Lena was excited as she sat high above the grand theater of the great King Triton, ruler of the ocean, and the one who made this glorious event possible. Lena could feel the level of excitement in the room as she grabbed hold of her sister Trish's arm, happily surrounded by her five other sisters. She could see her best friend Vink the dolphin in the front row, while her father, the great King Poseidon, had taken a seat next to the king of the castle. Today was a most wonderful day, the day when the seven daughters of Trident would sing a song that would be the pinnacle of music itself. Their voices would eclipse the most powerful instruments and put any merfolk that dare to sing into shame.
Suddenly the theater began to roar with excitement as the King's adviser and music teacher, the legendary Sebastian the Great, rode over to his place in the Grand event, pulling out a pair of sheet music out of the shell that he rode in on. Lena could hear her older sister Mala joking about how the crab didn't just use a merfolk or sea turtle to bring his music over, and whispered something about a backwards kingdom. Lena didn't want to hear that kind of talk; they were guests in the strongest and kindest kingdom in the seven seas. Surely the third sister could have more grace given her status. Sure, it was a tad hypocritical to say that given how much Lena
had been known to run away for human treasure, but she still had respect for the people around her. But now wasn't the time for sisterly drama, and her desires of the world above. The tiny crab had pulled out his wand, ready to get the show on the road, as the crowd cheered, ready to hear the seven princesses.
"Hey Trish, do you think I can be like these princesses someday?" Lena whispered, looking up to her eldest sister and basically mother figure, feeling a sense of excitement and curiosity over this idea running through her head. It was stronger than her love for human things to collect, not enough to replace the forbidden love but enough to feel happiness, it was almost like she was beginning to figure out what she wanted out of her life—to sing and dance among crowds, whether it was on the land above dancing with feet or fins swimming through the ocean.
"Well, my little sister, if that is what you desire, I'd say go for it, you are a princess in your own right, and I know that you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish in life, sing and dance, or those humans you watch with desire, even if untasteful. I'll accept whatever path you take, even if your father and the others see differently in your eyes. You know what my little mermaid, see me after the concert is over, I have something extra special to give you to complete this birthday of yours!" Trish said, gently patting the long blond, flowing hair of her baby sister.
"Would you both be silent? It's about to start! Hopefully they're as good as Daddy says they are. Surely they can't be better than us, but nevertheless, they better do a good job to give my little sister the best birthday in the world." Tamika declared, rubbing her long brown hair, allowing herself to relax, as she quickly adjusted her ponytail to look as beautiful as a princess should be.
Lena sighed, sometimes she wished she was a human far away from her family, to know that feeling of peace, and comfort away from the ties of royalty, and yet she smiled at her sister, thrilled to be in this castle, thrilled to be with her beloved sisters and father to enjoy her birthday even if it meant hearing her sisters boast and rave about their kingdom and looks. Thankfully, the music was kicking in. As the small red crab tapped his sheet and made the band beneath him roar in a fury of music, and delight as the curtain quickly rose, the lights dimmed and a stream of bubbles flew up as massive clamshells appeared from below, it was time for the biggest event under the sea.
Lena could feel her heart racing in excitement, as one by one each clam. Revealed two of the daughters of the Legendary King Triton! The first daughters were Alana, and Andrina, their voices were in perfect harmony, and quickly before Lena could enjoy the first two mermaids, the second shell opened up, as Arista, and Adella rose from the clam, adding their voices to the performance making Lena's jaw drop, the music she was hearing, the harmony, the beauty all of it was the most wonderful experience she could have seen, and they still had three daughters left was the crazy part as Trish and her sisters cheered for the Princess's already. Even the King's looked down in joy over this grand moment as Aquata and Attina quickly joined the girls, completing the song. Lena could feel her body shaking in amazement, as Trish quickly hugged the blond mermaid.
"This is the best birthday ever!" Lena shouted, returning the hug in full, as Trish smiled, taking off one of the pearl necklaces from her hair and placing it on her little sister's hair. Lena looked up at the beautiful necklace, just as the last shell rose higher and higher into the sea, each of the daughters, spinning and getting louder as the final act of the concert was beginning. Lena felt tears rolling down her face—the necklace, her sisters, the concert—this was the best birthday ever. She looked up at the clamshell, ready to hear the beauty of the final daughter to complete this perfect moment. The six daughters of Triton held out their hands in excitement as the shell opened up, slowly building up the crowd's excitement. From what Lena did hear from her sister's banter, Princess Ariel had the most beautiful voice in the whole kingdom, maybe even the whole ocean?
However, the angelic voice of the youngest daughter did not grace the crowd, as when the clamshell wax fully opened, it was empty inside! Lena could see the daughters in shock at the fact that Ariel was not at the concert, quickly looking up to see King Triton, his face red with anger, as his trident glowed a dark red, firing a beam into the sea, blasting a hole through the concert wall.
—--
Lena sighed as she watched her sisters swimming away into the crowd. She decided to swim down to Vink, and figure out what to do now that the concert was over and dinner at the palace wasn't for another few hours. Then she saw one of the daughters swimming gracefully towards her, it was Princess Adella, and Lena wondered what was about to happen.
"Oh, Princess Lena! It's a pleasure to meet you and your sister's, I'm princess Adella! Please forgive my little sister, she means well, but her mind tends to wander, usually towards human trinkets. It's something that has been known and has led to drama around the kingdom. She's probably at the shipwreck beyond the caves, on the outskirts of the kingdom; if you find her, do tell her that Daddy is going to be mad, and then dinner is coming; it's seaweed pasta night." Adella declared, swimming up into the crowd of merfolk, knowing that her father was going to rage harder than the strongest storm that God's could deliver.
Lena was excited, as she raced out of the concert hall, Vink flowing behind her. As the young mermaid had her mind set, she'd go to the shipwreck and see Princess Ariel for herself, she'd get to see the area's human treasures and hear the voice of the princess for herself. She was going to make sure that today was the best birthday ever, even if it meant a little more drama than usual.
"Come on, Vink, we're going to find that shipwreck and see what human things were so important that Princess Ariel had to abandon the concert." Lena let out, exiting the concert with her dolphin friend behind her, unaware of someone watching her from the darkness of the sea.
"I see you've come to this kingdom as well, Lena! Well, let's see what you'll do when my big sister Ursula gets involved with you." A mysterious figure whispered, swimming deeper into the allies, and darkest spots of the kingdom, once nightfall hit, the fun would begin.