Ariana meanwhile was not in a state to be found.

For the first few days she swam around the ocean in a kind of stupor due to the overload of information she had encountered. Overnight she had gone from never even seeing a human to having saved one from drowning and her thoughts were constantly racing.

For once she didn't feel sociable. This suited Florence for the first day but found that he was strangely missing her annoying ways by the second. He wondered where to find her and realised that he had never needed to before, she had always just showed up. The few merfolk he bothered to ask gave him peculiar looks and asked, "Why would you want to find her. Aren't you always complaining and wishing that you could have a few days to yourself?" He had no answer for this and swam on.

Finally he checked where he prayed she would never be and swam as close to the surface as he dared. Sure enough, there she was. "Ariana" he called but she was too lost in thought to hear him. "Ariana" he said, louder but still nothing. Knowing this could go all day he swam up and have her a friendly hard hit on the head.

That got her attention but she wasn't happy with him as she nursed her head. "Where have you been? He asked angrily "I didn't see you all of yesterday and now I find you once again, near the surface. The very place I left you before not seeing you for days. Do you ever consider anyone else?"

"Now who talks too much?" she asked, rather amused but it was obvious to him that she was near tears. Before he could enquire they were interrupted.

It wasn't a good kind of interruption. Castilar was the kind of merman you avoided at all times. It was never a good thing when he was happy about something. "You've been summoned," he told Ariana "by the council."

She tried to display no emotion but Florence knew her well enough to know when she was terrified. Neither of them had ever seen the council but their reputation exceeds them. The group consisted of the eldest and most trusted mermaids and they are only called together for enormous problems around the sea. Most merfolk who went into meetings with them never come out.

They swam in silence. Castilar seemed amused by this. He didn't say anything but his smirk said it all Florence reached out and held Ariana's hand in a feeble attempt to comfort her. She squeezed it thankfully even though he knew it wouldn't do anything.

Finally they found themselves at an entrance to a large cave. "You have to wait here," Castilar told Florence who looked like he wasn't going to budge. Ariana squeezed his hand again and let go. Giving him one last smile, she turned and swam after Castilar.

The water seemed to get instantly colder, and darker. Ariana could barley see anything in front of her. Merfolk were luckily blessed with pale silver hair and Castilar's hair gave her a tiny amount of direction.

After followed endless tunnels until finally coming out to see the dreaded council. There was about twenty of them, spread out around the cave. It was hard to tell from the lack of light. Ariana thought she made out her father in the centre but there was no sure way of knowing. She expected that the King would sit in the middle. It didn't matter. She knew that in here he wasn't her father, in here he was nothing but a ruler. A ruler who obviously knew what she had done.

Castilar took his place on the side and it begun.

"Are you aware of why we have summoned you here?" her father asked.

She tried to speak but her voice failed her. She nodded and hoped that they could see.

"Are you aware of the seriousness of your crime?"

Again she nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

He turned away from her and addressed Castilar. "Would you please recount to the council what you witnessed?"

Castilar swam to the centre to speak. "There was a storm as the ship carrying the Prince of Eravonia returned home. A storm that need I mention, took a lot of work to plan so we could slowly get our revenge. Everything was going as planned. The Prince fell overboard and stopped resurfacing. That is, until Ariana saved him and took him to safety. Not only did she break a plan that was organised by the very people in this room, but she also made contact with a human, resulting in the transferring of power. If the humans discover this power they will realise that we were plotting against them and could retaliate. May I reiterate to the council that contact with a human, though it does for a short period making them weaker in the long run it means that his powers will grow and he will begin to notice his new abilities. When he regains his strength he will see this. This is why is was ruled long ago that there is to be no contact between merfolk and humans. If we don't kill them they will grow stronger. This is why I propose the removal of the Prince in question."

The council murmured to each other. Castilar took this as his cue to swim away. He stopped when Carissa coughed. Ariana knew this meant more trouble for her. Castilar was nothing compared to Carissa as everything he did was ordered by her. She had a vendetta against the royal family since they replaced her family on the throne hundreds of years ago. No one knew where she went but on the odd occasion where she was seen, she made an impact. She may as well have been the only member on the council because she controlled most of the members through fear.

Her message seemed to have passed on to Castilar who swam back to the centre. "If I could make a suggestion" he said evilly "I think we could have a way or solving two of our problems at once. The young princess has betrayed her own kind and needs to prove her loyalty. May I suggest that she herself, rectify her mistake. She should be the one to kill the Prince."

Ariana looked up panicked. Once again the council murmured amongst themselves. Most seemed impressed by the idea.

"Can I suggest something else?" Ariana tried to say but the looks they gave her silenced her. It was clear that she was not allowed to speak. So she awaited her fate with crossed fingers, praying for hope.

This did not come. Her father came forward and addressed everyone. "It has been decided. Ariana, through the work of our best charms, shall be given legs. And shall venture on land to kill the Prince."

Carissa coughed again, creating a mixed sense of fear and loathing inside of Ariana. "If I may" Castilar said again "may I make another suggestion?" Ariana wanted to shout at him but knew that it wouldn't help her situation. All she could do was watch as Carissa's plan unfolded.

"Sure, we could just kill the Prince, or we could use the situation to our advantage. It is easy enough to kill humans, after all, touch them for too long and they drop dead right? But what I was thinking, it that we play on his emotions. Humans are so easy to manipulate. What if Ariana's mission was not to kill him but rather get his key to the kingdom which we all know will only be given through one task."

The council collectively gasped, most with disgust at the idea. Some quickly doubted this plan, looking around to see the opinions of fellow members. The look Carissa gave them made them turn back and nod in agreement. Arians eyes widened in panic as she swam forward to defend herself.

Before she could even open her mouth one of the council raised their hands and a mighty surge of water knocked her back.

The distinct sound of Carissa's laugh could be heard as Ariana lost conciseness.

She knew that her trouble was only just beginning.