Part of That World

This is the way it should have happened....

              “Who disturbs the peace of my cavern?!” The walls of the cave shook with the force of the woman’s roar. A few bubbles spewed from the mouth of the cave and began drifting upward, quickly lost in the glaring light of the surface waters.

                “Ursula?” Ariel called into the cavern, her voice shaking with apprehension. There came no answer. “I’m Ariel,” she shouted. “I- I need your help.”

                “Ariel?” the voice replied. “The princess?” it asked.

                “Yes,” Ariel answered.

                “Well,” the voice continued sweetly, “come in, dear child. Come in!”

                Ariel drew in a steadying breath, wincing as the frigid water passed through her gills. She willed her loathsome fins to push her forward, hating them even more when they refused. She was only partially aware of the nervous shaking of her body. Whether from the cold, dark water pressing all around her, or the heavy, sickening sense of fear brewing in her stomach was irrelevant. Her decision was made. She was here. She was going to go through with it.

                One more breath to summon courage, and Ariel propelled herself forward into the black mouth of the cave. She could see light glowing orange and green from around a nearby corner, growing brighter as she neared. Ariel turned the corner and found herself staring into the pit of a dancing orb of light. Her mouth drew itself into a round “o” of wonder. The blue orange tongues of light flicked like current-tossed seaweed. And what was this? Warmth? Ariel glanced down at her hands, delighted to note that the chill had abated. Was this-? Could it be-?

                “Ariel!” the woman’s voice exclaimed. A pleasant, heavy chuckle escaped from some unseen corner of the room. For the first time, Ariel looked around the cavern. The ball of light danced from the very center. The walls were lined with shelves, each cluttered with vials and dishes in no obvious order. On the very opposite end of the room, a shell, a massive conch ten times Ariel’s width and twice her height, hung suspended against the wall. “I’m so glad to see you.”

                Ariel gasped. From within the black shadows of the shell, a thick, black tentacle emerged, snaking against the outside. Then two. Then four. Then eight.

                Horrified, Ariel shrunk back, towards the entrance. She shrieked when she felt a slimy rope on her back, heard a hiss in her ear. A mouthful of jagged teeth snapped at her. An eel. It nudged her forward.

                The monster Ursula, bulbous as a whale shark and pale as foam on the tides, drew herself from the shell’s interior. Her lower half, her tentacles, spread across the floor, pulling her forward, towards Ariel. They stuck to the floor and made gruesome sucking and popping sounds as they propelled Ursula’s fleshy, sagging upper half across the room.

                Ariel gulped and struggled to find her nerve.

                “My, my,” Ursula mused, drawing close enough to Ariel so her stench clung to the inside of Ariel’s nostrils. “I haven’t seen you since you were newly hatched.” Ursula reached out a pudgy hand and lightly ran one of her jagged nails across the line of Ariel’s chin. Ariel shivered. “What brings you to my home after all these years?”

                “I-,” she stumbled, “I’ve come to ask your help.”

                “Help?” Ursula crooned. “Surely your father, King Tritan, could suffer to help his own precious daughter. With all the powers of the ocean at his disposal, a young girl’s whim should be as nothing.”

                Ariel shook her head. “No,” she explained. “He doesn’t understand. He won’t help.”

                “You mean to say,” Ursula said in shocked tones, “that your father does not know you’re here?”

                Ariel shook her head and met Ursula’s dull, yellowed eyes.

                “My,” Ursula gasped. “My, my, my. “Well, Auntie Ursula won’t turn you away. Come. Tell me of your troubles.”

                With that, Ariel sighed and relayed the story of her human prince, her unfortunate love. Her voice resonated with conviction as she spoke, recalling the way her prince had looked at her, feeling the warm flames of desire smoldering in her chest.

                At the end of the telling, Ursula smiled. “Those are exceptional feelings for such a young girl.”

                Ariel looked at the floor.

                “But,” Ursula continued, “who am I to stand in the way of love?” She placed her cold, heavy hands on Ariel’s shoulders. She steered Ariel towards the blue ball of light and whispered into her ear. “Look into the light, Ariel,” she crooned, “and tell it what you desire.”

                Ariel stared at the flickering orb. It drew her in like a prawn to an angler fish. She whispered to the orb, “I want to live on land.”

                The ball of light surged with energy, glowing brighter with swirls of orange and green.

                “Good,” Ursula sighed. “Now,” she continued, releasing Ariel’s shoulders, “on to payment.” Ursula slithered a short distance away.

                “Payment?” Ariel asked.

                “Of course, girl,” Ursula called over her shoulder. “No such thing as a free lunch, right?”

                “How,” Ariel pressed, “shall I pay you?”

                “The preference is currency, sweetheart,” Ursula replied. When Ariel said nothing, but only blinked in response, Ursula asserted, “Cash? Clams? Money? Surely your daddy gives you a pretty allowance?”

                Ariel shook her head. A dark shadow crossed Ursula’s face. “I see,” she glowered. “Then I suppose we shall have to proceed on terms of credit, then.”

                “Credit?” Ariel squeaked.

                “Collateral,” Ursula specified. “Give me something you have that is of value to you, and I’ll give it back when you pay me.”

                Ariel glanced down. She hadn’t brought anything with her. Sadness washed over her.

                Ursula smiled. “There, there. Don’t fret,” she crooned. “I know just the thing.”

                Ariel stared at Ursula, taking in the sinister lines of her smile.

                “Your voice,” Ursula whispered.

                The two argued and haggled until they reached a compromise. It was agreed that if Ariel could get her prince to kiss her within three days, the collateral would be waived on good faith and her voice would return. If not, however, the contract would go into default and Ariel would have to work off her debt as Ursula’s ward.

                The two shook hands, their agreement binding.

 

                Ariel awoke on a beach, covered in sand. Her entire body felt bruised and beaten. She felt a groan swelling within her, but could not let it escape.

                She opened her eyes and found that the sky was bright and blue overhead. She inhaled a breath, shivering with delight and surprise at the feel of air passing through her nose and throat. From somewhere close by, gulls were calling their droll, urgent song.

                It had worked. She was on land. She could breathe.

                Legs. She had legs. Anxious to test them, she gave them a kick and found that they worked just fine. She reached a hand down to her thigh to give them a feel, when-

                Ariel gasped. Terror rose like bile in her throat. Panicked and horrified, she struggled and clamored to a standing position. Her view was stunted, her range of perspective a mere three feet from the ground below. She looked down at her body, across, any angle she could manage. Fur. Fur, fur, fur! Grey, matted, and ugly, her entire body was covered in grizzly down. She stood on all fours, her knobby fur-covered legs ending not in feet and toes, as her prince had worn, but in hard, black hooves. Ariel tried to scream, but no sound came forth. She was a monster. Ursula had turned her into a monster.

                “Look, over there,” a man’s voice shouted. Ariel spun around to find two men standing at the crest of a nearby hill. “Well, isn’t that a fine creature to be found wandering so far from pasture.”

                “Ay,” the other man nodded in agreement. The two began advancing down the hill, towards Ariel. She was frozen by fear, shock, and terror. “It’ll do for some right good cheese, don’t you think?”

                “Perhaps,” said the man, now jogging down the beach, his friend in close pursuit. Ariel’s hooves finally began moving. In clumsy, lumbering strides, she turned and began sprinting down the beach, away from her pursuers. “But I’m in more of a mood for some goat stew.”

                “Ay,” called his friend, as hard, heavy hands brought Ariel to the ground.

Author's Note

This was a response to a prompt having to do with the recent change in astrological signs. As a result, many Aquarius people are now Capricorns, thus the ending. As an aside, though, I've always personally felt that "The Little Mermaid" sent the wrong message to young girls. The original, if you didn't know, actually punished Ariel for wanting to change herself by making her existence as a human painful beyond measure. Moral: Girls, don't try to change yourself to please a f***ing man!!! Anyway, enjoy!

Reviews

[Norma M Sutton]

Oh I love this lol and I love the twisted ending too.

[Closedown]

Damn that's a good ending! I loved it. Wonderful, and about to be featured. Renfieldians unite!