Ursula’s lair was a gloomy, eerie place, filled with dark magic and forgotten souls. The waters surrounding her abode were murky, thick with the weight of her evil, casting long shadows across the jagged rock formations. In front of her was a swirling, luminescent bubble, the size of a crystal ball, inside which she could spy on her unsuspecting daughter, Uma. Her tentacles curled and uncurled in excitement, slithering across the floor like snakes. Ursula’s malicious grin spread wide, her deep purple skin glistening in the dim light of her cavernous lair.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no,” she purred, her voice dripping with mock disappointment. “I can’t stand it—it’s too easy!”

Inside the bubble, she watched as Uma, unaware of her mother’s gaze, swam through the bright, clear waters of Atlantica, humming softly to herself. The child was positively glowing, completely lovestruck, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Her obsession with the human prince was growing stronger by the day, and now it had become impossible to ignore.

“The child is in love with a human,” Ursula sneered, the words thick with sarcasm. “And not just any human—a prince!” She let out a dark chuckle. “Her "daddy" will love that.

Ursula’s gaze shifted to the shriveled polyps attached to the floor of her lair, their tiny, pitiful forms trembling and squirming as they clung to life. She laughed again, this time louder and more wickedly, her voice echoing through the dark waters. With a flick of her wrist, the bubble vanished into nothingness.

Yes, her plan was falling into place.

---

The Next Morning – Atlantica Palace

As the golden rays of morning filtered through the waters, casting the palace in an ethereal glow, the merfolk were bustling with their daily activities. Inside the elegant chambers of the Mersisters' dressing room, a soft melody could be heard, echoing through the walls.

“Aaliyah, dear, time to come out. You’ve been in there all morning,” called one of Uma’s sisters, her voice gentle but concerned.

But it wasn’t Aaliyah behind the curtain. Instead, Uma, with a faraway look in her eyes, slowly emerged, humming the familiar tune of “Part of Your World” under her breath. There was a dreamy quality to her movements, a sense of detachment from the world around her. She drifted toward a small coral shelf adorned with sea flora and plucked a vibrant red flower from its resting place.

Her sister, Harmony, observed her with an arched eyebrow. “What is with her lately?” she asked, exchanging a knowing glance with Anissa.

Uma, oblivious to their curiosity, twirled the flower between her fingers, swimming past them without a second thought. As she floated down the palace corridor, lost in thought, she accidentally bumped into her father, King Triton.

“Morning, Daddy,” she chimed, her voice light as a sea breeze. Without waiting for a reply, she stuck the flower into his flowing white hair, smiled, and swam away, spinning gracefully in circles as she went.

Triton watched her, blinking in surprise, the flower dangling precariously from his hair. His daughters giggled.

“She’s got it bad,” said Anissa with a grin.

“What?” Triton’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What has she got?”

His eldest daughter shook her head with an amused sigh. “Isn’t it obvious, Daddy? Uma’s in love.”

“In love?” Triton repeated, his eyes widening as he plucked the flower from his hair and inspected it closely. The realization dawned on him like a storm cloud rolling in over calm seas. This could only mean trouble.

---

The Undersea Rocks

Far from the palace, atop a lonely cluster of rocks, Sebastian paced back and forth, wringing his tiny claws together in distress. His usual carefree demeanor had vanished, replaced with worry and frustration. The situation was spiraling out of control, and he knew it.

“O.K., so far, so good,” Sebastian muttered to himself, his thick Jamaican accent adding a musical lilt to his words. “I don’t tink de king knows just yet... but it will not be easy keepin’ dis a secret for long. No, no, no.”

Just as the words left his mouth, a cascade of bright orange flower petals drifted down from above, one of them landing directly on his face. Sebastian sputtered, blowing the petal away with a sharp breath. He looked up to see Uma, perched on a nearby rock, gently plucking petals from a flower and watching them float away into the water.

“He loves me… hmm… he loves me not… He loves me!” Uma’s eyes lit up as she hugged the final petal close to her chest, a look of triumph on her face. “I knew it!”

Sebastian groaned, shaking his head as he climbed up onto the rock to join her. “Uma, stop talkin’ crazy.”

Uma’s excitement was uncontainable. “I have to see him again—tonight!” She glanced around eagerly. “Scuttle knows where he lives!”

“No, no, no,” Sebastian protested, grabbing onto her fin as she attempted to swim away. “Uma, please! Will you get your head outta de clouds and back in de water where it belongs?”

But Uma was already too far gone, spinning with joy as she envisioned her next encounter with the prince. “I’ll swim up to his castle! Then Flounder will splash around to get his attention, and then with—”

Sebastian darted in front of her face, his expression stern. “Down here is your home! You belong in de sea, not up dere wit’ dem humans.”

Uma’s smile faltered slightly, but only for a moment. “But Sebastian… I love him,” she whispered, the words so soft and vulnerable that even Sebastian’s hardened resolve wavered.

“Uma,” he began gently, his voice filled with concern, “you don’t know what you’re gettin’ yerself into…”

But as Uma’s eyes glazed over with thoughts of the prince, it became clear to Sebastian that she was too deep in her feelings to listen.

After Sebastian's Song  he looked around and saw that uma was long gone and sighs.

Oh... somebody's got to nail that girl's fins to the floor.

Sebastian! Sebastian, I've been looking all over for you. I've got an urgent message from the sea king. A seahorse said

The sea king? Sebastian asked nervously

He wants to see you right away - something about Ariel. The seahorse said 

He knows! Sebastian gasped feeling a pit in his stomach.