Author's note: A short vignette written between revision sessions, enjoy!
As much as Ariel loved exploring the world around her, it was times like this that made her realise why she'd chosen to become human. The security and sense of belonging she felt with Eric's arms around her was exactly what the former mermaid needed right now.
Ariel awoke just as the first rays of sun found their way through the draperies of her and Eric's bedchamber, painting the opposite wall with strips of golden light, and dancing off the glass teardrops that hung from the chandelier. For a moment, the sixteen year old Princess just laid there, the warmth of the blankets around her making it near impossible to even consider getting up. The world seemed completely silent, with Eric's steady breathing being the only audible noise; not even the crash of the waves upon the shoreline could be heard. With a content sigh, the Princess repositioned herself so that she was now facing her husband. Husband; the word still sounded strange even in her head. She wasn't sure either of them had expected to be married so young, just six months after their ordeal with Ursula.
Ariel shuddered at the memory, before switching her focus to Eric's sleeping form. He was laid on his back, his head tilted slightly towards Ariel, ruffled black hair hanging in front of his closed eyes. Ariel smiled and gently brushed his hair back, causing him to stir slightly but not wake. He always looked so peaceful when he slept, as if the night acted as a shield, hiding him from the stress and pressure that came with ruling a Kingdom, protecting him from his own insecurities, of which Ariel now knew much more about. She wondered what her husband dreamt about, and made a mental note to ask him one day.
After a few minutes just watching Eric sleep, Ariel edged closer to him and rested her upper body on his muscular chest before planting a chaste kiss on his slightly parted lips. Eric groaned softly, only now waking up to the familiar taste of his wife's lips upon his own. With a tired smile he pulled her closer so that she was now lying on top of him, and buried his face in her thick red hair.
"Good morning sleepy-head" said Ariel, smirking slightly as she worked her slender fingers through the knots of Eric's dishevelled hair.
"Morning beautiful" mumbled Eric in reply, his arms holding Ariel in a loving and protective embrace as he fought against the heavy weight of sleep that had only moments ago held him captive. Every day he would wake as Ariel moved herself closer to him, but he didn't mind because the sooner he woke up, the more time he got to spend with his little mermaid.
The young couple stayed silent for a long while, just enjoying the company of each other and the stillness of the cool January morning. Eventually, it was Eric who broke the silence.
"What do you want to do today?"
Ariel lifted her head from Eric's chest and thought for a moment, wanting nothing more than to spend a quiet day with Eric, but, being an adventurer at heart, also wanting to explore this still new and exciting world.
"We could go for a walk" she suggested, hoping that Eric would take her somewhere new as he quite often did. Opening his eyes for the first time this morning, Eric stared up at Ariel, their faces so close that he could feel that warmth of her breath on his cheek. Taking full advantage of this, the Prince leaned closer, capturing Ariel's lips with his own and closing his eyes again in rapture.
"I love you" he muttered, breaking their kiss only for a second. Ariel smiled, and replied, her melodic voice laced with love and affection.
"I love you too."
Those ten or so minutes seemed such a long time ago now, for so much had changed that morning. In a matter of minutes Ariel's entire world had come crashing down around her, leaving behind a broken shell of the bright a bubbly girl she had once been. The only familiarity was the loving embrace of her husband; though even his charming and playful nature had been thwarted by the recent news.
The waves rolled gently onto the sand, hardly making a sound as they raced up the beach, before retreating back into the enormous body of water which Ariel had once called her home. The surface mirrored the dull sky above, catching a slight glimpse of the sun every so often before it once again disappeared behind the blanket of grey cloud that covered the sky. The quiet chatter of the village could be heard for a short while as the young couple walked hand in hand across the sand; neither saying a word.
A crisp wind blew around them, whipping their hair in front of their eyes and slapping gently against their rosy cheeks. Being less used this than the man beside her Ariel stepped closer, pressing her body against his in order to keep warm. Eric smiled and gladly complied with her request, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pressing his lips softly against her temple, causing warmth to spread through her body almost immediately.
But the peace wasn't to last for long.
"Ariel."
Both Prince and Princess turned towards the sound of the woman's voice to find Attina staring intently at them, her head and shoulders being the only visible part of her as the rest remained submerged in the still ocean. With a small breathless squeal Ariel left her husband's side and hurried to the water's edge to meet her eldest sister, excited to see her after such a long time. Eric smiled and followed his wife, though at a much slower pace.
Ignoring the frigid water, Ariel waded out to greet her sister. But the further she went, the more clearly she was able to see that her happiness was not reciprocated by the mermaid Princess. In fact, her sister looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
"Attina what's wrong?" asked Ariel, stopping in her tracks, the icy water half way up her thighs by now. Attina opened her mouth, and seemed to try and speak, but failed to make any noise at all. This worried Ariel; Attina was usually so confident.
"What is it?" she exclaimed, her voice filled with frantic worry now! Attina lowered her head, and spoke in a barely audible voice, yet her words pounded through Ariel's senses at an alarmingly loud volume.
"Father's died."
The world seemed to stop for several painfully long seconds as Ariel tried to ingest her sister's words. Her entire body grew numb and, in a single moment, every ounce of her strength abandoned her. The former mermaid collapsed into the freezing water and, although shallow, it was enough to submerge her completely. Alone and disorientated, Ariel screamed, sending air bubbles rushing to the surface. Almost immediately a slender pair of arms pulled her above the waves again.
"Ariel, stop it! Listen to me!" screamed Attina, tears running down her face as her youngest sister let out yet another cry of anguish. But Ariel was deaf to her words, and completely oblivious to the world around her. She didn't even notice as Attina's arms gave way for those of her husband.
Eric had watched the scene in front of him from the beach with a growing lump in his throat, but wasted no time in entering the water once Ariel disappeared. Only once he had Ariel in his arms did he relax a little, trying to ignore that pain that her wild kicking and thrashing was causing him. It broke the Prince's heart to see his little mermaid so upset, and he pledged at that moment that he would always be there for her, whenever she needed comforting.
Attina looking desperately up at her sister, before turning her gaze to her brother-in-law.
"Look after her" she said, her voice thick with emotion. Eric nodded, and watched silently as Attina dove beneath the ocean's eerily calm surface, unable to bear the sight of her sister in such distress any longer.
With a quiet sob and a shudder at the memory, Ariel buried her face against Eric's chest who, in response, hugged her a little bit tighter, guilt swelling up within him as he tried desperately yet unsuccessfully to console his heartbroken wife.
Ariel was still sobbing when she felt the water on the ocean beneath her feet give way to the damp sand of the beach. Taking in her surroundings quickly, she noted that Eric's arms were still wrapped around her, preventing her from moving more than a few inches in any direction.
"Let go of me!" she screamed, elbowing Eric hard in the ribs. With a pained gasp of surprise Eric involuntarily released his wife. By the time he looked up she was already sprinting down the beach, red hair flowing behind her as she ran.
"Ariel wait!" called Eric, starting after her. But she didn't… she wouldn't. Her father was dead; the man who had been there for her for so many years was gone. She would never be able to say 'I love you' or tell him how sorry she was for causing him so much trouble for sixteen years. They'd been through so much together, and she'd given it up, given up what would have been her last six months with him. She remembered the hurt in his eyes the day she'd married Eric, the pain that he'd had to endure at seeing his youngest daughter willingly leave all he'd given her.
Unsure as to how long she'd been running, Ariel slowed her pace, her laboured breathing acting an indication that she'd been running much faster than she would normally be able to. As a result, Eric had struggled to keep up with her, but still managed to remain only a dozen or so yards behind.
The former mermaid turned quickly to face her husband, and was suddenly overcome with a wave of irrational anger.
"It's your fault!" she screamed. "You're the one who… who t-took me away from him!" Stunned, Eric could do nothing but stare. He couldn't remember ever having seen Ariel loose her temper, and the fact that she had, only proved just how upset she was; not that he had expected any different.
Unsure of what to say, the Prince took a cautious step closer to his wife and held out his hand.
"Ariel darling please, come back to the Palace, you must be freezing" he said softly, noting with concern the way she shook against the cold. Her clothes were soaked in sea water, and the bitter air meant that frost was beginning to cover the hem of her dress and cuffs of her sleeves.
"No!" shouted Ariel, slapping him away. "Just go, leave me alone, I don't want to see you!" Despite the current situation, Ariel held Eric's gaze, staring at him with a hatred that she didn't until now know she was capable of. But the hurt and confusion in Eric's eyes was her undoing, the way his head dropped at her words pulled her from her trance. Broken sobs racked her chest as she fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands.
Eric couldn't remember a time he'd hated himself more. He'd done this; he'd made his wife feel like this. As he listened to her cries, he could practically feel his heart shattering, tears coming to his own eyes. He remembered acting in a similar way when he'd lost his own father so many years ago, and wondered if Ariel, like he, wanted nothing more than to be left alone. But then he remembered how alone his deliberate isolation had made him feel, and decided that, no matter what, that he would try to help Ariel through this.
Silently and slowly, he made his way over to his wife, and knelt down beside her. He then carefully removed her soaking wet cloak, and replaced it with his own dry coat, pulling it around her shaking shoulders and leaving him in nothing more than a thin white shirt and damp pants. But he didn't mind, and least Ariel was warmer.
The Princess looked up as Eric draped his coat around her trembling body, and saw for the first time the tears that clouded her husband's blue eyes and, in that moment, felt as though she were no longer the one in need of comforting. She held out her arms, and moved closer to Eric as he took her hands in his own and pulled her gently on his lap, cradling her against his chest and he rubbed soothing circles on her back.
As Ariel recalled the steadiness of Eric's movements then, she realised that he'd been afraid; afraid of making a wrong move, of hurting her further. Giving more thought to the matter, she realised that it had been entirely her fault. She'd hurt him with words that she'd spoken without any thought, words that she would never have even dreamt of speaking had she been thinking rationally. Fresh tears clouded her vision, but for an entirely different reason now.
"Eric I'm sorry," she said tearfully, "I didn't mean what I said." Only after a moment of hesitation did Eric reply.
"It doesn't matter; I'm the one who should be apologising, not you." A heavy sigh escaped his lips and his shoulders slumped, before he continued. "And I… I'd understand if you want to go back, if you'd rather be with your family now."
Without stopping to think for even a moment Ariel began shaking her head.
"I won't leave you" she said quietly.
A comfortable silence shrouded the young couple, a light snowfall swirling about the beach around them. It was only then that Ariel felt the shivers running through Eric's body, and suddenly felt bad for taking his coat, but knowing that no matter how much she protested, there was no way he'd take it back. Taking a deep and calming breath, she lifted her head and with one hand brushed back her husband's waves of ebony hair.
"Let's go home" she said, her voice coming to nothing more than a whisper.
With a loving smile, Eris rose to his feet, lifting Ariel up after him and interlocking their fingers before leaning forward and capturing her lips in a tender kiss.
How a single kiss was able to chase away every one of her anxieties, if only for a moment, Ariel would never know, but right now she was glad it could. As she and Eric started back towards the Palace, she began to think about the future; what would happen next? Whatever it was, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Eric would be right there alongside her; and that, was why she loved him so.