Through the halls of the palace of Atlantica swam a heartbroken princess. She and her father had had many arguments in the past, but those previous skirmishes had been nothing to the war which had erupted that morning. She had watched, horrified, as her father destroyed all the human objects which she had spent years collecting, often at great peril to herself. After he had splintered the stone monument depicting the love of her life, Eric, King Triton had grasped her wrist and dragged her home. Once there, he had informed her unsympathetically that she was confined to the palace indefinitely.
She had spent hours weeping in the bedroom she shared with her sisters. Then, when night and her sisters arrived, she quickly abandoned her hiding place so that she would not need to listen to their happy chatter. She swam listlessly around the palace until her family and all the staff had gone to bed. Around midnight, she found herself in the throne room. She thought it deserted, and did not notice the crab and yellow fish who were sitting in one of the corners. They had been there for hours, hoping that they might eventually have a moment to see Ariel and offer her their sympathy. They were about to call her name when a fateful event took place.
The princess swam into the center of the large room and looked around. Unwittingly, her glance fell upon her father's trident. It was proudly positioned in its stand, right underneath his empty throne. Those unfamiliar with Atlantica would think it odd that the King had left the most powerful weapon in the land unattended, but nothing could be further from the truth. The unassuming stand which held it was designed in such a way that it was impossible for anyone, except King Triton or one of his descendants, to remove it.
Ariel looked resentfully at the trident. Everyone in Atlantica envied her and her sisters for having such a powerful father with such a mysterious tool at his disposal. And yet, what good had the trident ever done for her? She was never allowed to use it. And it had permitted the King to destroy her entire collection within seconds!
Becoming furious once more, without thinking through her actions, Ariel reached out a hand and grasped the trident. Foolishly attempting to take her anger out on it, she shook it against its stand and whispered bitterly,
"Why do you always have to destroy every human item my father lays eyes on, and obey his every whim? Why can't you ever do anything for me, you overgrown dinglehopper? You shattered Eric's statue; why can't you instead give him and me a chance to be together? And -"
Before she could get any further in her impassioned speech, the trident detected the royal hand upon it and began to glow gold. It fired. Before Ariel realized what was happening, its golden rays hit the ceiling, reflected off it, and hit her. As Sebastian and Flounder helplessly watched in shock, her tail tore into two, and knees, ankles, and toes appeared. Her purple seashells grew extra straps and elongated themselves until her entire form was clothed in a purple dress.
When its work was done, the trident stopped glowing. Ariel, in a panic, released her grip on it and it settled back into its stand, as if it had never been touched. Confused and disoriented, the former mermaid attempted to swim, only to find herself sinking and drowning.
Sebastian took one look at the scene before him and knew what he had to do. The trident was in its stand, and neither he nor Flounder could remove it. Ariel clearly did not have the presence of mind to use the trident on herself again. And if he went to get the King, she would be drowned by the time he managed to rouse him and return.
"Come on!" he cried out. Without hesitation, Flounder joined him. They hurried to Ariel, positioned themselves under her arms, and began dragging the girl upwards, to the surface.
What do you think? I love getting reviews, so please keep them coming!