What were you thinking?" Richard swam back and forth agitatedly.

"I'm sorry Daddy, I forgot!" Andrea looked down. Richard sighed and sat down on his green throne.

"It was the peak of my career," Emily seethed, scuttling around on the arm of Richard's throne. "You made me look like a fool in front of everyone!"

"I'm so sorry!" Andrea turned her large brown eyes on Emily, but the stubborn crab looked away with a hmph.

"It wasn't her fault!" Doug tried to jump in to save his best friend. "Um, we got chased by a shark! And then, this stupid seagull kept blabbering on about a stupid snarfblat and stuff-"

"Seagull?" Richard interrupted and glared at Andrea, who wilted and gave Doug an angry look. "You went up to the surface again, didn't you?"

"Um-"

"Didn't you?" he said louder.

"Nothing...happened," Andrea tried to dig herself out of the very deep hole she now found herself in.

"This is exactly the kind of reckless behavior I can not condone-" Richard said angrily, glaring at his youngest daughter.

"-Reckless behavior!" Emily chimed in.

"-And what's worse," Richard sighed and rubbed his eyes, "is that you honestly believe they can't hurt you. Those barbarians will kill you Andrea. You mustn't go up to the surface again."

"They aren't barbarians daddy," Andrea swished her tail impatiently.

"They are dangerous," Richard thundered. "And if you live under my sea, you follow my rules."

"But-"

"And you are to NEVER EVER go up to the shore again. Do you understand?"

"But-" Andrea tried again helplessly.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Richard roared.

Andrea shrank back, and before any tears could fall, she bit her lip and swam away quickly. Richard sunk down on his throne and rested his weary head in his hand.

"Was I too harsh on her?" he asked Emily.

"Absolutely not," she humphed. "Teenagers. They think they know everything. You give them an inch, they swim all over you. Why, if Andrea were my daughter, I'd show her who was boss."

"Hmm," Richard rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked at his most faithful crab.

"Andy needs constant supervision," Emily continued on with her rant, pacing back and forth with her claw raised in the air.

"You're absolutely right," Richard said.

"Otherwise, she'd go up to the surface and get herself killed," Emily puffed out her chest. "Andrea needs somebody to watch her all the time."

"You are correct," Richard poked Emily's stomach. "And you are just the crab for the job."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How do I manage to do the one job I will absolutely detest?" Emily sighed as she scrambled down the long hallway. "I should be composing symphonies, not watching an obstinate teenager."

She paused when she saw the brunette with Doug. They whispered, and then with a flick of their tails, were off. Growling under her breath, Emily used her claws to propel herself forward. She followed silently, but it was difficult, since they were traveling fast, and she couldn't keep up that well. However, she knew that she had to see what they were up to. Andrea paused in front of a large boulder, and after checking both ways, she pushed it out of the way and allowed Doug to swim in first before following. The rock started rolling back into place, and Emily squeaked. Precious time was running out as she motored her small ligaments to squeeze through the door before it shut. Luckily, she made it, but unluckily, her middle was being squished from being caught in the middle. Scanning her surroundings, Emily reached out for some sort of cloth thing, and pulled as hard as her claws would let her. She popped through, and ricocheted off the walls.

Andrea laid on a big rock in the middle of her grotto and stared at the dinglehopper in her hand. Resting her chin on her other hand, she spoke outloud. "I don't understand how a world that makes such beautiful things could be bad."

Look at this stuff

Isn't it neat?

She shrugged and then placed her dinglehopper in a thing that held three others just like it. Andrea opened a box, revealing springs and screws and showed to a wondrous Doug.

Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?

Wouldn't you think I'm the girl

The girl who has ev'rything?

Look at this trove

Treasures untold

How many wonders can one cavern hold?

Lookin' around here you'd think

Sure, she's got everything

But who cares?

No big deal

I want more

I wanna be where the people are

I wanna see

Wanna see 'em dancin'

Flippin' your fins you don't get too far

Legs are required for jumpin', dancin'

Andrea paused and looked up the small opening that led to the surface.

Out of the sea

Wish I could be

Part of that world

Ariel's long brown tresses floated up above her head as she slowly sunk down and laid once more upon the rock. Doug cuddled up next to the sad brunette and they sat in silence. Until, that is, Emily ruined it by falling down multiple shelves and crashing onto the ground.

"Emily?" Andrea gasped.

"Emily?" Doug echoed and popped up behind Andrea.

Emily glared at the young princess and then stood up and brushed herself off. "If your father knew about this-"

"You're not going to tell him are you?" Andrea clasped her hands together as if she were praying. "Please Em. He'll never understand. This is my sanctuary."

"Andy, come with me," Emily tried to take the mermaid by her hand. "It's been a long day, and you're probably tired. Let's get you home and in bed."

Something dark passed over the hole in the ceiling, and Andrea looked up in surprise. "Now what do you suppose..." She flipped her tail and was gone. Emily thudded her head on the ground before paddling to catch up with the brunette.

Andrea broke the surface, and immediately was in awe of the bright colors that lit up the sky. It was very loud, but also very beautiful. She brushed her bangs out of her face and gazed at the lights, her mouth slightly open. Then, making her mind up, she started diving towards the ship, getting closer and closer with each graceful movement. Just after she left, Doug and Emily broke the surface. Watching the retreating figure, Emily began to panic. "Andy!" But Andrea didn't hear her over the loud booms the lights made.

Andrea jumped in and out of the water until she found a spot where she could pull herself up to watch the commotion without being spotted. A large wet nose came snuffling close to her face, and Andrea froze. A warm tongue licked her face, making her giggle, before a soft voice called, "Patricia." The animal bounded away, and when it did, Andrea could see everything that was happening on the ship. Immediately, she gasped. A beautiful woman petted the large animal and smiled at it. The woman was wearing a black fitted dress that flared out at her ankles to reveal a pair of strappy heels. She was slender, and her eyes were a piercing blue. A rebellious strand of snowy white hair fell carelessly over one eye, and Andrea's fingers itched to remove it. However, in the state she was in just looking at the gorgeous human, Andrea could barely breathe.

"What are you doing here?" a loud voice broke her awestruck stare.

Immediately, Andrea turned around and clamped the seagull's beak shut with her hands. "Lily! Shh! They'll hear you!" Turning back to gaze at the older woman, she whispered, "I've never seen a human this close before. She's beautiful...isn't she?"

"Um...she looks kinda hairy and slobbery if you ask me," Lily said, scratching her head.

"No, not that one!" Andrea gently pushed Lily's head up. "That one." She sighed blissfully and watched the wonderful human being.

"Mom! It's time for your present," a redheaded girl walked up to the older woman and placed her hand on her arm.

Without warning, something hot and angry flashed through Andrea. She didn't know what it was...she only knew that she didn't like it when that woman touched Miranda. "Miranda," Andrea whispered softly to herself so Lily couldn't hear her. "Miranda." It was the first time she had said that word, and she liked rolling the name around in her mouth-the consonants and vowels were a pleasant feeling. Pulling her attention back to the scene unfolding before her. She had missed some of the event, so when she looked, everybody on the ship was now standing around a large wrapped object.

"Everybody chipped in Mom," the same girl smiled broadly.

"Well thank you Caroline," Miranda looked at her present with an eyebrow raised.

A bald-headed well-dressed man cleared his throat and raised his arms to tear off the paper covering the gift. "Happy 47th birthday Queen Miranda." Andrea gasped. A queen! No wonder why she looked so graceful.

The paper fluttered down to reveal a statue of Miranda, and everybody fell silent. Andrea personally thought that the statue was a crude depiction of the woman who now stood about 15 feet away from her. It had no life in it. Statue Miranda was standing with one hand on her hip and her eyes were a dull blue that didn't hold a candle to the endless sapphire eyes that were on Human Miranda. The sculpture captured nothing of what Andrea learned in the short 10 minutes she watched her, and it seemed rather gaudy. Apparently Miranda thought so too, since she walked around it, examining it from every angle with a grimace on her face. However, when she opened her mouth to probably voice her concerns, she caught sight of her daughters hopeful faces, and shut it again. "Thank you everybody. It's...captivating."

People erupted into applause, and Miranda hugged her daughters tightly. She then walked over to where Andrea was hiding, clearly dismissing everybody. Andrea's breath caught in her throat, and she shrunk down, trying to hide in the shadows, pulling Lily with her. She craned her neck up to see Miranda's face though. The perfect features were sad, and Andrea could see them glistening with unshed tears. Her heart ached, and she unconsciously reached her hand up before snatching it down just as quickly. Another set of footsteps could be heard, and the same bald-headed man from before appeared in Andrea's line of vision. Miranda blinked, and the tears were gone.

"Miranda, I know you didn't like the gift," he sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Why? It wasn't your fault," Miranda stared out across the ocean.

"Maybe I should have gotten you a date," the man mused and fiddled with a big ring on his pointer finger.

Miranda chuckled softly. "Not that it would have done you any good."

"Trust me Miranda," Nigel said softly but with conviction. "He, or she, is out there somewhere. And when you find your true love, it'll hit you...like lightening!"

Suddenly, a bright flash lit up the sky and thunder rumbled loudly. The whole entire ship erupted into pandemonium. Women shrieked while burly men shouted orders and began securing the riggings of the ship. Miranda wasted no time in running to the spinning wheel and grasping it firmly to gain some control over the spiraling ship. Nigel hurried over to a lifeboat, and helped people in it while Andrea watched with wide eyes.

"Andy!" Lily shrieked before the wind became too strong and she got blown away.

"Lily!" Andrea cried out and tried to grab her feathered friend, but to no avail.

Another flash of lightening hit, and set the mast on fire. Andrea gasped, eyes frantically scanning the deck for the woman who she was sure held her heart. Miranda was standing tall behind the wheel, still trying to guide the ship to safety. A large piece of wood landed close to her and she jumped, letting go of the wheel.

"Miranda! Come on, it's not going to work," Nigel shouted over the wind and the rain. He was standing by a lifeboat and he waved his arm at her.

She glanced one last time at the wheel, and then hastened over to where Nigel was standing. He helped her into the boat, and then clamored on himself. The boat was lowered, and plopped into the raging sea. A frantic barking alerted Miranda to the fact she missed something vital. She gasped when she saw her beloved St. Bernard whining in between two walls of fire, and she stood up, ignoring Nigel's protests. Miranda ripped off her heels and jumped into the storming water, pulling her arms in strong and steady strokes. She reached the side of the boat and hauled herself up. Patricia was barking like crazy, her eyes wild with fear.

"Here girl," Miranda called, raising her arms up. "Come on Patricia, jump."

Patricia looked hesitantly at the arms, and then at the burning wood around her, and then jumped into Miranda's outstretched arms. Miranda caught her with an 'oof', and proceeded to take a step except her foot was caught between two planks. She threw Patricia overboard and tried to wedge her bare foot free. The flames licked even closer to her body, and her eyes were filled with terror.

"Miranda!" Andrea screamed but a strong gust of wind blew her off the ship, and she fell into the ocean with a loud splash. Immediately, she swam back up to the surface and looked around frantically for Miranda. The ship exploded, and Andrea screamed again. She dove underwater and searched desperately for a pale woman with snowy locks. After what seemed like countless hours, Andrea finally spotted Miranda weakly clutching onto a piece of driftwood. The last of her strength drained away, and her arms slipped, making her slide in the ocean. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Andrea plunged underwater and reached Miranda's drowning form. She wrapped her right arm firmly around the lean woman's waist, and using all of her strength, pushed them upwards.