It was the perfect day to venture out on the open seas. Princess Vanessa eagerly awaited her father's annual voyage through the archipelago to revitalize bonds with the other islands. The trip lasted a month, so she treasured it so much. Since her mother always stayed home, it was just her and her Daddy relishing the high seas without her monstrous excuse for a mother coming along.
However, when she reached the piers with her luggage to board the vessel, her father's prized ship was gone without her! It was too far out to sea for them to hear her call. She started crying, knowing her father would never do this to her on purpose.
Consequently, she stormed back up to the castle, arriving at her mother's private chambers and demanding to know how she had coerced her father to leave her behind. The monarch was most displeased with her daughter's 'tantrum' and refused to answer her questions.
She only said if she were going to behave like a child, she'd be grounded like one. Her mother then decreed she would remain in the palace the entire time her father was away, and she'd make sure she didn't leave because she'd have a chaperone wherever she went. Vanessa stormed back to her bedroom, slamming the door shut loudly. She then locked it and threw herself on her bed, crying.
"Daddy would never do this to me voluntarily! What did Mother do to get him to depart without me? I know she loathes the ocean! But in all my life she's never done this before! Ugh! I hope Daddy uncovers a way to return for me! Why did my fool of grandfather make my wonderful Daddy wed that bitch?!" Vanessa cried hard into her pillow.
While Vanessa sobbed in her room, Lorelei seemed perfectly content, making herself more gorgeous. However, she quickly ordered everyone out of the room and told them not to disturb her for the next two hours, or she would throw them off a cliff. The palace entourage knew she wasn't kidding, so they skedaddled. "Idiots! All of them! Ugh! How I detest them all! Well, at least my dreams will soon come to fruition!" she chuckled maliciously, only to be joined by laughter from her mirror.
"Oh, my darling, Lorelei, how nice it is to see you again," a younger Ursula replied through the mirror. Ursula looked far different then she would in twenty-five years. Her skin had yet turned purple, and she was much slimmer. Plus, her hair hadn't turned white yet. So she looked much more stunning than she would by Ariel's time.
"Nice to see you too, Ursula. Thank you so much for utilizing what was left of your siren song to get my mindless hubby off the island! I expect his ship to sink to the bottom of the ocean before the moon rises!"
"Don't agonize, my darling apprentice. I'll ensure my bastard of a brother causes a massive enough storm to sink them and all vessels within the archipelago tonight. All it will take is making sure things get a bit undesirable down here!" chuckled the sea witch, to which her apprentice joined her.
"I'm ever so delighted fate allowed our paths to cross when we were younger. I cannot wait to unlock my full magical potential as your apprentice. I'll conquer the land and then you the sea. And in the end? We both get what we desire—unlimited power!"
"That's right, my pretty. You know you'll always be my favorite human. What's that expression you have? Two peas in a pod, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's the one. Now, I must go start feigning my despair! Just tell me when the deed's done, and he's doing the dead man float!"
"Agreed!" with that, both insane sorceresses laughed again before returning to their 'normal' business. Half an hour later, a vast hurricane made its way through the archipelago and sunk King Jericho's vessel, and as far as anyone back home knew? There had been no survivors. Queen Lorelei could take the next step in her schemes, as could her mentor Ursula. The only one genuinely suffering from King Jericho's loss was his daughter Vanessa, who didn't know that betrayal and evil would shortly find her.