Chapter 4 - Fireworks And Rescue

Suddenly, the ship started shaking violently and the waves turned rough.

"Hurricane a comin'!" came the cry of one of the sailors from the crows-nest.

Stella and Flora dove back underwater to avoid being tossed and turned by the waves.

Stella expected to see Arron with them when they were safely below the surface, however the Prince was nowhere in sight. "Arron! Where are you?" she cried.

"Come on, we gotta find him!" said Flora.

Back on the ship, Arron dove into the sea, knowing that a flailing ship could reveal him and that he would have much better luck staying out of sight in his own turf. Sienna tried desperately to hold on to one of the ropes connected to the sails, but the wind proved too strong and she was sent flailing into the monstrous storm.

"Arroooooooooooon!" she wailed.

Sailors ran frantically about the ship, pulling on ropes and lowering lifeboats. A huge flash of lighting struck one the ship's sails and it caught on fire, engulfing everything on the wooden vessel. The sailors and Grimsby managed to make it safely into a lifeboat, but Erica was still on board, looking everywhere for her beloved cat.

"Maxine, Maxine!" she called helplessly, until she finally found the snow white cat cowering behind some barrels. She quickly scooped her up and ran, aiming to jump over the side and join her fellow sailors, but she lost her grip as her foot crashed through some loose floorboards and the cat went flying, luckily right into Grimsby's arms. Erica tried desperately to pry herself out of the ship's floor as she saw the flames creeping closer and closer towards the nearby barrels of firework gun powder... but it was too late. The ship exploded in a myriad of colourful fireworks, and the Princess was sent plunging into the black ocean.

"Princess Erica!" the people in the lifeboat cried out, but there was nothing they could do. It was either live, or drown in the black sea.

Meanwhile, Arron had seen it all, and searched frantically for the girl; underwater, above water, until a flash of lightning ever-so-quickly revealed her body clinging onto a piece of driftwood; unconscious. But the wood didn't hold her for long, and she slipped off the makeshift floatation device and fell into the icy waters. Without hesitation, Arron dove after her and placed his arm across her chest, using the other arm and his tail strength to pull them up, desperate to keep Erica's head above the water. He knew very little about human anatomy, but at least knew that humans most definitely couldn't breathe underwater. Stella and Flora spotted the duo and, ignoring their kingdom's laws, helped Arron carry the useless human body back to shore.

The group struggled but eventually made it to the edge of the sea after hours of trying to find land. Although his lungs begged for water again, Arron knew he couldn't risk the girl taking in any more water. When they reached the bank, Arron placed the Princess down on the sand, proving to be a difficult feat as he had very little motion control out of the water. The sun began to rise behind them all.

Stella and Flora quickly scurried back into the shallows, eager to get back home as soon as possible and forget that night ever happened. But Arron stayed on the beach despite the crab's protests. Erica's shirt and skirt were ripped, tattered and dirty from the shipwreck, and she looked a fright. But Arron saw the beauty underneath all that trauma from before, and was sure to be as gentle as he could with her. Knowing frighteningly little about human biology did not help his nerves as he looked upon the unmoving girl. He had heard someone call her... Erica. What a beautiful name.

Just then, Sienna flew down to the shore to inspect the unconscious princess. Sienna opened one of Erica's eyes and closed it again, clearly having no knowledge of how to check if someone was alive.

"Is she…" Arron started, "Dead?"

Sienna flew over to Erica's legs and placed her boot to her ear. "It's hard to say..." she replied, "I can't make out a heart beat."

Suddenly, Erica let out a cough and Arron looked to see her chest slowly rise up and down.

"No, look, she's breathing!" he said with a sigh of relief. "She's so… beautiful…" he said as he took her hand in his.

Sometimes, the emotions he felt inside that he couldn't express at home would build up into an enormous pressure in his mind and throat, a pressure born from the utmost vulnerable parts of his emotions, a pressure which he could only release through the form of song. While he had no interest in the choir side of things back home, he had no issue ignoring his better judgement right at this moment, and let out a soft, sweet melody.

"What would I give,

To live where you are,

What would I pay, to stay here beside you,

What would I do to see to you,

Smiling at me,"

As Arron sang, Erica slowly started to open her eyes and took hold of his hand properly. All she could see was an adorable face, smiling sweetly at her, and all she could hear was a voice singing sweetly…

"Where would we walk,

Where would we run,

If we could stay all day in the sun,

Just you and me,

And I could be,

Part of your world"

The merman could have stayed on that beach forever, in the presence of the human girl he had saved. But the call of Erica's guardian cause his heart to beat faster, and he dove back into the sea, hiding with Sienna, Stella and Flora. He felt the crushing sense of disappointment when his tail touched the sea again. He had felt so at home on land.

From her woozy state back on the beach, Erica reached out her hand dreamily, not wanting her saviour to leave.

Stella's red chin was hanging so low it touched the rock below her, but Sienna scooped it back up with a huge smile on her face. The Prince smiled to himself, knowing that Stella was totally furious with him. But what did he care? He had just saved a human's life, the Princess for that matter!

The boy watched longingly after Erica as the old man he had seen on the ship came and took her back to safety.

"Oh Erica, there you are!" said Grimsby as he helped the little girl to her feet. "Why you love toying around with my blood pressure, I'll never know. I'm old, for Pete's sake!" he said with a small laugh. He too was sea-struck and frazzled by the previous night, and wanted nothing more than to head back to the palace and dive into a hot bath, but he knew that when looking after a child, their safety must always come as a priority over one's own. Besides. Nothing made him feel more peaceful and content than knowing that Erica was safe and sound, right next to him.

"A-a boy, r-rescued me..." Erica said shakily, still waking up. "He was… singing… he had the most… beautiful voice…" Grimsby knew that the girl had had a rough night at sea, and was almost certain she was just seeing things. Perhaps a vision of her father before he died.

"Come now Erica, I think you swallowed a bit too much sea water." he said jokingly, but Erica wasn't listening.

She insisted that the boy she saw was real as best as she could, as she was only half conscious. "No, he-he was real, Grim, I know it! And I'm gonna find him. T-thank him for saving m-my l-" she nearly tumbled forward off her feet as she suddenly became light-headed, and Grimsby had to scoop her up and walk her back to the castle as she succumbed to exhaustion in his arms.

Poor child... He thought. To have lost one's parents so young. If only they could see how she's grown...

Grimsby had come to deeply care for the girl over the years. When she was just a little thing, running around the castle and making a mess, Grimsby had had no idea that he would end up caring for her like a daughter someday. He missed the King and Queen dearly, as he had been their right-hand-man, but deep down, he was happy that the girl had ended up playing such a large role in his life, and he would do anything to keep her safe.

"The Queen must never know." Stella said to Flora and Arron. "You won't tell her, I won't tell her, and we will all not be thrown in prison for at least another five years... I'm looking at you, Arron!" she muttered with anxiety so intense, you could use it as a switch-blade.

But Arron wasn't listening. He was still fixated on the spot where he saw Erica fade from view, his heart pounding with something he'd never felt before. Was this... love?

"I don't know when,

I don't know how,

But I know something's starting right now,

Watch and you'll see,

Someday I'll be,

Part of your world!"

A huge wave crashed upon the rock behind him, and eventually he turned to leave. But the whole time, all he could think of was the Princess Erica, and how even though he had only known her for a few hours, he felt one minute apart from her was far too much.

Back in the lair of the sea sorcerer, Ursulis was yet again observing the Prince through his crystal ball, laughing maniacally.

"Oh, my god!" he laughed to his eels. "I can't believe it, it's too easy! The kid is in love with a human! And not just any human, the Princess for crying out loud!" he clutched his sides as more laughter continued to flow. Ursulis looked back at his eels. "Mommy dearest would just love that. FLOTSA! JEENA!" he exclaimed. "You know what to do."

The eels both nodded and swam out of the lair. They had their mission. All they needed was to wait for the right moment to strike.

Just a bit more time... Ursilis thought to himself as he caressed his shell necklace, his tentacles entwining behind him. And we'll have ourselves a fish out of water story…