Ariel followed the eels down to a terrifying cave. She was hesitant to enter, starting to change her mind. As she came through the threshold low chuckles bounced off the walls.
"Come in. Come in my child." A hideous half squid creature slithered over to her, "Now, you're here because of this prince fellow. He is quite a catch isn't he? Well, the solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself."
"Can you do that?"
"My dear sweet child, that's what I live for, but it will come at a price."
"but I don't have any-"
"I'm not talking about anything superficial. When you turn human it will feel like a red hot sword is splitting your body in half. Every time you take a step it will feel like walking on broken glass."
"How can I-"
"Only the Prince can break that part of the deal. He will have three days. If he does the pain will stop and you'll remain human permanently, but if he doesn't you'll turn back into a mermaid. And you'll belong to me."
"What does he have to do?"
"Well that's half the fun. You'll have to figure it out yourself. Unless you aren't willing to take the risk?"
Ariel considered for a moment as a piece of parchment was thrust in front of her. Taking a deep breath she signed her name on the bottom. With a cruel laugh Ursula waved her hand and the scroll disappeared. A bottle was tossed at her and Ariel scrambled to catch it.
"I would suggest you drink that on the beach."
Closing it tightly in her fist she swam away with the sound of the sea witches cackles fading into the background.
The eel slipped away before Eric had a chance to snatch it out of the water. He looked around desperately, not knowing where to start looking. It felt utterly hopeless with the endless possible places and his limited ability to search underwater. He tried, calling her name frantically as he rowed a small boat out as far as he dared. When the sun rose he climbed back up the steps of his palace, defeated and angry.
Max ran down to greet him as he raked his hands through his hair. "Her voice, I can't get it out of my head. I've looked everywhere Max. Where could she be?"
Angry with himself for letting it happen he turned and threw his flute into the sea. Suddenly the dog perked up, catching a familiar scent on the breeze. "Max?"
He jumped around wildly and took off with Eric sprinting after him.
Ariel was watching the sunrise occasionally looking down at the potion in her hand. She knew this was the first day and she needed to find Eric if they were going to have time to figure out what they needed to do to break the spell. With a shaking hand she uncorked the bottle, took a drink… and when the first wave of pain hit her, let out an ear shattering scream.