There remained an air of mystery about the shipwrecks, an uneasiness to the shadows and to the chill that permeated the rotting wood, but any lingering fear of the unknown lessened with company, as it often does, leaving Ariel and Eric free to enjoy their time together without the hesitation that would have restrained them were they alone.
Time slipped away unnoticed as the duo searched the wrecks, such was the enjoyment of one another's company, each providing the other with a renewed desire to explore, regardless of how many times they had been here before.
Ariel was somewhat torn between wanting to find out as much as she could from Eric whilst the opportunity presented itself, and wanting to take her time examining all that she found; for each item took on a second form once it's true use had been explained.
The pair conversed easily enough, though Eric often found it a little difficult to coherently explain how the human's used each object without referring to another. An inkwell couldn't be described without ink, ink without a pen, a pen without paper; most were foreign concepts to the princess, and indeed Eric frequently thought his teachings inadequate given that he had never actually used any of these items for their intended purpose himself.
He began the day with uncertainty, afeared that what little he had to offer by way of companionship would not suffice, nor his haphazard descriptions, but grew in confidence as the day progressed, such was the pleasantness his friend's company.
'I was beginning to wonder whether you'd ever come back,' he confessed, following Ariel down into another decaying vessel.
The princess turned to him sheepishly. 'I wanted to,' she said sincerely, 'every day I wanted to, but my... this was the soonest I could get away.'
Even masked as it was by shadow, Eric could tell her face had fallen, and he inwardly berated himself for bringing up the subject at all.
'I'm glad you did,' he said, hoping to redeem himself a little.
It seemed to work, for she smiled then, her eyes lifting to meet his.
'So am I,' she replied, and she meant it. Attina's reaction when she had disclosed to her her fascination with the surface world continued to pain her, not least because now whenever they were in the same room as one another her eldest sister would eye her warily, and seemed to condemn her with every glance. There had been nothing of the sort with Eric, with him she had felt only acceptance; in short, he had reacted in precisely the way she had hoped Attina would.
Adjusting her makeshift bag—an torn portion of sailcloth, for the one she would normally use remained at the palace—Ariel lead the way through the wreck, her eyes straining to spot anything unusual amidst the shadows.
The narrow corridor soon opened into a larger room, consisting of an upturned dresser, a cabinet, and a four-poster bed, the light draperies of which hung in tatters, lifted hauntingly as the disturbed water shifted around them.
All was deathly silent, and Ariel found herself once again glad of Eric's company. It was strange to her, for such wonder and tragedy to be brought together like this; for as often as she contemplated what she found here did Ariel consider the people whose belongings she took hold of. It saddened her to think of the very ocean she called home claiming so many innocent lives, swallowing such beauty as that which could be found here.
She began her examination of the room in silent respect, and Eric watched her careful movements like one in a daze. Never before had he seen someone peruse with such care something already in ruin.
Soon enough Ariel selected her first item, and picked up a box comprised of six, rectangular glass panels—two of which folded back as she lifted it, much to her despair, for she believed to have broken it—a metal base with a small well in the centre, and a domed lid atop which a ring of the same material stood erect. She handled it with caution, her hands upon the two ends, and peered through the glass panels to see Eric, one corner of his mouth turned up in a patient smile.
'What's this for?'
Eric held back as she first examined the object, and took a secret delight in watching her attempts at figuring it it's purpose. Only when she asked for his input did he come forward.
'It's a lantern,' he explained, tilting the item within Ariel's hands ninety degrees, though ensuring not to take it from her. 'Human's use them to light the way when it's dark. See this bit here?' He pointed the well in the centre. 'That's were they light a fire, and this hoop is so they can carry it without burning themselves.'
Ariel listened with rapture, her mind racing to take in the abundance of new words, enamoured with the knowledge that her new friend possessed and growing ever more curious as to how he had come to acquire it.
'What's a... fie-are?' she asked.
'It's...' Eric trailed off, finding himself as a loss for what to say. How could he possibly hope to describe an element which didn't exist underwater, and could be likened to nothing else he knew? 'It's a sort of... orangey... glowing... thing.'
There passed a moment of silence, before a symphony of laughter filled the room.
'I'm sorry,' chuckled Eric, rubbing the back of his neck, 'I can't really explain it.'
'Maybe we could find one?' Ariel suggested, finding Eric's desire to offer some form of explanation utterly endearing.
Her friend shook his head softly. 'You won't find one down here, it can only exist on land.'
Naturally Ariel was initially disappointed, before realising that Eric's words suggested he had seen one.
'Have you ever been to the surface?' she asked.
Eric blanched, neither wanting to lie nor give himself away, afeared that doing either would alter his friend's opinion of him.
His silence was the only answer Ariel needed, and she blamed her father for this, perceiving it to be the result of fear that she, being a princess, would report his breaking the law.
'Don't worry, I won't say anything,' she assured him, 'sometimes I go there as well.'
Eric offered her a grateful smile, releasing that she had thankfully come to her own conclusion, though remained still silent so as not to allude to either the frequency of his visits to the surface or to the reason behind them. Her admission to spending time there herself ought not to have surprised him, such was the extent of her passion, yet surprised he was.
'My family used to go there a lot before mum died,' she explained, 'at least I think we did, my sisters won't talk about it.' Ariel wondered at her sharing such memories with somebody who this morning had been little more than a stranger, but there was something about Eric and his acceptance of her that made him easier to talk to than her sisters.
'I'm sorry,' he offered, 'I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose my mother.' Guilt crept through Eric's veins, guilt that he should harbour such feelings of betrayal towards his own mother when there were others who had lost theirs. On reflection, he would much rather have a mother who kept secrets than be without one at all.
Ariel gave a small smile, appreciative of his condolences, and placed the lantern with care into her bag, marvelling at all which nestled there: an inkwell, a doorknob, a corkscrew, to name but a few; such wonderfully peculiar names did the humans give their possessions. A personal favourite of hers was what Eric called a "fork", a utensil which bore likeness to her father's trident, but held only the power to intrigue her.
She wished the day were longer, that she might learn about every item amongst her collection, or that she had made better use of her time and acquired more than she currently held, for she didn't quite know when she would see Eric again.
An idea sprung suddenly to mind. Whilst exploring the shipwrecks provided a great sense of adventure, it didn't often present an abundance of objects in one place. Fortunately, Ariel knew somewhere that did. She had hesitated to take Eric there immediately because she had been uncertain as to what his reaction would be. Now though, she knew him to be encouraging and nonjudgemental, and felt at ease with allowing him to share in the aspects of her life that remained hidden from her father and sisters.
'Can I show you something?' she asked. 'It's not too far away.'
Eric perceived a renewed brightness in her eyes, an anticipation that rendered him utterly helpless. He agreed to her proposition and together they exited the wreck, which strangely it seemed almost as darkened as it had been within, and out of habit Eric turned his gaze upwards.
A pang of alarm seized him. How could it be sunset already!
Cursing his own inattentiveness, he turned back towards Ariel, whose eyes were fixed upon him expectantly. He hated to have to bring an end to their time together so suddenly, but he had left his return far too late as it was.
'I'm sorry, I... I have to go,' he faltered, wracking his brain for some plausible excuse as to his hasty departure. 'M-my mother, she's... she's expecting me back by now.'
Ariel was a little startled by his sudden nervousness, but realised that time had indeed gotten away from them.
'It's alright,' she assured, 'I should probably be getting home too.'
Eric offered what he hoped was a smile which belayed his gratitude for her cooperation; but, knowing than any second could be his last in this form meant that it felt unnaturally forced.
Concerned by her friend's skittishness, Ariel decided it best to to keep him too long. 'Thank you for everything,' she said, 'will you be here tomorrow?'
Eric nodded. 'I can be,' he responded, though he was beginning to wonder whether he'd even see tomorrow. He felt awful that their farewell should be so rushed; he wanted to see what she had to show him, or at least ensure that she got home safely, but was forced instead to abandon her amongst the shipwrecks with an insufficient explanation and a promise that he wasn't even sure he'd be able to keep.
At last they bid each other goodnight and went their separate ways, with Eric hastening towards the kelp forest rather than directly for the surface, hoping that the tall fronds would conceal his ascent.
With each powerful flick of his tail his panic grew, and his heart seemed ready to burst within his chest; though whether a product of fear or effort he couldn't be certain, likely a combination of the two. If Ariel turned back at any point he remained oblivious, his every attention now upon reaching the surface so far above. He hadn't lied in telling Ariel that his mother expected him home, and surely his absence would be causing her a great deal of anxiety, but there was simply no time to return there now.
As soon as he reached the kelp Eric bolted upwards, agonising at how the tall plants seemed to entangle him.
The sky above, disfigured by the pulse of the ocean, burned a deep red, and the muscles in Eric's tail seized, halting his progress. He cried out in a mixture of pain and frustration, writhing as his bottom half was ripped in two. In desperation he tried calling for his mother, for help, but his words were lost by a sudden intake of water that stung the back of his throat.
The pain of the transformation numbed, replaced instead by a need for air which set Eric's lungs aflame. Lightheaded, he kicked and clawed his way skywards, his diaphragm convulsing torturously in it's futile pursuit of oxygen; and, though he truly tried, Eric couldn't suppress the gasp for air that his body demanded.
Nastasya couldn't recall the last time she had been in such blind panic, and hurried towards the shipwrecks with Eric's name upon her lips. He was so rarely late home, and this after his unusual despondency at breakfast drew Nastasya to the conclusion that something must have happened either last night or during the course of the day that prevented him from returning, perhaps an injury of some sort, though he had appeared unharmed this morning.
As she navigated her way through the kelp a strangled cry momentarily paralysed her. It was as familiar a sound as ever she had heard, and it made her blood run cold to hear it down here. She turned her head upwards, and swam towards where she perceived it to have come with as much speed as she could muster, though it had never been her forte.
As she swam the kelp thinned, and there amongst the only tallest fronds, suspended mere metres beneath the surface, was Eric, unmoving and seemingly lifeless.
Once again Nastasya found herself frozen, choked by the prospect which dared present itself to her, and afraid that further inspection might expose this cruel picture as truth. A violent tremor started up in her hands, when Eric's body jerked suddenly, and without thinking she propelled herself towards him and lifted him above the waves.
'Eric!' she cried, uncertain as to whether he was even conscious, 'Eric breathe, my love!'
Even half-aware, as he was, Eric heard his mother's voice like an explosion at the base of his skull the very second he found his head above water. His first instinct was of course to inhale, but he only succeeded in choking on the water that he had taken in, and was utterly reliant upon his mother to keep him buoyant as he expelled it from his lungs with a series of harsh coughs.
Nastasya felt only relief as Eric once again began to show signs of life. His sharp intake of breath was music to her ears, and she held him close, his body shaking as he struggled to breathe correctly and his head falling back to her shoulder, as though he were too stripped of energy to support it.
They stayed this way for some time, until the heaving of Eric's chest lessened, at which point he lifted his head and turned apologetically to his mother, treading water to keep himself afloat, still woozy at having been so deprived of oxygen.
There was a weariness to his features that prevented Nastasya from questioning him at that moment, and a hopelessness in the way that he cast his gaze ashore that struck a deep sympathy in her.
'You can do it,' she encouraged, cupping his cheek, 'I'll be right here with you.'
As predicted, the swim to shore was a long one, and by the time they reached the mouth of the cave, Eric's limbs ached with fatigue and his lungs burned with the efforts of his labour. It was all he could do to crawl out of the water and collapse onto the sand.
Nastasya too, having supported him much of the way, took a moment to rest and catch her breath.
'Well done my love,' she panted.
Eric made no attempt to respond, and was sure that he wasn't expected to. He would thank her in the morning for all she had done, the shock of what he had learned last night temporarily forgotten. Whether he would disclose what had transpired that day remained yet to be decided, for all he wanted to do now was sleep.
Exhaustion promptly overtook him, and Nastasya hauled herself out of the water to retrieve the sails, laying them over Eric with a tenderness that came so naturally wherever he was concerned, and hastened to light a fire, debating whether or not to leave him tonight.
In the end she opted to stay, and spent her night as she often did mulling over all that had so far transpired between herself and the boy who unknowingly called her his mother, and wondering with an ever deepening dread whether there would ever come a day when he learned that she wasn't.