Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as deep as the deepest deep, there stood a kingdom. This kingdom belonged to the great King Poiseidon and his six daughters. The princesses Ondine, Yara, Lana, Niobe, Tallulah, and the youngest and by far the most beautiful, Aeryel. Aeryel had alabaster skin, eyes of the most beautiful sea foam green, and hair that fell in bright red curls to her lower back. As beautiful as she was, she was also very naughty. Aeryel despised the sea kingdom she was forced to live in. And although she was very spoiled, she always begged for more and complained so often that everyone in the sea kingdom saw her as a bit of an annoyance.

At the age of 16, when most destructive adolescent ideas are formulated, Aeryel got it in her head that she'd like to live on land...among the walkers.

"Now Aeryel," her father gently chastised, "You know you mustn’t go to the land. The walkers don’t understand us. It's very dangerous."

"OH MY GOSH DADDY YOU'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO RUIN MY LIFE, I WILL LIVE ON LAND. AND IF YOU TRY TO STOP ME I'LL JUST DIE!!" This was the usual reply to anything the king said to his poorly behaved daughter. So, King Poseidon learned to say very little, if anything at all, to his daughter.

One night, when it was very late and everyone in the kingdom was asleep, Aeryel decided to swim up to the surface of the water to see what the walkers were up to. When she got there, she saw a very big boat, filled with loud, rowdy, dancing men. Among these men was Prince Damien. He was a tall, skinny man with long, oily black hair, dark clothes, and many tattoos.

"Daddy would hate him," Aeryel mused, and thusly, like most teenage girls usually do, she fell in love with the very thing her father would despise the most.
Suddenly, lighting and thunder began rolling in. There was a dreadful storm approaching and the ocean became merciless, tossing the ship to and fro, knocking swashbuckling sailors into its darkness, never to return. The prince was able to hold onto the mast of the ship for a time, but with one crack of lighting, he fell into its depths.
Aeryel knew she had to save him. He was the only thing that could sufficiently piss her father off. She swam as hard as her tail would allow, and, hooking the prince with one arm, she pulled him to the surface and laid him on a sandy beach. She gently stroked the prince's greasy scalp until he woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, as black as two tiny beetles, she retreated to the sea, vowing that she would return to her oily lover as soon as she found a way.

As the fates would have it, she would soon find a way.

It was common knowledge that just outside the boundaries of the sea kingdom, there lived a sea witch. Her name was Aradia and was thought to be the most evil thing in all the seven seas. What very few knew, however, was that Aradia's spells were never what they were supposed to be. For instance, the time she blew up a school of merchildren, she was only trying to change the color of their hair to a putrid green color.
Ah, yes, she was so very evil.
One day Aeryel swam to the cavernous cave that Aradia lived in, and decided that she would beg for the sea witch to transform her into a walker.
"Aradia?" Aeryel called into the dark cave.
Aradia at the very moment was trying very hard to change the color of a clown fish's stripes from white to blue, succeeding only in causing him to sprout extra fins and very large boils all over. Aeryel, unfortunately, did not understand the spell and therefore thought that this was the very thing that Aradia was trying to do.
"What do you want?" Aradia asked crossly.
"I, Princess Aeryel, daughter of King Poseidon, would like to become a walker."
"A walker?" Aaradia asked, chuckling.
"Yes, a walker. And as the oh-so-powerful daughter of YOUR king, I demand that you do it, now."
"Well, okay but you should know that I’m not so goo---" Aradia tried to warn.
"ENOUGH TALK. Every day all I listen to is talk, and blah blah blah. I want it done now!"
So Aradia pointed her magical staff at the beautiful princess and chanted a spell. Aeryel closed her eyes and waited for the magic to take effect.

The next thing Aeryel remembered was waking up on the beach, the sea witch bent over her nervously.
"Uhm. Well, you have legs!" Aradia said excitedly.
Aeryel looked down at her new appendages and shrieked. Her skin was now a mottled green color and covered in scabs.
"WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME?" Aeryel screamed.
"Well, I tried to warn you, i'm not so good with magic. Something went wrong somewhere, at any rate. But I did what you asked! So now I'm leaving."
"Wait!" Aeryel cried. But it was too late. The witch was gone. Aeryel stood up and tested out her shaky green limbs. Just then, the Prince Damien walked onto the beach and shrieked.
"You there! What diseases do you possess?" He called from a safe distance.
"I do NOT possess any diseases, you foul creature!" She called indignantly.
Damien walked closer, and the closer he got, the more in love he fell. She was so disgusting. In every way. Her skin was green and peeling and covered in hideous scabs and abrasions. Her hair was limp and as oily as his. And most frightening of all was her blood red eyes. She was everything he loved. And he decided to make her his wife the very next day.
He took Aeryel back to his castle and got her a dress that covered up her skin, and commanded his servants to make her presentable for their engagement dinner.
Aeryel couldn’t have been happier. This was her dream come true!
She walked into the dining hall dressed in a beautiful gown, disguising her gross green hue and took a seat at the expansive dining table. She was served course after course of food she couldn’t bring herself to eat. It all smelled foul and unappetizing to her. The prince, however, was beginning to look quite tasty...literally.
After the meal, the prince took her to a beautiful room and told her that he would see her in the morning, at which time she would marry him. Aeryel was so happy; she climbed into bed and fell fast asleep.
When she woke up, it was very clear that something was wrong. She was covered entirely in blood from head to foot. Innards were strewn around the room in grotesque heaps. And next to her, on the pillow, lay the prince's bloody head.
Aeryel screamed a deafening scream and ran from the room for help. But every room looked exactly the same. Servant's bodies were piled in bloody piles in the dining room. The royal family's limbs were decorating the staircase. And absolutely no one was to be found in the entire castle. The Prince's village looked much the same. Not a single soul remained. So why did she? It occurred to the princess that maybe she had done this. Because as panicked as she was, she couldn’t help but admit that all the blood and bodies looked oh so appetizing.
Aeryel ran to the beach and screamed for her father. King Poseidon rose to the surface and studied his green, bloody daughter with interest.
"Father please turn me back to normal! I am a monster!" Aeryel pleaded.
"You were a monster before, child. The kingdom is thriving without you! What happened here was a tragedy. But I wouldn’t reverse it for all the clams in the sea!" And with that, her father retreated back into the calm blue sea.
Aeryel next screamed for Aradia. The sea witch came quickly and upon seeing Aeryel, she gasped.
"Aradia please make me a mermaid again! My father hates me!" Aeryel begged.
Aradia sighed.
"I suppose I could try...." And with that, Aradia mumbled a spell and once more pointed her staff at the princess.
Aeryel closed her eyes, and never opened them again. For she had no eyes. The witch accidentally transformed her into a pebble. Which was very likely to happen, because as very few people knew, Aradia wasn’t very good at magic.