Chapter Two

The Princess Returns

The archer planted her feet securely on the concrete at shoulder width apart and lined up her feet parallel to her shooting line. She rotated on the balls of her feet so that she was positioned in an open stance, improving her stability. Straightening her slender frame, she rotated her chin towards her right shoulder as she lifted her bow and drew back the arrow slowly. Her eyes narrowed to see better in the blinding sunlight as she breathed calmly, her fingers releasing the grip on the string. The arrow flew for what seemed like forever, and finally found its mark on the bullseye.

Melody relaxed, putting down the bow, and walked over to the target board to retrieve her arrow, to thunderous applause from her classmates, who were watching her by the benches.

"Nice shot, Princess!" one of her classmates called out.

Melody pulled her arrow from the target board and glanced at her classmate in annoyance. "This isn't royalty class. You know I hate being called that."

"Nice work, Melody," the instructor called out. "Time's up, that's all for archery class this semester. Don't forget to practice during your break!" the students let out a victory cheer and began to head out of the stadium where their archery class was being held.

"Come on, Melody, let's go." One of her friends called out.

Melody grinned. "Alright. Let's get out of here." Melody disassembled the limbs of her bow and placed it in her duffle bag together with her quiver, and zipped the bag. She absolutely loved her bow. It was a black Martin Saber take-down recurve bow, which she had chosen to fit her archery style. Over the past six years, she had developed a love for archery and close quarter combat, and had taken various electives for those fields. She had skilled teachers at Copenhagen High who put her through gruelling training to get her to where she was now.

Her parents had sent her to Copenhagen High when she turned thirteen, and for the next five years, she had spent most of her time away from her one true love: the sea. Of course, she had gotten her fill sneaking away from the residential college to swim in the pool on certain nights when she wasn't swamped with school assignments, but it just wasn't the same as swimming in the ocean. Now that it was summer vacation, she could return home and spend her time in the ocean for days on end.

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"So what are you going to do over the holidays?" Melody looked up from her food. "I don't know, really. I've been wanting to do something exciting but I don't know what yet." She replied, just as the teenagers in the cafeteria began to crowd around the window and started to point at something, Melody feared the worst. She squeezed into the crowd and glanced out the window. Great. He just had to announce it to the entire school. She hurried back to her table and grabbed her belongings. "My ride's here. See you guys in five weeks time!" Melody waved goodbye to her friends as she hastily ran out of the cafeteria.

Melody rushed down the stairs and pushed open the door of the school building to see a lanky and impeccably dressed elderly man waiting for her by a grand horse carriage.

"Good to see you again, Princess Melody." He said in a strong english accent, opening the carriage door for her.

"Hey, Grimsby!" Melody exclaimed shortly, diving into the carriage quickly before anyone around the campus could spot her with a valet and a horse carriage that looked like it belonged to the royal family of Denmark. It did, and she didn't need that kind of attention.

Grimsby closed the door and mounted the horse. As the carriage pulled away from Copenhagen High, Melody resurfaced from hiding below the windows and slouched in the comfy backseat of the carriage.

Grimsby glanced behind in amusement. "Interesting fashion choice, my dear."

Melody was clad in an olive green shirt, dark grey pants and comfortable sneakers. She grinned. She knew that her family wanted her to wear proper princess outfits more often, but she hated drawing attention to herself. Besides, normal civilian clothes were much more comfortable and appealing to her. They were what school students wore, after all, and she just wanted to blend in.

"I'm fairly certain that is not what your parents expected for your coming home party."

"Aww, come on. Let me live a little." Melody chuckled. Good old Grimsby, he was always so prim and proper about everything. Melody liked him, but he had a rigid mindset that was so irritating at times. Wait, coming home party?! Melody groaned. She had completely forgotten about that. What a stupid tradition! She hated parties, especially after her twelfth birthday party six years ago. Who could ever forget that? She had made a complete mockery of herself, what with her accidentally tying her guardian Sebastian to her dress and him being chased all over the ballroom by the mad chef.

Melody shuddered. All that happened six years ago, but the painful memory was still seared in her mind as if it were yesterday. She had never felt more humiliated and awkward in her life than at that party. And every time a party was held for her, she felt like all those memories were being dredged up again.

Before she knew it, the one horse cab had pulled up to the front gate of the kingdom. The guards at the gate bowed and opened the gate. As she travelled through the kingdom towards the palace, Melody looked out the window. Home sweet home. The streets were bustling with merchants, the children played in the market place and couples were riding in less grand horse carriages. The kingdom looked to be prospering. Melody swelled with pride at the fact that her parents had been so successful at governing the kingdom.

###

At the top of the palace steps leading to the door of the palace, King Eric waited patiently. He glanced at the road stretching out across the kingdom, wondering when his daughter would arrive. He missed Melody so much. The last few years had been tough, since she spent most of the time stuck in Copenhagen High, returning for the holidays a month at a time. It was a necessary evil, as he wanted her to experience a different environment and learn new skills. However, he never expected his daughter to pick up archery and close-quarter combat. She had certainly grown over the past few years into a brave young woman, and even though he was not fully supportive of her new hobbies, he was proud of her. He knew for sure what she would do when she arrived back home though. The first thing she would do was to head to the ocean. That was the one thing that never changed: Her love for the water.

"Dad!"

Eric was jolted out of his thoughts, and saw that Melody had arrived and was running up the palace steps to meet him.

She reached the top of the stairs and hurled herself against her father.

Eric hugged her tightly. He gazed at his daughter lovingly. She had his big aqua blue eyes and his luscious black hair. He noticed that she had curled her hair a little. That was new. "Welcome back, Melody. I've missed you so much. I like your hair."

Melody smiled and released her tight grip around his waist and looked up at her father. "I've missed you too. Where's Mom?"

Eric ran his hand through her hair. "She's down in Atlantica. She knew you were coming back today and told me to give you a kiss for her." He missed his wife Ariel too. She had agreed to help her father, King Triton, run things temporarily while he took a long overdue break, and had to spend most of her time down in Atlantica attending to kingdom matters. Ariel came up to the surface every once in a while when she could afford the time, but it just wasn't the same, being separated from his wife like that. He sighed, and kissed Melody's forehead. "Come on, everyone is waiting for you inside. We're going to have a wonderful party."

###

Melody burst out of the palace's back entrance, kicking off her sneakers. Finally! She thought the party would never end. Those had to be the longest 3 hours of her entire life! She dashed across the beach, wearing a white tank top and shorts, her favourite golden locket necklace with her name engraved on it hanging from her neck at chest level. Her bare feet were scorched by the hot sand on the beach, but she didn't care. Melody reached the water and took a huge leap, diving into the cool water. At last. Back where she belonged. In the sea. Nostalgia swept over her as she laid on her back, floating on the waves. Oh, how she had waited for this moment for months. It was something that she could never explain to anyone. She had tried, and all she got were either weird stares or polite laughs. She had resigned to the fact that it was something unexplainable, and that it was hers to enjoy and hers alone.

Looking around to make sure no one else was around, Melody took the locket in her hand. This necklace was incredibly precious to her. Sure, she had other sea shells and trinkets, but this one was special. She had found it on her twelfth birthday in one of the deep crevices of the ocean, and it had her name engraved on it. Melody glanced around again, double checking to make sure no one was watching her.

No one could know about this. Not yet, anyhow. She tightened her grip on the necklace, and closed her eyes. The necklace glowed golden, its rays shining through the gaps between her fingers. The golden aura seeped through the gaps and started to envelope her. The golden aura shined brighter until it became a blinding light, engulfing Melody completely. Slowly, the light began to fade away, revealing Melody, whose legs had been replaced by a salmon-pink mermaid tail! The necklace was a gift from her grandfather, who had modified the necklace to transform her into a mermaid and back again at will. Melody plunged below the surface without hesitation, diving deep, using her tail to propel her like a torpedo cutting through the water.

Next stop, Atlantica! Oh, how she had missed this sensation! She had been practicing the transformation in the school's pool at night when no one was around, and she had been getting the hang of it. It was always a struggle to adjust between breathing oxygen as a human, and breathing in oxygenated water as a mermaid, but she more or less had it nailed down. However, the only bad thing about transforming into a mermaid was her constant reminder of the first time it happened.

It was a long time ago. The sea witch, Morgana, had tricked Melody into believing that she genuinely wanted to help her, and after turning her into a mermaid temporarily, Morgana had gained her sympathy and had her believe that the trident was stolen from her. After Melody had risked life and limb to help Morgana steal the trident back from the kingdom of Atlantica, Morgana revealed her true colours and incited the takeover of the Seven Seas. In trusting Morgana, she had almost drowned when she transformed back into a human, but she was saved by her heroic friends, Tip and Dash. She had eventually managed to steal the trident back from Morgana and end the evil sea witch's reign, but the entire debacle had stuck with her.

Come to think of it, it was even worse than her tragic birthday party. Sure, the party was horrible but she didn't cause it to go off the rails, but the Takeover of the Seven Seas? That was her fault. And the guilt had stuck with her ever since. People looked at her differently, knowing that she had innocently been the catalyst to the entire incident. And she hated that people looked at her with sympathy. Melody did not want the Takeover of the Seven Seas to be her legacy. Eventually, when she would have to succeed her parents as Queen of Denmark, she knew she would have to forge a different legacy for herself, one that overshadowed her part in the Morgana's plan.

By this time, Melody had reached the edge of Atlantica. She stopped to take in the sight. The kingdom was truly magnificent and a sight to behold. What a beautiful paradise! She wished she could live in Atlantica permanently as a mermaid, but it was not meant to be. She had to settle with visiting whenever she could. Which wasn't very often.

With a powerful flick of her tail, she propelled herself forward past the open gates of the kingdom. Mer-children were playing in the courtyard and fishes swam freely across the seabed without any fear of danger. Mer-soldiers were posted at key installations and the edges of Atlantica to protect the kingdom from potential attacks. It was a peaceful and safe place to live in. As Melody swam past the guards to enter the royal palace, they bowed.

"Your Highness, welcome back to Atlantica. May we escort you into the palace?" one of the guards asked.

"It's alright, no shark's gonna eat me on the way in." Melody smiled politely and waved as she swam into the royal palace. Entering into the palace court, Melody gazed at its beauty. It was even more stunning than she had remembered. The huge pillars were made out of solid slabs of gold, and chandeliers dangled from the high ceiling. A wide and long purple carpet lay on the seabed leading to the throne, and upon the throne sat her mother, Ariel, who was speaking with several dignitaries with a worried look on her face.

Melody waited patiently by one of the pillars near the entrance of the court, and after what seemed like forever, the dignitaries solemnly bowed and swam towards the exit. They bowed before Melody as well, and she bowed back, before remembering that as royalty she didn't need to bow-but oh who cared! Now that school was behind her, so were royal etiquette classes. She swam speedily up to Ariel, who attempted to conceal her distress, reaching out to her with open arms.

"I've missed you Mom!" Melody hugged her mother tightly and Ariel gasped for breath.

"Easy, Melody! I've just had a heavy lunch!" Melody released her grip and Ariel smiled fondly at her daughter. "Welcome home. Love your hair."

"Thanks Mom. What's wrong? You seemed worried."

Ariel smiled, attempting to hide her worry. "Nothing's wrong! I've just been so busy. I don't know how your grandfather did it for so many years. No wonder his hair grew white so fast!" she slumped back on the throne. "Council members petitioning to open up our borders, the military general requesting for me to vet deterrence strategies, merfolk coming to ask me to use the trident to heal their sick…the list goes on and on! I barely have time to go up to the surface to spend time with your dad."

Melody sighed. Her dad always made it seem so effortless! Maybe he was tired out too, but just didn't show it. Either way, Melody knew that eventually, this would be her life too when she became Queen of Denmark. "Speaking of grandfather, where is he?" Melody asked.

"Oh, your grandfather took a trip down south out of Atlantica, and so did Sebastian. They both needed a break from Atlantica, and wanted to go far away to relax for a couple of weeks." Ariel chuckled.

Melody was surprised. She never thought that Grandfather Triton would ever get tired of ruling Atlantica and take a break. He had always seemed so fit and tireless. She had always assumed that he would be King his entire life, and that it was his only mission. Well, she guessed wrong! While she was happy that her grandfather and Sebastian were out taking a break and living their own lives away from the throne, she was disappointed that she would not get the chance to reunite with them. Over the past few years, she didn't get to spend much time with her old pals Titanic Tip and Daring Dash either, as they had returned to the North Pole where they lived. It was way too warm in the waters of Denmark for them. She made a mental note to take a few days to swim down to the North Pole and pay them a little visit.

"Where are the aunts?" Melody asked. "Aren't they around to help run the kingdom?"

"They're terribly busy in the other kingdoms. You know they all married into different kingdoms across the ocean."

"Right. All except you." Melody grinned.

"Right. Let's get out of here and take a swim at the edge of the kingdom." Ariel slipped her hand into Melody's and pulled her out of the court.

As they left the court, Ariel looked back at the throne with relief that she could finally get away from it, even if it was for a while. Mother and daughter swam hand in hand to the border of Atlantica, looking out into the vast ocean beyond. The soldiers positioned at the border doubled to ensure the two members of the royal family were kept safe.

"Where do you think Grandfather is?" Melody asked, staring out into the great unknown.

"Honestly, I don't know. But I know that he's finally happy to take a break." Ariel smiled.

The two continued to chat, discussing Melody's life at school and the various things she had learnt in archery and combat lessons, until finally Melody felt that it was time for her to go and let her mother get back to her duties. The only thing left to check off her list to make her day perfect was to return to the surface and float on the water while watching the sunset. She hugged her mother goodbye and swam back up to the surface.

With a powerful flick of her tail, she shot through the surface of the water into the air, and as she hurtled through the air above the water, she grasped her locket in her hand. It glowed golden, engulfing her, and before she hit the water below, she had transformed back into a human! She dived headfirst back into the water, and emerged, taking a huge gulp of air. Melody laid back on the surface of the water, looking up into the sky. The sun was starting to set. Rays of the yellow sunlight burst through the clouds, and she closed her eyes.

"Squakk!"

Melody opened her eyes. Up in the sky, she saw the faint figure of a bird flapping furiously. Maybe it was Scuttle the seagull. Wait, it couldn't be. Scuttle was white. The bird in the sky was brown and looked abnormally huge. As it came closer, Melody squinted. It was a hawk! And it was making a beeline straight towards her! Melody scrambled to get out of the way, as the hawk plummeted from the sky and hit the water at such velocity that it sank below the surface for a good five seconds before its limp body floated to the surface.

Having gotten out of the way in the nick of time, Melody swam over to the fallen creature speedily, concerned for its wellbeing. Right before her eyes, the brown hawk started to shape-shift, and changed into the form of a human. Melody couldn't believe what she was seeing! Were her eyes playing tricks on her? She touched the shapeshifter gently, hoping that he was still alive.

The shapeshifter stirred briefly and his eyes fluttered open, flinching at her touch.

She could barely make out what he said as he insufferably uttered a few words before passing out again. "T-The Major… It has begun…"