Disclaimer: I do not own The Little Mermaid or any of its characters. I do own this plot.

2

Ariel. Her name was beautiful. Everything about her was beautiful. The search party found Eric as he trudged out of the surf, his head swimming with thoughts of his beautiful rescuer. Max found him first, careening over the dunes and to his owners side, jumping happily and barking as Grimsby and some sailors joined him.

"Eric? Eric! You really do delight in these sadistic strains on my blood pressure, don't you?" Grimsby said with a chuckle, overly relived to see the young man he cared for so fondly. He helped the prince as he stumbled out of the water and onto the beach. "Ah, Eric, I think you've swallowed a bit too much seawater."

Eric tried not to be annoyed at the old man. He'd been the adult in his life for so long, like an older uncle, but at this moment he couldn't help regretting his appearance. If he hadn't showed up at such an inopportune moment then Ariel might not have rushed off.

Ariel. He still held the knife he'd used to pin her fin down. Disgusted with himself and it Eric pulled away from Grimsby and lobbed the knife as far as he could away from himself and the direction Ariel had swam off in.

"Eric what was that for?" Grimsby asked as the blade disappeared beneath the waves, truly believing that the prince was suffering from exposure.

"Nothing it's just…barbaric," he said. "Come on Grim, let's go home."

Ariel swam as fast as her tired tail would carry her towards Atlantica. Her father would be wondering where she was by now. Oh she was in so much trouble! But she couldn't be mad with herself. Eric, she thought. So handsome, so sweet, so human! Sure he'd hurt her tail, something she was still confused about, but she didn't entirely blame him either. Seeing something so strange after a near-death experience was bound to play tricks on your mind. Ariel had seen the panicked look in his eyes as he wielded the knife. He had thought he was in danger. She also distinctively recalled his remorseful expression as he realized what he'd done. She forgave him but still she was glad he'd got her on the fin, the membrane was much less sensitive then the nerve-filled end of her tail just an inch to the right.

She'd saved a human. Spoken with a human. She'd agreed to meet with him again.

Was she crazy? Probably. But this was her chance! She could only learn so much from Scuttle, an observer of the human world himself. Eric was her opportunity to learn so much about the world she longed to join. She could bring him some of her treasures and he could tell her what they were! She couldn't pass up the opportunity.

She lingered in the market on her way to the palace, picking up a few odds and ends to alibi herself to anyone who asked.

The first person she ran into in the palace was Attina. Her ever-responsible oldest sister was just rounding the corner between the main hallway and the one that lead to their bedrooms when Ariel swam through the doors.

"Ariel!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Where have you been? You weren't in the salon this morning!"

"Sorry 'Tina," Ariel apologized, already having worked out a lie. "I went to the town market early this morning. You know that you have to be there early to get the best kelp wraps and sea daises!" She held up a bundle of flowers she'd gotten as proof. "And then there was someone selling seahorses and I lost track of time."

"Well Father has been asking for you," she warned.

Ariel sighed. "He probably wants to yell at me some more about missing the concert."

"More like he wants to yell at you for going to the surface," her sister scoffed.

"What?" Ariel gasped, eyes wide. Had her father found out about her and Eric? Was he going to confine her to the palace? If he knew what she'd been up to why hadn't he come and dragged her home earlier?

Attina rolled her eyes. "Come now, Ariel. We all know where you went yesterday. Why else would you miss the concert? Besides, Adella and Arista heard Father reprimanding you yesterday."

The relief that coursed through Ariels body was unparalleled. "No, I think he pretty much said everything he had to say about that yesterday."

"Well you might as well go find him," Attina said as she swam away. "Or he'll find you."

Ariel didn't want to but she knew her sister was right. With that in mind she headed in the opposite direction of her bedroom and towards the throne room. All Ariel wanted at this point was sleep. Her body still ached and the few hours she'd been passed out on the beach for weren't nearly enough to recover from the night before.

Her father was sitting on his throne, the small red form of Sebastian at his side. His trident was in its usual place in its holder within her fathers reach. Well, he wasn't twirling it like he did when he was mad so that was a good sign. Right?

"Morning Daddy," Ariel said as she came to a halt before her fathers throne. Sebastian was glaring at her from his position on the thrones armrest. "Hi Sebastian."

"Ariel," her father said. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, in the market," she held up her bouquet of flowers again, glad she'd had the forethought to grab them on her way in.

"All day?" he asked.

"You know I love the market! So many things to see and people to talk to!"

Her father rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"And where did you disappear to last night?" her father asked. "I sent Sebastian to find you after we spoke but he said he never found you."

"He did?" Ariel asked, eyes wide. Sebastian hadn't told her father about the cavern? The shipwreck? She turned to the crustacean in question. He was making quick, silencing motions with his large claws, a panicked look in his eyes. "I-I mean, you did?" she corrected herself. "Why?"

It was her father's turn to look uneasy. "Well…I wanted to make sure you were looked after."

"I was fine, Daddy. But I was up early and I'm tired. Can I please go back to my room now?" She needed to escape quickly before her father realized she hadn't answered his question and her lies unraveled.

"I suppose. And Ariel, I don't like yelling at you. I only do it because I want what's best for you."

"I know, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, anglefish."

Ariel turned to leave.

"Ariel!" Her father called out to her before she'd gone very far. His voice was sharp.

"Yes?" she turned around, eyes wide. Her father left his throne and came to her side.

"Are you bleeding?" he gestured to her fin.

Ariel winced. While the cut hadn't hurt so much as scared her, the injury on her fin was slow to heal and, with all the swimming she'd done today it hadn't stopped bleeding.

"Oh…that." She looked impishly at her father.

"Ariel—" her fathers voice held a warning. Tell the truth, or else.

"I cut my fin on a seahorse corral in the market," she lied, recalling her earlier lie to Attina. "It's not bad."

Her father sighed. "I wish you would only concern yourself with the palace seahorses. I'm sure you remember what happened with Stormy."

Ariel sighed. She still missed that wild seahorse sometimes.

"Yes Daddy."

"Good girl. Now, I'll be gone tomorrow," he said turning back to his throne. "I have a meeting in the south. I won't be home until late." Ariel's heart soared. That would be the perfect opportunity to escape and see Eric! "I expect you to behave yourself and if you go anywhere take Sebastian." Her hopes crashed.

The worries of how to escape Sebastian tomorrow aside, Ariel was eager to reach her bedroom. She deposited the sea daises in an empty vase beside her bed and floated onto her clam bed, happy to sink into its comfort. Her eyes had barley drifted closed when there was a knock at her door.

"Ariel," Sebastian called, "I'm coming in."

She sighed. She'd been expecting this.

Her fathers trusted friend entered her room and quickly scrambled onto the edge of her bed.

"Yes, Sebastian?"

"Don't you 'Yes, Sebastian' me in such an innocent voice. You are in a lot of trouble, missy!" he steamed. "Just what were you thinking last night? Have you any idea how dangerous that was? And then Flounder and I couldn't find you! We were worried you were dead or captured by those humans!"

"Shh! Sebastian keep it down!" Ariel scooped him up and clamped a hand over his big mouth. He squawked in outrage but she didn't let go. "I'm sorry I scared you but I had to help him! He would have died if I hadn't!"

"One less human to worry about," the crab said, finally freeing himself.

"But Sebastian he's so kind and sweet! How could I let him die?"

"Easily. Swim away."

"I hardly believe you could do such a thing," she scolded him. "And you know I certainly can't."

The crab sighed. "I know. And that's why I didn't tell your father. You would have been chained to your bed and I would have been crab cake! But don't think I wont!" he said, cutting off her response. "We'll put this in the past. Forget it ever happened. You'll never go to the surface again!"

The nondescript rowboat bobbed up and down on the calm sea as Prince Eric set his anchor. The water wasn't too deep here, maybe fifteen feet, but it was clear and he could see straight through to the bottom. Brightly colored fish danced along the reef below but there was no sign of his red headed mermaid. Eric had woken up before the sun that morning and began to wonder if the entire thing had been a dream. Had his mermaid been a product of dehydration, exhaustion, and the bright spring sun? Then his eyes had lit on the small golden hair ornament he'd left on his side table the night before and he knew.

He knew his Ariel was real.

After the palace doctors had given him a clean bill of health he'd returned to the room that held his families treasures. He had wanted to give Ariel something to thank her for saving him. He'd found the perfect gift among his grandmothers' possessions.

Now, as he drifted in his rowboat, he patted his pocket, feeling the gift resting against his thigh.

And he waited.

He'd asked her to meet him this morning. He didn't know when she'd show up, if she did at all. He watched the sun rise over the land and creep high enough into the sky to start reflecting off the sea.

He'd always found the sea beautiful. He'd grown up in the palace where nearly every window had a view of it. He'd played at the waters edge as a kid, learned to sail its waters with his father. After his father died he'd continued to sail it. The sea had always been a beautiful mystery to him and now that he knew one of its secrets it was even more beautiful.

The boat continued to bob along.

The sun was climbing higher and higher and with each passing minute Eric's hope dwindled more and more.

It was nearly noon when she broke the waters surface.

Eric almost didn't believe it at first but the smiling redhead started to come closer.

"You came," he whispered as she pulled herself up on the edge of the boat.

"I-I thought you wanted me to," she said, her smile slipping away in confusion.

"I did," he said quickly, hoping she wouldn't take his disbelief for disappointment. "But that doesn't mean I thought you would…I hoped you would." His babbling died off.

She gave a soft smile and dropped back into the water, swimming over to the rock. She pulled herself up onto its wave-smoothed surface and turned to face him again.

Eric took a moment to take her in. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. His eyes trailed to the fin he had injured the day before. A mark was still visible and he felt guilty for marring her otherwise flawless tail. Today she carried an orange bag with her.

"Well I wanted to come back," she said, "I just didn't know if I'd be able to."

"I'm glad you did," he responded. She only smiled.

After a moment of awkward silence she asked "Why did you want me to come back?"

He shrugged, a light blush filling his cheeks. "I just….I just didn't want to let you go," he admitted at last, ruffling the hair at the nape of his neck with a jittery hand. "I have so many questions. So many things that I just need to know about you."

Ariel hesitated, worrying her bottom lip. "I don't know that I should tell you anything," she said at last. "This is—"

"Forbidden," he interrupted, recalling what she had said the day before. He remembered everything she'd said the day before. "I know. I don't want to get you in trouble but there's just so much that I don't understand. That I want to understand." The desperation in Eric's voice reminded Ariel of her own feelings towards the world that she wanted to know and be a part of.

"I'll help you," she said after a moments hesitation. "I'll answer your questions, but only if you help me too."

"Help you how?" he asked.

"There are so many things that I've heard of or witnessed about life above the sea that I don't understand. I've spent so much time trying to understand the human world. So many things look so amazing, some confusing, and I want to know more. "

"Ask me anything," he said, climbing from his rowboat onto the rock beside her. She shifted over so that he could sit comfortably beside her.

Ariel hesitated, not knowing what to say. Which question should she ask first? She always had so many and yet now that the opportunity for answers presented itself she couldn't recall any of them.

"What is fire?" she asked at last, remembering her time with Flounder in the cavern two days before. "Why does it burn?"

"Fire?" he asked, confused. What did she want to know about it? It was something that just was. It was something that was a part of everyday life. He'd never even considered that someone wouldn't know what it was. Then again, Ariel lived under the water. She wouldn't know anything about it.

"Yes," she nodded eagerly. "In my collection," she blushed suddenly, "I collect things from the human world," she added quickly before moving on. "I have a picture of someone looking at fire. What is it? Is it a color?" she pulled a lock of her hair forward. "It's red, right? The color of my hair. Is the color fire or is it something else?"

Eric laughed at the sudden eagerness in her voice.

"Fire is…well I guess its hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it before. Fire is a physical thing that can be created. It doesn't exist until you make it. It can be red, yes, but other colors too. A candle burns yellow, very hot flames burn blue. Some things, like copper, can even turn the flames green!" Ariel gasped, eyes wide. She was hanging on his every word.

"But what is it? What is burn?"

"Burn is what fire does. When something is set on fire, like the ship the other night, the fire destroys it, reduces it to cinders. If it touches your skin it hurts. If it stays on your skin long enough it can kill you."

Ariel gasped, leaning away from him slightly. "It can kill you? But then why would humans create it? Shouldn't you stay away from something so dangerous?"

Eric laughed again. "It's not that simple. Fire is also needed to, well, live. We use fire for lighting the dark—"

"We have jellyfish and plankton that do that for us," Ariel interrupted before clasping her hands over her mouth. "Sorry," it came out muffled. "Please continue."

Eric shook his head affectionately before continuing. "We also use fire to warm our homes and our bodies on cold days. We use it to cook, to warm our baths. Fire is dangerous if it gets out of control but it can also be nice. Some of my best memories are sitting next to a fire with my parents and talking."

"That sounds nice," Ariel sighed. "The only time I spend with my sisters is either at rehearsal or in the salon when they're doing their hair."

Eric found that funny. I suppose that even underwater girls like to look their best, he thought.

She asked a few more questions, pulling a fork and a pipe out of the bag slung over her shoulder. She had strange names for them: dinglehopper and snarfblatt. Eric couldn't contain his laughter when she told him what they were called.

"Where did you hear that?" he asked.

"From Scuttle," she said indignantly. "Don't laugh."

"I'm sorry but who is Scuttle?" he worked hard to sound normal.

"My friend. He's a seagull."

"A seagull?" he demanded.

And their conversation had continued on.

Eric asked questions of his own. He had so many things he wanted to know about where she lived and her people in general but he started out small, afraid that she'd get scared off by probing questions.

He asked questions like how old was she (sixteen) how many siblings did she have (six sisters, she was the youngest), and what were her parents like (her mom had died when she was younger and all she remembered about her was her love of music. Her father was very protective of his daughters and most definitely would not approve of her talking to Eric today).

The sun grew lower and lower as they talked. Eric had long since shed his boots and was lightly kicking his feet in the water. Ariel had returned to the water twice since she'd arrived in order to rehydrate her skin, sometimes diving under the water for several minutes at a time.

After one such trip she pulled herself back onto the rock beside Eric and sighed. "I shouldn't stay much longer," she said.

"A few more minutes," he begged.

She nodded in affirmation.

She looked down at the water where he was kicking his feet.

Ariels curiosity got the better of her.

"Eric?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Can…this may be strange for you but can I touch your feet?" she blushed as she spoke.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "My feet?"

She nodded.

"Until yesterday I'd never been this close to a human before. I'm curious."

Eric shrugged and pulled his feet from the water.

Ariel tentatively reached out and touched his foot. Eric wiggled his toes and Ariel giggled in surprise.

"I don't understand," she said at last. "What are those?" she asked.

"They're toes," he said.

Ariel looked at her own fins, there were no such separations.

"What are they for? Why do you have so many?"

"They help me balance. They're really important walking and running. And for dancing."

Ariel smiled. "I wish I could dance," she said reverently. "I've seen it before. It's graceful. But with fins all you can do is swim."

"I think your swimming is very graceful," Eric offered up.

Ariel withdrew her hand and sighed, touching her own tail. "I guess."

She looked up and saw Eric eying her tail with the same curiosity she'd eyed his feet.

She held up her fin slightly. "Would you like to feel?" she asked.

Eric startled and looked away from her tail. A blush crept over his cheeks once again.

"No I…I shouldn't."

"Why? I offered. Aren't you curious?" She didn't understand his attitude.

"Well yes but…for humans its not very…appropriate for a man to touch a woman like that. Not unless they're married anyway."

Oh, Ariel thought.

"I understand," she said. "Merpeople are like that too. There are certain things you shouldn't do with anyone but your beloved. But it isn't like you would be touching me intimately. Its like me touching your feet!"

She reached out and took his hand in hers. Eric startled at that and the tingling it left behind. She drew his hand to her lower tail where her fins attached and laid his hand there.

Eric's curiosity got the better of him and he ran his hands along her tail.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Its not like I thought," he admitted. Her tail was smooth in one direction but rough in the other, very much like the denticles of a shark. "I thought it would be more fish-like I suppose."

Ariel nodded. "You'd think that by looking at it. Sure the scales look fish like but the texture is more like a sharks. Our fins are turned like a dolphins or whales. We don't move our tails side to side like fish and sharks but up and down." She flicked her tail in demonstration. "We have a lot in common with dolphins and whales," she went on. "Humans too, obviously. We give live birth and nurse our young. Fish don't. We're a strange combination."

"A mammal," Eric supplied.

"A what?"

"Its what humans call it. Animals that give live birth, suckle their young, breathe air and have hair. We call them mammals. Humans, dolphins, dogs, monkeys. We're all mammals."

"Oh. I didn't know there was a name for it."

Eric nodded. He realized then that he was still running his hands over her tail and quickly pulled away. Ariel immediately missed the warmth of his touch.

"Can I ask you another question?" Eric asked.

She nodded.

"You breathe air," he said gesturing around them. "But you live underwater. You can breathe underwater too? Or do you just hold your breath?"

"Merpeople can survive both under water and above it. I have gills," she gestured to the side of her ribcage where Eric could see, only because she drew his attention to it, three parallel lines a few inches long. They looked like a paper cut that hadn't healed. They were on both sides of her torso, beneath her bra strap and slightly towards her back. "I can breath and talk underwater but when my head is above the surface my body automatically breathes air."

"How strange," he said, mostly to himself. "Its amazing."

"Not as amazing as some of the things that humans can do," Ariel sighed. "I wish I could be one."

I wish you could, too, Eric thought. He didn't want to lose her beneath the waves again.

"I have something for you," he said suddenly, remembering the gift in his pocket. He withdrew the golden decorative comb he'd brought from the palace and handed it to the shocked mermaid.

"For me?" she asked, confused. "Why?"

"It's a thank you gift, for saving my life."

"I didn't do it for a gift," Ariel said, studying the comb. It was beautiful. The comb itself was gold but there were mother of pearl inlays shaped like starfish with pearl accents.

"I know. But I wanted to give this to you anyway. Please take it."

He reached out and tucked the comb into her hair.

Ariel reached up to touch it as he withdrew his hand.

"It was my grandmothers," he explained. "She loved the sea as much as I do."

"Its beautiful," Ariel said, touched. "But I shouldn't take it. It seems important to you and I'm afraid it might get lost. Or my father might be mad if I wear something from the human world."

He shrugged. "It does me no good sitting around here. Tell your father you found it, bought it at one of your markets. I don't even mind if you keep it with your collection. Its yours now."

"Thank you," she whispered. She looked out at the lowering sun. They'd been talking for hours. "I should go," she sighed. "Its getting late and my father will be home soon. The only reason I managed to come today is because he is away on business. I'm afraid it won't be so easy again. Plus, I had to slip away from Sebastian."

"Please," Eric said, his stomach clenching tightly at the thought of not seeing her again. "Please find a way to come back. I'm not ready to lose you yet."

It was Ariel's turn to blush lightly. She wanted to come back too. Sitting there with Eric she had been happier then she'd been in a long time. It was better then hunting down human things to add to her collection, better then singing or riding seahorses. She wanted to continue this friendship.

"I'll try," she said at last. "But I can't promise."

"I'll take whatever I can get."