Chapter Eleven

(Song in this chapter is one of my fave villain songs! "Poor Unfortunate Soul". Had to make a few alterations though.)

Flotsam and Jetsam took Ariel to Ursula's and Morgana's lair. To the mermaid, it looked like some ancient creature had died, and its skeleton had dropped down into the ocean. The floor of the ocean was emitting what looked like steam. Ariel came to a halt and pulled away somewhat.

The eels were at the entrance and said to her, "This way."

Taking a deep breath, Ariel followed them inside. They were in a tunnel and all along the walls and floor were odd looking plants with faces. She gazed upon them with disgust and shivered. One actually reached out and grabbed her wrist, trying to prevent her from moving forward. Ariel gasped and tugged herself free, keeping out of reach of any other moving creatures.

"Come in. Come in, my child," said a voice, and Ariel turned to see the eels had disappeared, but she was now at the entrance of a giant room "We mustn't lurk in doorways - it's rude." The sea witches had emerged from the shadows, and it was Morgana that had spoken. Ariel entered the room nervously.

"One might question your upbringing," Ursula added sitting before a mirror. "Now, then. You're here because you have a thing for this human." She did her hair a bit. "Not that we blame you - he is quite a catch, isn't he?" Ursula began applying lipstick.

"Well, angel fish," said Morgana, "the solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want - is to become a human yourself."

Ariel gasped and eyed the witches, "Can you do that?"

Ursula gave an evil sneer before turning away from the mirror and said, "My dear, sweet child. That's what we do - it's what we live for. To help unfortunate merfolk - like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to." She began to sing as she prepared the potion:

"We admit that in the past we've been nasty

They weren't kidding when they called us, well, a witch

But you'll find that nowadays

We've mended all our ways

Repented, seen the light and made a switch

True? Yes

And we fortunately know a little magic

It's a talent that we always have possessed

And here lately, please don't laugh

We use it on behalf

Of the miserable, lonely and depressed

(Pathetic)

Poor unfortunate souls

In pain

In need

This one longing to be thinner

That one wants to get the girl

And do we help them?

Yes, indeed

Those poor unfortunate souls

So sad

So true

They come flocking to my cauldron

Crying, "Spells, witches please!"

And we help them?

Yes, we do

Now it's happened once or twice

Someone couldn't pay the price

And I'm afraid we had to rake 'em 'cross the coals

Yes, we've had the odd complaint

But on the whole we've been saints

To those poor unfortunate souls"

"Now, here's the deal," said Morgana, "We will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got that? Three days. Now listen, this is important. Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get someone to switch places with you as a mermaid. If you can get that person into the ocean before the sun sets on the third day, you'll remain human, permanently, but - if that person doesn't enter the ocean, you turn back into a mermaid, and - you belong to us. Have we got a deal?"

"If I become human," said Ariel quietly, "I'll never be with my parents or sisters again."

"That's right," said Ursula in mock surprise then gave Ariel another evil sneer, "But - you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices, innit? Oh - and there is one more thing. The person you must get into the ocean is a girl by the name of Aralyne."

Morgana used her magic bubble to conjure up an image of Aralyne who was talking with Eric and laughing. Ariel recognized her right away as the girl that had been with Dimitri, and felt guilty. "But, what'll happen to the girl when she becomes a mermaid?" Ariel inquired.

"Does it really matter?" Morgana inquired, "It's either she trades places with you so that you can have your man, or you remain a mermaid miserable for the rest of your life."

Ursula conjured up a contract and pen and began to sing again:

"You poor unfortunate soul

It's sad

But true

If you want to cross a bridge, my sweet

You've got to pay the toll

Take a gulp and take a breath

And go ahead and sign the scroll!

(Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her boys!)

The boss is on a roll

This poor unfortunate soul."

Making up her mind with a determined look, Ariel grasped the pen, and signed the contract. Ursula and Morgana began to laugh maniacally as a bubble surrounded Ariel and she transformed into a human.

Ariel found herself sitting in shallow water leaning against a boulder. She pushed her hair out of her face, and her gaze landed upon her brand new legs. Her eyes widened with a gasp. "It worked!" she exclaimed lifting one leg out of the water and wiggled her toes, "I'm human!" Biting her lip, she got to her feet, and wobbled for a moment, before tumbling into the water. "Wow, this is a lot harder than it looks," she mused. She stood up once again, and this time managed to keep her balance. Now able to stand, she picked some seaweed out of her hair. Grabbing hold of the boulders protruding from the water, she slowly walked towards shore, wobbling the whole way. The first thing she found on the beach was what appeared to be a torn sail from a ship next to some discarded pieces of wood and some rope. She turned the sail into a make-shift dress using the rope as a belt to hold it in place. When finished, she sat down on a boulder wondering where she might start looking for Dimitri.

Dimitri was wandering the beach thinking of the mysterious girl that had saved his life. "Well, whoever she is," he thought out loud, "She's probably still over in Neverland." He walked past the boulders and was surprised to see a young girl sitting on a boulder. He came to a halt.

Ariel's eyes widened when she saw him, and she quickly pulled her hair to the side nervously twisting it.

"Are you, okay, Miss?" Dimitri inquired walking towards her. He noticed the rags she wore, and wondered what could have happened. Dimitri stopped before her and she leaned forward with a big smile. "You seem very familiar to me," he said with a slight frown, "Have we met?"

"Uh-huh," she said nodding her head, "I'm the one that saved your life during the storm. My name's Ariel."

"You?" he said in surprise, "You're the one that saved my life?"

"Uh-huh! You see, I was out swimming, and I saw you go under water. I became scared, and dove down to get you, and –" As she was talking, she was using her hands to illustrate the picture, lost her balance and fell off the boulder.

"Whoa, whoa, careful," Dimitri said catching her by the waist. Ariel wrapped her arms around him to keep from tumbling even more. "Careful – easy." They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment. "Gee, you must have really been through something. Don't worry. Don't worry, I'll help you." He began to lead her down the beach. "Come on. Come on, you'll be okay."

To be honest, I felt bad about staying at the Benbow Inn without paying for a room, so after I had gotten dressed (in Snow White's dress) I went down to speak to Mrs. Hawkins.

"Mrs. Hawkins," I said as I watched her serve breakfast.

"Yes, Aralyne?" she said running from one table to the next.

"Well, I don't feel right staying here with you without paying, so I thought I might earn my keep instead. May I have a job here, if there are any openings?"

She paused and stared at me in surprise before smiling. "Of course. My cooks could always use a little extra help in the kitchens. The boys won't do it, of course, they believe it offends their manliness."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hawkins," I said with a grateful smile, "I'll head over right away and –"

There was some loud commotion going on outside that grabbed everyone's attention, and we all left the inn to see what was going on. A large crowd had formed, and I moved my way towards the front to see Dimitri helping a girl through the streets. She was very pretty, and I was admittedly jealous of her long red hair.

"Ariel?" Melody gasped from beside me. The redhead looked up at her name being mentioned and gazed at Melody.

"Mel?" said Ariel blinking at her in surprise.

"You know her?" Grandpa Lao Shi asked Melody.

"She's my sister," Melody replied, then asked Ariel, "How did you get here? And what are you doing here?"

"Mom and Dad sent me to look after you," Ariel said, "After all, you're only fifteen."

Melody rolled her eyes. "I'm doing fine, and you're only a year older than me."

"Well, Mrs. Hawkins," said Grandpa, "It looks like you'll be taking in another girl."

"Goodness," said Mrs. Hawkins, "At this rate, my inn will be full. Come along, dear." She motioned for Ariel to follow her. I could tell that Ariel released Dimitri reluctantly and followed Mrs. Hawkins into the inn. Melody and I ran after them, and right behind us I could hear Ella, Esmeralda, Belle, Aurora, Jasmine, and Snow White talk excitedly about giving her some clothes to wear.

Snow White, Belle, Aurora, Esmeralda, Jasmine, and Ella treated Ariel the same way they had treated me. They were all in her room dressing her up like a Barbie while Jim, Melody, and I stood outside in the hall listening. Mrs. Hawkins had asked Melody if she would like to share a room with Ariel since they are sisters, but Mel had refused and insisted that she stay with me.

"You don't seem very happy to see your sister," Jim observed.

"Stepsister," Melody said her arms folded over her chest as she leaned against the wall, "I was adopted. As you well know, I'm a freak of nature –" Jim growled at the term – "being half human and half mermaid. My mother, Madison, was a mermaid, and my father, Allen, was human. They were friends with Ariel's parents: Triton and Athena. One day my parents went out, and left me with Ariel's parents for the day. My parents didn't return. They were attacked by a shark." She didn't seem sad or upset revealing this secret, which makes me wonder exactly how young she was when this happened.

"Oh, wow, Mel," said Jim wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "I'm sorry." She shrugged.

At that moment, Mrs. Hawkins arrived. "There you are, Aralyne," she said, "Come on, I'll take you down to the kitchens so that you can meet your new co-workers."

I waved 'bye to my friends and followed her down the stairs, and into the kitchens. Inside were two women – one eighteen, and one nineteen – moving about the room, one cooking, and the other baking.

"Tiana, Rapunzel, meet Aralyne," said Mrs. Hawkins introducing me to the two women.

"Hey there, sugar. Are you any good in the kitchen?" Tiana asked me. She was standing at the stove with a giant pot on the fire. It smelled like gumbo and my mouth started watering.

"Um, no. I burn water. I can't cook to save my life," I replied.

"Nonsense," said a male voice, and a gray rat appeared beside Tiana, "Anyone can cook."

"Ah, yes," said Mrs. Hawkins, "This is our head chef, Remy. There are others working here, too: Colette, Skinner, and Linguini – well, Linguini is really a waiter – but, they're all on vacation at the moment. They should be returning soon."

"I think Skinner is returning today," Rapunzel said taking a pan out of the oven and pushing her long blonde hair out of her face.

"Excellent," said Mrs. Hawkins with a smile, "Good luck, Aralyne." And she left me in the kitchen with the girls and the rat.

"Well," said Tiana, "Stick near me, and I'll be able to teach you a thing or two on cooking."

"Thank you," I said, "But I'd rather not endanger everyone in the inn. I can do dishes, and clean up, though."

Remy pointed me to the sink, and I began to wash the dirty dishes. It wasn't long until we noticed a head poking inside.

"Can we help you?" Rapunzel asked and Ariel stepped inside.

"I was looking for Aralyne," she said almost shyly.

"Yes?" I said wiping my hands dry on a towel.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go to the beach with me?" she inquired and bit her lip waiting for my answer.

I blinked at her feeling guilty. "I'm sorry," I said, "but, I can't. I'm working right now, and I don't know until how long. Maybe some other day?"

"Oh," she said lowering her head slightly in disappointment, "Okay, then. Some other day." She turned and left.

After Ariel had left, someone else had entered the kitchen; a short man wearing a chef outfit and had a thin mustache. "Vacations need to be longer," he muttered, then looked at me and froze, his eyes widening.

I cocked an eyebrow at him, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. "Um, hi?" I said almost uncertainly. "My name is Aralyne. I'm new here in the kitchen."

"Aralyne," said Tiana, "May I introduce Chef Skinner."

(Kudos to whoever can name the 1984 mermaid movie Madison and Allen are from)