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She smiled when she looked upon the withered little souls in her garden, the poor unfortunate creatures she’d taken into her charge. It wasn’t her fault they flitted their lives away. No one had made them place their souls in her hands; they were the ones unable to fulfill the terms of the contract, not her!
Now that she had her true powers, she needed not meddle in the lives of Triton’s silly subjects. She needed not lure them into the unprotected realms seeking her magic, hoping she would fulfill their wishes in exchange for their souls. She had real power now, her own. And she had great allies in the sisters. If she was going to take a soul, it would be for her pleasure and amusement. Yes, she only had to play the part of the maker of deals one last time. After that, she needed not ever put herself on display like a carnival barker, singing her wares, enchanting her would-be victims with songs about her desire to help those in need. It was sickening, really, the depths to which she’d had to sink to gather the pitiful little souls in her garden. Those days were finally behind her. She had only one more performance. One last soul she needed for bartering purposes.
Ariel’s.
She wondered what the girl was like. It was difficult to tell from the glimpses she caught in her bubble orb. She was no doubt headstrong like her father. That could mean she would drive a hard bargain. The girl was beautiful, too. Ursula couldn’t imagine Triton having a daughter who wasn’t. He certainly couldn’t stand to have a sister who didn’t fit his image of beauty. Then Ursula thought of her: Athena, Ariel’s departed mother. She had been very beautiful, even for a mermaid. Ursula wondered if Ariel shared her mother’s heart as well as her beauty.
Remembering Athena made Ursula’s heart hurt. Ariel isn’t Triton’s daughter alone, she thought. She shares her mother’s blood, as well. Would Ursula be able to destroy Athena’s daughter? Athena had fought endlessly with Triton, defending Ursula, trying to persuade him to let his sister rule by his side, reminding him of their parents’ wishes. The memories felt hidden, as if they were veiled by murky water or a thick fog, hard to reach, hard to connect to, because Ursula was no longer the creature who cared what her brother thought of her. Athena had never made her feel loathsome. Never made her feel ashamed of who she was. Never wanted her to hide. If it hadn’t been for Athena, Ursula would have gone off into the Unprotected Waters long before she was banished. It was Athena who had railed against Triton the night of ball, denouncing his treatment of his sister when she had decided to show up to the royal function in her true form. It was Athena who had called her beautiful. And Ursula believed her words were heartfelt and true.
But she couldn’t think of Athena. She couldn’t be distracted by the past. She needed Ariel’s soul. If she is anything like her remarkable mother, Ursula thought, this girl should be willing to fight for what she believes in, even against her father. But there was only one question worth asking: Is Ariel the sort of girl willing to wager her soul for the possibility of true love?
“Well, well, we shall see!”
After only a few days—far sooner than expected—Ursula heard stirring at the entry to her lair, shaped from the gaping maw of a sea creature’s skeleton. She turned to see Ariel following close behind Flotsam and Jetsam, just beyond the sharp teeth of the entranceway.
She chuckled at the wide-eyed beauty trembling in the darkness with her red hair floating in Ophelian fashion. Too fitting, Ursula thought as she laughed again. She had to admit this daughter of Triton’s was a lovely little creature with her large blue eyes and bunny-like features. She looked remarkably like her mother, and it almost made Ursula sad to scheme against the near mirror image of the only person in Triton’s kingdom who had treated her with the tiniest shred of kindness and respect.
“This way,” Flotsam and Jetsam hissed, and Ariel shuddered.
The poor dear was struggling in the garden of lost souls. If she’d had any sense about her, she would have escaped then, but luckily for Ursula, the minds of young girls with rebellion in their hearts were easy targets for the likes of the sea witch. Triton had caused his own undoing when he drove his daughter away by destroying her collection of human trinkets and condemning her for loving a human. Well, her aunt Ursula would take pity on the poor girl. She would take her to her breast and give her a chance to snare that handsome prince she had fallen in love with so she might leave her tyrannical father behind…alone, to be snatched by Ursula, who would then gain her rightful place as queen.
“Come in. Come in, my child. We mustn’t lurk in doorways. It’s rude! One might question your upbringing!”
Ursula laughed as she swam to her vanity to touch up her makeup and add a bit of flair and drama to the conversation.
“Now then, you’re here because you have a thing for this human, this Sir Prince fellow? Not that I blame you. He is quite a catch, isn’t he?” Ursula laughed as Ariel listened, transfixed by the sea witch.
“Well, angelfish, the solution to your problem is simple.”
Taking a page from the odd sisters’ beauty book, she slathered on a brilliant layer of red lipstick. She pursed her lips and kissed them together to smooth the lipstick. Then she finished her thought.
“The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself.”
“Can you do that?” asked the frightened mermaid.
“My dear sweet child, that’s what I do! It’s what I live for. To help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to…”
She hated performing and the way it made her feel. But she found it was the very best way to get her victims’ attention, to entrance them with a spectacle they couldn’t resist. And she did love the opportunity for a bit of cheek!
“I admit that in the past I’ve been a nasty. They weren’t kidding when they called me, well, a witch! But you’ll find that nowadays I’ve mended all my ways, repented, seen the light, and made a switch! True? Yes! And I fortunately know a little magic. It’s a talent that I always have possessed. And here lately, please don’t laugh, I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely, and depressed.”
Hardly a
ble to stomach her own words, she whispered to her minions, “Pathetic!
“Poor unfortunate souls! In pain, in need! This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl—and do I help them? Yes, indeed!
“Those poor unfortunate souls! So sad, so true! They come flocking to my cauldron, crying, ‘Spells, Ursula, please!’—and I help them! Yes, I do!
“Now, it’s happened once or twice someone couldn’t pay the price, and I’m afraid I had to rake ’em across the coals.
“Yes, I’ve had the odd complaint, but on the whole I’ve been a saint—to those poor unfortunate souls!
“Now, here’s the deal. I will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got that? Three days! Now listen, this is important! Before the sun sets on the third day, you’ve got to get dear old princey to fall in love with you. That is, he’s got to kiss you. Not just any kiss, the Kiss of True Love! If he does kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you’ll remain human, permanently—but if he doesn’t, you turn back into a mermaid and…you belong to me!”
Ariel looked stunned.
“Have we got a deal?” Ursula asked.
