~Chapter 17~

Noella

The sun had just set. I was swimming back and forth near the ship anxiously. I guess this was a mermaid version of pacing. Soon, I saw Ursula pull Ariel up and over the side of the ship. Ariel was a mermaid again and I heard her yelling at Ursula to release her, so at least her voice was back, but this was far from over. They landed in the water several yards from me and I quickly went after them. Ursula kept harshly yanking her along and soon Flotsam and Jetsam slithered toward them joining their mistress.

"Ursula, let me go!" Ariel continued to yell.

To my surprise, she did throwing Ariel against a large boulder.

"Listen up sweet cheeks, here's the deal. You made a bargain with me. I fulfilled my end of our deal, but you failed to do so. So there's consequences...life just isn't fair is it?" Ursula mocked. Ursula conjured the contract forth pointing out Ariel's name that she signed in writing three days ago. I knew that contract wasn't good. Ursula began to conjure up a green cloud and it grew bigger and bigger. I had to stop this. With all my might, I rammed into Ursula directly interrupting her spell. I too felt the impact hitting her body making me a little dizzy.

"Leave her alone, Ursula. You know what you did and you cheated Ariel." I accused.

Ursula smirked at me shrugging her shoulders.

"So what, I cheat everyone." She replied simply.

I immediately swam at her again wanting to smack that smug expression off her face. She quickly turned toward Flotsam and Jetsam.

"Boys, take care of that. Would you?" She said.

"Noella!" Ariel cried.

Before I could touch a hair on Ursula's head, the two eels in a very familiar way both wrapped me up tightly one around my arms and the other my tail. Just like before it brought me back to that place of fear and helplessness and I hated that feeling. Though unlike the last time, I wasn't under a heavy, tripped out spell engrossing my mind with Ursula's power. I struggled fiercely against the eels and like before it just made them constrict harsher. Ursula began to conjure again and I watched helplessly as Ariel began to shrink down almost looking like those worm creatures found in Ursula's lair. Then I suddenly put it together. Those worm creatures were all her previous victims. I wasn't going to let my friend turn into one of those things! Soon to everyone's surprise, King Triton showed up aiming his glowing weapon at Ursula.

"Let my daughter go, witch!" He said.

"Couldn't if I wanted to Triton...she and I made a deal and our contract is binding." Ursula replied flicking the contract around in his face. Triton immediately shot a bolt of magic at the contact throwing Ursula backward, but the contract remained and Ursula cackled. Triton looked as shocked as Ariel and I were that the contract wasn't even destroyed.

"You will let my daughter go…" Triton muttered.

He quickly shot at the contract again though this time Ariel's name disappeared on the contract and was replaced with his.

"So be it then." Ursula laughed and snapped her fingers and the magic was conjured again returned Ariel to herself and encompassed Triton turning him to that worm creature. His crown and weapon dropped to the ground. Frantically, I looked around quickly to find anything I could use to rid myself of these eels. Just out of reach, I saw a rock that was covered in algae, but resting against it was a large sea urchin. Its spines were long and sharp. I began to reach for it knowing I would prick myself too in the process, but I didn't care. Ursula eagerly grabbed the crown placing it on her head.

"At last…" She said and reached for the trident.

I quickly stretched my hand out toward the urchin feeling the resistance from the eels, but as soon as I felt sharp pins pierce my hand, in a fluid motion I jabbed it hard into each eel. They quickly loosened their grip letting me go.

"You two aren't even worth adding to my collection…" Ursula growled aiming the trident at us. I took Ariel's hand giving it a squeeze preparing for the worst, but soon an arrow came out of nowhere hitting Ursula in the arm and she dropped the trident. I looked up to where it came from and it was Eric aiming a crossbow.

"Look out, Eric!" Ariel yelled.

He swam back toward the surface to get his breath and Ursula ordered the eels after him. They got him by the legs bringing him back down. The eels released him as he glanced at us treading water. Ursula aimed the trident at him.

"This ends now!" Ursula growled.

Before she fired, another arrow flew down hitting both Flotsam and Jetsam in quick succession. The two arrows came from Joel and his glowing bow. How that thing worked underwater was beyond me.

"Babies…" Ursula cried grabbing the dead bodies of the eels.

Ariel quickly swam to Eric and got up back up to the surface and I regrouped with Joel as well getting both the guys above the surface to get some air was priority. Joel gasped as we resurfaced. Eric and Ariel were a couple yards away from us.

"Are you okay?" I asked Joel.

He nodded coughing gruffly.

"You?"

I shrugged with a nod showing him my pricked sea urchin wielding hand.

"More or less." I answered.

Soon a rumbling beneath the surface was stirring the water. Thick thunderhead clouds swarmed together crashed together summoning intense winds and rain. Immediately a giant head rose out of the water rising up toward the sky. It was Ursula though she now was a giant trident wielding sea creature. Eric and Ariel were caught in her crown and leapt off back into the water as she continued to rise higher and higher.

"You impudent fools, you will fall to me and my infinite powers over the ocean." She bellowed. Her voice seemed to reverberate loudly echoing off the clouds. Thunder boomed and lightning struck. Several of her tentacles splashed down this way and that. The currents were strong and I found it was hard to remain above the water. Joel grabbed my hand as we both swam hard to not be pulled under.

"Hang on!" Joel said spitting out water that thrashed against his face.

He kept shutting his eyes with all the water splashing around since I'm sure the salt water was quite irritating to his eyes. We kept firm hold of each other, but soon Ursula suddenly thrashed down another tentacle separating us. Joel went one way and I went the other. The currents took hold of me and I eventually was flung against a large rock. It knocked the wind out of me as I clung onto the rock, which was better than being thrashed around in the waves. I scanned the crazy, intense, crashing waters and I couldn't spot anyone. Immediately, I began singing a tune using my gift of summoning. Anything to help with this mess. Soon a pod of killer whales surrounded my rock. They looked mean and angry and I was scared, but they didn't seem to mind me. It was hard to believe my gift summoned predators who would easily attack me let alone anything else. I instructed them what to do and immediately they took off swimming against the waves toward Ursula. My instructions were simple. Just to get the trident, but Ursula saw the whales and shot at them with the trident separating the lot and even turning a few of them into guppies.

"Is that the best you can do?" Ursula mocked.

I sighed heavily and shortly after, Ursula cried out in pain. I saw something wiggling on her left arm, the one that had the trident. I saw a dorsal fin and a tail and Ursula began turning her arm this way and that trying to throw off the creature that had bit her arm. It was a great white shark and a rather large one that would put Jaws to shame. When the shaking didn't get it off, Ursula pulled it off along with a chunk of her flesh. Ursula glared at me throwing the shark back into the water and promptly shrinking it down to a shrimp.

"You little witch. Enough!" She growled aiming the trident at the rock I was on. I quickly leapt back into the water as she destroyed the boulder. Ursula put the trident in the water in the center of the space between her and I. She began swirling it around and the water began to glow a bright blue and I felt the currents pull stronger. She was creating a giant whirlpool. It didn't take long to suck me in and soon I was swirled around in the waters like a load of laundry being thrashed around harshly. Soon I spied a green tail and Ariel was pulled in too. The whirlpool went deep and Ursula pulled back the water making it go all the way to the bottom rocks on the ocean floor. This must have been some sort of area where ships went down cause as the water pulled away submerged, ramshackle galleons and boats were pulled to the surface. Ariel and I were being pulled further and further down into the whirlpool and I thought I spied Eric and Joel boarding one of the ships. I squinted my gaze and there they were. Eric was at the helm while Joel was firing arrows from his glowing bow. Finally in a swift motion, Ariel and I were sucked quickly to the bottom thrown against the hard surface of the ocean floor. She and I looked at each other as we looked around and I would imagine this is what it would look like inside a tornado, but in the water. Ursula glared at us from above and aimed at us with the trident. Blasts of power came shooting out towards us that we had to dodge quickly, which was hard to do with the mermaid tail. I was sluggish because of my injured hand and with each movement shooting pain went from my hand and up my arm.

"Two for the price of one...I endure for all time while true love dies." Ursula bellowed raising her trident again. Ariel and I once again took hands. I had set off on a journey to find my mom and with every passing barrier I got delayed and distracted helping people in this world. Now, I was worried that this would now be the end of my own journey and I wouldn't get to say goodbye to my sister or find my mom. The very idea of that hit me hard.

"I'm sorry I got you in this mess." Ariel told me glumly, "I wish I could have helped you find your mom."

"Ariel, regardless of my circumstances, I was happy to help you." I nodded reassuringly. She cracked a smile only briefly because we both knew what was coming.

I closed my eyes preparing for the strike, but instead I heard a crash and I opened my eyes. Ursula had been impaled in her gut by a broken down galleon. She screamed as lightning shot down from the sky around her. Her tentacles began wrapping around the ship as she sank down bringing the ship down with her. The power of the whirlpool faded and soon the water splashed down all around us filling in the hole the whirlpool had made. Ariel and I hugged each other and quickly raced to the surface. As we made our way up through the depths, little by little small things...memories I had forgotten slowly began to reemerge.

The dark, stormy clouds began to fade away as Ariel and I breached the surface. Ursula's power was already fading away. We looked frantically for Eric and Joel. The ship had gone down with Ursula, but where were they? The waves were still in the process of calming since there were still white crests all around.

"I see Eric!" Ariel exclaimed pointing toward a sandbar.

"Go to him." I replied, "I'll find Joel and meet you over there."

Ariel and I parted ways and I began frantically calling out for Joel, but no answer came. Soon a trio of large sea turtles breached beside me with Joel unconscious on top of their shells.

"Oh thank goodness!" I exhaled a breath.

I couldn't see his chest moving so I had to act quickly. I asked the turtles to follow me returning toward Eric's palace. They dropped him off sliding him onto the damp sand. I thanked them as they swam off. I quickly looked him over noticing a cut on his forehead, but nothing deep or dangerous. I checked his pulse immediately going into RN mode. I couldn't find a heart rhythm and immediately began doing chest compressions. It did the trick as Joel's eyes popped open and he coughed out a bunch of water. As he composed himself, he sat up looking around curiously in a daze and then he glanced at me. I immediately threw my arms around him hugging him tight.

"I'm glad you're okay." I smiled.

"Thanks to you." He nodded.

"And a trio of sea turtles." I added.

"Huh?" He replied.

"Nevermind." I said holding back a laugh.

Soon I saw the surface of the water stir and I saw a gold crown rise from the water. It was none other than King Triton. He had returned to normal with his crown and trident in his possession.

"Y-Your majesty." I muttered suddenly nervous remembering our last encounter.

"Be still, Noella. I have come to thank you." He replied and he immediately bowed his head.

"Oh your majesty...that's not necessary. Please don't." I insisted awkwardly.

"I owe you much with how much you risked and sacrificed on account of my daughter and helped to stop Ursula...for that I thank you and wish to offer you this gift as I did with my daughter just a few moments ago…"

His voice trailed off as I looked at him curiously and he poked his trident against my mermaid tail. Immediately my lower half began to glow and as the glow faded I saw my feet. He gave me back my legs! My attire had changed as well. My blue seashells remained though grew longer and the bottom stretching the length of a tank top. On the bottom were some very comfortable black pants.

"I know nothing about these style of these garments, but I saw something similar in one of Ariel's pictures in her grotto. I hope these work for you." Triton commented.

"They're perfect your highness. Thanks." I said.

"Noella, you and your friend here may in fact be human, but from this day forward I'll try to remember that not all humans are the same. I wish you good fortune on your journey." Triton smiled.

"Thank you." I replied, "Where is Ariel? I must say goodbye before we leave."

Triton nodded and pointed his trident over toward the other side of the beach. I looked on toward where Triton pointed and after a minute or so I spotted them. I turned back to thank Triton a final time, but he had already gone. Joel and I ran our way over calling out to Ariel and Eric. They ran over to us and Ariel and I embraced as Joel and Eric shook hands.

"You're human." I smiled at Ariel as we pulled away.

"You are too!" Ariel replied, but quickly frowned, "So I guess this is goodbye?"

"I'm afraid so." I nodded.

"I understand…" She replied her voice trailing off, "You need to find your mom..." She muttered, "Oh wait, I almost forgot." Ariel paused running toward a nearby rock and she grabbed my backpack. "I think this is yours." She smiled handing it over to me.

"Thanks Ariel!" I smiled.

"Goodbye Noella." She replied.

"I hate goodbyes." I quickly said, "Let's just say until next time." I nodded.

Ariel smiled and hugged me again. Eric thanked Joel again as the four of us parted ways. Eric gave us some directions upon leaving his kingdom and he wasn't aware of places beyond that, but that just revealed that the barrier wasn't too far. Eric handed us a document with his seal giving us access to the fastest carriage in his kingdom for us to take with us. With that final parting gift, we went our separate ways. My time as a mermaid was now over.