A/N Warning: This story has darker tone, and is more mature in content than Frozen, and especially TLM, but still PG- no sex and not much violence. I put it in the Frozen section as it is mostly from Hans's perspective and Frozen handles some harder issues, while TLM is a lighter movie. Also OOC Eric? Eric is kind of a jerk in this, not evil, but selfish (shellfish). He wasn't fully fleshed out in the movie, so perhaps this characterization is something of a darker interpretation of his character and internal thoughts. He is closer to the prince in the original Hans Christian Anderson. So don't read if this upsets you.
The story begins after Triton turned Ariel human and she has been at court several weeks. They are not yet married. While not the case in the movie, Ariel has slight physical differences that can be seen, but one if looks very closely. The sequel and prequel do not exist here. In my mind Eric's principality is a mix between Denmark and the Caribbean (with the colorful fish and coral, but European castle and white people), but I am keeping it firmly rooted in the North Sea region (near Denmark and Germany) for its connection with Corona and Arendelle and am naming it Marowind. Marowind is an independent principality, meaning that Eric is, and will remain a prince. And, as a Marowind is a coastal principality, and fish eat fish, catching and eating fish is not quite such a crime as was presented in the movie!
A change was slowly drifting through the lands around the Northern Waters, and whether it was a curse or blessing could not yet be divined.
First Corona had found its princess, locked in a tower for eighteen years, and the golden haired baby had returned with shorn locks and a thief at her side. Some said the hair had contained a magical healing power- the Queen after all, had been saved by drinking a tea made from a legendary flower. As for the thief, rumors abounded. There were whispers that he had shorn the golden hair, and finding it worthless when cut, had satisfied himself with the princess herself. Others said he held the locks in his possession, and through them was able to influence the princess and her family.
Next was Arendelle, a kingdom of the far north, whose Queen, who had always been something of a mystery, cast her kingdom in eternal winter on her own coronation day, only to gain control over her magic and thaw the land. The other countries were quiet and overawed, frightened by the martial possibilities of her incredible power.
And now it had come their land. Their prince, Eric, the prince of Marowind, was marrying a woman-if she truly could be termed that- from the sea. A mermaid transformed. The melusine the French cook called her, and he, who for all his life had delighted in slicing fish, avoided her. She had gone shyly to the servants, saying her name. Ariel. She forgot all sense of regality and even shook their hands with an excessive vigor as though delighting in the custom. Her way was much less formal, childlike even, and many warmed to her against their superstitions. It could not be so bad to have a change, a sense of something kinder and a hint of magic.
But still there was whispering at court: he could have married better, it was bad luck to bring an unfamiliar creature into their midst, and what enchantments might she know? It was hard to look at her and believe her anything but innocent, but with her pure blue eyes and the unusual brilliance of her red hair, she was not quite of their world.
Eric's council had their words against the marriage. What of her familiars, her father who seemed to wield the power of a god? King Triton had for so long a spine-shivering myth, and his reality unsettled the populace. What enemies might they make in the depths- krakens and other monsters who would view them through this alliance as a natural enemy. All was well now, and they were promised fair passage, so important to a seafaring land. But were anything to go wrong, the wrath of the sea might destroy them. And even if they could find calm among themselves, so many of their men found their livelihood in fishing, and sailors and fisherman were notoriously superstitious.
But Eric was used to his own way. Perhaps he was given too much power at too young an age. Recently, he had spent much of his time roaming the seas, earning him the epitaph 'The Sailor Prince.' Before that were feats on horseback, and an intense study of astronomy. The only interest that held any permanent power over him was music. In his courtier's eyes, he spent far too much time indulging in concerts and playing on his flute. But he knew he was the Prince, and had been so since early youth.
It was no easy task to be a boy and supposed well-wishers who wished to steal his crown had flocked around him. But he was fortunate in Grimsby, his father's bumbling but clever retainer, who guided him through the shoals of leadership. Eric was well liked for his friendly, open demeanor, though some of his councilmen wished he would spend more time tending to government. He took for granted his servants' deference, his palace, his title, and he believed that the heavy responsibility of his position allowed him a little fun.
His retainers reminded him again and again of the importance of a strategic marriage for the security of the principality. What of Vidensia? They asked. The princess Rowena was second in line to the throne, the implied undertone being that if anything were to happen to her older brother, Eric would gain control over both Marowind and Vidensia. But Eric, enraptured by music, would marry for love.
And Ariel was beautiful, with an angelic voice. His mother, who also had red hair, though auburn, had sung to him until the day she died, and his flute was all he had left of her. He bitterly regretted throwing it in the ocean, but it had washed up on the shore the day Ariel came back to him, almost as an omen. The sound, if anything, was purer and bright as the rays of sun cast over the waves. As for an alliance, what better alliance could he ask for than with the man- merman, god, being, he couldn't say- the man who held power over the sea, the main source of his kingdom's livelihood? Triton loved his daughter with a power that he almost envied, barely having known his own father. No enemy ships would fire their cannons while she remained at his side.
The sea is changeable and deep. Do not trust the sea, they told him, but Ariel, the personification of the sea, was a girl of perfect innocence. What chance was there that she would save him? What man in millennia had won the love of the daughter of a sea king? There must be more at play than chance. And he grew angry with them, giving them an angry dressing down in council, not so much in defense of his fiancée, but for the fact they had pestered him for long to settle down, and had the gall to cast judgment on his choice.
He did most of the talking in their time with Ariel, though he could tell she was bursting with questions she was still too shy to ask. She did seem nervous during their time together, even after all these weeks, though when he showed her affection, her response was joyous. He knew now of the pact she had made with that demon of the sea, putting her body and soul and even her kingdom at risk just for a chance to win his heart.
I mean everything to her. It was a pleasing thought, but at the same time the responsibility was unsettling. It was almost too much. Perhaps self-sacrifice was a feature of her species- no, he frowned at that word, species, as though their union was an abomination - a feature of her kind. Perhaps saving his life had bound her to him in a way beyond his comprehension. But he knew of no human who would do what she had done, and no, though he had courage, and had slain the sea witch, he would not have done it either.
Ariel hung on his every word, and seemed especially excited by those that were foreign to her, and repeated them again and again until her pronunciation was perfect. If he turned away for too long, studying a passing ship, she would grasp arm, as though begging him to return to her. She made him laugh, and it was sweeter to lean in and kiss her, and sweeter still to let her sing for him.