Ericka shuffled around the room as she waited for their newest guest to arrive for dinner. It was strange. With the way he had acted and looked at everything as if he was seeing it all for the first time, it seemed like he had never even been on land before.

And then there was his silence. She wondered if he had been mute all of his life or if some kind of trauma had rendered him unable to speak, but it seemed in poor taste for her to ask. If he wanted to tell her then she would listen, but she wouldn't press him about it.

At least his presence might distract her for a while.

"Thinking about a certain someone again?" Grimhilda smiled kindly.

Ericka sighed. "I know everyone thinks I'm crazy, but he was real. The last thing I remember was being on the deck in the middle of the fire. It's simply impossible for me to have gotten all the way to the shore by myself after that."

"I don't doubt that someone saved you…somehow. But I question your infatuation with someone you know nothing about."

"I'm not infatuated, I just…want to know who he is. But I think I'm getting desperate. For a moment, I thought for sure that Arron was the one who saved me."

"And I suppose since he can't talk, he isn't?"

"No, the thing I remember most is his voice. It's just…do you remember what my mother used to say? She said that the second she laid eyes on my father, she knew that even if they weren't in an arranged marriage, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. I don't know if this is the same, but I do know that when I opened my eyes and saw him and felt his arms around me and heard him singing, I felt something. I have to know who he is. He has to be out there somewhere."

"Maybe he doesn't want to be found."

Their conversation stopped when they heard a warm chuckle by the entrance to the banquet hall which belonged to Carlisle, the princess's butler. "Come on, my boy. Don't be shy."

Ericka's eyes widened, and she could feel a blush rise to her cheeks as Arron stepped inside the ballroom where they were to dine.

Pink was traditionally not a masculine color, but Ericka dared anyone to look at Arron and say that. He had dressed into a pink and white coat with a white undershirt, white breeches, and casual brown boots. The light colors complimented his vibrant red hair which had now been cleaned and styled.

"Wow," she smiled. "You look…wonderful. I…I feel underdressed."

Arron smiled broadly at her as his face warmed again. She could be wearing torn rags and he would still think she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

"Come, dear, you must be famished," Grimhilda said as she gently led Arron to the table. He took a seat in one of the chairs while Grimhilda sat on the opposite side of the table and Ericka sat at the head. "It's not often that we have such a lovely dinner guest."

Arron looked down at the table and saw a 'dinglehopper' sitting next to other tools and a large circular object. Finally, something he actually knew the name of. He picked up the 'dinglehopper' and started to run it through his hair. When he looked at the other two occupants at the table, he flushed as he realized they were staring at him like he was crazy.

Arron quickly put the tool down again.

"Um…Carlisle can you get Arron another fork?" Ericka asked, choosing not to question what he had just done. Maybe it was some kind of custom people did wherever it was he came from, and it wasn't her place to question another's way of life. But she wasn't going to let her guest eat with something that had just touched his hair.

Arron bit his bottom lip. Fork? That's what this thing was called? And it wasn't for fixing hair? He quickly erased everything he thought he knew about human stuff and made a mental note to throttle that seagull when he saw her again. So much for being an expert on all of the treasures he'd brought to her.

Carlisle promptly took away Arron's fork and replaced it with another.

"What's for dinner?" Ericka asked.

Carlisle gave her an excited smile. "Chef Louise has been fixing her specialty: stuffed crab!"

Arron's heart nearly came out of his throat. Stuffed what?

Ericka noticed his unease and asked, "Do you not like seafood?"

He quickly nodded since he thought it would be rude if he refused to eat the meal Ericka's cook had worked so hard to prepare. And it wasn't like he didn't like seafood. He lived in the ocean, and a merman had to eat.

"Excellent. Chef Louise always makes amazing dishes. She's celebrated as the best cook in the whole kingdom."

Just as she'd finished speaking, a loud series of crashes sounded all the way from the kitchen.

Carlisle awkwardly chuckled. "I think I'd better go see what Louise is up to." He properly began to strut out of the room then started running when he was closer to the door.

"Perhaps our guest might enjoy seeing some of the sights of the kingdom," Grimhilda offered. "Maybe you might like to give him a tour?"

It took Ericka several seconds to realize that Grimhilda had asked her a question. She stopped staring at Arron and looked over at her. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Grimhilda laughed kindly. "I was saying that perhaps you two could spend the day together tomorrow."

"Oh, but tomorrow I have to answer several inquiries that have been awaiting my response, there's the fitting, and then I have lessons."

"Nothing that can't wait one more day. You've been spending far too much time cooped up in the castle lately. We can manage things around here while you spend some time with our guest."

"Well, if you're sure, it has been a while since I've been out into town."

"Then perfect! I'll make arrangements with the staff this evening and have everything ready by tomorrow morning."

While they talked and finalized their plans for the outing, Carlisle returned to the banquet hall and placed a covered dish in front of each person. Grimhilda's eyes remained on Ericka as she lifted up the lid on her plate, so she didn't notice the live crab sitting under the covering. Arron's eyes widened when he saw Sirena in the middle of the greenery resting on the plate. He was pretty sure she was the cause of all the noise they'd heard just a few minutes ago and thought that being stuck in a kitchen with a chef making a crab-themed meal was more than enough punishment for what had happened this morning. Quickly making sure that Grimhilda and Ericka weren't looking, he motioned for Sirena to get over to his plate. She quickly scuttled across the table and Arron slapped on the lid just as Ericka turned to look at him.

"Would you be interested in taking a tour of the kingdom with me tomorrow?"

A whole day alone with Ericka seeing all that the human world had to offer? It couldn't have been more perfect. He eagerly nodded his head.

"Wonderful," Grimhilda smiled. "Now let's eat before this crab wanders off my plate."

But when she looked down, the only thing on her plate was a pile of lettuce.

Once dinner concluded, Ericka stood up from her chair. "I'm going to go for a walk on the beach before I retire."

"All right," Grimhilda said. "But don't stay up too late. You're going to have a busy day tomorrow."

"Of course." She turned to look at Arron. "If you'd like to join me, you're more than welcome."

Of course he wanted to spend more time with her. He could spend every moment with her for the rest of his life and it wouldn't be enough. But he nodded once since he felt like he'd been showing a little too much enthusiasm lately.

Ericka smiled broadly. "Then come with me."

She led him outside the palace and then down to the beach. When their feet hit the sand, Ericka slipped off her shoes and Arron copied her action.

"You can take off your coat if you'd like. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

He removed his pink and white coat as well so he was now only wearing his white shirt and breeches. The sand still felt very strange between his toes as he followed Ericka down to the water. She let the tide run over her bare feet, but Arron thought it might be best not to let any seawater touch him for now. If his mother was able to sense his presence through contact with the ocean and tried to bring him back home by force, she would be unaware that she would kill her son if she did.

Ericka noticed Arron staying away from the water, and her eyes widened in horror. "Oh, you're scared of the water, aren't you? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here."

Arron quickly shook his head and held up his hands. He did recall that one horrible moment where he thought he was going to drown, but it wasn't enough to make him want to stay out of the water forever. Even if he did have legs now, it was still his home.

"Are you sure?"

Arron nodded.

Ericka began walking along the shoreline close enough that the occasional tide still ran over her feet, and Arron walked along the other side of her in order to stay dry. He had mostly gained control of his new legs, but they were still a little sore and he was glad that she walked slowly.

"There's no shame if you are. I know a lot of people who are afraid of the sea. Even I admit that it can be terrifying sometimes." She lowered her head and said softly, "My parents died in a shipwreck four years ago."

Arron looked at her sadly.

"I don't have any brothers or sisters either. It's just me now."

He felt a pang of guilt when he realized that she didn't have any family while he had a mother and six brothers whom he took for granted every day and especially now. He wondered if they were worried about him. He had been gone for almost an entire day.

No, Arron couldn't start having any regrets now. He needed to focus on his current goal.

"I know it must seem like I'm lonely, but I still have Grimhilda and the rest of the servants in the palace, and they all love me as one of their own. So I guess you could say that I'm luckier than anyone because I have a huge family full of people who care about me even if they're not directly related to me. What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

Arron held up six fingers and pointed to himself.

"You have six…brothers?"

He nodded.

"Wow. That must've been an interesting experience for your parents."

Arron shook his head and held up one finger.

"You only have one parent?"

He nodded and then pointed to her.

"A mother?"

He nodded again.

"Your mother raised seven boys by herself? Well, she has my utmost respect. I don't know if I could handle raising one boy alone much less seven."

Arron felt another stab of guilt. Now that she'd said that, perhaps he'd never truly given his mother enough credit for raising seven children and ruling a kingdom all by herself. With that in mind, maybe it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that she had such thin patience.

"And where are you in line?"

He held up seven fingers.

"The youngest, huh? That must be hard. You're lucky to have siblings though. I've always wanted a younger brother or sister. And maybe if my parents hadn't…"

Arron slowly brought his hand up, hoping he wasn't moving too fast, and lightly touched her shoulder. She gave him a sad smile, and he was glad that she wasn't angry with him for touching her.

"I almost died the same way last week," she admitted. "We were almost home and our ship got caught in a terrible storm. I was lucky to survive. I guess we have that in common."

He wished he could tell her that he had been there before and after the wreck and had been the one to rescue her. He wanted to tell her everything about him and he wanted to learn even more about her.

"I have every reason to fear the ocean, but something about it just keeps pulling me back." She smiled as she looked out at the water. "My father used to take me out sailing and taught me how to properly run a ship that could weather any storm. Maybe sailing isn't exactly how a princess should be spending her time, but he never seemed to care about things like that. He made sure I completed all of my lessons of course, but when it came to the more 'princess-y' things, he wanted me to spend time doing activities I actually enjoyed. We'd be out on the ocean for days sometimes, and he'd tell me stories about mermaids."

Arron froze, unsure of where she was going with this.

"I used to spend hours watching the ocean both on shore and from my bedroom or leaning over the railing when we all went on voyages, hoping that I might catch a glimpse of one. I've obviously stopped looking now that I'm older, but…there's a part of me that still hopes that they're out there somewhere. I mean, there's so much we don't know about the ocean. Why can't mermaids be part of that?"

Arron chuckled soundlessly. Just when he thought he couldn't like Ericka more, she spent her time dreaming that merpeople were real. He could only imagine her reaction if he told her where he came from and who he really was. But without proof, she'd never believe him and would think that he was patronizing her.

"I'm sorry, this probably sounds so childish."

Arron shook his head as he smiled. It was more endearing than she could possibly know.

"You know…you're the first person in a while who's ever really listened to me. Maybe that's unfair to say since you don't really have a choice."

If he did have a choice, he would happily listen to her talk as much as she wanted. He loved listening to her beautiful voice.

"I wish you had a better way to talk than writing things down and pantomiming. That must be so tiresome." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "I have an idea. Come with me."

She took his hand and led him back to the palace and through the hallways, clearly looking for someone in particular. Finally, they saw a young maid probably only a little older than Arron himself carrying a set of sheets towards one of the bedrooms.

Ericka approached her and gently tapped her on the shoulder. Arron didn't know why she didn't just call her name, but maybe that was considered rude for a princess to do.

The young woman turned and politely curtseyed.

To Arron's surprise, Ericka began moving her hands around as she spoke. "Arron, this is Sara. She's deaf which means she can't hear so we have to communicate using a signed language." She turned back to the young woman. "Sara, this is Arron. He can't speak. Do you think you could teach him a few signs so he can communicate a little better with me and the rest of the staff?"

Sara eagerly nodded. She handed the sheets to the princess which seemed improper, but then Arron realized that freeing her hands was the only way she would be able to respond. Arron watched her hands create various movements at a dizzying speed.

"She said that it's nice to meet you and she would be happy to teach you," Ericka translated.

Of all the things Arron knew about humans, he never could've imagined that some of them talked to each other using their hands.

Sara took the sheets back from the princess.

"I'm going to go ahead and prepare for tomorrow," Ericka told Arron, still signing so that Sara could understand her. "I'll let you two get acquainted. Sara, could you show Arron to the room you've all prepared for him? You can have a lesson or two in there if you'd like."

Sara curtseyed again.

"In that case, I'll see you tomorrow, Arron. Good night."

Arron politely bowed at the waist. He at least knew that was something that was appropriate for royalty both on land and underwater.

Apollo and Atticus swam into the throne room.

"Is there any sign of him?" Athena asked urgently.

Apollo sighed. "I'm sorry, Mother, we've looked everywhere."

"He didn't just disappear off the face of the earth. He's got to be somewhere."

"It's not just him," Atticus told her. "No one's seen Sirena or Angel either."

"Sirena wouldn't just disappear with no warning. And Arron's stayed away before but never this long. He's always come home. Something has to be wrong."

The four other princes swam up next to Apollo and Atticus.

"Anything?" Athena asked desperately.

"No," Adonis answered. "I'm sorry."

"Well, he has to be somewhere. Search everywhere, leave no shell unturned, do you understand? No one is to sleep until we know that he is safe."

The six princes bowed. "Yes, Mother."

As they all swam off to continue searching for their youngest brother, Athena resumed sitting in her throne and lightly grasped her trident in her hands. Then she softly began to weep. "My baby…I'm so sorry. Please come back home."

Athena would never forgive herself if something happened to her precious little boy all because she hadn't listened to his side of things. She couldn't fault Arron for not fully understanding her hatred of humankind when he had been too young to remember his father and what had happened to him. If only she'd tried to hear him out instead of insisting that her way was the only way. All she'd ever done was push him further and further away, and now it may be too late to ever get him back.

She softly began to sing her lullaby, as if it might help call him home:

Where the north wind meets the sea

There's a mother full of memory

Come, my darling, homeward bound

When all is lost, then all is found