Ariel woke up in a cold sweat and huddled instinctively underneath her covers, feeling the brisk night air rush around her. She looked around and was relieved that the only thing she saw was a coarse black hue. The woman had been anticipating much worse.
Her red hair tossed around as she let out a huge sigh to calm her nerves. She desperately tried to tell herself that all she had seen was a dream. It was not real, and it could never happen. She was too safe. There were guards everywhere. Even though Eric and Melody were gone, she was safe.
The cry of a baby immediately shocked Ariel out of her thinking. She slipped back the heavy sheets, opened the door to her room, and rushed to the cradle, immediately taking the little girl out and rocking her in her arms. Softly, she hummed a melody that she had heard during one of her visits to the marketplace. Surely but slowly, the baby shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Ariel, making sure not to wake her up again, gently put her back to bed and pulled the covers up over her baby girl. Just as she was about to leave the room to try to go to sleep herself, she heard a noise barely audible above the howling wind sweeping the beach. After listening again, Ariel was able to identify the noise.
Quiet footsteps. Walking up the stairs. Towards her. Immediately, Ariel knew what was happening. She had expected it for months. Quickly, she whipped the covers off of her little girl and rushed back to her room. Feeling around, she was able to locate her closet. She opened the mahogany wood doors and felt inside, removing a panel from off the bottom. She stepped inside the armoire and closed the door, locking the doors with a tiny gold key she always kept in her pocket. Ariel then lowered herself and her daughter through the opening, thanking goodness that she had talked to Eric about a secret passage way in case anything ever went wrong with the royal family, which was definitely happening right now.
The opening led to a musty staircase. When she reached the bottom, she pushed open the door and felt the wind blast her with salty sea air. Ariel ran as fast as she could with a baby in her arms towards the ocean, readying herself for the cold tingle of the water. Just as she was about to step in, she came to her senses and remembered Melody and Eric. They would be worried out of their minds if she just went disappearing to Atlantica. She had to leave a note. Sure, she may be wasting time, and maybe the men could catch up to her easier, but she had to this.
That was her fatal mistake.
Ariel opened the door to reveal three tall figures in black coats walking down the stairs, staring at her with their intense blue eyes. Each one had a handgun in their pocket. She gulped and ran as fast as she possibly could to the waves. She could see the water when a hand reached to her shoulder and spun her around. Ariel was face to face with one of her attackers.
The man had blonde hair that fluttered in the nighttime air under his hat. As he saw Ariel's small face that pleaded under her long red hair, pulled back in a ponytail, he smirked. He studied the white nightgown she had on, the only thing she was wearing besides underwear. He spoke aloud.
"Just what are you doing, my queen? Trying to escape us?"
Ariel stared at him.
He laughed, a mocking, criticizing bellow. "You are escaping, aren't you? No husband to save the day for you, huh?"
She glared at the man, finally saying in a loud voice, "I am fleeing. You have guessed completely right. But by doing so, I may be able to come back and further protect my kingdom from your ways."
The guy laughed again, when suddenly his face turned stiff as stone. "Which kingdom, you bitch?"
The woman flinched at his foul language. "Both."
He started to fill up with rage her wit. Overcome with anger, he clutch his handgun, the other men behind him slowly readying up their guns as well.
"Well, I'm sorry your highness, but I don't think you'll be doing any protecting tonight," the man said eerily.
Ariel sighed and was filled with a sort of relief. All her life, she'd been expecting that when she finally died, she would be panicked and screaming. But now, she just wanted to do what was inevitable. Finally, a whisper came out of her chapped dry lips. 'Then so be it."
The man grinned and slowly pulled the gun out of his pocket and rested it on her face, the shiny metal glistening on her pale forehead. He put his thumb on the trigger.
In that moment, things happened so fast everything seemed like a blur. Ariel flung her baby daughter, who was all the while sleeping carelessly, into the air behind her- praying that she would land in water and sink to the ocean floor. The mysterious person pulled the trigger, a thundering gunshot echoing down the beach. And in that moment, Ariel fell back to the sand, a last shuddering gasp coming from her mouth before she collapsed to the ground.
The men stared at the now dead woman, yellow sand dancing around her while waves lapped her face. They looked at each other, and then silently started walking back towards the castle. There was nothing to do now. It was all done.
Done.
Woo-hoo! So this is the first piece I've ever submitted! I've been meaning to put something up here ever since I discovered this website like, a month ago, but I never got around to actually writing for it. Oh. In advance, I apologize for my cruddy writing. I just have a lot of ideas and I want to get them to paper, and in doing so I totally disregard grammar and spelling. Yeah. Thanks for reading this despite the fact it's horrible! REVIEW!
Some Further Information on the Story: This isn't a one shot. I know it might seem like this has absolutely NOTHING to do with my description, but you will see the connection in time. I'm planning for it to have maybe fifty chapters, but based on other stories I have written, it will probably be longer. So yeah. It's winter break for me, and that means I'll be doing hopefully lots of updating. Which means that you won't have to wait in "suspense" for very long! Haha. Bye!
