Ariel's head burst above the surface of the water. She gasped in air as the current buffeted her about. Her legs felt like dead weight as she started to sink…her legs! She had legs!
Ariel kicked her legs out awkwardly, truly feeling the motion of them for the first time. It felt odd to move through the water with legs instead of a tail. She gasped and flailed for a minute or two, but at last she managed to keep herself afloat. The rough tide of the ocean didn't make things any easier, but floating was enough for now.
The sky was dark, and the moon hung heavy in the sky. The soft light reflected over the water and cast the world into hues of black and white. Ariel's red hair now looked black, and her skin ghostly pale. She shivered as a slight breeze flew over the water. There was nothing but water for miles around and nothing to stave off the wind.
Ariel turned about in the water, trying to see which direction she should swim in to find land. But it was too dark to see far away, and she soon began to despair of finding land until morning, if at all.
Oh, why hadn't she waited until sunrise to make her deal with the sea witch? Why had she been so terribly eager to find her prince? Surely, one more night as a mermaid wouldn't have killed her. But one night as a human out in the ocean might; drowning was suddenly a very real possibility.
She would have to take her chances and just start swimming. Come to think of it, though, she didn't entirely know how to swim with her new legs. She was floating, but that was very different from using her legs to propel herself through the water.
Perhaps she could work them just like a tail. Ariel held her legs together as best she could and kicked out behind her. It was slow-going, and difficult besides. But it was the only way she'd ever known how to swim. Were humans made so different from mermaids that she couldn't even swim the same way anymore?
Before long, she found herself growing weary. She couldn't even tell whether she'd made any progress; the water looked the same in every direction. A panic set in deep in Ariel's chest.
What if she could never find land? What if she could never find her prince? What if she drowned or froze to death? She was neither girl nor mermaid in that moment; she was some halfling made to die alone in the water.
What a wicked curse the sea witch had wrought upon her!
Ariel began to weep. She was stuck. She was going to die out here! She tried to wipe away her tears, but that only served to get seawater on her face. Never in her life had she hated the ocean more than she did at that moment.
"Hello?" someone called in a booming voice.
It came from somewhere behind Ariel. She turned and saw a great ship coming forth from the depths of the night. It had black sails and a figurehead carved in the shape of a mermaid. Ariel took that as a good omen.
She opened her mouth to shout back to the ship, but then she remembered that she had no voice. She splashed the water as loudly as she could and waved her arms in the air. Her chances of being seen in the darkness were minimal, but this mermaid ship was her only hope.
Please, find me, thought Ariel.
The ship loomed closer and closer. Ariel worried that no one had seen her, but at last she saw a rope tossed down along the side of the ship.
"You there!" someone shouted from the deck high above, "Can you climb up?"
Ariel tried to swim toward the ship. But she didn't know how to move her new legs, and she could have sworn that she was coming no closer. Her breath grew short and her arms started to ache, and the ship was still so very far away. Ariel couldn't even call out to tell the ship's crew what was wrong. She looked up to the deck in the hopes that someone would see her plight.
A man stepped up to the railing. He cast off his coat and handed his sword to someone nearby. Then he jumped out over the water and fell in a long arc down to the sea. He landed with a large splash that would have woken every fish in the sea. Ariel flinched.
The man swam over to Ariel. As he drew closer, she saw that he had hair black as night and eyes blue as day. He looked rather like Ariel's prince, only more unkempt. Something in the back of Ariel's head whispered that she shouldn't trust him, but she ignored it. She was just grateful that he had come to help her.
"You can't swim?" he asked.
Ariel shook her head. In that moment, she felt deeply ashamed of the fact that she was a mermaid who literally couldn't swim to save her life.
"Here, I'll help you," said the man.
He wrapped an arm around Ariel's back and, with one arm, swam them both back to the ship. Ariel could have sworn she saw something glittering in the water, but she kept her eyes on the ship ahead. The man was a strong swimmer, and they reached the ship faster than Ariel had expected.
"Hey, toss another rope down!" the man shouted up to the crew.
Another rope appeared over the side of the ship. It tumbled down and fell with a light splash against the water's surface. The man grabbed onto it, but Ariel gasped when he brought his hands out of the water.
The man had a hook in place of his left hand.
Ariel's shock must have shown on her face, because the man followed her eyeline and explained brusquely, "It's not a tale I care to tell."
Ariel nodded.
"Hold on tight," instructed the man.
He gestured with his free hand to the rope in front of Ariel. Ariel did as she was bid. Her wet hands made gripping the rope difficult, but she held on as best as she could.
"Bring us up, boys!" shouted the man.
The rope began to ascend, and Ariel with it. It was a strange feeling, almost as if she were swimming through the air. She had never been entirely out of the water before.
They were halfway up to the deck when the man realized that Ariel was naked. His eyes went wide, and he hurriedly looked away. Ariel blushed, not that it would noticeable in the darkness. Not as noticeable as her stark nakedness, anyway.
"I'll give you my coat when we're aboard," said the man.
Ariel nodded in place of proper thanks.
When they reached the deck, Ariel grabbed the railing and let go of the rope to heave herself awkwardly onto the deck. The man who had helped her out of the water took her by the arm and helped her to her feet, and then he handed her a thick, black coat.
"Put on this, lass," he said, "You need to warm up."
Ariel donned the coat while her teeth chattered from the brisk night air. The coat was way too big for her; it fell almost to her knees, and her hands were completely covered by the long sleeves.
Ariel looked up and realized that she was surrounded by a dozen or so of grizzly crewmen. Ariel was slightly frightened by them, and it didn't help that she was naked save for a coat.
"It looks a bit big for the girl, Killian," said one of the crewmen with a laugh.
"It'll serve until we can find her something else," said the man who had helped Ariel out of the water. He still had a hand on her arm.
Ariel looked around shyly at the crew. Each and everyone one of them was staring at her openly, and most of their expressions were more leering than curious. Ariel wrapped the coat tighter around herself and ducked her head.
"Let's get you below deck," said the man with the hook. Ariel was grateful that he was taking her away from the crew.
The man placed his good hand on Ariel's shoulder, and then he led her across the deck and through a small doorway. The deck had at least been illuminated by a few lanterns, but it was pitch black beyond the door. Ariel stumbled as she crossed the threshold, but the hook-handed man had a firm grip on her arm.
"Sorry about that," he said gruffly, "Just hold on to me, and you'll be fine."
Ariel felt incredibly uneasy as she walked through the darkness of the ship. This wasn't how her story was supposed to go. She had heard a lot of romantic tales when she was younger, and she was certain that none of them had featured a man with a hook for a hand and a crew who leered at an innocent girl.
The man seemed not to notice Ariel's uneasiness.
"My name is Killian, by the way," he said.
Ariel didn't bother nodding; he wouldn't be able to see it. The man stopped moving, and Ariel stopped too, guided by the hand on her arm. Killian opened a door, and light flooded the space where they stood.
On the other side was a small cabin, illuminated by the soft glow of a lantern. Ariel stepped into the room behind Killian, and she looked to her left to find a red-hatted man sleeping on a bunk that was too small for him. The man's elbows and knees were bent at odd angles, but he seemed to be in a deep sleep.
"Mr. Smee!" hollered Killian.
The man in the red hat awoke with a jolt. He snorted and floundered about, and finally he gathered himself to rise to his feet.
"Captain, sir!" he said, adding an obsequious salute.
"Mr. Smee, you'll be moving to another cabin. We've picked up a shipwrecked maid who needs your lodgings," said Killian.
"Begging your pardon, Captain, but is there not somewhere else we could put the girl? Look at her, she's just a bit of a thing. She don't need much space, and I barely fit in here as it is," said Mr. Smee, and Killian cut him off.
"Then I'm sure you won't miss the cabin. Clear out your belongings, and bring some extra blankets and a set of spare clothes for the lass," commanded Killian.
"Yes, sir. Right way, sir, Captain," said Mr. Smee. He saluted again and left, his pudgy legs stampeding over the creaking wooden floors.
"I hope you'll be comfortable here," said Killian, once the man in the red hat had left the room.
Ariel walked around the cabin, a short task considering its relatively small size. But she had a smile on her face all the while. She had seen ships before, most of them sunken wrecks, but this cabin looked exactly how a ship cabin should. Ariel turned and looked at Killian with a smile and an excited nod.
"Good. I'm glad, lass," said Killian, a smile warming his face, "I'll have to figure out a name for you soon. I can't just refer to you as 'lass'."
Ariel perked up at the mention of a name. A new name was intriguing; she needn't be Ariel anymore. She could leave behind the identity of the mermaid so desperate for something other than what she had. A new name was exactly what was needed for a woman about to begin an adventure. But how could she choose a new name without her voice?
"We can figure things out in the morning, though," continued Killian, "It's a shame you've no voice. I would have liked to know how you came to be so far out to sea."
Ariel let out a small giggle. If Killian found out the truth, he would think her half-mad.
"Have I said something amusing?" asked Killian, his voice suddenly walking a line between politely curious and subtly intimidating.
Ariel shook her head, her giggle gone. She pulled the coat's sleeves further over her arms. Her eyes flickered to the door.
"Have I said something wrong?" asked Killian.
His tone still set Ariel on edge. She was silent, but her eyes pleaded for him to leave. She wanted to be alone just then, and hook-handed Captain Killian was making her very uneasy.
"Well, I can tell when I'm not wanted," said Killian.
He turned on his heel and left the room. When the door closed behind him, Ariel let out her breath. She sat down on a rickety, wooden chair and rubbed her ankles together. The cold and the seawater had seeped into her bones. She had never gotten a chill from the ocean before, but now she wished for nothing more than to be warm and dry.
Luckily, Mr. Smee returned a few minutes later with a small bundle of fabric in his arms. He handed them off to Ariel, and she accepted them gratefully. After staring at her curiously for a moment or two, Mr. Smee left the room as quickly as he had come.
Ariel set the bundle on a small table and unfolded it. There were a few blankets, an old loose-fitting shirt, and a pair of trousers. Ariel was a little miffed by the fact that Mr. Smee had brought her trousers. On some of her ventures up to the surface, she had seen land women wearing elegant skirts and dresses. These old, tattered trousers were anything but elegant.
Still, she slipped out of Killian's now-soaked coat and donned the shirt. It slipped down to halfway down her thigh, and she had to roll up the sleeves several times before she could use her hands . The shirt was comfortable, though. Ariel still had no desire to don the trousers.
She shrugged. She was about to go to sleep in the bunk, and sleep did not require that her legs be covered. Ariel left the trousers where they were. She climbed into the bunk and gathered the blankets about her. The bunk may have been too small for Mr. Smee, but it was the perfect size for Ariel.
She went to sleep with her feet curled together as if they were still a tail.