Forbidden: A modern-day retelling of 'The Little Mermaid'
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Muse: Kelly Clarkson
My tail swished through the water as I swam to my garden; my flowers were my pride and joy back then. The bold reds, brilliant blues, muted mauve; they were all so beautiful to me. An angel fish brushed by my flowers, several following suit. My flowers calmed me, and also gave me something to care for.
“Jade!” My older sister, Opal shouted. All of my sisters—all seven, including me—were named after the precious gems we find in the water; the beautiful jewels the humans drop into the water, once I found a large heart-shaped diamond that was a faded blue (that was a Titanic reference FYI). There was Onyx, the eldest at 24, she had dark purple hair and a black tail, and she was always extremely quiet. I don’t think she really related to the rest of us, she was the ‘lone wolf’ of the family. Next there was Diamond, she was a very timid person, kept to herself but was civil nonetheless. Her tail reached up further than the rest of ours, a beautiful sparkling white, just like a diamond. All of us were spaced out a year between one another--give or take a few months. Opal, was the happiest mermaid I have ever met, she was known for her blonde hair that always flowed gracefully down her back and her glistening violet eyes and bright smile. My favorite sister, Amethyst, had dark brown hair and her tail was a beautiful purple. I thought most fond of her because of her unordinary kindness; she cared of others more than herself, a rarity. Sapphire, her hair such a shocking color of blue, was a compassionate merman, however she was a bit on the dramatic time, and her heart was easily broken. You see, Sapphire would love all sorts of creatures, animals, merman, so when one would die or leave her, she would be devastated. My beautiful sister Ruby was shallow and rude. I loved her with all my heart but she was not the most agreeable merman. Then there was me, little Jade. Black hair, green tail, and so called beautiful voice. I was 17—nearly 18.
“Jade!” Opal called again.
“Oh, I’m sorry; I was out of it for a moment.” She nodded along to my pitiful apology, “What do you need?”
“Father and Grandmother want to speak to you about your birthday,”
I swam to the castle to meet my father and grandmother. My father looked only slightly older than me, my grandmother maybe ten years older. Merman’s lifespan was much larger than other creatures, reaching nearly three hundred years.
“Jade, my dear, we were wondering when you wanted to go to the surface,” Grandmother paused, “Mid-day or the evening?”
Diamond swam in just then, “I suggest the evening. I remember when I reached 18 I went at night and it was the most beautiful sight, seeing the city lights out past the waves and the small and large sailboats floating on the oceans surface,”
“No!” Amethyst protested, “The blue skies with the white puffs are by far the most beautiful, the warm sun on my face was amazing, the sound of the birds.”
On our eighteenth birthdays we were aloud to go above the surface, and see the sky. I had waited for my turn to go since Onyx turned eighteen nearly seven years ago. Being the youngest was hard. As each of my sisters came back from their adventures, I smiled a faux grin, faking happiness for them when I was always jealous. I was so curious about the human’s lives, how they lived and what they did. My sisters had described what they looked like from afar, never coming more than thirty feet near them. They told me their hair was much shorter than ours, their clothing and speaking strange. They voices raspy, and quiet.
“I remember, when I went to the shore,” By then all of my sisters had come inside to the castle to join in on the conversation. “I saw a woman from afar, poor thing was so ugly!” Ruby was being shallow yet again, although that was not a surprise.
“Oh, but sister!” Sapphire began, “Humans are much different from us, you know? You cannot go and compare, for they are different. And besides, what’s beautiful to some is atrocious to others.” I was always left out in these conversations, most all actually. I had not experienced what they have, and they rarely ever talked to me with the exception of Amethyst. I was always on the outside looking in, it upset me.
Ruby huffed, “Say what you will but the beauty of us would never be over looked by the fish eaters.”
“Agreed,” My father always agreed with Ruby, “Those humans, prey on the innocent fish when they should just eat the herbs that they have been supplied with. Savages, they are.”
“Why might you say those things father?” I inquired, “How do you know the humans do not have the plentiful supply of plants we do? What if they need the fish to survive? If you were in their shoes, would you not kill a few fish to live?”
“Jade, you silly little mermaid you don’t know the humans so how might you know all of these things?”
“But that’s exactly my point, father! You don’t know the humans any more than I do, so how can you judge them?”
“Jade! Do not disrespect me! I’m older than you; I’ve seen them, so therefore I know more than you.” His opinions got on my nerves more than several times a day, and this would be the first I ever voiced my opinion on his opinions.
“But age is but a number, when we live for hundreds of years. What is thirty years on my seventeen?”
His eyes bulged for a moment, his neck turned red. My grandmother who had remained silent during the whole ordeal finally spoke up, “Well Jade, you never answered my question.” She said in a calm voice. Her tranquility had puzzled me often. How could one person stay so peaceful? How could she never want to just scream? My father was by far the most frustrating merman in insistence, my sisters and I proved to be difficult.
I pondered that for a moment, and finally decided that I wanted to see the bright, white moon clearly. If I got somewhat close to the surface I could see the blurred white through the salt water. Somehow the dark black sky seemed eerie especially when in contrast with the moon, white as my skin. My sisters always compared me to the night, my hair the dark night, my skin the bright moon and my light grey eyes like the stars.
“Just before sunset,” I announced, “That way I will be able to see the sky in three ways: day, sunset, and night.”
“I wish I would’ve thought of that. When I went it was dawn, the sky was grey.” Onyx said. She had the prettiest name in my opinion. Actually she and Diamond were the prettiest in my opinion. Sure Ruby was stunning but her personality ruined her. Diamond was so elegant, and Onyx was a subtle beauty—the best in my opinion.
“Then it’s decided!” Grandmother exclaimed. “You will go just before sunset.”
The moment I would be anxiously awaiting those next two weeks.
Muse: Kelly Clarkson
My tail swished through the water as I swam to my garden; my flowers were my pride and joy back then. The bold reds, brilliant blues, muted mauve; they were all so beautiful to me. An angel fish brushed by my flowers, several following suit. My flowers calmed me, and also gave me something to care for.
“Jade!” My older sister, Opal shouted. All of my sisters—all seven, including me—were named after the precious gems we find in the water; the beautiful jewels the humans drop into the water, once I found a large heart-shaped diamond that was a faded blue (that was a Titanic reference FYI). There was Onyx, the eldest at 24, she had dark purple hair and a black tail, and she was always extremely quiet. I don’t think she really related to the rest of us, she was the ‘lone wolf’ of the family. Next there was Diamond, she was a very timid person, kept to herself but was civil nonetheless. Her tail reached up further than the rest of ours, a beautiful sparkling white, just like a diamond. All of us were spaced out a year between one another--give or take a few months. Opal, was the happiest mermaid I have ever met, she was known for her blonde hair that always flowed gracefully down her back and her glistening violet eyes and bright smile. My favorite sister, Amethyst, had dark brown hair and her tail was a beautiful purple. I thought most fond of her because of her unordinary kindness; she cared of others more than herself, a rarity. Sapphire, her hair such a shocking color of blue, was a compassionate merman, however she was a bit on the dramatic time, and her heart was easily broken. You see, Sapphire would love all sorts of creatures, animals, merman, so when one would die or leave her, she would be devastated. My beautiful sister Ruby was shallow and rude. I loved her with all my heart but she was not the most agreeable merman. Then there was me, little Jade. Black hair, green tail, and so called beautiful voice. I was 17—nearly 18.
“Jade!” Opal called again.
“Oh, I’m sorry; I was out of it for a moment.” She nodded along to my pitiful apology, “What do you need?”
“Father and Grandmother want to speak to you about your birthday,”
I swam to the castle to meet my father and grandmother. My father looked only slightly older than me, my grandmother maybe ten years older. Merman’s lifespan was much larger than other creatures, reaching nearly three hundred years.
“Jade, my dear, we were wondering when you wanted to go to the surface,” Grandmother paused, “Mid-day or the evening?”
Diamond swam in just then, “I suggest the evening. I remember when I reached 18 I went at night and it was the most beautiful sight, seeing the city lights out past the waves and the small and large sailboats floating on the oceans surface,”
“No!” Amethyst protested, “The blue skies with the white puffs are by far the most beautiful, the warm sun on my face was amazing, the sound of the birds.”
On our eighteenth birthdays we were aloud to go above the surface, and see the sky. I had waited for my turn to go since Onyx turned eighteen nearly seven years ago. Being the youngest was hard. As each of my sisters came back from their adventures, I smiled a faux grin, faking happiness for them when I was always jealous. I was so curious about the human’s lives, how they lived and what they did. My sisters had described what they looked like from afar, never coming more than thirty feet near them. They told me their hair was much shorter than ours, their clothing and speaking strange. They voices raspy, and quiet.
“I remember, when I went to the shore,” By then all of my sisters had come inside to the castle to join in on the conversation. “I saw a woman from afar, poor thing was so ugly!” Ruby was being shallow yet again, although that was not a surprise.
“Oh, but sister!” Sapphire began, “Humans are much different from us, you know? You cannot go and compare, for they are different. And besides, what’s beautiful to some is atrocious to others.” I was always left out in these conversations, most all actually. I had not experienced what they have, and they rarely ever talked to me with the exception of Amethyst. I was always on the outside looking in, it upset me.
Ruby huffed, “Say what you will but the beauty of us would never be over looked by the fish eaters.”
“Agreed,” My father always agreed with Ruby, “Those humans, prey on the innocent fish when they should just eat the herbs that they have been supplied with. Savages, they are.”
“Why might you say those things father?” I inquired, “How do you know the humans do not have the plentiful supply of plants we do? What if they need the fish to survive? If you were in their shoes, would you not kill a few fish to live?”
“Jade, you silly little mermaid you don’t know the humans so how might you know all of these things?”
“But that’s exactly my point, father! You don’t know the humans any more than I do, so how can you judge them?”
“Jade! Do not disrespect me! I’m older than you; I’ve seen them, so therefore I know more than you.” His opinions got on my nerves more than several times a day, and this would be the first I ever voiced my opinion on his opinions.
“But age is but a number, when we live for hundreds of years. What is thirty years on my seventeen?”
His eyes bulged for a moment, his neck turned red. My grandmother who had remained silent during the whole ordeal finally spoke up, “Well Jade, you never answered my question.” She said in a calm voice. Her tranquility had puzzled me often. How could one person stay so peaceful? How could she never want to just scream? My father was by far the most frustrating merman in insistence, my sisters and I proved to be difficult.
I pondered that for a moment, and finally decided that I wanted to see the bright, white moon clearly. If I got somewhat close to the surface I could see the blurred white through the salt water. Somehow the dark black sky seemed eerie especially when in contrast with the moon, white as my skin. My sisters always compared me to the night, my hair the dark night, my skin the bright moon and my light grey eyes like the stars.
“Just before sunset,” I announced, “That way I will be able to see the sky in three ways: day, sunset, and night.”
“I wish I would’ve thought of that. When I went it was dawn, the sky was grey.” Onyx said. She had the prettiest name in my opinion. Actually she and Diamond were the prettiest in my opinion. Sure Ruby was stunning but her personality ruined her. Diamond was so elegant, and Onyx was a subtle beauty—the best in my opinion.
“Then it’s decided!” Grandmother exclaimed. “You will go just before sunset.”
The moment I would be anxiously awaiting those next two weeks.
♠ ♠ ♠
Well I do not normally listen to Kelly Clarkson, but what the hell?