Hello lovely readers and reviewers! This was one hard chapter, for some reason it just did not want to come out. Yet, I managed to finally finish it, so here is your long awaited update. Thanksgiving break will be upon me soon, so I'm hoping to work on the next chapter then; I sort of know the direction this is going now, so that will definitely help. Thank you for all your patience, it really means a lot.
Also, Monday was the 25th anniversary of this wonderful movie; hope you all celebrated the many ways one little mermaid has touched our lives over the years! Please don't forget to REVIEW!
(Also if you get bored, I wrote a short one-shot called Growing Pains that could use some reviewing love)
Ariel liked the dining hall.
She'd never really thought about it before, maybe because the last time she'd been more concerned over getting Eric to notice her. She had time to think now though, and she was fairly convinced that this was her favorite place in the castle. It was so open, with the large windows and natural light pouring from the setting sun. It made the room feel, despite its size, a lot like home.
Well, her old home, if she was being exact.
She winced at the thought of it, which caught Eric's eye. He turned to her slightly, finding the redhead's eyes unfocused, deep in thought. He grinned. "Hey, having fun out there in space?"
His teasing voice snapped her out of her reverie. "Huh?"
"You were spaced out there for minute. Everything okay?" He was still smiling, but there was an uncertain edge to it now, as though he was bracing himself for bad news.
Ariel tilted her head to the side, her eyebrows coming down in confusion. "Spaced out? What does that mean?"
"You know," Eric answered, without missing a beat. "It's like, when you sort of just start thinking hard, and then you, uh, zone out."
Recognition flickered in Ariel's curious blue eyes. "Ooh. See, back at ho—Atlantica, we don't call it being 'spaced out'."
"What do you call it?" Eric wondered, faint mischief glowing in his eyes. Ariel shrugged.
"Daydreaming. Or my head's up in the foam." She giggled, shaking her head. "But my sister Aquata? She does it all the time. Like, one minute she'll be talking to me, and the next, it's like she's in a different ocean!"
"You have a sister, my dear?" Grimsby asked politely, his face full of kindness.
Eric rolled his head in the older gentleman's direction, answering before Ariel could get a word in, "She's got six of them, Grim, can you imagine? And they're all older than her."
"And no brothers?" Grimsby continued questioning. Eric looked at her curiously, not finding that he knew the answer.
It was Ariel's turn to grin now. "Nope. Just six older bossy sisters." Her grin faltered slightly as she added, "But Urchin was kind of like the younger brother none of us ever had…"
Something flared inside of Eric as he saw the redhead's eyes travel far away at the mention of that other boy. He couldn't put a name to the feeling, but he didn't like it. "Who's Urchin?"
"Oh he's…" What was Urchin to her? A boy with a stupid crush? An almost little brother? An orphan she'd found? "…he's just one of my friends. We went on a lot of adventures together."
That was a red flag for Eric. What did this 'Urchin' have with Ariel? Knowing young men his age, he doubted it was childish fun. "What kind of adventures?"
"One time a giant octopus trapped Flounder and I in this tiny little cave, and Urchin had to swim back to get Daddy, but Daddy wasn't there, so he took the trident and he managed to scare off the octopus but then he lost it, and the Evil Manta ended up getting it and, well, it was just a mess." Ariel shrugged, the story simply just another one of her adventures.
Eric and Grimsby however, had different reactions. Both men seemed shocked. After no one said anything for a few moments, Ariel looked up, tilting her head again in confusion.
"Did I say something wrong?" A fissure appeared between her brows, and panic settled in soon after as she started to fret. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, my dear, you're fine," Grimsby recovered first, assuring the girl. "It's just that…that's a rather interesting adventure."
"Oh, it's not the most fun one though." Ariel replied, grinning and now eager to share her experiences. "Like another time, I found a message in a bottle, and it said that there was someone being held by an evil monster named Simon. But when I went to the cave, I found out that the monster was Simon! He wasn't really even a monster, he was just really big, and really lonely. So I took him back home so that he could make friends!"
"You brought a complete stranger home?" Eric asked, suddenly confused by the turn of events in her story.
"He wasn't a complete stranger, he became my friend!" Ariel insisted, eyes shining, and lips pulled across with a smile. "But like I said, he was really big, so he couldn't fit inside the palace."
Eric blanched. He'd been picturing a large man, like her father. But someone of that size should be able to fit inside of a palace! "How big was he?"
"Um…" Ariel stalled, looking around to see if there was anyway to show it. "His head could probably touch the ceiling."
Gimsby's eyebrows shot up, his eyes trailing the overhead height while Eric whistled in appreciation. Two weeks ago the men would have laughed at the absurdity; after the recent events, they merely took it in stride.
"That tall?"
"Uh-huh. Like I said, he was really big, and his skin was green, so I get why people thought he looked like a monster," Ariel laughed to herself, shaking her head. "But he was harmless, he just wanted friends. Daddy didn't mind too much either; he always says that I'm the one that just can't help but care for everything."
Eric smiled, somehow knowing the sincerity behind her words was the real truth. Besides, what competition was there from an overly large, green, not-so-monster-acting-but-monster-looking friend? "So where's Simon now? Still in…Atlantica?"
"Oh, no, he left a awhile ago. But I still get messages from him, every now and then! And I always know it's him too, because his letters are usually the size of me." She giggled, the sound girlish and genuine.
"So what do his letters say? Did he make more friends?" Eric wondered, leaning closer to her on his elbow. Her enthusiasm was infectious.
"He did!" Ariel beamed under the attention. At home she often felt like her stories were brushed off, or were used as teaching tools to what princesses shouldn't be doing. "He teaches a morning exercise class now too; apparently it's going pretty well."
"Wait, but if he's so big, how does he fit inside of a classroom to teach?"
Ariel's face washed over with puzzlement. "You know, I'm not really sure. I guess he just teaches it outside? I mean, it's not like he minded being out, especially after he was in that cave for so long."
"How long did he live in his cave for?" Before she was able to answer, Ariel felt a hand rest on her shoulder.
"Oh, give her some time to catch her breath!" Carlotta's scolding voice was unmistakable, but Ariel still tilted her head up to look at the housekeeper.
"I daresay Carlotta is right, Eric, you've hardly let the poor girl have a moment to herself." Grimsby said, slightly amused, and slightly disapproving of his young charge's behavior.
The prince in question sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as he sat straight back in his chair. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"No, really, it's ok, I don't care," Ariel was quick to defend, noticing for the first time that food had been set on the table. Had she really been so absorbed in her storytelling that she'd missed it?
Eric shot her a grateful look. "Do you want a tour of the palace?" Seeing Carlotta about to intervene, he hurried on, "After dinner, of course."
"Didn't you already give her a tour of the palace?" Grimsby questioned, brows raised slightly.
"Well…maybe…" Eric responded, looking between his advisor and his…girlfriend. "But we didn't get to finish it!"
"And you're not going to finish that tour tonight, either," the housekeeper responded, frowning at the boy. "After dinner the dear is going straight to bed to rest."
"I've been resting though, for days!" Ariel half twisted around in her seat, eyes large and pleading. "And the healer said I was okay!"
"The physician said you were fine, as long as you didn't overexert yourself," Carlotta retorted, her frown moving to the redheaded teen.
"She won't, though," Eric swept in, fighting his grin when he saw the thankful look the girl sent him. "I promise, I'll take Ariel back to her room as soon as she's tired."
"And I won't even complain!" She threw in for good measure, hopeful and almost desperate to spend more time alone with Eric. Goosebumps appeared on her skin and her stomach did flip-flops at just the thought. "Please?"
The housekeeper twisted her lips, thinking. She didn't trust the two teens walking alone through the palace, where there were a million and one places to hide. Also, the last thing she needed was to start worrying over the child getting sick, again. However, she understood that they needed their space, alone, if this relationship was to ever work. It was a hard call.
"I cannot say I envy you, Carlotta." Grimsby said, lifting his glass of wine in her direction slightly, before taking an amused sip.
"It's not the easiest of things," the housekeeper sighed, shaking her head, before eyeing Eric with pursed lips. "Alright, you can have your little tour, but both of you better be in bed by ten."
"That's okay!" Eric agreed quickly, not willing to give her a chance to change her mind. "We can definitely do that, right?"
"That's what curfew usually is back home," Ariel shrugged, before tilting her head slightly in thought. "Then again, I don't think I've actually made curfew in the past year."
Eric perked up curiously at her voice. "More adventures?"
"Lots more," Ariel responded, her eyes sparkling like the shimmer on the sea. The smile she was awarded made her heart skip a beat. "Like, one time—"
"Dear, I think your next adventure should be dinner," Carlotta laughed, squeezing the girl's shoulder affectionately as she lifted the dish cover off of the girl's plate. "Herb soup; Louis made it just for you."
"Oh! Tell him thank-you!" Her sincerity was honest, because she was silently thankful that she didn't have to have solid food just yet. Her stomach still hadn't settled from her overwhelming exhaustion; soup was more than welcome.
"I'm sure he'll appreciate it, hon." The housekeeper smiled at the girl, before turning her attention to the two gentlemen. "Its Eric's favorite tonight; Chicken Scaloppine."
In response, Eric groaned, removing his dish cover with a sigh. Grimsby, having already removed his dish cover, rolled his eyes at the boy's dramatics. Ariel looked from her beau to the advisor, questioningly. "What's wrong with that?"
"He's a child when it comes to vegetables in his food." He answered, as Eric sighed again, looking up at the housekeeper questioningly.
"Let me guess, you had something to do with this?"
Carlotta turned her smile to the prince, removing the dish cover to the side of him. "Eat up, dear. Your food is going to get cold."
Eric narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the maid, before letting out a breath and using his fork to push the vegetables on his chicken to the side of his plate with a scraping noise. Grimsby shared a look with the housekeeper, who pursed her lips and shook her head at the boy. Though it wasn't very prince-like, she let his lack of table manners slide, for now at least.
"You don't like vegetables?" Ariel asked, as Carlotta's fading footsteps echoed through the dining room. Were human vegetables different than those of Atlantica? They certainly looked different, if it was the thing the boy had pushed away on his plate.
"They aren't my favorite." Eric shrugged, eager to brush off his hatred for greens. "Honestly, they just taste…weird."
"An spiteful immaturity towards vegetables is more like it," Grimsby said, despite the sour look sent to him by his young charge.
"Grim, I'm telling you, it's odd. No one enjoys eating their vegetables." Eric argued, while the older gentleman regarded him with a raised brow, before turning to Ariel.
"I do hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, my dear. His hard head may be your most challenging adventure yet."
Ariel looked at her…fiancée? Boyfriend? She still wasn't sure on the technical terms. Either way, she regarded him slowly, before turning back to the older gentleman. "He doesn't have the shiniest scales in the sea, but I think I love him, so I may be stuck."
"Hey!" Eric cried out, but it was in jest, and Ariel couldn't hold in her giggles any longer. "You think you love me?"
"Maybe. I'm a mermaid, remember, we change our minds with a flick of our fins." She reminded, still giggling lightly.
He regarded her with a thoughtful expression, before rolling his shoulders back. "Fine, have it your way, but you should know that I think I'm a catch."
"A…catch?" The smile froze on Ariel's face, her brows drawing down in confusion.
Eric scratched the back of his neck, trying to figure out a way to explain. "It means, uh, it's a good thing? Like, that a lot of girls—people, I meant people!—like you because you're um, a total package?"
"What's a total package? A package in snail mail?" Ariel felt herself growing ever more confused. She'd received a package or two in her time through the mailing system in Atlantica, which was delivered by snails, but she'd never heard of the expression.
Eric faltered, ignoring the new term she put forward and intent to answer her question. "It's…um…it's this thing where…uh…"
"It means that there were many young women interested in his courting them because he had many attributes they appreciated," Grimsby cut in, and Ariel's eyes widened with understanding.
Well, half-understanding at least. She took as sip of her soup and asked,
"What kind of attributes?"
Here Grimsby smirked, sliding his eyes over to the young prince. "Eric? I believe you would be better equipped to answer, considering it was you who talked to all those young ladies."
Eric's ears burned bright red, his cheeks turning the same color as well. His gaze was kept squarely on his plate. "There weren't that many girls, Grim."
"But I do believe there were enough that fed into your ego; what was it they said, again?" Grimsby prodded, while Eric's furious blush seemed to get brighter.
"Nothing important, let's change the subject." He attempted, trying to get the conversation off of his past…conversations, with the fairer sex.
"I believe it was the Princess of Glowerhaven that had an interesting comment, correct?" Grimsby continued to question, and Eric finally sighed, giving up.
He muttered, squeezing his eyes shut in embarrassment, "She said my eyes looked like the sky. Can we please not talk about this?"
Ariel pursed her lips, tilting her head to the side. She looked at him for a moment, thinking of his eyes, which she couldn't see. Not that it really mattered; they were forever imprinted into her memory.
"She wasn't right," she finally declared affirmatively, nodding to herself at the thought.
Eric's eyes flew open, his head shooting up to look at her. Grimsby even looked taken aback at the sudden statement. "What?"
"That princess. She wasn't right," Ariel returned, taking another sip of her soup thoughtfully. "I don't think she was doing it on purpose, she honestly probably liked you, but she was wrong. Your eyes look more like…the sea. On a nice day."
"On a nice day?" Grimsby wondered, not able to grasp the meaning behind the girl's words. "What is that supposed to be, exactly?"
"It's that different color blue, that's made up of a bunch of other blues. It's sort of where you can look across the ocean and just know that there's more out there, just a little bit further, and if you reach out far enough, you'll be able to grab it." She sighed dreamily, her eyes distant, before the focused once more on Eric. "I like that blue."
"Yeah. Me too." His face held all the awe and wonder that could possibly fit. Is this what he had missed, when she'd been mute? How could he have not just understood immediately her beautiful, wandering soul? "I didn't realize my eyes were so profound."
Ariel shrugged, taking another sip of her soup. "Not profound. Just…interesting."