Disclaimer:
I don't own any of these main characters except for Alisa, Aure, and Prince Sandon.

Author's Note:
I am writing this story with a friend of mine so updates may be slow. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter One

It wasn't easy being the daughter of a sea witch, Alisa could tell you. She spent her days watching her mother crush the lives and dreams of all those who came to her. It was business, Ursula had told her. But Alisa wasn't sure she wanted to be a part of it. She had bigger plans for herself and all of them had to do with her fascination with the world above.

"Tell me about the humans!" She begged her mother every night and Ursula would fill her head with stories about the upper world.

"When I was your age," She would say, "I used to go up to the surface every night and look at the moon."

"Why did you stop?" Alisa would ask.

"I found a better use of my time," Ursula would laugh, "Ruining people's life is much more amusing."

"Mother! How could you say that? I mean really." Alisa would complain each time. "I can't believe you would even say that to me!"

"You need to learn. You are my daughter after all. I will teach you everything I know."

"But maybe I don't want to learn your magic. Maybe I want to be up on the surface with the people." Alisa would snap back and then Ursula would send her to her room.

Alisa was tired of the same thing every night. Her mother was set on making her a sea witch but Alisa wanted something different for herself. That is why, on her sixteenth birthday, she slipped out after dark and swam to the surface for a glimpse of the upper world her mother had told her so much about.

What she saw amazed her. The sky above her was an endless canopy of dark blue speckled with dozens of shimmering white stars. She marveled at the moon, which she recognized instantly, for it had always been the thing her mother had talked about most.

"Oh, how beautiful everything is!" She spoke aloud and twirled around in the water. She caught sight of something in the distance and began to swim towards it. An iceberg! She climbed aboard and looked it over. She had never seen an iceberg before and she couldn't recall such an item having ever been mentioned in any of her mother's stories.

"Hello, down there!"

When she looked up, she spotted a seagull flying high above her.

"Hello? Who are you?" She called up to the bird.

"The name is Scuttle. And you are?" The bird landed next to her on the iceberg.

"I'm Alisa." She laughed as the bird slipped and his feathers went everywhere. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Just fine." He picked himself up off the ice.

Alisa giggled at his clumsiness, "Oh good." When she looked up again, she spotted a ship in the water, heading in their direction. "What is that?"

Scuttle fluffed his feathers. "That's a ship."

"A ship." She echoed. She squinted to see the approaching vessel better. It wasn't a very interesting ship. It was made of plain brown paneling and white canvas sails. "Whom does it belong to?"

"I don't know." Confessed the bird. "Perhaps a sailor? Usually sailors are on ships."

"Let's go get a closer look."

"No! No! Don't!" The bird held out his wing to stop her from jumping off the iceberg and into the water.

"Well? Why ever not?"

"It's bad!"

"Bad? How can a ship be bad?"

"Not the ship, sweetie. The mermaids!"

"Mermaids? But mermaids aren't bad."

"Not to other mermaids maybe not, but they're a sailor's worse nightmare!"

"What do you mean?"

"Watch!"

It wasn't long before Alisa got a glimpse of what the bird was talking about. She heard singing first and then she saw the mermaids.

"What are they doing?" She asked the bird.

"They're singing to the sailors, trying to lure them into the ocean and sink the ship!"

"But I thought mermaid's were peaceful creatures! Why are they doing such a terrible thing?"

"Don't ask me, sweetie. I'm just a bird!"

Yes, he was just a bird. "Well, we've got to stop them!"

"What are you nuts?"

"No! I'm concerned! We can't let innocent people die!" Alisa leapt from the iceberg and dove into the water. When she surfaced again the bird was flying above her.

"Alright! You save the humans! I'll just watch!"

Alisa shook her head in disgust. She now understood why her mother called the creatures 'birdbrains'. She took off towards the boat. When she neared she saw several sailors crowding upon the deck of the ship. They walked as if held in a trance.

The wind had picked up and Alisa feared a storm was beginning.

"Oh no, not a storm! I have got to stop them! They're going to run into those rocks." She watched helplessly as the ship headed straight towards its doom, splintering against the jagged rocks, throwing its passengers into the water. A few of the lifeboats jerked loose and were tossed out to sea. Many passengers soon found their way aboard one of the free-floating vessels.

"Prince Eric!" A man in a lifeboat yelled out to the vast ocean.

"Prince Eric?" Alisa repeated his name and as she did, she spotted a young man slipping off a piece of drifting wood. She lunged towards him, just as he lost his grip and slipped beneath the waves. Alisa quickly dove in after him, grabbing at his clothes, trying to catch him before he hit bottom.

She soon reached him and pulled him back to the surface, struggling to keep his head above the water. She fought the waves and tried to head towards one of the boats, but they soon drifted far from out of her grasp. She decided to turn towards the shore and get him on dry land.

o0o

It was nearly morning by the time she reached a beach and drug his body out of the water onto the cool blue sand. She collapsed beside him in exhaustion and took a couple large breaths before turning back to her prince.

"Oh, I hope you aren't dead. Hello? Can you hear me?" She shook to young man gently, trying to wake him, but as soon as she released him, he fell back onto the sand. His eyes remained closed.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked down upon him. "Don't die." She whispered and brushed a tendril of dark black hair from out of his eyes. As she did this, she realized just how handsome he really was.

"You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen." She declared to the unconscious prince and traced the outline of his jaw with her finger. "You must live. You can't die." But the prince remained as silent as a stone.

Soon, the seagull appeared and fluttered down, landing on the sand beside her. "Great job out there, sweetie! I don't think we lost a single one!" He waddled over to the prince and looked him over. "Who is this?"

"I think his name is Prince Eric."

"What's he doing lying out here?"

"I think he's resting."

The seagull eyed the dark-haired boy suspiciously. The sun began to peek over the horizon. "Maybe you should get out of here, sweetie. What happens when the boy wakes up?"

"But I want him to wake up."

"No you don't."

"Why not?"

"Trust me. You just don't?"

"Why don't I? What aren't you telling me?"

Scuttle didn't respond.

"Come on, bird! I have a right to know as anybody!"

"It's Scuttle."

"What?"

"My name's Scuttle, sweetie, not bird."

"Well, my names Alisa, bird, not sweetie!"

Scuttle chuckled, or at least Alisa thought he had. She had never heard a bird laugh before.

"Now, will you please answer me? Why shouldn't I wake him?" She pressed for the answer. None of what this bird said made any sense.

"Because Alisa, he's a human and you're a mermaid." Scuttle went on, "Humans kill mermaids or else the mermaids will sink their ships. Do you see where I am going with this?"

"Well, I saved him. Doesn't that count for something?" Alisa was sure this handsome boy would be far more understanding then this 'birdbrain' was.

"Not this human. Prince Eric has been known for his hate of the entire merfolk race!"

"I don't believe you!"

Scuttle shrugged, "Alright, if you want to get yourself killed… just leave me out of it." He turned to take off.

Alisa crossed her arms over her chest.

Suddenly, the prince groaned. Both the young mermaid and the bird turned to see the young man's hand lift and go to his scalp.

"Ohhh… My head!" His voice was rough with seawater. He coughed a couple times and then tried to sit up.

"We've got to get outta here." The bird told Alisa, but her attention was on the prince. "Come on, let's go!" He tugged at her arm, but she waved him off.

"Prince Eric?" Her voice was soft and caring as she reached for his hand. The prince's head snapped up and she pulled back.

"W-Who are you? Where are we? H-How did we get here?" His sky blue eyes searched her face, bringing in every detail. Alisa suddenly got self-conscious. She hoped she was pretty. She didn't want to scare him away.

He continued to study her and then suddenly his eyes widened. "You're a mermaid!" He gasped and tried to back away from her with faltering movements. He didn't get very far.

"No! Well, yes. But I-I didn't hurt your ship. I-I promise!"

His eyes narrowed. She was sure he didn't believe her.

"I-I'm sorry." Alisa began backing away herself. "P-please don't kill me. I-I was just t-trying to help." She hung her head and for some reason felt ashamed. Maybe Scuttle had been right? Maybe she should have left him?

But her counter seemed to soften the prince a little and his voice became gentle, "I didn't mean to scare you…" He sighed and then continued, his face softening as well. "So you didn't sink my ship?"

Alisa shook her head. "No."

"So you're not going to try anything on me? Hurt me? Hypnotize me?"

"What? Hypnotize you? How could I even do that?" She was confused and paused to look into his deep blue eyes. He was so beautiful to her. She could hardly take her eyes off of him.

"What's your name?" He said suddenly.

"Alisa."

"Alisa? That's nice." He half-smiled, "I'm Eric." He was calm now and this put Alisa at ease. He held his hand out but she just looked at it, not understanding the gesture.

"You're supposed to shake it." He told her.

"What?"

"Never mind." He brought his hand back to his lap and sighed.

"They were calling for you." Alisa said, suddenly back in a memory. "I just happened to see you first. And then when I caught up with you, the boats were gone." Her head was down and she played with the sand under her hand.

"You saved my life?" He said and she looked up at him.

"I---"

"Eric!" A distant voice came from farther down the beach. Alisa and Eric soon saw a lone figure in the distance.

"Grimsby." Mumbled Eric.

"I should go." Alisa looked back to Eric, suddenly feeling a great urge to get away. The bird had been right. She shouldn't have stayed. "It was nice meeting you… Prince Eric." She turned to leave.

"Wait!" The prince stopped her, "When can I see you again?"

"You want to see me again?" Her eyebrows raised in confusion. She couldn't believe it. "You? Who hate all of mermaid kind?"

His voice was sharp. "Who told you that?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Eric!" The voice called again.

"I have to go!"

"No wait!" He grabbed her arm, "Tonight. Meet me on the beach just outside the castle."

"What?"

"Promise me."

"Eric!" The voice was getting louder.

"Please, say you'll come." His gaze met hers and Alisa's heart instantly melted.

"Yes, I'll meet you there."

"Cross your heart?"

She smiled shyly, "Of course."

"Good. Now go before they find us both." He took her hand and kissed it before she dove back into the icy blue water. She came back up to the surface for just one more look at him, behind some rocks.

"Till tonight, Prince Eric." She whispered quietly watching as the prince's manservant arrived and picked him up off the ground. She gently kissed her fingers, releasing the kiss to the wind, before making her final decent under the waves and heading towards home.