PART 1
Ariel
"Look at that!" I said excitedly to Flounder. I pointed to something that
was shining up from the sea floor. We had been playing tag but the
shiny....thing caught my eye. When I stopped abruptly Flounder smacked right
into me. I giggled at him. "Oh I'm sorry Flounder, but do you see what I
see?" I turned toward him and smiled.
"Sure...uh what is it Ariel?" He asked, swimming up to my eye level.
"I don't know." I shrugged. I scooped down to pick it up. It felt smooth in
my hands. I turned it over, examining it from all angles. It looked like some
kind of jewelry, but it was unlike any I had. Maybe it wasn't jewelry. It was
heart-shaped and had probably been buried in the sand a long time. The color
was a dull gold. I was lucky some light had reflected off of it, or I
wouldn't have found it. I held it out for Flounder to see.
"It's neat." He commented.
I nodded. "It's a....whoozit." I said proudly. I had made up the word, but
somehow it sounded right. It seemed like something Scuttle would say. I made
a mental note to show this new treasure to him later. I rubbed my fingers
over it lovingly, and found that it opened! My eyes widened in interest. I
opened the tiny whoozit all the way.
"Wow, cool." Flounder said, swimming around in circles.
There was a little picture inside! It was of a lady. A human girl! "Oh! She's
so pretty." I said starring at the picture. I slowly closed the whoozit and
held on to it. I was just about to tell Flounder I was going to put it in my
grotto when I heard far away music...coming from home! Was it that late
already? I had probably been playing with Flounder for hours. "Oh no!" I had
to get home quick. I started swimming as fast as I could.
"Ariel! Wait for me! Where are you going?" Flounder called.
"The concert is starting!" I said over my shoulder. I had a solo, I had to
be there.
"Whoa, I forgot all about it." Flounder swam at full speed, trying to
catch up.
Not only had I forgotten to go to the last rehearsal yesterday, now I almost
forgot about the show! I sighed, coming closer to the main entrance of the
palace. My sisters and Daddy would be furious!
I raced down the main hall towards the theater. Maybe I could make it. I
could now hear the opening music loud and clear. I passed a doorway and saw
the place was packed with merpeople. I had somehow lost Flounder on my way. I
looked back and he was gone. I still clutched the whoozit in my right hand. I
had no place to put it. Except....my hair. Good thing I wore it loose. I
tucked the whoozit into my hair, hoping it would stay, and be unnoticed. I
heard Attina starting out the concert with her solo, as I swam into the
backstage area. I ran into Adella, who whirled around arms crossed, to face
me.
"Where have you been Ariel? You should have been here an hour ago, like
the rest of us." She scolded.
"I--" I began but Aquata came over to join in yelling at me.
"We were counting on you. I just knew something would happen." Aquata
said, shaking her head. She would never let me explain.
"Here's your crown." Arista said, appearing beside me. "I've gotta get on
stage!" She swam for the left entrance, to await her cue. I put the sparkling
crown on, it was part of our on-stage look, that Sebastian had insisted on.
I would go on right after Arista. It was odd to me, being third. I was
used to being last of seven. The youngest, the baby. My sisters never let me
forget they were 'older and wiser.' I watched as Arista did her part. I
wracked my brain, remembering my lines. I never had trouble remembering
songs, but this time I was a little nervous. I chose not to attend most
rehearsals, simply because there were better things to do, like exploring.
Besides, after one or two lessons I had my part down.
"Your turn." Adella whispered, giving me a slight shove forward. I glanced
back at her in annoyance, but gracefully moved forward into the spotlight.
Aquata:
The concert at the palace was about to start, and Ariel hadn't even
shown up yet. I was starting to get worried, and also very angry.
Not only had she missed the last practice, but she is also going to
miss the concert. Even with this in mind, I was getting kind of
worried, after all, she is my little sister and I try to take care of
her as often as possible, even though she may not know it. I walked
over to my sisters, who were waiting as impatiently as I was, hoping
she would get there soon. "How can she always do this and get away
with it?" I said angrily. "Just because she's the "baby" daddy
always lets her get away with it!! When I was her age, if I did
this, I would have been grounded for life!!" My sisters looked at me
silent and with nervous expressions on their faces. Attina went on
the stage to get ready to start the concert. As soon as she started
singing, Ariel came rushing over, as though she had completely
forgotten. I was so mad, that I didn't know what I said to her.
Arista came over, and gave Ariel her crown, and rushed on stage.
Ariel stood next to the curtain waiting to go on next, and I went
over to her, and said, "do you realize what you almost did? You
almost ruined the concert!!!!"
"I am so sorry, but I almost forgot-" Ariel said before I cut her off.
"Sorry doesn't cut it sis! Just wait until Dad finds out!!" I said,
hoping that she would learn her lesson.
Ariel walked on stage as Arista walked off. I sat down to wait. I
was last to go up. I just hoped that I didn't screw up.
Adella:
I sighed as I watched Ariel take her position center stage. How
could she be late? She could have ruined the whole concert! And what
she didn't know was what Sebastian told us right before the curtain
came up...
I was putting the final touches on my make-up, and trying to decide
whether to wear the seashell pink lipstick or the cool coral (because
the pink brings out my eyes, but the coral matches my new crown
better) when Sebastian came in to give us our five-minute call.
"Now, girls, I don't want you to be nervous or anyting," he said,
alreading looking more nervous than any of us, "but King Triton has
invited some very important dignitaries to this concert. Tings
haven't been so well with some of dem because of a big
misunderstanding, but your father is hoping to smooth tings over dis
visit," he said, pacing on the make-up table before us.
"He's counting on you all to start tings off well with dis concert in
their honor. So don't be nervous or anyting, but just do a good
job. It's nothing to worry about, but just remember to..." Sebastian
gasped.
"Where is Ariel?!" His little eyes bulged as he realized that my
baby sister was missing, as usual. He frantically searched the
room, muttering to himself. "Dat girl is going to get me into hot
water! First she misses da rehersals, den she misses da costume
fitting..."
"Relax, Sebastian," Arista told him, "she'll be here. Just go tell
Daddy that we'll be give the best performance ever!"
"I certainly will," I told him.
"But where is dat girl?!" he demanded.
Arista smiled tightly. "Uhh, she just...had to go get...her crown!
She left it in her room. She'll be right back."
Arista was a terrible liar, but Sebastian bought it. As soon as he
left, I reached for the seashell pink lipstick and looked at Arista
in the mirror. "Why did you cover for her?"
"Well, she certainly couldn't tell him," Aquata said. "Daddy needs
to make a good impression. Alot is at stake here."
That was true. "It's just...why won't she take these performances
seriously?" I asked.
None of my sisters replied. We all knew the answer...
As I looked at Ariel, standing on stage, looking unsure of herself, I
wished she'd known how much was at stake. Maybe she would have made
it on time instead of wasting time exploring and looking for...human
things?
A shiny little heart-shaped object lay at my fins. Ariel must have
dropped it when I practically shoved her onstage. I picked it up.
It was smooth and cool to touch. It must be a human thing, I
thought, because I'd never seen anything like it under the sea. I
knew that if Daddy caught me with it, I would be in trouble, but it
was so...pretty.
Ariel had shown me some of her treasures before. There was some kind
of paper with strange shapes drawn on it, and a long stick with
strands on the end of it that she called a swisher. Boring things.
Ugly things. But this was different.
I swam back over to my make-up table and tucked it into my jewelry
box. Then, I took one last look in the mirror, straightened my
crown, and went back to my place off-stage to wait for my cue.
Andrina:
I watched as Ariel took her place onstage, wondering if she knew what to
do. She didn't always show up at the rehearsals and I worried that she would
screw things up for Daddy. Ariel had the most beautiful voice, but she never
took music seriously. She was always swimming from one sunken ship to
another looking for human things, despite the fact that Daddy forbad any
contact between the human world and the mer world.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Adella slipping a shiny thing
into her jewlery box. From what I could tell, it was nothing I had ever seen
before.
When Adella took her place offstage to wait for her cue, I sneaked into
her jewlery box to look at the...thing. It was pretty. I opened it up and a
girl's face stared back at me. 'this must be what humans look like' I
thought.
Quickly, I put the human thing back, knowing that I would be in serious
hot water if I kept it.
Attina:
I had gotten off the stage awhile ago, feeling great. I thought that
I had done a great job, as did my other sister. I was watching
nevously as were the other sisters as Ariel walked on stage. I had
seen my sisters walking around, so I began to walk too. After
everyone left the dressing room, I had noticed someone didn't close
their jewelery box properly, so I decided to do it for them. I
opened the jewelery box and looked inside. There was a small heart
shaped piece of human jewelery in there. I would get rid of it. Dad
would be so proud of me. But, it was so beautiful..... maybe I could
keep it just for awhile.
More from Adella....
It was a miracle! The show was over and Ariel hadn't ruined it! I
just couldn't believe that Ariel could pull off such a performance
with such a little amount of practice. Of course, she had forgotten
two verses of her song, but she adlibbed by swim-dancing
spectacularly around the stage. I was sure that Sebastian would give
her a stern lecture for that later, but as far as the audience knew,
she was supposed to do that.
As we took our bows, I looked over at Daddy, expecting his usual
beaming face, but I was surprised to see that his expression was less
than enthusiastic. I have no idea why--did he know that Ariel almost
missed the performance? I thought Aquata was only trying to scare
Ariel when she said she was going to tell on her. Or maybe something
terrible happened with one of the dignitaries...
Speaking of which, I turned to face them and flashed them one of my
dazzling smiles as I bowed yet again with my sisters. The audience
was still applauding and the ambassadors, kings, and queens nodded
approvingly. They loved my performance! HE loved my performance!
I noticed a very handsome merman sitting next to a very haughty-
looking queen. He looked a little older than me. He had dark hair,
and his eyes were the color of his deep blue tail. Sort of the color
of the ocean just as the light of morning streams through the
surface. I gave him a coy look and shook my midnight hair so that it
floated around me and framed my face. It took me a second to realize
that he didn't notice. He was too busy watching my sister!
Flounder:
I tried to catch up with Ariel to the backstage but since her sisters were all screaming and panicking because Ariel just showed up, I decided to stay in a corner beside the stage, near Sebastian and the orchestra. When Ariel had her turn to sing, I decided to meet her at the backstage.
I told her, "Ariel, that was a wonderful performance! Now your sisters will be relieved and next time this happens, they should be able to rely on you. Your voice has such magic no one can resist. you are just brilliant... uh, Ariel, are you okay?"
Ariel said, "If only I can make them understand. I know I am irresponsible. But can't I do what I love to do most? I mean, I love singing and it will be with me all my life. I just want to have this time, things that seemingly can never be within my grasps. I am dreaming about a world beyond what ours can have. Can't I just reach that dream through these things I collect? Through, through... Oh no!!!!"
Ariel panicked! She is brushing her hair all over.
"What are you doing?" I asked, frantically.
"I lost it! I lost the most beautiful human thing I have ever found!" Ariel screamed at the top of her voice.
"Oh no! Don't worry Ariel. I'll find it for you. We'll find it." I told her so she can calm down. However, Ariel was still worried. Her face has truned almost as red as her hair. Little drops of tears are streaming from her eyes.
I traced the path where we first found the heart-shaped thing to the backstage. I thought she might have lost it along the way since she swam very fast to make it to the concert in time. I searched everywhere. I could feel my eyes swell. But I had to find it. I gave up. It was nowhere to be found. Maybe it was already buried in the sand somewhere. I had to go to Ariel and tell her the bad news. Oh no. That was really difficult. I knew that that would make her even sadder than she already was.
I came to her to the backstage. Her red face lightened up as she saw me enter, hopeful. But as soon as she saw my face, she slipped into a dressing room and said, "It's okay Flounder. I really thank you for what you did. You're the best."
"B-but...," I tried to speak up. I could feel Ariel's lonliness during those moments. I just felt so sad to have failed her. I came to a slightly opened drawer. It was filled with many clips and jewels. Then one glinting tiny thing caught my eye. Hah! I can't be mistaken! It is part of Ariel's heart-shaped human stuff! I saw this tiny ring attached to the cleavage of the heart. Now, I have a lead! Go one detective Flounder! Make your friend Ariel happy! She needs you! You have to be tbe the best detective in the seven seas!
Hmmm... I guess I'll start with the owner of the drawer.
Adella:
As the seaweed curtain drew closed before me, I swam off in a bit of
a huff. He didn't even look at me--he was too busy smiling at my
sister! I tried not to pout as I wondered if I'd get another chance
to impress him. He was so handsome, he must be a prince from a far
away region of the ocean. I didn't think I'd ever seen him before,
because I would have remembered those deep blue eyes. Just thinking
about them put me in a bit of a daze, and I almost swam right into
Flounder.
"Oh, sorry," I said absently.
He looked a little nervous as he swam away, mumbling something about
finding Ariel. He probably just wanted to see if she was in trouble
for almost missing the concert due to her latest exploration
expedition.
Suddenly I remembered the beautiful heart-shaped treasure that Ariel
had dropped. I felt a rush of anticipation as I swam over to my
jewelry box to examine that human thing I had hidden before the
concert. I couldn't risk taking it out where someone might see me,
so I swam behind the dressing screen, careful not to draw attention
to myself.
I held my breath as I opened my box, eager to examine the shiny heart
closer. I pushed my strand of pearls out of the way, took out my
coral hair clip, tossed my abalone bracelet aside...my heart started
pounding as I searched for my new treasure. It was gone!
I could feel my stomach drop as a terrifying thought occured to me.
Daddy! What if Daddy found out that I had that human thing? A
little part of me knew that Daddy had never invaded our privacy
before and it was highly unlikely that he would go snooping in our
personal jewelry boxes, but another part of me knew how much he
opposed anything human. 'Human things are evil!' he had told us time
and again.
I tried to gain my composure. If he had found it, I would accept my
punishment with grace. It was time to face the music. Carefully, I
swam back out from behind the screen and set my jewelry box back on
the make-up stand. In the mirror, I saw the reflection of one of my
sisters.
Andrina! Of course! She was always one to play tricks. Maybe she
took it to make me think Daddy had. I took a deep breath and prepared
to confront her.
Flounder:
As I was getting out of the room thinking of finding Ariel or anyone, perhaps Sebastian or any of the palace helpers, to collect information about the owner of the drawer I just saw, Adella came dashing right in and almost shoved me. My thoughts broke off. i thought she was a shark!!! I almost screamed in terror. But I remembered that I promised myself not to be a guppy anymore. I am detective Flounder! The great protector and warrior of the sea!!! But first, I have to find Ariel's "human heart."
I stopped for a while, trying to recollect my thoughts. "Now, where was I...?" I mumbled. "Oh yeah! The owner of the drawer. It must be one of Ariel's sisters. Who could she b..." My voice trailed off as I heard little rasping noises at the backstage. I swallowed hard, trying to calm myself down. "Don't worry Flounder. It is not a merghost. It must be just someone making little noises, having fun... you know...," I told myself.
The noises disappeared. "Whew! Get real Flounder! There is no such thing as a merghost! Merghosts don't e... aaaaaahhhhhh!!!" I screamed and breathed hard because as the raspings became louder and faster, something or someone touched my back!
"Whoa! What's wrong?" It was Sebastian. I was still shaking in fear. I told Sebastian about the noises I heard at the backstage. He just laughed at me as usual. "Flounder, stop being the chicken of the sea!" he said.
I went to the backstage with Sebastian, still shivering all over. No one was there now. But I am sure there was someone... or something in there that made those rasping noises. It couldn't have been Adella or any of Ariel's sisters. They are so light-footed to keep their hairdos from being overturned, that they sneer at Ariel sometimes because she swims too fast, she just can't get her hair up.
Anyway, I shun all thoughts about merghosts away and asked Sebastian who the owner of the drawer filled with jewels is. Sebastian told me that he saw Andrina getting something there.
Hah! Alert merpolice! We have a suspect! Find Princess Andrina!!!! *=}
Flounder:
The owner of the drawer may still not be the same as the one who took Ariel's "heart". Somebody might have just kept it there for a while. I have to search Princess Andrina's room. But that doesn't mean that she is my one possible culprit. I have to know who else touched the things in Andrina's drawer and...
"The noises!!!" I shouted. "I almost bumped into Adella when I was leaving the backstage. Maybe she was the one producing those noises, trying to find something or just checking out Andrina's jewels in the drawer!"
"Hey wait! How can I be sure that it was indeed Andrina's drawer?! Hah! Now I have two suspects, on the ground that both touched the drawer and the things inside it!"
I turned back right away to leave the backstage and find the rooms of Andrina and Adella. Suddenly, Attina emerged right in front of me from I don't know where, and dropped something. She picked it up quickly.
"Hey! Why are you in such a hurry?! Look at what happened!" she scolded.
"Uh- sorry. I didn't mean to... I mean, I didn't see you coming in and I... I... well, I was just... uh- looking around. Bye!" I fled from the backstage and suddenly stopped. Was that a shiny gold thing that Attina dropped? But Attina doesn't like human stuff. What she likes is getting herself appear to her father as the most obedient daughter in the whole waterworld. She would definitely give King Triton whatever human stuff she'll find.
"Whoa!" I gasped. A wild thought just crossed my mind. "What if... what if... what if somebody found it and brought it to the King?! Oh no! Ariel would be the only one to be suspected for getting a human thing into the palace! I have to do something!!!"
Ariel
I stayed in the dressing room a while, thinking of what I could do next. I couldn't believe I had lost my new human treasure! I had tucked it into my hair...where I thought it would be safe. Now it was gone. I know I had it when I came into the palace. I must have dropped it backstage or on stage. I would have to wait until everyone cleared out to go look. But that might be a while, and by then someone might have picked it up. I swam in a tight circle, thinking. My whoozit was unlike any of my other human things. It resembled jewelry, but not the kind that I was used to. Most importantly, it held a little picture of a human girl. She was so beautiful. She looked a lot like a mermaid. But her tail wasn't showing in the picture. What did humans call their tails? ....Legs! Yes that's it. The whoozit would have been great for my growing collection. I couldn't give up this easy! If I could stay out of my sisters paths maybe I could discretly look for it. I slowly swam out of the dressing room, so I wouldn't draw attention to myself, and made my way towards the stage entrance. I saw Attina and Andrina swimming around, and then I spotted Flounder. He had just had a run-in with Attina. I carefully shecked the ground for any sign of my whoozit. Nothing. Someone had it! I swam over to Flounder quickly. He would help me find my human thing.
"Flounder." I hissed, from behind him. He whirled around in a stream of bubbles.
"I didn't mean to scare you." I laughed, but I quickly remembered my problem. "But, I lost that human whoozit we found."
"I know." I was surprised at his answer. How did he know? Had he found it? Before I could ask, he started to explain. "I think one of your sisters has it."
"What?" Why would they want it? They probably could care less about human things, after all they were forbidden. "Which one?" I asked.
"Not sure, but I was about to follow Attina." Flounder replied.
"Good enough." I said, taking off through the palace.
"Ariel!" Flounded swam at full speed behind me.
"If Attina has it, that's just one step away from Daddy finding out...and me getting into trouble again." I sighed. I knew Attina wouldn't turn it in, if she had it, just to be mean, far from it, she was just overly helpful. And probably too much like Father. Of course, I had also seen Andrina around backstage, she could be suspect number 2. "C'mon Flounder, hurry!" I told him.
Attina came into sight down the hall. Looks like she was headed to her room. Of course...I could be wrong. All of my sisters rooms, and mine, were located in the same wing. Too bad I really didn't have time to investigate all of my sisters tonight. I still had to pack for tomorrow's big trip. Daddy had been talking about this family vacation for weeks. We were going to the coldest part of the ocean, the Arctic, to escape the hot summer waters. Father was friends with the Duchess of the Arctic, so we had a place to stay all set up.
I always seemed to wait until the last minute to pack. There were more important things to do, in my opinion. Right now, that important thing was seeing what Attina was up to. I watched the large shell door open, and saw Attina go into her room. How could I question her without seeming suspicious? I waited a few seconds, then swam over to the door and knocked.
"Yes?" Came Attina's muffled voice.
"Attina, do you have a minute? I'd like to talk." Hmm somehow that didn't sound convincing. Attina's door eased open. I floated back a few inches.
"Uh, sure Ariel." She smiled.
"I was wondering if I could ...borrow one of your books." I said, pleased with my quick-thinking. Flounded was still with me, half hidden by my hair. He spoke up.
"Yeah, it's for school."
"Which one?" Attina asked, still not opening her shell door allt he way.
"Could we come in and look?" I put on my most innocent look, and grinned at her.
Andrina:
After the concert, I thought I would sneak another glance at the pretty
human thing. Even though Daddy said human things were bad, it was such a
pretty thing. I had to see it again.
As I made my way backstage, I nearly swam right into Adella. She
looked nervous. She took a deep breath. I had a feeling this had to do with
the thing.
King Triton:
Blue... blue all around.
As I sat in my throne room, I could here my daughters
performing from a ways off... they were all so beautiful and
talented. I had to be the luckiest merman in the whole ocean...
and soon we'd all be on vacation.
Sure, the palace was magnificent, but there's never any
escaping the warm summer waters. I was pleasantly surprised to
her from the Duchess and gladly accepted her invitation. I knew
the girls would have a great time.
Just then, I could hear Sebastian coming down the hall. "No,
I will see de king! He will not mind!"
The little crab burst through the door with a huge smile,
"Your majesty!"
"Hello Sebastian," I nodded.
"Dey said dey were to keep everyone out, but I knew dat was
not right..."
I shifted, "Actually, I was wanting some quiet time... but
now that you're here."
He hopped along the floor quickly, "Oh your majesty! Pardon
my intrusion! I was just wanting to check up on de trip... we are
all still leaving tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"I should go pack den... lot's to do!" He bowed and scurried
out the door.
Sebastian... he was a strange one, but there's no way he
could ever be replaced. And most of the time, he's the one who
brings me to my sense when my daughter's get in trouble. Well...
mainly Ariel, but he always seems to say the right thing if it's
needed.
I shook my head and swam a little out of the chair. He was
right... it was time to pack, and I hadn't started yet. What kind
of example was I setting? I smiled when I thought of the cool
waters that would be chilling my fins tomorrow.
Yes... it was good to be king.
Sebastion:
I was furious, after all the hard work we ( I ) had done, and now.. his
majesty informs me that all these special guests will be heya,
course, I know my show will impress them, but ...
wait a minute- where's that Ariel ?
I frantically looked around the dressing room, and seeing her nowhere.. I
was really getting steamed ( er.. upset, steam and crabs donlt mix ) ..
that girl always is trouble, messing up and ruining things.. if she's late
( again !! ) .. :-(
......
well, the show was underway, and in all the rucus and excitement, I was
starting directing ( what I do best :-) , and had forgotten all about that
girls lack of responsibility..
til I saw that little guppie, er.. flounder that she hangs out with , he was
hovering near the stage, by the instrument pit.
I was hit with relief - if he;s here, she must be as well, but then
dread set in, what if she blows it like last time .. I frowned.. but
continued on anyways .. reaching the third number which was the one picked
for Tritons youngest daughter...
* sigh !!! *
well, here goes nothing .. as I raised my arms and directed the intro ....
Sebastion:
well, the performance had gone surprisingly well.
what with dat, dat ARIEL . ( I could feel my face growing even redder than
usual ) ... first she misses rehearsals, shows up to the performance late,
then, THEN she forgets part of her song, and does this , um, would you
call it dancing ? , ( never did care much for all that dance stuff, I'm a
musician, nod an acrobat )
well, the crowd seemed to enjoy it, long ad His Majesty didn't notice too
much ..
* frown *
... whoop !
Ah 'bout ran right into that , gup.. er, flounder, as ah went backstage to
make sure everything was in order ..
no wonder he seems attracted to Ariel, they's both always in such a blasted
hurry.
and imagining things, as well.. Merghosts !, * hrumpphh *, what a story ...
* still frowning as I headed off to His Majesties room *
Adella:
I turned to face Andrina and slowly swam up to her. I wasn't
quite sure what to say. If she hadn't already seen the little golden
heart in my jewelry box, then I didn't want to let on to her that I
had kept a human object.
"Your joke worked, Andrina," I said. "I was frantic when I
saw that something was missing out of my jewelry box. Now, if you'll
please return it..."
Flounder:
Ariel asked me to come with her to Attina's room to find out if she has her whoozit. Not this is going to be a REAL CONFRONTATION and a REAL SPYING JOB! But the problem is, I'm not good in keeping my mouth shut about secrets, most especially whenever I am nervous. I have all those slips as my entire body shakes. The more I want to cover for Ariel, the more I get her caught. Whew! It's really hard being so honest (Yes! I am like that! Honest! Not a guppy!).
"Could we come in and look?" Ariel asked, wearing her sweetest smile. Attina seemingly did not want us in her room. Maybe she indeed has the whoozit! Or maybe she only has some secret she didn't want anybody to find out, so she can maintain her "good daughter before the King" charm. "Now, now Flounder. Stop those analyses for a while. You have proven that you are the wisest of all! Hey, wait! You have to do something for Ariel. Attina doesn't look like she is letting us in. Hmmm. Another test for the Great Flounder!" I told myself. (But still, I was nervous. I mean, REALLY nervous)
I had to come up with something. Aha! I swallowed hard and breathed in, deep. "Ah-uh... a," I mumbled. "What is wrong with me?! I tried to speak up, but nothing came out! Now I'm reading Attina's face. Things don't look good. I have to do something for Ariel!" I frantically told li'l cute shaky me.
Somehow, I managed to come up with something and found myself saying, "Ah-um. Uh- Attina. You see, Ariel really needs the book. Please. Do you want to see you youngest sister getting humiliated and looking like a fool before her class because she did not study?! Oh, the embarassment! That would stain your royal blood too! Uh-and would you just stand there and hear people calling Ariel, YOUR SISTER, a fool, and brand her names like bone-head or princess stupid?! (I saw Ariel made a face.) That is just so terrible! I mean, Ariel misses rehearsals, comes up late for a concert, forgets some lines of her song, and even does acrobatics to hide that she has forgotten her acts. But all those are nothing compared to being called princess stupid! You might even like it better to see her swim around old, dark, sunken ships, collect human things, and wear her sweetest smile to fool anybody just to trace who got her lost collection, like maybe a li'l shiny..."
"Flounder!" Ariel whispered from behind me. It was then that I realized what I was about to reveal (or maybe what I just revealed)! Oh no! Now it's up to Attina. Did she get the slightest hint about me and Ariel's spying job on her? Sigh! I sure hope she didn't. @:(
Andrina:
"Your joke worked, Andrina," Adella said said. 'what joke?' I was
thinking. True, I had a reputation for always playing jokes on people, but I
promised myself that today I wouldn't pull anything.
"I was frantic when I saw that something was missing out of my jewelry
box. Now, if you'll please return it..." my sister continued.
What was she talking about? Oh yes. Her coral necklace I had borrowed
for the concert. "Ok, here," I said, unclaspint the necklace and handing it
to her, "I didn't think you'd mind if I borrowed it, and I was going to
return it after all the guests left! What's gotten over you?"
Adella:
I looked down at the coral necklace Andrina had handed me. I
thought for sure that she had taken the heart-shaped human treasure
out of my jewelry box during the concert.
"Is that all you 'borrowed'?" I asked, trying not to sound
too suspicious. Because there's something else missing out of my
box. It was new, and I really wanted to take it on the trip with
me." I thought I saw a glimmer of guilt pass over her face. Now I
knew I was on the right track, because Andrina is usually a very
talented liar.
"It was something I found," I stressed, hoping she'd get the
hint. "I just want to get it back, and I promise that I won't get
angry."
She was looking a bit more nervous. Andrina glanced at the
drawer of her dressing table.
"I knew it! You did take it!" I accused.
Ursula:
"So, King Triton and his sea-brats are planning a trip to the arctic," I said, staring into my crystal ball. I had once lived in the palace, but that was before King Triton had banished me. Now I wanted revent on that myserable tirent. "I'll make their trip to the arctic one that they won't forget." I said, laughing miniacally. "I'll follow them and make sure they don't make it alive. Then we'll see who gets the last laugh."
I swam over to a nearby cupboard where I kept some of my best magic and started packing...