The Little Mermaid

21 - Mourning Devotion

A primal pull, deeper and stronger than anything she'd ever known, surged through Lashanie. The cobblestone path beneath her feet dissolved into slick, cool stone. The air, which moments ago had been filled with the cacophony of the fair, was now replaced by a muffled stillness. Panic clawed at her throat, a desperate gasp trapped within her chest.

She glanced back, her vision blurring around the edges. Varian stood there, frozen, his face a mask of anguish. Their eyes met, a silent conversation passing between them before the harsh reality slammed into her. The glow from the shattered necklace, the last tether to her borrowed humanity, was fading fast.

Her legs, once strong and steady, began to ripple and shift. Skin turned to shimmering scales, the familiar coolness of the ocean replacing the warmth of the summer sun. Her lungs, accustomed to the rhythm of human breath, burned with a desperate need for water.

With a choked cry, half-human and half-mermaid, Lashanie stumbled forward. Ariel and her guards, faces etched with worry, reached out to steady her, but she was beyond their help. The transformation was a relentless tide, pulling her back to where she belonged.

A wave of nausea washed over her, the world blurring into a kaleidoscope of colors. The frantic pleas of her name, Varian's voice rising above the rest, were swallowed by the growing roar of the ocean in her ears.

Then, blessed oblivion.

Lashanie collapsed into the swirling water, her body completing the transformation. Her tail, powerful and sleek, materialized, propelling her deeper into the familiar embrace of the ocean. But the familiar was now tinged with a chilling fear. She was home, yet adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

Ariel, her face etched with concern, dove beneath the surface, reaching out to Lashanie's limp form. The mermaid's beautiful scales shimmered, but her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow and erratic. The necklace's curse, even in its final act, had taken its toll.

"Lashanie!" Ariel cried, her voice echoing in the vast underwater expanse. One of the guards, a wise old sea turtle, nudged Ariel towards the surface.

"We must get her to the merfolk healers," the turtle rumbled, his voice heavy with urgency. "The curse may have been broken, but it has left its mark."

With a heavy heart, Ariel and the guards carried Lashanie, a once vibrant mermaid now lost in the depths of unconsciousness, back towards Atlantica. The melody of their victory over Ursula hung heavy on their hearts, a bittersweet symphony echoing through the vast ocean. The battle was won, but the war for Lashanie's well-being had just begun.

The fight raged around them, a chaotic ballet of flashing tridents and writhing tentacles. Lashanie, trapped in a cocoon of Ursula's dark magic, watched helplessly as the sea witch loomed closer, hunger glinting in her monstrous eyes.

"Finally, my victory is at hand!" Ursula cackled, her voice dripping with malicious glee. "The mermaid's voice, the key to my ultimate power, will soon be mine!"

Lashanie, her voice still stolen, could only watch in terror as Ursula's massive hand reached for her head, a grotesque parody of a caress. Suddenly, a booming voice split the air, a voice filled with a strength born of desperation and love.

"Stop!" roared King Triton.

He surged forward, his trident held high, a beacon of defiance against the encroaching darkness. Ursula, momentarily startled, turned her gaze towards the approaching king.

"Triton, foolish old fool," she sneered. "Do you truly believe you can stand against me now? Your precious princess, the key to my power, is within my grasp!"