Chapter 2: The Clock is Ticking
"Thank you so much, London!" cried the man with the microphone on the stage as the concert was about to end. Wembley Stadium erupted in cheers and applause. This man, with the help of four of his friends, and a full orchestra, had brought a show to the United Kingdom that they would not soon forget.
"A big round of applause..." he began, "...for our dear friend Jamshied Sharifi and the Octavarium Orchestra!" The orchestra stood up and took a bow, to great response from the audience.
"And now," continued the man, pushing his long brown hair out of his face, "I'd like to call up a very special someone from the Octavarium Orchestra, who will sing our final song tonight and give her master violinist's fingers a break, because God knows she deserves it. Wembley, stand up, put your hands together, raise your voices, and show your love for the Octavarium Orchestra's Concertmistress, the lovely and talented Miss Belle Cartier!"
And Belle walked up, dressed in a flattering black concert suit, and took a spare microphone.
"Well, thank you, sir," she started, "but I must say, it's kind of embarrassing: I've been a fan of your music for about a month now, but I still don't know who you are."
"You don't?" laughed the man who had introduced her. The audience chuckled, as well.
"Well," clarified Belle, "I know your band: Dream Theater, but I don't know any names."
"Oh, I got you," answered the man. "Well, first off, I'm Kevin James LaBrie, lead vocalist. I dropped my first name when I joined back in '91 because there was another Kevin in the band, playing keyboards."
"Oh," guessed Belle, "so you became simply James to avoid confusion?"
"Correct," answered James. "By the time Kevin left, though, everyone had grown used to calling me James, so we just kept it."
"Makes sense," agreed Belle. "Anyways, who else is who?"
"Well, let's go around starting to my right," suggested James. "This, over here..." -he indicated a man of Asian descent holding a six-stringed bass guitar- "...is John Myung, our bassist. He's been with the band since the beginning. He and our guitarist went to Berklee College of Music in the state of Massachusetts, which is where they met our original drummer."
"Hello there," greeted Belle warmly, offering her hand.
"Nice to meet you," answered John, taking her hand and shaking it. "Call me JM."
"JM?" asked Belle, confused.
"The man I'm about to introduce you to is the reason why," explained James. With that, he started leading her away from JM towards the other side of the stage.
"We apologize for the delay, folks," joked Belle as they approached a man with long black hair holding a funky-looking electric guitar. The crowd laughed in appreciation, and James also chuckled.
"A sense of humor, ladies and gentlemen!" he shouted to the crowd. "How about that?!" Cheers and applause from the crowd.
"You don't see that too often in onstage orchestras nowadays," added James. "I must say, it's refreshing."
"Yes, well, my incident on the water about a month ago taught me to take life a little less seriously," revealed Belle.
"Where you were saved by a woman who could sing like the angels?" asked James.
"Indeed," affirmed Belle with a wistful smile on her face. "I wish I knew where she was right now; I really want to say thank you to her for saving my life."
"Well, right now," suggested James, "how about you say hello to our lead guitarist, Mr. John Petrucci?" And he indicated the man to whom they had walked up when Belle cracked her joke.
"Lovely to meet you, Mr. Petrucci," greeted Belle, likewise offering him her hand.
"Please," he requested, "call me John. Mr. Petrucci is my father." With that, he took her hand and kissed it. Belle felt her cheeks grow warm and smiled at John, who smiled right back.
"Hey, Wembley," yelled James, "who says chivalry's dead, huh?!" More cheers from the crowd.
James then led Belle around to a bald man with an epic rectangular beard who was standing at a keyboard, to which a fingerboard was also attached.
"This here," introduced James, "is the man we know as Mr. Wizard..." Cheers and applause from the audience. "...but is formally named Jordan Rudess."
"How do you do?" asked Belle kindly, again offering her hand.
"Can't complain," answered Jordan, taking her hand and shaking it. "Well, actually, I could, but who wants to hear that?"
"Amen," agreed Belle, laughing.
"Funny thing," noted Jordan, "it actually took them two tries to get me in this band."
"Really?" queried Belle, surprised.
"It's true," insisted Jordan. "They first recruited me when their original keyboardist left. I probably would have joined if I didn't have a lot of personal things going on at the time. So I respectfully declined their offer and went on tour with a band called the Dixie Dregs."
"Right," added James, "but we really wanted this man to play with us. So along about '99, after he's done with Dixie, he joins a supergroup called Liquid Tension Experiment, along with Mike Portnoy, who was our original drummer, and John."
"That time," joked Jordan, "I said, 'You know what? I'll play with you guys if you'll shut up about it.'" Laughter from the crowd and the band. "Thankfully, the album we made together has been called our masterwork, and I've been with these goofballs ever since."
"And we wouldn't trade you for anything, man," put in James. "OK, real quick, let's come behind the drums here. It's a tight fit, but don't be afraid..." Belle was able to find a seam in between two drum towers and squeeze through. "OK, and this madman back here is the Master from Mass. Say hello to Mike Mangini."
"Enchantée," greeted Belle, once again offering her hand.
"Likewise," answered Mike in English, kissing her hand. "Hey, have you met my friend Luke?"
"Can't say I have," confessed Belle.
"He plays drums and piano, and occasionally sings," explained Mike. "He's a good kid; I'll introduce you to him someday. Now go up there and devour this crowd."
"With pleasure," replied Belle. She then squeezed herself out of the drum space via the same seam she had used to get in, and walked back to the front of the stage.
"Now," began James, "Belle here has a song she wants to send out to someone she lost not long before she came to the UK. Thankfully, it's one of ours, so we know how to play it." Chuckles from the crowd. "Jordan, whenever you're ready, hit it!"
Jordan immediately obliged, beginning a slow, mournful piano riff on his keyboard. After a short while, a hopeful violin, which would normally have been played by Belle, joined in over the piano riff. It didn't last very long, though, and it soon stopped, to be replaced by a sad acoustic melody played by John. Once that was done, John grabbed his electric and began playing a very fast and complicated riff that slowly faded in as the piano stopped.
"Papa..." said Belle sadly to the sky, "...this is for you."
As soon as she finished speaking, the full band kicked in, playing a very happy intro piece with a slight melancholy edge to it. The crowd came to life as they recognized the tune. Belle came in when she was signaled and began the eulogy-style lyrics:
Remember days of yesterday
And how it flew so fast
The one score and a year we had
I thought would always last
The summer days and big-time dreams
I wished would never end
A young girl and her father
Idol and best friend
As the band transitioned to the chorus riff, James took up the background vocals:
I'll always remember
Those were the best of times
A lifetime together
I'll never forget
A quick melodic break, then Belle came back in:
The morning shows on the radio
"The Case of the Missing Dog"
Lying on the pillows in the farmhouse
While watching "Harold and Maude"
It's widely known the bookshop
Was my home away from home
But though we weren't together
I never felt alone
Back to the chorus, James again providing backup:
I'll always remember
Those were the best of times
I'll cherish them forever
The best of times
The band now switched over to a very emotional riff as Belle and James belted out a bridge section:
But then came the day
My life changed forevermore
"You can pray for a change
But prepare for the end"
Another emotional riff, accompanied by the full orchestra, led Belle into the last section of the song, which began with the following, over a simple piano riff:
The fleeting winds of time
Flying through each day
All the things I should have done
But time just slipped away
The band jumped back in, though more as an afterthought than anything else:
Remember, seize the day
Life goes by
In the blink of an eye
With so much...left to say
These were the best of times
I'll miss these days
Your spirit lit my life each day
The piano took over solo once again:
Thank you for the inspiration
Thank you for the smiles
All the unconditional love
That carried me for miles
The band came back again, though with a little bit more power to it this time. Belle looked skyward once again, and did not look at anything else until her lyrics were done:
It carried me for miles
But most of all
Thank you for...
...my life
These were the best of times
I'll miss these days
Your spirit lit my life each day
My heart is bleeding bad
But I'll be okay
Your spirit guides my life each day...
"Wembley," yelled James as the band began the section led by John and his guitar that would bring the song to its end, "let's hear it one more time for Concertmistress Belle Cartier!" A standing ovation from 90,000 people almost knocked Belle clear off her feet. With tears beginning to leak out of her almond-colored eyes, she took a deep bow and returned to her seat, took up her violin, and started playing again as if nothing had happened.
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Later that night, Belle sat bolt upright in bed, covered head to foot in a damp, clammy, cold sweat. She had just dreamed...again...of the woman who had saved her life last month. It had been so vivid, as it usually was: She had felt the sand beneath her back, heard the angelic voice combined with heartfelt lyrics, felt the weight of another woman's body lightly pressing down on her own.
Blast that sun and its position in the sky at the time she came to! She still had no idea what this woman looked like, but she believed with all her heart that she would know her when she found her.
She then threw back the covers and stood up, intending to go to her bathroom and take a shower, then...hopefully...return to sleep. As she got out of bed, she realized something truly embarrassing: Her nightgown, her only piece of clothing when she slept, had been ripped from her body and thrown into the corner of the room.
Blushing, Belle went to go and get it.
Funny, she thought, I don't remember shedding my clothes... At that exact moment, she heard a knock on her door. Terrified, Belle called out, "One second!" And with that, she darted over to her nightgown, picked it up, and slipped into it, all in one movement.
"OK," she called, "come in!" The door opened to reveal a man wearing a police uniform.
"Miss Belle Cartier?" he asked with a heavy British bent.
"Yes," she confirmed, "that's me."
"I'm Officer Neil Garrett from Scotland Yard," he introduced himself. "Would you please come with me? A dying man in the hospital has requested to see you."
"Who is it?" she asked, walking up to the officer.
"He wouldn't give us a name," answered Garrett, "but he did say he's a former sailor who knows you."
Then it clicked: Her rowing mentor was on his deathbed.
"Give me a minute to get dressed," she said to Garrett. "I can't go darting around the UK in only a chemise."
"There are very few who would complain if you did, ma'am," informed Garrett humorlessly, "male and female alike."
Belle managed a weak chuckle at the comment, and the next thing she knew, she was dressed and ensconced in a squad car, racing off towards the Princess Grace Hospital, not far from the Queen Mary's Gardens and the Sherlock Holmes Museum on, fittingly enough, Baker Street. In no time at all, Belle was being led to a room deep within the hospital, inside of which she quickly located the old sailor, barely clinging to life. All she could think of at this point was her father, and how he had appeared during his last moments. The sailor, if possible, looked even worse: he was hooked up to about twenty different machines, all of which served a purpose, though Belle knew not what. The nurse walked out of the room to wait for the inevitable.
Belle, however, had a different idea: Find out why he had requested her presence this close to death. So she woke him up with a touch.
"Ah," he said hoarsely and softly, "Mademoiselle Cartier. I'm glad you came."
"Of course," answered Belle warmly. "Anything to help."
"Then heed my final words well," requested the sailor.
"I'm listening," promised Belle.
"You have taken to rowing far better and more quickly than anyone I have ever had the pleasure of knowing," praised the sailor. "But when I heard about your incident last month, I realized there was one thing I forgot to teach you. Allow me to pass it on to you now."
"What might that be?" asked Belle, curious.
"If you find yourself at a great height above the open water," informed the sailor, "try to align yourself so that you are perpendicular to the water, enter the fetal position, and exit said position just as you hit the water. The impact of your feet going under will break the surface tension and let you escape your journey without serious injury."
"Wow," breathed Belle, amazed. "Definitely could have used that last month."
"Indeed," agreed the sailor, "and there is one final thing I must say before I pass from this world to the next."
"Go on..." encouraged Belle.
"The story I told you about Prince Eric?" began the old man. "Do you remember it?"
"I do," affirmed Belle. "And about that: Where is Prince Eric now? Do you know?"
"He's right here," the old sailor revealed, pointing to himself. "I am he."
"Wait, what?!" cried Belle.
"It's true," said the sailor weakly. "I am Prince Eric of Denmark. The woman I married was a mute from Greece. She struck a deal to give herself a voice. The price she paid was a limited amount of time on the land."
"Who was she?" asked Belle.
"Her name was Athena," answered Eric, "and she was the most beautiful woman on the land...or under the sea, for that matter."
"How do you know that?" queried Belle.
"Remember that deal she made?" began Eric. "At the end of it, she became a mermaid, and was forced to live under the sea for the rest of her days. She forgot all about me and who she was before she became a mermaid, though not by her own choice."
"Who was it she made the deal with?" Belle wanted to know.
"Some magician from the Middle East; he had a talking parrot with him. Anyway," continued Eric, "I kept sailing wherever the winds took me after she left. It was the only way I could forget the pain. Then, one day, I hit a rock off the coast of Italy...or would have, had a mermaid not gotten between it and my ship."
"You killed a mermaid?!" cried Belle, horrified.
"It gets worse," added Eric. And then the pieces fell into place for Belle.
"...No...You didn't..." gasped Belle. "Please tell me it wasn't..."
"I wish I could," said Eric sadly. "But that would make me a liar. It was Athena. Her new husband was livid."
"I can imagine," put in Belle, tears beginning to stream from her eyes. "Was it at least an accident?"
"He didn't think so at first," answered Eric. "It took a long while to calm him down enough to the point where he would hear me out. Ever since that day, though, he's held me responsible for leaving his seven daughters motherless. He showed them to me and I could not stop myself from crying. Even today, it makes me tear up just thinking about it." And indeed he was.
"It also didn't help," he went on, "that the youngest daughter was the spitting image of Athena, but with blue eyes instead of green. Here's a picture of Athena for visual reference." He then pulled out of his pocket a small picture of a stunningly beautiful woman with bright red hair and vivid green eyes.
And the blank space in her memory filled itself in for Belle in one shining piece; a face, eyes, hair, and a voice, which resolved itself into...
"She's the one that saved me!" she cried out in a whisper.
"Beg pardon?" asked Eric.
"Who was the merman that married Athena?" Belle asked, wiping her eyes.
"He said he was the King of the Seas," answered Eric. "I don't remember his name."
"Then...Wow!" exclaimed Belle. "I think the one who saved me was his youngest daughter, which would make her..."
"A princess, yes," confirmed Eric.
"Oh, thank you!" cried Belle as she threw her arms around Eric.
"Oof!" grunted Eric as Belle accidentally squeezed a little tighter than he would have liked. "Easy on the old, dying man, m'dear."
"Oh, sorry," apologized Belle as she pulled away.
"Not to worry," answered Eric. "I'm about ready to go anyway. My final lessons and story have been passed on, and now I can do the same in peace. Thank you so much for your company, Miss Belle; you've done more for this old sea dog than any one person can say. But be warned: He who hunts you is on his way here. He will not rest until he has you in his grasp."
"What?" Belle asked, bewildered.
"The man who seeks your hand above all else..." gasped Eric. "He's coming..."
"Gaston?!" yelped Belle. "How do you...?"
"A man I once called friend is on his payroll," revealed Eric. "I wish there was more I could do..."
"You've done enough," thanked Belle. "I can handle Gaston. Thank you for the heads-up."
"My pleasure," whispered Eric. "Now, go. Spread your talent across the UK, and eventually, the world. Let all bear witness to your God-given gifts and come away in wonder." And with that, Eric, his task completed, closed his eyes and set his proud face in repose. His heart monitor continued to beep intermittently, indicating that he was still alive, but it was obvious to Belle that Prince Eric of Denmark was beginning his journey off this mortal coil. With a single tear leaking from each almond-shaped eye, Belle kissed the old man's forehead, stood up, and walked out of the room.
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Meanwhile, the sun had come up, and as the sky completed its turn to blue, Officer Garrett's patrol car was pulling up to the Belle Tout Lighthouse, which was now on the opposite side of the road from where it had sat for God knew how long. When he had seen this earlier this morning, picking Belle up from her abode, it had taken him completely by surprise. The lighthouse was now sitting where the cottage had once sat, and the cottage, which was now in the lighthouse's old spot, was...well...no longer a cottage. Belle had used the money from her musical appearances very well, and had transformed the cottage into a full-blown Victorian-era mansion, complete with a stable and a sports court in the back.
Amazing what one person can accomplish in so little time, Garrett mused to himself. As he pulled off to the side of the road and Belle readied herself to exit the vehicle, Garrett left her with one final quip:
"You take care of yourself, now, hear?"
"I will, Officer," promised Belle. "And thanks again."
"Not a problem, milady," shrugged Garrett. "Simply doing my job." As Belle shut the car door, Garrett tipped his hat to her, and off he went. Belle crossed the road when it was safe to do so, and, entering the mansion into a glorious foyer, made her way to the professional-grade kitchen, where she helped Lumiere and Cogsworth check their stocks. Everything came out ahead, and Lumiere suggested she take today off.
"You know, that's not a bad idea," decided Belle. "I think I'll go for a swim." And she went up to her bedroom, grabbed what she would need, changed into a no-frills violet one-piece swimsuit, and off she went down to the beach.
Meanwhile, a plane touched down at Heathrow Airport in Hillingdon. Pulling into a terminal, it unloaded its passengers, who made their way to their respective destinations. One particular passenger took a limo to Eastbourne, though it required a little...persuasion...on the passenger's part. The limo driver would never forget what it was like to drive with a gun to his head.
When they arrived in Eastbourne Harbor, the man stepped out of the limo, made his way to the driver's window, and gave a very generous tip...or so the passenger thought. One gold coin was nothing for this man. As the limo sped off, the handsome young man looked around, as if scoping a hunting zone. His eyes eventually fell on a sign that said: "Belle Tout Lighthouse: This Way".
"I hope you're ready, Belle," said Gaston dangerously, "because Daddy Cousteau is coming for you."
On the day of Belle's performance with Dream Theater, in the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, the royal family of mermaids, and Triton, were just waking up for the day.
Specifically, Triton was on his way to greet his seven daughters as they prettied themselves up for the day. He had no idea what changes were taking place right under his nose...if he did, boy, would he be mad.
Meanwhile, in the princesses' sleeping quarters, four of the sisters were already almost done putting on their makeup. Aquata, the eldest, and Attina, the middle child, were animatedly chatting away about (what else?) boys. Adella, the third youngest, was making a small adjustment to her golden pearls, perched ever so carefully atop her dark brown hair. Meanwhile, Andrina, the second eldest, had already finished her makeup and was now waiting to ask Ariel a burning question she'd had for over two weeks now.
Only one problem: Ariel hadn't left the bedroom yet. And this was really beginning to irk Andrina, who had a bit of a temper despite her wonderful sense of humor. She decided to give Ariel one last warning:
"Ariel," she growled, "come out! You've been in there all morning!" And she was about to swim through the kelp curtain and drag her sister out of bed when...Whoa! There she was, swimming at full speed through the curtain, long, flowing red hair forming a trail behind her, as always.
She was also humming happily, which was part of what was bothering Andrina: She had never seen Ariel this happy. Obviously lost in her thoughts, Ariel made her way over to where Aquata and Attina were chatting and started to comb her hair using a coral brush. A fine tool, but Ariel really missed her dinglehopper. She felt like it did so much better than a simple brush at combing hair.
As she ran the brush through her thick, wavy locks, her sisters could not help but gaze at her. It was plain to them that their sister definitely had something...or maybe someone...on her mind. Before they could hold a family huddle, though, in came King Triton, just as Ariel had finished with her hair and began to make her way outside.
She almost swam right into him. Her short, sudden stop knocked a sea rose that she had been wearing out of her hair.
"Oh," she giggled, "morning, Daddy." And without another word, she picked up the rose and put it in her father's hair, just above his left ear: the spot where Ariel often wore it on her own head.
"Well..." chuckled Triton as Ariel swam off, still humming merrily. Triton and the four women that were present just stared after her. As they stared, the ladies pondered what was on all their minds: What was the reason for the sudden change in Ariel's behavior? She'd been carrying on like this for a month now. There was definitely something up.
And then it came to them in one shining piece, a gift from the fountain of glorious discoveries.
Attina was the first to voice the findings:
"Oh, she's got it bad," she quipped in a sarcastic monotone. Aquata and Adella could only nod in agreement, as Adella's hands found their way to the hips on her chartreuse tail. Aquata's bright blue tail, meanwhile, was simply hanging straight down: She seemed to be in slight shock. She'd never imagined this happening for Ariel, especially when her mind was always thinking of the surface world.
"What?" asked Triton, obviously lost. "What has she got?"
"Isn't it obvious, Daddy?" sighed Andrina wistfully. "Ariel's in love."
The implications of this were not lost on Triton, who took the sea rose out of his hair and started examining it.
"Ariel?" he mused. "In love?" As he realized what this meant, a grand smile grew across his face. It was time to congratulate Sebastian on a job well done.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Sebastian, meanwhile, was in a nervous panic, pacing back and forth just beneath Ariel, who was using another sea rose to figure out whether or not she should tell Belle how she felt next time she saw her.
"She loves me...She loves me not," mused Ariel softly as she slowly removed the petals from the stalk.
"OK," muttered Sebastian rapidly, "so far, so good. I don't tink de king knows." His rambling was briefly interrupted as a sea rose petal landed on his face. He spluttered, yanked it off, and continued:
"But it will not be easy keeping someting like dis a secret for long!"
Ariel, of course, was paying no attention: Her rose was just about out of petals.
"She loves me..." And her face lit up as she picked a petal from the flower and gently tossed it aside.
"She loves me not..." Her face now fell, taking on a slightly grumpy look, as the penultimate petal was removed. She saw that there was only one petal left, and joy such as she had never known filled her entire being.
"She loves me!" she said triumphantly, ripping the final petal from the stalk. "I knew it!" And she held the petal close to her heart, unable to stop herself from laughing out of pure romantic bliss.
Sebastian heard all of this, and decided right then and there that enough was enough. He scuttled up to her, following the rock.
"Ariel," he commanded, "stop talking crazy!"
"I gotta see her again," Ariel blurted out, completely ignoring Sebastian. "Tonight!" And a plan to make it happen was already forming in her head.
"Scuttle knows where she lives!" she realized, and began to swim off.
"Ariel, please!" cried Sebastian, grabbing on to Ariel's caudal fin. Ariel simply dragged him along, still working out her plan.
"Will you get your head outta de clouds and back in de water where it belongs?!" ordered Sebastian. Still no response from Ariel.
"I'll swim up to her beach," began Ariel, talking about as rapidly as Sebastian had earlier, "then Flounder will splash around to get her attention..." And Ariel's speech started to lose coherence right about now. Sebastian could sense he was going to have to take drastic measures.
"Down here is your home!" he shouted firmly. Thinking quickly, he swam up to her, stopping right in front of her face. Ariel stopped short, not wishing to hurt Sebastian.
"Ariel," he began, "listen to me. De human world, it's a mess. Life under de sea," he continued as he closed in on Ariel, who backed up until she was sitting on that rock again, "is better dan anyting dey got up dere." Then, in the voice that had kept him his position as court composer for so long, he sang:
De seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up dere
But dat is a big mistake
Ariel took on a very skeptical look at this last line, raising an eyebrow so high that it almost disappeared into her luscious red locks. Gesturing to the small area they were sitting in, Sebastian continued:
Just look at de world around you
Right here on de ocean floor
Such wonderful tings around you
What more is you looking for?
As Ariel was caught up in a whirlpool of clown fish, she thought she recognized two of them.
Was that Nemo and Marlin? she thought. Strange. We're nowhere near Australia. But before she could ponder this further, and certainly wonder why Dory was not with them, Sebastian had slid down the rock and resumed singing:
Under da sea
Under da sea
Darling, it's better down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Ariel now settled back down onto the rock. Sebastian moved out of her way and alighted himself upon her tail.
Up on de shore they work all day
Out in de sun dey slave away
While we devotin' full-time to floatin'
Under da sea
Sebastian now slid down Ariel's tail and launched off her caudal fin as if he was performing a stunt jump on a coral bike off the Great Barrier Reef. With a laugh, he landed near one of his musical friends from his younger days, who joined him in song:
Down here all de fish is happy
As off through de waves dey roll
De fish on de land ain't happy
Dey sad 'cause dey in de bowl
And a rather ugly fish who had been caught in an air bubble floated towards Ariel, who gazed at it sadly. She went to pop the bubble, but just before she made contact, Sebastian swam back up to her face.
But fish in de bowl is lucky
Dey in for a worser fate
One day when de boss get hungry
And Sebastian popped the bubble with the ugly fish, who fell onto a piece of coral that looked suspiciously like a platter for a grand feast. Indicating himself, the fish chimed in with a surprisingly deep bass voice:
Guess who gon' be on de plate
Ariel had stopped paying all attention, and was stroking what she thought was seaweed near the bottom of the rock. It turned out to be a seahorse, which called up its family and started swimming all around Ariel, creating little currents that barely touched her body, which, in turn, created a tickling sensation that Ariel thoroughly enjoyed. Sebastian, meanwhile, saw none of this and simply went on singing:
Uh-oh
Under da sea
Under da sea
Nobody beat us, fry us, and eat us in fricassee
He now walked up to a closed clam, in front of which was laying a small set of fish hooks. Opening the clam and grabbing the hooks, he placed them in the clam's mouth and closed it. Swimming off, Sebastian kept an eye on the clam, which soon spit out the hooks and sent them flying...right at Sebastian's head. He deftly ducked, and was able to avoid injury.
We what de land folks loves to cook
Under da sea we off de hook
We got no troubles
Life is de bubbles under da sea
(Under the sea)
Under da sea
(Under the sea)
Since life is sweet here
We got de beat here naturally
As Sebastian sang, his old band, The Catfish Club, was being drawn by his singing into their instruments' places, ready to play...maybe for the last time.
Even de sturgeon and de ray
Dey get de urge and start to play
We got de spirit
You got to hear it
Under da sea
Sebastian swam over to his favorite steel shells. Playing a quick riff on them, he began calling out the members of the Catfish Club Band one by one:
De lute play de flute
De carp play de harp
De plaice play de bass
And dey soundin' sharp
De bass play de brass
De chub play de tub
De fluke is de duke of soul
(Yeah)
De ray, he can play
De ling's on de strings
De trout rockin' out
De black fish, she sings
De smelt and de sprat
Dey know where it's at
And, oh, dat blowfish BLOW...
With a laugh from Sebastian, the Catfish Club moved into a full instrumental section.
Meanwhile, Flounder was swimming through all this, enjoying the music, but trying not to be seen. Eventually, he caught sight of Ariel, and darted over to her. Putting one fin in front of his mouth in a "shh" gesture, he used the other to tap her on the shoulder. She turned towards him, smiling when she saw who it was.
"I've got something to show you," he whispered in her ear.
"Oh, really?" Ariel whispered back excitedly. "What is it?"
"Follow me," answered Flounder. "But be quiet." Ariel obeyed, sneaking away after Flounder to she knew not where.
Sebastian, again, noticed none of this, and signaled for the Catfish Club to move into the song's last section:
Yeah!
Under da sea
(Under the sea)
Under da sea
(Under the sea)
When de sardine begin de beguine
It's music to me
(Music it is to me)
What do dey got? A lotta sand?
We got a hot crustacean band
Each little clam here
Know how to jam here
Under da sea
Each little slug here
Cutting a rug here
Under da sea
Each little snail here
Know how to wail here
Dat's why it's hotter
Under de water
Yah, we in luck here
Down in de muck here
Under da sea...
"Hey!" they all yelled as the last note sounded, and all eyes fell on the rock where Ariel had last been seen.
She wasn't there.
"Uh..." stuttered Sebastian, his smile becoming pained. "Ariel?" He looked all around: She was nowhere to be seen. As the other fish swam away, Sebastian gave an exasperated sigh.
"Oh," he said frustratedly, "somebody's gotta nail dat girl's fins to de floor." And his head drooped down. Just then, he heard a voice: not Ariel's, yet he knew it when he heard it. It was the seahorse who delivered the readings at every court gathering.
"Sebastian!" he was yelling. "Sebastian!"
"Right here, mon!" called Sebastian. He then saw the seahorse swim over from his left. It floated up to him and saluted before delivering his message:
"Sebastian," he began, panting, "I've been looking all over for you. I've got an urgent message from the Sea King."
"De Sea King?" repeated Sebastian nervously. Was the bombshell about to be dropped? The seahorse tugged on one of Sebastian's claws in a "come quickly" gesture as he finished his message:
"He wants to see you right away. Something about Ariel." And the seahorse swam off.
As the little seahorse disappeared around a nearby corner, Sebastian could not suppress a frightened gasp: His closet had opened, and his skeleton had come screaming out.
"He knows..." he muttered to himself.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Triton was playing about with the sea rose given him by Ariel earlier that morning, overjoyed that his daughter seemed to have finally returned to her senses and dropped all thought of the human world from her mind.
"Hey, let's see now," he chuckled to the sea rose. "Oh, who could the lucky merman be? Or perhaps it's another mermaid?" And he toyed with the possibilities for a few seconds, then he saw a small red speck at the door to his room. He recognized it as Sebastian, who had a look on his face that suggested he was about to be parboiled and served with chips.
Quickly hiding the sea rose behind himself, he cleared his throat.
"Come in, Sebastian," he said awkwardly. Slowly, gingerly, Sebastian obeyed.
"I mustn't overreact," Sebastian reminded himself after a sharp intake of breath. "I must remain calm." And he made his way to within talking distance of Triton.
"Yes?" he squeaked when he had reached his destination. Then, realizing how high his voice had been just then, he cleared his own throat and tried again:
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Sebastian," began Triton, "I'm concerned about Ariel. Have you noticed she's been acting peculiar lately?"
"Oh," stuttered Sebastian, "uh, peculiar?"
"You know," clarified Triton, "mooning about. Daydreaming. Singing to herself." Then, he turned towards Sebastian as a thought struck him:
"You haven't noticed, hmm?" he asked.
"Oh," Sebastian stammered, still more nervous than an escaped convict in the J. Edgar Hoover building, "well, I..."
"Sebastian..." prompted Triton.
"Hmm?" acknowledged Sebastian, putting on a placating smile.
"I know you've been keeping something from me," answered Triton in a semi-playful voice, beckoning Sebastian to come up beside him. Sebastian, of course, was too frightened out of his wits to notice the playful tone in Triton's voice as he swam up to alight on the arm of Triton's throne.
"Keeping someting?" squeaked Sebastian after an audible gulp.
"About Ariel?" pressured Triton, a playfully predatory smile crossing his strong, proud face.
Sebastian then heard a chattering, much like teeth in cold weather. He quickly realized it was his legs, and firmly sat on them.
"Ariel?" Sebastian asked, voice...and resolve...quavering.
"In love, hmm?" grinned Triton, moving the point of his trident to sit directly in front of Sebastian's face as a joke.
This was too much for Sebastian, and it all tumbled out in a rush, with him powerless to stop the flood.
Triton's only warning from Sebastian was a whimper, then:
"I tried to stop her, sir!" cried Sebastian desperately. "She wouldn't listen! I told her to stay away from humans! Dey are bad! Dey are trouble!"
Triton heard only one word of this, in his surprise at Sebastian's reaction to his joke.
"Humans?" he repeated, feeling his anger flare up. "What about humans?!" And he grabbed his trident, determined to get to the bottom of this, as Sebastian jumped backwards, determined to escape his liege's wrath.
"Humans?" chuckled Sebastian, floating away from the anger and rage easily visible on Triton's face. "Who said anyting about humans?"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"Flounder," asked Ariel for what must have been the fifth time as they came upon the entrance to what she recognized as her treasure cave, "why can't you just tell me what this is all about?"
"You'll see," answered Flounder. "It's a surprise." And as Ariel entered the cavern proper, she saw what Flounder had done, and her jaw hit the floor. Standing in the middle of the cavern's bottom floor was a statue that looked to be carved from loose rock which had been gathered from around the sea floor. Nearby it was the painting of Belle that Ariel had made last month, which had obviously been used for reference in the creation of this statue. As Ariel stared at it, she felt her heart skip a beat: She recognized it as her painting, brought to life in three dimensions: Belle sitting in her rowboat, gazing up and slightly to her own left, as if watching the fireworks again. A content smile graced her lovely visage. It was a perfect life-size recreation, and it looked even more like the real thing than her painting did, if that was possible. Ariel had, as of late, developed a very skilled hand with a painter's canvas, but this statue put her incredibly lifelike and amazingly accurate portrait to shame.
"Oh, Flounder," she gushed. "Flounder, you're the best!" And she wrapped Flounder up in a tight hug, placing a kiss on his forehead for good measure. She then swam over to the statue and began to examine it a little more closely. Flounder, sensing that Ariel would want this moment to herself, made to quietly leave the cave.
Ariel, meanwhile, had swum around to the statue's face.
"It looks just like her," she marveled. "It even has her eyes." And with a giggle, Ariel let herself go, switching to role-playing mode:
"Why, Belle," she said, "run away with you?" Then, taking on a tone that was a blend of mysterious and hard-to-get, she added, laying her head on the statue's shoulder: "Oh, this is all so...so sudden." Laughing, Ariel planted a kiss on the statue's cheek, and, feeling yet another song coming on, let it loose:
Just her and me
Oh, I can see it
Myself and Belle
We're sharing life
She stole my heart
I swear, she's perfect
I love you, Belle, and want to be your wife
I want to be part of your world and life
I want to live above the ocean with you
I want it more than I can tell
And I know it would be grand
To have someone understand
I'll be glad to wed you if I can...
Kissing the statue again, this time on its lips, Ariel began rapidly spinning in a series of tight circles, losing herself once again in laughter and romantic bliss.
That bliss would soon be broken, however, as when Ariel opened her eyes, she saw her father, trident in hand, floating there in front of the entryway to the cave, and he did not look happy in the slightest.
"Daddy?" she said, surprised, and a little afraid.
Sebastian was hiding behind a small outcropping, trying desperately not to be seen. Flounder, meanwhile, had made tracks for a nearby treasure chest and was hiding behind that. All they could do was watch, for they knew what was about to happen: Ariel's world was about to be shattered.
"I consider myself a reasonable merman," began Triton dangerously, moving slowly, purposefully, towards Ariel, who backed up and gave ground (or gave water, as it were) until she was ensconced in the statue's rowboat. "I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed."
"But, Dad, I..." Ariel began to protest, but was cut off: Triton was having none of it.
"Is it true you rescued a human from drowning?!" he demanded.
"Daddy," Ariel tried to explain, "I had to."
"Contact between the human world and the mer world is strictly forbidden," Triton reminded sternly. "Ariel, you know this! Everyone knows this!"
"She would have died!" cried Ariel, determined to make her father see sense.
"One less human to worry about!" snarled Triton, obviously not biting, and he turned his back on her as memories of the human who had killed his wife, albeit inadvertently, filled his mind.
"But you don't even know her!" shot back Ariel, beginning to sense that this may be a losing battle.
"Know her?" raged Triton as he rounded on Ariel again. "I don't have to know her! They're all the same: Spineless, savage, harpooning fish-eaters, incapable of any feeling..."
"Damn it, Daddy," Ariel blurted out at last, voice quavering with the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes, "I love her!" Her eyes widened as she realized her slip, and her hand automatically shot up to cover her mouth.
The admission of love shocked Triton deeply to his core, even more so than his daughter's use of humans' foul language. Being of a liberal nature very common among merfolk, the fact that the object of his daughter's affections was a female was of no concern to Triton. But the fact that his daughter was fawning over a human? No, he could not accept that. Something had to be done; this needed to be stopped.
"No..." he breathed. "Have you lost your senses completely?! She's a human! You're a mermaid!"
"I don't care," sobbed Ariel angrily, arms wrapped around the statue's neck as if it was her only chance at life.
"So help me, Ariel," thundered Triton, finally losing all patience, "I am going to get through to you! And if this is the only way..." The trident began to glow a very ominous orange, throwing some deep shadows onto some key places upon Triton's face. He looked truly frightening.
"...so be it," he finished in a deadly voice. With that, he aimed his trident and released a blast of energy at some treasures along a high wall, which exploded with the force of a bomb.
"Daddy!" shouted Ariel, shocked. She had never seen her father this angry. "No!"
Triton, taking no notice, simply let loose another blast of energy, and more treasures were destroyed.
"No, please!" pleaded Ariel. An entire half-decade's labor of love was disintegrating before her eyes. "Daddy, stop!"
Triton just ignored her, a merman on a mission. He pointed his trident towards more treasures. A globe exploded, paintings were ripped apart, books shredded...nothing in this cave was safe.
"Daddy, stop it!" begged Ariel, but it was all for naught. Before long, all that remained in the room was the statue of Belle in the rowboat. Triton leveled his trident at it just as Ariel figured out his intentions.
"Daddy, no...!" she screamed as she lunged for the trident, intending to knock it from Triton's hand. Too late: The trident sent forth a final burst of energy directly at the statue. With no time to do anything about it, all Ariel could do was watch as, symbolically, the love of her life was destroyed right in front of her. There would be no good-bye, no time to confess how she felt about her, no farewell kiss...just a raw, aching, soul-destroying heartbreak that Ariel saw little hope of ever healing.
As Triton's path of destruction ceased, Ariel could bear it no more, and collapsed onto a rock just in front of where the statue had been standing. Burying her face in her arms, she began to cry desperately. The sorrow and pain in her sobs soon filled the entire cavern, permeating anything that was left in it.
Triton gazed down upon his daughter's form. She was obviously demolished right now, and would need help to pick up the pieces. As he watched her grief-stricken body wrack itself with sobs and tears, he felt his own heart melt: He had been responsible for destroying her world. Would she ever forgive him? Had he unwittingly just fired the first salvo in a royal family war?
But he told himself that that didn't matter: He was a father first, and the King of the Seas. Once in a while, everyone needed to be reminded of exactly what that meant. Even, and sometimes especially, his own daughters. With that in mind, he saw no other choice but to harden his heart as best he could and be on his way. This is exactly what he did, although as he exited the cave, he couldn't stop thinking about how defeated Ariel was right now.
I am truly sorry, Ariel, he thought sadly. I wish there was another way to make you see...
Sebastian and Flounder watched Triton take his leave with, obviously, a very heavy heart, and they felt Ariel's loss and agony come crushingly down upon them. They slowly moved towards her, wishing only to offer her what little comfort and/or help they could.
"Ariel," began Sebastian in a devastated voice, "I..."
"Just go away," whispered Ariel in between sobs. Her voice was almost nonexistent, but both of them could easily detect the firm order in her words. Sebastian, dejected, turned and slowly scuttled out of the cave. Flounder, however, was not so easily swayed.
"I can make the statue again," he offered softly. "You know how good my memory is."
"Yes," sobbed Ariel, "I know, and thank you. But not right now. Just go." She had not picked her head up even once all this time. Flounder, out of ideas, finally heeded Ariel's order and slowly swam out of the cave, leaving Ariel alone with her sadness and tears.
Unseen by all parties, two slimy green moray eels had witnessed the entire affair, and felt that the time was now right to make their presence known. So they swam down to where Ariel was grieving, eager to execute the plan for which they were sent out.
"Poor child," they said as one. "Poor, sweet child." Ariel, at this, managed to stem the flow of sobs and pick her head up, looking around the now disturbingly empty cave. Where had that voice come from? And why did it sound like there were two of it?
She quickly found her answer as her eyes fell upon the eels, swimming down towards her, then around her, as if to trap her and force her to do something horrible.
"She has a very serious problem," continued the eel which was now in front of her, with its right eye colored gold. It then swam around behind her, to be replaced by its twin, yellow left eye seeming to glow ominously in the darkness.
"If only there was something we could do to help her," hissed this eel as it went to join the other one.
"But there is something..." noted the first eel, entwining itself around its twin.
Ariel knew she should be very afraid. Her sadness, pain, and anger, however, had made it impossible for her to feel fear, period. Because of this, her curiosity and desire to see Belle once again fought their way to the forefront of Ariel's consciousness, where they made themselves known via a quiet question:
"Who...Who are you?"
"Don't be scared," answered Lefty soothingly as it swam uncomfortably close to Ariel.
"We represent someone who can help you," informed Righty as it came around from Ariel's right to join its twin.
"Someone," added Lefty enticingly, "who can make all your dreams come true."
"Just imagine," they said as one, wrapping themselves around each other, almost resembling a twisted cadeuceus.
"You and your princess..." slithered Lefty.
"Together forever," they finished as one.
Ariel's heart leapt: Someone who would be willing to help her finally realize her dream? Oh, God, how long had she wanted to come across a stroke of good fortune like this?! She almost jumped at the chance, but then a thought occurred to her: If this was such a helpful creature, why enlist the aid of two obviously morally corrupt eels?
"I don't understand," she said haltingly.
"Ursula has great powers," noted Lefty. The name sparked something in Ariel's memory.
"The sea witch?" she asked softly. All the stories...horror tales, without exception...came flooding back to her. "Why, that's...I couldn't possibly...No!" she cried, a bit of courage and common sense finally trickling back into her spirit. "Get out of here! Leave me alone!" And she buried her face in her arms once more, though the tears did not return.
"Suit yourself," conceded Righty. The two eels then turned to swim away. As they made their exit, they noticed that something they could use to deliver the final blow to Ariel's resolve was laying on a rock near the entry to the cave.
"It was only a suggestion," hissed Lefty, and made its move: It used its tail to knock the object into Ariel's reach. The object flew across the cave and landed not five feet from Ariel. As it clattered to a stop, Ariel's head perked up, and she turned to regard the object: the face from the statue of Belle, completely intact. She picked it up and looked longingly, lovingly, at it, and her better judgment finally failed her, allowing her desire to be human to win through.
Belle, I'm sorry, she thought regretfully, but I can't pass this up. It may be my last chance to ever truly be part of your world. Gently and sadly kissing the face's lips, she turned back towards where the eels were making their exit.
"Wait," she called to them in a teary voice.
"Yes?" they hissed in unison, expectant eyes open wide, waiting for the answer they had been hoping for.
Meanwhile, outside the cave, Flounder and Sebastian were offering each other what little comfort they could.
"Poor Ariel," sniffed Flounder.
"I didn't mean to tell," put in Sebastian apologetically. "It was an accident." He made to continue speaking, but he was cut off by a shadow passing over them. He looked up and saw Ariel swimming off with two moray eels.
What in da name of Poseidon has gotten into dat girl now? thought Sebastian curiously and slightly apprehensively, invoking the name of Triton's distant ancestor.
"Ariel?" he called to her. "Where are you going?" No response; Ariel simply kept swimming. Sebastian swam up to her face, desperate to find out what was going on.
"Ariel," he demanded in a whisper, "what are you doing here wit dis riffraff?" This got a reaction out of Ariel: She opened her eyes just enough to see who was speaking to her, then immediately closed them again.
"I'm going to see Ursula," she said shortly, and picked up speed.
Sebastian could not suppress a horrified gasp: It seemed that Ariel truly had lost all grasp on reason and sense. She was going to make a deal with the dreaded Sea Witch. This could not be allowed to happen; Ursula had a knack for twisting deals to her own designs.
"Ariel, no!" he cried, grabbing the tip of Ariel's caudal fin. "No! She's a demon! She's a monster!"
"Why don't you go tell my father?!" snapped Ariel bitterly, finally turning to regard Sebastian. The sorrow and hurt in her eyes coupled with the frustration and anger on her face made for a truly disturbing image; one that Sebastian would not soon forget.
"You're good at that!" she added in the same tone, except Sebastian thought he caught a hint of vengefulness in her words. At that point, Ariel gave a great snap of her tail, and Sebastian was thrown clear. Flounder swam up quickly and managed to catch him before Ariel had gained too much distance.
"But..." protested Sebastian helplessly, "but I..." He soon gave up trying to call after her, and instead turned his attention to Flounder.
"Come on!" he ordered, and the two of them swam after Ariel and the eels.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
After a fairly long time of traveling, all parties finally came upon the dankest, darkest, and most restricted part of the ocean floor: The Sea Witch's domain. Ariel, continuing to follow the eels, simply ignored the scenery and went right up to the main cave. It looked like a Plesiosaurus skeleton, with the maw wide open, and an ominous glow coming from inside.
Ariel, upon seeing this, almost swam off back home with all speed, but the eels caught sight of her before she could react with anything more than a flinch.
"This way," they hissed, and swam directly into the mouth of the skeleton. Ariel, being left with no other choice, timidly followed them inside. She was greeted by a field of what looked to be dead seaweed. Upon looking closer at them, however, she noticed that every single strand was in possession of eyes and what looked to be a mouth, indicating that these had been living creatures at one point or another.
Fear of becoming one of these poor souls briefly flitted across Ariel's mind, and as she reminded herself, again, that this may be a bad idea, one of the creatures stretched out and wrapped itself around Ariel's wrist. The skin...if it could be called that...was slimy, almost as much so as the eels who had led her here. As Ariel fought to free herself, many of the other nearby creatures stretched towards her as well, as if attempting to make her part of some sickening sadomasochistic activity. Who would be on the giving end, Ariel was afraid to find out. All she knew was that she would be on the receiving end, and this idea did not sit well with her, having never experienced the supposed thrill of intercourse in her life, and wanting her first time to mean something; to be truly special for herself and whoever her partner would be at the time. Terrified at the prospect at having this moment forever ripped from the realm of possibility, Ariel redoubled her efforts to free herself. With an almighty yank on the creature that was entwined around her wrist, Ariel finally managed to force the creature off her person.
As Ariel successfully freed herself, the other creatures who had stretched out retreated back to their normal lengths, as if accepting that S&M was not something to which Ariel would willingly submit. As she started looking for a possible escape route, a smooth yet sinister voice called out to her from a giant conch shell that was just barely visible at the end of the passageway.
"Come in," it requested. "Come in, my child. We mustn't lurk in doorways; it's rude." And as Ariel drew ever nearer to the conch, Ursula herself made her grand entrance. Short, slicked-back white hair crowned a truly evil-looking face. Colorless eyes gazed out almost hypnotically from underneath light blue eye shadow and penciled-on eyebrows. Ironically, there was a beauty mark on her right cheek, not far from her ruby-red lips, which only added to the contrast with her dull, insipid gray skin. She wore a golden spiral seashell necklace around her nearly nonexistent neck, and her morbidly obese body was covered from the chest down in a form-fitting jet black octodress, complete with fully sentient, though obedient, tentacles. She was truly a terrifying sight to behold, yet Ariel felt drawn to this woman, holding out hope that she would help her finally realize her dream.
"One might question your upbringing," shot Ursula with a soft cackle as Ariel finally drew to conversation distance. Ursula swam over to her vanity and began to adjust her makeup as Ariel watched, rooted to the spot.
"Now, then," began Ursula, "you're here because you have a thing for this human, this...French woman. Not that I blame you; she is quite a catch, isn't she?" With a small chuckle, Ursula grabbed some seashell lipstick and coated her lips with it before continuing:
"Well, angelfish, 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?" gasped Ariel in wonder. Unseen, a sly, devilishly evil, though small, smile crossed Ursula's features.
"My dear, sweet child," she began in a pseudo-sympathetic voice, "that's what I do. It's what I live for: To help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself...poor souls with no one else to turn to." Ariel could only watch as Ursula began swimming around in a manner that almost imitated a dance of some kind, singing all the while:
I admit that in the past, I've been a nasty
They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch
But you'll find that nowadays
I've mended all my ways
Repented, seen the light, and made a switch
"True? Yes," she grinned at Ariel before heading over to something that resembled a gigantic mushroom, the cap of which opened to reveal a misty substance that functioned similarly to a crystal ball, as Ariel was soon to find out.
And I fortunately know a little magic
It's a talent that I always have possessed
And here lately, please, don't laugh
I use it on behalf
Of the miserable, lonely, and depressed
"Pathetic," whispered Ursula to her eels before continuing:
Poor unfortunate souls
In pain
In need
This one longing to be thinner
That one wants to get the girl
And do I help them? Yes, indeed
With a snap of Ursula's fingers, the figures that had appeared in her magic mist transformed into their ideal forms, smiled at each other, and embraced.
Those poor unfortunate souls
So sad
So true
They come flocking to my cauldron
Crying, "Spells, Ursula, please!"
And I help them...yes, I do
Unbeknownst to either woman, Sebastian and Flounder had finally reached Ursula's cave and were swimming towards them. They stopped at the lip of the entrance to Ursula's inner sanctum and could only watch the proceedings in shock and horror.
Now, it's happened once or twice
Someone couldn't pay the price
And I'm afraid I had to rake 'em across the coals
To further drive home her point, Ursula reached out her hand in a "cough it up" motion to the two figures. The male shook his head as if to say, "Sorry, but I got nothing." With that, Ursula clenched her hand into a fist, and a whirlwind enveloped the two figures. When it subsided, they had turned into two more of the same creatures Ariel had had her run-in with before meeting Ursula.
Yes, I've had the odd complaint
But on the whole, I've been a saint
To those poor unfortunate souls
Ursula now swam up to Ariel and put an arm around her shoulder, leading her over to where her magic mist/cauldron was positioned.
"Now, here's the deal," she began. "I will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days, including today. ...Got that? Three days, including today. Now, listen," she continued, taking Ariel's chin in one of her tentacles and placing it in the best position to view what Ursula would show her, "this is important. Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get dear young Frenchy to fall in love with you." Three suns flew out of the cauldron and back into it, swiftly followed by a book, onto which a red heart was stamped after having risen out of the cauldron.
"That is," explained Ursula, "she's got to kiss you. And not just any kiss...the kiss of true love." And at the words "true love", the heart began to glow with a radiant light, almost blinding Ariel with its brilliance.
"If," Ursula continued, "she does kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you'll remain human permanently." And a soft orange silhouette of Ariel walking on two legs sprang forth from the cauldron. The sight gave Ariel great joy, almost as much as the statue of Belle back in the treasure cave, before her father had come along.
"But," finished Ursula, "if she doesn't," and here, the silhouette turned turquoise and sprouted a mermaid's tail, "you'll turn back into a mermaid and...you belong to me."
"No, Ariel!" cried Sebastian just as the eels used their own bodies to bind and gag him and Flounder.
"Have we got a deal?" asked Ursula sweetly. Ariel considered this for a moment, and then realized something:
"If I become human..." she said slowly, "...I'll never be with my father or sisters again."
"That's right," agreed Ursula, who had backed off to sit by her cauldron. "But," she added as a reminder, "you'll have your woman. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?" she cackled.
"Oh!" she then exclaimed, as though she had forgotten something. "And there is one more thing: We haven't discussed the subject of payment. You can't get something for nothing, you know."
"But," Ariel began, being fully aware of this, "I don't have any..."
"I'm not asking much," interrupted Ursula, "just a token, really, a trifle. You'll never even miss it. What I want from you is..." And she swam right up to Ariel's ear. "your voice," she finished in a sinister whisper.
Ariel had not expected this, and it definitely threw one hell of a monkey wrench into her dream plans. She slowly brought her hand up to her throat, placing it on the area where her vocal cords were located.
"My voice?" she asked in mild shock.
"You've got it, sweetcakes," smirked Ursula, drawing the tips of her fingers across her own throat. "No more talking, singing. Zip!"
"But without my voice," Ariel started to protest, "how can I...?"
"You'll have your looks," answered Ursula, slightly irritated, "your pretty face. And don't underestimate the importance of body language, ha!" And Ursula was repulsively popping her waist back and forth as she said this before she resumed singing:
The folk up there don't like a lot of blabber
They think a girl who gossips is a bore
Yes, on land, it's much preferred
For ladies not to say a word
And after all, dear, what is idle prattle for?
"Come on!" she yelled as she opened her ingredient stores and began chucking the things she would need into her cauldron, vials and all.
They're not all that impressed with conversation
When possible, they skirt it up above
But they dote and swoon and fawn
On a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue that gets her love
Come on, you poor unfortunate soul
Go ahead
Make your choice
I'm a very busy woman
And I haven't got all day
It won't cost much, just your voice
As Ariel watched, Belle's disembodied head rose, smiling lovingly, from the cauldron, finally coming to a stop roughly eye level with Ariel. The smile soon broke, and it mouthed the words "just your voice" as Ursula rammed her head through the apparition and it winked out of existence.
Ya poor unfortunate soul
It's sad
But true
If you want to cross a bridge, my sweet
You've got to pay the toll
Take a gulp and take a breath
And go ahead and sign the scroll
And a scroll and fish bone quill appeared from thin air in front of Ariel. The scroll read as follows:
I hereby grant Ursula, Witch of the Sea,
one Voice in exchange for three days as a human,
during which I must, in order to obtain permanent humanity,
win the true, unconditional, and undying love of the human woman, Belle Cartier.
Should I fail, I shall belong to Ursula...for all eternity.
Ariel was hesitant, but she took the quill in hand and steeled herself for what she felt must be done. Ursula, meanwhile, had sidled up to the eels and whispered to them,
Flotsam; Jetsam, now I've got her, boys
The boss is on a roll
This poor
Un-
Fortunate
Soul...
Shutting her eyes and averting her face, Ariel finally affixed her signature to the contract. Upon completion of the signing, the quill disappeared from Ariel's hand and the scroll rolled itself up and floated towards Ursula, who snatched it out of the air (or water, as it were) just before it, too, vanished. With a triumphant look upon her evil features, Ursula turned her attention to the cauldron proper and began the invocation that would complete the spell:
Beluga, Sevruga
Come, winds of the Caspian Sea
Larynxis glaucitis
Et max laryngitis
La voce to me
"Now..." she ordered in an evil, deadly voice, "...sing." Ariel, forced to fulfill her end of the bargain, obeyed, beginning to vocalize her favorite melody, the one that she had hummed on the way out of her room that morning.
"Keep singing!" yelled Ursula from her cauldron. As she spoke, and Ariel continued to vocalize, two ghostly hands formed in front of Ursula. They slowly, forebodingly, made their way to Ariel's throat, where her Adam's apple was glowing a bright green...her very voice was open for the taking. Ariel wanted nothing more than to avert her eyes, but she found herself physically unable to do so. She watched as one of the hands forced itself down her throat through her mouth and, with surprising gentility, removed her voice from her person. Ariel closed her mouth once the hand had left her body, and her singing continued to echo throughout the cavern.
Wow, Ariel attempted to say out loud. So that's what a voice looks like. Upon realizing that she was now mute, she clutched her throat like she was choking. Attempting to take a breath proved to be a foolish option, as she merely ended up swallowing a sizable amount of seawater. Thankfully, Ariel could hold her breath for an uncommonly long time, even by mer standards. She watched as her voice was placed into the seashell necklace that Ursula wore, and heard Ursula's crazed laugh as, with Ariel's part of the bargain fulfilled, she began to work her magic.
A bubble of air surrounded Ariel, so as to allow her to breathe, and Ariel felt some small jolts of pain from being jerked around within the bubble as the magic took place. Before long, she felt her tail split completely in half, turning into human legs. Ariel would have let out a scream of joy if she'd had a voice to use, which was just as well, because upon completion of the spell, the bubble burst, and the water closed back in around Ariel. Knowing she needed to find oxygen very soon, Ariel attempted to swim for the surface, but human legs are a poor swimming substitute for a good, strong tail. Ariel found this out the hard way, unable to make any progress upwards: Without her tail, she was helpless in the water.
Sebastian and Flounder, having been released from Flotsam and Jetsam's grip, realized this, and took immediate action. They swam over to Ariel and each took an appropriate position (Sebastian grabbed her wrist and Flounder snuggled up into Ariel's armpit), and, with Ursula cackling like the madwoman she had revealed herself to be, they helped Ariel make tracks for the surface of the water, Ariel kicking her feet in a front-crawl fashion for all she was worth the whole way. The distance was greater than anticipated, however, and Ariel felt herself running out of air towards the end, but light and oxygen were barely ten feet above her...She had to get there...She had to...
And she finally broke the surface and gulped down lungfuls of air like it was...well, air. Exhausted from her whole ordeal, she was helped to the shore by Sebastian and Flounder to relax her tired muscles and regain a little bit of energy.
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When Ariel next came to, she was draped over the rock behind which she had hidden on the day she saved Belle's life. She opened her eyes and all she saw was red. Quickly realizing that the red was her own hair, she put it back into place and put her back against the rock, bringing her legs to such a position that her knees were up and out of the water. Wait...knees? And sure enough, that's what they were. Ariel lifted a leg out of the water to see what was up, and sure enough, where her tail used to be, there was a pair of fully functional human legs. Awe, wonder, and joy bubbled up from inside Ariel's soul at such a rate that if she'd still had a voice, she'd surely have used it to yell for joy. She flexed the toes and twisted the ankles...everything seemed to check out fine.
Thank you, Ursula, she thought gratefully, but if there's a next time, I'm doing this my way. At that time, a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Well," it called from the sky, "look at what the catfish dragged in." She turned towards the source of the voice and saw Scuttle flying towards her. He landed with a little thump on her legs and grinned at her.
"Look at you!" he marveled. "Look at you! There's something different." Ariel nodded, smiling.
"Don't tell me," he requested. Then, after a short time: "I got it. It's your hairdo, right? You've been usin' the dinglehopper, right?" Ariel shook her head, though her smile did not fade.
"No?" he surmised. "No, huh? Well, lemme see..." And he grabbed Ariel's toes with one wing and thought some more before another idea came to him:
"New seashells?" he tried, pointing to her bra. Ariel rolled her eyes and bit her bottom lip gently.
"No new seashells," he deduced, deciding to try another tack. "I gotta admit, I can't put my foot on it right now," and Ariel started bouncing one leg (on which Scuttle was perched) up and down, "but if I just stand here long enough..."
"SHE'S GOT LEGS, YOU IDIOT!" yelled Sebastian at the top of his lungs, frustrated and annoyed. "She traded her voice to da Sea Witch and got legs! Geez, mon!"
"I knew that," lied Scuttle easily.
"Ariel's been turned into a human," added Flounder in wonder as Ariel attempted to stand up. "She's gotta make this girl fall in love with her, and they've gotta kiss," he explained as Ariel fought to find her center of balance. She was quite spaghetti-legged, however, and it took a fairly long while, but she finally got it down.
"And she's only got three days!" cried Sebastian as this was going on. Right then, Ariel tried to take a step and lost her balance immediately, falling over the three creatures with a profound splash which drenched all three of them. Ariel was quick to recover, though, and she was soon upright again.
"Just look at her!" Sebastian rallied on as Ariel found her footing. "On legs! On human legs! My nerves are shot! Dis is a catastrophe! What would her fader say?! I'll tell you what her fader'd say! He'd say he's gonna kill himself a crab!" he yelled, grabbing Flounder by the cheeks. "That's what her fader'd say! I'm gonna march meself straight home right now and tell 'im just like I shoulda done the minute..."
Ariel heard this and felt a jolt of panic. Not wishing for Sebastian to get hurt, or any of her friends, for that matter, she scooped Sebastian up from the water and rapidly shook her head no.
"And don't you shake your head at me, young lady!" scolded Sebastian. As Ariel's face began to show a trace of full-blown fear, an idea occurred to him.
"Maybe dere's still time," he mused. "If we could get dat witch to give you back your voice, you could go home with all de normal fish and just be...Just be..." His voice trailed off as he saw how hurt Ariel looked at that point. It was almost like the face of a cat that was looking for attention.
"...just be miserable for de rest of your life," admitted Sebastian, defeated. "All right, all right, I'll try to help ya find dat girl."
The joy from earlier came back in spades, and Ariel kissed Sebastian's cheek with a huge smile on her face.
"Boy," observed Sebastian as Ariel put him down, "what a soft shell I'm turning out to be."
"Now, Ariel," Scuttle cut in from over where a sail had washed up on shore, "I'm tellin' ya, if you wanna be a human, the first thing ya gotta do is dress like one. Let me see..." And Scuttle set to work with the sail.
Meanwhile, Belle had just come out of the water not far from where Ariel had surfaced, and was now drying off in the warm sun laying on a beach towel. Normally, she'd be super-relaxed after a good hard swim, not thinking about a whole lot, but for a month and change now, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about her savior, and her singing.
That voice... she thought slowly. I can't get it out of my head. I've looked everywhere, damn it; where could she be? Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement which drew her attention. She looked towards it...and could not believe what she was seeing. There she was: Her rescuer from a month ago, if her theory were right. She took off her sunglasses, afraid that it might be a mirage, and when the woman did not disappear, Belle's heart filled with joy.
"It's you..." she breathed as she got up from her towel and slowly started to make her way over to the woman.
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"Ya look great, kid," complimented Scuttle with a wolf whistle. "Ya look sensational."
And even wearing nothing but a sail crudely wrapped around her body and held in place by a hastily tied knot, Ariel did, indeed, look stunning. Just then, she heard a voice coming from behind her:
"It's you, it's you!"
As Ariel whipped around to regard the voice, Flounder dove back underwater and Sebastian jumped into Ariel's canvas "robe" as Scuttle flew off. Ariel's heart almost exploded with excitement: There was the woman she loved, dressed in a simple one-piece violet swimsuit, running at her with arms wide open. Ariel flung her own arms wide and began to make her way towards Belle.
"Oh, my goodness," cried Belle as they reached each other and she wrapped her rescuer in a close embrace, "it's really you!" Belle felt her return the hug and a kind of peace came over her: Her savior remembered her. Oh, if only she could kiss her right here and now!
After a few seconds, they separated enough to look each other in the eyes.
"How have you been this past month?" Belle could not stop herself from asking, and the woman flashed a big smile, revealing almost, if not, perfect teeth, pearly-white and gleaming.
"Good, good," continued Belle. "Oh, where are my manners?" she asked herself, blushing. "I'm Belle Cartier. What's your name?"
Ariel, Ariel tried to say, but then she remembered: No voice, no ease of communication. But, thankfully, she could play charades like no other in Atlantica. So she pointed to her throat and made a back-and-forth motion with the tips of her fingers.
"Oh..." said Belle sadly, "you're mute? By which I mean, you can't speak?" she added just in case, for the woman had looked like she was going to raise a quizzical eyebrow. She nodded just as sadly.
"Blast it," mused Belle to herself. "Then you couldn't be who I thought. But it's so weird; you look exactly like her!" The woman sighed deeply. Then, her face brightened, and she started miming the important things about how she had gotten here in the first place.
"Wait," guessed Belle, "you need help? You're hurt?" The woman shook her head no both times.
"If only you could speak," lamented Belle, "I'm no good at charades!" And the woman clapped a hand to her forehead.
"OK, now that, even I recognize," laughed Belle. "Well, come with me; I'll see if I can't find you some help...and some clothes." The woman smiled appreciatively, taking Belle's hand and kissing it.
"You know, a surprising amount of people have been doing that to me lately," chuckled Belle. "It's actually kind of refreshing, to be honest."
Out of nowhere, the woman then leaned in and pecked Belle on the cheek.
"Whoa!" she cried, laughing. "Well, I can safely say that not very many people have done that to me recently. OK, seriously, let's get you back to my place. Follow me." The woman obeyed.
As Belle led the woman back to the mansion, she touched the spot on her cheek where she had been kissed moments before.
Wow, she marveled. A simple peck on the cheek feels like that? Man, even if she's not the one I'm looking for, there might be something about this woman...
A/N: And we thought the last chapter was massive. HOLY ROMULUS, I'M ALMOST AFRAID TO LOOK AT THE WORD COUNT. But the good news is Ariel and Belle are finally together. Now, with no voice and only her charade skills going for her, Ariel's got to find a way to win Belle's heart. Can she do it?
NOTE: The text on the scroll that Ariel signs is almost completely stolen from XavierHaven's "Beauty and the Mermaid" on DeviantArt, which is half of what inspired this story. Go check it out. It's kinda simplistic (no offense), but it does get the story told, and that's what's important.
TBC...