Chapter 2: Turbulence

Belle lent over the railing, scanning the water for any further sign of movement. Several of the crew had paused in their tasks to join her but after several minutes of inactivity it was decided that the sea was playing tricks on their senses. Despite her certainty that she had seen someone disappear under the water Belle had more pressing things on her mind.

After some disagreement she was escorted into the bowels of the ship where cargo was stacked high along the walls. Her escort removed a ring of keys from his waist then, shielding his movements from Belle's intense gaze, unlocked the door to another room. This one was slightly smaller but much more lively. A variety of animals were confined in cages around the space ranging from birds to bugs. Consequently, the atmosphere in closed space was none too pleasing. Almost instantly Belle spotted the largest cage and ran towards it. Thankfully she was able to stop at a safe distance when the animal lunged at her, baring its huge, yellow fangs.

"A tiger!" Shaken, Belle stepped back and heard a voice speak to her. As she turned a smile of relief lit up her face. Taking several steps to the right of the big cat's cage she knelt beside her friend's furry body, reaching in to touch his massive hands.

"Adam. Oh God." Her smile fled as she began to piece together his situation. Although large, the cage was not sufficient to let him sit up straight. The width let him sit cross-legged but he could not stretch his legs out to their fullest extent. His fur was matted and dull. With a sinking feeling in her stomach Belle realized that there was blood caked on the back of his neck and down over a substantial portion of his body. "Oh Adam." Belle leant her head against the bars of the cage, despair rising inside her. "This is all my fault. They were going to take my father to the asylum for talking about you so I used the mirror to show them that you were real and Gaston excited the town into a mob stating that you were dangerous..." Several choking sobs put a stop to her explanation. Beast moved slightly closer to her side of his enclosure. "I… I'll get you out of here though. I won't leave you again. I'll stay with you until you're free."

"It doesn't matter now. I have nothing to live for Belle. I'm just getting what I deserve."

"Don't talk like that! How can you…you're my friend and I care about you! You're far better than most people I've met." Although he was obviously deeply depressed Belle could tell that he was, at least, happy to see her.

"Is that why you're here…" he paused, his fur rising menacingly, "if you're a prisoner too then I'll do my best to get us out Belle!" Then he calmed, the fastest she'd ever seen him do so. He'd changed so much since she'd first met him. "But I don't think they intend on feeding me very much, so if we wait too long I'll lose my strength."

"Not feeding you!" The young woman stood up and marched over to the two guards watching. "My friend needs to be fed! Is this another discussion I will need to be having with your Captain?"

"Our orders are not to feed the creature too much to keep 'im docile. Go ahead to the Captain if you wish."

"Yeah; hasn't been this much excitement in a while." Her escort grinned, expelling putrid breath and flashing his decaying teeth. Belle wanted to make sure she was not forcibly ejected from the room before she'd had some decent time with Adam and seeing as causing a fuss was not going to achieve this she glared at both men before returning to Beast's cage.

"Please tell me what happened to you, and what about the servants?"

Adam sighed heavily, turning his head away from Belle and closing his eyes. "After you left I wandered the grounds. I must have lost track of time. I didn't want to return to the castle so I walked down to the lake and sat by the water. I must have been knocked unconscious because the next thing I remember is being loaded onto this ship."

"Have you tried to break out?"

"My prospects are not much better outside of this cage. Belle, I have something… I need to tell you." Adam turned his piercing blue eyes to her tender brown ones and clasped her hands gently in his. "The spell that made me into this monster… there is a way to break it. When I met you I entertained the hope that you might be the one to help me do so."

"I will; I'll do anything I can to help you!" Belle's gaze was hopeful and pleading. Somehow it made Adam feel worse.

"It is not something you can control. To break the spell I must learn to love another and earn her love in return before my twenty-first birthday. I… I care for you very much Belle. I do… love you in a sense but I do not think it is the type of love the spell refers to. And, of course, there is your perspective."

His gaze was so sadly compelling that for a moment Belle believed she did love this man in a monster's body. Yet, it was her desire to do right by him that spawned her feelings. Belle was not, however, a woman who took decisions lightly. She would do everything in her power to save him but Belle did not think she carried that sort of passion for him either. "You know I care about you very much. I think you're the best friend I've ever had but I admit that the spell may not break under the type of love we share. When do you turn twenty-one?"

"Mid-November."

"That still gives us three months! If we can get you out of here we'll be able to find you someone to love. And being out in the world improves your odds. I just hope Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and the others will be able to take care of themselves."

"They will." Belle stroked her friend's arm, trying to comfort him. She didn't need him to tell her that he had no hope of such an event ever occurring. Every aspect of his mood and posture told her that.

"It's not because you're… you look the way you do that I don't love you in that way so you better not think that!"

Her friend did not respond. Willing the tears away - she had to be strong to get them out of this – Belle ran a loving hand down her friend's firm arm and leant her head against his hairy shoulder. For the next twenty minutes neither spoke, sitting as close as the cage would allow and trying not to think only of the worst.

Over the next few days she visited Adam whenever she could. Those visits were often no more than fifteen minutes and they were never alone. The Captain was sticking to his plan of feeding Beast extremely modest meals and Belle's attempts to smuggle in food for him only resulted in uncomfortable searches by the women-starved guards. She avoided Gaston's attempts at conversation by pestering the Captain or hiding in her room with a large barrel of some alcoholic beverage pushed against the door. Any news Belle discovered she faithfully reported to her fellow captive. Their moments together were the most enjoyable of any other time but even those were overshadowed by the hopeless-looking circumstances. As Adam's strength faded he fell into darker spirits and their odds of physically overpowering the crew of around twenty brutes plus Gaston dwindled. The sole distraction Belle could find from her situation was allowing herself to be soothed into apathy by the picturesque landscape.

Their eighth night on the sea found Belle once again participating in this activity. She'd found a nicely secluded spot on the deck mostly hidden by piles of boxes. Her slender frame enabled her to crawl through to this space and she'd whiled away most of her monotonous days in its company. This particular evening she was present to witness the beginnings of drunken camaraderie on the deck. The still night and bright full moon seemed to have put ants in the pants of the crew who were soon belting off-tune ballads and stumbling to waltzes. Belle found herself increasingly thankful for her hidden enclave since she was sure a woman's virtue would not be safe in such an environment.

Presently Gaston's ruckus guff-ahs were heard over the racket and Belle's blood froze when she realized he was looking for her. As he approached her hiding place she crouched low and hoped that the shadows and Gaston's clouded faculties would keep her safe. The alcohol appeared to have dampened both his powers of perception and patience since he didn't linger over searching her part of the vessel before moving onto another. Although Belle's stomach began to protest its emptiness she was unwilling to take the risk of venturing out amongst the chaos.

Her constitution was what first alerted her to the ship's gradually increasing movements. Peering out over the dark waves Belle could see that the sea's mood was becoming one of displeasure, as though it shared her disgust of the situation. This sympathy was, however, uncomforting. As the wind began whipping her loosely tied hair Belle had to face the fact that she was on a ship inhabited by a drunken crew with a storm brewing. The circumstances seemed determined not to turn in her favour.

Ariel's sisters had fussed over her hair for the past hour and, although she appreciated their experienced input she was tiring of the incessant babble. It had somehow been decided that each of them should go as a colour in the rainbow. The royal designer had concocted a line of cape-dresses for Triton's seven daughters. Each came low over the girls' shoulders and busts, pulling in tight over their waists then flaring out around their tails. The material sparkled when it caught the light and produced very little drag in the water. Thankfully it was also easy on the skin. Ariel generally didn't put excessive stock in the subtleties of fashion but even she had to express her appreciation for the gently moisturizing nature of the fabric.

Given her red hair she was wearing a complementary shade of green. The order of which sister wore what colour was aimed at palate rather than chronology. A necklace of tiny pearls attenuated Ariel's neck and collarbone while several gold and silver bangles chimed pleasantly along her right wrist. Her cheeks and neck were highlighted with pale green smoke-like wisps along with darker vines. Petite red flowers were scattered across the vines and her eyelids were painted silver. It was finally decided that most of the youngest princess' hair would flow free while the top layer would be braided with pale yellow flowers and coiled behind her head on a thin wire.

Despite her initial hesitation, Ariel found herself enjoying the energy and company of her sisters. A little time with them often went a long way but Ariel had spent so much of the past year pursuing interests beyond the palace that the opportunity to be with them was mostly positive. This level of pleasurable comfort, however, fled Ariel's body as she and her sisters fanned out in their presentation layout. King Triton was decked out in a less form-fitting version of the designer's outfit, his incorporating all the colours from the base until they melded into gold at the top. He gave them all a glowing smile before leading the way into the ballroom.

To Ariel it seemed that every merperson in the whole ocean was in attendance. Several of the more prominent families were lined up in fancy dress beside the royal entrance. Ariel noticed the Saleveras who she'd spent a good deal of time with in her childhood. They had four boys and one girl all of whom were present in dark blue and rich cream outfits sporting controlled, pleased expressions. As she and her sisters dispersed to greet the attendees Ariel managed to slide into the comfort of small talk.

The longer she spent mingling with the crowd the more patterns she began to notice. It was not her imagination that more mothers were introducing their sons before their daughters and then breaking off the conversations prematurely to leave her alone with the young merman. Generally these interchanges died rather quickly and Ariel bestowed a pleasant goodbye before moving onto the next merperson. Occasionally she met a pushy individual who offered to buy drinks or take her for a swim in the open sea. Still rarer was a genuine merperson with whom she didn't mind interacting but all these conversation felt empty tied as they were to underlying politics that Ariel did not want to face.

As the food was being served Ariel retreated to near the high royal table, exhausted from the release of the energy required to conduct herself in the proper manner. Apparently she was sorely out of practice. Glancing up at the ball of light floating in the center of the ceiling for a moment Ariel was hypnotized by the thousands of reflections sparkling off of the dozens of reflective orbs around it. She determined that once she'd sat through the meal and maybe one round of dancing she would able to acceptably retire. Flounder was not accepted company at these gatherings so Ariel stared sightlessly ahead, trying to decide whether to muster the energy to make her way towards the food. As she finally decided that her stomach did indeed need to be appeased a commotion rose from beside the table and swarms of merpeople swept back from a merwoman who was screaming as her flesh began to flake off. King Triton called for his medicine merman but within several minutes the victim was dead.

Silence filled the large chamber, no one knowing what to do about the strange turn of events. Suddenly Triton whirled around and intercepted a barb that would have connected with his back. Showers of them began descending on the merfolk who rushed for the exits. King Triton tried to protect his guests by casting a domed shield over the room but the water was steadily being clouded with poisonous residue.

"Daughters," the king roared, "get away from here!"

From her place at the back of the room Ariel was, to a large extent, out of harms way but in order to reach the nearest exit she would have to swim through steadily thickening clouds. Stirred into a panic by the chaotic circumstances Ariel swam up to the nearest window, deciding that damaging her hands on the coral screen would ultimately be less damaging than swimming through poison.

The hardest part was cracking the first chunk off but hauling bulky human artifacts had strengthened Ariel's arms so that, within a couple of minutes, she had created a hole big enough for her upper body to worm through. With a powerful kick she propelled herself through the gap only to have her hips become lodged. The princess twisted and pushed, finally severing enough of the remaining coral to launch her into the open ocean in a puff of tainted water. The outside atmosphere was dark and unsettled. Ariel strove on amongst it, her nerves too stretched for her to be sedentary. She knew this part of her father's kingdom like the scales on her tail but the usual comforting haunts did not tempt her into respite. The startling turn of events had shaken her sense of safety in the known, with the result that the world seemed simultaneously more and less threatening. Given these feelings, Ariel did not hesitate to rise towards the surface, a realm that, for the moment, seemed more comforting than the one she'd been born to.

As she broke through the roiling waves a flash of light illuminated the sky followed almost immediately by a foreboding rumble. Even the above-world is in turmoil. Ariel let herself be carried along the dancing water, beginning to derive a measure of enjoyment from the adrenaline rush. The surge deposited the mermaid a good distance from her initial course, uniting large and small bodies in the swirling liquid. Another flash revealed several ships that had also been carried to the spot. Most were floundering, several brightening the horizon with yellow flames. Ariel felt bizarrely drawn to their misfortune, approaching the vessels with the assurance that the chaotic situation would prevent any humans from seeing her.

Ariel caught sight of the ship on which she'd seen the distraught female. It was not on fire but a large depression on its far side was rapidly sinking it. Several escape boats were being deployed but Ariel did not see that particular human above or below the water. One of the boats was crooked on its ropes and several men were struggling against the wind to right it. Two figures on the deck suddenly appeared to be in conflict and Ariel tried to move closer to see what was happening but even her sleek body was at odds with the stormy ocean. After she'd managed to reach the side of the vessel she peered up at the scene just as one figure broke away and a muffled cry was swept away by the wind.

The ship was going down. Any hope Belle had held to the contrary vanished when another ship collided with theirs. In the commotion Belle took hold of the best opportunity she'd had since discovering her predicament and pursued the man holding the keys to the animal cargo. Grabbing the knife from his belt, she held him around the waist and in one fluid motion slid the blade through the leather supporting his key ring. The man attempted to turn and accost her but his alcohol-laden response gave Belle enough warning to knock him on his face. She'd made it halfway across the deck when Gaston apprehended her and began dragging her toward the life boats.

"Get your hands off of me!" Belle twisted violently, trying to break free.

"Shuttt it wench, I'mmm saving you." His words were slurring horrendously. Belle ceased struggling to take stock of the situation.

Gaston's grip slackened slightly as they waited for more intoxicated men to ready their boat. With a carefully placed kick Belle doubled over her captor and ripped herself out of his grip. The ship lurched suddenly as a wave hit it forcing Belle to the ground. She rolled out of the way of moving boxes, crawling quickly toward the open door leading to the lower levels. She'd been to see Adam enough times to know which was the key to the animal cargo but the water rushing into the room made getting to him without being trapped amongst debris extremely difficult.

"Adam!"

His voice turned toward her, laden with fear and concern. "Belle, get the hell out of here!"

"Don't you dare – talk to me like that!" Another surge knocked her against the bars of a cage, dazing her.

Adam reached as far as he could through his cage and Belle managed to make her way to him by following his voice.

"What key is it?"

"I don't know; I never saw them use it." The water was up to their chests, Belle fumbling as fast as she could to try each key. Without warning the damaged hull ruptured and the two were engulfed by salt water. Holding her breath, Belle continued trying keys but the lack of air rapidly sapped her strength. Combined with the blow to her head it wasn't long before she'd lost consciousness.

Ariel yanked the keys from the human's hands and inserted the strand of wire from her hair into the lock. Locked chests with vanished keys had never daunted the mermaid. Her determined curiousity had made her an experienced locksmith and now she utilized those skills to the advantage of the air-reliant beings in her care. Beating back several boxes she pried the cage door open, grabbed hold of both creatures and launched them all through the hull of the sinking ship.

Thankfully the large animal was still conscious and able to help speed their progress with his powerful legs. In a flurry of water they broke the surface just as the remaining top of the ship disappeared under it. Ariel searched for something large enough to keep them afloat. Carefully laying the woman over a wooden box she went in pursuit of a large panel that had snapped off the sinking vessel. Dragging it back she helped the exhausted creature climb on top of it, shouting over the wind for him to hold on. She turned in time to see the human slip off of the rocking box and back into the sea.

Another shot of adrenaline pulsed through the mermaid and she dove, wrapped her arms around the human's waist and yanked her into life-giving air. Scanning the nearby debris once more Ariel finally spotted a plank wide enough to support the woman's unresponsive body. While attempting to prop the human up on the board a violent wave caused the plank to strike the woman's back, resulting in a fit of coughing that brought up some of the water she'd swallowed. Ariel was frozen with the woman in her arms as she waited to see what would happen once the coughing ceased but the human soon lost consciousness again and the mermaid resumed lifting her onto the plank.

The storm was drifting away, distant rumbles only a reminder of the mania that had claimed the seas for the past few hours. Anxious to deposit her cargo in a safe place Ariel peered around the still quaking ocean for a trace of any other ship. Her strength was greatly diminished but she didn't want to leave them alone on the sea. It became readily apparent that there was no vessel to which she could deliver her victims, the sea a dark expanse of empty rolling water.

I have to try and get them to the nearest shore. I think I remember seeing a human signal that way but I don't have the energy to drag them both. Ariel wasn't even sure she had the energy to push just one but she decided to try and get the woman to shore. She seemed to be in the worst shape. If I can, I'll return for the creature.

The sun had fully broken over the horizon when Ariel landed her cargo safely on an empty beach. Impressive cliffs enclosed the area and the mermaid thought she'd seen a human structure up to the left. She could not, however, have pushed her load any further than their landing place. Panting Ariel gazed over at the human lying beside her. With a shock she realized she might never again be so close to this creature.

Running a hand over the woman's forehead she was amazed at how soft the skin was, not hard with thick, heat-conserving layers of fat like hers. The human's features were pleasantly formed and, although her hair's current condition was none-too attractive, Ariel liked the warm, rich colour. Peering around to make sure they were alone she took another long look at the woman whose slowly rising and falling chest stoked Ariel's hopes.

I do hope she's ok. Unsure as to the species' physiology Ariel had no idea how she might encourage the female's chances of survival. Ariel wasn't sure why the urge to sing rose in her at that moment. Perhaps it was the calming effect singing always had on her or just for the sake of something to try. Whatever the reason, soon a soothing melody was issuing from the young princess' lips into the shifting shore breeze.

Excitement sparked inside Ariel as the woman gradually responded to her song. A sigh escaped her lips, brows furrowing as she struggled to focus on the beautiful tones. Extracting herself from the depths of her consciousness Belle willed her eyes to open. It wasn't a dream. She was sure that if she could just force her tired eyelids up she would see the creator of that exquisite music. Her first few glimpses were only ill-formed glow but as she continued to blink a young woman's face began to take shape.

Part of Ariel was screaming at her to get away before the human fully awoke but the princess felt it to be a needless worry. For better or for worse she did not fear the woman lying before her and wanted them to meet.

Belle smiled up at the woman, gently touching her hand to an arm of her rescuer. The stranger's eyes were enchanting; she felt she could gaze into them forever. Suddenly the figure disappeared and a loud barking reached Belle's ears. In a panic the French woman tried to sit up but a wave of nausea overcame her and she was sick onto the sand at her side. Presently Belle's ears registered a man's voice as well and she halfheartedly tried to tidy herself.

The voice drew closer, exclaiming in a language she did not know. Her vision was still limited so when she saw a silhouette bending over her she was not entirely sure how much distance there was between them. She could see, however, that the man was pulling something out of his clothes.

"Get away!" Belle attempted to push herself back, afraid that the man was going to do some harm to her.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Please, here's some water. You're probably thirsty."

Gingerly taking the canteen Belle sniffed its contents before downing nearly all the liquid. She drank so fast that some went down the wrong tube and she spent a minute or so coughing it back up.

"Please- please excuse me sir." She managed to say. "My ship sank and I've only just come to."

"It looked like a nasty storm. My name is Eric. My castle is just beyond those cliffs. If you'll allow me, I would like to help you recover from this terrible event."

"Thank you Eric, but, did you say castle?"

He chuckled. "Yes. I'm the prince of this kingdom."

Belle had nothing to say to that.

"Please don't think anymore of it. I want to help you and its looks like the best way to do that might be to get you cleaned up."

Eric supported Belle as she staggered to her feet, head spinning. "It seems like you might have a concussion. I'll get my doctor to look at you when we get there."

Belle might have been less trusting of this stranger had his large, fluffy dog not been happily jumping around them. Her experience with animals who behaved thus was that their owners were good people and she was in no position to decline his assistance.

"Wait Eric."

"Yes?"

"Is there a girl around here? I saw one before you arrived. I think she pulled me out of the sea."

The man peered around, shaking his head. "I don't see anyone and it's unlikely anyone would be here. This section of the beach belongs to the castle and I've never seen anyone besides me here before."

Belle wanted to go in search of the woman herself but her strength was failing. When I've gotten some rest I'll find her.

Ariel watched the man help the woman up the beach, her heart falling with each step. She tried not to focus on the fact that she'd never see that human again but no matter how hard she tried to prevent it, the sinking feeling in her chest just wouldn't go away.