The Rise and Fall of Broadway Atlantica’s Star

A soft lullaby floated on the ocean breeze, echoing beneath the bluish glow of a full moon. The sea glistened like liquid glass under the moonlight, calm and mysterious. On a jagged rock near the shore, a beautiful mermaid sat in quiet contemplation. Her silvery hair shimmered, her tail flicked gently in the water, and her eyes were fixed on a wooden vessel sailing across the sea.

She watched with fascination as strange creatures aboard the ship—humans—moved about in their heavy garments and awkward footwear. They looked so stiff, so bound by the constraints of their world. She chuckled softly, the song she had been humming fading into the night. Then, without a splash, she dove into the depths of the ocean, vanishing like a dream.

The Enigmatic World Beneath the Waves

In the realm beneath the sea, known to merfolk as Atlantica, humans were a constant topic of curiosity. With their odd inventions and obsession with clothing, they fascinated the merpeople, who wore nothing more than decorative shells. Tail wraps or stitched fabric were unthinkable to them—how absurd it seemed to bind their bodies in seaweed or confine their grace.

Curiosity about humans and their strange world gave birth to a new form of entertainment: merfolk theater. Atlantica’s underwater stages were filled with lively debates and plays built around items salvaged from sunken ships. Theatres brimmed with laughter as merfolk imagined the purposes of these alien artifacts.

Hit performances included titles like “I Need a Fork for My Hair,” “I Have Twelve Numbers on My Face,” and “What’s a Shirt For?” All starred one mermaid—Ursula, the shining jewel of Broadway Atlantica.

Ursula: Star of the Sea

Ursula’s stage presence was unmatched. Confident, commanding, and irresistibly dramatic, she dazzled audiences. Her smoky gray eyes seemed to hold secrets of the deep, and her voice could move the most stoic sea turtle to tears. She adorned herself in ornate shells, shimmer dust, and bold coral lip stains that no other mermaid could pull off.

Though she shone on stage, Ursula’s past was not as luminous. She came from a distant part of the ocean, always overlooked in favor of her older sister—a golden child who excelled at everything. Ursula’s talents were deemed second-best, her accomplishments ignored. Yearning for love and validation, she left her home behind and swam to Atlantica, determined to carve her own legacy.

Her only companions on this journey were two abandoned young moray eels—Flotsam and Jetsam—whom she adopted like her own children. Their bond grounded her and brought light into her otherwise aching heart.

When the Sea King Noticed

One fateful night, Ursula performed “I Need a Fork for My Hair” at the royal palace. King Triton himself attended, drawn by the buzz surrounding the mysterious mermaid. His usual sternness melted away as he watched her sing and dance. Her voice was magnetic, her beauty undeniable—black hair like wet pearls, stormy gray eyes, and lips red as coral. Ursula’s performance stirred something unfamiliar within him: desire.

But it was not just lust. It was confusion.

King Triton had long admired Athena, his childhood friend and the gentle light of the kingdom. Ursula’s sudden pull troubled him. She was not delicate like Athena; she was bold, enigmatic. She disrupted the order he had always known.

After her performance, Athena invited Ursula to the palace gardens. The two mermaids spoke at length, finding unlikely friendship. Ursula felt an honest connection with Athena and abandoned any hopes of romantic interest in the King, not out of defeat, but respect. She left the palace with peace in her heart and a friend by her side.

Temptation and Transformation

But Triton could not find peace. He wrestled with his feelings for Ursula, ashamed of how deeply she haunted his thoughts. He grew resentful—not of her, but of himself. And in that resentment, a dangerous idea took root.

He told himself he must protect the realm, that Ursula’s power over mermen was a threat. Using the magic of his Trident, he concocted a potion. A sweet-smelling, deceptive brew.

One evening, while Ursula performed “What’s a Shirt For?”, Triton waited. At the after-party, he approached her, complimenting her talent and handing her the drink. Curious and cautious, she hesitated.

“What’s in it?” she asked.

“Just a celebration toast,” he said with a smile that masked his intent.

Ursula drank. Her head spun. Her heart pounded. The world swayed.

“What have you done to me?” she asked weakly, clutching a coral pillar.

Triton looked away. “A brew to strip you of your charm. So that no merman will fall under your spell again.”

A Star Shattered

Her transformation was grotesque. Her lustrous black hair turned stark white. Her sleek frame twisted into a heavy, tentacled form. Her once melodic voice faded, replaced by something cold and guttural. Broadway Atlantica’s brightest star was no more.

Triton banished her from Atlantica. She was now a “threat,” a name to be forgotten.

But he did not destroy Ursula. He created something else entirely—the sea witch.

Ursula’s heart, once filled with longing for love and validation, curdled into bitterness. She vanished into the shadows of the deep, Flotsam and Jetsam by her side.

A Reunion and a Resolve

Before her exile, there was one last bright moment.

Her parents, having heard tales of her fame, arrived unexpectedly at one of her performances. Their faces beamed with pride for the first time in her life. They embraced her, tearfully asking forgiveness. They confessed how they had wrongly blamed her for the death of her grandmother—an accident that occurred when Ursula, as a child, had begged her grandmother to take her above the surface, where human hunters struck. That guilt had poisoned their love for her.

Hearing this, Ursula wept. Years of pain and rejection melted away in their arms.

But Triton’s betrayal stole that joy. After her exile, she couldn’t face her parents again.

The Beginning of Vengeance

Wrapped in the comfort of her moray eels, Ursula gazed into the darkness.

“Poor child… poor, sweet child,” Flotsam and Jetsam whispered.

Ursula’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Don’t pity me, my babies. One day… I’ll have my revenge. I’ll be watching. Waiting. My moment will come…”

The ocean, once her stage, would soon become the setting of a new tale—one not of glamour, but of vengeance.

Moral of the Story

Neglect and cruelty can turn even the gentlest soul into a storm. When love is replaced by betrayal, the brightest stars may fall—but they never forget the sky they once lit.