Ariel stood on the shoreline, analyzing the vast ocean before her. While eating their breakfast this morning, Eric had noticed how enticing the ocean looked, and he surprised the redhead by challenging her to a swim. Ariel had raised her eyebrow at the idea, wondering where this idea had come from.

When she questioned him about it, he had replied coolly, "Well, I never stood a chance of winning any kind of activity that involved swimming, but now that you're a bit.. handicapped," he nodded toward her slight bump, "I think I have a pretty good chance."

Ariel had raised an thin red brow at his challenge but narrowed her eyes and glared at him playfully. "You're on, sailor."

Now, as Ariel watched the waves crashing on the shoreline, waiting for Eric to join her, she noticed that the current wasn't too strong. Her instincts told her that the ocean floor was smooth, too, at least up until the giant rock that sat a few yards away. But beyond that didn't matter, for the pair was only racing to that rock. Even if he was the one who challenged her, Eric didn't want to physically exhaust his pregnant wife.

Eric suddenly appeared next to Ariel, holding nothing but a towel. Throwing it aside, he looked at her and said, "Ready?"

Ariel yawned and tossed her towel o the side, too, pretending to look bored. "Mhm," she nodded with a sly grin.

"Okay…" Eric crouched over and placed his hands in the sand, as if about to start a race. Ariel simply stood next to him, focused on the sea in front of her.

"Go!" he yelled, obviously confident that he would win. However, once they started, Ariel was unstoppable. She broke into a sprint into the shallow water, and once it got deeper, dove fully in. Her legs instinctively moved as if she had fins, causing her to speed through the water effortlessly. She could admit, though, that her body definitely felt heavier than it usually did.

In a matter of seconds, the princess burst out of the water, wiping her drooping bangs from her face. A few seconds later, Eric popped out of the water as well, shaking his dark hair.

When he saw that Ariel had already arrived at the rock, he exhaled and looked down in defeat, shaking his head. Ariel chuckled in victory. "Come on, honey," she giggled. "Did you really think you could swim faster than a former mermaid?" She floated over to him, pecking him on his cheek. "Better luck next time, sailor," she winked, before diving back under the water to head back to shore.