Chapter 10

The night was spent at an inn. The bed was actually cosy. But Jewel woke up before the sun rose and swam through the streets. She surfaced to watch the sunrise, breathing in the fresh air before swimming back underwater. Slowly, fish, mermaids, mermen, and all manner of sealife began to wake, coming out of their homes and stretching their arms, fins and claws. She swam up and stopped.

There was music playing somewhere. Jewel turned in the direction of it and followed the sound. She reached a path surrounded by beautiful coral. Swimming along it, the music was louder. The path split around a golden statue of two dancing mer-people. Jewel swam closer to it.

The merman looked like King Triton. The mermaid looked like Ariel, but with her hair pulled back.

"The Queen." she said. Jewel looked away, noticing a a seaweed blossom. She plucked it and put it at the statue's base, bowing her head in respect.

The music came from the building just behind the statue. She swam around it and pulled open a large door. From inside, the music poured out, enveloping Jewel in the lovely harmonies and the catchy rhythm. She started humming along as she made her way inside. She gasped.

It was a concert hall. A giant concert hall. A band of fish and an octopus were on the stage, Sebastion in front of them, conducting, and even singling, along with the music. Jewel swam down to the stage, not onto it, but stopping just before it to lean on the edge and watch them.

"Wow!" she whispered. A few of the fish noticed her and smiled at having an audience during their morning jam session. The only one who was not aware of Jewel until the end of the song was Sebastion. When the song was over, Jewel clapped.

"Bravo bravo!" she cheered. Sebastion spun around in surprise.

"Jewel? What are you doin' here? ... As a mermaid?" He asked, shocked.

"Aye. That was the little request I made with King Triton." She explained, "I think you all sounded wonderful, by the way! I was heading out for an adventure, but just had to see where the music was coming from."

"Tank you, tank you." he said, bowing to her. He paused and stared at her seriously.

"Just where are you going today?" he asked

How the bugger did he figure it out? Jewel thought

"Out and about, just wandering wherever the currents take me." she replied swimming around him and spinning him around.

"Dey had better not take you to-" he started

"To-" Jewel said at the same time as him.

"Wha-" Sebastion said

"Wha-" Jewel said with him. Sebastion glared at Jewel.

"Stop!" He shouted, with Jewel saying the same in unison. The pirate mermaid giggled and floated back from him.

"Oh, don't be a hard shell Sebastion." she said, "But I really must be going, ta-ta!"

"Wait!" Sebastion said, grabbing a tail fin as Jewel swam away. She kicked hard, propelling herself through the water, with Sebastion still clinging to her.

"Where are you going?" he asked

"Exploring." Jewel replied, swimming hard, to get the crab off of her. Sebastion did not let go. However, he was getting nervous when they passed Atlantica's border, heading into frightfully familiar territory. He reached a claw out and grabbed a hunk of corral jutting from the sand, while holding Jewel's tail with the other. Jewel jerked to a stop and crossed her arms back at Sebastion.

"We are not going to Ursula's lair!" he yelled

"No we aren't I am." Jewel said, "You can go back to Atlantica. I'll be fine."

"No! I'm staying with you! Who knows what dangers lie in secret in the sea witch's home?" he asked

"Of course. That's why I'm going." Jewel said swimming forward. Sebastion swam in front of her, floating with his arms out to block her.

"Not without me." he said sternly. Jewel sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright fine." She said, "You can come." She swam past him and he followed. The two paused at a ridge and looked over it at the large skeleton that was once home to Ursula.

"I tink we've seen enough." Sebastion said, turning to swim away. Jewel grabbed his shell and stopped him.

"Not yet." she said with a smirk, "Let's go inside." While still holding a struggling Sebastion, Jewel swam down and into the great maw of the skeleton's mouth.

There were no green figured below her. They all turned back into mermaids and mermen when the sea witch was defeated. Jewel ventured further in, smiling at the cabinets surrounding a large empty cauldron in the center of the round room.

"This is... Wow." She said. She let go of Sebastion and floated in front of the cauldron. The crab gulped and followed her.

"Jewel, I do not feel we need to stay here for long." he said. Jewel held up a hand to stop him from continuing. She closed her eyes and waved her hands over the cauldron.

"I can see your future... It involves melted butter!" she said in a spooky voice.

"Jewel." he said

"Oh I'm only teasing." She replied swimming up to a cabinet. She grimaced at the small creatures in various vials and bottles. She ran her fingers along the sides of one. The small snake like thing moaned in sadness.

"This is not right." She said. She grabbed the bottle and threw it down. Unfortunately, it floated down. Jewel huffed and swam outside of the lair, picking up a piece of coral and swimming back inside. She slammed it on the bottle until it broke. The small sea creature swam up and looked at Jewel.

"Thank you so much ma'am!" he said before swimming out. Jewel looked up at the large cabinet. She cracked her knuckles and set to work, freeing the rest of the creatures from their bottles. They all thanked her and swam off as soon as they were set loose. It was a good feeling releasing them all.

"Dat was the last one." Sebastion pointed out. Jewel let go of her coral.

"Hm, I wonder if there's anything else." She said swimming to another part of the lair.

"If we leave now, you can join us in our concert dis evening." Sebastion quickly said, his nervousness reaching its peak. He couldn't stand being there any longer. It was too scary.

"Honest?" Jewel asked

"Yes!" Sebastion said, his claws on her cheeks, his eyes staring directly into Jewel's.

"Sounds fair. Let's go." Jewel said with a shrug. She swam up. Sebastion was unprepared and was spun around in the water by the motion. He turned in the direction Jewel went and quickly followed after, not wanting to spend another minute in the lair.