I could see her, swimming through my garden with a look of disgust. One soul snapped and wrapped around the girls wrist, dragging her down, trying to give her a warning. It was time to bring in the prey.
"Come in, come in my sweet child. We mustn't lurk in doorways, it's rude," time to make my big entrance. I slipped out of the door to my room, "One might question your upbringing," and now it was time to act nonchalant, like it was no big deal that I knew some things about this girl, like it was just natural.
Putting on makeup was always the best way, "Now, you're here because of this prince fellow. Not that I blame you, he is quite a catch isn't he, hahaha." That's right, listen to me sweetie, "Well angel fish, the solution to your problem is simple," all I had to do was keep up with the make-up, spread my lipstick around a bit, and now, full attention to her, "the only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself," I smiled at her, and she was caught, like a fish in a net. All these merfolk were the same, tell them the thing they want, propose a solution that seems completely impossible but guarantee that I can do it, and badabing badaboom they're practically my puppet.
"You can do that?" she gave me a look, a look that I have seen from all my unfortunate souls. Oh, this would be simple so, so simple.
"My dear, it's what I do, it's what I live for, helping poor unfortunate merfolk, like yourself! Poor souls with nowhere else to turn too," and now, to wrap it all together, a nice little persuasion piece.
"I admit in the past I've been nasty,
There weren't kidding when they called me, well a witch," my babies laughed. They knew, they knew.
"But you'll find that now a days,
I've mended all my ways,
Repented, seen the light, and made the switch,
True? Yes." And now we dazzle, a little magic here, some poor unfortunate souls, and before you know it she was mine.
"And I fortunately know a little magic,
It's a talent that I always have possessed,
And dear lady, please don't laugh
I use it on behalf of the miserable, the lonely, and depressed,
Pathetic," I told my eels. Oh all these merpeople who came looking for answers from me, it was just hilarious.
"Poor unfortunate souls!
In pain, in need,
This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl
And do I help them?
Yes, indeed." I could see her nearing my cauldron, as if it was calling out to her, giving her promises of a new life.
"Those poor unfortunate souls,
So sad, so true,
They come flocking to my cauldron,
Crying 'spells, Ursula, please!'
And I help them,
Yes I do," She was immersed, I could practically see the gears turning in that empty brain of hers. She thought this had merit, she thought it a good idea! But now I give the warning, so later on, when she is mine, I can say I did give a warning.
"Now it's happened once or twice,
Someone couldn't pay the price,
And I'm afraid I had to rake 'em
Across the coals," Oh please, like I was afraid of that. It was one of my favorite activities! But feed this one a little lie, she'll believe anything, like true love.
"Yes I've had the odd complaint
But one the whole I've been a Saint,
To those poor unfortunate souls!" End on a dramatic note, and now she is mine.
Ariel
How did she make me feel so…trusting? I didn't want to believer her, I knew I shouldn't, but yet, I found myself hanging on to her every word. I needed her to change me, because now I saw that it was the only way. When I'm a mermaid, loves me or not, it's not possible. Ursula was right.
"Now here's the deal," she started guiding me over to the cauldron. Right or not, I did not want her tentacles on me, that was more disgusting then Max licking me. Lightly I slipped the slimy thing off my shoulder, giving me shivers down my spine; disgusting.
"I will make a potion that will turn you into a human for 3 days, got that? 3 days. Now listen, this is important," of course one of those tentacles is on my chin, moving my head. I would have to take a very meticulous bath when I'm human.
The cauldron was moving. Three suns rose, "Now, before the sun sets on the third day," three suns fell, "you've got to get dear old princey to fall in love with you! That is he's got to kiss you. Not just any kiss, the kiss of true love." A heart, redder then any red and brighter then all the pearls I've ever seen shown, and around it was a golden crown, a type of crown that you could just sense was important. It let off this aroma of love and happiness, a feeling so strong it rattled throughout my body. Love smelled like…Eric: it smelled like Eric. And the happiness was a mixture of so many different smells that I couldn't put a name to it, but it was exotic, spicy, and calming. "Now if he does kiss you before the third day, you remain human permanently," and there I was in golden sunshine, running, to where no one knew, but I was running, "If not, then you turn back into a mermaid," I was stuck under the ocean all of a sudden. I was stuck in water, until something like a strong current pulled me into her cauldron. "And you belong, to me,"
"No Ariel! Hmmhmhmmhm," I heard Sebastian call out from a corner. When did he get here? I turned to look, but the Sea Witch grabbed my chin again, turning my head to her own face, "have we got a deal?"
I wanted to tell her yes, of course, absolutely, but Sebastian's voice pulled up all the warnings, everything that could go wrong, everything I would miss. "If I become human, I'll never see my father or sisters again."
"That's right, but you'll have your man, hahaha. Life's full of tough choices init? Oh! There is one more thing, we haven't discussed the subject of payment, you can't get something for nothing you know."
Payment! What was I to pay her with? "But I don't have anything-" her tentacle was holding my mouth shut. Ugh, so utterly nasty.
"I'm not asking for much, just a token, really a trifle! You'll never even miss it. What I want from you is: your emotions."
"My emotions?" I was shocked, not just by how strange that request was, but how would I survive without my emotions? They were what gave me spirit, what gave me strength when Daddy was upset, what lent me bravery when sharks attacked, but also what filled me with enough fear to be cautious. My emotions were what gave me love, and love is what gave me happiness.
"You got it sweet cheeks. No more crying, smiling, zip," Ursula said it like this was a good idea, but my trust was no longer in her hands. My emotions, they were what powered me. But then again, to be human…
"But without my emotions, how can I-"
"You'll have your looks," true, I had to agree with her that sometimes it seemed like Eric only liked me for my beauty, "You'll have your voice," again I had to agree, many times Eric seems like he only wishes to hear me sing, "And don't underestimate the powers of body language, haha," with legs it wouldn't be to hard to get some body movement in there, right?
"The men up there don't like a lot of feeling,
They think a girl who laughs is a bore," was that true? Eric always seemed to light up a little when I laughed, but then again he always seemed like the loyal type.
"Yes on land it's much preferred for ladies not to feel about a word,
And after all dear what are men opinions for?" again another point, Eric never asked for my opinion about anything, he just liked to assume I agreed with him. Now I had to ask myself was I really in love, or was I living in a daydream built upon illusions and lies? But even after asking myself, I still had to answer yes, I was truly in love.
"Come on, there not all that impressed with sadness,
True gentlemen avoid it when they can,
But they dote and swoon and fawn,
On a lady whose withdrawn!
And she who holds back tears get's the man," No tears, that's what she was telling me. With all the pain I have been through, I do think that it would be easier if Ursula ripped out my feelings.
"Come on you poor unfortunate soul!
Go ahead, land or ocean?
I'm a very busy woman and I haven't got all day," Eric's face drifted up from her cauldron, smiling his sweet smile that made the rest of the world melt away. And then he started shouting with Ursula's voice-
"It won't cost much, just your emotions !" Eric exploded to reveal the leathery purple faced witch. She was holding a little blue jellyfish and threw it right into the pit of her cauldron. It exploded into blue smoke, and I couldn't help feel a tad twinge of pity for the poor creature.
"You poor unfortunate soul,
It's sad, but true,
If you want to cross the bridge my sweet
You got to pay the toll," a golden contract appeared in front of me along with a fish bone quill. I wanted to sign, I wanted to become human, but to give up my emotions, was it worth it?
"Take a gulp and take a breath,
Go ahead sign the scroll!" She was whispering something to her moray eels, but no time to bother about that.
Should I sign it? I would be with Eric, together forever, no other princess, we could be happy, we could live in love. But I wouldn't know it, would I? I would just be living.
Then again, I would be living with Eric, and wouldn't I get my emotions back once he kissed me? It wouldn't be hard to get a true love kiss, true love didn't die, even if I couldn't feel it there would still be that connection.
"The boss is on a roll!
"This poor," should I sign it?
"Unfortunate," would it be worth it?
"Soul," I signed the contract. It flew away and into her clutches. She grabbed at it and it puffed away into a swirl of yellow smoke. She smiled at me, then started brewing something in her cauldron.
"Beluga sevruga,
Come winds of the Caspian Sea" A wind stronger then anything, even the wind from that hurricane, flew out of her cauldron, surrounding me and the purple witch, sufficiently cutting us off from every warning that could fly my way. The dark lair shown with a eerie blue light, a light that just spoke of forbidding. I was scared. I wished I could turn back, but I would stick with this. This is what I wanted.
"Indifferents glaucitis
Massive impassiveness
Negotiate with me!" Two green hands grew out of the cauldron. They had the constancy of smoke, but they were not toys to the underwater wind. They held fast and steady, ready to take what she wanted. The blue light flashed to a sickening green, the type that wanted to make you run, that you wanted to beat away with any other color, even complete darkness would do. But before I could react I was under a spell, the spell of her eyes.
"Now, feel."
I would have asked what she meant. Feel? That was such a vague term. But her eyes, staring into me like I was prey for a hungry shark, they told me what she meant. Think about something that made me feel all my emotions at once; happiness, anger, fear, sadness, irritation, joy, annoyance, excitement, hate, love. There was one word that popped into my mind, one name that came right away: Eric. It seemed so simple, but her eyes told me it would suffice. So I thought of Eric.
It felt like my heart exploded. I had to fall to the ground, it took all my power not to pass out. From my chest shown 10 colors, brighter then any moonlit night and more blinding then looking at the sun. I felt like I was on fire!
I tried to stop thinking about him, so these colors would leave, but now his black hair and blue eyes were burned into my mind.
"Keep feeling!" Ursula screamed at me. She knew what I was trying to do. I could barley see past the rainbow colors of pain, but there, in the distance, were two hands advancing on me.
On green hand reduced into a stream of light, but still there was substance. It formed a circle around me and lifted me to an upright position. I put all my weight against this light, I could no longer stand this pain. It stayed true, holding me up as the other hand advanced. The advancing green hand came to my face and dove into my throat.
So much pressure in my chest. It was too crowded. It was too much, too much. I was about to break down.
And then yellow disappeared, the blinding light finally left, but, I found, I could not be happy about it. I was joyous about it, I was excited that I was closer to legs, but I couldn't be happy.
Then red left my line of vision, and anger left with it. Then disappeared gray, violet, blue, orange, brown, and white, each switched of like a light, and with them went each emotion. All I knew was love and hate, hate and love.
Why I hated Eric: for marrying, for lying, for not taking me as a mermaid.
Why I loved Eric: for everything that he was and everything that he was to become.
Then the black light left, it disappeared like a fire under water, leaving nothing but love. A love so strong, a love that I couldn't describe. It gave me no joy, no happiness, it just made me feel light inside, it made me feel great. And then pink was gone, and I felt nothing.
Eric
I could see the palace, maybe five minute more walk. Max could eat and maybe go sit on the balcony and mourn for Ariel. I would lie in bed and dread tomorrow.
Even if I was getting married, that never meant I had to be wanting it. Well, I did want to get married, just to someone else. But we were talking about marriage, not love.
Maybe I should have just married the little mermaid, we could have worked things out, couldn't we have?
I just didn't know anymore. I knew what I wanted, and then there was what I needed, then there was what my kingdom wanted and needed.
Ugh, I had to just let it go, let it go. She was behind me, never coming back. I felt some tears flow down my cheeks and drop off my chin. I could tell myself over and over again that the past was the past, but it would always be a fresh wound in my heart.
Max started barking like a madman. I tried to calm him, but there was no stopping a sheep dog when he had a scent, and Max certainly caught something in the sea air.
He snapped at my ankles and then broke into a full on sprint back to the cliffs.
"Max? MAX!" I started running after my crazy mutt. Something was up.
5 minutes later and I was back at my spot. The last time I was here with Ariel was 2 hours ago. Only 2? I've been suffering for an eternity. Well, I should drag Max along-
I had to take a double take, a triple take. That hair couldn't possibly be the red locks I thought they were. And that face, that beautiful face, surly it was hers. How could it be?
She swore to never come back, she promised. But then again, there she was. Wait, wait it couldn't be her. She had a dress on, a dress made out of some extra sail that our ship found no use for. I brought it to show her after she asked one day. And now she was wearing it. She was also standing. Her legs were beautiful, and I wanted it to be her. I wished that was Ariel with those beautiful legs, but how could it be?
"A-Ariel?"
She looked at me, and there were her eyes, her magnificent ocean blue eyes. But they seemed to be less the calm shallows of the sea and more like the ice that conquered in the winter. But who cared what color her eyes were? They were still great.
And then she spoke, "Yes?"
I could have fainted from happiness: it was Ariel's voice. "Ariel! Ariel! I am so happy to see you! And you're human, you have legs!" I swept in and grabbed her. Finally, I could sweep my love off her feet.
"Yes, I am human," she responded. There was something missing from her speech though, I couldn't put my finger on it. Something that I never noticed before, but now that it was gone every difference was made.
"Are you alright Ariel? You sound…down. Maybe you have a cold," could mermaids get colds?
"No, I'm fine," she wasn't very assuring, but hey, she wouldn't lie to me.
"Okay, good. Why don't we go up to the palace?"
"Okay," she started into my eyes.
This was wrong. In previous meetings she told me wonderful stories about her human collection and the dangers she faced to get simple things like forks and clocks. She always told me how much she wanted to go to the castle, and now she was so…indifferent. I stared deeper into her eyes, her ice blue eyes and almost dropped her once again.
Her eyes were void of curiosity.