…..

Over the next few days, Ariel visited the land as much as possible, always to watch Eric. Oftentimes he was on the cluster of rocks where they had come ashore, and he was always humming the melody that Ariel had sung to him. Although it was getting harder and harder to slip away from her father, Ariel always managed it.

She tore her eyes away from Eric after almost half an hour, wanting to stay longer, but it was a terrible risk already.

Coming back underwater, she stopped.

It was her father.

His beard was a dark gray and held all of the waves and whirlpools and storms in the world. A glowing green trident sparked at his side. He had wavelike tattoos running up his arms. And he looked angrier than Ariel had ever seen him.

They were about a quarter of a mile away from Eric, but still only twenty feet beneath the sea. Ariel had no doubt that he knew.

"What do you think you're doing." It wasn't a question. Ariel shrank away, choosing not to respond.

"Answer me." Triton's voice was calm, like they were talking about the weather, but his eyes told her something different.

"Daddy-," Ariel tried but was cut off by a wave of his hand.

"You are my youngest daughter. I was so lenient with you. You had SO FEW RULES!" Triton bellowed out suddenly.

"You are 18. You know the god damn rules."

Without warning, he backhanded her, sending her into a nearby wall. She was crying.

"Daddy, I have the right to choose who I'm with," she managed.

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her closer as she cried out.

"You have NO RIGHTS ANYMORE! I gave you a choice, and you chose wrong. You chose humans. You will be married in three days, or you will be exiled." He stormed away, leaving her in shock with the knowledge that her freedom was gone, and that her father had hit her for the first time.

…..

She spent the night in a cave near her hideout, knowing that her father didn't care where she was or how she was doing tonight. Normally she would have talked to the merman she always went to, Flounder, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Besides, his tail was the exact same color as Triton's.

Flounder somehow still managed to find her. He was a mermaid's merman, attracting the attention of any girl he passed by, with his toned physique and almost luminous green eyes.

Ariel had never thought of him like that though, and she was sure Flounder didn't either. They had been friends ever since he saved her from a shark, and while he knew she went up to the surface, she never told him about Eric.

Flounder didn't say a word, just put an arm around her. They sat together for a while until she was able to answer the question in his eyes.

"His name is Eric," she told him, motioning upwards. Flounder understood immediately, drawing circles on her shoulder.

"It's stupid," she muttered, "I barely know him anyways."

"Love is always stupid, but in your case it sounds like the best kind of stupid," he offered.

"I have to get married in three days," Ariel blurted out

"Have to?" Flounder inquired, tracing the finger-shaped bruises on her cheek.

"Have to," Ariel confirmed. "Or I could go into exile." Their eyes met.

"Is it that bad?" he asked, not even needing her answer. She nodded anyway.

"Look, Ariel, exile sounds bad, and so does a forced marriage, but there are worse ways to be exiled," Flounder said, suddenly somber.

When Ariel raised her eyebrows questioningly, he elaborated, "Ursula."

An involuntary shiver took over Ariel at the thought. Only the most tragic and desperate resorted to seeing the sea witch, and judging by the rumors even fewer were alive at the end. To visit Triton's cousin was automatic exile.

"I could go there," she pondered, "I could just go in and tell her about Eric. If I don't like what she has to say, I can leave. She can't just keep me there."

"Don't. Ariel," Flounder insisted.

"I would choose exile over the other option anyways."

"Fine, we can check it out, but I'm going with you. No, I am. I don't care," he told her, ignoring her protests.

Ariel glared at Flounder, and he glared back, before reluctantly taking each other's hand and swimming towards the rumored location of Ursula's lair, the Nefastus.