Chapter 2: The Morning Comes
The first sliver of the morning sun broke over the White Iron Mountains. Its glorious light stretched from the west to cover forests, rivers, and the roofs of the town of Seahaven before striking the white walls and terra cotta tiles of the royal palace. The rays drove the night's shade and chill away. The waves of the sea sparkled in the new day, making it appear that the stars had fallen to the sea. Gulls circled as they rode columns of warming air, filling the morning with their calls.
Some of that light made its way through the window of Melody's room and onto the sleeping princess as she lay in bed. It roused her from her sleep, causing Melody to open her eyes. Her lids felt as heavy and slow as the rest of her, protesting the scant hours of undisturbed sleep she had been able to salvage. Groaning groggily, she rolled away and pulled the covers over her head to restore restful darkness. It only took a few breaths for her to start drifting off again.
The demon let loose an enraged roar as its wings disintegrated, followed by half of its face. It pulled Melody close, the heat from its mouth baking against her skin. A black ring and slit formed in its remaining igneous eye as it glared at her.
"This is not over, princess!" the demon shouted as its arm crumbled away. It roared at her again as its form burst into fire. The flames flared and then raced towards Melody, threatening to envelop her. "I will not fail again!"
Melody bolted upright, her fatigue erased with every throbbing beat of her now racing heart. "Guards! Guar–! "
Then Melody realized where she was. She was in her bed, in her room, and in the palace. The demon was only a memory. An unpleasant and traumatic one, but a memory nonetheless. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and fell back on her pillows, staring at the canopy overhead. She turned to her nightstand, finding an empty and cold teacup sitting there. She could detect a lingering scent of jasmine from it.
The events of the night came back to her. Once the tea and her parents' company had soothed her nerves Melody was calm enough to explain her dream in detail. Ariel and Eric listened patiently, offering comforting words and reassurances when she needed them. After she finished, they both gave the same promises as before. That these were only dreams, and dreams could not hurt her. That she was safe, and everything would be okay. Then they left her with a goodnight kiss and advice to get some sleep, and wishes for more pleasant dreams.
But Melody's fear of nightmares was stronger than Ariel and Eric's words. She spent hours tossing and turning before sleep finally returned to her, for once blessing her with dreamless black. The empty void she went to was bliss compared to the terrors that haunted her sleep as of late.
It all started three months ago. That first nightmare was tame by comparison. Undertow chased her through Morgana's frozen lair as a mermaid, and then cornered her in the ice tunnel. She escaped through a crack in the ice, leaving Undertow to smash into the glacial wall. It was not the first time she had that dream. She experienced several of them following her ordeal with the witch and her carnivorous minion in the Southern Ocean. Nor did it frighten her terribly. She woke up, realized it was a dream, and went back to sleep.
The next one was a week after. Undertow chased her again, only this time she had no means of escape. Then another week later. And another after that. Then, starting a month ago, their frequency increased. It was two a week. Then three. Then five. Now it had been one every night for ten straight days, each bringing fresh fear and horrifying scenarios with them. Her parents frozen in ice and shattered. Her aunts, uncles, and cousins chased down and eaten by sea monsters. Her grandfather withering away to nothing in a black whirlpool. Her friends torn apart by sharks as she watched helplessly. Atlantica swallowed up by earthquakes and darkness. Sometimes she woke herself up, drenched in sweat and tears. Other nights she would be trapped in the nightmare, saved when a guard or her parents came because of her screaming.
She groaned in frustration, running her fingers through her hair. "What's wrong with me?"
"Mornin' princess!"
Melody turned to her window to see a familiar white seagull fly past. He banked away from the palace before circling back, aiming to alight on her balcony.
"Hey Melody!" called Scuttle as he made his approach. "How's it goin' ki–?"
BAM!
Scuttle executed his landing with typical grace, which was always the complete lack thereof. He came in too fast and caught his foot on the railing, sending him tail over beak to crash into the balcony doors. He plastered onto the glass and slowly slid down with an awkward squeaking noise before falling off.
Melody hopped out of bed, hoping this would not be the day Scuttle finally lost his lifelong battle with windows. "Scuttle! Are you okay?" she asked as she threw open the doors.
"Don' you worry, shweetie," the bird mumbled dazedly as he stood upright, wobbling about in a daze. Melody flinched as Scuttle popped his neck before straightening out his beak. "I'm fiddle as a fitter crab. Just a minor miscalculation o' wind speed's all!"
"Right…wind speed." Melody yawned loudly, rubbing sleeping sand out of her eyes.
Scuttle shook his head and ruffled his feathers into place. "Boy, you sound tired. You sleep all right?" asked Scuttle as he waddled into her room.
Melody shook her head, shuffling over to her window alcove and sitting down wearily on the cushions. "No. I had nightmares again."
The gull hopped up next to Melody. "Again, huh? That quarfbabble they gave you didn't work?"
"It's called sleeping tonic. And no, it didn't work," said Melody, her frustration becoming more evident in her voice as she continued. "Just like the last one. And the one before that. And the one before that! And the one–!"
"Whoa, easy!" interrupted Scuttle, holding up his wings in a pacifying manner. "Sorry I asked!"
Melody realized how harsh her word had turned and how hard her fingers clutched her nightgown. She quickly relaxed both. "I'm sorry, Scuttle. It's not you. I just wish I knew why this is happening! I've had nightmares before, but not for this long. Or this bad! It's night after night, and all they do is get worse!" She gave another groan of frustration, pressing her face into her palms. "I don't know how much more I can take of this before I…I lose it! I just want one normal night's sleep. Is that too much to ask?"
Scuttle scratched his head. "A normal night's sleep? Gee, I don' know. I got lots o' things at my place, but a good night's sleep? I ain't come by one o' them yet."
Melody was about to snap at him for his bird-brained answer but thought better of it. As grating as Scuttle's normally endearing simplicity and clumsiness was to her right now, it was no excuse to be mean. He was still her friend. She sighed and lay on her side, pulling a pillow under her head. She could feel a headache building, tapping against her skull like a knocker.
Scuttle hopped onto the floor to face her. "You know what you need, kiddo?"
"What?" asked Melody.
"A good ol' dip in the tide pool! A chance to stretch those fins out! Let that ocean scrub those bad dreams right outta you! Works for me every time! I tell you, a couple laps in the sea and I sleep like a baby!"
Melody arched an eyebrow at him. "Scuttle, you can't swim."
"Oh…yeah." The seagull rubbed his head thoughtfully, or at least as thoughtfully as a bird of his little brain could. "No wonder I sleep so well. I bust my tail feathers trying to get out."
Melody gave a faint smile. A dip in the sea sounded nice after the night she had. It had been a few days since she saw her ocean friends. She felt that familiar tingle in her legs, her body desiring the embrace of seawater. She pushed herself upright, stretching her arms high overhead and popping a knot out of her shoulder. "All right. Meet you by the beach in an hour. Have you seen Tip and Dash around?"
"Sure have!" squawked Scuttle. "Just saw 'em this mornin' snoozin' out by your mom's rock!"
"Could you–?"
"Say no more! I'll find 'em in two shakes of a wing and tell 'em you're comin'!" Scuttle bounded to the balcony and up onto the rail, spreading his wings in preparation for takeoff. "See you in…one...two...three...was it five o' four that's after–?"
A sudden gust of wind caught Scuttle and flung him off the railing. He gave a startled squawk, fell out of sight, and then popped back up, gliding towards the beach. He was now trying to remember out loud if ten was larger than eight. Melody just smiled and shook her head.
"Right…" She bounded onto her feet, arching the stiffness out of her back. "I need breakfast!"
She went to her vanity screen and stripped off her nightgown, pulling a simple maroon dress out of her wardrobe. A quick brush through her hair plus a ribbon to tie it back and she was heading for the door, her fishnet bag draped over one shoulder. A glint from her vanity table caught her eye, making her stop. Her necklace was hanging from the side of the mirror.
"Whoa! Can't forget that!" She backtracked to the table for her prized possession. She held it up to the sunlight, marveling at how brilliantly the gold sparkled. The shimmer reminded her of the sun over the ocean right before it sank below the horizon. The engraved lettering of her name cast a flickering light onto the ceiling, a small engraving shaped like a whirlpool within the "o" of her name.
Melody turned to the full-length mirror beside her wardrobe, taking a moment to look herself over. Seven years ago, she had been a child on the cusp of becoming a teenager. Now she had grown into a beautiful young woman on the cusp of adulthood. Her jet-black hair was as long as her mother's now, but she still kept in tied back in a low ponytail. She was nearly as tall as her mother, too–another inch and she would literally see eye to eye with her. Her father joked she had one more growth spurt left to go. She saw her mother in her face and eyes, but her skin and ears were definitely her father's. Her body bore the contours of a mermaid, slim and sleek from long and frequent swims in the ocean. Her chest and hips had matured, undeniable signs that she was no longer a child. She shuddered as she remembered puberty. That was one adventure she never wanted to repeat! She slipped the necklace around her neck and left, looking forward to an aquatic morning.
As she turned away her reflection lingered in the mirror. Its eyes turned a luminous blue as it watched her leave. Its lips pulled back in a wicked smile, chuckling as it faded out.
The underwater city of Atlantica was already bustling with life by the time the sun rose. The glowfish had retreated to their homes well before the merpeople woke. Fish of colors and forms as diverse as the corals swam alongside the equally varied merfolk in the streets. Merchants prepared their stalls down in the markets, eagerly awaiting their first customers. Some set out food, others tools, and others still put out signs advertising services. Several swordfish and mermen guards kept an eye out for any trouble, though it was all but unheard of in these waters. At the edge of the city merfolk and an assortment of other sea creatures tended to fields of kelp and seaweed, clearing newly planted rows of seaweeds while harvesting the mature crop from another. A pod of humpback whales swam overhead on their long migration north, their haunting song echoing through the sea.
King Triton surveyed his kingdom in its late-morning hours, standing tall and proud at his balcony. Seven more years on the throne had done little to diminish the physique or imposing presence of the king of the seven seas. The only signs of advancing age were a few small wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, although his dense snowy beard did much to conceal the latter. His deep blue scales gleamed brightly, a clear sign of good health. In his right hand the trident sparkled softly.
In Triton's left hand, however, was a far less welcome item. It was a scroll bearing the seal of the Atlantican army–a trident and spear crossed over each other. It was set in red sea-wax, a color only used for matters requiring the king's immediate attention. So immediate that the scout who delivered it swam through the night to ensure Triton received it that morning.
Sebastian sat on the railing at his king's side. Following Morgana's defeat in the Southern Ocean, the crab returned to his duties as royal advisor. It was a welcome reprieve from the twenty-plus years of claw-curling misadventures Ariel and Melody put him through. Those days were far behind him. He was no young crab anymore, his shell darkening with age. Nor were there little mermaids or girls for him to look after. All of Triton's daughters were married and living elsewhere in the kingdom. Arista was the only one without a family of her own, and that was expected to change within the year. Ariel was a queen, which left little time for finding trouble in or out of the sea. Melody had her cousins and friends to go on adventures with, which left Sebastian free to focus on his duties to king and kingdom. Yes, there were times when nostalgia made him long for a taste of the old days. But a crab of his years was content to sit on the sidelines.
Right then, however, Sebastian and Triton were not thinking about mermaid princesses or undersea adventures. They were thinking about the disturbing news in Triton's hand.
"Perhaps dey went to de wrong spot, sire?" suggested Sebastian. "It's a big ocean out dere."
Triton shook his head. "I wish that were the case, Sebastian. But the report is quite clear. They went to the exact spot I sealed it in." He turned from the balcony and swam back to the throne room.
Sebastian swam beside Triton, claws pinwheeling to keep up. "Maybe it woke up and moved somewhere else?"
"We both know that's not possible," said Triton as he eased himself into his throne, setting the trident in its pedestal. "I sealed the seaclops underground specifically so it couldn't be woken. The only way it could have escaped is if the trident's spell was undone, and that requires someone who knows how to wield it correctly."
"Den how could it just disappear, your majesty?"
"I don't know, Sebastian. I honestly don't know. But that doesn't change the fact it did. Somehow…" He held out the scroll for Sebastian to take. "Put this with the others, would you?"
The crab took the scroll, struggling to balance it over his head as he scurried to a stack of scrolls with red seals on a table beside the throne. He climbed to the top of the stack and set down the scroll, carefully positioning it like the capstone of a pyramid. The monument of parchment shuddered and then went still.
"Dere!" said Sebastian, wiping his paws together. "Dat should–wah!"
All at once the pyramid of scrolls gave way. Sebastian gave a startled yelp as he went down with the paper avalanche. Scrolls scattered in all directions over the floor. The scrolls settled and were still for several moments, and then Sebastian poked his head out from underneath one of them. His naturally rosy face flushed with embarrassment as he began collecting the scrolls as fast as he could. "My apologies, your majesty! I'll get dis sorted out right away!"
Triton sighed and pushed himself out of the throne. "Let me help, Sebastian. It's partly my fault. I should have put these in my office days ago."
He picked up a scroll and started rolling it, scanning the writing as he went. It concerned a pirate ship that attempted to net a school of mermaids basking on an uninhabited island. Luckily the pirates' boisterous nature gave away their presence well before they could toss so much as a fishing line over. The same ship had recently been found in pieces at the bottom of the sea, all its lifeboats unused and crushed. None of its crew was aboard.
Triton glanced at report after report as he and Sebastian tidied up. There was one concerning a Glowerhaven trade schooner that went missing two months ago. The ship and all its crew were still unaccounted for. Another regarded a titan viperfish found by a group of Atlantican soldiers on a training mission in the Western Expanse. None of the mermen were harmed, for the creature was dead when they found it. And the creature was dead because its upper half was missing. A third concerned a family of merfolk that vanished on the edge of Atlantica's borders. The search was still ongoing.
All the scrolls told similar mysteries. Ships vanishing or found wrecked on the sea floor without any survivors. Unexplainable disappearances. Sea monsters abandoning their territories or suddenly becoming aggressive, intruding into populated areas. Large creatures found dead or mortally wounded. Pirates invading where none had dared before.
Triton stroked his beard worriedly. Was it unheard of for these things to happen? Not at all. Human and merfolk alike knew how dangerous the sea could be at her worst, both above and below. It was a risk they took by making the endless waters their home and livelihood. But the frequency and magnitude of these events had inexplicably climbed over the past year. The pattern was suspicious to say the least, and becoming increasingly perilous.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a trumpeter fish blowing his instrumental snout as a seahorse swam briskly into the throne room. "Captain Urchin has returned from his mission!" the small fish announced loudly. "He requests an immediate audience with your majesty!"
"Ah! Right on time!" said Triton. "Send him in."
"At once!" The seahorse bowed and swam away, leaving a trail of bubbles in his wake.
Sebastian huffed as he rolled a pair of scrolls up across the floor. "Remind me again how dat rascal became captain of the guard? Dis is de same merboy who used to put snapping clams in your daughter's beds! And mine, for dat matter!"
Triton smiled as he rolled up the last scroll, remembering the mischief the merman got up to in his youth. "He was a mischievous scamp, wasn't he?"
"Was? Hmph! Still is, mon!"
"He also became a fine soldier," added Triton. "And I dare say one of the most outstanding young mermen this kingdom has ever seen. He was the natural choice for the position. I could not ask for a better captain. If you are my right-hand crab, Sebastian, then he is my left-hand merman."
"You flatter me, your majesty," said a male voice.
Triton and Sebastian turned to see the merman in question enter the throne room. Urchin had come a long way from the skinny prankster who switched out Triton's pens for squid and drove his daughters to the shores of insanity. He had filled out with muscles rivaling the king's own. His tanned skin was marred by a long white scar running from his neck across his right pectoral, the remnant of a wound he received from a giant squid. A large crescent scar on his shiny olive-green tail was a memento of a bite from a tiger shark. A neatly trimmed beard now complemented his sandy blond hair. He wore silver arm bracers emblazoned with a trident as a sign of his rank. In his left hand he held a spear, his weapon of personal choice.
However, it was the scroll with the red seal in Urchin's right hand that had Triton's attention. How he wished it were blue, the color of all normal matters of state.
"Captain Urchin returning with his report, sir," said the young merman, throwing a sharp salute by placing a closed fist over his heart.
"No need for the formalities, Urchin," said Triton. "As I've said before, you and I have known each other far too long for that."
Urchin hesitated a moment before lowering his hand. "As you wish…sir."
"Here, let me get dat," said Sebastian as took the scroll from Urchin, skittering along the floor to Triton.
Had Sebastian heard the snicker Urchin struggled to suppress he might have thought twice about taking the scroll. He barely went three feet before a jolt of electricity zapped him, lighting him up like a glow shell. He yelped and dropped the scroll to the floor. It was motionless for a moment, and then a small electric eel darted out from between the dowels and swam off.
Urchin lost it, clutching his sides as he laughed. "Ha ha ha ha! Sorry, mon! I couldn't resist! Ha ha ha!"
"Well, you could've tried to!" snapped Sebastian as he tried to work some feeling back into his claws. "What if dat zapped de king?!"
Triton had to hide his grin behind his hand and a cough. Urchin may have grown physically like everyone else, but he had not lost that mischievous sense of humor.
Urchin picked up the scroll and swam over to Triton. "My report."
Triton reached out to take it but hesitated. "Ehm…Urchin, by any chance–?"
"I promise that was it, your majesty," assured Urchin, although his grin could have fooled anyone into thinking otherwise. "No more tricks."
"Bet it won't be de last time either," muttered Sebastian as he swam up to the arm of the throne.
"Thank you, Urchin," said Triton as he took the scroll. He went to open it but then stopped. "Since you're here, why don't you give the report yourself?"
"Sure," said Urchin. "No problem."
"So..." The smile left Triton's face as he folded his arms. "Is it true? Has Emperor Sharga passed away?"
Urchin's expression turned grim, his demeanor reverting to that of a soldier. There was not a shred of humor in his voice as he said, "Worse. Sharga didn't pass away. He was killed. And whoever did it took all the sharkanians with them."
Seahaven's palace had grown from the building Ariel saw when she first went onto land. Twenty years had passed since that day, and much like its inhabitants, the palace had grown as well. New towers had been added, as well as two new bath houses. The cherry trees that once lined the walkway to the old bath house had been transplanted to the front gates, growing into an orchard. The old bath house now served as a lighthouse, guiding ships out of storms and fog into the kingdom's safe waters. There was no trace of the sea wall, all obliterated by the trident's magic. A new tower had been added to the northern side as well.
But of all the alterations Melody's home had undergone, the beachside pavilion was perhaps the most impressive.
The outdoor structure was roughly the same size as the ballroom where Melody celebrated her fateful twelfth birthday. Circular in shape, half of it extended into the ocean with the support of thick stone pylons below, the columns forming a forest of barnacle, mussel, and seaweed-encrusted trunks. A large opening had been cut into the seaward end. At high tide the ocean was level with the pavilion and the opening filled to within a foot of the marble floor. Merfolk could enter here and socialize with the humans, or they were free to do so from the seaward edges. Large columns of the finest white marble supported an intricate canopy inlaid with stained sea glass, each fragment painstakingly placed to reflect candlelight back onto the pavilion at night and deflect sunlight away during the day. Wisteria plants climbed up the columns by the stairs leading to the castle gardens. Their pale purple flowers were just now beginning to bloom, mixing their sweet scent with the salty sea air. A pair of staircases wound down the sides of the pavilion to the beach, granting access to the shores.
Melody trotted down the stairs to the pavilion as fast as she could. In the morning hours it was enchantingly peaceful. The sea glass cast a dazzling kaleidoscope of light onto the cool stones in a tapestry of whites, blues, reds, greens, yellows, oranges, and purples. The crashing waves mixed with the calls of the seabirds, creating a song that Melody and Ariel could sing to in the warm summer months.
Melody ran across the pavilion for the seaward edge, bare feet slapping loudly against the cold stone. She had wolfed down a quick breakfast and two cups of strong black tea. Already she was feeling more alert as the food hit her system, but the insomnia induced ache in her head persisted. Persistent nightmares and insufficient sleep had that effect. She hoped the water would resolve it.
"Melody!"
She almost tripped as she stopped. She turned to see Eric waving to her as he ascended one of the staircases from the beach.
"Dad?" said Melody.
"Good morning," said Eric as he walked to her. "How are you feeling? Did you get any sleep?"
"A little bit. Still tired though." She paused to hold back a yawn. "What are you doing down here? I thought you had a meeting this morning?"
"I do. I was just sending a message to your grandfather."
"What for?"
"To see if there's anything he can do about your nightmares."
Melody felt optimism spring within her. If there was anyone who could help her, it was King Triton! Surely her grandfather could do something with the trident's magic to help her. He could transform her mother into a human with just a wave of it, and she could bring down an entire wall with the same motion. Changing a dream would be a simple feat for him. Why had she not gone to him before?
Come to think of it, why had no one gone to him before?
"Wait a minute…I've been having nightmares for over a month, and you're just now asking grandfather for help?" she asked, scowling accusingly at her father.
"I see your point, Melody." Eric put an arm around Melody's shoulders. "And I'm sure your grandfather will want to help you any way he can. But we can't rely on him to fix every problem."
Melody frowned. "So you let me go on having these nightmares because you didn't want to bother him?"
Eric gave an apologetic shrug. "I admit, we could have gone to Triton a bit earlier."
Melody folded her arms, arching an irked brow at Eric. "I've been having nightmares more than a month."
"Okay, we should have gone to him earlier. A lot earlier. Your mother and I talked about it a while ago."
"So why didn't you?" asked Melody.
"We were hoping the nightmares would go away on their own," said Eric. "After last night, though...well, I think you'll agree it's time to ask."
Melody was still as peeved at her parent's reluctance as she was at herself for not realizing this solution sooner. But she understood their hesitancy to go to Triton for help, albeit grudgingly. Family or not he was still king of Atlantica, not some wizard in a shack who handed out magic cure-alls for all of life's inconveniences. He always said magic was not something to use triflingly. If they went to him with every problem that lacked an immediate or easy answer, he would probably reconstruct the sea wall himself to stop their pestering.
Melody gave a heavy sigh. "I still wish you had. Wish I'd thought of it, too."
"Well, don't beat yourself up over it," said Eric, giving her shoulder a little squeeze. "Or us, for that matter. We've all had a lot on our plates lately. Especially with your birthday right around the corner."
Melody slapped her forehead so hard she knocked her headache away. Her birthday! In all the tumult of last night she had completely forgotten about it! They had only been planning it for the last two months! Taking a second glance around the pavilion she saw pink, blue, and white streamers strung between the columns, the light morning breeze making them undulate like the waves. "HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY PRINCESS MELODY" was written in large gold letters on a banner suspended at the seaward edge of the roof. She truly was sleep deprived if she failed to notice those.
"Oh no!" groaned Melody, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"What?" asked Eric.
"Elaine's coming over for our dress fitting in a few hours! But I told Scuttle to go find Tip and Dash so we could go exploring!"
Melody rubbed her eyes. She hated choosing between her friends, and that was when she was running on a full night's sleep. What was she to do? Did she wait for Tip and Dash to arrive and explain her change of plans? Or did she go and hopefully come back in time to meet Elaine? She knew how easily she could get caught up in exploring, only to find she was hours late for some preexisting appointment. And she promised Elaine she would be there.
"Melody! Over here!"
Melody turned to the ocean to see a familiar penguin and walrus bobbing in the surf. Scuttle was circling overhead. Tip was flapping his arms frantically to get her attention. Dash decided to wave as well, splashing Tip in the process.
"You mind?" sputtered Tip. "I'm waving here!"
"Sorry," replied Dash as his feathered friend shook the water off.
"As requested, shweetie!" called Scuttle from overhead. "One Titanic Tip and Daring Dash combo at your service!"
"C'mon, Melody!" shouted Tip. "We've got adventuring to do!"
Melody looked to her dad. "What do you think? Should I go?"
Eric tussled her hair affectionately. "It's still early. I'll tell Elaine you had a rough night and needed to swim it off. I'll see if your mother can keep her entertained for a while."
Melody shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know…"
Eric gave her a quick squeeze and kissed her forehead. "Go. You need a break. I'm sure Elaine will understand. Just don't be gone too long. And no bringing back any giant squid either!"
Melody rolled her eyes. "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"
"Hey, what's the holdup?" hollered Tip. "We're burning daylight here!"
"Coming!" Melody gave her father a proper hug. "I'll see you later!"
"Have fun! And be careful!" said Eric as he and Melody separated.
Melody nodded and broke into a run. As she hit the edge of the pavilion she leapt off in a graceful swan dive, hair waving behind. For a long moment she soared through the air weightless and free. Then she stretched her arms forward and pierced the water's surface like a harpoon, making the faintest of splashes. Her necklace began to glow the moment her fingers touched the ocean. It shone like a star and dissolved into a thousand specks of golden light that swirled around her. Her dress dissolved away, leaving only her camisole behind. She felt the magic seep into her skin, filling her with warmth. She felt her legs fusing together, skin turning into scales and feet into fins. She breathed in the ocean, feeling the water cool her lungs as it filled them.
Seeing as he never gave Melody a present since she was born, Triton granted an additional enchantment to Melody's necklace as a twelfth birthday present. Whenever she entered the water while wearing it a spell would transform her into a mermaid. The transformation would remain in place so long as she was in the water, regardless of whether it was ocean, lake, or river. Even a bath would suffice! It could only be reversed if she was fully on land and wished for it, to ensure she never found herself involuntarily turned into a human. Melody was all too glad to make use of her grandfather's gift, and since that day did so frequently. She spent nearly as much time in the sea as she did out of it.
Melody twirled like a top, letting the ocean wrap around her. Here she had no worries. There were no nightmares to haunt her, birthdays to plan, lessons to study, or dresses to be fitted. She was free as the ocean itself. She gave her tail a few kicks and popped up near her Tip and Dash. "Hey guys! Ready to go?"
"Does a penguin have feathers?" asked Tip. Melody laughed and nodded. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Race you!" said Melody. With that she dove down and jumped out behind them, leaving Tip and Dash to chase after her as she went leaping through the waves for the open waters and the wonders they held.
Eric watched as the familiar red of Melody's tail shrank into the distance, pursued by the penguin and walrus. That was the most energetic he had seen his daughter in some time. The ocean had that effect on her, as did Tip and Dash. A part of her heart truly belonged to the sea. He smiled, remembering the first time Melody introduced the daring if cowardly duo to him. The three made for an odd assortment, but a stronger group of friends he could not think of. It was easy to see why she was so close with them. They were just as adventurous and curious as she was, though certainly not as brave. Luckily, Melody had plenty of her own courage to spare. Meeting them had been one of the good things to come out of Morgana's plot.
The smile fell from Eric's face as he remembered the sea witch's cruel laugh as she dangled his then infant daughter over jaws of that enormous shark. Seven years after her defeat and the thought of Morgana still made his skin crawl. Ursula was the better magician if the stories Ariel told were any indication. But Morgana made up for it with her deviousness and unpredictability. She held onto the trident longer than her sister had, bringing the forces of Atlantica and Seahaven to their knees (or whatever the merfolk equivalent was). Had it not been for Melody and no small amount of luck, Morgana would have succeeded in her ambitions for oceanic domination.
Still, the reality was Melody did stop her. Morgana was long gone, encased in ice and buried under the countless tons of rubble that had once been her lair. Even if she had not frozen solid, seven years without food or water made the possibility of her survival nil. He doubted there was anything in the world that could survive that sort of imprisonment.
Quick sharp steps over the stone floor put an end to his musings. He turned to see Grimsby walking briskly towards him, dressed to his usual best.
"Sire," Grimsby said, giving a short bow. "The kings of Glowerhaven, Vorhaven, and Strihaven have arrived for the meeting. They are waiting for you in the dining hall."
Eric pinched the bridge of his nose. He did not want to be dealing with matters of state this early in the morning. Especially not if he was going to be there.
Grimsby picked up on Eric's hesitancy. "Shall I request the meeting be postponed till later, your majesty?"
"No, it's fine." Eric sighed and started his reluctant march up to the palace. "I'll go get ready. Is Ariel up yet?"
"Yes," said Grimsby. "Carlotta informed me she was in the bath."
"I'll need to ask her to entertain Elaine until Melody returns," said Eric as he walked past Grimsby. "Have my breakfast sent to our quarters."
"Any requests, sire?" asked Grimsby as he fell in step with the king.
"Tea." Eric yawned loudly. "And make it strong."
Eric and Grimsby were not the only ones to watch Melody leave. A lone raven perched atop the roof of the palace's highest tower. At such height he was little more than a black speck against the burnt red tiles, no doubt using the elevation to survey for an opportune meal.
Normal ravens, however, are not made from magic.
The raven was closer in size to an eagle than any natural raven. His body was built from smoldering black charcoal and heated carbon. Thin veins of fiery light weaved across his black feathers, flickering like a flame. His four eyes were orange as heated embers, black pupils shaped into circles with vertical slits through them. He held himself tall and proud, as though he were a king surveying his domain.
The raven watched with an acuity that would make a hawk envious as Melody sped off into the ocean. His eyes magnified her as she breached and then dove back in, racing just below the surface of the water with Tip and Dash beside her. He looked out over the sea. Melody could not sense it, nor could her companions. But he could. Something was waiting for them out in the sea, and he had no doubts it bore no good will towards any it crossed paths with.
The raven's beak parted slightly as the fiery threads grew brighter across his body. A pea-sized ball of fire formed at the tip of his beak. He trained it at Melody, who was swimming further and further away with each second. He continued to watch her, sure she would not be able to resist another acrobatic display. His hunch proved correct as Melody dipped down and then abruptly angled up, preparing to breach again. The raven's eyes flashed, causing the fireball to shoot out faster than a bullet. It sailed straight as a shooting star for Melody, striking her square in the back as she broke the water's surface.
For such a speedy flame its impact was subtle in all sense of the word. It sunk into Melody's skin as though it were rain falling into a pond. She splashed back into the water, completely unaware of the magic that had been planted inside her.
"This time will be different, princess," said the raven, his beak moving out of sync with his abnormally deep, rumbling voice. "You'll not evade my grasp again."
He bowed his head, eyes going dark. His feathers turned gray as the light left them. His body cracked and crumbled, turning to ashen dust. He toppled over as the last of the magic left him, disintegrating to a pile of white ash for the wind to carry off. A gust blew in from the sea, scattering all traces of him to the air.
To say it was hot in the Devil's Steppe was as massive an understatement as the desert itself. It was past noon and the heat was redefining the word oppressive. The sand was like a skillet, creating such a number of heat mirages that hundreds of water-filled pools of illusion dotted the landscape. Gusts of baking wind kicked up bursts of searing sand while cyclones lifted it thousands of feet into the air. A sandstorm was visible in the far north as a blurry line along the horizon. A disquieting silence blanketed everything, broken only by the serpentine hiss of moving sand and the hushed whisperings of the wind.
"Get lost, ya overgrown fish bait!"
That, and the yelling.
The traveler ran along the crest of a giant sand dune fast as it could go. It ran faster than any human, yet not as fast as possible in the soft deformable sand. A trailing cloud of dust and grit followed in its wake. In one hand it clutched its sword, the blade making a distinct clinking noise as it jostled inside its scabbard. The other was trying to keep its shemagh from coming loose and exposing its face to the sun. Its backpack bounced against its spine like an inexperienced rider on a galloping horse. It made for a comical sight, this lone individual running through the desert like a lunatic.
What was not comical was the thing the traveler was running from.
A hump of rolling sand chased after it, the creature below leaving a furrow in its wake as it pursued. It was high as the traveler was tall and moving just as fast, erasing the traveler's steps as it swam through the sands. The traveler looked back and saw the hump starting to close in. It was even closer than a minute before, and that distance was steadily growing smaller.
"Don't you have anything better to do than chase people in this heat!?" it shouted back at its pursuer.
The creature's response was to put on a burst of speed, coming within feet of the traveler. A long prehensile orange tongue tipped with vicious barbs shot from the sand. It failed to snare the traveler's leg, but it raked a trio of holes into the hem of its cloak, smearing it with lurid yellow venom. The traveler redoubled its efforts and ran faster, desperate to increase the distance between itself and the creature lest its next strike find flesh. The creature increased its speed in turn, closing in even faster than before.
"Oh, come on!" exclaimed the traveler. "Give me a break!"
Deciding to trade straight-line speed for agility, the traveler dug its heels and skidded through the sand before abruptly darting left, taking a tremendous leap down the side of the dune. Its gamble was not wasted as the creature blew by it, unable to make such a sharp change in its course. The traveler went sailing through the air and well away from the creature.
Which would have ended fine had a sudden gust not blown the traveler's cloak underfoot, causing it to land on the hem. The material went taught and jerked hard on its shoulder, sending the traveler rolling down the steep slope in a bundle of sand, cloak, pack, and colorful language. Its world spun in a discordant blur of blue sky and burnt orange sand until momentum turned its roll into a face-first skid. The traveler slid with a close-up view of the desert before its head dug in and it somersaulted, landing hard on its back at the bottom of the dune. Needless to say, it hurt.
"Owww…" groaned the traveler as it righted itself, rubbing its torqued neck and hoping that last jolt had not thrown any vertebra out of alignment. It shook its head, loosening sand from the shemagh. It could feel the grit working itself into its hair.
The hiss of shifting sand brought the traveler back to full alert. This was no time to worry about backache and sandy hair with that thing still after it. It reached to draw its sword.
And grabbed nothing but its empty hand. The sword was gone.
The traveler jumped to its feet, spinning around in panic. "No! No! Not now!"
A glint of light on the dune's face caught its eye. There was its sword, embedded in the dune twenty feet up. The traveler wasted no time scrambling its way back up the dune on hands and feet. Suddenly the sand beneath the sword erupted, launching the blade away and exposing the domed white head of the creature beneath the desert.
A devil worm.
The traveler barely had time to dodge as the worm struck like a viper, cavernous mouth of yellow hooked teeth opened wide for the killing bite. More than fifty feet of worm shot out of the dune and over the traveler's head, its thick leathery body covered in large bony spines. It dove into the sand like a dolphin into water and emerged again, erecting itself like a white cobra. It let loose a raspy high-pitched screech in anger at missing its prey yet again.
A bead of sweat rolled down the traveler's neck with no relation to the heat. Of all the dangers of the Devil's Steppe, the devil worms were the most notorious. These large subterranean predators attacked anything and anyone foolish enough to stray into the margins of the desert. They moved effortlessly and rapidly through the loose substrate thanks to their cylindrical bodies and synchronous movements of their stone hard spines. Blind they might be, but their sensitivity to sound and vibrations made them formidable hunters. It was said they could hear the footsteps of a mouse a mile away. The worms were rarely seen, though it was unclear if this was due to low numbers of the worms or a smaller number of witnesses surviving encounters with them.
Given the travelers brief interaction with this one, it was inclined to believe the later.
The worm struck again. This time its jaws ripped through the end of the traveler's cloak as it rolled away. The fabric tore like tissue paper before its razor-sharp teeth. The worm's head penetrated deep into the dune with the force of its strike, sending up a cloud of sand.
The sound of clinking metal told the traveler its sword had landed. A quick glance behind the worm revealed the sheathed sword point down in the sand. The traveler made a dash for the sword while the worm's head was buried. Its tail rose up and lashed out at the traveler's head. Instead of ducking the traveler dived forward, the spine-riddled tail passing close enough to just skim over its pack. The traveler tucked into a roll, righting itself beside the sword. Just as it grabbed the hilt the worm's tail came back again. It caught the traveler square in the back, sending it tumbling across the sand as the worm freed its head. The traveler rolled and righted itself into a crouch, adrenaline dulling the pain in its back to a dull ache.
Before the traveler could draw its sword, the worm struck again. Instinctively it shoved the sheathed sword in front of itself, jamming it across the worm's mouth. The diabolical jaws bit savagely, making a terrible snapping noise as it tried to bite its way around the sword. The tongue appeared again, shooting by within inches of the traveler's face.
The traveler dug its feet in and shoved back, pushing the worm off. Just as quickly it struck again, catching the sword and pushing the traveler backwards. The traveler was strong, but the strength of this creature was immense. Its feet dug shallow trenches in the sand as the worm pressed on, driven by its intense desire to feed. Once more the traveler shoved back, dislodging the worm's jaws. Again the worm struck, and with even greater ferocity than before.
It was what the traveler had been counting on. As late as it dared it darted to the side, causing the worm to take a mouthful of sand and bury its head. With a shout the traveler drew the sword in one fluid motion from the hip. The blade cut through the worm in an upward slash, the keen edge passing through as though cutting water. The worm gave a loud, brief shriek before its head was cleaved off. Its body reared up, spraying blue blood everywhere. The traveler ran clear as it thrashed about in its death throes. It did not take long for the convulsions to end, leaving the body and head twitching atop the sand. Then it went still.
Cautiously the traveler approached the worm, sword at the ready. Blue blood leaked from the body and head, staining the sand dark. It quickly prodded the worm and darted back. No reaction. A second and harder prod elicited the same result. The worm was definitively dead.
"That…was crazy," breathed the traveler, letting the tension roll off it like a receding wave from the beach. It held its sword up to the sky. It was coated in dark blue worm blood, parts already drying on as a thick crust. The smell was like rotting vegetation mixed with a chicken coop.
"Oh, come on!" complained the traveler. "I just cleaned this!" It tried to rub some of the dried blood off on the sand but instead discovered the blood was more like sticky mucus. The sand stuck to it like honey, encasing the blade in grit.
The traveler pulled a face beneath its shemagh at the foul stuff. It considered using some of its water to clean the blade, but quickly thought better of it. Water was too precious a commodity to waste on something like cleaning. It needed to ingest every last drop. It could use magic to clean it off. But magic took energy, also too vital to be wasting on something like this. Walking over to the worm, the traveler wiped as much of the blood onto its hide as possible and sheathed its sword. It would be sure to give the weapon a proper cleaning at the next possible opportunity.
A loud clatter and a shift in its pack made the traveler turn around. Lying on the sand were all the contents of its pack. It slung off the pack, which now had a large tear where the worm's tail smashed into it. All of its supplies had spilled out onto the sand, from food and wire to its knives and canteens.
And unless the traveler was seeing a heat mirage–and it sincerely hoped it was–one of those spines had torn one of said canteens clear open.
The traveler threw its pack aside and plucked the canteen out of the sand. It yanked its shemagh down, ripping the canteen's cap off and raising it to consume every last drop before it was lost. It waited for the water to come, but it tasted only the dry air. A couple shakes of the canteen yielded appalling silence, not the delightful sound of water. The heat had evaporated it away.
The traveler threw the canteen down and swore loudly. "Oh great! That's just perfect! Not even a day in and I've been chased around by a worm, sword's covered in bug juice, and now a fifth of my water's gone! All right smack in the middle of this continental oven! Can my life get any worse!? Huh!?"
The desert's response was the incessant slither of the sand and wind.
The traveler gave a heavy sigh. Throwing a tantrum would do nothing but waste time and energy, neither of which it could afford to waste. It could go without water far longer than any regular human could. But without knowing the breadth of this desert, every drop was more valuable than a cartload of gold. How many miles of dry desert could that canteen have given it? Would it make no difference, or would it be the thing that made the Devil's Steppe the traveler's final resting place?
The traveler pushed the thought from its mind. No point pouting and no going back. The only thing it could do was keep moving west. And that started with putting its pack back togeth–.
Crunch.
The traveler froze.
Snap…crunch…crack…crunch…
More sounds joined in. All rhythmic crunching and squelching sounds with intermittent tearing and cracking. The unmistakable sounds of a feeding predator.
Slowly the traveler turned around. Five devil worms were tearing into the dead one like a pack of starving hyenas, and they were just as large. Their jaws ripped large chunks from the body with ferocious vigor. Their teeth crushed the spines of the dead worm like twigs, wolfing down the chunks with gross squelching and popping sounds. The worms squealed and hissed with pleasure as they fed. More mounds of moving sand were approaching, the commotion attracting new worms.
"I just had to ask," whispered the traveler, holding itself deathly still.
This was the worst possible scenario. Expending energy on a fight with five worms was even worse than running from one. How they had not come after it with all that yelling the traveler did not know, but it was not eager to pull their attention away from their meal.
Very slowly the traveler knelt down and started to pack its things, not taking its eyes off the worms for a moment. It moved like the snowfall, trying to make every movement as soundless as a snowflake on water. One by one everything went into the pack, then the traveler pulled its shemagh off and tied it around to cover the holes. Hiding its face was pointless when its enemy was blind. It could fix the pack once it was out of danger.
The worms ignored the traveler, fixated on the feast in front of them. Step after anxious step and minute after eternal minute the traveler backed away, never taking its eyes off the gruesome feeding frenzy. If its footsteps made a noise it was lost in the grotesque orchestra of the feeding worms.
More agonizing minutes passed as it backed away. Just a bit further and the traveler would be ready to make a run for it.
Another worm burst out of the ground behind the traveler, screeching like a banshee. As one all the feeding worms turned towards the traveler, their attention completely fixated on the new noise.
The traveler's eyes widened as it drew its sword. "Son of a–!"
The worms abandoned their dead brethren and turned on the traveler, closing in as the desert came alive with humps of moving sand. The traveler's sword caught fire as the worm behind it struck, eager to claim its prey.
A/N: The night has ended, and with it the terrors that have plagued Melody's dreams. Safety and friends can be found in the light of day…or so she thinks. Even nightmares can take form and flight. Are the troubles now plaguing Atlantica the machinations of some diabolical force? Or the hands of fate stacking the deck against them? And what fate will become of the traveler, trapped with nowhere to run and the most savage predators of the Devil's Steppe closing around it?
DISCLAIMER: I do not own "The Little Mermaid," Disney, or any of its associated characters and intellectual property. Everything else, however, is mine =)
