Ariel sat down on the sofa in Eric's study, which happened to be conveniently close to the fireplace. Eric sat beside her, watching her as she wrote the answer to his question. When he had asked her what had frightened her so badly, he hadn't expected the answer to be as long as it was turning out to be.

After glancing over it briefly, she passed the paper to him, allowing him to read it. Two words caught his attention. Sea Witch.

"Who's the sea witch?" Eric's brows knitted together in confusion. He'd heard of King Triton and his merpeople, but he'd never heard of a sea witch.

Ariel was conflicted. She could either tell the truth (that he likely wouldn't believe) or brush around it. She decided to do the latter. The last thing she needed him knowing was that she was a mermaid that had been stupid enough to make a deal with the psychotic sea witch. (Well, that was how Sebastian described her aunt, and Ariel had agreed.)

Just an old sea legend.

That had been the response she had given. It was true; she had found it in the book of sea myths Eric owned that he clearly hadn't read. She had also found myths about mermaids and her father, most of which she could prove were false. Her father controlled the oceans, yes, and the merpeople never caused any trouble. They never surfaced. She honestly didn't understand why some sailors thought that mermaids would lure them to their deaths. They were too afraid to surface to do that.

Eric nodded slightly. He licked his lips, a sigh passing through them after he did so. He read over the paper that described her nightmare in as much detail as she could remember again, his confusion only growing. He couldn't figure out why she would have a dream about him being captured and tortured by a mythical sea witch. As far as he could tell, she hadn't read any stories that could ignite such a peculiar dream, though she had been reading his book on the myths of the sea. Perhaps that was what had done it. He was too afraid to ask, not wanting to make her feel that she had to answer everything he wanted to know.

"No wonder you were so frightened," he mumbled. "If I had a dream like this, I'd be scared out of my wits."


Ariel had grown accustomed to being attacked at random moments by Max.

So, while she had been sitting on the beach, letting the cool water rush against her (still) swollen ankle, she suddenly landed on her left shoulder, a mass of fluff being all she could see as the sheepdog licked her face.

Ariel wriggled on the ground, trying to get to where she could gently push the dog away. She didn't have her voice, she couldn't just speak like Eric could. She reached up, scratching behind his ear. The dog moved slightly before plopping down, his head laying on her stomach. Ariel didn't mind that as much as she did his sudden attacks.

She didn't know how long she laid there simply stroking Max's fur, but she knew it had been a while, as dusk had fallen upon the kingdom. She forced herself to get up, Max following close behind her as she strolled back to the palace, lost in her own thoughts.


Eric anxiously paced back and forth in the library, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. Max was sprawled out in front of the fireplace, and Ariel was stretched out on the sofa, her book loosely held against her chest.

Carlotta carefully (almost expertly) slipped the book out of her hands, setting it face down on the table, being sure to leave it open so she wouldn't lose her page. Carlotta covered the girl with a blanket, then turned to Eric. She wasn't sure if he had noticed Ariel had fallen asleep. She wasn't sure if Eric was aware that Ariel had entered the library nearly twenty minutes prior.

Finally, after several long, intense moments, Eric broke the silence.

"I don't want to attend this meeting."

"It's only King Lionel. Stop fussing so much, dear."

"Yes, only King Lionel," Eric emphasized the king's name. "He hates me!"

"Well, you did turn his daughter's hand down," Carlotta reminded him.

"She plainly said that if we ever got married, I wouldn't be allowed to go sailing. You know how I feel about that," Eric retorted, his argument still strong.

"You don't fight Grimsby too much on it."

"How can I? He'd just lock me in my room for an hour or two."

Carlotta laughed at that. She walked up to the boy, stopping his pacing by grabbing his shoulders.

"Stop worrying, Eric. Everything will be just fine," she assured him.

"I hope you're right, Lottie."


Ariel shivered. It was a chilly evening, one that the chill seemed to seep in through the small cracks in the windows.

"I'll have one of the others start a fire for you, dear," Carlotta told her as she brushed the last tangle out of her hair. Ariel flinched and nodded.

Carlotta hurried out, carrying the dress Ariel had worn that day. Now in a sleeveless nightgown, she glanced about warily, wondering what would happen if she did get Eric to kiss her before the year was up. She probably wouldn't get her voice back; that had been a payment, after all, and she didn't know how she felt about that.

She wished she would've thought it through before she signed the contract. She had no way of going back now. She could barely walk without making a fool of herself, and the last time she was anywhere near Atlantica, she had nearly drowned. She often sent Sebastian to meet with Flounder to find out what was going on. She knew her father would be worried; she didn't know if her sisters would be or not, they were always aggravated with her for missing rehearsals and concerts and such.

With her gaze fixated on the sea, Ariel pulled on a pair of shoes and hurried out, silently making her way down to the water.


Ariel didn't know how long she'd been there. The water calmed her; the sea was her home and she so desperately wanted to see her father and all six of her sisters again. She wanted to see the little fish that had become her best friend; she wanted to see all of the merpeople as they swam about. Yet at the same time, she wanted to stay on land. To stay there with Eric, to see if she could make him fall in love with a girl that didn't have a voice. And she probably never would.

She sat down, turning and laying to where her back was facing the water. It rushed up, hitting the back of her nightgown and legs, making her feel much better. (She had discovered within her first week as a human that she couldn't swim as well as she used to.)


"Have you seen Ariel, Lottie?" Eric turned the corner, leaning against the doorway.

"I saw her about two hours ago, dear. She was in her room," Carlotta replied with a smile.

"She's not there now. Do you know where she might have gone? I've looked over most of the palace."

"No, not unless she went down to the beach. You know how she is," Carlotta shrugged as she folded a dress.

"Thanks, Lottie!" Eric called over his shoulder before rushing out. Carlotta didn't have time to respond, and she only shook her head at the young man whose back was still visible to her.


"Oh, Ariel."

Eric gently picked the shivering young woman up, holding her close to him despite the fact her nightgown was wet. He tried to be as quick as he could, entering the palace gates only five minutes after finding her laying so close to the water, fast asleep.

"Grim! Find Lottie for me, would you? I'll be in Ariel's room."

Confused, the elder manservant nodded, turning on his heel and making his way down the hall to find Carlotta.

Eric went up to her room, laying her on her bed. He then covered her with a thin blanket, thankful that a fire was going in her room. He walked over and tossed another log into the fireplace upon seeing the dying flames.

"What is it - oh my goodness! Shoo!" Eric barely had time to stand upright before Carlotta was shoving him out of the room.

"Woah! Lottie, there's no need to shove," Eric said before closing the door.


Ariel sneezed, causing Eric to look up at her.

"You alright?" Of course, he already knew the answer - she wasn't. Yet she nodded, sniffing as she did so. Eric sighed, getting up and moving to where he sat beside her.

She curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder. Eric didn't mind. In fact, he was rather glad that she had chosen to stay inside. The girl had been fine the night before (or so it had seemed) and it wasn't until she woke him up after another dreadful nightmare that he had noticed how she acted a bit different.

"What were you doing out there anyway?" he murmured, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Ariel glanced up at him. She didn't want to move, but she didn't want to lie either. "I'll ask Sebastian."

A small, tight-lipped smile forced its way onto her lips, her nodding slightly. She exhaled deeply through her nostrils as she shifted to become more comfortable, her eyes closing. Eric twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers, his gaze fixed on the window, watching Max run circles around Grimsby.


Ariel slipped down the hall, hurrying up the stairs. She had gone downstairs to roam for a while and was now heading back to her room to watch the last few minutes of the sunset. Sitting down in front of her window, she noticed Eric down on the beach playing with Max. A smile formed on her lips.

Her eyes were drawn to the colors that were painted across the sky; each shade of red, orange, yellow, and pink highlighting the small grey clouds in the distance.

She suddenly sneezed and huffed a frustrated sigh after she did so. She had been sneezing most of the day and it was beyond annoying. Eric had told her the water had likely made her sick, which did upset her a little. She still wasn't used to everything humans were accustomed to, such as the whole idea of fishing. She couldn't understand why people would want to eat fish, and Eric had ensured that Louis wouldn't cook seafood for a good while, at least while Ariel was there.

She didn't understand the purpose of heeled shoes. They made walking much more difficult and she didn't like how the white pair pinched her toes. She had learned so much, so many of her questions had been answered. Yet something inside her knew that all of her questions wouldn't ever be answered. She had an undying passion to find out everything she could, and she was succeeding.

Watching the sun disappear over the horizon, Ariel wondered if it was worth it. She missed her family, she missed her ocean bed, she missed Flounder and Scuttle. She even missed Sebastian's nagging about her not being at rehearsals, even though the crab was perched on her bed.

Ariel rubbed her eyes. She stood and shuffled over to her bed, slipping beneath the covers. She stared at the ceiling, watching shadows caused by the fire dance across it. Her gaze drifted to the window, her thoughts racing. Maybe she shouldn't tell Sebastian to keep everything a secret.

But she was scared.

She was afraid that Eric wouldn't believe her; that he'd think she was crazy. Who would believe that she traded her voice for legs? That was one thing that truly bothered her. No one would believe her, even if she could tell the truth.


At breakfast the next morning, both Eric and Ariel were late. Ariel had beat Eric to the dining hall, yes, but she had still been ten minutes late, and that had earned a good scolding from Grimsby.

When Eric came into the room, his damp hair hanging in front of his eyes, Grimsby had sighed and scolded him as well. Eric had brushed it off, muttering an apology that didn't sound sincere. He picked at his breakfast, just as Ariel had before he came in, before actually taking a bite of it.

"Don't forget the luncheon with King Lionel today, Eric."

Eric's head snapped up, brows raised.

"What luncheon with King Lionel?" he asked slowly, almost afraid to hear what Grimsby's response would be.

"I don't know, Eric," Grimsby sighed. "He arranged it and you've got to attend."

There was a tense silence for a few long seconds.

"I'm finding a way to get out of it."