Melody woke Hali from a dead sleep, it was the most peaceful rest Hali had had in a long while. The sun had been out for hours now, and Melody was sent to arose Hali from her prolonged slumber.

"I don't know how you did it, but you did it!" Melody said shaking her sister awake.

"Did what?" Hali questioned between yawns.

"You found an exact replica of Mom's favorite teapot."

"Oh, yeah, and it wasn't easy either. Do you think Mom noticed?"

"If she did, she didn't say anything," Melody laughed, "and you missed breakfast."

"Oh, well," Hali got up stretching. Finally finding the will power to drag her body out of bed, Hali went to dress. There was a decorative folding dressing screen in Hali's room. She selected a pale green day dress, and quickly got behind the dressing screen.

"Dad has a message for you."

"What's that?" Hali called out from behind the screen.

"He want's you to stay out of the kitchen. The town mason is building us another oven."

"The entire situation could have been avoided," Hali began," if the court inventors would only come up with some device that could extinguish fires quickly."

"Yeah, like that would ever happen," Melody teased.

Melody turned to leave when Hali's head popped up from behind the dressing screen, "Oh, tell Mom that Grandpa Triton is asking about us."


Nina was kind enough to bring Hali's lunch to her room. Hali hauled her favorite chair onto the balcony, and she ate overlooking the ocean. The sea was calm today. Hali would even venture to say it was torpid. There wasn't a single wave, not even a ripple on the water.

"How peculiar," Hali said to herself.

She didn't care to see the ocean like this. Hali preferred to experience the sea in all its vigor.

'Perhaps the sea requires a little magic,' Hali thought.

Hali was already feeling reckless as of late, so an awful idea popped into her head. Her balcony was pretty much a straight drop into the ocean. She could jump, if the fall didn't kill Hali before she hit the water. Hali removed her shoes, and very carefully balanced herself on top of the railing. It was, after all, just a simple matter of equilibrium. However, Hali knew that if Ariel or Eric ever caught wind of this, it would be the end of her freedom. She nearly talked herself out of the adventure.

"Come on Hali," she said bravely, "screw your courage to the sticking place."

Hali slowly drew in a deep breath, and her fear was replaced with adrenaline. Hali took a final glance at the familiar surroundings. She saw the sandy shore. Not a soul was to be seen. She saw the sea waiting for her, and it was singing again.

Come to me Hali.

I'll show you my secrets.

Have you ever seen a mermaid?

"One two, three," Hali counted and then took a magnificent dive off her balcony.

At the height of her arc, Hali whispered, "fins!"

A warm, radiant light wrapped around her lower body, and when the light dissipated, an elegant mermaid's tail had replaced her human legs. Her chartreuse tail flashed in the sunlight. Seconds after the transformation was complete, Hali's body cut through the glassy water without even a splash.


What Hali didn't see, was the figure of a man eclipsed by the shadow of the high ocean side cliffs. Xavier was flabbergasted. Just moments ago, he stood petrified in fear of what seemed to be Hali's attempt at suicide, but then something miraculous happened. Xavier was sure he saw a tail following behind the princess. No, Hali couldn't be a mermaid. Creatures like that only existed in fairy tales.

"Impossible," Xavier convinced himself, "It must be the heat, or exhaustion that has made me so delirious."


Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah

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Once again, there is a Shakespearean quote hidden with this chapter. Can you come up with the answers to these following questions?

1. What is the mystery quote hidden in the chapter?

2. What play is this quote from?

3. Who spoke this quote?

4. What Disney movie used this quote in a musical number? (Hint: It's a Disney Princess movie!)

Since this game entails a lot of work, the prize is a big one. The winner will receive one million virtual dollars, and an all expense paid virtual trip to a destination of his/her choice.