Disclaimer: I don't own TLM. I do own this plot.

14

"Your Highness I must implore you to see reason," Burke, the eldest and most prudish of his advisors pleaded in his usually staunched demeanor. His words might have been beseeching but Eric knew that the elder advisor held nothing but contempt for his youth and inexperience. "Our alliance with Ali Abul's kingdom is due for renewal, you are behind on your studies, there are now three incident reports involving pirate raids in the south, and contention among multiple noble houses over your bachelor status. And yet you continue to dawdle time away with the commoner!"

Eric felt his temper flare at the insult to Ariel. Ariel couldn't be further from a commoner. Of course, they couldn't know that and Eric had made it plain that he didn't mind it in any case.

This abhorrent rebuttal from one of his fathers most trusted advisors was the result of his declaring his intentions to take Ariel to the docks the next day in lieu of one of his lessons. Eric had never been one to wield his authority lightly. He found it distinctly uncomfortable to order people around, particularly those who were older and more experienced than him. But he had reached his tipping point. Between recent conversations in the town with his people, the wide range of rulers he'd spoken with at his birthday ball, and all of the events surrounding Ariel he had come to realize that he needed to step up. He'd seen issues within the town and the rest of his kingdom that needed to be addressed and saw how royalty from other kingdoms held themselves and doled out justice. Most importantly, though, were the conversations he'd had with Ariel.

Ariel could get Eric to speak passionately about his kingdom and wishes for it when he was king. She asked questions he never considered and made him truly think like a leader, forcing him to come to creative solutions that instilled in him with a belief in his capacity as a ruler. During the course of these conversations it had become clear to him that, despite his best intentions, none of his dreams would come to fruition if he didn't step into the role he was born to. Let today be my first test, he thought.

He fixed his best authoritative look on the old man.

"Watch your tongue Advisor Burke," he said. "I would remind you that a king is nothing without people to rule. That commoner you so quickly disregard is but one of many that makes up my strength." The man had the slightest of decency to look cowed but Eric persisted, the torrent of anger he had held back over the past six weeks while they chastised him about Ariel finally letting loose.

"Furthermore, you speak to me as if I am unaware of the current status of things. The truth of the matter is that I am well aware of what happens within my kingdom. I review every missive that flows through the palace walls, whether they be to political advisors, economists or war ministers. I conduct meetings with representatives of each said group thrice weekly in addition to almost daily lessons. An envoy has been scheduled to visit Ali Abul's kingdom for the alliance renewal. I leave next month. More patrols have been dispatched forthwith to aid in recovery from the raids and the navy is actively seeking out all ships that do not sail under sanctioned papers. As for my bachelor status, as you so gently put it," Eric gave the man a pointed look at this and the three advisors at his side joined in on the abashed looks, "I am in no hurry to make a rash decision. When I take a bride I will do so under no duress from outside sources. I will make my decision based on my own intuition and what I believe is best for my people as well as myself."

The advisor opened his mouth to contest this but Eric cut him off with a raised hand.

"I am well aware of the need for my marriage. I have not fought the need for it, merely the women recommended. Tell me gentlemen," he turned to include all of the advisors in this, "do any of you truly believe that the princes of Glowerhaven was a suitable choice for this kingdom?"

There were a few reluctant laughs among the gathered men. In truth, the princess had possessed no personality and reminded Eric of nothing more than a parrot trained to repeat her father's opinions. No voice, no personality and no spark. All of which had immediately ruled her out as far as Eric was concerned. The same was true with the other dozen princess that had been paraded in front of him. He mentally thrust back the image of the fiery redhead that most certainly did ignite a spark within him; one that quickly caught fire and produced that most brilliant of flames.

"I admire you gentlemen," he said to the advisors, all of which were looking justifiably stunned at the usually easy-going prince's sudden step into authoritative shoes. "I hold you all in the highest of esteem. My father trusted you and that is good enough for me. However, I am not my father. He was a great man and one that I would be lucky to one day be compared with. As it is I am my own man and I will soon be king. My decisions are my own and if you do not agree I will kindly remind you that, while I respect all arguments and like to see all sides of any given situation, I will not tolerate blatant disregards and subterfuge. Anyone predisposed to such actions will find themselves dismissed directly."

The room was silent. Eric mentally applauded himself at rendering the pompous airbags speechless for the first time in his life. He had never managed to say so much uninterrupted, let alone have them actually listen to what he had to say. His anger was now sufficiently reduced. He felt the color high in his cheeks and wished that that one mark of his anger wasn't so visible. Elsewise, he'd managed to deliver his speech with a strong, level tone, much like his father. Eric didn't like holding his authority over anyone. It was his birthright yes but that didn't make him any more of an authority in most situations. But in this instance he'd meant every word he'd spoken. Advisors were meant to be his right hand, to help guide him. He was meant to depend on them and take their word into consideration. He was not their puppet and he was finally done acting as such.

"As I was saying," Eric guided the conversation back to where he'd left off, as if Advisor Burke had never interrupted. "I intend to take Ariel to the docks tomorrow. There have been some complaints lodged over fishing rights and assigned limits. I will be addressing them at that time."

Ariel stared around in fascination. She had thought the town was crowded, people in every which direction, but the dock was something entirely different.

The shear number of people in all different garbs was enough to stop her dead in her tracks. Riots of colors adorned the wooden stalls and warehouse fronts. Men walked about with purpose, whether they be finely dressed gentlemen, men in deep blue uniforms indicative of the navy or dressed in rags. Women in bustling skirts also moved through the crowd and children took care not to be trampled under foot among the riot of actions. Voices filled the air, people calling their wares, captains barking orders for crew members unloading cargo, beggars pandering. Loud thunks and clinks could be heard as crates were lowered by rope from the holds of ships and onto the dock to be transported to the warehouses.

The day had dawned nicely enough but by they time they'd made the hour-long carriage ride to the central hub of the docks the weather had turned for the worst. Dark clouds were moving in, threatening rain. The wind blew over the dock and above everything else the sounds of creaking masts, whipping sails and the groaning protest of wood stressed by taunt rope could be heard. Ariel clamped her hands tightly against her thighs to keep the skirts of her cloak and dress from ballooning around her in an undignified show as she, Eric and a small contingent of palace guards moved through the crowd. Eric wound an arm around her waist and clamped his other to the hat on his head, keeping it in place. He had dressed formally today in polished boots, dark pants and a white shirt covered by a finely made navy coat whose hem brushed his upper thighs. Clearly, he intended to conduct business here today, not just show Ariel around. Ariel was just happy to spend time with him. If she got the opportunity to see him in action, so much the better.

"This way," Eric shouted in her ear. Ariel couldn't say which way he was talking about per se as his vocalization was unaided by any hand gesture but he changed the pressure of his arm around her and successfully guided her towards a warehouse in the center of the madness.

The crowd parted before the royal assemblage allowing them easy passage. The warehouse was three stories high, strongly built and bursting with activity. Men in stained and salt encrusted garb were constantly moving in and out of the doors. Ariel was struck suddenly by the strong odor of fish. While the smell of fish wasn't entirely unpleasant (she had spent her entire life around fish) the smell of fish out of water, pungent with the smell of death, was. Ariel wrinkled her nose and stopped dead finally catching sight of the sign hanging above the door: McGilvary's Fishery.

Eric, momentarily halted by her own abrupt stop, tugged her towards the shelter of the warehouse front. She followed hesitantly but had to admit that the wind was greatly lessened by the shelter of the stall to their left. Eric dropped his hand from his hat but kept his hold on her waist.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice quieter without having to fight the wind. "I have business I have to attend to here, first. It's a dispute between two fishery managers. I was originally planning on having you explore with some of the guards but…" he trailed off, casting a weary glance at the steely gray clouds now looming overhead. Over the water perhaps a mile out lightening flashed viciously. "The weather is too dangerous for that. Would you mind coming in?" At the look of hesitation on her face he quickly went on. "I know you don't condone eating fish but it's a large part of my kingdom's food supply. Many people would die without it and when there's an issue with the industry I must address it. We won't be going into the warehouse proper," he assured her. "We'll be going upstairs to the offices. I've arranged for the owners of both fisheries to be there already. Hopefully the storm will have passed by the time we're done." He cast another dubious look at the sky.

Ariel had lived on land long enough to know clouds. These clouds in particular looked very happy where they were and she doubted they'd be moving very far over the next several hours.

She sighed. What a choice, she thought to herself. Either go into the fishy house of horror or stay outside and risk electrocution. Eric gave her a pleading look and that decided it for her.

"Lead the way," she said.

His answering smile was blinding.

Eric had been right. The front entrance of the warehouse was no more than a greeting room with a thick door on the opposite wall that Ariel assumed lead to the warehouse itself. She heard clanging and a sick thwacking noise coming from it. The merchandise entrance must have been on the other side of the building and they'd come in the business side. To their left was a staircase. Two guards disappeared up it while the remaining four guards took up their places, two outside the door and two beside the stairwell. While they waited for the guards upstairs to clear the place and announce their arrival Eric briefly acquainted Ariel with the details of the days visit.

There were several fisheries throughout the kingdom. Here in the central part of the coast there were five main fisheries and several smaller artisanal fishermen. Two of the main fisheries, McGilvary's and Thompson's, were constantly getting into arguments over turf and who had the fishing rights to certain locations. This wouldn't be the first time that an argument had to be settled between them.

A guard appeared at the top of the stairs and bowed to Eric. Eric led Ariel up the stairs and to the second floor where they only needed to follow the sound of raised voices to find their destination.

There were two middle-aged men bickering across an oak desk. They were both browned by constant sun exposure but that was where their similarities ended. Ariel observed that the man on the far side of the desk held a resemblance to some animals she'd seen corralled in town. Eric had called them pigs. The man's face was rounded with jowls that flapped as he argued with his adversary. His belly was rounded too and he was short; shorter than Ariel which only unfortunately added to his overall round appearance. The man closest to the door was taller, Eric's height maybe, and spindly. Muscles roped his thin arms, small but defined. His scraggily brown hair was tied at the base of his neck by a black ribbon.

The second guard, which stood just inside the door to the office, cleared his throat upon Eric's entrance, drawing the men's attention.

They stopped their fighting at once, flushed either from exertion or embarrassment Ariel couldn't tell. They bowed to their prince.

"Your Highness," the round man said. "Thank you for coming. Please do come in."

Chairs had been provided on the near side of the desk. Eric bypassed these and moved behind the desk. The round man retreated and stood disdainfully near the tall man.

"Master McGilvary," Eric nodded to the round man, "Master Thompson," he paid the same homage to the tall man. "Nice to see you again. Unfortunate that it isn't under better circumstances." The reprimand was clear in his voice.

Ariel stayed back near the door, watching the proceedings with fascination, as Eric seemed to slip seamlessly into his role of ruler. She had seen his cordial side before both as he dealt with people in the town and at his birthday ball but never had she seen him in negotiations before. A shiver of excitement went down her spine.

"Wishing it were, Your Highness," Thompson said. "But when someone threatens my livelihood and the success of my company I must bring matters to your attention."

"Rightly so," Eric said. "Please sit," he gestured to the seats in front of the desk as he took his own on the larger chair opposite them. "We have business to attend to and I've business elsewhere today as well."

The men sat and, after a moments hesitation Ariel did as well.

Ariel quickly learned that one thing was intrinsically male, something that superseded all boundaries be they social, racial, or species. Men like to argue.

For more than three hours the two fishery owners bickered back and forth, complaining that the other was claiming rights to fish in the territory afforded to them by the crown. The fish stock was drying up, they complained, and they were losing business because they were bringing in smaller shipments each trip.

"I've had to decommission three of my ships!" McGilvary fumed at one point. "Don't have the money to support the crew or the repairs, not to mention they weren't bringing in anything significant."

"Oh really?" Thompson queried. "Low funding must account for the new summer home you acquired in the foothills!"

On the conversation went. Eric listened to both sides of the argument and went so far as to bring out copies of licenses he'd procured in advance. Each indicating where the fisheries were granted to fish.

"Now, Master Thompson you are accused of sending two ships into Master McGilvary's licensed territory here," Eric marked a spot on the map laid out on the desk with two pins. "You're license clearly signifies that your legal rights end a quarter mile west of that location. Have you any excuse for this?"

Thompson flushed angrily. "My ships were not there! As the license clearly states my operation is allowed to travel up to one hundred miles out to sea from this very dock and are constrained within the fifteen-mile stretch between Masens Cliffs and Dawsen's Point. My men never fish beyond those points, Your Highness." The title was added belatedly as the man realized who he was addressing.

"Lies!" McGilvary exclaimed. "Forty years I've been fishing these waters, since I was old enough to walk let alone sail! I've run this company for twenty and I've never had such low stock. The fishing was fine until one day it just drops off. Next thing I know I see his boats in my waters. What else could be causing it?"

Eric raised a dark eyebrow. "Your waters, Master McGilvary?" his tone implied distaste for this phrase. "Do tell, sir, do you own the very waters? Do you stake claim for everything that passes through those waters and everything that happens in them?"

The man flushed hotly. "But I do own them!" he argued. "I paid for the license to use those waters!"

"Use them," their prince said. "Not own them. Were you in ownership of them I would ask what you are doing about the pollution and piracy that plagues that particular stretch of ocean. As it is, you do not own them and therefore that is something I will deal with myself for I do hold a certain amount of ownership and therefore liability for the waters off my kingdoms shores. No sir, you spoke correctly when you said you use these waters. Use them, and give nothing in return." Eric stood up, standing at full height he loomed over the men and gave off an air of power.

"I cannot say who has done wrong here," Eric said, studying the two men before him. "I was not there to see for myself and since there is no unbiased observer who can provide testimony there is nothing I can do save impress the importance that you adhere to the rules and rights afforded to you." The men both opened their mouths to object but Eric held up a hand to silence them. "As it is," he spoke more loudly, both to override their complaints and to be heard over the raging storm outside. "I acknowledge that there is an issue at present: the lack of fish and the determent to both your livelihoods. Now, as I can see no other reason than necessity for either of you crossing borders—and, since I believe you both of the upmost character and honesty I know it has not been driven by greed—I am willing to acknowledge that something must be wrong with the fish themselves." Both men seemed thoroughly chastised by this. Seeing this, Eric gave a nod of approval before looking past them and to Ariel for the first time since they'd walked through the office door.

"Ariel," he said. "Would you come here?" Ariel looked at him, eyes wide in confusion. Both men turned in their seats and seemed to notice the red headed woman for the first time. Confusion and irritation showed on their faces. "Please," Eric added.

Ariel stood on wobbly knees and went to join him beside the desk. Thinking that it wasn't proper for her to stand behind the desk with him, it was his place of authority after all, she settled for standing to the side of the desk between all interested parties.

She gave a curtsy.

"Yes, Your Highness." The words felt odd on her tongue but she recognized the seriousness of the situation enough to not debase him with informalities.

He gestured with a wide sweeping motion to the map.

"Can you think of any reasons why the fisheries are failing given the location of the activity and the intended prey?"

Both men gave her strange looks, their thoughts clear. What could this woman possibly know about such an industry?

"Ariel has spent most of her life in these waters," Eric said impassively. Ariel gave him a sharp look but said nothing. Of course, the men would take nothing from this statement save that she'd grown up locally but for Ariel it was too close to the truth for comfort. "You'd be hard pressed to find someone who knows these waters, or what lives in them, better." He assumed silence, clearly meaning for her to take up the conversation.

She cleared her throat and addressed the gaping men.

"What sort of fish do you favor, gentlemen."

"Cod, herring and mackerel are the most important species," said Thompson automatically.

Ariel thought quickly. Cod, herring and mackerel. She'd met many fish of these species. None of them were particularly smart (not all fish were) but was she willing to sell the secrets of their life histories to fish eaters? Of course, the alternative, if she didn't guide them through safe practices that could maintain the populations, would be that they kill all of these fish. Though they all pretty much lived to eat and reproduce every life was valuable in her father's domain. Over her lifetime she'd noticed, as did everyone in Atlantica, the reduction in their numbers. They were dangerously low now, on the verge of dying off.

I can teach them safer practices, she thought. I can make sure they know how to restrict their catch so the fish can at least reproduce before being caught. It might be the only way to save the species…and the humans.

Eric had said so himself, his people depended on these fisheries to survive. She'd been here for nearly seven weeks. She knew how much the kingdom relied on fish to feed its many subjects.

Ariel straightened to her full height, decided.

"You'll generally find all theses species equally throughout these areas. They're all schooling fish too. All of these species are very prolific," she said. "With cod, the females lay many eggs at a time but they must be at least four years old before they start." The men looked at her in shock but she continued. "Herring aren't as long lived as cod but they reproduce at similar ages. Cod reproduce in the winter and spring, in colder weather but herring reproduce at the end of summer and fall. Both cod and herring lay their eggs at the bottom of the ocean. Mackerel are different. They spawn at the surface and they breed in the summer. The species has been dying off lately. If you reduced your pressure on the stock for a few years, until the juveniles can reach maturity, and then fish only those who have had the opportunity to reproduce before, you'd have a much better chance at the survival and virility of the species. If you were to fish in cycles, to avoid fishing at their breeding time, it would also help the species. Without considering how they live in your practices they won't be available to you for much longer."

Ariel didn't need to look at Eric to feel the smugness radiating off of him. Maybe he hadn't intended to bring Ariel into the meeting today but he knew how to use his resources when they presented themselves.

"As you can see, gentlemen," he said. "Owning rights to a resource and using them are not the same as respecting and understanding them. Now, lets use this information and devise a safe, practical way of running your businesses."

They were drenched by the time the made it to the restaurant. The cold rain had driven into them like icicles as they ran from McGilvary's warehouse to the small restaurant Eric favored a quarter of the way down the dock. Most people had already sought shelter from the storm, which had been raging for hours but, after another idle twenty minutes in the company of Thompson and McGilvary Eric had felt like he would crawl out of his skin if he didn't get away from them. Ariel, suffering suspicious looks from the men, had been all too eager to leave their presence. They had opted for the mad dash across the dock and to the restaurant for dinner.

Disregarding their soaked appearances the wait staff made quick work of seating them and bringing out the nights special, bowing so often that Eric thought they would pull muscles.

Once they were alone Eric gave Ariel a disarming smile across the candle-lit table.

"I'm sorry for how today turned out," he said to her. "I had fully intended for that meeting to be brief and then spend the rest of the day here with you. No accounting for bad weather, I suppose. Or stubborn men."

Ariel smiled at that. "I didn't mind," she said. "It was very interesting to see you work."

"Much more interesting from the outside, I suppose. In my mind it was all a horse race to remember all of the laws and policies in time."

"Well you did a wonderful job. If nothing else, I don't believe they'll bother you again. They'll be too worried you'll bring another commoner girl into their business." She smiled teasingly at him, only slightly miffed at having been used in the day's proceedings. Truthfully, she had liked the feeling of participating with Eric, crafting solutions and trying to do the best for her father's people with what she had to work with.

"You were amazing, Ariel." Eric reached across the table and covering one of her cold hands in his own. "Thank you for helping me."

"Thank you," she said. "For giving me the chance to try and help my father's people."

He smirked. "I'm that obvious, huh?"

Ariel shrugged deprecatingly. Then with a smile she twisted her hand so that they were now holding hands. She threaded her fingers through his and squeezed. "Yes. You are. But I like that about you."