Chapter Four
A/N: I ONLY OWN PERCY!
On surface. Fireworks in the sky around ship. Ariel looks on, amazed. Sebastian and Flounder arrive.
Sebastian: Ariel, what - what are you- jumpin' jellyfish! Ariel, Ariel! Please come back! [Ariel swims to ship and watches party until Max finds her.]
"Uh-oh!" Melody gulped.
Eric: [Whistles.] Max, here boy. Hey, come on, mutt, whatcha doing, huh Max? Good boy. [Ariel sees him and is stricken.]
"Blech!" Percy grimaced. Melody rolled her eyes; trust a guy to not believe in love at first sight.
Scuttle: Hey there, sweetie! Quite a show, eh?
Ariel: Scuttle, be quiet! They'll hear you.
"Humans never notice the sea," Percy grumbled and Melody smacked him on the arm.
Scuttle: Oooh, I gotcha, I gotcha. We're being intrepidatious. WE'RE OUT TO DISCOVER! [Ariel grabs his beak.]
Both veiwers chuckled.
Ariel: I've never seen a human this close before. Oh - he's very handsome, isn't he?
Scuttle: [Looking at Max] I dunno, he looks kinda hairy and slobbery to me.
"Scuttle's an idiot," Melody shook her head in amusement.
Ariel: Not that one - the one playing the snarfblat.
"Flute," Melody corrected and Percy nodded to show he understood.
Grimsby: Silence! Silence! It is now my honour and privilege to present our esteemed Prince Eric with a very special, very expensive, very large birthday present.
"I thought it was rude to talk about how much a present cost?" Percy asked. "Is it different for humans?"
"It shouldn't be," Melody shook her head.
Eric: Ah, Grimsby - y'old beanpole, you shouldn't have.
Grimsby: I know. Happy birthday, Eric! [Large, gaudy statue of Eric is revealed. Max growls.]
"Smart dog," Melody nodded. That statue was creepy and looked nothing like her father.
Eric: Gee, Grim. It's, err, it's, err - it's really somethin'. . . .
Grimsby: Yes, I commissioned it myself. Of course, I had hoped it would be a wedding present, but . . .
"Wedding?" Melody gasped. She could never imagine her father with someone other than her mother.
Eric: Come on, Grim, don't start. Look, you're not still sore because I didn't fall for the princess of Glauerhaven, are you?
"Where?" Percy asked and Melody shrugged.
Grimsby: Oh, Eric, it isn't me alone. The entire kingdom wants to see you happily settled down with the right girl.
"Well he did," Melody muttered to herself. Her parents made each other so happy. Any fool could see it.
Eric: Well, she's out there somewhere. I just - I just haven't found her yet.
Grimsby: Well, perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough.
Eric: Believe me, Grim, when I find her I'll know - without a doubt. It'll just - bam! - hit me - like lightning. [Lightning and thunder appear and the sky grows dark.]
Melody jumped and Percy wrapped an arm around her.
"This already happened," he told her. "Nothing bad's going to happen."
Even though he was still confused as to what this had to do with either one of them.
Sailor: Hurricane a'commin'! Stand fast! Secure the riggin'! [Storm hits.]
Scuttle: Whoa! The wind's all of a sudden on the move here. [He is blown away.] Oh! Ariel . . . [Ship crashes through storm. Lightning starts a fire. A rock looms ahead.]
On the other hand…Percy thought with a gulp. If the winds took away a seagull…he didn't want to think about what could happen to a mermaid.
Eric: Look out! . . . [Ship crashes and all are thrown overboard except Max.] Grim, hang on! [Sees Max.] Max! [Goes back to save him.]
"DAD NO!" Melody shouted. She loved Max, but she didn't want her dad to get hurt because of the dog.
Jump Max! Come on boy, jump! You can do it Max. [He saves Max but is trapped on board.]
Grimsby: ERIC! [Ship explodes.
"NO!" Melody screamed and tears began to well in her eyes. To think about how close her father was to dying…
Ariel finds Eric near drowning and pulls him away.]
"Thank you Poseidon," Percy whispered to the God of the Sea.
On beach. Ariel is sitting next to an unconscious Eric.
Ariel: Is he - dead?
Scuttle: [Opens Eric's eyelid.] It's hard to say. [Puts his ear against Eric's foot.] Oh, I - I can't make out a heartbeat.
"That's because you've got your ear on his foot," Melody rolled her eyes, thankful that her father had been saved.
Ariel: No, look! He's breathing. He's so beautiful.
What would I give
To live where you are?
What would I pay
To stay here beside you?
What would I do to see you
Smiling at me?
Where would we walk?
Where would we run?
If we could stay all day in the sun?
Just you and me
And I could be
Part of your world
Sebastian and Flounder have washed up and are watching scene. Max and Grimsby approach. Ariel hurries away.
Grimsby: Eric! Oh, Eric. You really delight in these sadistic strains on my blood pressure, don't you?
"Yeah right," Percy scoffed.
Eric: A girl - rescued me
"Don't sound so surprised Dad," Melody grumbled.
. . . . She was - singing . . . she had the most - beautiful voice.
Grimsby: Ah, Eric, I think you've swallowed a bit too much seawater. Off we go. Come on, Max.
Sebastian: We just gotta forget this whole thing ever happened. The sea king will never know. You won't tell him, I won't tell him. I will stay in one piece.
"I already know that's not going to happen," Percy predicted.
Ariel:
I don't know when
I don't know how
But I know something's starting right now
Watch and you'll see
Some day I'll be
Part of your world
"Maybe she got her wish," Percy muttered to himself. "I've never seen her before."
Flotsam and Jetsam appear. Fade to Ursula watching from her chamber.
Ursula: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I can't stand it - it's too easy. The child is in love with a human. And not just any human - a prince! Her daddy'll LOVE that. King Triton's headstrong, lovesick girl would make a charming addition to my little garden.
"Uh-oh," Melody gulped.
"Bedtime," Percy said and Melody playfully scowled.
"I'm not tired," she said.
"Yeah, but if I don't get back to the castle by midnight my mother's going to send the entire kingdom out for me," Percy said. "I'll be back tomorrow."
"See you then!" Melody called, pulling a blanket from the boat out so she wouldn't freeze.
