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As soon as she saw him sail away she regretted letting him go. She knew it was her fault too, she had put no effort into being a good hostess or a charming young lady, much like her mother, the queen, had instructed her to. Maybe that's perhaps why she was so rude to Eric. Because she was instructed not to be.

Margaret was seventeen years, four mounts, and eight days old. And with her eighteenth birthday so rapidly approaching, her parents started to focus less on the absence in her understanding of herself, her position, her culture, and more on the absence of a wedding band on her fourth finger. After all, she was the princess of Glauderhaven, and was expected to rule with a husband by her side.

Margaret often asked for people to call her Margie, but even after several requests, it didn't stick, so she was stuck with Margaret, whether she liked it or not.

"I liked him, mother." Margaret admitted to Queen Anne, her mother.

"Well you had the most peculiar way of showing it." Queen Anne huffed. "Every time he even opened his mouth to say 'Good morning' you would make the snidest of remarks and not even give him a second look. Your only redeeming quality was that you spent so much time burrowed in your tower, you exponentially reduced your time to offend him."

"…I know." Margaret mumbled.

Queen Anne's demeanor quickly shifted. "…but are you saying you really did fancy him?"

"Oh, yes!" Margaret said, both excitedly and softly. "I so wish he stayed just another week, to give me time to apologize and change his perception of me."

"Well," Queen Anne stood, as she was a woman of action, she clashed with her daughter, yet, on this issue, her actions were exactly what Margaret was hoping for. "in that case, why don't we send you after him?"

"Oh, mother, thank you!" Margaret smiled gently, resting a hand on her heart. "I shall send off to pack immediately!" She lifted the corner of her gown and glided upstairs to pack properly.

At the time of Margaret's revelation, Eric was only three minutes out to sea. By the time Margaret brought her feelings up, he had been sailing for two weeks and was near docking.

"Almost there, m'boy." A portly sailor clamped Eric on the shoulder.

Eric gave a crooked smile. "I almost wish we weren't. While I do miss the kingdom, I just love the sea – the smell of the air, the mist in your face…it's wonderful."

"Aye, we noticed." The sailor joked. "Why if you weren't the sole heir, we'd slap some fins on you and toss ya in the sea!"

"Wait, you can do that?" Eric said, a little less jokingly than he originally meant.

"You might not like being a fish as much as you think." The sailor said, pointing up at the sky. "Look, storm's brewin'. Ain't you glad you got a nice safe ship? Nothing's gonna happen on here."

"Eh, legs do have some perks. I guess." Eric smiled again.

The sailor chuckled and went to go help adjust the jib. Eric leaned forward and watched as the ship plowed through the waves, conquering the sea, all while barely breaking the surface.

…

Ariel laid on her stomach, tracing circles on her pillow.

"Ariel, are you okay?" Flounder asked.

"I just don't understand him sometimes." Ariel said, speaking of her father's recent outburst. "He just won't even listen! I've been to the surface – hundreds of times! Nothing has ever happened to me, and he still thinks that it's dangerous. Look at this!" Ariel grabbed a dinglehopper off her end table. "Does this look dangerous to you?"

Flounder shook his head.

"Of course not, you're reasonable." Ariel sighed. "It's fantastic." She opened a drawer and put the dinglehopper in.

"Uh, do you want to go exploring?" Flounder pressed. He hated seeing Ariel so upset, and knew that new treasures always cheered her up.

"No." Ariel said firmly, sitting up, fire in her eyes. "I want to go to the surface." Without another word, she swam out the window and upwards as quickly as she could. She broke the surface and pushed her hair back. Her head swiveled to admire her surroundings. A shore was only 500 yards away, and a rather impressive boat was nearing it.

"I've never seen a boat in that good of condition before!" Ariel smiled. The shipwrecks were usually falling apart by the time she found them. "Come on!" she motioned to Flounder and the two swam as quickly as their fins could take them.

Ariel pushed herself up onto a larger boulder, large blue eyes barely peering over, just enough to see the humans disembarking. Suddenly, she felt her breath taken away. Broadly smiling and stepping off the ship, was the most handsome human she had ever seen. He had wavy ebony hair, pushed back so it stayed out of his piercing blue eyes. He swiveled his head over and seemed to stare through Ariel. Knowing it would be foolish to be spotted, Ariel tore herself away and ducked behind the rock, pressing her back to it and scrunching her eyes shut, as if the humans could not see her if she couldn't see them.

Eric still though he had seen something strange, something red, but as he looked closer, it seemed to disappear.

Optical illusion. He thought to himself. Must be from all the sea air.

Ariel wanted to swim to shore immediately, meet this man, talk to him, or even just see him closer. But her father's years of warnings pounded in her head – be spotted, be killed. So, as much as it killed her on the inside, she pushed herself off the rock and back into the ocean, determined to return.

…

Margaret sat in her cabin, nonchalantly playing with the ends of her hair. It was a dirty blond, almost brown, and was slightly lighter than the color of her eyes. Her dress was a soft grey, accentuating her lifeless skin, kept pale by years of staying indoors - for propriety's sake, and because it was her personal preference.

She hoped Eric would be welcoming. He was so sweet during his entire visit, which lasted nearly a month. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she remembered how unkind she was. While she was not verbally abusive, at least, not terribly, she had been rather snarky, she had been so…plain. She ignored him, sat up in her room, secluded herself.

She rolled onto her stomach and pressed her face into her pillow, hoping it would block the sunlight streaming in through the portholes, and finally allow her to rest.

Maybe she could try to be more engaging. It was awfully tiring, constantly moving and talking, but she could give it a try. After all, he was worth it. He was so handsome, and kind, and would surely make a wonderful king. After all, wasn't what all this was about? She need not concern herself with finding a good husband, only a good king, and the rest would fall into place.

She rolled once again onto her back, and began forming a plan to get Eric, determined to return with his ring on her finger.