Dark Fairy Tales

The Little Mermaid

The wind was cold, spraying the salted water over the vast expanse of ocean. The creature sprawled herself over the rocks, scanning the darkened waters, searching for the ship that haunted her mind.

It had been many moons since these waters had become her home, and the man who had sent her to the depths was due to be returning from the other shores tonight.

She thought back to her days on the shore, retrieving the memories that had once filled her with joy. Her brow furrowed at the ache that began to form where her heart once beat.

Memories of laughing with her sisters as they ran through the halls of the palace.

The memory of the Winter's Ball, the glittering chandelier casting delightful flashes of light over the dance floor.

The green eyes of Eric, her prince, the man she had loved so deeply, calling her from across the crowded room.

The tell-tale sound of waves breaking around the hull of a ship pulled her from the memory of his eyes. She looked out over the water, catching sight of the massive ship cutting through the stormy sea.

A dark smirk pulled at her lips as she ran a scaled hand through her hair, untangling the long, red locks from the scales and barnacles that had started growing on her deteriorating flesh. Her hair had been the only thing that remained after she had been tossed into the ocean.

She pushed herself off the smooth rock, slipping under the rolling waves and swimming towards the jagged crags that traced the shoreline.

She passed the school of mermaids that occasionally rested on the rock she had just abandoned. They were scared of her, cowering in their caves and holes whenever she passed.

It had been years since these waters had seen a creature as wrathful as she had become.

She sent one of the younger mermaids a smirk, basking in the brief flash of twisted glee that followed the terror on their flawless faces.

Once she reached the crags, she propelled herself out of the water, dragging her lower body onto one of the jagged rocks.

As the ship neared the cliff, still far enough out to safely pass with no fear of crashing, she started her song.

She felt the change in the air as the notes reverberated across the water, the sky darkening further to prepare for the souls soon to be taken.

The song she sang was one her mother had sung to her as a child, the song she had danced to at her wedding, the song that had been on her heart when she had been thrown to her death.

She smiled as the ship slowly changed it's course, the crew drawn to her song.

As the ship drifted closer, she heard the distressed pleas of the crew fall silent as one by one, the men fell victim to her song.

She continued to sing as the massive vessel struck the rocks, the notes cutting through the sounds of fracturing wood and crumbling stone.

She pushed herself into the water once more, making her way to the rapidly sinking wreckage. The water here was shallow enough that the crew had at least a chance of making it to shore alive.

There was only one would she truly cared about this night.

As she approached the boat, she kept her song soft and lilting, just loud enough to keep the men under her spell.

She tuned her hearing to every person on the ship, listening for the one she was hunting. Her song latched onto his mind, altering the melody to call solely to the Prince.

She waited by the edge, ignoring the confused murmurs of the dazed crew. It would be at least another hour before they were fully freed from her song.

The prince's face appeared over the railing, his green eyes glassy and searching for the source of the song.

The ache that had formed in her chest sparked into a raging flame as she met the eyes of the man who had taken her life. The Siren let her song fade away, swimming closer and pulling herself up to the railing.

He would feel the cold water filling his lungs as she dragged him under. He would know who took his life this night.

He would die with her name on his lips.

The Prince reached for her, blinking in his confused haze as the song started to fade from his mind.

"You are the most stunning creature I have ever seen." She smiled, recognizing the flattering phrase from the night they met. He may have been lying the first time, but this time, he was simply lost to her song. Death does nothing to preserve the beauty of the maidens it claims. "What is your name?"

"You know my name, My Love, for you once said; only the loveliest names go to maidens as beautiful as I." The Prince's eyes flashed with a spark of clarity before glossing over once more. "Do you truly not remember me?"

"How could I dare to forget such a perfect face?" There was the slightest hesitation in the man's voice as she smiled again. The song was nearly faded from his mind, and the first seeds of terror had begun to bloom in the murderous eyes of the Prince.

She leaned closer, tracing his jawline with the tip of her nose, listening to his heart stutter in his chest.

"You don't remember the Ball? When you saw me across the room, and knew you would have me?" She let her voice drift into the softest of melodies, making the Prince tremble and lean ever closer to her. "Or our wedding? When you swore to my father, to me, that you would love and protect me until out deaths?"

"Your Highness!" The panicked voice of the ship's captain seemed to break the spell, startling the Prince.

He met her eyes as she grinned, terror overtaking his features.

"N-No-" the man tried to pull away, but the song had weakened not only his mind, but his body as well, so the Siren had no issue keeping him in place.

"Do you remember me now, My Prince? Or. Have you truly forgotten me? Did you throw away your memories of me the night you sent me to my death?" The Prince struggled, the stench of fear pouring off his body.

"Y-You're mis-mistaken, M-My Love, I-I- we- we searched for you. I-It was an- an accident-" The Siren laughed, the sound empty and strange in the night air. "Ariel, p-please-"

"Was it worth it? Playing the lovesick fool for so long, only to inherit a dying kingdom?" Ariel tightened her grasp on the man she had given her life to.

"Ariel, p-please don't-" the Prince fought harder to escape, pushing against the railing desperately. "Help! Somebody, help me, please!"

"They won't help you, Darling, not at the risk of their lives." Ariel adjusted her grasp on the man, bracing her tail against the broken hull of the ship.

She let the soft melody of her song flow once more, weakening the Prince's defences and giving her more leverage.

"Have you never heard the Shanty of the Lost Maiden?" Ariel recalled the first song her mother had taught her. "It tells the tale of a young maiden, tossed to the waves by her lover. Poseidon took pity on her and gave her another chance, restoring her song and offering her immortality. The Shanty says she hunts the ocean, seeking revenge on her lover." The Prince continued fighting, though his attempts were becoming weaker as his mortal form began to tire.

Ariel pressed her tail against the side of the ship, hauling her prey over the railing and into the frigid waters below.

"You should have killed me before I hit the water."