True to her word, Ariel prepared herself for the festival. She combed her hair and put a flower in her hair for her ornament. She looked more beautiful than ever, and the other mermaids envied her when she entered into the Mistress' royal hall. Citrine, Vermillion, and Noire, the three mermaids who jeered at her when they bathed at Misty Falls, wanted to approach her and gave her more annoying digs, but Ariel wouldn't let them. She was quickly surrounded by the mermen, who thought her the prettiest mermaid in the festival and did not want to lose a chance of talking to her.

But when the Mistress came into the hall, every sea-creature, from the mermaids to the octopuses, hushed their voices and gazed at her in awe. The Mistress seldom let herself be seen by the common sea-folk, so it was a rare opportunity to admire her.

She was a tall, dark, majestic woman-like form, with mysterious eyes and an alluring smile. Powerful yet imperturbable, she looked as if nobody could trifle with her, and she could be very charming and yet deadly.

"Hail Eris, queen of the sea!" proclaimed the merman who guarded the door.

All sea-creatures bowed to Her Majesty. Then Eris sat on her throne and gave a short speech, which ended with this sentence:

"This festival is held for the enjoyment of the sea-folk. I wish you all happiness, and may this celebration mark a new, brighter decade for this underwater realm."

"Salute Her Majesty!" cried the herald, and the sea-creatures bowed to their queen once more.

Despite her previous objection, Ariel had quite a good time in the festival. The food was good, the mermen and other sea-creatures were kind to her, and even Citrine, Vermillion, and Noire tried to be nice to her, because they desired the attention of the mermen. The mermen wanted to dance with Ariel, but she preferred to look around and enjoyed herself, until Eris called her to her throne.

"How do you enjoy yourself, Ariel?" she asked.

"Quite well, Your Highness," said Ariel.

"I heard you had an objection to this festival," said Eris.

Ariel was tense. She glanced at Eris' two attendants, Amarille and Rouge, who were good friends with Citrine, Vermillion, and Noire. Did the three mermaids tell them about their conversation in the Misty Falls?

"No... I didn't, Your Highness," replied Ariel carefully. "I was only not as excited as my friends about this festival. But now I'm here, I can say I'm having a good time."

"Very good. You may go and resume your enjoyment, Ariel. I will see you during the Ritual," said Eris.

Ariel gave a sigh of relief and went away.


At midnight, the festival was over. Eris led the sea-folk into a vast, open sand clearing on the bottom of the ocean and displayed her powers. Her power took the shape of the dragon. A storm roared in the sky, and heavy rain began to fall.

"So this is the Ritual," thought Ariel. She remembered that Eris was the Goddess of Chaos, who was pleased whenever she could create a chaos. Ariel only wished there was no ship on the surface of the sea, so that no lives might be lost.

Yet on the surface of the sea was the ship which Thomas boarded. He awoke to find water rushing into his cabin and the sailors shouting, "We're sinking!" He rushed to his parents' cabin and roused them up.

Thomas, his parents, and his sister hastened to the deck, where they saw other passengers lowering the lifeboats and putting their belongings into the boat.

"Is there a lifeboat left for us?" Thomas asked the captain.

"Yes, there's one," said the captain. "But it's all that's left. Let me get into that boat with you and your family."

"Of course," said Thomas. He led his mother and sister into the boat and helped his father put his possessions.

Unfortunately, when his father had gotten into the lifeboat and it was Thomas' turn, the large ship tipped to the other side. Thomas and the captain, who were the last on board, fell and slid to the other side of the ship. Rising to his feet, Thomas scrambled to join his family in the lifeboat.

"Thomas!" called the captain, stretching out his hand.

Thomas turned around and lent a hand to the captain. They held onto the sideboard. Thomas' father called to his son, telling him to jump, but at the same time the rope which held the lifeboat snapped. The boat fell into the sea.

"Jump, Thomas!" cried his father.

But the waves rolled once again. Thomas and the captain fell into the sea. The ship cracked and broke. Hanging to a piece of wood, Thomas saw the tail of a strange beast. He gasped as it smashed onto the lifeboat of his family.

"It must be the sea-beast, and it is real!" he thought in dismay.

Ariel swam up and saw the shipwreck. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Please, let no one be hurt."

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