A/N: For Drew. C: I hope you feel better soon.


The Little Mermaid


Love at first sight.

Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth laughs at the notion. Such nonsense does not exist to her, and even if it does (which she very much doubts) she is wise enough to know that it does not end well.

Courtesy of her five older sisters, she is aware of all the dangers of letting your heart control your body and mind. And as the youngest princess of the undersea kingdom, she is forced to listen to the hoi polloi complain about how they have been betrayed by humans countless times at least once, during the blasted annual event held by the royal family in an effort to maintain an 'approachable' air.

Oh yes, she hears so many stories, that they have become a woven tapestry of tales that she can recall by memory, even though the memoirs are not at all hers.

And that is exactly why she is so unwilling to venture even the slightest bit closer to the titanic vessel that is sailing through the clear seas. She refuses to inch closer, though she knows that she is attracted to the prince aboard the ship. Isabel dismisses it as physical attraction and waits as the ship alters course, sailing back to their homeland. But though the prince has sailed away, his amber eyes still linger in her mind's eye.

She shakes her head, as though trying to consign the sight of the man to oblivion; it will not do to have a human plague her thoughts. In fact, Isabel knows perfectly well that it is best for a mermaid such as herself to find a merman of equal aristocracy and nobility; a merman like Broderick, for example.

Yes, her childhood friend who is also a part of the echelon of society is a good choice, and it helps that she does hold a few feelings for him—all of which are those that have never been acted upon before. She does not think that it matters much, for as future queen, any sane merman would be clamouring to be her king; no matter if only a king consort or not.

And as she is so immersed in her thoughts, Isabel does not even realize that she has bumped into the very person she is thinking about.

"Broderick," she greeted, with just a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

"Isabel," he replies, in the melodic voice that has caused more than just a few cases of envy in the past. She cannot pinpoint exactly what it is, but Broderick seems to be very different today. It's the first time she has ever seen him so…happy. But for some reason, uneasiness washes over her, for she can't help but feel like something terrible is brewing.

"Why are you smiling so widely?" she asks, and it takes more than a little effort to keep the bitterness from colouring her voice.

His cheery mood is unaffected by her slightly sullen-looking face. "What do you mean? I'm always happy, am I not?"

No, he doesn't. Not always.

Not around her.

Instead, she just purses her lips and questions, "Is there a reason for your joy?" She does so without any change in her facial expression, though she can feel jealousy spread like a bushfire in the outback, for he has never smiled so much before.

Not with her.

And she ponders why something—or someone—else is able to make him feel this way when she can't. She is Isabel, after all, and it is of her opinion that her very presence can induce a state of happiness.

The look in Broderick's eyes looks vaguely familiar, and she realizes why. His answer only confirms her worst suspicions: "I think I'm in love."

Isabel feigns indifference, but a small part of her dies on the inside, for she knows that she is going to lose him somehow. "Who is she?" she asks curtly.

"A princess from a nearby land; Cora is her name."

She spots a small vial of fluid that is partially hidden in his left hand, and it dawns on her that they are only a bit more than a stone's throw away from the shoreline. "Are you going to meet her now?" He nods. "And that vial you're clenching is for her, I presume?" Though the timbre of her voice is nonchalant, rage flashes across her irises.

Because she never receives even the smallest trinket from him.

"It is," he tells her, but Isabel can tell he is lying.

She lets him go on with his journey to the shore, all the while following him from afar. She conceals herself by hiding behind a jagged rock that juts out from the azure-looking sea near the beach, and watches as he drinks the fluid in one go. Slowly but surely, he transforms into a human; his tail being replaced by a pair of legs.

"What have you done?" she asks him in bewilderment, and he is so startled that he falls onto the sand. She repeats her question numerous times, but he does not answer, and she soon abandons him to search for the Sea Witch, who Isabel knows has something to do with this.


"Welcome! Welcome!" the Sea Witch, Ursula, calls out. "What can I do for you today, Princess Isabel? We have—"

Isabel interrupts her, "What did you give Broderick?"

A wickedly sly smile spreads across Ursula's full lips. "Rather than what I gave him, are you not more interested in what he asked of me?" Isabel simply stares coldly at her. The Sea Witch clears her throat, knowing full well that the princess is not in the mood for any dilly-dally. "He asked me for a potion that enables him to live on land; his voice and tail in exchange for a pair of legs that will make him the best dancer that the country has ever seen."

"Why?" Isabel probes.

The Sea Witch shrugs. "The things that creatures do for love are unfathomable to me."

Isabel barks a harsh laugh. "It's not love. I know it isn't."

"Oh, really?" Ursula quirks an eyebrow. "Why, then, would your little merman friend accept the potion when he knows that every single step he takes will be like walking on broken glass, if not for the princess who loves dance and all things art?" The Sea Witch cackles. "He took it even though he knew that the princess is in love with the neighbouring prince." She gazes at Isabel, mirth dancing about in her eyes. "Broderick may be a fool, but who is the bigger one for loving him?"

Isabel shoots her the evil eye, and her voice turns gelid, because the one thing she hates the most is to be called a fool. "Do not forget that you are still under my family's rule. Do you wish to be banished to the nadir?"

The Sea Witch shrinks back slightly, for if the princess stays true to her word, Ursula will surely lose all her customers. "My apologies, Your Highness," Ursula grovels.

Isabel scoffs. "Spare me, for I know that there is not one remorseful bone in your body," she sneers to the half-human, half-octopus creature. "I shall take my leave now."

"Of course, princess. But before you go, may I interest you in one of my potions? It's freshly brewed," Ursula grabbed a small flask the size of a perfume bottle, "and it will help you greatly in the near future."

Isabel eyed her suspiciously. "Do not bother. I shall be—"

"Oh," the Sea Witch says, a huge smirk on her face, "but I insist." And she all but shoved it into the princess' hand.


It does not take long for Isabel to spot the ship she is looking for on the next day, because it is a huge vessel with the name of the prince carved into the side. She perches herself on a gigantic rock—her vantage point—where she knows the HMS Vikram will pass. And sooner or later, the man she seeks is standing on the hull of his ship, with his gaze locking onto hers.

"Greetings," she annunciates. Vikram nods, acknowledging the mermaid in front of him. "I have a proposition for you."

For a good moment, she feels like he will only ignore her completely. "What will I gain?"

"Power." Isabel can almost see his ears prick up at the hearing of the word and his eyes light up slightly. "Call off your engagement to the Princess Cora and break her heart. Marry me instead, and I will become your ally," she explains.

He raises an eyebrow. "And what is so special about you?"

"I am the princess of the sea. If I am on your side, then so is the underwater world."

She can almost see the cogs turning in his head and his mind contemplating the pros and cons of simply capturing her while she is unprotected. But Vikram is as sharp as he looks and decides that it is simply too risky a manoeuvre, for even his largest army cannot win against the likes of the Kraken. Instead, he turns to look at her and asks: "Your name, princess?"

"Isabel," she replies contritely. He analyses her expression, and Isabel knows somehow that he is trying to decipher her intentions against Cora. "I hold nothing against her," she finally tells him, "but I hold the world against the mute man who loves her more than me."

"Was he a merman?" he asks, remembering the sight of the man who did little to move from Cora's side yesternight when the wedding date was announced. She nods once, affirming his suspicions. "He gained a pair of legs in return for his tail." It was more of a statement than a question.

"That, along with his voice."

"And should you turn into a human in time for our impending wedding—"

"So you are in agreement?"

He glares at her. "I may not be anymore, should you choose to interrupt me further."

She shows no signs of fear, and quirks an eyebrow instead. "As you were saying?"

He notes that she does not apologise and that her lackadaisical attitude infuriates him slightly, but he grudgingly puts the matter aside for now. "Should you turn into a human in time for our impending wedding, will you be losing anything that will be detrimental to communication between us two?"

"No," she answers nonchalantly, yet confidently, "the second item does not affect me at all."

Because she has lost her heart a long time ago.


A/N: When I wrote 'Ingenue', I felt that it wasn't completely finished. So this is pretty much the companion piece. Broderick is Ariel's counterpart here, not Isabel. This was inspired by the fact that I think Broderick lacks a voice, so to speak, around Cora.

I was almost going to use the version, where the protagonist turns into sea foam at the end, but that would entail much talk about a mermaid's soul, so I scrapped that idea. ^^;