A/N: I hope I'll be able to keep up with this story, but I think it'll be okay. Oh, and the story uses some of the main points of the story, but I've changed a few things to make it my own. So this won't be just a copy of the original Disney story.

Disclaimer: All of the rights to The Little Mermaid go to Disney. I own nothing but some of the plot.

Ch. 2: Man On The Ship

Ariel swam until she was up at the side of the boat. She looked up and could hear the party that was going on up on the ship deck. She looked around to make sure no one had followed her, but instead, she came face to face with Attina. Why won't she just leave me alone? Ariel asked herself, but there was a part of her that was happy her eldest sister was with her. She just didn't know how to explain her dream to her.

"Attina…what are you doing here?"

Her sister smiled, "I followed you again, sorry. But…I really want to understand…"

"Understand what?" She asked, unsure of what Attina meant, until it hit her, "You really want to understand my dream?"

She laughed at her sister's smile, "Of course. I am your older sister…"

Ariel hugged her sister tightly before speaking again, "I want to go look up there!" She pointed up to the ledge that hung over the side of the boat, "Will you come up there with me?"

Her sister nodded and they both reached up towards the ledge and lifted themselves up onto it. They each sat on either side of the window so they could look through and out onto the deck. Ariel smiled over at Attina before looking through the window. She could see men celebrating something, she didn't know what, but they all looked like they were having a good time. They were talking excitedly about something, and Ariel smiled as she listened to them talk.

"Congratulations, Eric." A thin, gangly man said as he patted another, much more muscular and younger man on the back.

The younger man, who must have been Eric, Ariel reasoned, smiled. "Thank you Grisby! You know, it turned out better than I thought it would I-" He got cut off my a big dog, which Ariel had only read about in her human books, "Oh, Max…you mutt…"

Ariel watched as Eric played with Max. She had never seen a human that close before, and she loved it. How she wished she could be by his side… Oh, but I've just met him. Ariel thought. I certainly can't fall in love with him that quickly… But she knew better. She really was starting to like him. None of her sisters, and certainly never her father, would ever talk much about her mother, but she always imagined that it was love at first sight. That's what she was feeling at that moment, but she didn't realize it.

Her sister looked over at her and gasped, "You…you like him, don't you!" Her scream came out more like a whisper, "But…you've just seen him…"

"I do not like him!" Ariel whispered back, her cheeks flushed with pink, "I just…I just think he's…"

"Ariel, you like him. It's written all over your face…I've never seen you like this before." Attina sighed as she watched her sister's gaze go back to the man on the boat.

She didn't know what to think about her sister's enthrallment with this man that she had only just saw for the first time. Could someone really fall in love that quickly? She wondered, but she knew the truth. Her father and mother had always told her that it was love at first sight between them. But it was mutual! She thought. They had both fallen in love…what if this man doesn't love her like she thinks he will? She worried about her sister a lot, but maybe it was time to let her go. Ariel was strong, she knew that, but there was something inside of her that didn't want to watch her little sister fall.

Attina looked around and got nervous, "What if they catch us? What if father finds out? Ariel, we must leave…we've got to."

But Ariel wasn't paying attention. All of her thoughts were focused on Eric. She watched as he animatedly played with his dog, and how happy he looked in that moment. She made sure that she was hidden from sight. That he couldn't see her, but she could fully see him. There was something charming about him that made Ariel's heart flutter. She still couldn't understand what, but she knew it made her feel warm and safe. The feeling was pleasant, and she didn't want it to stop.

The old man, whom Ariel assumed was Grisby, cleared his throat and the noise halted, "Silence, silence! Now, settle down…" Grisby huhed the crowd and then put his hand on Eric's shoulder, "As you all know, it's Eric's 21st birthday-" There was a round of cheers and he cleared his throat once again, "As I was saying, since it's his 21st birthday, I'd like to present him with a gift."

Ariel, along with every else, waited in anticipation. They watched as Grisby motioned for two of the men to pull off the sheet that was covering the gift, waiting to reveal the surprise. Ariel knew it'd be something spectacular. By the way everyone seemed so excited she just knew Eric would love it. I wonder what it is… Ariel let her imagination run away with her as she tried to guess. It was so big, possibly twice her height. She knew it couldn't be any of the things she had shown Scuttle recently, or maybe even ever. She'd never found anything that big under the sea.

She gasped as they finally pulled off the sheet to reveal the secret. It's a statue! Ariel smiled. A statue of him! Oh, it looks so wonderful… She looked over at Attina to see if she was just as impressed with the lavish gift Eric had just been presented. Her sister nodded at her and smiled, approving of the gift. Ariel was so excited for Eric, and her eldest sister could see that. But the thought of Ariel falling in love with the human, it was almost unbearable. What if he actually does fall in love with her? She looked over at her sister and understood that any man could easily fall in love with her. And even though she wanted her sister to be happy, she didn't want her to leave Atlantica. It was their home, and it was where Ariel belonged.

Her attention was turned back to the commotion on the ship as Ariel sighed, "Oh Attina, look at him…isn't he just…wonderful? I just…oh gosh…"

"Ariel." Attina whispered harshly, "You mustn't get so flustered like that. Over a human…"

"But you don't understand." She looked back over at Eric, "He seems to different from what father says about humans…"

On the ship, Grisby asked Eric, "So, how do you like it? I hope it suits your taste…but I was hoping I would've been presenting you with a wedding…"

"Oh, Grisby, you know how I feel." Eric sighed as he looked up at the giant statue, a little unsure of whether he even liked the gift but he wasn't about to look ungrateful, "But it'll happen when it happens. I just haven't met the right girl…" He gazed out towards the beautiful ocean, unaware of how dangerously close he was getting to the little mermaid who sat beneath his gaze, "She's out there somewhere, I know it."

Ariel held her breath as she watched Eric look out, past her and towards the sea. He could've caught me… She thought, but somehow, she wasn't sure if she'd be that upset if Eric had seen her. Although, she did know that her father would be fuming if he knew where she was right now, almost about to get caught by a human. But Eric wouldn't hurt me, he just wouldn't. She smiled up at him, even though he couldn't see her. She felt a hand on her wrist and soon found herself back into the ocean. She opened her eyes to see who had dragged her back into the water, and she saw Attina looking frightened.

"What was that for?" Ariel looked back up towards the boat longingly.

"Did you not see him?" Her sister looked about as upset as ever, "He could've caught us! Do you think he really would've treated us with mercy? Think of our mother."

Those words stung both of them, but Ariel wouldn't believe it. Eric isn't like the humans father has always talked about. She thought to herself. He looked so sweet and calm…and lovely. He didn't look like he'd hurt anyone. Ever. The red-headed girl knew, or at least she thought she knew, the type of person Eric was. He wasn't the evil demon her father had told her all humans were. Her father couldn't have been more wrong about this one, and she'd prove it.

There were flashes of light above the two mermaids and they both whipped their heads back at each other. Oh no… Ariel thought as she quickly swam back up to the surface. She gasped once her head got out of the water. Rain was pouring down and the waves looked harsh. The lightning shattered the air, and the sky was a bright mess of electricity. Ariel looked up at the ship and found that half of it was burning with fire. She gasped once more and looked around, trying to find a way to help them.

Eric, who was now trying to man the boat, could only watch as his boat was being hit with sea water and lightning. What am I going to do? He looked around, noticing he couldn't see his dog, Max, in the whole mess. Suddenly, a huge mast came tumbling down, aimed at him. He quickly, and skillfully, jumped out of the way, saving himself from sure death. He suddenly looked up and saw Max on the upper deck. He knew he needed to save his dog. It was his only companion and confident.

"Jump Max!" He yelled out, holding his arms out wide for the dog to jump into, "Come on boy, jump!"

The dog looked around, obviously frightened, and jumped into Eric's arms. He then ran, the dog in his arms, trying to get to the side of the boat. Suddenly, his foot got stuck in the floor and Max went flying out of his arms and into the water. He tried to get his foot unstuck, but it was no use. He knew this was going to be it. There was no other way. Out of the corned of his eye, he watched as the fire made its way to a barrel of fireworks. His eyes widened in horror as the ship started to blow up, knocking him unconscious.

Ariel was in horror. She knew she had to save him, and quick. I won't let him die. She promised herself as she swam towards the remains of the boat, trying desperately to find him. That was when she saw him, hanging over a board of wood. He then slipped off and down into the water. She dove in, catching him and bringing him back up to the surface. Fireworks exploded overhead as she swam to get him safely back to shore.

Attina, who had stayed underwater while all of this was happening, saw her sister carrying the man back to shore. He must be dead! She thought. There's no way he could've survived that! She swam up to her sister and helped carry the limp man. She gave her sister a wary look, but chose not to say anything. What was she to say? Her sister couldn't possibly believe that there was hope for this man surviving the explosion of a ship.

Her younger sister sniffled, "I won't let him die, Attina."