Sea of vengeance (Twistfatechallenge finalist)

Sea of vengeance

Twas a peaceful day in the kingdom of Atlantica, the melody of waves crashing against the shore and the smell of the salty sea air is all Ariel could focus on. She was sitting on her favorite rock overlooking the castle in the distance. How she longed to be able to walk on land and see the creatures that called themselves human. They did not differ a lot from her kind but these "humans" didn't have a fin like Ariel and they weren't able to breathe under water either. She has learned that the hard way as she had lured a young sailor into the sea by singing a song to the handsome lad. He ventured deeper and deeper into the blue until Ariel could grab his soft hand and take him down to Davey Jones locker.
Unfortunately the boy died after being only 2 minutes in the magical embraces of the ocean. Ariel had to dispose of the body fast and so she did by feeding the young sailor to the great white brothers Phil and Ivan.
They were hammerhead sharks but they always claimed that they were born as the wrong species so they loved to have a taste of the deceased boy in uniform.
Now Ariel hoped to find a way to walk the surface, to split her tail in half and venture into the world above the sea.
But father would never allow her to do such a foolish thing.
"Humans are veil creatures my daughter, they eat our kind and kill everything they don't understand. Stay away from them before they corrupt you with their humanly sins and diseases." Her father would warn her whenever she brought up the world above their kingdom.
Even sitting on this slippery rock hidden from the human eye was forbidden by her father but Ariel simply did not care.
A tingling feeling spread through Ariel's body as she could hear the horn at the docks clamoring through the sky followed by the ringing of the golden bells near the lighthouse. She had never seen a the big wooden floating machines the humans used to cross the ocean. Frankly she didn't understand why they needed them when they had two perfectly working separate fins. She dove into the salty waters she calls home and swims towards the sound of the docks.
She submerged from the waters hiding underneath the wooden planks of the dock. The sound of boots promenading above her send shivers down Ariel's spine, she had never been this close to the creatures that roamed the land. Adrenaline soared through her body as she peeked her red velvet hair above the planks. One of the men spotted her, she enchanted him with a soft melody causing the man to drop the sack of flour he was carrying. Like a lifeless husk the sailor walks towards Ariel and drops to his knees in front of her. She gently caresses his face.
"It's the sea witch!" One of the man screamed from afar. Suddenly ten men come running towards Ariel angry and infuriated by what she had done to their companion. They had seen her luring him into the deep and he never returned. The man that was in trance shakes his head and grabs Ariel by her hair.
Ariel screams out in pain and agony as the man lifts her from the save waters and throws her onto the docks. Ariel begs for mercy as the men come closer.
"Leave her be!" A strong woman's voice shouts. The men turn around and scream at the sight of a tentacled woman with compassion in her eyes towards the defenseless mermaid.
One of the sailors who appeared to be the captain took a knife from his boot.
"Don't you move a single tentacle sea witch."
The woman with white hair and eyes spitting fire put one of her tentacles in her side.
"How dare you speak to me like that."
Arial felt one of the tentacles wrapping itself around her fin, it dragged Ariel off the docks without the men noticing save in the waters of Neptune once again. She didn't leave she wanted to know who her savior was.
The sailor with the knife steps on one of her tentacles and puts all his weight on his right foot trying to crush the tentacle. He chuckles and twirls his knife.
"You don't scare me. I am prince Eric soon to be king of..." The sea witch interrupts him.
"Spare me the details honey please." She wraps her tentacles around the prince his legs and lifts him up from the ground. Upside down the man tries to escape the tentacles but she wraps another one around his arms making it impossible for him to move. Most of the men flee to the safety of the land. Two try to help their prince but get smacked from the docks by the tentacles of the sea witch.
"Let go of me foul monster!" Eric exclaimed still trying to break loose.
She spins him around only holding him around his waist and sighs.
"I'm growing bored of you why don't you take a swim."
She smashes the man named Eric into a ton filled with fish and does a gracious back flip into the waters. She spots Ariel and signals her to follow her.
"What's your name little one."
"Ariel, thank you for saving me."
They swim towards an underwater cave not far from the docks themselves.
"No problem darling, you're not the first they tried to skin alive."
"Skin alive?" Ariel gulps at the thought of that knife cutting through the scales of her fin.
"Yes many of your kind have found their end at the hands of those despicable humans."
"Someone should do something. About those men."
The still nameless savior swims towards some sort of closet and grabs two strains of sea weed.
"The only thing we can do is stay away from them as far as possible."
The tentacled woman takes a bite of the sea weed .
"Some weed?" The woman offers.
"No thank you I quit." Ariel politely declined.
The white haired woman shrugs her shoulders and takes a big bite from the sea weed.
"What is your name." The red haired mermaid asked curiously.
"Ursula but I am no sea witch I can assure you that, they just use that term for everything that has a fin and looks beautiful."
Ariel smiles softly and looks around the cave of her savior. Nothing special to see. For such a fierce creature she has a pretty dull home. Ariel her eyes lead her to a wall where a shining mirror made out of the finest silver and gold reflects her image.
Her gaze falls onto the trident that is crafted on top of the mirror.
Ursula follows the red haired girl's gaze and smiles as she sees her own reflection.
"You like it?"
"It's beautiful, how did you get it."
"Got it from an old friend." She answers taking another bite from her snack.
Ariel swims towards the mirror and caresses the little trident on top of the masterly crafted piece of art.
Ursula observed the young mermaid feeling suspicious about the sinister smile that had crept up the young woman's face.
"Let's say I have connections that could get me the trident of King Neptune. Maybe we could use it to get our revenge."
"I'm not a fool child I know you are his daughter, you look exactly like you're mother."
Ursula swims towards Ariel and places her hands on her shoulders. She looks at the both of them in the mirror.
"Don't waste your time thinking about revenge, you are too young to let the darkness corrupt you."
She stroked Ariel's long red velvet hair.
"Too beautiful too."
Ariel released herself from Ursula's grip.
"Don't patronize me, I'm not a child!"
"You are six teen and shouldn't even be out here!"
Ariel backs away from Ursula scared by the woman her knowledge about her. How did she know so much about her, did she ever live in Atlantica?
"How do you know my age?" Ariel asked with a trembling voice.
"I'm not a sea witch but that doesn't mean I have no powers."
She swims to another closet and grabs a large staff out of it with three fish skulls around them along with some feathers of the birds that sometimes hunt for the fish in these waters.
The glass ball on top of the staff started to fill itself with purple smoke as Ursula gazed into its glass.
Ariel couldn't see a thing besides some smoke but Ursula she saw the future. A future she needed to prevent from happening.
"Now go home girl and forget about today." Ursula commanded the mermaid with a stern voice.
Ariel rushed out of the cave without saying a proper goodbye enraged by Ursula her ignorance.
These men needed to pay for what they had almost done to her.
Ariel swam home faster than a sword fish, dodging schools of fish and coral on her way to the golden palace hidden in the ocean.
When she sees the guards patrolling the main gate she takes a sharp right and swims between the plants that grow near the palace wall. She had snuck out of the palace a dozen times and had her own little escape route. She squirms herself through the small hole she created a few years ago and swims towards her room.
"Ariel where have you been I was worried sick." Sabastian whispers in an angry voice.
"I'm sorry Sebastian I was out with a friend."
"You don't have any friends." Sebastian comments crossing his claws and pouting his lip.
"You don't fool me Ariel but this is the last time I'm keeping my mouth shut to the king."
"I promise I won't sneak out anymore Sebastian. Where is father."
Sebastian sighs at the lie the princess was telling him but he wasn't going to argue with her now, it was late and he needed his sleep.
"The king is fast asleep and if you will let me I would like to do the same."
Ariel waves of Sebastian as a sign he's free to leave. She waits until the red crab has disappeared from sight. She makes her way to the throne room, why there are no guards guarding the trident is beyond Ariel's knowledge but there's only one thing on her mind now sweet revenge.
She makes her way to the docks of the castle waiting for sunrise when all the sailors set their sails to travel to distant countries and unknown lands returning with treasures.
"What do you think you are doing."
Ariel recognizes the voice and turns around pointing the trident at one of the chins of the purple tentacle witch.
"Making them pay for what they did." Ariel presses the sharp ends of the trident harder against Ursula's throat.
"Get that thing out of my face."
Ursula smacks the trident away from her neck and massages it making the holes disappear without a trace that there ever were any cuts.
Ariel swings the trident above her head and creates a large wave holding her body up while the skies turn grey and thunder can be heard clamoring in the distance.
Ursula is not afraid of the naïve young girl and creates her own water body but this one is more like a tornado with tentacles. She strikes at the red haired girl but Ariel dodges the incoming attack and counters it by sending water spikes towards Ursula.
The incoming water missiles penetrate the water around Ursula cutting into one of her tentacles.
Ursula stares at the wound in her tentacle and faces Ariel.
"You just made your last mistake."
Ursula threatens. Ariel fires another round of water spikes at the purple woman but she swerves through them like a leave through the wind. Two of the huge water tentacles get a hold of the trident. Ariel holds onto it with her life not noticing the third tentacle that is coming straight for her.
Ariel gets blown out of her water body and plummets into the ocean.
The skies calm down and reveal the sun rising in the distance. Ursula drops herself back into the ocean but Ariel is nowhere to be seen.
Ursula stares at the trident in her hand, she has to return this to Neptune before he notices it was stolen. Now she just needs to figure out how to tell the king his daughter is corrupted by evil.
Ursula sighs as she starts her journey towards the castle of the almighty Neptune maybe they will finally put some guards in the throne room.