Chapter Eleven
Mr. Andersen was still seated in the same chair he took after dinner. From here, he saw a story of itself unfold before him.
It all began when the sad princess he met earlier that day ran off once his reading was done. Mr. Andersen was used to not everyone enjoying his stories; responses ranged from being asleep, frowns, or melodramatic yawning. The writer doubted it was his story alone that caused her to flee. Mr. Andersen barely knew her, but their brief encounter showed that something preyed on the young girl's mind. It was possible she connected with something he had written.
Stories had a way of doing that.
But what came after, the siren's arrival and her demonstration of power, was all new. He had quietly sat still and watched as the events unfolded before him, forgotten by all but Sixpence who leapt onto his shoulders as the ground shook.
When the land was still once more, the entire assembly looked around to see what change Saleen had transpired. Mr. Andersen couldn't see anything different.
"What have you done?" Triton demanded to know.
"I gave you what you wanted," Saleen preened. Confidently she walked back to the ocean. "Enjoy!" she called over her shoulder.
Saleen merely dove into the water instead of putting on a huge spectacle.
"What did she mean, your majesty?" The merman known as Archimedes asked.
King Triton walked as quickly as could, while still looking dignified, towards the ocean. One foot went in, then another, until the sea king was up to his waist. Archimedes followed behind into the water.
The two merfolk seemed bothered and scared by something. They returned to the shore, walking on their feet.
"My tail will not return. It seems as if Saleen has made this permanent. For everyone," Triton added as he saw glanced at Archimedes feet.
The merfolk collectively gasped. They surged towards the ocean, and it would have been funny to watch their attempts at running if it were not a serious matter. They trudged through to the deep water. They splashed in it; plunged under the waves. There was even someone who drank a mouthful (and then regretted it) of the ocean, all to no avail.
The merfolk remained on two feet.
"Father," Queen Ariel cried as she rushed towards Triton. King Eric and Melody's friend were right beside her. In the queen's hands were the small book he had given the princess at their first meeting. "Father, quick! You need to use your trident to rescue Melody. Where is it?"
"Slow down. Now, tell me, what happened to Melody?"
"Morgana used the trident and put her in this book," Alex pointed to the text.
"Morgana? How?"
"Never mind. Please, help Melody," King Eric begged.
"I'm afraid I cannot." King Triton gazed at the illustrated page. "Saleen made me a human. All of us, human, in fact. Permanently."
"But surely the trident…"
"Will no longer recognize me. If Saleen didn't take it for herself, the trident has returned to Atlantica to await the next worthy merperson to wield it."
"Melody can't wait!"
"What about Attina?" King Eric asked. "She stayed in Atlantica. If it's there, maybe she can bring the trident to us."
"Yes, that is a good idea," Triton agreed, though he seemed distracted. "Sebastian, inform Attina of what has happened and request she bring the trident."
Mr. Andersen marveled how the crab must understand the sea king. A seagull swooped down, but everyone seemed confident it didn't mean the crustacean any harm. The writer watched as the gull dropped the crab into the ocean depths.
"See? Attina will bring the trident and we can get Melody out." King Eric kissed his wife's forehead. "Everything will be all right."
"Will the trident be able to undo what Saleen has done?" Mr. Andersen piped up.
"I'm not entirely sure," King Triton admitted. "Saleen may have to do it herself. And I doubt I can convince her."
"Mr. Andersen," Eric addressed him, "there is no need to involve yourself in this. Please, return to your lodging, or if you don't have one, Carlotta can set you up in a room here."
"I may be able to help. It is my story, after all. May I?" Mr. Andersen took his book and looked at the page everyone else had looked at. There was the outline of the princess Melody. He flipped to the beginning and then forward several pages, making sure the last page was restrained. "My story doesn't seem to have changed. That means Melody hasn't become a part of it."
"Is that good?"
"I don't know. This is the first time someone's being held captive by one of my books. Literally speaking, that is."
"Mr. Andersen, do you think she's in any danger?" The mother asked.
"I don't think so. But, just in case," Mr. Andersen flipped backward several pages, placed his handkerchief inside and then shut the covers. "Melody's on a safe page now. Free of storms and sea witches."
"Can't we just, I don't know, read through it and release her at the end?" Alex questioned.
"I would advise against that for now. You see, I've always thought that the characters in a book get reset every time they're read. If Melody isn't a part of the story, there is no tether at the beginning for her to return to. It's possible she could disappear."
"Then we'll make sure it doesn't open until Attina comes." King Eric tore off a piece of his shirt and tied it shut.
"What about Saleen?"
"Yes, daddy, who is she?"
"It's hard to explain. Merfolk are of the water. Saleen is the water; she's an elemental. Saleen is the embodiment of the tridents power. And, as we all saw, she is far more powerful."
"If she's that strong, why hasn't she taken over Atlantica? Or any of the seven seas?"
"I'm sure she has her reasons. Very little is known about her."
"We do know some things," Eric said. "She's arrogant. And vain. When the time is right, maybe those can be used against her."
"Yes," Ariel agreed, her fingers running down the books cover. "When the time is right."
In the Aladdin episode Elemental my dear Jasmine, the first appearance of Saleen, there's a scene where Jasmine is given hair like Ariel's. Because Aladdin is supposed to take place around the 559-331 B.C. (ish) and Little Mermaid is anywhere in the 1650s-1900s, I'm going with Saleen met/knew one of Ariel's ancestors. We can see in Ariel's Beginning how her mother has similar hair, so it's definitely a trait that gets passed down. The dates I listed are in high debate, especially when there's a theory that Aladdin takes place in the future. What I'm saying is, Saleen and Ariel haven't met before.