Once upon a time, there was the Protagonist. She was the daughter of the Sea King, Princess of the Ocean who lived in the huge castle of blue coral.

Once upon the same time, there was the Antagonist. She was another very gifted Mermaid, but, unfortunately for her as well as the Protagonist, she was unbelievably greedy, living in the Red Castle upon the hill.

Once upon the very same time, there lived I, the Narrator. I was here to tell fables to the readers. I was very proud of my Golden Tower, upon which I lived.

No, it wasn't that I didn't give them names because I was lazy... it was for special effects, you see. I hear you Humans have bad memory these days, so I tried to keep it simple.

When Mermaids turned fifteen, they were permitted to swim up to the surface of the ocean and explore the World beyond the sea.

Our Protagonist was the youngest-born, and hence, she had to wait the longest for her to reach fifteen! How disheartening, indeed.

To make up for it, she often found herself exploring ships that had fallen deep into the waters.

I know everyone's waiting for our dear Antagonist to begin the rising action, and that you all have read and probably remember The Little Mermaid, but you must be a little more patient. Like me, for instance, patiently explaining the background.

Pardon my intrusion, but I had to give my two cents there.

Her three elder sisters told her magnificent tales.

The eldest sister told her of the dusk, the sky that was molten gold; the second sister described the shining icebergs standing in full splendor; the third sister painted the image of the lively town she saw up close, people talking and horses galloping.

Magnificent tales, I tell you.

What? I was just building up some suspense! Oh, you readers understand nothing of the art of storytelling!

I totally wasn't trying to increase the word count!

The Protagonist heard all this with great wonder, her imagination going wild. But there was another year to go! How unfair, indeed.

Don't worry much – I know how to do time skips.

So, one day, she found an ancient ship... it belonged to the Pirates!

How do I know?

Well, to be fair, I have no idea where the ship came from – you Humans keep dropping random things in here – but I've heard only Pirates carry treasures because you Modern-age Humans are cashless.

The random things in the past were astounding – gold, rubies, jewels – but there's nothing much we can do with all the plastic now, so I would request you to kindly keep that to yourselves and stop feeding my pals that. The shark next door had been sick for the past four months, he's barely eating anything, poor lad.

Anyways, Miss Protagonist discovered a Shell – gasp! – behold, the Shell of Siren Songs!

That Shell which was filled with sad refrains?

Why, yes!

That Shell which lured you Humans in?

Why, yes!

That Shell that made many creatures sleep to death and disappear in the Sea of Secrets – I mean, the Bermuda Triangle?

Yes, yes, yes!

A word of caution to all my Human readers – Please stay away from the Protagonist.

Oh, by the way, the Antagonist also had a Shell – made of diamonds, sapphires and rubies. A normal Mermaid Shell, nothing much. Maybe costs around 100 bajillion US dollars. Nothing much, as I've told you.

So, the Protagonist finally turned fifteen, swimming toward the horizon at a fast pace.

Took her long enough. Five hundred and ninety words.

There she met the charming Male Lead. Handsome man, no flaws.

I doubt he was Human.

Either ways, just think of him as the God of Beauty like Eros from the Greek Mythology – changing his features to make every girl in the Universe fall for him. The Male Lead always have unnecessary powers.

I'm going to save words for myself rather than devoting him a chapter describing his oh-so-beautiful and perfect eyelashes that no female had ever failed to notice.

Yes, yes, I can hear you scream, it's been over six hundred words already, where's the conflict! My ears are bleeding, please stop that. I hope you know that sound travels faster in water.

Right here, right now. The long-awaited Climax.

I forgot to tell you, but the Protagonist finding the Shell of Siren Songs was the First Rising Action, the Antagonist's Shell was the Second, the man was the Third.

Your welcome.

When she came up over the water, the Protagonist was next to a large ship. The sailors were having party! The water was waving enthusiastically, the wind was ecstatic, the ship itself was dancing...!

Mr. Male Lead stepped out on the deck. She swam closer.

It must be his birthday! Her father always held a huge banquet for her birthdays too!

The sailors all seemed to like that young man. Of course, they did; he was the Male Lead.

Did you see that? My sentence?

It rhymed! 'Did' and 'Lead' rhyme!

"He must be a prince," the Protagonist murmured. "And a party... his birthday!"

She wanted to give him a present. Protagonists are always kind and caring. But he had so many things himself – a huge ship filled with loads of precious jewels, food, and whatnot.

Maybe he was a pirate. I wonder where he stole all that from. Male Leads are all born rich, billionaires and millionaires, I know, but from where does all the money come from?

But even then... what could be better than a Mermaid Seashell worth 100 bajillion dollar US Dollars for you greedy Humans?

I know you saw it coming miles ago. Of course, you did. But I knew it before you, so I win.

Wait, what are we competing for again?

I get carried away sometimes. We're good friends, you and I, aren't we?

Our foe we must defeat. / The Male Lead we will not tolerate, I repeat.

I just created a little chant for all of us. Barely rhymes, but it's all good.

So, she swam back down – but this time, she was going to the Red Castle.

Did she know our Antagonist had an amazing Seashell? Nah, she was too dumb for that. But did she know that the Antagonist always had a way to help her out? Yeah, even the jellyfishes knew that.

Jellyfishes don't have brains – in case you didn't get the joke.

How did she know the Antagonist?

Weren't you desperate for the Conflict to arise? I need more words, two thousand is not enough!

But, to answer your question, everyone knows the Antagonist – because she is the Antagonist. Poor girl, they called her a Witch and stayed away.

Only if they knew what I was.

The Protagonist begged the Antagonist for a present worthy for a Prince.

"A person you just saw, huh?" the Antagonist remarked. And she just tossed the Shell.

Nothing much, as I told you twice before. Just some diamonds, rubies and sapphires clustered together. There are far more precious things than printed paper – money, as you know it – like Life, Time, Rain, Love, Happiness. Never will you get it again once it passes.

"However –"

Did you really expect Miss Antagonist to say nothing more? Even after I gave you that character sketch... you Humans really have weak memory. She was extremely selfish, greedy and blood thirty. But Antagonists aren't half as bad as Protagonists.

You'll see that soon.

"– what do I gain of it?" she asked, smirking.

Our Protagonist shivered.

"M-My v-v-voice..." she whispered.

Our Protagonist had a beautiful fairy-like voice. She was praised for her beauty, kindness, and her songs.

Why didn't I tell you that before?

Well... that was more than obvious. She was the Protagonist, the main character – flawless and pretty by default! Besides, I was saving words.

My mother always told me to never take anything for granted; to never waste. It was largely for food – we are having a disaster right now.

It's because our food – fishes, squids, everything – were... unsafe. They had swallowed Human garbage – unfit for the stomach; inedible, and it's getting a little lonely down here.

But I digress.

"I don't want that," our Villain said, twirling her hair. "Give me a special Shell, and I'll think about it."

Meaning the Antagonist knew about the Shell of Siren Songs?

Yes.

Dear Reader, you always ask the obvious. She was the Antagonist after all! She stayed upon the hill – and was also called a Sea Witch! She lived up to her name.

And that Shell of Siren Songs could also be hers. Think about it – bloodlust, witch, greed. It all adds up, right?

With trembling hands, the Protagonist offered the Antagonist the Shell of Siren Songs.

Why was she trembling? Just a simple exchange, right?

She was on her knees in front of the Sea Witch! You Humans are quite thoughtless.

I'm pretty sure the Mermaid Shell Miss Protagonist wanted was lying on the floor within her grasp, but as I probably mentioned earlier, she was always righteous – and quite clueless.

I mean, why'd the Female Protagonists turn out to be Damsels in Distress at most times?

They lack IQ.

Remember this for the future, dear Reader. Not many Narrators spill these precious secrets. I was one of a kind, glad to be hosting this little story. Please rate me with five stars if you are pleased with my dedicated service.

Let me wrap up things quickly. I know no one cares about the Protagonist swimming around, her tail swishing back and forth.

The Protagonist found the Male Lead underwater – dead.

Boom!

Then she recalled the party.

Now, let me tell you this: a party for sea creatures is quite different than it is for you Humans. In simpler terms: The Underwater calls it parties; the Humans call it storms.

I shall put those words I saved into good use.

Suddenly, it had become very dark as the wind picked up. The sailors had started to run about on deck, shouting, pulling down the sail.

The ship had dipped and swooped, going up and down on the high waves.

You all probably forgot the plot of The Little Mermaid with me rambling on every two sentences. Allow me the honor to remind you.

A flash of lightning had lit up the sky as the strong rainstorm hit. The Male Lead had been working hard to keep the ship afloat. However, he had struggled to no avail – the ship had started to tip over...

And finally, the angry waves had completely engulfed him.

The Protagonist screamed and screamed until her voice was no longer. She had obtained the Mermaid Shell by giving up the Shell of Siren Songs... and yet! Yet she had failed!

Oh, the agony.

You can probably make out how much fun I'm having right now. Especially the italicizing.

The Antagonist was off to star in other stories, using that Shell of Siren Songs to kill Humans. Oh, yes, the Antagonist lived.

How useless, really – the Protagonist didn't even use that Shell of Siren Songs. Even Jellyfishes are smarter!

Another piece of caution: Continue to stay away from the Protagonist.

They have scary powers that bewitch your mind, like that of the Male Lead. And they're mostly Immortal. As far as I know, only two percent of the Protagonists die.

Do you see where I'm heading?

No?

Okay, I'll get straight to the point.

Sirens. They are mainly Immortal. Their refrains hypnotize Humans and trap you in a hallucination till you sleep and are literally dead. They kill Humans.

Did that strike a bell somewhere?

Yeah. You're getting it now. The reason the Protagonist was still sane.

Lineage...? Hmm. I've got to research on that one, but fair point. Sirens may be the Mermaids' ancestor.

Only Sirens themselves don't get hurt by the Shell of Siren Songs.

Don't let the word Protagonist fool you in the future.

---

Total word count: 1935 words

A story based on my prompt "A mermaid must obtain the Mermaid Shell using the Shell of Siren Songs" from 'Echoes of Legends' hosted by YAFantasy! A remake of 'The Little Mermaid' along with small twists. I really enjoyed writing this out-of-the-box type of prompt, though I struggled a bit to keep the word count under 2000 words.

This story received a Honorable Mention in the Magic Mix'n'Match contest.