"Please don't leave me here with him, daddy." Ariel begged.
"Ariel, he's a fine young fellow. He'll take good care of you." King Triton assured his daughter. "Won't you, Eric, take good care of our Ariel?"
"Most certainly, sir." Eric said, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist."Have a swell journey back to Esterdam."
"We expect to hear from you soon, Ariel." Queen Athena said. "Possibly with good news."
Ariel knew exactly what the good news her mother and father wanted to hear. They wanted to hear in a couple of months she's with child. But that would mean she and Eric would have to consummate their marriage, and at the moment, it's far from that.
"Hopefully there'll be something good to share." Ariel replied.
Ariel watched as her family boarded their ship. She felt like crying but held herself together. Once the ship left port, Ariel started to walk back to the castle with Eric and went into the dinning hall for lunch. They sat in complete silence at the table as they ate. Eric broke the silence by clearing his throat and speaking up.
"So Ariel, I'm heading into town after lunch. Would you like to accompany me?"
"What are you doing in town?"
"I just have to pick something up from the store."
"Don't you have people who do that for you?"
"Yes, but I like going and talking to the townspeople." Eric replied, taking a sip of his water. "I just thought it would be better than staying in the palace all day with nothing else to do."
"I suppose I'll come then."
Eric had Carlotta tell the stablemen to ready the carriage. After they both finished eating, they headed into town. Eric helped Ariel out of the carriage and Ariel immediately went over to a flower stand to look at the flowers.
"How much are for these?" Ariel asked, pointing to a bouquet of pink roses.
"For you, your highness, free." The gardener said.
"No, no. I must pay." She insisted. Ariel pulled out a gold coin out of her coin bag and handed it to the man. "I think this should cover it."
"Thank you, your highness." He stammered.
Ariel found Eric exiting a store and was secretly admiring him from afar. She thought the casual outfit he had on made him look pretty sexy. She liked seeing Eric in his normal act than a prince he is. Ariel could have been married off to a full of himself prince or a demanding prince like her sister, Aquata. Eric isn't forcing her to do anything, or even consummate their marriage. She figured Aquata was forced to if she liked it or not, on her wedding night, since she's about two months pregnant now.
"Those are quite lovely flowers, Ariel." Eric said. "If you're ready to head back to the palace, we can now."
"Actually, is it too late to take you up on that offer to tour the kingdom?"
Eric smiled. "What would you like to see first?"
Eric took Ariel all around town. He took her dancing, which she enjoyed a lot since Eric is an amazing dancer, and ended their day taking a boat ride in a little lake. The boat ride, just the two of them, was pretty romantic, probably more romantic than she would have liked. But surprisingly enough, she didn't mind it one bit.
It was quiet, besides the singing of birds, and they were silently admiring each other.
"Has anyone ever told you your eyes sparkle in the moonlight?" Eric asked. Ariel smiled and shook her head. "Well they do."
"It's getting a bit chilly." Ariel said, rubbing her arms with her hands. Eric reached under their seats, pulling a blanket out from under, and placed it over Ariel's shoulders. He stared into Ariel's eyes and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Thanks."
He leaned back and grabbed the boat paddles. "I think we should head back. I'm sure Louis is readying dinner."
When they arrived back at the palace, they cleaned up for dinner and then ate. They ate silently admiring each other, reflecting on the day they had. After dinner, Ariel took a nice warm bath, and then was helped into her night gown. She opened the door to her and Eric's suite and found him sitting up in bed, waiting for her. She got into bed beside him, and by surprise, she didn't lay on the very edge like she did the previous nights.
"I enjoyed today." Ariel said.
"If you want tomorrow, I could take you out sailing."
"I think I'd like that." Ariel smiled. She reached over and gave Eric a kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight, Eric."
Eric smiled and reached over to turn off the light. "Goodnight, Ariel."
I hope you are liking the story so far and don't be afraid to leave a review. I would like some feedback if you like the story or not. Thanks for reading!
