Chapter 2

Stopping just around the corner, Ariel clutched the two flowers to her chest. There really was nothing to worry about now. It was just about whether she would get scolded and stuck having someone watching her more or not.

Continuing down the path, the guards stationed at the door were both insight. Ariel smiled brightly up at them.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," she sweetly said, holding out a flower for each of them. "I picked you each something while I was out."

They quickly dropped into a bow once they realized that it was their princess. But why was she out of the castle alone? Each took a flower after rising, not wanting offend her by not taking the princess's gift. It was a sweet gesture after all.

"Your Highness," one of the guards addressed. His name tag read: Pedersen. "Were you out alone? Is everything alright?"

Ariel smiled at the thought. "Yes, I went to go and see some butterflies in the nearby woods. It wasn't far."

The same guard responded. "Your Highness, I must frown upon that. It was dangerous to go out alone."

The second guard spoke up: Lugton. He was younger than Pedersen, but she remembered seeing him around the castle as well. "Was the prince aware that you left?"

"Like I said, it wasn't as far and dangerous as you might think, which is why I didn't tell Eric. He's too busy to be bothered this afternoon anyway, which is why I would appreciate your secrecy. There's no need to worry him over nothing," she said and added a sweet, "Please."

The guards looked at each other, Pedersen responding first. "Of course, but I would advise you not try that again."

The princess had looked at him the same way his daughter looked at him when she had done something wrong and wished for him to not tell her mother. Pedersen supposed that she had made it back safe, and that was all that mattered. Of course, he would have to make sure next time that he didn't let her slip by them again.

"Thank you!" she told them. "And thank you for keeping us safe. Eric and I deeply appreciate it."

"It's our pleasure, Your Highness."

"You're welcome, my princess."

Ariel smiled at them one last time before heading into the castle. Pedersen and Lugton turned and smiled at each other. It was a sweet surprise to encounter the princess.

"You know," Lugton started. "She's a pretty smart girl."

Pedersen looked at his flower in his hand. "Indeed she is."

Making her way towards the staircase that would lead her to her bedroom, Ariel began to hear barking. She knelt down to Max's height just in time for him to bombard her with his slobbery kisses.

"Hey, boy. How have you been?" she asked, expecting nothing but more licks back from him.

"Ariel!" Eric called. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you."

"Eric! I thought you had meetings all afternoon?" she asked, surprised to see him, but it didn't really matter anymore at this point.

"Mr. Richards fell ill, so the meetings are postponed until he can attend. I figured we could do something together, but no one knew where you were," he looked down at the bottom of her skirt and took notice of the dirt that covered the very bottom. "What were you doing?"

Ariel glanced down. She must have gotten just a little dirty on the way back, but she ignored it. It wasn't like it was her best dress. "Oh, Eric, it was wonderful! I heard people talking about the nearby woods and how there was a spot where there are tons of butterflies, so I went and checked it out! Eric, there were so many! They were all different colors and pretty and there were so many flowers. They-"

"Wait, Ariel, who went with you?" he asked.

Shrugging, she confidently responded, "No one."

"So, you went out alone? With no protection?" Eric's took notice that his voice had raised just a bit at that question, but he didn't know why.

Ariel nodded, not saying another word. Her fiancé looked very upset and worried, but she expected that. She just had to calm him down by reassuring him she was okay.

"But it's fine," she carefully started. "No one noticed me and it wasn't that far. I'm fine. Perfectly unharmed and fine."

"But what if someone did notice you and tried to harm you? Or what if they didn't notice who you were, but still decided to do the same? You wouldn't have been able to handle it. You can't take care of yourself out there," he frantically said. Eric wouldn't be able to live with himself if he lost her. The endless possibilities of what could have happened to her kept running through his head.

"What do you mean that I can't protect myself? I'm not a child, Eric. I can very well take care of myself. I've been in worse situations in the past where I've protected myself just fine," Ariel argued. Had Eric forgotten all of the situations she had gotten herself out of as a mermaid? All of the magic and deadly sea creatures seem like nothing compared to anything on land.

"Ariel, you still don't understand everything in the human world. Placed into one of those scenarios, you might have not had a clue what to do. Anyway, even if you have been a human your whole life, you'd still be too weak to protect yourself properly. There are some crazy people out there," Eric explained, trying to get his point across.

She flung her arms up in the air, raising her voice a bit in anger. "Well, thanks for that! That's just what a girl loves to hear. That she's weak."

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm sure that perhaps you can protect yourself under the sea, but I know that you can't protect yourself here very well depending on the situation and I just want you safe," he responded softer. He truly didn't want to offend her.

Crossing her arms, Ariel looked stubbornly down at the floor. "You sound like my father. Not my fiancé."

He brushed it off. It wasn't that much of an insult. He knew the Sea King and he both cared about her safety. Stepping closer to her, Eric placed his hands on her shoulders and spoke gently. He didn't want a fight. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I just love you too much."

Ariel sighed. No matter what, she's never grow tired of hearing him say those words. "I love you, too."

Eric pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head, talking in the sweet scent of her hair. "Why didn't you just wait for me to go with you?" he asked, curious. They always went out together. Eric was always willing to take her to a new place or activity to do. They always were together.

She broke the hug and stepped back. She felt bad that she had left Eric out of this moment, but this was her new life, and this time, it wasn't going to belong to anyone else but her.

"Well," Ariel started, trying to form her words in a way that would not hurt him. Perhaps she just wouldn't tell him exactly how she felt. "I knew you were busy, and you know I just hate waiting. Since I knew I could handle making it out on my own, I just decided to go without you."

"But protection aside, you didn't want me with, even as a friend?"

Ariel sighed. She had to say it. "Not really, no. I just wanted this moment for myself, and just me and the butterflies is how I always pictured it would be."

Eric blinked a few times, taken back by the truth. Every time she went out together she always seemed so happy. What had changed? "Why?" he simply asked, feeling slightly hurt, but of course, he wouldn't admit it.

Ariel couldn't say she felt bad about it. She had no regrets. She loved getting to feel free and spend time with no one but the butterflies outside of the castle–in the human world. Besides, it was her life and she had control over it.

"Eric, I love you and I love having adventures with you, but I miss having time to myself to explore like I used to. And I've imagined getting to this moment so many times. I thought that this would be a great experience to have by myself, since I've dreamed about it since I was a child," Ariel honestly replied. "Eric, I have dreams, and you aren't in all of them, especially the ones I've created as a child."

Eric was taken back a bit. Never would he admit that he was hurt, but he kept feeling it more and more. "Really? Cause what I'm getting from this is that you decided that you just don't want to share your hopes and dreams with me, and that's ridiculous because I'm going to be your husband and I thought that meant that we'd always be there for each other and share our lives with each other."

"What's ridiculous? That I don't think I need you with me all the time. That I want just a little freedom? I'm allowed to do my own things, especially my accomplish dreams," Ariel tried to explain, but she was growing more frustrated by the minute.

"Like your dream to become human? Should I have not let you into my home? Into my life? Because I can certainly let you accomplish that dream on your own too!" Eric exclaimed. It was a harsh thing to say. He could not imagine what his life would be like if Ariel wasn't in it. Part of him thought he said that to just sound strong, but another thought that it was to find out if that was how Ariel actually felt.

"What?" she was taken back. Why was Eric being so… so mean? Ariel clearly underestimated how upset he would be. Carefully taking a step forward, she tried calming things down more. "Eric I love you. I don't mean it like that. I just need a little space sometimes. That's all."

Eric backed away from her laughing, almost in disgust. "So, now I don't give you enough space? You can't say that. I don't even see you for half of the day sometimes because I'm so busy."

"Yeah, and then I'm usually stuck in the place. I want to spend time out by myself," she responded, getting frustrated. Why wouldn't he understand? All he was doing was yelling at her. She expected herself to feel like crying at this point, but all she felt was anger, not tears.

"Then take some guards!"

"That's not alone!"

"You either go with me or you go with guards! I just want you safe!"

"I don't want to be safe, Eric! I just want to feel free, like those butterflies. Other people will just hold me back. I don't want to have to take anyone with me!" Ariel yelled back on her last nerve.

Eric began walking away, exasperated. "And you know what? I don't want to talk about this anymore! Go off and have another adventure, by yourself!"

"Maybe I will!" Ariel called after him. After that she stood there, trying to process what had just happened until he was out of sight. Once he was, she let her guard down and immediately felt tears sting in her eyes.

She turned back and headed up the stairs. Nearly pushing servants out of her way, she rushed to get to her room. There was no other place she could be alone but there, and she was determined to get there before the tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Opening up the door, Ariel slammed it behind her, threw the cloak she was still holding on the ground, and sat down on her bed. Laying down with her feet still dangling off the side, she held the palm of her hands to her eyes to try and contain her tears of anger and frustration, but it was no use. Instead she just left them fall.