Learning to love her nightmare

[lilmaria]

Hope you enjoy. I own neither of these 2 stories.

Learning to love her nightmare

As she walked around in the darkness barefoot in a flowing white dress with her beautiful blood red hair running down her back she felt someone watching her. “Who are you? What do you want?” she cried. But the only response she was able to get was the echo of his loud seductive laughter.

Running into the French style building an image fully formed and she came to an immediate halt. In front of her was a cloaked man dressed in all black attire. He had black hair and pale skin. So pale it looked like he was never exposed to sunlight. His face was naked on one side but the other was covered by a white porcelain mask. He was hansom but terrifying at the same time. But one thing stood out to her of this man’s appearance. His eyes. They were full of sadness. They were calling out and pulling her in, wanting her to join him. Staring into his blue hypnotic gaze her body unknowingly and uncontrollably started to move toward him.

With an evil white smile plastered across his face he opened his arms and extended a hand to her; welcoming her to him. She accepted and melted into his cold touch when he pressed his body against hers. She closed her eyes enjoying the feeling. She shivered but smiled while he played with her red velvet hair.

Holding her close to him, he rested his cheek against her head, and whispered softy to her “I want … You.”

When she heard this she opened her eyes and frowned. Why me? What do I have that I can offer you? She was wondering what he meant. She looked away but felt a finger slip under her chin; forcing her to look at his handsome face with her big sapphire eyes full of fear and tears staring straight at him. When he looked at her beautifully carved features he saw the emotion creep into her eyes. He frowned at this and started caressing her cheek. She felt his cold touch against her cheek and thought of his words. “I want … You,” echoing in her mind as she became even more fearful.

Becoming more aware of her surroundings she realized what was happening. She tried many times to break out of his cold grasp but it only became stronger, not wanting to let her go. I need to get out of here. She thought. Knowing her will is stronger than his, she tried desperately once more to gain control of her body to release herself. Success! Free at last, she ran away quickly without looking back. “Wait!” she heard him yell and heavy footsteps chasing her. She didn’t stop but continued on, disappearing from sight.

As she ran the floor started to collapse from under her revealing a black hole. Unable to react in time she fell into the endless black abyss, screaming on the top of her lungs for help. But no one came to assist her. She closed her eyes ready to accept that her death; waiting and welcoming death to come find her at its doorstep.

Ariel woke up screaming her blood red hair wiping around her. She covered her ears and closed her eyes not wanting to hear or see anything. Thrashing and rolling under the covers violently, her beloved father King Triton came rushing in to aid her.
Worried about his little girl he wrapped his arms around her with worry in his voice saying “Ariel what is it?” but all she screamed was “He’s here!” “Who’s here? Tell me and I’ll stop him.” said Triton in a fearful tone. But all she kept on repeating over again was “He’s here.”

Hours had passed and Ariel finally fallen asleep in her father’s arms. Ready to return to his room he settled her down in the bed, covered her up, kissed her on the forehead and turned to the door. Taking one last worried glance ant the little princess he left closing the door behind him.

The next day Triton woke up early tired and exhausted from last night event that took place, ready to do his job as king of Atlantica. When he was done he slumped into his throne ready to relax from a hard mornings work but was interrupted by the eldest daughter Attina.

“It happened again didn’t it?” she asked. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do with her. Every night it’s the same thing and over the years she had gotten worse. Since your mother died she has never recovered. Always having these reoccurring dreams, ever since she was little. What can I do?” he asked in frustration.

“Oh daddy-“But before Attina could finish her sentence Ariel swam in. Her appearance was difficult to dismiss. She had an exhausted look on her face that made it look like she hadn’t slept in days, her hair wasn’t brushed which gave away she had just woken up, and her body was a little thinner that usual. She was still beautiful but tired looking as well. When Attina and Triton gave her a worried smile she gave them a forced one back, hiding her discomfort. Then swam away leaving a trail of bubbles behind her not saying a word to them.

When they were sure she was gone they continued their conversation. “I fear for her life Attina. She’s afraid to sleep at night and hardly eats. Have I failed as a father?” he buried his face into his hands. “No you haven’t. You have given your all into helping her but it isn’t enough.” Then Attina had an idea forming. “Have you talked to her about this dream at all?” “Yes, and each time she says she doesn’t remember. All she remembers is that she’s human and that there is a figure that frightens her. Why do you ask?” he said in a questioning tone. “Well maybe she need some time to herself. You know get a fresh start.” “What kind of fresh start?” he raised an eyebrow thinking what is she up to? “Well she’s human in this dream right? Well I was thinking maybe you should send her to the surface for a while so that she can get the message of this dream. I mean it is a reoccurring nightmare so there has to be a message to it. And it makes sense to do so.” She said in a hopeful tone.

When her heard ‘Send her to the surface’ that’s when his anger grew. “Have you gone mad? She’s your youngest sister and you expect me to let her be around those barbarians? That’s preposterous. She is better off here where I can keep an eye on her and safe from harm.”

That’s when her anger blew out. “You said it yourself that you fear for her life. If you keep on smothering her like this she isn’t going to get any better.” Her face was steamed.

Her father looked at her astonished. Never had he seen her yell before. Seeing this she calmed down and put a hand on her father’s shoulder. “She’s growing up daddy. She can always depend on you. Face it there is going to be a time where she’s going toned you and you won’t be here to do so. You need to prepare her for it.

She paused for a moment to allow her father soak I her words. “Just think about it.” And with that she left the room leaving her father deep in thought.

That night the same thing that head occurred the previous night happened again. When it was over he put her down again, leaving her to go to his room. Settling in, Attina's words danced in his head. “She’s right, I’m not helping Ariel, and I’m killing her. I need to do what’s best for her.” he said as he went to sleep. His mind was made up. Tomorrow he was going to let Ariel go to the surface.

[WickedElphie]

Hey Lilmaria! Glad you wanted to share your writing with us. However, please look over our rules for posting fanfiction which can be found here: thesecretgrotto.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fanfiction&action=display&thread=2

You need to have line breaks between your paragraphs and start a new paragraph whenever a new character is speaking. And you should be looking over your work at least once and running spell-check prior to posting as well.

Please make those changes to your first section and apply them to all future ones if you'd like to continue to post your work here. Good luck with your writing!

[faya27]

Wow, you got me really hooked into this story!! I love the description you have in your writing; it's not too much or too little-just right! ^_^

I hope to see the next chapter up soon!

[lilmaria]

Also I forgot to mention that its a crossover betweem The little mermaid and Phantom of the opera/

Transformation

The blue cornflower sun had finally risen over the crystal clear rippling waters of Atlantica with King Triton along with it. It was another tranquil day under the sea but not for the heavy hearted merman. For this day would bring the departure of his youngest daughter to unknown lands that existed above the waters. Only one conflict remained. How was he supposed to break the unbelievable news to Ariel of her leaving the only world she has ever known? Everybody else knew what was going on but her.

Recollecting his thoughts, he paced around the green coral hallways still debating whether or not to send Ariel to a foreign world that was still unknown to him. “How can I do this? I am letting her go to the very place where those surface dwellers killed her mother. Maybe she is better off here. Maybe there’s another way that I can care for her. Maybe…” But before he could finish his thought he cut himself off saying out loud “No. She needs this. I am going to tell her today. No more stalling.” He shook his head and glided towards the giant seashell door that led to the inside of Ariel’s room.

Ariel was lounging in her room looking at an old disheveled piece of paper of her and her family when she was younger and her mother was still alive. The picture was taken at a coral reef with different types of vegetation in the background. Her sister were all being held by their father smiling, while her mother was holding her with a smile looking at her youngest daughter with pride, as Ariel was looking at her mother’s face with del ight.

For once Ariel was at peace with herself taking a trip down memory lane. “Those were the good days. Was I ever that happy?” She thought to herself. She missed her mother. Even if she didn’t remember her much she missed her. “I miss you” She said to herself hugging the picture but was pulled back into reality by a knocking at her door.
She got up from her bed leaving the picture behind and answers the door. “Who is it?” “It’s me. May I come in?” It was her father. “Ok.” She said as she turned the star shaped door handle.

“Hi daddy.” “Hello dear.” He said as he swam in hastily looking around the room to find the family picture on the bed. “Ah yes, I remember that day. We were having a picnic by the coral reef.” Triton said with a soft voice. “Yes, the coral was in bloom, and Adella had just gotten a haircut. She was so worried that all the boys would throw plankton pate at her because of it.” She said with delight and a slight giggle. “Yes but instead of it getting it thrown at her it was Sebastian who had it thrown at him from him yelling too much,” said Triton with much delight.

They laughed for a good minute, and then fell into an uneasy silence. To clear the awkward atmosphere Triton cleared his throat and said “Ariel I been meaning to talk to you about something for a while now.” He said Sitting on the bed. “What is it daddy?” She said curiously. “You know that I love you right?” He said gesturing her to sit with him. “And there comes a time in life when that loved one is in danger and needs help. And that time has come for you.” “Daddy you’re scaring me.” She said with fear in her eyes. Trying to calm her down he held her hand and said “We both know that you haven’t been yourself since your mother’s death. You have been wakening up from violent nightmares and not eating nor sleeping because of it and it could be dangerous for your life.” “Yes I know.” She said hanging her head down in shame. “What I’m Trying to say is,” he said while rubbing his neck “In order for me to help you I’m going to have to send you away.”

This came as a total shock to her. Why? What did I do? She thought. “Send me away? Where?” She said in stutters. “To the surface.” He said. “But why? What about you, the family, my friends?” She said on the verge of crying. “It’s for your own good dear and everyone is already here to say goodbye.” He said. “So they already know?” She said in a whimpering voice. “Yes and they all agree with my decision.” He said not knowing how Ariel was taking this. “How long do I have?” she said “One hour.”

Then Ariel collapsed to the floor crying. One hour wasn’t enough for her. It wasn’t fair that everyone else found out before her. She wished that she would have known sooner so that she could have spent more time with them.

King Triton wrapped his little girl in his arms saying “It’s not that I don’t want to do this. I have no choice. It’s the only way for me to save you.” “It’s not fair” She said “I know it isn’t. But what else can I do? I can’t always be here to help you and you know that.” He said trying t gulp down his tears.

After a few heartbreaking moments she finally stood up, put on a brave face stuffing all her emotion inside herself and said “If I only have an hour I should get ready to say my goodbyes.” Then left the room.

The hour had passed quickly. Too quickly for her. She had spent all her time trying to soak up everyone’s faces in her memory.
After everyone said their tearful goodbyes they left leaving the royal family in the throne room.
Ariel was in a group of red tearstained faces that belonged to her sisters. They were all saying their last farewells to her when King Triton entered the room. “It’s time.”

Ariel looked at her sisters faces. Their arms linked on her not wanting to let their youngest go. But their embrace was broken by their father coming forward to unravel Ariel out of their arms one by one.

Triton settled her in the middle of the room. He embraced her for one last time and said “I love you.” She couldn’t say it back. She didn’t know why but she just couldn’t. She could only look at him.
Refusing to stall any longer he let go of her, went to the other direction of the room in front of her and said “Ready?” Her only reply was only a slight nod while shutting her eyes ready for the transformation. With his trident at hand he took aim at her and sent a bolt of energy to her. Even with her eyes tightly shut she could still see the brightness of the bolt.

As soon as it hit her she felt something that she wasn’t accustom to... Pain. She rarely felt it physically only emotionally. But this time it was a different type of pain. It felt like someone had taken a hot and sharp knife cut into her tail multiple times, separating it in two . The pain was indescribable and difficult to explain. While she felt her tail being ripped and stretched apart she could also feel her organs rearranging as well. It was gut wrenching and heart throbbing.

She couldn’t conceal the pain much longer. It was too much for her to bear so she let out a horrible scream. It sounded like a banshee, echoing at every part of the ocean. The ocean seemed to respond and bow to her feeling of agony.

The waters around the palace started to churn. Everyone was watching the little princess’s transformation. They couldn’t take seeing her in a state like this. So they all bowed their heads and looked away with heartbreak, not wanting to see anymore.
The transformation was complete. It reviled two perfectly skinny long white legs.

Ariel was still for a moment then felt different. The water. It had refused to enter her new form. “I don’t understand. I am a child of the sea. It has adopted me as one of its own and now it’s refusing me, why?” This feeling was so strange to her. Her lungs started to burn and her eyes stung. The very element that she had lived; learned to love, and kept her alive was now killing her. The water refused its own daughter. Not wrapping it around her, but crushing her. She was no longer a daughter of the sea.

She was losing life fast. She was thrashing around, trying t break the barrier that lead to her life. But it was no use. No matter how hard of a fight she put up she felt herself losing life. Her new body growing tired from exhaustion.

About to give up hope she stiffened until she felt something under her arms helping her rise. It was her friends Flounder and Sebastian helping her. With a flick of their limbs they headed towards the surface.

With one final move Ariel had broken the watery wall to the element that she was suppose to take in air. She jumped out of the water, her head and hair flung behind her. Gasping, her eyes closed and mouth open. She had finally felt the rich new element come into her lungs, welcoming her to it and succeeded in to taking in her first breaths.

After a short moment of silence Ariel fell back into the water only to break it again to take in the fresh air once again.
Relived that she could breathe again Sebastian new that one problem was solved, but another one remained. Where was land? They couldn’t leave her in the middle of the ocean alone. And to top it all off she couldn’t swim.

“Come we must find land.” Said Sebastian with urgency. And with that they headed west to an unknown world of adventure.

[faya27]

Poor Ariel! I hope she'll reunite with her family again after fixing her problem!
Please update!

[lilmaria]

Lost then found

“Why did you have to bring her here?” said a raspy voice. “Well what was I suppose to do? She was on the beach half naked just lying on the floor unconscious. I couldn’t just leave her there. You know how many men could have taken advantage of a situation like that?” whispered a loud woman’s voice. “Well maybe you could of…” “Hush, she’s wakening up.” interrupted the feminine voice.

Ariel woken up looking at a man and woman staring at her wide eyed. The woman looked about 27 in age. She had chocolate curly brown hair that came up to her shoulders and brown eyes to match. Her skin an olive tone. She wore a faded purple skirt with a dingy white shirt. Her face was kind. Needless to say she was stunning to look at, high maintenance with a low maintenance attitude. She looked like the type of woman who had broken a lot of hearts in her time and still dose. She appears harmless on the outside but her eyes depicted anther personality. One that says “Yes I am nice but you cross me I will hurt you.”

The man on the other hand was different. He appeared to be in his late thirties. He had black hair and brown eyes. His face had a five o’clock shadow and caramel colored skin. He wore faded brown frontier pants with a white long sleeved dusty shirt. His appearance was rough. He looked like the type of person who always worked hard and had a tough life. But his eyes gave away a sensitive man behind his toughness.

In a groggy voice Ariel sat up and said “Where am I?” “In my home. My name is Chantal and this is my husband Giorgio.” She pointed to the man with his arms crossed leaning against the wall. “I found you on the beach and brought you here. Who are you and how did you wind up in a situation like that?” She had a heavy accent that Ariel couldn’t recognize but she could still make out what she was saying.

She knew she couldn’t tell them who she really was. They would think she was crazy. She had to protect her friends and family. So she worked up the nerve and said “My name is Ariel. My family and I were sailing until a storm came and hit us.” She hated lying to them but she had no choice. With a surprised face Chantal said “You’re a shipwreck survivor then. What happened to your family?”“They went down with the ship. I’m the only survivor”. “Then what country are you from?” Said Giorgio.

“I spent most of my life sailing. I guess you could say I’m from the sea.” Ariel responded. “And what do you mean country?” “It where you live. Like right now you’re in France.” Giorgio said. “France.” She said giving the new word a try. “What about your home?” questioned Chantal settling herself on the bed. “Well like I said before, I spent most of my life at sea. It’s not like I have much of a home to go back to.”

Chantal got up from the bed and walked towards her husband. She put a tray of food in front of Ariel and said “We’ll be right back.” And left the room dragging Giorgio along with her.

When they left Ariel observed the room she was in. There were two windows reviling the gruesome weather outside. The walls were gray with many festive pictures hanging on them. There was a fireplace full of ash. There was only two pieces of furniture. One was an old wooden night stand. In the opposite side of the room was matching dresser with a mirror which she hadn’t dared to look into. The floor boards looked old but pretty sturdy.

She lifted herself from the old worn-out covers and began walking. She notices the piece of fabric she was in. A blue cotton night gown. She dismissed it and began walking around the room. The floor creaked as soon as she stepped on one. She didn’t try to go any further than that.

She settled down back onto the bed and thought. “This house isn’t much to look at but it’s nice to see that they are trying to make the most of it.”

“What. Why did you have to drag me out here?” Giorgio said with an attitude forming in his voice. “I dragged you out here because I need to talk to you about something.” She said with an equal amount of attitude. “About what?” Crossing his arms. “You know how she said she doesn’t have a home?” “Ya.” “Well I was thinking, maybe we should keep her here for a while.” Chantal said.
“What? Are you crazy? We can’t just take in some strange kid you found in the street.” Giorgio stammered out. He didn’t like the idea of someone ells staying in his house. “Why not?” Yelled Chantal. “Because we hardly have enough money as it is. We are having a hard enough time trying to support ourselves and you expect me to feed another mouth?” “Your acting childish right now seriously grow up. How can I just turn her away like that? She needs our help. Can’t you just show some courtesy?” She pointed to the door that led to the room where Ariel was in. “Why should I? She’s not my kid.” He emphasized the word not.

Chantal’s face had reddened. Her blood was boiling. She was tired of having this argument with him. “Now you listen. She is an orphan and we have an opportunity to make a difference in her life. She needs help. Now we are keeping her here and that’s final.” She pointed to the downstairs door and said “If you don’t like it there’s the door. My house, my rules. Plain and simple as that.”

An astonished Giorgio was left behind. He watched his wife leave with the swoosh of her skirt trailing behind her.

“She does have a point. We can’t just throw her out in the street. I guess I could learn how to live with her for a while” He said to himself following his wife into the room.

They found Ariel eating the food she had left for her. “Hi.” Chantal entered the room with a fake smile to hide her anger. “Did I do something wrong?” Ariel questioned. “No we were just talking.” She reassured her. “We were actually talking about you.” “What why?” Ariel stuttered. “It’s nothing big really. Giorgio and I were thinking about how you said about you not having a home and all. And we have decided that we want you to stay with us until you get back on your feet.”
Ariel perked up a bit. “Really? You would do that?”
“Oui! We can’t just turn you away. We would be happy to have you.” Chantal turned to her husband. “Right Giorgio?” Waiting for him to respond she raised her eyebrows. He let out a heavy sigh and said “Oui.”

She was surprised. She felt abandoned by her own family and another one was willing to take her in? She was speechless.

“So what do you say?” Chantal smiled. “I’d be happy two.”Ariel went to Chantal and thanked her.
“I bet you had a tiring day. We should leave.” They left the room. “Why would they do that?” Ariel said as she drifted off to sleep.

She had not only gained a new home but a family as well.

[Coral]

Maria, please review the guidelines again. You've got the paragraphs going pretty good, but you still need to start a new paragraph every time a new person begins speaking. You need to go back through the parts you've already posted and make those changes.

[faya27]

Ariel gets adopted, yeah! But what happens next?