CHAPTER 9: A Dream Come True
Ever so carefully the magic placed her back onto the iced floor, and in a gasp, Melody pulled her dress skirts up to reveal her sparkling scales.
She moved her fins as easily as flexing her feet, sitting with a tail felt as casual as bending your knees. Lifting it into the air as natural as lifting your legs while you sat would be.
"I can't believe it… I don't believe it…I'm a mermaid?"
"Almost child! A mermaid can't swim in a dress. Lucky for you, I have just the thing!"
Morgana glided gracefully across the ice toward yet another shelf, plucking her way through a multitude of different clothes. "Ah hah! This is perfect darling, a little last season but it will do."
The witch produced what Melody thought was a giant scallop shell. Upon closer inspection, she saw woven seaweed straps attached, and the shells died a seafoam green. She had seen it before, the mermaids in her lockets wore brightly colored shell tops just like it.
Throwing the corset and flowing dress aside felt liberating. The shells were surprisingly comfortable, and despite sitting in a glacier she barely felt a chill. She even ripped off her pink silk bow, instead choosing to tie her hair into a loose ponytail with a green ribbon. Years of swimming taught her how to keep her thick hair from tangling in the water.
"Now you can say it loud! Say it proud!"
With a cackle, Morgana watched as the princess dove headfirst into the ocean.
She may have spent years in the water, but nothing could compare to how smoothly she could cut through the water. How she could swim as fast as fish, how the ice water felt like a slight chill. Best of all she could breathe in the ocean like she could a spring breeze, feel it fill up her chest like a deep sigh.
In her utter glee Melody sprang from the sea in the biggest dive she could, just as if she was a playful dolphin.
"I'm a mermaid!" She sang as she swam in circles throughout the ice cavern. Under the water, it appeared so different from above. The small lair proved to be quite massive under the waterline, carved out from a massive undersea glacier.
The main cavern had dozens of caves and tunnels connected to it, creating a sprawling maze that led to countless depths. There was also a lot more of Morgana's stuff as well it was quite cluttered. Walls stocked top to bottom with shelves of books, and all sorts of magical ingredients. There were also many bits of clothes, jewelry, and other scatters you'd expect of a busy woman.
The sea witch slipped silently into the water, and the instant Melody saw her she rushed in for a hug.
"Oh thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea what this means for me."
"Oh of course darling, it's what we sirens are for! We practice magic and grant wishes for all the beings in the sea. At least… it was."
"What? What do you mean it was?"
"Oh don't worry, my precious you don't know what it means to me that I was able to help you. I haven't been able to grant anyone wishes in so long." Morgana sniffled and wiped away a few tears, "It really felt like the old days didn't it undertow?"
Undertow, quite a funny name for such a little fish, comfortingly pat Morgana's shoulder. "It had been quite a while…"
Melody could hear the bittersweet notes in Morgana's voice, "Why has it been so long? Does no one want wishes granted?"
"Well you see darling, magic is banned throughout the entire ocean. My people, the sirens have always had a talent for magic." The woman let out a long sigh before gliding towards her shelves of books.
"Anyone from the ocean, merfolk, and animals… all citizens of Atlantica are too scared to come see me for spells. I could only help you because…"
Melody finished where the woman trailed off, "Because I'm not a citizen of Atlantica. So I wouldn't be scared of you, but…why would magic be banned? Especially if you could do wonderful things like this?"
"You flatter me child, but you must never say such a thing. The king is a deranged maniac. He stole our beloved trident years ago, made all of us sirens outcasts, and then he made it illegal for anyone to practice magic…anyone but himself of course." There was a hint of anger as she spoke, but her voice lightened as she turned to Melody.
She placed each of her hands on Melody's shoulders, "That is exactly why you can never speak a word about me or your spell."
Melody felt profound empathy for Morgana's plight, the woman had given her an invaluable gift. How could such an enchanting place as Atlantica hate something and someone so wonderful?
"You must also never mention being human, and you can't ever speak of human things. The sea and land are not to commingle, and there will be suspicions. Now quickly, I'll get you some things for your journey. There is a great wide sea out there for you sweet child!" After giving her a final hug she whisked away to one of the many tunnels.
Undertow noticed the princess's sad face, "You know angelfish, Atlantica is a great place. You're gonna love it there! I promise! Don't worry about us kid."
"But it's not fair! There must be something I can do to help Morgana, she has given me so much." Melody hadn't meant to blurt out her feelings, but it just didn't sit right with her.
Undertow took a second before sighing, "Well there is one thing, but…"
"But what?"
"It's too dangerous, Morgana would hate me for telling you."
Melody pressed further, "What's too dangerous?"
Undertow seemed hesitant, "Well you could get her magic trident back, the one stolen years ago by the kleptomaniac king…"
"I could try and get it back. I'm going to Atlantica anyway, and I owe you both everything for making me a mermaid. Please, at least let me try."
Across the room, Morgana's voice echoed, "You'd do that… for us?"
Melody rushed to her side in a second, "I'll try my best, I wouldn't feel right if I didn't."
"I'm touched child, truly. Regardless if you do choose to help me or not, I will not let you leave her empty-handed. The journey to the city is a long one, and the city itself isn't much easier." Morgana gave Melody a bag with a long enough strap Togo over her shoulder. The bag felt like nothing, not even the slightest drag in the water.
"It's enchanted darling, nothing could be more helpful to a traveler. There is a map in there that will get you to Atlantica, and back here if you so choose."
"So Atlantica is real… I can't believe it. I thought it was an old fishtail. Something silly sailors sang about."
Morgana chuckled lightly, "Of course it's real dear! Whoever told you otherwise?"
Melody hesitated, "My mother did."
The siren's face instantly softened, "Well I'm sure she didn't mean to be so cruel and deceitful. Even if she didn't know it was real, couldn't she have let you dream?"
Morgana sighed before smiling again, "There is more than a map in your bag. There is some food, of course, a brush for your lovely long hair, a thick blanket, and a little magic."
The princess was immediately intrigued, "Magic?"
"Nothing too advanced. There is a berry in a bottle, eat it to become invisible for an hour. There is also some dust, if you manage to sprinkle it on someone they will instantly fall asleep. There should be enough for a few uses. I wish I could offer more…"
Melody gave the woman another hug, before starting to depart for the open ocean. "I'll bring back your trident, you can count on me!"
As she swam away she heard Morgana call back, "Be careful dear! Enjoy those fins!"
Hi everyone, thank you for reading my AU of The Little Mermaid 2, with Melody at 19 and not 12. I originally posted this FanFiction on Deviantart, and it is updated there every 1st and 15th of the month. I will be adding chapters to this story every Monday till it's caught up to the deviant art version.
If you would like to read ahead or check out my Disney fan edits here is my deviantart link:
mermaidmelodyedits
You can also check out my Disney fan edits on Instagram:
mermaid_melody_edits/
I'd super appreciate if you guys could leave me your thoughts in the comments! Critique, comments, discussion, etc. I want to hear it all! Feel free to also message me if you have any questions or want to chat!
We are off to Atlantica, and Melody is a mermaid! So much fun now we are really into the story. This is also where a lot of my own conflicts and world building gets set up, so things start to diverge from the movie a lot more from here on out. Also I wanted Morgana to seem way less obviously evil, and making King Triton possibly not the good guy. There are also so many questions about the world of Atlantica, and the back stories of Ursula and Morgana that the movies never go into. Like why does Ursula really want the trident? Why did she want to become ruler and what were her plans with it? Also Morgana just felt like a dumbed down ursula in the sequel, so I wanted her to be a bit more tricky and have more motivation that make sense. Anyway, please let me know what your thinking in a review, and look for my next chapter in a week!