I watched as Adella swam off in a stream of bubbles. If I knew she'd be that upset, I would have never played that joke on her!
I swam after her as fast as I could, hoping to appologize.
I stopped and rested for a minute when she had run into a merman. Wait, wasn't that Arista's boyfriend? I hid behind some seaweed and watched them.
This was unbelievable! Why was Adella hanging all over Arista's boyfriend? If she was mad at Arista, I would understand, but Arista didn't plant that seaslug in ner suitcase!
I swam off as fast as I could, hoping that neither of the two hadn't seen me. I had to find one of my sisters. I was starting to worry about Adella!
Ariel
I looked all over the west wing of the palace, but no Adella! I had lost her
trail since I bumped into the Duchess in the hall. I knew Adella must be
upset, and she was acting completely out of character. Where would she go?
We'd only been here about an hour. She couldn't know the grounds well enough
to swim off like that and hide. The Duchess would probably give us a tour
soon, but so far we had only seen part of the first floor and the west wing.
I had hoped to be doing some exploring by now, not chasing after
Adella....but I hated to see any of my sisters upset. I wanted to help if I
could.
I swam around on the first floor of the palace looking for my sister. I was
about to try the kitchen - because of Adella's love for fancy food, when
Flounder's voice met my ears.
"Ariel!" He called, swimming up to me. "I've been looking for you. I got
the room right across the hall from yours." He said proudly.
"That's great Flounder!" I smiled brightly at my best friend.
"So what are you doing? Do you have to unpack?" He asked.
"I think unpacking can wait." I said with a wave of my hand. "I was just
looking for Adella, she was acting very strange, and now she's upset."
"Oh! Well is she wearing that silver starfish?" Flounder questioned.
"Yes." I replied. Hmm what could that have to do with anything?
"See, I told you that starfish was bad!" He said, swimming around me
excitedly.
"So you think it's the starfish that is making Adella act this way?" I
still doubted that....but Flounder wouldn't lie. Maybe I should try to get a
closer look at Adella's starfish.
"Yes!" Flounder's eyes were big and pleading.
"Well, what do you say we find Adella and see if she'll part with that
starfish long enough for us to find out if it's really bad?"
Dylan:
Adella held on to me tightly. I knew she didn't like me, but....
"Have you seen Arista?" I asked.
"She's at the castle, sweetie.." Adella replied.
Ooookay, Adella was acting really strange....
I motioned for Current to take off a little faster. I wanted to see
my Arista. I missed her so! "Come on Current!"
The castle started to loom up, and we came upon the main doors.
I helped Adella off, having to pry her hands off from around my waist.
A swam off Current's back.
Along came a Penguin Guard took Current to the stable. I patted my
steed as he was led off.
Adella and I entered the hallway into the castle.
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From: ArielArista@aol.com
Date: Mon Nov 6, 2000 11:47pm
Subject: [LittleMermaidRPG] Arista
Arista
I watched Ariel go after Adella. I was about to go too, when I saw Andrina
slip out from her hiding place behind a large ice pillar and swim off after
Adella and Ariel. I was sure Andrina and Ariel would talk to Adella. Then
maybe everyone would feel better about the little scene we just witnessed. I
couldn't imagine what was wrong with Adella. Could the cold water be getting
to her? Her temper had been worse than Father's for a minute there.
"I think I'll go unpack." I said over my shoulder to Aquata and Attina.
Then I swam back to my room. I had unpacked about half of my things when I
heard the familiar sounds of sea horses outside. I looked out my window,
curious, but I couldn't see anything. So I left my bag on the bed and swam as
fast as my fins would carry me towards the front door. I couldn't wait to see
some new sea horses. I made it as far as the front hallway when Andrina swam
out in my path. I nearly ran into her! "Hey!" I squealed in surprise.
"Arista....where are you going?" Andrina asked. She sounded like she'd just
swam a marathon.
"I heard sea horses, I was just going to see them." I smiled. I wondered
where Andrina had come from. I thought she would be apologizing to Adella.
"Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you." My sister said quickly.
"Why not?" I questioned.
"Well..." She shrugged, "If you've seen one giant sea horse, you've seen
them all right?" I tried to get around her but Andrina still blocked my way.
"Andrina! All sea horses are different. Now please move so I can go see
this one." Did she have a real reason to keep me away from the sea horses?
Or....was this another trick? I thought one joke a day was plenty, but with
Andrina you could never be sure.
"I can't." She told me, her eyes getting wide. She held out her arms so I
couldn't pass.
"What is this about Andrina?" I asked, crossing my arms and swishing my
tail impatiently.
"Um, well I--" She started. But just then I saw two merpeople entering the
castle. Adella, and...Dylan? He came! I pushed past Andrina and rushed over
to Dylan in a blur of bubbles. I threw my arms around him and hugged him
tight. It had only been a couple of days since I had last seen Dylan, but I
thought I would be spending this whole vacation away from him.
"I'm so glad you're here!" I told him happily. Over Dylan's shoulder I
could see Adella frowning in our direction.
Dylan:
"I've missed you." I smiled at my beloved.
"I've missed you too." she replied.
I held her close to me. "What have you been doing?"
She sighed " I've been unpacking..." She looked over her shoulder. "What's
wrong with Adella?"
"I met her on the way, and I thought I be nice and bring her back to the
castle."
"That was nice of you, even though she doesn't like you..." she said.
"Maybe a change of scenery helped her." I smiled at her. "Perhaps you and I
can go for a ride later on?"
"We'll see." She smiled at me.
"Is there a room for me to stay in?" I asked Arista.
Adella
I held on to Dylan tightly as we rode his seahorse to the
Duchess' castle. I tried again to loosen my hold, but it was almost
like my arms were glued around his waist.
"Have you seen Arista?" he asked me.
'Well, of course I've seen her--we were in the chariot for
hours on the way here! And we only just arrived--we haven't even had
dinner yet!' I thought, but instead, it came out, "She's at the
castle, sweetie."
I bit my lip to keep myself from speaking. He must think I'm
a shameless flirt! What was going on with me? It was like I was
under some kind of spell...
My eyes widened as I remembered the whozit that turned my
hands gold. Maybe this was related to that. Ariel had said that her
human treasures had never caused her hands to glow, and we had told
Daddy that a seawitch must have put a spell on us. We had just
wanted an excuse so we wouldn't have to tell Daddy about the whozit,
but maybe a seawitch had put a spell on that human thing Ariel had
found, and now it was affecting my actions.
We reached the castle and Dylan practically pulled me off of
him. We entered the castle and that warm feeling passed. In fact, I
got a chill. I looked at Dylan with disdain and wondered what
possibly possessed me to fall all over him like that. It's a good
thing Arista didn't see me acting so coyly with him.
I wondered if maybe Attina had any books that might explain
it. Then again, she probably didn't bring many books with her, but
the Duchess had an enormous library! I wanted to rush in and start
researching this mess, but just then, Arista swam over in a flurry of
bubbles and threw her arms around her boyfriend.
"I'm so glad you're here!" she said to him happily.
He smiled back at her and they started whispering.
I frowned and hoped that Dylan wouldn't tell her how I
acted. I decided to try to slip away unnoticed and find the Duchess'
library. I had to find out what was wrong with me.
As I slowly floated out of the cooridor, Andrina swam up to
me.
From: "~~Adella~~ " <adella2@chickmail.com>
Date: Wed Nov 8, 2000 0:59am
Subject: RP: Alana
Alana
I finished unpacking and swam out into the hallway. I
wondered where my sisters were; their rooms were empty. Flounder
swam up to me.
"Alana, have you seen Ariel?" he asked me.
"No, I'm sorry, Flounder. But if I know Ariel, I'd say she
was off exploring some dark corner of the castle," I smiled.
He frowned. "I guess I'll check downstairs again."
Poor Flounder. He could never keep up with Ariel. Actually,
none of us could!
I swam to the dining room. We still hadn't gotten an
official tour of the castle--the Duchess had mentioned giving us the
grand tour after dinner. I was the first one there. Or so I
thought, until I heard a baritone voice.
"Where is everyone? Oh mon, I never been so hungry. I hope
dey got alot to eat, 'cause I'm so hungry I could eat a whale."
I giggled. "Hi, Sebastian." He was pacing on the dinner
table.
"Oh, Alana," he said, just noticing me. "Tank goodness
you're here. Where's everybody else?"
"I don't know," I shrugged, but I hope they get here soon
because I'm starved!"
As we waited, I looked around the room. The ice walls were
carved with different images, one of a young merman. The caption
simply read, "Melvin". Who's Melvin? I wondered. I didn't think the
Duchess had any children.
"Hey Sebastian," I asked the Jamaican crab. "Do you know who
this is?" I pointed to the ice carving.
I decided to go inside the castle and find Ariel again. I just realized I
don't like the idea of exploring a castle standing for hundreds of years. I
bumped into one of Ariel's sisters. She hadn't seen Ariel. I decided to check
downstairs. Just then, I realized I didn't want to explore the inside of this
huge, old (though beautiful) castle alone too. "Perhaps, it is better to stay
outside and find Adella. Besides, i have to fight and win over this assault of
fear. I can't be a guppy anymore (but I can't help being one, I must say!)" I
told myself.
Before long, I was outside again. I heard voices and seahorses. At last!
I had company! I slowly swam over to the direction of the sounds. I found
Adella, Dylan, and Arista. I blew the horn at once in a melodic manner so no
one would suspect anything. Arista thought that musicians are playing inside.
She invited Dylan in. Adella was going to be alone! This was the chance! But
I still had to wait for Ariel. At least, I could just follow Adella around and
stop exploring until Ariel comes.
I found Ariel in the kitchen (which is quite unusual because Ariel can't be
exploring an artic kitchen for food, that is, if there isn't any sign of weird,
delightful collectibles around!) and she told me that she was looking for
Adella who had been acting quite strangely. "I told you that starfish was bad!"
I told her, trying to persuade her to look over the possibility that the
starfish indeed has black magic in it. I knew Ariel would believe.
"Well, what do you say we find Adella and see if she'll part with that
starfish long enough for us to find out if it's really bad?" Ariel asked me.
"That is just so wonderful! I'm really getting worried about Adella and all
of us!" I said vehemently and almost apprehensively too as what that starfish
made me become and made me do (that I almost killed my best friend) flashed in
my mind, giving me chills.
"Okay, now here's the plan. Since we haven't gone exploring yet that we
can't be familiar with every place in the castle, we split up. You try to find
Adella outside, while I do my job here inside. If we find her, we'll try to
come up with something to make her take off the necklace." Ariel instructed.
"Deal!" I exclaimed. 'Detective Flounder lives on' I thought, marking a
smile on my face.
"Now here, take this." Ariel gave me a some kinf of a horn.
"What's this for?" I asked.
"You blow this horn the moment you find her. i don't think there'd be any
way you can lead her to me. I'll be rushing to where the sound is coming from
so we can accomplish our little plan. If you hear my horn, try to find where I
am." Ariel explained.
We parted ways. "Wow! Ariel's plans are just sooo remarkable, and a li'l
naughty too." I chuckled.
"This is going to be exciting. There's nothing to be afraid of. I'll just
have to find Adella. What harm can that do? This is just like a hunting game
or hide and seek." These thoughts came into my mind, seemingly trying to calm
and comfort myself. Hunting ... pretty good. Just then, the dark shadow of
the big castle came over me as I saw what is seemingly a sculpture of someone
called Melvin. I shivered. I thought of mer-ghosts. Now, this is more like a
haunting game.
Ariel
I was still swimming around the first floor of the palace looking for Adella
when I heard Flounder blow the horn shell I had given him. He must have found
her! I swam outside, where the sound had come from. I spotted Flounder and
Adella not far away. But as I swam over, Adella went back inside. I stopped
in disappointment, bubbles circling around me. Then I swam over to Flounder.
"Good work Flounder," I smiled. "But I think it's time for dinner....we
really shouldn't be late. We can talk to Adella later I guess." I motioned
for my friend to follow me back in.
***************
I had been right, everyone was headed for the huge dining room. Flounder and
I hurried to catch up to Adella, Arista, and Dylan. Hmm when had he gotten
here? Oh well...I sure didn't want to be the last one to the table...again.
I took a seat beside Andrina, and Flounder rested on the other seat next to
mine. On the other side of Andrina, at the head of the table, is where the
Duchess sat. After the food had been served Daddy swam up and held up his
glass for a toast.
"To my dear friend Dara, for letting us spend our vacation here."
I had wondered what the Duchess' first name was! We all raised our glasses
and chorused "To the Duchess"
The Duchess smiled, "Oh sit down Triton." She blushed. "You know my home is
always open to you and your family."
At that point we all started eating. It was a dish I had never had before,
but it was good! I had worked up an appetite swimming around the castle so
much.
"Oh Ariel, did you want to hear my stories about Melvin?" Duchess Dara
asked me. I nodded in reply since my mouth was full.
"Melvin? Is he the one in that ice carving?" Alana asked, gesturing to the
far side of the room.
"Yes, he is dear." The Duchess smiled. Suddenly my sisters looked
intrigued. I had to admit I wanted to know more myself....after all I was
staying in his room. "Melvin was an ancestor of mine." The Duchess continued,
"He lived here, in fact it was he who helped finish building this castle. I
never met the man while he was alive...but I have had many visits from him in
my time."
"What do you mean?" Attina asked skeptically. Attina was a very logical
person, and she refused to believe in such things as mer-ghosts.
"Just what I said," The Duchess smiled, "Melvin visits me...even in my old
age. His ghost is in this palace. Only I haven't seen him in a few months. I
first saw Melvin when I was about Ariel's age. He didn't scare me off, like
he scared others. He and I came to an understanding. This is our place. He
won't try to scare me off anymore. Really, he is like a friend....and a very
good tourist attraction." She laughed. "But I must say that he has scared his
share of people here. I've had many servants quit after trying to clean his
room, the one Princess Ariel is staying in." My sisters all stared at me.
Some looked like they pitied me, others looked shocked. I looked down at my
food, pretending to be interested in finishing it. "You see, he died in that
room." Duchess Dara was saying.
"How did he die?" Alana gasped.
"Well that room was once Melvin's study, his favorite place. There was a
great sea-quake one night and the large bookcase in that room fell on him.
The ice that the book case was made out of was so thick and heavy that he was
helpless. He died trapped under the thick ice. That is why Melvin haunts that
room." The Duchess explained, "But, that's not the only place I have seen
him. I've spotted Melvin in the west wing halls, the sitting room, and the
room in the east wing that is said to have been his bedroom." She seemed to
take in the worried looks on my sisters faces, and the Duchess smiled kindly.
"Don't worry girls, Melvin won't harm you....though he may try to scare you.
Really, he's harmless. The poor old man has been dead over 100 years!" She
waved her napkin around, then she took a bite of her food.
"100 years? Whoa, I hope he's well perserved." Dylan joked. Arista raised
her eyebrows at her boyfriend.
"Well if he isn't, then he wouldn't have any trouble scaring anyone!"
Andrina laughed.
I told myself not to worry. I didn't really believe in mer-ghosts! Beside me
Flounder was shaking. Aww poor little fish! I knew he hated mer-ghost
stories. I didn't think the Duchess was would lie to us. She probably
believed in Melvin. It must be her imagination that sees him.
At the other end of the table I saw that Daddy was nodding. My heart dropped.
He looked like he knew what Duchess Dara was talking about. "Daddy...?"
"Have YOU ever seen Melvin, Father?" Aquata asked.
"I thought I did once." Daddy responded.
"Wow....a real ghost." Adella said in a low thoughtful voice.
"I don't believe in mer-ghosts." Attina declared. "There really is no
evidence..."
"Well I do know he existed, and I know what I saw." The Duchess said,
sipping her drink. "And there is that ice carving on the wall."
"Yes, but I don't think I can believe something like that until I see it."
Attina replied.
"Oh that's fine, I know I didn't believe in mer-ghosts before Melvin
either." The Duchess said gently. Attina glanced at Melvin's carving, then
focused her attention on her shell-plate.
Adella
I watched Arista acting giddy with Dylan as they floated in
the foyer, and I tried to swim away slowly. I was eager to find the
Duchess' library so I could try to find out what was wrong with me.
Did it have something to do with the whozit that had turned my hands
gold?
As I slowly floated out of the cooridor, Andrina swam up to
me, her arms crossed in front of her. She looked angry.
"Hi," I said.
She cocked one eyebrow.
"I'm sorry I lost my temper," I said feebily. I knew that I
owed my sisters much more for the way I treated them.
Andrina continued to stare at me.
"I truly am," I continued. "But you shouldn't have put that
sea slug in my jewelry bag!" I couldn't resist adding.
"That's right. *I* put the sea slug in your bag, not Arista!"
"You don't have to sound so proud of it!" I cried
indignantly.
"Well if I had known you were going to take it out on
Arista..."
"What does Arista have to do with it?" I asked.
"Well, why are you trying to get even with HER if it's ME
you're mad at?" she demanded.
"Get even with her?" I echoed. My eyes widened. She must
know how I flirted with Arista's boyfriend. "I'm not trying to
get even with anyone," I said.
"Oh, yeah? Then has your taste in mermen changed with the
climate?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Don't act like you don't know. I saw how you were coming on
to Dylan. And everyone knows that you barely tolerate him."
"That's not true!" I cried. "I can tolerate him--I just
don't think he's suitable for Arista."
"But he's suitable for you? Since when?"
"It's not what you think," I said, trying to swim past her.
"Well, Adella," Andrina said, blocking my path, "either
you're trying to get back at Arista or you really like him, but the
bottom line is that you were trying to steal away your sister's
boyfriend!"
"That's not true!" I argued. "And keep your voice down!"
I wondered if I should confide in her about how I couldn't
control my actions. The way SHE was acting, she probably wouldn't
believe me.
"I have every right to tell Arista," she threatened.
"No! Andrina, please don't tell her! It would break her
heart. And I would be so embarassed if anyone actually believed that
I LIKED him!"
Just then, the Duchess swam into the hallway.
"Well, girls, are you all settled in?"
"Yes, ma'am," we replied.
"Well then, we'll see you in the dining room for dinner," she
said, smiling.
We nodded. "Oh, yes," I said, eager for an excuse to get
away from Andrina, and suddenly realizing how famished I was. I swam
with the Duchess and asked, "Do you have a library here?"
"My dear, we have an enormous library here," she said. "My
ancestor, Melvin started it. Of course," she said, lowering her
voice, "He had started it with human books he had found on a sunken
ship."
My eyes widened with interest. "You mean, you have HUMAN
books in your library?"
"We have all types of books. Even some originals by the
masters--George Orwhale, Shark Twain,...But," the Duchess said
pensively, "I don't know WHERE the human books are now. They
disappeared a long time ago. Some say that Melvin took them."
"Where did he take them to?" I asked.
"Nobody knows," she replied.
"Well, can we ask him?" I asked.
She smiled. "I'm afraid Melvin has been dead for many, many
years."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said.
"He was an ancestor of mine from generations ago--I didn't
know him. But he was mysterious. He died here in the castle, and
many said that it was his human treasures that caused his demise."
"He DIED from a human thing?" I asked, thinking of the whozit
and my unusual behavior that followed.
The Duchess shrugged. "That's what they say. That's why he
returned and took his books. His ghost removed all of his human
treasures so that no one would suffer the same fate as he."
I swallowed my fear.
The Duchess smiled mysteriously. "Or maybe he loved them too
much to part with them, even after life. Here we are--the dining
room. I see we're not the first ones here..."
We all sat at the table and the penguins began serving the
seaweed salad.
The Duchess made a toast and started telling us all the story
of Melvin. She said that he had died during a sea-quake when his
bookcase fell on him. I noticed that she hadn't mentioned the human
books--probably because Daddy ws at the table.
"Don't worry girls, Melvin won't harm you....though he may
try to scare you," Duchess Dara said. "Really, he's harmless. The
poor old man has been dead over 100 years!"
"One hundred years? Whoa, I hope he's well perserved." Dylan
joked. I rolled my eyes. How could he be so crass? I noticed that
even Arista disapproved of his remark.
"Well if he isn't, then he wouldn't have any trouble scaring
anyone!" Andrina laughed.
"Daddy...?" Ariel started.
"Have YOU ever seen Melvin, Father?" Aquata asked.
"I thought I did once." Daddy responded.
"Wow," I breathed. "A real ghost!" If Daddy believe it, it
must be true. After all, Daddy wasn't the type of merman who was
easily convinced
"I don't believe in mer-ghosts." Attina declared. "There
really is no evidence..."
"Well I do know he existed, and I know what I saw." The
Duchess said, sipping her drink. "And there is that ice carving on
the wall."
"Yes, but I don't think I can believe something like that
until I see it." Attina replied.
"Oh that's fine, I know I didn't believe in mer-ghosts before
Melvin either." The Duchess said gently.
Despite her bravado, I thought that Attina looked a bit
nervous--like she didn't WANT to believe in mer-ghosts, but some part
of her sort of did.
Flounder:
I was slowly swimming down the halls, going nowhere, frightened as usual,
and hungry. All those merghost stories just kept my entire body trembling that
i wasn't able to eat much. Sigh! I wanted to go home already. It must have
been a really bad idea coming to the Artic. It's cold and creepy- my waterloo.
Besides, so many horrible things have already happened before and while we
were on our way here. Something must be really wrong. At least, the merghosts
in Atlantica may still recognize me and have pity on me. There is
lessprobability that they will come my way. But here...
creek.... creeek...
A sound startled me. It was coming from one of the rooms down the hall.
Oh, it was coming from the library. I had second thoughts of checking it out.
The merghost of the castle might be there. But hey! I'm detective Flounder! I
decided to check it out.
I crept into the room and saw Adella reaching for books in the shelves and
seemingly having found what she was looking for, sat on the sofa. Whew! It was
only Adella.
"Hey! What is she doing here all alone, reading a very big, old book?
She's been acting peculiarly lately. I know that the starfish necklace has
something to do with this. Oh no! She might not be Adella anymore- a
possessed Adella, someone not Adella but still she is Adella because she looks
like Adella and the true Adella is missing and she is Adella only because we
think she is Adella... errr... whatever! I have to figure this out!" I told
myself as I captured every courage left in my cells and in the cells of my
cells, and swam fast towards Adella, but to my surprise, I screamed and Adella,
terrified, screamed in surprise too.
"Flounder?! You?! What are you- why are you he- Why did you do that?"
Adella asked frantically.
In panic, I bloated out, " You! I knew it! You are not Adella. You are a
witch. You are reading the book of spells and magic! You must be Ursula! Oh
no! We are doomed! Heeeeeeeeelp!" I screamed in fright and flew (or more like
swam) away from the room.