She had never been able to stay below the waves. It wasn't necessarily the fresh air that beckoned her, although that was something she craved. It could have been, perhaps, that the space under the waves felt claustrophobic. It could have been that it felt like she was always trapped, the seafoam above her holding her under. It could have been that she was one of the Sea King's seven daughters, expected to behave with the poise of royalty although she was only sixteen years old.
Or, to be truthful, it could be that she was tired of being a mermaid. She was tired of fins and her father's rules and her older sisters' disappointment.
Whatever it was, it had driven her above the waves, day after day, week after week. She'd seen much of what the humans did -- their celebrations, their ships, their boats, their children laughing and splashing in the water, their mouths spilling over with joy in tinkles of laughter that sounded like bells. It was beautiful.
She'd saved a few children from drowning, something her father had strongly cautioned her against, but she'd not been able to help herself. They'd been under the water, their lungs not able to hold in their air, and she'd pushed them to the shallows before returning to the deep. The children would return to the seashore, watching for the bright red flash of the Woman in the Water.
Night had fallen on the ocean, the stars twinkling in the sky above. She broke the surface of the water, pushing her hair out of her face. She floated along the top of the water, watching the sky get lit up with colored fire. It was as she was swimming to another spot to get a better view that she saw it in the distance -- a huge ship, three sails, a flag, a cabin. It was gorgeous.
A movement in the water next to her tail alerted her to her companion before his voice. "Ariel!" Flounder shouted, his dark eyes large against his blue and yellow scales. He bubbled up toward her head and she saw that, hanging on to his caudal fin by a pincer, was Sebastian. His deeper voice followed Flounder's. "Ariel, what are you doing out here? Your father expected you -- Oh." He finished his statement with the breathed sound, his eyes on the sky. "Once again, you have disappointed your father and now here you are, gallivanting off to who knows where, and now I find you close to the humans." He flailed his pincers in the water, causing him to let go of Flounder's tail. "Again!"
"I am old enough," she said quietly, her attention on the ship again. She turned her head, looking at Sebastian. "I am old enough to make my own decisions." She flipped her tail behind her, propelling her away from her companions. Looking back, Ariel felt the tears stinging behind her eyes. "I will make my own decisions."
She swam toward the ship, her father's words playing back in her mind. Humans are dangerous, Ariel! If they knew about us, they would want to harm us. We must stay away. We must stay out of their sight. But she swam, the sound of the water passing by her ears serving as a way to drown out the sound of his voice.
When she was close enough to the ship to almost reach out and touch it, she surfaced, becoming aware that the fireworks were coming from the ship. Because of the closeness, she also became aware that the people on the ship were having a party.
As she swam closer, she heard the bottles clinking, the raucous laughter, the joy of the humans, and she wanted nothing more than to join them. She pulled herself up the ladder on the outside of the ship and looked through, seeing the crew of the ship having a good time dancing.
As she was looking through, she saw a human man -- a beautiful man, his eyes as bright as his hair was dark. He wore a white blouse over black pants, his leather boots mid-calf high, and his laugh was deep and full of joy.
She sat there, watching him for a long moment before her appreciation of him was interrupted by a shaggy dog bounding into her line of sight. It stopped, sniffing the air before turning and running straight for her.
She was so startled she let go of the side of the ship and fell back into the water.
