~Ariel is now 10~

Ariel was, once again, up in the lagoon, basking in the sun. She'd watched the lagoon before, and knew the humans came by just before midday, and just after. They usually left when the sun began to get low and didn't really come to the lagoon on the hot days, but to the beach itself. And today, was a hot day. So, she was laying on a rock, her top half out of the water, her emerald green tail swishing gently under. She enjoyed coming up to the lagoon, even if it annoyed her mother. She knew her mom knew, she knew everything. Ariel's dad didn't know, and her mother always said, "what he doesn't know won't kill him,"

Aquata had once come up as well, but they were nearly spotted, so they dived under and Aquata never went back.

Ariel breathed in deeply when a breeze gently blew her way, the faint smell of sea salt in the air. She was so absorbed, that she didn't realise the human boy making his way over, nor her mother watching from just under the surface.

"Here Max!" A young-sounding boy's voice shouted. Ariel gasped and dipped under the water, but it was too late. He'd seen her. "Oh!" He exclaimed. She heard him make his way over to the rocky edge that surrounded the crystal blue lagoon. "I won't hurt you!" He spoke, holding a hand out. Ariel hesitated, but grabbed it and pulled her top half out of the water again. "What... are you?" He asked. Ariel looked away, sheepishly. "Oh, my name is Eric. Are you 11 as well? You look like it," Ariel looked at him again, dazzled by the uncanny resemblance his eyes held to the sea. "I'm Ariel... and I'm 10... my sister is 11 though!" And they began talking.

"Wait, so you have how many sisters!?" Eric, the boy's name, exclaimed. During their conversation, Ariel had pulled herself up, so she was sitting on the rocks next to her new friend. Her tail idly swished around in the water below. "I have 6. Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista and Andrina. I did have an older, older one as well called Alisa, but my mommy says she was killed by humans," Ariel replied. "Oh... I'm sorry... I'd never kill anyone, not ever. Not even when I'm King," Ariel gasped, "You're gonna be King!?" Eric smiled smugly, "Uh-huh!" Ariel stared, wide-eyed. "How about you? Are you a Queen?" Ariel huffed some hair out of her face. "No, I'm a Princess... my older sister Attina will be Queen one day though. I'll always only ever be a Princess, but I don't mind it! I can play with my friends instead of doing boring stuff like she does," She grinned. "Well, you could be my Queen! You can live with me in my castle! We can be best friends!" Ariel giggled. "Maybe! But how would I live there? I'm a mermaid..." She pulled her tail out and let it drop back into the water. "Well, you could live in our pool!" She frowned, "What's a pool?" She asked. "A pool is like the sea, but it's in my castle garden! And it's only mine!" Eric boasted. Ariel smiled, "I suppose I have a pool then! We have salt beds, called Brine Lakes. We can only be in them for a small while though, otherwise they dry out our tails." Ariel explained. "So, who're your parents?" She asked, interested in learning more about Eric and his family. "Well, I live with my dad, the King. My mom died when I was 2, but I don't really remember her much," He replied, sad. Ariel patted his hand, a gesture she'd seen her mom do to her dad. "It's ok, at least she's in heaven now," Ariel smiled.

Suddenly: "Eric!!" A voice yelled. Ariel gasped, "They can't see me! I have to go!" She whispered and dropped back into the water. "Wait! When can I see you again?" Eric asked, leaning over. "Meet me here again, same time tomorrow!" Ariel said back, swimming backwards. "Ok! Bye Ariel!"

Their visits like that continued every single day, all the way until Eric's 16th birthday, where they shared some cake. "What is this again?" Ariel asked, taking a bite. The heavenly taste filled her mouth. "It's called cake... my birthday cake, to be specific. It's my 16th today..." Ariel frowned at his tone. "Why do you sound sad then? Birthdays are always so much fun!" Eric skipped a pebble across the lagoon. "I have to start preparing to ascend the throne. Grimsby said so. Apparently, my father did as well... but I don't really remember him being King much, he was always out on the sea with me." Ah yes, Eric's father had much rather be a sailor than a king, Ariel remembered watching the pair try to row a boat together when Eric was around 8.. "And that means...?" Ariel asked. "It means I won't be able to see you as much anymore." Ariel's hand dropped. "Oh... that's ok though, maybe we can meet weekly instead?" She offered. A small smile lit up his face. "Yeah! We can do every Friday at sunset?" Ariel nodded, "Yeah! And we can do something special for our birthdays! My 16th is actually next week! We can meet for some more of your cake on Friday?" She asked, widening her eyes. Eric laughed. "Sure, I'll get my chef to bake some... I'll see you then, Ariel."

~

Ariel went home that day, happy and singing. Truth be told, she'd had a huge crush on Eric since she was about 9... "Oooo, what's gotten you in such a happy mood? Aren't you supposed to be sulky like Adella was at 15?" Attina jibed playfully. "Hey! I resent that! I'm 19 now anyway, I've grown out of it!" Adella shouted from somewhere in the room. "Have you?" Aquata teased. Ariel giggled and floated down to her bed. "Oh, I'm just in a good mood today." She spun onto her stomach and grinned, "Don't jinx it though," Attina snorted and the others giggled. "Girls?" Ariel looked up, surprised to see her mom. "Hi, mom!" Arista shouted from her bed. Athena chuckled softly, "Hello Arista. Your father wishes to speak with you, Ariel." Ariel's smile faded. "Oooo, what's she done now, mom?" Andrina drawled. "Nothing of your concern, young lady. It's just a chat is all. Come, Ariel." Ariel swallowed and pushed herself upright, following her mom through the palace. Athena didn't say a word the whole time, making Ariel wonder... had they found her grotto? Oh god, they'd found her grotto. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, prepping for the inevitable shouting.

All she seemed to do was fight with her dad at the minute. They could never find common ground. "Daddy," Ariel bowed as she swam into the room. Triton didn't respond but chose to finger the trident instead. "Ariel," He began, and that was when she knew she was in for a lecture. She repressed a sigh. Distantly, she could hear her sisters hushing each other to be quiet from behind the walls. They'd obviously followed her here. "Yes, daddy?" She chose to instead, answer. "Are you aware... of how your eldest sister, Alisa, died?" The question made Ariel pause. She'd been told, sure... but wasn't old enough to remember it happening. "Um... yeah, I think so... why?" She asked. Athena cleared her throat and shifted on her throne. "Well let me remind you," Triton continued. He placed the trident back in its hold. For the first time ever, Ariel felt on edge. "She was killed. Simply put. By humans," He continued. He picked the trident back up and began swimming over. Ariel unconsciously swam back a few paces. She caught her mother's eyes, panicked "Triton, honey? Keep to the point," Athena interrupted. Ariel stared at her dad. Triton sighed deeply. "So... Ariel, knowing that, and you have known that for some time, why do you visit the surface?" He questioned. Ariel's brain stopped working. "I-uh... I don't-" She tried feebly. "DO NOT... treat me a fool, Ariel." Triton began to yell. The trident glowed yellow, the water around starting to fizz. He spun around, leaving Ariel staring at his back. "I'm not!" She argued back. Triton whipped around and pointed the trident at her. Ariel flinched backwards. She heard her sisters gasp loudly behind her, their cover now blown.

Athena's eyes widened as she swam over. She snatched the trident away and glared at her husband with such ferocity, that a shark would hide. "What on Earth do you think YOU'RE DOING? She is our DAUGHTER!" The husband and wife began to argue. Ariel stayed still and silent. "Clearly! Seeing as she wanders off to the surface every single day!" Triton argued back. Athena let the trident drop to the ground. "It is not for you to point that at our child, our daughter. Whatever has gotten into you?" Athena tried. Ariel began forcing her body to snap back into it, ready to dive away if needed. "No daughter of mine goes up to the surface." The words echoed throughout the castle. Ariel's sisters gasped again, but the former froze. "No daughter of yours?" She asked quietly, swimming closer. Triton spun to face her, fury clear on his face. Ariel didn't back down. "No daughter of yours?" She asked again, louder this time. "Ariel," Her mom warned. "No daughter," Triton spat. Ariel lifted her chin up high. "Fine then," She began to swim backwards. "Then consider me your daughter no more." She spat.

With that, she swam away from the room as quick as she could.

~

Her sisters found her in her room later that night. "Ariel... are you really gonna go up there?" Arista asked, sitting down next to her gently. Ariel sighed. "No... but I can't stay here tonight... I'll probably go find Urchin and Gabriella... stay with them. They're about as far out as the kingdom goes." She replied. Arista bear-hugged her. "Be safe please?"

Ariel lied. She waited until night had fallen, and the castle lights dimmed before she fled for the surface. There was no way her father would come after her if she was up there. She hoped she'd run into Eric, seeing as he was the only one Ariel had ever confided in. Not even Attina, whom she was particularly close with, knew half the things she'd told her best friend. As it turns out, it was only just getting to dusk on the surface, so Ariel still had some time. She dragged herself up to the sand and pulled her tail out of the water.

The grains pulled and scratched, as much as they did under the water. She didn't mind though, it reassured her that she had, indeed, made it to the surface. Luckily, the sounds of voices were very faint, so it sounded like she was alone, or at least hidden. The only thing left to do was to somehow get rid of her tail. She knew humans had two things... um... legs! That was it... legs. The warmth from the sun quickly left, so Ariel hauled herself to a small cave and curled up tightly. Hopefully, she'd wake up in the morning, still on the surface, and not in her bed...

She dreamed about Alisa... what she might have been like, what she'd have said to Ariel... and she dreamed of her father, screaming at her and trapping her under the water forever. She finally woke up warm. The sun was just before the mid-sky, so Ariel guessed (from what she remembered of Eric's lessons on time) that it was around 11 am.

Ariel sat up and rubbed her eyes. Something tickled her tail, and she snatched it back. Eyes widening, Ariel looked down at her tail... or... what used to be her tail. In its place, were two legs, covered by an emerald skirt, the same colour as her tail used to be.

Ariel grabbed her... uhm... foots? Whatever the word was and squealed with delight. She'd grown feet overnight! She pinched and poked them, wincing when they hurt. She pressed them into the sand, squealing when the sand grains fell in between her toes. There was still one problem though: walking.

Oh, and coverage on her top. She couldn't exactly walk into town/his castle in just a skirt and her clam bra. Before she even attempted to move her legs, she hauled her skirt up to her chest, hoping at the bare minimum it covered her enough to give her modesty. Thankfully, the skirt still came to her... Uhm... midlegs. The bendy things.

She scoffed in amusement again when her toes wiggled.

She'd made it.

She'd made it to the surface.