Look, look, look! I actually uploaded the chapter when I said I would! How awesome is this! I'm very proud of myself at this moment. Anyway, this is up so quickly because I couldn't stop writing. I stayed up until 1:30 am on Monday morning writing this because it wouldn't let me sleep. This chapter is mostly just Ariel and Harmony and it has probably been my favorite one to write (barely beating chapter 3.) I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will work on the next chapter this weekend and I'll hopefully have it up Monday, but I won't promise you anything.

Thanks to SiriusBlackisSeriuslyfunny333, MermaidRaven, ashlynthestory-creator, gaara king of the sand, and Unknown Awesomeness for their reviews. I enjoyed looking over all of the feedback and I'm grateful that you guys liked the new chapter.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Enjoy,

~Dist

Letting You Go

It wasn't until her grandfather left that Harmony let herself truly look at the woman in front of her. She had always been told that she looked like her mother, but until that moment, she hadn't really believed it. As Harmony looked at her mother's hair, her eyes, the shape of her face, she saw the resemblance. But besides the similarities, she felt something familiar about her mother's face. It was as if she had seen it somewhere before, somewhere recently.

Harmony gasped, "You're the-" Harmony stopped herself. Her grandfather would be furious if he knew she had gone to the surface, and now she knew why.

"I'm the what?" her mother asked.

"I-I was going to say the you're the exact same as how Aunt Attina described you." Harmony tried to cover. She could tell that Ariel saw right through it.

Ariel sat back down on the bench she had been on before Harmony walked in. She motioned for Harmony to join her. "Why don't you come sit and we'll talk." Instead of taking the seat beside her mother, Harmony sat in a chair a little way off. Okay, Ariel thought, at least it's a start. "So, Har-"

"Why did you leave me?" Harmony interrupted her mother. She knew it was rude, but she had been dying to ask that question for as long as she could remember. She didn't want to waste time with formalities or small talk.

Ariel was slightly taken aback. She took a breath and looked into her youngest daughter's eyes. "Harmony, when you were born, you father and I believed that leaving you with your aunt was the safest thing we could do for you. There was, and still is, an evil witch who wants your grandfather's crown. If she knew about you, she would use you to get to your grandfather."

"So what? Leaving me with your sister was your best plan? You could've taken me far away where she could never find us. You could've stayed here and protected me yourself. How is keeping me close to my grandfather safer than keeping me close to you?"

"You had better protection in your grandfather's care, and leaving you with Attina allowed for you to have friends and a normal childhood."

"You mean a normal childhood for a mermaid." Harmony covered her mouth with her hand. She shouldn't have let that slip.

"What do you mean?" Ariel asked, pretending like she didn't know.

"Don't continue to lie to me." Harmony said, angrily. "I saw you on the surface. I saw you behind the wall, with legs. And I heard that girl call you mom." Tears started to escape from her eyes. "So was that daughter just more important? Was she your precious one and I was just an accident that you didn't want?"

"No, Harmony, it's not like that." Ariel started to try to explain.

"NO!" Harmony yelled, rising from her chair. "My whole life has been a lie. I haven't known that you were human or that I had a secret human sister. You should have just stayed on the surface where you belong. I wish I had never even met you." Harmony swam from the room, slamming the door on her way out.

Ariel sat on the bench confused and distraught. How had everything gone so wrong so quickly? She had wanted to take this slow, allow Harmony to get used to the idea of having a mom before finding out about the fact that she was human. And she especially didn't want to have to make the jump to Melody. How was she suppose to explain why Melody was allowed to stay with them and Harmony was not? As she contemplated all of these problems, the door to the study opened.

King Triton had been hoping to walk into the room and see his daughter and granddaughter together. He had wanted them to grow, to figure each other out. But when he walked into his study, all he saw was a confused little girl who needed her daddy for guidance. He swam over to the seat next to his youngest daughter and put an arm around her shoulders.

"What happened?"

"It all went wrong, Daddy." Ariel said, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to escape. "I knew she was going to take it badly, but not like this. I had wanted to ease her into it. Explain that Eric and I still cared for her. Get her to trust me before I told her about being human."

"Where'd it go wrong?"

"She knew, Daddy. I don't know how, but she knew I was human and she knew about Melody. She threw it all in my face and I didn't know how to respond. I wasn't prepared to have to explain all of it so quickly. And now she's angry and upset. Instead of loosing one daughter and having the other not know who I was, now I've lost both of them."

"Now Ariel," Triton lifted her chin with his finger, making her look him in the eye, "you have not lost Harmony. Yes, she's angry and confused, but it's expected. She doesn't know how to react. She needs a mother to come and comfort her."

"Daddy, if I can't comfort a daughter I've known for twelve years, how am I suppose to comfort one I don't even know?"

"You know her, Ariel. She's you. Almost every character trait, every movement is a reflection of you. Talk to her as if you were talking to yourself at a younger age. She needs you, even if she doesn't know it."

"Where would she have gone?"

"As I said, she's you. Where would you have gone?"

Ariel knew her father hadn't meant that Harmony would literally go to the same spot she would, but somehow she couldn't help it. As she entered the grotto, Ariel was taken back to the years before she had met Eric, before Ursula, before Morgana, before life had become complicated. Surprise flooded her expression as she noticed the young girl lying on the ground nearby. Harmony held a stone face in her hands, tracing the fine lines with her index finger.

"I remember the day that happened." Ariel sat down beside her daughter. "Your grandfather was so angry with me." A soft smile crossed her face. "I had gone up to the surface and seen a handsome human. I fell in love. Well, I thought I had." She paused. When Harmony didn't respond, Ariel continued. "He was on a ship, celebrating his birthday. I had seen him up on deck, dancing with the crew and having a wonderful time. That," Ariel motioned to the face, "was a life-size statue his advisor, Grimsby, had given him. Almost immediately after it was revealed, an unexpected storm arose. Lightening struck the ship and it caught fire. That statue fell to the bottom of the sea, directly into this grotto, my hiding place."

"What happened to the man and his crew?" Harmony asked, though she pretended like she didn't really care. Ariel smiled as she saw through her daughter's act.

"His crew was able to make it to the lifeboats, but he wasn't. He was caught in the wreckage. I saw him sink beneath the surface and rescued him. I dragged him onto the beach where Grimsby found him."

"The man was my father, wasn't he?"

"Yes. His name is Eric, and he has always been a human."

"If this face was once a life-size statue, what happened to it?"

"After the wreck, my friend Flounder had brought me back to the grotto. I saw the statue and began to imagine what it would be like if it was truly Eric. Your grandfather saw me and was furious. I wasn't allowed to go to the surface, let alone get near the humans. Your grandfather was angry that I had allowed myself to feel for this man and save him. He decided that I needed to be taught to stay away from humans, so he destroyed most of my treasures, including your father's statue."

"So that's why these things are broken?"

"Yes. And I hated him for it, but now I know he was only trying to protect me. You see, your grandmother was killed by humans. It was a tragic accident, but your grandfather blamed them, nonetheless."

"But if Grandfather was so against humans, how did you become one?" Harmony finally looked at her mother. Ariel smiled down at her. It was a sad smile, one that showed the regret and guilt that was present inside Ariel's heart.

"I went to the sea witch. It was a horrible idea, but I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Ursula promised that she could give me the life I had always dreamed about, as long as I could get your father to kiss me by sunset on the third day. There was a catch, though. In payment, I was forced to give her my voice and I was naïve enough to agree to her terms.

"I did change into a human, and I did get to meet your father. In those three days, I fell in love with him. I knew that he was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, even if it meant leaving my family behind. But on the third day, everything went horribly wrong. A woman showed up and cast a spell on your father. He forgot about me and fell in love with her. The wedding was arranged for that evening, and without my voice there was no way for me to tell him how I felt. Scuttle, an old friend of mine, discovered that the woman was actually Ursula in disguise. We were able to stop the wedding and get my voice back. Eric was released from the spell, but just before he could kiss me, the sun set and I changed back into a mermaid.

"According to the deal I had made with Ursula, I was hers now. Your grandfather tried to find a loop whole, but he couldn't. Ursula said that she would be willing for a trade, his freedom for mine. He agreed and Ursula gained control of the sea. Eric, though, was ready to save the day. He came and helped me fight against Ursula. We were able to defeat her and everything was returned to normal. My father was in control again and I was still a mermaid."

"Wait, but your human now. I don't understand."

"If you're patient, I'll finish the story." Ariel paused and smiled at the eager expression on Harmony's face. "Your grandfather realized how strongly I felt towards your father and changed me back into a human. He let me go because he knew that Eric felt the same love for me as I felt for him."

"So you got married and lived happily ever after." Harmony said, rolling her eyes. "That's a really cliché ending."

"But that wasn't the ending." Ariel stated, "No, that was just the beginning."

"Oh right, you had two daughters. One who stayed with you and one that you sent away because she was extra." Harmony crossed her arms and turned away.

And just when I thought we were making progress, Ariel thought. "Harmony, no," she said, reaching for her daughter's shoulder, "it wasn't ever like that. There's still more to the story that you don't know."

"What? Did your father give you a condition that you had to give your second child to him if you wanted to remain human?"

"No, Harmony." Ariel tried to make her daughter understand. "When your sister, Melody, was born, we were all so happy. But on the day we were introducing her to everyone, Ursula's sister, Morgana, showed up. She was just as evil as her sister and she threatened to kidnap Melody unless your grandfather gave her the trident. We were able to save Melody, but Morgana escaped, swearing that she'd return someday. I made a decision to stay away from the ocean until Morgana was found. I didn't want to risk your sister's life or the safety of Atlantica. So we built the wall and pretended like mermaids were just a myth.

"When we found out that I was pregnant with you, your father and I were so happy. The whole kingdom was joyful about your birth. What we didn't expect was for you to be born a mermaid."

"What do you mean?"

"Melody had been born fully human, so we expected for you to be born the same. But you weren't. You were born with a fin. We didn't know what to do. We wanted to keep you, but we were afraid of what that would mean for you. Melody would always feel a connection to the sea, we knew that, but yours would be stronger. You were born to be in the ocean. It was your natural home and we couldn't bear to tear you away from that. We wanted to keep you, but we also wanted you to be happy and safe."

"What about it being safer for me, like you said earlier."

"What I said earlier was the truth. I told you that Morgana had sworn she would come back, and I didn't want her to get a hold of you or Melody. We knew that your grandfather would be able to protect you. He knew about the threat Morgana had made and he had the resources to keep you safe. As far as we know, Morgana has no idea that you exist, which means that she can't hurt you."

Harmony still had her back turned, but Ariel could see her begin to relax. "Harmony, sweetheart, I know it's not an excuse, but your father and I truly believed we were doing what was best for you. We thought that letting you live with Attina would be the best thing we could do for you. I realize now that it was a horrible mistake. You should have been with your family. I'm sorry–" Ariel was surprised when Harmony turned and flung her arms around her shoulders. A smile spread across Ariel's face as she held her child in her arms for the first time in eleven years.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harmony cried into her mother's shoulder. "Why did you keep me in the dark?"

"We didn't know how to tell you, sweetheart. We didn't know how to explain this to both you and Melody. But I'm very sorry that we didn't tell you before. I wish we could change many things, but we can't. All I can do is tell you now and explain that we still love you so much."

"I missed you, Mommy." Harmony cried.

"I missed you, too. But I promise that I won't leave you again. Your mine and I'm never letting you go."