"Ariel, are you planning to go ashore and drink the potion now?" Aurora asked the Mermaid Princess swimming ahead.
"There are still several hours until sunrise. Let's wait a little longer." Ariel's tone carried a trace of sorrow. "I want to take one last look at Father's palace and my sisters' gardens."
The Mermaid Princess knew that once she grew legs, she would probably never have another chance to return to her father, grandmother, and sisters.
Next, she would have to face a harsh challenge alone—if she failed to win the prince's love, the curse would still tear apart her heart and dissolve her into sea foam.
"Sure. Farewells are always sad. Take another look at the palace and gardens," Rhine agreed. "We'll follow behind you, watch from afar, and bless you."
The giant Lantern Fish carrying Ariel and her two friends swam on for a while longer.
The Sea King's Palace appeared before them.
When the Mermaid Princess had left, a grand celebration was still being held inside, the lights blazing brightly.
But when she returned, the lights from the ball had already gone out.
The Sea King's Palace was like a sleeping behemoth, lying silently in the deep blue waters. Magnificent, solemn, and still.
"Father and my sisters may already be asleep."
Not daring to disturb them, the Mermaid Princess Ariel quietly swam into her sisters' garden.
She wanted to pick a few flowers from the blooming beds, then slip away in silence.
"My Little Princess, I finally found you!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind her.
Ariel turned around and saw her Old Grandmother, adorned with countless pearls and Seashells.
Leading a large group of mermaid attendants, she looked frantic. The moment she saw Ariel, she was overwhelmed with joy.
"Oh my heavens! My beautiful princess! I heard you went to that dreadful Coral Forest to look for that hideous Old Witch! How could you do something so foolish?"
Old Grandmother had been terrified. She came to her granddaughter's side, her gaze traveling from the Mermaid Princess's lovely tail to her beautiful long hair. Only after confirming that nothing was missing from her granddaughter did she finally relax.
The elderly mermaid was so excited that she did not even notice the giant Lantern Fish above her, its transparent belly containing two humans.
"Why would you go looking for the Sea Hag? Every mermaid child in the Sea Kingdom grew up hearing tales of that Old Witch's evil and knew how terrifying she was. Seeking her out to grant a wish never ended well!"
Old Grandmother took the Mermaid Princess's hand, gripping it tightly as though afraid her granddaughter might run away. "You must have seen that Sea Hag, right? But you absolutely must not make a deal with that witch! The price would surely be extraordinarily steep."
"Don't worry, Grandma." The Mermaid Princess held her grandmother's hand as well. "I'm fine."
Old Grandmother patted her chest, and the weight on her heart finally lifted.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness. Nothing happened to you, my Little Princess.
"It looks like you didn't find that Old Witch, did you? She always comes and goes without a trace, so she might not have been home. Besides, finding her White Bone House in that maze-like Coral Forest isn't easy.
"Luckily, you didn't find her. What a blessing, what a blessing!"
Old Grandmother guessed that merely passing through the swiftly flowing whirlpools, seeing the bizarre, twisted Coral Forest and the grim white bones hanging from the coral trees, had frightened this delicate Little Princess so badly that she had fled straight home without encountering the Old Witch!
"Don't ever go there again, my Little Princess. In this sea, what wish could there possibly be that I and your father cannot help you fulfill?"
Old Grandmother stroked Ariel's hair, which was as soft and smooth as seawater.
"No, Grandma. I found the Sea Hag and spoke with her for quite a while," Ariel said. "She wasn't as frightening as the stories made her out to be."
The Mermaid Princess's words terrified Old Grandmother so badly that the oyster ornaments on her tail nearly shook loose.
"Really? My Little Princess, did that Old Witch make you pay any price? Did she hurt you?"
Ariel smiled. "She was supposed to. But in the end, I didn't make a deal with the Sea Hag. A kind human friend helped me. He's a good-hearted magician willing to grant my wish without asking for anything in return."
Ariel did not explain the exact nature of her wish.
That was a challenge she had to face alone.
"A human friend?" Old Grandmother was stunned.
How could a mermaid become friends with a human? Such a thing had never even been heard of in the history of the Sea Kingdom! "Look, they're over there!"
The Mermaid Princess pointed behind Old Grandmother.
The giant fish swayed as it swam over, and inside its transparent belly were two human children: a silver-haired boy and a golden-haired girl.
"You... you are the two humans rumored to have come to the Sea Kingdom. They say you're a human scholar and his attendant."
Old Grandmother immediately recalled the rumor she had just heard and stared in shock.
"You're Ariel's human friends?"
Rhine nodded gently and greeted the Queen Mother of the Sea Kingdom.
"No matter what, since you helped Ariel, you are my friends and honored guests of the Deep Sea Palace! From now on, whenever you set foot in these waters, the Sea Kingdom will welcome you!" Old Grandmother declared. "I say this in the name of the Queen Mother, and it will always stand."
Several attendants who had followed Old Grandmother in search of the Mermaid Princess whispered among themselves. "Hasn't the Queen Mother always believed that the worlds of mermaids and humans should remain forever separated, without any contact?"
"Exactly. Just now in the palace, she even opposed Sea King Your Majesty summoning these two humans!"
"Normally, that's true. But don't you know? The Queen Mother has always doted on the Mermaid Princesses most of all, especially Princess Ariel. She's the apple of her eye!"
"Yes. The old lady usually keeps a straight face and acts so stern, but the moment Princess Ariel is mentioned, she becomes a completely different person."
"..."
Smiling warmly, Old Grandmother invited Rhine and Aurora. "My two friends, isn't this perfect? I heard that my son—the king of these seas—was just planning to invite you to visit his palace.
"It's already late. When the sun rises tomorrow and its warm light shines through the seawater, illuminating this magnificent palace, come back here.
"I'll personally take you there as guests!"
Before you continue