Dark Queen sacrifices Princess, saves us all?
Ursula, a long standing enemy of King Triton and his people, has sent the nation's youngest princess into the hands of Prince Eric of the land nation and has possibly saved us all from certain discovery and possibly death at the hands of humans.
"It breaks my heart that this needed to be done," said Ursula earlier today in a short statement to the press outside the palace prisons. "Princess Ariel was desperate to get out. She said King Triton, her father, was awfully controlling and wouldn't let her do anything."
Ursula was arrested last night at her abyssal lair after word got back to the palace that Ariel had been put under a painful spell rending her tail in two 'legs' such as the humans have. The event was witnessed by her two friends, Sebastian and Flounder.
"It was terrible," said Sebastian. "Simply terrible. That witch defiled the princess. She needs to pay!"
Flounder added, "I don't think Ariel realised how much it would hurt. And she had to give up her voice!"
Ursula maintains that the Princess has an "obsession" about a human she had encountered on an illegal trip to the surface. The princess would allegedly watch the humans go about their business, putting herself at risk of being seen, leading to the discovery of Atlantica.
"Taking her voice was an unfortunate, but necessary precaution," said Ursula. "If she had her voice, she would have been able to communicate with the humans who she really is. This cannot be allowed to happen. I was just doing my part to protect us all."
Her friends have been reluctant to comment on Princess Ariel's potential encounters with the land creatures. Rumours of a large collection of human artefacts curated by the princess herself has long circled the palace, but no such trove has ever been found.
King Triton's strict upbringing has never been a secret. He has always expected nothing but the highest standards of his many daughters. The concert held in the palace just last month gave the people of Atlantica an inside perspective on just how high the standards are for the royal princesses.
There are, however, suspicions that his methods have been more heavy handed than necessary.
One minister, who wishes to remain anonymous suggested the princess had motives of a more power-grabbing nature. "She is the youngest of seven sisters. Politically, she would have had little chance of ever becoming Queen of the Oceans. And now she has fallen in love with the only son of a land king? This seems like a very serious
If this is true, there are serious questions that need to be asked about the effectiveness of the policing at the surface, and perhaps, of the King's own ability to control his family. As to the possibility that her highness had fallen in love with a human male, is it any wonder when she felt so trapped here?
The palace has not released an official statement on the matter.
If a sixteen year old girl can defy King Triton himself, what does that mean for the rest of the nation?