Darkside Disney Princesses: Ariel
Ariel’s fall begins after the destruction of her grotto, when in this timeline, Sebastian decides actually go and tell Triton she’s about to head off to seek a deal with Ursula
Still reeling from the discovery of all of Ariel’s human objects, and pushed even further in his paranoia and fear for his daughter’s safety, Triton’s anger explodes again at this reckless act and he has Ariel locked in a tower room in the palace until she finally ‘comes to her senses’
He also takes the step of making sure Ursula never tries to meddle with any of his daughters ever again. The Nautilus necklace protects her from the magic of the Trident just enough that she survives, but is forced to flee far beyond Atlantica’s borders (per the backstory rules I’ve set for my DisneyVerse)
This act only makes Ariel’s anger towards her father that began with the destruction of her treasures grow, and without the wonder of gaining human form and her prince’s love, and the isolation of her punishment, that anger turns into deep burning resentment.
Never one to take things lying down, Ariel attempts again and again to escape her confinement, each time she’s caught stoking Triton’s ire and her own resentment. Both of their hot tempers get the better of them, driving wedges between Ariel and her friends who fail to help her, and Triton and his people, as he takes his frustration out on them.
But something has begun to stir within Ariel, fueled by the darkness and despair growing within her heart. All the royal line has some aptitude for magic, as evidenced by their ability to wield the great Trident without being overcome by it. But in most of them it stays small and unfocused, unneeded in daily life.
But now Ariel has both focus and need. Her singing voice has always been special, even among her sisters lovely voices. There’s always been something about it that people feel drawn towards, and now, now she begins to feel it’s power growing within her, feeding off her anger, her despair, her desires. And she hones it as best she can from a gift into a weapon.
And finally, one night, a guard finds himself succumbing to the beautiful song that begs him to unlock the door, and then sleep so that he does not see the princess escape…. Ariel does not stay long enough to discover that he never wakes again.
The moment she’s free, Ariel takes off into open water, determined to place as much distance between herself and her now hated father—and to find the Prince she saved, three long years ago. The memories of him have been her only real companions, and isolation has fanned what could have become True Love given the chance into an obsession, fueled by her growing Magic, a magic she does not truly know how to control.
She begins stalking the ships that cross the ocean waves, singing out to the sailors who work them, seeking her lost love, calling him to her. She does not mean to cause men to leap overboard for want of her, lured in by her song. But neither can she save all of them. Sometimes she doesn't even notice they’ve lept into the waves, too focused on seeking for the face of her prince to notice that of any other man.
The sailors who survive spread the tale of the siren that haunts the waters around the kingdom, a fiend hair as red as blood and a voice that draws men to their deaths, the ships begin to travel with supplies of cotton to cover their ears, and harpoons to put an end to any mermaid they might see.
Ariel does not care, she barely feels the nicks of the spears as the graze her, thrown by men made too clumsy to kill by her song, powerful enough now to seep in past the cotton. She is seeking Her Prince, and she will not stop until she finds him.
Meanwhile, the prince who is now a King, who was forced two years ago to give up his dreamer’s quest for the girl with the beautiful voice who saved him, and marry a suitable royal bride for the prosperity of his kingdom, now finds that kingdom threatened by the presence of a monster from the deep.
When enough men to man three ships have been lost to the deep trying to subdue it, he decides it’s time he protects his kingdom himself.
He bids farewell to his wife, who he is fond of, even if he does not love her, and their young child, who he does, and sails off into the sea to strike down this foe.
He never returns.
And the Siren who haunts their shores remains, still searching, still singing for the Prince she lost, who in her madness she did not even recognize when he lept into the waves, pulled like all others by her song. The gash on her side from his spear is the closest to a kiss they will ever share in this life…
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