Ariel struggled to support her weight as she leant on her crutches for support, wobbling in place until the familiar feel of Eric's hands on her waist steadied her. Ariel felt like crying. She'd been on land for almost a year now, long enough for her to become as good at walking as anyone born with two legs. Yet there were still times that the former mermaid stumbled and lost her balance, causing her to fall to the ground. Yesterday had seen one of those times, and had resulted in the current situation.
She had been running to join Eric at breakfast when she had lost her footing about half way down the stairs. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened after that, for she had been overcome by blinding pain, apparently caused by a broken bone in her leg. A doctor had been called in, and declared that she would need a cast on her leg, and crutches in order to move around; something that seemed completely alien to Ariel. Having to move around whilst relying completely on the muscles in your arms wasn't something that Ariel could get the hang of, and only being able to use one leg whilst keeping the other off the ground was very confusing. Trying once more to push herself forward, it became apparent that she simply couldn't do it. With a hopeless sob, the young Princess gave up, and leant back, letting Eric take hold of her.
"I can't do it!" she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks as Eric scooped her up bridal-style, being careful not to touch her injured leg and letting the crutches fall to the ground with soft thuds. She rested her head on her fiancés broad shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing quietly, and wanting nothing more than to be comforted. And comfort her he did.
The Prince carried her to a quiet room and sat down on the sofa there, lowering her to his lap and moving a cushion under her knee so that it was bent at the most comfortable angle to support her broken leg. He looped an arm lovingly around her shoulders and, with the other hand, gingerly brushed away her tears.
Eric hated to see Ariel so upset, and knew that it was unlike her to give up on anything. She was as determined as it got, so to see her stop trying told Eric everything that he needed to know. And what's worse is that her injury had been caused by her desire to be with him. It was his job to keep her safe, yet all he'd been able to do was hold her whilst she cried.
The events of yesterday replayed in his head over, and over again, and each time he felt his sense of guilt increase. He'd been sorting through some loose paperwork before breakfast, before his attention was caught by the sound of something – or as it were, someone – tumbling down the stairs. But what followed had been much worse. Ariel's scream exploded through the palace, causing Eric to freeze only for a fraction of a second before dropping the papers to the ground and rushing to his young love's aid. He had held her until the pain became manageable, and carried her back to her room whereupon a doctor had been called to assess the extent of the damage. All the while, the Prince's heart had been aching, and he had decided then that he would do everything in his power to help his little mermaid.
"It doesn't matter," he said, pressing a soft kiss to Ariel's temple, "it'll be alright. You'll see."
"How can it be?" replied Ariel tearfully, "Eric, I can't do anything."
"That's not true; there are lots of things you can still do, it doesn't matter that you can't walk."
Ariel looked up at Eric with scepticism in her blue eyes, willing the Prince to enlighten her.
"Well," he began, desperately racking his brain for sufficient ideas. "There are enough books in the library to keep you occupied for a lifetime; you could read some of them. You could paint, you could learn to play an instrument, you could bake something, and I'm sure we've got some puzzles somewhere."
He offered her a small smile, and got one in return, but deep down he knew that staying within the walls of the palace wasn't what his little mermaid wanted to do. And so he continued.
"We could find you a wheelchair and I could take you into town; we can still go on walks Ariel, you'd just be sitting down, I don't mind pushing you…" He trailed off, noticed the confusion in his young love's eyes.
"What's a… we-all-chair?" she asked, breaking it down into syllables as she often did with unfamiliar words.
"Exactly what it sounds like," said Eric, chuckling slightly, "it's a chair with wheels. It makes it easier for people who can't walk to get around; they just need someone to push them."
Ariel's face lit up, and she stared up at Eric in anticipation, drying her eyes with shaky hands.
"You mean… we can still go out, just the two of us?"
Eric nodded, kissing Ariel's tear-stained cheek.
For a while the two of them just sat there, surround by a comfortable silence, each focusing on each breath and heartbeat of the other; as had become a regular occurrence. In all honesty, Ariel would have been content to just stay like that for six weeks until her leg had healed, but knew that it wasn't possible.
"Can we go down to the beach?" she asked quietly, breaking the silence.
Eric froze, realising a flaw in his plan. He suddenly found himself lost for words, not wanting to have to tell Ariel that being in a wheelchair would also come with limitations; the main one being that it would be pretty much impossible to push one across the sand. But he couldn't tell her that… it would break her heart.
"W-well… we could… um…" he stuttered.
Ariel seemed to notice his discomfort as he stumbled over his words, and planted a chaste kiss upon his lips to silence him.
"Don't worry," she said, resting her head against his shoulder once again, "I guess I didn't really think it through."
Eric just shook his head and sighed.
"No, I'm the one who didn't think, I'm sorry."
Silence shrouded the room once more, the clock on the mantelpiece ticking loudly, time seeming to slow down as Eric slid his fingers through Ariel's thick crimson hair, completely free on tangles, he marvelled. He had learnt long ago that it was an action which calmed her, a gentle way of making her feel safe, off letting her know he was there, but without her feeling the need to make conversation.
She was grateful for it, grateful for everything that Eric gave her really. Even now, when she was feeling so useless, he had stayed by her side, always trying to provide her with happiness. And he did, whether he knew it or not.
Ariel smiled a genuinely happy smile, for the first time since her accident, and lifted her head, staring into the sky-blue eyes of the man she loved.
"You know," she began, "baking does sound fun. We could make something together, and I love music. There's a piano in the ballroom that I've always wanted to play."
She blushed her last words, finally admitting to something that had caught her attention the day she'd been given legs. But Eric only smiled, chuckling lightly as his fiancées cheeks were tinted pink.
"Then by all means, let's spend the day together, doing whatever takes your fancy." He paused, and ever so gently slid out from under her. "Wait here, I won't be a minute."
Ariel watched in surprise as Eric left the room; wait here, he'd said, of course she'd wait here, she couldn't do anything but wait here.
It wasn't long until Eric returned, pushing what Ariel realised must be what he had called a wheelchair.
"Milady, your chariot awaits!" he exclaimed dramatically, bowing before the smiling Princess and causing her to giggle.
Today was going to be an awful lot of fun.
Author's Note: Hello everyone!
I was planning to finish writing Chapter XI of "How to Save a Life" today, but was greeted instead with a severe case of writer's block. Therefore, this is going to be an ongoing story for me to add to whenever this occurs (which it so often does) or whenever I feel the need to take a break from other stories. Each chapter will see Ariel and Eric doing different activities around the palace and surrounding area, and although it is unlikely to be updated very frequently, it's there for me in case I need it, and will be completed once "How to Save a Life" is finished.