Chapter Twelve
The worst place she can imagine.
Melody felt her body be twisted and pinched by the trident's magic, but it only hurt for a second. When she opened her eyes, Melody found herself raging sea. The sky was black, and the waves climbed high only to come crashing down. Melody tried to kick her way through, but found she now only had one appendage where she used to have two. The waves crashed down upon her, weighing her body down until out of desperation she had to take in a breath.
To her shock and delight, Melody realized she could breathe underwater. It was calmer beneath the waves, so she took the time to confirm that her mermaid's tail was back.
The worst place she can imagine.
Melody didn't understand how Morgana escaped. Or got the trident. Or how this place could be a prison. Being in the ocean during a sea storm wasn't the best place to be, but Melody could picture a thousand places that were worse.
Not knowing what else to do, Melody swam ahead. She soon came across a sinking ship. At least, it looked like it was sinking, but at the same time it wasn't. The ship stayed teetering on the waves. The cracks that threatened to break as the ship came down, came together again as the ship went up. The more Melody watched, it seemed as if everything around her was on a cycle.
Wave up, wave down. One, two, three. Splash, splash, thunder crack.
Was this Morgana's idea? To trap her in a never-ending storm?
Melody retreated under the water once more, where it was safer. She looked around, but no marine life was in sight. Melody couldn't even see the ocean floor; she must be in deep water.
Perhaps there are some fish nearby who could give me directions to Atlantica. Melody picked a direction at random and thrusted her fins.
Melody swam and swam but couldn't find any fish. Eventually, she saw herself swimming towards a white space. She stopped to explore it further. The white space wasn't light; and it wasn't exactly a wall. She untied her hair ribbon and tossed one side into the whiteness. Her view of the ribbon disappeared as the other half was held tight in her fist. When she tried to pull the ribbon back, it stayed stuck.
"Okay, no going in there," Melody said aloud. Hearing a voice, even if it was just hers, was comforting.
The other half of the ribbon was dropped, and it floated in the water, held fast by whatever force the white stuff was. Melody swam alongside the white border, keeping a safe distance. It surely had to end somewhere.
Melody lost track of time and how long she was swimming. She could tell that the storm was still repeating above her. She found herself passing by the stationary-sinking ship. The border brought her to the ships side.
Where are all the people?
She continued to swim, and then above her she saw a set of legs. Legs and a tail. Melody swam as quickly as she could to the surface. There, finally, were two people she could talk with.
"Hello!" Melody called out.
Both strangers ignored her. The human, who was a man, seemed passed out and was held above the water by the mermaid.
Melody swam closer. "Hello!"
"You must not die, my love," the mermaid said. Her attention was solely fixed on the drowning sailor. That, or the storm carried away Melody's voice.
"Where are we?"
"You must not die, my love." The mermaid took no notice of Melody.
Just as Melody was close enough to touch them, Melody felt herself being pulled away. The sensation was strange; the best she could describe it was if she were a yo-yo toy. Being pulled and then suddenly brought to a halt. She felt that sensation several times and found herself in a new area at the end of every yank. First, she was in a calm, blue sea. Then on a beach, a castle, and then on a ship.
Now, she was in the ocean again. This time, the waters were calm and blue. No raging storms in sight.
What was that?
Melody once more turned around, then looked up and down trying to see anyone or anything that could help her. Looking down and to her left, there was a mermaid. In fact, it was the same mermaid Melody saw during the storm. She was seated comfortably on a rock, gazing at a marble statue surrounded by purple plants.
"Hello!" Melody tried again, getting closer as fast as she could.
"Why, hello," the mermaid replied this time.
"Could you tell me where I am?"
"Why, you're in the ocean."
"Yes, but where exactly in the ocean? Which Ocean? Which way to Atlantica?"
"I've never heard of such a place."
"Well, what place can you tell me about?" Melody remembered looking at maps during her studies. Geography wasn't her best subject, but she might know enough depending on what this mermaid told her she could get home.
"Up there," the mermaid pointed over her head, "is the world above. That is where the land folk dwell."
"Yes, but what land? Is it Tirulia? Russia? China?" The mermaid just stared at her. "Well, what happened to the sailor?"
"Sailor?"
"Yes, you were rescuing him from a storm."
"I've never seen a sailor. I'm too young to go above the water. Grandmother says I can go to the surface when I turn fifteen."
Melody sighed in frustration. "What's your name?" Even with such a basic question, the mermaid just stared at her blankly. "My name is Melody. And you are?"
"I don't have a name."
"You must. Everyone has a name. People must call you something."
"Well, yes," the mermaid looked deep in thought. "I do recall people calling me something."
"Great. And that is?"
"I am…the Little Mermaid." The mermaid beamed with pride. "I'm so glad I remembered that."
Melody gulped. The storm; the drowning sailor. A mermaid only known as the Little Mermaid. Whether Morgana planned it or not, Melody was inside Mr. Andersen's book.
The worst place I could imagine.
And it was. A prison destined with an unhappy end.