In the sky, the sun shone without a cloud to hinder it in its work, enchanting the crests of the waves into pure gold. Seagulls glided over the calm sea with their wings spread wide, casting their shadows in the breathtaking play of colours below. A magnificently decorated Royal Navy frigate worked its way through the water inch by inch as the crew sounded a joyous shanty across the horizon.
Inside the spacious stern cabin, the travelling princess took in the melody echoing to her ears and immediately sang a song of her own, expressing all her pride. She lovingly cradled her little daughter in her arms and sang one verse after another to her.
It seemed that she completely forgot the time, but shortly afterwards she was interrupted by a knock.
Her husband stuck his head through the door and gave her and the little girl a loving smile, before he hurried her along and led her out onto the deck.
The calls of seagulls and the chattering sounds of dolphins that had gathered at the bow of the ship greeted the royal family. Again and again, the porpoises dived down and gave the news of their arrival further down into the depths of the sea, before using their strong tail fins to propel themselves back through the water's surface and into the air, where they showed off daring leaps and twists.
The news spread like wildfire under the sea. The mussel network worked as well as ever, and after a short time every inhabitant under the sea knew that the time had finally come. Sea snails, turtles, lobsters, crabs, big and small, round and square, pretty and strange, nimble and homely fish, they all knew that their princess turned human was here with her newly founded family to introduce herself properly.
For days, preparations for this very special day had been in full swing, even under the sea. Everyone had dressed up and decorated Atlantica festively.
The enchanting new addition to the family of their ruler Triton wanted to be welcomed appropriately into the community, even if little Melody had two feet where the people of Atlantica had a fish tail, it was clear that the princess would always be connected to the sea people.
Besides Melody's christening, Triton was also very happy to finally see all of his daughters again at once, as several of them were now married or engaged to men from far away kingdoms. However, the alliances gained between the seven seas were more important than his desire to have his girls around him. He had known that this would happen since the day they were born, but he had always dreaded the time when it would. He was therefore all the happier that his eldest daughter and her husband, from Olympia in the Aegean, were living with him in Atlantica. Attina's status as the first-born had made the question of which of the two kingdoms the couple would live in superfluous. In addition, her husband Orpheus had been only too happy to escape from his family. So he had very quickly resigned himself to leaving his home behind. Especially at the prospect of actually marrying the woman he had fallen head over fin in love with.
A satisfied smile crept onto the ruler's face as he watched the scurrying of his daughters, which, now that some of them already had children of their own, was not very different from their behaviour, so familiar to him as teenage princesses.
Arista had her hands full keeping her mermaid twins Freya and Fenya in check, who were harder to herd than a sack of blonde-haired water fleas since they had recently started swimming. The two of them always had fun trying to escape from her in opposite directions. Arista, meanwhile, still managed to throw pointed comments at her sister Aquata as usual. Aquata, in turn, complained as usual that her blonde sister, as so often, did not keep her hands off her things and had helped herself to her brush and make-up sponges without being asked.
The complete opposite to this chaotic commotion was Alana and her daughter. Triton's eldest granddaughter enthusiastically let her mother help her with the final touches. Putting the finishing touches on the little one, Alana had just put one of her personal favourite anemones in her jet-black hair, which she had bequeathed to her daughter along with her intense eye colour.
Behind the large mother-of-pearl mirrors, Triton could also make out his last unattached daughter. As had been expected, she was surrounded by a whole crowd of young mermen. Adella was once again spouting all sorts of anecdotes from her childhood about each of her sisters and the young guys were literally hanging on her every word as usual.
So much had changed and yet the proud grandfather felt that somehow everything was still the same.
"Ares! Come back here right now! I wasn't finished with your hairstyle. The Crown Prince of Atlantica can't swim around like that," Attina's exhausted voice echoed through the bustle.
At that very moment, said crown prince shot past his grandfather with his hair standing wildly on end. Ares' mop of hair shone the same auburn as Triton's own hair had once done before age and worry had stripped it of its colour. In many a different way, too, Triton often saw himself in his grandson, who just then circled him, laughing, and then sought shelter behind his broad back.
"Ares, behave yourself! Your mother has enough on her mind without your fluff. Do as she says," his father Orpheus now interfered in the proceedings after noticing the slowly but surely travelling thread of patience of his spouse, who was swimming towards her father with a face full of rage. Triton had only a mild smile for all the chaos.
The little sea boy, who outwardly had as little in common with his father as a sea turtle has with a freshwater crab, thought about it for a moment, but then spurred and swam back to his mother, who immediately went back to work taming his mop of hair with a shell comb.
"That's a drag!" the prince complained loudly.
"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't," Attina argued mercilessly.
"Fine, but don't you dare put any stupid algae or anything like that in my hair like Auntie Alana did to Nanami!" he demanded, making his point.
"Choice of words, Ares! Please express yourself more selectively and your little cousin Nanami looks quite adorable," his mother admonished him, questioningly holding out a filigree silver-plated coral branch to emphasise his status as heir to the throne. Appraisingly, Ares eyed the hoop.
"I'm not wearing that. It looks silly and it's for girls," he refused, his face contorted in agony.
"This is not about what you want, Ares, but what you represent. As heir to the throne, you have to learn that you can't do whatever you want. You have a responsibility to the people of the sea, take it seriously!", Orpheus reached through, grabbed the elaborately crafted crown wreath and fastened it behind his son's left ear. The latter sulked at his father but let it wash over him.
"Now you've managed to make your father angry again. Do you always have to take it this far? You know how important all this is to him. He's proud of you. You have what he has always wanted, but you make him think you don't value it all at all," Attina talked at her son after Orpheus had swam away to lend a helping hand elsewhere.
Her husband had not had it easy among his own siblings. As the sixth of eight brothers in the line of succession, his chances of attaining a position of influence had been all but eliminated. The fact that he did not have a good relationship with his older brothers, especially his eldest brother Apollo, was not least due to the fact that he probably considered himself the much better choice for the task of leading a nation. When he actually obtained permission to marry the crown princess of Atlantica, he was almost bursting with pride and joy. Now he was still trying to prove to everyone that he had been the only right choice. For a long time, he had convinced the people of Atlantica of his worth, everyone liked him, and yet he always did everything he could to emphasise that he would do everything possible for his people.
Ares knew how important all this was to his father and yet he could not quite comprehend it. How could he, with his few years of life experience and cradled status as heir to the throne. He didn't have to prove that he had what it took to be a ruler, he would one day sit on his grandfather's throne and hold the trident in his hands, whether he wanted to or not. And therein lay the problem for him. Ares, for his part, would have gladly renounced this burden, which his father had longed for all his life and considered a gift. In his childish recklessness, he could think of a thousand more exciting things than sitting in that uncomfortable-looking chair and listening to the intercessions of the people.
"I am not him," he replied to his mother after a while and swam away. Attina let him drift away. Lost in thought, she looked after him and then sighed to herself: "No, you're not. But it would be nice if you had at least a little of his ambition."
That Ares possessed this very well enough, but simply lacked the right incentive, she would only realise years later.
"Sebastian!" she called after the royal advisor, shortly after Ares' azure tail fin had disappeared from her field of vision. The crab immediately rushed to her side.
"Your Highness, how can I be of assistance?" he asked with a short bow.
"Swim after him and make sure he's back in time for departure," she instructed him with his eternal favourite task, babysitting the royal brood. Clamouring somewhat quietly to himself, he complied with the order and set off in search of his prince.
"Your Highness, my prince, please wait, don't swim so fast. An old crab is no longer a wild seahorse. Please, Prince Ares," Sebastian called from some distance behind him, trying to keep up somehow with rowing claws. Ares glanced over his shoulder and stopped when he saw that Sebastian was even redder from exertion than he already was, if that was at all possible. Mercifully, he held out his flat hand to offer him a place to rest. The crab accepted the gesture gratefully.
"I'm really getting too old for this," Sebastian blew after he had had a few moments to catch his breath. When Ares had made sure that his grandfather's advisor was all right again, he set him down on a rock and then took a seat himself on the seabed next to it. He rested his head comfortably on his crossed arms and watched as the crab bobbed up and down, meanwhile reciting to himself as usual: "...and even more so your Aunt Arielle. That red-haired girl has cost me a few scratches in my armour, you can believe me. You know, once when I was a young crab, there..." Ares blanked out the anecdote and pursued his own thoughts. He knew the stories inside out by now and even if Sebastian told something new, in the end it still boiled down to the same thing.
As his mother had feared, the prince lost track of time.
It was only when a fanfare fish approached him and Sebastian that he remembered that he still had an appointment today. The fish addressed the royal advisor without further ado, thus stopping him in his seemingly endless narrative.
"Your Highness, we must be on our way," Sebastian turned to Ares with the obvious, pretending that he and not the messenger had realised this.
"You don't say, Sebastian. Next time I have to be on time, maybe my mother better send him there right away than sic you chatterbox on me," Ares vented about the crab's time management with a laugh that took the edge off his statement.
"Next time, you should keep an eye on time yourself and not have to have anyone sent after you, your highness. A ruler has to keep his appointments in mind and be on the spot on time," Sebastian lectured him in a fatherly tone.
"Sure, then you would be as good as unemployed, as Gramp's advisor you are responsible for keeping an eye on his appointments. I seriously wonder how he's going to get there on time when you're chewing his ear off like you did mine," Ares replied teasingly, and before Sebastian could say anything, he had grabbed him and was on his way back to the palace with the crab in tow.
"There you are at last. Come on, get in the carriage, we have to go or we'll be late for the meeting point," Attina called out to them from a distance. Ares set Sebastian down next to Triton on the edge of the large shell half and then settled behind his parents in their shell carriage. The dolphins stretched out in front of them could hardly wait to set off, and so they immediately dashed ahead with verve when Triton gave the order to set off with his raised trident.
The jolt this sent through the entire carriage caused Ares to momentarily lose his balance and fall awkwardly into the lower curve at the back of the conch shell. He was met with a disapproving look from his father, who probably thought that the crown prince had to present a more steadfast image when he set off on a journey. Ares threw him a disarming smile and got back on his fin. Orpheus shook his head gently, but did not give his son another lecture. It was really high time they got this day over with and put an end to all the affected theatrics, so that his father could bring his almost obsessive perfectionism back down to a normal level.
The journey did not take too long, as the part of the family that lived above sea level had accepted to travel most of the distance between them by boat.
Excitement and anticipation grew with every nautical mile. Sebastian happily sang a song, which was soon joined by several of the travellers.
"Look, there! Over there, I can already see the keel of their ship," one of Ares' aunts exclaimed, drawing his attention to the mighty wooden structure working its way through the waves some distance away. The imposing ship finally anchored at the agreed meeting point and the assembled sea folk broke the surface of the water.
Calmly lay the sea, the sun shining and only a few fluffy clouds speckling the deep blue sky. Seagulls circled the anchored ship, hoping for a tidbit from the galley.
Ares, his parents and King Triton had remained underwater for the time being, waiting for Sebastian to signal the fanfare players and for the royal guard to rise from the sea in a line.
With great fanfare, the sovereign and his heirs to the throne emerged from the water and swam through the passageway, made up of guards dressed in parade uniforms, towards the festively decorated ship.
The happy young parents Ariel and Eric were already eagerly awaiting Triton's arrival. Eyes shining with pride, the human mermaid cradled her little daughter in her arms and presented her to the expectant eyes of those present. Ares' curiosity got the better of him and he broke away from his parents' side. Faster than Attina or Orpheus could have reacted, he had swum past his grandfather through the line of guards with their ornamental golden daggers extended upwards and was now below the railing. With a powerful flap of his fin, he unceremoniously propelled himself onto the wooden edge of the ship and surveyed the baby in his aunt's arms.
"Hello, cousin number four," he greeted casually, a little disappointed that for the time being he remained the only male offspring of the Atlantica royal family.
"Look, Melody, this is your big cousin Ares. He's the crown prince of Atlantica, our second home," Ariel spoke, smiling lovingly and holding the baby closer to her nephew. Melody chuckled when she saw the sea boy. Promptly, all attention was on the little princess who combined land and sea. Ares, who was used to him and no one else being the centre of attention, did not like this at all.
"Does our little Melody like the water?" he asked, addressing his aunt, drawing her eyes and ears back to himself. Arielle nodded at Ares. He just grinned mischievously, pushed himself off the railing and jumped headfirst into the sea. Shortly afterwards, he reappeared and flicked up a few splashes of salt water with the tip of his tail.
Attina's horrified outburst was joined by the screams of little Melody, who was startled by the sudden drops of cool water. Aware that this little joke would result in a huge thunderstorm, Ares dived down and got out of reach of his furious parents as quickly as his fin would allow. They immediately chased after him a whole horde of guards to catch him again. So the crown prince didn't notice a thing about the momentous events that were to follow.
Meanwhile, above the sea, Melody's mother, father and grandfather were trying to put everything back in order, and fortunately it didn't take long for the initial shock to pass and for the tiny princess to shine like the sun again. Triton officially welcomed his granddaughter into the community of the Sea People and then reached for the medallion that he had had made especially for her as a christening gift.
"This, my dear Melody, shall always remind you that the sea is a part of you and there will always be someone there for you," he spoke as he opened the golden shell with the engraved name and set the hidden music box mechanism in motion. The little girl watched the small version of Atlantica with fascination as a mischievous laugh reached the ears of those gathered.
The Atlantians scattered in panic as a black vortex formed in their ranks, from which the sea witch Morgana rose a short time later.
"Such a shame, my invitation must have been lost on the way to my grotto, at the far edge of the kingdom. But fortunately I found out about this celebration at short notice and could just manage to drop by. My sister Ursula sends her apologies, she feels a bit... impaled," she accompanied her entrance with a monologue.
"Morgana! You have no business here. I warn you, if you come too close to my family or my people...", Triton threatened with trident pointed at her, but was interrupted by the unimpressed sea witch, "Now, now, now. Is that any way to greet an old acquaintance. I would never think of harming a hair on your family's head. What kind of monster would do such a thing?" she continued to tease provocatively about the murder of her big sister, letting one of her black tentacles wander unnoticed towards Ariel and little Melody. In a flash, she had snatched up the princess and was triumphantly settling down on the edge of the ship.
"I won't harm her, but my dear Undertow here... well, that's another matter," Morgana laughed, holding Melody over the wide-open mouth of her giant tiger shark and then demanding, "unless you give me the trident, Triton."
The king didn't have to think twice and was already about to hand her the object of desire when Arielle unceremoniously snatched the rapier from Eric's waist and severed the rigging with one powerful blow. Loosened from its bonds, the foremost sail bent to the wind and swept once across the entire front of the ship. The mast hit the mark. Morgana was hit rudely, releasing Melody from her grip, Triton wielded his trident and transformed the fearsome shark into a miniature version of himself. Eric grabbed the loose cordage, swung across the water and caught his daughter out of the air before she touched the water. Incensed at the failure, Morgana called for her two trusty rays Cloak and Dagger and disappeared back into the depths of the sea, but not without issuing one last threat.
"Mark my words! I will take revenge for everything you have done to my sister and me!"