Aphmau (Mermaid Tales)

Template:Header Template:CharacterBox Aphmau is a young mermaid princess, and the protagonist of "Mermaid Tales"

Biography

Before the series, Aphmau grew up alongside Katelyn and Teony. When she was just a child her biological parents died, and she was comforted by her best friends. She was eventually adopted into the royal family by King Eric, making her a princess of the kingdom. She tried at least once to pass the barrier, getting a star-shaped scar on her arm as consequence.

She first appears in "The Heart of The Sea", wherein she is again trying to pass the barrier. Though Teony at first wants her to stop, she starts encouraging her and rooting for her. Using a sea crystal that Princess Katelyn 'dropped', Aphmau tries to pass the barrier.. and is blasted back by its spell. Luckily Katelyn shows up and allows her through, but only to where she can see- no wandering. Once she passed the barrier however, she was attacked by Titanus and forced to swim away and hide in a cave far from the kingdom.

When she left thinking the coast was clear, she's attacked again. She tries to lose Titanus in the current (to no avail) instead asking Garroth's ship,- who she mistakes for a whale,- to help her. Her swimming about causes the shark to ram the ship until the diamond onboard is dropped into the water. When Aaron and Garroth both end up in the water to retrieve it, Aphmau sees Aaron. He dives back under to get her, but she swims away and grabs the diamond, using it to stab Titanus and save him. With no other options, she follows 'Mr. Whale', still asking for 'his' help.

She asks the 'whale' many questions, and begins making a huge flower crown for it. However, seeing that Mr. Whale keeps his head in the sky all the time, she becomes curious and sticks a hand up above the surface of the water. When she pulls it back in, bright purple scales have spread on her skin and she begins to panic, trying to scratch them off.

She's scared away by Garroth's crew dropping the anchor, and she swims away until she finds a family of sea buns caught in a net. Aphmau saves them, but gets herself stuck in the net and is pulled above the surface. Scales cover her skin, but she's dropped back into the water before the fishermen (or Aaron) see her. She cries at her new appearance, but the sea buns offer to take her to someone who can help.

The sea buns lead her to their king, who suddenly orders his sea bun subjects to eat her. ..However, them 'eating' her is simply them licking her and tickling her, so she laughs at the attempt until she's rescued by a merman named Tavari. She's shocked to see a merman living outside the barrier, and she follows him to his grotto after the Sea Bun King falls asleep.

Tavari offers to help her get rid of the scales, telling her if she goes back to Mariana looking like that, she'll be outcast. He asks her to hunt a human and she laughs at him, thinking they don't exist. As soon as he mentions they have two tails, she remembers Aaron and realizes he was a human. She accepts her task of cutting human hair, even if she's a bit apprehensive. She starts to become excited when she realizes she has to meet a human, and that this is the adventure she left the barrier for in the first place.

Aphmau spots a woman on the dock and pulls her underwater to get her hair, but she's rescued by Aaron. So instead, she pulls him underwater and cuts a chunk of his hair off, leaving a flower crown on his arm. She brings the hair to Tavari, however it isn't enough to heal her so Tavari introduces her to his crab Zane, who can help her in completing the task. All of a sudden, Tavari reveals he plans on using the hair to turn her human so she can get more, and that's why she'll need Zane's help.

She agrees, and not knowing humans can't breathe underwater she drinks the potion immediately and begins to drown. She washes up on the shore, Zane having followed her, and begins the transformation. Aphmau gasps for air and cries until it completes, the fact that it worked shocking Zane- that is, until he's kicked into the ocean by Aaron, who's just found her on the beach. He covers an unconscious Aphmau with his coat and picks her up to carry her to a cave for shelter from the rain.

When she wakes, she's immediately mesmerized by the fire Aaron set up inside. She touches it and hurts herself, finally noticing Aaron when he takes her arm to check for burns. She starts to shout at him in merspeak when he pulls on a scale and hurts her, though he doesn't understand. When he pulls out his knife to cut the 'blister' she thinks she's in danger and tackles him to the ground, putting her whole body weight on him. She notices him still wearing the flower crown on his arm and thinks he wants to be friends, not understanding a word he says to her. She even tries to apologize, but he only hears it as gibberish. Aaron suddenly leaves her there, since she doesn't know he left to get firewood, and Zane scuttles into the cave.

Zane mocks her, but gives her a potion to allow her to speak to humans. He hides in her hair when Aaron returns. They begin to talk to each other, Aphmau flustering Aaron with her little knowledge of humans and their social norms. She almost tells him she's a mermaid until Zane tells her he'll gut her like all the other fish he probably eats. He forces her to lie down and rest, since he's had enough for one day- and he goes to sleep as well, even though they both have plenty of questions. Some time while they're asleep, Aphmau cuddles up to Aaron and hugs his arm.

She wakes up when Zane pinches the back of her neck, but she thinks Aaron did it. He demands she introduce herself, which she does- but she almost tells him she's a mermaid, until Zane stops her. Aphmau instead begins to repeat what Zane whispers, which only makes her sound even more crazy. After checking her for injuries, Aaron starts to leave.. but when she goes to follow.. she can't. She tries to stand but falls each time, until he realizes she can't walk and proposes a game: he'll wear her flower crown if she can stand and put it on his head.

After many attempts she manages to stand, but can't walk very far. Aaron gives in and agrees to help her the rest of the way to Garroth's ship. She puts the flower crown on his head, when suddenly two members of Garroth's crew shout into the cave looking for him. They get the wrong idea after seeing her in only his coat, but wait outside for the pair. Aaron warns her to keep quiet about her memory loss and about herself in general to keep her safe, and they set off for the ship.

On the ship, Aphmau continues to embarrass Aaron when Garroth asks about her. She argues with him for a bit before he leads her and Aaron under the deck to get her changed into some proper clothes. Through the door, she tells Aaron that she doesn't know how to wear the clothes he gave her. She puts them on completely wrong, and he guides her through it correctly by teaching her each time she comes out with the clothes on incorrectly. By the time she gets it right, Garroth comes back to ask her to go on the date with Travis.

She hesitates briefly before agreeing- in exchange for some of Garroth's hair. He finds her crazy for it but begrudgingly agrees, cutting off a lock to prove he's genuine. He gives her a dress to change into and leaves, after which she admits she had no idea what he was talking about and that she just wanted to help. Aaron starts to guide her through putting on the dress, promising to keep her safe. Once she's finished he puts her hair up, and Garroth comes to whisk her away to the date. Aaron helps her walk back up onto the deck.

During the date she's flustered, narrowly avoiding telling Travis that she's a mermaid. The prince tries to take her out on the town but it's suddenly decided that the date will be on the ship, so Travis decides to get to know her while Alfredo prepares their food instead. Without Aaron to assist her with walking she crawls across the deck to a confused Travis, who helps her up.

While talking about the sea, she suddenly has many flashbacks to her life in Mariana: her playing with Katelyn and Teony as a kid, her with her parents, her being comforted after losing them, and her being adopted into the royal family. She begins to cry and runs off.

Below deck she hugs one of Garroth's crew members.. who immediately tries to take advantage of her. Aaron forces him out of the room, going off on her for listening to Garroth at all. He gives in and comforts her, and she admits she feels that everything she's done until now is meaningless. She asks him to sing to her, but he refuses even when Garroth peeks in and demands it of him. Having been told to snap her out of it, Aaron splashes her with water after the captain leaves.. and Aphmau transforms back into a mermaid.

He chugs ale to see if she's still there, which she urges him to stop so she can explain. She instinctively slaps him with her tail when he tries to get a closer look, apologizing- but he's been so adamant about not being touched. She begins to tease him, which he does back, until they're relentlessly making fun of each other... until Aaron realizes again that she's a mermaid, and that they met in the water before.

When she becomes frightened he's going to eat her, he instead decides he's going to sell her, and make more money than Garroth could ever give him. Scared, she breaks down crying which tugs at his heartstrings enough to make him give her a chance: one reason why he shouldn't. Aphmau rambles and generally spouts nonsense, but does make a good point: if any other humans see her, they'll try to steal or kill her.

Garroth gets impatient and pounds on the door, making the two scramble to try and get her to transform back into a human. After at least 20 minutes of trial and error, the scales start to disappear and she decides it must be because the water's disappearing too. Aaron gives her a towel and once she's dry she transforms again, though her dress is torn from her tail. Garroth gets the wrong idea about them, but whisks her away back to the date without any other suspicions.

Aphmau returns to see Alfredo preparing to cook Zane. She improvises and shouts that she can't stand to see any creature of the sea harmed. Travis tries to drop him back into the ocean when he's pulled into the water by Teony. Aaron immediately becomes suspicious of Aphmau and pulls her aside, threatening her with his sword and accusing her of organizing the whole thing. She insists she didn't know they were there, and Aaron starts to soften a bit.. when suddenly he's tackled in a hug by Michi.

Amber arrives just in time to mistake Aaron for having kidnapped the two girls, so Aphmau and Michi watch them fight. Aphmau tries to befriend Michi, happily telling her that Aaron is only her good friend, and that he 'promised not to sell her'. She crawls off to make Michi a flower crown.

All by herself in the port, Aphmau finds a flower stand. Not understanding the concept of buying things, she steals a bunch of flowers and runs in fear when she's yelled at. Hiding from the saleswoman, she reflects on her journey thus far. Just when she organizes her thoughts a pirate grabs her from behind and holds her arms back, him and his friend planning to make her their wife.

Aaron appears and tries to fight them off, but he's overwhelmed and knocked down with his weapon feet away. Just when he's about to be killed, Aphmau takes up his blade and defends him, even admitting she doesn't know how to use the weapon. She gives the two pirates flower crowns, immediately placating them and making them agree not to hurt Aaron if she teaches them how to make them. When Amber comes to arrest them, Aaron takes Aph's hand and flees the scene. Once they're alone she thanks him, only to pass out from exhaustion.

She wakes up back in the same cave as before, only able to speak merspeak. However, she can still fully understand Aaron as he makes fun of her. Aphmau dives at him, but he moves out of the way just in time. This goes on for a while, until Zane finds them in the cave and approaches her to give her a potion to allow her to speak human again. She immediately slaps Aaron with her tail for teasing her.

Then, she tells him about Zane and Tavari, and how she needs the hair to get rid of the scales on her arms. Aaron becomes confused, having thought mermaids just looked like that.. and he tells her that he thinks she and the scales are beautiful. He snips off some of his hair to give to her, and suggests they go back to the ship when she tells him she needs more. She drinks another potion to become human again, and they set off for the ship.

During the walk Aaron is kinder to her. They ask each other plenty of questions, and Aaron opens up about his past to her. Though she doesn't understand what the things he says mean, she apologizes for making assumptions about him and compliments him. Back on the ship, Amber tells everyone that Aaron planned to sell Aphmau, though it isn't true- and Aphmau defends him and Garroth, but it isn't enough. The prince demands the date continue regardless, so she sits at the table with him.

She tells Travis about how she's already a princess, and their food comes. Her first bite is so amazing that she starts shoveling it into her mouth.. and Travis imitates her. All of a sudden, Travis tries to make a move by asking her what she wants. But she misunderstands and says she wants seconds of their food. While eating, Travis remarks that she must love seafood, prompting her to ask what it is. He explains that it's anything from the sea- and Alfredo goes into detail about him scaling and gutting the fish, causing her to vomit off the side of the ship.

Eventually she's left alone with Aaron, and he tries to encourage her to keep going to get the hair. He gives in and comforts her over her homesickness, sitting beside her and humming a song to her. She falls asleep on his shoulder until he pushes her off and forces her to stay awake. All of a sudden she spots Ivan with Katelyn and Teony on the beach, and rushes off to see her friends, even though Aaron misunderstands before he follows.

On the beach she confronts Ivan, trying to tell him those are her friends- until Aaron covers her mouth and lies to him instead. Once Ivan's arrested, she rushes to Katelyn and Teony's aid. She frets over them while they're resting on the ship, afraid they could be dead. She encourages Travis to kiss Katelyn to wake her- just like in 'The Clam Prince' (which Amber corrects to 'The Frog Prince',).

The two mermaids wake up and the trio have a small reunion. They all speak in merspeak though, so no one else understands. When Redbeard boards the ship Aphmau tries to explain humans to them, but her and Katelyn are seized by a pair of pirates. Teony slaps them with her tail, accidentally revealing to everyone that they're mermaids.. and it fills Aphmau with dread.

Aphmau is captured along with the other two mermaids, but she's released after making one of the pirates a flower crown. She comes back to the (now burning) ship to save her friends, trying to make a flower crown for the fire. Luckily she unties the others in time, and they gather on the beach. She immediately jumps to wanting to save her friends, which almost everyone else seems to agree with.

While Aaron is making plans for the rescue, he tells Aphmau to stay put on the dock. She doesn't listen, running right up to two pirate guards and holding out flower crowns for them to inspect. When they do, she knocks them out in one fell swoop. They run up to Katelyn's cage, and Aph begins to unlock it when she's hit on the side of the head by Redbeard. She's in awe once he's defeated by the two pirates she gave flower crowns in "Get Away From Her!", and cries after they're killed.

Aphmau dives into the water after Aaron when he's pulled underwater by Tavari, fighting the merman to save him. She tackles him and steals his dagger, swimming away. He catches up and snatches it back, swinging wildly at her until she manages to hide in the very same cave she hid in from Titanus. She's terrified when he threatens her, but as soon as Titanus eats him she swims out and brings Aaron to the surface.

She pleads with Aaron to wake up, trying to punch him awake- and she somehow manages to accidentally perform CPR. She admits she cares for him when he asks, but the others catch up with them before either say anything else. They all gather on the beach to give a final goodbye to the mermaids, now including a transformed Aphmau. She stops for a moment to wave goodbye to Aaron specifically, then swims away with her friends.

Three months later, she appears to see Aaron again. She's a bit flustered after he hugs her, but she listens to his plans about sailing the sea and finding treasure. Once he's done she asks to go along, excited when he agrees. Though he says no flower crowns she reveals that she actually already lined the bottom of his ship with them, and suggests using Mr. Fire to clean them off.

Appearance

Aphmau wears a vibrant purple shell bra, matching her tail. Her fins are a light green, though they have orange highlights. She has a small, star-shaped scar on her right shoulder from being zapped by Mariana's barrier spell. Her hair is raven black, and she has caramel colored eyes.

In "Curse of Mermaids", when she's lifted above the water by a fishing net, she gains bright purple scales all over her arms and torso. She gains purple fins on the side of her head, too.

When Aaron gives her clothes to change into in "Love At First Sight", she struggles with them several times before coming out in a black coat with gold accents. Underneath is a red undershirt and pants, with boots.

Soon after, Garroth gives her a dress for Travis' date- a white and pink sleeveless dress that falls almost to the ground. The skirt is separated from the rest by a gray strip. She later tears the bottom of the dress when becoming a mermaid.

Personality

Aphmau is an extremely curious and adventurous mermaid. However she can be dense and very naive, knowing little about the outside world to the point she believed Garroth's ship was a whale for a long time. She has an incessant need to make friends with everyone and everything she meets, which she does by carefully making flower crowns for them- including the boat, Aaron, and even Michi who showed clear dislike for her and insulted her. She takes insults with grace, trying to be kind to Garroth even when he is not kind to her.

Trivia

• Aphmau may be inspired by Ariel, from The Little Mermaid.