Just one thing to say before you can read this: I do not own the Little Mermaid, Eric, Ariel, etc. They belong to Disney and Disney alone, as much as I wish that they were mine.

And, please R&R and tell me what you think!


Will Anyone Miss Me?

I lay still on the sand, my eyes shut, trying to remember. My clothes are torn, soaked; my hair drips into my face; sand sticks to my hands, feet and cheeks.

What has happened? Why am I on this beach?

Ariel.

The name pounds through my senses, making my heart race and my mind strain to recall her face. All I can see is Vanessa.

Why hadn't I seen through her? She had pulled me away from Ariel, the love of my life, one whom I had thought was mute. She had pushed the real me to the back of my mind to view the goings-on as I forgot about Ariel and told Grimsby that I loved my silent nymph no more.

I shift slightly, pushing myself up on shaky arms. They give out and I fall onto my back, my eyes still shut as I drift between unconsciousness and wakefulness.

Where is Ariel now?

I strain to recall what had happened: I was on the boat with Vanessa. We were getting married. And then… sea animals attacked her.

Ariel appeared on deck; somehow, the shell necklace Vanessa wore broke, and suddenly my little redhead could speak. I remembered getting control of my body back, and Ariel's voice soared over the deck in a familiar song. I went to her, but… Vanessa turned into a… a…thing! What was she?

All I can remember from that point on is clinging to Ariel in the water. She had a tail. She was a mermaid? She is a mermaid?

Vanessa -- or whoever she was -- is dead. Ariel could be dead. If she is, I know I can't bring myself to live anymore.

My tongue sticks in my mouth when I try to swallow. I have no strength in my limbs to raise myself to look for fresh water to drink. No doubt I am thought dead, after such a storm the night before.

The sun beats painfully down on my face, dehydrating me more. I attempt to open my eyes, only to find them nearly blinded by the morning sun.

I accept the fact that I will die without another glimpse of my little mermaid. I don't even know if she is alive to search for me; for all I know, she died before the storm threw me into the water. The thought of her broken body lying at the bottom of the sea is too much for me. If there is any water left in my body, it is developing into tears.

I feel myself slipping further away from reality, and relish the thought of no more pain. Idly I wonder, Will anyone miss me? Dehydrated as I am, I know that if no one finds me, I won't survive another night.

A noise in the water gives me sudden strength. I struggle to sit up, putting a hand to my forehead. What happened to the unconscious bliss that had hovered so near?

Something is emerging from the water. I narrow my eyes against the sun's glare, and then they widen in disbelief. A red head of hair is emerging from the blue waves. Blue eyes smile out at me from a familiar face, and Ariel holds out her arms, a sparkling dress blowing around her slender frame. Her tail-less frame.

The disbelief is eaten away by pure happiness, and a smile works its way over my face. I get to my feet and run to her, putting my hands around her small waist and lifting her into the air, spinning so I can feel her, see her eyes, hear her laugh, know she's really alive, and that I know I'm not dead.

I gently set her back on the ground as the waves lap at our bare feet. I see tears glimmering in her eyes, and we both lean forward for our first kiss.