The Little MerCat

Once upon a time, there was a majestic kingdom that stood by the ocean called New York. Its prince, Oliver, loved the ocean. In fact, he loved it so much, his mother, Queen Duchess, couldn’t keep him away for at least an hour.

”Young man, please stop!” she ordered. "You are a prince, and princes do not play in the water." Oliver chuckled.

”Oh, come on, Mom, you know how much I love water. Besides, if I’m lucky, I just might be able to see a real MerCat.”

Duchess rolled her eyes.

”Oh, how many times have I told you? Those are just bedtime stories. Come on, let’s go back to the castle.”

As the two walked off the beach, Prince Oliver paused for a minute and looked back out to sea.

*I’m not too sure,* he thought, and slowly followed his mom.

——

Many miles below the ocean, there stood a kingdom of MerCats called Paris. It was ruled by a kind king named Thomas and his three children: two boys named Berlioz and Toulouse, and a girl named Marie. King Thomas had orange-and-white fur, his fishtail was brown, and he had a golden crown. As for his children, Berlioz had dark-gray fur and a red fishtail, Toulouse had orange fur and a blue fishtail, and Marie had white fur and a pink fishtail. Anyway, King Thomas *was* kind to everyone in his kingdom, but he *did* have *one* strict rule: never go up to the surface. Berlioz and Toulouse have always obeyed this rule, but Marie was curious about the surface world. One day, King Thomas's children were getting ready for a concert. Berlioz and Marie were singing while Toulouse played the piano.

”I can’t wait to see my children sing,” King Thomas said to himself. Before long, the show officially started. As Toulouse played the piano, Berlioz started to sing. Then, the shell holding Marie rose out of the stage. But when the shell opened, the brothers gasped. Marie wasn’t in the shell. Everyone looked to see King Thomas breathing heavily with a scowl. Then they all covered their ears and ducked down.

”MARIE!” the king shouted at the top of his lungs.

——

Many miles from the castle, Marie was with her fish friend, Roquefort. The two were exploring an old shipwreck. Marie was excited, but Roquefort… not so much.

”I-I-I-I don’t think we should be this far from the castle, Marie.”

”Aw, come on, Roquefort, please don’t tell me you're getting cold fins.”

“Me? No way.”

Just then, a shimmer caught Marie's eye. She turned to see what it was and her eyes widened in surprise.

”Wow,” she said, picking up a fork. “Haven’t you ever seen anything as amazing as this?”

”Uh, I guess, but what is it?”

”I’m not sure, but maybe Waldo will,” Marie said confidently, putting the fork in her bag. Waldo was a goose friend of Marie’s. Although he was funny, he always had the scoop when it comes to LandCat objects. Just then, Marie noticed a pipe.

”Hmm, I wonder what this is…” she said to herself, picking it up and stuffing it in her bag. Thinking they had enough, the two swam up to a rock, where Waldo was resting.

“Hiya!” Marie called as soon as she and Roquefort surfaced.

“Oh, hello, Marie,” Waldo said. “What did you bring this time?” Marie grabbed her bag and dumped the objects onto the rock. Waldo picked up the fork and examined it.

”Well, what is it?” Marie asked.

”What you've got here is,” Waldo said, “a dinglehopper. LandCats use these to straighten their hair out.”

“Okay,” Marie said, putting the fork back in her bag as Waldo picked up the pipe and examined it.

”This here is a snarfblatt.”

”A snarfblatt?” Roquefort said, confused.

”Yep, LandCats use these to make music.”

When Waldo blew into the pipe, making seaweed come out instead of music, Marie's eyes widened.

”Wait a minute. Did you just say, 'Music'?”

”Yeah, I did,” Waldo said in surprise. “Why?”

Marie placed a paw on her chin, and her eyes again widened as she gasped.

”Oh, no, the concert!” she cried, grabbing the pipe and stuffing it in her bag. “Oh, Dad’s gonna kill me! Thanks, Waldo!”

”You're welcome!” Waldo called as Marie and Roquefort dove under the surface. As the two swam back to the castle, they didn’t notice that someone was watching.

”Hmm, I think I know how to get back at King Thomas,” a voice said.

——

Back at the castle, Marie was listening to her father in the throne room, while Roquefort watched from behind a pillar.

”This is unacceptable, young lady!” King Thomas said with a scowl. “Your brothers were there! Can you imagine what it would be like if one of them wasn’t?!” Marie sighed sadly.

”I know, Dad. Sorry."

”Your Majesty, listen, Marie did nothing harmful, okay?”

The king rolled his eyes.

”All we did was just go exploring, and then we visited the goose, and the three of us talked…”

”Goose?!” King Thomas said in surprise. Roquefort realized what he said and hid behind Marie, who glared at him.

*Nice going,* she thought sarcastically.

”Oh, Marie, you went to the surface again, didn’t you?!”

”Nothing bad happened, Dad,” Marie said, trying to grin.

”So?! That doesn’t mean nothing bad *won’t* happen! Please, this LandCat obsession you have needs to stop.”

”Dad, look, I just want to know more about them, alright? I——“

”Okay, that’s enough! From this moment on, I do *not* want to hear about you going up to the surface! Do I make myself *clear?!*”

Marie sighed in defeat and left with Roquefort close behind.

——

Marie and Roquefort swam all the way to a rock door and swam through just as it was closing. On the other side of the door was a hidden room and it had LandCat stuff everywhere! Marie layed on a rock, holding the fork. She put it down and looked up at the hole at the top with a sad sigh.

”Are you okay, Marie?” Roquefort asked.

”I’m fine, Roquefort. It’s just that sometimes, I wish I can convince Dad that not all LandCats are bad. I also want to be up there. I want to be part of that world.”

Just then, a strange shadow appeared. Deciding to investigate, Marie swam up to see what it was. The minute she surfaced, she gasped.

”Wow! A ship! With LandCats! This, I've gotta see!”

With Roquefort close behind, Marie swam up to the ship, grabbed hold of the side, and climbed. She stayed outside of the fence of the ship so no one would see her. She peered in and saw a party. Then, she saw a male orange cat looking out to sea on the other side of the ship. At the sight of him, Marie sighed dreamily. Then, a white female cat walked up to him.

”Oliver, honey, do you like this party?” Queen Duchess asked. Prince Oliver sighed.

”I like it, Mom, but all I can think about is finding the right girl. But I’m sure she’s out there somewhere.”

Marie blushed and swooned softly. She thought the Prince was talking about *her.*

“Besides,” Oliver continued, “the minute I find the right girl, she’ll hit me, like lightning.”

At that word, the wind started to pick up and the waves roared.

”Hurricane! All hands on deck!”

Marie tried to hang on, but the wind sent her flying into the water. Everyone scrambled onto the lifeboats, but before Oliver could get on one, lightning had set the ship on fire. The flames blocked his path.

”Oliver!” Duchess cried.

“Mom!”

Duchess was about to jump onto the ship, but the crew pulled her back.

”Your Majesty, don’t, it’s too dangerous!”

Oliver was about to jump, but before he could, the ship crashed into some rocks, and he was sent flying into a mast, head first, making him fall unconscious. The waves pushed the ship to the side, and Oliver fell off the ship, to everyone's horror. Marie quickly dove underwater, looking for Oliver. Immediately, she found him, drowning. Quick as she could, she grabbed him, pulled him up to the surface, and brought him to shore.

——

By the next morning, the storm had passed. Marie was laying on the beach next to Oliver, who was still unconscious. She started to smile sweetly at the unconscious Prince and stared at him dreamily.

“Oh, Oliver,” she said sweetly. “I don’t know what I would give to be with you.” Just then, the Prince slowly opened his eyes. He caught a glimpse of Marie’s face, but she dove into the water before he could see her tail. As Oliver stood up slightly dizzy, footsteps were heard.

”Oliver!” Queen Duchess said in excitement, hugging her son with happy tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe it! You’re alive! It’s a miracle!” Just then, Oliver snapped out of his dizziness.

“Mom, a girl saved me!” he cried. “And her voice was very beautiful.” Duchess chuckled.

”Now, now, son, I think you took in a lot of seawater. Come on, let’s go.”

As the two LandCats walked off the beach, Marie sighed dreamily as Oliver walked away with his mother.

”Oh, Oliver, I promise that someday, I’ll be part of your world,” she vowed to herself, and swam back home to Paris.

——

As the days passed, Marie daydreamed about Oliver, and her brothers took notice.

”I think I know what’s up with Marie,” Toulouse said.

”How so?” Berlioz asked with a raised eyebrow.

”Don’t you get it? The swishy tail? The dreamy eyes? The way she’s humming to herself? It’s obvious that she’s in love.”

Realizing this, Berlioz scoffed, rolled his eyes, and turned around with his arms crossed.

”Oh, sissy stuff,” he said to himself.

——

Having been told by the boys that their sister was in love, King Thomas was sitting on his throne, chuckling.

”Oh, who could the lucky MerCat be?”

Using his trident, King Thomas projected exactly the moment Marie fell in love. And then, he noticed that she was on the beach, laying next to… a LandCat, stroking his furry cheek. At the sight of this, King Thomas started to growl angrily.

——

In her secret room, Marie couldn’t stop talking about Oliver while Roquefort chuckled.

“Oh, Oliver, how I wish I could be with you…”

All of a sudden, Marie and Roquefort gasped. There, standing in the doorway, was King Thomas, staring at his daughter with a scowl.

“Let me get this straight! You saved a *LandCat* from drowning?!”

”Dad, I had to. I couldn’t just let him die.”

”You know it’s illegal for a MerCat to make contact with a LandCat!”

"Dad, I…”

Marie's paws began to shake.

”Dad, I love him!”

Marie realized what she said and placed both her paws on her mouth, wishing she never said that. But it was too late. At those words, the king was left in shock.

”Are you really that crazy or something?!” he shouted. “He’s a LandCat! *You’re* a MerCat!”

”Yes, but that doesn’t make us enemies!”

”Oh, I *will* do anything to make you see reason, young lady!” the king growled, activating his trident. “Even *this!*” In an instant, he started destroying all the LandCat objects Marie had collected.

”Dad, no!” Marie begged. “Stop, please!” But the king kept destroying everything. The minute the last object was destroyed, Marie fell to the ground, and started to cry. At the sight of this, King Thomas was suddenly filled with regret. Slowly, he left the room, with Roquefort close behind. The minute Marie was alone, a red electric eel and a blue electric eel slowly appeared from the shadows. The eels' names were Roscoe and DeSoto.

”Oh, Marie,” Roscoe said. “We can help you.” Marie looked up.

”How?” she asked, wiping a tear from her eye.

”Don’t worry, Sykes will give you all the help you need.”

At the word, “Sykes”, Marie backed away in horror.

”The sea wizard?!”

“Yes, he can,” DeSoto said. “Now, come on, let’s go.”

——

Roquefort saw Marie swimming away with the two eels and slowly followed. The two eels took Marie all the way to a skeleton. Marie looked inside and could see a gray cat, but instead of having a fishtail, the cat had eight octopus tentacles.

”Ah, Princess Marie!” Sykes said. “I assume you need my help?”

”Uh, yeah, I do,” Marie said.

”Very well. Let me help you. I can help you be with your man. Besides, you can’t live in that world unless you become a LandCat yourself.”

”Is that even possible?”

“Of course it is. It’s what I do.”

Sykes swam over to his cauldron and activated its magic. The cauldron then projected Marie with hind legs.

”Now pay attention,” Sykes said to Marie. “This is my best offer. I have a spell that will turn you into a LandCat for three days. If you can get the Prince to fall in love with you and kiss you before sunset on the third day, you’ll be a LandCat forever.”

”And if I don’t?”

”You turn back into a MerCat…”

The cauldron projected Marie with a fishtail.

”…and you’re mine.”

Marie did want to be with Prince Oliver, but she knew that would mean…

”If I become a LandCat, I'll never be with my dad and brothers again.”

”You are right about that,” Sykes chuckled. “But on the bright side, you’ll be with your man. Life's full of tough choices, right? Anyway, I am wanting to make a trade with you.”

“Oh, I don’t really have any…”

”Oh, I’m not asking for money. What I actually want is… your voice.”

Marie was a bit surprised.

”My voice? But how will I…”

”I’m sure you’ll be able to get your man with the right looks. Besides, remember the importance of body language. Do we have a deal?”

“Uhhh…”

”Come on, I’m very busy here.”

”Okay, I'll do it,” Marie said confidently. Sykes grinned, Marie handed him a scale from her tail, and he started working on the spell.

”Okay, sing.”

Marie started to vocalize. As she did, a ghostly hand reached in, grabbed her voice, and pulled it into Sykes's shell necklace. Marie was then encased in a pink aura. Roquefort, who just arrived, watched in horror as Marie's tail split in half. The two halves morphed into a pair of hind legs. Quick as he could, Roquefort grabbed Marie and the two swam up to the surface as fast as they could.

——

At the castle, Oliver and Queen Duchess stared at the ocean.

“I know that girl is out there somewhere,” the Prince said to himself. Duchess overheard her son’s voice and smiled. She hoped he was right.

”I’m gonna for a walk along the beach,” he told his mom, and left the castle.

——

On a beach not far from the castle, Marie was testing her new hind legs, when she heard a voice.

”Hello.”

Marie looked to see Prince Oliver, standing before her.

”You okay? You look a little messed up.”

Marie looked at her reflection in the water and saw that her whole body was covered in wet sand and seaweed. She felt embarrassed. Oliver smiled.

”It’s fine. Come on, follow me. I promise to take good care of you.”

Slowly, Marie followed Oliver to the castle.

——

Inside the castle, while Marie was taking a bath, Oliver and Duchess were in the dining hall, talking about the girl who saved the Prince's life. Oliver believed that she was still out there. His mom, however, was skeptical.

”Oh, Oliver, please, be reasonable,” Duchess said. “Nice young girls just don’t rescue cats in the ocean and then vanish from existence like they're some sort of…”

Oliver sighed.

”Look, Mom, I’m telling you. I know that girl was real. I’m gonna find her. More to the point, I’m gonna marry her.”

Duchess smiled.

”I like your confidence, son, but that girl could be anywhere.”

Oliver sighed again and looked out to sea. He knew his mom was right. Finding that girl was gonna be like finding a needle in a haystack. Just then, footsteps were heard. The two looked to see Marie wearing a pink dress.

”You look amazing,” Oliver said, making Marie blush.

”Yes, you sure do,” Duchess agreed. “Shall we take our seats?” As the three sat down at the table, Marie noticed a fork, or, as she knew it, a dinglehopper. Quickly, she picked it up and ran it through her fur. But then, she noticed Oliver and Duchess staring. Marie blushed and put the fork down. After a short silence, Oliver cleared his throat.

”Say, uh, would you like to see our kingdom?” he asked Marie, which she quickly responded with a nod.

”Do you want to come, too, Mom?”

Duchess shook her head.

”No thanks. I think I should leave you two alone tomorrow.”

——

Back in Paris, King Thomas had asked all of his guards to search for Marie, but none of them had much luck.

”No sign of her, Your Majesty,” one of the guards said.

”Keep searching. And don’t stop until you find her.”

The guard saluted and swam off. Berlioz and Toulouse looked at each other worriedly and silently prayed that their sister was okay.

“Oh, Marie,” the king sighed with a paw on his face. “What have I done?”

——

The next day, Oliver took Marie on a tour of his kingdom, and boy, was Marie having the time of her life.

”Pretty cool, huh?” Oliver smiled. Marie quickly nodded. There were so many things to do.

——

That evening, Oliver took Marie out for a boat ride through a lake. Oliver placed a paw on his chin.

”You know, you never really told me your name. Lemme see if I can guess.”

Oliver tried to guess what Marie's name was. He guessed, Rita, Jenny, Emily, Hannah, and Emma. Unfortunately, none of them were correct. Then, Marie remembered. When she was a baby MerCat, her brothers had taught her how to write her name in the water, or, in this case, the air. Slowly, Marie wrote in the all the letters in her name. First, M.

”M…” Oliver said.

Then, A.

”A…”

Then, R.

”R…”

Then, I.

”I…”

And last, E.

”E…”

Oliver put the letters together. And slowly, he said the word.

”Marie!” he said, in which she quickly responded with a nod. “So that’s your name! I think it’s cute.” Marie blushed. And she and Oliver started to lean in. But before they could lock lips, the boat suddenly capsized, knocking the two into the water.

——

It turns out that Roscoe and DeSoto were the ones who caused the boat to capsize. Although Sykes felt please with his two eels, he started to feel like that something wasn't right.

“You okay, boss?” Roscoe asked.

”I'm fine. It’s just that… the way they were about to kiss. It was way too close if you ask me. You know what? I think it’s time that *I* take matters into my *own* paws.”

With that, Sykes grabbed all of his potions and threw them all into his cauldron. Roscoe and DeSoto watched as their master turned into a beautiful white female cat.

——

Back at the castle, Prince Oliver was sitting on a balcony, when he heard a voice.

”Oliver!”

He looked to see his mother walking up to her.

”You okay?” Duchess asked, sitting next to her son.

”I’m fine, Mom. I was so close to kissing Marie.”

“I'm sure you will soon.”

Just then, a voice was heard. Oliver headed down to the beach and saw a female white cat sitting on the shoreline, vocalizing. She turned to see Oliver and a strange green mist flew from the necklace and into his eyes. This female cat was actually the sea wizard in disguise.

”Are you the one who saved me?” Oliver asked.

”Maybe.”

——

The next day, the whole kingdom of New York was bursting with excitement. The Prince was getting married, not just to anybody, but to the girl who saved his life! Well, everyone was excited, that, except one: Marie, who was devastated. That evening, Marie and Roquefort watched the boat, where the wedding was taking place, sail into the bay. And then Marie, with teary eyes looked out to see the sun starting to set. She knew it was only a matter of time before she turned back into a MerCat. But just then…

”Marie! Roquefort!”

The two looked to see Waldo coming in for landing.

”Marie! You have to stop that wedding. Oliver is marrying the sea wizard in disguise!”

Marie and Roquefort were left in shock.

”Marie, stop that wedding!” Roquefort ordered. “I'll go alert the king!” And with that, Marie hopped on a barrel and Waldo took her all the way to the boat.

——

On the boat, Oliver and Duchess were waiting for his bride to come up. She walked down the altar holding a bouquet of flowers. As she did, she looked to see the sunset with an evil grin. Just then, as soon as Marie climbed on board, a bunch of sea creatures appeared and attacked the bride, while everyone ducked for cover. Waldo grabbed the bride's necklace and threw it to the ground, causing it to break. Marie's voice rose out of the shattered shell, swirled around her, and into herself.

”My voice! It’s back!” she said in excitement.

”Marie?” Oliver said, snapped out of his trance.

”Oh, Oliver! It’s me! I’m the one who saved you!”

At those words, Oliver placed a paw on his mouth and happy tears formed in his eyes.

”It’s you!” he cried as he and Marie ran towards each other and shared their very first hug as everyone smiled. And then, they watched as Oliver and Marie leaned their heads towards each other. But before they could lock lips, Marie winced and slowly fell to the deck. Everyone gasped as her hind legs slowly turned back into her fishtail.

”What?!” Prince Oliver said in shock, slowly backing away.

”Marie!” Duchess stammered. “You’re a…” Marie sighed sadly.

”Yes. I’m a MerCat.”

But at the sight of this, the bride cackled and lightning struck her, revealing her true form: Sykes! Everyone watched in shock as he crawled up to Marie and grabbed her.

”So long, lover boy!” he cackled, and dove under the waves. But Oliver wasn’t giving up. He climbed down onto a small rowboat and rowed to sea.

”Oliver, what are you doing?!” Duchess cried.

”Mom, I lost Marie once, and I am *not* gonna lose her again!”

——

Under the water, Sykes swam deeper with Marie in his grasp.

”Let me go!” Marie cried.

”Oh, chillax, Marie, I’m not really after you. I'm actually after…”

”Freeze, Sykes!”

Sykes froze to see King Thomas, pointing his trident at him sternly.

”Ah, King Thomas,” the sea wizard chortled with a smirk. “How are things?” The king moved his trident closer to Sykes's throat.

”Let my daughter go!” he ordered.

”Sorry, Thomas, she belongs to me now!”

The two eels grabbed Marie and started to zap her.

”But I am wanting to make an exchange,” Sykes said, holding out his paw. “What do you say?” Fearful for his daughter’s life, King Thomas sighed and gave Sykes a scale from his tail.

”It’s done!”

The eels let go of Marie and zapped of King Thomas as hard as they could. It was so much that King Thomas fell deep into the ocean while dropping his crown and trident. Sykes grabbed the crown, put it on his head, grabbed the trident, and started to cackle.

”It’s mine! It’s finally mine!”

But Marie became enraged.

”You monster!” she shouted, pushing him into a rock.

”Don’t even think about pushing me around again, you little—— OUCH!!!”

Sykes looked up and saw Oliver.

”Oliver!” Marie cried.

”Get him!” Sykes ordered his two eels. Oliver swam up as fast as he could, but the eels grabbed him.

”Say goodbye to your sweetie!” Sykes grinned devilishly, aiming the trident at the Prince. But he managed to break free just as Marie yanked the sea wizard's ears back. The trident zapped the eels, breaking them into pieces.

”Roscoe! DeSoto! No!” Sykes said in horror, but quickly looked up at Marie, enraged. And then, he started breathing out lots of ink.

——

“Oliver, you've gotta get out of here!” Marie cried.

”No, I’m not leaving you!” Oliver said in his defense. Suddenly, Oliver and Marie rose high into the air and quickly dove down. The minute they surfaced, they looked up in horror at Sykes, who was now 50 feet tall.

”You pitiful, insignificant fools!” he boomed, and began to make a whirlpool in the ocean with the trident. Oliver and Marie tried to hang onto each other, but the current was too strong. Marie fell to the bottom of the whirlpool and tried to escape the blasts from the trident. Luckily, Oliver climbed aboard his old ship and used it to impale Sykes. And with that, Sykes screamed in pain and disappeared beneath the waves. Oliver, exhausted, climbed onto the beach and fell onto the sand.

——

The trident fell to where King Thomas fell to the deep bottom of the sea. He quickly swam up and picked up his trident, happy to have it back again.

——

The next morning, Marie was sitting on a rock not far from the shoreline, looking at Prince Oliver, waiting for him to wake up. Unbeknownst to her, her dad and brothers were behind her, and noticed Marie’s sad look.

”I guess she really *does* love him, doesn’t she, boys?” King Thomas sighed.

”She sure does, Dad,” Berlioz answered with a nod.

”You know, it’s like I always say,” Toulouse said. “Children have a desire to be free and lead their own lives.”

”You *always* say that?!” Berlioz said with a sneer.

”Well, not very often, no.”

”Well, I guess I just have one problem.”

“And what would that be, Dad?” the boys asked in unison. King Thomas sighed as a tear rolled down his cheek.

”How much I'm gonna miss her.”

At first, Berlioz and Toulouse were confused. But then, they smiled when their dad aimed his trident at their sister.

——

Oliver finally stood up, and smiled when Marie rose out of the water, with her hind legs again.

”Marie!” Oliver shouted, running toward her. Oliver and Marie hugged again and finally kissed. When the kiss ended, Marie looked out at her dad and brothers, who were smiling.

”Thank you,” she whispered with teary eyes.

——

The following month, it was Marie and Oliver's wedding day. And all the MerCats and LandCats came to help celebrate. King Thomas and the boys clapped.

”I'm gonna miss you, Dad,” Marie smiled sadly, hugging her father.

“I'll miss you, too, Marie,” King Thomas said, returning the hug before turning to Duchess.

”Take good care of my daughter.”

”I will,” Duchess said with a nod. Marie walked up to Oliver and the two climbed into a boat, which the boys pushed out to sea with their tails. Oliver and Marie smiled at each other, leaned in, and kissed each other. And they all lived happily ever after.

**THE END**