I do not own the Little Mermaid franchise.

The events of this story take place directly after Ariel gets smacked by Marina in Ariel's Beginning. After that, I take creative liberties on what happened afterwards. I know nothing about amnesia and am also taking creative liberties with that.

The updates on this will be slow. Fair warning. But I hope you enjoy the first chapter.

Turn of Events

"Woo-hoo!"

This was the delighted shout that tore from seven throats after Flounder had successfully tricked Marina's nasty electric eels into tying themselves into one giant knot. The eels shrieked in fury, twisting madly in an attempt to escape their entrapment. But all they succeeded in doing was knocking their heads together. They were stuck tight, and would not be free unless another sea creature untied them.

The little guppy beamed with pride as he swam alongside the band that used to perform at the now-defunct Catfish Club. Ray-Ray rubbed Flounder's head affectionately as they all began to swim away, relieved that the entire ordeal was over with. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."

Ariel grinned and studied the blue and gold music seashell that rested securely in her hands. It was a long shot, she knew, believing that this little trinket would compel her father to restore music-and therefore happiness-back to Atlantica. But Sebastian had faith that the memories the musical item held would do the trick, and the crustacean was hardly ever wrong on such matters, especially when they related to the King of Atlantica.

The fifteen-year-old mermaid turned to smile at Sebastian and froze. Perched precariously on the ledge of a sea cliff was Marina, still trapped within the tube of sea coral Sebastian had manipulated her into. It was obvious what the jealous ex-governess was going to do, and Ariel was the only one who noticed.

With the speed Marina would get when speeding down the slope, there was no way Sebastian would be able to get out of the way in time-or survive the impact.

Her fins flapped just as Marina wiggled herself over the edge. "No!" Ariel cried in panic, swimming as fast as she could.

Her panicked cry caught the attention of Flounder, Ray-Ray, Cheeks, Ink-Spot and Shelbow. They turned to see what was wrong-only to find Ariel speeding to intercept the oncoming projectile. "Look out!" Flounder cried in terror.

Confused, Sebastian cast a glance over his shell to that he was seconds away from becoming a red splatter on the sea floor.

At least, he would have been, if Ariel had not slammed herself into Marina a mere second before she would have struck Sebastian.

The teenager let out a grunt of pain, spiralling through the water for a moment before her head slammed off of the rocky ledge. She drifted down the gorge, limp and unmoving.

"Ariel!"

As they were swimming to assist the redhead, the group glanced up to see King Triton racing towards his fallen daughter, anguish written across his age-worn face.

They all swam to the bottom of the gorge, where Ariel lay. A gash was visible on the side of her head, the blood slowly oozing from the injury and staining the water red. Triton moaned in fear and bent over Ariel, his fingers feeling for a pulse.

"Is she…?" Flounder squeaked, tears already filling his eyes. He was unable to finish his question, but the king knew what he meant. Triton shook his head, taking a shuddering breath of relief when he felt the soft thumps of Ariel's heart.

"We need to get her a healer immediately," Triton ordered, scooping the redhead into his arms. Ariel's arms jostled slightly, her grip on the music seashell loosening. Triton froze as the familiar blue trinket dropped to the sand, rolling slightly before settling.

"Ya heard de King!" Sebastian barked when the others seemed reluctant to move. "You're gonna get Healer Sherman now!"

His sharp command startled the band members and Flounder into action. They hastily swam in the direction of Atlantica, hoping that they would not arrive too late.

Sebastian hurried over to where Triton was hovering with Ariel in his arms. One hand was pressed over her wound, but his eyes were locked on the musical seashell, which was softly playing the song of him and his deceased wife.

"Oh, Sebastian," Triton whispered. "What have I done?"

"It's not your fault, your Majesty. It was Marina's doin'."

Triton's gaze hardened and he glared towards the lip of the gorge. "Where is the traitor?! She will not see another ray of sunlight hitting the waves of my sea!"

"She's still here," Sebastian soothed. "Still stuck in de coral tube." At the very picture of his long-time enemy stuck like a fish in a net, he had to resist the urge to snicker.

"I never thought she would do something like this," Triton whispered, caressing his daughter's face tenderly. "I knew she always wanted a promotion, but...I never thought she do such a wicked thing to get it. She will pay dearly for such an act of treason. Of that I give my solemn oath."

Face hard, Triton swam up and started towards Atlantic, cradling Ariel carefully in his arms, a hand still pressed against the bleeding wound. Sebastian rolled the musical seashell behind a cluster of rocks, shutting the lid so that the music was silenced. It would not do if the sentimental item was stolen during their absence-it was too important to be sold for any other valuable sea treasure.

Sebastian swam after Triton, his eyes darting about. He did not see where Marina had gone, but he knew she was around somewhere, trapped within a coral prison. The crustacean scowled darkly. If Ariel does not survive this, Marina, then you will pay for our loss with your own life. Of that, I will make sure.

…

They met Healer Sherman halfway to Atlantica along with the others. The elderly healer, toting a small black satchel, instantly got to work. Using a piece of cloth he wiped Ariel's wound and cleaned it out before tightly applying strands of kelp to protect the wound from infection.

"The girl has lost a bit of blood," Sherman informed. "But not so much that she will not survive. She will be unconscious for a day or two, but if it is any longer than that…"

…then she will not wake up at all, and if so, then not without considerable damage done to her brain.

It was unsaid, but everyone still heard it. Emotionally spent, Triton softly thanked the healer and they all finished the journey back home in silence. When they reached Atlantica, the band members cast a sad glance at Ariel before swimming dejectedly away. Flounder hesitantly followed, wanting to stay with his best friend but knew that her family needed some alone time to be by her side.

Ariel's six sisters were crowded in the throne room, having seen their father arrive from their chamber and hurried to meet him. They were worried upon seeing their youngest sister in Triton's arms, and they discovered that their worry was rightly placed.

Unable to speak, they could only watch in horror as their father swam sadly past with Ariel, his own silence deafening.

Sebastian lingered, for he knew that the princesses' stunned stupor would only last for a second more. Sure enough, when Triton disappeared down the coral corridor, the six mermaids whirled around with tear-filled eyes and fearful expressions.

"What happened?" Arista wailed.

"Will she be okay?" Alana asked desperately.

"Where did you guys go?" Aquata questioned.

"Never mind that, what did you guys do?" Andrina cried.

"Does this have something to do with Marina?" Attina demanded.

The questions kept coming at a rapid fire pace. Sebastian allowed the barrage to continue for a moment longer before letting out a sharp whistle. Silence instantly fell and six pairs of eyes turned shamefully to the red crustacean.

"Sorry, Sebastian," Attina apologized softly. "That was very rude of us, to-"

Sebastian cut her off with a wave of his claw. "Girl, ya have nothin' ta apologize for and ya know it. I'll answer your questions, but ya have ta promise not ta interrupt. It's a long story."

The six mermaids complied, settling down on the throne room's sea floor. Sebastian hovered just above them, his gaze serious.

He went through the story, starting from when Ariel came to break him out of prison and ending with his attempted murder at the gorge. The girls were once again stunned into silence, hardly able to fathom that the mermaid who had taken care of them for most of their childhood had tried to kill someone they loved dearly.

"That's horrible!" Alana whispered, tears trailing down her cheeks. "How could she do such a thing?"

Attina rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "She'll get hers, Father will see to it. And Ariel will be just fine."

As confident as Attina tried to sound, the terrified look in her eyes gave away her true feelings. Adella looked up at Sebastian with wide eyes. "Sebastian? Will Ariel really be okay?"

Adella knew that Attina would say what was needed to soothe her sisters but Sebastian was simply not that kind of sea creature. He had always been honest, blunt and to the point-and those traits had never failed to set them straight.

"Ari-elle…will be fine, so long as she wakes up in two days' time," Sebastian answered honestly.

"What are we supposed to do if she doesn't?" Alana asked worriedly.

"We need ta have faith dat it won't come ta dat. And I t'ink dat Ari-elle will wake up."

"How do you know?" Adella asked, a note of hope to her voice.

For the first time since Ariel's accident, Sebastian smiled.

"Girls, your sister is de most stubborn creature in all de ocean. She's a fighter, always has been, always will be. Dat is how I know she'll be fine."

Those words soothed them, Sebastian could see it as their faces filled with hope. "Yeah, you're right!" Arista brightened.

"Do you think we could go check on her?" Aquata questioned.

"Ya don't need ta ask me, child."

The six mermaids swam up and hurried towards their chambers, where their father was most likely watching over their injured little sister.

Sebastian was right. They could only have faith.

They just hoped that their faith and Ariel's fighting spirit was enough to save her.