They probably made for a very odd sight, strolling from the beach into town: a robed and mostly hooded maid with a seagull balanced on her arm. But there was no one around to see. The houses, churches, markets, and shops were mostly abandoned; everyone had gone early to get a good place to sit or stand for the free show. Ariel walked between the empty buildings, regarding them with mixed feelings.
If they failed, there was a chance she would be dead—or at the very least, a polyp—and never again free to go where she wished, either land or sea.
There was also a chance, if they succeeded, that her father, once returned to full power, would never allow her to come onto land again. He could make it so that no one could become human. Of course, she could always search for another way. But last time that had led to Ursula, and…
Her thoughts spun. There were objects in the window of a shop that she couldn’t quite fathom: possibly candy, possibly gems and crystals. There were so many alien things about this world she still didn’t know. There were so many more things in the rest of the world, both above and below the sea, that were yet to be discovered…
“You okay, Ariel? You seem a little, I dunno, worried or spacey or something,” Scuttle said.
“I just…I was just thinking about past choices and future possibilities.”
“Huh. Deep stuff. Well, the world’s your oyster after today. I can’t wait to see Triton again! You think he’ll give me a medal or something? For helping? For starting this whole thing?”
“I’m sure he will,” she said with a smile. It wasn’t quite a lie. Despite her father’s distaste for all air breathers, she would make sure her friends were properly rewarded.
They caught up with a few stragglers: families gathering small children onto their shoulders, limping soldiers, farmers from holds farther out. Scuttle took off. Ariel hoped he would find and stay close to Jona—who was, somewhat ironically, keeping an eye on Eric and developments at the castle end of things. And to think she was originally supposed to protect the Queen of the Sea!
“My lady!”
Ariel turned to see Argent hurrying down the avenue to catch up with her. Despite her old age it was easy with her long legs. She swung a heavy walking stick in the air enthusiastically—with little need for it, apparently.
“You’re here to see the show?” the apple seller asked with a smile.
“Oh, yes. I promise you, it will be a…show that everyone will remember for years to come.”
“I sense there’s something beneath those words.”
“Today it will be revealed who your princess really is,” Ariel said, feeling mysterious and queenly. “You shall be witness to something amazing. Watch closely, and be ready to tell the story of what you saw.”
“Oh, I can do better than that,” the woman said with a wink. “I’ll ink it, if asked.”
“Yes, I think you’ll find it very inspirational,” Ariel said, thinking about the other sea-themed pictures on the woman’s arms. She was pretty sure there wasn’t an octopus…not yet, anyway.
“Well, I’d better get a front-row seat,” the old woman declared, striding forward. “EXCUSE ME! Old lady coming through! Make way for a grannie.” She handily pushed people aside, forcing her way to the front.
No frail biddy, she.
Ariel also wanted a close view, though not so close that Ursula could pick her out of the crowd. She smiled and slipped sideways and murmured apologies and, yes, flashed a beautiful mermaid smile at large in-the-way boys when she needed to. She succeeded in getting halfway into the main square, about a third of the way back from the stage. A low platform had been erected behind Neptune’s Fountain for the singers to stand on, and stand only. It would be a far less dramatic performance than in the amphitheatre—not much moving around. Ariel felt a little disappointed despite knowing just how ridiculous she was being. But from the way Jona had described the original show, it had sounded like a lot of fun—and she was curious to see how Eric and the humans had re-created her ancient underwater world.
The orchestra was grouped against the wall of the indoor market; their music would echo off its stones and back to the audience. There’s a pun in there somewhere about songs and dolphins and their singing-sight… But she was too excited to think it through.
On the side of the fountain closest to her and the audience, raised just a smidge higher than the impromptu stage, was a jewel of a box seat, canopied in cloth of gold and purple velvet. A banner even flew from the top. Ariel’s eyes narrowed when she saw the sigil of the black octopus on it.