Ariel smiled and nodded her hello as she made her way around the dining hall, greeting all who had attended the banquet. Grimsby always did enjoy inviting people to parties at the castle, even if for no reason at all but simply to have one. She and Eric had descended the stairs together into the hall, then separated to greet all their guests.
The princess embraced and welcomed all her guests with friendliness and appreciation; however, there were many people in attendance, and she was beginning to get tired. At this point, all she wanted was for dinner to be served so she could go sit with Eric.
Once she finished her greetings, the redhead stepped back from the crowd to scan for Eric. She spotted him in his bright white uniform, talking to two girls who seemed only a little younger than Ariel. Instantly, the relaxed expression on Ariel's face turned into one of jealousy and slight anger. She saw the giddy expressions on the girls' faces, clearly crushing on her husband. They were also dressed rather provocatively, almost as if trying to draw Eric's attention. Ariel decided to see if the conversation would break, but after a few moments, Eric was still conversing with the swooning girls.
The former mermaid started walking towards the trio, keeping her eyes on them as she moved so she wouldn't lose them in the crowd. Finally, she approached behind Eric, touching his shoulder as she looped her arm through his. Seeing the princess approach, the two girls immediately stopped smiling and looked Ariel up and down, a slight look of disgust on their faces. Ariel could've sworn she'd heard one of them scoff at her.
Plastering on a fake smile, Ariel said overly cheerfully, "Hello, ladies. Maybe you should try to find your way to your seats now. Okay?" The two girls turned from the royal couple, but Ariel caught one of them rolling her eyes.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Eric looking at her, and she knew he could see her jealousy. "Ariel.." she heard him start, but instead she turned from him and walked to her seat, arms crossed. She didn't want to talk to him about it, didn't want to hear him tell her she was being ridiculous.
Ariel sat in her seat at the head of the long table, looking down and away from everyone else. In a few minutes, she saw Eric walking towards his seat next to her, and she turned her head in the other direction.
She heard him pull out his chair, sit next to her, and scoot back in to the table. "Ariel.." he tried again, almost in a whisper. After a brief moment, Ariel hesitantly looked at him, her expression pained. "Don't worry. I saw it, too. I was trying to get away." Ariel's expression didn't change, and she said nothing. "You know you're the only one for me, Miss Mermaid." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, since straight out kissing her was considered to be something rude and only to be done in private.
"I know," she whispered, though she did still feel a little hurt. She knew her jealousy was sometimes just her overreacting; but sometimes, like tonight, the girls that talked to Eric really did try to attract him. Not that Ariel could disagree with their taste, of course, but he was taken, and everyone knew that. There was just a part of her that still worried, especially when she saw him talking to other girls, that one day he would decide that she wasn't the best for him, that he deserved someone who hadn't spent half her life as a mermaid.
Ariel's thoughts were interrupted by Eric's hand intertwining with hers under the table, and she felt a little better. She knew he loved her, and she loved him. She just wished that every other maiden in the kingdom would understand that.