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She had imagined what his life must be like, traversing the sea, seeing the world, dancing beneath the stars. She imagined where he must live, surrounded by beautiful things, human things, like those she had been collecting in her cave.
He could have shown her so many more human treasures, things she’d never even imagined. She had fancied her life with him as an endless adventure of discovery, and now it was all over.
She had thought the sea gods had brought this wonderful prince into her life for a reason, casting down his ship in that terrible storm. Plunging him into her ocean, giving her the means and strength to save him. Making her fall in love with him.
Why would the gods do that and not give them a chance at love?
She wouldn’t have taken the risk if she hadn’t thought they were meant for each other. If she had her voice, she could tell Eric everything! She was heartbroken and alone, wishing for the days when she first arrived in Eric’s kingdom, when she thought he loved her. She couldn’t believe he was about to marry someone else. She was helpless. She was desperate. And she was angry. She wanted to scream, but the sea witch had her voice.
“Ariel! Ariel!”
It was her friend Scuttle, the seagull. He flew onto the pier, rambling and in a panic. “I was flying—of course I was flying…” he sputtered, not making much sense.
Ariel could communicate with sea creatures, being one herself, and with the likes of Scuttle, but that didn’t help her make out what he was saying as he sputtered and flubbed. Ariel desperately wanted to tell him to calm down and talk slowly as he continued, getting to his point at last.
“I saw the watch! The witch. The witch was watching the mirror and she was singing with a stolen set of pipes! Do you hear what I’m telling you? The prince is marrying the sea witch in disguise!”
The odd sisters’ mansion sat against a brilliant pink, gold, and silvery blue sky. The witches were within, peeking out their windows nervously, searching for crows, or any other sign from the Fairylands, fearful they would receive another odious warning from the Dark Fairy.
Ruby shrieked when she saw a dark gray owl flying toward the house.
“Stop, Ruby! It’s just an owl!” But the sisters’ stomachs started to twist in knots when they saw it was flying directly toward them.
“You don’t think…?”
“No, I don’t!” Lucinda snapped. “Maleficent doesn’t employ owls!”
Martha tentatively walked to the door, shaking with every step, glancing nervously at the stained glass window above their doorway, which was adorned with a deadly dragon destroying the Fairylands.
“Martha, please! Just open the door! The owl isn’t going to breathe fire!”
When Martha opened the door, the owl swooped in, landed on the kitchen table, and stuck out its little foot.
“Ruby, give her a biscuit!” Lucinda ordered as she took the message from the owl’s foot. Ruby and Martha searched through their various tins, trying to find the owl a biscuit, while Lucinda read the message.
“Stop all that clatter! It’s from Pflanze! She wants us to come directly to Morningstar Castle. She says it’s urgent!”
“What’s the matter? Is she in danger?” Ruby and Martha were frazzled, and Lucinda was doing her best to be patient with them.
“She doesn’t say, just that she needs us, and we will be welcome at court.”
“I doubt that, Lucinda! Not after our role in Tulip’s undoing!”
“Our what in Tulip’s what? Since when do you speak like that?” Lucinda narrowed her eyes at her sisters, wondering what had become of them since they had driven away their little sister with their lunacy.
“We’ve all been speaking strangely since Circe left.” “Yes, Lucinda, we agreed we’d try to speak more plainly for her sake.”
The owl nipped Ruby on the hand to remind the sisters it was waiting for their reply.
“Ouch! I should snap your neck for that!”
The owl simply blinked its large globe-like eyes at Ruby as if to dare the witch to make good on her promise.
“Yes, yes! Hold on,” said Lucinda, shoveling things from one end of her desk drawer to the other, looking for parchment and a pen with which to write her reply.
“Give her a biscuit!” she snapped while hastily composing her reply, letting Pflanze know they would be under way directly. “Tell her you’re sorry! I won’t have owls refusing to do our bidding, Ruby! We have far too many enemies already!
“Here, my dear,” Lucinda said to the owl, attaching the message to its little leg and feeding it a biscuit. “Take this to Pflanze as quickly as you can.” The owl gave a small hoot of thanks, finished the last of its biscuit, and flew out the round kitchen window past the old queen’s apple tree and into the mists, toward Morningstar Kingdom.
