Chapter 16

Day Two

I awake from what felt like a rocky nights sleep. It was morning and Flounder had stayed with me during the night for company. We had made a quiet return to my house as we were in desprate need for rest, disobeying the kings orders of "No one in this kingdom is to sleep until his daughter was safe at home". Hopefully he will not find out.

I suggested to Flounder that we keep away from Altantica for now as we will no dought be questioned about Ariel's disappearance. No one knows except for Sebastian, Scuttle, Flounder and I that she had been turned into a human by the Sea Witch. If anyone found out or worse the King we would be shark bait!. Flounder and i agreed to go back up to the surface to see if we can spot Ariel and check to see how she is doing. Today was Day Two of Ursula's Magical Deal.

Finally we get to the surface, hopefully undirected. I shoot out of the water hard with massive push with my tail. I was almost completely out of the water and didn't focus on my landed. I had landed right on my back on the surface of ocean "YAWWWWWWWW!" i screamed. I had never had such pain in my life!. Flounder popped his head out of the water "Urchin? Are you ok what happened?" he asks concernly.

"My back! It hurts, it really hurts, my shoulders really sting too! Its like i've been stung by a jellyfish!" i cry, Flounder looks around "I see no jellyfish here!" he says to me. The redness was still there and i had no idea what it was!. I hope its not some sort of human world sickness or disease!.

Flounder and I spot the human land in a distance and we swim towards it. I decided to keep submerched as the sea seemed to calm the pain down. We spotted a rock that had a few weird items on it. One of the items looked like a small anchor and on the top of it looked like some sort of bed. "What a funny looking rock!" i say to Flounder curiously, Flounder then begins to laugh "Ha ha Urchin, this is where Scuttle lives!".

"Did someone say my name?" a voice comes out of no where that made me jump. Suddenly a feathered seagull emerges from the bed "Why hiya Flounder and Urchin wasn't it? What brings you guys to my nest?" he asks in wonder. "We were going to check on Ariel, weren't we Urchin?" says Flounder, "Ah ah yeah thats right!" i nervously answer back to the seagull.

Scuttle who had the anchor chained up to his foot dropped the anchor from the bed and he fell down with it. "Um are you ok Scuttle?" i ask, the bird shaked and got up like nothing happened "Perfectly fine son! Now then have you got a fasination with the human world too? Well you've come to the right bird, i know everything there is to know about humans, their world and their objects!" he explains. This was the bird who Ariel would come to for human advice?.

"No Scuttle, we were just going to see how Ariel is" i tell the seagull, "Yeah Scuttle! We want to see how she is and whether the prince has kissed her yet!" says Flounder. I glupped hearing that, Flounder explained to me last night that part of the deal Ariel had made with Ursula was that if she and the prince kissed that she would remain human permanently and if she doesn't she would turn back into a mermaid and belong to Ursula. I was massively terrified of the Sea Witch.

Why does everything have to come with a price? This deal was awful and evil!. I didn't want any of these things to happen. I was really wishing that Ariel wouldn't kiss the prince but then if she doesn't she would be in the grasp of Ursula's tenticles. If she does kiss the prince, she would remain human forever and never return to the sea. I will lose her forever. I felt there was nothing i could do but just to float here and watch the events unfold. If she was with me none of this would have ever happened.

"Are ya now! Well mind if i come with ya! Since i can fly, i might be able to get more of a birds eye view!" says Scuttle, Flounder agrees to the idea and i just nodded "Well lets go then! Thanks Scuttle!" i say has i begin to move away from Scuttles rock turning my back towards the bird. Flounder ducks under and before i do to Scuttle begins to speak to me "Hey ah Urchin?", " Yes Scuttle?" i answer to him "That's a pretty nausty sunburn you've got there!".

I turn round to face him "Sunburn?" i ask him, "Yeah, the redness on your shoulders and back, you look like you really got some sun yesterday!" Scuttle explains to me. Sunburn? So that's what it is?. I didn't know that the sun could cause such harm to me. I gentley rub on it with my hand and it stung a little "So its not going to kill me?" i ask him in relief "Good heavens no! Just keep out of sun and you will be fine!" Scuttle answered.

For a ditzy bird, he might actually be trusting. Flounder and I swam closer to the human land where the gigantic looking castle was while Scuttle flew above. Who knew that humans had castle's too just like beneaf the waves. Still i thought King Triton's palace was more vibrant and elegant. Flounder and i came to come rocks, very close where we placed Ariel yesterday while Scuttle flew towards the castle.

I made sure that i stood by Scuttle's orders and kept in the water in the shade hidden so i was not spotted by any other humans. Scuttle soon comes back to report that Ariel looked safe and well and she was being taken into town by the Prince on his carriage. Aparently Scuttle also spotted Sebastian who had come along for the ride but he was remaining hidden from the prince. I did hope he was ok.

"I wonder what human towns looked like" i ask Flounder and Scuttle "Oh its just like Atlantica, only less wet!" Scuttle discribes "You've never been to Altantica Scuttle!" Flounder screams to him "Oh yeah but i could picture it everytime that Ariel discribed it to me" says Scuttle. Flounder then suggests for Scuttle to keep observing her from above as us two were unable to as there was no water in the town.

Suddenly Scuttle screams "Hey! Now there is an idea! You can! There is stream that runs along the route to the town, it eventually becomes a lake, Flounder you would be perfect to swim through to them! They wouldn't notice you so much!". "Gee thanks Scuttle!" i tell him annoyingly but i could understand the last thing i wanted was to be seen by a human.

Flounder looks over to me feeling sad for leaving me on my own "Its ok Flounder, you go and i'll be fine, you can report back to me!" i tell him "Sorry Urchin, I'll come straight back!" the little fish says back to me. I smiled back to him as Scuttle guided Flounder to the access of the stream from the air "Be safe you guys!" i yell as i was left on my own once again.