Nani stares devastated at the ocean, unsure of what to say. The woman she fell in love with so desperately confessed earlier in the day of her mermaid heritage, and now she found out she had to leave.
The ring box in her pocket ached to be opened. Now, she wasn't sure if she should.
"I...wanna stay," Ariel mumbled under her breath, which she had only recently earned, "but my father... he's not going to make it, and he wants me to be the new queen."
"Why can't one of your sisters do it?" Nani felt sick. She felt terrible and guilty for suggesting the idea, knowing of how much it meant to Ariel, but the other didn't seem to notice the distaste in her voice.
The redhead leaned on her shoulder and sighed. "I wish I could, but... my father says the sea chose me..." she looked over at Nani, her eyes filled with tears. "I...I'll try to come and visit, though. I promise! I won't leave forever."
Nani stared as the other stood up. Her feet still wobbled slightly like they did when she first ventured onto the sand and if the scene wasn't so underlined with sadness she would have laughed.
The ring box in her pocket squeezed at her again and she found herself standing as well, watching as the other started to walk into the ocean. "Wait!" Nani hollered after the other, cursing her own voice for sounding so desperate. "I..have something for you."
Ariel turned to face her, biting her lip. She didn't really want anything from Nani—it would serve as a constant reminder of the love she lost—but she wasn't willing to turn her down, either.
When she saw that Nani was kneeling she began to cry. She couldn't tell if it was from happiness or sadness, but she found herself falling to her knees and kissing Nani anyways.
Finally, they separated at the feeling of waves tickling their cheeks. "What are we going to do?" Ariel blurred out, unwilling to get rid of her lover.
"Well, there's ocean magic. Surely someone can turn me, Lilo, and our little family into what you are. So we can travel between sea and land, all of us."
Ariel nodded. "I...I will ask my sisters for help. Maybe, using all of our magic put together...maybe we can do it."
Nani nodded and bid the mermaid goodbye. When she returned three months later, she held her father's trident as if it were a feather and did as she promised, turning Nani and her family into humans on land but mermaids in sea.
The two had their wedding in the sea and honeymooned on land, combining their worlds and making one big, happy family.