Lost Treasure

The tale

Dedicated to @Taxiarchoula for the amazing cover and for generally being there!!!

A/N: Hello everyone!! Firstly, thank you all for taking the time to read my story, it means a lot to me and I really hope you like it!!! This is a short story I wrote for the Under the Sea 2018 competition. It sort of popped into my head when I read about the theme and I thought why not? Again, thank you so much and enjoy!!! (Word count: 1758)

When she was little her father took her to see his most treasured posession. It was a trident, all made from gold mined from the deepest part of the ocean. He told her it was her birthright and the little princess laughed in glee. She dreamt of the trident that night and in her dream she wielded the power to change the tides and control the storms. It was a nice dream, all things considered.

The little princess grew up with laughter and friends and many other precious things. As a young woman everyone would remark at the colour of her tail. For in a city under the sea where vibrant reds and yellows and whites were dominant, her own tail was a dark blue, bordering on black. She knew then that she was different. In her quiet hours, when the burden of everyday propriety and obligations fell away, she would explore the castle's library, delving into the secrets of her people's lore. That was where she found the book. 

When she pondered about that book, many years later, she knew that, in a certain dark way, the book had found her. But in the bliss of youth she did not understand what it was that she had in her hands. 

It was a big, leather-bound book, which, even under the water, had a distinct smell of moss and stagnant water. It spoke of magic and healing, of potions that made the mind go weak or give eternal sleep. It spoke of deeds much darker, that even in the context of the book, they remained unnamed. And in the end, in a very short chapter, like it was meant to be the biggest prize of them all, it spoke of the world above.

The princess was fascinated. She couldn't put down the book, for all the weariness its contents caused her, for in that small chapter was a world much different than the one she knew. The book had illustrations, colourful pictures of people with legs, breathing air. She and her friends had seen from below the huge ships travelling on the surface of the water and had marvelled in the way they moved swiftly through the waves, but the pictures here described way more than she had ever imagined and they seemed to grow more alive each passing day. In fact there were even more each day, something that the princess noticed but didn't give much thought, so entranced was she by the world the book offered.

When she went to speak with her father about this strange and beautiful world, the king grew pale. It was the first time she saw fear in his eyes, which quickly turned to anger. He forbade her from ever mentioning that world to him or to anyone ever again. That world was dangerous, he said. It was poison and she was never to venture on the surface or even think about getting close to the ships. Though, when he asked her where she had learned all this, she did not tell him about the book, or anything other than the world above. The magic she kept for herself. It would come useful one day, surely.

According to her father's wishes she never spoke to him about the world above again. But as the years passed she never stopped thinking about that world and she would turn to the book and marvel at the beautiful images it showed her.

 And so it was on the night of her twenty first moon, after the celebration in her honor, she slipped outside the palace when everybody was asleep and swam to the surface. The cold air of the night hit her full in the face when she came up and she took a deep breath, savouring the tang of saltness. She swam for quite a while on he surface gazing up at the silver disc the book had described as "the Moon" in, what she assumed was, the sky. After a while, she came upon the end of the sea, where the thing called "Land" begun. She didn't want to venture far, for fear of being seen, so she instead sat upon some rocks and gazed at the scene. That was when she heard a voice and from somewhere a man emerged. She knew immediately it was a man, for the book had explained the characteristics of men. Under the moonlight she could see that he was handsome, though she couldn't see much of him. He didn't seem to have noticed her as he came closer and sat down near the rocks where she was sitting. She could see now that he was young, possibly her own age. His eyes were filled with sadness as he gazed at the sea and he sighed.

Not being able to contain herself she called out to him softly "Why are you sad?". The man was startled and turned towards her voice, only for his eyes to widen in shock as he took in her tale. "W-what are you?" he asked. "I'm a mermaid" she simply answered and found that she wasn't afraid of him, her book had told her that there were kind people on land and she believed he was one of them. "You mean as in the creatures of fairytails that lure sailors to their death?" "That's Sirens" she chuckled softly "and they are really not that bad" "Oh" he said and was silent. She tilted her head "What is your name?" "Adam" he replied, "and yours?" "Ursula". "That's a nice name" he said. "How come you speak our language?" "I learned it from a book about your world, amongst other things" "Oh, that's interesting" She nodded excitingly. "So" she said "why are you sad?" He sighed again, deeply, "it is a long story". "Well we have most of the night" she said. 

So he told her about his family, mostly about his father stuggling very hard to cover their debts, while also trying to pay their taxes to the king. He told her about his mother and his little sister, both working hard, alongside their father, to make it through. He, himself, was also working in the town, trying to earn enough to help his family. In her turn, she told him about her father and her younger sister and the palace they lived. When it was time to go, she left with a promise to come back the next night. That happened for many nights to come. They would meet under the moonlight, on the deserted shore and talk about everything and nothing. She would bring him small gifts from her world, not enough for anyone to notice something, but just enough to help Adam's family along. Slowly, as the nights passed, the princess began to realise that she was falling for Adam. When she realised that, she rushed to their meeting point full of happiness and eager to find out if he felt the same way. He stood in the middle of the beach, his legs in the water, waiting for her. When she came up, he greeted her as usual, but she could see something was off. "I have something to tell you" he said. "Me too" she replied "I think I've fallen in love with you". At those words Adam's eyes turned sad. "Oh Ursula, I'm so sorry". "What do you mean?" "I did not want this to happen, but you have to understand, my family is struggling and this was the only way" At his words, four silouettes erupted from the darkness around him and headed straight for her. She turned towards Adam, her eyes wide with fear. "I'm sorry" he said.

The next thing she feels is pain as a knife is thrust in her side carving a deep wound in her middle. Being half into the water, it was easy for her to escape, leaving the angry shouts of her assailants behind her as she dived deep into the ocean. Trailing blood behind her, she made her way back to the palace. She swam madly in the main hall, only to find her father, trident in hand, scowling at her, surrounded by his guards. "I thought I warned you not to go up to the surface" he said. "F-father, h-help me" she trembled before him, the blood loss making her queasy. "You ignored my orders and not only that, you came close to being captured, thus revealing our existence to the people above. That is a crime I cannot forgive. Therefore" "Father?" she raised her eyes to his face, to be met with coldness and anger. "Therefore, I hereby banish you from our kingdom. You are stripped of your title as princess and are never to return here on pain of death" "Father, no, I am your daughter, I am Ursula" she shouted. He looked upon her with contempt "I have no daughter by that name" and turned to leave, the trident in his hand mocking her gleaming gold, her lost treasure. The guards came at her then, menacing. She was powerless to stop them as they led her trough the hallways of the palace. Her wound no loger bothered her, she couldn't feel anything at all. By the exit she was met with a maid carrying her things and with a final push the gates closed behind her.

She left the city that night, her numbness turning into anger, she vowed revenge against all those who had harmed her. And then she remembered the book and the things it described. In a dark cave, deep in the ocean she performed her first spell, claiming the life of the man she loved, she watched through a mirror the life leaving his eyes, knowing he would see her in his last moments. She laughed, a mad cackle that echoed all around her.

And so the years passed. Her reputation as a witch spread and many came to her, only to pay far more than what they gave. She was different now, her tail having been replaced by octopus legs. She was fat and her skin grey, nothing like the former princess. She didn't care. All se saw, in her mind, was the trident, her birthright, the treasure she had lost. "Soon" she crooned to herself "soon it will be mine". 

And then a girl appeared, with red hair and a green tail, a girl in love, wanting to be human, to go to the world above. Ursula smiled to herself. "At last".

And thus the tale begun.