July 13th
They continued speaking in this way, their heads so close together they were almost conjoined. Their tones were hushed, and Eric was forced to sit there, maybe thirty feet away, as his future was decided between throat clearings and the occasional chuckle. Eric cleared his throat too, and looked pointedly at King Triton and his own father, hoping they would stop the chattering and look back at him. Only his mother stalled in the negotiations, giving Eric a hopeful smile, and then leaning back into Triton.
"Then it appears we have a deal!" Triton boomed loudly, leaning back in his chair and stroking his beard.
"Lovely!" Queen Lillian exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I'll write to Ariel, and the rest of your lovely daughters, at once. We must all get very acquainted."
"I'll write to them as well." Triton smiled. "Letting Ariel know it's mandatory."
August 7th
Eric had been well starched and prepped for this moment, and his father's final 'pointers' only irritated him.
"Be sweet to her. She's your future wife, after all." The king mumbled into his ear. "Once she steps off the boat, offer her your hand to help her down. Then your arm to steady her. Say something nice. And, remember, she just spent a week and a half on a boat."
Eric snorted. Moving seven girls was apparently a hell of a feat. It took roughly a week for the letters sent to reach the island kingdom of Atlantica, and three of the seven daughters, all with 'A' names, wrote back immediately, insisting at how they couldn't be ready at the drop of a hat, and had to pack, send for seamstresses, order new hats and shoes, unpack, repack, and ask a thousand questions.
Dear Mummy and Daddy,
We're all so happy for Ariel! This is a wonderful relation for her, and we can't wait to meet this lovely Prince Eric!
But we are a bit alarmed as to your request to be there in a week, of all things! This is Ariel's marriage, we cannot show up looking like farm folk! We've all sent out for new shoes and fans, and Andrina is trying to get used to a tighter corset, so sea travel wouldn't be plausible for at least a few days!
Not to mention, packing! How long are we staying? Obviously Ariel will be there for the rest of her life, but are we staying for a week? A month? A year? Until the heir is born? After, to help? We'll pack as much as we can!
All my love,
Attina
Hello Daddy and Mom!
I can't believe our Ariel is finally getting married! We're so excited for her, and she's, well, speechless.
But tell me what clothes I need to bring! Are there going to be balls? How many? Please say there will be a lot, we need to celebrate, of course! How long will we be staying? I made a lovely night crème up just a week ago, and I don't have enough for more than three months, so I'll either need about a week to make a few more batches, or we can't stay longer than three months. I know I just made it, but I can't live without it!
And please don't let Prince Eric, or any of his siblings, if he has any, be waiting when we dock. You know how green sea travel makes me, and it's an awful color with my eyes – not to mention a downright unnatural complexion! I'd hate for that to be their first impression of me!
Love,
Alana
Oh mom and dad!
Isn't it so wonderful that Ariel's getting married? I hate that she beat me to it, but weddings are so dreamy and warm, I don't mind that much. Do you think she'll choose me to be her maid of honor? I hope so! Don't tell her I said that though, she'd be angry at me for bringing it up. And boy, she's already moody! Yeesh, I wouldn't want to be 16 again.
Does Prince Eric have a brother? Or brothers? We could double join our kingdoms, and politically that's gotta be much better, right? It wouldn't hurt, at least. Two bonds are stronger than one!
Write back and tell me everything about Prince Eric and his brothers, if he has any! I'll see you in a few weeks, we've gotta get everything pulled together.
Love you!
Adella
The king and queen had read them and chucked, and Eric had to admit that these girls seemed pretty funny. A little high-strung, but funny. They'd be an interesting crowd to have around the castle, considering how it was normally so empty. But, how long were they staying?
After the letter fiasco had been resolved, and all the girls were happily clothed and groomed, they set said. The two kingdoms were nearby, but sailing was exceptionally slow – they journey should've normally taken them three days. But, just this morning, the boat had been spotted coming into the docks, and everyone was relieved that, in fact, nothing had happened.
"Remember to ask her how she's doing, too." Eric's father added.
"Really, dad?" Eric said sarcastically. "I was thinking I'd ignore her, maybe even just push her into the ocean."
King Triton snorted, and Queen Lillian stifled a giggle.
"Of course." King David smiled. "You're eighteen, a grown man, nearly. You can handle this."
The boat was looming larger, looking as if it was moving slowly, but steadily. Almost out of nowhere, a storm rolled in – one of incredible power! The boat began to waver and turn, and all the welcomers on the beach were met with aggressive wind, though almost no rain.
It was clearly pouring, pouring rain out on the sea, and King Triton looked fearfully out for his daughters! The boat was tipping, they could sink, and there was nothing he could do! The boat dipped beneath a large wave, and water washed up on deck.
People squinted, looking for the princesses. Were they below deck? Was it flooding there? Had they fallen off the boat? They were still sailing forward, and clamors of bells could be heard. Had someone gone overboard? Would the boat sink in front of their very eyes, each person completely helpless? Would Eric lose his fiancé before even meeting her?
The boat pushed forward regardless, the skilled sailors able to steer her into port. As soon as they hit the dock, the storm ceased.
The welcoming party left any cover they had taken, and poured out onto the beach, waving their hands and calling out for the princesses.
Attina was the first to disembark, looking remarkably put together for a girl who just went through a storm that could've tipped their boat and drowned them all.
"My, land feels nice!" she exclaimed, to the relieved laughter of all around her. "Hello!" she went around greeting everyone kindly, and hugging her father.
"Oh, thank GAWD!" Alana exclaimed stepping off the boat, tucking her hair up in a scarf. "I was so afraid you'd have brothers!" she said to Eric. "While I was here, looking like this!"
The other four sisters disembarked together, linking arms and visibly shaken. They were trying to tell the story, filling in bits for each other.
"It started raining – just out of nowhere!"
"Buckets and buckets of water!"
"Luckily the ship is strong, and the crew is good!"
"-we didn't see it coming, not at all!"
"It just started pouring down – I can't explain it!"
"The ship was rocking back and forth, we could've done a barrel roll and I wouldn't have been surprised!"
"We could've flown right out of the sea and I wouldn't have been surprised!"
Eric had never even seen a picture of Ariel, but he knew she had bright red hair and blue eyes, and that she was the youngest of the sisters. None of these girls matched that description, so he approached the boat, scanning for one last person.
"Hello?" he called up the disembarking platform.
"Humph."
He heard the noise above him, and saw a mass of red hair falling over the side of the boat. She was resting her chin on her arms, which were folded over the side of the boat. Sighing, she stood and walked down.
Eric offered her his hand and she took it, but seemingly out of a sense of obligation more than anything else.
"Rough storm, wasn't it?" Eric asked, a little nervous.
Ariel made eye contact with him for the first time. "I was hoping we'd sink."
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