CHAPTER 10: For a Moment
Melody spent an entire day doing nothing but gliding, diving, and twirling in the water. Swimming in the sea as a human was already magical, but as a mermaid, it felt like flying. The arctic water slid over her skin like a slightly chilly breeze, and even her hair refused to tangle up.
Diving down to the seafloor, and the very depths of the ocean was a snap now. As she explored she made so many new fantastical discoveries. A gigantic purple clam twice her size, sea turtles riding a current, an intricate maze of caves and caverns made of rock and ice. She swam through a school of a thousand fish, learned to dive into the air from narwhals, and even played hide and seek with baby seals while their mother rested.
Soon exhaustion began to set in, the last few days had been incredibly trying. Both physically, emotionally, and mentally. Yet her luck seemed to only continue because right as she began to fall asleep a massive shadow appeared above her. When she looked up, she realized a gigantic blue whale was gently coasting on the waves above her. It was a magnificent sight to watch and she immediately went to get a closer look. The whale was incredibly friendly and offered to give her a ride while she rested. At first, Melody wasn't sure what she meant, but the whale simply laughed.
"Silly mermaid, you must have never been away from Atlantica before. Many enjoy sleeping on our heads as we swim, we don't go very fast and you're so light we forget you are even there."
Melody wasted no time taking the kind creature up on the offer, and in moments was reclined on the whale's back. Every so often the whale would break the surface of the water, and Melody would briefly glimpse the sun setting on the endless ocean horizon while the air tickled her skin. It didn't take long for her to fall blissfully asleep, the whale's slow rhythmic swimming rocking her like a baby.
Meanwhile, things on land had fallen apart completely. The castle was in tatters, many of the windows blown out, the gardens destroyed, and water seemed to be flooding in from everywhere. The ocean constantly beat against the outer walls, the gigantic waves often crashing over the top of them. There was also an endless storm, powerful gales blasted the rain through the now open windows throughout the whole palace.
Even worse was all the hordes of people that had shown up for the princess's birthday. Royalty and nobility from around the world were all stuck inside a palace in shambles, a tempest preventing them from fleeing. Nearly all of these very important guests were none too happy about the entire situation. The country and the entire royal family were utterly disgraced, the disaster would no doubt haunt them for many years to come. And of course, on top of it all, the princess was missing.
A pile of gold would go to anyone who could bring the princess back alive. All the reward did was make a bunch of desperate con artists attempt to bring back fake princesses, and create multiple false leads. Every inch of the castle had been searched over and over. Scores of search parties were sent out across to land, everyone from knights to farmers, to maids were being offered pay for the effort. Unfortunately for the king and queen, they were some of the only few that knew searching the land was likely a fruitless effort.
The weather was going to make it difficult for any boats to be sent out, but luckily as a couple of days passed the storm slowly lessened. Unluckily, a couple of days had to pass before the rain would let them depart by ship. The royal vessel was prepared for the first time in nearly two decades, the crew composed of the closest allies of the monarchy. There was still rain and some rough waters, but they had an ace up their sleeve to guarantee their safety. More accurately, they had a King up their sleeve, the king of the sea.
It took about an hour for the shore and castle to disappear behind the fog and horizon. It was the roughest hour at sea the crew had ever faced, yet they were confident. A spell of protection had been cast by the king of the sea the day of Ariel's wedding. A gift of good faith from Atlantica.
Only moments after confirming they were far out of sight, trumpets broke through the heavy silence.
"Now presenting his highness, King Triton of Atlantica!"
Everyone on board snapped to attention, everyone except the Queen. In a flash she was at the side of the boat, her father rising from the sea to pull her into a big hug. The ocean water bending to his will, pushing him several feet in the air so he could speak to his daughter on board the magnificent vessel.
"Oh daddy, I'm so worried." Triton couldn't stand to see the tears welling up in his youngest daughter's eyes. Nothing ever broke his heart more than seeing one of his daughters in pain.
"Everything is going to be alright Ariel, I have hundreds of people looking for her. I already sent troops towards Morgana's lair for questioning, and everyone in the ocean knows of the missing princess. I'm about to go join the rescue teams myself, use my magic to assist in any way I can for my precious granddaughter."
Ariel didn't say a word, just turned to her husband and buried her head into his chest while he held her.
"Darling, maybe you should go with your father." His words took her completely off guard. She took a step back from him and gave an incredulous look.
Confusion laced her words, "But Eric…"
"Just hear me out, my love. I can lead the search here on land, but you know these waters and you know our daughter." He gently cupped his wife's face, "You have to go."
Triton began to lightly object, "It may be dangerous Ariel."
"Eric is right, daddy. I should have known better to keep Melody from the sea, it's a part of her… and it's a part of me. I have to. I don't know how I couldn't have seen it, it was cruel of me to keep her from it."
With a solemn nod, Triton agreed, "As you wish."
Ariel turned to give her husband a final hug, he held her tightly and whispered into her ear "Bring her home."
Ariel took a deep breath before turning towards her father. She stepped up on the edge of the boat, closing her eyes and holding her arms out wide. The trident shimmered, radiant wisps of magic dancing off its surface. The king swung the trident slowly as he cast the spell, and a sudden burst of golden light exploded from the three sharp points. Powerful light enveloped the Queen, the sight drawing gasps from the people on board. Ariel felt the ground under her disappear, her elegant heels slipping off her feet as the magic levitated her into the air. The beautiful shimmering magic began to swirl around her body like a tornado, but it felt like a soft breeze over her skin.
She kept her eyes closed tightly, knowing how brilliantly the enchantment would be. The trident's warm transformation felt nothing like Ursula's contractual potion witchcraft. Her first time turning human had been so scary, so sudden, and at such a great price. The smoke from the toxic brew blasting around her, the muscles in her body seizing up and convulsing. Flashes of blinding white light and her ability to breathe disappearing rapidly, nearly dying without her friends to take her to air.
Her father's magic felt like falling asleep for a brief moment and waking to a dream. Her legs were replaced with a familiar shimmering emerald tail, and as the enchantment fell away she dived out of the sky and into the warm embrace of the sea.
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!
This was a super fun chapter for me to write, it covers the For a Moment section of the movie which is my favorite sequence. it was a little tricky though turning the song version into a written version I liked. Also, Ariel AND Melody are mermaids now, yay!