Sorry for the unintentional (2nd) hiatus, I was without my laptop for a month :(
Carlotta was always the first one up in the castle – as head of the maids she had to make sure that everything was running smoothly, and she always wanted to be sure everything was getting off to a good start before Eric would be up and moving about the castle. It was early still, and Carlotta expected complete silence, but she did not get it. There was the very distinct sound of footsteps on the floor above her – the floor with the bedrooms.
And she would've perhaps ignored them had they not been so peculiar. Why should it be so odd that there were footsteps near the bedrooms? It was the royal bedrooms, but there was Eric and, a bit down the hall, Ariel. Either one of them could be awake. But these were not casual steps, walking briskly to either get up and greet the day, or perhaps to get a cup of water. These steps were slow, creaking, like a clumsy cat trying to get about. Carlotta stopped, and listened, and recognized that every time there was a creak, there was a pause.
This concerned Carlotta. There should be nothing in ill taste going on upstairs, was it possible there was an intruder of some sort? Should she alert the guards? Tell someone?
No, no. Carlotta gave her head a shake and calmed down. She was overreacting. There was probably nothing wrong – maybe a strange draft.
But she shouldn't doubt her senses! She was perfectly aware of what a draft was, and it did not have feet. There was someone sneaking around upstairs, and Carlotta was going to go and see what it was. She grabbed a candlestick, thinking that if it were some sort of prowler…she didn't let herself finish the thought, but the cool weight of it was reassuring.
Carlotta crept up the winding staircase and peered down the hall. A figure turned a doorknob and leapt into the room. Carlotta hopped up the last few stairs quickly enough to hear a feminine voice laugh and exclaim "Wake up, Eric! We lost almost all of yesterday, no sense in sleeping in today!"
Carlotta exhaled and laughed as she walked into the room. Ariel was hopping at the edge of Eric's bed, as the sleepy prince was sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, come here." He laughed, grabbing Ariel's wrist and pulling her down.
"Hi, Lottie." Ariel smiled as Eric wrapped both his hands around hers.
"What's the candlestick for?" Eric asked, jerking his chin towards it.
"Oh!" Carlotta flushed slightly. "Oh, uh, um, I just thought it would…look nice in your room!" She awkwardly placed it on his bedside table. "I've just come to help Ariel get dressed – Louie will have breakfast on the table soon."
"Oh good!" Ariel smiled, hopping out of bed.
…
After a light and lively breakfast, the couple packed a light lunch and got ready for their day on the town. A stable hand brought around the carriage, but Eric was insistent that he could drive, and when the boy offered again, Eric dismissed the idea once more, saying that he didn't need a 'chaperone'. The stable hand laughed a little, and handed over the reins.
They were off at a quick clip, and Ariel couldn't have been more excited! She smiled and shifted so that she was sitting on her knees, peering over her shoulder and turning around to see the castle grow smaller and smaller in the distance.
"The castle isn't very removed from town." Eric said. We just cross a little bridge, and we're there!" He used the tip of his chin to gesture at a bridge they were quickly approaching. It wasn't more than ten feet long, and it was constructed over a sparkling and rapid-moving river.
"What are we doing in town today?" Ariel asked, her curiosity starting to – what's the word? – burn. She turned back around and settled into their seat as they began to cross the bridge.
"Well-"
Eric was cut off with a sudden jolt – the right wheels of the carriage had been thrown off and the carriage tipped to the edge of the bridge. Eric tried to stop the horses in hopes of stalling the momentum, but the left wheels popped off as well, and the couple was thrown into the water below.
…
Triton noticed how weird the castle felt without Ariel in it. It didn't feel right. Not bad, inherently, but off. And because of this, he found himself pacing around a lot more, hoping that he could right something or make some discovery, some change. He had hoped that some sort of adjustment would make things feel right again.
He poked in and out of rooms that he hadn't been in in years, picking up possessions he had even forgotten were his. Each room was well dusted and maintained by the staff, and while most of the rooms were used, many were neglected and in want of warmth and interaction.
Eventually, Triton worked his way to the potion storage. He was in this room more regularly than some, and very recently, as he clearly remembered. He surveyed around and saw all the potions he had spent his life creating and collecting. It was a collection that meant a lot to him. And if he didn't know the minutia of every placement so well, he probably wouldn't have noticed the book.
There was a book of potions – every potion that he knew of, and with every bit of information. It contained the ingredients of each potion, how to brew it properly, what it did, side effects, and rarity. But the book was open, and Triton always had left it closed. He swam over to investigate, and saw that one of the pages was rumpled. Flipping to it, he realized that he was wrong and it was not rumpled but, rather, torn out completely. Confused, he turned to the index and realized exactly what the potion was.
It was not hard to make, and could be done quickly. It was a weak love potion that caused more of a trance of infatuation than anything else. It could be broken with a painful shock of any kind. Still, Triton knew that he had not ripped this page out of the book, and was incredibly concerned as to who had. As a result, he swam out to the parlor where his daughters were congregated that late morning, and inquired if any of them had been in the potion room, or if any of them (Adella) had a use for a weak love potion that they were trying to hide. But each of his daughters pleaded innocence, and Triton believed them. He then made the decision that the girls would be on lockdown at the palace until this could all be sorted out. He didn't want anyone using this potion against his daughters, and with one daughter already in relative danger (sure he had crabs up there with her, but how much could they really do?), he wasn't taking any chances with the rest of them.
…
Ariel had never felt cold water before. Having spent her whole life in it, Ariel was accustomed to water feeling more neutral than anything else. She was aware of it when she waived her arm through it or when she swam through a current, but the temperature didn't get cold unless you swam very, very deep.
Which made her plunge into the river all the more shocking. She didn't have the mental presence or time to cry out at all, she merely shot beneath the water and felt herself sharply pulled downstream. She tried to pump her legs the way she moved her fins but they wouldn't move in sync, and when she kicked out she would sometimes strike a rock.
She hoped that by moving her arms she could gain some control – any control! – over the situation, but there seemed to be no avail. And where was Eric?
…
Marcus had snuck down the kitchen, listening carefully for any signs that the chef may still be in there. But there was no clatter of utensils or humming on tunes, and he figured it would safe for him to go in and grab some of the ingredients for his potion. He crept to the doors and opened one only a crack, just enough space for him to peer in and confirm that the kitchen was, in fact, empty.
Holding the potion recipe tightly in his fist, Marcus entered the kitchen and began rummaging through the cupboards. The ingredients were simpler than he could've hoped – mostly oils and vegetables. There were some things from the ocean that he would need (one shell, some sand, a piece of seaweed) but Marcus knew he could grab those next with little to no difficulty.
Then, everything needed to be mixed together and steeped in a cool, dark place for thirteen hours. After that, all would be ready to go.
He tucked one last bottle under his arm and scampered back to an abandoned room, where he rolled all of the ingredients under the guest bed. It was on the first floor, so he slid out of a window and landed with a soft thud on the sand. The plan was working beautifully, as any noble quest should.
Review, please!
