"You give me the trident and surrender Atlantis, and I'll give you back your beloved. Or, I will take the trident and your kingdom by force," she whispered. It was one of the toughest decisions I would have to make. I could save Delphine's life but send my father and subjects to a horrible death that they didn't deserve. But then, if I didn't take the deal, Delphine would die, and my kingdom would be in danger. It was a lose-lose situation, but I believed there had to a way to save both Delphine and Atlantis.

"D-don't take the deal, Arthuas! She'll be unstoppable!" Delphine sputtered. Just hearing the sound of her voice as she was being choked almost to death made my eyes begin to water, and I couldn't imagine Delphine dying in front of me if I didn't make a decision soon. "Quiet girl! Let's see if your prince will risk it all to save your life," Queen Esme hissed at her. She glared at Delphine for a moment before locking eyes with me again.

"I'll give you to the count of five, then I want an answer, Arthuas," Esme growled. I could hear Delphine's friends whispering to me, telling me what my decision should be. Half of them wanted me to take the deal, while the other half wanted me to reject it. Wait a minute. Esme is lying. She'll probably hurt Delphine either way. I'm going to call Esme out on it. "So, what's your answer?" Esme asked.

I took a deep breath, silently preparing the words that I was going to say. "You are a fool to think that I would take a deal like that," I answered, staring deep into Esme's soul. Her eyes grew wide, and she swam backward slightly in shock. "What?! But, your subjects, your kingdom, everyone is going to die!" Esme sputtered. "Yes, but I also know that you are a liar, you claimed that you would release Delphine if I accepted your deal, but because you want to destroy the mermaids, you'll be destroying her too. Try to take the trident, but I will not let you destroy my grandfather's legacy or hurt Delphine!" I said with confidence.

Esme let out a sigh, and I started to wonder if she was surprised that I knew the truth about her deal. She looked over at Rose, who was still holding Delphine by her neck, and gave her a skilled wave of her hand. Rose let go of Delphine's neck, and she fell onto the ground and coughed like she had a bad sickness. I swam towards her and embraced her tightly, gently running my fingers through her hair. "Oh, Arthuas," she muffled into my chest.

I wanted to enjoy this brief reunion, but I couldn't help but wonder if Esme was planning on doing something to Delphine when we were at our most vulnerable, and boy, was I right. When I looked up, Rose grabbed Delphine by the throat once again and pushed her towards Esme. "Well, Arthuas. Even though you did a good job explaining the truth about my offer, you forgot one small detail. You forgot to mention the part where I possess your girlfriend's body," Esme cackled.

"Put... Her... Down..." I snarled. Esme looked over at me with her wicked grin still spread across her face, and she looked over at Emily and Rose. "Girls, the time has come," she said, looking at the large glass dome in the center of the ceiling. "Mother, once you do this, there's no going back," Emily begged. I looked over at her for a split second before I focused my gaze on Delphine. "I'll be a siren again once I pry the trident out of Arthua's cold, dead fingers,"

Then, Delphine let out a loud scream as Esme slowly began to transfer her soul into Delphine's body, consuming all the kindness that Delphine had in her heart. "STOP!!!" She screamed at the top of the lungs. My heart was racing a thousand miles an hour, and I felt powerless to save her. "DELPHINE! NO!!!" I screamed. Soon, Esme completed transferring her soul into the girl that I loved, and we were all greeted with loud, evil cackles that still frighten me to this day.