Ariel froze. Her eyes darted to the door, the open windows – anything that was a means of escape. The currents seemed to freeze and she found that her throat had gone dry. She wanted to run, feign illness, make some sort of excuse; some sort of escape, but she knew it was already too late. Andrina had already said the worst eight words in the English language.
"There's a young gentleman here to see you!"
Now, normally, this would not be a terrible sentence. Maybe even a nice one, under the correct circumstances. But Ariel knew who this gentleman was, as he had been calling on her incessantly since her fifteenth birthday, when she was finally old enough to court. Marcus was there at her birthday party; seeking her out and begging for dances. He asked her so many questions it seemed to be more of an interview than a conversation, and every time she'd pull away, he would lightly grab her wrist, murmuring about 'just another ten minutes' and 'I just so do love speaking to you'.
"Oh, 'Rina!" Ariel moaned. "Can't you just say I'm sick? Gone? Anything?"
"Sorry, kiddo." Andrina shrugged. "Attina already said you were here."
"Can't you just lie?" Ariel pushed.
Andrina rolled her eyes. "Most people would be delighted to have one of the richest men in the seas pursuing them – especially for this long!"
"Well, count me out."
"Don't be a brat, Ariel. He just wants to see you."
"I know he does – that's always what he wants." She sighed. "I don't know why you guys are all so insistent on us being together. I don't like him – I never have!"
"Well what's wrong with him?" Andrina folded her arms. "Too perfect of a match? Too devoted? Too handsome? Too powerful? Too enamored? Too rich?"
"Oh, don't instigate." Ariel snipped. "I just don't like him! Not like that. Maybe if he'd calm down a bit, then we could be friends. But ever since we met it's been a relentless pursuit – I feel like a guppy with a shark after it!"
"Just be nice." Andrina said, swimming to her sister. "Look, I know this guy is perfect for you! There isn't anyone else under the seas who could be better suited. I know that for a fact."
Ariel's shoulders slumped. "I don't know…"
"Just let him take you on a swim. It can be as long or short as you want. If he's really as unbearable as you've built up in your head, you can mosey back to the castle at the first lull in your conversation. If not, well, then I think we have a courtship on our hands."
Ariel pursed her lips. "Fine. I'm not happy about it, but fine."
"Ah, young love!" Andrina exclaimed sarcastically. "Come on, let's get you fixed up. Adella! Come here!"
…
Ariel emerged from the room 15 minutes later, and met Marcus in a room down the hall. Her hair had been drawn back, and Adella and given her the works in terms of makeup, and even lent Ariel her seaweed shawl.
"Princess Ariel!" Marcus breathed, standing up immediately. "I am so eager for our little excursion."
"Yes, I'm sure." Ariel smiled, receiving a flick on the shoulder from Adella in response. Be nice!
"Shall we be going?" he asked, opening his arms. Upon Ariel's nod, he turned to Attina and Alana, who had been accompanying him in the parlor "Thank you so much for your hospitality."
"Bye, Marcus!" Alana waved, sighing dreamily.
Ariel harrumphed. If he was such a catch, why didn't one of them go after him? She supposed he was handsome, in a way. Dark curly hair, green eyes, broad shoulders. But that didn't change how she felt.
"I would love to do this with you every day." Marcus smiled at her. "For the rest of our lives."
…
"Ugh!" Ariel exclaimed to herself. What sort of self-involved brat…
There's no way this was the only man for her. Their walk would've been something to tell Flounder about, if only it was worth describing. Twenty minutes of him describing what their life would be like if they were married! He tranced off into fantasies, speaking of swims through gardens and fine balls. How they'd dine every meal together. It was eccentric, it was unnecessary, and it made her uncomfortable, but he didn't notice, or at least, didn't care.
She couldn't escape quickly enough, and returned home to tear off the shawl and let down her hair. Wash this date clean off. She thought bitterly about how things would only get worse from here. He was encourage, she had accepted him, and breaking it off so quickly after would only make him feel led on. If she had said no, if she had kept saying no!-
Three quick raps on the bathroom door.
"Ariel! Ariel!" she heard her sisters call. "Come out, we want to hear everything!"
"You were back so soon!" Attina said, concerned.
"Trying to keep him intrigued?" Artista raised an eyebrow.
Ariel sighed, knowing she'd have to get this over with eventually.
"It was…exactly what I thought it would be." She shrugged, coming out of the bathroom. "He talked about himself a lot, and about what life would be like were we to marry."
"MARRY!" her sisters collectively gasped.
"You're kidding!"
"He's smitten! Absolutely smitten!"
"Oh, Ariel, you're so lucky!"
"Quite a catch, really, he is!"
"Can I be your maid of honor? I think that I should be your maid of honor."
Ariel snorted. "I'm not going to marry him."
"What?"
"Why not?"
"Ariel, how many times do we have to go through this?"
"I know what you girls think, and I've taken it into consideration," Ariel figured lying a bit wasn't too bad here. "but I'm just not into him. Not like he's into me. It's too…intense. Too little chemistry, too much pressure. He's not someone I can picture myself with."
"You're being silly." Attina scolded.
"I know you think so, I know you all do." Ariel said. "But trust me when I say that he's just not right for me!"
"Ariel, don't brush him off so quickly." Alana advised. "How can you know whether or not he's good for you, if you won't even give him a chance?"
"I just know, okay?" Ariel insisted.
"Think about it!"
"He's so wonderful, and he loves you more than any other boy in the sea!"
"You know what, I will." Ariel figured a big lie was okay too. "I'm going to go out on a swim and think about it. Really, really think about it."
The sisters perked up like this, and Ariel swam out a side door into the bright blue open sea. She needed this. She didn't need to meditate on her feelings for Marcus – those had made themselves clear well enough. But she needed to figure out a way to get her family to understand this. Besides, she was already enamored with something else.
The surface. A final push of her fin, and Ariel broke the sea. The sun was just starting to set, casting off oranges and pinks as vibrant as any coral. The water lapped at her collarbone gently, and she pushed closer to land. She hadn't quite worked up the courage to touch dry sand yet, but maybe today would be the day. Flipping from floating on her back to swimming speedily beneath the water, Ariel pressed forward, dreaming of what life as a human would be.
There would be all sorts of new places to explore, and things to see. Different foods to try, and new experiences every day. She had only learned of things like waltzing and jumping from painting and illustrations she had found, but she imagined that they would be wonderful to try. She had to be human! She just had to find a way to become one! It mattered more than anything else in the world, and Ariel knew she would never be completely satisfied until she built a world up there that was fully her own.
Ariel had been taking these journeys for a while now, and had been taking more and more ever since Marcus stepped up his pursuits. The surface had always been relaxing to her, but now it was the only place she felt safe. No one else would even dream of coming here, so she knew she wouldn't be found. For however long she could get away, she would stay away, knowing that this would be a time of pure bliss.
Each adventure brought something new, no matter how small. She'd bring found treasures to Scuttle, who would explain and identify them. The second time she same to the surface, she saw her first sunset. She felt rain on her skin, and figured it was how the oceans got refilled. There were ships that weren't even sunk, there were birds that looked so different that Scuttle. It was a whole other world, and she wanted everything to do with it.
She had been floating and kicking on her back, and felt her shoulders run aground in dense sand. Flipping to her stomach, she finally reached out her arms and rolled them in the cold sand that looked and felt just like brown sugar. She sighed happily. This was living.
"A-hem."
She rolled to her hip in defense, blues eyes widening as she whipped around and saw a talk, black haired boy. His hands were behind his back, and he looked almost a little worried at her being there, though she couldn't imagine why. His light blue eyes met hers. Her mind raced. This was a human – a real one, in the flesh! With two feet covered by boots, and two legs holding him up. All the years of teaching told her to jump back into the ocean and swim as fast as her fins could take her, but her instincts told her to stay. She coiled her muscles, just in case her father was right, and she had to get away.
The boy slowly removed his hands from behind his back and held them up, in a sign that he meant no harm.
"Don't go."
"I shouldn't be here." Was all Ariel managed to get out.
"Please, don't leave." The boy pleaded. "Can I get closer to you?"
"What are you going to do?" Ariel asked.
"Nothing. I just want to sit closer to you. I promise I won't do anything that hurts you."
"That's…that's fine." Ariel nodded, sitting up.
The boy did exactly as promised, stepping forward slowly and plopping down next to her. "Are you real?" he asked.
Ariel giggled at this. "As real as you are."
The boy burst into a smile. "I can't believe it. Old sailors always told me that they had seen mermaids, but I always figured they were lying."
Ariel furrowed her brow. Most mermaids probably stuck to the deeper seas, and she hadn't heard of anyone else who went to the surface. Hadn't seen anyone else swimming up either. These must be old stories. "No, we've been around for a while!" she smiled. "We just very seldom are seen by humans.
"Then I must just be extremely lucky." The boy said. "I'm Eric, what's your name."
"Ariel!" she said, her excitement at the situation building. Now that she knew for sure that she was right about humans, and that they wouldn't hurt her, she finally had someone to ask all her questions to.
"That's a very pretty name."
"Thank you." She smiled. "Please, tell me about the human world! I've spent my whole life wanting to know what it's like."
"Really?"
"Really! Everything just seems so magical up here. The weather changes by whims, there's sometimes even flashes of fire in the sky! Fire at all! I've never touched it before. There's dancing and so many wonderful things." Ariel sighed resting her cheek on the brown sugar sand and drinking in the smell, the texture, the sensation.
"You could always come back." Eric said, after a moments pause.
"Really?"
"Yes, I could bring you as many of these things as you want to see!" Eric insisted. "I can build a small fire, bring music boxes. I'll come out during a storm. I'll tell you absolutely anything you want to know."
Ariel beamed. "Yes, I'll be back!"
"Next week? About the same time?"
"Yes!" Ariel exclaimed happily. "I should head back now, but I'll do it! Eric, I can't wait to see you again!"
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