Despite having very little choice, Ariel intended to delay her return to the palace, and the inevitable conversation she would be having with her father. Attina would no doubt scold her as well, the twenty-two year old following in the beliefs of her father in just about every matter, and having adopted the role of 'mother' since the Queen had perished so tragically over a decade ago. It had been nice at first, Ariel remembered, to have Attina fill that particular hole in her life, but not so much now. Ariel had grown up, and she seemed to be the only one who could see that.

With a frustrated sigh, the young princess slowed her pace, turning onto her back so that she may continue her journey whilst directing her gaze upwards, looking through the tall kelp with an admixture of nervousness and exhilaration. She had been further than this, the shipwrecks being a favourite of hers since she had discovered them two years ago. Still, she didn't often enter the kelp forest, and the unfamiliarity of it made her feel somewhat uneasy.

The tall plants drifted eerily in the current, seemingly alive and stretching upwards towards the surface, another favourite of Ariel's, another adventure she could never share.

For as long as she could remember Ariel had felt painfully lonely, not connecting with any of her sisters the way they seemed to be able to with one another. Attina had grown up too quickly for anyone to keep up with, and the likeness that she had to their father meant that Ariel could never share her adventures with her, she would only berate her. If Aquata weren't so miserable, Ariel might have gone to her, given that some nights the latter would wake to find her older sister perched upon the windowsill of their bedroom gazing upwards. Was it possible that Aquata shared her love of the surface, her love of humans, or was that nothing more than wishful thinking? Even so, Aquata seldom interacted with her sisters, and engaging in a conversation with her was near impossible most of the time. Andrina, despite being closest to Ariel in age, never took her seriously and so that left Alana, Arista and Adella.

Ariel scoffed. They were the very embodiments of girly, and spent their time pining after boys and keeping up with the latest fashion and beauty trends. They seemed utterly complacent to go along with the rules that their father set, the rules which banned anybody from going anywhere near the surface, and which kept the seven daughters of Triton prisoners within their own home unless escorted about the kingdom by their father.

Ariel extended her right hand, letting slender fingers drift over and between the kelp.

She understood the fears and anxieties that her father held towards humans, but to hate an entire species based upon the actions of a few seemed, to her, a bit ridiculous.

There were groups of merfolk, sirens, who lured human men to their deaths through song, but that didn't mean that everyone did. A thought struck Ariel; were there humans who hated her species as much as some of her people hated humans? Was their reasoning the same?

The princess couldn't explain her fascination with humans, but being at the surface was one of the only memories that she held which included her mother. It was vague, as were most given how young she had been, but Ariel held tightly to the wisps that she could remember. Whether it was true or not, Ariel had always believed that her mother shared her love of the surface world, that that was where she had inherited it from. Sometimes she dreamt of meeting a human, and of her mother being there too, though of course that was just a dream.

Then again, her mother had met a human, only the wrong sort.

Ariel slowed to a halt, a familiar knot forming within her throat. She had barely known her mother, certainly not to the extent that some of her older sisters had, yet she still missed her terribly, in the same way that she missed…

Something… there was something else. The hole in her heart was so big that Ariel doubted it could have been caused by one thing, even something as devastating as losing her mother.

In truth, she wanted nothing more than a friend. Until today she hadn't been certain; but meeting Eric, however briefly, had lifted her spirits and filled the gap, if only a little.

She hadn't lied when she had told him that she would return, for she had every intention of doing so. The mer-princess craved adventure and he seemed to live in one, completely free of societal constraints.

Ariel thought back to their impromptu meeting, feeling ever guiltier for asking so much of him. She had no right to expect him to lie for her, especially since doing so had put him in danger.

It angered the Princess how callous her father's guards could be sometimes, as though the very name of their species gave them to right to threaten people at every opportunity. She had very nearly given herself up when they had approached Eric, when she had seen the alarm in his eyes. She would never have let them hurt him, not even it had meant exposing her hiding place, but she was glad that she'd ultimately been able to evade them. They would have taken her straight to her father, and that wasn't a conversation that she wanted right now.

The green above turned gradually to blue, the fronds of kelp replaced by the pulsing shimmer of the surface so far above, and Ariel turned to see her home. She seldom saw it from such a distance, it looked... small, and she considered how unfair it was that she was so often confined within it's walls when there was so much to see and do beyond them.

When she eventually arrived at the outskirts of Atlantica, Ariel made directly for the window of the bedroom she and her sister's shared, hoping that the many pillars and arches of the palace would hide her from anyone who sought her. It was a spectacular place to call home, of that there could be no doubt, but it had been so devoid of joy recently that the youngest daughter of Triton feared it would suffocate her.

She made it to her destination without incident, and found five of her six sisters already occupying the room—one which had seemed to shrink as the girls grew older. Attina was the only absentee, and Ariel was almost certain that she was with her father.

Alana, busy fixing her hair, spied Ariel's reflection in the mirror, and arched an eyebrow as her younger sister slipped in through the window.

'How nice of you to join us,' she remarked.

Those who hadn't noticed her arrival, promptly turned towards Ariel, who lowered herself to sit upon the windowsill, twirling the ends of her hair about slender fingers.

'Oh you're in such trouble Ariel, father's had half the palace guard out looking for you!' exclaimed Arista, clapping her hands against her cheeks as she rose from her bed.

Andria scoffed. 'What else is new?' she retorted, propping herself up on her elbows. She had long since outgrown her fascination with Alana's preening, and now watched her from a distance with a look of what could only be perceived as disgust.

'So, where were you this time?' asked Aquata, with only the slightest hint of reprimand.

Adella shot upright. 'Were you with a boy?'

Ariel rolled her eyes. This was the first time that she could have truthfully answered yes to that question, and yet she opted not to, knowing that Adella would likely have a meltdown if she thought her youngest sister was receiving any kind of attention from the opposite sex.

'I was exploring the kelp forest,' she replied innocently.

The looks her sister's shared ranged from scepticism to horror.

'But that's not allowed,' fretted Arista, 'father says that it's dangerous for us to go that far alone.'

'Since when did Ariel have care for what's allowed?' Alana didn't bother to look away from her own reflection as she spoke.

Ariel, having heard this all before, blocked out the rest of the conversation, diverting her attention once again to those distant, towering fronds of kelp. As soon as was possible she would return there and see Eric again, for he now consumed her every thought. Why was it that he resided so far from the city, and so deep within the forest? Oh! what adventures he must have had.

The possibilities kept Ariel occupied whilst she sat there at the window, until she became aware that the room had grown silent. She turned her head to see Attina in the doorway, head high and hands held neatly afore her.

She always had a way of regarding Ariel as though she'd done something wrong, which in her eyes, and in the eyes of their father, she had.

What Ariel didn't realise, was the relief that Attina felt at finding her youngest sister safe and seemingly unharmed, having worried about her whereabouts all day.

'Father would like to speak with you,' she informed, and Ariel filled with dread.

Eric had made it about two hundred metres from the shore when his transformation had begun, a dangerous situation when alone. To swim was an impossibility as his tail split down the middle—in fact he could barely think through the pain of it—and he had slipped downwards, fighting the urge to inhale until he could once again breach the surface. With less control over his movement in the water as a human, he had then been tossed about by the waves, the rocks at the mouth of the cave making for often tumultuous waters, and now sat upon the sand bruised and breathing heavily.

His mother would join him shortly, bringing dinner with her. In the summer months there was time to eat at home before sunset, but now, with winter lingering, their options were to eat early, or eat here.

As he waited, Eric tried to wrap his head around the day's events.

A Princess! He found himself smiling wistfully, such beauty and spirit she'd had. Admittedly he had met very few merfolk in his life, but even so he doubted that any would have captured his thoughts quite as she had.

Was it possible that she would one day return? She had said so, but from their brief conversation it seemed that she hadn't much say in her routine. Was it possible that they could become friends even if she did?

Eric's face fell. Humans and merfolk didn't get along, he knew that for a fact; would learning that he was both bother her? He'd never had a proper friend, though his mother had made sure that he'd socialised with as many passers by as he could, but it was difficult to form a close bond when you were forced to another world every night. How could he hope either to explain that or keep it a secret? Both seemed impossible, so perhaps it would be better if she didn't return at all.

'Is something troubling you?'

Eric startled, tensing for a moment before realising who the voice belonged to.

'No,' he replied, watching as his mother lifted herself from the water, 'no, it's nothing.'

Nastasya looked sceptical. After thirteen years she knew when something was on his mind, and her intuition often lead he to forget that he was not of her own flesh and blood. She tried a different approach instead.

'What were you thinking about?' she asked.

Eric hesitated, unsure as to how his mother would react to him meeting the daughter of the man who banished her. 'Friends,' he settled on eventually.

Nastasya sighed, and regarded Eric apologetically. 'I'm sorry my love, it isn't fair that you should reap the consequences of my actions.'

It was untrue, of course, that Eric was condemned to isolation because of her, that fault lay with the sea King; but to prevent him from asking questions that she could not answer, this is the story she had woven and stuck to.

Eric couldn't know this, and for a long time he had asked what exactly she'd done to warrant such punishment, but he knew better now. Not only had she refused to tell him outright on countless occasions, but it was a line of enquiry that left her visibly upset, and though Eric was desperate to know the answer, most important to him was the happiness of his mother.

'It wouldn't do you any good to know,' she had insisted; though, whilst that was true, the real reason that she hadn't told him was because it would lead to many more queries than it would answer, and force her to recall events she strived to suppress.

There was no doubt that the two loved one another, as any mother and son would, but they each had their secrets and whilst it would be a difficult conversation were they to share them, it would have been far easier than what was to come.