Chapter 1 - Up out of the sea, Now up on land

Once upon a time, in the waters deep, in an ocean far away, there lived a mermaid. She lived and grew up in a palace in the sea, for she was the youngest of seven princesses. She had everything, she had a wonderful family, a wonderful complection, and the lightest platinum hair in the sea, she and her sisters had an undersea garden that was the envy of the ocean, and the list would go on for ever, but in short she had it all. Yet she was not happy. She longed to be with the humans and not with the fish. She adored the human world. The sights, the sounds and the smells, she loved it all. But there was one little problem...her father, the ruler of the oceans seven, forbid her or her sisters to ever surface.

This day in particular was special, this day was her sixteenth birthday. In the ancient Atlantian tradition, once a merperson turns sixteen, he or she may have any one thing (but it had to go through the king) and that thing must be approved. The young princess's wish was to be on land, even if it were for one day. But her father still refused her birthday wish, so Ariel went to the sea-witch.

The sea-witch promised the young princess the world and more. She promised Ariel legs, and three days to win the love of her crush, the crush she fancied since she saw him. Her crush happened to be a prince, a prince of a kingdom off the coast of Spain. She thought he was the handsomest man on 'two fins', and she wanted him, her prince charming. There was a catch however, Ariel had to give up her beautiful voice. She had to win the prince with actions, and her sparkling personality...in only three days.

Ariel agreed, and promised her loyalty to the old hag if she failed to enchant the prince. Her tail split into two equal parts, or legs. Before now merpeople were born underwater and they died underwater, and upon dying they turned into the foam on top of the sea. However upon the age of fifteen they had the chance to go upon land...but that was when Ariel's grandmother was ruler of the seas. She had told Ariel and her sisters of her adventures on the land, and it fascinated each princess. But upon her death and the death of his wife, the king had become very bitter towards humans. He abolished the privilege of surfacing and exiled anyone who dare do it.

Her two friends who were small in stature, helped the young princess surface. Her two friends where a lonesome hermit, and a small overly-social guppy of a fish. They couldn't help but to argue the whole way to the surface about whose fault it was for what had just happened. Ariel knew the blame game didn't solve anything. As they fought and played the blame game, memories of her childhood came flooding back as if she just lived it yesterday.

As they made their way to land they rested on a pile of rocks, which made Ariel uncomfortable, but she couldn't go anywhere public, for she was overly exposed. All the stories her grandmother had told her, the humans didn't walk around the way the people of the sea did, the humans had covering. They were covered from head to toe in something called clothing.

Ariel was resting upon the rocks and the sand when a strange but familiar bird swooped down and was surprised by what he saw. This bird knew the princess very well, for although it was forbidden the young princess took treasures that she and her sisters found on sunken ships. They never told their father. The crab was in such a state of shock he didn't realize that the bird had helped Ariel get changed and get used to her legs.

All of a sudden a dog came barking and scared Ariel so bad that she lost control of her balance and fell back into the ocean. She was soaked, now more than ever, for now she was dry. She had gotten back up to see what had startled her so, but she couldn't find it wherever she gazed. She now needed to find her prince and soon for the end of her first day was quickly drawing nearer.

She wondered aimlessly trying to find the man she wracked her brain with at night. She saw a palace and looked around there first. No luck. She went up and down the beach. Still nothing. She had become very fatigued and set rest on top of the sand. There was music and song on land, and this music had lulled her to sleep. When she woke a dog was staring her in the face, and this startled her so much she sought refuge on top of a fairly large rock. She heard a voice calling a name...but there was no one in her field of view. That is until a tall handsome man turned the corner. The young princess's heart fell deep into her stomach. This was it...the one she pursued for so long.

She had remembered a story her grandmother had told her when she was a little girl. It was about the birds that fly upon the trees like the fish swim upon the coral. The questions she asked and the answers she got was still as vivid as the day it happened.

One question stuck out in her mind the clearest. It was of what happened when the creatures of her fantasies and of her own people upon their death. The answer her grandmother gave was this "We have not immortal souls, we shall never live again; but, like the green sea-weed, when once it has been cut off, we can never flourish more. Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust. It rises up through the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars."

But the little mermaid also wanted to know how a merperson was to receive an immortal soul and the answer her grandmother gave was simple..."You cannot have an immortal soul, unless a man were to love you so much that you were more to him than his father or mother; and if all his thoughts and all his love were fixed upon you, and the priest placed his right hand in yours, and he promised to be true to you here and hereafter, then his soul would glide into your body and you would obtain a share in the future happiness of mankind. He would give a soul to you and retain his own as well; but this can never happen."

"But why my grandmother'" she asked.

"Because my darling, you have a tail and those creatures up on the lands are fickle creatures. They love creatures that also have two legs, up there legs are the determination of beauty not the tails we have down here. To them your just tomorrow nights dinner." told the elegant old woman.

"So that means they eat our kind'" asked the princess.

"Yes my dear..."

"Than I will give all my years and my tail to make a human love me...to hold me...to think of me as the center of the universe." she said the princess frankly.

"You can't my dear...you can't be who you are not. You were born a mermaid and like so many before you...you must die like a mermaid." the wiser of the two said solemnly. The little mer maid looked at her tail and sighed, she thought that there must be a way out of this and to be with the humans.

The prince's voice snapped her out of her dreamlike state. But that didn't stop her from re-entering her delusory persona upon seeing his face. She stared for what was in her mind an eternity, but was only mere seconds. It took both the prince and the princess by shock when a strange dog had pounced upon the princess. The dog then licked her face as if they knew each other. Prince Eric then pulled the dog of the young maiden, and looked at the tag.

"Maximilian' Strange name for a dog..." he looked at the princess and asked her if she agreed, and she did. He looked back at the dog and his taggs. "But there isn't any address...would you like to live with me in the palace'" he asked the dog, and the dog barked in agreement. "Outstanding! But the one thing that has to go is that name, how about Max' Sounds more like a dogs name...doesn't it'" he asked the maiden. She nodded in agreement. "You don't talk much do you'" once again sh nodded, but this time from side-to-side. "Lets go to my palace, you must have dinner with us. We're having crab!" and they walked away.

Once they got to the palace they were met by the maid. The maid had escorted the young maiden to the bathroom, to wash up.

"Here is the bathroom. The prince would like guests to wash up for dinner, so I drew you a bath, just call me when your done." said the maid.

The princess agreed to the best of her ability. And got into the tub, and splashed around in the water as if she were in the ocean again. And a knock at the door stopped her frolicking in the tub.

"Dear...are you done'" the maid poked her head into the room. The princess shook her head yes and got out of the tub. "Here's a towel, dry off, and go on into the first room on the left. There is a dress on the bed, just for you. When your done come downstairs, and I'll take to the dining room." and with that she left her alone to get dressed.

Ariel dried off and went to the room. She was amazed by the detail in the dress, but she didn't know how to put it on. She tried tying it, but it did not stay. She tried stepping into it, but it caught at her hips. She couldn't figure it out, so she went to the top of the grand staircase, and motioned for the maid to come up and she did.

"What's wrong'" asked the maid. Ariel holds up the dress. "You don't like it'" Ariel shook her head no.

"You can't put it on'" Ariel shook her head yes. "O.K. let me show you...first un-zip the zipper, put it over our head, and turn and zip up."

Ariel grinned and followed the maid. They came up to a door and the maid opened the door. "Here we are..." Ariel walked through the door and sat at the table.

"Are you comfortable'" asked the prince. Ariel nodded her head yes.

"My young prince I dare say, you must get a life...and find a wife." said his count.

"My oldest and dearest friend, I will marry the one who stole my heart, the one who saved my life." said the prince. Ariel perked upon hearing that, and grinned from ear to ear.

The maid now has re-entered with the crabs.

"Here you go, here are your crabs." the plates were uncovered and Ariel felt sick to her stomach and pushed the crab away, and clutched her stomach.

"What's wrong' Don't you like crab'" asked prince Eric, Ariel shook her head no. "That's O.K. we can get something else." he pulled the maid over and asked if she could bring a salad. The maid obliged and brought a salad to them. "Is that better my fair maiden." Ariel nodded and dug in.

Ariel got done and went down to the ocean. The prince came out and gazed as well. Though Ariel didn't notice.

"Such a beautiful sunset...don't you agree'" asked the prince.

Ariel was started and looked behind her. She waited and nodded to her love. She heard squawking and barking, and looked in the direction of the noise. She spun the prince to show his dog barking at the gulls.

"Max you silly mut, get over here and leave those birds alone." The dog ran full speed and knocked the princess down. To show Ariel he liked her very much, he started to lick her face.

"Max down boy." and he retreats from her body. Ariel yawned, having gone through a long day. Eric senses his maiden is tired and takes her back to the palace. He ushers her up to her room and tells her to rest up, they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

Ariel laid tossing and turning for a few hours, and when she got to sleep around midnight.

The maid is in Ariel's room, trying to wake her up. But it is to no avail. She walked over to the rooms vanity, and placed a light blue satin dress on it. She walked out of the room, and gets a bucket of water and splashed it on her to wake her up. And it worked.

"My dear, you mustn't keep the prince waiting. Here's a dress..." holds dress up to Ariel. "Eric is in the carriage."

The prince and princess took the carriage to a field and a fair. Ariel got excited and pointed at the fair, and looked at Eric. Her eyes said to him...let's go there...please. The carriage took a swing towards the fair. Ariel went all over with the prince. They saw a sign that advertised a dance competition.

"Mam...do you like boats'" asked Eric, and ariel nodded yes. "Then I have a surprise for you." he took her to a large lake, that looked like the beach. It had sand and the sand-grass, and gulls.

"I do feel bad not knowing your name. What is it'" Ariel took her finger and wrote her name in the sand, one letter at a time.

"Ariel...that's beautiful name. Would you like to go for a ride Ariel' She shook her head vigorously.

"Do you live far away'" asked Eric. Ariel thinks for a minute, and nods yes.

"Do you have any siblings." Ariel nods and tugs at her hair, telling Eric she has sisters."How many'" Ariel counts the names of her sisters on her hands to get an accurate amount and she shows Eric six fingers.

"Wow six sisters. Are you the eldest'"She shakes her head no. "The middle'" Once again Ariel shakes her head no.

"The youngest...and how old are you anyway nineteen' Ariel shakes her head no and points her pointer down "Eighteen'" She shakes her head no and points down twice as if saying two more. "Sixteen' Really' You don't look sixteen, you look more like a nineteen year old. Are you sure you are sixteen'"

While everything was going as well as it could be and the boat tipped. There were a group of electric-eels swimming under the boat. Two heads popped out of the water, with glowing eyes. Those eyes were a direct link to the sea-hag who was relieved. She didn't want them to get together. She used her magic to morph into a human, to stop her. She swam towards the surface to pry them apart. Eric and Ariel made their way back to the fair.

When they got back to the fair they saw the booth to sign up for the contest. The lady working the booth was hard at work, behind some curtains, on paperwork. "Hello..."said the prince.

"Just a minute...I'll be with you in a minute" cried a lady. She bursted through the door mere seconds later. "How may I help you."

"My name is Eric, and this young lady is Ariel...we would like to sign up for your contest. I hope its not too late."

"Why hello my prince, you don't need an introduction...I know who you are. Hello miss Ariel. You know you are very pretty...I hope you're the one." said the strange lady in an excited tone. "Oh and it is never too late for you. But it does start in ten minutes."

They agreed and signed some paperwork and received their contest buttons...they were number twenty-one.

"Please remember that if you don't return the pins you will be billed for new ones." said the lady. They were happy enough to dance they could have sold their sold their souls to the devil, but they agreed.

"Thank you! Have fun and try your best!"

"Thank you we will." said the prince, and they walked away.

"Remember if you don't want to sit and wait you can stroll the grounds. If you decide to walk around, remember that if you don't show up within two minutes of your number being called you will be disqualified at once." called the lady. "And thank you for signing up have a great day!"

When they herd their number on the PA they made their way to the stage, and started dancing. They received the highest score and won.

They got back into the carriage and went to the palace. On the way back Ariel had fallen asleep. They got back and Eric shook her gently, just enough to wake her up.

"We're back." said the prince. But the young princess fell back to sleep. He went to shake her again. But this time she did not wake. The prince picked her up and took her inside.

"Please take her upstairs...I'm going out to the verandah. And with that the maid and count brought her upstairs and got her ready for bed. She awoke around midnight, to get some water. She heard a strange noise from the outside of her window. She looked out and saw her prince and a strange metal object. She waved but he didn't see her, and she went back to sleep.

The next morning Ariel awoke to a strange, loud thump. She saw her flightful friend. He congratulated her and left, but he flew into a pole. She wondered what was going on. She got dressed and went outside to see exactly what he was talking about. He said the prince was being betrothed. She was elated. She ran back inside to see Eric in the arms of another woman. She couldn't take it. She ran outside, to see her friends.

A herald came out to proclaim the marriage of prince Eric and lady Vanessa. And to make matters worse the young lady came over to speak with Ariel. But Ariel didn't want to speak with her, so she started to run from her.

"Now young lady, didn't your father teach you manners' Walking away from someone when they are talking to you is ill-mannered." bellowed Vanessa, and Ariel walked back to listen to her. "I saw you earlier, and I don't want you to compromise this wedding. You are not to step one foot on the wedding boat. Now leave, and don't come back." she snapped. Ariel walked back to the dock, and saw her three friends waiting.

"He didn't kiss you'" asked Sebastian. Ariel shook her head no.

"Now she'll never win a soul..." started flounder.

"Flounder, what are you talking about'" asked Sebastian.

"Her immortal soul, that's the whole reason she did this. To get an immortal soul. When she was little, her grandmother said merpeople live for hundreds of years, but their soul doesn't live forever like the humans. But if a human was able to fall in love with her, and were to marry her, her soul would live on, forever.

Her feathered friend slammed into the dock and started to ramble, causing confusion for he was leaving words out.

"What's going on' Please be clear, we can't understand when you leave words out." said the crustaceous friend.

"Its quite simple, the prince is marrying someone else."

"Yes we know that..." said Flounder

"But did you know it is the sea-witch'"

"No. We did not." said Sebastian. "Flounder take Ariel to that ship, Scuttle stall the wedding."

Stalling the wedding was easier said that done, for they had already started exchanging vows.

"Please repeat after me... I, Eric, take you Vanessa to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love." said the priest.

Eric repeated flawlessly, still under a trance.

"I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you I will laugh with you and cry with you." said the priest.

Once again Eric repeated the section of vows.

"I will love you faithfully Through the best and the worst, Through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold So I give you my life to keep So help me God." finished the priest.

Eric finished his vows.

"And now the bride...I, Vanessa, take you Eric, to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever I will trust you and honor you I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully Through the best and the worst, Through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold So I give you my life to keep So help me God." said the priest. And Vanessa said her vows the same way Eric's was said.

"And now in unison: Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you, For where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me." said the priest, and they repeated the tail-end of the vows.

"Now...Do you Eric, take Vanessa to be your lawfully wedded bride, for as long as you both shall live'" asked the priest.

"I do." said Eric

"And do you Vanessa, take Eric to be your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you both shall live'" asked the priest.

"I do." said Vanessa, and a flock of birds appear from the side of the ship

"Then by the power invested in me by the Holy Catholic Church, I now pronounce you man and wife." Ariel is no on the ship, hearing the tail-end of the ceremony. " You may kiss the bride."

The flock of birds attack Vanessa and she can't get a chance to seal the marriage. But then forcibly takes the prince into a loving embrace, and with that, she sealed the deal. Ariel's tail re-appeared and she was pulled back to the ocean. In the ocean she stayed, for over three-hundred years, and she died old, alone, and dumb.

Before she died she wrote one thing, and one thing only. That thing is...

After three hundred years, thus shall we float into the kingdom of heaven, and we may even get there sooner, unseen we can enter the houses of men, where there are children, and for every day on which we find a good child, who is the joy of his parents and deserves their love, our time of probation is shortened. The child does not know, when we fly through the room, that we smile with joy at his good conduct, for we can count one year less of our three hundred years. But when we see a naughty or a wicked child, we shed tears of sorrow, and for every tear a day is added to our time of trial! but I couldn't feel the freedom of an immortal soul. I couldn't feel it because I failed my quest, my quest for an immortal soul. So now I sit on top of the ocean as foam. I sit and wonder how I could have changed any one thing, and completed my journey, my quest.

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