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"I admit that in the past, I've been a nasty

They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch

But you'll find that nowadays

I've mended all my ways

Repented, seen the light, and made a switch

True? Yes

And I fortunately know a little magic

It's a talent that I always have possessed

And here lately, please don't laugh

I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely, and depressed

Pathetic."

Meliana was, by her own admission, a creature of contradictions. Once, her name had been synonymous with terror, and her reputation as a sea witch called Ursula was as sharp as the teeth of a barracuda. But times, as they said, had changed. The old sea witch, with her heart as black as the abyss and her laughter as cold as the ocean's depths, was a relic of a bygone era.

Now, she preferred to think of herself as a benevolent figure, an oceanic therapist. Her cavernous lair, once adorned with the skulls of unfortunate sailors, was now filled with soft, ethereal lights and the gentle murmur of saltwater. She had traded in her trident for a harp and her venomous sea monsters, including her best minions, for a library of ancient texts.

Regardless, the old ways lingered. Beneath the guise of a reformed soul, the core of the sea witch still pulsed with a dark, intoxicating power. And today, a new client was about to discover that the old Meliana was never truly gone, merely dormant.

Her name was Hayley. She was a young and vibrant mermaid with scales as iridescent as a peacock's feather. Her song, a haunting melody that could charm the fiercest storm, was a testament to her beauty. But her eyes held a shadow of despair, a discordant note in her otherwise perfect harmony.

"Poor unfortunate souls

In pain, in need

This onе longing to be thinner

That one wants to gеt the girl

And do I help them?

Yes, indeed

Those poor unfortunate souls

So sad, so true

They come flocking to my cauldron

Crying, "Spells, Ursula, please!"

And I help them

Yes, I do."

"You seek my help, little mermaid?" Meliana inquired, her voice a silken whisper.

Hayley nodded, trembling slightly, "I want to walk on land."

The sea witch chuckled, a sound that carried the echo of ancient storms, "A bold wish, child. To leave the ocean, your natural realm, for a world of stone and sky?"

Hayley's determination hardened. She said, "I must. There is one on land, a prince. I have saved him from drowning and even sung for him. He is my everything."

Meliana studied the mermaid, her gaze penetrating. It was an old game, this dance between desire and desperation. And she, the eternal temptress, was a master of its choreography. "Very well," she purred. "But such a transformation comes at a price."

Hayley stiffened, "What do you want?"

A cruel smile touched Meliana's lips, "Your voice, my dear. The instrument of your power and beauty. For it is your song that binds you to the sea."

Hayley's eyes widened in horror. Her voice was her soul and identity. To lose it was to lose herself. Yet, the image of the prince, his handsome face and kind eyes, flickered before her mental vision.

"You must get a true love kiss from the prince before the next full moon, or you will become bubbles," Meliana said, her voice dripping with finality. "If you succeed, you shall have legs forever. But remember, child, bargains are made in blood, and once sealed, they can not be broken."

With a flick of her wrist, Meliana summoned a shimmering vial filled with a crimson liquid. "This and a scale," she instructed, pointing to the mermaid's tail.

Hayley hesitated, her hand hovering over her scales. Then, with a resolute nod, she plucked one and dropped it into the vial. The liquid bubbled and changed color, transforming into a shimmering elixir.

"Drink it," Meliana ordered.

Hayley obeyed, the taste of the potion bitter on her tongue. As the last drop disappeared, a tingling sensation spread through her body. Her tail began to shrink, replaced by the unfamiliar ache of growing legs.

When the transformation was complete, Hayley stood before the sea witch. Now, she was a human girl with eyes as blue as the ocean she had left behind. But her face was devoid of expression, her lips sealed shut.

Meliana laughed, a triumphant sound that echoed through the cavern, "Welcome to the world of mortals, child. Now, go. Find your prince. But remember, without your voice, you are a silent shadow. And shadows, as we know, are easily forgotten."

With that, she dismissed Hayley, her mind already turning to her next victim. In the heart of the sea witch, there was a void that no power or admiration could fill. And so, she continued to weave her web of deceit, luring unsuspecting souls into her world of shadows and promises.

"Now, it's happened once or twice

Someone couldn't pay the price

And I'm afraid I had to rake 'em 'cross the coals

Yes, I've had the odd complaint

But on the whole, I've been a saint

To those poor unfortunate souls."

As the days stretched into weeks, Hayley gradually adapted to the unfamiliar world of humans. The mermaid who had once exuded effervescence and vitality now seemed to exist as little more than a spectral figure, moving through her days in a detached trance. Loneliness, a cold and insidious companion, crept into the hollow spaces of her heart. The vibrant world of the ocean, teeming with life and color, was a distant memory, replaced by the sterile silence of her human existence. Meanwhile, the prince, drawn to her remarkable beauty at first, grew increasingly distant as time passed because she had not said a word to him. The initial enchantment was slowly replaced by curiosity, then by frustration. The court buzzed with speculation about the silent lady. Some whispered of a curse, others of a foreign princess with a tragic past. More often, however, their comments were tinged with pity and patronizing superiority. Her inability to speak made her an easy target for their idle amusement.

Then came the day Hayley saw the prince, once her source of fascination, become an indifferent statue. His attention was now diverted by the arrival of a princess from a neighboring kingdom.

This princess was a vision of grace and elegance, her laughter like wind chimes in a summer breeze. She possessed a wit and charm that effortlessly ensnared the prince's heart. Yet her best advantage over Hayley was her adorable voice. With each passing day, their bond deepened, casting a long, gloomy shadow over Hayley. The once-admiring gazes were now filled with indifference, and the hushed whispers of the court had transformed from pity to outright disdain.

Isolated and heartbroken, Hayley retreated further into herself, her silent world growing larger with each passing moment. The mermaid was now a prisoner of her own silence, trapped in a gilded cage of human existence.

Meliana watched it all through a crystal ball with a perverse satisfaction. The girl was learning a harsh lesson, a painful reminder of the price of wishes. And yet, a part of the sea witch felt a pang of regret. Perhaps she had gone too far this time.

"Come on, you poor unfortunate soul

Go ahead! Make your choice

I'm a very busy woman and I haven't got all day

It won't cost much

Just your voice

You poor unfortunate soul

It's sad, but true

If you want to cross a bridge, my sweet

You've got to pay the toll

Pluck a scale from off your tail

A drop of blood inside the bowl!

Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her, boys

The boss is on a roll!

This poor unfortunate soul."

Then, one night, as a storm raged outside, Hayley appeared at the threshold of the sea witch's cavern. Her eyes, once filled with hope, were now filled with despair.

Her fingertip inscribed the plea "Please give me my voice back" onto the rock, using her own blood as the writing fluid.

"You can not stand the loneliness anymore?" Meliana asked.

Hayley nodded rapidly, showing her begging for mercy from the sea witch.

Meliana smiled cruelly, "And what will you give me in return, little mermaid? Your soul?"

Hayley hesitated, her eyes filled with fear and resolve, before finally writing her answer on the cavern and committing to become the sea witch's servant.

A flicker of surprise crossed Meliana's face. This was a new twist. She had never had a mermaid servant before. But the idea intrigued her.

"Very well," she said finally. "But remember, child, once you are mine, you are mine forever."

Hayley felt more terrified than ever, a teardrop rolling down her cheek. However, she did not know what else to do, so she could only nod in agreement.

Meliana grinned after seeing Hayley's desperation. With a flick of her wrist, the sea witch summoned the same vial. But this time, it was filled with a shimmering, golden substance instead of a crimson liquid.

"Drink," she commanded.

Hayley obeyed, and as the liquid touched her lips, a power surge coursed through her veins. Her voice returned, better than ever but tinged with a haunting echo.

"You are free from the loneliness of the mortal world," Meliana said, her voice laced with a strange satisfaction. "But remember, you are mine now."

Hayley nodded, her eyes filled with a complex mix of fear and determination. And as she turned to leave, Meliana watched her go, a strange sense of anticipation stirring. For she knew that this was just the beginning. The game had only just begun.

The alliance between the sea witch and the mermaid was an uneasy one. Hayley, though bound by her promise, was no willing servant. She was a prisoner in her own skin, her spirit trapped in a gilded cage. And Meliana, for all her power, found herself strangely drawn to the mermaid's defiance. Hence, she made every effort to connect with Hayley. To her surprise, their dynamic transformed beyond the usual relationship between a master and her servant.

Together, they became a force to be reckoned with. Hayley, with her enchanting voice and mesmerizing beauty, became the face of the operation. Meanwhile, Meliana, the puppet master, pulled the strings from the shadows. They made deals, broke hearts, and amassed a fortune that would rival the greatest empires.

But as their power grew, so too did their ambition. The ocean was no longer enough. They wanted more. They wanted the world.

It was a dangerous game they were playing, a game that would inevitably lead to their downfall. But as they stood on the precipice of their greatest triumph, neither Meliana nor Hayley seemed to care. For in that moment, they were invincible. Or so they thought.

The end was swift and brutal. A rival sorcerer, a man as ruthless and ambitious as they were, had been watching them. And when the time was right, he struck.

In a final, desperate battle, Meliana and Hayley fought side by side, their powers combined in a dazzling display of magic. But it was not enough. The sorcerer was too strong, his magic too divine. Thus, they were defeated in the end. Meliana, whose spirit was broken, was banished back to the ocean's depths, her power stripped from her. For Hayley, whose heart shattered, she was turned to stone, a lifeless statue on the shores of the kingdom she had once dreamed of ruling.

And so, the story of the sea witch and the mermaid ended, a cautionary tale of greed, power, and the inevitable consequences of straying from the path of righteousness. But as the waves crashed against the shore and the wind whispered through the ruins of their empire, a legend was born. A legend of two women who had dared to dream and who, in the end, had paid the ultimate price for their ambition.

In her exile, the sea witch would often look up at the night sky, her gaze fixed on the moon. And in the moonlight, she could see the outline of the mermaid, a ghostly figure etched against the celestial canvas. In those quiet moments, as the tides ebbed and flowed, she would wonder if perhaps, just perhaps, there was a chance for redemption. But that was a story for another day. For now, she was content to watch and wait like a shadow in the depths and a ghost of the woman she once was.

Centuries had passed, and the world above had changed dramatically. Skies were crisscrossed with iron birds, and the oceans, once pristine, were marred by the careless hands of humanity. Yet, in the depths, time moved at a different pace. Meliana, the once-mighty sea witch, was a prisoner of her despair. Her power, deprived of her, was a phantom limb, a constant reminder of her fallen glory.

But in the darkest corners of the ocean, where sunlight never penetrated, a flicker of hope ignited. A peculiar energy source, a by-product of human technological advancement, was seeping into the marine ecosystem. It was toxic and destructive yet held a raw, potent force.

Meliana, with her centuries-old knowledge and an unyielding will, began to experiment. Slowly, painstakingly, she learned to harness this new energy. It was a dangerous path, fraught with failure and near-death experiences. But with each success, a piece of her former power returned.

Once ready to emerge from her self-imposed exile, Meliana was an entirely different creature. The old sea witch, with her vanity and thirst for domination, had been replaced by a being of pure, elemental power. She was a force of nature, as terrifying as a hurricane and as relentless as the tide.

Her first target was the sorcerer who had defeated her. Time had not been kind to him. Once a formidable figure, he was now a wrinkled old prune. His magic was reduced to a feeble flicker. Meliana found him in a remote tower, surrounded by relics of his former glory.

The confrontation was swift and brutal. The sorcerer's magic was no match for Meliana's raw, untamed power. He begged for mercy, but she had none to give. With a single, devastating spell, she erased him from existence, leaving behind nothing but echoes of his fear.

With the sorcerer vanquished, Meliana turned her attention to the world above. Humanity had grown careless, ignorant of the delicate balance of nature. She saw it as her duty to correct their mistakes.

Her methods were harsh, but she believed them necessary. She summoned colossal sea creatures, ancient leviathans awakened from their slumber. They rose from the depths, their massive forms casting long shadows over coastal cities. Panic ensued, and for a time, humanity was united in fear.

But Meliana had a plan. As chaos reigned, she began to sow the seeds of change. She communicated with a select individuals with a deep connection to the ocean. She shared her knowledge and vision of a world in harmony with nature.

Slowly, a movement began to form. People started to question their relationship with the planet. Once focused on endless growth, governments started to invest in sustainable technologies. The oceans, slowly but surely, began to heal.

Meliana watched it all from the depths, a silent architect of change. She had become more than a sea witch. She was a guardian, a protector of the planet. She was still feared and respected but now also revered.

Yet, even as she brought balance to the world, a part of her remained untouched by redemption. The old hunger for power, for control, still lurked within her. It was a constant war between the benevolent protector and the ruthless conqueror.

And so, the sea witch lived on. She had become a complex and contradictory figure, a destructive and creative force of nature. Her legacy would be debated for centuries as a testament to the enduring power of both good and evil, and some people might still hear her cast her spells.

"Beluga! Sevruga!

Come winds of the Caspian Sea!

Amnesia, glossitis et max laryngitis

La voce to me!"