Chapter 1

Sir Grimsby sighed once again as he stared out the palace dining room window overlooking the sea. The sky had darkened and a storm began raging. It had been a very unusual day and he feared what would happen next. He remembered the look in Eric's eyes that morning when he wished to be married to the mysterious brunette girl that stood next to him. Grimsby had felt that the young prince was not entirely there, and felt reservations about the arrangement. He hid these concerns behind an excuse that it would take time to arrange a wedding, but Eric maintained that it happen as soon as possible. As Grimsby continued to reflect on this, he remembered that Eric's voice had sounded strangely monotonous. He now felt that he should have expressed these concerns more directly, because the day had now become a complete disaster. Halfway through the wedding, various sea life had climbed aboard the deck and attacked the girl known as "Vanessa." Eric's sheepdog, Max, seemed particularly eager to join the chaos. Shortly after Max had broken free of his grasp and bit Vanessa on the rear, he noticed that Ariel, who had not been invited to the wedding, was suddenly standing on deck, singing. Wasn't the girl supposedly mute? How could she suddenly sing now? No, that wasn't what he should have been thinking. She then transformed into a mermaid before everyone's eyes. Not even did he have one minute to process that information before "Vanessa" transformed into some horrid-looking octopus-like creature and grabbed Ariel before diving overboard. Not much later than that, Eric had gone after her in a lifeboat. As soon as Eric had left, he took control of the wedding barge and brought it back to shore. He then retreated to the palace and called for the Royal Navy. They were given direct orders to find Eric and assist him in any way he needed. Grimsby did not feel comfortable in whatever Eric was planning to do. This was not just some "sadistic strain on his blood pressure," as he had put it in the aftermath of the storm that had been a few weeks earlier. He had a terrible feeling that the danger he was rushing off to face was far greater than anything he had ever encountered before. He feared that it was more than Eric was capable of handling. The last words Eric had said to him as he rowed away echoed in his mind.

"Grim, I lost her once! I'm not going to lose her again!"

Grimsby feared that Eric was only heading towards his doom. He then thought of Eric's parents and the promise that he had made to the late king. If Eric did not survive…no, he would. He would not entertain the alternative. And at the same time, Grimsby could not help but dread that those would the last words he would ever hear Eric say to him. But all he could do was continue to stare out the window. He could only wait and see if Eric would safely return home.

"Have they found them yet?"

Grim turned around at the voice and found himself face to face with Carlotta. The head maid had been worried sick ever since Grimsby had returned to the palace and informed her of what had happened. She had grown quite fond of Ariel in the short time that she had been their guest. She was worried for both of them. Grimsby had to admit that he had grown fond of her as well. Eric had been much happier in the few days that he had known her. Further in his mind, he thought that Eric would possibly choose to marry her, but he tried to push this thought away. Now was not the time to think of whom Eric might possibly marry when he was not even sure that he would return home. It made Grimsby feel even more anxious that he had no way to calm her fears. He sighed once more and turned to face her.

"No, the royal navy has not yet returned from their search."

Carlotta whimpered at this and turned away, covering her face with her hands. She wiped her tears away with her apron. "Oh, this is just so awful," she whispered. Grimsby stood motionless, trying to reign in his own emotions. Carlotta had nearly gone to pieces over this, and he didn't wish to make things worse by losing it himself. He let out another sigh. He returned his gaze to the window and continued to stare out at the sea. The two of them continued to stare out the window for a long time before the sound of someone clearing their throat brought them out of their thoughts. Carlotta turned to see Chef Louis standing in front of them. Inwardly, Carlotta rolled her eyes as she remembered his incident from two days earlier. "What is it, Louis?" Grimsby asked wearily, indicating that he really took no interest in why the chef had entered the room. The chef said nothing and instead simply gestured towards the dining room table to show that he had placed a tray of cookies there. Grimsby sighed. Food was honestly one of the last things he was thinking of, but he knew that Louis meant well.

"Thank you, Louis, but I don't food will do me much good," he told him.

The chef sighed and went back to the kitchen. As he left, another man entered. Grimsby quickly recognized him as the vice admiral of the navy. He was probably returning to inform Grimsby of the results of his search. This was the moment Grimsby feared most. He looked imploringly at him. "Have you found anything?" he asked, barely above a whisper. The admiral hesitated for a few seconds, and in that time the tension within the room increased significantly.

"We've found Eric's lifeboat, but the boat was empty. We found no trace of him in the surrounding area," he finally said.

Grimsby felt that as though the wind had been sucked out of him. He staggered back, clutching at his chest as though his heart had stopped. He gasped, trying to regain his breath.

"We can only conclude that Prince Eric…is dead," he finished.

Grimsby felt as though he had been struck. A choked sob escaped past Carlotta's lips. Grimsby vaguely heard this but pushed it aside as all his focus was on the man in front of him and what he had just told him. When he regained his composure –even though he was just barely holding together- he narrowed his eyes at him.

"I refuse to believe that until he has been found either way."

"But, Your Grace," the admiral objected.

"You at least owe him the favor of finding him!" Grimsby interrupted.

"But, Your Grace, the men are exhausted and the waters are not safe," the admiral objected.

"He is your prince, and he is owed a proper burial if he is, in fact, dead. I want you to keep searching for him. That is an order."

Grimsby's gaze followed the man out the door and back into the hallway. As soon as the man had left, Grimsby took in a sharp breath. His eyes began to water slightly. He blinked fiercely and wiped at his eyes with his handkerchief.

"I've failed you, Your Majesty," he whispered. "And I've failed you, Eric."

Grimsby was then brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Carlotta crying. He groaned and sat down in one of the chairs, burying his face in his hands. Carlotta sat in one of the other chairs. Grimsby was about to reach for a cookie when he saw Carlotta pull a rosary out of her pocket. "Pater Noster, Qui Es in Caelis, sanctificatur Nomen Tuum," she began, Grimsby slowly joining her. All he could do now was pray that this nightmare would soon end.

…

Ariel was trapped at the bottom of the maelstrom. Water swirled furiously around her, a deafening roar ringing in her ears. Ursula grinned deviously as she raised the trident with her right hand. "So much for true love!" she shouted before letting out a maniacal cackle. Ariel's eyes widened in horror as the trident began to charge. She had already escaped two of the blasts, but Ursula would not let her escape a third blast. Ariel knew she could not escape. She was about to die. Her eyes never left the trident. She was looking at it so intently that she jumped back when she heard an ear-splitting scream. She looked up and saw that a boat had rammed into Ursula. The shot that had been intended for Ariel instead shot straight back into Ursula. Ariel wrapped her arms around herself as the maelstrom collapsed. The force from the water threw her several feet before she finally landed on the sea floor. When she regained her bearings, she looked up at the surface. She could see Eric swimming away from the sinking shipwreck and making his way to the shore.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Eric had saved her from certain demise. He had risked his own life for her. It didn't matter to Eric whether she was a human or a mermaid. He did not abandon her because she was a mermaid. He still loved her for who she was. This confirmed what Ariel already knew. Ariel had to find out if Eric was alright. She would never forgive herself if Eric had gotten killed because of her. She began to swim upwards when a voice suddenly called out her name.

"Ariel!"

Ariel's head shot up at the voice. It belonged to her father. A sickening feeling found its way into her stomach. All of this had happened because of her, her father being turned into a polyp, nearly getting herself killed, nearly dooming her sisters and her friends to what would have undoubtedly been a tyrannical reign from Ursula. And so, like a frightened little girl, Ariel hid behind a rock. Despite stuttering an apology just before the battle, she didn't feel as though she could face her father at that moment. She was too afraid to face him. She curled up into a ball, hugging her tail close to her chest. At that moment, she wished that she could just vanish into thin air. Her father shouted her name again.

"Ariel!"

Ariel cringed. Instead of getting farther away, he had gotten closer. She realized that he would soon find her, but she didn't move from her hiding spot. She was too ashamed to show herself. She crossed her arms and rested her head, hoping that she could still somehow evade her father. She soon learned that it would not happen.

"Ariel?"

Ariel quickly looked back up at the sound of her father's voice. It was now a mere whisper. But even more so, it was now right in front of her. She saw her father swimming right in front of her. She gasped and turned her head to the side. Triton hesitated for a moment. He realized he would have to be very cautious with Ariel.

"Are you okay?" he finally managed to ask, keeping his voice barely above a whisper. Ariel did not answer right away and continued to take slow, shaky breaths. She kept her eyes trained on the sea floor. Triton then reached forward and cupped Ariel's face with his hand. He forced her to look at him and he repeated, "Are you alright?"

Ariel could see that her father was not angry with her. His only concern was that she was alright. At this, Ariel completely lost it. She wrapped her arms around her father in a fierce hug as she burst into tears. "Oh, daddy," she whimpered. "Oh, daddy, I'm so sorry."

She stiffened when Triton gently patted her back and whispered, "It's alright, Ariel. It's alright."

For the next few minutes, neither of them spoke. Ariel continued to cry, while Triton did everything in his power to calm her down. They were soon joined by Sebastian and Flounder. The crab and fish silently watched until Triton looked up and saw them. "Your Majesty," Sebastian whispered. Triton lowered his head at this. He did not feel particularly majestic right then. In the span of a few days, he had alienated his own daughter, been temporarily stripped of his crown, and then turned into a polyp, only now having been restored to power. He needed to make up with Ariel, but he knew that his daughter was far too traumatized.

Without saying a word, he then slowly held out his hand to her. Ariel hesitantly took it and the two of them began to swim home. Sebastian and Flounder followed not too far behind. Neither one spoke during the long swim to Atlantica. Ariel didn't even know what she could say at that point, anyway. She was too afraid to say a word. During the entire trip home, she still expected her father to explode with anger at some point, but it never came. They continued swimming for what seemed like several hours before, upon crossing a small hill, Ariel could see Atlantica looming off in the distance. The lights from the palace towers gave off an almost haunting glow in the dark water.

Now that she was free from harm, Ariel realized just how cold the ocean water now felt to her. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be under the soft, warm, blankets of her bed in the guest room she had been given. She missed the feeling of the warmth of the sun on her face. She gently rubbed at her arms as they swam on, trying to give some warmth to her body. Soon, they reached the large marble archway with the highly stylized A at its peak, the entrance to Atlantica. It looked almost foreign to her now, even though she had spent the first sixteen years of her life there. It no longer felt like home to her. As they swam up the main path to the palace, Ariel looked around and saw that the area was seemingly devoid of life. Not a single creature could be seen. It wasn't too long before they had entered the palace and swam into the throne room. They entered the room and saw that one of King Triton's seahorse heralds was waiting for him.

"Your Majesty," he began, but stopped in his tracks once he caught sight of Ariel. He gasped loudly and exclaimed, "Princess Ariel, thank goodness you're alright!"

King Triton pointedly cleared his throat, at which point the herald turned to face him.

"Shall I inform the patrols that they may return home?" he asked. Kind Triton silently nodded. The herald turned and left the room without another word. When he left, Triton then turned to Ariel and said the first words to her since they began their journey home.

"Your sisters have been staying in the communal bedroom since you…ran away," he explained. "We'll talk about what happened after breakfast tomorrow morning. I think you could use some sleep for now."

He stopped just in front of the door to their room. He turned around and saw that Ariel had stopped swimming. Ariel hesitated.

"Ariel?" he asked. He looked at her and saw that she was shaking all over.

"Daddy, please, I can't go in there now," she whispered. "Not now, not after what I did, please, don't make me go in there."

"Ariel, your sisters are all very worried about you. They need to see you."

"Please, I can't face them now," she begged.

With a heavy sigh he once again held out his hand to her. Ariel slowly swam forward and took it. He then reached for the doorknob with his other hand and pulled the door open. All of her sisters turned their heads and looked at her. They gasped when they saw her.

"Ariel!" a voice suddenly shouted.

Ariel looked up and started back when she saw Arista suddenly launch herself at her. She cringed, expecting Arista to be angry with her, but when she looked up and saw the tears in Arista's eyes, she knew that anger was the last thing Arista was feeling then. She barely had time to react to this before Arista threw her arms around her in a hug so tight she could barely breathe.

"Oh, Ariel," she cried. "I'm so sorry! I never meant to say such awful things to you!"

…

Ariel swam through the palace in an almost dream-like state. She was in love. She just knew she was. She had never felt so happy in her entire life. She didn't even know it was possible to fall in love so fast. At every turn, she would stop to twirl and spin around with a giggle. Her scales glistened in the morning sunlight that filtered down through the water. In a just a few short minutes she had made her way from her bedroom to the dining hall to have breakfast with the rest of her family. Her father sat at one end of the table opposite Aquata. Andrina, Attina and Alana sat on one side, while Adella sat between two empty seats on the opposite side. She took her seat next to Adella and across from Alana.

"Good morning, Ariel," they both said. Ariel held in a small giggle and said, "Good morning."

"What's with you today?" they teased. But before Ariel could answer, and angry voice said, "She thinks she's too good for us, that's what's with her."

The entire table turned to see that Arista had just entered the room. Her icy blue eyes glared angrily at Ariel, and everyone present felt as though the temperature in the room dropped. Arista swam forward and stopped in front of Ariel. She placed her hands on her hips and snapped, "Did you think you could just act as though yesterday never happened?"

"Arista," Aquata said warningly.

"No, she's not going to just wiggle her way out of this. What was so important that you just decided to skip the concert? You know, the one that was going to be your debut, no less?"

"I did not just skip it!" Ariel cried. "I just forgot about it."

"Oh, like that makes things any better," Arista retorted. "What, were you visiting another shipwreck? Visiting the surface?"

"That's enough, Arista," their father warned.

"Do us all a favor, Ariel, when you go on one of your adventures again, you can just stay on it and never come back home!"

Ariel's other sisters gasped at that.

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" Triton roared. "Arista, you are to apologize to Ariel and then go to your room. I hereby forbid to leave the palace grounds for an entire week!"

Arista turned and glared at her father. "The only think I'm sorry for is I didn't go this sooner." With that she turned and smacked Ariel in the face with her fins before swimming off. Ariel collapsed in tears while her other sisters rushed to hug her.

…

Arista buried her face in Ariel's shoulder and began to sob. "I'm so sorry, Ariel," she whispered. "I wish I could take back everything I said. I love you, Ariel. I really do, and I never would have forgiven myself if something happened to you before I could tell you."

Arista then looked up and grabbed Ariel by the shoulders. "Ariel, please promise that you'll never leave us again?" she whispered.

Ariel quickly looked away from Arista and down at the floor. She knew there was no way she could make such a promise, and she didn't want to even look Arista in the eye, much less say it.

"Ariel?" Arista asked, slightly shaking her sister's shoulders. "Ariel, please, promise me!" she begged.

"Arista, now is not the right time for this," Attina scolded, but Arista ignored her and cried once more, "Ariel, please!"

At this, Triton cleared his throat loudly.

"Arista, Ariel has just been through a traumatic ordeal, and I don't think you should be asking such things of her."

Aquata then swam up and approached Ariel. She then slowly wrapped her arms around Ariel and whispered, "Oh, Ariel, I'm just so glad you're okay." She turned and looked at her father at the sound of him once again clearing his throat.

"Aquata, I think it's time you and your sisters be getting to bed. It's been a very long day for all of us."

"Yes, daddy," Aquata nodded. Triton then turned towards the door but stopped before he reached it. He turned around and bade goodnight to each of his daughters once more, then stopped to look at his youngest. "Good night, Ariel," he whispered.

Triton gave her a pained look and sighed before silently swimming out the door.