All the crowd had gathered 'round,

For the re-introduction of the Prince,

And the re-introduction of the Princess of Galatia,

Together, they were a great presence.

They ascended to the royal dais,

To stand with the Queen and King.

Silas whispered in his father's ear,

Then turned and let his heart sing.



Silas: "The Princess and I will be getting married!

As soon as we are able!"



A collective reaction ran through the crowd,

Wild, and unstable.

But nothing came from the throat of Serena.

Not a cry came over her damaged tongue.

She simply stared, accepting the fact,

That the Sea Witch had now won.



She barely heard the voice of the King,

Who called for his servants to prepare,

A wedding ceremony for his son,

That they would have then and there.

In the meantime, the band was to play some dances,

For the crowd to enjoy.

Serena ran with her agony-ridden feet,

And on her face, she faked joy.



"This is not Silas' fault."

She told herself in her thought.

"I cannot share how this has hurt me.

I cannot and will not!

If I am to die this very night,

By the Sea Witch's trance,

Then I will press on in defiance!

And have myself one last dance!"



She stood and curtsied before Silas,

Huffing with exhaustion and pain.

But she glued a smile to her face,

And hid all her suffering and strain.



Silas: "You are happy for me! Thank you so much!

Oh, you'd like to dance?"



Serena nodded enthusiastically,

This was her final chance,

To bid farewell to her beloved prince.

She felt the curse pressing down.

Soon she would turn to sea foam,

And in those waves, she would drown.


But nothing could stop her from having this time,

She danced a waltz with all her might.

Even though she bled through the toes of her shoes,

She bore it for Silas that night.


And even though the pain in her feet was awful,

In that moment, it was sublime.

As she stared into Silas' beautiful, bright, eyes.

For what would be the very last time.



The dance ended far quicker than she would have asked.

But she thanked him with a tight hug.

Then she let him go to dance with others,

And left the floor with a shrug.


She wandered out onto the docks,

And then onto the stern of a ship.

She stared down at the water below,

And tried to take comfort in it.

Her pain would now soon be over.

But then something strange came below.

Out of the water, 8 heads appeared,

And they stared at her, sad and slow.



It took Serena a moment,

To recognize them in moonlight.

Her 8 older sisters came to the surface,

To visit her this night.

But strangely none seemed to have their hair.

It all had been shaved off in mourning,

For their long-lost little sister?

Or maybe as a warning?


The oldest one was named Fortuna.

And she was the first to speak.



Fortuna: "Oh, Serena, We know your pain.

We know what made you weak.

The seductions of this cruel surface,

Drew you to the Sea-Witch.

But we have shaved our heads for her,

So that you may do this-"



The other sisters whispered their approval,

As Fortuna produced a knife.

Black as ink, but shining as glass,

It glittered in the moonlight.

Serena's eyes grew wide as she stared,

At what her sisters had done.



Fortuna: "Take this knife, and kill your love.

Before the rising of the sun.

And if you do, you'll turn back into a mermaid,

And have your 283 years. You'll have won!

Your tongue and all you had will be back,

Restored to perfect health,

And you can come back, live with Father, and us,

In the seaweed, and the kelp.”



Serena reached down and took the knife,

And nodded to bid them farewell,

They all individually, said goodbye to Serena,

Then left Serena to the spell...


Serena stared at the knife for a moment,

As she felt her body break.

She looked at her hands, and saw foam forming,

On her fingers, and she quaked.

But as long as she held that knife in her hands,

She knew she had a chance.

But nothing would make her shed Silas' blood.

Not even a Sea-Witch's trance.



She held onto the knife, stepped up on the railing,

And looked down at the sea.

Blood dripped from the toes of her shoes,

As she realized, this would be the last thing she'd see.

She stabbed that knife into the railing,

She'd never felt this alone.
She plunged into the salty depths,

And before she touched water, she was foam...