Prologue - The Fairy-tale

536K 10.7K 2.6K
                                    

Prologue - The Fairy-tale

My mother told me she named me after the little mermaid because she knew I was going to be as special as that princess. And since I can remember, I always thought I was like that little mermaid, I only needed my tail. The lake was my kingdom and Dad was Poseidon. I remember I used to swim the whole afternoon, pretending I had a tail. I used to sing, as well. I knew all the songs from the movie by heart and yes, I would watch that movie every week… with my mother. I’m the youngest of six daughters, so whilst my sisters were growing up, Mum and I would do childish things. She’d play with me, she’d read me fairy-tales and promise me that I was going to be the best princess ever.

And I believed her.

But I was home-schooled; I never got to interact with anyone but my family and the animals of our property. You see, we live in a nice house by the pond, it’s a big one, almost like a lake. You can swim and go on a boat. We even have a dock. It’s a beautiful place that’s been in my family for generations and yes, it’s been my kingdom forever. But it’s really far away from the city, so going to school was complicated. Therefore Mum taught us everything and we’d take free exams. It worked perfectly for all of us. My sisters all got accepted in Uni, although not all of them went.

Clara, the oldest of us, twenty-seven, studied nursery. Renee, twenty-five, decided to leave and start working immediately as an actress. Pauline, twenty-four, is working as a teacher. Michelle, twenty-two is a make up artist, she works with Pauline. Susanne, twenty-one, left to the city to work for a big company that spotted her before, for her results in every exam —always perfect score; she once corrected one question and got recognition for that— as she studies to become a biochemist. Mary, twenty, is a painter and she does fairly well; she’s thinking of leaving to Paris.

I never thought I was missing something for being home-schooled. I was happy; it was perfect. But my mum… she always had a heart condition and as I was growing up, it got worse and worse. She couldn’t go running with me anymore, she would only see me swimming. And she kept getting worse until when I was eleven… she passed away and I had to face school. Only then I realised how shy I am.

I never noticed it before because I was always at home and my sisters were always so loud and confident. Every time they would come back from the city they would be all happy, telling me their adventures and when it was my turn to go, I couldn’t handle it.

I was in school for a whole year and never talked to anyone. I couldn’t. I would start shaking and sweating and mumbling and at the end, I would burst out crying. I couldn’t make a word come out and the school called my dad many times because they thought I had problems at home. But I was happy at home… although Mum wasn’t there anymore. I still miss her today, but Dad would always say “remember her with the smile she always got from you. Remember her with your heart and that way she’ll always be with you.”

The school decided that I was that shy because I couldn’t deal with the death of my mother, but I knew it wasn’t just that. I was shy… I didn’t have the loud personality of my sisters. I wasn’t like Ariel, the real little mermaid.

Don’t think I didn’t try to make friends. I wanted to make friends! But I never managed to talk to them and after a year, Dad realised I was only suffering at school because I was unable to make friends. So I went back to home schooling with him. My sisters would help but they were busy with their own business, as well. So it was mostly Dad and I.

I tried going back to school many times, and going with Dad to the city to buy the things we needed… but I have never managed to speak to someone. Nor even smile at them.

I knew I needed confidence, to believe in myself, but every time I tried talking to someone I failed, so I grew surer that I wasn’t confident at all. I couldn’t be like the character I was named after.

At fifteen I dyed my hair red, thinking that by doing that I would remind myself that I could be a girl with a dashing personality, confident. But it didn’t work either. I still dye my hair, though. Out of habit, I guess, and to remember my mother and her favourite Disney Princess.

Now at seventeen —almost eighteen— I’ve accepted myself. I gave up on trying to be more confident. I’m this painfully shy girl, so there’s no use in keep trying to change. I love to sing. Mum taught me when I was a little girl and I used to have that crazy dream of becoming a famous singer… now I know that’s not possible. I would never be able to sing in front of someone else. And I don’t think I’ll be able to do anything that involves people.

So I’m staying with dad on our property. Now that my sisters are gone, I’m all what he has left. And he’s not a young man anymore, he needs help to keep this place. Plus, it’s not as it’s used to be. He still grows some vegetables and sells them, mostly to Rhonda Drennan, the owner of the land next to ours. She has a very exclusive retreat centre and she’s wanted to buy our property since she got married to the former owner of that land. He passed away a few years ago, I can still remember him. He was a kind man and he always wanted to get to an agreement with my dad. They never got to one.

Today my dad has told me the news: he got to an agreement with Rhonda Drennan. He didn’t sell our land, but he agreed on renting part of it to Rhonda, for her guests to use the lake and now we’ll work for her. She even offered me a job.

So now I know things are about to change. People will come to my kingdom, to my lake. People I won’t be able to talk to.

When I was a kid, when I still believed I was like the little mermaid, I used to think I would meet my handsome prince in these same waters of the lake, that I would save him and sing to him… now I don’t believe in those fairy-tales anymore and I know that if I ever meet my handsome prince, I won’t even be able to tell him my name. And it’s not because I traded my voice for a pair of legs… it’s because I’m just little shy Ariel.

-:-:-:-

So this is how Little Shy Ariel begins. Remember, this story takes place one year after CME. Soon you'll know more about this. I'll start actually posting it by the time I finish posting CME, probably around January 1st.

IMPORTANT! I really don't like Ariana Grande, my opinion, so Ariel is NOT played by her. The actress I've casted to play Ariel is Georgie Henley (the girl from Narnia) because she has the exact same eyes Ariel has and she looks shy and vulnerable, just like Ariel. At the sidebar you find a picture I've edited to make her have red hair. Ariel has naturally brown hair, like Georgie.

Dedication to Nicky (@MarieMeStars) because she's really, really excited about this story.

Bel, xx 

Little Shy Ariel (ft. Harry Styles)Where stories live. Discover now