Chapter 20: A Deal

Heartbroken that she never got to kiss Eric, Ariel avoided him at school completely. Though Pocahontas and Belle tried to comfort her, she never could get the necklace that the mysterious dark-haired girl wore who stole Eric away out of her mind. Like Mrs. Ursula's whistle, it was gold and shell-shaped. Strangely enough, though, Mrs. Ursula had become more absent at school in the past few weeks while the dark-haired girl showed up as a new student named Marina Del Rey and she was always hanging around Eric.

"There's a thin line between genuinely loving someone and being too clingy," Scuttle remarked, stroking his white-blonde chin-beard as he watched Marina wrap her arms around Eric a few tables across from him. "I think that girl has crossed the line into the latter."

"You think?" Ariel said sarcastically as she picked at the stuffed crab on her plate with a fork. "I can't stand to look at them without getting sick."

"Maybe you should consider moving on," Belle suggested, reading a new book which Ariel had not seen before. "Since Eric is clearly a lost cause."

"But he doesn't look happy," Ariel insisted, glancing at Eric briefly. "His eyes…they look glazed over, like he's in a trance or something."

"That is true," Pocahontas agreed, looking over her shoulder. "But the Midterm Exams are coming up, and he might be staying up late studying for them."

"Yeah, maybe," Ariel frowned, considering whether to tell her friends about the deal she made with Ursula or not. But after a brief sigh, she decided not to say anything further and continued picking at the stuffed crab.

###

Sometime later, Ariel was about to board the bus when Scuttle came running down the school lawn wearing his red bandana over a white dress-shirt that was partially unbuttoned with blue pants and gold-colored clogs.

"Ariel!" Scuttle exclaimed as he caught up to her and stopped to catch his breath.

"What is it?" Ariel glanced nervously at the bus-driver. "I have to go soon."

"Come with me to my car," Scuttle said, pulling Ariel away from the bus. "I'll explain everything to you there."

"Will you take me home afterwards?" When Scuttle nodded, Ariel reluctantly followed him to the parking-lot.

She then noticed two strange men lurking nearby. They wore identical blue-green suits and hats with shades that covered their eyes. Ignoring them, Ariel got into Scuttle's car which had a seagull-shaped sticker on the bumper while Scuttle got into the driver's side and drove out while the strange men watched them go.

"Okay, so…I was walking by the pool, as I sometimes like to do, when I heard singing coming from the girls' locker-room and decided to check it out," Scuttle began, sweat dripping down his forehead. "Then, I saw…Marina, redoing her makeup in the bathroom mirror while saying something about owning a Mermaid and 'The Ocean.' I'm not sure what any of that meant, but when I looked at her reflection…it was Mrs. Ursula instead of Marina."

Gasping, Ariel covered her mouth on instinct. "How can that be?"

"Yeah, I can't believe it myself," Scuttle replied.

"Did she see you?" Ariel asked.

"Fortunately, the mirror was angled in a way to where it didn't reflect the doorway so I was able to leave without being seen," Scuttle explained. "But I think this would explain why Mrs. Ursula has been absent lately."

###

"Why would she do this to me?" Ariel wondered, watching her fish Flounder swimming around in his tank while a red hermit crab snapped its pincers in protest. She had named the crab Sebastian after her father's stingy assistant, and it never seemed to get along with Flounder. "What does Mrs. Ursula hope to gain by giving me the chance to have the boy I love, only to steal him away from me? It doesn't make sense."

As Ariel turned over on her side, she felt something cold touch the back of her neck followed by an electric shock.

After what seemed like minutes, Ariel regained consciousness and found herself tied to a chair in a dark room.

"Nice work, Flotsam and Jetsam," said a female voice Ariel recognized. "You brought our bargaining chip right where we want her."

"Mrs. Ursula?" Ariel flinched as a light turned on, with the silhouettes of the two men she saw in the parking-lot standing before her. "Is that you?"

"Of course it is." Between the two men appeared a woman wearing a long black strapless dress. "I hope my boys made you…comfortable."

While the two men snickered, Ariel struggled against the ropes that bound her. "What do you want from me now?"

"Oh, nothing much," replied Ursula, examining her nails. "Rumor has it that your father possesses a magic trident which allows him to control the ocean tides, hence why his resorts always have nice weather. If you can get this for me, I'll give Eric back."

"So you did do something to him?"

Instead of answering Ariel's question, Ursula continued, "Should you fail to do this one simple task, I'll personally add you to my garden of unfortunate souls."

Behind Ursula, the two men whom Ariel guessed were Flotsam and Jetsam moved back to lift a curtain on both sides. Then as Ursula stood aside Ariel beheld a large illuminated tank filled with strange creatures that resembled aquatic plants but with human faces attached to them that were writhing in pain.

"So what will it be, Princess?" Ursula taunted. "Your father's trident, or your life?"

Holding back her tears, Ariel lowered her head as Ursula ordered one of the men to untie Ariel's hands and lead her out of the dimly lit room.

###

"Is something wrong, Ariel?" The voice of Ariel's father Trident King asked on the other end of the cellphone Ariel held. "You sound…upset."

"It's nothing, Daddy," Ariel lied. "I'm just worried about Midterm Exams."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," replied Trident. "By the way, I plan to meet Kingpin Stephen around the time of the Fall Semester Ball to seal our agreement as business partners so I'll come and visit you then."

"Will you be bringing the trident along?"

"Yes, I always carry it with me. Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious."

End of Chapter 20