Ursula's Beginning

17. Yes, you want her (look at her, you know you do)

Instead, he reached for her hand and followed her eagerly into forbidden territory. Atlantica fell away behind them, and so did Atlantica's rules.

***

It pained Ursula to disturb the blissful quiet that permeated their cave. But she had been keeping track of her three hours as a mermaid with a small timer, and Triton needed to go soon to avoid witnessing the aftermath.

"Darling, we need to get up now." She kissed his forehead.

He groaned and flung a thick forearm over his eyes. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" she laughed, shoving him playfully.

"I mean there is nothing outside this cave that is going to be better than what just happened in this cave. I don't want to go anywhere."

"I wish we could stay here too. But nothing lasts forever. For example...in less than an hour, I won't even be a mermaid anymore."

Triton bolted upright. "I have questions."

"Sure, now you have questions." Ursula shook her head with mock disdain.

"No, really. How did you do this? Why did you do this?"

"I don't have time to explain the 'how', but I did this to show you that you can have it all. We can. You can become king, and you can be with me in one form or another. I do have some details to figure out, but I will tend to that. All you need to focus on is prevailing over Alphon. So I don't want to hear any more of your defeatist talk when it comes to us. Agreed?"

Triton scooped her into an embrace. "You did warn me that you were persistent."

"I did."

"You also said that love spells were beneath you. Can you deny bewitching me this evening?"

Ursula laughed. "The only love spell in play is on that barracuda that is keeping watch outside."

"Half the time, I don't know when you're joking and when you're being serious."

"Oh, I'm serious. I had a colleague cast a friendship spell over the two of us. Just for the day, so he'd listen better and we'd bond more. Friendship spells fall under the category of love spells."

"Why did you get a pet?"

"Triton, we are running out of time here. When we meet next, let's leave more time to talk," said Ursula.

"Ha!"

"I'm serious. Shall we meet in a week?"

"Do we have to wait a week?"

"This is my first time doing this. So yes, give me a week to make sense of it all."

"Ursula, you don't have to change for me the next time we meet. I've received your message, loud and clear."

"I know I don't have to. But I may want to. This wasn't all for you, you know." She winked at him, half-smiling.

"Glad to hear it." Triton stretched. He was grinning .

"How is your mother?" Ursula asked suddenly.

"She's alright. My sisters keep her spirits up. They are helping her run things in the interim. She's trying to remain neutral regarding Alphon and myself. It's made her into a bit of a hermit, actually. I think it's easiest to simply avoid us most of the time."

"Undoubtedly a difficult scenario for a mother."

"Yes. I can't imagine being in her position. She has to avoid Ganeon too, since he is openly allied with me. So I'm glad she has my sisters."

"And how is Ganeon? How are your preparations going with him?" Ursula glanced at her timer.

"Ganeon..." Triton laughed, shaking his head. "He's great. He's an amazing tutor. I'm learning so much about history and inter-ocean relations from him."

"What so funny about that?"

"What's funny is his witness protection program." Triton's shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Since he won't accept any more magical protection, he's decided to keep a witness or two with him at all times. He thinks it will deter any potential attack if there's always a witness around. But some of the witnesses are just defenseless; Alphon could kill them with his thumb, you know?"

"Oh dear. That reminds me—we need to refresh your protection soon."

"Okay."

"But you're good for now. I'll see you in a week?"

Triton answered her with a slow, smoldering kiss. He was gone before the heat left Ursula's lips.

***

The pain was worse than she had expected. Siddikah had warned her, but she hadn't taken it seriously. The sensations she had experienced while transforming into a mermaid were mere tingles compared to what was happening now. Her mermaid's tail had to be ripped into eight segments—one long, slow tear at a time. Each tentacle took form completely before the next one started its re-emergence.

Ursula bundled up her cloak and bit down on it to muffle her screams. She didn't want to attract anyone's attention, as she was now as defenseless at Siddikah had predicted. She was weak and scared, and didn't think she could swim  if she had to. She could hardly think straight.

About halfway through the process, when she had four tentacles complete with suction cups, her skin became a mottled purple. She watched as the patches deepened in tone and spread across her body. This burned, particularly on her face. Whereas the previous three hours with Triton had come and gone in a flash, this torture felt interminable. It was, in fact, exactly three hours long, just as Siddikah had said it would be. Ursula would have never believed this had it not been for her little timer.

When it was finally over, Ursula lay in an exhausted heap for over an hour before she attempted movement. She struggled into her cloak and made sure all her other belongings were in her bag. Then she made her way out of the cave with motions that were closer to crawling than swimming.

Barry was not where he should have been, in the tall kelp that covered the cave's entrance. Had he kept watch at all?  Ursula looked around for him, worry mingling with anger. Before long, she spotted him chasing smaller fish many paces away from the cave. She headed toward him, aching with every flick of her tentacles.

The barracuda saw Ursula, and let his prey go free. He zeroed in on her form; for a long moment, the only part of him that moved was his tail fins, wriggling with agitation. Then he torpedoed toward her. She sensed danger, and used every bit of her strength to swing her bag of supplies around to hit him.

"I swear to Poseidon, I'll kill you here and now!" she yelled as he deliberated over another attack. "Go!" She swung her bag at him again. Barry grinned that hideous grin of his, then turned tail and fled.

"I hope the humans catch you this time! And you stay out of my temple, you ingrate!" she screamed after him.

Ursula was light-headed and giddy by the time she reached home. She kept bursting into giggles, recalling how Siddikah had pronounced the barracuda stupid on the spot earlier that evening. "Barely!" she squeaked to herself, convulsing with laughter. "Barely!"