The imp's words ran through her head. Lose her magic. Lose the ability to become a mermaid again. Lose the chances to speak to her father as a mermaid. Lose the chance to show her daughter what it was like to swim as a mermaid.
Become completely human.
"Ariel? You're not thinking about going back on our deal, are you?"
She felt Eric's arms around her, trying to soothe the obvious tension in her body.
"You've scared her, Rumpelstiltskin," Eric said.
"Oh now dearie. I'm not scary."
"She's pale, staring at the wall. You're calling that not scary?"
She could barely hear the words being spoken around her. She knew what was going on, but she couldn't think. She didn't want to think. She was scared of the thought of losing her magic. But… a deal was a deal. She knew what happened if someone went back on a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, and it could be a lot worse than the consequences of the original deal. She shivered, turning back to the shell, which was barely in her hand.
"I-I'm not going back on the deal, Rumpelstiltskin. It's just… a lot to process. Imagine you losing your powers after a lifetime."
Rumpelstiltskin went quiet again, and Ariel shivered, murmuring. "I-I guess Melody wi-will have to learn to swim from Father, and my sisters…"
"I'm sorry darling…" Eric said, pressing a gentle kiss to her head.
Ariel took a deep breath, looking at the shell again. "The spell will be cast, R-Rumpelstiltskin. It's for the greater good."
"Good, dearie. I don't want anything to happen to your one twu wuv."
The way he said that had shivers going down Ariel's spine. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she lost Eric.
"I will cast it tonight, during high tide." That was the best time for her to do it, since the water reached farther onto the shore, allowing her to feel more of the power of it.
Power she would be losing.
But it wasn't important. What was important was saving everyone, restoring peace to the lands, and allowing everyone to grow up the way they were supposed to. Melody and Emma would be friends, rather than strangers, and Snow would be able to raise her little girl, like she'd always dreamed. So… if she couldn't turn into a mermaid at will, or teach Melody how to deep-sea dive, using the water to form words in times of crisis, then so be it. She had enough family to be able to teach her daughter these things.
She'd teach her daughter other things. How to sing, how to walk and talk, with Snow teaching Emma the same thing. That would be nice.
The shell topped glowing, evidence that the magic was no longer working on it. Strange, considering Rumpelstiltkin was the one that created it.
"Magic must work different in that land," Eric said. "Not last long at all."
Ariel nodded. "Magic isn't supposed to be in that world. It makes sense that it's not working properly."
Sighing, she set the shell back down on the table, her shoulders tense.
Eric sat behind her, rubbing her shoulders, trying to calm her down, as he always did. "You don't have to do this. He can't hurt you if you don't. He's trapped in that other world."
"What if he finds a way back? Eric… I have to do this. This is not about me, or my powers. This is about the thousands of people trapped in an unfamiliar world." She sighed again. "I have to put them ahead of myself."
It was what being a monarch was about. Doing the best for one's people.
Standing up, she smoothed out her gown and made her way to Melody's nursery, lifting up the small girl, who giggled as she was lifted into the air. Ariel would miss watching her stumble around as she tried to walk, but she also knew that she would have another chance to, when she finally cast the spell.
"We're going to do something amazing Melody," Ariel murmured to her daughter. Eric stood by the door, not wanting to interrupt. "Today, we're going to bring everyone back here. We're going to fix all the bad things that happened. And when that's done, you'll have lots of new friends to play with you. Emma, and Alexandra…"
Melody didn't seem to understand, squirming and giggling in her mother's arms. Ariel simply chuckled and kissed her daughter's head. "You're so silly." Melody made a noise, as if telling her mother she disagreed with her statement, and Ariel laughed, tapping her nose, to more squirming.
Eric suddenly stepped into the room, clearing his throat. "Emma and Snow are awake," he murmured. "Have you told them when you were going to do this?"
"Oh, are they?" Ariel said, looking up at him. "No, I haven't. I'll go tell them now." With that, she left the room, heading to the other wing of the castle, where their guests were.
Gods, why was she so nervous about this? She shouldn't be, they'd known they were going to do this for weeks now.
Was it maybe the fact that tonight was actually the night?
"Snow, Emma," she said, when she spotted them in the hallway. "Tonight is the night."
Emma looked up, slightly pale. Ariel could tell she was nervous about this.
"Emma, are you okay?" she asked, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You know that everything will be okay, right?"
Emma nodded, a bit nervously. "I-I guess it's all really sunk in. I'm going to go back to being… inside of Mary Margaret, and Henry will cease to exist…"
"But not forever, Emma," Ariel said. They had to go through with this. She couldn't let anything happen to Eric. "And besides, when Henry found out the curse broke, how did he react? How did he react when he was talking to you about it before you believed? When he was telling you stories, showing you that book you told me about?"
Emma smiled a little. "He wanted to come here so badly. See all of it. Experience the life of a prince."
Ariel smiled a little. "And that is what you will give him."
"My memories though. I won't remember being this… badass who saved the lives of everyone I grew up with."
Ariel smiled. "Perhaps… but you'll know the story."
Snow and Emma both looked confused.
"How are stories told, Emma?" she asked, urging her to think.
Emma frowned. "A-a book?"
"That's right… a book. Rumpelstiltskin said there will always be ways to remember this, besides hearing it from your parents… but sometimes, children don't exactly believe stories from their parent's childhood, so what better way to hear a story than from a book?"
