Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid in any way, shape, or form. I own nothing!
Chapter 2
Aqua had always been contemplative, quiet, and a bit withdrawn, but after she saved the human who wielded a Keyblade, she became even more unsociable and silent. The other mermaids would ask her why she never spoke to them anymore but she would not divulge a single detail. She kept her thoughts and feelings to herself.
The sapphire mermaid frequented the surface in hopes of seeing the human with sincere eyes again. She often returned to the beach where she had left him. The plants grew, humans came and went with the tides, the sands washed away, the sun rose and fell, but he never walked along the beach. Aqua knew her visits were in vain for she knew that that place wasn't his home, it was just a temporary stop for him. Once he recovered, he would return to his rightful home where she would never be able to find him again. Although Aqua knew all of these things, she couldn't stop herself from revisiting the beach and hoping that maybe he might still be there.
To her dismay, he never returned to the beach, but why would he? He had no reason to return to that quiet shore. He didn't know of her or her desire to see him again.
Aqua had convinced herself that seeing him would somehow be enough. That seeing him would somehow sate her need for him, but deep down, she knew she didn't just want to see him. Truthfully, she wanted to touch him, to talk to him, and to know him. Seeing him would never be enough when she had felt his warm touch and heard his strong voice.
The days passed and each day she went without seeing him she became more withdrawn and sadder than she was the day before. The only thing that offered her solace was to gaze at her Keyblade, which now only reminded her of him.
Aqua quietly admired her Keyblade but she no longer tended to the undersea garden that surrounded it. The blue, silver, and white flora grew gray and inky. The flowers wilted and dropped to the ground, mimicking their keeper's woe and despair. The star's once immaculate shape became distorted and asymmetrical. The flowers grew chaotically and spread with uncertainty without her tender guidance for she only nurtured the key in the stone.
One day, the bombardment of questions and the fierce despondency grew too great and Aqua finally told Xion of her deed. She told her of how the ship had foundered, how she had saved the handsome man with the Keyblade, and how she wished she could see him again to ensure that she had indeed saved his life. However, she didn't tell her of how she really felt. She didn't uncover the depths of her strange, foreign feelings toward the man she had saved.
It wasn't long before the other maiden's with fishtails heard the story of how their princess had selflessly saved a human's life. The rumors and gossip spread like wildfire until one of the mermaids informed Xion that she knew where the Keyblade wielders resided.
"Aqua, come on!' Xion cried excitedly, pulling Aqua off the boulder she was lying across.
The blue-haired mermaid's brow furrowed as she resisted Xion's persistent tugging. "What is it?"
"It's a surprise. Come on," the younger mermaid with ebony locks insisted and continued to haul Aqua away from her rocky perch.
Once Aqua surrendered, they swam through the murky depths until they reached the spot Xion searched for. Once Xion knew they were close to the spot where the Keyblade wielders would be, she led them to the shimmering surface.
Aqua instinctively squinted when they surfaced. The bright, midday sun violated her sensitive sky blue eyes that weren't used to such radiance. After her eyes adjusted, she saw that they were in front of a vibrant marsh that led up to a massive castle.
The citadel rested upon the many streams and channels that led to the ocean. Enormous, moss-covered crags surrounded the creamy golden castle of chains. The cliffs imitated volcanoes but instead of spewing searing lava, the towering escarpments spurted sparkling water into the waterways that led to the lavish castle.
The castle itself looked to be made of pure gold. Its roof shone like the sun and its outer walls mimicked fine cream used for expensive lotions and ointments. Tow-colored chains were expelled from the castle and shackled the nearby cliffs as if to forever hold its place upon the earth.
Never-ending flights of lavender-colored marble steps descended from the citadel and one of them looked as though it actually reached down into the many waterways and rivers that encircled the extravagant fortress. Overlapping, razor-edged domes sat upon the castle's roof and constantly tried to pierce the cyan heavens above.
Beyond the crystal clear windows, Aqua could almost see the sheer, satin curtains and the flawless draperies that guarded the oversized windows. She knew the inside of the castle was probably even more breathtaking than the outside. She could almost see the life-like statues of hard crystalline, the paintings on the milky walls, the fountains that continuously poured water into the air.
"This is where he lives," Xion announced proudly with a smile, clearly hoping that it would make Aqua smile as well.
Everyone in the undersea kingdom missed her smiles; that was why so many had instantly offered to divulge the Keyblade wielders' location. Countless merfolk disclosed the information in hopes that it might cure Aqua's perpetual sadness.
Xion had followed all of the leads until she found the one that proved truthful. Once she discovered the man with features that matched the features of the man Aqua had described, she instantly went to find Aqua so she could show her where the navy-eyed human lived.
"He? You mean?" the sapphire mermaid exclaimed in bewilderment as she looked back and forth between the castle and her companion.
"Mm hmm. This is where the Keyblade wielders reside. This is where they live when they aren't off doing…whatever it is that wielders of the key do," Xion assured with a casual shrug. "When the other mermaids found out that you were sad because you were worried about a human, they wanted to help you. One of them knew where the men with Keyblades lived and I made her show me so where they were that I could take you to him."
"Thank you. Thank you so much," Aqua voiced her genuine appreciation for what they had done for her and squeezed her friend's hand tenderly.
After Xion showed Aqua where the man she saved lived, Aqua spend many days and nights within the water that surrounded the castle of golden chains and shining, bright yellow stones. Each time she would get a bit braver and would travel further up the mossy channels that led to the lowered stairwells of the citadel. At night, she could get closer for she could hide in the shadows that colossal castle and its chains created. It was there that she would sit and watch the young man when he ventured out onto the steps that plunged into the water.
The man with midnight blue eyes would sometimes stand and watch the stars above, while other times he would sit upon the steps and watch the ocean in front of him. Sometimes, she saw him at the castle's main entrance with the other Keyblade wielders. They would spar on the rounded encasement that laid below the stairwell that lead to the enormous, golden entryway of the impenetrable fortress.
When she visited him, she would hide among the reeds and the rushes of the effervescent marsh and streams. Vibrant eyes the same color as the sea would peak out between the greenery and those that caught a glimpse of her blue, ethereal features would simply think she was the water itself.
During her periodic visits, she would sometimes hear the other human's speak of the good deeds and accomplishments of the man she saved. When she heard of the good things he had done, she knew she had done the right thing in saving him. By saving him, she had saved others and she would never regret delivering him from the sea's deadly clutches. Even if she suffered because of it, she would never regret her decision to save him.
Eventually, she learned that his name was Terra. Terra…land… He was named for the land he walked upon just as she was named for the water in which she dwelled. She was happy to know his name but she was sad that he had not had the opportunity to tell it to her himself and that she couldn't offer him hers in return. Aqua would know his name. She would know that he was named after the land but he would never know her name or what she had been named after.
When Aqua wasn't visiting him, she was pestered by her memories of him. She would try to stop going to see him, but she could never stay away from him for long. At first, she thought she only wanted to see him to ensure that he had survived but once she learned that he was indeed alive and well, she continued to go to him.
The mermaid couldn't stay away because she remembered how warm he was, how his warm breath felt on her fingers, how his large hand felt on her face, how his powerful voice boomed inside his sternum, and how it felt when he firmly held her hand. Aqua had never been touched by a human before but she never expected it to feel like that. Her grandmother had told her that humans were warm-blooded but she never imagined they could be that warm or that comforting. The warmest day in the sea could never compare to the warmth that radiated from his body. His touch had felt so good that she was sure she would never feel anything like that again… There would be no substitute for it.
Aqua could remember everything about their brief time together but he couldn't. He didn't remember telling her to stay with him. He didn't remember her caressing his cheek or kissing his forehead. He knew nothing of their meeting. She couldn't even hope for him to dream of her. How could he dream of someone he had no recollection of? Terra could dream of the girl who was there when he awoke, but he could never dream of her for she did not exist in their world.
The world above had no place for someone like her but oh, how she wished that it did. With each visit, Aqua grew more and more attached to Terra and her curiosity and cravings for the upper world intensified. She wanted nothing more than to explore that place that was so foreign to her, the world that was so much larger and much grander than her own. Aqua envied the humans because she felt they had so much more than she did. They had massive ships, puffy clouds, twinkling stars, endless fields of green, wood lands, and so much more that was forever out of her reach.
The blue mermaid had so many questions, questions that even her grandmother didn't have the answers to. Questions that could only be answered through experience but that didn't keep her from pelting her grandmother with questions. Aqua would be asking her questions now, were they not surrounded by tittering mermaids preparing for the ball that was to be held that night.
Aqua fought the urge to groan. She had no desire to be poked and prodded until she looked like a princess. Going to yet another ball was the last thing she wanted to do.
The half human with cobalt fins sat silently within the large dressing room within the palace, her dainty hands folded elegantly in her scaly lap as she watched the other mermaids swim around happily. Gran helped each of them merrily cover themselves in pearls, rhinestones, jewels, and oysters.
Unfortunately, their happiness was not infectious.
Once the old dowager was finished with the other half humans, she gracefully drifted to her somber grandchild.
Gran placed her treasure chest on the dressing table and began skimming through its contents, looking for ornaments, gemstones, and jewelry to decorate Aqua with. The elderly woman grumbled to herself as she tried to find the perfect combination that would highlight Aqua's unique and unusual beauty.
Aqua scrunched her face when she observed the painful accessories and embellishments.
"Don't wrinkle your lovely face like that," her grandmother scolded sternly and carefully placed the expensive accessories she had chosen for Aqua upon the pearly white vanity.
"Gran?" The blue mermaid turned her head to her grandmother.
"Hmm?" the dowager answered curtly and began brushing through Aqua's short hair with a brush made of fish bones and whale teeth.
Aqua winced with each tug as the comb caught in her small tangles. She had a tender head.
"If humans don't drown…they can still die. They die just like we do. Right? " Aqua inquired, staring at her elder through the reflecting surface of the dressing table made of oversized, white clam shells.
Aqua knew humans could drown and she knew they probably died just as merpeople did, but it was hard for her to picture them as anything weak or perishable. They all seemed so…invincible. Terra seemed so strong and indestructible that it looked as though it would be impossible for him to be killed. But Aqua had seen him almost be killed. She had seen him at his most vulnerable and maybe that was why she asked her grandmother such an odd question. Perhaps she hoped that her grandmother would inform her that humans could live forever and that she wouldn't have to worry about her Keyblade wielder's inevitable demise. Maybe she wanted Gran to tell her that so she wouldn't have to worry about what might happen to him on land where she wouldn't be able to save him as she had in the water.
The grandmother's gray brow rose suspiciously before she nodded.
"Yes. Humans must die as we do. Nothing is forever," she answered calmly, spraying tiny pearls throughout Aqua's short tresses. "But their lifespan is much shorter than ours. Some merpeople can live for three hundred years, but when we pass away, we only return to the ocean that bore us. We become the sand on the ocean floor, the particles that float around us, and the foam on the rippling surface of the water. We do not have graves for those we love that have perished."
Aqua watched her Gran attentively as she proceeded to answer her grim question.
"We do not have immortal hearts and we will not live again. We are like the seaweed and the flowers that grown in your garden, once we have been detached from the nourishing ground, we can flourish no more," Gran explained warmly and simply despite the bleak words that fell from her wrinkled lips.
Aqua's grandmother strung long, cascading pearls around her delicate, ivory neck. "Humans are different. They have a heart that lives forever. The heart lives after their bodies have returned to the earth and dissolved to dust. The heart rises up through the crisp, virtuous air beyond the shimmering sea of stars in their sky. Just as we rise out of the water to behold the majesty of their world, their earth, and their land, their hearts rise to an unknown and marvelous region they call Kingdom Hearts. But that is a region we shall never lay eyes upon."
"Why don't we have immortal hearts?" Aqua almost snapped. "I would willingly sacrifice my three hundred years if it meant I could be a human for just one day; to have hope that I could one day know the happiness of Kingdom Hearts."
Gran tenderly took Aqua's discontented face in her hands. "You must not think like that."
The sapphire mermaid sighed and her dazzling eyes fell.
"We are a million times happier down here than they could ever be up there. We are much better off than human beings are on land." The regal woman scoffed contemptibly.
Aqua wretched her face out of her grandmother's cold hands.
"So I will die and become foam that forever sleeps upon the water's surface? I will helplessly and mindlessly float around for eternity. I will never again see beautiful sights like their sun, their moon, our waves, our gardens, or the words in my books. I would never hear laughter, music, the tides, or the singing of birds again. I would never laugh, love, smile, or know happiness ever again. Isn't there anyway someone like me could gain an immortal heart?" she pleaded, placing her hands over her transient heart.
"No," the old mermaid replied coldly. "Unless a man were to love you so much that he would give his life for you; and if his love was anchored solely to you, and if he promised to be true to you forever, then his heart would flow into your body and you would be able to share the future happiness of mankind with him. He would give a heart to you while still managing to maintain his own."
The vital organ in the young mermaid's chest began to palpitate irregularly with each word her grandmother uttered. Her eyes were wide and her mind was in a haze.
"But something like that can never happen," Gran quickly added. "Your fish's tail would only disgust humans. What we find to be so beautiful and glamorous would only turn a human's stomach. Up there, it would be seen as a deformity. They would find your fins ugly for they do not know any better. They prefer their women to have two stout props, called legs, instead of a fish's tail."
Aqua sighed dejectedly as she gazed down at her tail. She always thought she had a lovely fish's tail. It looked as though it was made of precious, transparent gems. Her fish's tail was bright cobalt while her ruffled, billowing tail fin that mimicked sheer, silky satin was ice blue. Her scales were sleek and smooth. They were not bulky or cumbersome. It was an exquisite tail but it was still a tail and Terra wouldn't find her tail alluring. He would want a maiden with lengthy columns to walk upon.
"Be happy, child," begged the elderly half human. "Enjoy your three hundred years as your fellow merfolk do. Three hundred years is plenty of time to live a fulfilling life of joy and happiness. After that, we will gladly welcome the well-deserved rest. But tonight you are going to a court ball. Rise."
Reluctantly, Aqua floated off her cushioned seat and allowed her grandmother to wrap her unsightly tail with a net of sparkling diamonds and pearls. She hated the sheath and immediately began to pull at its unpleasant texture.
"Aqua. Stop," the dowager lightly chastised and swatted at Aqua's hands.
"But they hurt. I'm going to be miserable if I wear this thing all night." Aqua resisted the need to rip the contemptible covering from her form.
The old lady rolled her blue-gray eyes. Her granddaughter always complained of the ornaments and accessories that had been placed upon her since she was a child. Gran tried different kinds of physical decorations but all of them caused the tender girl some form of discomfort.
"Pride must suffer pain," the gray-haired mermaid replied matter of factly and secured the sheath around her once more, adjusting the imperfections Aqua's tugging had created.
Aqua caught a glimpse of herself in the dressing table's looking-glass. She didn't care for all the glamour and splendor. She much preferred simple beauties and not the overbearing majesty she was forced to portray because of her royal blood.
"I must go and tend to the festivities and ensure everything is prepared for this evening. I shall see you later tonight, dear one." The dowager patted her granddaughter's shoulder before swiftly exiting the ornate dressing room.
The mermaid knew she would have to follow her grandmother soon. She would be forced to attend the wearisome ball and she would be required to use her sagacity and her sharp tongue to impress her father's subjects. Aqua was admired for her wit and her way with words. She was known for her intelligence and her articulation. No one was as eloquent or as clever as she. The mermaid was insightful and silver-tongued.
The longer she waited in the empty dressing room the more she dreaded going. She grew more and more anxious. Soon she was once again thinking about the realm above her. Her grandmother's grim words echoed in her head. She couldn't forget about Terra and she couldn't ignore the void she felt in her chest. She couldn't forget the pain and the woe she felt knowing she didn't have a heart like his. The despairing thoughts were too much and she could take no more.
Feverishly and hectically, Aqua shook the pearls and gems out of her unique hair, yanked the string of pearls from her neck, and ripped the diamond and pearl studded sheath from her tail. Once all the glamour and haughty accessories were removed, she snuck out of the palace. She crept between the marble columns and masterfully glided through the shadows undetected.
Aqua fled to her garden and sat amongst the dying flowers and wilted flora. Her tail coiled around her as she stared despairingly at her Keyblade as if it could somehow soothe her, but now even her Keyblade could not console her enduring loneliness and stubborn sorrow. In the distance, she could hear her people's' happiness. She could hear the glee in their laughter and the delight in their words while she sat in her star-shaped flowerbed and wrestled with her insufferable grief and heartache.
Cerulean eyes peered up at the dull undersea sky. Terra was probably happy above. He probably swung his massive Keyblade with ease and effortlessly defended those that he cared about. All of her hopes and dreams rested within his unknowing hands. Hands that she wanted to hold and hands she wished would hold onto her in return. She would gladly place her life in those large, powerful hands. She would willingly trust him with her life and happiness. Aqua would eagerly place all of it in his capable hands.
At that moment, she decided she would put forward anything and everything for him and an immortal heart. While the others carelessly danced and celebrated, she would go to the woman she was taught to fear the most. Aqua would go to the seawitch, for she was the only one that could guide and help her.
With sturdy resolve and determination, Aqua left the safety of her lifeless garden and journeyed along the unmarked path of deadly currents and stale maelstroms that would lead her to the foul enchantress.
Aqua had never traveled to this region of the sea before and she had never visited the sorceress before, but she knew where she resided because she was taught to never go there.
The domain surrounding the witch's lair was dead, barren, and tart. Flora didn't grow in this part of the sea. The ground was made of dreary, gray sand that swirled around like soot. Never ending crevasses marred the desolate surface and sucked unsuspecting sea creatures into its wide, jagged mouth.
To avoid being eaten alive by the gaping gorges, Aqua had to swim as fast as she could. The canyons sucked her in like malnourished vortexes, they pulled at her hair and fins until she felt like her hide would be completely sucked off her bones.
After managing to escape the clutches of the breathing chasms, she had to rest before she ventured further into the unnatural territory. She held her quivering sides and tried to steady her erratic heartbeat.
During the time she spent regaining her strength, she realized that there was no marine life around her. It was as if even the smallest and biggest of fish were afraid to approach the seawitch's dominion. Over time, they had learned to avoid this part of the ocean.
Once her weary muscles stopped trembling and her strength returned, she recommenced her journey to the seahag's den.
The ocean floor spat black bubbles and salivated inky discharge that lazily traveled to the surface. The water became thicker and its texture mimicked that of swamp sludge. The unfriendly consistency of the surrounding liquid made it even harder for Aqua to swim. She clawed and slithered through the boggy grain like an elegant serpent for she could not swim like a fish in this kind of environment.
Bit by bit the sorceresses' grotto came into view. It slumbered within a swampy forest of mold and fungi.
The forest was alive; half-animal half-plant, carnivorous but still absorbing nourishment through the gloomy marsh. Its menacing appearance was almost enough to make her turn back. Almost. It was almost enough to instill enough fear in her to twirl around and never venture to this corrupt domain again. Almost, but the thoughts of Terra and an immortal heart redeemed her courage and ushered her forward.
The malicious trees had vines of thorny tentacles and the flora had mouths with tiny, barbed teeth. The vines' claws reached for her hair while the flowers extended off the ground and bit at her arms and tail fin. Aqua was instantly grateful that she didn't have hair that cascaded to her tail fin for if she did, she would be permanently trapped within the odious trees' vines. They would haul her up to its treetops and wrap their vines around her until the life was choked out of her. The spiky vines would wriggle into her ears and writhe down into her throat until she stilled forever.
Aqua tightly wrapped her arms around herself and desperately tried to avoid the canopy of death above her and the bed of ruination below her.
The flowers screeched at her and gnashed their ragged teeth while the creepers above clawed at her skin and tried to savagely swaddle her into a grueling, unwavering snare.
Countless victims slept forever in the slimy canopy of tentacles above. They firmly held onto the bones of humans who had lost the cruel battle with the unforgiving sea. They clutched onto bizarre skeletons of animals that she had never seen before. Oars, ships, fish, chests, sharks, trinkets, and even the still decaying corpse of a mermaid rested within their tireless grip. The sight of the mermaid was enough to make her stomach lurch.
Eventually, she escaped the lethal forest of living flora and reached the witch's dwelling. Her domain was made out of the sturdy bones of humans, merfolk, animals, and sea creatures.
Within the domicile of skeletons, laid the sea witch.
The sorceress lay across her bone filled labyrinth. Her hair was long, green, and wriggled around her form like snakes. Skulls were scattered around her and gathered by her unusual tail fin while crabs and eels crawled and slithered in and out of the eye holes of the vacant skulls.
Her fish's tail was the same shade of jade as her eyes and her hair. The tail was as wild and untamed as her hair. It was jagged, rough, and looked like an unusual plant with many jutting vines.
Inky corals grew in her ears and coal-black algae gathered sporadically all over her body. Detrimental fins framed the outside of her pupil-less eyes and blood-red rubies were embedded on her forehead and traveled down the sides of her nose to her pale, olive cheeks. Vines similar to the ones in her forest spiraled around her arms and the bottom of her fish's tail.
Abnormally, she wallowed on the ground and strangled the serpents she held in her pallid hands. They didn't bite at her as she choked them with her bare hands and cooed to them as if they were her children.
Before Aqua could speak, the witch rose and observed her with an unreadable expression on her face.
"I know what you want," the seawitch said flatly. "It is very stupid of you but I will help you and let you have your way because it will bring you even more unbearable sorrow, my pretty princess."
The witch smirked, flashing her gaping fangs. "It will amuse me to watch you suffer."
"So you want to get rid of your fish's tail, and you want two sturdy supports to walk upon instead. You want stiff beams so that the Keyblade wielder will fall in love with you and that you can obtain an immortal heart," the sorceress continued calmly before she succumbed to a laughing fit.
The seawitch rolled onto her back again and wallowed within her morbid bone collection as she cackled uncontrollably. Her laugh was shrill, disgusting, and so loud that the snakes in her claws trembled and fell limp.
Once she finished laughing, she levitated off the bone ridden ground and slithered toward the immobile, emotionless mermaid that darkened her doorway.
"I will make a swill for you and you must swim to land with it tomorrow before the sun rises. You must sit down on the shore and drink every single drop of it. Your tail will split up the middle and it will transform into what humans call legs," the seawitch explained and Aqua silently nodded her understanding.
"However, this will cause you intense pain. It will feel as though you are being ripped in half. But do not fret. It is not all bad. All the humans will think that you are the prettiest little thing they ever laid eyes upon. You will retain your fluid, graceful movements. You will not lose your natural grace and you will float effortlessly upon their land. You will put human dancers to shame, but every step you take will be utter agony. It will feel as if you are walking along the razor-sharp tips of a thousand knives." The sorceress watched her snakes to weave in and out of her fingers.
"If you are willing to accept all of this and carry such a burden, I will help you," the enchantress concluded, her soulless eyes leaving her serpents so she could gaze at the undersea maiden with blue tresses.
"Y-Yes. I-I will," Aqua regained the ability to use her voice but her vocal chords trembled uncontrollably, making her usually fluid vocalization shaky and faint.
"Are you sure? Think carefully. Once you take on their form, you can never return to the shape you possess now. Once your legs split, they cannot rejoin; you will never be a mermaid again. You will never return to these depths. You cannot frolic with Xion, you cannot receive your grandmother's wisdom, nor can you grace the halls of your father's palace with your presence. You will never be able to do any of these things again," the seawitch heeded menacingly, her eyes narrowed.
Aqua's eyes fell and she held her head down as she tried to process everything. It was all happening so fast…
"And another thing, if you do not win the young man's love, if he would not give his life for you, if he does not learn to love you with all of his heart, then you will never obtain your precious, immortal heart," the enchantress ominously warned as she closed in on Aqua.
The sapphire mermaid backed away from her until she was backed into a corner made of pure bone.
The witch reached out and dug the long, jagged nail of her index finger into Aqua's chest, right over her heart. The blue half human's blood ran stale as the witch began to hex the organ that fluttered helplessly in her chest.
"The morning after he marries another, your mortal heart will break and you will become foam that rests upon the apex of the cascading waves." The witch's finger glowed and Aqua could feel the curse seeping through her skin and into the vulnerable tissue of her vital organ. The willowy finger bore into her chest until it pricked the tender matter of her heart, finalizing the fatal hex.
The permanent seal of her undying commitment to the Keyblade wielder was engraved into her mortal heart and she could feel the vital organ growing weaker with each palpitation. Her mortal heart was now a ticking clock that counted down the seconds to her demise. With each thump, Terra drew closer to wedding another woman and once he did, her heart would shatter and she would die.
"I understand," Aqua said confidently as the illusionary finger wriggled out of her violated chest. Despite the mounting fear and doubt, she still managed to sound sure and composed.
"Brave little thing, aren't you?" The witch scoffed and crossed her arms over her bare chest.
"Now that we have discussed the stipulations and constraints, I must receive payment and do not expect me to ask for a bagatelle. Why would I demand a trivial possession of no importance?" she mused, levitating off the floor like a wraith.
"What do you want?" Aqua asked skeptically, her blue brow rising.
It would be too easy for the seawitch to ask for some of her father's many treasures. Somehow, Aqua knew the undersea sorceress would have no desire for material possessions like gold, diamonds, or pearls. The witch that hibernated amongst the bones of the dead would crave something much more bizarre.
"You are the most eloquent speaker in the deep. Your silver tongue captivates and charms all those that know you and you presume that you will be able to captivate the Keyblade wielder with it, but your silver tongue will no longer be able to aid you for you must give it to me. It is the finest thing you posses and I will take it in exchange for my potion." The seawitch was not asking for her tongue, they both knew Aqua no longer had a choice. Either Aqua would relent her tongue or the witch would wretch it from her mouth after she mercilessly slaughtered her.
"How will I acquire the undying love of a human without the ability to speak? They will think I am vapid and dull-witted." The sapphire mermaid rubbed her throat, enjoying the hum of her vocal chords while she still could.
Aqua detested the idea of being taken as a fool. She knew she was one of the most clever and brilliant maidens who swam in the ocean's depths. Not only was she articulate, she was quick-witted but if she gave the witch her tongue, no one would ever know those things about her. Terra would never see the part of her that so many thought contained her best qualities…but that was why the witch wanted her silver tongue, her tongue was what made her special, it was what so many found alluring, it was her charm and the seawitch would take it.
"You will still have your undeniable beauty, your supple grace, your expressive eyes of the purest sapphire; surely all of that will be enough to enchant a simple-minded human male. Without question, the daughter of the great Sea King will be able use her remaining charm to enslave a young man's heart." The seawitch waved her hand dismissively.
The blue-haired mermaid wrapped her arms around herself and tightly closed her eyes.
"Awe, has the pretty little princess's courage abandoned her?" the seawitch teased bitterly.
"I didn't say that," Aqua countered in a low tone, shaking her head.
"Then stick out your tongue so that I can cut it out of your mouth. Once I have received my payment, I will make the potion for you."
Without hesitation, Aqua opened her mouth for the wicked enchantress.
With a smirk, the witch floated to the ground and began skimming through her bone collection until she discovered a halved jaw of a great white shark. She took the jaw like a dagger and mumbled an incantation over the jagged mandible. The already sharp teeth sharpened further and brought forth an unholy, green glow.
The seawitch roughly wretched Aqua's tongue from her mouth and Aqua could instantly feel her entire mouth going numb.
The sorceress's mouth moved as she continued the abominable incantation. The silver tongue began to glow as it absorbed the spell. With her tongue pulled out as far as it could possibly go, the witch held the shark's divided jaw over her green head and in one swift moment, brought the unorthodox cutting tool to Aqua's innocent tongue.
Aqua winced and waited for the pain that would occur from having her tongue severed from her mouth. She held her eyes tightly closed and felt the slight jerk as the shark's jaw ripped through the muscle in her mouth that allowed her to speak.
The pain was sharp and shot through her entire mouth. Her teeth chattered and her lips quivered as her entire mouth panged, cramped, and throbbed.
Trembling ivory hands covered her mouth to try to hold in the massive amounts of blood that would surely surge from her damaged muzzle.
Slowly, Aqua's eyes reopened and the pain ceased.
Cerulean eyes went wide.
She timidly reopened her mouth but blood didn't gush from her mouth.
Bewildered and puzzled, she gazed at the witch as if to ask why she wasn't bleeding and why the pain had come to an abrupt halt.
To her complete shock, Aqua could feel a tongue inside her mouth but a glowing tongue coated in precious shiny grayish white metal also rested within the witch's dirty palm. Once the dreadful spell had been cast upon her tongue and once it had been amputated, it had literally turned into a silver tongue and another imitation tongue had sprouted in her mouth to take its place.
What is happening? her mind cried for the question could no longer fall from her lips.
"You now have the counterfeit tongue of an aphasic; a mute. Your tongue is mine but the mute's tongue is yours. You cannot speak with it, but it will keep you from bleeding to death before you reach the surface. It will also numb the pain of losing your own tongue. You are lucky that I am feeling merciful," the witch explained coldly, sounding far from merciful as she gazed at the precious token she had taken from the princess's mouth.
The witch erected a cauldron of bones within the center of the room so that she could begin preparing the mystical potion. With the same cutting tool she used to cut out Aqua's physical and metaphysical tongue, she sliced open her hand and allowed her black blood to ooze into her cauldron. Her blood would make the potion sharp, potent, and precise so the mermaid's tail would be split for all time.
Steam rose from the brew and formed monstrous shapes that scampered across the room. The shapes and specters were so frightening the mute mermaid couldn't stand to look upon them.
The witch constantly and continually threw objects, artifacts, and many other things Aqua didn't recognize into the boiling pot. The brew hissed, moaned, and cried like miserable spirits. It bellowed like immoral beasts and fictional monsters that weren't capable of existing.
When the seawitch stopped tending to the tonic, the noises stopped and the diabolical steam dispersed and harmlessly floated to the surface.
Aqua peered into the pot and saw that the mixture was as crystal clear as the purest water. The tonic was so clear and pure that it softly glowed and glittered like angel's wings.
"Here. It is yours." The green-haired witch ushered the potion into a rounded vial.
Aqua nodded, took the vial, and looked at the vicious witch as if to say 'thank you' before she swiftly swam out of the abyss.
The trees and flowers didn't harm her on her way out, for they saw the loathsome potion in her hands. They recoiled and shriveled as they desperately tried to flee from the concoction and the mermaid who held it so close to her heart.
The mermaid flew through the atrocious forest and the boggy marsh and finally soared over the deleterious chasms that no longer tried to swallow her whole for even they feared the witch's brew.
King Eraqus's palace was now as silent as she was. The luminous lights of green, yellow, pink, and purple that brightened the castle's extravagant halls were extinguished. The ball had ended. The palace and all those within it were asleep.
Aqua couldn't enter the palace nor could she wake those that she cared for. She would let them slumber peacefully within the magnificent walls because she was mute and she had made the decision to leave them forever.
Her cursed heart felt like it would break preemptively. Aqua was miserable in this world but that didn't mean that she didn't love her family or her friends. She would miss them all terribly but she knew that she couldn't stay in this world with them. Her misery was contagious and she didn't wish it upon any of her jovial friends. She wouldn't wish her woeful existence in the world below upon anyone. It would be better for everyone if she left.
Before she rose to the surface, she went to each of her friend's gardens and even to her grandmother's flowerbed and took a flower from each one so that she might always have a piece of them with her.
Once she made a bouquet of their flora, Aqua gazed at the palace once more and ascended through the gloomy, midnight waters.
When Aqua reached Terra's castle, the sun hadn't risen but she knew she was running out of time. The sun would rise soon and she needed to drink the potion before it did.
Hurriedly, Aqua swam up the streams and channels that led to the citadel. She rapidly swam to the steps of flawless marble that descended into the water. They were the same steps that Terra frequented.
Carefully, Aqua crawled out of the water and onto the marble steps. She tenderly placed her bouquet on the steps and shifted upon the steps as she tried to sit comfortably upon their frigid surface. The steps were bitterly cold and stung her fins when she sat upon them.
The moon was full and bright. It offered a luminance that would almost make the sun jealous.
Aqua held the potion tightly in her porcelain hands while the potion glowed almost as brightly as the moon against her translucent skin. She watched it bubble and simmer within the vial and she started to have second thoughts. She wouldn't be able to tell her family what happened but she could still go back to the palace. They would welcome her and maybe she could do as her grandmother suggested. Maybe she could learn to be happy with her three hundred years…
She could return to her home but she suddenly remembered the hex upon the organ that faintly drummed in her chest. She brought her fingertips to her chest as she thought of the curse upon her heart. Thinking of the hex made her think of Terra and her commitment to him. Aqua could return to her palace but she knew she wouldn't truly be happy there. Deep down she knew that the only things that could ever make her completely happy would be life on the land, an immortal heart, and Terra. A life without any of those things would be empty and she didn't want an empty life when she was so close to the life she longed for.
Cobalt orbs closed tightly and Aqua began to think of Terra and how much she wanted to be with him and how badly she wanted an immortal heart…the heart he would give her.
The cork popped off the top of the glass vial but she couldn't think of the potion or the overwhelming pain she would surely endure once she drank it. She couldn't think of the inevitable agony but she could think of Terra. Aqua thought of his eyes, his warm touch, and his powerful voice as she brought the vial to her lips.
After Aqua managed to calm her sizzling nerves, she held her head back, tilted the vial upward, and let the blindingly white fluid fill her mouth.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading!
Again I would like to remind everyone that this is not Disney's The Little Mermaid (obviously). Because the movies is based on the Hans Christian Anderson story, there will be similarities of course but I am wanting to point out this isn't based on the Disney movie. It is based on the original Hans Christian Anderson story and it is going to be darker and more mature at times. Not many people know that the original story of The Little Mermaid is not a happy one. When I was little I found the book in the library and begged my mom to check it out for me. So we took it home and read it and…needless to say it wasn't what I expected, but my story won't be exactly like that one!
Anyway! Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!