Basic Story Info.
Story Title: Where I Belong
Chapter Number: 13
Chapter Title: "A Change in Plans"
Pairing: Ariel/Eric
Rating: T (Just in case!)
Disclaimer: I own nothing, as always.
"Grimsby, remind me why you want to throw this ball again?" Eric asked wearily, staggering slightly under the weight of all the themed party favors, confetti, decorations, and countless other supplies he was helping to deliver to the ballroom.
"We've gone over this time and time again, Eric!" Grimsby replied with a stern expression. "It's so you can meet the eligible young ladies of the kingdom!"
Indeed, it had been to Eric's knowledge that Grimsby had decided to arrange a special ball for the prince, of which the entire kingdom was invited to, in three days' time in order to "broaden his perspective on the number of lovely, available women."
Pfft, like I'm interested, Eric thought with a chuckle.
Truth be told, he really wanted to just give Grimsby a pat on the shoulder and thank him for his effort; to tell him to just give up now, for all his attempts at finding Eric's true love were futile. Because, really, did Grimsby think that one stupid ball would help him meet the love of his life?
No, of course not! he answered himself. Because she's out there!
Speaking of his little mermaid, he glanced over his shoulder and out of the window behind him, eying the overcast weather outside. He watched as the waves gently rolled to the shore. Oh, how he longed to just get out of this place and take a nice long stroll along the beach...
"Eric! Prince Eric watch out!" a guard cried out suddenly.
"Wha-?" Eric started, confused. He was cut off, however, when he tripped over a roll of wrapping paper, landing face-forward on the hard, tile floor, scattering decorations and confetti everywhere in his wake.
His face burned bright red in embarrassment as he staggered back to his feet with the help of a few nearby guards. Since when had he become so klutzy?
"Man, what's that doing there anyway?" he asked, kicking the roll aside.
"Oh, Eric! Are you all right?" Grimsby fussed. "You've got to be more careful, my dear boy!"
Eric sighed, mentally preparing himself for yet another lecture from Grimsby. It seemed as if he had been getting those stern lectures more often lately...
No worries, he thought. He'd just do what he always did: tune out of his speech until it was over.
"So, you see, that is the importance of the ball and all who are attending. And it won't be possible unless you are absolutely focused! But Eric? Eric! Are you listening?"
"Yes," he nodded automatically. "Yes, of course."
"You know what? Maybe if you just tried a bit harder, you might actually find yourself enjoying the prospect of the ball," Grimsby shrugged. "But what do I know?"
Ha! This ball probably won't turn out better than any of the others, Eric thought bitterly. But nice try, Grims.
"Um, Prince Eric? Pardon me," a nervous little servant inquired, breaking Eric from his thoughts. "Excuse me, your excellence, I'm so very sorry to disturb your thoughts…"
Your excellence? Eric thought. That one's new.
"I was told to deliver the message that, since you spilled the confetti and other assortments of party favors when you fell, you'll need to go out and replace the supplies yourself."
Eric groaned. "Do I have to?"
"Orders are orders," the small man shrugged. "And, right now, Grimsby is in a really foul mood, so, if I were you, I wouldn't question it," he added warningly.
Eric sighed, "With all due respect, that isn't your place, sir."
"I'm sorry, your majesty," he bowed apologetically. "I was just trying to help."
"That's alright," Eric said, clapping the man on the shoulder. "I wanted to get out and get a breath of fresh air anyway. Hey, what do you say, would you like to come along?"
"Really?"
"Sure, I don't know why not," Eric shrugged. "Besides, misery enjoys company."
Half an hour later, Eric and the young man, whose name he learned was Michael, saddled up their horse-and-buggy carriage and set off into the village. Eric stretched out almost immediately, reclining his head back on his hands, while Michael maneuvered the route.
Eric couldn't help but notice, in the meantime, that this man was a really was reckless driver, which you probably would have never suspected coming from such a timid man.
"Can you handle the driving, man?" Eric asked, his eyes still closed. "If it's too much for you-"
"No, no I'm fine," Michael reassured. "I think I've got it."
The ride continued as the scenery rolled by. Soon, the hustle and bustle of the distant village could be heard as a faint, but continuous, buzz.
"We're almost there, sir," Michael remarked. "We're just on the outskirts of town, so few more minutes tops."
"Great," Eric replied, not even bothering to move.
Some time later, Eric and Michael were finally headed back in the opposite direction towards the palace. They had just bought a wide assortment of party supplies to replace the ones, plus some extra, just in case. It was better to be safe than sorry, right?
"Ugh, who does this lady think she is? She needs to get out of the middle of the road before we run her over!" some man in a carriage nearby warned threateningly. "Hey, lady! Move!"
It was to no avail. The woman acted like she hadn't even heard the man; she was instead entranced by a group of young adults walking around on the other side. Meanwhile, the carriage was fast approaching her, and Michael showed no sign of slowing down.
"Watch out, lady!!" he shouted as loud as he could. She tilted her head slightly, as if she was trying to figure out what was going on, but it was too late. The horses had knocked the mortified woman to the ground, leaving a sickening thump of head colliding with stone echoing in response.
Eric bolted upright in shock, "What in the world was that?!"
Eric immediately shifted his gaze over to his right, where a crowd was slowly assembling. He ordered his carriage to be stopped and hopped off. He then approached the group, who all seemed to be gathering around a fallen woman.
"Excuse me, but what happened here?" he questioned politely.
"Oh, Prince Eric! Some lady wouldn't move out of the middle of the road and I-I tried to warn her to get out of the way, but she wasn't listening!" he explained.
"Did you ever think of stopping, perhaps?" Eric pointed out.
The little man flushed and looked down, suddenly very interested in his shoes.
Eric then looked down to where the young woman was laying, knocked out cold.
Her vibrant red hair was skewed all over the ground and it looked as if she was dressed in a sail or something. Not that he was one to judge based on that…
"Miss?" he asked, squatting down next to her. "Are you ok?"
There was no response.
Eric fell silent for a few moments, not failing to see the anxious gazes of the villagers around him. However, he couldn't help but notice that the more and more he looked at her, the more and more familiar she seemed. He still couldn't quite place who she was or where she had come from at the moment, but he knew he had seen her before.
"Miss?" he tried again.
Still nothing. He shook her shoulders a few times, trying to provoke a response, his stomach dropping. What was he supposed to do now that she wasn't waking up... ?
Then, the sun reflected off some piece of jewelry she was wearing, causing a harsh glare in Eric's eyes.
What's this? Eric thought inquisitively, deciding to inspect it. Maybe this could give him a clue as to who this young woman was.
Now, normally, he didn't like to get in people's business. In fact, he thought it was rude and inconsiderate, but this time, he was glad he had, for when he lifted that piece of gold from the woman's neck, he automatically recognized it.
This is the necklace I gave Ariel, he thought.
Indeed, there was the message he had engraved to her on the back. Dropping the necklace, he put two and two together, staring at her in shock, especially since two human legs were sticking out from under the cloth. Now, how on Earth had that happened?!
"You all can leave now," he said finally, clearing his throat. "I thank you for sticking around, but I can take it from here."
There were some murmured responses from the other villagers, but, for the most part, the group nodded, and, one by one, began to leave. When the very last group had gone, Eric gently slid his arms underneath her body, picking her up with care.
He carried her over to the carriage and set her down in the backseat, sitting down right beside her in the process, shooting a glance at Michael that seemed to make it clear to him that he not to say a word. As the carriage began to move, he brought her head to his lap so that he was able to stroke her hair lovingly. He could only hope with all his heart she would wake up and explain all of this to him soon...
Eric then found himself inspecting her face and suddenly noticed how slender her face was, and how pale it now appeared. He also admired how her red hair really seemed to add the perfect touch to her face.
Never in this light had he really noticed how beautiful she truly was. Human or mermaid, she was absolutely stunning. He then moved his hand to brush a stray lock of red hair out of her eyes and smiled. That was really Ariel…
Then, a gasp, followed by an anguished groan, escaped from her lips as she brought her hand to her head.
"How did you do it?" Eric asked gently, not bothering to hide his astonished demeanor.
"Huh?" she replied quietly, blinking quickly to adjust to the sunlight.
"How did you become a human?" he whispered in awe.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"You were a mermaid and now you're a human. How?" Eric said, becoming a slight bit frustrated. Why didn't she understand him?
"What? How is that even possible?" she cut in.
"Isn't that what you should be telling me?" he retorted.
"…I'm sorry," she said, feeling tears brimming in her eyes.
"It's alright," he soothed, gathering her up into his arms. "Don't cry. All that's important is that you're ok."
"I beg your pardon, kind sir, but who, exactly, are you?" she asked timidly after a few silent moments.
"Excuse me?" he asked incredulously.
"Who are you? What's your name?" she continued.
Eric felt as though his stomach drop down to his knees as his face paled considerably. "D-Don't you remember me? I-I'm Eric."
"Eric?" she repeated as he nodded. "Speaking of which, um, Eric, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course. Anything. You know that."
"...Who am I?"
Man, can you guys predict this story or what?! I was reading the reviews for the last chapter and I was thinking man they've got it figured out! But hey, there's an easy solution to that. ;)
Anyway, that ending pretty brutal of me, hm? Plus, we all missed Eric while he was gone. I'm so very sorry, but he's back for good now! Hehe, for good...
I know I say this every chapter, but I want to stress how much love every single one of my readers and reviewers. Thank you so much, you guys! I really enjoy reading your comments and responses to chapters!
As always,
-Dreaming Wide Awake
P.S. I'm going on vacation as of Saturday, so updates will be on temporary hiatus for two and a half weeks-ish. I'll write while I'm not near the computer, though, and be sure to update as soon as I get back. :)