"Sure. I'm free the day after tomorrow." The answer came out fast and unexpected, even to Henry himself.
"Great!" Elsa responded in a high pitch, in which she quickly realized and cleared her throat, "I mean good. I'll tell Kai about it."
"I'll be going now. Take care, Henry…" Even her goodbye was a bit awkward. But still, Henry didn't point it out. Years of being a shut-in tend to make even the most extroverted turn socially awkward.
He simply waved his hand goodbye, ignoring the sudden skip in Elsa's steps. His mind is occupied by what's about to come—Meeting with the King of Atlantis.
Don't get him wrong, he has already met one or two Kings in his lifetime courtesy of his father throwing banquets every time he celebrates his birthday where a few royal Kings and their families would attend.
But this time is different. He's meeting one of the strongest beings in the world. The film may not have showcased King Triton's full capabilities but according to the man's background in history books and such, Triton is the son of Poseidon the God of the Sea, possessing the same powers as his father—manipulating the ocean as they please.
Every time he thinks about him, Henry's initial confidence in his magical powers would deflate.
'It's okay. He just wants to talk. What could be wrong about a father talking to a boy who has been stealing his daughter''s attention? Haha…' Henry's listless laugh leaked out of his mouth.
Slap!
All of a sudden, Henry's palms moved on their own, slapping his own cheeks. With closed eyes and heavy breaths, Henry comforted himself, "Alright. You can do this. Just imagine the challenges you'll face in the future that are way more terrifying than this."
"Let's do this!"
———
Arriving at the beach, Henry didn't have to wait long before a splash on the surface of the sea caught his attention.
Ariel, in her full glory emerged from the underwater, water droplets trickling from her hair down to her eyebrows, then to her nose, lips, neck, and as soon as it started to slide past the collarbone, Henry had to look away with a slight blush.
'If I didn't know that you're innocent, I would assume you're trying to seduce me, Ariel.' Henry covered his mouth and nose while rolling his eyes at how effortless it took Ariel to catch him lacking.
Seeing him standing alone on the beach, Ariel's face turned bright and she raised her hand, "Henry! Over here!"
Her high-pitched voice made Henry slap himself in the forehead. Ariel seemed adamant on catching unnecessary attention for herself.
Henry immediately approached her, fearing she might raise her volume even more if he delayed.
Suddenly, she stretched her hand and revealed a pearl on her palm, "Here. Take this." She said with her signature innocent smile.
With a raised eyebrow, Henry took it from her hand, "What's this? Another gift?" He chuckled, bringing it close to his eye, to assess its quality.
Only for Ariel to shake her head and reveal, "Not from me. My father wanted me to give it to you."
The way Henry pulled his hand back was the fastest reflex he didn't even know his body could exert.
'For the love of god! Am I holding a bomb? A magical one? Perhaps it has a timer to turn me into a fish?!' It took Henry a lot of willpower and courage to resist throwing the pearl into the sea.
His lips twitched several times as he tried to ask as casually as possible, "R-Really? That's nice of him. Did he also mention if this…pearl can do something else other than shine?"
As soon as Ariel nodded her head, Henry didn't waste time anymore and gave it back to her, "I appreciate the gift. I truly do, but I'm a bit picky and the only pearls I want are from you."
Ariel's cheeks took a rosy tint, feeling both embarrassed and appreciated by his words. But still, remembering what her father told her earlier, she shook her head, "No. You're gonna need it. Father told me you wouldn't be able to withstand more than 5 seconds deep in the sea. The pearl will help you."
"Seriously?" Henry quickly pulled back, eyeing the pearl close to his pupils again. Fascination gleamed in his eyes.
'Well, that's a bit weird. I'm not feeling any Magic Hymn out of this. Either it's fake or a Demigod's powers differ from Magic?' Henry mentally frowned, wanting to go back to his room and dissect the pearl to find out its secrets.
Unfortunately, Ariel snapped him out of it, "Henry? Are you okay?" Her tone carried a hint of concern. Who wouldn't be? In her eyes, Henry suddenly went silent while scrutinizing the pearl with his squinted eyes.
Henry blinked, "Right. I'm sorry. So, how does this work? Do I have to swallow it and wait or what?"
"Hehe." Ariel accidentally chuckled through her nose—how cute, "It doesn't work like that, no. Father said to just hold onto it and jump in the water, don't let go of it no matter what. You'll see, trust me."
"Alright…" Henry took off his upper clothes, leaving only his pants.
With no hesitation and just an absolute trust in Ariel, Henry slowly marched forward, it wasn't until he was far enough that his foot could no longer reach the seabed that he dove down, followed by Ariel who had been waiting for him.
Splash!
At first, nothing was happening. But Henry didn't let it confuse him. Instead, he kept swimming down, reaching deeper and deeper until something finally happened.
It started on his legs. It was hot at first, not to the point it was painful but hot enough to be noticeable despite being under the cold ocean, 'What the?'
Suddenly, when Henry looked down, his eyes widened in both surprise and fear. His pants were suddenly ripped into pieces, revealing his legs that were slowly conjoining before his very eyes, as if his legs were turning into one. As if that wasn't enough, scarlet red scales start to emerge out of nowhere, covering his conjoined legs and reaching up to his waist.
"Fuck!" Henry yelled in fear, trying to separate his legs together but failed. It's as if he never had two legs in the first place. He didn't even notice how he was able to yell despite being under the water. His entire focus was simply on his legs that turned into an unmistakable fish tail.
"I-I can't feel my legs!" Henry breathed heavily, whipping his fish tail all over the place.
Ariel, who saw the entire thing, gasped in shock. When her father told her that the pearl would help Henry, she was not expecting it to turn him into a merfolk.
Soon enough, Henry recovered from his shock and panic, turning to Ariel and asking with a slight quiver in his voice, "T-This isn't permanent, is it? Please tell me it's not…"
"…I'm not sure." Ariel fiddled with her finger uncomfortably.
Henry froze on the spot, gulping his saliva nervously before forcing up a smile, "H-How about we go and meet your father, yeah?"
Ariel sighed in relief and nodded her head. Making a note to herself to ask why her father didn't tell her what effects the pearl would have.
While she took the lead and swam in the front, Henry followed closely, mimicking how Ariel swims with her tail. It didn't take long for him to learn and adapt. His previous rigid posture turning less rigid.
Opening his closed palm, Henry stared at the pearl and wondered to himself, 'If I let go of this pearl, perhaps it would bring my legs back. After all, Ariel's father told her to tell me not to let go of the pearl.'
Closing them again, Henry burst forward and started swimming side by side with Ariel.
Now that his previous anxiety is gone, Henry couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight around him, "It looks beautiful…"
Ariel proudly puffed her chest and smiled, "I know right! Father said that the ocean is the most beautiful part of nature!"
"Well, he's not lying alright. But to most humans, the ocean is the scariest part of nature." Henry agreed with her, before casually shrugging off her claims.
She gasped in surprise and pouted, "What do you mean it's the scariest? How can the ocean be scary?"
Henry chuckled at her cute reaction, wanting to stretch his hand and pinch her puffed cheek, "For starters, we, humans, fear the unknown and the dark. We're scared of things that we haven't seen before. And the deepest parts of the ocean would make even the bravest man feel fear in his heart."
"I'm not sure if you'll understand this but imagine it's nighttime, you're in the middle of the ocean and you can't see anything, even your own body because of the darkness. We're simply not fit to keep calm in that situation."
Ariel seemed to try her best to understand his words before giving up, "I don't understand. Being in the middle of the ocean at night is my favourite part! Just imagine staring at the beautiful night sky, the stars, and the moon. All while feeling the cold embrace of the water on your body. Doesn't it sound comfortable?"
"Nope. There's nothing beautiful about it. Maybe because your eyesight is better than ours, so you can see just fine in the dark but not us." Henry chuckled.
With a pout, Ariel looked away, "Hmph! Just say that you're scared of the ocean, no need to bring the rest of your kin into it."
Since she looked like she won't be listening to whatever he's going to reply, Henry didn't bother anymore and simply stayed silent.
A few minutes passed and Henry couldn't tell how deep they were now under the ocean. Despite that, Henry noticed that the merfolk can indeed see better in the dark. He can see everything clearly as if he's still near the surface of the ocean where the sunlight can pierce through.
"Amazing…" Henry murmured to himself. This is also one of the things he noticed earlier. He can now talk while under the ocean. He's not sure how it works but it just works. That's it.
Beside him, Ariel kept puffing her chest and smirking in pride. If Henry couldn't control himself, he might've accidentally stared at her puffed-out chest. For a brief moment, he's jealous of those purple clam shells.
Only for a moment though. He's just single, not a full-blown pervert.
Soon enough, minutes of deep diving finally yielded something.
"Woah." Henry's eyes turned into glitters as he stared at the huge city of Atlantis. What's truly surprising about it is how everything is glowing and seems to be made of gold.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw a few mermaids and merfolks swimming towards the large city, some even waving their hands at Ariel once they saw her but frowned when they saw Henry.
Emerging out of the city, was the familiar fish friend of Ariel, "Ariel! Ariel! You're back! And with Henr—! Woahh!? Henry, where are your legs?!"
Henry looked back to his fish tail and then back to Flounder before grinning, "It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way."
"Okay!"
Together with Flounder, they resumed their journey to Atlantis, with Henry asking Ariel for things from time to time. Ranging from her father's hates and dislikes to the laws and rules of Atlantis.
———
Soon enough, they arrived at the throne hall. Though it feels more like a throne field rather than a room. The space around the throne is so large, encompassing even two football fields combined.
The throne, shaped like a clam being raised to the sky, was surrounded by countless pillars, seaweeds, and corals.
Sitting atop the clam-like throne was a huge figure, heavy build, large muscles, and a majestic white beard and hair where a shiny golden crown rests, along with an intricately crafted golden trident that one would recognize as the primary weapon of Poseidon, the God of the Sea. The man's size is large enough to engulf an entire four-story house.
'He's bigger than what the film showed him!' Henry's eyes widened in surprise and fear.
"Daddy!" Ariel raised her arms and swam towards the huge figure. Instead of the usual address of Father, she calls him Daddy this time. Courtesy of how she calls him affectionately face-to-face compared to when she's referring to him when talking to somebody else.
"Ariel! My daughter!" King Triton's lips curved into a smile, spreading his muscular arms and gently hugging Ariel, careful not to accidentally crush her.
On the other hand, Henry stayed in his place. Not knowing whether to kneel or not. Even if he does the former, he doesn't know how to do it with his fish tail.
He could only stay rooted in place and watch as King Triton shifted his attention from his daughter to Henry.
The man's previous face filled with love and warmth suddenly turned stone cold, his eyes staring down on Henry's small figure.
"You must be Henry." Such simple four words and yet the moment he was finished, Henry felt an immense pressure on him in an instant.
His fish tail almost buckled and his forehead quickly shed beads of sweat.
"I-It's nice to meet you too, King Triton…" Henry's lips quivered, trying his best to keep flapping his fish tail to stay afloat and not hit the seabed.
'T-This pressure feels heavier than Master Elias's!' Henry muttered under his breath.