I wrote this story for the sakes of helping my own writing. I've been having trouble writing lately and so I've decided to try and take some heavy measures so I can fix my writer's block. So for the new few weeks I'll be writing pretty unrelated stories that go into clear character motivations so that I can start writing properly for Little Waterbender. This is the first of those.

I could continue this tale, but for now I just consider it a short side-story that could be updated every now and then.

Ariel and the Dark Garden

Ariel woke up with dizzying start. Her head felt heavier than usual, and her body felt as stable as an underfed sea sponge. She opened her eyes to get a glimpse of her surroundings, but that proved no use; her vision was blurred. All she could make of the area was that there sure was a lot of purple and black.

It all seemed vaguely familiar, but Ariel just couldn't wrap her finger around, "why". Speaking of fingers, what was wrong with her arms? They felt almost nonexistent on her shoulders. With the way things were going, she might as well have been a plant! Of course, that was silly, why would-

And then something caught her attention. The strange, almost alien, sound of moaning and groaning seemed to light up in her ears. -Sure didn't feel like she had ears either. - She turned around to face the noises and was caught surprised to see the purple and black disrupted by a large mass of green and yellow!

What in the world was all this? Did giant stalks of ugly flowers sprout under the sea, aiming to infest and multiply? They were everywhere! Well, whatever they were, they sure didn't seem pleasant. It seemed as if the screams were coming from the inside of the stalks. Ariel's curiosity always got the better of her in these situations, so she chose to move a little closer to inspect for herself. However, Ariel didn't get far before she was stopped. It felt as if something had yanked her tail backwards. She looked back to inspect what held her down, but was left surprised when she noticed she had no tail.

All too strange; what in the world was going on? Her arms felt nonexistent, her head weighed like mass of rocks, and her tail was missing. What happened to her?

But before she could properly reflect on her situation, a voice spoke from behind.

"Well I'll be! She's awake!"

Ariel turned her head towards the stalks again. By then her vision had improved, and she had a better understanding of what they were. The flowers; the things; they weren't flowers at all! They were… polyps! Dozens; no, hundreds! No, there were thousands of them everywhere! Their shriveled up, green, corpse-like bodies wriggled in place, as they seemed to decorate every inch of the room Ariel was in.

Oh god! Oh god! Just the sight of their green, oozing skin made Ariel want to gag! Oh they were so disgusting!

She fell into a desperate panic and tried to get away from them, but found herself being pulled back by the invisible force again. She looked towards the area where her tail should've been and desperately searched for what was pulling her backAfter a few seconds of panic she stopped moving. Her eyes bulged wide open when she beheld what was in front of her. Her body was no longer that of a slender mermaid's, but a tube-like plant, firmly nestled into the ground.

Ariel had become a polyp.

She gasped to herself and looked to the shrunken mess that was her body. What had been a strange awakening was slowly turning into a living nightmare, and Ariel couldn't understand why. What did she do to deserve this?

"Yes; that's what the common reaction most people have when they wake up," spoke the voice. "Of course, spending thirteen hours looking down isn't going to help your predicament any further, so I suggest you look up."

In response to the voice, Ariel did as she was told and looked towards the other polyps. By then a good majority of them were just staring at her, with a strange hint of intelligence and reason hidden behind their sad faces.

The polyp who called out to her before was exceedingly hideous. He had two little eyes hidden inside his abnormally large sockets glaring at Ariel with a strange fascination. His nose was non-existent, and he had a drooping mouth that seemed to reach the ground.

When he and Ariel's eye met face, his face seemed to warp and twist in strange ways, almost as if he was attempting a smile.

"My apologies," he chuckled nervously with a throaty voice. "It's hard to smile when you have no teeth. But I bid you welcome either way, my princess. What does that make, number two-thousand?"

"I think we passed two-thousand weeks ago," cried one polyp in the crowd.

"You're daft! We haven't even gotten to nineteen-hundred," exclaimed another.

"What do you know, chum face? Your eyes are almost inside out!" That was yet another.

Immediately, the whole throng of polyps went into a mass of arguments and threats. For Ariel, it was almost like watching a political debate in her father's throne room, except less petty and more on topic.

"Silence! Silence everyone!" Almost immediately the polyps quieted down to a hush as his voice boomed. "We can have this discussion later, but right now we have other matters on our lobes. This poor mermaid lass needs some explanation about her predicament, because the look on her face definitely suggests such. Then again who here doesn't have a frown like that?"

Some polyps chuckled and hissed to each other as Ariel gazed around in confusion. What was her predicament indeed? She couldn't remember a thing of what had been happening to her recently, only that she had fallen asleep and woke up in this… in this…. Where was here exactly?

Ariel couldn't think straight. Her mind still felt hazy with strange thoughts, and her head was still spinning.

She spun around to get a better look at the purple and black room from before. Everything had gained definition and detail; enough for her to interpret the area at least.

It was a massive room shaped like the rib cage of some tremendous beast. In the middle of it all was a great black cauldron that would spew small streams of pink wisps. To the right hand side was a vanity with a mirror, shelved with different assortment of makeup, combs, and other such things. To the left there was a shelf hanging on the wall above, though it was closed, so Ariel couldn't see what was in it. Then, to the far, far back of the room was a corridor leading further into the skeletal beast. However, that corridor was blocked by a large shell over the entrance to it. Although Ariel couldn't see the inside, she could definitely feel some terrible power within. She turned away and faced back to the elderly sounding polyp, whose face had hardened.

"Yes, it's rather unnerving isn't it my dear. Inside that shell is our captor, and warden. You know her; Ursula, the sea witch."

That name instantly struck a cord in Ariel's mind, calling forth strange memories which she couldn't quite place in her life.

The polyp continued to speak over her thoughts, "What you're experiencing right now is a short term memory loss; a common effect in the first few minutes of awakening, but it will fade shortly. Now, there's no need to explain your name, because we all know who you are. And there's no need to explain all of ours just yet, for names are precious things when you're reduced to something like this. Now then, if you want to sur-"

Before he could say anything more, the polyp was quickly interrupted by another, younger sounding polyp. "General! She's waking up!"

The polyp Ariel would refer to as, General, looked towards the other and gave an exasperated groan. "Now? Bah. I don't need this; oh well."

He turned his head back to Ariel and began to speak again, but with a slight whisper in his voice. "Now listen up, little one. What you're about to experience now will be the most painful thing you ever could ever have happen in your now long life. Stay tall and don't falter. It only gets easier from now on."

He said no more. He quickly shifted his gaze away from Ariel and towards the space behind her. That's when Ariel noticed that many of the other polyps were acting strange. Some were burying their heads into the ground, and others were slinking behind other polyps. It seemed almost as if they were attempting to hide.

Ariel spun herself around and looked to the room where everyone's attention was directed. She could definitely feel something was coming, and it was coming from that shell in the back. Oh wow; she didn't know if it was anticipation or that strange power from earlier, but for some reason, Ariel was afraid.

After a few minutes of nothing, Ariel saw something stick itself out of the shell. It was a great, black, inky tentacle, slithering itself out of the shell like a serpent. Then another came out, followed by four more! They seemed so menacing, yet so slick; Ariel couldn't help but feel intimidated and entranced by the smooth and hypnotic motions of each.

It wasn't long until the tentacles were followed up by a body. And what a body it was! Huge wouldn't even describe what Ariel saw. The was that of a large, (and rather fat), cecaelia female. And not even a straightfoward definition could explain her face proper. Loud, sly, grand; there were so many other words, but Ariel chose, "drama queen". She looked to the polyps with a large, sinister smile, and an eel-like gaze.

"Good morning, my little sucklings." She dropped to the ground with a muffled thud and began to move towards the polyps. "How are you all feeling? I hope you had a restful night, because I certainly slept divinely!"

As she veered closer and closer, Ariel began to feel her body tingle with a horrible stinging sensation that seemed to increase with every slither. And by the time Ursula stopped in front of the polyps, the pain was near unbearable.

Ursula clasped her hands together and looked at every polyp present, but especially focused her gaze on Ariel, whom she gave an especially devilish smirk.

Ursula then bent down and placed one of her claw like fingers under Ariel's chin. The pain was literally sizzling! It was like being left to dry on a sandy beach with no way of escape! How she pleaded and begged in her mind for Ursula to get away! But she wouldn't budge; all Ursula did was cackle in glee as she watched Ariel writhe in place.

"Welcome to my garden dear princess, I hope you enjoy your lodgings, because you're my permanent caller. And don't worry about your voice. I'll be taking good care of it, by putting it to better use than you ever did!"

After one last chuckle, Ursula got up from her position and blew a kiss to the polyps before swimming away towards her cauldron. Thank god! When she left, Ariel felt as if a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders. But something else happened that Ariel didn't expect; her memory, it came back!

She remembered everything, from the moment she came to Ursula's grotto, to the final hour when she was transformed. She remembered the exact conversation between her father, King Triton, and Ursula as they dueled terms…

"Let me be brief Triton, I am a woman of high integrity. I don't settle for any less than what I want."

"So then why do you want my daughter Ursula? If it's me you're after then leave her out of this!"

"Oh no; my dear Triton, you don't understand. It's not you I specifically want, or your kingdom. What I want most of all is to know you're suffering. The kingdom will come to me when it's right, but your torment; Oho; that is a just payment for all the years you've put me through banishment!"

"…"

"Yes, continue your silent treatment Triton, but know that time is running out! You'll have to choose eventually: You're daughter, or you?"

She remembered his silence at that moment, as he directed his eyes towards her. Grey bags had formed under them, and it seemed as if he was shouldering the weight of the world. Ariel couldn't bear to look at them for long before guilt caught up to her. And it was that same guilt that told her, his choice was right.

"…I'm sorry Ariel; I can't risk it. My people need me, and I can't let them be subjected to what would come if Ursula was in power. I'm so sorry, but I can't."

She remembered him swimming away; his head hanging downwards, and a saddened Sebastian following behind. Afterwards, all Ariel could remember was Ursula's smile.

"So be it… Triton..."

After that, it was a faint blur.

"So you've had your first taste of what Ursula does to us. It's not a pleasant occurrence."

Ariel snapped out of her trance and turned around to face General. His face was stern with anxiety, and his eyes widened.

"Well; you'll get used to it eventually my dear, though many wish they weren't. Now where was I? Ah, yes. In order to properly survive your time here, you'll need to be careful with your information and how often you spread it. Nothing is more precious to one than their personal information."

Ariel opened her mouth in an attempt to respond, but found that nothing was coming out but the faint sounds of her breath. And it wasn't until after the third attempt, it came to her. She had no voice! In the rashness of her first visit to Ursula's lair she had idiotically given it away. Oh bloody hell! How stupid was that? She could have at least tried haggling with Ursula, but no! She just had to give it away! Stupid, catchy, song…

General was quick to notice Ariel's muteness, and his face seemed to darkened with realization. "So you can't speak? This is troubling. The mind can't give you solace forever; you'll eventually be like them…"

He muttered to himself for a long time, mostly about eerie things that unnerved Ariel to no end. Eventually he stopped and gave Ariel a hard, concentrated stare.

"Well then," he spoke grimly. "It seems that I'll have to take drastic measures for the sake of your sanity. My name is General Senders, but everyone else addresses me as, "General". Everyone talks to me, and I talk to everyone, but from now one if anyone wants to talk to me, they'll have to speak to you first, in which you'll report them to me. You're my private, you understand? Private Ariel. That is as much as I can offer you."

Ariel didn't really understand what General meant but she took his offer with as much gratitude she had. She attempted to bow, but found herself stumbling beneath the weight of her own head.

He chuckled slightly at her failed attempts to bow, but showed considerable enough respect to thank her. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough, my dear, but I appreciate you're effort soldier. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to spread the word of your promotion. Why don't you spend your time getting to know a few of the others? Maybe if you're lucky, some of them will tell you why they're here."

And with that, he disappeared below ground, all without leaving a single mark. So there Ariel was again; alone as a fish out of water.

Her time alone was short lived though, as it was only a few minutes later that someone began to address her.

"Just like the General; always in a rush to be everywhere without giving a single clue about what's going on."

Ariel looked to see who it was. As if there was any doubt, it was another polyp. He was a revolting one, with two bulging eyes that stuck out of his head and a disfigured mouth. But oh, who was Ariel kidding? Their forms were supposed to be revolting. Ariel even bet that she was revolting! There was no point on commenting on how revolting everyone else was.

Although the newer polyp didn't look all too different from the others, he certainly sounded different. His voice was not hoarse, or crude, but what most people would call average. From her guess, he was once a young merman of say, eighteen or twenty years. Like General before him, he had a very awkward smile decorating the majority of his face.

"Well, you don't need to worry a thing Ariel. If there's every a question to be answered, Toren is your poly- I mean merman." He seemed to blush slightly, (if the paler shade of green around his cheeks was any identification), before clearing his throat.

"Right then, I'd suppose you'd like the low-down of the situation eh? (Just nod for yes; we don't need long flashbacks for this.)"

Ariel nodded slightly, making sure to be mindful of her head.

"S'alright then," exclaimed Toren. "You see, when the General talks about things like, "information" and the like, blah-blah-blah, he's referring to a person's past. The whole withholding thing is just a suggestion of his, because he doesn't want people's information to become stale. Since most of us expect that we're going to be here indefinitely, we don't want to wear out our memories and their worth by gabbing on and on about them."

As he spoke, Toren would make several exaggerated faces in response to his words. It was almost like watching the court jester back at the palace, but Ariel wasn't too concerned with those memories. She was more worried about the thought of staying a polyp indefinitely! That is not a pleasant thought for anyone to think of.

"We know what happens when memories lose their worth…" Toren's face darkened, and his voice quieted down. "I bet you saw them; the plants at the front, front entrance?"

Ariel wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but nodded her head for the sake of continuing the conversation.

"Yea; those guys and gals weren't so lucky. They would continuously remind themselves of who they were, day in and day out. The more they did it though, the more miserable and downtrodden they became, until eventually they all grew sick of their memories and chose to accept their fates. It wasn't long after that they stopped talking, their eyes disappeared, their mouths shut, and they stopped moving on their own. What little they had of their former selves was gone, and all that was left was a bunch of plants."

Ariel felt her throat dry. Her eyes darted immediately to the entrance tunnel. Somewhere, far beyond her vision, was a group of polyps who lost everything that made them who they used to be; and for that they were doomed to be emotionless plants. What a horrifying thought.

"You're actually pretty lucky Ariel. The General did you a big favor by appointing you as his secretary. Even if you don't have a voice, people are still gonna talk to you at least. You just gotta make sure to treasure those memories of yours, and you'll keep your mermanity. And don't worry; if anytime you want someone to talk to you on slow days, you can always come to Toren and he'll gladly help."

Ariel looked to Toren and attempted to smile. – General was right, it was hard without teeth. – She was grateful for the kindness he showed her. And it definitely made her feel hopeful for the future. Of course, whatever that future was, she wasn't sure.

Toren laughed and attempted a smile as well, although he only ended up with a half smile. He was definitely going to be an interesting character to hang around with.

ooo

Later that day, Ariel took some time to think to herself. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, her life had turned upside-down; from a princess who lived in a palace, to a little plant stuck to the ocean floor. What was worse was that she was in the clutches of her father's worst enemy, and she only had herself to blame. She let Ursula get the better of her emotions and paid the price. But in the bottom of her heart, she knew Ursula wouldn't stop there.

Who would be next; her father, her friends, sisters, the kingdom? No! She wouldn't allow it. Ariel may have made a mistake before, but she wasn't about to let the ones she loved suffer more for it.

Somehow; some way, Ariel intended to make things right. But for the time being, she had to be patient and get used to what could be her indefinite new life.

TO BE CONTINUED?