Chapter One: Reaching Out
"Mommy, will you take me to see the humans someday?" Ariel, who was currently eight years of age, inquired innocently. Nervously anticipating her mother's answer, she twirled a piece of her vibrant red hair around her finger (that had always been a bad habit of hers!) as her eyes wandered from one human artifact to the next.
"Of course, darling, but not until you get older," her mother responded, kissing her gently atop the head. "I will take you on the day of your fifteenth birthday."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mommy! You're the best!" Ariel exclaimed giddily, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck tightly.
Little Ariel couldn't have been any more ecstatic from that point on, for it had only been her hope and dream since she was a little girl to see one (or maybe even more!) of those fascinating creatures with her own two eyes. All of their stuff was so wonderful, so wouldn't their manufacturers be the exact same way? "Wow, now I only wish seven years would go by sooner!" she added in afterthought.
"Oh, my dear sweet Ariel, seven years will come and go by quickly enough," her mother laughed, while stroking her youngest daughters hair lovingly. "Enjoy every last moment while you can."
With the voices of the past swirling around in her head, Ariel's eyes fluttered, her sleep having been interrupted by the shrill, monotonous buzzing of her alarm clock. Slamming down on the snooze button, she rolled over onto her back and curled up into a little ball under the covers.
Dismayed, she felt the warmth and lightheartedness she had experienced in her dream begin to slowly fade away, put out like a flame doused by water. Except, in her case, the equivalent to water was the the cold, hard proximity of reality.
Enjoy every last moment while you can... the voice echoed. Ariel winced at the sound of her mother's voice floating around in her head. Nowadays, there mere sound of Andromeda's voice caused a sharp shooting pain to tear through her heart and tears to burn in her eyes. For a slight moment, she even thought she was going to be sick to her stomach, too, but, to her great relief, that feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come on.
Still, her mother's words of wisdom remained, even though they perplexed Ariel.
How was she supposed to enjoy "every last moment" of her life if her mother wasn't there for her to enjoy it with? How was she supposed to stay true to her mother's word if she felt like an outsider in her own skin and barely even recognized her reflection in the mirror anymore? Furthermore, how was she supposed to live by this philosophy if there was nothing to enjoy in her life? There really was no one who noticed her, not at home and not at school; no one who really cared enough about her to know who she was or what she was doing anymore.
With those previous thoughts in mind, Ariel yawned and finally found enough energy to pull herself out of bed, partly because a little voice in the back of her head reminded her that if she laid around any longer she'd be late for school. Yes, school. She had given up on her tutors long ago and had told her father shortly thereafter she would be attending public school. At least there, her sisters (and her own father) wouldn't poke and prod at her constantly. At least there she could easily be confined to her own thoughts and no one would even pay second mind to her.
Idly, Ariel then continued dragged herself through her morning routine, concluding her ritual by checking her reflection in the mirror before departing.
As she stared at her face, she couldn't help but notice that she looked so much different than she had before.
Ever since her mother's death, she was constantly changing and shifting, both mentally and physically. Put quite simply, she never really felt like herself anymore.
Indeed, her eyes used to sparkle on a day to day basis, especially when she was in the vicinity of human stuff, but now they were red and blood-shot, riddled relentlessly with tears. Her face used to have a happy-go-lucky sort of glow to it, too, but now it was pale, looking as if she hadn't seen happiness in weeks or had laughed warmly in months, of which was probably one-hundred percent true. Hey, there was no point in denying the truth.
But perhaps the most unnerving factor about her morphing reflection, however, was that her hair wasn't quite as vibrant as it once was; it seemed to have been losing intensity ever since her mother's passing. Once upon a time, it been her most prized possession and most well-known feature, in addition to her voice, of course, but now it was just one more thing attached her head, succumbing slowly, along with everything else, into her melancholy state of mind.
Grabbing her nearly-empty book bag at the door, Ariel swam down the hallways in a daze, trying not to dwell on her previous thoughts for too long, for she knew that if she thought the same thing for too long or for too much at a time, it would only end up depressing her more.
She swam past the dining hall, not even bothering to stop to get a bite to eat, deciding to skip breakfast this morning. Her stomach strongly protested that notion, but she, nonetheless, completely ignored the pangs of hunger. They could wait until later because she, honestly, didn't feel like facing her father and her sisters this morning. Eating would just have to wait until later, then. Besides, the last thing she needed was another lecture from her family about "moving on." She, quite frankly, wasn't ready to accept the fact that her mother was gone and forget about it like everyone else seemingly had. The way she saw it, no one had been closer to Queen Andromeda than Ariel herself. Personally, therefore, it was going to take her longer to mourn and get herself together than most other regular people.
Hearing the bell ring in the distance, Ariel realized she was going to be late to class again, that is, unless she could miraculously swim ten miles in two short minutes. It was, indeed, possible for her to do so, but, for some reason or another, she continued on with her slow pace and, in the long run, didn't feel all too concerned about the matter whatsoever. Funny enough, if you were a daughter of Triton, the teachers seemed to completely exempt you from all trouble you got yourself into. In relation to that, she'd probably just get off with another warning, of which she would tune out of until it was over, and that would be that.
Besides, she'd prefer to be out and about at school than to mope around her room all day. There was less in that dull, uneventful building to remind her of her mother than there was in her own room and it was somehow easier to drift back into the shadows and go unnoticed without really trying. Plus, it gave her a temporary distraction, something else to think about besides herself, which, actually, was warmly welcomed in her book.
She slunk down into her seat twenty minutes later, taking pride in the fact that no one even paid any mind to her tardiness anymore. She unpacked a piece of paper and something to write with, continuing to stare up intently at the board. She actually was quite looking forward to whatever their next lesson was going to be. Okay, so, maybe she was overly depressed as it was, but she still couldn't help but be very passionate about her ninth grade studies, even if she wasn't as vocal about it as she had once been.
Squinting, she watched on as her teacher, Ms. Ashford, wrote two words up on the chalkboard, wondering eagerly what could be on agenda. As the teacher stepped away, two words in big block handwriting remained: HUMAN STUDIES.
Ariel nearly had a heart-attack at the mere sight of it. What kind of a sick joke was this? Honestly! Human studies? Was that even legal? It certainly hadn't been when she was younger, that was for sure.
"Now, I know that you all are probably wondering why on Earth we would ever studies the vermin known to us as the humankind, but it has been made a standard in our history departments by the high and mighty King Triton in honor of Queen Andromeda-"
"May she rest in peace," the class chorused, bowing their heads down for a moment out of respect.
"He explained to us that he knew that his wife would have liked for each child to know that there is two sides to every story, especially in relation to humans. I know, I'm just as excited as all the rest of you are to begin these lessons and, well, anyway, he has dedicated this unit of study in her memory," she continued. "And, as you know, summer vacation is coming up very soon, so this will, most likely, take up the rest of our year."
The students sat in dead silence, unsure of how to feel about this new twist. Ariel still looked as if she was going to pass out any moment now as the teacher continued to elaborate on their new studies.
On one hand, she was proud of her father for dedicating the learning of humans in her mother's memory; it's what her mother would have wanted, but, at the same time, it wasn't. She knew her mother well enough to know that would rather liked a lesson taught on the kindness and gentle nature of humans and their stuff dedicated in her name than one that instead ridiculed them.
On the bright side, though, Ariel knew that she definitely wasn't going to fail this unit since she was practically an encyclopedia on the human world. Although, she preferred not to think much about it since it reminded her, quite painfully, of who had given her a good portion of that knowledge...
Bowing her head in respect and memory to her mother, she felt a single tear run down her face and splatter onto her piece of paper.
And she didn't even bother to wipe it away.
On the other side of the classroom, a young man by the name of Netis sat calmly and quietly in his desk as the teacher explained their upcoming unit.
The whole human studies concept had come to him as a shocking blow and he was just as surprised as everyone else in the room, including the young princess. Never in a million years had he imagined that he'd live to see the day when his teacher would teach them about humans...
As the class voiced their remembrance of Queen Andromeda, Netis couldn't help but peer over his shoulder to see how the youngest daughter of the said queen was handling it. Well, could you blame him for being a little bit curious?
As he had predicted, she was both taken aback and grief-stricken; he could tell by her countenance. He continued to watch her closely as her face fell and a single tear streamed down her cheek, seemingly unnoticed by everybody else.
Automatically, he felt like jumping up and hugging her, while reassuring her that everything would be okay.
See, he knew exactly what she was going through because he, too, had lost his mother when he was younger. He knew that her pain must've been unbearable and her thoughts never-ending; he had been there, done that. He just wished that there was some way that he could help her, but would someone like Ariel really pay attention to a mere commoner like him...?
"To begin this lesson, class, we'll need to partner up. Keep in mind these partners will be your partners for the rest of our unit, do, if you will, when you are paired up, go and move next to your partner, okay? " Ms. Ashford continued, snapping Netis out of his thoughts. "I'll will be assigning who you will work with, as well, so quit eye-balling each other," she stated simply as her class groaned in response. "Let's see, we'll start with you Netis," she continued locking eyes with him. "We will pair you up with... Ah, I know. You will be working with Ariel. That should be a wonderful match."
Netis felt his heart leap up into his throat and his stomach do a couple of back-flips. This could be his chance to help ease the suffering the youngest daughter was feeling; what luck he had just had! He made a mental note to himself to thank Ms. Ashford later as he stood up to take a seat in the unoccupied desk next to Ariel. As he had expected, she didn't even acknowledge his presence or even say a simple "hello" as he sat down beside her.
After the rest of the class had been paired up, the teacher continued to provide the students with some background information that was needed in order to complete their first paper. He knew Ariel wasn't paying attention, probably absorbed in her own thoughts again, so he was sure to listen extra-closely in case he ended up writing the paper in the end, which, by all means, was fine with him.
"Now, humans have many tools that can be both wonderful and deadly," she explained, holding up some black and white pictures to reinforce her point. "This particular one is called a harpoon and it is used for killing whales."
He could hear a few gasps as she continued on, explaining various artifacts and their uses, both good and bad. "You think that's terrible? You haven't seen the worst of it," she remarked with a sigh. "And last, but certainly not least, this is called a hook, or more commonly referred to as a fish-eater's hook. It will strangle any of its victims alive and is the most common cause for mermaid deaths-"
This sentence, apparently, had struck a chord with Ariel. He observed her carefully her eyes watered and her face burned a fiery red, almost more so than her hair; he could even swear that he could hear her heart shattering, too. Abruptly, she got up and rushed out of the classroom, even though no one paid any attention to her random outbursts anymore.
Netis made to follow after her, knowing that it was the right thing to do. This move received many odd looks from his classmates, but not a single protest was to be heard. Normally when Ariel left crying, no one followed her. They normally just shrugged it off and figured that she'd be back for class tomorrow when she pulled herself together again.
This time, however, was different, for that single young man followed her out into the hall, where she had since collapsed on the ground, overwhelmed by tears.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
Today had all been too much for her to handle. From her dream about her mother this morning, to the human studies announcement, to the explanation of the hook in class, she just couldn't take it anymore; she had to get away for a little while to get a hold of herself.
Hearing the door close behind her, she looked up, tear-stricken, to see a young man's algae-green eyes connecting with her own worriedly. No one ever follows me, she thought with a sniffle, wiping away the tears on her face with the back of her hands. Why is he following me?
She couldn't help but notice that his hair was a sleek and black, hanging loosely around his face, and that his skin was an exotic looking dark, sand-like color. Honestly, if she didn't know any better, she'd say he was actually quite handsome.
"Do you need something?" she asked quietly, crossing her arms across her chest protectively.
"I was, um, just making sure that you were okay," he answered, taking a seat down on the ground next to her. "Are you?"
"Yeah, I-I'm fine. You can leave now," she said, looking back down at the floor.
"Are you really?" he asked carefully, reaching forward to brush a piece of hair away from her eyes. She flinched at his touch, but remained silent. "Are you sure you don't need anything? Is there anything I can do-?"
"Look, I don't need your pity," she interrupted softly, scooting back away from him. "I don't need you to feel sorry for me o-or feel the need to do things for me just because I lost my mother. It's very nice of you, but I will have you know that I perfectly c-capable of taking care of myself, thanks. Just let go of whatever pity or sympathy you have for me and get back to class. I'm not worth wasting any more of your time."
"That's not true," he asked gently, cupping the side of her face with his palm. He knew that she probably wanted her space and for shut up and him to leave her alone, but he couldn't bring himself to just get up and walk away from her like that. Besides, he wanted to help her so badly. Wasn't that worth anything?
She shook her head and pulled away, looking directly down at the ground again. "Why do you even care? No one else does," she said, rocking back and forth slightly and clutching her stomach. In this way, it almost looked as if she was going to be sick.
"Because I understand-"
"No one will ever understand me," she cut in sharply. "No one cares," she repeated.
"But I do. I know what you're feeli-" he started, even though he knew that his attempts were futile and he probably still wasn't even going to get another word in edgewise.
"Go away," she suddenly snapped.
"What?" he said, taken aback. "Why?"
"Just leave me alone," she demanded, her voice shaking.
He didn't dare say another word as she pulled her fin to her chest and burst into tears again. Despite what she said previously, he knew for a fact that she wasn't okay and this only proved it to him more.
In response to that thought, he crawled over to her on his hands and fin and did what he had wanted to do for such a long time now. At the same time, however, he knew that he had completely disobeyed and disregarded everything that she had said previously... He was sure she'd understand in due time, though.
So, that's why he reached out to her and wrapped both of his arms around her shoulders, continuing to hug her tightly. And, as he held her close, he knew for a fact that he now cared about her enough to know that she was never worth letting go of.
Interestingly enough, in the original back-story of The Little Mermaid (which is going to be elaborated on by TLM 3: Ariel's Beginning, might I add), Ariel's mother was referred to as Queen Athena and I, for some reason or another, renamed her to Queen Andromeda in this story. Just in case you were wondering, this was partly because I wasn't even thinking and forgot she actually had a name and, guess what, my little error ended up working in my favor! And I'm going to tell you why!
After thinking about it for a bit, I decided to do some research on both names because I wondered if either one could hold more significance to this woman than the other. And I was curious about their etymology, too.
The results were quite surprising and enlightened me greatly: Athena is known to be the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. In this light, she would've been a woman to look up to and admire and love, which, by all means, she was. To me personally, that's not exactly all that she stood for, though. Although she did seem to probably follow along similar principles, there's just another side to her that wasn't completely covered by the meaning of "Athena" alone.
So, then, I looked up the Greek goddess, Andromeda, who also has in an extensive history in mythology, and, among other things, the etymology of her name literally means "to think or to be mindful of man."
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. :)
-Dreaming Wide Awake
P.S. I know Netis is a baby girl's name, but I really, really want to use it as a boy's name (yes, you'll see why a little bit later; there is a method to my madness), so use your imagination for a moment, will you?
P.P.S. This chapter is dedicated to you, Elizabeth Lakecrest, for being such a wonderful reviewer and amazing person to talk to. I thought I'd give you something else to read today. (: