Chapter 4:

Mermaids are Real

Elsa

Elsa's eyes fluttered open to the familiar sight of her bedchamber. Magenta drapes hung from the canopy above her bed. Two small, matching, magenta pillows rested on either side of her, both tucked up under her arms resting in the crooks of her armpits. A soft, lavender sheet covered her body. She felt calm, warm, and at home laying in her own bed.

The warm, golden glow of sunlight poured through Elsa's massive triangular window that overlooked the fjord, reminding her of the times as a child before she was locked away in her room when she would look out the window and see all of the ships docked at the harbor, readying for some sort of celebration. Those were some good times, Elsa thought. She had enjoyed spending time with her sister and when she was forced to give all of that up on account of her powers, it crushed her. She cried to see the castle, to see the kingdom, but most important of all, she just wanted to spend time with her best friend, her loving sister, Anna. Being back in her bed brought all of those memories rushing back to her. Elsa's eyes welled with tears.

She sniffled and pushed past the agonizing memories. All of that is behind me now. I've gotta find Anna, Elsa thought. She tried to shift, but to no avail. She turned her head to see a young woman sitting on the edge of her bed. A moment ago, she was alone in her room. It was as if the young woman had appeared out of thin air. Dressed in a beautiful blue summer dress with gold and orange marigolds sewn into the material, Elsa recognized the dress as her sister's. "Anna," Elsa said, "can you help me? I want to get out of bed. I can't seem to move for some reason."

Anna turned her head to Elsa. She smiled and said nothing. Her red freckles dusted her bubbly cheeks and her strawberry-blonde braided pigtails hung with elegance down the front of her shoulders. Anna turned her attention away from Elsa and back to the floor. Elsa noticed her mouth moving, but she couldn't make out what her younger sister was saying nor to whom she was speaking.

Observing her sister, Elsa noticed Anna was holding a small, wooden basin. Anna dipped her fingers into the wooden bowl and then flicked her fingers at Elsa. Droplets of water splashed in Elsa's face causing her to flinch. She furrowed her brows and attempted to wipe her face. Her arms wouldn't move, though. They were trapped under the sheet covering her body. "Anna!" Elsa growled. "I can't move. Help me, please."

Anna continued talking to whomever was in the room with them, her voice still muted.

"Anna! Look at me. Help me!"

Anna dipped her fingers into the wooden basin again. She pointed her hand at Elsa and flicked them, droplets of water splashing Elsa in the face.

Elsa snorted. "Anna!"

Anna's hand went back in the basin. She lifted her hand and water dripped from her fingers. Elsa tried to move. She tried to squirm and struggle, but her whole body was paralyzed. Anna pointed her hand at her older sister and flicked the cool water in Elsa's face. As the droplets hit her face, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She growled, "Anna, look at me!"

Anna still kept her attention averted from Elsa. Anna giggled silently and returned her hand to the basin. Elsa watched her hand rise from the wooden bowl, but this time she held a wet washcloth. Anna ringed it dry and handed the basin down to whomever it was she was talking to.

Out the corner of Elsa's eyes, she noticed two thin, wooden arms reach up to grab the bowl. Recognizing the arms, Elsa shouted, relieved, "Olaf! Oh, thank goodness, please tell Anna to stop splashing me in the face. And, please, help me out of bed. I can't seem to move."

The thin wooden arms carried the wooden basin out of Elsa's sight and Anna turned to her older sister. She smiled down at her, but remained quiet, even though her lips moved. Elsa was typically great at reading lips, having grown up alone and spying on conversations from afar, relying on lip-reading as a source of knowledge. Unfortunately, Elsa couldn't read Anna's lips. They moved in such a way that was unreadable to Elsa. It was as if Anna was speaking gibberish.

"Anna, please, help me out of bed! Why are you ignoring me?" Elsa’s voice was high with panic. What was this nightmare she was in? Why could no one hear her and why was her sister treating her as if she were unconscious?

Anna dabbed the wet cloth along Elsa's cheeks and forehead. With the backside of her other hand, she felt Elsa's cheeks. "Oh, you're so warm," said Anna. "We need to cool you down."

"Anna!" Elsa was relieved to hear her sister speak. "Anna, please, help me move. I can't move. I want out of bed."

"I'll place this here," said Anna, placing the damp cloth across Elsa's forehead. "I seem to remember this doing well for those who were warm to the touch when I was a human."

When I was a human...? "Anna, what are you talking about? You are human!"

Anna turned her attention away from Elsa once more. She went back to speaking silently. Olaf handed Anna the wooden basin. Anna dipped her fingers into the bowl and flicked more cool water at her sister.

"Anna!" Elsa screamed. "Anna, stop it!"

The bed shifted and in Elsa's view came Olaf. His long, carrot nose lingered mere centimeters from Elsa's face. His beady, black eyes (that were much larger as Elsa seemed to recall) stared into her own. His mouth moved, but just like Anna, he was silent. Olaf turned around and sat next to Anna. Anna looked down at the snowman and giggled the way she always did when the little snowman would say something funny. Tears were brimming in Elsa’s eyes.

"Please, Anna, Olaf, just notice me. Say something to me. Why can't I understand you?" Her voice quavered as she spoke.

Just then, Olaf turned around. He stood up and observed Elsa, his eyes slowly descending to the lavender sheet. His tiny twig fingers grabbed the hem of the sheet and pulled it back, slowly unveiling Elsa's body. Elsa could feel herself moving her limbs again. It was as if the sheet had been keeping her paralyzed to the bed. Olaf pulled the sheet back further and further, walking to the foot of the bed. Anna had stood up and smiled, as she watched her little friend uncover her sister. When the sheets were finally pulled back, Elsa lifted her head and stared down at her body.

She was dressed in a lavender nightgown that matched the sheet that Olaf had pulled from her. Coming out of the end of the nightgown where her legs should have been were shimmering green scales that glimmered in the sunlight, pouring into the room. Not only were they scales, but her legs were conjoined to form a scaly tail with a green, translucent fin at the end. Elsa moved her legs and the tail lifted from the bed, the fin crashing down back onto the mattress. Horrified, Elsa's heart thumped against her chest. Olaf moved back up the bed and stood by Elsa's side. He stared down at her face, his beady black eyes staring into Elsa's.

He squawked.

[. . .]

Elsa jerked awake frantically, her heart pounding against her sternum, her face drenched in sweat, the sea sloshing as the boat rocked on the surface from her sudden movement. She sat up, gasping, forgetting exactly where she was. A wet, slimy piece of seaweed fell from her forehead and landed in her lap. She grabbed it with her fingers in disgust and quickly threw it into the water. As her mind came to and she realized that what she had just witnessed was all a dream and that she was still lost out at sea, her eyes settled on a fat white bird that Elsa recognized as a seagull, sitting on the edge of the boat. With its black, beady eyes it stared at Elsa. It squawked and then took off, taking flight over the endless sea before circling around and landing at the end of the boat, behind a young woman that Elsa hadn't recognized.

She had long, wet, red hair that shined bright in the sunlight. Her eyes were as blue as the sky above them. A leather satchel hung from a green strap that appeared to be made from some grassy material that looped around the mysterious redhead's neck. Her porcelain skin glistened in the warm, golden glow of the Sun and as Elsa followed the woman's figure from her cute, round face down to her breasts that were covered by her red hair, and over her toned belly, she realized that this was no ordinary human. A set of green translucent fins protruded from the redhead's hips and the skin of her midsection merged to form glistening green scales that made for a beautiful, sleek fishtail.

Elsa jerked further away, cowering at the bow of the small lifeboat. The redhead flinched at Elsa's sudden movement, bringing her arms to her chest as if to defend herself. She too had cowered away from Elsa. There was a squawk from the same bird that Elsa had awoken to. The redhead looked at the bird and squawked. The fat, white seagull flapped its wings and flew off for good this time.

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Mermaid!

I have a real mermaid in my boat. I thought they were just myths; stories sailors would tell themselves so they wouldn't feel so lonely out at sea. But, there's a mermaid in my boat with me! What do I do? Elsa was beside herself. Mermaids weren't supposed to be real, yet here one sat clear as day in the boat with her.

Elsa's heart was pounding against her chest. Her eyes were wide and her hands were trembling. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged herself. Normally, when frightened she would use her ice magic as self-defense, but there was something different about this fear. She didn't feel fear for her life. She felt fear for the unknown. She had never encountered a mermaid before let alone did she ever actually believe they existed, but here was one in the flesh, cowering and trembling in fear just as Elsa was doing.

The mermaid spoke, her voice quavering. "I won't hurt you. I promise."

Elsa gasped. She talks! The mermaid can speak! Elsa shrank back into the bow, getting as close to the edge of the boat as possible. "Were you just talking to that bird?"

The mermaid looked in the direction that the seagull had flown toward. Only a tiny black dot existed in the horizon where the bird was. "Yes, he's my friend. His name is Scuttle."

"Your friend?! You're a mermaid! How can this be real?" Elsa’s chest rose and fell with each rapid breath. Her heart thudded against her chest. A wave of dizziness washed over her, making her fear she might pass out again.

"I saved you," the mermaid murmured. "Your ship was caught in that storm last night and you were trapped. I rescued you." Her tensed arms loosened as if she was trying to show Elsa that she could be trusted. "You almost drowned. I tried to save the others, but there were sharks." The mermaid’s gaze fell and her fingers curled into her palms. Her shoulders slumped. Elsa thought of her crew. Tears welled up in her eyes. All of her men, those tasked with protecting their Queen, had all perished. She was the sole survivor. Her jaw trembled at the thought. "I'm sorry if I scare you," the mermaid said, her voice almost a whimper. Her tail flapped and beat at the surface of the water.

Elsa wasn't sure what to do. Mermaids had never existed to her until this day and now the first one she meets is the one to have saved her life? How could all of this be real? Was she still dreaming? Would Anna miraculously appear from under the sea and greet her older sister and tell her to join her down where it's wetter? Elsa shook her head. This couldn't be a dream no matter how fantastical it felt.

The mermaid surveyed Elsa warily. She brought her arms back to her chest and gazed out across the sea. "I'll go," the mermaid muttered.

The mermaid twisted and turned in the boat. She flapped her tail, beating it against the surface of the water. However, before she could disappear into the sea, Elsa called out to her. "Wait!"

The mermaid, ready to dive into the water, stopped. She turned her attention to Elsa. Those beautiful blue eyes mesmerized Elsa. Her heart fluttered in her chest at the sight of those sapphire eyes and a warm tingling sensation radiated through her body. She shook her head, disrupting the allure the mermaid suddenly had on her.

"Thank you," Elsa murmured. "Thank you for saving my life."

The mermaid turned and flopped back down in the boat, her beautiful, glistening tail hanging over the edge. The corner of her lips went up slightly revealing a soft smile. She held eye contact with Elsa once more. The mermaid’s allure was drawing Elsa in. Something about this mermaid was just so... tantalizing. She was gorgeous despite being half a fish. The mermaid ripped her gaze from Elsa's and lowered her head again. "I'm glad I could save you," she said, her voice just as soft as before. "I wish I could have saved the others, too, but there were sharks everywhere and the water was so ravenous. I think the gods were angry. I'm glad to have saved you from their wrath, though. Saving one is better than saving none, I guess?"

"For what it's worth, I'm happy you saved me, too." Elsa still felt horrible for having lost any lives at all. She was the Queen of Arendelle and those men had given their lives to make sure she had lived, yet it was a mermaid who had saved her in the end. Elsa chuckled at the irony, guilt suddenly settling in her chest.

"What's so funny?" asked the mermaid.

"It's nothing," Elsa said. "I just—up until now I didn't believe mermaids existed. Yet here you are sitting in my boat with me. A creature I didn't believe existed yesterday turned out to be my savior. It's just weird, you know?"

The mermaid grinned. "For what it's worth, I thought you were a man. I thought I had saved a prince. I had this whole picture in my mind of you as a man with long, red hair, broad shoulders, a muscular physique, and with eyes as blue as the ocean."

Elsa giggled, noticing herself becoming less tense as she warmed up to the mermaid. "It sounds like you described yourself as a man, or... merman? Merguy?"

The mermaid laughed. "Merguy? No, it's mermen. The male merfolk are mermen. I guess I really did imagine you as a male counterpart to myself." Ariel furrowed her brows. "Does that make me vain?"

Elsa scooted out from the bow of the boat. Was she insane for feeling such immediate trust in this sea creature? Only minutes ago she was cowering in the corner of the bow afraid of this mermaid and now she was scooting closer to it—her. "I don't think so? Now, if you had let me drown because I wasn't the man you had pictured me as then perhaps that would have been a bit vain."

"That would have been horrible!"

Elsa smiled. "Well, thank you, nonetheless. Say, did you have a name picked out for me by any chance?"

The mermaid blushed. "Yes..."

"Oh, what was it?"

The mermaid folded her arms across her chest. Her cheeks still pink, she lowered her head. She unfolded her arms and picked up her satchel. "James... It was the first name that sounded correct, the name on this pouch."

Elsa laughed. "You thought my name was James? James the prince, with long red hair, broad shoulders, a muscular physique, and eyes as blue as the ocean. Wow, you were way off!"

The mermaid feigned a scowl before smiling back at Elsa. "Yeah, yeah, I was way off.”

Elsa ceased her laughter. She sat in the boat gazing upon the beautiful mermaid. The way the Sun reflected off her tail had it sparkling like the stars in the night sky. Elsa smiled.

“Elsa is such a beautiful name.”

Elsa cocked her head. “How do you know my name?” Her cheeks prickled with heat at the compliment. “And, thank you.”

“You mentioned your name earlier when you helped me into the boat.”

Elsa nodded her head slowly. That’s right, she had.

“Oh, and who is Anna, if I may ask? You kept saying her name when you were unconscious."

Elsa took in a breath about to speak, but then stopped. She remembered her dream. Anna was in it. "Anna is my sister. I had this weird dream that she was splashing me in the face with water and then she put a wet washcloth across my forehead. I guess I was running a fever or something?"

The mermaid giggled. "That was me! I was the one splashing you in the face. I wasn't sure what to do so Scuttle told me to throw water at you. Your skin was a bit warm to the touch, and pinkish red. I believe you humans call it a sunburn?"

"Wait, so you were the one flicking water in my face?"

The mermaid just nodded. "I'm sorry..."

"I wanted to yell at Anna for repeatedly flicking water in my face." Elsa thought of the seaweed that had fallen in her lap upon waking up. "Did you put wet seaweed across my forehead, too?"

The mermaid nodded again. "I used to see that being done to people who were too hot and needed to cool down when I was a human. I figured since I didn't have any cloth a seaweed leaf would do?"

Elsa furrowed her brows. "Wait. Did you say you used to be human?"

"Oh, yeah..." The mermaid averted her eyes from Elsa's as if she was trying to forget something awful. "It's a long story. Magic was involved." The mermaid sneered at the word ‘magic’.

Great. I meet a mermaid for the first time and she hates magic… Elsa pursed her lips and slumped her shoulders.

The mermaid perked up. "Let's not let the past get us down, though."

Elsa took the mermaid's words to heart and pushed away all of the negative memories resulting from her magic. She smiled. "Okay, deal."

The mermaid turned toward Elsa, her tail sliding around the boat and hanging over the stern as she changed positions. She propped herself up with her arms, her back bent as her hair fell away exposing her bare breasts. She smiled. "Anyways, I'm Ariel!"

Elsa's smile faltered as her eyes fell upon Ariel's large, hanging breasts. They were much larger than her own. Her nipples were emerald green like her tail and the surrounding flesh—the areolas—were a mix of scale and peach-colored skin. Ariel’s nipples stood straight out, erect.

"You're nude!" Elsa exclaimed. It was the only thing she could think to say.

Ariel cocked her head. "What's nude?"

"You are!"

"No, silly, I'm Ariel. I just told you that." Ariel chuckled.

Elsa smacked the palm of her hand to her forehead. "No, I mean you're naked."

"Oh..." Ariel looked down at her chest, her breasts hanging freely. “Would you like me to cover up?” Ariel slid her arms across her chest, hiding her breasts. “I can go find a couple clamshells and some seaweed and fashion myself a bra if that’ll make you more comfortable?”

It wasn't until that moment that Elsa realized that she wasn't uncomfortable with Ariel's nudity. She was embarrassed. Her cheeks prickled with heat, and not just from the Sun. Here was this gorgeous mermaid in her boat with radiant skin, perfect red hair, sapphire eyes, a beautiful green tail, and now with phenomenal breasts to boot. Elsa's heart fluttered in her chest again.

Elsa lifted her head and stared back at Ariel's beautiful frame. Her jaw hung slack as she gazed the second time at Ariel. Her breasts tingled, her nipples hardened, and a warm tingle settled in her chest and then migrated south. Elsa squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to snuff out the heat forming between her legs. Elsa was enraptured with this gorgeous mermaid.

She shook her head slowly. Her voice was all but a whisper as she replied, "No." Elsa had to will herself to stop staring at Ariel. When she finally managed to pry her gaze from the gorgeous sea maiden, she added, "I mean, if you don't want to?"

Ariel giggled. "You're so embarrassed! I can see it all over you. You're so cute, Elsa."

Elsa nibbled on her lower lip before burying her face in her hands. What's going on with me? Why am I feeling this way? Her whole body tingled with a warm feeling. It does feel nice, though, she admitted to herself. Suddenly, Elsa's stomach rumbled.

Ariel cocked her head. "What was that?"

Elsa grabbed her belly. "I think I'm hungry." Her stomach grumbled again, this time an empty pain filling her gut. "Yep, I'm hungry." Elsa looked out over the water. "Too bad there isn't anything to eat around here."

Ariel stared out at the water, her face contorted with apparent confusion. "There are all kinds of things to eat out there. Here, I'll go find material for a bra and something for us to eat. Stay here and please don't paddle away from me this time. I'll be back in a little while!"

The boat shifted and then there was a splash. The spot where Ariel was just laying was now empty. Elsa called out to Ariel before she could disappear under the sea. "Wait! How do I know you won't be the one to leave?"

Ariel cocked an eyebrow, pondering for a moment. Her eyes widened with an idea. She removed the satchel from around her shoulder and handed it to Elsa. The leather was wet and heavy and definitely worn from years of water damage. Ariel exclaimed, "That was a gift from my mother. As long as you have it, I promise to return."

Ariel submerged and before Elsa could say anything else, she disappeared from the clear water. Elsa was alone in the boat again, but this time it was different. She knew she wasn't alone this time. Ariel would come back and they would talk some more. A blush filled Elsa's cheeks as she latched onto the sodden satchel and she grinned at the thought of the beautiful, shimmering mermaid.