It was a typical Sunday night for Ariel. She sat in her pot on Ursula's vanity while watching Ursula toy around with her sisters in a variety of ways she never even realized possible. Her mistress' tentacles had a rhythm to them that she could barely describe; one moment they snapped with velocity equal to the wrath of an army, in another, they were as smooth as the morning tides. As she bore witness to the awesome and terrifying sight, she couldn't help but notice she was licking her lips and panting furiously. Suddenly, realizing the implications of her actions, Ariel retracted her tongue and turned away from the sight, hoping that Ursula didn't see her.
Thus was the fate of the mermaid princess, Ariel, who so longed to be a part of the human world that she traded her voice and bargained her soul away to the witch of the sea. In failing her end of the bargain, she became neither human, nor mermaid, but something far more twisted. Truth be told, in comparison to the other polyps she was not as disgusting looking as them; her face not so much warped, but seemed more child like. She still had many of the more disgusting faults of polyps, but they weren't as intense as the others, and she never understood why. Perhaps Ursula took pity on her the day she was dragged to the sea and made her spell less intense; maybe Ariel was just lucky. Either way, transformed she was, and voiceless at that.
How long had it been since she was first transformed? Several months maybe; Ariel didn't know, she wasn't keeping track. Even then, she still remembered what happened that day, when her life changed forever.
~000000000~
It all seemed too real to be a nightmare, but too horrific to be reality. Ariel watched in horror as her father disintegrated before her very eyes, but said nothing. Her voice was no longer hers but property of the sea witch, so all that could come from her mouth were sounds of irregular breathing that only begun to speed up as her hopes dashed away. Her vision was clouded by a rush of emotion that began to sweep her mind like a passing hurricane, but she could not bear to faint. Ariel was too frightened to fall unconscious now, when her own life still remained in jeopardy.
She didn't know how long she just stared at the ground, weighed down by the aches of her heart. The concept of time was absolutely foreign to her now; everything was, except for the pain. Suddenly, an inky black tentacle came out from under her and grasped her chin, effortlessly lifting her head without even a moment of resistance. Soon, she was faced with the figure of her detainer; the very woman she had foolishly put her trust into three days ago in the vain hope of becoming human. Ursula, the sea witch.
She towered over Ariel like a great black obelisk; a figure whose very presence greedily sucked away the light around it to cast a black shadow over all before it. All the while she wore a broad smile on her face that seemed to suggest great joy, but her eyes told a different story. To Ariel, her eyes were cool as the open sea, yet like a void, sucking her deeper into her gaze, it was almost impossible for Ariel to pull herself away, she didn't have the strength to try anymore.
"Dear child, you seem to be a little distraught," Ursula's voice had a chill tone to it that sent shivers down Ariel's spine. "I would imagine so, after such a long day of heartbreak after heartbreak, but it's time for us to go."
~Please… just leave me alone…~
Ariel could barely even muster together her thoughts, she was so thoroughly broken that all she wanted now was just to lie down and sleep. Ursula's tentacle kept a firm grip on her though, and her eyes never turned from Ariel's.
"Sorry angelfish, but I'm afraid that just won't do." Ursula parted her lips to show her teeth and closed her eyes for a jovial expression.
Suddenly, Ariel snapped out of her trance, if for just a moment, completely shocked by the implications of what she heard.
~Did… did you hear what I said?~
In her hands, Ursula held the trident of Ariel's father. She brought it up to her face and gave it a look of appraisal.
"This trident is a magnificent item, isn't it? With it, whole worlds of magic have revealed themselves to me. Strange and alien powers come together to impart knowledge I never even realized existed. I feel like a child again, just discovering magic for the first time. It's a marvelous feeling really." As Ursula spoke, she would alter her gaze between Ariel and the trident. Her expression was filled with absolute glee that seemed so genuine that, Ariel couldn't help but feel frightened by it.
As she spoke, Ariel stole herself a glance at Ursula's locket that hung around her neck, and wrested between her two great breasts. Inside that locket was Ariel's voice, bent to the will of a new owner. It came from her throat as a ball of magic, still singing even when it was taken from her, as if it had gained a life of its own through Ursula's magic. Ariel wondered what it thought of her now, after she gave it up for temporary legs. Did it hate her; did it still want to be a part of her?
"I can assure you, it doesn't even want to be associated with you." Ursula's voice snapped Ariel back to reality once again.
Oh yeah; Ursula could read her mind. That was another annoyance to pile on today's mess. Ariel could feel some of her strength return as her mind became less focused on how utterly hopeless her situation was and more grounded in her current reality. Right now, Ursula was in front of her, and Ariel didn't want her there. She sat herself upright and grasped Ursula's tentacle in an attempt to pry it from her chin. No dice; Ursula's grip was too strong; it even seemed to get tighter with every attempt Ariel tried to make to pull it away.
~Why don't you just leave me alone to my misery, you monster?! I don't want to talk to anyone now!~
Suddenly, Ursula let loose a boisterous fit of laughter that seemed to rumble the very ocean around them in echoes.
"Poor little princess; you don't seem to fully grasp the position that you're in. I'm queen now, and I give the orders here. Your first order of business is to come with me quietly."
A shiver began to fall down Ariel's spine; her former annoyance was starting to be replaced by fear.
~B-but, you and my father had a deal! You can't do anything to me!~
Ursula raised a finger and began to wag it; her face was wrapped with a smug grin. "Tsk, tsk, tsk child. That's not how deals work. Our deal was that I couldn't do anything to you under the terms of the old contract. But now I'm queen of Atlantica, and as a citizen of Atlantica, and a former tenant of my palace, you are under my jurisdiction."
Ariel's breathing started to become more irregular as Ursula spoke. Her attempts to pry Ursula's tentacle from her face started to become more and more desperate as she sought an escape from the witch.
"Don't worry child," Ursula whispered softly as she bent to pat Ariel on the head. "I'm not going to hurt you. How could I even think about it, when you're the one responsible for making my dreams come true? No, I intend to reward you."
~I don't want anything from you! Just please, let me go!~ Ariel was beginning to sob. Though Ursula's words spoke kindly, there was a hiss in her tone that suggested that there was more behind them.
"Ah, that fire in you is so admirable," Ursula spoke wistfully. "It reminds me of the flame I had in my youth. Believe me or not child, but we're more alike than you can possibly imagine. You can look down on me all you like as some sort of monster, but I know from firstentacle experience that you were doomed from the start. Your dream was hopeless."
As Ursula's words drilled their way into Ariel's mind, she felt an anger begin to take over her. Memories of her time with Eric started to flood her mind along with her time in the human world. Along with them came the memories of Ursula in the guise of Vanessa. Ariel's face began to contort from a visage of despair, to one filled with venom and hatred, all focused on Ursula. If she still had a voice, she would have growled, but all that she could muster in her state was a very sinister hiss, the sort that demanded blood. At that moment a newfound strength began to overtake her as her grip on Ursula's tentacle tightened to a point where her veins were showing.
"Ah, now that's starting to sting." Ursula groaned in displeasure.
Several tentacles then jolted from Ursula and began to wrap themselves violently around Ariel, but she didn't take it lying down. Without hesitation, she entered in a violent tussle to keep the various tendrils from making their way around her, even going so far as to bite one. Ursula let loose a terrible howl when that happened, and with her free hand, leapt forward to punch Ariel in the face. The blow left her disoriented long enough to have one tentacle seal itself over her mouth. Soon enough, her entire body, sans the occasional gap was wrapped in a rope of tentacles.
~YOU'RE WRONG!~ Though he mouth was useless Ariel meant to make her thoughts loud and clear. ~The love I had with Eric was real! The only reason I failed was because of you! You're the reason everything's gone wrong!~
"Oh ho ho. So you say child." Ursula's grin was absolutely mocking at this point as she begun to recompose herself after Ariel's unexpected struggle.
"Imagine then, what would have happened if you had decided to follow through with your plan to meet him while you still had your tail. Do you think he would have still accepted you then?"
~How do you-?~
"I have my ways, baby-cakes," She retorted quickly. "Suppose then, what would have happened had that smart-mouthed crab, and the rest of your friends, not been there on that night at the lagoon? I saw how grim the situation looked for you."
~He still would have loved me even then!~
"Can you be so sure," Ursula said with her grin ever widening to impossible lengths. "You know, I was able to read his mind when I had him under my control? Even with his body as stiff and lifeless as it was, the only thing he had on his mind was my disguise; the girl he believed to have saved him that day because she had the golden voice! Even when we slept together, I was the only thing he cared to think about!"
Ariel's eyes were beginning to bulge out of their sockets. Her vision was beginning to cloud once more, only this time with an unparalleled rage. Her head reddened with blood, with her veins seeming to erupt from her skin.
~LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! YOU'RE LYING TO ME! YOU JUST HYPNOTISED HIM TO DO YOUR BIDDING, AND YOU PUT THOSE THOUGHTS INTO HIS HEAD TO MAKE HIM FORGET ME!~
Now, Ursula was starting to show annoyance, her smile turned into a frown that seemed almost to cleave the sides of her face. "DID I NOW," she screamed. "If you had even an inkling as to how magic worked, you little brat, you wouldn't be saying that! My spell was made to block his mind from the world outside, not to alter it. I was in too much of a rush to fix the mess your friends had made for me to use something that advanced, so I made due with just his body. No, the thoughts he had were of the last thing he saw, his dream girl coming to him at last, and the joy he felt in finally being with her."
Ariel shook her head in firm denial. She wanted to cover her ears so much, but Ursula's tentacles still kept a tight grip on her to the point that even moving was painful.
"You were there of course, but he didn't see you as any lover," Ursula's grin had returned, wider than eve, her eyes were drenched in a madness more akin to a savage beast than any rational being. "To him, you were just some poor girl he took pity on because he thought you were washed up from a shipwreck! Had my spell been more advanced, I'd bet you that he'd have even told you he wanted to marry me. All for some mystery girl he met for even less time than you!"
~NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP! GET! OUT! OF! MY! HEAD!~
"Deny it all you want little mermaid! That won't change the fact that you weren't able to accomplish anything on your own! On your own you couldn't become human, and on your own you couldn't have your prince! And because of your reliance on others, you've lost everything. Just like I did long ago, you've lost everything!"
At that point, Ariel could no longer hold back her anguish. She broke down into a mess of sobbing and coughing. Her strength vanished instantaneously, and her body became putty to the strength of the constricting arms. She could no longer will herself to fight anymore; it was just too much for her to bear. The whole world seemed to collapse around her, and everything she had previously believed in was coming crashing down around her.
~Please… please stop. I don't want to listen anymore.~ It was all Ariel could think of. Her mind was in a state of such utter disarray that she could only repeat that one phrase over and over, until even the words died away, leaving her in a state of utter blankness.
Suddenly, Ariel felt the warmth of a hand touch her face. It was Ursula's. Unlike her tentacles, the hand stroked her gently, taking care not to put pressure onto her. It masterfully worked its way around her cheeks, brushing aside stray strands of hair that interfered in its path.
"It's alright angelfish. You're not alone in this world. Believe me when I say I know just how you feel; me and my boys." Ursula's face was calm, with a sense of sadness behind it as well.
Ariel couldn't tell if Ursula was lying or not. Her mind desperately urged her to deny her, but she was so shaken, so utterly broken, that she wanted something to believe in. She needed someone to believe.
"I'm here for you, child. I will make certain that you shall be rewarded for your help to me. I will undo the damage Triton did to you all these years. You will bud into a real mature mermaid by the time I've finished with you. I will keep you by my side to see the world for what it really is and to teach you all there is to know about yourself. No one else will do this to you again."
Without warning, Ursula's tentacles began to undo themselves from Ariel. One by one, a slimy tendril slowly retracted itself towards it master, leaving behind terrible marks from the strain of withholding the mermaid. Soon, there was not a one on Ariel's body, and she sank listlessly to the ocean floor. She hadn't the strength, or desire to swim away at this point; she didn't want to be alone at this point. She needed someone to be there by her. Slowly, Ariel collected herself and swam to hug Ursula's great hulk of a belly. It was soft and comforting; like snuggling up against a pillow, while Ursula's hand patted her head.
"Before you can become true to yourself though child, you must take a new perspective on the world. To do that, you will have to endure. Are you willing to do that?"
Ariel slowly rose her head to meet Ursula's face, and after a moment of silence, she silently nodded to her.
From behind her came the sounds of something magical. She turned her head to behold the familiar sight of a golden contract, and a pen beside it. On the bottom half of the page, was an empty line, indicating where a signature would go.
Almost on its own, Ariel's arm acted to grab the pen. It hesitated for a moment before taking hold of the bony quill. She looked down at the page to see the terms and conditions of her contract, and gave one great sigh. After what seemed like an eternity, the pen's tip met the surface of the page and began to dance, leaving behind a trail signifying Ariel's signature. The deal had been made.
The magical parchment disappeared from sight in a flash, but the sight failed to even arouse a modest sense of shock from the mermaid. Her eyes remained dull and lifeless as they ever were, they seemed as calm as the open sea, but empty as a void.
Suddenly Ursula pulled herself away from Ariel very slowly Ariel wanted to beg her not to leave her side, but she couldn't bring herself to even move anymore, all she could do was take upright while Ursula began to mutter a chant to herself. The contract reappeared before her as she did, and quickly darted off towards Ariel, spinning around and around the little mermaid at a break neck speed. The parchment tore itself asunder bit by bit into an ever growing golden vortex that seemed to swallow her whole.
The first thing she could feel was the immense pain. It was the kind of pain that was nearly impossible to describe with just how much it measured. Her skin felt as if it was being pulled apart in several different directions before being crumpled up into a ball of sag. Her bones felt as if they were disintegrating into dust, with each crack worse than the last. Her hair seemed to almost dive into her skull like little knives that gutted her bit by bit. Her arms were collapsing in on themselves in such a way as to resemble the pounding of stone on a twig. The world seemed to rise up against her as the vortex pulled her further downwards into the world of pain. She wanted so desperately to scream, but all that could come out of her was a terrible sound of gurgling and coughing, as her body broke down.
Then, all went black.
~000000000~
When Ariel had woken up, she found herself back in the palace, yet things were different. She had been transformed into a polyp, and Ursula was now queen of Atlantica. The terms of the contract stated that Ariel would belong to Ursula for several years as her personal pet and servant until the day Ursula set her free. In the meantime, Ursula would take her with her as many places as she could so as to teach her all she knew. She chose to carry Ariel around in her hair as a makeshift flower, as both a way to intimidate those around her, and to just be silly. Ariel found the idea pretty stupid, but didn't have much of a choice in the matter, so she just rolled with it.
Ursula had made many changes to the palace in her coming; many servants had either abandoned their posts, or had been dealt with for treason. Soon, most of the merfolk who Ursula didn't buy with promises of power and wealth were gone from the palace and had to be replaced. Ursula had also hypnotized Ariel's sisters into becoming her slaves, (she meant to do a more advanced and subtle hypnotism, but the situation was moving too fast for that, she told Ariel). After all Ariel had been through, she found herself really unable to care too much. As a matter of fact, she considered it a pretty good fate for them, seeing as they were twice as spoiled as she was and would have collapsed in the outside world.
Weeks passed, and rebellions sprung up all over the kingdom. Ariel never really got to see any of them in action though, because Ursula would never take her outside the palace for missions she would deal with on her own. It was on these days Ariel could only really spend her time under the care of one of her two eels, Flotsam and Jetsam. The two started off their relationship with insults towards Ariel, but as time went on they became a little less antagonistic, even talking to her about the hardships they endured. Since she could never properly respond, she was a good outlet for them to voice frustrations. Even Ariel couldn't help but grow to like them more and more, they weren't bad guys one you got to know them; they just had a creepy way of talking and needed to work on the concept of personal space.
Her relationship with Ursula was just a bit more complicated. In many ways, she treated Ariel like a doll to be doted on, and had even less of a concept of personal space, but always presented it in that diva-like fashion she always had for more casual occasions. Perhaps she'd prod Ariel with her tentacles, "accidentally" drop her in her cleavage, which Ariel couldn't get out of on her own, (she almost thought she was going to suffocate one time), or maybe she'd decorate her with makeup and other cosmetics. She also had a bad habit of "accidentally" forgetting that she could read Ariel's mind and would personally antagonize her with that annoying habit.
All the same, when Ursula wanted to be serious, she really could. Whenever in more public, Ursula made certain to treat Ariel as more of an equal by her side, sharing inner dialogues with one another about other people and the way the world worked. Ursula would talk to her about future plans, and sometimes debate with her about the morality of her decisions. Of course, neither actually spoke proper words to one another; Ariel had to be content with Ursula letting her read her thoughts. Ursula couldn't give Ariel back her voice either. During her time with rooting out rebels, Ursula had to merge Ariel's voice with her own so as to avoid having her shell locket reveal who she was. This had the peculiar effect of Ursula now being able to talk in two separate voices on a whim. Ariel didn't really care; she gave her voice up after all, and it wasn't like she could even speak properly as a polyp. She was content with just speaking her mind.
Overall, their relationship was fairly bumpy, with ups and downs here and there. Ariel did really appreciate the days when Ursula would be more open about her past, especially in regards to the other polyps she decorated in the palace garden. She heard so many stories about the people who would come to Ursula that she was surprised that there were still more to hear. They all usually had fairly different reasons for coming to Ursula, but the overall stories were strikingly similar. Usually some desperate fish-person would come to Ursula or be coerced by Flotsam and Jetsam in the hopes of having their problems solved. Often these people would be utter nincompoops who never see the trick behind Ursula's words because they were just so desperate.
"One time, there was this idiot who called himself Harold," Ursula would say. "He comes flitting into my lair asking for muscles so that he could impress the ladies, and I tell him to go find me some fresh water lilies in three days. The problem was that it was fall, and fresh water lilies were out of season. Any idiot could have told you that, but not this one. So he goes out to get me the lilies, and comes back empty handed, begging to me for more time. I showed him no mercy."
Every now and then though, Ariel would also hear stories about those who came to Ursula and weren't turned into polyps.
"These fish-folk, they're smart," Ursula would say. "They're not like you or Harold was by letting me dictate the way the conversation goes. They stop and think, and make their presence known. Sure, they're desperate, and willing to go for situations less than ideal, but never to the point where they'd be caught in my traps. Take this one mermaid for instance; tanned and fairly good looking girl who goes by the name Alasie. She comes into my lair, hoping for strength so that she could run her ailing father's caravan. I try to pull my usual bravado, but she wouldn't have it. It was a long back and forth between us, and eventually, I took her ability to give birth in exchange for the strength she needed."
~That's what you consider fair?!~
"It's not as bad as you might think, angelfish." She responded. "Just because she can't give birth anymore doesn't mean I took away her ability to adopt a child, or her ability to mentor children. How bad these deals are, is usually up to the people who take them to decide. I just make the offer; even if I choose to skew it to my advantage."
That was the crux of their relationship. Ariel was the student, and Ursula her teacher. In many ways she had really grown to admire her for her wits and certain other qualities as well. She didn't know what it was about her exactly, but Ursula seemed to exhume this sort of awe inspiring aura around her that would give Ariel goose-bumps whenever she returned from being away too long.
As for Ariel herself: inner conflict ruled her life for the majority of time she spent as a polyp. On the one hand, she wanted desperately to believe that help was on the way; that she would be rescued and life could return to normal in her home. Part of her desperately wanted to go back to Eric and have him sweep her in his arms and they could live happily ever after. And the longer she spent as a polyp, the more disgusted she was becoming with herself. There were days when she would look into a mirror and chant to herself to keep together, to keep on hoping, to not give up and just throw her old life away.
Another part of herself was growing in her though, one more… grim, and accepting of her current position. Even more disturbingly, it was a part of her that was eager for things to stay the way they were. She was becoming more cynical, and more critical of herself and more demanding of Ursula's attention. Even as a polyp she began to give more scrutiny to the people her mistress dealt with, with a growing sense of contempt. She began even more to loathe the arrogance that would come from them as they dared to defy Ursula's rule with such stupid methods. And on days when her mistress would transform traitors into polyps, Ariel started taking a sick enjoyment from the spectacle. Those were days when she would stare long and hard into a mirror for the longest of times (sometimes going as far as to bang her head on the glass).
There were days where Ariel would often think of Eric, and wonder what he was doing, wondering if he was ever thinking about her. He wondered if what Ursula had said was a lie, and that he really did love her. She wondered if Ursula had never shown up, would things have been different between them?
Whenever she questioned Ursula about what she did with Eric, she would always say, "I left him up there to do whatever. For all I know, he may have gotten married to some other girl and is running his kingdom right now. He's not my problem anymore as far as I'm concerned."
Ariel wanted it to not be true; she begged with all her might that it just wasn't, but as days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, the more hopeless her wish seemed.
Then the day came, the day she heard of Sebastian's rebellion. A hope she hadn't felt for a long time rose up in her on those days, and she remained ever defiant of Ursula's whim. These were the days when Ursula was in most distress and turmoil as rebellion sprung up all over the kingdom. The most stressful Ursula would become, the more hopeful Ariel would be that Sebastian would come to rescue her.
Then her hopes were dashed almost entirely in the span of a few days. The rebellion had failed, and Sebastian had been captured. Earlier that evening, when he was brought in for his trial, was possibly the saddest Ariel had been since becoming a polyp. She wanted so badly to hide from his gaze, which seemed to pierce her heart to no end.
Now, it was just another typical Sunday night for her, watching her mistress violate her sisters in ways she never realized possible and shamefully ogling.
Ariel then turned her head upwards to the ceiling, thinking once more of Eric, and whatever he was doing for her. She wished she had never involved him in this whole mess, and wondered if he really did find another girl. Oh well, it'd probably be better for both of them anyways. After all, he was a human, and she was a mermaid. Even if she did become fully human she probably wouldn't have fit in anyways. And either way, it wasn't like she could swim up to even check up on him.
She took one glance at the mirror in front of her, and gave a sigh at the green face that looked back at her.
So much for true love…
This was my longest chapter to date, and probably my favorite. I originally was going to have Ariel's situation be a little more black and white than it was before, by having her become a full cynic the moment she turned into a polyp, but I wanted to also create a stronger sense of passion in her. Originally, Ursula's sentences also were a little more clear cut, and less ambiguous, but because I wanted to be a little more fair to Ariel, I made things more ambiguous.
Anyways, things are looking to clear up soon. I only have a few bonus chapters left before finishing up the story, so stay tuned.