It was the Annual masquerade Ball that occurred at the beginning of every spring. My father had forbidden my sisters and I to go to it but I snuck out. I knew that my punishment would most likely be very severe once I returned but ever since I heard the Tales of the Royal people from Scuttle, the boy who lived down the road, I just had to take this opportunity that was handed to me. I made my own costume, a mermaid designed dress. It was made up of old clothing from my sisters and myself but it still looked good. I hurried to town for the Ball started at six and I lived way out in the country so it was a ways to walk.
The Masquerade Ball was held at the dance/theater hall in the center of the town. It much resembled the Globe Theater in which Shakespeare had his first plays performed. As soon as I entered this majestic building I felt as though I walked into a magical world. The costumes, decorations, music, it all seemed so very magical. I walked in with a bright smile and was overwhelmed with offers to dance. I was a little nervous so I grabbed the first hand I could reach and began dancing the night away.
I danced for what seemed like hours on end before I had to stop for refreshments. I walked over to the refreshment stand and grabbed a glass of punch before turning to watch the rest of the Royals merrily dance. I became mesmerized by the twirling figures. Their dance was so elegant like that of the swan gracefully crossing the lake.
"Excuse me ma'am. May I please have this dance?" I turned to find a gorgeous young man offering me his hand. I did not know who he was nor would I be able to tell even if I did for he wore a mask. Though, even with the mask, he seemed more beautiful and radiant than the other young men. Something about him made my heart skip a beat.
I took his hand and we glided to the dance floor. The maestro struck the band up once more and we began our elegant dance. The whole time dancing all I could do was stare into his eyes and feel as though I were floating. It felt like I was in heaven and I wished that it would never end. Sadly the last note of the musical piece sounded then all went silent as an older man approached the young man I was dancing with.
"Prince Eric, I have an announcement to make and it would mean a lot to me if you would join me." The man looked to me then bowed and said, "Forgive me madam."
"You have done no wrong deed, good sir." I slightly curtsied. The man gentle nodded his head then headed towards the stage with Prince Eric. Prince Eric! Good lord he was the Prince of this kingdom, soon to be king once he found a bride. I stiffened in shock as I stood staring towards the stage.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, as most of you know, Today is Prince Eric's 16th birthday. Now I have a gift for him. I hoped that it would be a wedding present but it seems our young prince wasn't very satisfied with the princesses he has met. So with out further or do I give your gift, Prince Eric." An oversized cloth slid off of a large statue of the Prince. It was beautiful but the look on the Princes' face might have suggested otherwise. He still said thank you and patted the old man on the back. Everyone applauded and the celebration commenced once more.
I slowly walked toward the edge of the stage to get out of the way of the other people dancing. I stood there for a moment in deep thought. I had felt a jolt in my heart when I first saw him. Was that a sign of love? It did not matter now that I knew who he was. He couldn't possibly fall for a farmer's daughter like me. I sighed as I hopped up to sit on the edge of the stage.
Crash! "Ah!" Screams rang into the air as flaming arrows shot through the windows of the dance hall. Suddenly a group of vicious looking men busted through the front door, swords in hand.
"Get the Prince!" Shouted the man in the lead. Many knights jumped forward to fight and none stood guard around the Prince himself. I quickly stood and grabbed the princes' hand. "Follow Me!" I yelled as I dragged him towards the servants' corridor. We were being chased so I twisted and turned through the maze of rooms and came to a closet. I shoved the prince in and followed behind.
"Be silent if you wish to live." I covered his mouth with my hand as I listened at the door for any sign of the person who was after us. There was a moment of a man yelling and digging through things, and then he was gone. I cracked the door open and peeked through to find no one in sight. I grabbed the princes' hand and stepped out of the closet with him, but suddenly a wooden beam smacked into us and my vision began to fade. The last thing I heard was the older man apologizing to the Prince and calling for help, and then there was a faint tune coming from the locket on my necklace that my mother had given me. It was a sweet tune to hear, as I lay there next to the prince, unsure if we would live for I could smell the fire beginning to surround us.
I woke up to my father's voice. It was quite comforting. I slowly opened my eyes to find myself lying in my own bed with my father, a doctor, and a maid surrounding me. A maid? Why was there a maid? Well no matter. I looked to my father and he smiled.
"Thank heavens your awake Ariel! I was worried sick about you!" My father patted the doctor on the back," This here is Doctor Sebastian. He says that you were a foolish girl to leave your home but the kingdom is grateful to you for saving its Prince. Luckily you didn't sustain major damage. You just had a minor concussion. But you should be better in a few days. For now the Princes' guardian has delivered us a maid from their castle to care for you until you are better." I looked over at the made. She was an elderly woman with white and gray hair tide back in a bun. She smiled at me, though; I could tell she didn't mean it. Just what I needed.
After moments of chitter chatter with the doctor and I, my father left the room, the doctor following behind. I sat there silently staring at the maid and she did the same. While staring at her a thought crossed my mind. She can get me into the castle to see the prince. Heck I'd work there if it meant being close to him.
"Is there anything I can do for you ma'am?" Her voice was a bit eerie. Almost witch like. I looked to her, unsure if I really wanted to ask her about what I was thinking. I suppose it's worth a shot.
"Could you get me a job in the palace?" It came out a little shaky but I was glad that I even managed to get it out. The old women scratched the back of her head and thought for a moment.
"I suppose I could, and you want to be really close to him, I bet. Well this will cost you, deary, because I'm going to have to pull quite a few strings to manage this." She gave a curious glance my way and I could feel a shiver crawl down my spine.
"I am but a farmers daughter. What could I possibly pay you with?" Honestly I had nothing that would seem worthwhile but the look in her eyes as she stared at me said otherwise.
"I noticed that pretty necklace you have on. It seems to be quite pricey and it plays a lovely little tune doesn't it." I reached for my necklace; held it close, while looking at my blanket as I thought.
"My mother gave this to me. Is there nothing else you would rather take?" The old women shook her head and I let out a long sigh. I unhooked the necklace and looked at it for a moment. I hope this was well worth it. I opened the locket up and took my mothers picture out before handing it to the old women. She smiled brightly at me.
"As soon as you are well then I shall take you to the castle with me and get you your job."
#
A few days had passed by and I was feeling better then ever, standing at the castle gates. The old women kept her word. She brought me into the servants keep and showed me around before bringing me to the prince and telling me what my job was. We quietly entered the princes' room to find him lying in bed with a bandage wrap around his eyes.
"What's wrong with him?" I felt as though my heart had fallen and hard.
"You both got hit by that beam. Sadly the prince has gone temporarily blind because of it. This is where you come in. You are to dress him, serve him, bath him, clean his room, deliver his food, change his bandage, and entertain him. You think you can manage this." She stood, hands on hip, and a sarcastic look painted on her face.
"Yes Ma'am" She turned on her heel and walked out the room. I gently sat on the edge of the bed as I stared curiously at the Prince.
"Who's there?" He spoke so suddenly that I jumped. He himself sounded a little frightened.
"My names Ariel. I'm your new maid." I bowed even though I knew he couldn't see me.
"Please come closer so I can touch you." I stepped closer, reaching my hand for his. He gently cupped my hand in his and smiled. From that day on he and I became good friends. We spoke of many things. Of fools and kings, of love and lust, of happiness and sorrow, and of the day he lost his sight. Through the whole time that I was there I never mentioned that it was me who was the one who was with him when he lost his sight for fear that he would hate me. But to my surprise he told me how he heard the tune from my locket before he blacked out, knowing that it belonged to the girl that saved him. I wanted to say that it was my locket but I had no proof, so I went on with my days. I was close to him but I knew he would never love me because he was looking for the girl with the locket.
One day the old man came in and announced that they had found the girl with the locket. The prince was so excited that he had me dress him in his best. When he left to meet her I lay in his bed and cried. This was not fair.
Later that day he returned and told me how he and the girl were going to get married three sunsets from now. I felt my heart break in two as I listened to him announce the news so joyfully as I bathed him.
"Congratulations." Was all I could say. I was too pained to say anymore.
Two suns had come and now the third was only hours away from setting. The girl was to arrive any moment now. The Prince was all dressed up in a perfectly tailored suit for the wedding and a great big smile painted on his face. I suppose I should be happy for him. After all we have been friends for half a year now. Sadly I could not bring myself to smile over the fact that the man I loved was going to marry another within a few hours.
"Your highness she's here." Everyone stood in silence and anticipation as the girls' carriage pulled up. Slowly she stepped out of the carriage with such grace. She slowly glided towards the prince with a lovely smile, lovely yet not beautiful. It was lacking. Moments later an old women stepped out of the carriage. It was the old lady who had cared for me and gotten me this job! How dare she!
I ran off to my sleeping quarters and cried. How could this be happening? What could I do? I should go talk to that old woman! And so I did.
"My dear I never said that you would marry the prince. I simply gave you the job you wanted. Now if you are so desperate to have your prince then the only way is to kill the girl. It won't affect me much. She just paid me a sum of money for that necklace and got lucky is all. Now if you don't mind I need to go prepare the bouquets!" The old women stormed away with the lingering thoughts within my head. I would have to kill the girl. I would have to do it when they slept. That was the plan. I grabbed a dagger and hid it away within my cloak before I rushed down to help with the Wedding preparation
I held my tears back during the wedding. It seemed so long and so very painful. We were on a cruiser ship for the wedding. So the Prince and his new Princess would be sleeping on it tonight. I was now in the room meant for them, preparing the bed and making sure the room looked perfect. While doing this I cried and I cried. I quickly wiped any trace of tears away as I heard laughter and footsteps headed my way.
"Your room is ready your highness." I curtsied and hated doing so because the girl seemed to cling to the Prince tighter, knowing that it caused me some sort of pain.
"Thank you Ariel. This means a lot to me and you no longer have to be a servant. I grant you your freedom for being such a good friend to me." Said Prince Eric with a smile. I wanted to run up to him and hug him, but could not.
"Thank you your highness." I quickly walked out and hid away for the rest of the night until peeking hours of dawn the next morning. I quietly snuck into the Prince and Princesses' room. They were both sleeping peacefully together. I walked over to the Princesses side and held the dagger just above her heart. I stared at her with such hate and was sure that I could shove that happy dagger through her chest, until I looked over at Eric's beautiful face. I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't live any longer for my heart was broken and could not be repaired. I was going to use the dagger on myself.
I walked over to Eric and stared at him for a moment before I bent down and planted a gentle kiss upon his lips and whispered 'I love you' in his ear. I turned and walked to the bay window in the room, opened it and stared off into the sea. That was where I belonged.
Eric sat up suddenly and began unwrapping his bandage. I thrust the happy dagger into myself quickly, hoping I would die before he noticed I was there. He had the bandage off of his eyes and stared at me. He could see! He looked at me with shock then ran over and grabbed me as I almost fell over the edge.
"How could I have been so foolish to not realize that it was you who saved me? You were the one at the ball. It was you the whole time!" He held me close and began to cry. He did love me. Now I felt foolish for stabbing myself. I reached up and touched his cheek.
"Please go on with your life and forget about me. I now know that you love me and can die in peace. But promise me that you will give that locket to your first-born daughter and name her after me. You see I gave up that locket to get the job of being your maid. So please do me that small favor and that way I will always be with you. I…I Love you Eric." He nodded with tears in his eyes. I smiled at him then watched his face fade away.
The End.