Turned to Stone

Once upon a time, in the middle of the ocean where the seven seas were said to meet, was an island lush with vegetation. As time passed, the island grew lonely and decided it was time to call upon the living of the earth to seek it out and populate it.

Animals and creatures of all shape and size reproduced on the island with the help of man. Years flew by as man inhabited the lonely island until buildings were constructed, trees removed, stones laid down to create paths. A kingdom was built, a hierarchy assembled. And though the island was no longer lonely, under the King's rule it remained secluded, detached from the rest of the world.

The royal family was fair and cared for their people sincerely, which is why they forbid anyone to leave the island and kept intruders or distant travelers out. They were the first royals to be appointed the task of keeping the island safe and at peace. The King often ruled with an iron fist, while the Queen's soft voice kept him in line with her smarts.

Because of the couple the kingdom lived in harmony for many years when the King and Queen were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.

As she grew it was apparent she took on the characteristics of her father; reckless, rebellious, and didn't think things through some of the times. Some of the villagers even believed her to be as untamable as the sea.

The Princess, throughout her entire life, was given whatever she pleased. Her father even picked out respectable men for her to marry, but in the case of this princess, she did not believe in love. Her parents tried everything and every man to change her mind, hoping she'd find the one and simply fall into the position of love, but no matter what the princess remained abstinent and persistent that love was a ghastly thing.

Clouds were brewing on the horizon. A storm was coming that meant the end of the King's reign. In desperation, the King hired a gypsy, teller of the future and cradler of the stars. Now gypsies were dodgy people. Too many people were cheated out of their money by the magical women, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

The gypsy the King called upon was one of the shadier women of the town, knowing darker magic than the other playful ones who would simply steal your money. This woman had big aspirations for herself.

The gypsy found the princess by the sea, watching as the waves cracked against the rocks.

The magical woman was intrigued by the King's daughter, having strict orders to use her magic so that the Princess would fall in love.

The Princess told the gypsy that her heart lay with the sea and exploring new lands far away from the secluded island and familiar suitors who asked for her hand in marriage. The gypsy tapped her lips as an idea curled at the corners of her mind, an idea to please both the King and his daughter while promising her all the power of the kingdom.

The future teller offered the Princess a deal.

If she were able to kiss a man and fall in love by sunset the following day she would spend the rest of her life exploring other worlds and sailing the deep blue. However, if she should fail to fall in love by the deadline, she'd be turned to stone, only to be freed from the rocky prison when the man she was destined to be with simply touched her, and her kingdom would fall.

The Princess, feeling confident her kingdom could not fall and that she'd be able to fall in love within the deadline, accepted the offer and signed her name on the contract that sealed the deal and became completely unbreakable.

Unbeknownst to the King of this contract, the Princess spent all day looking over the suitors to her parents' delight. The Princess chose one of the men randomly, believing she'd have her freedom soon enough.

Come sunset that day, the Princess, fully believing she had defeated the gypsy's magic, kissed her suitor. But the contract remained unfulfilled for she did not truly love the man. Just as the last rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon, the Princess began to feel achy and cold. Her new love went to fetch the King and Queen, but the contract was already working its magic.

The princess watched the black clouds gather on the horizon as the wind picked up sending the waves of the sea flooding over the land and pulling away trees as lightning clashed.

The King and Queen had never seen anything like it and followed their daughter's soon-to-be husband toward their baby, but when they reached her, she had already turned to stone, a crisp sea-green stone.

There was hardly time to mourn their loss, however, as the island was being swallowed whole by the ocean that had always been their friend and ally. The royal family tried desperately to help their people to higher ground, but even the waves reached there, eating away at the stones of the castle as it began to crumble with the gypsy sitting in the King's throne laughing gleefully at her success.

Men and women were picked up as if by an invisible hand and tossed into the depths of the ocean or else crushed under the falling rocks of the castle and buildings as the very ground seemed to split beneath their feet.

Realizing her magic had become too powerful to undo, the gypsy fled the falling castle, only to be claimed by the wind that picked her up and tossed her into the deep, the contract flying with her. Few survived the earth's rage that day as the land turned to mud and dissolved, settling onto the sandy floor below.

The island gave one last shuddering breath as the ocean claimed it entirely, sinking deep beneath the thrashing waves as the stone princess disappeared into the depths of the murky water, sleeping with the fishes just as she had once dreamed.

The island was never to be seen again.

A/N: So I edited this up a bit thanks to Infermation. I think I'll have to rewrite this a lot in the future, but for now I'm just going to go with it. And I wasn't sure how to change up the Little Mermaid feel so once again I'm just going to stick with it for now and maybe switch it up later, so I hope this sounds a little better.

Enjoy! :)