Belle walked down the path from Adam's castle (now officially hers as well) to the grotto at the edge of the estate. The grotto, which had been carved into the rocky shore for her according to Adam's precise specifications, opened to the mouth of a river cut-off from the rest of the landmass. She enjoyed walking down there to read in private. She sat on a smoothed (by natural erosion) piece of coral which had stopped growing, a copy of "Romeo and Juliet" in her hand.

She opened it to her last stop, marked with what was left of Adam's rose from his "Beast" days, and began to read "ROMEO - - He jests at scars that never felt a wound."

Suddenly, water splashed from the river just below, soaking a corner of the page. Belle leapt from her seat, and to her surprise saw a young girl, with red hair and wearing only a lady's undergarments, made from clamshells, propped up on the edge of the cave by her own two arms, crossed at her collarbone.

"My name's Ariel. What's yours?" the girl asked.

"Belle."

"What are you doing?" Ariel asked.

"Reading", Belle replied.

"What's that?"

"You don't know?" Belle said, shocked at the notion that someone could possibly not know what reading was.

"Nope!" she replied, in blissful glee.

"Well, why don't you come ashore and I'll teach you?"

"Oh! That might be a bit of a problem…"

"How so?"

"See for yourself", Ariel answered, throwing her—tail!?—up into the air behind her in one fluid motion.

"You're – a"?

"Mermaid. Mm-hm! Could you please help me up?" she reached out her arms.

Belle walked across the stone floor. She reached her arms out to the girl's and pulled her ashore. The girl crawled across the rest of the way, dragging her tail with her arms. She got to the stone seat and pulled herself up next to Belle's book, which Belle picked up and rested on her skirt-laden legs. The mermaid inched over.

Belle leaned the book so that the girl could read from it as well. "What light through yonder breaks - - she is the east, and Juliet is the son", she read from the page, slowly and pointing to each letter as she read. She turned back a page, resting the paper on her palm.

"Read the first line on the page" she said to the girl.

"ROMEO - - Can I go forward when my heart is here? Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out." Ariel read.

"Very good!"

Ariel clapped, then brushed her hair back. The two went on like that for several hours, Belle reading from her book and teaching Ariel the sounds of the letters, the meaning of syllables, and the pronunciation of the words.

"Oh, no!" she screamed, putting her hands on her cheeks, "I must return to my father's kingdom!"

"Come back again one day, and I'll teach you more!" Belle shouted as Ariel crawled along the floor. As she bound into the water, she yelled back

"I will!"

Ariel clamped the book shut around the rose, took it under her shoulder, and walked back to the castle.

After several months, late winter came to the French countryside. Bundled in her warmest clothes, Belle walked to her grotto, Adam with her. They got to the grotto, sat upon the stone seat, and bundled together, wrapped in Adam's heavy wool blanket. For the first time in nearly six months, Belle heard a distinctive splash from the water.

She looked up and saw Ariel, covered in a dried whale's skin. Adam rose from the seat and helped her out of the water. He, like Belle, was initially shocked at the sight of her fish-tail, but the girls quickly explained.

"Ariel, I'm sorry. I don't have a book with me. And what are you doing in such cold weather?!" Belle said after further draping the blubber around her.

"I'm not here to learn today. I met a man!"

"Wonderful! What's his name?"

"Oh, I do not know. But he is the kindest, nicest man. He lied on the shore of the sea, sleeping, and I sang to him" she said with childish happiness.

"You should talk to him" Adam interjected.

"Oh, but my father will never let me. He does not approve of my interacting with humans. He doesn't even know about these meetings."

Belle replied, "Ariel, if you truly love this man, then speak to him. Let him know how you feel."

Ariel, in happy ignorance, replied "There is a witch who lives in a cavern in the sea. It is said that she grants wishes. I will speak to her, and make a bargain so that he will accept me like one of his own!"

"Wait, no! That's not what I meant!" Belle shouted, reaching out her hand to stop the poor girl.

It was too late. Ariel leapt into the water and swam away.

Four days later, Belle walked through the garden alone, smelling the beautiful flowers tended by the gardener, LeFleur, still worried about Ariel.

A girl who—just for a moment—looked like Ariel, approached the garden, the only difference being a pair of legs hidden by a beautiful white gown.

"Hello, Belle" the girl said as she approached.

"Who are you?"

"It's me! Ariel!"

Still surprised, Belle ran to her and hugged her, asking "What happened?"

"I made a deal with the sea-witch, that I would give her my voice for three days as a human to make the prince fall in love with me. The turned against me, using my voice in an attempt to seduce him, turning me into one of her "poor unfortunate souls", making me voiceless and without my love.

"But, her dark plan did not work. In one weeks' time, her magic failed, my voice was returned to me, and she faced my father, the two of them fighting while my love nearly died. My father, the king of the seas, won, and let me be with my love on land. We are to be married!"

"How wonderful! I am so happy for you!"

The two parted ways, the last time for years to come, as Ariel left to marry her love. Belle returned to her husband, Adam, and her father, Maurice.