The wyrym had grown but it was hungry and now it sensed the magic in the ocean, it set out once again to appease its hunger.

Not so far away in the ocean the King of the mer people was listening to very disturbing news. The ocean song had been stolen so the people were no longer hidden from humans or deadly sea creatures, in their walled kingdom and the magic which held the kingdom together would be lost.

The king strode off to find his daughter.

He found her in the anenome garden in her mer form, her silver tail held Ariel in position as she adjusted some coral.

"Ariel, I need to speak to you urgently. Come with me." He beckoned from within the air bubble of a small covered seating area.

"Let me finish arranging this dad, give me an hour or two."

"There's no time for that, the ocean song has been stolen, it's time to take on your duties as the princess."

"Why does it have to be me? Ever since mum died I realised how stupid this power is. Why am I the only one who can touch the ocean song? Who was able to steal it?"

"There is something I haven't told you. I think now is the time. Let me tell you how your mother really died."

Ariel brushed moisture from her tail which split into legs as she slipped out of the water. She stood up gracefully as she let down her blue kelp skirt which had been clipped up to free her tail.

"What are you talking about dad? I thought she caught shark sickness when I was six."

Ariel became lost in thought as she tried to remember her mother from eight years ago as the they walked towards the coral Palace.

"Your mother's power was stolen by the siren witch which caused your mother's sickness, she died after a few months. None of our physicians could help her, we tried everything but it was a magical sickness. I had hoped you would have more time but it seems that fate had a different plan."

They arrived at the Kings office, where piles of scrolls were waiting to be read. A water droplet burst in front of Ariel as she approached the carved limestone desk.

"We are running out of time. I will use the emergency power Pearl once you leave which will seal the city. After the power drains we might have another twenty hours before the walls collapse and the magic dissipates. I will evacuate the citizens to the underwater cave in the meantime.

"But if my mother couldn't defeat the witch, how can I?" Ariel pulled at her silver hair and looked up as her father spread out a map.

"The siren managed to bewitch our guards so she got away but I have been informed that the ocean song was taken to the dead waters. Only those of royal blood can survive those waters so she must have stolen more than just your mothers power. You are stronger than your mother was as you have also inherited my power over water."

A guard entered the room, carrying some fine silver chain mail, which he hung on a coral rack. He bowed and left the room.

"Before she died, your mother enchanted this chain mail with the last of her power. It was made by our finest craftsmen to repel even the sharpest weapon and the enchantment returns any magic back to the sender three-fold. Go and get changed behind that screen. There are some watersilk overalls to wear behind it, put those on first.
Both these items don't need to be adjusted when you change forms, fasten the hoops over your feet and your tail and legs will be protected."

She hurried to do as her father asked as more drips landed on her face. Soon she was ready and her father passed her a sword and a shoulder bag containing the map and some pressed fishykelp bars.

"I can't see you out. In ten minutes I will activate the barrier. Good luck, my silver girl." He hugged her and turned away.

Ariel ran and dived through the window, straight into the water. She marvelled at the ease of her transformation. The fine mail fit her perfectly and even seemed to strengthen her tail.

She leapt over the wall with ease and swam powerfully towards the kelp forest, which was her only barrier to the dead waters. By noon she had arrived at the edge of the forest. She stopped to eat and check the map.

A note on the map warned that the dead waters would be more dangerous at night so she hurriedly continued her journey. She crossed the forest and through a plain of sea grass before she saw golden sand gradually change to grey in the distance.

But it was too late to cross the sands now as she felt the warmth of the sun dissappear. The map showed a small rocky cave by a red rock so she made her way there to rest.

In the morning she heard a faint cry so she went to investigate. A merman lay at the edge of the sand barely alive. His body almost skeletal with hunger.

She brought him to the cave and hoped to save him on the way back. He opened his eyes and thanked her, pressing a golden scale into her hand.

"Swallow this to defeat the witch." His eyes closed gratefully.

She quickly swallowed it, hoping it would help. She swam through the cold dead waters, Nothing seemed to live here, no fish or plants.

A whirlpool guarded the entrance of a dark cave, she easily swam past it almost crashing into the witch, who was stroking the golden shell of the ocean song, cackling to herself.

"You can't have it back it's mine now!" she laughed.

The witch had a crazed glazed look in her eyes as she swam to a small cage and deposited the magical sea snail inside.

Unexpectedly she whipped around and fired some spells at Ariel, the first missed but the second one didn't. She was flung against the rocks before the spell was returned to the witch.

The sirens scales dropped from her body, leaving bloody droplets floating in the water.

Ariel slashed with the sword to finish her off but it was knocked from her hand. The witch grabbed Ariels neck.

"I know this spell. I'll just do the opposite!" She cackled.

She gathered up all her power and sent it to Ariel. The force of the power was so strong her hair stood up and crackled with static. The chain mail gathered the power up in order to return it to the witch.

Ariel cried out in defeat as it formed a blindingly bright ball of energy and pulled away from her. But as her mouth opened the ball of energy was sucked inside leaving the witch powerless.

The siren paled as she realized she had no power.

"No, give it back!" she whined, shoving her fingers into ariels mouth.

The princess bit the sirens hand and shoved her back. As the siren witch fell she became paler until her skin became translucent, her body shrivelled until the light left her eyes.

Ariel approached cautiously, just to make sure. The dreaded siren witch had been mummified by the dead waters. She had once been a mermaid so Ariel buried her in the grey sand and left holding the ocean song.

Arriving at the small cave, she noticed the merman convulsing. Scared for his life, she approached him to help. As she touched his shoulder she felt something in her throat and coughed out the golden scale. It landed right on his forehead.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry."

He didn't notice her embarrassment as the scale sunk into his skin and his body began to glow. The merman filled out infront of her until he was no longer a shrivelled skeleton. Now he was a handsome golden tailed teenage merman with bright blue skin, his hair just as golden as his tail.

She realized the dead waters must have caused his skeletal appearance when the witch drained his power. His eyes opened and he smiled.

The merman thanked her and swam away. Ariel returned home triumphant, three days after she had left. With the ocean song back on its favourite rock in its enclosure the magic of the power Pearl was returned and the kingdom was back to normal.

The wyrym arrived but it could not enter the water, instead it sipped at the magical dead waters, draining the curse. In a cave far below a finger twitched beneath the sand.

Two years later a proposal letter arrived, the golden merman was a Prince from a neighbouring kingdom and he had fallen for his rescuer. Ariel agreed to date him, she wasn't quite ready to marry.