The feeling of someone nudging me awakens me. I came, to see it was Flounder. He looks at me with a worried stare. But upon seeing me acknowledge his existence, he beams. 

"Esther! You're awake! Oh goodness, I was worried. What has happened to you? Why are you missing a limb? And what's with the locket hanging from you?" He bombards me with questions. 

All I can do is stare at him. The constant pain keeps running through my very being. I writhe from it, curling into myself. Flounder quickly swims closer to me, trying to see what is wrong with me. He only becomes more worried when he doesn't understand what has happened. Suddenly, someone can be heard knocking outside the underwater cave.

Flounder reluctantly goes to answer it. "Please wait, I need to go see who it could be."  He nudges his face onto mine. The way fish would comfort others. I watch him leave, the many bubbles showing what path he's taking. I slump onto the moss-covered rock, shivering every time pain shoots up in me.

In the background, I can hear someone speaking. Flounder appears, and with him are two mermen dressed as guards. Their forsworn shoulder armor made of what appears to be isopods shined like gold. Their spears were made of sharpened bones until their tip was pointy enough to pierce through the skin. I can see Flounder looking on very nervously. Unsure of what has happened. I got a pretty good guess though...

"Esther, the King has summoned you to come to his palace. He has something he would like to speak to you about. Come, let's not keep his majesty waiting."

"W-wait! She is in no condition to go anywhere! Can't this wait until Esther is feeling a bit better?" Flounder asks. If fish could sweat, he'd be dripping with it by now.

"I'm sorry to say this, but it cannot wait. It is a matter of utmost importance." The guards refuse to listen. One approaches me and scoops me up. They both start to leave as Flounder swims behind them in worry. 

"Please! Take me along with you as well! I'll have to bring her back home when this summoning is done." He pleas. 

One of the guards seems to consider his suggestion, but the other shakes his head no. "King Triton has only summoned Esther. You cannot come with us."

As we leave towards the palace, I glance behind me, seeing Flounder's sad face. His eyes never leave me as he slowly starts to shrink away. I curl into myself, trying to numb myself of the constant pain that feels like eels gnawing my skin off. Seeing the palace come into view, I wonder what waits for me.

We enter the palace to greet the King. Standing in front of the door is that same attendant who was holding the oysters for Ariel's grandmother during her coronation. She looks up to see me and smiles.

"Allow me to take her inside," she demands to the guard holding me. I find myself being handed to her as the doors open. Sitting on the throne is the king, his five daughters, and Ariel's grandmother, the old queen dowager. He stares down at me with his everlasting blank look while his five daughters look on in worry.

Once the doors behind me close, the attendant and I move up. She places me down once we're close enough to converse with the king. Silence is what greets me as I await their questions. Each second that passes makes me worry about what is to come. When a good amount of time passes, the king finally speaks. His voice sounds so deep and intimidating that it makes one want to hide away.

"Esther, you must be wondering why I have summoned you on this very evening. To not waste any more time, I'll explain. You were found floating in the sea, hurt and alone. After you and Ariel had left the ball. When I ordered a search for Ariel, we could not find her. So tell me...what has happened to my daughter?"

From the way, his majesty had word his sentence. He doesn't sound like he blames me. I guess he only summoned me for me to tell him of her whereabouts. What am I to do? Tell him that we adventured into the dark woods to speak with the sea witch. Tell him that his daughter is never coming home and has become human. Any of those will have my head!

I shiver, unable to speak. I try to think of how to communicate that I can no longer speak. The more time passes, the more the atmosphere becomes grim. The sisters watch on, glancing between themselves. Wondering why I would not speak. The grandmother's eyes light up as if she had realized something.

"Are you unable to speak?" The grandmother asks. King Triton's eyes flare up as if realizing something horrible. 

"Did you and my daughter adventure into those woods?" He asks. His hand on his trident, tightening. I can feel a storm brewing above the sea. The five sisters gasped when they realized who we had visited. I nod to confirm his question. Suddenly, he stands up. He slams his trident onto the ground to signify how mad he truly is. "What have you done!" 

"Son, calm down. Do not blame the poor thing for what has happened. You should know by now how whimsical Ariel can be. But what I cannot help but wonder is for what reason they went to the sea witch in the first place," the grandmother questions as she tries to calm the enraged king. I fidget in place, both from the pain and from fright. 

The king sits back down, placing his hand on his face. I can see him sigh, trying to calm himself down. He looks back down at me and frowns. "Give her a scroll and some clay to write with. Since she cannot speak, writing will do."

I am handed a scroll along with some clay shaped like a pencil. I look through my predecessor's memories to see what language they would write with. It comes naturally to me once I grab the clay and begin writing. Once I am done, I lower the clay down. The attendant picks up the scroll and begins to read.

"Ariel and I went to the sea witch to see if she could help Ariel become human. She has fallen in love with a human prince and has chosen to leave the sea forever. I can take you to where she currently resides if you would like. But as I am too weak, I require assistance in swimming."

Once the last of the message was recited, everyone in the palace was shocked. The five sisters whisper amongst each other with worry and dread. The grandmother looks as if her soul is leaving her body. Devastated by the news. The king, even more enraged, slams his trident onto the ground again. Creating a crack in the beautiful coral floors. 

"Take me there at once! How dare she converse with a human! She will return home and no longer be permitted to go above the sea!" King Triton commands as his eyes flare up, mimicking the lightning that would occasionally stab the sea's surface. I shakenly give a weak nod and flinch when I see his hand come close to me. It made me want to pass out because I could not close my eyes.

The king scoops me up. I am no bigger than half his hand. I weakly begin to point out where to go as the five sisters and old queen dowager follow behind. Once we make it up to the surface, the winds rage against the sea. Dark, thunderous clouds block out the setting sun as far away thunder is felt. The five sisters comfort each other and stay near their grandmother. This grandmother hasn't surfaced in a long time.

The palace comes into view. The king stops just a bit away from it. He glares at it with much hostility to kill a man. If I can remember, the late queen was killed by humans. Perhaps, I should have considered this when thinking about Ariel's happiness. I can feel the sea shifting badly. The waves pick up speed. My heart sank when I realized what he was planning to do.

I tap on his palm repeatedly, trying to get his attention. The king's trident starts to glow a bright golden hue. Thunderstorms darken more and more, the darkness making the waters look as black as ink. The grandmother seems to notice what I am doing and calls out to her son.

"Triton, stop at once. If you create a powerful sea storm to destroy this palace, you could hurt Ariel. Calm at once. We wait until she comes to see us," old queen dowager says.

The once-raging seas slowly start to calm down. The sky clears up the dark clouds, showing that it has already become night. The moonlight beams down upon the palace. As if to exclaim he has failed, that it will still stand. I calm down when I look at my map. The dot representing Ariel shows that she is coming this way. But the dot of the prince has yet to move. Perhaps he is asleep at this very moment?

I jolt from every step she takes. King Triton stared down at me, his expression was hard to observe. His face was shadowed by the moonlight, obscuring his mood at the moment. The sound of someone walking to the beach makes the five sisters dive into the sea. Hearing the grandmother gasp was what made me realize Ariel had arrived. I can feel the king shaking, even if it's subtle.

"What have you become?" I hear the king ask. His voice sounds shaky. As if at any moment, he'd collapse. But the disappointment was left unheard. I look up to see Ariel staring at us with a 'why are you here?' look. More from fear than anything. She shakenly slumps onto the sandy beach, unable to utter a word.

"F-father! I...I! I'm so sorry. But I had to do it!" Ariel exclaims, shedding tears. As a mermaid, she could not shed tears before. I spaz from each word that was spoken. King Triton, raises me towards his face. He stares at Ariel, wanting a proper explanation.

"For whatever reason would you be willing to become this!? And why was your friend found floating in the sea, unable to speak? What was so important that you were willing to leave us forever?!" The king shouted, trying to sound calm and collected. But he fails when the winds start to pick up again.

Ariel brings her palm near her face, wishing not to see her father so unhappy. She shivers in fright, thinking of what to say to remedy this situation. Her mouth opens and closes, whatever she wants to say must not sound correct in her head. I watch on, wanting to help in any way so long as I do not feel this pain. Why didn't I think of a better idea before deciding on this one?

"I found my true love. I made a deal with the sea witch to become human. If I do not make the Prince love me and marry me, Esther and I will turn to sea foam. And the reason why she cannot speak was that she took my burden instead." Ariel says it all in one breath. Her eyes closed. Not wanting to see any of our reactions. 

The five sisters surface just in time to hear her confession. They all gasped, not wanting to believe such a thing. The grandmother stares at her with a hard look. She has always known her to be impulsive, but not to this extent. She turns away as if what is happening right now has something to do with her. Had she not told Ariel about souls and such, would this still have happened? 

King Triton clenches his trident. His eyes sparkle with a sad look. Contrast to his menacing demeanor. "My young, you have done a most foolish of things. Throwing away your life for the most foolish of wishes. I am sad to say that this is beyond my power. To how many days are you of this world?"

Ariel smiles faintly. "...When the Prince marries." 

His majesty turns away. He stares at his five daughters and his mother before looking down at me. "...For what little you have done, thank you. And forgive this old one for he failed in raising a sensible daughter." He tells me. He looks up at Ariel once more. "I will be on my way. This is the last you will see of me. Goodbye, my young one."

We start to descend back into the ocean. As I am unsure of how to help at the moment, I won't try to stay longer. But looking back once more, I see Ariel staring with a sad look. As if she can't believe what she has done as well. Her five sisters look at each other, communicating quietly. If I know them as well as Ariel does, then they will try to visit her every night.

"Come along now." the grandmother commands to the five sisters. They follow behind her. Her expression is shelled by her exterior. She looks to be putting up a front. I guess she wishes to remain looking strong since she cannot be seen looking weak. I feel even more sorry for not choosing a better idea than this. Everyone is hurting...

Once we reach the palace, I see a familiar-looking fish swimming outside. He moves back and forth near the entrance. When he sees me and his highness, he quickly bows. 

"Greetings!" Flounder shouts. 

"I take it you're here for her?" King Triton asks as he lowers me towards him. Flounder nods and says yes. 

"Yes! I was worried for her. As I cannot enter without permission, I waited out here instead." Flounder explains. 

"You will have to wait. She needs to be examined to see how much she has lost. Come again in the morning." King Triton commands. 

Flounder recently nods. He glances at me with a worried look. I want to say to him that I am alright. That I am fine. But we both know that would be a lie. So, I instead lift a limb and wave goodbye at him. I tried to motion that I would see him tomorrow. When the doors close, I lower my limb...What have I done?