After Dan became a merman, his pet fish was left alone to sadly swim inside its tank on its former owner's boat with no one else to look after it.
That is, until a splash erupted out of the water, and what came out was a cecaelia, who landed on the boat in front of the fish.
The fish shivered as it recognized what it was looking at. Alora looked at the fish and smiled.
"Ah, here you are." The sea witch said as she picked it up with one of her tentacles. "I've been looking for you. Luckily, my contracts can track down any of my less... lucky clients. Let's change you back, shall we?"
With a snap of her fingers, the fish changed form, turning into a beautiful teen mermaid with long blonde hair, crowned by a tiara, and a blue tail.
"I'm me again!" the mermaid gasped.
"Of course you are, my dear." Alora grinned as she pulled the mermaid in close with her tentacles. "My magic is quite powerful you know. You haven't even aged a day since I turned you into that sad state you were just in."
The mermaid scowled at Alora. "That's because you've kept me like that for the past two years!"
"Now, now, don't blame me. You're the one who agreed to give up your royal human life on land and sign my contract." Alora chuckled. The sea witch did a mocking impersonation of the mermaid. "Oh Miss Alora, I'm so tired of my life as a human princess. Please help me get the merman I love to notice me! I'll do anything!"
The mermaid looked away from Alora as she laughed. "I wouldn't have signed the contract if I had known the merman already had a mate."
"Yeah, I doubt you would have." Alora agreed. "But now you're mine. So I can do whatever I want with you. And right now, I have a mission for you."
"A mission?" The mermaid raised an eyebrow. "What do you want me to do? Kill someone?" the mermaid asked sarcastically.
"Far from it, my dear." Alora shook her head. "You see, a few of my clients have managed to free themselves from my contracts. One of them was Damon, who got turned back into a merman along with another former victim, Apolla, who's now pregnant with his child."
The mermaid put her hands over heart. "Aww… That sounds so sweet."
Alora smiled. "Indeed it is. However, there's a bit of a problem. You see, I've been transforming people ranging from Dan, your former owner, Sharon, Damon's mother, and now I just recently transformed a former college sports couple, Jake and Nicole. I've been developing quite the pod of merpeople."
"Okay…" The mermaid said. "But what's the problem?"
"The problem is that this growing pod has no leader, no ruler that can enforce a sense of order in their community. It could lead to chaos if the pod gets to a high enough number." Alora said. "But that's where you come in, Ms. Ella, former human princess of Britain."
Ella paused as she realized where she was getting at. "You want me to rule over merpeople?! But I ran away from home just to escape my responsibilities!"
Alora shrugged. "You'll figure it out. After all, you have royal blood in you." She then smirked. "Of course, if you don't want the offer I could change you back into a fi-"
"Wait! No!" Ella yelled. "I'll do anything to not be a fish again. I'll even rule as a queen, just tell me what to do!" The mermaid begged.
The sea witch chuckled at the sorry sight of this once cocky mermaid. "Alright then, here's the mission. A college football star named Kyle was about to get Nicole as his girlfriend but she soon dumped him to join her merman boyfriend Jake as a mermaid. As you can tell, Kyle is certainly quite grumpy about it."
"Mhm." Ella nodded. "So you want me to woo this Kyle? I've always been interested in American Football but never got around to ever knowing any players. They're pretty cute, though."
"Agreed." Alora nodded as well. "But here's where you come in. You will meet in front of Kyle and give him a choice. Either he joins you as a merman and rules over the pod as a king or he remains on land. If Kyle accepts the offer, he will be your husband and you'll be a mermaid forever. However, if he doesn't… It's back to being a fish for you." She chuckled.
Ella gulped at this. She either will win over a stranger for a husband or be a fish forever. Not exactly a very ideal choice.
Alora noticed this and said. "You know. If Kyle becomes your husband, you will rule the pod not only as a leader but as a Queen. You'll have more power as a monarch of the sea than the boring "constitutional monarchy" you have in Great Britain. Absolute monarchy, Ella. Don't you want it?"
"Hmmm…" Ella thought. "You know, you make a good point. Plus, Kyle seems quite attractive to me, especially since he seems powerful as an athlete. If you also include Kyle and I growing crowns on our heads and having our own underwater palace if he signs the contract, then count me in."
"Consider it done." Alora said as she shook hands with Ella.
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Kyle slowly walked around the beach during sunset, still bitter that Jake got the best of him. Sure, he may have a football career but Jake gets the girl in the end. It made him mad to no end.
He would have cursed out loud if he hadn't heard a soft but calming melody coming from the beach. He turns towards the water and sees a beautiful blonde mermaid with a lovely azure blue fish tail laying on the rocks - She was the source of the singing.
Kyle's admiration soon turned into a frown, memories of a merperson stealing his girlfriend still fresh in his mind. "What do you want?" He questioned.
Ella noticed his demeanor and blinked at how cute he was. "Well, I'm here to make you an offer."
"An offer?"
Ella nodded as she took out a contract and a pen. "Choose to sign, and you will join me as my mate, a merman. If you don't, you'll remain a human on land."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "What do I get to benefit from sacrificing my football career to be a fish?"
Ella chuckled. "Well if you sign, you will not only be my mate but you'll be a king."
Kyle jumped back at this. "A king?!"
Ella nodded. "Indeed. I was a human princess of Great Britain before I became a mermaid with the help of the sea witch Alora. If you become my mate, you'll be my husband and therefore be a King of a pod."
Kyle let out an impressed wolf while at the prospect. Then he asked another question. "Wait, what do you mean by a pod?"
"Our pod consists of Alora's recent clients who became merpeople. It consists of Damon, his mate Apolla, Sharon and Dan, and Jake and Nicole." Ella explained. "If you sign it, you will rule the pod as a King and I will rule alongside you as a Queen."
Kyle nearly fell down in shock at hearing this. "Does that mean that, if I sign, I get to rule over Jake?"
Ella smiled. "Now you're getting it." But her smile soon turned into a frown. "Of course, I've heard from Alora how much football means to you. I understand you want to remain as a football king but… If you don't sign it, you may remain a human but I'll be turned back into a fish and roam the seas forever with no one to take care of me. Please, think about this carefully."
Kyle thought about his options. If he didn't sign, he would keep his growing football career and his legs. Yet, that would mean this beautiful mermaid would be back into being cursed as a fish forever. If he does sign, however, he may lose his football career but he'll not only gain this beautiful mermaid as his wife but also be a merman king - A ruler of not only a pod that could be a kingdom of merfolk but also rule over that blasted Jake as sweet revenge.
Finally settled on his decision, he excitedly took Ella's contract and signed it without a moment of hesitation.