Part of Your World
Chapter 1
Denmark, Summer 1837
The dense fog made visibility next to impossible as a young woman peered off the port side of the ship. The only thing available to her eye was the steel-blue waters below, the waves pounding at the sides of the ship. Gripping the gunwale with her hands, she excitingly stretched her neck for any peek at the ocean's surface. She'd be lucky if a man o' war floated by.
Stepping towards her with thick boots was the strongest swordsman in the land: a man of seemingly extreme stiffness and solemn, yet as kind and caring as one could be.
"Princess Nausicaa, do be careful. One good hit from a wave and you'll be headfirst in rough seawater." the man calmly stated, his cape fluttering behind him.
"Relax Lord Yupa! I'm just trying to find sea creatures." replied Nausicaa, turning to him with beaming eyes.
"I'm afraid visibility is next to impossible at the moment." explained Yupa, "we're barely getting by with our high beams. If you want to see fish, try chatting up with the fishermen."
Pouting, Nausicaa turned back towards the water. "We have plenty of crops at home. Why do we need to take from the sea?"
"Seafood is plentiful and healthy for you, Nausicaa. And besides, these waters are within our lands, are they not? They are a resource to us." Yupa chuckled, crossing his arms. It was typical of the Princess to have such a strong connection to animal life, even to the point where meat was a last resort for meals.
"Hmph, what lands? This is the sea, Lord Yupa! There isn't land for kilometers!" called one of the fishermen with a husky voice. Clambering up to the swordsman, the fisherman tapped his finger on his shoulder. "These waters belong to the merfolk!"
Yupa brushed the fisher's hand away, giving a light-hearted glare, "come now! You don't really mean that."
"Oh, I do!" The fisherman barked in reply.
"Merfolk? You mean creatures half human, half fish? I thought they were just an old myth based on sea cows?" Nausicaa chimed in, turning back towards her companions.
"They are just a myth. You hit the nail on the head with that, Nausicaa." Yupa responded.
"No! They're as real as rain! I've seen plenty of them! They're just crafty little devils, hiding under the waves as soon as your vision is clear enough to make them out!" The fisherman continued, gesturing wildly, "but they are real!"
"Let me get this straight: you've seen them, but they move too quick to really observe? How do you know they weren't something else? Dolphins perhaps?" Yupa humored, rolling his eyes.
"Let me finish! Hard to see, yes… but you can hear them crystal clear. Why, they sing like angels." The fisherman sighed, clasping his arms together.
"Wow… what a treat it would be to see one." Nausicaa said longingly, her eyes shining.
"Don't get your hopes up, Princess. There are more noble pursuits than chasing after mythical creatures." Yupa hushed, "now, no more of this nonsense. We should be heading back to shore within the half hour."
With that, he made his leave below the deck, while the fisherman continued to his post. Taking one last hopeful look out towards the foggy horizon, Nausicaa was beaming. The thought of seeing such a rare creature, so rare that it may not even exist, only made her more ecstatic.
As she craned to look further at the waves, the pitter-patter of tiny feet announced the arrival of her vallhund. The dog curiously sniffed at Nausicaa's pants, and batted his head softly to get her attention. She noticed the little friend at her feet, and gave a small scratch behind his ears.
"Oh Teto. Do you think we'll get to find one of these merfolk? Maybe we could even meet one? Ohh, imagine what kind of knowledge they could tell us?" Nausicaa spoke softly, sitting down to give more attention to her dog.
Teto simply yipped and rested his head on her leg.
Nausicaa smiled deeply, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Imagine. What if we got to talk to a mermaid? I bet she would be wise, and strong, and… beautiful."
…
"Oh Ariel, I'm so excited for you! Just one more day and you'll finally be allowed to venture to the surface world!" Giddy with glee, Andrina, a blond mermaid, twirled around her youngest red-haired sister. "It's amazing! It's beautiful! It's-"
Ariel, presently perched at the washroom table, combing her flowing hair with a murex comb, nervously ducked her head. Andrina, never one to ignore even the slightest facial cue or tone change, stopped dancing and went to face her sister.
"Ariel? Are you feeling okay?" she asked, her voice changed to something more pacifying.
"... yeah… I'm sorry Andrina. I do feel very happy to have finally reached this point after 16 years. It's just… what if it isn't everything I've ever dreamed of?" Ariel turned to properly face her older sister, tears began to glass her eyes, "I've grown up listening to all of your stories, all of Daddy's stories… and I've tried to picture it all in my own head. But..."
Life in the Kingdom of Atlantica would look like an absolute paradise for many people. An enchanted world of undersea delights, inhabited by creatures of all kinds. Most notable of all were the merfolk, who were all majestic in their own right, seemingly never tainted by the slightest blemishes. They prided themselves in their appearances as well as their abilities, for they were wealthy in many talents: song, dance, sculpture, fashion. They made themselves as perfect as perfect could be, even to the point where others who couldn't match up were looked down upon.
However, for Ariel, the youngest of seven daughters - the princesses of Atlantica, incidentally - life always seemed next to miserable. Gifted with song, and seemingly nothing else, she was always outshined by her elder sisters. Her father, King Triton, never placed any one of his daughters on a pedestal, but Ariel was always felt that he was never proud of her, let alone fond. Whenever he did notice her, it was to scold and berate her for disobeying him or getting into danger. Palace life was always boring, so Ariel made her own adventures. She would swim into the deepest trenches, scale undersea volcanoes, and get into scraps with larger marine animals like sharks. Every time she barely made it out alive, often thanks to Triton's help.
"But… what if I end up being disappointed yet again?" Ariel continued, her lip twitching, "I feel so unhappy here, what makes me think getting to see the surface will be any different? I'll probably just end up needing to be saved from something, and Daddy will continue to think of me as an embarrassment."
"Ariel, no." Andrina hugged her sister tight, who was sobbing. "Listen to me." Andrina pulled Ariel away to look at her directly, "Daddy loves you. He's hard on you because he cares about your well-being. You're the baby of the family, after all."
Ariel sniffed, allowing Andrina to wipe away a tear. "Exactly. I'm just a baby."
"Ariel, you're a beautiful young woman. You forget why this ceremony is so important: it's a coming-of-age event! Daddy wouldn't go through with this if he didn't feel that you were ready to become an adult. He trusts you, Ariel, and he wants you to be happy. Please understand." Andrina smiled, squeezing Ariel's shoulders.
Looking at her sister, Ariel took a deep breath. "Yeah… yeah, you're right."
"We'll all be with you, Ariel. I promise. Tomorrow, when you return from your first free-rise, we'll be your first audience! And then you'll have your very own stories. You won't have to image the surface anymore. Now, doesn't that sound exciting?" Andrina pressed, playfully nudging her sister. With that, Ariel finally broke out in small giggles.
"It does, it really does." Ariel smiled.
"Well then, I'll let you continue here. Have a good night, sis. Love you!" Andrina ruffled Ariel's hair and swam out of the washroom. "Love you too." Ariel replied.
Ariel, letting her smile fall ever so slightly, turned to look at herself in the mirror. She examined her features for a while, eventually resting her elbows on the table and letting her chin sit upon her hands. Deep down, she was hoping that her trip to the surface would be more than a chance to prove herself to her father.
"If the surface turns out to be more than I dreamed," Ariel spoke to herself quietly, "the first chance I get, I'm going to find a new home. Somewhere away from judging eyes and false friends. My sisters will understand, I'm just surprised they haven't left this awful place themselves." Perhaps her Father's pull was strong on them? Ariel didn't really care. She never felt close to her father.
With one last look, Ariel shut off the light and swam off to her shell-bed. There she dreamed about the surface, filling her imagination with all sorts of wonderful things. Walking fish and merfolk who could fly. Krill as big as mountains and whales as small as bubbles. Whatever happened after tonight, the sights in her dreams could very well change forever.
…
Trumpets blared as crowds of merfolk gathered to see the royal procession ride in their chariots towards the edge of their kingdom. There the undersea mountains formed natural cliffs that were the perfect launching point towards the surface world. It was here that each of Ariel's sisters made their first voyages above the waves, and this was a particularly important day as Ariel would be the last of Triton's children to make the jump. King Triton was widowed, and he looked at his youngest child with a shine in his eyes.
"Happy birthday my little Ariel." Triton pressed his hand softly on Ariel's left shoulder. "I am the happiest father in the seven seas today. You're all grown up and ready to join your sisters in the honor of experiencing the surface world. It will be like nothing you have ever experienced before."
Ariel did her best to look happy and active, so she returned Triton's praise with a weak smile. "Thank you Daddy. I'm… looking forward to the opportunity."
Triton gave a proud smile at his daughter, and then turned towards the growing crowd below.
"Citizens of Atlantica, today my youngest daughter, Ariel, will take a rite of passage and set her eyes on the human world for the very first time!" Triton announced in his deep, booming voice. The crowd erupted in cheers as Ariel was guided towards the cliff by Triton's attaché Sebastian. The tiny crab was beaming with glee.
"Ahh, Ariel. What an honor dis is ta see you through dis experience!" Sebastian cooed, "You mus' be happy as a clam!"
Ariel grinned at Sebastian. "I sure am! Thank you for being here for me."
"Of course!" Sebastian replied, clasping his claws together. Ariel always appreciated the little crab; he was one of the few solaces in her life. If she ever left she would be saddened she couldn't take him along.
Taking care to guide her correctly, Sebastian stood by as Ariel sat on the cliff in anticipation for her signal to leave. She turned to gaze at her sisters, who were all waving and squealing with glee. Andrina in particular was overjoyed, and shot Ariel a heart by cupping her hands.
"On my signal, Ariel will be free to head to the surface! This is a solo-journey, so she is to have no supervision, as is the tradition. Hopefully she will be safe and stay out of trouble." Triton articulated that last part under his breath with a mix of fear and candidness.
With a wave of his trident, the instrument glowed with a passionate golden shine, and light-rays shot out the top like fireworks. Seeing the cue, Ariel took a big breath and bolted from the cliff. She swam higher and higher, encouraged by the cheers of the crowd, her sisters, and Sebastian. She didn't bother looking back, the only thing on her mind was the hope of freedom. Somewhere beyond the waters was a chance for something new that would save her from her hardships, she just knew it.
In a matter of minutes, the rays of the sun were visible through the tops of the sea above her. Ariel could feel their warm glow, as if they were urging her closer. Adrenaline pumping through her body, Ariel shut her eyes and bared her teeth, bracing for the impact of this 'air' that she had been told about many times. Her sisters mentioned that they could breathe it well, but it was much lighter than water and felt strange on their skins.
With one final flap of her tail, Ariel breached the surface.
She managed to open one eye before diving headfirst back into the ocean. All she saw was bright blue, lighter than the waters she was used to. But it went by in a flash. Recovering from her crash landing, she finally opened her eyes and gently floated to the surface, exposing herself up to her shoulders.
Her first thought popped out almost immediately. This is different. Ariel looked all around her, taking in that bright blue, which she realized was the "sky". In the sky was a much brighter circle of light, as vivid as Triton's trident. It hurt her eyes, so she shifted her focus. That must have been the "sun", which she knew was a source of life and energy for nearly all of the ocean, even if she never saw it before. The air immediately began to dry her skin and hair, and she felt the warmth of the sun give way to a much cooler feeling that pressed against her like a current. That was "wind".
The only sound Ariel could make out was the splashing of the waves and the howl of the wind all around her. This was a particularly breezy day, and the mermaid looked around her to see white and gray patches in the sky, the "clouds" of her sister's stories.
Already everything was a breath of fresh air, or water in Ariel's case. She gave a yawning breath as she laid back against the surface, letting her tail flap around in the water. Ariel outstretched her hands and smiled a genuine happy smile. "This is better than I could ever have imagined. I've never felt so… calm before." she finally spoke.
She rested like this for several minutes, before a new sound stung in her ears. A heavy, rumbling noise that approached ever so closely. Collecting herself, Ariel turned around to see a very large object sailing a good distance away. So far and yet so near. She decided to investigate this strange thing, and carefully swam towards it.
Stopping just close enough, Ariel popped her head out of the water as her ears were treated to a much more unique chorus of sound. She could make out people talking and laughing and cheering. She heard aberrant footsteps and clapping hands. Most of all, there was the all-to-familiar call of music. It was a melodious, shanty tune that she couldn't help but hum along to. This was all out of sight, hidden behind the hull of the "ship", the identification of which she had quickly realized.
Taking a good look around, Ariel decided to get even closer. She eyed the wooden architecture of the ship and began to climb via the grooves in the hull. Seeing an opening, she gently peeked her head through it and was treated to a magnificent sight.
All that foot-tapping, clapping, and cheering was the result of a large group of humans who appeared to be dancing to the music. This was the most bizarre dancing Ariel had ever seen, as the humans were performing acts that would stump even the most skilled merfolk performers. Of course, it helped that humans had legs and feet, which a mermaid like Ariel didn't have.
There appeared to be some sort of ceremony going on, perhaps a special occasion like Ariel herself was participating in, but she had no way of confirming that just yet.
And then, emerging from below deck, Ariel saw what she believed was the most beautiful person in the world.
To be continued...