Thank you so much to everyone who has continued to review and favorite this fic! Your support is what encourages me to finish these chapters and get them out. This is admittedly the end of what I already have written, so we'll see what comes next! If you have anything in particular you'd like to see, or if you'd like a chapter in Jim's POV, please leave a review and let me know! Enjoy!
"Now," Sarah began, taking a step forward and bringing Jim and Ariel's attention snapping back to her, "young man. You have approximately thirty seconds to explain why you possibly imagined this kind of behavior was acceptable in my inn."
"I, uh," Jim stammered helplessly, rubbing his cheek with his broad palm like he believed the answers would be waiting on his palm when he pulled it back. "Well, you see-"
"Mrs. Sarah?" Ariel cut in nervously, dropping down to the floor and smoothing her skirts back to rights. She flinched when Sarah's eyes snapped to her, knowing the look in her eyes from too many arguments with her father while growing up. "Before you get mad at Jim, may I try and explain?" Ariel asked, twisting a curled strand of hair around and between her fingers as she spoke.
Sarah's hard gaze softened a fraction, and she sighed. "The floor is yours," she said wearily, sitting in one of the few chairs still on the floor. Ariel nodded her thanks, turning to Ben with a smile. We talk privately, please? she signed, mouthing the words as well and giving him a pleading look. Her father had said 'family only', so 'family only' it was. Maybe they'd let him in on the secret once Ariel knew him a little better, but for now…
Ben nodded, saying his good nights to the baffled Hawkins family before scampering out the backdoor. Jim's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Since when do you know sign language?" he asked, and Ariel laughed nervously.
"That's a story best saved for another time," she said, fingers resting against the shell that hung heavily around her neck. "Right now, I need to explain a few… things."
It took a few moments to sink in, but she watched the realization dawn on Jim's features, and he was by her side in a heartbeat. "Ariel, you don't have to do that," he said lowly, hands cradling her elbows. "Your father-"
"Gave me his express permission to tell any members of your family," she promised. "I'm doing this right, Jim, or I wouldn't be doing it at all." She smiled brightly, resting her hand over his thrumming heart. "Besides, you deserve some honesty as well."
Jim watched in confusion as Ariel took a small step back from him, moving so she was standing a few feet in front of Sarah. Jim's mother had watched the whole exchange silently, and now Ariel could feel the full weight of both of their gazes on her. She breathed in deeply, reveling in the light feeling she got from inhaling air instead of heavy water, and decided the straight-forward approach would be the best one.
"Ms. Sarah, my name is Ariel, and I'm a mermaid," she said easily, holding herself with all the poise and grace that, as a princess, was her birthright.
Sarah stared at her dumbly for a moment before bursting out in laughter.
Ariel deflated, watching in confusion as the matron laughed heartily. It was rather disheartening, actually, and she could feel Jim come to stand behind her.
"Oh, sweetie," Sarah began once she got her laughter under control, wiping tears of mirth from her cheeks, "I wasn't born yesterday, and I spent too long raising my son by myself to believe stories like that." Ariel opened her mouth to protest, but Sarah simply quirked a dark eyebrow, and Ariel's mouth quickly snapped shut. It had been ages since she'd been on the receiving end of a look like that, and not for the first time, Ariel thought of the loss of her mother and the major disadvantage it put her at in this situation. "Now, the truth," she said, folding her arms. "Are you from town? I thought the excitement that always tends to flare up around my son had died down some, but it would seem not."
Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Ariel turned to look at Jim for an explanation, but the sailor was already shaking his head. "You know I never give those girls the time of day, mom," he said, looking mildly insulted. "Besides, she's not lying. She really is- um… was?"
"'Is'," Ariel conceded with a shrug.
"Alright, is a mermaid," Jim said, placing his hand at the small of Ariel's back. Sarah didn't look impressed by this show of solidarity, and sighed again.
"Jim, that's ridiculous. Mermaids-"
"Don't exist? Just like Treasure Island 'didn't exist'?" he objected. Sarah's mouth snapped shut, and Ariel looked between the two with wide eyes. "I found Isla de la Juventud, remember?"
"It's a little hard to forget, Jim."
"So why is it so hard to believe I found a mermaid?" he asked, and Ariel scoffed.
"Please, I found you," she said with a smirk, and Jim pinched her hip with a shake of his head, a grin on his lips.
"Details," he dismissed.
"Because islands are real, Jim," Sarah said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "It was the treasure that was a myth, and I know gold exists. How do you expect me to believe that this young woman is a mermaid when she stands before me on two legs?"
Jim's mouth opened and closed around half-formed words, dark eyebrows furrowed together. She had a point, Ariel realized sadly; there was no way to prove her claims without showing Sarah an actual mermaid.
Ariel's eyes landed on the pitcher of water on the counter, and she gasped quietly.
"What if I could prove it?" the princess cut in quickly. Sarah and Jim both looked at her quizzically, and Ariel simply smiled brightly. "What if I could prove to you, beyond a doubt, that mermaids exist?"
Sarah sighed, looking between the two. Something about the hopeful expression on Ariel's pretty face and Jim's pleading look must have spoke to the inn matron, and she gestured to the dining hall with a wide sweep of her arm. With a happy grin, Ariel nearly bounced over to the pitcher, her smile only growing when she saw it was full of cool, fresh water.
"Perfect," she murmured to herself, grabbing a large serving bowl from behind the counter before trotting back over to an empty table. Jim and Sarah's eyes followed the young woman as she placed the bowl in the center of the table, tweaking its placement to her liking before setting the pitcher down and rolling up her sleeves.
"To start off," Ariel said, clapping her hands together, "we're going to need absolute privacy." Taking a deep breath, she exhaled long and slow, moving the air around the room with a wave of her hand. The sudden breeze blew through the shutters, sliding them all closed one by one until only the candlelight and the fire from the hearth lit the room. The wind dissipated with another wave of her hand, leaving nothing but the barest hint of the ocean's salty scent behind.
Sarah was sitting fully upright now, eyes wide as she gave Ariel her undivided attention. Jim had seen her do small acts of magic before, but nothing on this scale, and his jaw was slack in awe. She dared a peek at his eyes, worried that she might find distrust or fear there, but there was only wonder, and with renewed confidence, Ariel carried on.
Lifting the pitcher as high above the bowl as she could with one hand, Ariel rose to her toes as she began to pour the water into the bowl. The water, however, never touched the worn, wooden inside. Instead, it stopped inches above the rim. As Ariel poured the water out, it swirled and sloshed in mid-air, forming a perfect sphere that hovered above the bowl.
Ariel's eyes never left the sphere as she set the now-empty pitcher down, her hands coming up to help hold the shape of the water in the air as she walked around the table so her back was to the Hawkins family. She had never tried this magic above the waves before, and found it harder and easier in equal parts. Easier to keep the magic contained instead of bleeding out, but now it pulled solely from Ariel; her throat burning dryly while her chest felt like it had been hollowed out, leaving her short of breath.
The sphere moved sluggishly in the air, and Ariel fanned her hands out so it flattened and spread out like liquid glass. Satisfied with her viewpoint, Ariel took a small step back and pointed at the still water with her left hand. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she felt the air in the room hum. The inn had only known the domestic magic of hard work and love, poured into every board over the years, and the foreign Mer magic was easy to pick out over the soft humming. Her other hand shot out, pointing towards the other source of magic - contained in a crystal flower vase filled with water, and Ariel swung her hand back until her fingers met in the middle.
There was muffled cursing in front of her, and behind her, Ariel could hear Sarah and Jim gasp.
She opened her eyes, smirking as she watched Alana clutch her head, the surface of the water rippling for a moment. "Ariel!" she whined, glaring at the younger mermaid. "You know better than to move my viewpoint like that!"
"And I thought you knew better than to scry on me while I was away, but it would seem we're both wrong," Ariel mused, cocking her hip as she crossed her arms over her chest. To her sister's credit, Alana recovered quickly, smoothing back her black curls and adjusting her tiara with a pout.
"We just wanted to be sure you had made it safely," she said innocently. "Who knew if they would agree to let you stay with them? You're our baby sister, we want to be sure you're in good hands!"
Ariel rolled her eyes, turning to face said hosts. Sarah's hands covered her mouth, eyes wide as she stared at the image of Ariel's sister floating peacefully underwater, lilac tail flicking absentmindedly back and forth. Jim's grin looked like it was about to split his face in two, his eyes taking in as many details as he could. His thirst for stories of Atlantica rivaled her own curiosity of the human world, and she was grateful for the chance to show him even this small piece of her world.
"Would you like to meet my family?" Ariel asked with a mischievous smile, stepping back and gesturing at Alana. Sarah could only nod. Bouncing happily on her toes, Ariel spun back around to meet the eye of her highly-amused sister. "Who else is there with you?" she asked.
"Four out of six, plus one extra," Alana said, reaching past the edge of the viewpoint to grab at something - or someone - that hadn't made it into her field of vision. She tugged, and a nervous-looking Aquata came into sight.
"Ariel, are you alright?" she asked, leaning closer to the viewpoint. Ariel smiled, reaching up to press her hand against the smooth surface of the water, a motion Aquata immediately mirrored.
"I'm fine, Ata," Ariel reassured. She watched as her other sisters began to slowly swim into view. Besides herself and Andrina, none of them had had very much experience with humans, and it was easy to tell that even the sight of the two-legged creatures put them on edge. Attina stayed ahead of her sisters, like she was bracing herself for Jim or Sarah to try and jump at them, but Ariel ignored her in order to smile brightly at the merman with the grey seal's tail next to Attina.
"Sitka!" she greeted happily, and her sister's husband smiled.
"Hello, Ariel," he said fondly, tapping the viewpoint and sending the water rippling. "How's the surface treating you?"
Ariel beamed. "It's so great," she gushed. "There's this warm breeze tonight that feels heavenly and oh my gosh, the sand between my toes? I had forgotten how amazing that felt!"
"Good to hear, pup," Sitka laughed, wrapping an arm around Attina's waist and pulling the frowning mermaid into the curve of his chest. "See, love? It's going fine," he reassured her. "You're worried for nothing."
"Not for nothing," Attina muttered, and Ariel frowned at her. Their eyes met through the viewpoint, pleading blue and cautious green, and Ariel sighed. Attina had the same distrust of humans that her father harbored, and Ariel had known she would be the hardest to bring around.
"Before you decide to judge them," the redhead started, giving her sister a Look, "would you perhaps like to be introduced?" She gestured to the two humans that stood behind her, and most of her sisters smiled so brightly Ariel could feel the warmth like a physical thing.
"Of course we would!" Andrina said, her typical sarcasm abandoned for eager curiosity. She and Aquata crowded around Alana, trying to get the best view of the human sailor that had caught their flighty sister's attention so thoroughly, and Ariel laughed in delight. Even Attina swam a little closer, expression caught between curiosity and wariness as Sitka watched on eagerly.
"This is Sarah Hawkins," Ariel began, sweeping her hand back to gesture at the shocked matron. "She's the owner of the Benbow Inn; you know, that building on the cliff that overlooks the Symeriaa Pass." Sarah's face was pale, but an excited smile had begun to curl across her lips, and Ariel felt a rush of affection for the older woman. The same fascination with the world that had so endeared the little mermaid to Jim was evident in his mother's eyes, and Ariel beamed. Once this whole "I'm a mermaid princess who gave up her tail and life under the sea for your son, no, really" misunderstanding was resolved, she was sure they'd get along famously.
"Oh, yes!" Andrina said, snapping her fingers. "I know the place! It got rebuilt recently, right?"
"About six years ago," Sarah croaked.
"It's a fascinating building," the blonde mermaid carried on. "Human architecture is so much different than what we have here! Do all inns look like that, or do they vary-"
"Drina," Ariel, Aquata, Alana, and Attina all sighed, giving their sister a long look. She was the most scholarly of Triton's daughters, and once she got started, it was hard to get Andrina back on track. If given the chance, she would probably interrogate Sarah until the sun rose again.
"Oh, I see," Andrina huffed, crossing her arms and giving her sisters a deadpan look. "When Ariel's curious about the human world, it's 'charming', but when I do it, it's disruptive."
"No, it was pretty disruptive when Ariel did it too," Attina said with a shrug, and Ariel flushed.
"Thanks, Attina," she deadpanned.
"No problem, little sister."
"Anyways," Alana sang, glaring at Attina, "I do believe we were in the middle of introductions?"
"Oh, right!" Ariel chirped. She spun back to Sarah, taking the older woman's hand and tugging her closer to the viewpoint. "Mrs. Sarah, these are my sisters! And Sitka, I guess."
"Love you too, pup."
"Attina, Alana, Aquata, and Andrina," she continued, ignoring Sitka's teasing smile. "We have two other sisters, but Adella is swimming with a transient pod for the year, and Arista is on tour with her bandmates."
"I-it's a pleasure," Sarah said, curtseying on shaky legs. Her sisters - even Attina; queenly etiquette was hard to ignore - all returned the gesture, bending at the waist with their arms curved gracefully at their sides. Sitka bowed.
"The pleasure is ours," Alana said graciously. "Thank you for allowing our sister into your home, even if just for the night."
Sarah blushed prettily, a small smile on her face. "Oh, it's no trouble at all," she reassured. "It's what I do."
Ariel smiled brightly, turning to find Jim smiling at her in that lovely crooked way that made her heart beat irregularly in her chest. "And girls," she continued, getting her sisters' attention as she took Jim's hand. "This is her son, Jim Hawkins; first mate on the RLS Legacy."
The change in attitude was palpable the moment Jim stepped into view of the mermaids; the respectful smiles replaced with teasing looks and wide smirks. Alana in particular was practically purring, purple eyes lidded as she surveyed the sailor.
"Sooo," she cooed, Andrina giggling at her shoulder. "This is the infamous Jim Hawkins! I must admit, my sister's descriptions didn't do you justice." She hummed, tilting her head to the side and tapping her chin thoughtfully. "He's taller than I thought he'd be," Alana said to Aquata, both girls grinning evilly.
"Stoooop," Ariel groaned, covering her burning cheeks with her hands. Jim looked like he couldn't tell if he was uncomfortable or amused, but he turned to her with a teasing grin and Ariel pouted back at him.
"So, you talked about me to your sisters?" he asked, grinning, and Ariel shoved him half-heartedly.
"Not nearly as much as we would have liked her to!" Aquata chimed in.
Andrina and Alana both nodded. "You were our baby sister's best-kept secret for quite a while," Alana said. "We all had to merely guess why she was so… what's the word?"
"Distracted?" Attina offered.
"Floaty?" Aquata said with a shrug.
"Annoying," Andrina teased.
"Smiley," Sitka said.
"Happy," Alana settled, smiling warmly at the two blushing adults. Ariel pulled shyly on her hair, not daring to look at Jim to see his reaction. "You've been quite the positive influence."
"... You should hear what the rest of my crew has been saying," Jim admitted, and Ariel jerked to look at him with wide eyes. He shrugged sheepishly. "Their theories ran from 'sleep deprivation' to 'mild concussion'. Apparently, I was smiling too much."
"You have been in uncommonly good spirits the past year or so," Sarah said with a smile, and Jim groaned.
Ariel giggled in delight as that gooey, warm feeling returned to her chest. She smiled widely at him, finding his hand with her own and squeezing. Jim simply chuckled, interlocking their fingers.
Ariel turned back to her sisters, and a glance at Attina's gleaming tiara made the young mermaid's bright smile dim. There was still more misunderstandings to clear up, all her own doing, and she could only hope that by the end, Ariel wouldn't find herself shoved right back out into the night.
She squeezed his hand once more as she took a fortifying breath, and stepped away from the two humans to stand between them and the viewpoint. Jim quirked an eyebrow at her, a question on the tip of his tongue, but Ariel's wane smile silenced him before the words could form. "So, Mrs. Sarah," she began, "as proof of the existence of mermaids, and to put to ease your fears about my identity, I present to you… I... "
She sighed, pressing her hands against the black bodice of her dress to try and calm the frantic, nervous fluttering of her heart. She had to do this; no lies, no mistaken identities. She had tried to abandon who she was in the depths before, and the shame of it haunted her. Not again.
"I present to you," Ariel began again, meeting Jim's worried blue eyes, "the royal family of Atlantica. Princess Andrina, Ambassador of the Crown. Princess Aquata, Captain of the Royal Guard. Princess Alana, Royal Sorceress of Atlantica. And Princess Attina and her husband Lord Sitka of the Northern Waters, heirs to Poseidon's Crown."
Jim's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline as his jaw dropped open in shock, his mother gasping behind him. "Wait, princesses?" he asked, his voice cracking. Ariel grimaced as she felt the water behind her shift as Alana swam closer to the viewpoint.
"He didn't know?" she said in disbelief, and Ariel made a sound like she was in physical pain.
"When could I have told him!?" she asked frantically, spinning to meet her sister's eyes. "When we first met I was still scared of humans! I didn't know what he'd do with that knowledge!" Turning back to face Jim, she winced at the frown that was on his face. "I know now that you would never hurt me, not even back then," she hastened to reassure him, "but by the time I was ready to tell you who I was, we had known each other for so long I didn't know how to bring it up! You can't just drop 'Oh, by the way, my father I talk about so much is king of the seas' into the middle of a knot-tying lesson."
Jim pushed his bangs away from his face, confliction written plainly on his features as he rocked from one foot to another. "So, you're a princess too, then?" he asked, and Ariel nodded weakly.
"She is our youngest sister," Attina said, "Princess Ariel of Atlantica; Royal Human Historian, Keeper of Lost Stories, and Ursula's Heir." Ariel winced, but bore the titles as best she could. 'Heir' was the kindest word for what she had become the night Ursula died.
She and Jim stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and the old feeling of blood-stopping panic had her heart in a vice-grip. She was reminded of the night that she and Jim had first met, and wondered if this night would also end in a fight.
Sarah placed her hand on Jim's arm, and the sailor exhaled heavily. Then, slowly, he began to laugh under his breath, shaking his head. "Royal Human Historian, huh?"
Ariel nodded, confused but hopeful.
Jim laughed a little harder. "I'm sorry, but don't you think it's kinda funny that the advisor to a whole kingdom about a foreign culture had to have the purpose of shoelaces explained to her on three separate occasions?" he asked, grinning, and Ariel's answering laugh almost fell out of her.
"Hey, cut me some slack!" she joked weakly. "Most merpeople still don't know what boots are." Jim practically cackled, and Ariel sagged in relief. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start, and Ariel would gladly take whatever he offered her.
Hand still resting on Jim's bicep, Sarah reached over and took Ariel's nearest hand in her own, smiling warmly at the younger woman. "Well, I think you've successfully proven me wrong," she said with a laugh of her own, looking at Ariel's sisters in wonder. "Mermaids, honest to god mermaids; who would have thought."
"Mom, you have to keep that to yourself," Jim quickly said, laying his hand over hers. "The reason I never told you about Ariel was because I couldn't; there's an entire civilization at risk here."
Sarah gave her son a deadpan, "No, duh" look that nearly made Ariel burst into laughter. Jim made that exact expression all the time.
"No, I mean it," Jim insisted. "Not even Delbert or Amelia."
"At least not yet," Ariel cut in. "Maybe closer to the end of the month, but for now, it has to stay amongst us three."
"What happens at the end of the month?" Sarah asked curiously, Jim nodding.
Ariel sighed. "That's when my time is up," she said quietly. "That was the deal I made with my father."
"One month on land," Attina recited, "one month under the sea."
The room was dead silent for a moment as the words sunk in. "...And then?" Jim asked, voice low.
Ariel looked up to meet his eyes, smiling shyly as she shrugged. "Then I have to make up my mind," she told him, and his eyes widened.
"You…" he started, but the words seemed to leave him in a rush. He stared at her, stunned and a little in awe, and Ariel felt her cheeks begin to flush. Beside her, Sarah softly gasped in realization then tried to smother the shocked noise with her hand.
"Only if it suits you, Lady Sarah," Alana gently said from the viewpoint. "We wouldn't force another body on you with no warning."
"I can pay for my room," Ariel quickly reassured the matron, finally looking away from Jim. "And I swear I wouldn't just laze about all day; I intend to find work somewhere in town while I'm here."
"Oh, sweetheart, don't worry about it!" Sarah said with a bright smile, squeezing Ariel's hand gently. Ariel almost melted on the spot, soaking in the motherly affection like a sponge while her sisters all looked at Sarah with something akin to longing. "We've got a spare room next to Jim's that you can stay in; free board and meals." She held up her hand when Ariel tried to protest, smiling. "A friend of Jim's is a personal guest of mine," Sarah told her. "I won't accept a single crown of your money. You're family now."
Ariel had to bite down hard on her bottom lip as she nodded, trying to stave back the sudden welling of emotions and tears. Those three simple words had plucked at her heartstrings like a harp, and she felt precious relief flood her body, rendering her knees weak. Jim seemed to notice, and stepped forward to pull her into a tight hug before she could make a fool of herself by collapsing to the floor. Again.
"You're probably exhausted," he said softly, running the knuckles of his free hand up and down her spine in a soothing motion. "I can't imagine being magically transformed from one thing to another is any fun at all."
The gentle shift from mermaid to human with her father's magic was almost like a trip to the spa compared to the feeling of her tail being split down the middle by Ursula, but Ariel figured that kind of morbid comment wouldn't be appreciated by any of her current company, and so she simply nodded. "Relearning to walk on a sandy beach in the dark isn't exactly a summer swim either," she said with a wet laugh, and Jim grinned against her temple.
"We can probably worry about the details of your stay tomorrow then, right Mom?" he said, and Sarah nodded, patting Jim's arm and giving Ariel's shoulder a light squeeze.
"Of course, dear," she said. "For now, I'll see if I have a spare room for you to use for the night. The room next to Jim's is in an awful state, certainly not fit for any sort of special guest, never mind a princess."
Ariel clung tighter to Jim, resisting the urge to groan aloud as her girlish fantasies of falling asleep in Jim's arms on her first night on land seemed to slip away. Jim held her tighter in turn, and behind them, Ariel's sisters all giggled quietly. Save for Andrina, who openly laughed at the pout on Ariel's face.
"I'm, uh, actually pretty sure we're all booked up for the night," Jim said quickly. "Maybe, j-just for the night, of course, Ariel can… stay with me?"
Ariel turned her head back just in time to catch Sarah's confused expression. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "We have plenty of… oh." The matron gave her son a deadpan look that could have put Sebastian to shame, but both Ariel and Jim simply grinned back at her hopefully. Sarah looked between the two before sighing, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Oh, fine," she groaned, leveling a Look at Ariel when the young mermaid bounced on her new toes in delight. "But no funny business, or Ariel gets to stay in the inn while you, Jim, get to sleep on the docks for the next month."
Ariel wasn't entirely sure what "funny business" Sarah was worried about, but judging by Jim's sudden bout of coughing and the blush she could feel heating his skin even from where her head rested against his shoulder, he had understood his mother's threat perfectly.
"Yes ma'am," he murmured, Sitka laughing behind them from the viewpoint. Ariel stepped out of Jim's embrace to approach her sisters, smiling as they all immediately drifted closer to the viewpoint to meet her.
"Tell Daddy that I made it safely to the Benbow, and that I'll be staying here for the month, please," she asked, and Alana nodded.
"Of course, Minnow," she said gently, and Ariel pressed her hand to the viewpoint as much as she dared, her throat tightening as they all matched her motion.
"You better come visit us," Andrina said with a smile, "or we'll be forced to scry on you again to check on how you're doing."
Ariel laughed wetly. "I'll keep that in mind," she reassured. "I know the perfect place."
"Good," Attina said firmly. It was impossible to tell if a mermaid was crying underwater, but there was a distinct hitch to her eldest sister's voice and twitch to her lip that made tears of her own swim in Ariel's eyes. "Be safe, Ariel," Attina insisted softly, and Ariel nodded.
"I will be." With that, Ariel gave her sisters one last, wide smile before she let the viewpoint collapse, the water rushing between her outstretched fingers before siphoning back into the pitcher in a smooth stream. Ariel stared at the spot in the air where her sisters had been just a moment before, trying to swallow down the emotions and tears that sat heavy in her throat. After a few moments, she felt Jim's fingers rest against her wrist, and turned to find him watching her with worried eyes.
"You okay?" he asked quietly, and Ariel nodded with a small smile.
"It's been a long day," she murmured, and Jim just nodded, wrapping his arm around her waist gently.
"We should let you get some rest then." They quickly said goodnight to Sarah, the older woman pulling them both into hugs before letting them trudge up the stairs. Ariel was more than a little mortified to find that she remembered how to go up stairs on her own even less than she remembered how to walk, and Jim helped her up several flights to the top floor while attempting to bite back his amusement. 'Attempting', being the keyword, as every time she looked at him as she slowly made her way upstairs with the grace of a drunken octopus, he had a gigantic smirk on his face.
Ariel made sure to kick his shins several times as they slowly moved upward.
They finally made it to the top floor, which only had three rooms and a small sitting area and kitchenette on it, unlike the floors below which seemed to have several rooms apiece. Jim gave her a brief tour from the top landing, pointing out Sarah's room, the bathing room, and the guest room that would soon be Ariel's, before gently pulling her into the only room left on the floor. Ariel couldn't control her excited grin, hundreds of possibilities for what Jim's room could possibly look like swimming through her head, and was only a small step behind him as he passed through the door.
It was small, but tidy, with a bed shoved against the wall and covered in a myriad of pillows and blankets that he must have brought back from his travels. Sketches of ships and different odd contraptions lined the walls, along with a torn Verdayan flag hung over the bed. There was a plain vanity against the opposite wall, with a small shaving kit and hair brush sitting on the top, and a wooden bowl had been left carelessly on the floor, water seeping into the floorboards under it.
"Sorry," Jim said with an embarrassed laugh, leaving Ariel by the door to go pick the bowl up. "I kinda left in a rush when my mom told me you were downstairs."
Ariel giggled. "I don't blame you," she said with a smile. "It had to be awful strange to hear that your friend with a tail is waiting for you downstairs."
"I'll say. 'Ariel's not exactly a common name in these parts."
Ariel laughed again, slowly stepping the rest of way into the room as she looked around curiously. It was much smaller than the room she had once been given at Eric's castle - she was pretty certain that Jim's room would actually fit inside the bathing room with ample space to spare - but it was filled to the brim with homey touches. Different souvenirs from Jim's travels laid all over the room, and like most of the inn, the room felt well-loved and lived in. Ariel had always loved the inn, finding its exterior beautiful and welcoming, but she adored it more now that she could see the inside, and the history of the people who lived in it on every surface.
"It's not much-" Jim started shyly, but Ariel turned and smiled at him brightly.
"No, no! It's wonderful!" she reassured him. Her fingers ran across the spines of the books Jim had stacked on his desk, and she stopped as she saw a lone shell sitting on top of a stack of reports. "I remember this," Ariel breathed, picking the shell up. "I gave this to you the first time we met in the tide pool. You… you kept it."
Jim came to stand beside her, smiling softly. "Of course I did," he said, his hand cradling her own. "I saved everything you gave me. Even- oh!" He quickly walked to the other side of the room, digging through his bags that had yet to be unpacked while Ariel watched him curiously. When he popped back up a moment later, boyish grin wide on his face, Ariel immediately noticed the piece of metal gripped in his hand and laughed wetly into her palm, feeling her tears starting to bubble up again.
"You kept the compass?" she asked in disbelief. Jim's smile widened.
"It was the first present you ever gave me; you know, after the gigantic headache and bruised ego."
Ariel snickered. "I can't believe you got it to work," she said, biting back her smile. Jim just shrugged.
"It still doesn't. It's more of a good luck charm than a tool for navigation. I'm not above admitting that I'm superstitious enough to believe that when a mermaid leaves you a gift on the open sea, you take it with you on the open sea. Besides," he smiled, "it's nice to have a piece of you with me when I'm halfway across the- Ariel?"
Ariel could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks now, her breath catching awkwardly in her chest as she tried to steady herself. It was just all too much for her heart to take. Being at the inn, being accepted by Jim, being welcomed further into his life with open arms; it was more than she could have hoped for, and the happy tears soaked her palms easily.
Jim was back across the room in a heartbeat, pulling Ariel into his embrace and again rubbing her back. "I've got you," he murmured into her hair as Ariel shook in his arms, "it's alright."
"I-I just can't believe I'm here," Ariel gasped, clinging to him tightly with her hands pressed against the warm skin of his back.
"Think how I must feel," Jim teased gently. "I didn't even know it was possible. Ariel, the little mermaid, standing in my room on human legs." He hummed in thought. "Wait, sorry. Princess Ariel."
Ariel giggled wetly, smacking his shoulder without any real force. "Don't you start that," she chastised with a grin. "Up here, I'm just your Ariel." Jim's grip on her tightened.
"I think that'll work just fine," he murmured against her temple. "Do you have any bed clothes to wear? Jim asked once Ariel had let go, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks. She shook her head.
"I only have this dress," she admitted, gathering her skirt in her hands and lifting them like a crude curtsey. Underneath her skirts, her bare toes wiggled. "I brought money to buy more clothes in town, though!"
Jim nodded. "Alright, then let me see if we have any extras in your size, okay?" he said, kissing her temple one last time before stepping back out into the sitting room. Ariel finished her exploration of the room while Jim was gone, peering into his closet and drawers curiously before making her way to the bed. She was tempted to jump on it, much like she had once in Eric's palace, but decided against it when she realized there was probably a guest staying in the room below.
Instead, Ariel began to fumble with the ties of her bodice, awkwardly reaching behind her back to try and undo the knot that kept it tight. It wasn't nearly as restrictive as the corsets she had worn at the palace, but it was still digging into her hips and ribs, and she was anxious to get it off. "Come on," she grumbled, trying not to lose her balance as she twisted back and forth to try and catch the laces. "Let me untie you!"
She struggled for another minute before there was a deep chuckle behind her, and Ariel turned to see Jim standing in the doorway, several articles of clothing draped over his arm as he watched her with a grin. "Need some help?" he asked, and Ariel pouted at him.
"Be nice," she muttered, turning back around and pulling her hair over her shoulder so the back laces were facing Jim in a clear invitation. He laughed again, crossing the room and tossing the clothes onto the bed before his worn fingers found her waist.
"I am being incredibly well-behaved," he informed her, laughter still in his voice. His fingers made quick work of the knot, and Ariel clutched the front of the bodice to her chest as he loosened the tight stays. "The green shift should work as a nightgown," he told her, taking a quick step back once he was done. "I'll wait for you to finish changing outside, yeah?"
Ariel nodded. "Thank you," she repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, smiling bashfully at Jim over her shoulder. He just grinned at her, stepping back outside to give Ariel some privacy to change. It was quick work to strip herself of the other layers, and after only a brief moment of hesitation as she tried to remember how to pull the long shift on, she quickly made her way to the vanity; checking herself one last time in the mirror. The shift didn't hug her so tightly as to be risque, but floated over her curves lightly. The fabric was soft from years of use, and Ariel decided she greatly prefered this fabric to the slippery silk she had worn before.
She beamed at her reflection, once again pulling her hair over one shoulder and giving her legs (mostly hidden under her nightgown) one last, appreciative look, before trotting to the door. She pulled it open to find Jim leaning against the wall, thumb tapping at the corner of his mouth as he was caught in deep thought. "You can come in!" Ariel chirped, and Jim startled slightly. But he recovered quickly and grinned at her, following her back into the room. You could see the moon starting to rise through the windows facing the coast, and Ariel found herself drawn to the view. "It's so beautiful," she breathed, resting the tips of her fingers on the glass panes.
Pulling on a sleep shirt (as Ariel resisted the urge to pout), Jim came up behind her and followed her gaze. "Don't have views like this under the sea?" he asked softly, and Ariel shook her head.
"The ocean is beautiful, but this," she said, smiling softly at the sailor. "This defies definition." Jim smiled back at her softly, taking her hand in his own, and Ariel wanted to melt.
"Thank you," she said softly, and Jim quirked his head at her in confusion.
"For what?"
"Letting me stay," Ariel nearly whispered. "Accepting me into your life without any warning."
Jim stared at her for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her waist gently, and Ariel easily tucked herself against his chest. It was a little odd, being held like this while standing upright, but it still felt so good. Jim was several inches taller than her, she noticed, even standing on even ground.
"You are always welcome here, Ariel," he responded just as quietly. "You can stay as long as you want."
It felt like a promise, and as the moon rose and washed out the landscape below the window until it almost looked like the seafloor, Ariel felt perfectly content. She didn't know what the next month would bring, she didn't even know what the next day would bring.
As long she faced it with Jim at her side, she could brave any trial. This was her second chance at the life she'd always wanted, and she would not squander it. She wanted to revel in it, instead.