My first Ariel and Jim crossover, I'm really excited about this fic and hope you like it as well. My timing seems to be perfect, this story is posted in time for Iesnoth's birthday. Her story, Landlocked, was what really got me into this pairing as more than just a cute amv crossover.

Her hair itched her neck and the cramping in her legs was beginning to get unbearable. She wished she could stretch, but she scarcely dared to move.

"How do we even know when it's safe to get out?" Sebastian asked, popping out of the pocket in her shirt.

"I don't know," Ariel whispered back. As far as she knew ships didn't make noise when they undocked, maybe they'd be able to leave the crate at night. Part of her was beginning to reconsider her idea, if only to be spared the discomfort of cramming herself into a small wooden box. She remembered the restrictions of the full skirts and corsets, ultimately deciding that the cramped legs were a better trade off.

She must have fallen asleep at some point. She woke unsure how many hours had passed nor did she have any idea what had woken her, she thought it might have been her empty stomach or the horrible sensation of getting the feeling back into limbs that had gone numb when it happened again. 'It' turned out to be a noise, unlike any she had ever heard. Curiosity got the better of her as it always did and Ariel found herself getting out of her hiding spot.

"Where do you tink you're goin'?" Sebastian demanded from her pocket. Ariel looked around the room, it appeared to be a storage room, perhaps a pantry. Carefully she made her way to the door and gently eased it open, peering out of the crack to see. She pushed open the door once she had decided she and Sebastian were alone and found herself in a small kitchen.

"Hush," she whispered absently to her self appointed guardian's complaints. As she crept towards the stairs she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a kitchen pot that had been left on the counter. She almost didn't recognize the face looking back at her.

The youngest daughter of Triton had always been known for her long, red hair and now it was gone. Cut to just above her shoulders and tied back in a tail like the sailors wore. Her seashells were lost somewhere at the palace and the dresses she had worn were nowhere in sight. Today, the red haired princess wore borrowed breeches and a shirt, looking like a boy who was fresh into his teens. Helping the illusion along was the bandages over her chest, pressing it nearly flat. It was far from comfortable, but necessary.

She might be new to land, but she was very familiar with the superstition that women were not permitted near the docks, much less actually on a ship.

With a last wistful glance at where her hair, and her femininity, once was Ariel carefully climbed a set of stairs at the far end of the room for a better look.

She stood in shock, she had heard the expression about having one's breath taken away, but she had never understood it before that moment. The sails that she had thought were an unusual colour to begin with now glowed like the setting sun. The clouds and sky seemed closer than she'd ever thought could be possible and she longed to look over the ship's rails, but she had lingered long enough. The red haired stowaway turned to go back to her hiding spot when suddenly she felt her feet slowly leave the floor.

She managed to hold back a yelp of surprise when she found herself floating at least a foot off the ship's deck only to be roughly dropped onto the ships floor moments later.

"Dere's someting not right about dis ship Areeyel," Sebastian muttered. She nodded, belatedly realizing that her friend probably couldn't see it. She got to her feet, about to agree with him verbally when she found someone in front of her.

"Gravity shield," they laughed. "Gets me every time too. I'm Doctor Delbert Doppler and you must be our new cabin boy. It's odd that I haven't seen you, oh well guess I've just been too busy with my studies to notice." Ariel stared in shock at the man before her; he was so unlike anyone she had ever seen. His ears and nose vaguely reminded her of Max, but she thought it would be rude to say so. Besides, she had only ever seen the people around her own home, what did she know about how people looked from elsewhere?

"So, what's your name, son?"

"Ariel," she said softly, that could be a boy name or a girl name after all.

"'El?' Well then my dear El, I'm not so sure what it is you're supposed to be doing right now. Not really a spacer." Dr. Doppler looked around for a moment and Ariel breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps she could sneak back to her hiding place. "Ah, just the man I was looking for!" Ariel whipped her head up and followed his gaze. Paused midway down the stairs that lead from the upper deck was a boy, a year or so older than her, with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Doppler," he sighed coming down the rest of the stairs. His eyebrows quirked up in the most fascinating way, despite the less than thrilled look he wore. As he approached she was surprised by how expressive his face was, she felt as though she could read every thought he had if she stared at him long enough.

"Jim, what should El be doing? You were a cabin boy once upon a time, swab decks or something?"

Jim, as the youth was apparently called, rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Only you would find a stowaway and think they're part of the crew," he groaned. "Nothing we can do now, you'd better let the Captain know and I'll find something for him to do." Dr. Doppler seemed to be quite frightened about informing the Captain about his mistake, but it looked as though she wasn't in danger of being forced off the ship.

"You're not going to make me leave?" Ariel asked hopefully.

"Too late now," Jim sighed, nodding behind her. She turned and tried to take in everything she saw. She was surrounded in deep blue, but it wasn't like the ocean blue she knew so well, more like the night sky. Great swirls of light passed by the ship and realization struck her.

"These are stars," she breathed, running to the edge of the ship and looking over the rail, she could vaguely make out green and lighter blue spots of colour that must have been the land and ocean. "We're sailing in the stars."

"You're taking this really well," Jim commented, standing next to her. "We always traveled on Earth in secret because we didn't think people would be able to accept us."

Ariel felt her eyes sting as Sebastian gave her a soft pat."Sometimes people don't accept what they don't understand."

Short, but just an opening. I'm not sure if I have their voice quite right, especially Sebastian. If you have any critiques please let me know.

Reviews = Karma