I Do Not Own The Little Mermaid
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"Why won't you tell me about my father?!" Princess Melody demanded, virtually yelling at her mother.
Queen Ariel of Atlantica closed her eyes, and turned away from the younger mermaid. "I can't," she said firmly, though not unkindly, as her hand clenched around the shaft of the trident that was always within reach. Before her daughter could protest more, the Queen said, "Enough Melody. I have work to do and you need to calm down."
"It's not fair!" the mermaid princess yelled at her mother.
Ariel finally turned to look at her daughter, though she smiled, the smile was sad, not that Melody could tell the difference at the moment. "One day, you learn that life rarely is fair daughter. Sebastian!"
The crab swam over to the Queen. "Yes your majesty?" he asked, his tone one of deep respect. "Take Melody to the classroom, and make sure she has her lessons."
"Of course your majesty," the crab said, before leading Melody out, the younger mermaid swimming angrily out of the room.
Ariel sighed once her daughter was gone, the smile on her face disappearing as memories assaulted her. "I hope you never need to learn about the fairness of life as harshly as I did," she said softly, before swimming over to her desk.
She had several proposals to look after before the end of the day.
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"Why won't she tell me about my father?" Melody ranted.
"Do not speak of things you do not understand," Sebastian said sharply, drawing the princess' attention.
"Sebastian?" Melody questioned, the royal advisor having never used such a cutting tone with her.
The crab sighed. "I think, for today's lesson, you should hear how your mother became queen."
After a moment of silence to gather his thoughts, Sebastian began the lesson, "Before I begin, understand that this subject is not generally spoken of within the castle, out of respect for your mother, which is likely why you are not aware of it," he added. Ariel rarely allowed Melody to leave the castle, and since she had snuck out quite a bit in her younger years, Ariel knew how to keep Melody from doing the same.
"Before your mother, your grandfather, Triton was King. Triton was mostly a good King, though like anyone he had his faults, but he was beloved by his people. And by his daughters…"
"Daughters?" Melody asked, "I have aunts?" she asked excitedly.
Sebastian sighed, but continued his story. "He was especially close to your mother, though he loved all his daughters. I believe Ariel reminded him most of himself at her age. I do not know if you remember, but your mother had, and still has, a beautiful singing voice…"
"Mom can sing?" Melody asked herself, having never heard her mother sing…that she could remember anyway.
"Will you stop interrupting child?" Sebastian asked.
"Sorry," the princess apologized.
Sebastian eyed her a moment before continuing his tale. "At the time, I was both Royal advisor to Triton, and Royal Composer. But shortly after your mother's fifteenth birthday, Triton organized a concert. The performers where his very own daughters, and it was to be your mother's official debut, though at this point most of Atlantica knew who she was already." The crab paused and took a breath. "Triton kept an open court…unlike your mother. Any merperson or fish could swim into the palace and request an audience with him. It wasn't until later we learned how these next events happened."
"Triton was a good King, but he made enemies during his reign. One of these enemies was a sea witch named Ursula. The night before the concert, she had her servants place orbs around the concert hall. Partway through the opening song…they blew, and killed many merpeople, including King Triton and his daughters."
The Princess gasped. "But mother…?"
"She was much different before the explosion," Sebastian explained. "She enjoyed exploring and collecting human artifacts. She was also more than a bit irresponsible, and forgetful when she was excited. It was luck that she had forgotten about the concert and gone exploring. When she remembered, she raced back to Atlantica, fully expecting to be reprimanded by your grandfather. She arrived just as the King's body, and the Princesses' were being carried away."
The crab licked his lips. "That moment…seeing all that remained of her family carried away, it…changed your mother. She never expected to be Queen, she was the youngest of the seven. Ariel buried her family, and though her coronation was not held for several weeks, assumed the duties as Queen of Atlantica, at the age you are now. The first thing she did was lead an investigation into who assassinated her family. When it was discovered, she had the royal guard bring in Ursula. And at the end of a very swift trial…your mother executed the sea witch herself."
Melody sat in silence. Having never heard this before…it gave her a whole new perspective about her mother.
"Though your mother carried out her duties to the best of her abilities, those of us that knew her could see the rapid change in her. She no longer sang, which had been one of her favorite activities. In fact the only times I've heard her sing since that day were when you were young, and she sang you lullabies. She also began to train with the royal guard. She threw herself into this training with everything, and within several months, she was able to best several opponents at once."
Sebastian sighed once more. "Understand this Melody," he said, solemnly, "Your mother had lost her entire family, all of whom she cared for and loved deeply, and it is only because I confronted her about her behavior that I know this. Your mother was, and in many ways still is, depressed. She hates her crown, because it was never meant to be hers, and though she does her best to be a good queen, that is out of respect for her father and sisters. She threw herself into training with the royal guard as an escape to her pain. But after so much time, it became…insufficient."
"Sebastian?"
Before the crab could explain, another voice answered, "I took lovers."
Sebastian and Melody turned to the doorway to find the Queen floating in the doorway, looking down at the floor. "This is why I can't tell you anything about your father," Ariel admitted, swimming slowly into the room, but still not looking at her daughter or advisor. "It wasn't just one lover. In my attempts to bury my pain, I slept with different merpeople every night. Men, women, and many times more than one at a time. It wasn't until I discovered myself pregnant with you that I stopped, that I realized what I was doing wasn't healthy."
Ariel finally looked up to meet her daughter's eyes. "I can't tell you anything about your father…because I do not even know who he is. And even if I did, I rarely even remembered the names of my lovers." She sighed, and swam over to her daughter. "It is my greatest shame that I was so irresponsible…but I would not change my behavior back then if I could." She cupped her daughter's chin, "because as shameful as it was…it gave me you, the daughter I love more than anything."
Melody hugged her mother tightly. "I'm sorry Mom."
The Queen hugged her daughter tightly. "So am I," she admitted. "You deserved to know the truth, and I just kept putting it off because of my own pain and shame. You never deserved that."
"I love you Mom,"
"And I you Melody, and I you."
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