Hi. So this is an EXTREME AU in Little Mermaid cannon and I know that. It is a tragedy so content warning of pain and death.

It was just something that wouldn't leave my mind until I wrote it down and if no one else likes it or gets it I understand that, it is an odd piece. And it follows more the actual actions of an actual Greek story with how the gods act more so than Disney. That said the 2023, Little Mermaid, had King Triton's daughters be different ethnicities from the different oceans so this is very much a "What If" type of set up. And it did come from a thought about Melody having a stronger connection to wanting to explore the sea given that she's half mermaid so the germ of this idea did come from a Little Mermaid cannon.

Again I know this is no way cannon to the film, so please don't waste a review or flame me by telling me that "It's not cannon/in the movie". I know! This was just me being creative.

All that said, enjoy or at least find it interesting.

She peered through the branches as the flames marched through the forest; their harsh flickering orange lights piercing through the darkness of the overcast night. The raised voices of men with baying dogs behind her and the rolling waves of the sea in front trapped her.

She huddled deeper into the thicket she had found sanctuary within. Her ears continued to ring with the chorus cries from the men: kill it.

The woman pulled the cloth more securely around the bundle she held. It…the men called the child when they hadn't given her the time to the bestow a proper name. The warm purple blanket she had woven had blessedly remained untouched in the chaotic flight into the night. Closing her eyes for a moment, she listened as the sounds of man and beast faded deeper into the forest. By the grace of the gods, the dogs hadn't found her scent.

Still, she waited. She cradled the bundle in her left arm while her free hand began to dig; her nails punching the earth like a frantic dog seeking a bone.

If you have need, call. She could only pray those words held true as her fingers brushed against the rough edges of a shell.

Carefully, she withdrew the conch shell from its hiding place. Its large spiral shape somehow seemed to fit perfectly in her cupped hand. Her thumb gingerly brushed against the smooth pale pink interior in a repetitive motion, the simple action momentarily calming her pounding heart.

Then with the greatest care, she crawled out from the grove and listened again. When still no noises of men or dog came, she rose and made her way down to the beach.

Reaching the water's edge, she collapsed. The course, but cool sand dug into her scrapped knees, at once burning her flesh and numbing the pain. before she raised it to the lips and blew.

The single note was low and quiet, barely a whisper before silence descended around her. She waited even as the chill of the night grew sharper. Reason told her to find a more secure shelter, but where could she go? She stared down at the shell in her hand. The waves lapped lazily against the sand, mockingly. What salvation could the sea offer other than a different form of death? Not for the first time had she wondered if it had all been a dream. But the proof was within the slumbering bundle she held protected in her arms.

Slowly, she rose on shaky legs and turned.

A swirl of waves sounded before a voice spoke. The voice at once commanding, but still quiet as if he knew the danger too. "Why have you called?"

Her eyes lowered to the bundle in her arms as she cradled it even closer to her breast. The next words uttered in a mixture of horror and bitterness. "They mean to kill her."

A heavy silence met the statement.

The woman dared a glance up and faltered for a moment. The powerful god posed before her on a crest of waves, the blue fish tail that covered the lower part of his body, waved behind him to keep his balance. In his right hand, he held a golden trident. His wild red mane teased in the sea spray in a childlike fashion while his sharp blue eyes regarded her with forceful indifference.

Her cheeks flushed, seeing herself through his eyes. A pale thin woman, her body lashed and scared by the woods in her flight and the cruel words of human men. Her robe torn and stained with life giving blood. A far cry from the maiden donned in the festive green gown with a garland of spring flowers in her golden hair. Her once fair face was hollow and stained with tears. Her bright blue eyes had become red. Was it any wonder that those same blue eyes which had once, even momentarily, held her in a tender embrace now found her lacking, nine months and mere hours ago?

She steeled herself against sentimentality. Gods cared little for human emotions.

Yet in her dreams, she still saw him as he had come to her. A young man floundering in the sea. His cries of distress had drawn her to the beach, away from the festivities. Somehow, she managed to pull him to safety and the two had collapsed on the sand, exhausted. For her courage, he rewarded her with the conch shell. Noting the wild mane of her hair, and her name, he had declared with a smile, "you are a brave lion indeed," before he departed. It had been a peculiar encounter, but she gave no more thought, never expecting to see him again.

And then he came back the next night and the next. They shared stories, secrets, played and sang music (her voice an angelic wonder for a human he had said) until the sun rose.

On the third night, she had given and been taken in a warm, willing embrace.

But she was now damned by others.

The woman swallowed. "They know whose she is."

"Diata."

Her heart lifted a fraction. Her name on his lips was at once soft and commanding. She couldn't falter now, not when her child needed her. In the chaotic and horrific moments of the night, she had almost forgotten her name. Whore, harlot, and a myriad of other foul names been hurled at her in these last hours, stripping her of her humanity as surely the flames of their torches wished to…. She pushed the thought away and again regarded the god before her.

She held the child out to him, the folds of the blanket falling back to reveal the treasure within. Myths of half children of the gods were celebrated and spun around campfires, but now that one such child dared to breath among them, she was a creature to fear and destroy.

The infant's skin as pale as the conch shell which had summoned the god. Inquisitive bright blue eyes stared up at the imposing god, unafraid. A miniature mane of bright red hair, a contrast from her mother's blonde curls and a mark of the 'demons', peeked out of the blanket.

"Please take her," Diata said.

The god leaned down to inspect the child further. His stern features melted the longer he watched the infant.

Diata's lips twitched in a smile recalling the whispered conversations passed between them. In all the stories, there were six daughters meant to take over, but there was an unspoken conundrum. The world held seven seas. Creatures of the dark water had begun to scheme sensing a potential weakness just as the humans hungered to take her.

Now though what once had been a riddle had transformed into salvation…at least for one of them.

And Diata could live with that price if her child lived. If it was even possible.

Above them, they head the baying of hounds.

Diata's eyes flew to the trident he held.

Reading the question in her eyes, the god gave a tiny nod. A golden glow came over the trident; its glow warm and loving as he raised it over the curious child. Diata watched in amazement as the transformation she had only heard in stories until now began.

Tenderly, Diata kissed her child, placing her in the cool ocean. She watched as the babe splashed about, the fins instinctively flipping around, but they never carried her far from the beach. The child's red mane was a link to her father while the scales of her tail had taken an emerald hue, a reminder of her mother's land above the waves.

The god carefully took the little mermaid in his arms, bowing to Diata. "She will be safe. You have my word."

As she watched father and daughter swim further out into the ocean, her heart ached. She hadn't even told him the child's name; the one she had kept locked in her heart. de to call out, but an arrow pierced her heart. Collapsing on her sand, she felt a gentle sea breeze brushed against her cheeks, drying her tears even as she drew her last breaths. Her daughter was safe, safe from the vile humans. Her child...floating on the wind back to her, she heard the chosen name.

A name, as her appearance did, captured both her parents: Ariel.

As I said I know it is odd and maybe I'm the only one who likes it. I did try to stick to some cannon. From the Tv series, we see that as a young merman King Triton did have red hair like Ariel. And to explain the names, Diata, in Hebrew means "Loin or Brave like a loin". And Ariel's name means "Lion of God" so she is the "daughter of a loin and a god." I know, I know strange and odd. But sometimes the strangest ideas are the most fun. So if you found this at all interesting feel free to leave a review.