Chapter Thirty Four

Ariel's promise of freeing Melody did little to raise the girl's spirits. Mr. Andersen had promised the same thing with the gauntlet and that hadn't worked. Nothing had worked; not even standing in for one of the characters and telling the truth.

"To begin, I think it's best that we understand what upsets you most about this story. You've said, 'the ending', but why?"

But Melody ignored the question. "Mom, how did you like this story?"

"It was a sad ending," the queen agreed. "But overall, it made me feel happy."

The young princess' mouth dropped open at the admission. "How could this story ever make anyone happy?"

"Well, I suppose it's because I admire the little mermaid, or Atiana, for doing the right thing. Even though she knew her sacrifice would cost her life, Atiana would not kill the prince. I find that comforting; people are still able to do the right thing even if they gain nothing from it. Except Atiana was gifted with something she truly desired for her act: a soul."

"After three hundred years!"

"Well, I imagine that after that time the little mermaid gained her soul and entered heaven. That's the ending I give the story. Isn't that what you see?"

"No," Melody admitted. "I see her where the story left off; floating in the air and never getting anything she wanted."

"A hard truth of life is we don't always get everything we want."

"You did."

"Oh, Melody." The young girl felt the reassuring hand of her mother on her shoulder. "I met and married your father at a very young age. After all this time, we still both love each other and there is not one moment of my life with him I would exchange for anything. And for that, I am very blessed in a way few people will ever know. But my life hasn't been perfect."

"Truly," Ariel said as Melody scoffed. "My mother died when I was very young, and I never knew her. Morgana threatened the life of my daughter. I lived with the fear of seeing you harmed for twelve years. For twelve years I was separated from my father and my sisters. I couldn't speak about them or Atlantica or part of your own heritage with you."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I did what I thought was right at the time for your safety. And there were good times in those years. Do you remember that Christmas when Max fell asleep in that empty ornament box? And then Grimsby covered it with garlands?"

"Yeah," Melody laughed at the memory, "and then when Max jumped out, it looked like he was a seaweed monster running loose in the castle."

"Oh, and remember when those players performed Macbeth for us? There was that one with the fake nose that kept falling off?"

"That was the only good part of the play. And that was a mistake."

They continued to share good memories, causing themselves to stay in tears and laughter. It ended abruptly when Ariel caught sight of the prince. "Oh, my. He looks remarkably like Alex, wouldn't you say?"

"Kind of." Melody was not going to explain to her mother that adult Atiana resembled herself. And then her mother was looking at her in a way that caused Melody to blush and suddenly find the sand fascinating to look at.

"You know, Alex mentioned how he thinks you might have been upset because he talked about Atlantica the entire day instead of just enjoying the festival."

"Yeah, that was annoying." All of Alex's jabs at life on land came back. Ever since her entrapment, Melody had had bigger things to worry about than Alex not enjoying sticky buns or thinking Barnacle smelled horrible.

"Well, Alex says he's very sorry for upsetting you and he can't wait to tell you in person. Do you think there's a connection of you being upset at Alex and you seeing him in this story?"

"Do you?"

"Melody, only you can answer that."

"Okay." Melody sighed in defeat. Her forehead was scrunched in thought as she tried to find the right words to describe her feelings. "I love the sea. For the longest time I had to hide that and now I don't have to. It's been great being able to swim without sneaking out. But I also love Tirulia. I guess I didn't realize how much I did until Alex started to say how inferior it was to Atlantica. I just thought my two worlds would fit together, like a perfect set of pieces in a puzzle, but that didn't happen for me. Like it did for you."

"I thought I made it clear that though I have many blessings, my life has not been free of problems."

Melody rolled her eyes. "I know that now."

Ariel scooted around to bring Melody in for a hug. "My darling; my love. It hurts me to say it, but as much as I want to protect you from every hurt and every harm, you will have trials and problems in your life. And it's a parents' burden to understand which hurts to shield you from, and which ones to allow so you can learn."

"So, how do I get out of here?"

"If you created the prison, only you can create an escape."

Melody stayed wrapped in her mother's arms, allowing her hair to be petted like when she a girl of seven. She allowed herself to rest and think over everything she had learned about her prison and why the story had upset her so much.

A door. An escape. A happy ending.

"I think I know what to do now." Melody sighed. This is not going to be fun.