"Anything is possible, sir, and besides, Ariel may be the last born, but if I recall, she was born and hatched the fastest as if she couldn't wait.", Sebastian chuckled, and Triton smiled, "Indeed that she was. Surprised Athena, that's for sure.".
Sebastian then replied, "Speaking of Athena, I have perhaps overheard something about her by Ariel as she was talking with Arista after rehearsal.", and Triton raised an eyebrow, "Oh?".
"Yes. Arista was asking Ariel why she was pouring her heart into today's song more powerful than ever. Ariel replied that she got her singing voice from Athena, so it made sense to honor that to Athena for it would be the greatest gift to her every time she sings.", Sebastian said, and then continued, "Arista commented that she'd had never thought like that before, and Ariel said that Eric told her that as he loves music, and he lost his mother, so if he could, he would sing for her as a gift. And Arista was smiling and teasing about Eric being her soulmate, the perfect match for Ariel. Ariel didn't deny, blushing, and they soon departed.".
"Eric?", Triton looked at Sebastian as the crab suddenly realized what he said. "Is that the merman's name?", with a raised eyebrow. "Uh...", Sebastian realized that he might have said too much, even if he himself actually didn't know that Eric was human.
"I'm... I'm not familiar with an Eric...", Triton stroked his beard. "Could he... could he have been a merman Ariel met while she was missing?" Sebastian nodded, shrugging, "That's very possible, sir. Nomad, perhaps, or living off the island.".
Triton frowned, "Yet if this Eric is a nomad, why do Ariel look like she might be possibly visiting him somewhere out of Atlantica? Unless she's hiding him...".
"You mean Ariel snuck Eric secretly?", Sebastian widened his eyes, his mind screaming at him, 'The grotto! Ariel's secret grotto!', having sworn to Ariel to keep the place secret, but he's more afraid of Triton's temper.
"Sebastian... do you know something you're not telling me?", Triton gave the crab a cold hard look as he was clearly buckling under the pressure.
"I.. um...", Sebastian couldn't take it. He knew Ariel would probably hate him forever, but he was just more scared of Triton's wrath than Ariel's cold shoulder. "I think I might know...".
Meanwhile, Ariel was traveling with Flounder, "You know you don't have to find human things when I was missing.".
Flounder smiled, "I know, Ariel, yet if I am a guppy, finding human things made me feel closer and better when I thought you were dead...Anyway, I was hoping you'd ask a whale or some dolphins to help carry this human thing I found weeks ago since it is heavy. I figure you'll know the perfect spot to put this thing in the grotto than I'd do, anyway.".
"What exactly did you find that would require a whale to move it?", Ariel asked as Flounder had a smirk on his face. "It's a surprise.", he told her as they headed for the grotto.
After several minutes, they made it to the grotto, with Ariel curious as she followed Flounder, "You shouldn't have done this...I could have been fine with a sim-", before gasping in shock, "Flounder...", seeing the statue of Eric in the dim sunlight, "Oh, Poseidon...", giving out a happy sob and smile as she hugged Flounder, "Thank you, thank you! You're the best!", before swimming up to Eric's statue, checking for imperfections, "He's absolutely perfect! Oh, Eric...I wish you were here...", kissing the cheek, unknowingly that the real Eric felt it, recognizing the faint yet so familiar lips for a moment.
"So... this was the guy you were telling me about?", Flounder asked as Ariel nodded. "Yes, he is...", she sighed once more. "Flounder... I hate it so much... that our only connection is our dreams... I just... I just want to be in his arms again... to feel his warmth...".
Ariel then sang her song, the one she did for Eric back in the cove, deeply heartfelt and so absorbed in her imagination that she didn't hear her father and Sebastian come in, and Flounder didn't see them, amazed by Ariel's performance, clapping his fins when she finished.
"Wow, that was incredible! You got it bad for Eric!", Flounder complimented as Ariel was hugging Eric's statue, and smiled, blushing as she turned her head around to thank him when she gasped in shock and horror, "Daddy!", seeing him instantly in the dim shadows.
Ariel felt like she was on the verge of a heart attack right then and there at the sight. Sebastian obviously was trying to stop him; she was hearing him muttering of him going on ahead to check it out and that Triton didn't need to bother invading his daughter's special hideaway.
"Is this... the... man...", Triton practically spit that last word out, "You tried to rescue that night?". Ariel took a deep breath, "Yes, I did, and you know what? I am glad I did as Eric's a good man. He saved my life in return by helping bandage and heal my tail.".
"How dare you save a human?! You broke the rules by going to the surface, risking yourself to be seen, and you could've come back without going for that barbarian!", Triton snarled, and Ariel protested, "He could've died! He's a prince of the surface, and people need him!".
"A prince or not, one less human, the better!", Triton argued. "He's not one of them, Daddy!", Ariel shouted. "He told me of the ones that killed Mother, he hates them as much as you!".
There was a hint of shock in Triton's face momentarily before he shook his head and spat, "Humans lie, Ariel! They're cruel, malicious, terrible, murderous monsters, the lot of them!", and Ariel argued back, "Eric is not all of that, he's my soulmate, and I love him, Daddy!", before gasping as she realized that she revealed her secret.
Even Triton was taken aback by that information as he didn't even know where to begin with her for a moment. "No...", he said before he quickly regained himself. "Have you lost your senses completely? He's a human, you're a mermaid!".
Ariel spat, "I don't care, and he loves me for who I am!", glaring at Triton, "And you can't do anything to my dreams with him! I read about the few broken soulmate bonds, and the soulmates died together within hours!".
Triton snarled, "I am not going to lose you, and if I can't break the bond without killing you, I will get you to see that you don't need him, and if doing this to your place is that solution, so be it!", his eyes glowing furiously as his trident glowed golden-red, and he then did the most worst thing imaginable to break Ariel's heart.
Ariel watched in horror as Triton proceeded to destroy everything in the room; blasting and vaporizing every trinket, every item that she collected over the years until eventually there was nothing left. Ariel nearly fainted from the shock of it as Triton said nothing more and just simply left her alone to her thoughts.
Unknowingly, Eric felt the horror, angst, and heartbreak of Ariel's feelings for those moments, and he feared for Ariel until the feelings went away, giving to simply grief, and he prayed that she would be okay.
Ariel sobbed as she curled up around the demolished face of Eric's statue, with Sebastian and Flounder trying to comfort her until she demanded them to go away...With sad faces, and pain in their hearts for their friend, they left Ariel alone as she continued to cry and sob.
Ariel lost track of time with how long she sobbed; she honestly thought she would dry up with how much she was crying before she heard something nearby. Like something had slithered their way into the grotto amongst the ruins of her collection.
"Poor child...", a voice slithered. "Poor, sweet child...", a second voice, similar to the first one, also said in a slimy tone of voice. Ariel looked up and gasped in surprise and fright as she saw two dark green eels swimming down to her.
The first voice spoke, "She sees us, brother. I wonder if we can help her with her serious problem.". The second voice chuckles, "I believe we can help her, brother. After all, a serious problem requires a serious solution.".
"Who... who are you?", Ariel asked as the eels swam around her. "Don't be scared.", the first one assured her.
"We represent someone who can help you.", the second one said. "Someone who could make all your dreams come true.", the first one replied.
"Just imagine...", the second one said as he and his brother wrapped around each other. "You and your prince...", the first one replied.
"Together, forever...", they both said that last one in perfect synchronization. Ariel exhaled, "And who can help me?", and the first one spoke, "Ursula.".
Ariel gasped softly, "The sea witch?", and looked down at the face of Eric's statue...she wanted so much to be with him...to be courted by him. To be proposed to, engaged, get married, having a family...
Ariel took a deep breath, remembering the stories, and Attina's warning, but honestly, she has everything to lose with Eric, and looked to the eel brothers, "Can you take me to her?".
Both of them gave sinister chuckles which really didn't improve Ariel's mind but at this point, she didn't care. She wasn't thinking the straightest since she was still so overwhelmed with grief and started to follow the two eels as they left, both whispering to follow them.
Sebastian and Flounder certainly weren't leaving Ariel alone. They had kept their distance while she was still in the grotto but now seeing her swim out with the eels Flotsam and Jetsam, the two of them knew it was bad news as they tried to keep up with the trio.
After an hour, deep in the depths of the sea, along the ravines, Ariel and the others arrived at a large creepy fish skeleton cave, and the eel brothers spoke as one, "She is inside.", and Ariel was nervous, but took a big deep breath, thoughts of Eric running through her mind, and swam forward to follow them in.
Ariel slowly made her way inside, going a bit of a distance before the eels suddenly abandoned her and she found herself surrounded by these sickly colored polyps with eyes as they tried to grab her.
Ariel gasped, fighting back, grunting as she swam away from the polyps, creeped out before she heard a female voice, "Come in, child.", and Ariel swam forward, ignoring the screeching moans of the polyps, and came into a large room.
"H-Hello...?", Ariel asked as she found no one around for a few moments before the shadows practically moved and Ariel finally came face to face with the infamous sea witch herself. A large, full bodied Cecelia with light lavender skin, short white hair, and six black tentacles on her lower half. She had gray eyes and a mole near her right side of her mouth and quite a lot of undersea makeup practically slathered onto her face.
The Cecelia woman bowed her head, "Why, hello, dear princess. I hear that you have a thing for this prince fellow, yet he's a human, and you're a mermaid...I don't blame you as he's quite a catch, isn't he? Well, child, there's a way to get back with your prince, and that way is to change you into a human.", as she floated around, settling herself at her vanity, and smiled at Ariel in the mirror.
Ariel gasped, "It's possible?", and Ursula nodded, "Of course. After all, I am the sea witch, and helping people is what I strive for. But I understand if you're afraid to do so, with all those rumors about me, and such...My, my, what a miserable thought...to be alone, to be pining after a human, no way to be up there on the surface. What do you have to lose anyway?".
Ariel shook her head for a moment. "Wait, how in all the seas do you know-"
"About your dear prince Eric? My little angel fish, I've had my eye on you for quite some time, of course, I know.", Ursula soon grabbed the top of her mirror and pulled it forward to reveal the backside of it... which was another mirror, but it then was showing Eric standing out on one of his palace's balconies, staring out to the sea. "Do you doubt my powers? If I can easily see what he's doing... turning a mermaid into a human wouldn't even be any of a challenge.".
Ariel gasped in surprise, seeing Eric, and she reached out to touch, and Ursula tsked, "Sorry, he can't hear or see you, or even feel your touch.", and Ariel halted, looking depressed for a moment before exhaling with determination in her eyes, "Is it true that you make deals?", looking at her.
Ursula smiled brightly, "Oh, yes, I certainly do! And deals require a bit of something for it to be a complete deal.", and Ariel started to say, "But I don't-", before a tentacle stopped her, and Ursula continued, "It's simple, a little trifle, really. Your price for the deal is your voice.".
"My voice?", Ariel asked as she put her hand to her throat. "Why... why do you want it?".
"Darling, have you heard yourself? You have one of the most beautiful voices in the sea. And we're talking about quite a big decision. You'll be saying goodbye to your father, your siblings, practically the life you once knew to be human. And I need something in return after all. I don't work for free.", Ursula told her.
"But my voice... how can I-", Ariel started.
"You'll still have your looks! Your pretty face, and don't underestimate the importance of body language!", Ursula interrupted. Ariel looked at her suspiciously. "Okay, okay, I can tell you're still untrusting, so I'll lay this out on the table for ya. There's a catch to being a human. A potion I'll give you will make you human for three days.".
"Only three?", Ariel raised an eyebrow.
"Plenty of time for you! You've got till the sun sets on the third day for your dear Eric to fall in love with you. And not only that, but he's got to give you the kiss of true love... not some quick peck on the lips from your end the first time you see him.", Ursula poked Ariel in the chest. "Don't think you can try to pull that kind of fast one on ol' Ursula.".
"And if I get the kiss?", Ariel asked.
"Great job! Good for you! You'll be human permanently and you two can live happily ever after! But, if not... you'll turn back into a mermaid and be mine forever.", Ursula chuckled with a grin, and Ariel floated back a bit. "Just like all those others you saw back there.". Ariel quickly threw her head back towards the direction of the polyps. "That's the price one pays for these sorts of deals.".
Ursula was practically laughing on the inside. Here she had Triton's youngest right in her grasp and only moments away from agreeing to a deal of hers. Of course, Ursula certainly wasn't planning on playing fair, not in the slightest. She would use the girl to get her revenge on Triton and certainly could use Ariel as one hell of a bargaining chip. What a desperate father wouldn't do for his daughter?
However, Ursula was miscalculating though both parties didn't know it. Ursula knew that Ariel and Eric had ended up on a distant island together but even her powers were not unlimited, so she was unable to see what had happened there. Once Ariel was back in Atlantica, she could see the desire and longing for in Ariel for Eric... but she thought that the whole relationship was one sided. That the Prince didn't see much out of her... that at best, he saw her as a sort of friend. No way true love could bloom between those two in such a short time!
Ariel exhaled softly, "At least I'll be able to see the sea every day, just not in it...", and Ursula nodded, "True, and don't forget that you will have your man to hold you in his arms.", with a chuckle, before smiling, "So, do we have a deal?".
"Three days, true love's kiss to be permanently human.", Ariel recited, and Ursula nodded, "Yes, good to keep it in mind, angelfish.".
Ariel looked at the mirror of Eric lost in thought, staring at the sea, and took a deep breath, and looked at Ursula, "We have a deal.", and Ursula smiled so widely, "Excellent!", before swimming off in a fervor to grab ingredients and all as she sang wildly and passionately, soon coming up with a golden contract with a fish skeleton quill.
"I see it through to the end.", Ariel nodded as she took a deep breath, and then signed it, and Ursula took it, and Ariel soon was overwhelmed, singing her beloved song, and before she knew it, she was in agony, pain, and fear as she went through the most painful and horrible transformation, screaming out silently, unknowing that Eric is feeling all the emotions as he realized that something is happening to Ariel.