Once I got back home at Atlantica, I squealed and twirled within the water like a dolphin, smiling insanely to myself while I hummed my mother's music box tune. I felt like I floated on them fluffy things called clouds all the way to the kitchen of the palace.

The octopus head chef, Basil, nodded to me then took a second glance as I approached him. "Good evening, dear Basil, lovely waters, is it not?" I smiled again and drifted to the other cooks.

Basil was a great octopus, he was a deep purple with red tints on bulbous areas, like his head, for instance. He had large black eyes but were friendly non-stop; his mouth was located under him which is sometimes hard for him to talk. His tentacles were all working at once, beating fish eggs, dicing boiled coral and seaweed, holding a boiling metal pan on a volcanic stump that gently released heat, but the food would get out so easily the lid of the pan was always on.

"What is for dinner?" I chirped whilst grabbing a handful of fresh algae from a pot near the rock covered counters that weren't really counters, but shaped like them and took little bites.

"Same as last time," Basil muffled. "Steamed seaweed with side of fish eggs and plankton," He was rocking another boiling pot with a lid on top, and I could hear the rattling of the shells.

We don't normally eat plankton; I wonder why it was on?

I rubbed my lips from the sticky algae, smiled at Basil and nodded to the rest of the kitchen mer-folk staff who flitted around me.

As soon as I exited, I bounced into daddy. My eyes caught his straight away, and through and through was the look of guilt, and it flooded to his expression when his eyes loomed over my face.

"Ariel..." His soft husky voice was getting weak now, it was scaring me. My once happy and glorious mood had disintegrated and I was left with a foul bitterness in my mouth. "I'm sorry, sweetheart; I'm not trying to keep you here because of what happened to Athena, to you and the girl's mother." His big hand came up and gently touched my face. He was broken, and if I told him where I'd just been he'd be even more distraught that it could take its final toll.

I couldn't let him know, and if the girls, any of them found out, they couldn't tell him. Obviously, in daddy, his weakness is showing. But he's a strong merman; he's a fighter, our fighter.

I came in and gave him a tight hug. Even if we did live underwater, we were quite warm blooded, but daddy felt cold to the touch that it made my eyes water, but he couldn't see, thankfully.

I saw Adella and her new "boyfriend", like they've only been going out for 2 weeks and suddenly its official?

She waved at me and I simply smiled back, her boyfriend Zick nodded in my direction as his slimy arm draped around her shoulders. I and my sisters knew he wasn't to be trusted, he's always been sneaky. Yet Adella never listened, she's becoming as rebellious as me...

Now thinking about it, I am becoming devious. I watched after Adella, her sleek seaweed yellow tail glided near Zick's which was a sickening green. The faint orange pearls in her hair were clicking together which I managed to hear from over here.

I ignored them and kept on drifting, the cool waters having a little whooshing feel. A strong current from the south, it couldn't be mating season for the whales yet, could it?

I ignored that and lazily plucked around my room, I tried to sleep, but that was just going nowhere. I was too awake, too excited. The boy's face was too weird; he looked healthy, full of life. He was too cute, his big blue eyes and slight mouth.

I giggled to myself and rolled in my shell of a bed, watching as my red hair floated like silk around my head. He'd definitely notice me again, my hair was too noticeable. He'd spot me anywhere; he'll probably be waiting for me.

With that quick conclusion, I realised I had to see him again. I only lay in bed for about an hour and a half, that's sleep, right?

Brushed my hair with an antique brush my mother had. It had a silver back and sharp sticks on the other end, and it combed out all the tats in my hair. With that done, I looked at my reflection in the cracked mirror. From all the only good objects at the bottom of the sea bed that the humans throw away, most items are salvageable, even if daddy doesn't like that idea. But it does help us, and imagining what else they can help us with is just amazing.

I smiled and rushed out, but Andrina was coming into the room. She gasped and trailed back, catching her breath, her solid sticky green eyes were large. Her short blonde hair tucked back with a big pink shell to decorate.

"Geez, Ariel!" She hissed, looking up and down the corridor, then eyeing me and coming closer as I edged to the wall. "I heard you've been sneaking to the surface." She had a serious face. I can't remember mother's angry or scolding face, but I bet it looked just like this one. Andrina's lips curled in a mad pout and her patience was gone, she sighed and her shoulders dropped. "Ariel, it's dangerous, c'mon!" She was going to give me this lecture, now?

"Andrina, I've heard this from father, Attina and Alana." I held up my hand, ducking my head. "Don't tell anyone." I looked up at her then with pleading eyes. Despite my other sisters, Andrina was my closest one, along with Alana and Attina.

Hey eyes took on sheen and she fought against my stare. But she gave in, rolling her eyes and smiling a little. "Fine, but I won't cover you for the whole night, got it?" She held out her little pinky, waiting to make the promise.

I linked mine with hers and there was a tight squeeze.

I managed to get out of dinner thanks to Andrina, but I did feel bad about missing out, daddy wanted to say sorry with that lovely gesture. But if there is a source of happiness for my people too, I'll take that chance. Especially if I can help daddy.

I swam straight up, no turning back. The waters becoming thinner and thinner, lighter and lighter, the warmth slowly reaching me that it surrounded me. I was breaking the top of the surface that I felt the water from above, the rain, hit down. It pelted off of my skin that I had my arms over my head to shield myself.

I felt stupid after, since it was just rain.

I looked up high, that huge wooden and metal building standing tall with a plume of smoke filtering from a little odd bit at the top. Light danced behind the glass spaces on the wood, shadows moved across it.

I couldn't see the boy, though. He wasn't here, not at the bench I'd first seen him, crouched and looking miserable. His hunched figure made me bolt straight back home; the shock of that first experience is what keeps me coming back.

The thrill, the adventure.

I knew where to go as I started heading right towards the sand land, the beach. The waters were rough, so this would explain the strong current I felt before. There's, what daddy calls it, a storm coming. Where it's just slight vibrations beneath us and affecting our water from bringing in unwanted company to our kingdom, and this isn't good. Daddy isn't in good condition to keep new enemies or unwanted guests at bay...But Attina is, and the girls.

I smiled to myself as I battled against the raging waves, they knocked me out with every crash, pacing me back a few strokes when I got the littlest bit closer.

As soon as I saw the shadowed rock I climbed last, I headed right for it; I saw the cream coloured building on the land above it with the wood fence around it.

With weak struggle, I attempted to climb the rock. But with the water sloshing my body back and forth on the rock, my tail getting cut up, the raw nerve getting bashed against jagged rock making me wince in numb pain.

I eventually let go and drifted on the surface a little while, thinking what I could do, where I could go. I stared sadly at the land, how it was so unfairly high. But the beach was low, I could get up there...But he wouldn't be there, and he is who I want to see the most.

"Um...Hi?" My brain recalled that embarrassing moment the last time I met him...Well, came into contact with him. Oh how I could've said something more...Responsive for him, said something more funny. Yeah, as if that wasn't forehead smacking painful enough.

I limply swam towards the beach, the waters getting higher and stronger, the skies the colour of the sea, strange growling sounds emerged as well as the white flashes above.

I made it to the beach, I peeked around, and no one was out. I believed it was because of the rain, the naturally light coloured sand was dark from the rain that soaked it.

Higher from the beach, there were houses, and more of that spiky green stuff on the ground. Also on the ground were metal walking machines, they creaked and scared me a little. But thankfully I was out of eye sight as I let the tide drift my tired body upon the lovely damp sand.

I was fully revealed. My purple seashell top made my boobs a little bigger, but it was my tail I was worried about, it was big, scaly and bright green, of course it would attract a lot of attention. If it were a hot day on the beach, it'd be crowded like my kingdom on fresh algae days, and it'd cook me like a cod. The rain kept me hydrated and plump and moving.

I used my arms to drag myself to a boulder, my hair clung around my neck and plastered down my back, and its then when I felt the first ray of sun shine. It hit the nape of my neck that was free from my hair, and it made me warm. But I already felt my tail go dry and I glanced down, scared for my own safety.

I was quite a way from the shore, I could make it, but I wanted to see if that boy would appear. I stared at the higher ground, just catching the edge of the building that I last seen him at from the buildings in front of it that were quite ugly and bold.

My tail felt drier, and I heard more rackety noises from machines that whirred down the ground and around sharp corners. A huge shadow casted over my body, and when I threw my neck back to look up, I caught the massive metal machine flying in the air with orange flickering light from its back, and then it glowed a raw blue.

I looked back down, but was shocked and stunned to see a little child just standing a few tails from me. I lifted my chest from the boulder and rested at arm's length from it, mouth agape and casting glances behind him and to my right where more buildings were.

The boy just stood there with something in his hands, he had damp brown hair, and small features, but big blue eyes that were mesmerizing. I flew my hair out of my way and smiled at him, but he backed up a bit.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no..." I whimpered, not wanting to scare a child and stopped my tooth bearing grin. This boy was...odd. His legs whirred and made weird sounds, like scraping, and it's when I stared too long that I noticed his leg was made out of metal parts. It worked with other metal parts to function. "What's your name?" I asked quickly to get his attention before he ran away screaming.

"M-m-m-"He stuttered, he must be really scared. I reached out my hand and smiled a little more, seeming a little desperate for no unwanted attention to be directed at me.

"It's alright, I'm Ariel." I nodded towards him, but his chin went further down.

"M-mummy..." He trailed back, finally his words becoming clear that my brain started to act. He's going to scream, isn't he?

"Crap-"I muffled, my tail getting layered with sand that stuck to my scales, I flapped it against the sand to have some more flicked on instead of batting off. "It's okay, I'm friendly-Hey, I'm friendly!" The boy started to run off, and I heaved myself over the boulder feebly. My gut felt like it was knocked back into my other organs and I felt a little stuck.

My tail was now getting dryer and it was starting to affect my whole body. I was becoming weak, like the fish tales. How the fish would accidently land on land and they cook in the sun. The sun was alright, but it was killing the life in my tail, and my tail was my life. It was weakening me dramatically.

I scoffed as I rolled on the boulder, crawling off of it and diving into the sand, which had an annoying clean sheet over my damp face. I cursed and dragged myself little by little to the shore, the new cool force hitting my body with its invisible touch.

"Agh." I moaned, my hair also collecting sand, and shells for that matter.

When I knew it was getting too much for me and I needed water on my tail, I fluttered my eyes and lolled on my back, slowly breathing.

"There she is!" I heard the distant voice of the boy, the little one who ran away from me. Am I scary? Is my body so hard for them to accept? The lad probably brought his mother, and along with her, her entourage that were going to kill the weird thing on the beach the boy found.

Am I going to die?

I lifted my head with weak muscles and seen the boy, and by his side was the lad. The boy I seen before, his strapping body was hard to see when he wore his bulky jacket, but I seen his eyes and instinctively knew who he was.

And straight away, crossing our distance with quick movements, he was by my side, just like that. I stared at his face, his darling face that made me tingle. I had never felt like this before. Ever. My heart was raving and, even though my tail was cooking in the new rays of sun shine, I smiled up at him. Knowing I looked a state, with sand all over my face and body, shells on my chest and a huge icky green tail that's scaly and slimy with red hair stuck to my body.

His face read worried yet confused, he didn't know where to put his hands, first he put them through his hair and rubbed his eyes as I strained myself to stay awake. The heat knocking me out, I was coming in and out of consciousness, like falling asleep and trying my hardest to keep awake.

Then I felt him when my eyes finally decided to close, and my tail felt like a numb deadweight to my body, I couldn't even feel the gashes on it anymore. But I felt his hands move over it.

"She's boiling, she must need water-Hey, wake up!" He gently patted my face, I felt him. My mind was smiling, it was shining with delight, he was touching me, and he was talking to me, sort of speaking. "Damn." He made a curse under his breath and I heard a gasp from his side and mine. The little boy must still be here, observing this strange creature he found that was me.

I felt a strange feeling over my tail, like a shield, a cooling shield like a shadow casted over it. Then I felt arms, oh wow! Strong arms! They were his arms, right? They were strong as he wrapped them under my thin body, slicking under my tail which I believed he had covered.

My body was against him, I was so close to a human, a human boy! Oh my gosh, how odd, strange...But my chest was raging, hurting, it was a wonderful feeling, then again I was losing consciousness quickly from being dehydrated.

And I just felt his arms around my body and the cool force blowing against my skin, drying it and letting the tiny beads of sand flake off. I felt the steps he took, thump, thump, thump, thump. A steady rhythm to make me lose myself to sleep along with my heart, which was smiling, too.