The Untold Story of Ursula

Part 4: The Transformation

For hours Ursula sobbed next to the eels. She wondered what she would tell Agapi when she saw her again. News will travel fast across the kingdom about what happened with the suitors, maybe she'd rush back support Ursula. What if Thalassis killed her too?

Now Ursula knew that wasn't true, he'd never hurt another mermaid but for some reason killing an eel is okay. She felt betrayed, thinking irrationally she didn't know which parts of her father to trust anymore.

Ursula thought about her friends names, flotsam and jetsam. She wondered why her father nicknamed them that. In culture it was uncommon to name pets but after several years of having the eels, Thalassis began calling them the peculiar titles, first as a joke, until it became who they are. It all started to make sense to Ursula however, flotsam and jetsam mean debris from a shipwreck, waste. The shipwreck was her mother's tragedy and the eels were her father's mistakes since then.

Then a pang of guilt hit Ursula, she never questioned the silly names, but she had been calling her dearest friends rubbish for years. This realization only made Ursula more upset, but she was all cried out and her heart was tired of grieving, so she just sat in silence, empty and hopeless.

While welling In her silence, Ursula was startled by a light knocking sound by the entrance of the cave. She quickly got up as her first instinct was to get in front of her friends, before she remembered it was no use. "Who goes there?" Ursula attempted to say powerfully, but her voice cracked under the yell, failing to conceal her emotions. There was no response.

"As Princess I demand to reveal yourself" Ursula tried again, but what she got in return was a light chuckling noise. She clutched her dark hair in fear but nonetheless kept her stance. Ursula caught a glimpse of a shadow of a mermaid's tail.

"Princess eh? I doubt anyone will call you that in about a week" the shadow continued to speak.

Ursula was the best at coming up with snide remarks. She scoured her mind to think of something clever to counter the rude insult, but she was too hurt. It was a truth that hit her like a wave.

"Catfish got your tongue? And I thought you were a smart one" the woman's voice said again but this time she emerged from her hiding space, putting herself into the light.

She was a decent looking mermaid with light brown hair decorated with an assortment of orange shells. With a light green tail the lady slowly entered the room until Ursula was able to see the details. Her skin was pale but she wore a lot of jewelry that almost made her sparkle. But what caught Ursula's attention the most was the lady's bright orange eyes that complemented the decorations on her head. She knew there was no way it was natural, and that she was dealing with someone who had magic.

"How long have you been there?" Ursula muttered submissively.

"Several hours actually, it was a very interesting show that was put on before" The lady said showing off her shining white teeth. Ursula looked at her in shock.

"Oh don't look at me like that. This is my cave, you're the one who planted yourself in my home. You're lucky I don't kick you out right now" She said matter-of-factly. The lady was now floating less than two feet from Ursula and less than five from the eels' bodies.

"I thought it was empty" Ursula responded

"I don't blame you, it's a very attractive abode. Perfect for naps, parties, killing..." the lady said slowing down the last word so she could pull any last shred of pleasure from Ursula for herself.

"You cruel bitc -" Ursula tightened her fists. "Ah ah don't finish the sentence" the lady said waving a finger in Ursula's face. She silenced herself staring straight into the lady's bright eyes, captivating her movements.