Saturday
"He had once thought that staying out of the ocean would get easier as time passed...but, after nearly two years, the water still called to him as forcefully as it had before."Twenty years later, Ariel and Eric's son struggles to rule his kingdom and resist the temptations of the sea.
A few quick notes:
This generally follows the plot of all three movies- the only AU aspect is that the humans and merfolk did not interact. Members of Eric's court were never told where Ariel came from, and the humans do not know that merpeople exist.
Eric died about two years before this begins, and Melody and Ariel have now returned to the sea. Melody is about 34 and her younger brother, Adam, is now king at the age of 20.
If people like where this is going, I am happy to continue, let me know!
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The salty sea breeze brushed across his face as he sat waiting on the rickety dock. He closed his eyes, revelling in the scent as he allowed the wind to tousle his auburn hair.
He had once thought that staying out of the sea would get easier as more time passed- but, after nearly two years, the ocean still called to him as forcefully as before. He wanted nothing more than to immerse himself in it- to let the water consume him- let it take him away from his mundane world of work and responsibility.
It was childish, perhaps. Selfish even. But Adam found it impossible to suppress his desires.
Luckily, he was also as headstrong as his mother, and he refused to let himself be overcome by such urges. He didn't dare to touch the water and he drew his knees towards his chest, protecting himself from the temping depths below. The golden ring on his index finger suddenly felt like it weighed sixty pounds, but he did his best to ignore that as well. All it would take was one little twist...
But he wouldn't give in.
He couldn't.
Adam often wondered why he put himself through this. It had become a weekly routine now, and it never failed to fill him with mixed feelings.
Every Saturday, usually after the sun had set, he would sneak down to the dock and wait for his sister. Sometimes she came alone, sometimes she brought her husband and daughter. On occasion, their mother and grandfather would accompany her to the surface as well.
Those visits were always the hardest. Seeing them all there- together- reminded him of what he was missing.
They were literally a world apart, and he was the one who had been left behind.
But, he supposed, seeing them like this was better than not seeing them at all and, despite the pain it caused, the young king always looked forward to Saturdays.
A small splash caught Adam's attention and he quickly looked to his left. Seconds later, right on schedule, Melody's dark head emerged from the water. She quickly swam towards him, a wide smile on her face.
He tried to ignore the pang of jealousy that rushed through him as he caught a quick glimpse of her red tail. God, how he missed having that kind of freedom- nothing felt better than effortlessly gliding through the clear ocean, allowing the currents to sweep you away.
Adam had never understood why his mother had once been so eager to trade her tail for legs. At least she had come to her senses now. After their father had died, their mother had decided to return home- she had been yearning for it for years and, with Eric gone, remaining on land was simply too painful. She had offered to stay for the sake of her son, but Adam had assured her that he would be fine (it was a lie, but at least it was a well-intentioned one). She deserved to be happy. He just wished that he had that luxury too.
"Good to see you, Mel."Adam said, returning her smile. Despite it all, he was truly happy that she had come and there was no use wasting this precious time with dark thoughts.
"Good to see you too, little brother." She replied as she reached the dock and folded her arms across the rough wooden surface. "I hope you've been keeping well."
Adam shrugged. "Well enough," he began. "The Dutch ambassador finally left yesterday, which was a huge relief. I swear, if he had made any more ridiculous demands, I think I would have lost my patience. I mean really, who wakes up the cook and demands caviar at three in the morning?"
Melody chuckled and gave her brother a sympathetic smile. "I suppose putting up with ridiculous guests comes with the job, huh? Remember that time that the Czar and his family came...Dad nearly kicked them out after they pulled that tapestry off of the wall and used it as a blanket." She grinned at the memory. "At least mom was there to calm him down before he caused an international incident."
The young man gave a quiet laugh. "Yeah, I'd never seen dad turn red like that before." He paused for a moment before continuing, this time with a hint of sadness in his voice. "How is mom holding up?"
"Okay." Mel replied, glancing down at the dark water. "I mean, it's pretty clear that she's still in mourning, but grandfather has given her royal duties to keep her busy, and she spends a lot of time with me, Thomas and Grace."
Adam nodded, relieved to hear that his mother was keeping busy. She had become a shadow of her former self after losing Eric and, although they were in mourning as well, both children had been concerned by their mother's state. Ariel had seemed...hollow...and Adam and Melody had done all that they could to keep her from slipping away. Losing a father was one thing, but losing a soul mate was quite another. Theirs had been a forbidden love that would last through the ages and, now that he was gone, nothing would ever be the same again. The siblings had worried that she would simply give up, and neither could stand the thought of losing her too.
In the end, Grace had been a godsend. Melody's daughter had arrived four months after Eric's untimely death and the sight of her grandchild had brought Ariel back from the brink. When she was with Grace, she was almost herself again- and Adam and Melody had realized that their mother would fare much better under the ocean with Melody and her family to keep her occupied. As much as he wanted her to stay, Adam knew he had to let her go. So, two years ago, she had returned to her true form, and gone back to Atlantica.
But, unlike his mother and sister, Adam had been unable to escape into the world below.
He had inherited the throne now, and promised his father that he would rule Denmark with a fair hand. As the male heir, he had had little choice, and he knew that he could never go against his father's dying wish.
That didn't make it any easier, though.
As a child and teenager, he had loved the ocean as much- if not more than- his sister. He was born a year after the wall had come down and, at the tender age of four, his grandfather had given he and Melody the ultimate gift- enchanted rings that allowed them to change between their human and mer forms as they wished. With the simple twist of the trident embossed ring, his tail (blue, like his grandfather's) would replace his legs, and he would be as free as a fish in the Atlantic.
They had spent so much time in Atlantica in those years and Adam could honestly say that it had been the happiest time of his life. It had always been a bit of a novelty to Melody (who didn't know about their mother's past until she was twelve and was already sixteen when they began their frequent trips)- but for Adam, it was almost normal. He had taken the ability to shift between human and merman for granted, and he had never thought that his freedom would one day come to an end.
But, at the age of eighteen, everything came crashing down.
Melody was already married by then- to a merman, no less- and had made a permanent home under the sea. Adam had secretly thought that he would one day do the same but, when his father had become ill, the full burden of his future responsibilities had sunk in.
The country needed a king.
The country needed him.
And that meant that he had to give up the thing he had loved the most.
As king, he couldn't disappear under the ocean for days on end. People would notice, and people would start to suspect that something was amiss. The court was already full of gossip in the wake of Princess Melody's "disappearance" and Queen Ariel's "departure"- Adam knew he couldn't afford to fuel more rumours. He hated to think what would happen if his courtiers found out that he wasn't exactly...human. The members of his council who disagreed with his kingship would probably try to have him overthrown, for a start...he knew that his cousin Peter would certainly be glad to see that happen.
"Adam, wake up."
His sister's voice snapped him back to reality, and the young man looked down to see her shaking her head as she bobbed peacefully in the water. "Are you even listening to me, kelp brain?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm listening." He replied with a smirk, secretly happy that he and his sister could still engage in some old fashioned sibling banter. As a child, he had hated it when she called him kelp brain- now, it simply made him nostalgic.
Melody chuckled. "Right, well, I was saying that next Saturday, we should meet a bit earlier. Grace is dying to come back up to the surface again, and I think mom wants to come along as well." She paused. "I was thinking that maybe we could make a day of it. We'd meet you here at about noon, and then we could all swim over to the Northern Isle- maybe have a picnic in the cove?"
Adam's smile quickly faded.
The Northern Isle was a long distance from the shore, and it would be nearly impossible to swim there without passing out from fatigue. Nearly impossible for a human, at least...
"Mel, you know I can't..."
He began to protest, but his sister cut him off in midsentence. She was just as stubborn as he was, and he could tell that she wasn't going to let the issue go without a fight.
"Of course you can." She said, her green eyes flickering towards the ring he still wore on his finger.
He knew it was silly to keep it on- and if he was smart, he would have thrown it into the ocean ages ago. But it was still too hard to let go, even though he knew he could never go back to his old way of life.
"Mel, please don't. I don't want to talk about it. You know why I can't."
His sister scowled and gave him a dramatic eye roll.
She didn't understand, and he knew that she never would. That was why they had had this argument a million times in the past two years.
"No, I know why you think you can't." The young woman shot back. "But you're being ridiculous, Adam. I know you have responsibilities now, and I know you made a promise to dad. But you can't keep depriving yourself like this. He wouldn't want that- and we hate seeing you like this."
Adam looked away, trying to ignore the stinging feeling in his eyes.
"You may be king, but don't have to be the family martyr as well." Melody continued, reaching out to place her wet hand on his dry one.
He quickly pulled it away.
"You don't belong on land- not completely. You're just as much a merman as you are human. You need to return to the ocean sometimes. Even just for a little while."
"Enough!" His voice came out more forcefully then he had intended and he could tell from his sister's wide eyes that he had shocked her into silence. She looked almost...hurt, and he almost regretted his harsh tone.
Unfortunately, she had hit a raw nerve and, as the blood began to pound in his ears, he could not quell the tide that followed.
"Do you think I don't know those things, Mel?" He snapped before abruptly hoisting himself to his feet. "I think about the ocean every minute of every day, and I hate that I can't be with everyone else. I hate being stuck here. But, unlike the rest of you, I don't have much of a choice."
"Well, instead of feeling sorry for yourself, why don't you modify some of the stupid rules you've made and come home every one and a while? You're the only one standing in your way!" Her voice was louder than before, and Adam knew that his tirade had irked her. "What the hell are you so afraid of, Adam?"
"I'm afraid that I'll never want to come back!"
His words rang out across the tranquil water and for a long moment, the siblings glared at each other in silence.
What he had said was true- that was his greatest fear, and the reason that he had stayed in human form for two long years. He knew that he loved life under the water, and he worried that if he gave into temptation- even for a little bit- he would not have the strength to go back.
He too was weak.
"Fine then. I don't know what to say anymore." His sister muttered, finally breaking the tense silence. "I can't stand seeing you like this, and I think you're being absurd. Thomas, and mom and Grace and I will be here next week at noon. I hope you'll decide to join us."
Adam said nothing and, after another pause, Melody turned and dove back underneath the water- splashing an unusual amount of water in her brother's direction as she went.
Now dripping, and feeling worse than he had before, the young king stormed back toward the lonely castle, trying to ignore his rapidly beating heart and the blissful feeling of salt water on his skin.
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Not too far away, a lone figure crouched silently behind a large rock, a grin plastered across his pale face.
He had always been good at watching. And waiting.
Now, it seemed like his efforts were finally going to pay off.
Yes- as he suspected, something fishy was definitely going on- and he was more determined than ever to find out what it was.
He wished that he had been able to see and hear more of what had gone on. But he was almost certain that the king was up to something.
He would return next week, he decided.
He would get closer next time and maybe, just maybe, he would finally find the key to the king's undoing...