DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT own any of the chars from TLM. They belong to Disney. I do however own Melody Noelle Coralsen and any other characters you don't recognize.
God loves you!
Enjoy!
A/N: This story took us a few days to write. But I'm really happy with the way it turned out!
"A House Divided"
It was around seven o' clock in the morning when Sebastian was rudely awakened by something hitting him on the head.
"Aw, mun! What time is it?"
Melody giggled as she realized her plan had worked.
"Auntie lana comes today!" She announced.
"I know, I know, child. But did you have to wake me up dat way?"
He then posed another question to the two-and-a-half year-old.
"Did your mudder get you up?"
"No." She replied.
It took Sebastian a minute to put two and two together.
"Did your fada get you out?" He asked, knowing Eric was an early riser.
"I got me out. " Melody replied.
"Melody, child, you know de rules of dis house. You stay where you are until your mudder comes for you."
Melody shook her head.
"I cimbed out like a big girl."
"Ariel!" Sebastian yelled feeling like he had no other option.
"No yelling in the house." Melody reminded him.
Ariel came into the room a few minutes later still rubbing her eyes.
"Sebastian, it's too early for this." She said as a yawn escaped her lips.
"You're telling me." Sebastian said.
"What's going…" She then spotted Melody and raised her eyebrows at Sebastian. "You got Melody up on a Saturday morning?"
"Why would I do someting like dat? I'd have to be crazy to get up early on a Saturday. We crabs need our sleep. You would do well to teach your daughter dat."
"Did Eric get her out?" She asked.
Sebastian shook his head.
"Then if Eric didn't get her out, how…."
Melody looked at her mother and smiled. She then replied proudly, "I cimbed out like a big girl."
Ariel gasped in shock for a minute.
"Dat's exactly how I felt." Sebastian said.
After she had recovered, she kneeled down to her daughter's level and held her arms out.
Melody wasted no time in running into them.
Before she said anything to her daughter, she turned to Sebastian.
"Well, I guess it's time to talk to Eric about getting Melody a big girl bed. With guard rails." She added under her breath.
Sebastian looked at Ariel strangely.
"You aren't going to tell her she did someting wrong."
Ariel turned to Melody who was still in her arms.
"Sweetheart, as proud as I am of you, Uncle Sebastian's right."
"Hey! You promised me you would teach her not to, I am?"
Ariel ignored him.
"I know you want to be a big girl, but if you climb out of your crib by yourself, you could get hurt. And Daddy and I don't want that. We love you too much."
Melody nodded. She gazed over at Sebastian for confirmation.
"Yeah, yeah. I love you too. But no more hitting me on the head with tings." Then under his breath he added, "We have Spot for dat."
"Melody." Ariel said as she turned her attention to her daughter. She pulled away so she was looking into her eyes. " "It's not nice to hit anyone." She said. It makes them sad. You don't want Uncle Sebastian to be sad, do you?"
Melody shook her head and frowned.
"Sorry, Uncle Sebastian." She said truthfully.
"Aw, dat's all right." He said. I still love, hey!"
"Sebastian, she's barely three. Give her time. She'll call you 'Sebastian when she's ready."
Sebastian sighed as Melody picked him up for a hug.
Just then, Grim walked into the room.
"Princess Ariel," he said. He only called her and Eric by their royal titles when the situation called for it. "Your sister is arriving on the one o' clock tide. But there are also some interesting guests in the parlor who are demanding to see Eric."
"And I taught your fada was demanding when he got in a bad mood." Sebastian commented.
"Who could they be?" Ariel wondered as she scooped Melody up and headed for the sed room.
Getting to the parlor, Ariel found two men there. One she recognized and the other she didn't.
"Daniel?" She said. "What's going on?"
"Ariel, it's good to see you." He said sincerely. He got a look at Melody and grinned. "And Melody's getting so big."
Ariel nodded.
Daniel caught her curious look towards the newcomer and made the introductions.
"Ariel, I would like you to meet Captain Nathan Blackstone of the US Silver Moon."
Ariel held out her hand even though she could feel it shaking.
"It's nice to meet you. " She said. She then whispered to Daniel, "You brought a pirate here?"
"I assured you Princess," Captain Blackstone said. "I wish to cause no trouble in your waters. I'm simply here to ask for Prince Eric's assistance."
'Assistance in what?" She asked.
"I'm sorry, princes, but that's for me and Eric to discuss." He said. "Besides," he said as he noticed Melody trying to get out of Ariel's arms, "it appears you have your hands full at the moment."
Ariel tried to be as polite as she could towards the other guest. But she couldn't help worry.
In the last eight years, they had never had any trouble from pirates.
Eric joined them just then.
He gave Ariel's hand a comforting squeeze as he sat down next to her.
"Hey Daniel!" He said, happy to see his best friend. "What brings you here?"
"I'm afraid this isn't a social call." He told him. "We're here to ask for your help."
"What kind of help?" Eric asked.
"This is Captain Blackstone of the US Silver Moon. He needs to speak with you about some things."
Before Blackstone could begin, Daniel glanced at Ariel before turning his attention back to Eric.
Ariel had a feeling Daniel was trying to protect her and she appreciated his kindness. But she was a big girl now and she didn't need protecting.
Even so, Melody was starting to become restless.
"I'm gonna feed Melody her breakfast." Ariel said as she stood up. "Come on, sweetheart."
Melody happily went with Ariel. She was beginning to feel hungry. She was also anxious for her Aunt Alana to come.
Setting Melody in her high chair, Ariel gave her some apple juice and a coloring book and some crayons.
She started rummaging through the cabinets to see what she could make them both for breakfast.
Sebastian joined them a moment later.
"Mommy?" Melody said from her place at the table.
"Yeah, Mel?" Ariel answered as she turned to face her daughter.
"Can I have some pudding?"
"Pudding?" Ariel said with a giggle. "You silly girl! You can't have pudding for breakfast."
Melody nodded.
"You gaveded it to me yesterday."
"I did?" Ariel asked.
Melody sighed.
Sebastian chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" She asked.
The crab shrugged.
"Noting. Your daughter's just cute."
"Melody, can you tell Mommy what it was?" She asked. "I'm not saying you can't have it. But I need to know what it was first."
It was then that Ariel realized something.
She went to the fridge and pulled out a carton of strawberry yogurt.
"Was it this, Mel?" She asked, setting the carton on the tray.
Melody's brown eyes lit up.
"Yeah!" She said excitedly.
"All right. You can have some. " She said. "But you need to eat something else with it."
Melody glanced over at Sebastian.
"Oh no. Not me!" He said. "No eating uncles for breakfast. Or any oder meal for dat matter."
Melody shook her head and giggled.
"Is Uncle Sebastian eating too?" She asked.
Sebastian sighed with relief.
"Tank goodness. And yes, child. I'll stay. Especially if your mudder's cooking."
"Aw, I know what you want." Ariel said referring to Melody. With that, she pulled out a pan and poured something in it that smelled like strawberry and maple.
"Oatmeal!" Melody cheered.
"Yup." Ariel said.
"Yay!" The little girl cheered.
Ariel grinned over at her daughter.
As she was putting the oatmeal in a bowl, she heard Melody gasp followed by saying, "Uh-oh."
Ariel turned around to see what was going on and found Melody's juice cup on the floor.
"It's okay." She assured her. "It was just an accident." With that, she cleaned up the mess and gave Melody some more juice to drink.
The rest of breakfast went by without any further incident.
Melody ate her oatmeal happily and finished the whole bowl. She also ate a half a bowl of yogurt.
After breakfast was over, Ariel took Melody upstairs to get her ready.
Getting into the bathroom, Ariel set the water and put some bubble bath in it.
She helped Melody undress and set her in the tub.
She let her play for a few minutes before starting to wash her down.
After the bath was over, Ariel dried Melody off with a towel and carried her into her room to get dressed.
Dressing Melody in a blue shirt with a dolphin on it and a pair of pink shorts, Ariel brushed out her hair and put it in a braid before leading her downstairs to play for a while.
Once in the living room, Melody made a bee line for the window and stared out of it.
Ariel knew what she wanted to do. A part of her wanted to go in as well, but she knew it was just a little too cold for the day.
"Mommy, can we go in the water? Please?" Melody asked.
"I'm afraid not today, sweetie." Ariel answered. "Maybe tomorrow."
Melody frowned.
"I wanna go outside!" Melody whined.
"Mel, I told you, it's too cold today." Ariel explained. "And please don't whine."
Melody pouted as she looked around the room for something to do.
"Here." Ariel suggested as she pulled a puzzle towards her. "Let's put this together."
Melody took a look at it and shook her head.
"Do you wanna play the piano for a little while?"
Again, Melody shook her head.
"Do you want me to read you a story?"
Melody shook her head.
"De child's stubborn." Sebastian commented from the doorway.
"How about we go visit Aunt Aquata." She suggested. "Auntie Alana isn't coming for a little while."
"Can we go in the water?"
"No. We're going to her house." She told her.
Before Melody could object, Ariel went to the phone.
"Hi sis!" She said once Aquata picked up. "Care for two visitors?"
"Sure!" She said. "Is Melody getting restless?"
"You have no idea."
Aquata laughed.
"Don't worry. Cadence will wear her out."
"I don't want her to get tired before her N-A-P." She said. "It's just she wants to go in the w-a-t-e-r and it's just not possible."
"Oh if only Father could hear you now." Aquata said with a laugh.
"Aquata, I didn't say I wasn't going to let her in at all."
"I know, I know. Come on over." She said. "Cadence and I just made some brownies."
After Ariel hung up the phone, she got Melody's jacket and her own and helped her into it.
"Come on." She said. "Aunt Aquata made brownies."
Melody's eyes lit up at this. She loved any sweet.
"Do you tink she would mind if I came too." Sebastian asked. "I'm not too fond of staying here with Max."
"Sebastian, Max wont' hurt you." Ariel assured him. "But you can come. I'm sure Aquata would love to see you."
Sebastian grinned as he ducked into her hair.
Before she left, Ariel poked her head in the den where the men were still conversing.
"I'm gonna take Melody to visit Aquata." She told her husband. "She's got a little ocean fever."
Eric chuckled at his wife's mispronunciation of the word.
"It's cabin fever." He reminded her gently.
"Oh. Well, whatever it is, Melody's got it bad."
"Okay. Be careful." The boy advised.
"We will be. Love you."
"I love you too." He said.
When Ariel and Melody, along with Sebastian, arrived at Aquata's house, they were greeted by Aquata and her husband Antonio.
"Hey!" Antonio said grinning at Ariel. "Long time no see. I thought if we moved up here, we'd see you every day."
Ariel giggled.
"Hey Antonio." She said. "It's good to see you too."
Just then, Cadence ran out of the house. She ran straight for her father.
"Daddy, can we try it one more time? Please?"
"We'll play again later." He promised her. "Look whose here."
"Aunt Ariel!" She shrieked as she threw her arms around her aunt.
"Hey, sweetie. What did you do today?"
"Daddy and I went swimming." She answered.
Ariel groaned inwardly.
"Mommy, please?" Melody asked.
Ariel shot her brother-in-law a look.
"What?" He asked in confusion.
Ariel sighed.
"I guess it'll be okay for a little bit. " She said.
"Yay!" Melody cheered.
Ariel frowned just then.
"But we didn't bring your bathing suit."
"Don't worry about that." Aquata said. 'I still have the one I kept here for her when she went swimming the last time. Come on, sweetie. Let's get you ready." With that, Aquata lead Melody upstairs.
Melody happily went with her aunt.
Once alone, Antonio asked Ariel the question he had wanted an answer to since she had arrived.
"So how's that husband of yours?" He asked.
"He's good." Ariel replied. "He's back home talking to some people right now."
"Aunt Ariel, do you want some lemonade?" Cadence offered.
Ariel glanced at the cup in the eight-year-old's hands then at Antonio.
"I didn't do anything to it." He said. 'I promise."
"Okay." She said. She took the cup from her niece and drank a little bit.
Satisfied when it tasted normal, Ariel set the cup down before sitting across from her brother-in-law.
"So are you and my sister planning on having another baby?"
Antonio blushed.
"We're working on it. " He said.
"Go on." Aquata said as she led Melody downstairs. "Show Mommy."
Melody ran into the room and straight into Ariel's arms.
"Aw, you look so cute." Ariel said as she got a good look at the bathing suit.
It was bright blue with pink and purple flowers on it.
After an hour or so of swimming, Ariel beckoned Melody out of the water so they could have lunch.
"Melody, come on, honey." Ariel called. "It's lunchtime now."
"Aw, come on, Aunt Ariel." Cadence said. "We're having fun! Just five more minutes? Please?"
Ariel sighed.
"Okay. But after that, you both need to get out."
"Okay." Cadence agreed. With that, they went back to playing.
Ten minutes later, Ariel realized she had let them stay in there a little longer than she should have.
"All right, you guys." Ariel said as she got to the water's edge. "It's time to get out now."
"Okay." Cadence replied as she made her way out of the pool.
Getting on land, she dried off before going to help her father set up the picnic table.
Melody, however, hadn't moved.
Knowing she could swim fairly well for her age, Ariel held her arms out and waited a minute or two.
When a few minutes passed with no sign of movement from her daughter, she sighed.
"Melody, come on. It's time for lunch." Ariel announced.
"I'm not hungry." Melody told her.
"Aunt Aquata made brownies."
This got Melody to move. She swam towards her mother and allowed her to help her out of the pool.
"Aw, there you go. Come on. Let's go see what Aunt Aquata and Uncle Toni made."
"Uncle Toni's a good cook." Melody said.
"Better than me?"
melody shook her head.
"No way!" She said emphatically.
Ariel giggled as she carried her daughter to the picnic table
She got her some juice and started filling a plate with things she knew her daughter liked.
She took a veggie burger for herself and sat next to Melody once she was done filling the plate.
"We have to thank God first." Melody said as Antonio went to take a bite of his food.
"Oops." He said. "I'm sorry. I forgot."
After they had said grace, they dug in.
Halfway through the meal, Cadence asked a question Ariel wasn't ready for.
"So, Dad, do you think those pirates are coming here?"
Antonio shrugged as he took a bite of potato salad.
"I don't know, honey." He said. "But you don't have to worry about them. They're not after kids."
"Then what are they after?" Ariel asked.
"I'm not sure." Antonio said. "The people who work at the plant with me seem to think they're after some sort of treasure."
"Antonio!" Aquata scolded. "I told you not to go spreading that stuff around."
Antonio gave his wife an innocent look.
"I didn't start it. " He protested in a whiny tone.
Cadence giggled as did Melody.
"Uncle Toni's silly!" She declared.
Ariel nodded.
"He can be. " She said. "Eat up now. You're almost done."
Melody nodded.
"Father doesn't think they're anything to worry about. " Aquata reported.
"You've talked to Daddy?" Ariel asked. "How is he?"
"He's good." Aquata said. "He misses you."
"I miss him too." Ariel admitted. "But does he know what's going on up here?"
"Ariel, of course he does." Aquata said. "They don't call him the king of the sea for nothing."
Just then, they heard a scream. It was quickly followed by a thick Jamaican accent exclaim, "I am not a piece of food!"
"Oops." Melody said as she watched Cadence blush.
"Sorry Sebastian." Cadence said.
"Sebastian, I didn't know you came." Aquata said in surprise. "How are you?"
"I'd be fine if your daughter didn't try to spare me."
"I said I was sorry." Cadence said sheepishly.
"Sebastian, it's okay." Ariel assured him. "Cadence didn't mean it."
Sebastian ducked back into her hair before glaring at his niece.
Halfway through the meal, Melody reached for a brownie.
Ariel shook her head. She gently pulled Melody's hand away from the plate.
"You need to finish your lunch first. " She explained. "You're almost done. Then you can have a brownie."
Melody frowned, but decided to obey her mother. She really wanted a brownie, but she knew her mother would keep her word.
After lunch was over, Antonio engaged the kids in a game of freeze tag while Ariel and Aquata talked for a little while.
Ariel enjoyed spending time with her eldest sister and she was happy Aquata had moved on land. She liked having her close by.