She could hear their malicious whispering, and William felt like she was surrounded by spinning, judging eyes.
'This is a nightmare,' she thought numbly. This was the worst thing she could possibly think could happen. It wasn't bad enough that she would die at dawn, but now she would die being hassled and harried into her grave, surrounded by the faces of people who never thought highly of her and now whispered their confidence in her guilt. She felt trapped, helpless, and doomed—doomed to die in the worst way, surrounded by people who hated her, murdered by the man she once thought she'd loved.
Vaguely, she could hear Captain Bernadotte and Dr. Van Helsing arguing with the Count, trying to get him to see reason as he remained itching to plunge his sword into her.
As all of this was going on, William noticed that the Countess stood oddly quiet by the cabin door. Despite all the fuss she had kicked up with her earlier screaming, she now stood apart from the very crowd she had gathered, and seemed to watch the chaos of the crowd with pleased interest. Despite the gasps from the crowd, the barking and snarling from the hounds, and the fighting between the Count and Doctor and Captain over a mute foundling—Lady Richard seemed pleasantly entertained by the whole affair, like she was watching a picnic rather than a distressing scene.
William looked closer; then the Countess turned to look right at her! Her eyes were bright green with a lazy eye. Her grin was psychotic, and her canines now seemed too large for her mouth. And around her neck, William saw, a golden spiral shell she remembered from long ago.
William's eyes widened, and the false bride's green eyes glinted with malice as she silently mouthed the words, "Foam! Foam on the waves!"
William's eyes narrowed, and she shook with a terrible rage. Quick as a blink, she pulled a dagger from Captain Bernadotte's belt and dashed at the young bride, silver glinting from the swinging blade.
Panic broke out over the deck. Noble ladies and gentlemen screamed and ran every which way. The hounds barked and circled around.
William slashed at the false bride's face again and again, satisfied by the arrogant grin snapped off her smug face; replaced instead by sudden, genuine terror. Just then, William noticed the spiral shell bouncing over the false bride's breasts. All at once, she dropped the blade and clasped it in her hands.
"If I die," she thought savagely, "You will not get my voice!"
The Count yelled in concern for his bride and tried to stop her, but the two hounds got between him and the girls, snapping and snarling threateningly.
William tried to snap the cord by yanking it through the Sea Witch's neck, but when that failed she tried to slip it off and over. The false bride cried piteously for her husband and tried to hit and shove William away; but William was like a bull dog, latching her strong jaws on a mouthful of her opponent. No matter how the false bride screamed and hit and slapped her in the face, she scowled in determination and bore the abuse. She would not let go.
Just then, two things happened at once. As the false bride grasped her hands around William' neck and tried to shove her away, the Count broke through the wall of protective hounds, ripped William from the false bride, and shoved her backwards so hard that her back slammed into the bulwark. She gasped as the air was knocked out of her.
At the same time that the Count got past the hounds, one of them circled around and bit the false bride right on the butt. She screamed at the same time that the little foundling was ripped from her, still clutching the shell; and the cord snapped as the spiral shell went flying through the air.
All eyes on deck followed the little spiral shell as it arched through the air, then shattered at William's feet. A little golden wisp emerged from the shattered fragments, and the sweetest, prettiest voice anyone had ever heard sang a wordless song from the wisp.
The golden glint left the Count's eyes, and he winced and shook his head as though to clear it of fog. Soon he, and the entire ship, inched closer to gape at the singing golden wisp, floating steadily upward from the mute foundling's feet to her neck.
The false bride glared daggers.
William looked down at the little wisp in worry, then it spun around and merged with her throat. Her little neck glowed gold, and then she smiled as the voice from the wisp emerged from her lips. Then her neck ceased glowing, and she completed the wordless song with her own voice.
Everyone on deck gaped. All but one.
Captain Bernadotte grinned. "William?"
"Berenadotte!" William cried in her sweet, pretty voice.
The hounds ran up to her and start licking and jumping on her, barking happily; just as they had done the morning Captain Bernadotte had found her a year ago.
"You… you can talk?!" the Count exclaimed.
But Captain Bernadotte could care less about any of that. He loved the girl, not the voice.
"… You're the one," the Count whispered as it all dawned on him.
Indifferent to all the world, Captain Bernadotte ran up to William and clasped her hands in his. She grinned as she looked up at him; pure love shining through both their eyes. No words needed to be said.
In all the commotion, the real bride emerged from below deck, quickly followed by a frightened servant.
"What's going on, here?" Lady Richard asked.
The Count, Walter, Dr. Van Helsing and Sir King all looked at her, then their eyes grew big as saucers.
"You-!" the Count exclaimed.
"I found her sleep walking, sir," the frightened servant said. "She was wandering below deck—I thought you might want to know."
"I just woke—what's…" the real Richard gasped when she saw the impostor.
They were the only ones who noticed the doppelganger, however; all too stunned for words. Every other eye on deck was looking at the formerly mute foundling gazing lovingly up from the arms of Captain Bernadotte; including the impostor.
"Bernadotte! Get away from her!" she ordered, then stopped short when she realized how harsh, grating, and gravely her voice sounded.
Captain Bernadotte wove his arms around William' waist, looking all for the world like he wanted to kiss her. William moved her hands to his chest, and looked all the world like she wanted to kiss him back. She stood on the tips of her toes, and moved her face up to meet him as he closed his eye and moved toward her.
"BERNADOTTE, NO!" the Sea Witch screamed.
Just before their lips touched the sun rose, and its first rays stabbed William like a blade. She convulsed in agony, then slipped between Bernadotte's arms.
"You're too late!" the impostor gloated, and cackled.
Pip exclaimed, "William, are you all right…?" but then he felt his boot hit something unfamiliar.
His eye widened in horror at what he saw. The impostor continued to cackle wickedly as William lay sprawled on deck before him, with a glimmering fish's tail emerged from her white ruffled night dress. Pip looked at her in shock and realization, and William' eyes said that this was the secret she had been hiding.
The imposter threw her hands to the sky and bellowed, "YOU'RE TOO LATE!" Lightning shot from her hands and covered her body, then she laughed maniacally as she transformed into a monster. Her skin turned grey and muscled, the right side of her body covered in tattoos, and eight black octopus's tentacles ripped through her white night dress and curled up on the deck.
Everyone on deck gasped in shock and horror, and averted their eyes.
The cackling Sea Witch then crawled quickly toward William. Every body on deck that didn't faint rushed to get out of her way. Before Captain Bernadotte could react, the Sea Witch crawled right up to William, snapped her up, and crawled onto the bulwarks.
"So long, lover boy!" she sneered over her shoulder, ignoring the little mermaid struggling in her arms, and she jumped overboard.
"William!" Captain Bernadotte exclaimed.
The ocean was much colder than William remembered. Colder and wetter. She had not floated weightless like this in so long; not since the watering hole in the Carf
ax Estate. That had been a much happier time. The ocean was much darker and deeper too. They made so much time descending deeper and deeper into the fathoms below.
The Sea Witch swam differently from mermaids. They took a swift swim forward then stopped abruptly, then took a swift swim forward then stopped abruptly, then took a swift swim forward then stopped abruptly; like an octopus.
Her great strong hand held William' wrist tight as a vice, and try as she might she couldn't yank it free—no more than she could from those poor polyps in the Sea Witch's garden. Soon the loose fabric of William' loose night dress fell away, and William was as naked as the day she was born. She felt naked, cold and vulnerable now that she was alone with the Sea Witch at the bottom of the sea.
"Poor little princess," the Sea Witch sneered as she dragged her along, now at the ocean floor. "If only you had kissed him seconds before."
". . . You tricked me!" William exclaimed. It was all she could think to say.
The Sea Witch laughed mockingly. "Of course I tricked you! Und it worked." She yanked William closer, so that her frightened little face was inches from her toothy leer. "I couldn't very well haf you believing you would live to see the sunrise; otherwise your wounded little heart would haf fallen in love with the captain, und there would be no heartbreak to turn you back into a mermaid."
"You lied to me!" William said numbly. She could think of nothing else to say.
The Sea Witch through her head back and laughed such a loud, bellowing laugh that it echoed off the rocks. "Of course I did, und it was all too easy." Just then she swung William around so that she floated right in front of her, with her slim little body and her pert breasts floated before her. William instinctively covered her breasts with one arm, shrinking away from the Sea Witch's leer.
"What are you going to do with me?" the little mermaid asked, and tried to look as small as possible.
"What, indeed?" the Sea Witch murmured huskily, and descended on her like a hungry octopus to a sea shell.
William gasped and swam backwards, trying to keep as much distance between herself and the sea monster in front of her as possible.
"God, I could have you now," the Sea Witch panted. But then she suddenly swam ahead, and jerked William behind her. "But thankfully for you, I've a much bigger fish to fry…"
"Linda, STOP!" Baron Vincentimir Harkonnen ordered. He was indeed much older than William remembered him. His fiery red hair had indeed turned white, just like the stage girls had described, and his hairline had receded considerably. His face was filled with more wrinkles and lines than ever, and large puffy blue bags lined the bottom of his eyes.
The five stage girls, with their short hair floating around their faces, hovered around and behind Harkonnen. Most of them trembled with fear, but they all set their faces in determined scowls. "Hmph!"
"Why, Baron Harkonnen," Linda cackled, "How are you?"
"Let her go!" Baron Harkonnen ordered.
"Not a chance, Baron, she's mine now!" Linda retorted, pulling the little mermaid closer. The tattoos along the right half of Linda's body glowed, and then the same tattoos glowed all over William's body, showing that the Sea Witch owned her.
"That's not fair!" one of the stage girls exclaimed.
"Yeah, we gave you our hair to let her go!"
"Yes, on the condition that she use the knife I gave you to slay the Count," the Sea Witch cackled. "Which, sadly, she did not use."
The stage girls all gasped and looked at each other and William in horror. Harkonnen just looked sad and tired.
William never felt more sorry for her actions than she did that moment, when she saw how her deal hurt and worried him.
"Then why is she still alive?"
"Because I still have use for her," the Sea Witch grinned, and pushed William so that she floated in front of them. She then wrenched William's arm behind her back and clutched her breast with the other; William winced and tried to struggle away. "Now, would you be so good as to tell the Sea King that I haf his youngest daughter?"
William and the stage girls all gasped.
Up on the surface, Captain Bernadotte had taken a lifeboat and was rowing out into open water. From the ship, Walter cried out, "Captain, what are you doing?!"
"Walt, I lost her once! I'm not going to lose her again!"
Below water, William could only watch in shame and horror as the consequences of her bargain played out before her.
The stage girls and Harkonnen looked at each other, and then they were forced to admit, "William is not the Sea King's daughter."
The triumphant smile slowly faded from Linda's lips. "What are you talking about?"
"The Sea King only has six daughters," the stage girls said. "William is but a chamber maid."
Horror and denial filled the Sea Witch's features. "What are you talking about, of course she's his youngest daughter! The daughter obsessed with the human world? The daughter who had the cave of human treasures?"
"That was Ariel!" the stage girls said.
Shock and humiliation filled Linda's features.
"You already gave her the means to fall in love with a prince, remember?"
Linda had only done so because she had believed Ariel to be his second oldest daughter. She had heard that his youngest had been his favorite daughter, and the one he would do anything for. So, she had allowed that little mermaid's deal to go off without a hitch since she had believed she still had another Ace up her sleeve; the Sea King's true favorite daughter as a bargaining chip. But this...
"Then why did...?"
"Why did I tell you that William was the Sea King's daughter?" Schrodinger piped up cheerfully.
The others gasped when he seemed to appear out of nowhere. William was used to it by now, but she was struck with another shock; one far more upsetting than any jump scare could cause.
"Because, I knew that the only way you would agree to give her the potion that would spare her life would be if you thought William was a prize worth keeping" Schrodinger gloated carelessly."
William felt as thought daggers stabbed her stomach; and it hurt worse than daggers in any heart.
"William had become so obsessed with the Count that she could not appreciate what she had right here on the sea floor," Schrodinger continued cheerfully. "She spent all her time with her head in the clouds, I knew she needed to learn what she had right here on the sea floor. You und I knew the Count was already in love with another, but the only way William could get over him would be if she went to the land herself, und experienced it for herself. I knew that the only way she'd get her head out of the clouds und back into the water where it belongs would be if she got her heart broken, und appreciated all the friends she has right here under the sea."
Far from touched by Schrodinger's gesture, William was crushed; hurt and betrayed. It explained why he encouraged her to knock on the Sea Witch's door... and she could only bring herself to repeat a line she'd heard in a play; "Et tu, Schro?"
"A-ha!" he grinned, "So you have read Shakespeare!"
Willing herself not to cry, William closed her eyes and turned her head away. She'd expected this kind of treachery from Linda Mills; the Sea Witch who'd lied and tricked her and jerked her around on land for her own amusement. She'd known that Schrodinger was a bit of a self-centered braggart, but he'd always seemed to have her best intersts at heart, even if he was bad at showing it. She would have never believed he'd pull such a cruel trick, and jerk her around and intentionally try to break her heart the way the Sea Witch did.
The Sea Witch, for her part, was positively seething and trembling with rage. Her tattoos began to glow with anger.
The stage girls and Harkonnen all braced themselves nervously; for they all knew an enraged Sea Witch was a dangerous Sea Witch.
Schrodinger alone did not seem bothered by her anger, and chattered blithely on: "Of course, now that you know she is not the Sea King's daguther, you know that she is useless to you. No doubt you won't want to keep such a
reminder of your failure in your polyp garden. But since she is a mermaid now, you might want to let her go."
Linda exploded. She hated the little catfish boy, but given that he could be anywhere and nowhere, and Harkonnen had power of his own and the stage girls were under his protection, Linda took her rage out on the one being she had power over.
She wrapped her tentacles tightly around William's neck and torso and screamed into her face, "WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I WANT A USELESS, WRETCHED, WORTHLESS LITTLE WORM LIKE YOU?!"
Before William could respond, the Sea Witch forced a tentacle down William' throat and strangled her with another, so that she couldn't breathe. When William tried to wriggle away, the Sea Witch wrapped two more tentacles around her torso and tail, so that she could only flail helplessly in her grasp, unable to breathe.
The arrogant little grin disappeared from Shrodinger's little face faster than a blink. "Linda, stop!"
"You worthless, insignificant THING!" The Sea Witch roared as she plowed the little mermaid into the white, soft sand, intending to crush her as well as strangle her to death.
William's friends cried out and tried to save her.
"Linda, no!" Schrodinger exclaimed, for the first time alarmed.
"Linda, stop it!" the stage girls all exclaimed, and they flocked around her, trying to get her away from William. But the Sea Witch was bigger and stronger, and swatted them away like they were shrimp.
"I'll trade you anything! Just let her go!" Harkonnen cried.
But Linda's eyes were white with rage. She hated everything that moment, and all her rage was channeled into killing William.
"I can't believe I wasted so much time and energy on a worthless little nothing like you!" she yelled, and swung her around to slam her against a large boulder.
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