Greetings Readers! As always, I own absolutely nothing! As I said before, a lot of this story's inspiration came from lovely fan videos for this pairing, and the movies themselves. I took the liberty of splicing the two movies together in a scene or two. You should be able to catch it. I simply couldn't resist. I hope you enjoy! Please review! They are my fuel!
Chapter 4
He might as well have been on a completely different planet.
The enormity of the human world had his senses on overload. There were so many sights, colors, and sensations. Foreign forces like gravity provided him a constant concern in his quest to maintain his balance while walking.
The weight of human clothing and its presence on his skin was also distracting. Never in his life had he felt so encumbered. He resisted the urge to pick or shrug at the tan, sailor shirt he currently wore. Each passing step led him farther away from the comforts and freedom of the sea, his home, and deeper into enemy territory.
One stolen glance toward the face of the girl acting as his literal support system, provided him with exactly the reason why he was risking so much. Ariel.
Even now, her close proximity stirred up instincts that had long laid dormant and was stealing his normally iron clad control. Four years ago, he possessed feelings of a non-platonic nature for the red headed princess. And if memory served him correctly, he had the hopeful inklings that she felt the same way. They had been on the precipice of admitting their young teen crushes when Ariel's tragic kidnapping had occurred.
But four years was a long time, and feelings could shift and change like the tides he mused, a frown marring his features anxiously. Did she still feel the same about him? If their almost kisses were criteria to judge, then he certainly hoped so.
And while the situation was obviously not ideal in the slightest, the seventeen-year-old merprince was not about to squander any chance he had to win Ariel's heart. He had to tread carefully. Succumbing to instinct would be disastrous. He did not want Ariel believing that the only reason he was rescuing her was to fulfill his own selfish desires.
He would aide her in achieving freedom no matter where her feelings dwelled, even if they did not lie with him.
It would always be her choice. He just hoped for the sake of his own heart, that she did feel the same…
"Alright you two, if you can separate yourselves for two minutes, I think it's time we discuss a plan," Silver announced as they reached the stone steps that led up to the foreboding castle from the beach.
Both teens looked away, blowing air and ruffling their bangs, clearly embarrassed at the clear insinuation. Jim's arms unwound regretfully from Ariel's shoulders. Silver smirked at their unintentional identical actions.
"Lad, you gonna be able to manage on yer own?" Silver asked giving a pointed look toward Jim's legs.
The boy in question gave a swift nod and crossed his arms over his chest. In truth, he had mastered the art of ambulation a while ago, but he had been in no hurry to lose the warmth of Ariel's touch. And while standing on his own was an admirable accomplishment, he would have much preferred to sacrifice that privilege if it meant constant close proximity to his preferred red head. Judging by her captor's current scowl, Jim suspected Silver knew this as well.
"So, if we're going to have any chance against the queen, we're going to have to have a plan."
While Ariel nodded silently in affirmation, Jim eyed Silver in a scrutinizing manner.
"And why exactly are you helping us? Aren't you some kind of lackey for Ursula?"
A dark scowl permeated Silver's countenance, his dark brown eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
"Now you listen good boy'o. Just because I serve the queen, don't mean in any way that she and I are allies. My agenda is me own."
No words were exchanged, but icy glares were traded in abundance before Silver turned and stalked up the stone steps, an age-old limp slightly hindering his progress. Jim wasn't fooled in the slightest into thinking that the disturbance to his gait would impede the former pirate at all when pertaining to battle prowess. In fact, he was fairly certain that a good percentage of Silver's enemies had paid dearly for making that deadly miscalculation.
"Silver is cursed by Ursula as well," Ariel murmured quietly, her eyes trained on the captain, drawing Jim abruptly from his thoughts.
Now this bit of information was intriguing and one of Jim's brows rose in interest as Ariel followed after her jailor. The prince made a mental note to discover exactly what the terms of Silver's curse entailed.
Making quick strides up the stairs and through the outside garden, Jim was at her side once more. Passing through large French doors, Jim's eyes widened at the opulence of the human palace. Marble floors, vaulted ceilings of dizzying heights and gold…the brunette had never seen the precious metal utilized as a decoration in such quantities.
While the sea kingdoms possessed bountiful amounts of precious metals and the like, the merpeople, as a race, preferred to accentuate the natural beauty of the sea in their decoration.
Jim found the interior design to be gaudy and a reflection of the insatiable greed of humans. His lip curled in disgust. The sooner they could leave the land, the better.
Almost immediately, Silver turned left and led them to a large wooden door. Opening it, he paused and with a flourish of his arm, the invitation was clear, "After you…"
There was a dangerous edge to his sly smile, which caused Jim's eyes to narrow, and for a moment, the miniature trident glowed faintly in warning under Jim's shirt, which caused Silver's smile to falter.
Ariel huffed, rolled her eyes and paid either no mind. Men!
The doorway led to a narrow stone staircase which descended downward to a cool, damp area. The passageway presented to them was a stark contradiction to the previous grandeur of the great hall. The walls were barren with no decoration to speak of. Their location became clear seconds later as they silently descended downward. This was the servant's quarters.
Humans…servants bustled about feverishly in the open room at the bottom of the stairs.
"Everyone!" John Silver announced in a booming voice that ensnared the attention of everyone.
"Look what I found washed up on the beach this fine mornin!"
Jim watched as gazes fell upon Ariel only to widen in delight. Excited cheers of "Ariel!" and "She's alive!" filled the air.
The girl in question blushed as several older women rushed forward enveloping her in their tight embraces. It was clear that Ariel was loved by all the servants, judging by their relieved conversations.
A small crooked grin emerged on Jim's face at the sight. Nothing had changed in four years in that regard. Ariel had an uncanny ability of having others fall in love with her.
A more troubling thought emerged and wiped the smile away with it. If Ariel had formed bonds with these humans, was he being as equally cruel by taking her away from them?
The sound of the wooden door at the top of the stairs slamming open was immediately followed by the clacking of rushing footsteps on the stairs.
"Is…is it true? Is she alive?' The exasperated panting form of Grimsby was soon revealed.
Without notice or care, the frazzled advisor haphazardly pushed past both Jim and Silver to verify if the swiftly circulating rumors were true: that Ariel was indeed alive and had been spotted within the castle.
Nearly tripping on the final stair, Grimsby reached the source of the rumor mill. Bent over, hands on knobby knees and huffing in exhaustion, Grimsby made quite the sight. Upon laying eyes on her, the advisor let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank goodness. It is true. I could scarcely believe it when I heard the news."
Catching his breath, Grimsby straightened, smoothing the non-existent wrinkles from his clothe, seamlessly slipping back into the picture of refined dignity.
"Prince Eric will be most pleased with this information. Come. You must prepare."
The advisor completely missed the dark scowl that shadowed the teenage boy's face at his comment and only focused on Ariel's head tilted to the side in obvious confusion.
"Prepare?"
Grimsby's tone was simultaneously indulgent and condescending as he looked down his nose at her.
"Like it or not, you are the fiancé of the crowned prince of Spain. The servant's quarters are grossly inappropriate for a future queen. And besides…"
Grimsby paused giving a withering stare at her current ragged attire.
"You must make yourself presentable for their highnesses. Anything else is simply unacceptable."
With a tight turn on his heel, Grimsby made his way up the stairs. When silence reigned and no one moved a muscle, the advisor turned sharply, addressing the lost redhead.
"Well, what are you waiting for? We mustn't keep their highnesses waiting. And the rest of you," he addressed the servants who now gazed at Ariel with awe shining in their eyes, "this castle doesn't run itself, back to work with you!" His crisp no nonsense instruction set all of the servants into a frenzy of order.
Ariel spared Silver a questioning glance before following robotically after Grimsby. Jim began trailing after her when a sharp tug on his wrist halted him.
Cerulean eyes flew to the impassive features of John Silver, and he immediately shrugged him off.
"What are you doing?"
A challenging bow rose in response.
"The question is boy o', what're you doing?"
Jim's answering glare clearly communicated what the merprince thought of the intelligence of that question.
"I'm going with Ariel."
Silver indulged a humorless chuckle.
"Lad, Ariel's goin' to get primped and whatever else women do to pretty themselves. It's hardly the place for a body guard if you catch me drift."
The young man warred with himself as he locked lingering gazes with Ariel's retreating form. She had obviously overheard their conversation. Pausing, on the stairs, she smiled warmly at Jim, pink dusting her cheeks.
"Don't worry, Jim. I'll be safe."
For a moment, his facial features remained unchanged until he nodded once, a smirk emerging, letting her know without words that he agreed with her decision to go.
He watched in pleased amusement as the pink on her cheeks blossomed into red before vanishing back up the stairs after Grimsby.
Her exit left the prince and the captain alone.
"Well since Ariel is safe and sound for the moment, it looks like you've been left in my charge," Silver began as he strolled towards what appeared to be a portion of the kitchens.
"And like it or not, I'll be pounding in some skills into that thick skull of yours to keep you out of trouble."
Jim's eyes flashed in anger, any fond feelings escaping with Ariel. Silver continued on merrily as if there had been no protests.
"From now on, I'm not letting you out of me sight."
Jim sputtered, "You can't…"
But Silver disregarded the irate teen.
"You won't eat, sleep, or scratch your bum without my say so! Silver exclaimed counting off on his fingers, purposefully leaning forward into the prince's personal space to rile him up all the more. The former merman growled before leaning forward himself. He would not back down to this human.
"Don't do me any favors."
The captain gave a patronizing pat on Jim's shoulder to add insult to injury, before backing away when the trident glowed ominously once more.
"Oh, you can be sure of that, Jimbo. You can be sure of that."
What followed was a tense tour of the servants' quarters. Silver introduced Jim to each servant, giving a brief explanation of the job they performed. For the most part, the staff was friendly, easily accepting that the teenage boy had joined their ranks. It appeared that Silver's word was law, and those with good sense chose not to question it.
The men had given brief cautious nods while the older women commented unabashedly about how handsome he was, and if only they were years younger…Luckily, years of dealing with the brazen ladies of his own court, Jim was able to smile good naturedly, the tips of his ears red with embarrassment, before following after Silver, the chuckles of the women echoing behind him.
Musing about the similarities of Mer and human society, the former merman followed the cook addressed as "Captain" back into the kitchens.
"Jimbo! I've got two new friends I'd like you to meet!"
In response, the brunette glanced about the room, searching amiably for any humans that he hadn't met before. When not a soul was spotted, Jim turned back to Silver, only to have a bucket filled with sloshing soapy water and scrub brush pushed roughly into his arms.
A devilish smirk graced Silver's features at the incredulity showcased by the young prince.
"Say hello to Mr. Brush, and Mrs. Bucket."
Smug brown eyes were blissfully unaffected by the seething glare sent his way.
"Yippee," Jim deadpanned, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"And these," Silver continued on gesturing with a sweep of his large arm towards at least a dozen stacks of dirty dishes, "are their children. Now I want all of these plates washed spotless, and heaven help you if I come back and they're not done."
Jim gave him a freezing glare, the trident glowing in warning. The weapon of power, reacting to its master's displeasure, rattled, itching to be used.
Setting the bucket down with controlled care, Jim stepped toward the object of his ire. Chilling blue eyes stared the captain down.
"You have forgotten that I am not some human cabin boy to be ordered about." Jim's low, icy tone was short, but the threat was clear.
Any other man would have cowered at the intimidating remark paired with the ethereal trident, but then again Silver had wagered too much in his plan to lose now.
A brow merely rose in response.
"And you seem to have forgotten that without my help, you and your bonnie lass will never make it out of here alive."