Welcome to my behind the scenes look at "The Little Mermaid and the Princess". What was important to me about this story was giving a serious needed overhaul to the classic Little Mermaid fairy tale. Aside from obviously replacing a prince with a princess, there was a ton of thinking that went into making this a very modern fairy tale, while still taking place in a fairy tale world long ago.
As most can tell, the beginning of this tale was kept mostly the same. Mermaid girl falls in love with a human, and gets a means from a sea witch to turn into a human. But for me, the mermaid had to love the human for something other than the human looking good or seeming nice. Yes, in my story Riley is attracted to Maya's beauty. But in her first scene, Princess Maya speaks about being understanding and not fearing the unknown. Maya essentially shows her quality of character and ability to be tolerant from the very beginning. Riley still has to get to know her more after this, but we have more substance to the concept of love at first sight here.
And for anyone wondering where was the mermaid's family, and why was the stuff with the sea witch stuff so short... Well I didn't want to tread on too much familiar ground. By the middle of chapter 2, I wanted this story to feel more original. And if anyone asks me, why didn't the sea witch come back as the ultimate bad guy who seeks to do evil things, well... I didn't want a real villain in this story. I wanted Riley, Maya, Lucas, and everyone to not be individuals that are trying to ruin the others' lives. The conflict comes from their situation, not from each other. This definitely applies to Lucas more than anyone. Yes by entering the story, he makes Riley and Maya's story more difficult. But Lucas didn't come into the story to make their lives worse. He's trying to just do what's right in his mind. He's not a villain. And that's what makes a better love triangle. If one character in a love triangle acts rude and back stabby, we obviously assume the other two characters in the triangle will become a couple. But by making Lucas kind, honest, and helpful: he instantly becomes of a more believable suitor for Maya's heart.
And speaking of who won Maya's heart, I didn't want this story to become a LGBTQ rights story. I didn't want Riley and Maya's marriage to be resisted by people because they are just close minded. Rather I wanted the reason of their marriage being resisted upon to be more situational. Maya's family needed an heir. Without one, the royal line dies. But then it resulted in a subtle little message I threw in near the end of the story. The tradition and knowledge of a family don't necessarily have to be passed down through blood. They can be passed down by sharing/teaching what you know to anyone. You don't need children for your life have meaning. Your life can have just as much meaning without them, as long as you still have the intent of helping others in the world.
And for anyone wondering: why did you do a story about Riley as a mermaid and Maya as a princess. Well has anyone seen those pictures of actress Rowan Blanchard as a mermaid? They were an inspiration. As for Maya being a princess... has anyone seen actress Sabrina Carpenter? She's beautiful enough to be one. And since they are so cute together, that's how it all fell in place. #Rilaya and #Rowbrina forever!
So those are the thoughts that went into making this story. But is the story over? Perhaps not. Do you all want to see more of this fairy tale universe, and learn what happens to the now married Riley and Maya? Comment and message me to let me know, and maybe this series shall continue.
