Ariel has never been inside the building of the Conservatory of Sorcery and it's all very new to her. But she manages to get by the sentries with her family name. Younglings lean over tables, scattering their magic sparks around; they play stories on the walls in strange animation. The twists and turns of the place are overwhelming and make her dizzy with frustration. But in time, she finds what she is looking for.
He's the attractive sort though she decides he may not be kind in nature but she's going to try anyway. Venturing forth in the large room, she waits until he turns away from his training. Light glows from his hands and spirals around him until it vanishes seconds later. Ariel wishes, now more than ever, she could have had this life of magic.
The raven haired boy whips around and gasps as his eyes fall upon her figure. Ariel averts her eyes for a brief moment before locking onto his features.
"You are Garth, correct? Kaldur'ahm's friend?"
At the mention of Kaldur, Garth's eyes dim and he nods. "And you are Ariel, Triton's daughter. And…also Kaldur'ahm's friend."
"I require your assistance."
"I do not make deals with sorcery, milady," he informs her cautiously.
The fact that he knows instantly what she wants him for is somewhat impressive. However, Ariel assumes that people must approach him for trades in sorcery often. Garth is very much known for his excellence in the field.
Ariel nears him until they are almost a meter apart. "Then make an exception."
Garth backs away ever so slightly and shakes his head. "I can't. It will violate all my vows."
"Vows?" Ariel scowls. "What do these vows entail?"
"Honesty, for one," he stares meaningfully at her.
Ariel purses her lips. Honestysure didn't play a part when he left it up to Tula to break the news to Kaldur. But she bites back the insult. "Then what of exchanges? Contracts?"
At this, Garth's brow furrows for a moment before he asks, "A contract…perhaps."
The smile is difficult to hide and Ariel nods to the door. "May we discuss this somewhere else?"
When she turns, he grips her arm to stop her. Glancing at him, she spies hesitance. "I…what would this do for me?"
"Anything you want. I dohave resources."
"But do you have the things I want?" Garth questions. "The Court is in my favor. What more could you possibly offer?"
"A secure place in the Council, maybe?" Ariel tilts her head to the side and when his eyes flicker to hers, she smirks. "Yes, then? My father speaks highly of you. I can have things arranged."
"But…" Garth looks at her, pleadingly, "I'm not sure how many lines we will cross. This isn't something I usually practice in. Could you…probably…not say anything?"
At this, Ariel throws back her head and laughs. "It's not like you're a witch. But I will not breathe a word."
-x-
The exchange is simple: she ensures a spot in the Court for Garth and she gets legs to see Kaldur in the human world.
It shouldn't be so horrible.
-x-
"I'll need something that connects the both of you," Garth had told her.
Ariel racked her brain for something other than their memories of small adventures and that trove.
"A gift? Or maybe something like clothing or—"
And Ariel knew exactly what to use. A warm smile graces her mouth. The charm bracelet! Excusing herself, Ariel retrieves Kaldur's gift to her from her precious cavern. When she came back and dropped it into his palm, Ariel asked why it was important.
There's a sheepish smile on his lips when he answers, "I'm not the best. If I can get anything that will strengthen the spell, the better."
"What about this connection?" Ariel gestures to herself and the bracelet.
"In this case, the spell will be based on the two of you," Garth gives her sincere look, "Listen…I've never done a transformation spell before. There's a possibility it won't go well. You can back out now."
Shaking her head, Ariel glares. "No."
His shoulders fall a little and nods numbly. Briefly, Ariel silently admires his risk. Garth may have always seemed like a young man who would abide by the rules but he occasionally strayed. Ariel would like to think she has that affect on people. "Okay. Well, I have to tell you that I'm setting a bond between you two during this, since it'll be easier for the transformation. That's what it requires, anyway."
Ariel frowns as she remembers her parents. Is this what her father was told? He would need something of her mother's to have fins? To have a 'bond'? Strange how her father made it sound so terrible. Then again, he had claimed humans were awful and vile in every way, yet Kaldur brought her news that they were no different from Atlanteans in spirit.
When Garth turns to look at her, he obviously spies the confusion. "The magic needs something to compare it to. If I were to transform you alone, with nothing for the magic to understand, things could go very, very wrong."
"All right," Ariel sighs out and lets him lead her.
Garth orders her to position herself in the center of a dark room. There are a few tables aligned against the right side, various containers filled with strange liquids and powders lay atop them. The atmosphere itself feels eerie and intimidating but she remains still, holding her breath from time to time.
When he's done reading from a passage from some old book, Garth glances up quickly then to the potions. Ariel notices he's rather jumpy and anxious now and it only grows worse as he continues. She sighs and wrings her hands, realizing nervousness is beginning to creep inside her as well. But she can't go back now—she's finally getting what she wants! And risks aren't all that bad. The consequences can't be too terrible, she decides.
Finally, he approaches her, wary and staring at her with doubt, holding the book of spells in one hand and a bottle of some concoction in the other. "Are you sure you're ready for this? Something could go wrong and…"
"Just do it."
In the next moment, the bottle is thrown on the floor before Ariel and, instantly, light bursts throughout the room. Sparks fly around her, threading through her hair and clinging to her skin. Something feels hot and foreign within her veins abruptly but Ariel embraces it, holding onto anything different. It's working, she knows.
And then the pain suddenly begins, shooting up her spine. Gripping her head, she grits her teeth but it only intensifies. Searing pain twists inside her, finding its way to her tail and something snaps in two and Ariel screams.
-x-
Earlier that day, Young Justice had finished a mission involving weapon dealers in the area. They didn't have to travel too far and the job was easy enough, though, as leader, there was paperwork. So sitting in his room alone, Kaldur focuses on the task. It isn't much, just a synopsis of what happened and who was included. It's therapeutic. Sometimes.
A small twinge of a migraine hits the side of his head and Kaldur brings two fingers to it and applies pressure. Strange, he doesn't usually get migraines. Sighing, he returns his attention back to the forms. Batman won't be impressed if he doesn't have these in soon. The throbbing continues and Kaldur frowns. What is going on? Rubbing his forehead, Kaldur wills the hurting to leave but it spreads at a rapid pace and it's suddenly immensely painful.
Standing, Kaldur plans to get some water and maybe some medicine for relief, however his head pounds with the pain and he doubles over, groaning. What kind of attack is this? What is happening?
And there's a horrifying, heart-stopping scream and Kaldur can't breathe.
Ariel.
-x-
When she opens her eyes, she's laying on a bed on her side. Everything is rather fuzzy and she can't make out much but the blue blur across the room is Garth, she's sure of it. He always wore that deep blue clothing. Turning over, she groans at the dizziness and sudden soreness over her body.
"Oh, here you go," came his anxious voice and something is brought to her lips. "It's for the pain."
It's almost tasteless and has a rough texture but swallows anyway and sniffs, resulting in a coughing fit. He holds a hand to her neck and tells her to breathe. "What's…?"
"It didn't go too great," she hears him sheepishly say. "It was successful…but I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd hurt so much. You passed out during the alteration."
"Alteration…? But…"
Ariel frowns and gathers what she remembers. The deal, contract, dark room, potions, nervousness, bright light, pain—oh. A big grin spreads across her face and she sits up, almost hitting foreheads with Garth's. Throwing the blanket off her, she squints her eyes to inspect her lower body.
Two legs.
Ariel squeals happily as she wriggles her toes and kicks her feet. She has black pants on, which she automatically assumes are Garth's. It's never felt so wonderful to wear extra clothing like this! It's strange and nothing like having a single fin.
"It happened! It reallyhappened!" she exclaims, gasping and laughing all at once.
And then the dizziness comes back and she falls on the bed again.
Garth can't help but chuckle and shake his head. "I…I'm glad you got your wish. But…"
"No one can know, I get it," Ariel waves a hand. "I'll be in the surface world anyway, so it won't matter. My father will…understand."
Nodding, Garth gets up and retrieves the book of enchantments on the table. After flipping through several pages, he sits next to her and offers her a chance to see. Leaning forward, Ariel reads the entries.
"It says this may not be permanent—it's temporary."
Ariel frowns. "But Daddy still has fins. Did you do the wrong spell?"
"I'm not sure," Garth murmurs, "This is the only one I could find."
Sighing, Ariel throws an arm over her eyes, feeling sleep overcome her. "Kaldur'ahm will help me figure this out."
"How do you know?" Garth questions. "What we're doing is practically breaking the law, you know. He's not exactly the rule-breaking type."
"Kaldur'ahm can't turn away a friend," Ariel murmurs. "And the consequences can't be thathorrible, so don't fret when you try to sleep tonight."
Garth sighs again. "I can't believe this is happening. I was bribed," he looks at her, almost disbelievingly. "You bribedme."
Ariel laughs. "Too late, Beautiful."