Love Between The Tides

The truth is out

Ariel and Serena were helping their sisters move fallen parts of a shipwreck, cleaning the coral. Ariel was sat humming as Serena glanced at her with a smile. Knowing exactly why she was distracted.

Mala their sister called them, "Ariel, Serena could you give me a hand?" Serena gave a nod and swam over to help as Ariel didn't hear her sister. "Ariel!" Serena called with a laugh. "Oh yes, of course" Ariel swam over to help.

Their sister Caspia spoke "How do we untangle this? Do these humans have any idea how much damage their shipwrecks do." "I don't think they intended to have a shipwreck" Ariel answered with a little bit of snark, Serena gave a small Snort as Ariel gave her a smile.

Caspia replied "They are careless, Ariel, Serena, It will take thousands of years for this coral to grow back." "And they've killed nearly all of the sea fern, they'd kill us to if they had the chance." "No their not all like that" Serena interjected. Her sister Perla turned to her and Ariel with a questioning look, "and how would you know that? You've never even seen one." "You were both a child when mother died and father stopped us going to the surface"

"I just mean, we're not all the same, so why should humans be?" Ariel questioned. They hadn't noticed their father arrive. "What about humans?" "I...I just meant..." "look what their shipwreck did" their father interrupted. "They got what they deserved, they are the most dangerous species of all, spoiling our waters, destroying the reefs, having no respect for the balance of the oceans." "Their not the only ones who do not have respect for balance" Serena replied before her and Ariel swam away.

"Come  here, Sebastian." The king ordered.
Sebastian Sighed swimming over talking to himself. " Breathe, Sebastian, Remember, guilty is as guilty acts. Don't overreact, remain calm." Sebastian spoke with a high pitched voice. "Yes?"He cleared his throat before continuing to talk. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Sebastian, have you noticed that Ariel and Serena have been acting peculiar lately"the king questioned wanting answers. "Peculiar, sir?" Sebastian questioned quite anxious.

"Mmhmm. Distracted, daydreaming, disappearing for hours." The king named off. " You haven't noticed?" He said looking at Sebastian with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh... Well, I, um..."
As Sebastian doesn't know what to say. "Uh...Uh, I actually haven't, you know, um..that is to say, I didn't, um..." The king shushed him. "Sebastian..." "Eh?"
"I know you've been keeping something from me." "Keepin' somethin'?" "Mmhmm. About Ariel And Serena" "Ariel and Serena?" Sebastian Questioned squeakily. "Is my little ones in love?"
Sebastian was quiet for a moment before he burst out rambling. "Oh, I tried to stop them, sir! I tried to stop them from going to the surface! I told them to stay away from humans!"

"Humans?" The king burst out of his chair raising his voice. "When I saw Ariel with that statue, I... Humans?" Sebastian had realised he messed up by speaking. "Who said anything about humans?" The king questioned with hidden rage.

Ariel and Serena sat putting their found items onto the shelves of the grotto. Serena was humming to herself thinking about Philip. 

"Let's just drop this stuff and go back" Ariel commented. " No way!" Flounder said disagreeing. "Don't we have enough already?" Flounder said looking at the various items in the grotto. Ariel Scoffed "come on, Flounder, we're just getting started."

Neither girls realised their father had entered the grotto. "So" he said making both girls jump. Ariel dropped the objects in her hands, the items falling to the sand. Serena looked at her father wide eyed heart beating rapidly. She looked to Ariel not knowing what to do.

Their father spoke again sounding rather calm. "You broke the rules, You both went to the above world." He sounded disappointed. "Their was a shipwreck father" Serena stated calmly. "A man was drowning, I had to save him" Ariel said trying to defend herself. "You should have let him drown" Serena frowned at her father. She couldn't of let him drown. "Their savages Ariel!" "You don't know that" Ariel fought back.
"They killed your mother" "I know" Ariel said sadly" she glanced at Serena and she could see her head was down. "But one man did, why blame every human?" Serena suddenly said.

"Mother wouldn't" Serena mumbled. "Enough. That's enough" their father suddenly shouted.

"And Philip had nothing to do with it" her father turned to her with an angry look and said, "Phillip?" "Philip?" "Have you lost your senses completely?" "If you would have just heard him father" Serena defended. "He's compassionate and kind and..." "he's human!, your a mermaid" "yes" Serena said with a tinge of sadness in her tone. "But that doesn't make us enemy's" Ariel said coming to Serenas defence. "Promise me you will not look for him again" Serena looked up and hesitated. "I can't" "promise me Serena" "I can't lie to you I won't" turning in rage their father pointed his trident at the grotto. "I swear I will get through to you"

Serena looked up eyes filled with fear. "No please" "Father stop" both girls begged their father. "This ends now" the king stated angrily, he aimed his trident and shot out towards the grottos shelves destroying the items they had collected. "Please stop" Serena and Ariel exclaimed.

"It's for your own good"

Ariel started crying and sank to the bottom of the grotto, their father heatedly swam away. Serena stood shocked and hurt by what had happened, she went down to Ariel and sat with her crying. It was quiet until Sebastian and Flounder came up to comfort them. "Ariel" Flounder started. "Just go away" Serena said not looking at them.