I was human. Could anyone understand how annoying that was? I know Ariel couldn't. But curse my human lungs, I had to take up Triton's proposition and swim up. My last breath of air before he struck was only half decent, and then I was so surprised by the bolt I exhaled half of that.
And I was tired. I felt like I was going to drown. But I couldn't, I had to survive to get Ariel. There was a rock I swam up close to, it jutted up like God felt the need for something random in the waves. There was a mast from some long sunken ship wrecked across the thing, and at the top was a nest made from soggy hay. There was a collection of human knick-knacks, even a telescope, but the best thing was that it was above water.
I climbed shakily on the rock and fell asleep in an instant. But my dreams were haunted with me abandoning Ariel, Triton laughing maniacally, and a black lump of crab.
Triton
Was it me? Was it my fault? My family torn, injured, exhausted and no longer trusting; was that my doing?
No! No it was most certainly not! It was that human, it was always the humans! It was the humans who captured my parents in their fishing nets! It was the humans who crushed Athena against those rocks! I told her not to go to the surface, I told her the humans were dangerous. She told me she was curious, that she would be careful. I let her go.
It was those humans.
I wouldn't let Ariel go, and look at what those humans did! They pulled her in with lies, and they made me hurt her! Those humans!
And what was that boy saying? I was no longer a good father? I was the best! I juggled children with duty! I didn't lock away my daughters, I was lenient! Ariel went too far, I had to do what I did! I had to be a good father!
I turned to Ariel. She was still lying unconscious, but I made the bleeding stop and tucked her into her bed. Aquata slept to her left, Adella to her right. I forced everyone else out, though the girl who protested the most was Alease Seastar. I was sitting on the beds opposite, I think it was where Alana slept, though I hardly came in here any more.
Who was that boy to call me a bad father? He didn't know anything! Did he ever raise a family that was completely conspiring against you? I don't think so.
I looked back down at Ariel. She was twitching in her sleep, her hands making spastic movements. Aquata was whimpering, softly but with blood chilling panic in her voice. Adella was the only one who slept peaceful, as was the nature of the spell.
Were the other two having nightmares? About what? I could imagine a load of fears for them; Aquata could be dreaming about giant eels or lightning. Ariel never had nightmares too often, she was always the bravest. But I could guess what was plaguing their dreams tonight. It had to be me.
NO! My daughters loved me! I was their father! Yes, I was strict. Yes, I sometimes lost control of my anger. But they were my daughters, and children must love their father. They MUST!
Besides, if that human really did love her, he would have stayed. He would have risked drowning to get Ariel. HE made the mistake of leaving her, and now he would never get her back. That was it! That was my law, therefor the law of the sea, and if Ariel decided to disobey me once again, well I would have to punish her…
I did that already, didn't I? Well I would have to do it again! More severely! I would find a way. Hopefully she would remember this and never try to break my rules again!
"DADDY STOP!" Aquata screamed, jolted up eyes wide open. She looked around in a panic, blue eyes scanning every corner of the room, though I wasn't sure they were seeing anything. I held my triton firm and cast the dreamless sleep for a second time on my second daughter. Let her recover in peace, without being haunted by me. She fell back limp into her bed, breathing slowly. I tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and slowly left the bedroom.
Eric
I awoke with my back aching from sleeping on the rock, every part of me still soaked. My nose was stuffed up and my throat hurt, I could tell that this was going to be a cold. Great, that was just what I needed.
I was trying to recollect my memories. So much of it was confusing, filled with red saxophones, orange crystals, and many other objects of the sort. Two memories held fast in my mind; Ariel was hurt and Triton gave me the chance to escape.
On a normal day with normal circumstances I would have paid all my attention to the Ariel being hurt memory. Of course I had to go back into the ocean! I had to find that city and get her! But this was not what any human would call "normal circumstances" and I'm sure most merpeople would agree. Why would Triton let me go, and was it safe to return?
I slapped myself over the head. Why was I thinking about my own safety!? Ariel was down there, crippled and in a lot of trouble with her father. But I knew Triton could mend her injuries, I knew he wouldn't let her die. And what was the point of a rescue if it was no more than suicide? But Ariel…
"Squaaaaaw! Cawwwwww!" a seagull came up behind me and assaulted my ears with seagull ruckus. It was funny, but that tone-deaf squawk sounded so familiar to me, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I turned and saw the seagull, big and awkward, obviously angry, but why would it be? Don't seagualls normally live inland?
"SQUAWWWWWWWW!" the seagull was going into a fury, starting to dive in. I threw my arms over my head in time to feel its claws scratch my arms.
"Stop it, Stop it! Alright, I'm leaving!" I batted away at the seagull. I realized that this one must have been weird and built its nest on this desolate rock. But, despite its strangeness and hostility, I felt a need to thank it. I was asleep, groggy, and unsure before. But now I would go most defiantly, all I needed was a little physical motivation to get off this rock.
I dove in.
Triton
I was not a monster! And yet they fear me. Who are they to fear me?! Those were my children, all seven of them were my daughters, yet I haunt their dreams. I was such a fearsome force to them that Aquata woke in panic because of me.
I swam as far as I could, to a place I never visited unless duty called: the surface. Well, not really. I would never dream of actually breaking the water. But I was close enough to where I could see birds of pray gliding over the waves, searching for a tasty morsel.
Why did I not hate the birds? No, no I would not think of that now. Let's work on one moral problem at a time. I kept swimming on, letting these pressing matters churn. How could my daughters fear me so much? Didn't they see, couldn't they figure it out, that everything I did was to protect them? Maybe I did get too carried away with Ariel's punishment, but I was never going to kill any of them! I wanted Ariel to think that! Or would I have killed one of my daughters? Now, thinking about it, I pinned all my hope on Ariel choosing Eric to die. Would have I, in my state of mind, actually killed one of my little girls? I mean, for Poseidon's sake, I nearly did kill Ariel and Aquata didn't I? I would have killed Ariel if it were not for Sebastian. What was becoming of me, the great king?
I heard a distinct splash, far too large for a bird of prey, and next to me appeared that human. I was idly drifting by a lonely rock and that slug must have climbed on it for refuge from my ocean. But the gall of him! He was diving straight down! I would give him a break if it were land he was heading towards, but no! It was the depths he was going for. I would not allow it!
"Stop right there, filth!" I pointed my triton and blasted a spell at the boy. He cringed in fear, as any spineless human would, but I did not intend to kill him. Yet. Rather, I simply gave him an air bubble, so that we may talk.
Eric
Triton shot at me, and I closed my eyes prepared for death. I took a deep breath of shock, then another as I found I could breath. I opened my eyes, and saw clearly in the water, my face completely dry, but I was not captured. It was like a giant bubble on my head, and this time clear and clean. What was Triton up to?
"Human, I gave you chance to leave. So go!" Triton bellowed and pointed his weapon at me. I tried to take a more intimidating pose, but I was merely human and needed my limbs to stay afloat.
"Not without Ariel," I replied.
"Ariel is my daughter, and she is in good hands. She will be a lot better off where she belongs with family who loves her, than up in a strange place where a single human only loves the idea of this fantasy," Triton scoffed at me, crossing his muscular arms.
"I do not only love the idea of her! I love everything about her! When Ursula tried to sabotage our love, she took Ariel's emotions! Ariel got legs to be with me, and I had trouble excepting her because everything I loved about her was gone!" I bellowed. My voice echoed around the bubbled, but not unpleasantly. It was soft and seemed more of a confirmation that what I said was the right thing. I needed that right now, if I were on land I would be shaking from fear.
"Ah! But you prove my point! Ursula took everything you love about my girl, and she defiantly took her tail! So, you admit you cannot love her without her tail!" Triton put a self satisfactory smirk on. It was as if he was purposefully being blind, like he had to convince himself that I was truly the enemy here.
"Yes, I love your daughter as a mermaid. But there is more to her than a tail and a pretty voice! And I am questioning, Triton, whether you are remembering that or not. She is a being, living with feelings and dreams. Beautiful dreams that I want to see fulfilled!" A fear started to churn in my stomach, a fear that I would never make it to the bottom of the sea. The triton was still glowing at me, speaking of my doom.
"Don't you insult me! I am a king! I am a father! What do you know about Ariel? Did you know that when she was small she was horrible at hide and go seek? Did you know that before she got this crazy human obsession it was starfish that she was fascinated with? Did you know that she was there when her mother died?" Triton was trembling and the water around him was beginning to boil. I started trying to slowly swim lower and lower. With this bubble, at least I could take my time.
"I did! I did know that! She told me everything!" I lied. No, I didn't know Ariel had a thing for starfish before humans. No, I didn't know she was bad and hide and go seek. But the last question, the one that I found most important, I did know. That one she did tell me, when we were sitting and the full moon was up. This was before Ursula. It was a rare occasion where we both decided to stay after sunset, just throwing caution to the wind. Actually, it was a less than rare occasion, that was the only time we risked it. But it was a full moon, the waves danced in the night and moonshine was reflected in all directions. It was that night when we decided to really talk about our families; what had happened, what we remembered.
"I can see you lying through your teeth! She would have never told any one those three things, she hates talking about those three things!" Triton had his victory, I could see he thought that. He asked me the questions that Ariel would never tell anyone, and if I answered yes, it was a lie. But I could prove it, I could prove at least one of them.
"I'm not a liar! I am a prince, maybe even a king, and my word is just as honorable as yours!" I kept shifting lower in the ocean. Triton stayed level with me, unconsciously following. I hoped it stayed that way.
"What honor does a human have?" He asked.
"Ariel did tell me those things! Cause she trusts me! Ask Ariel, she'll tell you!"
"Ha, of course she will! Of course she will," Triton lowered his triton, allowing the deadly light to dim. He continued on, not with confidence, but with sadness, "You know, they fear me. All of them do. Two of my daughters were having nightmares of me, and the third would have if she were not under enchanted sleep," he started sinking faster than me,"I just want to protect them. I was fine when Ariel had that thing for starfish. At least they weren't dangerous. But when she turned 5, it all changed. I took them to a sunken ship, just to show them how dangerous your contraptions were to us. It just got her fascinated." Triton took his eyes off me for the first time.
"Well, they should fear you! Look at what you did, Triton! You locked up 6 of them, you kidnapped me, and you put each of them up for death by the hand of their youngest sister. What is not to fear?" I didn't even bother with subtly any more. I faced downward and kicked with all my might. Triton stayed level with me, though he still did not look up.
"I hate to say you're right, human, but you are. I have been horrible to them, haven't I? I felt that I couldn't do anything else though, if it meant them leaving and breaking the law, I thought I had to teach them a lesson. I would have killed one of them too, all my hope was just on her picking you to die. Ha! Like she would have done that, right? I should have known that you…that your disguise would go down this far!" Triton stared back up, lifted his triton and let it glow even bright than before in one swift movement.
"W-wait! What do you mean my disguise?" I swam faster. Atlantica was in sight, I was so close. And with Triton as well, I thought I was finally getting somewhere with him.
"That disguise, your obvious disguise of a good human. Well, I know there is no such thing, I know that you are all barbarians, incapable of feeling! Things like love, happiness, kindness are lost on you! You may have fooled Ariel and her sisters, but you can't fool me!"
Alana
I heard the blast from afar. Well, of course I did, Daddy wasn't in the palace anymore and if anyone could make those blasts it was Daddy. The question was who? Eric left, and unless this was pent up aggression being released then I could not tell what unfortunate soul stumbled into his wrath. Unless…could have Eric come back?
"Attina, Attina!" I was whispering, but not sure why, since no one was around but us two. Alease was with the three sleeping girls, sneaked in once Daddy left, Arista was still chained in the throne room, complaining loudly about how Daddy forget her and this was why it was okay to kill her off. And Andrina was who knows where, probably sulking about how right she was.
"What?" Attina asked a little jolted, like I took her out of a dream.
"Do you hear that? The explosions? Only Daddy could make those," I pointed out to the sea, "You don't think Eric came back down, do you?" a gleam of panic came to Attina's eyes, she shook her head, and silently swam in the direction I was pointing. I followed.
Eric
This was madness! I could not keep dodging these bolts, not for the life of me. The only reason that I could continue on now was because of this little yellow fish that saw the commotion. I knew he was Ariel's friend, but I could not remember his name at the moment, and honestly I was not spending too much time thinking about it. But with his flippers and my strong kick we managed to barley dodge Triton's death shots. What I needed was a shield, or a sword, or a harpoon, or…I don't know…a rock. Just something that would allow me to do more than run away! Something to defend myself with!
I heard the triton fire with an explosive vibration, the yellow fish and I swam as fast as we could in the other direction. The fire ran into some coral, leaving a desolate black hole which did not belong in the center of that vibrant life system.
The little yellow fish was breathing hard, I heard him mumble, "that was my home…" but he did not turn. He kept swimming me down, down, down, knowing where I was going.
The triton fired again, this time the fire was light blue and sharp, like a giant arrow. I didn't have to ask to know what it was for; it was true that if Triton popped the air he so generously gave I would be a fish out of water.
"Eric! Over here!" a strong, confident voice called over to me. I looked and saw Attina and Alana wave from behind some coral that managed to survive the King's wrath. The fish and I redirected ourselves, swimming in a straight line when Triton allowed. When we got there the water around us felt boiling and I felt ready to sleep, again, for days.
"Eric, what even made you think of coming down?" Alana scolded me with a tsk and she supported me with extra swimming power. Attina cradled that fish and swam behind us.
"I won't go back up without Ariel," I whispered.
"Out of the question. She is still sleeping from her own affair. You try to carry her you will both be killed," Attina snapped and the fish murmured some tired gibberish. I assumed he agreed.
"But if she doesn't make an escape now, when will she?" I pointed out. We could all tell that security would be heightened after this event. Ariel may never be allowed to leave the palace again…
"She has a better chance with you alive than dead," Alana took a dip to the ocean bottom, and I could see the palace lurking over the sand line; shinning white with the finest pearls. This was where I wanted to go, so I did not say a thing in response. I thought that maybe they would bring me there anyway.
But I was wrong. Alana took a sharp right and dragged me along, but I saw Attina and the fish keep straight, going closer to the palace. I didn't see the enraged king.
"Where's Triton?" I asked concerned.
"He thinks we are taking you to Ariel. He'll be waiting there. Attina's gone to meet him and say you made run for it. I can't stay away too long, so we are hiding you. We'll come back at night to get you to shore," Alana looked behind her. Attina's orange tail was still clearly visible against the washed out blue of the ocean.
"But-" I started, but was silenced by Alana's hand over my mouth. She didn't say a word. Less than a minute later we were outside a cavern with a beat up stone pushed to the side. Alana shoved me in, and rather than trying to fight I pathetically floated into the cave.
"Now stay put," Alana ordered. And then, taking great care around her fingernails, she shoved the rock in front of the door.
I fumbled down the cavern entrance, running into walls and random rocks jutting out. Though it didn't seem like it was too long, the narrow way still took me a good two minutes to navigate. As the rocks opened up everything grew lighter, and I was forced by my own surprise to stop and stare, mouth agape. What I saw was…was…amazing, creepy, stunning, and dead all at the same time. Stacks and stacks, shelves upon shelves, of human stuff. Pipes, quills, rings and even a crown. Children's toys that were waterlogged and paintings that became unrecognizable after their time in the ocean. Necklaces hung from one shelf and shoes were stacked up in a messy pile up high. I knew where I was the instant I saw the first pair of glasses; they took me to Ariel's collection.
Ariel told me so much about her collection. But, when she described the wonders of her vast collection, I imagined something more intact. She told me how her father destroyed everything, but she did not emphasize just how much everything was. Hundreds of useless knick knacks were lying dead under the waves. Spoons burnt black and gears of watches flung in random spots. Books with papers disintegrated out of their spines and porcelain dolls treating the floor like a cemetery. It was mass destruction. And in the center of it all was me. My face, made of stone. Just my face too, no hair, no neck, just a face. I could tell it was me because it was the statue we lost in the hurricane.
I would have to remember to thank Triton for destroying it.
But up in the corner, the very top of the cavern, were dancing lights. I kicked up until my head brushed the stony ceiling. In this upper corner, reflecting all the light that reached this hidden place, were mirrors. At first I thought that Triton simply did not reach this high up with his destruction, but after closer inspection the frames were clearly burnt to a crisp. This was my way, this was the key: mirrors reflected magic.
Ariel
I awoke groggily. I was in bed with two sisters by my side, and for a second I thought it was all a nightmare. Then I remembered that Eric was involved and the wonderful times I had and decided maybe it was a twisted sort of good dream. But before I could do anything, a mermaid with short black hair and a gray pink tail pushed me down by the shoulders and back into bed.
She put one finger up to her mouth, and though I felt like screaming, there was just something in her eyes that told me it may be best not to. So I whispered instead.
"Alease! What are you doing here?" She responded with a finger to her pursed lips. I huffed. I felt like doing anything but being quiet!
"Alease-" I started, but her hand shot over my mouth and my rampaged became nothing more than mumbled gibberish. I was about to bite her, and then I heard the voices.
"What in Poseidon's name were you thinking?!" it was Daddy, his furious yells vibrating through the walls. Suddenly I liked the idea of being quiet. Alease still kept her hand over my mouth, but I did nothing about it.
There was a response, I was sure, but whoever was on the receiving end of his fury was not loud enough to hear through our bedroom.
"Don't you give me that! Don't you dare lie to me! You expect me to believe something like that!? No, go to your room! I'll deal with this and I don't need you two intervening any more!" everyone fell silent for a while. Alease and I watched my bedroom door tentatively, until it blew open from a furious push by Alana.
"Alana, calm down," Attina said, following the second oldest into the room.
"Calm down you say, calm down. How am I suppose to calm down? And what's worse, all this stress is horrible for my complexion," Alana swam right over to our bedroom mirror, where she sat while we continued to talk.
"What happened?" I asked quietly. Attina looked behind her, shut the door, and came to sit on my bed, our conversation nothing more than hushed whispers.
"Eric came back down for you. It seems like Daddy and him were doing something before hand because he had an infinite air bubble round his head. Then Daddy was trying to shoot him, so we swam up to get him out. Oh, this guy too, he helped," Attina put Flounder down next to me, and I didn't even notice she had him till she pointed it out.
"Flounder!" I gasped, but not too loud. One: I didn't want Daddy to hear. And two: Flounder was sleeping.
"Ya, he was really holding his own, the little guy," Attina smiled, "Anyway, Alana hid Eric somewhere only she knows, and she guarantees me there are no merpeople in the vicinity," Attina glared at Alease, who retreated behind Aquata's bed, "we are going to fetch him tonight and take him back to dry land."
I sighed in relief and fear. Great that he was going back, but leave me behind? Was it forever? What could I do about it though? I would just have to be patient and see how this would play out. But patience was not my forte.
Eric
I took a mirror and stuffed it under my shirt. I needed rest, I was far too weak to move the boulder myself, but I was not leaving this ocean without my princess. Once Alana opens that doorway I'll swim as fast as my legs can carry me, and once Alana catches me I'll shout for Triton until he comes to me. That was the master plan.
I was dozing when the movement of the boulder made me jump. Was it time already? It hardly seemed like even an hour passed, maybe I was in a deeper sleep than I thought. I swam up the corridor with the intention to meet Alana and go peacefully, for the meantime. But it wasn't Alana I ran into, it was Andrina.
"Andrina! What are you doing here?" I asked surprised.
"What, do you not want me here? Cause I can leave," she pointed to the doorway, which was left open.
"No, no, I was just expecting Alana."
"She won't be here for a few more hours, I figured you'd want to escape," Andrina gave me a knowing smirk and flicked at my air bubble while muttering, "It's like Daddy was trying to keep a human in a bowl."
"Wait, you want to help me escape?" who was this princess working for?
"Yes. I figured if we get you out now you'll only be back. And it would be better if you came back with like, a plan or something, but I doubt you'll actually wait that long. Plus, now you have the infinite air bubble, which will pop once you get above shore, so I don't see a better time to get this done. And Ariel will be less miserable the sooner you come. But hey, I'm fair, the choice is up to you," she gave a small bow. How could I pass up this opportunity? I nodded enthusiastically, told her my plan with the mirrors, and she helped me swim to the palace.
Ariel's collection was surprisingly close to her home. With my weaker-than-mermaid swimming status and the fact that we could only travel when Andrina gave the okay, it took us 20 minutes to get to the palace front gates. If it were just a mermaid without any of the sneaking, I guess it would have taken 30 seconds to a minute. What could I say; Andrina was being extremely careful.
She also went as far to not allow me through the front entrance, which I loudly objected to before she shoved some kelp into my mouth.
"Shut it! I will not allow you to go storming the castle! You got the mirror, but that isn't much of a plan. Sneaking up, surprise, and best yet if you got in and out without him even noticing you is the way to go. We do this my way, which involves stealth," she grabbed me and pulled me along, not caring if her purple tail smacked me hard. The princess didn't even remove my gag, though it wasn't done well, so I did it myself.
"Do you really think I'll be able to sneak in, grab Ariel, and sneak back out without Triton noticing a thing?" I spat at her.
"No, I don't think you have a chance! But I think you have even less of a chance if we don't try," Andrina didn't slow down, "I learned that last night, actually."
We kept swimming around the palace gates until we were at the very back of the castle. A small back door was the target, and there were even no guards in front! But from inside I could hear the hustle and bustle of pots and pans, something falling over and breaking, and someone yelling, "Ah, Underworld! Sandwave, that's the 3rd plate you broke!" I looked up at Andrina, trying to analyze her face. She looked puzzled.
"I guess I'll just swim right in, knock on the door and say 'Hello, do you mind if I go save the princess of the sea?'"
"Is that how annoying my sarcasm is? Geez, I should really cut back, my poor sisters must hate me," Andrina rolled her eyes.
"Sorry, the pressure is just getting to me. I don't mean it, I'm just nervous," I apologized as sincerely as possible. Nerves just ate at my patience sometimes.
She bit her lip, "But ya, I figured with the commotion the chefs would have left. Loyal lobster-eating slug brains," she made a fist in the general direction. The temptation to tell Andrina that her youngest sister actually liked lobster made it's way into the back of my mind, but I pushed it aside for a more appropriate time.
"If it works, I can help," a boy's voice said from behind us. Andrina grabbed my wrists and turned violently, hostility echoing in her voice.
"Who are you, what do you want? Don't even think of moving."
The boy was tall, but really skinny, almost unhealthy like. His tail was a washed out yellow and his hair was a diluted red. His stare, with soft brown eyes, was innocent, yet somehow knowing, like he took a wild guess at what we were up to and hit it on the mark. And he, himself, was shiny. If a mermaid who never went to shore asked me what fire looked like, I would point to this boy.
"I-I-I" he started stuttering at Andrina's glare before she whispered "spit it out!"
"My name is Pisces Coralshark an official delivery boy for Atlantica Seaweed Farms, delivering to every fish in the wide blue sea," he recited "I was on my way to deliver the seaweed supply to the palace chefs, now that things at the palace seemed to have settled down," he sunk down into the sand and was twisting his wrists, suddenly shy, "Are you here to take Ursula Slayer?" he muttered so quiet I could hardly hear him.
"Do you mean Princess Ariel?" the boy nodded enthusiastically. Andrina rolled her eyes at me, as if to say "Oh, one of these types of merpeople."
"Look, I caught the human intruder, see?" Andrina held up her hands, still firmly grasped around my wrist, "There is nothing else to it. I just don't want to go through the front door because Daddy kinda wants to keep this thing about a human hushed up. Okay? So you can deliver your seaweed, do what it is delivery boys do, and swim back home," Andrina waved her hand in goodbye as I watched the disappointment sink into those soft brown eyes.
"Oh, well ya I guess. I just…well you see, my friends and I, we sort of follow this thing. We always talk about how Princess Ariel must have gone to the human world, even if our King denies it. We think its true. And she must have been happy there, right? Or she wouldn't have stayed. And I mean, she killed Ursula! Killed! Can you believe it? There was a human swimming around too, we saw it, but King Triton always says that he just messed things up, and Ursula would have never have gotten such temporary power if he didn't show up. But anyway, after that when Princess Ariel became the Lost Princess, well our King said that she was somewhere, probably injured. My friends and I liked to think that she went to be with that human, because he had to be there for a reason right?" I saw his eyes glitter like a candle underwater, happiness and hope for someone he never met, like he spent his whole life searching for this bond and now he had finally found it.
Andrina stared agape at his summary of Ariel's and my adventures, "How did you guess so…" she started before she realized finishing the question would give away everything.
"Accurately?" Pisces finished for her, "Well, we talked to a little yellow fish who is also in our club. He would come join us every so often when the pressure of land got to be too much. He's Princess Ariel's best friend! Of course, he didn't tell us everything, actually really nothing. Just that she was extremely happy right now. We guessed the rest."
"Flounder, one day I will kill you," Andrina swore under her breath.
"But I want to help! I can get you in! Look, if you hide in my seaweed cart, I normally take it to the storage room, on the opposite side of the hall!" he flickered with life, probably would be jumping if he had legs.
Ariel
All of us were up now, 5 of us were impatiently swimming from one wall to the other. I was stuck in bed, hitting the covers with my hands in a melodic beat. Andrina was still nowhere to be seen, yet no one was truly concerned. Not even I was really concerned. Andrina would be Andrina. Alease was sticking like glue to Aquata's side, and Aquata kept pushing her away, saying "I'm still angry at you." Attina was by the windows and Adella was following the perimeter of the room. Adella swam over to the door quickly, a routine she had picked up out of nerves. She pushed and shoved, mumbled "still locked" and did the same to the windows before going back into her perimeter swim. Daddy made sure those were locked when I was asleep, I think.
"There's gotta be something," Attina started rubbing her temples. I heard a small "stop following me" come from Aquata and Alease sat on the bed across from mine. Alana was still at the mirror, closely examining her skin, mumbling "hopeless, hopeless."
I went back to staring at the ceiling, the only thing that made a lasting impression was "hopeless, hopeless." So what if she was just talking about her skin? It applied to this situation too.
There was a loud thump from the other side of the door, an unfamiliar boy said really loud "sorry!" The door swung open.
In swam Andrina, with her blond hair still not pinned up and her purple tail flicking more sharply than normal, a dead give-a-way to how annoyed she really was. Following her was a tall red-head boy that I have seen maybe once in the past, when I was sneaking out the kitchen doors. When the boy saw Flounder still asleep at the end of my bed he gasped and said "is he alright?"
After him came Eric.
"Eric!" I yelled, which was rebutted with even louder shushes from my sisters. Alease sat quietly and the boy fretted over my friend.
"Ariel! I'm so happy!" Eric kicked over to me, an infinite air bubble around his head, and gave me a bone crushing hug.
"Andrina, what the Underworld?!" Alana spat out louder than anyone's shushes.
"He's got a plan and a steady supply of air. When is there a better time to do this?" my middle sister put her hands on her hips.
"When Ariel isn't recovering, when Eric isn't recovering, when he's not exhausted, when Daddy is more sane or maybe when we have a plan all of us can follow!" Alana ticked off each reason on each perfect finger.
"I said he's got a plan! Show them, Eric," Andrina snapped her fingers and on command Eric pulled out a mirror from under his shirt.
"Oh! I know that mirror! I found that in a shipwreck a long time ago!" I exclaimed with joy. I didn't check my whole collection after the incident, but it was nice to know that some of it survived.
"Ya, Alana took me to your collection and I found a group of mirrors intact. I can use it as a shield for magic and distract Triton while Andrina and Pisces help Ariel to shore!" Eric seemed so pleased with himself. I wan't just skeptical about the plan, but also about how they found my collection! I hid it so well too! I looked over at Alana, who rolled her eyes at me and just said "Ariel, you may the bravest but you are defiantly the worst at keeping secrets."
"So, Pisces is your name?" Attina drifted over to the boy, her orange going well with his yellow.
"Y-ye-yes ma'am," Pisces was visibly nervous, twitching around and messing with his hair, "they hid in my cart of seaweed packages while I pretended to be lost in the palace. Then we came here," he took a deep gulp of water, "It was really easy cause all the guards were outside put on human watch" he gave a really sheepish grin at Attina.
"Hmm," Attina continued to ponder, now ignoring the boy. I saw his shoulder's sink a tad bit.
"How did you get the key to the door?" I asked. Andrina shook her head a tad bit and Eric laughed before pulling me against his chest.
"We have Arista to thank for that," he said with a smile, "she was still locked in" he yawned widely, "the throne room and Pisces went in there, actually he went through every door…Anyway Arista said that she had a key," Eric's eyes drifted toward Andrina, who huffed and continued the story. Eric shut his eyes and started breathing slowly.
"Apparently a guard came and gave her some food, and in that food was a key. She said that she tried it and it turned out to be the wrong one, obviously this was some inexperienced guard who was just trying, but not succeeding, to do the right thing. Well we took it just in case, and turned out it was the key to our bedroom," Andrina pushed Alana away from the mirror and went to pinning up her hair with spare purple clips. Alana said "Hey!" and went to trying to push Andrina away.
Attina's mind was now churning with plans, "Alana and Adella will head toward the front gate, carry Flounder with you. Look sneaky, like you are trying to get to where we hid Eric. Andrina and I will take Eric, trying to get Eric to shore without catching attention. Ariel, you hide in the seaweed cart with Aquata, who can help hide you at the last minute if necessary-"
"I'm not sure if you know how this works, Attina, but I can only hide myself," Aquata raised her hand and spoke with a hint of impatience.
"Noted, I'm sure you'll find a way to help anyway," Attina continued without missing a beat, "Alease… you are coming with us. I don't trust you, but at the same time I need you to help us get Eric out of here. Daddy trusts you, I'm hopping if caught you can persuade him if something goes wrong. But know, we will be watching you, closely. This is your second chance, don't screw it up," Attina pointed her finger and Alease gave a small timid nod, "Pisces, keep up the lost act, get Ariel out of the palace. We will meet you at the coral reef complex closest to shore."
"O-of course ma'am! Yes ma'am! Right away!" he snapped into a salute and swam right over to his cart, ready to make off before Aquata gave a little cough and he remembered what he was missing.
Attina
Alana and Adelle safely made it to the gateway, I made sure of it. Pisces, bless his heart, was pushing his cart as hard as he could. Thankfully it only had Ariel in it, Aquata being able to sneak better, though she loudly complained how Daddy figured out her techniques and there was no point. At least they were moving forward, so long as Ariel stayed hidden, Aquata could act as a guide for the lost delivery boy if caught. If she thinks of that of course. Maybe I should have told her that idea before they left…
"Attina, let's go," Andrina commanded. I didn't like the tone very much, but I let it slide. Andrina took Eric under his shoulder and drifted behind me. We would be sticking to the back halls and secrets passages, if fighting was avoidable then we would avoid it. And it wasn't for Eric's sake or even Ariel's that I was taking great care with this. It was for Daddy's. In Daddy's state of mind, or in any state of mind he has ever been really, he would kill Eric. Ariel already hated him, but I saw it in her, there was a spot willing to forgive, just if everything went right. Killing Eric would erase that spot for sure, and if Daddy were to loose Ariel's love he would become nothing more than an empty hermit crab shell.
"To the right, up here," I called back to Andrina before turning into a wall. It was not a real wall, just a cleverly designed curtain that was heavy enough to withstand the currents but light enough to be pushed by merpeople. Most guards didn't know of it, only those in Daddy's inner circle. It was originally built when the octopi witches threatened the merpeople, and no one ever bothered to take it down. The tunnel went throughout the walls of the palace, coming out near the front gates. That would be the trickiest part of this journey, we just had to hope Alana and Adella were able to look suspicious enough.
Eric
I fell asleep on Andrina's back, who was surprisingly good enough to carry me. She shook me awake with a sharp jolt and said, "hey lazy, we're here."
Attina stuck her head out of a window that had no rightful place being there, and tsked very audibly. We all held our breaths for a moment before continuing.
"Still about 50 or 60 guards out there, we can't risk it," Attina said with a shake of her head.
"Come on, you must have planned for this, I mean, wasn't it a little given that not all the guards would follow those two?" Andrina placed me on the floor and swam up, arms crossed.
"Well…I was just sorta…hoping that most would follow…" Attina blushed, her ears lit up like flame.
"Hoped? You hoped? What, did you also throw a seashell down until it landed right side up for good luck? Did you wish on the rising moon? Are you carrying a lucky nurse shark fin?" Andrina scorned more and more, and normally I would be one to step in, but I was pretty mad about this too.
"Look I'm sorry! I don't do the sneaky plans, that's Arista's forte! But we have friends out there right? Someone gave Arista that key, albeit it was the wrong one, but still they tried! If we go out there, it is possible not all will attack," Attina crossed her arms, making it official that this was over and she won. Of course, Andrina and I disagreed with that.
"Our so called 'friends' could still attack if they want to survive!" Andrina pointed out, "And even if they don't we still can't take half those guys by ourselves. And Eric needs to save up his strength! Think about the human," Andrina sunk down to my shoulder and made big puppy eyes at her sister.
"Well do you have a better suggestion?" Attina was putting out her bottom lip, like she was really hurt.
"You're suppose to be the smart one!"
"I was thinking more on getting Ariel out than us! And that one worked, at least, so I can still be the smart one!" Attina said with hurt pride.
"Eh…I have some news for you," a familiar voice said, though I didn't know from where. I looked behind me in the dark tunnel and saw a mermaid with short black hair and a gray-pink tail and nude colored seashells. They called her something with an A in the room…
"Alease, what do you want? Where have you been for that matter, you should have been with us," Attina passed all her aggression from Andrina to this Alease girl.
And then the resemblance hit me, "the weasel! When I saw you, you were a pink weasel!" I clapped my hands once in celebration. Bigger question at hand now, why a weasel, out of everything.
"What's that?" one of the girls asked "silly human nonsense, I think," a different one replied. I was too distracted to tell which.
"Anyway, I kept following Ariel, I was so worried. I blended in, I just wanted to make sure she made it out safely," Alease played with her fingers rather than looking at us, "And, well I know you won't believe me without Pisces and Aquata's confirmation, but Pisces was escorted to the King, because the guards were so fed up with his sense of direction, they wanted to scare him. Well, I worry, so I came right up here. I thought you might know what to do."
"Heh, you probably turned her in!" Andrina accused. I didn't hear a defense, an account of the truth, or even harsher accusations. I crawled on the floor as the three fought. A minute ago I was asleep, but hearing this was just as good as a hurricane to the face. I would get there, I would not stop till I found Triton. And I fell back into the original plan. I sneaked away, Attina caught me at where we entered the passage though, so I shouted. I screamed and yelled and fought, banging my fists on anything and kicking as hard as a human could hope to.
"TRITON! TRITON COME AND GET ME! COME AND GET ME HERE! BY THE SECRET PASSAGE!" I shouted over and over, Attina hushing me and Alease grabbing my arms, trying to move me back to hiding. Andrina stood there with her face in her hand, muttering something about how I was suppose to do this her way.
In the end it wasn't Triton who came, but a guard, who called more guards, who each pointed their sharp sword fish noses at each merperson. Attina and Andrina were promptly escorted to their rooms, Alease to some place that I assumed to be outside, and me to the king.
In the throne room he was sitting, with Pisces and his seaweed cart. That meant Ariel. And Aquata? Well, I did not see her, but that really wasn't saying much.
"Triton, where have you hid Ariel?!" I screamed up at him right as the guards set me down. I was improvising, I just wanted to draw attention away from that cart. Pisces was looking at me from the corner of his eyes, maybe trying to catch on. I hoped he was smart enough too.
"Hid her? Where have you been looking?" Triton inquired, genuinely interested.
"The dungeons, naturally," I replied quickly.
"Ha. Hahahaha," Triton broke off into a laughing storm, his loud chuckles echoing off the throne room walls, "Do you know what this means boy?" he said once the laughs had subsided to giggles, "It means Attina and Alana really weren't helping you! Oh, they have found the good side, I think. They have finally seen sense!" Triton's voice boomed with pride at least two of his daughters. I'm glad this rouse got them out of the line of fire at least.
"Where is she Triton, where is she?" I kept calling out. I had to make him forget the carriage, I had to make him forget Pisces.
"Like I would ever tell you, you greedy little human!" Triton got off his throne and swam toward me, "You only want her as a prize, a trophy of sorts. You want to take her from everything."
I gritted my teeth and refused to respond. I didn't necessarily want him angry, seeing as his triton was at hand, but at the same time I figured him being too calm and collected would lead to reason, and reason could be trouble for all of us. He kept swimming up to me, until he was towering over me, breathing down on my head. Indents were appearing in my bubble where the force of his breath hit down. And then he abruptly turned and swam toward the skinny delivery boy.
"And what are you doing in my palace? Said you were lost, but this far in these walls with a delivery of seaweed? How bad is your sense of direction?"
Pisces shook, I could even see his shivers from here. Triton started to circle around him, as if trying to see into his soul. Pisces stuttered and mumbled a few things that I could not make out.
"Oh is that so? Well, you surely wouldn't object to me inspecting your delivery, would you?" Triton bent down so he was eye level with the cart full of seaweed. Pisces looked at me with his warm brown eyes, stricken with a cold streak of panic. I shook my head slightly, trying to get him to do something, anything, to distract Triton.
"Hm, no objections?" Triton peered up at Pisces.
"N-n-n-no Your Majesty, n-n-n-nothing in there but the b-best seaweed in Atlantica," Pisces stopped looking in Triton's eyes, he was barley speaking loud enough for me to hear. Triton may be insane, but he was certainly no idiot.
"I don't like hurting my subjects and I can tell that whatever you did you were pushed into. I will ask you once; leave before I look into this cart," Triton was whispering a promise to Pisces. The boy looked at me and swam over, shaking so violently I was actually afraid for him.
"I'm sorry. I'm no hero," Pisces said to me before leaving so quickly I could have sworn the water doused him out like it would to a flame.
Aquata
Daddy was shuffling around through the seaweed. I had managed to curl into the far corner of the cart, but it was not as if this cart was big. I would be found in a second.
"Haha, Ariel! What?" There was Daddy, he found me. Unfortunately the wrong daughter, but still I was one of them, at least.
I swam up and out of the cart, and Daddy just stared, before stuttering out, "A-Aquata? I don't understand, you should still be sleeping, why are you in this cart? I thought it would have been Ariel."
"Yes Daddy, well if you have to know I just didn't like it in our room, so I escaped," I said curtly. But Daddy wasn't listening anymore, he was talking to a guard by the door- "go to the princesses' room, make sure all are accounted for."
I had to keep Daddy's mind off of everyone else for a while. Ariel was with Alease, who came and took her into hiding right before the guards took us. Why Eric was pulled into this, well I didn't know what Alease was planning, but I did know that she was the true strategist in this palace, and I trusted her. Or I almost did, anyway.
I would ask for Arista's help in distractions, but she had been relocated, though her chains were still here she was not.
"Where's Arista?" I asked.
"Sleeping in the hospital rooms. I thought she could use some good peace," Daddy said, but I knew he didn't care that much about Arista's health. Yes, he cared a great deal, but another benefit of the hospital rooms were they were virtually impossible to escape, just in case some serious plague was to come, we could lock all those infected in the hospital rooms.
I was busy thinking up some witty comeback, but before I could say a thing the guard came back through the doors, a look of worry clearly on his fishy face.
"Well?" Triton asked. The guard swam up and spoke in Triton's ear so the rest of us could not hear. I saw Daddy's face sink lower and lower with dismay, "Only those two?" he mumbled. His face turned red with anger, his triton started boiling the water around it.
"Aquata!" he turned on me, "Where is everyone?! Where is Ariel?" once again I was about to come up with a really witty answer, but he was no longer focused on me. It really made me feel loved.
"Human! What have you done with my daughter?"
"I've told you, I've been trying to find her!" Eric responded. I could almost see him trying to muster a straight enough face to keep this lie going.
"You bluff!" Daddy yelled, brandishing his triton.
"No! No one would help me, I don't know this palace!" Eric was starting to back up, flailing against the water. It didn't help clear his name.
I knew it was coming, I saw Daddy raise his triton, I saw it glow, and I heard him shout "lies!" but I didn't move. All the fighting that I have been involved in recently, all the danger that had sucked me in, really desensitized my fear.
Eric
I was not going to let this last long, I would not give him the shot he wanted. I saw it all in slow motion, I felt slowed myself, though that may have had something to do with being underwater. In any case I reached under my shirt and pulled out the mirror. Triton shot right at my heart. The spell hit my mirror, the force pushed me back hard against the wall.
I closed my eyes, gasped for air, feeling the water on my body made me forget all about the air bubble. I coughed and gagged, expecting buckets of water to come out, but it was just clean air. It took a second to get my bearings again, I must have hit my head harder than I thought, it was like I was in that whirlpool all over again. Just spinning, blinding water, bubbles everywhere, and spinning and spinning.
"Eric! Snap out of it!" Aquata slapped me on the face. Honestly, if nothing it made me more groggy, but she did get my attention.
"W-what? Just a second, let me catch my breath," I wheezed back.
"No time, we got to get you out of here. Drop that stupid mirror and let's go!" she started shaking my shoulders. I just realized I was still gripping the mirror. I dropped it and looked around, Aquata's urgency not connecting with me.
Until I saw it. Lying in the middle of the throne room, whatever skin was still there burnt black, but for the most part a mangled belly, was King Triton.
Ariel
I had to drag myself from my hiding hole. Thankfully Alease didn't take me far. She said it was a combination of tactic and a combination of my comfort. I was still hurt by her betrayal, and yet I still found a mother in her. She was carried away by the guards, I heard her trying to negotiate with them down the hall, but I knew she would be fine, probably just escorted outside. So I didn't worry myself with her, rather I just went to the throne room where I heard that blast come from.
I pulled myself in, wanting to be sneaky but not finding a need to try. Bubbles were everywhere, currents were flowing into each other and up and down and twisting through other currents, creating havoc. And then right by the door was Eric, and Aquata hoisting him up. His eyes were focused, but not on me, and I could tell there was something else in this room, but I could not make sense of anything in the center of the throne room.
"Eric! Are you alright? What's going on?" I called. He jumped, surprised, but not quite as drastic as Aquata.
"I thought Alease hid you," she grumbled with dissatisfaction.
"She did, but she got caught by the guards, so I crawled here. Are you alright? What's going on?" I asked more firmly this time.
"Ariel, you look like you are in pain. We should take you somewhere to rest," was his first reaction. And it was true, I was in an extreme amount of pain. I wanted Eric to take me in his arms, take me to shore where I could sleep on the beach for days on end, with no interruption. But the way he said it, how groggily and distant he was, how distracted his was acting, I could not accept kindness. He was trying to hide something.
"Eric, what's going on?" I asked again. The bubbles were starting to burst and the currents were calming. Slowly that lump in the middle of the room made more sense. Until it was clear, "Daddy? Daddy! DADDY!" I was distressed, I was panicking. Sure he tried to kill Eric, sure he injured me and was an angry man who talked nonsense just to keep up his reality. But he was my father.
And the man I feared and loved, the man who hurt and protected, was nothing more than a mangled mess of burnt blackness. The smell was horrible, and I knew it was Daddy causing it. I turned on Eric.
"What happened?!" I didn't have tears, I didn't even feel like I would have cried if I were above land. I was just curious and angry. More like enraged. Yet I didn't know what happened. How could have Eric killed my father?
But, he did kill Urusla. And Daddy's theories were coming back, how if Ursula were human Eric wouldn't have been able to do it. Was Daddy right? No, I know he wasn't. And yet there he lay, dead by the hands of someone, and my curiosity struck: what if?
"Eric, we are leaving," Aquata said hurriedly. I knew why she panicked, with so much commotion it won't be long till guards came.
"Wait Eric!" I grabbed hold his hand. He bent over so it would be easier for me to look into his eyes,"was it you?"
His eyes dropped, his head followed, and I hardly heard the "yes." I held my breath, waiting to ask my next question. Honestly, I was afraid, horrified even, of Daddy's belief that Eric could only kill merpeople,
"Eric, if Daddy were human, would you have been able to kill him?" I asked timidly. I don't know what compelled me, it was just Daddy's words. I knew he was lying, I knew he had no idea what he was talking about, but still, there he was, dead, and I just had to know that he was wrong. I had to hear it from Eric that I was right.
But Eric's head hung lower and he didn't respond. Aquata clicked her tongue impatiently and hoisted him up again, getting ready to take off and leaving me without an answer, though I could tell what it was, I just really needed hear it. "Eric!" I hollered up at him.
Eric stopped Aquata and looked at my face, took a deep breath of his fresh air, and said "A long time ago I promised I would never lie to you again, Ariel. I love you, so that is why I'm telling you the truth, because it would be so much easier to lie. If Triton were human, I still would have killed him, but I admit, it would have been harder for me." He closed his eyes, "I'm sorry."
Aquata looked at me, then at Daddy, and back to me, before saying "Wait here, I'll come back and take you up once I get him out."
It was a dream come true, yet I shook my head, "I...I think it's better that I stay down here, for now," Eric nodded with understanding. Aquata didn't respond, she just took Eric and went.
Author's note: Sorry it took so long to update, but exciting news! One more chapter until we finish our story! And this chapter is a little long, technically it should be 2 chapters, but just because it took so long to actually upload I just spent time on this one.