That's it. I give up. I've already searched everywhere and there's no sign of Flounder nearby.
Now I was on my way back to Atlantis. It's almost time for my training with dad, and I don't think he'll appreciate me being late. Besides, unlike the choir rehearsals with Sebastian, I'm more enthusiastic about my power training.
Sometimes, I even imagine myself fighting off against those pirates who abducted me, showing off how independent I am just before Henry arrives to save me. I wonder how strong I am compared to him?
Just as I was lost in thought, my ocean senses suddenly picked up a presence hiding behind a large coral. With a frown, I waved my hand and willed a current to sweep whoever was behind it away from its hiding.
There was a sudden yelp before a revealing of who the person was. It was a burnt figure, a woman like me courtesy of the evident curves on her body. The most noticeable aspect of her is the specks of feathers on her arms and a fish tail larger than mine.
Is she a Siren? I've heard of them. Half mermaids and half Birds. They call them the evil version of mermaids like me.
As she stabilized herself, I was already asking her a question, "Who are you? Why are you trying to hide behind that coral?" If she makes any suspicious moves, I will throw her away with my powers.
If this is another attempt to kidnap me, then I wish them luck because this princess is no longer defenseless like before!
I can slap people with water now!
"You…How did you do that?" The Siren pointed her shaky finger at me, disbelief colouring her face.
I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow, "And why should I tell you? You're a Siren and your kind shouldn't be easily trusted." I know I may sound racist but I've learned my lesson now. It's better to use information about what I know about certain people to my advantage instead of only trusting what my eyes see.
I can see a curve on the Siren's lips as she replied, "Whatever you have heard of my kind is lies, Princess Ariel. The merfolks and humans alike have both judged us based on our appearance. We simply wish to make friends and peace with other kinds, we seek a home of our own…" Her voice took a solemn tone and a single tear was shed from her eye.
However, she was not expecting my response.
"Liar!" I called out on her, shock spreading on her face. So this is what it feels like to expose people to their schemes. I'm quite liking this already.
I can hear a click of her tongue, followed by dropping her facade, "It seems like you have already grown, Princess Ariel. Then I'm no longer gonna beat around the bush." With a daunting smirk on her face, she dropped a bomb, "We have your Flounder friend and I'll give you two choices. Either return to Atlantis where he dies, or come with me and you might have a chance to save him. Choose wisely, Princess." She ended her last word with a sharp snarl.
Now I'm the one in a pinch. From the way she looks confident and the tone of her voice, I can immediately tell that she's not lying. And even if she is, the high chances of Flounder being kidnapped are high anyway. So I believed her.
But my decision? Will I follow her and risk getting into a trap? But if I don't, she would truly kill Flounder, no doubt about that since she's a Siren. I can't have that. If Flounder dies because of me, I don't think I can live with that in mind.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll refuse and go back and tell my dad?"
The Siren crossed her arms with confidence as she snorted, "You can try, but by then, I'll soon be long gone and your friend dead. You don't even have an idea of the person behind me."
I hate to say this but she's right. Do I really have to follow her to a trap?
"Before you think of taking me hostage, don't bother. The person behind me, my master, she's watching over our interaction as we speak."
However, I immediately picked up something among her words. She mentioned the words master and she. Which means whoever the person behind her is a lady and has a slave-master relationship with a siren.
If you ask a merfolk who is the most vile person they could think of. No doubt they'd mention only one name.
The Sea Witch.
"Your master is the Sea Witch." While in the middle of her rambling, I interrupted her by exposing her. In an instant, she froze and beads of sweat started to form on her forehead.
"W-What do you mean? Lady Ursu—The Sea Witch isn't my master? You're lying…" From the way her eyes kept darting left and right while backing away, I knew I hit the spot.
"You were just about to mention her name. The Sea Witch is really your master." Unbeknownst even to me, a grin crept up to my face as I closed the distance between her and me.
I willed the water around her to tighten its grip, making sure she wouldn't be able to escape, "Now, tell me everything you know."
She gulped and replied which finally revealed the truth, "Aren't you afraid that she'll kill your friend? Lady Ursula has already killed countless creatures and she wouldn't mind adding another one to her list!"
I tilted my head, "If she does, then I can tell she's not bright in the head. If she is, she'll know that if she touches even a single fin from Flounder, I'll tell my dad and she can enjoy living the rest of her pitiful life being chased by the King of Atlantis and a god of the sea. So this time, it'll be my terms. Bring Flounder back to me alive and I won't tattle on her."
Then a wicked smile appeared on my lips, "As for you, the sea witch surely wouldn't mind adding another one to her list, right?"
———
"Idiot! Idiot! I shouldn't have trusted that fool!" Back in a dark and cramp cave with shelves filled with magical trinkets, merfolk bones, and skulls decorating the place, and unrecognizable creatures squirming all over the ground, Ursula threw the glass ball into the wall, letting it shatter into pieces.
That pesky siren! She knew she shouldn't have trusted her with this task especially after her massive failure back in the Pirate's Paradise.
And now Ariel has the upper hand against her, either she remains stubborn and kills Flounder right here and now before making her escape somewhere far away or she accepts Ariel's terms and lets Flounder go free.
She didn't hesitate to choose the last option. She'd let go of Flounder alive and then leave. After all, how else do you think she has survived all these years while earning a vile reputation as the Sea Witch? This isn't her first time choosing the cowardly option just to save her skin.
She can't afford to be under the relentless chase from her brother. She wouldn't be able to live calmly if that became the case. Hell, it'll be lucky for her to survive more than 10 days.
She just needed Ariel to sign a contract with her. What's wrong with that?
Her plan consists of making Ariel sign an impossible contract with her, use her own innocence against herself, and then use that leverage against her brother, to make him sign a contract with her that would allow her to escalate things and steal his trident and crown, the two sources of King Triton's great power.
And now, it all went down the drain just because an incompetent fool couldn't finish her task properly.
With an irritated sigh, she turned around and released the hold over the little fish, Flounder. Right now, he's the most important thing to her, if this fish dies, Ariel will tattle on her.
"For now, you will live to see another day, little fish." Amidst the groggy Flounder who just woken up, Ursula's tentacles waved around, and the water around Flounder moved and threw him out of her cave.
"As long as I live, I can still have as many chances as possible." For now, she'll lie low and then silence that useless Siren.
She can't have her brother knowing that she's now targeting his daughter. The only reason he's holding back from making a move against her is their shared blood through their father. King Triton may not look like it but he has a soft heart and Ursula knows well enough how to use that to her advantage.
However, just as there is a use out of it, it also comes with the risk of pushing him too far. King Triton is still a King—soft-hearted or not, and he wouldn't be in his position right now if his entire existence were ruled by his heart.
"Now even his daughter has become a dangerous but soft-hearted, just like her father."
———
By the time Flounder got back to Atlantis in a hurry, he was immediately greeted by his one and only friend, Ariel.
"Oh, Flounder! You're finally back!" She carried the little fish in her arms as they swam back to the royal castle.
Just as Flounder was about to open her mouth and tell her what he just experienced, Ariel had already silenced him by putting her finger to his lips, "Shh, I know what happened. But don't worry, I'll make sure that the Sea Witch won't get away unscathed."
Flounder found the unusual grin on her face eerie as he had never seen her before like this. It's like seeing a dog that has been walking on all fours suddenly standing on two legs and starting to walk like a human.
Yes, he's experiencing that kind of shock.
"Ariel…are you okay?" Flounder worriedly asked, completely forgetting about the fact that just a few moments earlier, he was doomed to die.
"Oh, I'm fine. Very fine!" Ariel blinked her eyes and the grin vanished, "In fact, I feel a little bit happy."
Flounder tilted his head in confusion, "You're happy? Why?" If he didn't know Ariel personally for years, he would've thought that the little mermaid was happy about his kidnapping. She overheard Ursula's utterings earlier and he's aware that his destiny rests on Ariel's decision.
What just confused him however was the fact that not only did he not die but he was also released by the very same person who captured him in the first place.
One moment, there was dread on his face as he assumed that Ariel must've made some sort of deal with the Sea Witch for the sake of saving his life, however this was soon thrown out of his head. Such a thing couldn't be the cause of Ariel's happy grin.
Unbeknownst to her, Ariel was indeed happy but the reason is because she saw herself as a hero for helping get rid of a very bad person from under the ocean.
That's right, Ariel didn't intend to honor her word in the first place. She'll still tattle on the Sea Witch with her father and leave the rest to him. She has already learned her lesson on how to truly deal with the bad guys.
'I'll be a hero just like Henry!' She giggled to herself while making her way to the throne field where she's gonna tell her dad everything that just transpired.
As for the Siren from earlier, Ariel left her on her own device. Whatever fate awaits the Siren, it would definitely not be a good thing and it's not like she cares about it.
If Henry were to see her right now, he would shed a tear and clap his hands for being the first and foremost witness of Ariel stepping into adulthood, she's naive no more!
———————————-
[Long yapping but important to read!!!]
[I know some of you are mad at Ariel for everything she did these past few chapters. But you see, it's all been a part of my plan for her character development. I can't think of any other way to make her transition from naivety to maturity more impactful other than this.
Some of you have questions about my past decisions when it comes to writing certain parts and I'll address them now.
First of all, there's the issue of her not telling that it was Henry who saved her and why she's not worried for him. The former is my fault, I admit. You see when I plan and write particular scenes, they play inside my head while I'm typing and during that time, my fingers can't keep up with the mind so some dialogues and actions weren't able to make it to the paragraph/scene.
So yes, she did told her father about it and my brain just thought I already wrote that certain dialogue. I'm not making up excuses or something but that's what I'm truly experiencing sometimes. And I don't have anyone to proofread my work since almost anyone I know doesn't read books. And I don't have the time to proofread every chapter I write, time constraint and all that shit.
Now, let's get to the matter of her not being worried for Henry's safety. There's no excuses for this, the answer to your question lays within the past chapters. She literally knew and witnessed his swimming skills along with his water bubble spell during the shipwreck scene. She's not worried for Henry, she's confident that Henry will make it out of that island alive. I guess it's also my fault for not being able to mention it. (Like I said, my brain kept playing the scenes I planned while writing)
I hope those are enough to satiate all your doubts and curiosities. Apologies for not being able to address this sooner due to college issues.
Also, I have exams this Wednesday and I'll see to it to publish on that very same day but don't expect I'll be able to publish on Thursday and Friday.
And lastly (I promise), I may have to shift my schedule from Monday to Friday to MWF sched next week. Turns out, being a 2nd year in college and having a course of IT would throw me tens of activities, research, and all the other shits that wakes me up all night.