Author's Note: This is an Arielsa fic. In case you came here looking for Elsanna, be prepared because there will be none. A lot of you know I ship Arielsa and deem it as my OTP. Well, I've been wanting to make a canon-verse Arielsa fic for a while now, and here it is. I hope you enjoy the story.

Editor Appreciation: I want to thank crimsondragon6789 for being my beta-reader and my editor. She has done a wonderful job at helping with this story and I greatly appreciate her and all that she has done for me. She's a wonderful person and deserves to know that. Thank you, crimsondragon6789. :-)

Update: Revised as of 2/16/15

Rated Mature for violence, blood, nudity, some sexual content, and a scene of romantic intimacy between two sisters (incest—non-Elsanna)

The Queen and the Mermaid

Prologue: The Floating Stars

(Attina)

"Come on, Andrina!"

Attina beat her orange tail in the calm water, heading toward the surface. Night had befallen the land and the moon hung high in the sky above the smooth surface. The stars twinkled brightly across the blackness of the sky; the water's surface glistened and gleamed, reflecting the silvery glow of the moon above. As Attina darted to the surface, she marveled at the beauty above.

"Father says we're not supposed to go to the surface," Andrina whined but continued to follow her sister.

Attina halted her ascent and turned to look down at her younger sister. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed upon Andrina's beautiful form. Andrina's blonde hair was as magnificent as the Sun's rays, adorned with a purple decorative design that matched her tail and made for a makeshift ponytail. Her eyes were hazel, but in the silvery glow permeating the surface, they appeared as green as the seaweed that grew from the ocean floor. Her skin was fair and smooth and her scales were slick and purple—glistening like the stars above and growing in brilliance as they approached the surface.

Attina bit down on her lower lip as a smile took shape across her lips. "What father doesn't know won't hurt him."

Andrina caught up with Attina and she feigned a gasp, "But, Attina, you always listen to father!"

"There's that sarcasm," Attina jested. She smirked and grabbed her sister's hand. Their eyes aligned as they floated near the surface—gazing upon each other. "You're so beautiful," Attina whispered.

"You're not half bad yourself," Andrina replied, her sarcasm in full swing.

Attina giggled. She gently shoved her sister, causing the water around her to ripple. "You know you love me!"

Andrina gathered her composure and floated idly in the water. Her purple, translucent fin at the end of her tail whipped back and forth through the calm water. She grinned, her pearly whites illuminated by the moon above. "Are you sure? Perhaps if you made me a shrimp and clam seaweed pie, I'd know for sure whether or not I really loved you?"

Attina swam over to her sister. "Perhaps I will," she said softly. She leaned in closely to her younger sister until their noses were mere centimeters apart. Attina eyed Andrina's lips and then stared back into her soft, hazel eyes. She leaned closer as if to kiss her, but then took her hand and swam quickly toward the surface instead. "But first, I want you to see this!"

The worry returned to Andrina's voice. "But, Attina... you know what he told Ariel about the surface."

"And neither one of us are Ariel. Besides, she broke the forbidden pact that mermaids are to never make their presence known to the humans, and to top it off, she went and married one of them. And look where that got her. Now she's back in the sea and treated as if she's sixteen again."

"Yeah, but father knew she married Eric. He let her be a human. He let her follow her heart."

Attina stopped swimming, causing Andrina to stop again. Attina turned her back, lowered her eyebrows, and narrowed her eyes. She scowled at the thought of Ariel being able to be with a human when she couldn't officially be with the love of her life—Andrina. "She's daddy's little mermaid, of course he let her do it. She's the youngest and she always gets her way."

Attina turned back to her lovely sister, her scowl immediately dissolving as she stared into those majestic eyes. She smiled. "Well you're my little mermaid and I'll do anything for you."

Andrina blushed. "Attina..."

Attina lifted her hand and placed it gently against Andrina's soft and smooth cheek. She brought her forehead forward until it was resting against Andrina's. Her orange, five-pointed crown hung over Andrina's blonde hair that floated gracefully in the water. Their eyes locked and Attina couldn't help but smile.

"I mean it," Attina whispered, "I'd do anything for you."

Andrina smiled. Attina tilted her head back toward the surface. She took Andrina's hand and continued their ascent.

As they swam hand-in-hand, both mermaids couldn't help but grin. Andrina rarely ever went to the surface and even when she did, it was with their father. She was known for being witty and sarcastic, but she always followed her father's rules. Attina was much the same. She loved being a princess of Atlantica and she felt great ardor at one day inheriting the kingdom, though not to the extent that she would wish an ill fate upon her father. She liked things in order, and she made it her life to follow those orders.

Attina made her feelings for Andrina her one exception. Andrina was her sister, and for as forbidden as it was for a mermaid to fall in love with a human, it was just as forbidden for a family member to have romantic feelings for another family member. She went out of her way to make sure no one knew about her and Andrina, and tonight would be no exception. They were all alone, and on the verge of breaking through the surface to spend one night together. Attina's heart pounded in her chest with elation at the thought of their romantic night together.

The stars grew closer, the moon became brighter, and the sounds of life above the surface became louder. As they broke through the water, both Attina and Andrina squealed at finally being above, breathing air!

Water surrounded them, and at a distance to the south was an island with elevated land. Atop this land sat a castle with several spires stretching high into the sky that overlooked the sea. Lining the hill were houses on all sides. There was a bridge that led to the mainland that was barely noticeable to Attina and Andrina. Luckily, they were far enough away from the island that they wouldn't be noticed by humans.

"We did it," Andrina cheered, her worries gone as she shared this moment with her sister—her lover—Attina. "We actually did it! We made it to the surface!"

Attina giggled at her sister's elation. She turned to her and took her hands in her own. "We did it together," she said softly.

Andrina bit down gently on her bottom lip, a crimson blush filling her cheeks. "You're the best."

"You make me the best," Attina replied, staring lovingly into Andrina's hazel eyes.

Andrina smiled and turned her head, feeling her cheeks blaze with heat. "You always know just what to say to turn me to seafoam."

Attina gasped with feigned sarcasm. "Don't say that! I couldn't live without you."

Andrina narrowed her eyes. "Now who's being sarcastic?"

"I learned it from the best," Attina jested.

Attina and Andrina giggled. They floated together at the surface, their bodies moving closer to one another. The fins at the tips of their tails brushed against each other's. They stopped giggling and gazed deeply into each other's eyes. For that moment, they were the only two creatures in the world, mermaids and humans included.

Slowly, their heads began to move closer. Their lips puckered and their eyes closed. Off in the distance people could be heard cheering. It didn't faze them though; their kiss was imminent.

The flicker of golden light cascaded above the two young mermaid princesses and before their lips could meet, their attentions were drawn to the light that glowed red beneath their eyelids. Attina and Andrina opened their eyes to see brightly-lit golden stars lifting from the surface of the far-off land and rising high in the sky to be with their brethren.

Living under water, Andrina had never seen such a beautiful sight. Her only frame of reference was seeing the stars in the black sky, dancing about as the surface rippled above her. This sight was much prettier and she was in awe.

Attina had seen these golden stars once before by accident. Being the next in line to inherit Atlantica, Attina would often traverse her father's palace late at night to make sure that everything was in order. One night, two years ago, she was doing just that when she noticed something odd in her father's throne room. The ocean floor was lit as if the Sun was out, but it was the dead of night. Perplexed by this phenomenon, Attina made her way to the surface without telling her father and found the culprit—golden stars traveling from the surface to the stars above. She found the site to be breathtakingly beautiful and vowed to one day show them to Andrina, should they ever happen again. The following year, which was last year, they had returned. This year, she made sure to share the moment with someone special, someone she loved—her Andrina.

"Attina," Andrina stammered, "the golden stars... what are they? Why are they here? Where are they going?"

Attina knew only of what her mother used to tell her. Queen Athena had said that when a merfolk would pass away, they would ascend to the heavens to be with the other merfolk in the stars. She told this to Andrina and this elicited a gasp from her sister.

"They're... they're so beautiful," Andrina whispered.

Attina smiled. She averted her gaze from the golden stars to her sister's awestruck face. She leaned in close, her lips next to Andrina's ear, and she whispered, "Not as beautiful as you are."

Andrina, gazing with bated breath, turned her head to Attina. Their eyes met and they stared at each other—adoringly—for several seconds. Her voice filled with adoration, Andrina said, "I love you." Suddenly, she kissed Attina deeply and passionately.

Attina returned the romantic gesture. Their hands roamed every inch of their cold, wet skin as their tails curled around each other's, fins clapping gently against the other's. Clamshell-covered breasts mashed together as they became one. Everything about this moment was passionate, sensual, and erotic. Their tongues met and battled for dominance as both sisters opened their mouths mid-kiss.

They pulled away from their loving embrace to take a breath. "I love you, Andrina," Attina moaned. "I never want to spend a day without you. I don't care if we have to spend our whole lives hiding our relationship, I just don't want to be without you, ever."

"Oh, just kiss me again!" exclaimed Andrina, lifting her hand to the back of her sister's head and pulling her face to her own, their lips colliding. The golden stars, which they perceived as the spirits of deceased merfolk, continued floating above them. They held each other tightly in loving embraces, sharing sweet kisses as they watched the phenomenon above.

# # #

Nearly an hour later, the golden stars were still floating, though fewer and fewer were coming with each passing minute. The spirits must enjoy going all at once, that way they never have to travel alone, Attina thought.

Attina held Andrina against her chest, her arms wrapped around her younger sister and her hands clasped just above Andrina's navel. Attina planted soft, sensual kisses on Andrina's neck as she watched the stars float away. The sisters were silent.

Attina kissed along Andrina's shoulder and to her collarbone. She made her way up Andrina's neck, her lips warm and wet against Andrina's cool, clammy skin. As Attina approached Andrina's ear, she parted her lips and sucked on her sister's earlobe. Andrina shivered in her older sister's arms and Attina moaned softly, opening her eyes to see her beautiful sister. In the distance, something caught her eye.

She pulled away from Andrina's neck and gently detached herself from her sister. She submerged beneath the surface and swam a short distance, the golden glow of the floating stars illuminating her orange, scaly tail. She resurfaced.

"Attina, what is it?"

Attina squinted and noticed a familiar shape. A woman was sitting on a rock. As the golden stars floated overhead, she could make out the soft flow of the woman's hair resting over her shoulders and down her back. The woman's hair appeared black in the dark, but as one star floated over the mysterious woman and then another, Attina caught a glimpse of the woman's natural hair color.

Red.

No, it can't be... Tracing the woman's figure with her eyes, Attina noticed a sparkling gleam from her waist down. The floating stars were glistening off of her leg. Attina followed the legs to what should have been feet, but instead, she saw a fin which was attached to an emerald green tail that gleamed brightly, reflecting the golden light emitted from the floating stars above.

Ariel!

Attina's eyes widened and she submerged quickly. She made her way back to Andrina and pulled her under the surface. "Ariel's over there!" Attina pointed in the direction of her youngest sister.

"We should say hi," Andrina said.

"We can't! How will we explain to Ariel why we're the only two at the surface, watching the floating stars? If she finds out about us and tells father, he'll separate us for sure and Andr-"

Attina's voice caught. She couldn't bear the thought of losing the love of her life, Andrina. Attina took in a deep breath and calmed herself. "We can't say anything to her. We have to tell father that she was at the surface. You know he doesn't want her up here, especially since she likes to mingle with humans."

"What? We can't tattle on Ariel! She's doing nothing more than we are. Father doesn't want any of us at the surface. If you tell father about Ariel, you'll have to tell him about us, too."

Attina attempted to protest, but nothing came to mind. She sighed. "Fine! I'll tell him I was keeping an eye on Ariel. I saw her go to the surface and then I immediately came back to tell you—er, father, I mean."

Andrina narrowed her eyes. "You're going to rat on Ariel. Why? Why can't you just let her watch the floating stars like we were doing? She's not harming anyone. She's not interacting with any humans. She's just watching the stars float away so they can be with the other mermaids"—her eyes softened and her shoulders sank—"like mother," she whispered, her voice doleful.

Attina pursed her lips. Imagining her mother looking down on her and seeing her be intimate with Andrina made her feel ashamed. She knew what she had with Andrina was wrong, but the love felt so right. Will anyone ever understand? A lump formed in her throat and she tried to swallow it away, but to no avail.

"Promise me you won't tell father," Andrina said.

Attina stared down at the dark abyss below her. She heard Andrina's voice but the words didn't register. Why does Ariel get to have the forbidden love, but I can't?

Andrina touched Attina's shoulder softly. Attina lifted her head, giving her attention to her sister. "Please, promise me you won't tell father about Ariel," Andrina said.

Attina looked back in the direction Ariel was sitting. She turned her focus back to Andrina and with a pained look, she nodded. "I promise."