Tiger Lily always told her tribe of the fascinating places she stumbled upon, during her trips to the mainland. They became so interested by the many places she had the chance to visit, one day they gathered everyone in there tribe who wanted to see the beauty of the other world and flew off to where they saw first. It happened to be a beautiful kingdom, skirted by a vast ocean, that sprayed salt in the villagers' eyes as the flew down.
They landed on the sandy shore and the tide licked their feet. A gorgeous castle on the beach's rocky shore was where they headed too. They wanted to introduce themselves to the rulers of the beautiful land. They made their way towards the castle gates and asked to speak to the king and queen. They waited for their arrival, excited to be in the mainland for once. But Tiger Lily, like always was more excited to make friends. The doors opened, and they waited for them to come out.
Ariel had been resting on their bed, examining some of the sprawl of seashells she and Melody had gathered the day before. The assortment of colors, textures and designed fascinated the princess, as it did her daughter.
She was interrupted by the calling of one of the guards, letting her know that a group of visitors had arrived. She scrunched her face at this news, wondering who in all the seas it could be. No one had told her she should be expecting someone; and Grimsby always was quick to inform her of such a visit.
Ariel pulled herself off the bed and snatched a sweater, feeling a gust of cool wind tickle her skin. After wrapping the sweater around her belly, she folded her arms over her pregnant stomach and headed downstairs, where she saw a few native-looking people standing before her.
The doors fully open and the princess came out. She was very pretty, with long red hair and pale skin. She had a sweater wrapped around her small baby bump. She seemed very tired, and Tiger Lily felt bad that they possibly woke her up.
"We are very sorry if we woke you princess but we were visiting your beautiful kingdom and wanted to introduce ourselves, I'm Tiger Lily and this is a bit of my tribe. We're from a far-off place, and they all wanted to see your beautiful land." she smiled at the princess, sorry that they were possibly bothering her.
Ariel shook her head and shrugged. "Please, it's no trouble." Her face relaxed and she smiled. "I was just resting upstairs." She bit her lip, realizing that at the hour it was, it would be sort of strange for someone to be resting. "I'm kinda limited, as you can see." She felt herself blush as she briefly glanced down at her stomach before looking back up at the primitive tribe.
Clasping her hands together, the redhead added, "How fantastic! Where are you from?"
"Oh I understand princess! Is it a girl or a boy? And when is it due? Or do you not know yet?" she asked curious. She always loved kids, whenever a new child was born into the tribe was on her favorite times. She loved playing with them, watching them toddle on their little feet, and balancing by sticking their pudgy arms towards the side. She blushed realizing how tried the princess must be and her constant question probably wasn't helping. "Sorry," she mumbled looking at her feet, "Babies are just so cute! Oh and we are from Neverland!" she pointed towards the gleaming star, even in the sun light it shone as bright as the sun. "Right there princess!"
Smiling at the young girl's innocence and curiosity, Ariel replied, "Well, I don't know yet! We'll just have to wait and see.." She rubbed her stomach briefly, then suddenly noticed all the other members of the girl's tribe who seemed not as… friendly.
Looking at them carefully, Ariel called behind her, "Grimsby?" In a few moments, the royal advisor appeared by her side. "Would you mind showing our guests around the beach? They've come to see how wonderful everything is here." Sensing what his reaction would be, Ariel gave him a charming smile, just as he looked at her, shocked, before quickly saying, "Uh.. Uh, uh… Of course, Your Majesty. Follow me, gentlemen."
She heard the men grumble and move around a bit, glancing at each other as they prepared to follow the older man. Ariel bent down closer to the young girl and whispered, "How about you stay with me, and I'll show you around the castle?"
Tiger Lily sensed the tribe member's disappointment. They were used to staying with her and bidding by her commands but they followed the man at the sight of Tiger Lily's approving nod and followed the man towards the sandy beach. She turned to Ariel, happy she would be able to see the beautiful castle. "Oh okay princess!" She smiled following her into the castle, wide eyed. She leant towards the princess, "Urm sorry about the others they can be a bit.. um, unfriendly."
She must be only a little younger than Melody. The redhead shrugged with a small smile. "Yes, well I thought that you might've wanted to look around. They, on the other hand.." She paused. "Well, like you said."
"I don't think I know your name," she said, formally extending a hand to the little girl. "Just call me Ariel."
Tiger Lily laughed. "Oh yes! Thank you for showing me your beautiful castle! And again I apologize, it's their first time away from home. And they aren't used to anyone else except for the other tribe members who decided to stay behind. Oh that's a very pretty name, Ariel!" she said, smiling. "I'm Tiger Lily!" she beamed.
"Tiger Lily!" the redhead exclaimed. "That's a flower, right? Or am I confusing it with something else…" She bit her lip. "I really like water lilies. They're my favorite!" she chuckled.
Now that she knew the young girl's name, Ariel asked, "So, Tiger Lily, did you want to see the castle? Or were you looking to see some different part of our kingdom?"
Tiger Lily laughed, "No it is a flower. Our tribe members usually name themselves after something with nature. Oh! Water lilies are very pretty, they grow near Mermaid Lagoon in Neverland!" she smiled. "I didn't really come here for anything in particular! I thought this place was very pretty and my tribe liked the look of it as well, so we decided to come here." she exclaimed.
"Oh, okay!" Ariel replied happily, glad she hadn't confused the two similarities. When Tiger Lily mentioned Neverland, Ariel let out a silent gasp. She must know Peter… And Tinkerbell. Maybe I'll ask her about them later.
"Well, if you think it's very pretty, you probably wanted to see outside the castle, right?" She offered, shrugging slightly.
"Oh it doesn't matter Ariel! Anywhere in or around or near the castle is fine!" she laughed. Tiger Lily was a bit curious when the red head let out a small gasp but she didn't address it, for she didn't want to seem rude.
"Alright then.." she replied, looking around quietly to think of something to show the young tribal girl, considering she wasn't very specific with what she was interested in. After a few moments, the redhead turned back to Tiger Lily and said, "Have you ever been to the beach?"
"No not really, I mean we have a beach and a lagoon in Neverland but I've seen it a million times. So no not really," she giggled. Tiger Lily would not mind seeing the beach or any part of the kingdom or castle. It was all so beautiful and amazing she really didn't care.
Ariel nodded, saying, "Oh, alright, then." No beach then. She didn't want to bore Tiger Lily, so it would have to be the castle. Neverlandmust not have a castle.
"Well, how about seeing the library?" she offered. "Do you like books at all?.. Or ever read?"
"Umm…" Tiger Lily never learned how to read, she always wanted to learn how to but never had that opportunity because no one in Neverland knew how to read either. She just picked up words she heard around the tribe and used them in the context they had said them. She felt like telling Ariel this but, she wondered if the girl would find it.. strange.
But in the end she opted to telling Ariel, though she felt bad, she offered to show her beautiful kingdom and she had some problem with where ever Ariel had offered to take her. "Um, well I never really learned how to read.."
Suddenly, Ariel felt she could relate to the young girl. She, too, hadn't really learned to read, at least, not properly, until she was human. She had a few books in her grotto, but all she really knew were simple words. Eric had taught her all about books and reading during their first year of their marriage.
"Well… Do you like stories?" she asked, hopefully not sounding ridiculous.
"Oh I love stories! I just don't really know how to read them myself," she explained. "I only really learned to speak by words my tribe and friends at home said. Although I never really knew how to use them, so I just said them in the same way they did." she shrugged, giggling.
Ariel giggled in return and replied cheerfully, "Okay, then! So.. Do you want to come upstairs, to the library? Maybe I… Maybe I could show you how to read?" Even saying it made Ariel excited at the idea, remembering teaching Melody.
Tiger Lily's eyes widened and she asked, "Really? You would teach me how to read? Oh Ariel I would love to!" Tiger Lily was enthralled by the fact that she would finally learn how to read. And she can go how and read stories to her tribe and the boys, who are always up to hear something new.
With a happy sigh, Ariel replied, "Perfect! Let's go, then." She turned from Tiger Lily and started back up the stairs towards the library, holding onto the banister for balance.
When they reached the top, Ariel took a deep breath, feeling tired. Being almost in the last trimester of her pregnancy caused her to get exhausted much more easily, which annoyed her sometimes. But after catching her breath, she headed towards the library doors, pushing them open to reveal an array of books.
Tiger Lily followed Ariel up the large grand staircase and walked closely behind her as she headed towards a large set of doors, not far from the stairs. She opened the doors to the room and led Tiger Lily inside. Her mouth dropped in awe as she saw the large amount of books, clung to the walls. The room was a maze of books and she caught the names of a few one's that stuck out to her. "Wow," she rasped, which was the only possible thing she was able to get out. "This is amazing!"
Though Ariel wasn't facing Tiger Lily, she could imagine her awed expression at all the books. Eric's mother had been a very avid reader, almost like their friend Belle. Though Eric and his father, she was told, weren't as big of fans, the castle was stacked with books for his mother's pleasure. In addition, Ariel really enjoyed looking at the many different titles, learning as many things as she could.
"It's pretty incredible, isn't it?" she asked, turning to face Tiger Lily once she'd reached the center of the room. Focusing on the bookshelves, Ariel tried to decide where books that would be appropriate for Tiger Lily were. After a little while of peeking around, the redhead finally found a book that she had read to Melody when she was little.
Gently, Ariel removed the thin book, walking back towards Tiger Lily. "Have you ever heard this story? It's called The Frog Princess."
"It truly is!" she agreed, still twirling in the middle of the room, looking at all the books, stacked row by row on the walls. She watched as Ariel moved towards the bookcase, choosing which book she would read to the Indian girl. Tiger Lily smiled and watched as she picked a green leather-bound book, with fancy writing in the front. "No I don't believe I have Ariel!" she smiled.
"Ok, good," Ariel replied with a smile. Clutching the book, she walked over towards the center of the large room, sitting on one of the loveseats. She brushed her hair back behind her shoulder and patted the seat next to her, inviting Tiger Lily to join her. "It's a fairly simple book, so I don't think it'll be that difficult to learn."
Tiger Lily hesitantly walked over towards the seat and sat down, looking at the green book in Ariel's hand. "Ok! I already know some words it's just.. I don't know how to really spell them, or read them," she said quietly. Tiger Lily was a bit ashamed at the fact she didn't know how to read. When Peter told her of all the stories Wendy told when she visited Neverland she immediately wished she knew how to read so she could tell the boys stories. She watched as Ariel opened the book and became a bit worried when she saw the page full of words, "Oh goodness how will I learn how to do this?!"
Noticing Tiger Lily's apprehension, Ariel said in a reassuring voice, "Don't worry, it won't be that hard. Try this." She opened the thin book to the first page and pointed at the first word. As she spoke slowly, she moved her slender finger over each word. "There once was a beautiful princess who lived in a faraway kingdom.." After she finished each page, she asked Tiger Lily to repeat her.
"There once was a beautiful princess… who lived in a faraway kingdom…" she repeated, looking at the words on the page, surprised at these words spelling never knowing that they were spelt in this way. She looked at the page full of words and kept repeating the words after Ariel, them starting to get easier to say and see.
Ariel and Tiger Lily continued to read the book, and Ariel noticed Tiger Lily getting better and better at reading as Ariel turned each page. By the end of the story, Ariel didn't even have to speak the words herself; she simply pointed as Tiger Lily dictated each word. "And they lived happily ever after," Ariel said, closing the book with an excited grin. I did it! I taught her how to read!
Tiger Lily was surprised when she closed the book. Her expectations of it being a challenge were not fulfilled. When she first looked at the book she worried she wasn't going to be able to read it, but now having read the book she felt much more confident. "I-I learned to read?!" She wrapped her arms around Ariel in a surprise hug and thanked her, "Oh thank you Ariel for teaching me! I feel like I can read everything now!" she laughed.
"You did!" Ariel exclaimed with a laugh, hugging the young girl back. "Wasn't that hard, right? Just practice like that and you'll be able to read anything in no time," she smiled.
Suddenly, the sound of grumbling and some kind of chanting was heard in the direction of the beach. Turning back to Tiger Lily, Ariel said, "I guess your friends are back, huh? We better go meet them. I'm sure Grimsby will be looking for us."
"No! I was so scared in the beginning!" she said, laughing at herself. She giggled at the sound of the tribe and replied, "I guess so." They walked out of the library, and down the large staircase seeing the tribe members standing with Grimsby at the end of the stairs. "How!" she said bowing her head towards the tribe members, them imitating her move.
"How!" they replied. "Beach nice princess. We know why you like mainland so much." One of the men said. She smiled, "Tiger Lily very happy you enjoyed." She turned towards Grimsby, "Ah- thank you for showing them the beach. Sorry if they caused you any trouble." she whispered.
Ariel nodded her gratitude after descending the staircase, clasping her hands beneath her belly. "Thank you. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do."
In an exasperated tone, Grimsby added, "Yes, they certainly did, Your Majesty. Quite.. lovely people." He grinned at the tribe before asking, "Is that all you wanted to see on your visit? Do you plan on going back to.. to.. to wherever you come from, gentlemen?"
The Indians grunted at Grismby and turned to Tiger Lily, "We go home now Princess?" one of them asked. Tiger Lily replied, "Yes we go." She turned towards Ariel, "Thank you very much Ariel, it means a lot that you taught me how read, thank you again. It was wonderful to meet you, I hope to see you again soon," she smiled, giving her a small hug before announcing they were going to leave. They went outside and she sprinkled some fairy dust on the tribe members and they started drifting off the ground, heading higher and higher into the sky. Waving goodbye before she peppered some pixie dust on herself, she floated up into the sky, "Thank you again!" she exclaimed.
Ariel bent down a bit to embrace Tiger Lily, replying sweetly, "Oh, it was my pleasure! Come visit anytime, okay? Maybe you could read to the baby!" The redhead chuckled as she placed her arms around her belly. As the group headed back out the door and took flight, Ariel stood on the steps, Grimsby coming to stand beside her. She waved up at the tribe gracefully as Grimsby concluded, "What an.. interesting group of individuals. I'll have to be on the watch for people coming from the sky now, I suppose." The advisor let out a tired sigh and turned from the princess, heading back inside the castle. Ariel turned to follow him, looking up at the night sky once more to see the bright, shining star that illuminated the earth.