A/N: Just letting you know that I'm going off of the original Little Mermaid story. Just wanted yall to know so you wouldn't be confused with this chapter. Also thanks for the feedback! Here's chapter one!

She stood behind a wall, listening to their conversation. Please don't say it, please, please, please don't say it, she begged in her mind over and over again.

"I am so glad that this was able to work out. I have a feeling this marriage will bring nothing but joy and success for both you two and the kingdoms! Well, I guess I should say now kingdom since the two will combine!" She heard Eric's adviser exclaim.

Marriage. The word pierced her heart. She sunk down and opened her mouth, but no words came out. She should have known better. She was a princess too- when someone from another royal court that was your age and unwed came to visit the kingdom, they weren't coming to take a tour. They came for one thing and one thing only: marriage. An alarm should have gone off in her head when that princess, came by yesterday, but she had cling on to the hope that the prince would look past the princess and want to marry her. She knew it was a long shot, and she knew that it wasn't certain how the prince felt about her. But she still hoped and prayed every day that before the fifth day she had on this land, he would marry her.

But he didn't. He would marry this princess, and continue to live his life. She, on the other hand, would have to go back to her prison. No, it would be hell now. Because she wouldn't go back to her family. She would have to go back with Ursula and be her slave, give up her soul and do who knows what.

Ariel felt something wet on her face. She was crying. She had heard about this- it was something humans did. She didn't like it but she couldn't stop the tears from running down her face. She brought her legs to her chest and held her self, wishing she could just scream, say anything, do something. But she couldn't. The sea witch had her voice- it was what she had given her in exchange for these legs.

After crying for quite some time, she realized that the conversation she had been listening to was over. She didn't know where they were- nor did she want to face them. She did not want to cry in front of them. She wanted to leave this place, face her fate now and get it over with.

She walked back into the room he had let her stay in. She had loved it because it had a view of the sea. Now, she couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand this place or this land. But she didn't want to go back to the sea either. She was trapped-there was no middle ground, no haven she could go to now. And if she tried to run away, the sea witch would find her. She couldn't run away from her problems like she had before. She had to face them now.

She grabbed a few things to take with her. Whether she would need them, she did not know. She took off the black flats he had given her- they were far too small for her feet and uncomfortable- how could humans walks around in them all day? Ariel struggled, but was able to get rid of the corset she had on (another stupid uncomfortable and unnecessary thing humans insisted upon), happy that she could breath easier. She was ready now.

As she walked down the halls, she took in what she thought was going to be her new home one last time. Looking back now, part of her was glad she wouldn't be living here. The castle was gloomy, there was no color, all the servants looked down as they walked through the halls and never smiled. As hard as she tried, she couldn't imagine herself living here. But then again, anything would be better than being a slave to the sea witch.

She managed to sneak past the guards and made her way towards the beach, ignoring the tears streaming down her face. Ariel stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Ursula, leaning against a rock, smiling. She knew, of course she knew. Ariel wiped away her tears, not wanting her to see them. She wanted to face her fate with dignity and maturity, even if on the inside she was breaking.

"It's so good to see you again child," She said, her voice mockingly sweet. Ariel just looked at her with as much defiance she could muster. It was all she could do. Ursula still had her voice- which was inside the necklace she was wearing right now. Oh how she wanted that necklace, wanted to snatch it from her, but she knew it would only cause more trouble. Ursula was more powerful than her.

"I know it's so heartbreaking, watching your prince marry another," She said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ariel brushed it off, so tempted to just run away.

"And normally I would let our contract stand and take you back, but," She circled around Ariel, her tentacles moving with her, "I have thought of another deal."

She looked at Ariel, smiling that same grin she had when she convinced her to sign the contract that gave her legs. Only this time, Ariel wasn't jumping to sign this new deal. She was now wary of her, realizing why those had warned her to stay away from the sea witch all those years.

"Now I know what you're thinking and I promise that for this deal, you do not have to give up anything of yours. In fact, think of it more as us doing a favor for one another." She was surprise by Ariel's defiance. She didn't see the naïve, uncertain girl she had met a few days ago. Heartbreak seemed to have harden her. But she knew she could sway her- she hadn't gotten to explaining what the deal was.

"Now child, I know you don't want to return to the sea. Usually, I would say 'oh well!' and keep our end of the bargain. However, as I mentioned earlier, I have changed my ways. Also since you're my niece I feel that if I don't help you, it would just be so... wrong of me. So that's why I'm bringing this up. You see, this deal will allow you to remain a human. Forever." The mention of staying human sparked something in her. There was a flicker in Ariel's green eyes; she was interested. She looked at her, waiting for her to explain.

"All you have to do," Ursula snapped and a knife appeared in her hand, startling the redhead, "is tonight, when the prince is fast asleep, go into his room and kill him. This knife has magic in it, and by letting the blood from the knife touch your feet, the magic will allow you to remain a human. Forever. All you have to do after that is give me back the knife as it is and then we can go on our separate ways. You'll owe me nothing," Ariel pointed to the locket she was wearing, "Ah yes your voice! You'll get that back as well when you bring me back the knife. Remember: bring it back as it is."

She handed the knife to Ariel, who reluctantly took it. She looked at the knife, running her fingers up and down, careful not to hurt herself. It wasn't too heavy, but the tip was sharp. Very sharp.

"Well?" She asked, waiting for a response, "Do we have ourselves a deal?"

Ariel looked at the knife and then back at Ursula. Her golden eyes were glowing with excitement, her tentacles curling.

She shook her head and threw the knife on the ground. She wasn't going to sink to her level, wasn't going to become some monster. She mouthed the word "no", knowing full well that she would understand.

"Well then," She said, the grin disappearing and a menacing look taking over her face, "I guess it's off to the sea for us!"

The tentacles began to wrap around Ariel, dragging her to the sea. She open her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

"Am I interrupting something?" A new voice spoke. They both turned to see a woman standing there. The sea witch gasped and let go of Ariel. The woman was like nothing she had ever seen before-she had to be from another kingdom. She had a long black cape over her dark purple dress. She had what could only be described as a wicked grin on her face as she walked over to the two.

"Regina, what brings you here?" Ursula asked, unnerved by this woman's presence.

"Well, you never responded to my message about meeting. So I thought I'd paid you a visit," She said, sitting down on a rock and crossing her legs. She was so regal, Ariel couldn't help but be fascinated by this woman.

"Luckily, I don't have to go through the trouble of getting you up to the surface," Regina said, looking at Ariel. Ariel looked away, not liking the attention.

"What do you want?" Ursula demanded, walking towards Regina.

"Oh you know exactly what I want Ursula. It's just a matter of you giving it to me."

"I'm not trading you this curse. Nothing you can offer will make me give it to you," Ursula said through her teeth.

Regina simply smiled and leaned forward, "Then I guess I'll have to take it myself. That's no problem."

There was a blast and Ariel hid behind one of the rocks. She peered out to see what was a huge rock now smashed to pieces.

Ursula was throwing what Ariel could only describe as beams at Regina. She deflected them, pushing it aside as if they were nothing. She was fascinated- she knew her father could do magic but the only time she and her sisters ever saw him use it was when he would control the seas. She was surprised by how Ursula used magic as if it was...normal. Magic had always captivated her- so it was no surprise that she found herself watching this fight, instead of running away.

Regina raised her hand, and a huge rock rose from the ground. She flung it towards Ursula, who smashed it, but held the pieces in the air. She flung the debris in Regina's direction, who created a shield to protect her.

Regina drew her arm back, ready to cast another spell. But Ursula was quicker this time, knocking her to the ground and binding her so she couldn't move. She grinned, moving closer to Regina. Ariel moved out from behind the rock and opened her mouth to scream and threw her hand up in the air.

A force knocked Ursula to ground. It looked like light blue dust, different from the purple that was Regina and the green that was Ursula. There was no way Regina could have cast it, as she was still bounded up at the time. Ursula picked herself up, her attention now to Ariel, who was looking at her hand, scared.

"Well, isn't this exciting?" Ursula exclaimed, moving towards Ariel, grabbing her hand, "Not only did I get a daughter of Triton, I got the chosen one."

Ursula cast some sort of spell, the green haze heading towards Ariel. Ariel threw her arms in front of her, as if to protect herself and the haze went everywhere but towards her. She had done it again. Ursula picked herself back up, determined to get to Ariel. She lunged forward, but then froze, finding herself unable to move. Ariel looked past the sea witch and saw that Regina had frozen her. It wasn't until Ariel heard the gasps that she realized Regina was also choking Ursula.

"Give me the curse," She gritted through her teeth. There was no playfulness in her. Her glare terrified Ariel.

"Alright!" Ursula choked out. Regina smiled and let her go. Ursula regained her composure, trying to maintain some dignity. Out of the air, she pulled out a vile that had a glowing purple substance in it. Regina snatched it and examined the vile, a grin slowly appearing on her face.

"I'm so happy we were able to reach an agreement," Regina said, clutching onto the vile.

Ursula rolled her eyes, "Now that you're satisfied, I have other business to attend to." And with that, she turned around, her attention back to Ariel. Ariel took several steps back, but then stopped. It was inevitable; she was going to become a slave to this...monster. She got herself into this, and this other woman clearly wasn't interested in helping her. She closed her eyes and extended her arm out, ready for Ursula to take her back to the ocean, ready to feel a tentacle grab her.

She waited for what felt like an eternity, ready. But it never happened. It wasn't until she heard the mangled-like noises that she opened her eyes. Regina had binded Ursula, making the witch unable to move. That didn't stop the sea witch from trying to break the spell. To Ariel's amazement, she couldn't.

"I gave you the curse, what more do you want?" Ursula demanded.

"Oh Ursula, when will you learn? If truly want to be powerful, you can't let your enemies walk away," She paused, "You have to destroy them."

Both Ursula and Ariel's eyes widen and Ariel got down on the ground as a way to protect herself. Although her father had tried to shield his daughters from it, she had sneaked around and managed to see an execution . The magic would go only in the direction of the one being killed; she was safe on the ground.

She heard screaming and a loud crash. She opened her eyes and saw that nothing remained of the sea witch but only the now tattered fabric of the dress she wore and the locket.

The locket.

Regina was already walking away, her back facing Ariel. Her work was done. Quickly, Ariel got up and ran towards the locket. She picked it up; it was still glowing with magic. If she listened closely, she could faintly hear her voice, singing the melody the witch asked her to sing when she cast the spell.

"You!"

Ariel froze and looked up. Regina was quickly moving towards her. She clutched to the locket and started running away, but Regina was able to catch her and use the same binding curse she had used on Ursula, causing her to hang a few feet in the air. In the midst of casting the spell, Ariel had dropped the locket.

"While that sea witch isn't as powerful as she liked to think, the fact you were able to deflect one of her spells is...impressive." It sounded as if this woman had binded Ariel to compliment her. But Ariel knew that was something else this woman wanted. She struggled to move, but couldn't.

"Who are you? And who taught you such magic?" Ariel open her mouth and shook her head, hoping she would realize that she was unable to talk.

"Answer me!" Regina demanded, not catching on. Just when she had escaped one witch, she had ran into another. Regina watched as Ariel struggled to break free from the spell's grip.

But to both their amazement, she did. She landed on the ground, her hand a few inches away from the locket. Regina was taken back by the girl's power, stepping back.

Ariel looked up at her, trying to give a glare (but she had never been known to be intimidating so she knew the look most likely did very little to this woman). The locket caught her attention and Ariel grabbed it, holding it.

"What are you?" Regina demanded again.

Ariel curled her hand into a fist, crushing the locket. Tears began to well up in her eyes due to the pain and she opened her mouth, silently screaming. It wasn't until the necklace has been completely crushed that a sound came out of mouth, a cry of pain.

As soon as the sound came out, she closed her mouth and let go of the remains of the necklace.

"Care to explain yourself now?" Regina asked, raising an eyebrow. Ariel stood up and pushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes.

"My name is Ariel. At one point, I was a mermaid. I made a deal with the sea witch; she gave me legs in exchange for my voice-"

"All for some prince?" Regina interrupted. Ariel raised an eyebrow, curious as to how she knew.

"I overheard her talking about him. But that still doesn't explain your abilities."

"My father is Triton. King of the sea. In my land, the crown is not passed to the first born. Instead, the heir is chosen at random. The heir will receive the ability to do magic and that's how you know they've been chosen," Ariel explained. She didn't know why she was telling her all this. What did it matter to her?

"And you've been chosen?" Ariel nodded her head, "Try not to get too excited about it," Regina rolled her eyes.

"You don't understand!" Ariel raised her voice, "To you, magic means power. To me, it means nothing but a prison. If my family had known the truth, that I was the heir, they would make sure I would never leave the palace. I would have to stay in one place for the rest of my life, marry someone I didn't love. Magic is what turned my aunt into the sea witch you know her as, and it's what destroyed my father, though he'll never admit it!" Ariel felt her knees begin to give out, so she sat down on the sand, bringing her knees to her chest, looking out to the sea.

After a few moments of silence, Regina spoke, "Magic can mean freedom if you choose to let it mean that. You don't have to go back there. You can stay here and learn to control it. Once you control it, you'll be free."

Ariel rolled her eyes, "And how will I do that? I have nowhere to stay and no one to teach me."

"I can teach you."

Ariel looked up to see that Regina was serious. She burrowed her brow, confused by this woman's sudden kindness.

"Why would you want to help me?" She asked.

"Because," Regina paused, "You remind me of myself. Well, my younger self. I also see great potential in you."

Ariel stood up and walked over to Regina. She stared at the woman, trying to figure her out. Her expression was softer, much more vulnerable now. Something in this woman was broken, she could sense it. But how, she didn't know. What she did know was that this woman was offering her help, a place to stay. Regina grabbed her hand, the one she had used to crush the necklace. She didn't even realize until now that it had been bleeding. Regina waved her own hand over it, and in a blink of an eye the blood and wound was gone. It looked as if nothing had ever happened.

"How did you do that?" Ariel asked, amazed.

"When you know magic, you can do just about anything," She told her. Ariel looked up at her, her words echoing in her ears.

Once you can control it, you'll be free.

Free.

"When do I start learning?" Ariel asked. Regina laughed.

"Tomorrow. First, we have to get back to my kingdom." So she was a queen.

As she followed Regina, Ariel realized she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She took one last look at the sea and prayed that it was for the best.

Well, hoped you liked it! Don't forget to review!