The Little Mermaid

Princess Lorelei, also known as the Little Mermaid and the Mermaid Princess, is a supporting character in the fantasy book series "Fairest" created by Fabian De Sousa and illustrated by drachenmagier. She first appears in "Fairest II: East of the Sun & West of the Moon".

Lorelei is based on the titular character of the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" recorded by Hans Christian Andersen.

History
Born in the Sea Kingdom, Lorelei is the sixth and youngest daughter of the Sea King. With five older sisters each born a year apart, Lorelei became fascinated with the surface world and humankind when each of her older sisters visited the surface on their fifteenth birthdays and each brought back different stories. When Lorelei's turn came on her fifteenth birthday, she discovered a ship celebrating the birthday of a human prince and fell in love with him from afar. However, a storm wrecks the ship and Lorelei saves the Marine Prince and brings him to the seashore, singing to awaken him. However, humans find them and Lorelei escapes before the Marine Prince can fully awaken and see his rescuer. Learning about humankind from her wise Dowager Grandmother, Lorelei travelled to a forbidden part of the ocean to speak with the Sea Witch, wishing to become human so she could walk on land and meet the Marine Prince. The Sea Witch traded Lorelei's voice for a potion that would change her fishtail to human legs, with the caveat that: If the Marine Prince marries her, Lorelei will become a complete human with an eternal soul, but if the Marine Prince marries another, Lorelei will die of a broken heart by the sunrise after the prince's wedding.

Lorelei swims to the seashore and drinks the potion to become human, and she is found by the Marine Prince who recognizes her but realizes she cannot be the one who rescued him from drowning because his rescuer had a beautiful singing voice. Regardless, the Marine Prince takes her in and the two spend a time together where Lorelei dances for the prince.

Unfortunately, the Marine Prince's father, the Marine King, demands the prince marries a princess from a neighboring kingdom, and Lorelei has no choice but to watch from afar.

Fairest II: East of the Sun & West of the Moon
Rose Red, determined to rescue the Bear Prince that she and Snow White encountered when they were children, learns from the Magic Mirror that the only way to rescue him is with three golden items, and the second item is the Little Mermaid's Golden Comb. In order to rescue Lorelei and acquire the Golden Comb, Red Riding Hood enlists the help of witch-hunters Hansel & Gretel to slay the Sea Witch and return Lorelei her voice before the Marine Prince can marry another woman. Gretel casts a spell to summon Lorelei's five older sisters to lead them to the home of the Sea Witch, and the mermaid princesses offer to distract the Sea Witch by agreeing to sell their hair in exchange for a magic dagger, so Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel can sneak up behind the Sea Witch and slay her. Unfortunately this tactic doesn't work and the Sea Witch transforms into a Kraken-like monster to fight the fairy tale heroes, but is ultimately slain.

With the Little Mermaid's voice entrapped in a seashell, Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel race to the Marine Prince's wedding and return Lorelei her voice in time to stop the wedding. In gratitude, Lorelei gives Red Riding Hood her Golden Comb so Rose Red can continue her quest to save the Bear Prince.

As a Mermaid
Lorelei is described as a beautiful young mermaid with bright blue eyes, golden-blonde hair and a turquoise-coloured fishtail, making her unique compared to her five older sisters who each have their hair and fishtails in matching colours. Lorelei's hair is described as flowing so elegantly that it appears to move as though she is always underwater, even when she is above water.

The illustration by drachenmagier features more details of Lorelei's mermaid appearance, including pointed/webbed ears, webbed underarms, two large extra fins on her hips, and scales beginning at her waist and continuing down to the end of her large fishtail.

As a Human
Lorelei retains her bright blue eyes and flowing golden-blonde hair, but her fishtail is replaced with long elegant human legs. Presumably, she also no longer has pointed/webbed ears, webbed underarms and fins or scales of any kind. During Snow White and Prince Charming's coronation, she wore a gown of blue and turquoise that showed off her legs. The bodice was made to look like it was made of fish scales.

Personality
Little is seen of Lorelei's personality, but based on her past actions, she appears to be a determined and possibly stubborn person, willing to give up her long life as a mermaid for a shortened life as a human with the Marine Prince on the surface world. However, alongside this stubborn streak comes a passion to follow her heart and take a chance, despite the chance of tragedy. She appears to be a very kind person who would not sacrifice another's happiness for her own. If Rose Red hadn't intervened, Lorelei would have faced her fate rather than take her prince's life and happiness.

Powers
As a mermaid, Lorelei is long-lived (an average lifespan of 300 years), can breathe underwater and swim incredibly well and fast. She also has a beautiful and possibly hypnotizing singing voice, and is described as having the most beautiful singing voice in the entire Sea Kingdom.

Trivia

 * Lorelei's name is derived from the German folktale "Lorelei".
 * The original fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen is famous for featuring a tragic ending. When the human prince marries a different woman, the Little Mermaid has no choice but to look forward to the next sunrise when she will die of a broken heart. The Little Mermaid's five older sisters appear to her rescue, revealing they traded their beautiful hair to the Sea Witch in exchange for a magic dagger that the Little Mermaid can use to stab the human prince in the heart and let the fresh blood drip on her legs, transforming them back into a fishtail. The Little Mermaid decides she loves the human prince too much to kill him and instead dives into the ocean at sunrise, dying of a broken heart and transforming into sea foam.
 * In the original fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, the Sea Witch cuts out the Little Mermaid's tongue in exchange for the potion to grant her human legs.
 * Lorelei's golden hair is a reference to the fairy tale "The Golden Mermaid".