Bittersweet Symphony

[WickedElphie]

Chapter 10 was the last one posted before I left. Annie just hasn't put it up on Daring to Dream yet. 11 would be the first "new" chapter...and it probably won't be out for another couple of weeks at least because at the moment I have thee papers due very soon. Sorry to disappoint.

[WickedElphie]

Chapter 4. Not much else to say. If anybody''s reading through for the first time I'd love to hear what you think. Enjoy!

Not knowing how to think
I scream aloud, begin to sink
My legs and arms are broken down
With envy for the solid ground
I'm reaching for the life within me
How can one man stop his ending
I thought of just your face
Relaxed, and floated into space

I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion... yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come down

“Into the Ocean”-Blue October

Chapter 4: Into The Ocean


Daemon held his hands up defensively, “Wait a minute. I need you to hear me out.”

"Why should I?" Ariel asked, glaring at her would-be captor.

"The reason why I can't bring you home is because it wouldn't be safe, for either of us.”

"Why not?" She was tired of being left in the dark, and cynical enough from previous experience not to take anything at face value.

“Using my powers to return you would be the equivalent of shooting off a flare gun for whatever tried to harm you.”

“Huh?” Obviously that hadn't been the answer she was expecting.

'Be patient,' he reminded himself. 'She's still so young, she has no idea...'

“They’d be able to find us. We were extremely lucky in outrunning them last night. The odds of us doing as well a second time are...not very likely .”

“Why would you need to use your magic?”

Daemon smiled kindly as he led his guest to the window. “Look. Everything you see is protected by ancient magic. This island is a strange place, not dangerous really, but it has its own rules. Things happen here that can’t in most other places. Things that force people to face their true nature. Powerful magicians sometimes bring their students here to test them. Also the only way to enter or leave is through activating one of the two gates. The Surface Gate is too easily found and the Deep Sea gate is…not something I can use."

“But I can’t stay here.” Ariel felt a swarm of butterfly fish swimming in her stomach. Was there any way to get home?

“You’re right, you can’t.”

“I don’t understand.” For a moment Ariel just wished everything could be simple. She had the distinct feeling that someone was feeding her a line, but for some reason a small part of her did not want to believe that the man in front of her was the one at the other end of the hook. She stared into those cold blue eyes trying to get a sense of...she wasn't quite sure what.

There it was! Just for a moment, a flash of something. It was familiar, but not. Like the echo of a familiar lullaby, or a blurry memory from long, long ago. “Careful, easy.” Daemon had said that to her when she had fainted last night and in that moment his voice had sounded different. Younger? Softer, maybe? She tried to look harder, but he turned away from her.

Daemon was so mysterious, so strange. But there had been more than one chance for him to hurt her; she had been unconscious for hours and now she was in his home, at his mercy. Instead, he had been courteous to a fault. When he had moved away from her it wasn't because of annoyance or anger; in fact he had seemed almost sad. Her heart began to go out to him.

Hadn’t Eric told her that most humans didn’t believe in magic anymore? There couldn’t be many people he could share his gift with. Maybe he was just lonely. She could understand that. Oh, she really, really could.

“I can’t use the Deep Sea gate, but I know someone who can. She will be bringing your lover here to take you home.” He spoke softly, with his face still turned to the wall, but Ariel heard him loud and clear. She put her hand on his shoulder. An eternity passed between them, and he finally faced her.

“But why send her to get Eric, why not just have her take me?” She tried to keep her tone free of suspicion.

“I meant it as a sign of good faith. If it were her alone, would you be able to trust her to get you there? "

“Oh.” That made sense. At least she thought it did. ‘Please don‘t be lying to me.’ She wanted so much for her companion to be a friend and not a foe.

“I will make things right, I promise.” Daemon filled his voice with all the conviction he had.

“I believe you.” Ariel reconciled herself to betting her future on the inexplicable connection she felt to this stranger. She just hoped she wasn’t making a terrible mistake.


Back at the beach in front of Eric’s castle, Selene’s enigmatic smile had returned as she addressed Urchin, “Thank you for coming so quickly. How is dear Gabriella?”

Urchin had grown since the last time he had seen Ariel. He was taller, but still shorter head-to-fin than Eric was head-to-toe. He had also filled out, and while, still lean, was no longer hopelessly skinny. His face had also matured. Though not what one would call classically handsome, his mischievous and good natured appearance was very appealing. To his credit, Eric wasn’t jealous. He knew Urchin was important to Ariel, but he also had faith in her, and in their feelings for each other.

The young merman shrugged nonchalantly “She’s good. She wanted to come too but she was invited to lecture at the fish school for the deaf. So why don’t you explain to human-boy and the rest of us what’s going on?”

"You two know each other?" Eric’s intuition was screaming that something was off somehow. Had he known about it, he would have agreed with Ariel’s assessment that it was as if someone was reeling them all in.

Urchin shook his head, "Not exactly. I heard a voice in my head telling me Ariel was in trouble and that if I wanted to help I should get Flounder and Sebastian and go to the surface.”

Eric glanced at Selene incredulously. She just gave him that same smile. “What can I say. I’m a creature of many talents. Be glad I’m on your side.”

Eric wasn’t entirely sure about the last, but kept his thoughts to himself.


King Triton then decided to make his presence felt, “Well now that that’s settled, why don’t you explain how exactly you plan to get my daughter back.”

As Selene faced the king she visibly hardened and when she spoke her words could have frozen the very water, “Gladly. I have almost no information I can share about Ariel’s captors, beyond what you already know. However, I do know where she was taken; an island protected by ancient magic. I can act as a guide, but I can’t make any promises about facing who or whatever is responsible.”

She moved to address the entire company at the border between the land and sea, “Consider your options carefully. A very dangerous force has set these events in motion and if we don’t make our move now we lose not only your friend, but the only chance of fixing this mess. As it is, we may already be too late.”

The beach was silent for a moment before the first voice rang out, “Ariel’s my best friend. No way am I leaving her.”

A second followed, “You’re right Flounder. We’ve followed Ariel into every kind of danger no matter what. I’m not guppying out now.”

The third sounded resigned to its fate, “Well, someone’s got to see dat you two don’t do anyt’ing foolish.”

The last was Eric’s, “I swore I wouldn’t lose her again and I meant it.” That was all there was to say.

The four smiled sadly at each other, and in that moment of quiet bonding, they missed the short conversation between the sorceress and the ruler of all the ocean.

"Like I said, you should go. You can‘t do anything more to help here. I'll send word when she’s safe."

"But-"

"You‘d be of far more use to your kingdom than to us. Not to mention your six other daughters."

“I-”

"Go. Remember, Ariel's fate and that of her friends, are…important to me too."

There was a pause as King Triton stared into Selene’s eyes. He found what he was looking for and relented.

“I want your word that all of you will come back safe.”

"I can’t guarantee that. But I promise to do everything I can."

Upon hearing that declaration, Atlantica’s ruler reluctantly departed for home.


The crash of the waves broke the spell over the others and once again they looked to the stranger who had appeared so suddenly.

“King Triton has gone to see to his kingdom. We should be leaving too.”

Urchin for one wasn‘t planning on going anywhere without a little more assurance, “Wait a second. I have a couple things I want cleared up before I go anywhere.”

Selene sighed, “Fine. Just make it quick." She was getting so bored with this farce. If they only knew...but that was neither here or there.

"What's your part in all of this? Why help us?"

"Lets just say helping you helps me. Believe me, If that weren't the case I wouldn't be here."

"And we're supposed to just take you at your word?" Urchin added skeptically.

"Yes. You really have no choice, and your king seems to trust me at any rate. Anything else?"

"Yes actually.” Eric added, “How are we all going to travel together when well-" His point was made as he gestured to his companions in the ocean, while standing on dry land not far from the sorceress herself.

"It'll be taken care of." She was more than ready to get going on this ‘rescue mission’. Why did Eric have to over-think everything? why couldn’t he just accept the situation as it was?

"How will it be taken care of?"

"Lets just say I hope you don't mind spending sometime being a part of Ariel's world."

Eric considered her words, then nodded, “ All right. So what do I have to do?"

“Take off your boots and wade in gradually until you’re next to that rock past where you can’t reach the bottom.”

Flounder, Sebastian and Urchin were surprised when they became the focus of the mystery woman‘s attention, “You, make sure he has plenty of space.”

The prince had reached the rock and seemed to be ready, if there was such a thing.

“Now this will hurt. Do you still want to go through with it?”

“Yes.” It was strange how fate worked. Eric had wanted a better idea of what Ariel’s life had been like and now he would have it in spades.


“Grip the rock tight. Close your eyes. Now take a deep breath":

"Terra filius fieri mare parvulus.
Ingredi non solum, at nare in profundum.
Vixi et infra caelum ac supter procella.
Non solum piscis sed etiam vir.
Per meus vox, ego mos is sic.”

The chanting was almost musical, in fact Eric could have sworn he knew the tune, but he didn’t have long to reflect. His legs were suddenly on fire and it wasn’t long before his whole body began convulsing in maddening pain.

He let go of the rock and dove under the water, continuing to spasm manically while his legs fused together, forming into a tail. He tried to scream, but found his lungs filled with water. Smothering in the pain and pressure, he was sure he wouldn’t be able stand anymore. Then with one last agonizing arch of his body it was over.

“Are you all right?”

Lying prone on the sea floor, Eric gasped for breath, feeling the strangeness of allowing water to travel through his nose and mouth. Attempting to sit up, he stared at his new surroundings, absently noting that the salt no longer bothered his eyes.

Selene was kneeling in front of him, seemingly concerned, but she was no longer a human woman. What had been the bodice of her royal purple dress acted as seashells did for most mermaids, while her tail was a dark blue-green. The wrap around her face and hair seemed even tighter, leaving her other features a mystery. She gently pulled him up by the shoulders until he was floating, then let go.

Eric blinked, still a little stunned, and gingerly traced the contours of his own tail, which was a deep blue. He also noted that both his shirt and pants had disappeared sometime during the transformation. “I think so. It feels a little different, but I’ll be fine. We should get going as soon as possible.”

The others concurred and the three experienced underwater travelers began swimming, but realizing they were one party member short, turned around just in time to witness the new merman accidentally tumble into an impromptu summersault and flail around desperately trying to gain control of his new appendage.

Urchin snickered, not unkindly, “Umm, no offense Your Highness, but you might wanna get a little practice before we head into deeper waters.


In a darker place, a very dangerous entity watched and took in this latest happening.

“Missstresss.”

“You know, I think they actually believe they’ve outsmarted me. How very precious.”

“What are your ordersss?”

“For now, follow them, but do not allow yourselves to be seen. When they reach the Isle, you know what to do.”

“Asss you command.”

“Oh my innocent little adversaries...What will you do, I wonder, when you realize just how badly you’ve lost? What, indeed?” As she gazed into the darkness, her long hair shone like snaking fire.



A translation of Selene’s spell from [electronic translator based] Latin:

“Earth's son become the sea’s child.
Walk not on land, but float in the sea.
Live both under the sky and below the wave.
Not only fish, but also man.
By my power, I will it so.”

There are probably inaccuracies and I have no clue about grammar, so apologies.

[Coral]

*is hereby cleansed of the awfulness*

I had forgotten about the last little bit, that they're being followed.

[fridamoonbeam]

Ahh. This is a pleasent end to a not so pleasent day m'dear

[WickedElphie]

Beneath this wave
I just can't take your breath away
You cut me down
And I know you'll always be around
so now I wait
I know you'll live another day
Come and take my breath away
Look me straight in the face

Cause I know it's over
Growin' colder
I need something
Leave me next to nothing
All we ever wanted
I need something
Leave me next to nothing“Next To Nothing”-Breaking Benjamin.

Chapter 5: Next To Nothing


Eric had finally gained control over his new form. Mostly. So now they were off, swimming through the vastness of the open sea. He couldn’t deny that part of him was in heaven. Gliding freely, finally able to truly appreciate the beauty of the ocean without any of the complications of human frailty; it was indescribable. But the rest of him was trying not to fear the worst, and not just for Ariel.

All except for one tiny part that was preoccupied with the awkwardness that came from spending a considerable amount of time without a shirt. He had asked Selene what had happened to his clothes, and she explained that most mermen were bare-chested, and that they didn’t need any unwanted attention. She reassured him that they would return when she changed him back, and that was that.

This reminded Eric of how smooth Selene’s transition had been compared to his own. At his question, she thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, magic reacts differently with everyone. There are a lot of factors involved. In your case, it was your body's first time channeling that kind of power, which can make things more difficult to begin with. Also, the type of magic I use doesn't like to play nice with anyone who hasn't taken the time to make friends with it. Also, transformations are more than a little tricky."

"On the other hand, I've done this once or twice before, my body's used to channeling powerful energy, and I'm very familiar with the magic that did the transforming. You see the difference?"

"I think so." Eric replied as they continued swimming, "But are you saying that with practice anyone can use magic?"

Selene shook her head, “ Some have an affinity for it, some don’t. I mean, there are variations in ability too, like anything else”

Urchin jumped in curious, “Well do I? Have an affinity, or whatever you called it?”

This time Selene's answer was almost immediate “Possibly. If I had to guess, I‘d say you probably have at least a little potential.”

“What about me?”

“And me?”

Selene was torn between amusement and pity. “Sorry Flounder, Sebastian, but you two don‘t have that particular gift. I wouldn‘t let it get you down though.”

Eric whipped around as Flounder and Sebastian sighed in disappointment. For a second Selene had sounded different; younger, less jaded. Almost like...but that was ridiculous.


Daemon hated using the mirror. It made him feel like some cackling mustache-twirling villain from a fairy story. Unfortunately the tool had proven necessary, especially since maintaining his disguise was sapping more energy than he‘d anticipated.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, show me the one that she would call.” He held out his palm, revealing a single red strand of hair. It levitated, glowing briefly, along with the mirror. A moment later the light was gone and a scene played within the glass.

‘Hmm. They’re further along than I thought. Good. Selene will get them here. She has just as much at stake as I do. More even.’

A sudden noise on the stair broke his concentration. The picture in the mirror faded away, leaving only his reflection.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." It was Ariel. She was standing on the landing and in her nervousness, positioned under the shadows of the torches, was the very picture of the little girl lost.

As Daemon stared like a fool at the sight of such fragile beauty, he felt a familiar pulsing ache in his chest. "Don't apologize. It's just been a while since I've had company."

She fiddled with her hands before stepping into the light, tilting her head slightly, as if to gain a new perspective, "I was wondering if you were having any luck."

Her sapphire-blue eyes pleaded to him silently and he felt the familiar pain once more. Those eyes...they would be the end of him, one way or another.

"As it happens, yes. He's on his way back to you."

"That's wonderful!" Her face lit up with hope and he felt sick inside. He could hardly stand to look at her.

"It is. To see someone you love, after being separated. What could be more wonderful than that?" He didn't mean to let his regret or bitterness slip out, but they did just the same.

"You must have loved her very much."

Daemon had forgotten how intuitive Ariel could be. He'd have to watch himself, or she would see right through him. "More than anything."

"Where is she now?" He could tell she knew the answer wasn't pleasant from the pity in her voice.

"I lost her. Once to chance, once through my own stupidity, and finally to absolute darkness."

"I'm sorry."

Why did she keep doing that? Why?

His head was spinning and he stroked his forehead, desperately wanting to make everything stop, "Please, don't apologize to me. I just can't. I can't..."

The reality of the situation had finally come to rest on Daemon's shoulders and he pitched forward with the weight of it and sank to his knees. It was all over. The plan had been doomed to failure from the beginning, he could see that now. There was no way to save the girl before him from the monster that awaited both her and her young lover.

"Are you all right?" In his delirium Ariel no longer resembled a lost child, but rather something sent from heaven.

"I'll be fine. I just need to rest." He managed to stand, but not to stay up. Fortunately Ariel was ready to offer her support, sparing him a second fall.

Daemon turned his head to gaze into those beautiful eyes that would forever condemn him to grief, and smiled, "I never understood how a mermaid could look so much like an angel." With that, he collapsed.


"Is this it?" The gold gate that seemed intricately woven rather than built certainly looked promising, but Urchin was not known for his patience.

Selene, knowing this, didn't mince words. "Yes. This is the gate."

“So how do we get in?" Flounder wanted Ariel back. It was bad enough that they couldn’t hang out the way they used to, but at least he knew she was happy.

Whenever they did see each other she would give him an extra-tight hug to let him know she missed him too. He bet when they found her it would be even tighter than usual and she‘d be sure to tell him how brave he had been, helping everyone rescue her. Thinking about what she’d say made him feel al little better, but before that, they had to find her.

"We just knock. But I should warn you, I've never traveled through with someone else before. I’m not sure what might happen. If we’re separated, keep going as best you can and have faith that we'll all meet up with each other in the end."

Urchin flicked his tail in resolution "All right. Let's do this. For Ariel.”

“For Ariel.” Sebastian snapped his claws, Flounder’s fins were all in motion, and Eric bobbed up and down as he nodded.

Selene rolled her eyes before knocking at the huge gate. There was a creaking sound as it opened, suddenly filling the water with a blinding light.


Eric opened his eyes. He was standing. That in itself was strange, since a few minutes ago he hadn‘t had legs. He had his clothes again too, except for his boots, which was nice, but still odd given the circumstances. Looking around, he found himself in the grove by the lagoon where he and Ariel had taken a boat ride on her second day as a human.

“Not to seem rude, but do you really have time to be admiring the scenery?”

Turning Eric, found himself face-to-face with a stranger. The man before him was tan and fairly tall, with dark hair that wasn‘t quite long enough to be tied back, and a well-groomed beard and mustache. His blue eyes twinkled merrily, but he wore a sardonic smile and his left eyebrow was raised in wordless question. He seemed to be about thirty years old and was dressed in a white shirt, open dark blue military jacket with no insignia, dark pants and black boots. Most strikingly, the man was translucent, like a living stained-glass window.

“Are you a ghost?”

The man laughed. “No. Not ghost, nor spirit, nor creature of legend.”

What are you then?”

“Cursed.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Eric asked.

“Lately I’ve been referred to as the Sleeping King, but that’s a little pretentious. Just call me Endymion.”

Eric recalled what Ariel had said in his strange dream. ‘Do you know the story of the goddess who dared love a mortal?’ “Selene and Endymion. That’s quite a coincidence. Are you part of this ‘debt’ she feel she has to pay?”

“Yes and no. And don’t pry, it’s not part of your story.” His expression didn’t change as he answered each question.

“Then whose?”

“Can’t say. The timing’s not right yet.”

“So why come to me?”

Endymion sighed, “To try and point you in the right direction. Why? Because that time I was talking about won’t come unless you make it through.”

“Just to be clear this place isn’t really...” Eric waved his hands in direction of the placid lagoon behind him.

“No. It’s not really, but it’s a pretty good replica, don‘t you think?”

“I guess so. Listen, I just want to know where I am and how to get where I’m going.”

“You’re where you’re supposed to be for the moment. But listen, I know you though you‘d already faced your big battle, but sad to say there‘s another one coming.” Endymion stared directly into the younger man’s eyes, “Now this is important: Your greatest strength is in your greatest weakness, and vice-versa.”

Eric growled in frustration. “I don‘t understand any of this!”

“You will.”

[fridamoonbeam]

Ooh! I love this chapter and forgot how much.

Eric whipped around as Flounder and Sebastian sighed in disappointment. For a second Selene had sounded different; younger, less jaded. Almost like...but that was ridiculous.

I have a few theories about that, but I'll wait for the finally LOL

This is also the chapter I fell more in love with Daemon. Especially with these parts;

Daemon turned his head to gaze into those beautiful eyes that would forever condemn him to grief, and smiled, "I never understood how a mermaid could look so much like an angel." With that, he collapsed.

As Daemon stared like a fool at the sight of such fragile beauty, he felt a familiar pulsing ache in his chest. "Don't apologize. It's just been a while since I've had company."

Ooh, those were like sandpaper covered in honey topped with chocolate chips. Meaning: very raw sweet emotion. LOL XD

[WickedElphie]

We all live in extravagant times
Playing games we can't all win
Unintended emotional crimes
take some out take others in...

We all lead such elaborate lives
We don't know whose words are true
An affair of the heart survives
All the pain the world can do

I'm so tired of all we're going through
I don't want to live like that
I'm so tired of all we're going through
I don't want to love like that
I just want to be with you
Now and forever peaceful, true

“Elaborate Lives (reprise)”-Aida.

Chapter 6: Elaborate Lives


Endymion watched Eric dispassionately, “Do you really think you’re ready to face what’s to come?”

“Do I have a choice?”

The specter‘s features hardened. “There’s always a choice. It‘s not always easy but it‘s there.”

Eric matched his glare. “I’m going after Ariel.”

“Because you love her?”

“Because it’s right.”

Endymion’s sardonic smirk returned. “Because you love her.”

He paused for a moment, then pointed at a rowboat in the lagoon that had not been there before, “There’s something you’ll need in there. A weapon.”

Eric reached in the boat, and pulled out the item inside.

“But this is…”

He considered Grimsby’s words a he gazed up at Ariel through the window. He smiled faintly as he watched her brush her hair with a fork, but then remembered that he had yet to choose. But Grim was right. Ariel was here. Now. He had come to know her, even…care for her.

He would always feel something for the girl who had saved him, but who was he to say it was love? He had no idea what she was even like, who she really was.

But Ariel…He could see her. He had even begun to hear her, even though she couldn’t utter a sound. She was everything he had hoped and dreamed was behind that golden voice and, he suddenly realized, if she were with him ,the only music he would ever need would be the fall of her footsteps, the sparkle in her eyes and in her smile, the feel of her hand on his…He loved her. He looked hard at the flute in his hands, and with sudden resolution, flung it far out to sea.

“I threw it away. It was gone.”

Endymion shook his head, “The only time something is truly lost is when we give up searching.”

"No more riddles. Just tell me how to get out of here."

“Well first you follow the path.”

"Oh, do you mean the path to enlightenment, or something? Cause I'm in just a little bit of a hurry. ” You couldn't live with both Grimsby and Carlotta without picking up at least a little sarcasm.

Endymion just smirked. Again. “No. I meant the path over there, past the trees.”

For a moment there was silence; tumbleweeds blew and crickets chirped.

"There's no path there." Eric had been to this lagoon more times than he could count and the only path was the one behind him, that, if this were real, would lead back to the village.

"Look again". Though he wasn't hypnotized the younger of the two men did as he was told almost without thinking.

Impossibly, there was a path. It was hard to see unless you were looking for it, protected by a leafy canopy. He shivered in spite of himself. “How?...”

“You’re wasting time.” The Sleeping King sounded almost melancholy. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's to make the most of what little you have."

Eric nodded as he sheathed the flute in the red band around his waist. Then he stared the shade in the eye so he would be sure to understand, and said, “I don’t like this.”

Endymion gazed back in kind. “You don’t have to like it. But if you ever want your love and your life back the way it was, you’ll do it.”

Eric turned without further comment and disappeared through the trees. He missed the translucent man raise his hand in an imaginary toast and smile sardonically one last time, "Here's hoping your luck's better than mine, kid. Here's hoping." And with that he was gone.


“Where’d everybody go?"

Flounder didn‘t like to be alone. Especially not in someplace he’d never been. And especially especially not when his friends could be in trouble. He looked around, but there was nothing but the same ocean over and over, even the plants looked identical. He was lost.

“Don’t worry.”

“Wh-Who said that?”

“I did.” The voice sounded young and playful.

“Where are you?”

The voice giggled, “Over here.”

Flounder looked up. He saw a young mermaid with a red-orange tail wearing a cloth top with strands of lace and a tiny bow instead of sea-shells. At first glance, if not for her dark hair and lighter colored eyes, she could have been Ariel’s twin at the age when he had first met her.

“Who are you?”

“Umm. I kinda can’t tell you.” She even mimicked Ariel’s facial expression when she knew she was saying something you didn’t want to hear. It should have been eerie, but instead it was almost comforting. He reassessed her age though. She was younger, probably about six or seven.

“How come?” He still wanted to know who she was.

The little girl looked guilty, “I'm not supposed to be here yet.

Her answer didn’t make sense, but somehow he expected that. “Oh. When are you supposed to be here?”

“Not for a looooooong time”, she singsonged. “Well at least I think it’s a long time.”

Flounder nodded, “So why are you here now?”

The young mermaid bit her lower lip in thought before answering “Well everything’s so fuzzy and everybody’s so upset and confused I thought I’d come to come see you to make sure you didn’t give up. ‘Cause if you do then I won’t ever get to be here for real.”

Flounder took a long look at the child in front of him. A little girl who reminded him so much of his friend, but wasn’t her...Suddenly in the distance he heard the happy gurgling of an infant and a voice he knew well humming a lullaby. And he understood.

“Okay, I promise. I won’t give up. Not ever.”

“Good. You’ll remember that, no matter what?" The mermaid was anxious, "And remember tell the others?”

“No matter what.” Flounder repeated, meaning it more than he'd ever met anything in his life.

The girl beamed and kissed him on the cheek before pointing to the right, “Okay. Then just swim that way to find your friends. They’re gonna need your help. Be careful!”

"Thank you."


Sebastian skittered anxiously across the field, trying to figure out how there was no water in sight when just before he had been in the middle of the ocean. He decided he didn’t like magic. Not one bit.

Up ahead he saw a figure looming. A human! But from the looks of it a young one, with short dark hair. He recalled one of his earlier adventures with Ariel where he had met a sweet, if slightly creepy, human child. It couldn’t be... Could it?

“Daniel?” he called out.

The boy turned to find the voice and reached for the crab and picked him up. Sebastian panicked as he saw the boy’s face, “You-you’re not Daniel.”

He had the same dark mop of hair, but up close, it was a bit longer, and more wavy. He also had blue eyes surrounded by long, almost feminine lashes, whereas Daniel‘s had been deep-set and dark. This child was about the same height and age though, so the mistake was easy enough to make at a distance.

The youngster blinked, “I’m sorry. I thought you said ‘Denny’ at first. That’s my name.”

“I see. Could you let me down now please?” Sebastian squeaked nerviously.

Denny raised a quizzical eyebrow, “Why? I haven’t hurt you, have I? Besides it’s easier to talk to you if I don’t have to crane my neck. But if it bothers you that much, I guess I could put you down.”

It took a moment for the little crab to decide, but he agreed to stay where he was while they talked. “So, umm, Denny, where are we?”

“Well, on the island of course.”

Denny seemed friendly enough, but Sebastian was still nervous. “And which island what that be?”

“You, know the island.” The boy’s eyes suddenly filled with understanding, “Oh. You’re one of the ones Selene was bringing. What’s your name?”

“Sebastian.”

“Well, Sebastian, are you looking for your friends?”

“How did you know?”

Denny‘s eyes had a far away look that made him seem old beyond his years, “The island’s magic. It’s easy to get lost or separated.” Noticing the crab’s distress at this, he added, “But don‘t worry. It’s easy to get found again. Just think of your friends and walk in any direction.”

Sebastian nodded as he was put down, and began to walk off, but felt guilty at leaving such a young child alone,“ T’ank you for helping me, but are you all right by yourself?”

The boy’s expression darkened, “I‘m not really by myself. Just waiting. I‘ll be fine.”

“Oh. T’ank you again. Goodbye." Sebastian was grateful, but as he disappeared over the hill, he wondered if all human children were so strange.

“You’re welcome.” Denny's shy smile was surprisingly warm. “Goodbye. And good luck."

After a moment he added, seemingly to himself “I think they’re gonna need it. Right Mel?”, but the voice on the wind reassured him that it was not so.


Ariel’s thought’s raced. Damien knew. He knew. Heknewheknewheknew. He knew she was a mermaid. He had lied to her. She couldn’t trust him. At least she shouldn’t. But she still did.

His actions didn’t make any sense. Why had he bothered lying to her once she was in his castle? Unless she still had something he wanted.

No, Ariel didn’t think that was it. Something had felt off about Daemon from the beginning, but she didn't believe he was evil. She had always been a good judge of character, though sometimes she had let emotion overpower her better judgment, like when she had freed the Evil Manta or signed Ursula's contract. But even then, her gut feeling had been right, she had just refused to listen to it.

A cry of pain broke into her thoughts. Ariel raced to the sofa in the alcove across from the mirror, where she had barely managed to pull the unconscious sorcerer onto after his collapse.

“No! No! Don‘t go! Ariel...” Daemon thrashed violently in his sleep, but calmed almost instantly as Ariel gripped his shoulder to steady him. His ponytail had come loose and his hair framed his face in a dark halo.

His shirt buttons had come undone too and Ariel noticed a strange scar on the left side of his chest. Three even diagonal lines. Curious, she hesitantly reached out to touch it, but when their skin connected, there was a sudden crackle of electricity, forcing her to pull her hand away.

Looking back at Daemon’s face, however, proved to be by far the greater shock. It wasn’t that his features had changed, but rather, while her eyes had seen the pieces before, only now could they comprehend the whole. She knew that face.

His hair was longer and his clothes were not the kind she was used to seeing him wear, but it was unmistakable. It was Eric. And despite the changes, in Ariel’s eyes, he was just as beautiful asleep now as he had been that first night she'd saved him from the storm.




A.N: Okay. I have to ask. Did anybody get the twist before I revealed it their first time reading, or were you guys as surprised as Ariel?

[fridamoonbeam]

This chapter is awesome

I laughed so hard at this line:

"Oh, do you mean the path to enlightenment, or something? Cause I'm in just a little bit of a hurry. ” You couldn't live with both Grimsby and Carlotta without picking up at least a little sarcasm.

I also love his reflecting on Ariel the second night she was in his castle. You conveyed it supurbly, with the right balence of sweetness and inner-conflict.

Hmm, I wonder who that was Flounder ran into.

LOL. I didn't care for "The Island of Fear" episode, but I thought Daniel was cute, and I really like that Sebastian made that mistake.

Oh, and who could forget the BIG reveal of who Daemon! One of my favorite twists! Can't stress my love enough for him

[WickedElphie]

Re Eric's comment about the path: I figured that he'd be sick of all this mystical advice and weird stuff happening, so he lashed out a little.

I wasn't exactly being subtle about the young mermaid's identity but there may be more going than meets the eye.

I'm glad you liked the flashback. It was mostly there so the reader would be aware that this wasn't just some random flute Eric was picking up, but I thought it came out pretty well.

As for "Island of Fear" I pretty much only like the episode BECAUSE Daniel was such a cute messed-up little kid. At some point in one of my fics there will be scene that shows that after IoF Daniel went to Eric's kingdom, found work as a cabin boy on one of his ships, and is much happier.

Yes the big reveal! So did it surprise you the first time you read it or not so much? I was trying not to give it away, but at the same time drop enough hints that it didn't come out of nowhere.

[fridamoonbeam]

Aww! I look forward to that peice about Daniel! Funny how one time characters manage to make into our fics

And I would like to say I did know who Daemon really was.... but I didn't I knew he was someone important, but I just wasn't sure. I had a few guesses. Either way, brilliant characterization and take on him. It's a breath of fresh air, really

[WickedElphie]

Everyone is changing
there's no one left that's real
so make up your own ending
and let me know just how you feel
cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
my whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl

You could be my someone
you could be my scene
you know that I will save you
from all of the unclean
I wonder what you're doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
but that's not very far
“Blurry”-Puddle of Mud

Chapter 7: Blurry


Daemon, no stranger to the nasty after-effects of an ‘enforced nap’, pushed aside the haziness and aching pain as he sat up and eyed his surroundings.

His gaze immediately fell on Ariel, who sat in the armchair nearby, with her hands clenched, lips pursed, and eyes smoldering. He wondered what had upset her so, then remembered the slip-up he’d made just before he fai-collapsed in in an entirely dignified and manly fashion. ‘This is not how I wanted things to go.’

He looked at her, saw her raise her eyebrow, and knew he had a only a moment to explain before he was a dead man. Metaphorically speaking. He hoped.

“I know you must be wondering how I know about you being a-”

“I was. But that’s not exactly at the top of the list. Not now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you noticed anything different, about your voice? Or your face?”

“My face?” He felt a pit in his stomach.

“Look in the mirror.”

“Mirror?” that could only mean one thing...

‘Oh no. Oh no!’

Daemon looked, and sure enough, the glamour had faded, leaving his true self staring back it him. Only one word came to mind to define the situation, but he bit his tongue before uttering it.

Daemon sighed as he faced the mirror. The reflection that mocked him was virtually identical to the prince who had followed Selene to find his love, save for a few minor differences. His hair was longer, and his skin paler, but the most striking dissimilarities were the most subtle.

One or two fine lines tugged around his mouth and eyes, adding a certain maturity to his features. There were the scars. His eyes remained as Ariel had first seen them upon waking: ice blue and fathomless. He turned back to her.

“You’re Eric.” The former mermaid stated, “My Eric.”

“I am Eric” he said almost guiltily , but I’m not your Eric.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I‘m trying to explain as best I can.”

“Try harder.” Ariel said firmly, but not unkindly.

As he spoke he paced the floor and wrung his hands. It was almost comforting for Ariel to see those familiar gestures in this older version of her fiancé, and he was older, he admitted. By more than ten years. Initially his history had been identical to theirs, from his eighteenth birthday party to the fearsome battle against Ursula.

The first deviations came after that. While Daemon and his Ariel had found happiness together, it was not long before she began having terrible nightmares. She would wake up crying and terrified, unsure of where she was or who was with her. It took a terrible toll on them both, Ariel desperately wanting to be happy, Daemon wracked with guilt for not stopping Ursula sooner, and neither of them able to stop the dreams from coming.

“We were still trying to find the answers when she appeared.” Daemon explained.

“Who?”

“The Siren.”


Urchin surfaced near an unfamiliar beach and looked around for his friends. He saw a dark-haired boy and a redheaded girl sitting idly by the shore. Going as fast as his fins could carry him, he approached the shore.

As he came closer he felt an irrational sense of dread. He shook it off. It was only Ariel and her human boyfriend. Nothing to be afraid of. Had he noticed one of Eric’s eyes flash a sickly yellow-green he might have reconsidered.

"Hey there, Urchin. What took you so long?” Ariel asked in an upbeat tone.

Eric chided, “Ariel, you do realize it‘s not his fault.”

Ariel shrugged nonchalantly “Well, I was getting bored waiting for the fun to start.”

Urchin was a little offended, “Fun! This was supposed to be a rescue mission! We thought you were in real trouble!”

Ariel tried to smooth things over as she smiled and walked towards her friend kneeling to place her hand on his cheek, “I know you were. And I‘m sorry you went to so much trouble. But don‘t worry. Soon, you‘ll understand everything.”

Then they struck.


Back at the castle, Daemon continued his story. The Siren, as he described her, had been an admirer of Ursula’s who intended to make those she felt responsible for the Sea Witch’s grisly demise suffer for it. She had caused the nightmares, using them as a way to get to Ariel and weaken her with constant fatigue and uncertainty. It had worked. Barely a month after finding her, he lost her again, this time for good.

“Because of the Siren?”

“She was the one who committed the deed, but as far as I was concerned it was my fault.”

Ariel wasn‘t sure what to think, “I still don’t understand how after the same events happened, things could turn out so differently.”

“Look at it another way. Think of time as a body of water, like the ocean, or even a river. Always flowing, but along the way it breaks up as it goes in different directions. Does that make amy sense?”

She shook her head, “Maybe, but I still don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

Daemon ran his fingers through his hair anxiously, “All right, what about this? Say you have a coin and you flip it. What happens?”

“It comes up heads or tails.”

“Yes and no. Lets say I, or lets make it your Eric, a few days before his eighteenth birthday, flipped a coin. Lets say it landed on heads. Fine. That’s the way things turned out. Now at the exact same time he flipped the coin, there’s a world where a different Eric, whose life has been identical to his up to that point, does the same thing, only for him it comes up tails. And then there’s ANOTHER Eric who accidentally flings it out the castle window. Are you following me?”

“I think so.” Ariel was feeling a little out of her depth, but understood the general idea.

“Right. Now, we’re going to go back to the me that tosses the coin out the window. Now let’s say the coin lands on the beach near the water. And lets say certain beautiful mermaid princess has been disobeying her father’s orders and is swimming on the surface near the shore. Attracted by the glimmer of the gold in the sun, she goes to take a look. Well, she is met not by a new treasure, but by the young human prince who decided to try and find his coin. Do you see how a change so small could make all the difference?”

Gazing at the man who was but was not her fiancé, Ariel nodded. “I‘m starting to.”


Eric sighed, the path he had followed had only led to a rather non-descript beach where...a beautiful woman with red hair sat idly in the sand. His heart pounded. He didn’t dare hope. “Ariel?”

She turned around and smiled, “Eric, sweetheart. I’ve been waiting for you.”


Back at the castle the other conversation continued. “That explains where you came from, but why are you here? And why are you older than my Eric? Doe that mean you’re not just from a different world, you’re from the future of a different world?” They were in deep water, that was for sure.

“You could say that. You’re really not supposed to do what I’ve done, but I didn’t have a choice."

"But how did you? I mean I didn't know you could do magic." Before this Ariel had never seen him, her-him (this was giving her a headache) so much as make sparks come out of his fingers.

“Your Eric can't. I couldn't until after...” he trailed off.

“After I was gone.” She finished for him.

After a beat Daemon replied, “After I lost you.”

[Coral]

This is one of my favorite chapters. Daemon's heartache is captured so perfectly.

[fridamoonbeam]

OOh! I love how he talks about "the coin", it makes it just deepens it a bit further, without making it overly dramatic or sappy.

Daemon is so awesome

[WickedElphie]

Next Chapter. Sorry for the lateness, but end of the semester craziness abounds. I'll be done on Thursday though, so I should have some more time to devote to the forum and my writing after then.

Confusion never stops
Closing walls and ticking clocks, gonna
Come back and take you home
I could not stop that you now know, singing

Come out upon my seas
Cursed missed opportunities
Am I a part of the cure
Or am I part of the disease, singing
You are, you are
"Clocks" -Coldplay

Chapter 8: Clocks

Denny sat in meadow on the island, singing to himself as he made a chain of clovers, “Light calls the dark as the dark calls the light/stand strong as yourself when time comes to fight/Light calls the dark as the dark calls the light/only together can things be made right.”

He was so engrossed he didn‘t even notice when another person entered the meadow.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

He didn’t look up as he continued his chain, “I know. You didn’t want me to come, but I had to. It called to me.”

“Oh?”

“Sebastian was here. At first he called me Daniel. I didn‘t know he’d ever met a human child.”

“It only happened once, and for us it was a long time ago. He wouldn’t have thought to tell you.”

The boy nodded understandingly but still remained fixated on his clover chain, “Will I get to meet him, I mean really meet him, if everything turns out like we hoped?”

“Who? Daniel?”

“No. I mean...my father.”

“If everything works out, then yes. You’ll get to meet him.” She knelt at the boy’s side and looked him straight in the eye, “But you’ve played your part now. I want you to go. I won’t lose you too.”

At these words Denny looked up at Selene and nodded. She squeezed his shoulder gently in return.


Standing stock-still on the beach, Eric quirked an eyebrow in disbelief at the sight in front of him. “Ariel…you’re here. How?”

Her eyes were wet with unshed tears as she gracefully rose and came to him but her face was set in determination as she explained, “Eric! This strange man brought me here. At first he tried to tell me this unbelievable story, but he made a mistake and I got suspicious. He has powerful magic. He said something about Daddy’s trident! I managed to escape, but we have to find a way to stop him!”

She reached out to touch his face but Eric took a step back. The line of his jaw hardened. “All right, who are you?”


A little while later, Denny gulped as the same question was directed at him. As per Selene’s orders, he had not only left the island, but land completely, taking the familiar form of a young merman. Then he had made his way to what had been Ariel’s grotto. From the stories he had heard, he figured that it would be deserted now, and a safe place for him to lie low with his precious treasure. At first, he had thought it was strange that instead of a mess of broken pieces, there was a pristine collection of human objects, but had chalked it up to a difference in the timelines. Apparently, that was not the case.


When Ariel left the ocean for a life with Eric, King Triton had missed his daughter terribly. Knowing she was happy had soothed the ache a little but he found himself going to places she had been, searching for reminders of his youngest child. He had almost forgotten about her grotto until an offhand comment from Sebastian had brought it to mind almost a month after she‘d been gone.

The first time he’d revisited the place the shattered remains of Ariel’s treasures had been there to greet him. It had been a shock to see the results of his destruction. Those memories and the anger he had felt then were like something from another lifetime. Idly he picked up the stone replica of Eric’s face. The likeness, he had to admit, was very good but the expression was completely wrong.

Triton now doubted the regal arrogance and casual disdain written there had ever graced the living model. He had witnessed a mix of anger, fear, and resolution when the boy had followed Ariel to rescue her from Ursula as well as pure joy at their reunion after the battle, and even, he admitted, respect and admiration directed at himself during their few conversations. There had never been anything like self-conceit.

He put the broken stone back. What had been done could not be undone, but maybe at least some of what was broken could be mended. Ursula had gotten it wrong. The trident was a formidable weapon of destruction, but its true power lied in its ability to heal and protect.

Raising the weapon high, there was a crackle of electricity and a glow of golden light. Pieces of glass, metal, and burnt paper and fabric reformed into whole objects that neatly placed themselves where they belonged. Those items that were too damaged to fix (including the statue of his soon-to-be son-in-law) he gathered into one pile and disposed of as neatly as possible. The cavern was now as almost as it had been when Ariel was there. The King surveyed his work, fingered the lines of small music box, and sighed… At least once a week, sometimes more, he would come and sit for an hour or two, waiting for something he could not name.

“Who are you?” King Triton started to repeat to the unfamiliar child he had found in his daughter‘s grotto, but the question died in his throat.

Next to the boy was a glass rectangular prism the length and width the size of a moderately large dining table. Inside was a human man. A closer look revealed that though his skin was deathly pale, his shoulder-length hair and neatly trimmed beard were quite dark. His clothing was both clean and expensive. The serene expression on his face gave no indication as to whether or not he still lived. Almost in shock, Triton returned his gaze to the child.

The little boy’s expression tightened and he took a breath. Then suddenly he began to blurt out an explanation, “He‘s not dead, if that’s what your thinking. He‘s under a spell…well a few spells. The first one that put him to sleep, and the other ones that Mother did later to keep him from dying or getting sick since he can‘t eat move or anything. Oh, and the one to keep him from running out of air. I was supposed to hide, and take him with me and keep him and me safe. I’m usually very good at hiding, but I didn‘t know you‘d be here. Nobody was supposed to be here. That‘s why I chose it.” He lifted his eyes to meet the older merman’s for the first time, “You won’t let anything happen to us will you, Grandfather?”


Inside the tower a moment or two had passed in silence before Daemon managed go on with his story. As he spoke, Ariel once again compared him to her Eric. His speech was colder and more formal, but his body betrayed him. Every movement and gesture was achingly familiar. Even with his magic clouding her eyes, how could she have missed it before? She shook herself out of her reverie to listen more closely.

He had been unable to let her counterpart go, believed there was a way to fix what had happened by defeating the monster that had taken her away from him. Over her father’s and Grimsby’s objections he had abandoned his throne and signed onto the crew of a foreign ship under a false name. Eventually he was able to find a healer, a curandera, who was willing to teach him some things.

“She warned me that I had very little raw power of my own, but passed on what she could and helped me find another who could continue where she left off.”

He had spent the next five years going from master to master, learning whatever he could. Anything he thought might be of use to defeat the thing that had cost him his love or help find a way to undo what it had done.

“Did you?” Ariel asked.

Daemon laughed humorlessly “I failed completely. But later I learned that it wanted to change the history of alternate worlds to suit its own purposes. I managed to follow it and along the way found someone who could help me. She‘s the one bringing your Eric to the island.”

“The creature. It came here.”

“Yes. It needed you out of the way.”

“So you saved me.” Ariel concluded.

“For now.”

[Coral]

I had completely forgotten about this little piece of Selene's true identity!

[fridamoonbeam]

Yes, I have my eye on you too, Selene! LOL

Love how Ariel can detect and notice those little things about Daemon.

It's so weird since I want to cuddle with Daemon, but just can't trust him! LOL

Oh, and of coarse LOVE that Eric knew it wasn't Ariel. It's a great touch of development that he ISN'T easily swayed just by the look, or sound of something rather

[WickedElphie]

Hee, Daemon is both cuddly and dangerous.

And you can thank "The Swan Princess" movies for Eric noticing something's not quite right. In the first one it was SOMEWHAT understandable, that Derek fell for the trick, but in the third one I was ready to slap him upside the head. I mean: COME ON!

If Sailor "Failing out of School" Moon is smart enough to ask her suddenly-appearing significant other a question to definitively prove his identity, there's NO excuse... That was actually quite an awesome moment from the third movie. Near the beginning of the film, she asks the real Tux who he loves more, her or their future daughter Chibi-Usa. Of course he's like "What kind of a question is that?"

Later she asks the fake the same thing, and when he says he doesn't care about anybody but her, she knows it''s a trick.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5DfX9k9yWU

Skip to about 6 minutes in, for the scene I'm talking about.

[WickedElphie]

Only one more old chapter after this. Then it's all new material. Yay!

It gains the more it gives
And then it rises with the fall
So hand me that remote
Can't you see that all that stuff's a sideshow?
Such boundless pleasure
We've no time for later
Now you can't await
your own arrival
you've twenty seconds to comply

So let go, let go
Jump in
Oh well, whatcha waiting for?
It's alright
Cause there's beauty in the breakdown

“Let Go”-Frou Frou

Chapter 9: Let Go


Urchin struggled against his captor, but it was useless. The person he had originally thought to be Ariel had tackled him, forcing him under the water, which gave what had most definitely not been the prince a chance to change into its true form and wrap itself around him. Said form being that of an electric eelman, that had used his arms and tail to pin Urchin down, making it impossible to swim back to the surface and warn the real prince that he had walked into a trap.


Meanwhile, Eric studied the woman in front of him. Her physical features were identical to Ariel’s but as soon as she had moved and spoken he had realized that it wasn’t her. This woman moved with a snake-like poise that was nothing like Ariel’s artless easy grace. Her voice held the same bell-like cadence but it was all wrong just the same. The right note played an octave too high. Everything screamed that this was an imposter.

Her expression changed from determined to worried and confused. “What do you mean, who am I? It‘s me. What‘s wrong with you?”

Eric only shook his head in disgust. “Stop it. You‘re not her. You‘re not Ariel.”

She blinked once, and then smirked evilly. Despite the continued physical resemblance, no one would have mistaken her for the former mermaid now. “What gave me away?”

“They way you spoke, the way you moved. It was deliberate, rehearsed. Ariel doesn‘t plan, she just is. I‘ll ask you one last time, who are you?”

She laughed coldly (and Eric mentally shivered, reminded uncomfortably of Vanessa). “You‘ll know my name soon enough, but there are more pressing matters. For example, if you don‘t help him, one of your friends is going to die.”


King Triton sighed. A short conversation had determined what he had needed to know. Denny was his grandson, at least in the world he and Selene had come from. Looking at the boy now that he knew, it was obvious. His coloring was undoubtedly Eric’s, but his features were very like his mother’s.

“Selene should have told me about you. I could have been looking after you from the start. ”

Denny shook his head, “She didn‘t want anyone to know. It‘s not that she didn‘t trust you, it‘s just that back home it‘s a big secret too. ”

The Sea King’s eyebrow quirked, “Why exactly is that?”

Denny blushed. “No, it wasn‘t-it wasn‘t at first. It was after-with Daddy gone it wasn‘t safe to be on land and in the sea…but I’m not supposed to tell you. She said not to.”

King Triton nodded, sensing he had pushed the child as far as he would go for now. “All right, but would you answer just one more question?”

Denny kept his expression guarded. “Maybe.”

“What‘s your real name?”

He cocked his head in thought, and then apparently decided answering would be harmless. “Aiden. Aiden Eelios.”


“Which of my friends is going to die?”

The imposter (as Eric had mentally dubbed her) laughed again. “Perhaps your friend was the wrong choice of words. He isn‘t really. After all you only met a few hours ago.”

Eric‘s fists clenched in agitation. He ignored her comments and simply said, “Take me to him.”

She only waggled her finger in a chastising fashion. “Now, now. Wait a moment. There‘s another option.”

“What is it?”

“Leave him.” She studied the look of shock and horror on his face at her pronouncement with an air of enjoyment before continuing. “If you come with me right now I‘ll take you to Ariel and I won‘t lift a finger to stop you from taking her back with you. Or you could save the boy and lose the chance to find your lover.”

For a moment Eric didn’t speak. Then he repeated, “Take me to Urchin.”

“Are you sure?”

Eric stared straight into her eyes and spoke. At first softly but gradually getting louder, “Yes. You were right, I haven‘t really known Urchin long enough to call him my friend, but from what I‘ve seen of him so far I‘d like to get the chance to in the future. Secondly, he is a very good friend of the woman I‘m going to marry and I know for a fact that she‘d never forgive me for saving her at the cost of his life. And finally he is a living, breathing, thinking being and I would never let anyone die if I could prevent it from happening! So stop asking and Take. Me. To. Him. Now!”

The imposter glared, “What about Ursula? Did she deserve death?”

Eric thought for a moment and then made the only reply he could, “I don‘t know that she did. All I know is that she was going to kill the woman I love and I was not going to let that happen. I had limited options. If I‘d known of a way to stop her without killing her maybe I would have used it. In the end, it was me on a broken ship against a giantess that controlled the water and the lightening. I don‘t regret what I did-only that it had to be done. ”

The false image of his lover laughed one last time. Long and cold. “You do not regret? I promise you, you will. The boy is under the water struggling against a far stronger foe. Save him if you can.”

And she was gone.

Eric didn’t waste a moment before diving in the water. As he went under the waves, he was surprised to feel his body seize up in transformation once again. This time at least he knew what to expect, and went completely limp as he allowed his lower body to shift into a merman’s tail. It was still painful, but somewhat bearable.

Once the change was more-or-less complete, he started scouting for any sign of Urchin. He saw two shapes in the distance and kicked off. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.


After what seemed like an eternity of being pinned to the sea floor Urchin heard his up-‘til-now silent captor straighten up slightly and speak “Well, it ssseemsss that your time isss up. If the human were going to come for you, he would have by now. That meansss you‘re no longer usssefull. And that meansss that I get play.”

Urchin, who had given up fighting, began to struggle once more. He didn’t truly believe the others had given up on him, but he doubted that they would make it in time to save him. He kept twisting, trying to break free of the eelman’s grasp.

The eelman only laughed as he moved in sync with Urchin, keeping him down. “Oh yesss, the fear makesss it all the more fun. Fight me little merboy. Fight, although you know it‘s hopelessss!”

“I wouldn‘t say that.”

The eelman whipped around to where the voice was coming from, pulling Urchin with him. It was Eric. He had made it in time.


“Careful! He‘s incredibly strong. Watch yourself!” Urchin called out before his head was driven into the ground.

As he hissed in pain, he heard Eric say, “Let him go. Deal with me. ”

“I sssupposse. I was getting bored with thisss one anyway.” The eelman grabbed Urchin by his underarms and flung him cruelly away.

Eric watched in horror but was still too far way to do anything but swim to the other boy‘s side after he landed hard on the ground.

He helped Urchin sit up. “You all right?”

“I’ll live.”

“Got any tips on how to fight that thing?” Eric whispered.

Urchin answered in the same low voice. “Taking him by surprise, maybe? But unless the others are with you there‘s no one to surprise him.”

He sighed then, looking at Eric, suddenly pointed at his waist, “What‘s that?”

Eric looked down. It seemed that, while he had been changed back into merman, this time the red band he usually wore around his pants had not disappeared and neither had the flute that Endymion had returned to him.

Eric grinned as he removed it from its makeshift holster and handed it to Urchin. “I think I have a plan. Lie back down like you‘re seriously hurt and listen. We have to hurry before our friend over there gets bored and decides he wants to start the fight.”

Sure enough, Eric had only just finished explaining when a cold hiss broke out, “Come on boy! I thought you were going to fight, not play nursssemaid to the weakling.”

“Oh I‘m ready all right.” Eric glared at the eelman and mentally went through the plan once more.

And then there was no more time to think.


The eelman struck quickly and without warning. Eric barely dodged his first attack, ducked and tried to kick out with his fin, only to get a painful shock for his trouble.

“Right. Not gonna do that again.” He just managed to veer right, putting him out of the reach of the eel man’s tail, which was striking at him like some bizarre electric whip. They moved back and forth in the vicious underwater dance, one or the other landing a hit, but with no clear winner.

Finally, Eric propelled himself slightly above his opponent and decided to go with that classic combat technique, the punch in the face. His hit connected but hurt his hand just as much, if not more than the eelman’s face.

But that was all right. It had caught his enemy‘s attention, which was all he needed it to do.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Urchin move into position behind the eelman and, at the opportune moment, strike him in the back of the head with the flute. And then raise the flute to hit him again. And again.

Meanwhile Eric kicked at the eelman’s chest with his tail and threw more than a fair share of punches as well. It took a while, but under their combined attacks the eelman finally went down, and stayed there.

Urchin was breathing heavily and was leaning his torso on his left arm. Most of his upper body was covered in scrapes and bruises. “Is he..?”

Eric was panting more than a little himself. He had a nasty black eye and his lip was bleeding. There were more than a couple burns on his tail as well. He shook his head. “I don‘t think so, but I don‘t really want to be around to find out.”

“Yeah. Besides we should look for the others.” Urchin gingerly handed Eric back his flute.

“Are you all right to swim?” Eric asked, genuinely concerned, as he took it and holstered it back in his waistband.

“I‘ll make it. What about you?” Urchin responded, taking in the older boy’s injuries.

“I‘ve had worse. Let‘s go.”

Urchin had already started moving when he heard Eric say, “You were great back there. If it wasn‘t for you I‘d have been sunk.”

He smiled, a little pleased despite himself. Growing up an orphan, praise hadn’t exactly been flowing from people when he was a child. King Triton, Sebastian, Flounder, Ariel and the girls were the best surrogate family he could wish for, but he still didn’t really have a merman close to his own age to hang out with, or just talk to.

Urchin could tell Eric had meant what he said too, he wasn’t just trying to make him feel better. This human of Ariel’s was all right. “You too. If you hadn‘t come when you did I‘d just be splatter on the sea-floor.”

The conversation tapered off as the two started swimming in the direction Urchin pointed to as most likely being correct. They hadn’t been swimming long before they could spot the shadow of some structure above the water.

Urchin looked at Eric “Want to surface?”

Eric nodded, “Yeah but let me go first. You‘re more injured than I am. I‘ll come get you if it‘s safe.”

He wanted to protest but they’d lost a lot of time already, so he reluctantly agreed to wait. He didn’t have to wait long though. It seemed that Eric had only just raised his head out of the water before he was back down and waving at Urchin to join him, which he did as soon as he could.

Nothing could have prepared Urchin for what they would find up-top though. “Flounder? Sebastian?


Ariel considered everything Daemon had just told her. She didn’t think he had been lying, but some points in his story had been a little vague. Had he just not wanted to revisit those moments in any more detail than he had to, or was there something else?

“Is there anything you‘re not telling me?”

Daemon blinked. “Anything I‘m not-?” A look of sudden horror came over his face. “No! Not here, not yet. It‘s too soon!”

Ariel was shocked at the sudden change in his demeanor. “What‘s too soon? Talk to me!”

“We have to go. Now.” He grabbed her arm and almost pulled her out of her seat before she had a chance to get up. He then led her down a set of stairs at break-neck speed.

“Why? What’s the matter?” Ariel asked as she struggled to keep up.

“The Siren. She‘s here.”


The last thing Eric had expected to find when he surfaced was Flounder and Sebastian resting in the shallows while Selene, in human form stood off to the side, near what seemed to be the moat and side-entrance of a castle.

“You‘re all here!”

Selene rolled her eyes, “Yes, your grasp of the obvious remains intact.”

Flounder missed her sarcasm, “Yeah. I met up with Sebastian a while ago and then Selene found us and brought us here. But, hey, you’re hurt! Are you okay? And where‘s Urchin? Is he with you?”

“I’m fine,” Eric laughed, “and Urchin‘s right behind me. I‘ll go down and tell him it‘s safe to come up.”

“You go and do dat mon.” Sebastian said, sounding a little weary from his various long walks and swims.

It was only a moment before Urchin joined the group and everyone was brought up to speed on the others‘ experiences.

They were all in good spirits, except for Selene, who frowned at Eric’s tale of the Ariel look-alike and her eelman lackey. “You‘re sure about what you saw and heard?”

“As sure as I can be.”

“That‘s not what I was hoping to hear.” She took a breath and then put both left and right index and middle fingers to her temples. The small visible sparks of energy discouraged anyone from asking what she was doing.

When she was done, she turned back to the others and hurried to explain, “Ariel will be coming out that door in a moment with someone else. When they get here, we need to leave immediately. No matter what you see, or what questions you have, save them for later. Just be ready to swim on my signal.”

Selene then gracefully descended into the water, changing herself into a mermaid. The only sign she was in any pain was a slight shudder as she moved.

An instant later Eric saw Ariel rushing out the side door accompanied by-himself? Remembering Selene’s edict he confined himself to staring at his imperfect double in horrified fascination.

“We have to hurry,” his doppelganger gasped, “We need to-”

“Oh there‘s no need to do anything now.” called a familiar voice from the shadow of the castle. The false Ariel from earlier stepped into the light, staring at her matching prince with utter contempt. “As usual dear-heart, you‘re just a little too late.”

[WickedElphie]

The last "old" chapter. Hopefully the first new one will be up next week.


What you don't know won't hurt you
Maybe the lies are true
Try to remember
Try to forget
Those yesterdays bleeding through…

I'm already going
I'm already gone
There's a stranger in my place
You'll never find me
But I'll get along
'Cause the angels know my face

“What You Don‘t Know”-Jonatha Brooke

Chapter 10: What You Don’t know


“You…” Fear, anger, and grief played across Daemon’s face.

“Come on now. You might think you weren’t glad to see me.”

Ariel watched this other, darker, version of her self approach Daemon. She opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

“Ariel?” It was Eric, her Eric. He looked like he had been in a fight, but was otherwise exactly the same…except for the fact that he was suddenly sporting a merman’s tail. Not that it didn’t look nice; it did. It was a sort of royal blue. It fit him…and this wasn’t the time for that train of thought.

Next to him were Sebastian, Flounder, and Urchin (looking much more grown up than the last time she’d seen him, but a little worse for the wear himself), along with a mermaid she didn’t know, whose face was hidden.

She spared a glance for Daemon, who was still frozen with emotion, then went to her fiancé’s side.


Eric smiled as Ariel came to sit beside the moat. She reached out her hand over the water to touch his face and he did the same to her. “It‘s really you,” he breathed, “I half-thought it was another illusion or something else…”Drinking in the sight of her, words failed him, so he spoke with action instead.

Eric pulled himself out of the water to sit by her side, let his fingers brush Ariel’s cheek once more, and then leaned in to kiss her. There was no hesitance, no shame; he just let his emotions carry him. Without parting his lips from hers, he let the confusion, fear, and wonder of the last twenty-four hours flow through. And, with the final press of his lips, he told her just how much he needed her. Ariel in turn told *him* how glad she was to see him, whether it be with fins or feet and that she would always need him as well.

When they finally separated, Ariel laughed, “I missed you too.” She blinked. “Wait a second; didn’t you just have a tail?”

Eric looked at himself, and yes, his shirt, pants, and legs had all made a reappearance. “Yeah, it‘s been sort of coming and going. The scary thing is I’m almost getting used to changing back and forth.”

“And you‘re not worried?”

This time it was Eric’s turn to blink. “Oh, no,” he explained, pointing at the masked mermaid, “Selene did it so I could come here to find you.”

Ariel raised her eyebrow, “That makes a little more sense. I thought you meant it had been happening by itself.”

“No, that would just be strange.”

Had Ariel and Eric been paying attention, they would have realized that other reunion occurring wasn‘t quite so happy.


Daemon backed away at the Siren‘s approach. “There‘s no need to come any closer. And you may as well show your true form.”

“All right then. I can be reasonable.” She smiled serenely and circled her right hand in front of her face. The change was immediate. Her peaches and cream complexion gave way to death-like pallor, save for the ruby-red of her lips. Her simple dress shifted to a sleeveless blackish-green sheath that clung to her curves before fanning out like a mermaid’s tail. Her hair lengthened into a blood-red curtain that fell nearly to her feet. Only the shape and form of her face and figure remained the same, remained Ariel’s.

She looked into Daemon’s eyes. “Are you happy now?”


Eric awoke to a muffled cry. Immediately he turned to his wife, who sat, on her side of the bed, knees curled to her chest, quietly shaking-the same way she had every night since the sea witch’s defeat.

He reached over and gently brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Another nightmare?”

Ariel started, then seemed to calm as she realized where she was. “Eric! I’m so sorry. I woke you. I didn’t mean to….” She trailed off uncertainly.

“You don’t have to be sorry. I‘m not mad.” He rubbed soothing circles into the small of her back and she leaned into his touch. “I just hate to see you hurting. I wish I could make it better.”

“You do.” But her eyes still didn’t shine the way they used to.


“What do you want?”


Ariel sat on the beach, staring out to sea. She heard approaching footsteps and knew exactly who they belonged to.

“Ariel?”

Her beautiful boy. Her wonderful man. She’d never meant to hurt him. She turned to face him. “I know.”

Eric dropped to her side, confused. “What do you know?”

“Why I‘ve been having nightmares, forgetting things. They weren‘t dreams, they were warnings.”

“Warnings?”

He reached out to stroke her cheek, but she pushed his hand away.

“Warnings.” she continued, her voice shaking, “We were so naïve. Darkness doesn‘t die, it just finds another way back.”

“Ariel?”

“I have to go.”


The Siren tilted her head to the side. “You know perfectly well what I want. Now, give it back, and we can forget all this.”


“She really left. I don‘t understand. Why did she think she had to go?” Eric frantically addressed King Triton.

The old Mer-King sighed, despair filling his every word. “Do you remember the night you fought Ursula?”

“Of course.” Eric didn’t think he *could* forget that night, and its consequences.

“We thought Ursula died, but that wasn‘t completely true. A small part of her survived and made its way into the closest living being. Into Ariel.”

“So what you’re saying is that a piece of Ursula crept inside Ariel, and somehow possessed her? How do we get it out?”

“We don‘t. It’s too late. “

“How can you say that?” Eric shouted, “She‘s your daughter!”

“I’ve seen her. She came to Atlantica.”

Suddenly Eric had a sickening realization. “Where‘s the trident?”

Triton bowed his head. “The Siren, as she calls herself, offered a trade. In exchange for the trident, she would leave Atlantica and the other undersea kingdoms in peace. It seems that she no longer has any desire to rule. Her only interests now are in obtaining absolute knowledge and magical power.”

“But doesn‘t he fact that she doesn't want to take over mean Ariel might still be in there somewhere?” Eric's eyes begged for something to hold onto.

“No. Her change in priorities is nothing more than an echo. There isn‘t anything left of Ariel to save. There is no hope.”

“What do you mean there‘s no hope?…I won‘t abandon her. Not again.”


The Siren was done playing games. “Either you return to me the trident from our world, or I’ll simply take the girl and start over in this one.”

“What makes you think I have it?” Daemon all but snorted, “As I recall you were the last one to wield it.”


The Siren shrieked as she thrust the trident at the invisible barrier of the circle. “You will pay for this indignity.”

Daemon didn’t answer. He was bending over what looked like a silver bowl filled with herbs. In the center there was a growing stain of red. He flicked a hand and the strange mix burst into flame. Once the smoke began wafting he stood up and started to chant.

“Apollo, Amun-Ra, Amaterasu. Guardians of light, I beseech you. Disperse the shadows of heart and mind. Pierce the darkness that has taken root in her soul. Accept my offering. Grant me your aid!”

There was a sudden shudder in the air and Daemon was engulfed in electric blue light. He extended his palm towards the Siren. The energy passed through his arm and into the circle, hitting her square in the chest, and knocking her against the opposite side of the barrier.

The Siren lifted her head up and began to laugh. “I guess you just weren‘t strong enough, lover. I’m still here.” She lifted the trident and storm clouds rolled in. The wind picked up and rain began to fall. The chalk lines of the circle were smudged and the stones that lay on its perimeter blew away.

Daemon’s eyes widened in fear and he braced his arms in front of his face. It was too late. There was an explosion of power that blew him back several feet before he finally crashed to a stop in the dirt. It took him a minute to get back to his feet.

In that instant he felt the points of the trident pressing under his chin. He raised his head to stare his enemy in the eye. Her face was close enough to kiss. She cupped his cheek in her hand almost gently and whispered, “Poor, poor boy. You tried so very hard, didn’t you? All that pain and toil, and all for nothing.”

The Siren pulled her hand away and pressed the three long points of the trident above his heart. She applied pressure enough to break the skin and dragged the trident diagonally, making a wave of shallow cuts. She smiled at Daemon’s now-complete expression of despair and stepped back. “But now it’s time for your pain to end. Forever.” The trident began to glow with her power as she spoke. “Goodbye Eric.”

There was a golden light that slowly engulfed everything. And then there was nothing at all.


The Siren glared at Daemon from where she stood. “If you remember, I was about to end your miserable existence when there was an interruption. After everything was over, you and the trident were gone.”

“I remember. I woke up on the beach with a headache and chest wound, but no trident. Whatever happened, it wasn’t me.”


Daemon came to on unfamiliar shore and immediately began coughing, trying to clear out the seawater from his lungs. What had happened? He had managed to track down the Siren and had attempted the de-possession spell that it had taken him five years to find and master…She had come after him with the trident and there had been a bright light. Then…nothing. He sat up.

“Feeling all right?” King Triton was looking at his son-in-law with a strange mix of pity, anger, and regret.

Daemon defiantly got to his feet even as his head swam. “Never better. What are you doing here?”

“Eric-”

“Don‘t call me that!” Daemon hissed, as if hearing his old name caused him physical pain.

King Triton raised an eyebrow, “Very well, *Daemon*, then. I didn‘t come to you. There was a light and you appeared in front of me. Since we were underwater and you didn’t seem to be breathing I brought you to the surface. Don‘t worry, this isn‘t your kingdom. Just an island close by.”

“I‘m touched. Whatever happened to ‘One less human to worry about’?”

The king pursed his lips, but didn‘t respond to the taunt. He simply tossed something to the younger man. “Here.”

Daemon caught the object and looked at it. He gasped in surprise. “She told me about this, and her other treasures.” He moved his fingers over the lines of the music box almost reverently as he asked. “Wasn’t it destroyed?”

“Some things that are broken can be fixed.”

The ghost of a smile passed over the prince‘s lips. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for the last five years.”

“Ariel is gone. No one under the sea has ever come back from being possessed. No one!” Triton was visibly trying not to lose his temper, but Daemon was not exactly making it easy for him.

“Not yet.”

The Sea King sighed, defeated. “You’re going to kill yourself if you keep going this way. You know that.”

“I promised myself that I would save her or die trying. I came to terms with the fact that it would probably be the second a long time ago.”

Daemon‘s tired smile faded as he clutched the music box tightly. “Thank you, for this. And for saving me, I guess…But as far as I‘m concerned, you abandoned us, abandoned her when she needed you the most. Nothing you say or do can ever make up for that. The truth is: I don’t ever want to see you again.”

With that he turned his back to King Triton and, sopping wet and shuddering with cold, walked inland, heedless of the three streaks of blood running down the left side of his chest.


Daemon grinned sarcastically. “You’re bluffing, *Siren*. The only reason you were able to take her is because you snuck in. Made her think she was the problem. You can’t do that this time. She’s already seen you. She knows what you are. You’ve lost.” He started laughing. It started out triumphantly but quickly took on a hysterical edge. “We‘re in the same boat, you and I. And it’s sinking fast.”

“Perhaps so. In that case maybe we don‘t have to be enemies. I have a proposition; one I promise will be worth your while.” Her eyes gave nothing away. She could have been lying through her teeth. Or she just might have been telling the truth.

Daemon’s eyes darted to Ariel and Eric, who were lost in each other’s embrace, with their friends behind them and Selene looking on from the side.

“I‘m listening.”

[Coral]

I can't wait for the new stuff!!!! You did manage to finally nail mixing in the flashbacks without losing momentum.