Back in the world below the sea after rehearsal when nightfall came, Ariel and her sisters were in the dressing room combing their hairs getting ready for bed. Ariel however was deep in thought as she brushed her hair. She was still curious as kitten in regards to the world above her and this didn't go unnoticed by her sisters.
"So Ariel, did Sebastian give you a lecture again?" asked one sister who had a blue tail along with a seashell top and brown hair tied to a ponytail with a pearly headband.
"Doesn't he always Aquata? Besides Sebastian's always like that," said Ariel. "I'm used to it by now."
"I don't see how you should," said another sister with orange tail and top with brown hair piled on her head with a orange tiara. "Even Sebastian's lectures drive me a bit crazy at times."
"I just try to ignore him Attina," said a sister with a uniquely pink tail with a violet top with black hair in some style of curls with a pink tiara. "All Sebastian does is lecture and complain just like the crabby crustacean he is."
"That doesn't always work Alana," said Attina. "Sometimes Sebastian can be a bit overbearing for absolutely no reason."
Then as Aquata as about to brush her hair, she was surprised to see that it wasn't there. She then turned to one of her other sisters who had a red tail with a matching top and pale blonde hair in a ponytail looking very cross.
"Arista! Did you take my brush again?" she demanded. "If you did, then you better give it back."
"Um... I don't know what you're talking about," said Arista looking away sheepishly.
"Oh honestly Arista," sighed a sister who had uniquely yellow colored tail with a green top with brown ponytail in a pearly headband. "Why must you always have to take her stuff? That's practically stealing you know."
"Maybe Aquata's brush as a certain property that makes Arista's hair prettier or something Adella," joked the seventh sister who had purplish-pink tail with pink top with blonde hair in a high ponytail with a pink decoration on it. "Then again, it has always been a habit of hers. Hopefully it doesn't become a perm."
The seventh sister then chuckled while the others rolled their eyes groaning.
"Oh come on Andrina. Enough of your jokes," said Adella.
Ariel could only chuckle as her sisters went about their daily routine, but she was still thinking about the surface above her. She desperately wanted to find out more about it and what it was like to go there. Then she had an idea. Her sisters were all older than she was which meant that they had experienced the surface for themselves. She decided to ask them what it was like.
"Excuse me you guys, but there's something I want to know," she said. "You all got to see the surface right?"
Her sisters all looked at Ariel.
"Of course we have," said Arista. "Why do you ask?"
"Let me guess Ariel," said Aquata. "You want to know what we saw on the surface when we turned fifteen right?"
"Yes please," said Ariel eagerly. "Please tell about the things you saw up there!"
"Oh Ariel. You can be such a kid at times," sighed Attina smiling. "But if you insist then I suppose we can tell you. Right girls?"
Everyone of her sisters nodded as Ariel smiled brightly. "So who's going first?" she asked.
"I will," said Aquata raising her hand. "Let's see... When I reached the surface I looked up at the sky it was a dark shade of black and saw a beautiful full moon with lots of little stars. I followed it across the sky until I reached the shore leading to a sandbar. I lied on the sandbar and from a distance I saw the strangest things you would see from your imagination."
"Like what?" asked Ariel.
"Four legged seahorses guiding chariots which were balanced on strange sand dollars," said Aquata. "Not only that, but when I lied on the sandbar that night, I was able to listen to the sounds of humans. Chariots rumbling, people shouting and laughing, and church bells ringing clear and loud. It was one of the most delightful things I've ever heard unlike anything beneath the sea."
The sisters oohed from hearing Aquata's story. Ariel especially.
"That sounded wonderful, but it was different when I went up to the surface," said Andrina as she began her story. "When I went up there, the entire sky was a beautiful color of gold shining brighter than any other pearl that you would lay eyes on. The clouds above were also glowing colored violet and red as they sailed over my head like froth on a wave."
"Did any of you see any humans?" asked Ariel.
"I did," said Arista. "When I first went up to the surface, I saw humans, children in fact splashing and swimming about in a tiny bay. They looked just us merpeople only they didn't have tails. They looked so sweet and innocent, I wanted to play with them. Sadly I had to abide by father's rules about never making contact with humans. I really wished I couldn't though. Those children looked so cute."
"It was pretty peaceful when I went up there for the first time," said Attina. "It was in the middle of the ocean. The sun was shining, the sky was a brilliant shade of blue and the clouds were white and fluffy. The sea was also calm and it was so quiet that I almost fall asleep bobbing on the surface."
"It was way more different for me," said Alana. "When first went up there, it was the middle of winter and it was pretty cold. As soon as I went up to the surface, I saw large icebergs floating and the wind was blowing making the waves seem even bigger than usual."
"No way! That's how it was for me too!" said Adela. "I saw the same thing, but I happened to show up in the middle of a storm. I also saw this giant ship. It cut through the waves in the water like nothing. The sky was filled with dark clouds as it rained and I could also hear the sound of thunder. It was a bit scary, but at the same time I couldn't help but be awed by the incredible sight."
Ariel eyes sparkled with wonder as she heard her sister's experiences of the surface. Her curiousity about the human world above grew more and more. She wanted to hear more.
"Please tell me more," she begged. "What other things did you see?"
Just then, they heard a familiar voice calling out.
"Girls! It's time ta get ready for bed!"
It was none other than Sebastian. When the girls heard him, they put away their things and then went their room.
"Thank you so much for telling me your stories," said Ariel to her sisters. "It makes me want to go up to the surface more than ever!"
"You're welcome Ariel, although you should know that while the surface is indeed a wonderful and beautiful place, it can dangerous too," warned Attina. "You heard Adella remember?"
"I know, but I still can't help but think about it," said Ariel.
"I know, but just know that while the surface has it's sights, Father's realm here in Atlantica is by far the safest and loveliest place to be," said Attina. "Now let's get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day."
Soon after, all the girls got into their beds and were soon fell fast asleep. Everyone that is except for Ariel. She was still wide awake her thoughts filled with the stories that her sisters had just told her. She sat up from her bed and looked around making sure that her sisters were still asleep. She slowly got up from her bed and without making a sound being as quiet as she could as she swam to the window staring up at the dark waters of the night.
She gazed upwards, she remembered all the stories of her sister's experiences of the surface. She also tried to imagine the things they saw above there like the church bells, carriages, and all the other things that they saw. Most of all, she tried to imagine what the humans were like. Were they just like them only with legs? Or did they look like something different entirely? But, however as much as she tried to picture them, it meant nothing if she had seen it for herself.
As she continued to look into the surface towards the sky with a dreamy look on her face, she made a wish from the bottom of her heart.
"I wish that someday... I'll be able to go to the surface without having to hear about Father's rules," she said to herself. "If only I can turn fifteen sooner. I'm so excited I cant even sleep!"
As the night rolled on, every merpeople in Atlantica was fast asleep. Everything was quiet and not a sound could be heard. Until eventually the night was soon starting to turn into day as the sun starting to rise. In the outskirts of the the city, a small fish was making his way towards Altanica. He was tropical fish that was colored yellow and had blue stripes on his back and had the same color of fins.
"Whew. I'm almost home," the fish said to himself. "I gotta home as fast as I can. The last thing I need to end up as someone's dinner. Not to mention that I've been swimming all night just to get here. Man... note to self; Don't go out for a nightly swim."
Then suddenly there was an bright green oval shaped light flashed from above catching the fish by surprise causing it to stop.
"Hey! What the heck is going...!" the fish exclaimed shielding it's eyes from the light.
Then from the light a huge current of water in the shape of a whirlpool gushed out of the oval of light surging right past the fish. The current of the whirlpool was so strong that it carried the fish hurling it away until it regained itself from the force.
"What is going on here?!" the fish cried. "Is this some kind of freak storm or something?!"
As the whirlpool like current continued to gush out from the oval of green light, a small figure fell out of the current and sank towards the bottom of the floor until it touched down onto the floor. Then the whirlpool like current stopped and the oval of light disappeared. When the fish was sure that the green oval of light had gone, he swam towards the floor where it saw the figure drop. What the fish saw made it's eyes widen in surprise. There lying face up on the floor was a strange looking merman.
He had the appearance of a teenage boy with some strange white article of clothing on his upper body covering his chest and shoulders. He was fair skinned and had orange wavy hair on top of his head. The most interesting thing about him however was his tail fin. It was just like any other tail fin like the merpeople, but the color was vastly different. Normally the merpeople in Atlantica had one single color on their tails. This one had two. It was a gradient color mix of red and black. Red on top and eventually turning to black on the end of his tail fin.
"Well this is a strange color," said the fish. "One thing's for sure this guy's definitely not from around here. Wait... is this guy even alive?"
The fish moved closer looking very carefully to see that the boy's chest was rising and falling as he lied there peacefully breathing in and out.
"Well what do you know? He is alive," said the fish. "I wonder where he came from? Wait a minute... what am I doing?. This boy could possibly be injured and in need of help. I better head to Atlantica and tell his majesty about this! Ariel's going to want to hear about this too!"
And with that the fish pumped it's fin and swam straight towards the castle for help as fast as it's little fins could carry it.