Innocence Was Bliss

7: Monster

"Ariel, dear, time to come out," Andrina said. Andrina was the joker in their sister hood. She was a blonde with a pink tail and Ariels older sister by one year. "You've been there all morning."

Ariel hadn't left her room, thinking of Jack. But once Andrina said this, Ariel swam out elegantly, humming to herself.

As Ariel sat in front of her mirror, Aquata, King Tritons brunette, blue-tailed, and fourth daughter, asked, "what is with her lately?"

Ariels admired her hair as it floated in the mirror. Then she took a pink flower on her stand and held it to her nose. She swam away loose mindedly, almost bumping into King triton.

"Oh, morning, daddy," she said sweetly. Ariel smiled and placed the flower delicately in her fathers white hair.

"Well!" King Triton chuckled at his beloved youngest daughter. He watched her swim away as she dreamily hummed.

"Oh, she's got it bad," said Attina, the oldest daughter, when Ariel was out of ear shot. She was a brunette, same as Aquata, with a red-orange tail.

"What? What has she got?" asked King Triton. He was curious yet concerned it was something bad.

"Isn't it obvious, daddy?" said Andrina. "Ariels in love."

"Ariel? In love?" The king took the flower from his hair and admired it. It was a pleasant though, to have his precious daughter in love. He couldn't help but smile.

All the while, Ariel went to pick another pink flower. She absent mindedly picked at a flowers petals saying,

"He loves me." She smiled. "He loves me not." She frowned. Ariel then picked the last petal. "He loves me!" She laughed. "I knew it!"

As she did this a nervous Sebastian had been pacing. Ultimately he said, "Ariel, stop talking crazy!"

"I gotta see him again," said Ariel, ignoring Sebastian words but talking to him. "Tonight. Scuttle must know where they are."

She started swimming and Sebastian grabbed the fins on her green tail. "Ariel, please. Will you get your head out of the clouds and back in the water where it belongs?

"I'll swim up to the ship, then Flounder will splash around to get his attention. Then-"

"Down here is your home! Ariel, listen to me. The human work, it's a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything the got up there." Sebastian say her down on a rock. "The seaweed is always greener, in somebody else's lake." Ariel looked up longingly at the surface. "I know you dream about going up there but that is a big mistake."

Ariel only smiled as Sebastian brought her attention back to him.

"Just look at the world around, right here on the ocean floor." Sebastian held out his claws to show the whole ocean. A school of colorful fish and other creatures were there and circled Ariel playfully. "Such wonderful things surround you, what made is you lookin' for?"

Ariel smiled as the fish tickled her.

"Darling it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from me." Sebastian pointed up. "Up on the shore the work all they. Out in the sun they slave away. But under the sea we devoting full time to floating."

A blue lobster appeared, nodding and smiling in Sebastians way.

"Down here all the fish happy, as off through the waves they go." A dolphin did a spin and bubbles flew around. Then Sebastian frowned. "The fish on the land ain't happy, they said 'cause they in their bowl."