Part of That World

[TearsoftheWorld]

This thread is reserved for Armphid and myself
Please enjoy



http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r108/elvenchild03/Ariel__the_little_mermaid_by_Prisci.jpg

Name: Princess Ariel
Age: 18
Race: Mermaid
Hair: Red
Eyes: Blue
Tail/Scales: Green

Appearance:
Ariel is the youngest and, by most accounts, prettiest of King Triton's daughters, having flowing red hair and sea-blue eyes. Her skin is very fair, and she carries with her an air of happiness and curiosity. Her medium-sized breasts are covered by a purple seashell bra, and she can often be found with a beautiful flower pinned in her hair.

Personality:
Ariel is kind, innocent, naive and very trusting. She is completely fascinated with the human objects she finds lying at the bottom of the ocean, and she has often turned her back on her royal duties to go exploring the shipwrecks that litter the ocean floor.

Biography:
Ariel, an eighteen year-old mermaid princess, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world. With her best fish friend Flounder, Ariel collects human artifacts and goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle the seagull, who offers very inaccurate and comical knowledge of human culture. Ignoring the warnings of her father (King Triton) and court musician (Sebastian the crab) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden, Ariel still longs to be part of the human world; to this end she has filled a secret grotto with all the human artifacts she has found.

Ariel has come to believe that she is meant to be more than just a simple mermaid, and she desperately craves to be a part of the human world above.

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= = = =
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http://www.aww-kittah-aww.com/up/files/1881/Hentai_tentacles____by_theSmartestArtist.jpg

Name: Ursula the Sea Witch
Age: Unknown
Race: Cecaelia
Hair: White
Eyes: Black
Tentacles: Black

Appearance:
Ursula is an exotic creature to be sure, one that is both beautiful and deadly. As a Cecaelia, Ursula has the upper torso of a human female, and the lower body of a giant octopus with six tentacles. She has lavender skin, white hair and very red lips. Her most notable features (particularly to the Mermen that wander into her lair), are her large and full breasts which she keeps uncovered (for obvious reasons).

Personality:
Ursula does not deny that she has been a naughty witch in recent years, but she also claims that she is a saint to those in need... so long as they are willing to pay the price.

Biography:
Ursula once lived in the royal palace of King Triton, the king of the underwater city of Atlantica. She was banished from Atlantica and made her home in the remains of a leviathan where she waits the chance to get her revenge on Triton and become Queen of Atlantica.

The entrance to Ursula's leviathan home is lined with a garden of writhing polyps which are merfolk who had previously gone to Ursula for help, but found themselves unable to fulfill their side of the bargain, leading Ursula to claim them as her own. Ursula commands her closest minions, the twin moray eels Flotsam and Jetsam, to watch Triton's youngest daughter Ariel.​

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

IC
- - -
​

"Look at this, Flounder. Isn't it neat?" Ariel asked as she held up a shiny metal object to the young fish that swam at her side. Though a little timid at first, Flounder nonetheless inched closer until he could practically see his reflection in the fork that that Ariel was holding up.

"What is it?"

Ariel pressed the newly obtained object against her bosom and smiled contently.

"I have no idea," she said rather cheerfully. "But it's amazing."

Ariel suddenly swam back down towards the bottom of the ocean flood, her sea-blue eyes constantly looking forth across the sand for any signs of other human artifacts. Flounder, always the cautious little guppy, was constantly turning around to see if they were in any danger. He knew how dangerous it was for the young princess to go off on her own, but there was very little he could do or say to change her mind.

The youngest daughter of King Triton... was... hard to control.

"Hey! Ariel! Wait up!"

Flounder quickly (as quickly as he could move, that is) swam after the adventurous young mermaid as she passed over several large rock formations that were sticking out of the ground. When he saw the shape of a shark moving off in the distance, Flounder moved even faster, practically ramming into the back of his best friend.

"Hey! Watch it," Ariel said when she turned around.

"Sorry," Flounder apologized. "It's just... this is really dangerous. We should head back. Shouldn't we?"

Ariel chuckled as she pinched the young fish's cheeks.

"Don't worry. Nothing bad is going to happen. I just want to take a look at that," Ariel said as she pointed to a ruined ship that was resting not more than a few hundred feet away. "And then we can go back."

"But Ari-"

Flounder quickly shut his mouth after realizing that the princess had already started off towards the ship.

 

[Armphid]

They were being hunted.

Out of sight of the small yellow fish and well out of mind of the red-haired princess; the hunter stalked them. Their conversation rippled through the water and it heard and drew closer. It felt the shift of liquid from the pressure of their fins and it told the hunter exactly where they were. Dull, lifeless eyes saw the distant shapes only faintly, but it did not need to see them clearly. The hunter's other senses were all that were needed. The larger prey was distracted; not paying attention to her surroundings. An easy meal.

The shark was massive, over twice as long as the beautiful mermaid and her comrade put together, it's body powerful and thick yet also streamlined and fast. It aimed itself, lining up the shot and became a living torpedo. It shot through the water toward the unwary princess. Closer. Closer. Ten feet away and only now she turned to see it. The jaws opened wide.

A shadow hurtled in and slammed into the creature's head, knocking the beast aside. It's momentum too great to stop, the huge predator crashed into a undersea ledge hard, breaking lesser rocks free to rain down upon it. It shook itself, half turning back towards the prey, weighing the risk. The shadowy figure that had rescued Ariel swung a strong arm forward, and a boomerang of hewn coral spun down through the water to strike the shark just over one dead eye before twirling back to the thrower's hand. Too much effort in this prey. The shark's tail swished and it swam away; a waver to it's swimming, the undersea equivalent of a bad limp.

Ariel's rescuer swam into the light. He was older than her, but not by many years, perhaps five. He was longer, the fins of his fishtail broader and taller, a darker blue to her ripe green. His upper body was strong and well-muscled, and he wore a breastplate of overlapping shells as armor. The skin beneath was marred here and there with scars. His hair flowed in the current; shoulder length blond hair that seemed to shimmer in the web of light from the surface far above. His face was strong and rough-hewn, his eyes a pale green. He had a very short, face hugging, well trimmed beard. The coral boomerang now hung on his belt, next to a pair of sharp knives, and in his right hand he held a long spear with a wicked hook on one side.

Glaucus grimaced at the gorgeous young noble, "Princess, you are too careless! Are you all right?" He glanced at her companion, "And you, Flouder, how could you allow Her Highness to come to this dangerous place all alone?"

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Ariel and her young companion turned around just in time to see a shadowy figure slam into the shark that had been apparently stalking them. The dangerous creature was sent crashing into one of the undersea ledges, and while Flounder ran for cover Ariel watched with curiosity as her apparent rescuer flung a weapon at the dazed predator.

Although his body was still masked by the shadows, Ariel didn't need to wait to see his face to know who it was.

Only one merman in the whole of Atlantica knew how to use a coral boomerang with such precision: Glaucus.

Facing a creature with power to match its own, the shark chose instead to swim away helplessly, hoping, perhaps, to find easier prey to deal with. With the shark gone, Flounder came back from his hiding spot to swim up next to the young princess. Glaucus rushed over and began immediately scolding the pair, though Ariel was too aloof to really care.

"Oh Glaucus... don't be such a guppy," Ariel teased as she swam in a complete circle around him. She even went so far as to playfully run her hand along his strong chest, her fingertips sliding across his breastplate made up of the most beautiful shells in the kingdom. Any normal-minded mermaid would have loved nothing better than to have caught the eyes of such a price merman, but Ariel was so wrapped up in her own little world that she failed to notice him.

Or at least... she never even considered that possibility.

Flounder seemed just as nervous around Glaucus as he did around the Shark, and he was afraid that the strong merman would eventually report this to the King.

And that... would not be cool.

"We didn't... mean to. I mean..."

Ariel smirked as she pulled on his fin, yanking the young fish back towards their intended destination.

"Come on," she said. "I want to go see what's inside."

 

[Armphid]

Glaucus went stiff and still as Princess Ariel's soft hand slid up his body and over his armor. Great Poseidon! Her touch was so...sweet, so warm and delicate. His face remained stoic, but in his eyes there was a flash of his deep affection and his hidden longing for the spirited young woman. "Your Highness, I am not trying to..." She was already swimming back toward the ship.

He sighed, his powerful tail propelling him after her. There was nothing he could do to make her return short of force. And while he was sorely tempted to throw her over his shoulder, perhaps delivering a few well deserved spanks, and swim back to the palace, it would not do. "Your Highness, just listen. I will not tell you that you shouldn't explore these...human sites." The King tried that, and if she didn't listen to him, she wouldn't listen to a lowly soldier. "All I ask is that you think of your safety. Your people love you, Princess Ariel, and if I had not arrived when I did, they would have lost you. Your father would have lost his daughter."

"Just...when you want to make one of these expeditions, allow me to come with you." He kept pace alongside her now, staying alert for any further trouble as he spoke to her. "Let me protect you, Your Highness."

~~~~~~~~~​

"Come on, get that yard secure! We've only got an hour until the tide's out!"

"Look sharp now, boys! Quick to it!"

In a sheltered harbor, a majestic schooner was making ready to sail. Men clambered over the ship, checking lines and rigging, securing cargo and yards and booms, each aware that a sloppy job could mean a watery death for them all. The ship was well made and maintained, the hull kept free or barnacles, the decks swabbed and scrubbed, the sails clean and fresh. The mermaid figure head has freshly polished and seemed almost to gleam in the sun.

A tall man, lean to the point of resembling a skeleton who'd donned a fine suit, his steel gray hair pulled back into a tight ponytail came striding up the gangplank. He surveyed the scene a moment. "Where could he be...ah! Prince Eric!" The man hurried to the mainmast where a group of sailors were heaving together, lifting a heavy spar by pulley up to it's position high in the rigging. "Prince Eric, I just heard the news! Plague at home, it's awful! The King told me you meant to sail out this very evening to deal with it!"

The lead man on the rope grinned, "That is what I said, Grimsby. But relax, old friend, there's nothing to worry about." Prince Eric was not your standard nobleman, and far less from your average prince. He was wealthy, yes, and he was handsome, having strong, well defined, noble features and horizon seeking blue eyes, his mane of glorious, sleek black hair falling to his shoulder. But there any resemblance to any other prince ended. Eric was broad shouldered and his bare chest was all hard, well defined muscle that rippled under his pale skin. His body was a masterpiece, sculpted and forged by long, hard hours of work and labor that were unknown to other nobles, let alone royalty. His hands were agile and strong, but also bore a few scars and rough calluses brought on by hard work. "Heave, boys, we're almost there!"

Grimsby, seneschal and major domo to the Prince Eric stared in shock for several moments while his monarch and the common sailors pulled hard on the rope. "Nothing to-, Your Highness, if this is true, then-"

"It's not true," Eric grunted. "Hold it there, lads!" He called up to the men in the rigging, "Tie it off and fast!" The herculean bodied prince looked over at his oldest friend apologetically, "I made it up so we didn't have to stay here any longer."

"You...Your Highness, I...cannot...Eric, what were you thinking?" For the moment, Grimsby lost his composure, "You have risked insulting our great ally, whose daughter is a fine-"

"Mess!" Eric rolled his eyes, "You and I both know, unnn! That another night in her company was the kind of thing that would only end in bloodshed, Grimsby. You couldn't stand that callow girl any more than I could!"

Grimsby sniffed, "Yes, well...that's besides the point, Your Highness. She is of a very fine line and..." He couldn't bring himself to continue. "And you are right, she was the most self centered and spoiled brat I have ever witnessed." The old man sighed. "But you must wed soon, Your Highness. I promised your father I would see you wed, and the law states you must be married before becoming king. And we are fast running out of princesses to marry you to!"

Eric shook his head, "All of them are the same, vapid, shallow, boring. Tell me truthfully, Grimsby, would you prefer I married someone of good breeding to become king or wait until I met the right girl?"

"That's not fair, Eric," the statesman sighed, "you're asking me to choose between my duties as your counselor and my wishes as your friend." The old man smiled fondly, "You know I want you to be happy, Eric."

"Then get below and out of the way, I'll be much happier when we're out at sea with this place far behind us!"

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

"Ariel... I can't swim that fast," Flounder exclaimed as he was dragged along by the adventurous daughter of King Triton, picking up on his own after she had let him go to peek inside one of the ships portholes. The yellow fish huffed after catching up, and he moved up alongside of Glaucus who had, in turn, taken up a position alongside the red-haired mermaid.

"What's in there? Are there more... sharks?"

"Maybe," Ariel said with a smirk. "I'm going inside," she added with a bright smile before pulling herself through the small hole.

"You might need to find another way in," Ariel said to Glaucus as she peered back outside. "So hurry it up."

While the hole might have been too small for Glaucus to move through, Flounder managed to squeeze his entire body through without too much trouble. The inside of the ship was just a tab bit gloomier than without, though aside from the occasional skeleton there wasn't all that much left around. Nothing of any real worth, at any rate. Most of the ship had been damaged from its fight above water, though years of resting at the bottom of the ocean had finally taken its toll on the poor vessel.

But to Ariel... the entire shipwreck was amazing. It was like a dream come true, and she eagerly picked up any item she could find. On one of the upper levels she happened across a metal fork with its prongs bent all out of order, and while that might have qualified it as junk to most people... to her... it was beautiful. It was wondrous. Though she had no idea what it was exactly, or what purpose it served, she did know that it once belonged to a human. A real human.

"Flounder! Look at this!"

Ariel swam over and held it up so that the young fish could see it, though all Flounder could do was raise his eyebrows. The fork was covered in

"What is it?"

"I don't know!" Ariel said with happiness in her voice. "But isn't it amazing?"

In addition to the fork, Ariel also happened to come across a smoking pipe, a gold coin and a mirror that was cracked down the middle. All of these she stored away inside her purse that she kept on her person, and she'd have to have Scuttles identify them later before adding them to her prized treasure collection. Already she had amassed at least half a dozen who-zits and what-zits, not to mention the thirty or so thingamabobs that she had stored away.

 

[Armphid]

Glaucus sighed. There wasn't any indication that she had even heard him. Of course, he knew why she did it. Part of it was purely self-centered insensitivity but it was also something she did to ignore authority. If she didn't hear her father's orders, she couldn't obey them. Not that it worked well with King Triton. Unfortunately, that didn't stop her from using it on everyone else. He looked at Flouder as the yellow-bodied youngster struggled to keep up. Even her friends, she ignored.

"Your Highness, wai-" but she was already through the hole and inside the human wreckage. The brawny soldier ground his teeth in frustration. "Yes, I see that. I will hurry," he said in a flat tone.

He had to use his spear to pry part of a large fallen timber that was over the main hatch to the hold before he could enter. Below him, Ariel was swimming through the junk and remnants, snatching up twisted and broken objects as though they were precious treasure. He shook his head. This obsession with the land was so strange. But royalty tended to be eccentric. "We should not linger too long, Your Highness. These waters are a bit...unsecured and you have a rehearsal to attend later, do you not?"

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

"Rehearsal? For the concert? Oh no!"

Ariel did a complete flip in the water, her body coming up straight in front of the powerful Merman that had actually accompanied her to the shipwreck instead of trying to get her to turn around. He might not have understood her passion to collect human relics, but at least he wasn't like the others... constantly trying to get her to fall in line.

To be a good little mermaid.

"We're going to be late," Ariel painfully realized before she quickly snatched up her purse from the floor. "My father is going to kill me!"

With that she made a rush towards the porthole she climbed in through, pausing only so that Flounder could catch up.

"Please... please don't tell my father about this. He'd never understand," Ariel pleaded as she looked back towards Glaucus, a look of concern crossing over her face.

* * * * *​

"Ohhhhhhh I grow tired of wasting away in this hellish exile," a callous but seductive female voice muttered from the darkness, and two white eyes peered out towards the floating bubble that magically displayed the glittering capital city of Atlantica. "Why... when I was in the palace, we'd have the most wondrous celebrations! Isn't that right, boys?"

Ursula the Sea Witch looked over towards the two slippery dark eels that swam down below her, though neither Flotsam nor Jetsam seemed to be paying particularly too much attention towards their master. She gave them a rather nasty look but quickly moved on towards other matters.

She had far more important things to do than punish her darlings, even if they did annoy her at times.

"Hrmm. King Triton's daughter. The 'beautiful' Ariel," Ursula said patronizingly as she moved out of the shadows, her tentacles spreading out underneath her as she came down from her high seat. Her full red lips stood in sharp contrast to her pearly white teeth, and her long white hair was slicked back over her head, falling gracefully down her back to rest near her butt (wherever that was). Unlike the Merfolk that inhabited the ocean, Ursula found no reason to hide up her strangely delectable body, leaving both her large and full breasts uncovered for all to see.

She was beautiful in her own right... but incredibly dangerous.

"Flotsam! Jetsam!"

The devilish pair came rushing up towards their mistress, acting as if they were afraid of what would happen to them should they delay as soon as possible.

"I want you to keep an eye on her," Ursula said rather tenderly, her hands reaching out to stroke their slippery bodies. Both eels nodded their heads at her command, and they offered up a smile that would have sent shivers down any merman's back. "And I especially want you to watch him," Ursula added, the magical bubble focusing suddenly on Glaucus. The Sea Witch cracked a devilish smile, her fingers playing with the bubble in front of her.

 

[Armphid]

That expression wrenched at his heart. Great Neptune, he wanted to pull her to him and kiss away all her worried and fears. The merman lowered his gaze from the girl he secretly desired. "I will not tell him of my own accord, Princess." The soldier looked back up, "But if he asks me directly...I swore a sacred oath, Your Highness. I will have to tell him that you were out this way, even if I do not have to say...exactly what you were doing."

He smiled slightly, a rare occasion for him. "Does that seem fair to you, Highness?" Before she could answer he stopped a moment, turning back to scan the water behind them. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion. Nothing. Or so it seemed. He was sure he'd felt...eyes watching.

"...Let us hurry, Your Highness. Perhaps we can still make it on time." He glanced at Flounder, "I can carry him so we can swim faster."

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Ariel smiled and then swam over to Glaucus before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You're a life saver," she said with a bright smile before swimming off in the direction of the castle.

Atlantica

"Daddy I'm sorry! I just forgot," Ariel apologized as she swam in front of her father. King Triton, while upset that his youngest daughter had been late for the festivities, did not know how to properly scold her. Whenever he got mad at her for something... all he had to do was look at her and his heart would soften up. Ariel reminded him so much of his late wife... and how could he possibly be mad at someone like that?

Sebastian, on the other hand, had absolutely no trouble yelling at the young mermaid.

"You ruined the entire celebration! RUINED! It was supposed to be... perfect! PERFECT! And now... now the entire kingdom... the ENTIRE OCEAN is laughing at me. Ohhhh..."

Ariel rolled her eyes as the Lobster continued on with his tirade, and even King Triton seemed surprised by the tiny creatures outburst. Once Sebastian finished preaching his disappointment to the red-haired mermaid, Triton rose from his seat and took hold of his trident. The magical weapon glowed brightly for a few moments in the Sea King's hand, and then faded away.

"Ariel... please understand. You are my youngest daughter. I need you here by my side. Why... if anything were to happen to you..."

"But I can't stand being locked up all the time! I'm eighteen years old! I'm not a child anymore."

Triton replaced the caring look on his face with a more serious one, and moving forward he cast a dark shadow over the young princess.

"Ariel," he began sternly, "Not another word! I will not have you go swimming about and putting yourself in danger. I will not stand for it!"

When Ariel realized that she would get nowhere arguing with her father she stormed out of the throne room, brushing past Flounder and the others. She was on the verge of crying, but somehow managed to hold back her tears.

 

[Armphid]

Glaucus watched Ariel swim off in a huff; her face blank. His heart however, swelled and ached. He did not want her to go. Her pain was unfortunate, yes, but it was her parting ways that pained him. "Your Majesty, I-"

"Do not speak a word, Glaucus." The sentence was heavy with Triton's anger and frustration. "You are an admirable guard, but do not think to meddle in the affairs of nobility."

The soldier flinched back from the rebuke. "...Of course not, Your Majesty." Anger simmered in him now. The King had changed much since the Queen's death and the attempted usurpation. This fury and a refusal to accept or even hear counsel was one of the changes.

"Glaucus. Sebastian." The musician jumped almost out of his shell, plainly hoping to have been forgotten in all of this. "My daughter is out of control. She needs to be reminded of her position and her place." Triton was pacing now, his powerful tail propelling him back and forth in front of his throne. "She spends many hours away from the palace. I must know where she goes." He turned to the crab and the merman, "She will not tell me if I ask." His brow furrowed and he nodded to himself, coming to a mental decision. "You two will follow her from now on. Speak to her and try to make her see reason."

Sebastian bowed low, "Of course, at once, Your Majesty!"

Glaucus bowed, "Yes, Your Majesty."

King Triton watched him a few seconds. "Very good. Glaucus, go after her now. Sebastian, stay a moment so we may reschedule rehearsal, then you can catch up."

The soldier was off almost before the undersea monarch was done speaking. Triton watched him go, then turned to the crab. "Sebastian, you have another task. I must know where Ariel is going and what she is doing. You will tell me everything she does, everyone she sees, all of her doings and the places where she hides from her responsibility. Do you understand?"

~~~~~~~~~​

Eric collapsed the spyglass he was looking through with a faint frown. "Those clouds look..hmm," he mused. The prince was standing at the bow of his ship, the waves breaking over the keel as it cut through them, the salt air ruffling his black mane if hair. The explorer look another measuring look at the approaching cloud formation to the north. "...What do you think, Max?"

Max did not say. Which was not unusual, Max didn't really talk. Largely because he was a dog. A big and very lovable dog. He was, at the moment, laying at Eric's feet. The first few hours of a sea journey were trying for the large canine, but once he got his sea legs back, he'd be his usual happy self.

"Your Highness!" The call came from aft, and Eric turned to see Grimsby waving from the door to the captain's cabin. "Do you think we will make it to home before nightfall?"

Eric grimaced. After all the time he'd been at sea, you'd think Grimsby would be better at reckoning time and distance. "No chance! We won't be back until tomorrow at best!"

"I understand, Your Highness." Grimsby smirked, adjusting his coat. Well then. It would be fitting to celebrate Prince Eric's birthday here at sea. And his faithful major domo had seen fit to bring all the celebration supplies with him on the ship in secret. "Always best to be prepared," he sighed to himself.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Ariel continued on her way out of the castle, not bothering to stop even for her lovely sisters. It was only when she reached the edge of the city did she pause for a moment, and she even managed to crack a smile when she saw Flounder chasing after her with the purse that she had dropped back in the throne room. Inside of it were the newest additions to her wonderful collection, and Flounder had rightfully guessed where Ariel was heading off to.

"Thought you might want this," the yellow fish said before turning the purse over to its rightful owner. Ariel took hold of the bag and then nodded her head graciously.

"Thanks," she said simply before taking a quick look around her.

The coast was clear.

"Come on," she said before swimming off towards a set of cliffs jetting out from the ocean floor. As the underwater vegetation became thicker, and the shadows darker, Ariel knew that she was getting close. Yet even without all the familiar landmarks to guide her along, the young princess could have found her way to her treasure trove blindfolded. The entrance to her cave was hidden away behind a somewhat large boulder, one that would fall right back into place as she moved quickly inside.

The hidden cavern was rather spacious on the inside, leaving plenty of room for the young mermaid to swim around with crashing into the walls. The walls off the cave were coarse and uneven, though this only served to provide Ariel with a place to store her treasured items. Shelf upon shelf was filled with human relics, mostly pots and pants and rusty old lanterns. There were glass plates and cups, a few candlestick holders and even an hourglass, which, despite being at the bottom of the ocean, somehow remained intact. The only light source came from a small opening in the roof of the cavern, barely a foot and a half wide and not more than a few feet away from the surface.

"I just... I don't know. I don't see why he's so upset all the time. It's not like anything's happened to me or anything. I don't see what the big deal is."

Ariel swam over to a candlestick holder, and she placed her newly acquired dinglehopper in the only available slot left.

"But maybe... maybe he's right."

Ariel shook her head.

"Look at this stuff. Honestly... how could a world that makes such wonderful things... be bad?

 

[Armphid]

Glaucus was sure she must be in this area. Ariel's grotto was not far from where the determined soldier was searching, but it was in the wrong direction. Several people had pointed out to him which way the princess had gone. She must be here somewhere!

His handsome face was stricken. What if something happened? What if she was hurt or attacked and he wasn't there to save her? Ariel..."Neptune, let her be safe."

In the middle of his search, he paused for a moment. There it was again. That feeling of being watched. Yet he could not see anyone or anything suspicious nearby. What...was it? His instincts were rarely wrong...

But that wasn't important. Finding the Princess was.

~~~~~~~​

Sebastian scuttled into the grotto, his small, hard shelled form slipping between bizarre and terrifying looking human artifacts with ease. He had heard the merman asking which way the princess had gone, and followed the same route. But he had an edge that Glaucus lacked.

His musical ear. On the currents, he'd caught the slightest hint of the princess' beautiful, one of a kind voice. The voice he SO longed to make part of his performances...if only she would cooperate! The scatter brained girl.

But what he'd found was both shocking and disturbing. Her interest in the human world went far further than King Triton had guessed. The King...must know.

Sebastian scuttled into view of the Princess, "Wonderful? Princess Ariel, at best, all o' dis is junk. De humans got rid of it, didn't they? Threw into OUR ocean." He huffed himself up. "You need to realize, girl, just how good life is to you down here. Life under the sea if far, far better than anything on land! And I can promise you that! I'm a crab, I can go out of de water. And do I? NO!"

He crossed his claws in front of himself, then threw them wide in a gesture of absolute negation. "You know what's up there? Nothing but danger and hardship, Princess! When I was young, I went up dere and saw the land, and I tell you, it's a hundred times better down here."

~~~~~~~​

King Triton sat on his throne, unspeaking and unmoving. His chin rested on one curled fist, her brow troubled and furrowed. Some of his courtiers had tried to speak to him and been rebuffed by silence. His other daughters had tried to speak to him, only to be gently but firmly told to leave him alone.

The monarch of Atlantia brooded in the empty throne room; on his lost wife, his treacherous counselor, and the daughter that he was losing despite all his efforts.

The trident in his left hand glowed, unnoticed by the sovereign. But up above, it's power, stirred by his grim emotions, would soon be felt.

~~~~~~~~~​

Prince Eric grimaced at the approaching clouds. They were looking darker by the minute. He stood alone in the bow of the ship, looking out over the waves at the horizon. Max had long since wandered off in search of food, leaving his master to ponder the weather. This was strange, the way these clouds were acting. They were far enough away that it shouldn't matter, really. He should just ignore it.

And yet...he felt as though something...significant was coming. His blue eyes, piercing and bold, narrowed. What was he missing?

He heard the soft, sliding footfalls behind him well before the man spoke. Eric rolled his eyes, as many times as he'd been at sea, it still took him this long to get his sea legs back? "What is it, Grimsby?"

"Prince Eric, I'm afriad we have a very serious matter to attend to." The seneschal's voice was firm and steady.

Inwardly, Eric groaned. "What's the matter?"

"Well, Your Highness...the crew...they..."

Eric turned slowly, "What's wrong with the crew? No one's sick are they?"

"Yes," Grimsby said mournfully. "All of them. Sick...of waiting to celebrate your birthday!"

Eric blinked as all of a sudden, fireworks shot from the upper deck into the darkening sky. Sailors cheered and called out, lamps and torches being lit. They had been busy while his back was turned. A large table was laid out, food of many kinds arrayed on it, including a generous if simple cake. In front of it all was a huge shape, hidden under a large piece of sailcloth. "My...birthday?"

"Yes!" Grimsby smiled, putting an arm around the stunned Eric's shoulder and guiding him to the shrouded object. "Happy Birthday, Prince Eric! Twenty years old this day!"

"Huzzah! Huzzah! HUZZAH!" The sailors cheered and whooped; clanking together tankards of ale and grog.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

"He has interest..." Flotsam noted, his golden eye focusing on the muscular form of Glaucus as the Merman searched about for the beautiful princess.

"Hmmm he is very interesssted..." Jetsam agreed, his slippery body moving slowly through the shadows. "Maybe we should help him look for the one he seeks?"

"And we know exactly where she is..."

~ ~ ~

Ariel had just finished putting into place her newly acquired relics when a rather perturbed Sebastian came into view. The red-haired mermaid was surprised that the lobster had somehow stumbled across her private trove, as she thought she had been extra careful in getting to it.

Extra careful, it seemed, just wouldn't cut it.

"Sebastian!"

"Princess Ariel, at best, all o' dis is junk. De humans got rid of it, didn't they? Threw into OUR ocean."

"Maybe... maybe they lost it by accident?"

Sebastian, however, would hear none of it. His mind was practically in line with that of her fathers, and he seemed not to care at all as to how Ariel felt. Instead he rambled on and on about how life was so great under the sea, about how life above the surface was filled with nothing but danger and hardships. Ariel just didn't see it that way. The world above was beautiful... a thousand times more wondrous than life down below. She had seen all that her fathers kingdom had to offer her, and she was ready for something new.

"But I'm so tired of swimming around all the time. Just once... I'd love to go up on the shore and walk on the sand. Walk, Sebastian! With legs! Oh you'll never unde-"

Ariel stopped mid sentence when a strange darkness came over the cavern, and looking up towards the roof Ariel noticed a dark shape passing over the tony hole in the ceiling.

"What do you suppose that is?" she asked even as her nimble body moved towards the entrance. Before she knew it she was swimming up towards the surface, her head slowly peeking out from the water as the massive wooden ship continued on its course. Ariel had to push aside her wet hair in order to get a better look at the human vessel, and she stared out in awe as dazzling fireworks began shooting off from the deck, lighting up the nighttime sky.

"What is it?" Flounder asked as he finally swam up to the surface.

"Isn't it... beautiful?"

Ariel smiled as she watched the ship continue sailing, and with a playful laugh she took off towards it. It took the young mermaid a little while to catch up to it, and she would constantly dive under the water and come splashing back up before finally reaching the side of the huge wooden ship. She didn't even stop to consider what might happen to her if she got caught. Ariel never thought that what she was doing could be considered by many to be extremely reckless, not to mention stupid.

All she cared about was getting as close to the humans as possible.

Hoisting herself up, Ariel (very) slowly peeked her head up through one of the openings near the floor, and what she saw made her smile even brighter. There were dozens of humans... and they were all dancing. Dancing! And playing music! Such wonderful music! There was one human in particular that stood out among the rest: he was certainly of noble upbringing, with beautiful black hair and very fair skin (tanned but not darkened). The other humans, aside from one elderly man, were clothed in strange uniforms, and they seemed to be ignoring their duties in favor of a few good drinks.

"I've never seen a human this close before," Ariel said to herself, her eyes trailing after the dark-haired prince. "He's... so handsome."

 

[Armphid]

Glaucus had traveled further away from the grotto into deeper, cooler waters. It was darker here, even the eyes so well accustomed to the gloom of dark ocean nights could not see too far. He had continued this way for no logical reason. He felt...a need to travel here. A pull.

"The Princess is in danger," came an oddly contralto, echoing voice from the gloom to the soldier's right.

"Danger? From what? Where?" The merman swam towards the sound, but found no speaker.

"She will be lost, unless you save her." From the left. Glaucus rushed towards the speaker, but again they were nowhere to be seen.

"But you can't save her, not from herself." Glaucus did not rush off, the voice seeming to come from both his right and left. "Not without help. Help to save her. Help to win her for your own. For her protection. For her happinessss."

The mermad floated, stock still in the water, his face conflicted. How did they know? No one knew! To win her? To win her. "Where-"

"Follow." The double voice was further away than before. Glaucus hesitated a moment. This was an obvious lure. He had to find the Princess. Yet this voice hinted she was in danger. That must mean it knew where she was. So...he had to follow it.

Knowing in his heart that he was lying to himself, Glaucus swam after the retreating voice. Now and again, it would call once more, leading him on. At last he came to a rocky seabed; strewn across it, the remains of a titan. A leviathan, one of the largest to have ever lived, now lay in ruin, it's skeleton hunched and tumbled down in the gloom.

Ahead of him, Glaucus could see his guides. Two eels, lithe and graceful, sleek and wholly sinister. They seemed to grin at him as they twined about each other above a cleared path in the sediment. A path that lead up and into the gaping maw of the long dead monster. The warrior stared at them a moment, then made his way up the path and entered between the massive teeth. In the mouth, beneath him on the floor of the mouth small, rough, ugly looking polyps waved and writhed in the current. They looked up at him as he passed overhead; stringy, raw, beaten down, desperate creatures. He felt the pull again, stronger than ever, and with it something else. A deep dread, a nameless worry in his heart.

He stopped suddenly at the throat, his eyes wide. He knew this place now, though he had never seen it before. He knew who lived here. "This is..."

"Yes." The voice was rich and warm, sultry and sardonic. "Yes, it is. My, how you've grown." From the darkness of ahead, she came. Her tentacles propelled her along effortlessly, others writhing and sliding about, black as pitch above and a deep purple below. Above the waist, she was beautiful. Her body was young looking, her purple skin smooth and taut, her bare breasts large, full, high and pert. Her face somehow looked sympathetic, disdainful, and smugly needy all at once. Her white hair was long and flowing; a shocking contrast to the darkness of her surroundings. The Sea Witch smiled. "Poor thing, to have come to me. Poor, unfortunate soul."

~~~~~~~​

"And now, Your Highness!" Grimsby stepped forward, pulling the prince away from where he had been watching the men dance, "Your birthday present!" The skeletal major domo beamed, taking hold of the sailcloth that still covered the mystery object.

Eric leaned forward a bit, smiling. What could it be? That size and such a strange shape...a new wheel for the ship? No, that didn't make any sense.

"Behold!" Grimsby pulled the sailcloth away, "Prince Eric the Bold!" The object was a statue, slightly bigger than life-size of Eric. If Eric was wearing a flamboyant and heavily ornamented military uniform, sneering, and carrying a saber with which he pointed ahead arrogantly. "Well? What do you think? Isn't it the perfect likeness?"

Eric stared at the statue. It was...did he look like that? "It's...a little...ostentatious, don't you think?" He walked up closer to it, looking up at the sneering face. "I've never worn a uniform like that...this makes me look like some...puffed up conqueror or spoiled dilettante."

Grimsby huffed, "It is perfectly natural for royalty to be depicted in stonework. It is-"

"Arrogant and tacky," Eric supplied.

"It IS," Grimsby asserted, "proper for the sovereign of a great and wealthy nation, Prince Eric! Your father and mother both have statues, several of them."

"None of them are like this," Eric countered. "This makes me look like some strutting, overbearing, macho popinjay! I appreciate what you're trying to do, Grimsby, but-"

Eric's words were drowned out by a sudden flash. For a moment, the dark sky and sea were as brightly illuminated as if it were noon. Above the ship, a jagged, toothy bolt of lightning clawed at the sky. The thunder hit a moment later, the sound itself shaking the sails and the rigging. "No," he said, low and aghast. "No! Damn it!" He'd let himself get distracted with the party, they all had. The sails weren't set for this weather! If it hit now!

"All hands, avast! Get to the rigging, now! If the wind kicks up-" Before the words had left his mouth, the wind roared to life, striking the masts who were heavily laden with full sail. The ship wrenched to the side, wood groaning and creaking from the stress. Men tumbled over the deck, yelling and swearing. The masts, tall and strong, actually bent back several feet in the sudden wind. Then there came the worst sound of all. Not wood creaking or bending, but the splintering rip of breaking timber.

"Prince Eric!" One of the sailors shouted, "The mainmast's cracked! The others are sure to follow!"

The prince took a look up at the yards. There was no way to get men up there now. It was too late. Their folly, HIS folly, had cost them this ship. And maybe all of their lives. Maybe the statue was accurate. "All hands! Abandon ship! Lifeboats, now!"

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Ensnaring the headstrong merman had been far easier than either Flotsam or Jetsam could have ever predicted, and as they led him towards her lair, the slippery dark eels smiled wickedly towards each other, their eyes glowing with pride and maliciousness. She would be proud of them. She would reward them.

'Yesss she will'

Glaucus followed after the dark pair, swimming right up to the fallen ruins of a once proud and glorious leviathan. On the whole the area was largely avoided by the creatures of the ocean, but Ursula had transformed it into her own private residence... full of dark magic.

'Reward us'

"Don't be afraid... she is waiting," Flotsam remarked when Glaucus paused momentarily, his body tense with worry.

Ursula could barely contain herself, and when the proud Merman recognized where he was... it was far too late. The poor soul. The poor, unfortunate soul. The poor... miserable bastard. She could see the care in his heart, and while it made her laugh on the inside, on the outside she seemed just as concerned as he was.

Cunning.

Deceitful.

They weren't lying when they called her a witch.

"I know what troubles you, dear one. And I can help you." Ursula said with a tender smile as she came out to greet him. Ursula placed one of her soft hands on his chest, her fingers playfully roaming up and down against his magnificent breastplate. With her other hand she cupped his strong chin and turned his face to meet hers. "Why don't you... come inside, my dear sweet child?"

Ursula retracted her hand and smiled once again as she moved inside, her dark tentacles pushing her effortlessly through the water. Flotsam and Jetsam flocked to her side, and while their bodies coiled around her arms, their eyes were ever on the Merman.

"I think you know by now that I've been keeping... a close eye on you. Two eyes... rather. Oh Glaucus... poor thing. She doesn't even know how good you are to her. Protecting her. Keeping her safe. It isn't fair, is it?"

Ursula pulled a vial out from one of the shellfish cabinets, and she tossed the entire bottle into the cauldron that was lying in the center of the room.

"Well don't you worry. Ol' Ursula is going to help set things right. Isn't that right, boys?"

Flotsam and Jetsam grinned, exposing their sharp yellow teeth.

"After all, it's what I do. Certainly your fabulous King Triton won't help you. His magic only goes so far. But I... I can help you win her heart."

~ ~ ~

Ariel gasped as the beautiful ship began falling literally into pieces, flames sprouting up all over the ship. Certainly this was the work of her father, whether the old goat knew it or not.

"Ariel! We have to get out of here!"

Sebastian was practically tugging at her arms to get her to come with him, but the young princess wasn't about to leave her handsome prince to his fate. Most of the humans had already scrambled up into the lifeboats, and they were rowing furiously away from the splintering vessel.

"I have to do something," Ariel cried out to her friends.

 

[Armphid]

Glaucus couldn't help but feel a thrill rush through him at her touch, as well as a shiver of revulsion. Even knowing who she was, what she was, there was no denying the raw sensuality and attractiveness of her body. And he was a virile specimin of a merman.

Against his judgment, he followed her into the creature's gullet. Again there was that irresistible pull as if of a lodestone. "I felt them watching," he acknowledged. "But I did not imagine that it was you." He ignored the eels, his eyes on the undulating tentacle and lush torso of the Sea Witch. "And I know you don't care about some soldier. Why were you spying on the Princess?"

She seemed to ignore the question, and before he could ask more forcefully, she spoke again and the words flew out of his mind. "Win her heart?" To have her was...his fondest wish, his most desperate, impossible dream. But it was just that. Impossible. "The King's power does not lie there, but even if your magic could..." If it could...if he could have Ariel for his own...

He shook his head, trying to fight the temptation. "It's...impossible," he said weakly.

~~~~~~~​

"Prince Eric, wait!" Grimsby fell back into the boat as his liege lord kicked the pulley securing it and sent it splashing down into he water. "Eric! Get to the last boat, my boy!"

"I will!" The black haired mariner waved, "I've just got to get Max!" He looked around at the blazing wreck of a ship. "Besides," he said to himself, "I'm the captain." He should be going down with it.

"Don't risk it! Eric, the kingdom needs you! You mustn't-" But Eric was already out of Grimsby's sight as the sailors bent to their oars, pulling the lifeboat away from the dying vessel.

Eric leaped over a fallen yard, his keen eyes finding the door to his cabin. The great sheepdog had retreated there during the initial fireworks, he hated the things. "Hold on, Max!" Fireworks. What had possessed Grimsby to bring them on board? The licking flames that ate away at the structure that bore them afloat testified gleefully to the foolishness of that act. Fire on a boat was the worst thing that could happen.

As he neared the door, he could hear the huge canine's barks and whimpers over the roaring wind and crackling flames. With a grimace and a grunt, he kicked the door frame, splintering the wood and releasing his terrified dog. "It's okay, boy, come on. Come on, Max!"

Man and dog wove through the tumbled timbers, dodging falling pulleys and flaming strands of rope. He pointed ahead of them to the last lifeboat, "Go, boy!" Max jumped into the boat, Eric untying it's moorings and starting to lower it down. Max was barking furiously. "I know, don't worry, you're almost-" Max barked more madly than ever, leaping to and fro in the boat. Eric felt heat growing behind him.

He turned his head to see the mail sail and rigging, fully aflame, falling towards him. It filled his vision, blue eyes wide. He didn't hesitate, didn't think, he leaped onto the rail and jumped as hard as he could. The flaming sail crashed down behind him, wood splintering and flying in all directions. As he fell, a burning chuck creased him across the forehead and the world vanished into blackness.

Eric hit the water limply, like a rag doll. He sank beneath the surface, sliding down into the dark depths.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

"Impossible? My poor, sweet child... nothing is impossible. The King has power, true. But he's not the only one."

Ursula moved slowly over to Glaucus, and she used one of her hands to gently lift up his strong chin. She recognized the want and desire in his eyes, even if his mind was still a little muddy.

"Now, then. In order to get what you want... you'll have to do something for me in return."

Flotsam and Jetsam grinned a most mischievousness grin, their snaky bodies hidden away in the darkness.

"I need you to convince the dear sweet princess to come to me. The King, as you undoubtedly know, is very protective of his youngest daughter. But what he doesn't know is that his precious child has a... bit of an obsession over these humans. If he were to find out about her little collection... well... I'll let you fill in the pieces."

Ursula moved back over to her cauldron, and she tossed in a few more strange vials into the mix.

"So what'll it be?"

~ ~ ~

One of the humans was in trouble. Ariel dove under the water, her nimble body moving swiftly towards the fiery vessel. The dark haired prince had been knocked unconscious, and his body fell down into dark water below.

"No!"

Ariel dove back underneath, and she located the young prince in a hurry.

"There he is!" she thought to herself.

Eric was a bit heavier than she expected, but under the water she had a surprising strength to her. With one arm hooked underneath his armpit, Ariel swam up towards the surface, and she paddled her way over to the nearest shore. The fireworks still left on board the ship began shooting off in a most colorful display, but their beauty was marred by the tragedy that befell the rest of the ship. The storm brought about by her father continued to rage on, but the large waves helped carry Ariel and the unconscious Eric towards land.

The small inlet they landed on was guarded by large but strange rock formations, no doubt a product of hundreds of years of natural erosion. The waves lapped up against the beach, but they were mild compared to the huge waves far out at sea.

It would have been perfect, her and the prince together, except...

"Is he... dead?" Ariel asked nervously as she pushed some of his dark hair away from his peaceful face.

Scuttles walked over and picked up one of Eric's feet.

"I don't know," the seagull said, placing his ear up against the bottom of his bare foot. "I can't make out a heartbeat."

Ariel felt her heart sink at that, but she smiled brightly when she saw his strong chest begin to move up and down.

"Wait! He's... he's still alive. He's breathing! Scuttles! Look!"

 

[Armphid]

There was darkness and cold. Both only grew deeper. Then there was a sudden warmth; shockingly different from the chill of the water. It pressed against him, a band of it about his chest and it lifted him up. Up more. More. And still more.

The wetness of the sea gave way and yet the wetness continued as rain poured down. Eric floated in the dimness between consciousness and unconsciousness. He was moving in the water. Something, no, someone. Someone was carrying him. Someone slender and warm and soft; yet strong and graceful.

All of this was impressions; barely registered sensory information that hit his numbed mind only to fade into subconscious recollection.

Eric breathed; his chest hurt, lungs feeling as though they were laboring for the slightest breath. His head felt like it might split open. Never, ever, had he felt so good. Alive. He was alive. If he were dead, it wouldn't hurt. He felt sand; cool and wet and soft beneath him. Sea air kissed his face; the smell filling his nose. And another smell too...this one warm and sweet...what was that? He felt someone there. Someone slender and lithe; a feminine shape lying close to him; warm and soft in the best of ways. His eyes fluttered, and he saw a pale blur crowned in fiery red. "Uhhnn...y...sav'd...me...who...?"

He tried to lift a hand, only getting it an inch or so off the sand before it fell back. The prince tried to open his eyes; willing the lids to lift.