Giving Fantasia: The Taking Fantasia Sequel

Chapter 19: Shut Up and Dance

sultal's note: song and ariel's guardian outfit are above -- scroll to see both.

And I know songs in stories can be iffy -- but I have a song for peter and wen, so we're gonna try it!

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Chapter 19: Shut Up and Dance

The tide breathed in. The tide breathed out.

And Ariel Triton melted from the waves.

For a moment she merely stood; waist deep in ocean and droplets sliding over her body. The sun set faded, but Ariel waited. Scanning the beach, she delayed long enough to make sure the tide would not pull her back. She delayed long enough to make sure she would not disappear like seafoam. She delayed long enough to make sure that this moment was real.

"Ariel!" said Flounder, Ariel's personal spokesfish. He nosed her with a yellow snout. "Ariel! You're home!"

Ariel smiled. Shaking her hair, twirling her trident, and scrunching sand between her toes, Ariel laughed. Silently, but still she laughed.

Then she ran. She dragged the tides with her stride. And as she neared shore, Ariel started to run on top of the water.

Ooo. Ariel thought, toes springing across the surface like a trampoline. This is new!

The trident glowed as Ariel's excitement grew. Ariel's emotions were short fused to her trident. Powerful emotions – happy or sad – could travel through the trident and be released as magical energy. The circuit was combustive, but Ariel had learned to control it.

Well, for the most part – sometimes Ariel's emotions were just too strong. For example, as Ariel darted into her family's seaside mansion, her trident positively shone; the energy could have powered a billion constellations.

Daddy!?

Ariel tore through the mansion. She thundered upstairs, calling her father and sisters (even though no one could hear). Daddy! Attina! Andrina! Aquatta! Arista! Alana! She almost called Adella, then stopped. Adella had betrayed Fantasia. She and Lana had joined Captain Hook – and drowned in Ariel's whirlpool as a result.

Ariel paused. The memory made her sad. The trident hummed, reflecting her feelings. Ariel had loved her sisters and cousins. True, they could get a little wild – but they were also fun. A part of Ariel wished 'the little mermaids' could reunite for a night of glitz and glamor.

Ariel sighed. Realizing that no one was home, she roamed the empty mansion. Memories on her sisters, she drifted into the old bedroom they had shared.

Not much had changed. Several beds were missing, but Ariel suspected her older sisters had married and moved to private mansions. Nonetheless, the bedroom was exactly as Ariel remembered. It was cluttered in a way that only sisters know how: lipstick, mascara, high heels, stuffed animals, hair straighteners, nail polish, boy-crazy posters, and everything colored purple, turquoise, and pink.

Ariel bounced on her bed. She opened her drawers, explored her jewelry box, and sat at her vanity. All her belongs were still there – green and purple beanie, seashell earrings, portable radio....Each item reminded Ariel of her fifteen year old self.

Fifteen years old! Ariel marveled. Gosh! That had been six years ago! Daddy and her sister were sure in for a surprise! She had changed. A lot.