the Little Mermaid (2023) [H.S. x J.C.]

Chapter nine

Zayn and Louis didn't go far when they left the grotto. They're both still worried about Harry. Zayn doesn't think he's ever seen him look so heartbroken. He shifts uncomfortably as a little ball of guilt settles in his stomach.

"He'll be okay, right?" Louis asks, swimming in nervous circles.

Before Zayn can answer, a strange sight captures their attention. Two creepy-looking eels make their way out of the grotto. Harry follows close behind. Zayn frowns, discomfort washing over him.

"Harry?" he calls. He either can't hear him or chooses to ignore him. Louis gasps beside him. Neither is quite sure what's going on, but it can't be anything good.

"Where is he going with those slippery good-for-nothings?" Zayn muses. It's still his job to watch over him, so that's what he's going to do. "Let's go," he says, waving Louis forward.
——————
Meeting with Taylor goes against Harry's better judgement, but there are too many emotions running through him for to care. Besides, what's the harm in a visit?

Harry follows Flotsam and Jetsam past the ship graveyard, descending farther into the ocean's depths, then he typically dares to go. It's much colder than he's used to down here. A chill runs through her as a volcano on one side of him erupts. He isn't sure if he imagines the eels snickering at his obvious discomfort.

They finally start to slow as they reach a giant prehistoric whale skeleton. The sight is gruesome. This can't be where Taylor lives, can it?

But the eels swim straight down into the mouth of the skeleton. Harry hesitates. He's literally heading toward the belly of the beast. He can almost imagine the creature with a taunting sharp-toothed grin. Come if you dare, it seems to say. Harry briefly shuts his eyes and shakes his nerves away. This is not the time to act like a baby, especially when he chose to come. He follows the eels down.

The inside of the skeleton looks even stranger than the outside. It's covered with ugly serpentlike creatures that seem to be an odd cross between plant and sea animal. They reach out to Harry as he passes by, grabbing at his arms with cold, slimy tentacles. One wraps itself around his neck. Harry tries not to panic as he struggles to free himself. With a little force, he manages to rid himself of the creature. He swims a little more quickly after that.

Eventually, they arrive at the entrance of Taylor's lair. Harry pauses as he takes it in. He shudders when he realizes that it's built from skulls and bones of shipwrecked humans. He may be sick.

Taylor, looking quite regal, sits high up in an enormous clamshell. "Come in, come in, child. We mustn't lurk in the passageways." He notices Harry's distress and pastes on a motherly smile. "Forgive my poor circumstances. I wouldn't choose to live like this, believe me."

He gestures at the grim space. "Daddy's been so unfair to both of us—controlling everything we say and do. In a way, we're the same, you and I."

Now there's an unpleasant thought, Harry muses, trying to keep his expression neutral. He can't think of anyone he'd have less in common with. Then again, what little he does know about Taylor has come from his father.

Harry looks the sea witch up and down. "You don't seem at all like Father described you." He is not sure how to feel about Taylor yet, but by the way his father talked, he might've expected Taylor to have shark fangs or a cruel gaze that could kill on sight. From what Harry can tell, he has neither.

Taylor slithers across the obsidian walls of his lair toward Harry. "Is that right? We never did get along. He always got what he wanted, and what did I get?"

He does not wait for Harry to answer. "Nothing. Zip. Nada. Squat." Taylor grins sardonically. "Sound familiar, hon? I know what you're going through, believe me. And I know why you're here."