Disclaimer: The Little Mermaid, all characters, places, and related terms belong to Hans Christian Andersen and Walt Disney Pictures.
Dedicated: Christmas present for clearblacklines.
Dis-cover-y: A Royal Lid's Story
Carlotta carries me and my friends to the dinner table. I and my fellow lids can only wonder what got into Louis to cause him to…totally wreck the kitchen, yelling like a wild man. He is in such major trouble. Mark my words, he is dead.
I forget about the cook's strange behavior and his huge mess when I realize Carlotta has not set me at Prince Eric's place. I have always been at Eric's place since he was just a lad. Despite my age, I have not lost my shine. Instead, I've been set before a visitor, a very pretty girl with the brightest red hair I have ever seen, wearing a very becoming pink dress. Who is this?
The fork next to me whispers that the girl was found on the beach by the prince, perhaps washed up from a shipwreck. The poor child is mute. But thing is, the fork continues, full of wounded pride, is that the girl used him to comb her hair. She combed her hair with the fork. I have never heard of such a thing before.
Moping, the fork adds that Grimsby and Eric looked positively flabbergasted; one of the prince's eyebrows almost disappeared under his hairline, while the old gentleman just blinked his eyes rapidly. The girl had quickly set the fork back down on the table.
What took the cake was when Grimsby's pipe caught the girl's interest and he let her look at it; she blew into it, hard, and a cloud of ash darkened his face. He did not share Carlotta's and Eric's amusement.
Well, I believe it is safe to assume dinner will be an interesting event. We have a rare guest who is mute, uses forks for combs, and likes pipes. Aye, very interesting…
I try to soothe the fork's embarrassment and thank him for the news.
I now take in fully this little dinner party. Grimsby is softly, heatedly scolding Eric for moping about all these months… Here we go again. Grimsby hasn't gotten through to the prince's dreamy, thick head yet.
Eric has been off in la-la-la land since his birthday and his ship was wrecked. He has been searching for a dream girl "who had the most beautiful voice" and who he believes rescued him from the shipwreck. Just how he has gone about his search I'm not sure; maybe he's had every girl in the kingdom sing a song or something.
He became especially depressed the last few weeks, as his searching was a total failure, spending nearly all his time at the beach playing his flute. He hardly ever lifted me from covering his dinner plate, his appetite gone out the window.
How do I know so much about palace life since I'm only a platter lid, you wonder? There has hardly ever been anything else discussed during dinner other than Eric's dream girl, and Grimsby advising (over and over and over and over again in vain) that he be reasonable and settle down with a nice, real girl. The prince's marrying has been a hot topic since he was in the nursery.
Grimsby, his focus still on Eric who seems a little bemused, removes the lid (my second cousin three times removed) covering his plate. I am stunned when his dinner, Louis's deliciously popular stuffed crab, raises one small claw to its mouth, looking far from stuffed and very much alive! Suddenly I am lifted up, resting on the back edge of my rim. Not good, not good! I get scratches this way.
The girl, looking anxious and surprised, waves her hand frantically. Vaguely, I realize Grimsby and Eric are oblivious to the sudden activity going on. The next moment I am rushed forward, coming back down to my original position with a sickening crash. Not good! I am now probably bruised, and that ride was way too fast for my liking. Please be more careful, young lady!
The fork asks if I am okay. I'm not sure yet. And where did that non-stuffed crab go? Grimsby now has only a platter of lettuce. The fork informs me the crab is hiding under me. Oh.
And all of this has gone on without Grimsby's and Eric's knowledge; not even my crashing alerted them. Men.
Looking all innocent, the girl is asked by Eric if she would like a tour of his kingdom tomorrow. He looks both shy and hopeful. It is sort of sweet. He has never acted like this around a maiden before. Maybe his phase of moping is finally coming to an end. His invitation is accepted by an eager nod.
All us dishware hold our breaths when Grimsby, clearly delighted, says, with a little wave of his fork, "Wonderful! Now let's eat, before this crab wanders off my plate."
He lowers his fork only to encounter no crab. He blinks in surprise. Then he slowly looks about the table as though to find where his dinner has gone to hide. Sorry, Grimsby, no stuffed crab behind the wine goblets.
I look towards Eric to see his reaction. The prince is staring at the lovely red-haired girl who sits quietly.
"How is your dinner?" Grimsby asks, still looking a little lost.
Eric hasn't heard. He has a funny little smile on his face. He finally wakes up when he is called the third time.
"Hmm? Oh," The prince, looking slightly dazed, turns to his advisor. "What did you say?"
"I asked how your dinner was?" the older gentleman repeats his question.
"It…it is…" Smiling a little sheepishly, Eric removes the lid (my step-sister) from his plate and picks up his fork and knife to cut his food.
Hmm, this is very interesting indeed. He's cutting away while turning his attention back to his mute dinner guest. "Are you not hungry?" he asks the girl, a little frown crossing his brow.
Wow, now when was the last time Prince Eric showed genuine concern for someone other than his dog Max the last couple of months? Seriously, is this girl a fairy or something? Yay, he's finally coming back to the real world.
My rejoicing is cut short when the girl, after staring at the prince for a second, starts fussing over me. She moves me from side to side and back to front. I wince at the squeaks my rim makes against the plate and table. WHAT DOES SHE THINK SHE'S DOING?!? Not good, not good, not good… I glare at the two men watching silently, Grimsby with puzzlement, Eric with bemusement. They do not know what to expect. Well, someone please save me!!!!!
After an eternity, the girl removes me from her plate and, thankfully, sets me aside gently. I moan. I shall be black and blue within the hour. What was that all about?
The girl gazes at the stuffed crab on her plate with very large eyes as though she has never seen anything of the like before in her life – no living and breathing crab in sight. Hmmm. With how the evening's going, I'm not surprised at her reaction.
"Most strange," I hear Grimsby murmur.
I second that opinion.
Overhearing, Eric asks, "What is, Grimsby?" His eyes remain fixed on the girl.
"Oh, Louis must have forgotten to give me some crab," the man says lightly.
You seriously don't know half of it. If only Louis was at fault.
The prince again turns away from their guest. His gaze flickers between Grimsby and his empty plate. "That is unusual," he agrees.
"I'll ask Carlotta to bring me some. Carlotta!" Grimsby raises his voice.
I am starting to become sore. I fear I shall never be set at Eric's place ever again. How dare that girl treat me so unkindly.
The face of the girl in question suddenly brightens, and she pushes her plate in Grimsby's direction. The gentleman's face fills with surprise.
"I may have yours?" he asks.
The girl smiles and nods quickly, pushing the plate towards him again.
"But you must eat, too," he protests.
Oh, yes, she must eat, I grumble to the fork.
"Carlotta can bring you some more," Eric puts in. "The crab is very good."
Like he would know. The prince has not eaten a bit yet.
"…the stuffing is a mix of herbs, vegetables, fish—"
The girl shrinks back in her chair, the color draining from her face, and wraps her arms around her stomach. Weakly, she shakes her head and swallows hard.
"Are you all right?" Eric leans towards her, concerned.
All right, he is losing it. Could he have asked a more obvious question? Of course she isn't all right! She looks like she may become ill any moment. At least my shine won't be ruined if she does.
Grimsby still looks uncertain about taking her dinner. Just take it, sir. If she is friends with a crab, she won't eat one that's cooked. And now would you look at that. Eric and the girl are in their own little world, staring at each other.
"The poor thing!" Carlotta arrives on the scene. You've missed a lot, miss. She takes Grimsby's plate. "She has been washed up from a shipwreck. This meal is probably too much for her. I'll make her some broth and also bring some bread." Thank you, someone here still has some common sense. Men can be so oblivious. The woman touches the girl's shoulder lightly. "It will help you feel better in no time." She is rewarded with a brightening of the girl's eyes. She hurries off.
If Carlotta could hear me, I would shout, "Take me with you!"
Grimsby thanks his guest for her kindness, bringing the plate closer to him.
The girl nods and smiles sweetly.
I give her a piece of my mind, though it does no good since she can't hear me.
Grimsby is the only one who thoroughly enjoys his meal. The girl does not have much of an appetite, but eats enough of the broth and bread to satisfy Eric and Carlotta. And on the prince's side, he hardly eats, keeping a concerned, protective watch on the silent girl, his eyes growing softer by the minute.
The boy is starting to fall for his guest. And I think Carlotta and Grimsby notice, too. I'm not certain which is worse, a moping prince or a lovesick one. As long as I'm not set at her place ever again, I'll be content.
What a story I'll have to tell the other lids back in the kitchen.
THE END