Prologue

"What do you want with us?!" Shouted Ariel at last to her tormentor, wasted from her failed attempts to drive Morgana away.

“‘What do I want?’” echoed Morgana. “It’s rather simple actually: vengeance. Bitter-sweet vengeance against you and your accursed family. But I won't settle for simply evening the odds; even though, I'll admit, the thought of seeing all of you frozen solid does strike me as amusing. No, I want you—all of you—to suffer for as long as possible from something far worse than any physical harm could manage." Letting the defenseless family process her words, she pulled out a potion from a satchel that was hanging around her waist.

“You see this?” The potion she presented to them glowed an ominous crimson color. “In twenty-two years from now there will be a red moon in the sky that will be extra special from most.—”

Eric did not wait for Morgana to finish her explanation. From the moment she turned her back to him to focus on Ariel he began to loosen his grip around Melody. He was waiting for the right moment to strike, and Morgana's movement to draw out her potion granted him his wish. At this point, he did not care to learn all the details of her sinister plot because he knew from past experience to never trust a sea witch.

Finally relinquishing his daughter from his iron grip, Eric, no longer able to suppress his rage, grabbed hold of a broken piece of glass that was lying on floor nearby and charged at the sea witch. Morgana definitely was not expecting such resistance, nor was she pleased. Barely witnessing the prince’s assault in time, she whipped up one of her tentacles in an attempt to parry his attack. Eric spun around at the last minute to dodge the massive and powerful appendage from connecting. Then, with an incredible feat of dexterity and precision, plunged his weapon deep into Morgana’s right shoulder.

Howling with pain, Morgana stumbled backwards. Out of Eric’s reach, she discontinued her hold over Ariel and the child to make her escape out the now ruined balcony. Seeing her chance, Melody quickly reunited with her mother and placed herself in front of her. She knew Morgana too well not to suspect that she might try again to terrorize them before she left, so Melody prayed that she could at least act as a buffer for them—just in case.