Happiness Forgotten
Jan. 8th, 2015 03:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptTitle: Happiness Forgotten
Fandom: Little Mermaid
Rating: PG/K+
Length: 824 words
Challenge/Prompt:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fan_flashworks: Sea Life
Summary: There was only one thing for which Sebastian wasn't prepared.
He never questioned his life underwater until she came along. He knew the world into which he had been born was beautiful, and he enjoyed every bit of its wonder. He never took any of it for granted, and he never once thought the humans who murdered their kind might have something worth having above the water. He never had any desire to venture above it, but then he was cast with the order of babysitting her.
She was always the King's favorite, and he knew he couldn't let anything happen to her. He tried his best to keep her safe, and often ended up tagging along on the adventures, or so she called them, that would always end up endangering her and angering her father. Still, he stayed by her side, determined to keep her safe and bring her home to her father.
It didn't take Sebastian long to figure out that he was never going to be able to do that forever, or even for her life span. She was too drawn to the humans, too drawn to their ships and fires and other horrible ways. She should have been born on land, but she hadn't been. She had been born to them, but they would never keep her.
He tried his best to convince her of the wonders of their own world. He tried to show her its beauty and majesty, but nothing could compare, in her big, wide eyes, to the things the humans had. She even marveled over the things they used to comb their hair and their senseless and strange legs. The girl wanted legs, not a tail. She had no sense and he knew eventually she would fall. She would get what she thought she wanted and break all their hearts, including her own.
It's been many years now since she left to marry a Prince on land and raise his children. Sebastian had known it was coming as he watched her grow. He had known they would lose her and her departure would break her father's heart. He had known he would have to fight to break the King's despair. He had known it would be up to him to save him when Ariel betrayed them all.
He just hadn't known what it would cost. He hadn't known that their world, without her bright smile, would never be the same. The brilliant colors of the reefs and fish seem dulled even now. He taps his wand and starts the orchestra again, but it's never the same, never as bright, never as fun, never as wonderful as when she smiled at him and teased him.
Damn the girl, but he'd fallen for her, too. He had never had the time away from caring for the King and their kingdom to have his own children, and somewhere along the way, Ariel had magically filled that void he had only realized he'd had long after she had left them. He stops the orchestra once more when the tune falls flat and swims away from them.
He hears them whispering behind him, but he doesn't care. Gossip is another thing that hasn't stopped since the girl left home. Everybody used to wonder when the King would break; now, Sebastian knows, they wonder when he will break, but he won't give them that satisfaction. The King and the kingdom need him. He's always been there for Triton, and he always will be.
Breaking the surface, he looks toward the distant land, but there is no sign of the Princess Ariel. She has her own life and her own kingdom and family for which to care. She no longer needs them. Where he was always there for her father, she never was, and even as he wishes now for her return, he knows she won't come back to them. She'll never return to them not for all the wonders the sea once held, not for all the music and beauty in their world, not for her father, and certainly not -- Sebastian sniffs -- for him. He drifts back down into the sea, his little, red shell heavier for the weight of his own broken heart he carries ever more.
The girl isn't coming home. Life must continue. His song has ended, but the world, and especially their kingdom, continues. The fish all around look expectantly at him. He clears his throat, glowers at them, and picks up his wand, which is really only a stick. He waves it at the band and proceeds to direct them. They must get this right. He must see Triton smile tonight. Maybe then, he, too, will remember how. But all the while he's directing, one thought remains foremost in the small crab's mind: Their Princess isn't coming home, not now, not ever, and they must learn how to live without her and how to once again find the magic of happiness forgotten under the sea.
The End
Fandom: Little Mermaid
Rating: PG/K+
Length: 824 words
Challenge/Prompt:
fan_flashworks: Sea LifeSummary: There was only one thing for which Sebastian wasn't prepared.
He never questioned his life underwater until she came along. He knew the world into which he had been born was beautiful, and he enjoyed every bit of its wonder. He never took any of it for granted, and he never once thought the humans who murdered their kind might have something worth having above the water. He never had any desire to venture above it, but then he was cast with the order of babysitting her.
She was always the King's favorite, and he knew he couldn't let anything happen to her. He tried his best to keep her safe, and often ended up tagging along on the adventures, or so she called them, that would always end up endangering her and angering her father. Still, he stayed by her side, determined to keep her safe and bring her home to her father.
It didn't take Sebastian long to figure out that he was never going to be able to do that forever, or even for her life span. She was too drawn to the humans, too drawn to their ships and fires and other horrible ways. She should have been born on land, but she hadn't been. She had been born to them, but they would never keep her.
He tried his best to convince her of the wonders of their own world. He tried to show her its beauty and majesty, but nothing could compare, in her big, wide eyes, to the things the humans had. She even marveled over the things they used to comb their hair and their senseless and strange legs. The girl wanted legs, not a tail. She had no sense and he knew eventually she would fall. She would get what she thought she wanted and break all their hearts, including her own.
It's been many years now since she left to marry a Prince on land and raise his children. Sebastian had known it was coming as he watched her grow. He had known they would lose her and her departure would break her father's heart. He had known he would have to fight to break the King's despair. He had known it would be up to him to save him when Ariel betrayed them all.
He just hadn't known what it would cost. He hadn't known that their world, without her bright smile, would never be the same. The brilliant colors of the reefs and fish seem dulled even now. He taps his wand and starts the orchestra again, but it's never the same, never as bright, never as fun, never as wonderful as when she smiled at him and teased him.
Damn the girl, but he'd fallen for her, too. He had never had the time away from caring for the King and their kingdom to have his own children, and somewhere along the way, Ariel had magically filled that void he had only realized he'd had long after she had left them. He stops the orchestra once more when the tune falls flat and swims away from them.
He hears them whispering behind him, but he doesn't care. Gossip is another thing that hasn't stopped since the girl left home. Everybody used to wonder when the King would break; now, Sebastian knows, they wonder when he will break, but he won't give them that satisfaction. The King and the kingdom need him. He's always been there for Triton, and he always will be.
Breaking the surface, he looks toward the distant land, but there is no sign of the Princess Ariel. She has her own life and her own kingdom and family for which to care. She no longer needs them. Where he was always there for her father, she never was, and even as he wishes now for her return, he knows she won't come back to them. She'll never return to them not for all the wonders the sea once held, not for all the music and beauty in their world, not for her father, and certainly not -- Sebastian sniffs -- for him. He drifts back down into the sea, his little, red shell heavier for the weight of his own broken heart he carries ever more.
The girl isn't coming home. Life must continue. His song has ended, but the world, and especially their kingdom, continues. The fish all around look expectantly at him. He clears his throat, glowers at them, and picks up his wand, which is really only a stick. He waves it at the band and proceeds to direct them. They must get this right. He must see Triton smile tonight. Maybe then, he, too, will remember how. But all the while he's directing, one thought remains foremost in the small crab's mind: Their Princess isn't coming home, not now, not ever, and they must learn how to live without her and how to once again find the magic of happiness forgotten under the sea.
The End
