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It was a very grand breakfast, Belle had to admit. The Prince joined them, to her surprise, but she supposed his father intended to treat him the same as normal for as long as possible. Despite their initial clash, she couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for him being under that spell and slowly losing his humanity. She did her best to be polite to him during the meal, albeit frostily, and the King kept up a hopeful, verging on merry, conversation, throughout the meal, to which they both responded cordially. The King was even kind enough to make sure there were miniature substitutes of utensils for Tinkerbell and allowed HenWen to join in the meal with a mixed bowl of cooked vegetables on the floor, which made a change from her usual meals of pig pellets.

After the meal, Belle thanked the King politely and assured him she would inform the Witches of Morfa of their current circumstances straight away and went into the grounds to do so, followed by HenWen and Tinkerbell. She found a silent corner by a patch of rose bushes, each dotted with an assortment of colourful blossoms – red, orange, pink, yellow and cream – and pulled the mirror from her bag.

“Orgoch said I just needed to ask for them,” she told Tinkerbell. Carpet nodded, eagerly, confirming that that was all Belle needed to do. Raising the mirror slightly, Belle took a deep breath. “Um...Witches of Morfa? It’s Belle. I need to talk to you.”

The mirror glowed bright green and everyone flinched, even Carpet, before the reflection in the glass melted away to reveal the three familiar faces of the Morfa Witches. They seemed to be in the middle of something, it looked like they were making some kind of potion, but then Orwen looked up and nudged Orddu. “Look, look, it’s Belle!”

“Already?” Orddu hurried forwards to stand in front of, well, Belle assumed there must be a mirror in their home somewhere that was magically connected to the mirror she was holding. Actually, thinking about it, she had seen a dusty old wall mirror hanging in their cupboard once, but never taken much notice of it. “What is it, Belle? Are you alright?”

“Did you find out what happened to the Prince of Beljardin?” Orgoch asked, hopping about in that way she often did, as if she had fleas or something. “Are you there now?”

“Yes,” Belle smiled, “to both. And I’m alright, Orddu, I just promised the King I’d tell you what was going on so you’d know how to save his son.”

“Ah! You’ve convinced the King of Beljardin to trust us?” Orddu’s eyes lit up. “That IS good news!”

“Yes, I think he’s so desperate to save his son he’ll try anything, even if he’s been against it before,” Belle agreed. “When I told him I’d helped defeat the Coven-”

“Don’t be so modest, Belle,” Orwen interrupted. “You stopped the Coven all by yourself.”

“Well, with a tiny bit of help from us,” Orgoch added.

Belle smiled. “Well, anyway, he says that if I could stop them, I can help him now.” And she explained the nature of the Prince’s condition. The Witches all listened quietly, although Belle could tell by their expressions that they were startled and even worried by the news.

“Oh, dear,” Orddu said when Belle had finished. “This is even more serious than we thought. You see, for this kind of curse, there’s nothing we can do.”

Belle’s heart sank. “What? There’s no cure?”

“Well, there is a cure,” Orgoch explained. “You see, the curse will be fully lifted...when the one who cast it lifts it.”

“Or when they die,” Orwen added, grimly.

“The Sea Witch?” Belle felt a slight inward groan rise up within her. “You mean, I either have to get her to lift the curse, somehow, or I kill her?”

“Unless...” Orddu was frowning, thoughtfully. “The Trident might be powerful enough. I wonder...you say that the King of Beljardin is friendly with King Triton?”

“Yes, and they want to help each other, but they can’t abandon their separate kingdoms,” Belle replied. She suddenly felt a ray of hope. “Wait...you gave me a potion to help me breathe underwater, right? If I gave some to the Prince...”

“...Then he could go to Triton and get him to lift the spell without having to leave the sea!” Tinkerbell finished, grinning. “Genius!”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Orddu agreed. “But you must be careful, Belle, whatever happens, once you go under the sea. It is the Sea Witch’s domain, after all.”

“What if the Trident isn’t powerful enough, though?” Belle asked. “Would I still have to kill her?”

“Don’t despair, Belle,” Orwen answered, kindly. “If the Trident doesn’t work, then we’ll think of another way. And even if-”

“-Even if you have to kill the Sea Witch,” Orddu finished, “you won’t be alone in doing so. Remember you were able to defeat the most powerful witches of all time. You can do this. You out-thought the Coven, remember? All you had to do was keep them from killing the children long enough for their deal with Chernobog to be broken. You can out-think the Sea Witch too.”

“Maybe you can help the Prince from completely transforming too,” Orgoch mused. “He has to rediscover his humanity, remind himself that he is NOT the animal he’s turning into.”

Belle frowned. Even HenWen looked confused. “How can we do that?” Tinkerbell asked. “I mean, animals and humans are very similar. Animals understand anger and love...”

“True,” Orgoch replied, “but if you can just keep him from acting like an animal. Don’t let him eat like an animal. Don’t let him lick his wounds if he gets hurt. Remind him he can speak and read and write like a human, because that’s what he is. Remind him of all the things humans can do that animals can’t.”

“Good luck, Belle,” Orddu smiled. “We trust you. Go to King Triton now, and remember, be careful.”

“And remember what we told you about the potion,” Orwen added, nodding in concern. “The transformation process will be painful.”

“Thank you,” Belle said, but as the mirror image faded, she bit her lip worriedly.

“There IS hope,” Tinkerbell reminded her, gently. “The Trident might still work.”

“I suppose that if it has all the power of the Seven Seas, it can defeat the Sea Witch’s magic,” Belle agreed.

“You really trust a bunch of witches?”

Belle looked around. It was the Prince. She frowned. “As I told your father earlier, yes, I trust the Witches of Morfa with my life. They helped me defeat the Coven, after all.”

The Prince snorted. “How do you know they aren’t just trying to get rid of the competition?”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re witches. They probably just want to get rid of all the other witches in the world so that they can have all the power.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Belle snapped. “If it were true, they’d have just taken over after the Coven died, and they’ve been dead for a year!” As she said it, something suddenly occurred to her, and without thinking she muttered “That’s it!”

“What?” Tinkerbell looked at her, curiously.

“I think...it would be dangerous but...” Belle shook her head. It was a mad idea. They had to find King Triton now. She fixed the Prince with a determined look. “You might think that ever witch in this world is evil, but I know that the Witches of Morfa are kind and good, even if they don’t look it. In fact, in my experience, it’s the beautiful witches you need to watch out for!”

The Prince huffed again. “The Sea Witch wasn’t beautiful!”

“Well, she was once!” Belle snapped. Prince or not, she felt he was being extremely rude. “Anyway, if the Witches of Morfa think that King Triton might be able to lift the curse on you, doesn’t that at least indicate they’re good? Otherwise, why would they care about helping you?”

The Prince seemed to consider, and then growled. “Fine. I’ll trust your judgement for now.”

“Thank you.” Feeling a bit calmer, Belle reached for the potions in her bag and looked at Carpet. “They said the green one would transform us to breathe underwater and the yellow one would turn us back, right?” Carpet nodded, emphatically. Belle looked at the Prince. “They also said that this would be painful...just to warn you.”

She held out the bottle to him. The Prince raised an eyebrow. “Ladies first.”

Rolling her eyes, Belle looked at Tinkerbell. “Wait here with Carpet and HenWen. If the Sea Witch comes along, go back into the palace.”

“I think I can probably keep her out for a while,” Tinkerbell said, “but my magic isn’t as strong as hers. Hurry back, Belle.”

Belle could tell that she was disappointed about not coming along, but she was glad that Tinkerbelle knew how serious the situation was and didn’t put up more of a fight. She walked over to the path that led down to the edge of the sea. The Prince followed her. Belle glanced at him. “Look, your Highness, you might not like me very much, and I’m not entirely sure I like you very much either, but I think we should at least know each other’s names. Mine’s Belle.”

“I know,” the Prince grunted. “I can hear.” Belle bit back a sharp retort and waited. “My name is Adam, and you can call me that if you don’t feel like being formal.”

Belle nodded, and then took a deep breath. The Witches of Morfa had said that it would be a painful transformation, but at the same time she trusted them not to steer her wrong. She uncorked the bottle of green potion and took a gulp before passing it to Adam. No sooner had she drunk it, then she felt a sensation like knives being dragged down her legs and it was so painful that she cried out and sank to the sand at her feet.

“Belle!” Tinkerbell flew forwards to help, with Carpet and HenWen hurrying along behind her. They all stopped short, however. Belle blinked, because as suddenly as the pain had come, it was leaving now.

“That was it?” Belle sat up, frowning, and then gasped. Adam stumbled back a few steps away from her. Where her legs had once been, a scaly, shining fish tail was no protruding from beneath the folds of her dress. “I’m a mermaid now?”

Tinkerbell laughed and swooped around her. “It looks like it! Your dress might get in the way, though, it’s not easy swimming in long clothing.”

Belle nodded, seized hold of her skirt, and, to everyone’s surprise, proceeded to tear it. Adam averted his eyes politely and took a gulp of the green potion. Freed of her skirt, with her dress bodice and the bottom of her shirt torn above her navel, she experimented with her tail, wriggling it around as easily as if it were her legs. “This is incredible!”

There was an awful roar as the potion took its effect on Adam and Tinkerbell flew over to catch the potion bottle he had dropped in pain. Just like Belle, however, the pain didn’t last long, only the potion had a different effect on him. Belle was now looking at a beast with webbed hands and feet, as if the Sea Witch had added frog DNA to everything else she had given him. She couldn’t help laughing.

“I suppose the potion had a different effect on you because you’re not human right now,” Tinkerbell giggled.

Adam glowered at them. “Well...are we going?”

Sobering up, Belle nodded. “I’ll be back soon, Hen,” she assured her, petting her. Then, with a few wriggles and twists she managed to get into the shallows. Adam stomped after her, looking comically ridiculous with his large webbed feet. With one last wave at her friends, Belle automatically took a deep breath and dived into the sea.

Description

It was a very grand breakfast, Belle had to admit. The Prince joined them, to her surprise, but she supposed his father intended to treat him the same as normal for as long as possible. Despite their initial clash, she couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for him being under that spell and slowly losing his humanity. She did her best to be polite to him during the meal, albeit frostily, and the King kept up a hopeful, verging on merry, conversation, throughout the meal, to which they both responded cordially. The King was even kind enough to make sure there were miniature substitutes of utensils for Tinkerbell and allowed HenWen to join in the meal with a mixed bowl of cooked vegetables on the floor, which made a change from her usual meals of pig pellets.

After the meal, Belle thanked the King politely and assured him she would inform the Witches of Morfa of their current circumstances straight away and went into the grounds to do so, followed by HenWen and Tinkerbell. She found a silent corner by a patch of rose bushes, each dotted with an assortment of colourful blossoms – red, orange, pink, yellow and cream – and pulled the mirror from her bag.

“Orgoch said I just needed to ask for them,” she told Tinkerbell. Carpet nodded, eagerly, confirming that that was all Belle needed to do. Raising the mirror slightly, Belle took a deep breath. “Um...Witches of Morfa? It’s Belle. I need to talk to you.”

The mirror glowed bright green and everyone flinched, even Carpet, before the reflection in the glass melted away to reveal the three familiar faces of the Morfa Witches. They seemed to be in the middle of something, it looked like they were making some kind of potion, but then Orwen looked up and nudged Orddu. “Look, look, it’s Belle!”

“Already?” Orddu hurried forwards to stand in front of, well, Belle assumed there must be a mirror in their home somewhere that was magically connected to the mirror she was holding. Actually, thinking about it, she had seen a dusty old wall mirror hanging in their cupboard once, but never taken much notice of it. “What is it, Belle? Are you alright?”

“Did you find out what happened to the Prince of Beljardin?” Orgoch asked, hopping about in that way she often did, as if she had fleas or something. “Are you there now?”

“Yes,” Belle smiled, “to both. And I’m alright, Orddu, I just promised the King I’d tell you what was going on so you’d know how to save his son.”

“Ah! You’ve convinced the King of Beljardin to trust us?” Orddu’s eyes lit up. “That IS good news!”

“Yes, I think he’s so desperate to save his son he’ll try anything, even if he’s been against it before,” Belle agreed. “When I told him I’d helped defeat the Coven-”

“Don’t be so modest, Belle,” Orwen interrupted. “You stopped the Coven all by yourself.”

“Well, with a tiny bit of help from us,” Orgoch added.

Belle smiled. “Well, anyway, he says that if I could stop them, I can help him now.” And she explained the nature of the Prince’s condition. The Witches all listened quietly, although Belle could tell by their expressions that they were startled and even worried by the news.

“Oh, dear,” Orddu said when Belle had finished. “This is even more serious than we thought. You see, for this kind of curse, there’s nothing we can do.”

Belle’s heart sank. “What? There’s no cure?”

“Well, there is a cure,” Orgoch explained. “You see, the curse will be fully lifted...when the one who cast it lifts it.”

“Or when they die,” Orwen added, grimly.

“The Sea Witch?” Belle felt a slight inward groan rise up within her. “You mean, I either have to get her to lift the curse, somehow, or I kill her?”

“Unless...” Orddu was frowning, thoughtfully. “The Trident might be powerful enough. I wonder...you say that the King of Beljardin is friendly with King Triton?”

“Yes, and they want to help each other, but they can’t abandon their separate kingdoms,” Belle replied. She suddenly felt a ray of hope. “Wait...you gave me a potion to help me breathe underwater, right? If I gave some to the Prince...”

“...Then he could go to Triton and get him to lift the spell without having to leave the sea!” Tinkerbell finished, grinning. “Genius!”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Orddu agreed. “But you must be careful, Belle, whatever happens, once you go under the sea. It is the Sea Witch’s domain, after all.”

“What if the Trident isn’t powerful enough, though?” Belle asked. “Would I still have to kill her?”

“Don’t despair, Belle,” Orwen answered, kindly. “If the Trident doesn’t work, then we’ll think of another way. And even if-”

“-Even if you have to kill the Sea Witch,” Orddu finished, “you won’t be alone in doing so. Remember you were able to defeat the most powerful witches of all time. You can do this. You out-thought the Coven, remember? All you had to do was keep them from killing the children long enough for their deal with Chernobog to be broken. You can out-think the Sea Witch too.”

“Maybe you can help the Prince from completely transforming too,” Orgoch mused. “He has to rediscover his humanity, remind himself that he is NOT the animal he’s turning into.”

Belle frowned. Even HenWen looked confused. “How can we do that?” Tinkerbell asked. “I mean, animals and humans are very similar. Animals understand anger and love...”

“True,” Orgoch replied, “but if you can just keep him from acting like an animal. Don’t let him eat like an animal. Don’t let him lick his wounds if he gets hurt. Remind him he can speak and read and write like a human, because that’s what he is. Remind him of all the things humans can do that animals can’t.”

“Good luck, Belle,” Orddu smiled. “We trust you. Go to King Triton now, and remember, be careful.”

“And remember what we told you about the potion,” Orwen added, nodding in concern. “The transformation process will be painful.”

“Thank you,” Belle said, but as the mirror image faded, she bit her lip worriedly.

“There IS hope,” Tinkerbell reminded her, gently. “The Trident might still work.”

“I suppose that if it has all the power of the Seven Seas, it can defeat the Sea Witch’s magic,” Belle agreed.

“You really trust a bunch of witches?”

Belle looked around. It was the Prince. She frowned. “As I told your father earlier, yes, I trust the Witches of Morfa with my life. They helped me defeat the Coven, after all.”

The Prince snorted. “How do you know they aren’t just trying to get rid of the competition?”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re witches. They probably just want to get rid of all the other witches in the world so that they can have all the power.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Belle snapped. “If it were true, they’d have just taken over after the Coven died, and they’ve been dead for a year!” As she said it, something suddenly occurred to her, and without thinking she muttered “That’s it!”

“What?” Tinkerbell looked at her, curiously.

“I think...it would be dangerous but...” Belle shook her head. It was a mad idea. They had to find King Triton now. She fixed the Prince with a determined look. “You might think that ever witch in this world is evil, but I know that the Witches of Morfa are kind and good, even if they don’t look it. In fact, in my experience, it’s the beautiful witches you need to watch out for!”

The Prince huffed again. “The Sea Witch wasn’t beautiful!”

“Well, she was once!” Belle snapped. Prince or not, she felt he was being extremely rude. “Anyway, if the Witches of Morfa think that King Triton might be able to lift the curse on you, doesn’t that at least indicate they’re good? Otherwise, why would they care about helping you?”

The Prince seemed to consider, and then growled. “Fine. I’ll trust your judgement for now.”

“Thank you.” Feeling a bit calmer, Belle reached for the potions in her bag and looked at Carpet. “They said the green one would transform us to breathe underwater and the yellow one would turn us back, right?” Carpet nodded, emphatically. Belle looked at the Prince. “They also said that this would be painful...just to warn you.”

She held out the bottle to him. The Prince raised an eyebrow. “Ladies first.”

Rolling her eyes, Belle looked at Tinkerbell. “Wait here with Carpet and HenWen. If the Sea Witch comes along, go back into the palace.”

“I think I can probably keep her out for a while,” Tinkerbell said, “but my magic isn’t as strong as hers. Hurry back, Belle.”

Belle could tell that she was disappointed about not coming along, but she was glad that Tinkerbelle knew how serious the situation was and didn’t put up more of a fight. She walked over to the path that led down to the edge of the sea. The Prince followed her. Belle glanced at him. “Look, your Highness, you might not like me very much, and I’m not entirely sure I like you very much either, but I think we should at least know each other’s names. Mine’s Belle.”

“I know,” the Prince grunted. “I can hear.” Belle bit back a sharp retort and waited. “My name is Adam, and you can call me that if you don’t feel like being formal.”

Belle nodded, and then took a deep breath. The Witches of Morfa had said that it would be a painful transformation, but at the same time she trusted them not to steer her wrong. She uncorked the bottle of green potion and took a gulp before passing it to Adam. No sooner had she drunk it, then she felt a sensation like knives being dragged down her legs and it was so painful that she cried out and sank to the sand at her feet.

“Belle!” Tinkerbell flew forwards to help, with Carpet and HenWen hurrying along behind her. They all stopped short, however. Belle blinked, because as suddenly as the pain had come, it was leaving now.

“That was it?” Belle sat up, frowning, and then gasped. Adam stumbled back a few steps away from her. Where her legs had once been, a scaly, shining fish tail was no protruding from beneath the folds of her dress. “I’m a mermaid now?”

Tinkerbell laughed and swooped around her. “It looks like it! Your dress might get in the way, though, it’s not easy swimming in long clothing.”

Belle nodded, seized hold of her skirt, and, to everyone’s surprise, proceeded to tear it. Adam averted his eyes politely and took a gulp of the green potion. Freed of her skirt, with her dress bodice and the bottom of her shirt torn above her navel, she experimented with her tail, wriggling it around as easily as if it were her legs. “This is incredible!”

There was an awful roar as the potion took its effect on Adam and Tinkerbell flew over to catch the potion bottle he had dropped in pain. Just like Belle, however, the pain didn’t last long, only the potion had a different effect on him. Belle was now looking at a beast with webbed hands and feet, as if the Sea Witch had added frog DNA to everything else she had given him. She couldn’t help laughing.

“I suppose the potion had a different effect on you because you’re not human right now,” Tinkerbell giggled.

Adam glowered at them. “Well...are we going?”

Sobering up, Belle nodded. “I’ll be back soon, Hen,” she assured her, petting her. Then, with a few wriggles and twists she managed to get into the shallows. Adam stomped after her, looking comically ridiculous with his large webbed feet. With one last wave at her friends, Belle automatically took a deep breath and dived into the sea.