A world in which she had only three days was the cruelest possibility of all.

Almost a reality, the very thought seemed almost unbearable. To miss all the joys and pains that living brought. To miss the discoveries as a human, and the hardships as a new one. Her time with Eric, her time with Melody, everything was too vital to forgo.

A maid had come into the sullen room quickly. Though no infectious diseases were continued, she acted as if she could catch It, catch the mood, the grief, by staying only a moment longer. She stoked the fire, nodded at the royal couple, curtseyed politely, and left.

"Do you remember?" Ariel heard Eric's voice faintly, weakly, and smiled. Of course she did.

…

She remembered being a newlywed, but three days into the marriage with the love of her life. Neither she nor Eric liked being apart for even a moment, and it showed. He carried her around, her hand was in his always, there were marks on her neck.

It was early evening still, and she and Eric and slipped out to return to their lagoon; the little offset where they had shared their first romantic moment. The climbed into the same boat, and dreamed of the future.

"You know I'll love you forever, right?" Eric eventually said.

"I do." Ariel nodded, threading her fingers through his. "And you know I feel the same towards you?"

"No matter what happens."

"Eric, we have a wonderful life ahead of us. We're going to live happily ever after."

Eric smiled and kissed her forehead. "You're right."

…

The stars seemed to dance in her eyes, and Eric held on to her with all his might, for fear she'd float up to join them. After every constellation he told her, she'd ask for another. He didn't know that many, and had to resort to making them up.

"Another!"

"That's Linda. The…turtle."

"Oh, wow."

"You saw stars under the ocean, right? If you got close enough to the surface?" Eric turned to her. She was so amazed, but they were out every night! Surely she had seen them before. If not under the sea, then whenever they were outside at night. Through her window, really anytime.

"Well of course." Ariel nodded. "Whenever I'd sneak out at night, I'd go to the surface. Now, every night before I wash up, I go lean out the window and look at the sky."

"Then, I mean, why are you so excited? If you see them all the time?"

Ariel shrugged. "Why aren't you?"

…

Her scream pierced through the door and echoed down the hall. That was the loudest one yet. Eric stood to enter the room, to hell with propriety, he was going to be with his wife when she was in labor, dammit!

But the nurses would push him back and down. You will only distress her! You're not supposed to see this! We need everything to go smoothly and according to protocol! Please, your highness, if you care for her safety, and the life of your unborn child, just sit down!

And he did, so he sat there for all twelve hours of labor. Ariel knew he was there, and was almost glad he wasn't in the room with –

She couldn't finish her thought, as a shot of pain went through her and she wailed again, out of instinct.

"What will we name her?" Eric asked, rubbing Ariel's very pregnant stomach. "Or him?"

"It's a girl, I just know it!" Ariel exclaimed. "I can feel it."

"Then that narrows some names down."

"Something for the ocean, I'm set on that."

Eric smiled. "Sounds great to me."

"Tides? Oceana? River?"

"How about Morgana?" Eric asked. "It means 'dweller of the sea'"

"I don't know, that kind of gives me a bad vibe. What else?"

"Marilla is 'shining sea'."

Ariel scrunched up her nose.

"From the sacred spring." Eric snapped his fingers. "Diona!"

"Sacred spring?" Ariel furrowed her brow. "Is that a euphemism?"

Eric snorted.

"I want it to be something more. We love the sea, and she should be a part of it. A friend to it, a member of it. All it has to offer should go to her."

"Nerita." Eric said after a moment. "From the sea, of the sea."

Ariel paused, pursing her lips. "We could call her Nelly when she's little, Nerita when she's grown."

"We could."

"None of the other children would have that name. She'd be unique."

"That she would."

"I can't wait to meet her!"

With a final scream, and a final push, Ariel fell back in her bed, panting. "Let me see my child." She said between labored breaths.

The nurses were running, moving quickly and efficiently and passing tools. The doctor barked snippets of orders they all seemed to understand. Ariel saw her child get passed through a line of nurses to a table.

"My Nerita!" Ariel said, now a bit anxious.

She was collectively ignored, and Eric burst into the room. "Is she born? Let me see her!"

The medical personnel moved more quickly yet, ignoring the royal pair.

"Is…something wrong?" Ariel sat up, pushing her sweat-drenched bangs off of her forehead.

A few minutes passed still, but any concept of time was lost.

"We're…so sorry, your highnesses." One of the braver nurses stepped forward. "He's been lost."

…

"I'm not nervous, I just might die of anxiety tonight." Eric tittered, as Ariel adjusted his sash.

"You'll be fine."

"It's just the biggest night of my life."

"And you'll do great." Ariel stood on her tiptoes to kiss the bridge of his nose and Eric flushed red. He hated that he still did that, but loved it too.

"What if I don't do a good job?"

"You will be a great king." Ariel nodded firmly.

"But maybe it should be someone else."

"Eric, no one else could do better. You are patient and understanding, yet brave and resolved. You will lead with grace, and intensity. The kingdom will be safe, happy, and balanced."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's how you are with me."

…

"If it was at all possible, I'd say you and Melody were conjoined twins." Eric laughed, taking the newborn out of his wife's arms.

"Hm?" Ariel rubbed exhaustion from her eyes and yawned. After a brief stretch, she reached out her arms for the baby back. "Give her to me."

"My turn." Eric smiled, bouncing his daughter. "Do you think she'll like the sea?"

"I don't know." Ariel said truthfully. "I don't care. She's here, and she's already doing everything she ever needs to?"

"Hm?"

"She's alive."

…

"I should've been there."

"How could you have been?"

"I never thought this far ahead! I'm stupid! Stupid!" Ariel buried her head into her knees and bawled.

"Ariel, you're a human now. You never could have possibly been there on time. It was his time, it just happened suddenly."

"If I was a mermaid, I would've been there. All of my sisters were. I was the only one missing."

"You were never meant to be a mermaid your whole life, you've known that for years." Eric tried to console her.

"He's dead. He's dead, he's dead, he's dead!" she looked up at Eric with bloodshot eyes. "My father is gone."

"We can hold a memorial."

"It isn't the same."

"Can't we turn you back into a mermaid? He did it before-"

"Right. He did it. None of my sisters know how. They don't have the same power. I don't know how." Ariel sniffed and exhaled shakily. "My father is gone, and I can never be a mermaid again."

Eric drew her in closer. What could he say? How could he help? The simplest truth was, he was already doing all that he could. And nothing was harder to face than that.

…

"They came back!" Ariel leaned over the stern of the boat so far Eric had to grab her hips to keep her from falling.

"Did you doubt them?"

Ariel flushed a little at the idea. They were her family, after all. "No, but it's so soon!"

"We wanted to see you!" Alana cried.

"We miss you, you know that!" Attina smiled, waving.

Ariel waved back excitedly. "I miss you, too!"

"Well then, get in!" Andrina flopped onto her back and floated, revealing her shiny tail.

Ariel balked a little. That wasn't an option anymore.

"You know how to swim." Eric reminded her, resting a hand at the small of her back.

"Yes I do!" Ariel nodded, determined. She leapt into the water and splashed all those around her. She broke the surface, laughing excitedly, and her sisters swam up to meet her. Ariel turned and looked at her husband, who was smiling at her from the boat. "Well?" she called up, waving an arm. "You can swim – get in!"

…

"Christmas is my favorite, I think."

"Ariel," Eric laughed, sweeping her up and lifting her just enough to allow her to stick an ornament on the tree. "Everything is your favorite."

"Well, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. It's one of the things I love about you." He placed her down, and she went off in a hunt of the Next Perfect Ornament.

Ariel beamed at him, then indicated she'd like to be lifted again. He obliged. "Good." She smiled, clipping it on. "That's not going anywhere."

"Whoa!" Eric chuckled as she wavered a little bit, dropping her into a bridal cradle. "And neither are you."

"Eric, let's go out to the snow today."

"Okay. What do you want to do?"

"I want to go by the part of the shores, where the ice juts up and makes little mountains. It's so odd."

"Then by all means, an adventure awaits."

…

"We're gonna live happily ever after – do you remember?"

Ariel wished she could respond, but she knew Eric didn't expect her to. She hadn't been able to in weeks. She could hear everything very clearly at first, that she had ventured out too far, slipped off a glazed ice pile, fallen through weak ice, and gotten pretty banged up on the way down. Eric had fished her out, but she remembered nothing past the piercing chill of her initial entry.

After a while, she felt fainter, weaker, colder yet, and the voices began to fade. She still yearned to respond, insist that their ever after wasn't done yet, but she had less confidence as to the truth of this as time passed.

"How much longer does she have with us, doctor?" Eric asked, voice choking.

The doctor laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I'd give her three days."