Author: Holy-Dane

Title: Soothing Moon

Rating: K+ a.k.a. PG

Summary: Ariel sits on the beach, silently thinking about her mother and an old lullaby. As she cries, Eric approaches, and together, they bask in the glow of the soothing moon.

Author's Note: I just love The Little Mermaid. It was my favorite movie when I was a little girl, and I have just recently rediscovered it. So I decided to write a sweet little piece on the greatest fairy tale of all time (at least in my opinion)

The night air was crisp and cool and the moon full, it's light bleeding out onto water, causing the waves to glow like a ghost. The sky was painted black, and dotted with tiny stars that twinkled like diamonds, illuminating the heavens. The sand looked like sugar against the dark waves and dead sky, especially with the moon shining down. The night was perfect, breathtaking, and beautiful.

Sitting on the sand was a young girl, her red hair gleaming in the bright moonlight. She looked like a tiny speck against the miles long stretch of sand, but she didn't care nor notice, for she was deep in thought, stewing over memories, both long lost and recently made. Looking at the sea, her mind wandered to her past. The ocean had been her life, her existence. Now she was human, and the ocean would never again be her place to dwell or dream, she had land and air for that now.

Her eyes looked up at the moon, and then back down to the water that it was hitting. She noticed the way that the moonlight bounced off the waves, and reflected onto the castle behind her. She had never been able to see the moon from beneath the waves, never been able to watch it bathe the land in a blanket of glowing light. She wondered why she hadn't been able to see it from her home under the sea. It was as if it was a human thing, something that the ocean dwellers were not meant to see. Separation; she saw it now, clearer than ever. She now knew that her past and present were to be forever separated, just like the moon and the sea.

She knew that it had been her choice, leaving the sea, leaving her father, leaving her sisters, and her friends. But she would have made the same decision again, if given the choice. Heck, she would make the decision a thousand times over, because now, she had what she really wanted, what she had been longing for. Now, she had Eric, her love, her life.

She loved the land; the feel of the sand between her toes, the warmth of the sun, the swiftness of legs, the lush, new scenery. She loved it all, every last bit. She loved land, she had loved it since she was young. In fact, the reason that she was even here was because of her love of land and humans. But, not in a million years would she have guessed that she would actually get to be here. Never could she have imagined what her dreams would really feel like. She had never thought it possible, to walk with the humans. And she had never considered falling in love with one.

But it had happened, it had all happened, and here she sat on dry land, with human legs, thinking about her human love. She laughed, 'how ironic.'

Since she had never really thought about things before she signed Ursula's contract, she never realized that she would actually miss the ocean. She had wanted so badly to be human with Eric, that she had never though about losing the sea, forever. She still knew that what Sebastian had said was true, she would have been miserable for the rest of her life, had se been forced to stay a mermaid. But now that all was said and done, she wished she had enjoyed the sea more when she was one of it's inhabitants.

Smiling as she watched the waves lap up against the sand, she thought about her mother. Seeing the ocean from land made her memory stir. Oh, how she missed her mother. How she longed to see her one last time. It seemed like forever ago since she had seen her mother. What a woman she had been. She was always prim and proper, the perfect Queen, yet she was also caring and gentle, the perfect mother. It seemed as if she could do no wrong.

Ariel remembered that when she was a young girl, she had wanted to be her mother. She wanted to be the Queen that everyone loved and adored. She remembered wishing that some day she would be as beautiful and kind as her mother, Queen Andromeda. Royalty was definitely something that her mother had been suited for. She was the loveliest mermaid in all the land, and she had the voice of an angel.

Ah, that voice. It still rang clear in the Ariel's memory, like the song of a heavenly presence sent down to earth. She could just picture her mother; her auburn hair flowing around her pale face, her fuchsia lips puckering as she sang, her green eyes smiling with love and protection.

She remembered looking up at that face, that beautiful face, and feeling her slender arms wrapped around her tiny body. She knew the words by heart, she had thought of them so many times over the past years.

She began to hum lightly, her head swaying back and forth in the night breeze, as the voice of her mother flooded her ears.

Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles await you when you rise.
Sleep,
pretty baby,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

Cares you know not,
Therefore sleep,
While over you a watch I'll keep.
Sleep,
pretty darling,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

That song; for some reason, it was always there, fresh in her memory, for she willed herself to never forget it. To never forget the way her mother sang it.

Once she had finished listening to the song in her heart, she could feel a tear begin to well up in her eye. Oh how she wished her mother were still alive. How she longed to hear that voice, see that face, listen to those words, just one more time.

Suddenly, a noise came from behind her. Footsteps. Quickly, she lifted her hand to her face, and wiped away her tears, hoping that they might stop flowing once the stain they had left on her porcelain skin was gone.

"Ariel?" She heard his voice call out; it was Eric.

"Yeah, over here Eric." She replied quietly, turning to see Eric walking towards her.

"Hey." He said, once he had finally reached her. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"Oh, I was just thinking."

"Ok," he said as he lowered himself down onto the sand next to her. "What were you thinking about?"

Not knowing what to say, Ariel shrugged and replied, "Just thinking about how beautiful it is out tonight."

"Yeah," Eric sighed as he looked up at the sky, "It is a really nice night."

"It is." She smiled. "I like the moon tonight."

"Me too, without it shining tonight, we wouldn't be able to see a thing."

"True," Ariel stated, "the sky's so dark that it's almost as black as your hair."

Eric laughed, "Yeah I guess it is."

Ariel turned to look at Eric, and in the moonlight, he could see clear streak marks on her cheeks, and he knew that she had been crying. "Ariel?"

"What?" She asked as she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"What were you crying about?"

Snapping up, Ariel looked into the boy's deep blue eyes and sighed, "My mother." Those eyes, deep as the sea, and the hue of the ocean itself, could get her to reveal anything.

"Yeah, and what about her?"

"Just, everything I guess." Ariel said, "I mean, the way she looked and the way she moved, and also the song she sang."

"Ah, yes, I know what you mean. I have those moments too." Eric sighed, "You miss her?"

"All the time."

"Yeah."

"It's just, I don't know why people have to die. Why do we have to die, Eric?" She cried softly, a tear trickling down her cheek.

Reaching up to wipe her tear, Eric opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. A perplexed look crossed his handsome face, and then he continued, "You know what? I don't think that I can answer that question, because I don't really know." He tilted Ariel's face towards his and spoke again, "I wish I knew why, but I don't. I don't know why people die." He paused, "...But this I do know, we are put here on earth, either on land or under the sea, to be kind, caring, loving. We're here to find love, and to be the best person that we can be. To love others and to be loved, to learn from one another, and try and make this world a better place."

Ariel smiled, she had never heard anything so beautiful in her whole life. It seemed that every day, she grew to love Eric more and more, which was far more than she thought anyone was capable of loving. But perhaps that was part of what Eric meant, learning from one another. She learned new and spectacular things from him every day, and he made her want to be the best person she could be. She also had no doubt that they brought out the best in one another, and together, they could make the world better, by uniting land and sea maybe, and finally breaking the barrier that mankind had created.

"Eric," Ariel whispered, a tear streaming down her cheek.

"What?"

"Thank you."

"That's what I'm here for." He smiled sweetly, putting his arm around her petite waist and pulling her closer.

Together, they sat, her head leaning gingerly on his shoulder for many hours. They were mostly silent, but once in a while, one of their timid voices would break through that barrier of golden serenity to be heard. They talked about the stars and the constellations. He grabbed her hand and entwined his fingers with hers, using the other to point out the stars that he was referring to. Then they laughed, and looked deep into one another's eyes, just relishing in the fact that they were there, at that moment, with the one that they truly loved. For that is what true love really is – the power to love someone with your whole heart; to show them everything that there possibly is to be known about you; to reveal your deepest, darkest secrets to them, and pour out your soul, knowing that the moment you are finished, they will do the same. But the most important part about love is; it's mutual. Once you have found the one who you truly love; who completes you; hold onto them tightly – spend as many moonlit nights together on the beach as you can; and never stop giving back the love back to them, that they give to you.

Well, I hope you liked it. It was kind of a little drabble that I wrote after I watched The Little Mermaid with the kids that I baby-sit. So, I hope that you liked it. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought; I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your time!