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

Chapter sixteen

The crustacean and the sea friends weren't the only ones watching Harry and John. Down below, Taylor seethes. He saw the lagoon ride through his black pearl, and his entire body shakes with fury as he realizes how close that little merman came to ruining everything. Too close. He strikes the pearl with his tentacle. It flies across the lair and lands with a loud crack.

"I don't get it. I didn't think that little barracuda stood a chance luring him in without his voice. How is that even possible?" With Taylor's amnesia spell in play, it should have been even more difficult for Harry to get anywhere with the prince. Had Taylor not been thorough enough in his planning?

"Well, we're not going to let it happen again," Taylor promises herself. Fortunately, his eels are quick thinkers. Flotsam and Jetsam capsized the boat before a kiss could happen, but Taylor knows that he can't leave anything to chance now. He needs to hurry and end this.

Taylor rushes to his cabinets and frantically searches through his potions. "It's time Taylor took matters into his own tentacles." He shuffles through the potions, scattering them everywhere, and his panic starts to rise.

"Where is it?" he barks, as if he can yell it into existence. "It's got to be here somewhere!"

He cannot have made it this far only to fail now! He knows he has the perfect plan to ensure his success, and take this is the time he can't find it? "No, no!"

He flings open another cabinet. "Nobody ever puts my things back! Where is it?" He tosses more objects aside, but they are all useless! It's not there. He cries out in a rage.

"No, no, nooo!"

Just as he's about ready to yank his hair out, the potion he's looking for floats down into his view. He plucks it with his tentacle.

"Oh. There it is. Got it." His sinister grin returns to his face as he thinks of what's to come. "That prince won't know what hit him." Taylor is done playing nice. He's worked too hard to let some lovesick teenager get in the way.

"Only one more sunset. Then I'll make Michael writhe." He practically dances with glee as he imagines it. It will be the perfect justice for all he's suffered since Michael exiled him. Did he really think he could banish him without any consequences? Well, the joke is on you!

Taylor throws the potion into the cauldron. "I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!" He laughs maniacally as the potion begins to bubble and glow bright.
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Back at the castle, John and Harry try to sneak through the darkened hallways without being seen. Still dripping wet, they carry their shoes in their hands as they move toward the staircase leading up to the guest room. John grins at Harry, who wears his hat on his head.

"Everyone's asleep," he whispers. "We should probably be quiet—"

He's interrupted by his mother's voice sounding from down the hall. ". . . in his room, all day? I haven't seen him once."

John sees the queen and Luke approaching them. His mother told him—several times, in fact—that he was not allowed to leave the castle. One look at him drenched appearance and she would immediately know he didn't listen to her. Panicked, he pulls Harry into a darkened nook, out of view. It's probably silly for him to hide from his mother like this. It makes him feel like a child again, attempting to avoid getting caught breaking the rules.

He of course to avoid the inevitable scolding, but even more, he hates how upset she always looks when she learns he went against her wishes.

So hiding in a darkened corner it is. John catches Harry looking at with an amused expression, but he plays along. They stand inches apart, holding their breath and smiling as his mother and Luke continue talking.