on land past the surface.

But I've watched them.

I've watched them from afar, curious ever since I've heard about them, and found my first human treasure.

I've heard so much about them from my dear friend Scuttle, but that was only one part of my discoveries.

I've watched them save beached whales, rescue trapped dolphins, and lead baby turtles to safety.

I've watched them pick up human objects that hurt the fish and cloud the water with discomfort from the beach and in its shallow ends.

I've watched them play in the water, laughing and splashing, frightening the fish but making me want to join in the fun.

I've seen them absorbed in their objects, wonderful things I've collected.

I've studied the things that had fallen into the ocean from their world, from dinglehoppers to watchamacallits and thingymabobs, and have only grown curiouser.

I've longed to dance the way they do, running with their feet pounding the sand, and wear what they wear, and see what they see. It is like something is pulling me towards them, but my place in the sea has always held me back in a frantic tug-a-war.

And I've seen him.

I was in my grotto when a dark shadow swallowed the light that came through the hole at the top. Only curious, and ignoring my friends' pleas to stay, surfaced.

The enormous human transport was cutting through the waves, joyful sounds drifting from its deck. Aching to hear more, I swam closer and hoisted myself up towards a hole in the side where I could see. I've never seen them so close before, dancing and shouting and gripping the things I would hold close to my heart.

When he went back to save another creature of the land, I only saw the human's bravery. Chivalry. Going back for something my daddy claimed they deem inferior to themselves, risking his life - it told me so much. This, coupled with my general fascination with humans, led me to save his life. He had been thrown into the water by the fiery explosion that frightened even me.

When I dragged him up on land, he was ragged and injured, but breathing deeply. I couldn't help but be fascinated by his features. I've never seen a human so close, nontheless be so close. I hesitantly brushed a jet-black lock from his face, dark and handsome. What really struck me was how alike he was to the faces of the merpeople. They were so alike to us, the way they have different personalities and love to play and help. What was really different was the fact that they all had legs, and could make such amazing things.

I was so terrified he wouldn't wake up, and was so relieved when I watched another human, thin and tall, help the poor, baffled boy up. As I hid behind a rock and watch the two stagger away, I could only hope and wish that one day, I could be part of that world.

"I consider myself a reasonable merman. I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed."

"But Dad, I... "

"Is it true you rescued a human from drowning?"

"Daddy, I had to... "

"Contact between the human world and the mer world is strictly forbidden. Ariel, you know that! Everyone knows that."

"He could have died!"

"One less human to worry about!" Daddy roars. I'm horrified at his indifference to a lost life. A human, a "barbarian", but a life nonetheless. I tuck myself away, trying to hide from his furious gaze, amongst my trinkets and treasures. I cross my arms defiantly, glaring at the stony wall.

"You don't even know him," I say bitterly.

"Know him? I don't have to know him, they're all the same! Spineless, savage, harpooning fish-eaters, incapable of any feeling of..."

"Daddy, for once can't you look past the fact they are slightly different from us? Why do you make the assumption just because one human is, the rest are? I don't care! I want to be like them!" I finally burst out on impulse. That, as well as looking back at him, is a terrible mistake.

His eyes blaze with the rage of a lost temper. His trident glows a fierce gold. "So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you; if this is the only way, so be it!" My anger melts away, my eyes widening as I realize what he was going to do.

"Daddy, no!"

A thingamajig is hit with a beam, glowing brightly before shattering into pieces. I scream, my desperate pleas and sobs falling on deaf ears. A piece of me breaks as each treasure, each one carefully collected, brought, and studied over the years, is destroyed. Most turn to a pile of black that drift apart in the water, impossible to piece together again. To watch the destruction of my passion, the home of my discoveries and interest, it severed my trust of my daddy, having done something I will never forgive.

As the light died, and a dreadful gloom fall over my grotto as I stare at what was left of my precious collection, its remains scattered through the water. I turn away from my father and throw myself to the stone ground, sobbing. I could hear the rush of water as my father left with a whisk of his tail, and cry harder. I could feel the prescence of my good friend, Flounder, and the rather unwanted prescence of Sebastian. I hear their voices, and, with a hollow feeling in my chest, cry, "Go away. Leave me alone."

My sisters offer no sympathy as I return, face flushed and eyes as red as my hair. They agree with my father. I pass their cold eyes and stiff bodies and lay upon my bed, burying my face. They've always seen my obsession with humans "unhealthy" and still haven't forgiven me for ruining the concert they've practiced for for so long.

And for once, I feel completely and utterly alone.

I feel so trapped. There is a coldness between me and my family that is unfamiliar and unbearable. I push my friends away as I wallow in self-pity, for I've been banned from returning to the surface and from even touching one human treasure. The day after the destruction of my trove, I return there. I kneel amongst the the blackened pieces, but I don't cry. I've bawled enough the day before.

As I sit there, feeling lost and more than ever wanting to go to the surface, I notice the glow of gold. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I follow. As I get near it, though, it would vanish and another would appear a little farther away. It went through a kelp forest, so I didn't realize to whom the golden lights belonged until I saw two eels, both with one golden eye, vanish into a cave.

Ursula has an odd, cryptic aura about her, but she seems friendly and willing to help. I try to ignore the many sculptures of eels, sharks, and these small limp creatures she has littered through her home.

But wait. Did that statue just float up, drift up nonchalantly and tuck itself away on a shelf, then shift a bit to the right to face forward? A current couldn't do that naturally, not without magic involved...

"You're a witch!" I exclaim in realization. "A sea witch!"

"What? Oh, of course no -" she notices the sculptures moving, and quickly lashes one black tentacle, and they still.

"But you are! Yes!" Another realization spun through my head that electrified me, filling me dreams of that possibility. "I need a spell."

"I am not a witch, just a humble hybrid trying to sell her wares," Ursula says hurriedly, scooping up various sculptures into her tentacles and spinning around, holding them around her round, violet face. "Of course, if you don't want anything..."

"Fine!" I say quickly. "I'll take the lot!"

Ursula pauses. "Then we must discuss the subject of payment," she replies, eyeing me carefully. "You don't get something for nothing, you know." I snap a bracelet off my wrist and hold it up - it bore a sandollar, two shells, and a royal family coin that I no longer bothered to keep. One of her tentacles snatch it from me abruptly.

"And a spell," I add.

Studying it, especially the coin, Ursula slowly says, "Done. What do you need?"

"I want to be human," I say, a note of begging in my voice. She frowns at me.

"You want to be human?" Ursula doesn't seem to be surprised. "Honey, that is a highly difficult spell. You see, you are considered an elusive sea creature the humans deem a legend. To transform you into a creature that usually has a soul and a mind would not only be difficult but dangerous. You don't know just how different these two creatures are. You might develope a human mind and not a conscience and be lost to it forever. You hear me?"

I hear her, but I'm not listening to half of what she's saying. "I'll do anything," I say.

She studies me, and something falls over her face that's somewhat sinister. "If you're whole-heartedly want this, than I need something more than a family heirloom. I'll have to make you a deal."

I straighten my back and look at her in the eye. "Name it, then."

"I'll give you three weeks on land. Three weeks, get it? Now, by the time those three weeks are over, you need to find love with another human. Love is a powerful thing, and a true love's kiss will be able to seal the magic and give you legs permanently. However, if you don't find true love and wish to return to the sea after those weeks are up, you must be in the ocean - in the ocean, mind you - and willingly. Otherwise, you'll turn into sea foam. Unless, of course, you manage to earn a human soul in those three weeks and live forever, but I suppose you'll want to become a human or mermaid more."

"Er -"

"Now, that is the deal. Now for payment. I don't ask for much, just a lock of your hair, a drop of your blood, and your memories."

"Whoa whoa, wait, what?"

Ursula sighs. "Your hair and your blood, to make the actual spell work. I'll keep this bracelet, but I'll also need your memories of the sea. Of being a mermaid."

I swallow. "My... memories? Then that means... I won't remember my father, or sisters, or Flounder, or Sebastian-"

"That's right," Ursula says, as if just realizing that. "Well, it's your choice, sweetheart, but I'll mainly keep the memory of who you are."

"Why my memories?" I say. "Doesn't the thing you get ... help you in some sort of way or is more... I don't know, more ..."

"Your generosity and consideration is touching, but who you are - well, you are a mermaid, of passion and a strong will, with friends and family, and those link to who you are - and you know this. Up there, humans scramble for the secret of who they are even though it's a little simpler than all those calculus equations. If you are to become human, it's significant, and special, if you will. I'll give it back if you choose to return to the sea after three weeks. The others I will have to hide in the darkest regions of your thoughts, and it will be up to you to pull them out. Now you are very strong-willed, so I think you'll have not too many problems with that. Surely you are glad I did not ask for your real name, just a shadow and the awareness of it."

As I hesitate, she draws up a golden contract, the same color as my father's trident and the glowing orbs that led me here. "Just sign your name, darling, and I will have you off above the surface in no time!" she says, a sort of a mad gleam in her eye. After making a firm decision, I grab the skeletal pen and scribble my signature, sealing the deal.

After that, I couldn't remember anything - anything at all.

A/N: This chapter was more written as a prologue to describe more of what I think was Ariel's deeper thoughts about humans. She raises them on a pedestal and has observed them more than the movie lets on.

I'm trying to fit in many aspects of all the Disney movies I've watched. Ursula is more wise and like Mama Odie, Tia Dalma, and the old witch from Brave, but don't worry - her personality from the movie shows up in Vanessa. ;)
Let me know in what way I can improve! ;)