Chapter 4
Robin Hood sat up against a nearby tree while he took in quite a few large gasps of air after getting out of the water. Once his nerves had been somewhat calmed he let out, "Well, it seems like Little John wasn't kidding when he told me to be more careful around Ariel."
"Hey Rob, where did you run off to a little bit ago?" Little John asked, as he turned around to look at his friend.
When the anthro fox saw that his friend was giving him a concerned look he tried to act like nothing was wrong as he said, "Is something wrong, Johnny old boy?"
"Actually I was just about to ask you that question, Rob?" Little John replied, as he started to walk towards the fox. And when he was right in front of him he added, "You look a little shaken up. What happened after you went back underwater?"
The outlaw let out a nervous chuckle as he answered with, "Well John, the reason why I went back underwater was because I saw Ariel. So I want back into the water and the two of us chatted for while. Of course she was the one who did all of the talking...since she's a mermaid and all." When Robin saw that Little John was giving him a somewhat impatient look he swallowed a lump that was in his throat as he continued with, "And...after a little while she and I were about to kiss."
"Yeah, so what happened? Did you two end up kissing or not?" The anthro bear asked, as he sat down and leaned up against one of the sides of the tree.
Hearing this question caused the brown eyed fox to go silent for a few seconds before he replied back with, "No unfortunately we stopped from doing so when King Triton arrived and saw us together." He swallowed a second lump in his throat before he continued with, "Then Ariel and her father started to argue with one another. But out of nowhere she ended up telling King Triton that she loved me."
"Okay so what happened after she said that?" The brown furred bear asked, as put his arms behind his head. Before Robin could answer though he went on with, "Wait let me guess, King Triton got so mad from this news that he tired to kill you didn't he?"
Letting out a sigh of defeat the green clad fox shook his head as he let out, "Yes, but Ariel was able to move the blast from the trident away from me." He then looked up at the sky as he ended with, "I hope she's alright..."
ooooooo
Ariel slowly started to lift her head up after moving her hair out from in front of her eyes. And as she did this she saw that her mermaid's tail had been replaced with two human legs. When she started to stand up though her legs became quite wobbly which caused her to loose her balance and fall back into the shallow water of the river that she was in. The red haired princess was not gong to give up through as she slowly started to make her way out of the river by crawling. But when she had made it onto dry land she instantly shot her head up when she heard a very familiar voice as it asked, "Johnny old boy, is it just me or were some noises coming from the river?"
The blue eyed young woman heard a second voice as it replied, "I don't know, Rob? Maybe you should go check it out real quick."
Hearing this caused Ariel's eyes to widen in worry as she quickly tried to stand up and run behind a nearby tree. Sadly right when she had made it to the tree she heard some rustling coming from the bushes as she quickly turned around and saw the head of an arrow sticking out of it. She quickly covered her eyes fearing the worst, but while she did this she heard Robin's voice again as he asked, "Ariel?"
Hearing this caused the young woman to open her eyes and look towards the bushes only to see the anthro fox standing there some what in the bushes. Not wanting to keep him waiting she nodded a yes to his question. After that though she watched as he dropped the weapon and ran towards her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders as he asked her, "Ariel, what are you doing here?" And when she saw his eyes go downward he added, "And how on earth did you get rid of your mermaid tail for a pair of legs?"
The young woman then tried to say something to response to the outlaw's questions. However, she instantly remembered that she had no voice to speak with any longer as her expression became sad and she lowered her head downward.
"Ariel...you can't talk anymore can you?" The anthro fox asked with concern, as he gently cupped her chin and lifted her head up so that she was looking at him in the eyes again. To this Ariel nodded and to her surprise the orange and cream furred fox turned to his side and took a hold of her hand as he went on with, "Well, even if that's the case we should get you some clothes to wear." Again the princess nodded in agreement as she tried to walk along with the brown eyed fox. However, within a few seconds she lost her footing again prompting the outlaw to get in front of her so that she did not fall. And while she stared up at him with a look of apology on her face Robin just smiled as he wrapped an arm around her and brought her close to his body as he ended with, "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe and help you walk until you're used to it."
Hearing such a statement caused the former mermaid's heart to melt as she had a feeling that making the deal with Ursula wasn't so bad after all. Once the two had gotten through the bushes though the young woman looked to the right and saw a large anthro bear was hanging some clothes up on a tree branch as Robin said, "Well John, it seems I found out who our guest was by the river."
Ariel watched as Little John was about to turn while he replied, "Oh yeah and who was it..." She then noticed how he had stopped midsentence and stared at her while she still stood next to the outlaw. This caused both the young woman and anthro fox to look at one another and then back at the brown furred bear, who started to get over his surprise as he walked up to her and bowed as he added, "Princess Ariel, it's an honor to meet you in person."
"Alright Johnny, you don't need to go over broad with the formalities." Robin smugly shot back at his friend, as he led Ariel towards a large tree branch with different clothes that were hanging on it. He then break away from her and started to pull some clothes off of the tree branch as he continued with, "Now get over here so that we can find something for Ariel to wear."
"Hey, I was just being polite." Little John snapped back, as he stood up straight and walked towards them. And when the red haired young woman saw that he was next to the anthro fox he went on with, "By the way Rob, what kind of clothes did you exactly have in mind for her to wear anyway?"
The young woman followed the outlaw's hands as he pulled out a plain blue dress and a pair of undergarments as he handed it to her. he then took her hand and led her towards a small rock and laid the clothes on top of it. But before he could help her get the clothes on the bear interrupted with, "Rob, that dress is to plain for a princess to wear. I think we could find something better for her to wear then that."
Ariel watched as the anthro fox just picked up the first piece of clothing and began to help her to dress while he reassured his friend with, "Don't worry Johnny, I know this dress isn't the best choice for a princess. However, if you remember right that other dress is much too big for her to wear."
