Author's Note: Obviously, this is a OUAT version of The Little Mermaid. I always wanted to write one, but I needed to figure out what Regina or Rumpelstiltskin would want from a mermaid. After Into the Deep, I now know.

General Disclaimer: This story is based entirely on situations and characters owned by other people. I am not making any money off it. Please don't sue me.

Disclaimer on originality: As of the writing of this story, I've never read OUAT fics, so if there are other Ariels on this site, I don't know anything about them.

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Out of These Waters

Summary: When a young mermaid falls in love with a human, Rumpelstiltskin sees an opportunity.

(Kinda) Spoilers Through: 2x08—Into the Deep

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What would I give if I could live out of these waters? What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand?

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Chapter One

Mermaids were a stubborn bunch. As the Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin was used to getting what he wanted, but, as he was frustratingly discovering, his new powers did not translate into the realm of the sea.

Merfolk did not believe in getting involved in the affairs of the landed men. There had once been friendly coexistence between the two races, but long ago, humans, specifically the viking clans of the island Mertonia, had overstepped. Now the boats of men were allowed passage over the surface of the sea, but that was all.

However, Rumpelstiltskin was not really human anymore, and he certainly was not Mertonian. And if he could just get one mermaid to listen to him, he could explain that to them. There were ways he could coerce them to cooperate, threats he could make, damage he could do to their realm. But what he really needed was a more amiable relation with the Merfolk. He wanted their special ink, not just once, but in an unlimited supply. And that would require a little more finesse.

So he waited and observed. A proud, noble race like the Merfolk was bound to have a weak link somewhere. He would find it, and he would exploit it. This was just going to take a little more time than he originally thought.

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The Evil Queen was tired of diplomacy. She swirled into the King of Mertonia's chambers in a puff of black smoke. "I want the necklace."

King Hans did not seem alarmed by her sudden presence, which was annoying. He moved nonchalantly to the couch and took a seat. "I've already told you, Regina. I am not going to part with spoils of war without getting something in return."

He had told her that. In fact, he had been telling her that for months. And she was a reasonable person, so she asked again, "Then what do you want?"

He stared back at her with cool blue eyes and gave her the same nonresponse. "I'm thinking."

Her rage threatened to explode. "It is of no value to you! It's just a worthless trinket that your ancestors stole from my ancestors a hundred years ago."

King Hans stood. "That's where you're wrong. It does have value to me. Your desire for it gives it value. Now I just have to figure out what it's worth."

Regina would have gladly met his price the first or second time she came to him, maybe even the third, but he had to push her. She held one hand up and sent him slamming into the wall. "How about your life? Is it worth that?"

The King called for his guards, but Regina shut them out with a flick of her wrist. She walked up to Hans and slowly drew his sword out of its scabbard. In that moment, he finally looked at her with the fear and respect she deserved. "Where is it?"

He shook his head stubbornly, and Regina sighed. She could spend years tearing this castle apart and still never find what she was looking for. She held the sword against his neck. "I will return again in one month." Her previous visits had been at one month intervals, and she generously gave him that long again. "And then you can tell which you value more, your life or my necklace."

She dropped his sword on the ground in front of him. In one last display of her power, she sent the King careening toward the opposite wall. She was gone in another puff of smoke before he landed.

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Ariel had a favorite spot on the surface. From a safe distance, she could see the land mass of Mertonia where the humans lived out their mysterious lives with their lights and their buildings. She'd heard that somewhere in the other direction there was an even larger land with more of everything, but from her little spot in the sea, that seemed impossible.

The tide was coming in, and Ariel allowed herself to be carried a little closer to the island. Her whole life she heard about how dangerous humans were. She should have been afraid as the island loomed ever bigger, but really, all she felt was exhilaration. There was a part of her that wanted to go all the way and wash ashore, but she knew that was not an option. As a reminder of the reason, she bobbed her head above the water until her gills burned. Still, she floated with the current.

Finally, Ariel was pulled out of her reverie at the sound of her sister's voice. "Do you have a death wish?"

She turned around to see Andrina. It was better than it could have been. Of all her sisters—she had six, all older—Andrina was the least likely to tell their father about this. No longer a child, Ariel was free to traverse the sea as she pleased, but she knew her father, the King, would not approve. "I was just about to turn back," she answered, not sure whether that was true.

Andrina looked at the island. "I guess it's kind of pretty. But you know that you can never go there."

"Because I wouldn't be able to breathe," Ariel said by way of agreement. "And I bet it's really hard to swim on sand."

Her sister nodded. "And the part where the humans will trap you and imprison you in something called an aquarium. And then if you're very lucky, when they get sick of you, after years of forcing you to entertain them, they'll give you back to the sea. But if you're not lucky—"

"They'll just stop feeding me until I die in the aquarium," Ariel finished in a bored tone. "Those are just made up horror stories. You don't know anyone that's ever happened to."

"That's true, it doesn't happen anymore. Because we don't ever go this close to the surface." When Ariel did not say anything, Andrina sighed. "Are you really so unhappy in the sea?"

"No." Again Ariel was not sure how true that was. "There's just so much more to the world. Haven't you ever wanted to know more?"

Andrina shook her head with a sad smile. This response did not surprise Ariel; every mermaid she knew felt the same way. Their little world deep underwater was enough for them. Ariel was the oddball for not being content with the sea. As they swam away, Ariel gave the island one last look over her shoulder.

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It took a half hour for the palace guards to break down the door., but when they finally did, Prince Eric was the first into the room. He found his father on the floor with his head resting in a small pool of blood. He went down to his knees at his father's side and looked up at the useless guards. "Did you see who it was?"

They shook their heads. After a few seconds, the braver one spoke. "We heard him call for us, but the door was closed and locked before we could get to it."

Queen Astrid blanched when she walked into the room. Once her composure returned, she snapped at the guards. "Well, don't just stand there. Get the doctor."

They scurried out, and she knelt opposite her son, taking her husband's hand in hers. "Do we know what happened?"

"There was an attack. Probably one of our enemies."

Queen Astrid raised her eyes to meet Eric's. "We don't have any enemies, not anymore."

He supposed she believed that. "Mother, the mainland is full of nothing but enemies. We built this country on five hundred years of pillaging theirs."

"The last Mertonian raiding party sailed over sixty years ago. We are at peace with the countries of the mainland. There are treaties." She spoke in a calm tone, but her grip tightened considerably, cutting off the circulation to King Hans's fingers.

Everyone knew this peace was an uneasy one. Despite her words, Eric could see from her iron grip that his mother was being more realistic about the possibilities here than he originally thought. "No doubt it was a rogue agent," he said, making a concession to her belief in peace and treaties. He gently pried her fingers away from the King's. "Allow me to sail to the mainland and speak with King George. I am certain I will be able to find the answer we need and bring resolution to this matter."

Queen Astrid nodded absently while stroking her husband's bearded face. "You may set sail in the morning. Take a group of your best soldiers with you." There was a fierceness in her eyes when she looked to Eric again. "Because while I have absolute faith in diplomacy, you never know when you'll need to be protected from a rogue agent." She held his eyes so that her meaning was clear.

They were interrupted by the arrival of the doctor. Eric and Astrid cleared from the body so that he could perform his examination. The news was not good. King Hans was alive for now, but there was no telling when or if he would ever awake.

Despite the history of his people, Prince Eric had never thirsted for war, but he could not let this act of aggression go unanswered.

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Author's Note: My plan is to write this during the hiatus, but I wanted to get the foundation established just in case mermaid-y things happen in the fall finale on Sunday. (Although "Queen of Hearts" doesn't really sound like it's going to be about that.) Also I'm pretty sure gills work differently than lungs and that a fish out of water experiences a different sensation than a person drowning, but those are nuances that are not important here.