A Mermaid's Tail
DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its fabulous characters. All recognizable players, dialogue, and/or magic spells belong to ABC and Disney.
Chapter 17
The bolt shot from the bow, so fast that its line of path was not visible until it reached its target. The arrow buried itself mid-shaft into the chest of…another black guard. Directly behind them!
Ariel's heart stopped. It stopped beating for a mere second, but that second seemed to last an eternity.
As the man fell to the ground, dead before he hit the stone floor, Ariel whipped her head around and stared at the shooter. A chaos of confusion was resounding in her head. What had just happened? Did the man actually just help them?
He was dressed exactly the same as the rest of the guards they had encountered that night. Gleaming black armor, a plumed helmet that gave more intimidating inches to his height, and a long cloak dark as night. Ariel's heart pounded in her chest as she steeled herself against the possibility that she was wrong about this man. Humans did such unusual things sometimes and if she were wrong, it would be devastating. With a deep breath, she walked over to the man, watching his hands to see if he would draw any other weapon.
"Thank you," she whispered, clearing her throat as she looked up at him. The sight of his towering height over her petite frame was daunting, and Ariel tried to hold herself steady. If this human decided to turn against her friends, he would have to go through her to do it.
The man reached up a hand and grabbed the plumed helmet that framed his head, hiding individual features from the world and giving him an extra degree of intimidation. As the article slipped off, Ariel got the impression that it was a weight, a heavy burden, that he was reliving himself of, although the helmet could not have weighted more than a few pounds. The mermaid continued to stare even after the article was removed. A dusty mop of light brown hair, a bearded strong chin, wide-set russet eyes, it was a human male alright.
"You need to leave now." He looked over the group and gestured using the helmet in his hand. "The castle will be completely surrounded in minutes."
Ariel stared up at him. Having just saved their lives, the man seemed oddly nonchalant about the whole affair. Ariel was about to turn back to her friends when the guard lowered his gaze right at her and grinned. She stared right back at him. "You're a brave little one," was all he said in an oddly lilted voice.
Ariel stiffened with offense. "I'm not that 'little'," she insisted. "Why does everyone keep calling me the 'little mer…'?"
"Ariel!" Ella interrupted, coming up right behind her. It was not prudent to reveal what she was to a Queen's guard, even if he had just saved them.
"I see." He studied each of them in turn now. When those dark brown eyes met hers, Ariel felt as if he was peering right into her being, reading her as a tracker reads the woods. He certainly had the rugged-look of a woodsman because something, maybe the uniform, made him seem out-of-place in all these regal settings. "You can't get out the way you came."
Ariel glared and took another deep breath, trying to maintain her bravado the human obviously admired. "Thank you for your help kind sir," she said, as boldly as she could muster. "But we really must be going." She turned to the door, the door leading to sweet freedom and no more guards.
In a smooth movement, one that she barely saw, he moved in front of her and blocked the door. "You can't go that way," he said again. "There are too many men assembled outside. You'd be caught before you got to the gate."
"How does he know how you came in? Is he in league with you or the queen?" Eric muttered.
The stranger continued as if he hadn't heard. "There is another way. A faster way."
"How do we get out?" Ariel asked.
But he was already moving past her, striding down the long hall towards the door that had led them there. He pulled it open and stepped back, motioning for them to follow.
Ariel started to walk towards their guide when Eric caught her wrist. "We don't even know who he is. It could be a trap."
"It would be an odd thing to trap us right after he saved our lives," Belle pointed out, ever the smart practical one.
Ariel nodded in agreement and gently tugged her arm free. "I trust him," she said. And she did. She had a way of reading people, an ability she had acquired from being mute for three months. Human faces, unlike mermaid faces, gave away so much of inner emotions and this man's face revealed no hint of treachery. Just a sincere desire to help them, for whatever his personal reasons.
"You have good instincts mermaid," murmured the stranger to Ariel as she stepped past him. Glancing up the corridor, he checked one last time to make sure the coast was clear. "If you will all follow me?"
The stone walls of the corridor were as thick as Ariel's arms and twice as tall. Lengthy tapestries, the size of Eric's skiff, draped over the palace fortifications and regal carpets lined the floors. Gleaming decorative suits of armor enamored the enclaves, but to Ariel they just seemed like more guards standing at the ready to kill them all. She knew that they were headed towards the servant's quarters when the man turned and went down a flight of stone steps, narrow and pounded with age. Thick shafts of muted torchlight lit the way.
Their guide suddenly stopped and raised his hand, watching Ariel. "Well here you are." They had stopped at a length of plain stone wall.
She saw nothing, just the wide stone corridor and the torches fluttering in the wall.
Belle however, saw something. She walked to a small metal grate that was situated in the middle of the floor, sunk about half a centimeter into the stone. Clearly, she understood what the stranger had in mind because her face paled considerably. "You can't be serious?"
The stranger raised a torch, illuminating the metal gate fixated in the floor. "I am open to any other suggestions," he said, giving Belle an approving look. He handed the torch to Eric and tugged open the heavy flap with both hands. A puff of cold air resounded from the crater. There, below the metal opening, was a spillway to the castle sewers. It was a hole about two feet in diameter—just barely wide enough for them to slip through. The overwhelming stench of a drain assaulted Ariel's nose. The gate opened up into darkness, a long downward sloping chasm that led to…water? Ariel sensed liquid moving below, fresh-water liquid, but still it was water.
"Where does this go?" she asked.
"To safety," the man answered, somewhat vaguely. "It's a straight slide down and it'll get you out of the castle walls in less time than making your way to the gate."
Ariel cast a speculative look at the tunnel, then sighed. "I guess we have no choice." She looked up at the others. "I believe," she continued slowly, "that this is the better way, perhaps the only way. I can get us out of the river, only don't…" she stuttered on the words, realizing she didn't want to reveal too much to the company. Only Ella knew of her true nature. She gathered herself again and continued. "Don't ask too many questions when we reach the other side."
The stranger's face cracked into a smile and Ariel saw, even in the darkened room, the same glint of appreciation she'd seen when he'd removed his helmet. "You're an odd one. But then, so am I"
Ariel smiled shyly up at him.
Ella knelt next to the sewer and raised an eyebrow at the dark hole. "Is there really is no other way?"
The man shook his shaggy head hard. "No," he answered simply.
Ella's brows drew together as she frowned and looked from Ariel to him and back again. "This was not part of the plan. What if Red and Rain are…?"
Footsteps thundered on the stone floor outside the hall, from the dining room they had just escaped. Ariel heard someone shout. "They're in the castle! Get them!" The hallway erupted as a hoard of men charged forward, knocking over suits of armor, chairs, and even torches stuck in the wall. They would be upon them in a matter of seconds.
The mermaid jerked around, grabbed Ella's waist and hoisted her down before the maid could protest. She shoved Ella hard in the back and shouted, "Run for your life! They will kill us." She was rewarded by the sound of sliding into the distance and Ella's shriek of fear.
She turned to help Belle down but a flash of pain knifed its way through her feet and up her legs. She staggered and was deaf and blind for a moment. Then a choking sensation filled her mouth and throat and she felt for sure she would vomit right then and there, at the worst time possible. Her legs gave out, leaving her sprawled on the palace floor.
Eric bent over to retrieve her. "You're not wounded but you keep acting like your legs are giving you pains," he said as he helped her to her feet.
"I know," was all Ariel said by way of explanation. She grabbed his forearm for support. Her fingers gripped harder than she realized, and her nails drew lines of blood across Eric's hard arm.
Behind them, the Huntsman had already lowered Belle to the pitch-black gap. After whispering some words of encouragement into her ears, he let her go. Belle did not scream like Ella, but she did make a terrified whine as she disappeared into the darkness. Then it was Eric's turn. He ignored the man's extended arm and dropped himself down, swinging his feet over, and then his legs.
But before sliding down, he turned to Ariel. His face seemed oddly vulnerable now. "You're coming right after." It was a statement, not a question. Then he let go of the sewer framework, tucked his knees in, and slid into the darkness.
Ariel gritted her teeth and forced herself to take a step, and then another towards the grate. It felt like thousands of knives were being driven into her legs every time she moved.
The stranger took pity on her and helped her down to the floor gently, making sure not to touch her legs. "Thank you," she said her voice shaky. She clamped her jaw to keep from crying out, but just as suddenly as it had come, the pain stopped. For now.
The stranger was already turning away. "Get going," he said.
"Wait, aren't you coming?"
"I cannot," he answered. "The queen has me under her command for the time being. If I were to leave, she would kill me with one squeeze of her hand." His voice was distant, almost sad. "But you…you and your friend risked your lives to save the one you love. I will not see you in the same fate."
Ariel could not help it. She knew it was against mermaid honor, against everything she had been taught by her pod, but she reached out and took the man's shaggy head in her hands. He did not resist when she leaned over and kissed him.
"Thank you," Ariel whispered. She wondered if he knew how precious the kiss of a mermaid was, they were not merely given at a whim. Sailors who bragged about receiving a kiss from a mermaid were all liars; any man that had been kissed was drowned and eaten right afterword.
The Huntsman smiled and for a moment, the hardened layers taking the place of his heart softened and he felt at peace with himself. With the entire world even. His eyes watered as he gently extracted her cupped hands from his cheeks. "Go," he said softly.
The mermaid nodded, gave one last grateful glance at the Huntsman, then twisted sideways and slide across the stone floor on her hip. Then she lowered herself into the sewer system, but she hesitated because she knew what was coming would hurt like hell. As she let go, the darkness plummeted around her and she felt her stomach loose itself to the drop. She was instantly swept downward by the slope of the sewer tunnel. The stone walls were green with algae and she couldn't get a grip. The tunnel sucked her down…down…down into a long, narrow stone pipe. She felt the walls closing in on her and the unpolished stone was so rough it cut into her shoulders, ripping her shirt to ribbons.
After only a few seconds, the tunnel abruptly ended and Ariel felt herself go flying through the air and land with a hard smack in open water. Her arms were finally free but her lungs were throbbing and her legs burned as if on fire. She looked upward at the surface, nearly 20 meters above her. Dark masses floated around her, blocking out the moonlight that shone in dancing stripes of light. Just as she propelled herself upward towards the surface, the pain started and it came like a typhoon. She thrashed, kicked, and yanked herself underwater but nothing she did would make it stop. Not until she was done.
This cannot happen she thought, the reality of her dire situation overwhelming her mind. Not here, not now!
…
Snow yanked an arrow from the corpse of the guard she had shot and knocked it in her bow, pulling the cords taunt with her strong shooting arm. Thirty-pound of a pull was a belligerent force to reckon with, but she still felt a strange sense of weakness. The night had already claimed the lives of two men at her hands. Granted, it was in defense, but she still felt bad. And whoever was coming up the path towards them would meet the same fate if she had any say in it.
Rrrrrrrr. The growl was hoarse, very threatening, and it came from the big black wolf.
Snow sensed the quivering readiness of the wolf, a fusion of terror, calmness, and the drifting wraith of pack life. Red was ready to defend her family with her life, Snow had learned that the night Anita had died. But Snow would do the same for her and she moved protectively in front of the wolf who was her best friend. Red was her family too, her pack. There came more rustling and breaking of foliage, closer still. Snow angled the bowline up to her cheek, preparing herself to see the intruder and take the shot. Adrenaline coursed through her veins like a magic spell, making her vision sharp as a knife and her muscles hard as a stone.
The cracking of underbrush was just in front of them, the shrubbery parted itself and out of the darkness stepped…a white wolf…wearing a red hood!
The golden eyes shifted from the ground to Snow's face and, if she wasn't mistaken, the expression in them was one of mild bewilderment. Snow felt her knees grow weak, not with terror, but relief. The fear that she'd have to shoot someone or watch Red battle an armored guard was dispelled. Compared to those images, the sight of the little wolf in the big red hood was almost comical.
"Oh," she sighed. "Rain! Thank gods…I…" She lowered the bow and relieved it of the arrow quickly. "Sorry!"
The white wolf stepped forward cautiously, still wearing the hood as it bumped along the forest floor, making as much noise as if it were a solid mass. No wonder they had heard so much racket! The hood dragging gave off the illusion a large, formidable foe was making its way towards them. Illuminated clearly by the light of the full moon, the white wolf's expression slid from confusion to unabashed delight as she recognized her compatriots. She bound forward, landing just underneath the chin of the black wolf and nipped lightly at Red's muzzle. To Snow's eyes, it was a clear invitation to play. The small one hopped and danced, taking time to bump her head affectionately on Snow's hand, and emanate giddy yips of delight. Snow could not help but giggle as her human ears caught the meaning of the wolfie sounds: We made it!
Red, however, seemed a little less amused. The big wolf chided the small wolf, not harshly as one might expect from an alpha, but softly with a gentle growl from the throat as she lowered her head to touch noses with the cub. Rain licked her face, keeping her head low, her ears flattened, and her tail tucked underneath her belly. Snow got the impression this was a wolf thing, that Red was showing her dominance and gently scolding Rain for making her worry. But it seemed…like a pass of trust shared by two pack mates. Not something harsh like she always imagined wolf hierarchy to be. Or perhaps this pack was different than most wolf packs?
As the white one slipped back a step and ducked her furry head even further, the red hood suddenly slid over her face. For a moment, she was caught in confusion underneath the heavy cloth and her little yips now sounded like help!Snow quickly stepped forward and removed Red's hood.
The second the article glided away, Rain the human now crouched on her haunches next to the big black wolf. "Thank gods!" Rain spat out the words and pushed the medium spill of hair off her forehead. "That…thing has got to be one of the most powerful magical articles in the whole Enchanted Forest. I just touched it with my hands and I could not turn!" She drew herself up, all 5 feet of her height, and jerked her head back to flip the dark tresses off her face.
Snow meanwhile stepped back, turned to the black wolf, and flung the hood over the animal in one swift movement. The animal looked up at her, puzzled for a moment and then its legs stiffened and began to lengthen. The furry head dropped into a nod, and then straightened itself up, no longer furry but with the same dark hazel eyes.
Red stood up and clasped Snow's trembling body to hers. "Thank you Snow," she breathed out.
"You're welcome," Snow said as she hugged back, knowing Red was talking about more than the cloak.
"Hey, wait a minute," Rain spoke up. "What about me? I risked life and limb to get that hood of yours back!" She stared up at both of them mutinously. Stubborn resistance.
Both Snow and Red chuckled at the young one's complaints and opened their arms to invite her into the embrace as well. Rain lost her rebellious expression in a second and beamed delightfully as she accepted the hugs with relish. What an emotional whirlwind the three were in and it still wasn't over! Snow felt so exhausted, her entire body aching after all of that adrenaline rush. Between hiding in the Enchanted Forest for hours, running to the parapets, then having to take down two guards before Red was run over, not to mention the scare that Rain had just given them both when she came gliding towards them, she was all but completely drained. But what remained to be seen was whether or not their mission was a success. Had the mermaid succeeded?
She was just about to ask when Rain spoke up, but she addressed Red first. "I'm sorry I kicked you. I'm glad you got out and I didn't though." She pushed her hair back again. "I went to the gate and found your cloak. I tried to carry it out but it kept preventing me from turning so I just had to wear it, and I did my best to…" She broke off as another train of thought struck her. "Besides, if I hadn't been there I would not have heard the mermaid's scream…"
Snow startled at that. "Uh oh. What happened?"
"Well…," Rain said with a hint of smugness, "Mermaids never scream because they're in danger. Mermaids scream to take down their enemies. So that can only mean that Ariel is alright."
Red frowned, perplexed. "Are you sure?"
Rain let out a snort. "Please! That mermaid has got a voice like no other. She could dispatch this entire castle if she wanted to. But then again, she'd have to do that after Eric confesses his undying love for her and then they could…"
"Wait, slow down—" Snow gestured for silence and narrowed her gaze, "—what's this about 'confessing love'?" Her mind raced as she tried to comprehend this new information, from the rather breathless, adventure-sick, young woman.
"Er, never mind," Rain mumbled, her eyes fixed on her boots as if they were the most fascinating things she'd ever seen. "We needn't worry; Ariel and Ella probably forgo the gate as well. My guess…they'll come out another way."
Snow cocked her head. "What're you not telling us?" she asked innocently, though her instincts already guessed at the answer. She could, after all, see past the end of her nose. "I take it you know something about…Ariel and Eric?"
"She's a mermaid," Rain said proudly. "They have they're ways." It was beginning to get chilly and Rain clutched her bare arms closer to her body. She had removed her long white shirt in an effort to remain more unseen by the guards, it was lying in the canal of the sluice, and the tight vest she wore underneath was not enough covering.
Behind them in the open space of the forests Red could hear the clatter of armor and steel weapons. Moon light shone through the open tree branches and the voices of the militia called back and forth as they came forward. The soldiers and horses were fanning out and searching among the trees and brambles of the forest.
"Curse them!" she snarled. "Can't they leave us alone for a minute? I suggest we leave now," she commented to the others. "They will be looking for wolves so we should not turn."
One of the armed men shouted, "Stop making so much noise you fools! You'll scare the beast off!"
Nothing could be gained by staying here, waiting for the mermaid and the maid, and getting caught at the same time. Snow agreed with Red, they had to leave.
It was not difficult to find their way through the forest. Despite the blanketing effect of the spring snow (almost gone by now, it was so warm), the woods were as Snow remembered them from her childhood. She decided leading Red and Rain by the stream up to the lake basin that encircled the palace was the safest, quickest route. Not that the palace was her home anymore, she thought sadly. A cruel fate it was indeed, running like a criminal from your own home. Could she ever go back? Would she even be able to? It was her duty to protect the kingdom, she knew that; to be a benevolent queen like her mother had taught her. But now was not the time to let the ever-present guilt creep its way into her. At least, not now, she frowned and her face fell.
"Snow," Red saw her friend was troubled. "Are you alright?"
Snow hugged herself against the night wind as she thought of her mother and her kingdom. She did not want to cry in front of her friends, but it was torture to be forced away from her home. There was so much to do before she could go back, if she ever got back. But the thought of their mission tonight, a small clink in Regina's impermeable rule, strengthened her resolve and gave her a sense of hope. It was enough that they had defied the Evil Queen and helped reunite two young lovers. It was enough accomplishment for now.
With a firm nod, she addressed her friend. "I'll be fine Red."
She turned to glance one last time up at the castle, so luminous and monolithic against the dark night sky.
Home. I will see it again, she thought to herself.
…
Ariel was still thrashing frantically, trying not to scream underwater, when something coiled around her forearm and yanked her upward. She was too weak to resist very hard, but she did flail her arms until she broke through the surface of the water, bursting into the night air.
As her lungs adjusted to the presence of her gills, she could hear Eric breathing hard right next to her. A few strands of his hair stuck to his forehead, but most of it sagged onto his shoulders and water ran in rivulets down his face. He had swum downward and pulled her to the surface, but had he seen her tail? She stared at his face, just a few feet next to hers, but did not read any shock in his grey eyes. Not yet anyway.
He actually looked worried. "Belle…have you seen Belle?" he asked. "Or the other girl?"
Ariel spat out a mouthful of blood, and shook her head. In the distraction of her transformation, she had forgotten about the other two. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the water, focused on the ripples, the tastes, the flow, and the other movements that humans were unable to sense. There! Two masses moving in the water. No…not moving. Sinking! She did not hesitate. The mermaid spun around again, vaulted herself forward with a push of her mighty appendage, and charged in the directions of the two forms. The water rushed past her, and she kept pumping her powerful tail.
She shot through the liquid, the lake waves rolling above her head. Ariel kept looking around, her red hair a billowing mess that folded over her face. The fresh water was not pleasant to be in, it kept irritating her skin. Mermaids are not from fresh-water, they are native to the ocean. Her shirt dragged her every movement so much she was tempted to rip it right off, but she didn't. Not for modesty's sake, but because she was too rushed. Finally, she found the underflow she was looking for. She turned right, back towards the castle, and followed a small current to a section of the lake right underneath the connecting stone bridge.
Ella was bravely trying to reach the surface on her own, but her dress was soaked and the cloth was weighing her down. She was too weak and her lungs burned from the lack of air. She kept flailing her arms and kicking her legs, but the surface of the water was not getting any closer. Suddenly, a pair of small but strong hands took her, and she was racing across the water. Flying upward as if she were a dolphin.
Or a mermaid Ella thought, her humor still present.
She plunged out of the water, the shock of impact driving any remaining air out of her lungs. But a split second later, she was inhaling the sweet sweet air of the surface world. Never again would she take such a gift for granted. Ella turned to thank Ariel, but the mermaid was not looking at her. She was pulling Ella towards one of the pillars that held up the great stone bridge. The structure was surrounded by partially-submerged grey rocks that were taller than the mermaid was long. They were clearly a part of the original construction, but had fallen for lack of repairs or sealant and now jutted out like small stone islands in the lake. It was here that the mermaid secured Ella, then dove away, swimming fast towards the castle again.
Ella was not worried that she had been abandoned. She had a suspicion what the mermaid was trying to do, so she just clung to the barnacle-encrusted rock and stayed as still as a mouse. She was still floating in the lake, surrounded on all sides by danger, and Ella knew it would be better if she were quite. Her clothes were sopping wet and she was shaking from the cold, but she remained as she was until the mermaid broke the surface of the water just in front of her. The pretty brunette in tow.
"Are you both alright?" Ariel asked. Her gills were red slits of skin along the sides of her neck and they flared open as she spoke. Even though Ella knew that they should be there, the sight still shocked her.
"Y…yes I'm fine," she managed to squeak out.
Belle was gasping for breath and shaking her head as if trying to clear her vision. Ariel patted her lightly on the back as she coughed, trying to help her expel all the water. "I'm alright," she gasped. The mermaid still held on, but Belle twisted slightly free of her grip and studied her. The aquatic beast had just saved her life, pulled her free from a tangle of underwater weeds and brought her to the surface. She didn't know what to say, but she felt as if she should say something.
She settled on the truth. "I think Eric mentioned you a few times," she said at last.
Ariel helped Belle onto the rocks, next to Ella. "I don't know about that."
Belle was about to answer when a thundering of hooves and rattling of armor interrupted. Looking up quickly, Ariel could hear the militant horses on the stone bridge, just above them. The vibrations in the water were like a shout to her. A hoard of soldiers was leaving the castle, but it sounded like they were not after them. The Summer Palace was nestled on a hillside above this vast lake and was connected to the Enchanted Forest via the large stone bridge. That was where the group on horses was headed right now. They must be after Red and Rain but the mermaid had not doubt those two could take care of themselves, she was not worried about them.
She was worried about Eric though, he was still out on the water. She turned to face the other two, and looked hard into their eyes. Intent that they understand something. "I'm going to go back for him now. Will you be able to make it to shore from here?"
Ella nodded her head and Belle, though she looked fearfully up at the bridge, did the same after a moment.
As the mermaid splashed away, Ella addressed Belle. "Do you think she'll make him remember again?"
Belle smiled. "I hope so. I like her."
…
Wind and a light sprinkle of spring rain pushed the lake waters into broad slow waves as Ariel and Eric made their way across the open water, towards the shore. The trees were few and far between, mostly willows that clustered along the meandering river branches. Ariel watched the foliage carefully; they were still very close to the castle and within dangerous territory. Eric swam close behind, keeping an eye on both the shore, and her.
She didn't like the abrupt circumstances that forced her to reveal her mermaid self to him, but there was no choice, they had to leave the castle, and the sewers had been the only way. She wished she'd had a chance to explain it to him, make him understand better. Still, he did not act appalled as she gently took his arm and pulled him to the shore. Eric had been more than understanding that time in the ocean, when he'd first seen not only her, but her entire pod. Now, he'd seen her tail again and had not said a word about it. She did not know if that was a good or bad sign.
They came to the shallows of the shore and Eric was able to stand knee-deep in the muddy waters. Ariel had to contend with her bulky tail, never an easy task even when she was in the best of conditions. She slapped her fins against the water, frustrated and mortally embarrassed at what she was now forced to do: move forward like some sort of slug or snake in the lake mud. As she continued her degrading struggle, she heard someone clear his throat.
It was Eric kneeling next to her. He angled his arms forward, raising his eyebrows to convey his intent. "May I?"
Ariel nodded and put one arm around his neck as his hands slipped underneath her. When he lifted her, the filthy water cascaded off her body in one swoop and her long, magnificent emerald tail suddenly gleamed in the moonlight. Ariel held Eric's gaze as he stepped slowly onto the muddy shore, daring him to make a comment, good or bad.
"Where should we go?" he asked her.
"Left," Ariel answered, a note of relief in her voice because his first question was not about her tail. She hooked her hands together behind his neck and eased herself forward a little to what she hoped was a more comfortable position for him to carry her.
As they both walked along the shoreline away from the water, the change came again. The last water drop fell from her translucent fin tip and then the bones began to reform. Ariel started to worry, worry that Eric would see what happens, worry that she would not be able to take another transformation. She leaned herself forward and whispered into his ear, "Don't be afraid."
He did not have time to answer because he felt the scales under his hand change, disappear under his very fingers and smooth out into…skin? Eric looked down and right before his eyes, saw the fish tail shrink and reform itself into Ariel's long legs. Beautiful legs, he thought to himself before realizing his arms were now on the girl's thighs, not her tail, and if he were to move his hand up a little further…his face flushed a bright red and he almost dropped her, then and there. Instead, he pushed his breath out and lowered her to the ground, forcing himself to go slowly.
The mermaid stood next to him with only her servant tunic top on, it came down only to her thighs and the fact that it was dripping wet left little to his imagination what was underneath. She had lost her leggings, her boots, and even her skirt to the castle lake. She wasn't even trying to cover herself up and Eric found himself both wishing he had something to offer her to wear, and hoping that she would just stay as she was.
"I…I uh,…" he started to stammer. Dammit! Why was he acting a fool in front of her? He blushed an even brighter red.
The mermaid's eye rolled heavenward but just as she was about to say something, the shouts of more guards come from the stone bridge. Ariel grabbed Eric's hand, and pulled him through the woods, maneuvering them away from the shoreline down a dark path until the castle disappeared behind the thick tree trunks. They darted through the forest until Ariel finally stopped, her legs too tired to move much further. She staggered and leaned heavily on a tree stump. Her limbs were shaking so hard from the exertion that she had to grab her knees with her hands, heaving for a good breath. The air was harder to breath than the water, but her rehabilitated lungs were doing their best to work with it.
As she rested, Eric came closer. "Why did you save me?" he asked, bending his head a little so he could look her in the eye. Eric looked calmer than she had ever seen him before. His face was soft in the moonlight.
Ariel tilted her head. "I know you don't remember me, but I couldn't let you suffer for my sake. I heard that you were taken and well…" She reached out and took Eric's hand in hers, remembering how he had offered on his own to help her up. "I knew that you were worth saving, when we were out on the sea together and you defended me." She smiled. "Against a whole pod of savage mermaids."
"How do you know about that?" Eric asked. He pulled his hand out of Ariel's, uncertain of this strange girl. They'd known each other for a few hours. No matter how much this girl had helped him, she was still a stranger to him. How could she possibly know about the visions of mermaids that kept popping into his head?
Ariel looked at Eric. "I know…because I was there." She turned to look up at the moon, so bright and shining the canopy of stars. No wonder Red loved it.
Eric felt his cheeks burn and his eyes narrowed. The girl could not have known what she was saying. Why did it matter that she was there? How could she have known his feelings? Eric was not superstitious but now, he was not sure of anything. Eric looked down at her hands. They were still shaking, even though the transformation was over. When he glanced back up, the mermaid was staring hard at him. "What is it?" he asked.
"It's just…you were the first person I ever met that came to know me…you were my first friend, and then I thought we might be something more, but we never got the chance." She shrugged, not understanding the significance of her own words, then continued. "You saw me. For me. When I had nothing, came from nothing…that really meant something."
He thought about what she had said. Somehow, it did not surprise him. They way she had saved him in the castle, risked her life to get him out of there, and then brought him to safety, that meant something too. She had something inside of her, something that he recognized, something that he could feel was familiar.
Ariel sat on the tree stump, wrapping her thin arms around her chest for warmth. Her boney knees started shaking as the pain came to them again, but Eric stood right in front of her. Why couldn't he leave her in peace for a moment? "What?" she finally asked when she could not take it any longer. A single tear slid out of her dark blue orbs but before she could bat it away, Eric reached out and stroked her cheek.
"You saved me," he finally said. He shook his head in disbelief. "No one's ever saved my life before."
Ariel smiled at him. "No one that you can remember," she said softly. Then she lowered her head, staring at her bare toes underneath her.
Eric cocked his head to one side, curious. "I don't understand that," he said, shaking his head. His voice was calmer now and he was feeling less anxious. "But I do understand that I feel…less lost when I am with you."
She looked back up at him, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks. "That's what I always thought when I was with you," Ariel started. "How we could talk about anything…even though I could not talk…" His sharp grey eyes stared back at her, as if he understood everything she was thinking and feeling. She would have gone on, but he was leaning closer, his eyes searching her face, looking hard for something he should recognize. He leaned closer still, and she let him stroke her cheek. His hand trembled.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, glancing up to meet his part-dazed, part-determined gaze.
Eric swallowed, praying that this was the right thing to do. "You said that I could not remember you," he murmured, so close that she could feel his breath on her lips. "Maybe we can…fix that somehow?" He cupped her cheek in his hands. "I want to remember you," he said softly after some thought. A part of him was tentative, afraid that he was acting foolishly, fearful that what she had said was untrue and she was a liar. But he wanted so badly for it to be true, he wanted the fear, the desperation, the loneliness gone for good.
Ariel's heart stuttered when she felt his mouth move forward to rest gently on top of her own. And then…she was kissing him too. His hands went into her wet hair and his lips melted into hers, while she grabbed his shirt and held on tight. She felt herself let go. There were no bloodthirsty mermaids hovering nearby, no Evil Queen with her perverse invasion of heart-grabbing, no black guards with weapons in hand. This was different, so very different, from the last time they had kissed; the heated passions of young love, the likes of which neither one had ever experienced before, overwhelmed it all.
Exhausted and injured, Ariel still found the strength to pull herself up and push her whole body into his hard form. His mouth was moist and passionate against her own, his hands fisting into her hair and his lean torso strong against her breasts. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kept searching him with her lips, lost in the sensation of his delicious tongue rolling against her own. His hands slid down to the back of her neck to hold her even closer.
Even though she could have stayed in his arms for all eternity, she felt Eric gently extract himself and ease backwards. Ariel pulled back too and tried to catch her breath.
"Eric?" she panted, and saw his confusion crumble in an instant.
Eric sucked in his breath, feeling his heart sting but then complete itself all in one motion. "Ariel?"
She leaned forward again, taking his stubbled cheeks into her small, wet hands. "Yes," she whispered, her smile as big as the moon and just as dazzling. "It's me Eric."
"It…it's you!" His eyes widened and he looked about ready to fall over. Ariel caught his arms, but she needn't have worried. He simply adjusted his legs, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her again. Just as passionately as before. When it was over, he was smiling wider than she was. "I missed you Ariel."
"I noticed."
It's not over yet folks! Wait for one more final installment…coming tomorrow!
In the meantime…let me know what you think in a review!