Ariel fingered the necklace that was draped around the throat. The necklace that had once belonged to Athena.
She wasn't worried. She could easily escape this dungeon. But she wouldn't. At least, not until the last possible second. Why? Because she wanted to know exactly how far Hook would be willing to go to make sure Ariel got her revenge. Would he even come for her? Ariel had seen the castle from afar and from up close- its defense system was incredible. A single shooter could take out an entire army from the way the castle's towers were built. Perhaps Hook would come for Ariel. But what about the other pirate captains? Though they kept saying they were all for raiding Ursula's kingdom and retrieving the treasures from Atlantis, Ariel wasn't sure if they would risk everything just to save her. She needed to test their loyalty and their courage.
"You're heart's blackening, my dear," said a raspy voice. Ariel got up. "Who's there?" she called out. A young woman with sleek black hair and dull eyes stepped forward from the cell across Ariel's. "Your soul is darkening, and soon, it will become black and shriveled up like mine," she said.
Ariel scowled. "Who are you?" she asked. The woman smiled. "That is a secret I cannot have you finding out. All you need to know is that I am a lady of magic as well, and a much more powerful one at that."
Ariel rolled her eyes. "And if that's true, what are you doing, rotting away in a cell?" she asked, sitting back down. "Unlike you, they know I have magic, and have made precautions so that I do not use my powers against them. But I can still sense magic. And you have a very strong scent of Neverland on you. Who are you, my dear, and why is it that your heart is losing its color?"
Normally, Ariel didn't go around talking to creepy witch ladies. But Ariel didn't have anything else to do. Besides, she was curious on how the woman knew of Neverland. It was a place where very people knew about.
"I lived there, once," the woman said, as if she had read Ariel's mind. "I was the most respected out of all who lived there. But then a great and terrible curse swept across Neverland, and to save everybody else, I sucked in the horrors of the curse, straight into my heart. The curse blinded me, it controlled me. I spread terrors across multiple realms up until sixty years ago, when the now old and feeble king managed to defeat me and lock me up in here."
Ariel blinked. Had the woman just said sixty years ago? How old was she, and why did she look like a teenager?
"I have heard rumours, my dear, and I need you to confirm them for me. Another curse has swept across Neverland, and is poisoning everything once more. Is it true?" the woman asked.
Ariel did't say anything. Was it true? She didn't know. During the past year, Ariel had only visited Neverland four times, and on all those occasions, she had never gone near the island itself, just the waters that surrounded it. But now that this woman was mentioning it- the waters had gotten murkier, the sightings of mermaids in Neverland's waters had gotten fewer, which had been good news for Hook's crew. Over fifteen months ago, when Ariel had first visited Neverland, there had been so many shining stars in the sky. Now, it was hard to spot any, and Ariel had blamed it on the foggy water. And most of all- "Peter Pan," Ariel whispered quietly.
The woman straightened up. "What?" she said, clearly wanting to find out what Ariel had to say.
"Why should I tell you?" Ariel asked. "What's in it for me?"
The woman snarled. "Spoken like a true pirate, princess. Tell you what- I'll give you the information needed to defeat your enemy." Ariel shook her head. "No. We already have all the weapons we need to defeat Ursul-" "I'm not talking about that scaly sea witch," the woman said, cutting Ariel off. "I'm talking about the other enemy. The third party that will enter to prevent any war at all."
Ariel frowned. What third party was this woman talking about?
"Trust me, princess. No matter how many dark artifacts you possess, without my help, you will never even get a chance to begin a war."
Ariel looked at the woman. "Fine," she said. What harm could there be in telling this woman the story of when Ariel first arrived in Neverland?
"One year and three months ago, I arrived in Neverland, aboard a ship called the Jolly Roger. That same day, a bunch of boys attacked the ship. One of the boys, a fifteen year oldish boy in a green shirt, he said he had come aboard the ship to steal magic that was needed to heal his friend. He never got it, though. And I have no idea what happened after that.
The woman stared at Ariel with wide eyes. Then she began to cackle. She began to laugh with a sound so horrible that Ariel's head literally started to shake. "And so history begins to repeat itself!" she cackled. "What are you talking about, you insane witch?" Ariel said, over the shrill sound of laughter.
"I shall tell you a story, my dear," the woman said, calming down. "Almost seven decades ago, I was living in Neverland with a boy named Peter Pan. We were very close, we were practically siblings, and we cared for each other very much. I know you may think I'm a witch, my dear, but I'm actually a fairy. I would use my powers and help Peter fly, and we would roam the skies for hours and hours, every single day. There was a younger fairy, much less powerful than me. Her name was Tinker Bell. She was extremely jealous of the friendship Peter and I shared, and she did and said many horrible things. But Peter never got angry with her, so I decided not to, either. The night that the curse struck, Tinker and I decided to use our powers together to prevent the curse from reaching the heart of Neverland. With both our powers combined, we could save Neverland and walk away from the ordeal unscathed. But Tinker ran away at the last second. Out of cowardice or jealousy, I do not know, but Tinker left me all alone to deal with the curse. I fended it off, but I was cursed with the fate of having a dark heart forever. Peter tried to bring me back to my normal self, but the old me was truly gone forever. I killed half of his lost boys, and then I flew off to a different realm, to cause even more chaos there. Peter and I were separated, just as Tinker had wanted it to be from the start."
Ariel frowned. She almost felt sorry for the witch fairy lady. "Why are you laughing?" Ariel asked, still not understanding.
The woman's eyes beamed up. "Because, my dear, you've just delivered me with the great news that the curse has struck again! Tinker Bell is dying, and with her, all of Neverland!"