Aquatic Kingdom Hearts
Chapter 8: Clothes Shopping; A Whole New World
Day 2
Thatch Household
Morning
As the sun went through the window of Eric's room, the buzzing alarm on his clock sounded off. Eric groaned as he reached over and slammed the alarm clock off. He then rubbed his eyes as he got out of bed, stretching the kinks out o his joints and back. He then got out of his bed as he left his room and to the bathroom, with his clothing ready for the day. After a quick shower and change of clothing, he was all set for the day, as he walked down the hallway. As he walked, he had to wonder in his mind, 'Ariel turned into a human…was that all a dream?' Only when did he walk and stop by an open door to the hallway next to his room did he realize, yesterday wasn't a dream.
For sleeping soundly in the guest bed, halfway covered by the blankets, was Ariel in human form. She was sound asleep, dressed in an oversized pink sweat shirt that left her left shoulder exposed as she was lay comfortably on the bed. Eric walked right in, completely entranced at seeing the girl that had been on his mind for over six years now. He sat down next to her sleeping form as he reached over to her face, and straightened a few strands of her hair back in place. She lightly moaned in her sleep as she stirred a little, enjoying her moment of slumber.
If he could, Eric whished that this moment lasted for a little while longer; seeing her sleep so peacefully placed a spell over him that warmed his heart whenever he saw her. He had thought of her as the most beautiful girl he ever met. Her love of his world and the desire to explore it made them kindred spirits, seeing that his love of the sea and his desire to explore it as well was just as equal to hers. But that wasn't the reason he was drawn to her; she was adventurous, headstrong, shy yet stubborn and brave when she wanted to be. He smirked as he thought, 'It's weird. She's my friend and we've only known each other for only what feels like a few days past the six years we've met…and yet somehow…I'm attracted to her.', and unknowing to him, he leaned in closer to her…and his lips were getting closer to hers.
KLANG!
Eric shot up, hearing the noise coming from downstairs. He gently got off Ariel's bed, in hopes to not wake her, and walked out the room. He walked down the stairway to investigate the sound, but turned back to see the guest room. It was while he looked, he had realized something on what nearly happened as he talked to himself, "A few seconds ago…I tried to kiss her…", he shook his head as he totally denied to himself, "No, that's not possible. I couldn't be…", he then thought hard for a moment and looked back at Ariel's room as he asked himself, "Can I be…?"
KLANG!
Eric shook his head and kept that question in storage for the time being. Right now he walked down the stairs to go and investigate the noises; the noises that happened to be coming from the kitchen. As he walked in to investigate the strange noise, he saw that the room had become a battlefield over food. He wondered out loud as he asked himself, "What or who did this? I know that Max knows better, but…"
"Hey, Eric!", called out a familiar voice as Eric turned to see who had called his name. On the kitchen counter, the otter Dax was sitting on it, with a bowl in hand and a raised eyebrow on his face as he asked in annoyance, "Where the heck did you stash the clam chowder? It's been over five hundred years since the last time I ate. I ain't gettin' any younger or fuller for that matter."
Before Eric shot out a remark for the mess maker, Sebastian was yelling out a storm next to the otter. He pointed to the furball as he looked to Eric and calmly said, "Before you decide to scold the two of us! You should know that I was against this whole thing from the start." He then crazily pointed at Dax as he blabbed hysterically, "IT WAS ALL HIS FAULT! I TOLD HIM NOT TO MAKE A MESS OF THE PLACE TO FIND HIS BREAKFAST. I TOLD HIM TO WAIT UNTIL YOU AND ARIEL WOKE UP, BUT…"
"I don't care who started this mess. I'll finish it if you guys wake up Ariel so early.", Eric barked, keeping the noise to a minimum as the two critters stopped arguing, "She was through enough excitement yesterday, and she needs all the energy today, seeing we're taking her to the shopping district later today." He had made the discussion that Ariel needed clothing; he would have offered his own if it would help, but then he remembered that it would be pretty obvious that she was wearing boy's clothing. The clothing would just be too baggy for her considering she was a few sizes smaller than him. It was just then, they heard footsteps coming from up the second floor, then a door opened and closed, and then they heard the sound of running water. The three knew that Ariel was now awake and was taking a morning shower, but that went ignored as the trio went back to their discussion.
Sebastian sharply stated to the human, "And I hope you take into consideration on Ariel's clothing sense. I'll be keeping an eye on you the whole day while the four of us are out there." Eric then looked a little uneasy as he turned away, scratching the back of his head. Sebastian eyed that as he suspiciously asked, "It is the four of us, right?" Eric scratched his chin, still avoiding eye contact with the crab, as Sebastian panicked, "You didn't…"
"I don't know much about girls' fashion.", Eric defended as he finally turned to face Sebastian and Dax as he explained, "But Frey knows more about it, considering he's gone out with more girls than ever." He even pointed out that Frey had also read the latest Teen Fashion Magazines to keep in touch with the latest male trends, and see what the hottest female outfits came out.
Dax thought about it for a moment as he sharply asked, "So basically, we're gonna be relyin' on you playboy friend on the Princess's fashion and style?"
Eric nodded at that, in helpless defeat; this earned another scolding lecture out of Sebastian as he stated, "THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! I shall not, and will not, allow Ariel's well-being and stature be placed in the hands of a human pervert who would have her dress up for his appeal! We shall not have him accompany us this day!"
Eric sighed as he replied, "Actually, we have to for three reasons. One: I already called him last night and told him the half-truth, saying that I need help in shopping for girls clothing. Two: aside from me, Frey's the only one who's gonna believe the crazy fantasy story I'm in to help us, considering he saw those fish pirates, whom you guys told me about that nearly killed him and me. And Three: he's paying for it considering his family works for the Navy, which makes more money in their paychecks than my uncle does at the museum to get expensive new clothing."
Sebastian and Dax looked at each other in defeat at those odds. And Dax smirked in defeat as he shrugged, "So when's he coming over?"
Eric looked at the clock and answered, "Shortly." He then looked at the two critters as he told them, "So when he gets here, don't freak him out. Let me soften the blow first before we hit him with the bizarre reality." And then suddenly, a knocking on the door, causing Eric to rush over to the door in order to get out of the arguing debacle. With all that was happening in his life right from yesterday; Ariel becoming human, losing her voice to some sea witch, an otter guardian telling him that he and Ariel had some destiny that he didn't explain to him yet, and a whinny Jamaican crab babysitter. After all that was going on, Eric really needed a friend to help him with this.
Eric reached for the doorknob, turned it and opened it just to be greeted by his buddy, Frey. Frey was in his usual attire, except this time he was carrying a book bag with a few of his surfing equipment. From the way that Eric was talking about on the phone, about a girl staying over at his place, he figured it was gonna be some fun time at the beach. However, he just smiled as he greeted shi friend, "Hey, Romeo, how's it going?"
Eric nodded as he led his friend inside, "It's doing fine, Frey now that you're here." And then he led his friend into the living room, but not before he remarked, "And don't call me Romeo."
Frey shrugged as he got his backpack off and replied, "Why not? Your mystery girl's living with you in the same house; you've fallen for her…."
Eric turned around as he stated, "I haven't fallen for her, Frey. She's my friend, that's all." In truth, Eric didn't really know what to think. In truth, Ariel was a friend, but over the past six years, all he could do was think about her. And during those six years, he had developed sort of a crush. And that crush was realized when he and Ariel kissed that night. Though even he was happy to see her again, he felt something really odd whenever she was close to him now. He shook it off as he stated, "So anyway, are we all set about going shopping today?"
Frey nodded, "You betcha. All we need now is the fitting subject." He then looked around as he asked, "So, um…where is she?"
Eric shrugged as he answered, "She just woke up, and a few seconds ago she went to the bathroom. So basically, she's in the shower, washing up…", but then he saw Frey's face staring out past Eric; it was sort of a brain-dead stare as Frey's jaw was dropped and he was in a starry state of amazement. Eric raised an eyebrow as he questioned his friend's behavior.
It was then that Frey simply replied as he pointed behind Eric, and answered in a monotone voice, "Not anymore."
Eric raised an eyebrow at that as he turned around, and gasped as he saw Ariel, whit her hair partially dried off and was wearing only a towel wrapped around her body. She had heard the door open and heard Eric and someone talking downstairs. Eager to see who it was, she got out of the shower, grabbed a towel, dried herself off, wrapped it around her, and ran downstairs to see who it was. And much to her surprise it was the blonde haired boy that she had rescued along with Eric.
At this point in time, all the boys could do was staring in utter shock and surprise at this turn of events. Here they were, talking about helping a girl out, without even thinking about having that said girl in their presence. And now, all of a sudden, that very girl was standing right in front of them, wearing nothing but a towel, a necklace, and smiling at them innocently. For Frey this felt like a silent dream come true for him. Eric, on the other hand, slightly blushed at the awkwardness of the scene, and was completely taken by surprise by this.
Regaining his brain and common sense, Eric introduced the two to each other, "Uh, Frey…this is Ariel." And then he pointed to Frey, "And Ariel…this is Frey…Frey Asapin. He's the guy that was with me…when you rescued me the second time." Ariel remembered the unconscious blonde as she smiled and waved at him, completely unaware of the scene she was making.
Sebastian and Dax walked in form the kitchen and saw the two boys standing still and staring forward. The two critters looked at each other in confusion and decided to investigate this. Dax jumped on the chair next to eh boys, carrying with him Sebastian, and asked, "What the heck are you guys lookin' at?" But then he and Sebastian spotted Ariel, in nothing but a towel, and nearly gulped.
Just then, Frey's senses snapped back in, but then he walked near Ariel as he replied, "Charmed, I'm sure…", but was stopped as Eric pulled him back.
Fearing that his pheromone friend's pheromones would get the better of him, he stopped him in time pulling him back, "Down, Frey. She's off limits to you." Eric had to make sure that Ariel was out of sight and clothed up. He walked up to Ariel and held her by her small shoulders as he looked to her and said, "C'mon, Ariel." And then pushed her towards the stairs as he said, "Let me take you to my room. There might be something there you can wear temporary until we can get you something more your size." And with that, they were going up the stairs towards his room.
Frey just stood there, looking at the two, until he finally uttered, "I see why Eric fell for her in the first place."
Few Minutes Later
After that little debacle had happened, Eric came back downstairs and seated Frey down for the moment. After they were both comfortable, Eric explained the whole story as best as he could. He told Frey everything that he knew: Ariel being a mermaid, as well as a princess, something about a Sea Witch giving Ariel legs, and trading her voice for them in the process. Frey didn't really believe it for a second. That was until Dax and Sebastian popped up, with Dax surprising him when he talked, with Sebastian following suit to scold the furball. It was when Eric had finally calmed Frey down, that Sebastian had followed with his side of the story: Triton's fury upon Ariel's treasure trove, her sadness leading to go to the Sea Witch, and the whole legs for voice deal. However, Sebastian had, and he couldn't believe he did it, agreed with Dax on keeping the whole 'Kiss of True Love or serve aboard The Dutchman for Eternity' part of the deal. Both Eric and Ariel were already under enough pressure as it was, so they were gonna have to get those two to kiss anyway.
After the explanation, Eric shrugged as he stood up and stated the obviousness, "And the only problem is that I don't know how to help Ariel get her voice back. And on top of that, what am I gonna tell my uncle when he comes back this Saturday and he finds out that I have a mermaid princess living in our guestroom?"
After hearing all this, Frey just smiled at Eric as he finally understood what was going on now. His best friend was falling for the Mermaid living in his home. He voiced it out as he smirked and chuckled at this, "I don't believe it, Eric. You are totally stuck on Ariel, aren't you?"
Caught off guard by that, Eric completely denied that as he stated, "N-No, I'm not! Sheesh, Frey, Ariel's my friend!"
Frey sighed a little, and then smiled as he joked, "Can I have her then?"
After hearing that, Sebastian shouted, "Why you…! Ariel is not commutable property or something you can pass around!" He was about to march straight at Frey, but was being held back by Dax as he continued, "You dink that you can just waltz in 'ere, and 'den…", Sebastian just went on as Dax muffled him, hoping to shut up the noisy crab up for a while.
Dax looked exhausted as he looked to Frey and stated; "Now you see what I'm forced to work with."
Frey nodded as he turned towards Eric and commented, "Man, I feel sorry for you, being the center of this circus." He then leaned back as he said, "Still, all this sounds like something out of a fairytale story, or an anime. You know the one where an ordinary guy finds this mysterious beautiful girl. And that this girl has some amazing back story and power, and the boy helps her out. And along the way, the boy and girl fall in love with each other."
Dax let go of Sebastian and laughed his furry tail off, and fell off the chair and next to Frey. He laughed his sides off silly, until he finally calmed down as he stated, "That sounds like something out of some crazy fan fiction. I mean a fairytale story with modern time twists. Who'd want to read or watch something like that?"
Eric just sighed at this as he sat back down and groaned, "Okay, let's all try to focus on something big right now. What are we gonna do about getting Ariel's voice back?"
The two critters kept quiet about that, not sure on what to do about that. But Frey, being the shiner of hope for others, simply looked to his friend and answered, "Well unless you can grow yourself a tail and fins, and swim out to the Sea Witch, we're up the creek without a paddle. My guess is, we could go see that creepy swamp lady out in the Cove Forest." Eric knew what he was talking about; the strange obeah woman that lived in that old shack near the beach in the forest. No one dared go near her, considering how disturbing she was and that she demanded payment in the strangest of things. But then Frey then advised, "But right now, you can't be keeping up this cloud of dread all over you. My advice for you right now, is to give Ariel the best time on land that she'll ever have."
Eric nodded at that and replied, "Yeah, and I can tell my Uncle about the whole thing, first chance I get."
Dax nodded at this, but then smirked as he saw what was coming down the stairs. He then spoke up, "Make your uncle a second priority, Eric. First priority is that I think it's about high time you get Ariel some female clothing." And just about that time, the boys, and even Sebastian turned to see where Dax was looking at. Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs was Ariel as she was smiling now that she was fully dressed. She was currently wearing a pair of Eric's jeans and one of his black shirts. However, the problem was that the jeans and shirt were a little too big for her as she tied the end of the shirt to tighten it up a bit; although it was pretty obvious that she needed some clothing her size.
Eric looked to Frey as the two boys got up, "So…did you bring the card?"
Frey sighed as he said, "For a reminder: I'm only supposed to use it in case of an emergency." But then he pulled something out of his backpack pocket; a golden card as he smirked at both Eric and Ariel, "And you're both lucky that this is an emergency."
Later On
As the three teens made their way through the sidewalks and streets, Ariel, now wearing a pair of sandals for shoes, looked around as she saw the wonders of the human world. Humans of all different shapes, sizes, colors, and country all were walking together and commuting to one another like a group of whales or school of fish. Strange metal animals running on four wheel-shaped limbs. She then absent-mindedly walked on to the street, and stood there, with her hand out for a handshake, wanting to greet the metallic creatures.
As Eric and Frey were walking, they heard a honking sound coming from the streets. Eric turned and then nearly went white as a sheet as soon as he saw Ariel out on the street…and in front of a speeding car. He ran over as fast as he could to get to her before she was road kill. The car was just about to hit the naïve Ariel, until Eric pulled her back. Ariel looked at him slightly confused, until he angrily shot to her while holding her by the shoulders as she looked at her eye-to-eye, "What the heck were you thinking, Ariel? Those are cars, not whales; those things'll run you over in a split second if no one's paying attention." Ariel looked at Eric, a little distraught, fearing that Eric might have hated her now. But instead he just sighed as he looked at her again, and said, "Next time I might not be fast enough to save you." A little taken off guard by that, she smiled at Eric, and nodded, stating she would never do something like that to worry him again.
And with that finished and over with, the two rejoined Frey and were on their way to their destination. To what Eric and Frey called, and what Ariel had learned to be the center of all human culture: The Shopping Mall District.
Swann Shopping District
Ariel was completely amazed by the size of the area that they were walking in. It was like a huge underwater coral cave, only with no water or even dangerous predators swimming around. And she saw that there were so many rooms that Eric had referred to as stores with a different item or treasure that they gave or sold as they put it. The first place they went to was a strange place called Veronica's Secret, which Ariel had learned that it was a ladies underwear store. Ho9wever, the store clerks shoed the boys out, seeing that they weren't needed in that department, much to Frey's disappointment.
After a while, the trio went back to their original mission after they had gotten the proper undergarments. Then it was on to stop for some stylish, but nothing too fancy, girl clothing at PC Nickel. Frey would, and much to displeasing admittance, coach Ariel in what most teenage human girls wore these days. All Eric had to do was judge for their little 'model'; basically, Eric needed to do was to look and see if each outfit looked good on her.
The boys sat in the waiting area by the changing room of the department store. Eric was stretched out in his chair with his head lolled back staring at the ceiling. "Do girls usually take this long?" He pondered silently, "I didn't realize trying on clothes was such a long nightmare."
Frey sighed in exhaustion from all the coaching, "Ariel wanted to try on any outfit she saw." He groaned a little as he popped his back, "If I had the chance to be reborn as a woman, I'd deny the chance right then and there. I don't think I have the strength for this."
Suddenly, Frey's backpack zipped open, and out popped a very familiar otter. He was heaving and wheezing from all the lack of air that he had from the bag. This caught the boys' attention as he wheezed out, "Oh my Oysters! If a dead fish and a homeless person had a baby, and the baby puked, and a dog ate the puke…", he then pointed to the opening of the book bag that he had pulled himself out of, "…THIS would smell like the rear end of the dog."
Both boys looked in surprise at the little otter, seeing him here. Eric asked out of the blue, "Dax? What are you doing here?"
Dax merely shrugged as he replied, "Hey, wherever you and Ariel go, I go. Kapeesh?" And then he pulled out a half-dead Sebastian, as he grumbled, "Besides, Crabby here wouldn't stop complaining to come along."
Sebastian groaned as he came two, "For all good reasons, furball." He then looked at the two humans as he pointed out, "I came along to ensure none of you defile the princess with your taste in clothing."
Eric sighed as he shot back, "Trust me, after this day, I don't think I ever want to go clothes shopping for a while."
"Still, as boring as waiting is, the view is worth the wait. Eh, Eric?", Frey teased Eric as he nudged him with his elbow, causing the boy to huff at that. Still, he had to admit that Frey was right about that. Ariel had tried many outfits on, and each looked better than the last in his opinion. It was jus then that they heard the curtain pull back and the quartet saw the Princess. The two boys lifted their heads, but Eric immediately bolted upright, as they saw their mermaid princess come out with her newest outfit.
Ariel smiled as she looked at what she was now wearing. she was wearing a white long sleeved shirt that went down to her elbows, and had no shoulders, with a black spaghetti strap shirt on top, with a blue skirt that ended at her knees, and a pair of brown casual boot shoes with a buckle strap at the ankle. On her left wrist, she wore her purple upper arm bracelet, but around her neck, she wore her mother's treasured necklace. Ariel twirled around, showing off her outfit, hoping to hear the boys' opinion about the ensemble that she wore.
Luckily, the response she got was Frey giving her a thumbs up, "Oh yeah, that look works for you."
She then turned towards Eric's way, and hoped that he liked it. However, Eric only nodded as he said, "You look wonderful, Ariel."
Ariel blushed at that as she walked down to where the boys were, and the pile of clothing that they would purchase as well as the one she was wearing. Eric took the backpack and walked to the front of the store while Frey went with Ariel went to go and pay for the clothing that she had picked out. Dax looked at Eric's face, which had a daydreaming smile to it as he smirked, "Yeah, definitely worth the wait."
Later
The teen trio, and secretly two ocean critters, was heading down an alleyway of stores that were selling anything you'd want. As they were heading to another store, Eric and Frey both took a quick break on a nearby bench considering they were doing all the heavy lifting. They placed the bags beside them; the bags that held Ariel's new clothing.
Ariel didn't stop as she looked around her and saw the wonders that were the human world. She never saw so many things in her life; different objects, foods, and people. She walked down the alley just watching them, but what she didn't realize, was that she was getting a lot of attention. However, she started to notice it as a shop clerk popped up next to her, holding a silverware pot as he smiled, "Would a lady like a pot; no finer pot in brass or silver." Ariel shook her head politely, but then another guy who was selling nuts said, "Sugar Dates, sugar dates and figs? Sugar dates and pistachios?" Ariel shook her head politely, but then as she walked again, a jeweler smirked as he held up a stunning pearl necklace, "Would the lady like a necklace? A pretty necklace for a pretty young lady." Ariel shook her head, but then was greeted by a startling sight as a dead fish was nearly shoved into her face by a fish monger, "Fresh Fish! We catch'em, you buy'em!"
Ariel hastened her walk as she tried to get away from that spot. It wasn't that she was scared of the dead fish, but it was the smell that gat to her. She stopped as soon she was away from that spot. She looked around and saw that she was near one of the fruit stands. And then she saw a boy, who looked like he was dressed in drag clothing, looking at the apples like he was hungry. Ariel felt sorry for the boy as she walked over to him; the boy noticed her and gave her a pleading look on her face. Ariel smiled as she stood up, and not knowing of what would happen, took one of the apples and gave it to the boy. The boy smiled at this and hugged Ariel for gratitude, and ran off. Ariel smiled at this as she waved the boy goodbye.
"You'd better be able to pay for that, Miss."
Ariel turned around and nearly bumped into a man that had seen the whole thing. He was a fellow in his thirties or forties; this was shown with the wrinkles on his face that gave him a menacing look to him. He had dark brown hair with white streaks on the side, and was dressed in black, with a leather duster jacket and gloves. And he was wearing a strange badge that she had never seen before with three strange symbols on the three sides. Ariel wasn't sure, but this man scared her. and then he grabbed her harshly by the wrists as he spoke in a British accent, "Nobody steals while I'm on watch of Port Royal. Have anything to say in your defense, Miss?"
Ariel didn't know what to say at that point, she just wanted him to let go. She winced as she felt his grip getting tighter, 'Stop it! You're hurting me!' and tried to break free from his grip.
The man pulled her over, causing to hurt worse as he raised an eyebrow and asked unsatisfied, "Playing the silent treatment, are we?" He then reached into his coat with his free hand and then pulled out, much to Ariel's fears, a wicked looking boey knife. He then used the edge of the knife to scratch his semi-stubbled face as he callously explained, "You know, in some countries…the penalty for stealing was that the prosecutor would chop off the hand that the thief used to steal." Ariel went wide eyed with terror as she tried to pull away even more, but to no avail. She looked around for anyone to help her, but she saw that everyone was just too scared of this man, so there wasn't anything anyone could do for her. The man then placed her hand down on the table to use as a chopping block. He then smirked at Ariel's fear as he raised the knife up, "This'll be to remind you…to stay honest!" And brought the knife down….that is until someone caught his wrist.
Eric had made it just in time, along with Frey and the bags. Eric saw what was happening, and had to come up with something to get them out of this. He then took the knife out of the stunned man's hand as he shook the hand, "Thank you so much, Mister Mercer. I'm so glad you found her." He then dropped the knife and looked back to Ariel, who was a little relieved to see Eric. He then walked up to her as he pushed her away, scolding, "We've been looking all over for you." Ariel raised an eyebrow, silently asking, 'What are you doing?' Eric saw the look on her face, and winked, "Just play along."
But before the trio could leave, the man named Mercer, grabbed Eric by the shoulder…tightly. Eric nearly flinched in pain but kept a smile on his face, as in order to hide it. Mercer raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Excuse me, you know this girl?"
Frey popped up as he broke Mercer's grip on Eric, and helped out, "Sadly, yes…she's my cousin." He then whispered to Mercer while making circles around his head, "She's a little crazy." Ariel scoffed at that, but Eric stopped her; saying that this would help her.
Mercer raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Then what about her silent treatment?"
Then Eric stepped up as he explained, "She underwent some surgery with her vocals. She'll be mute for a while until they heal up. the whole ordeal left her a little disoriented."
Mercer sneered at the kids, and then sheeted his knife back in and walked away. But not before he gave them a sharp look, "Just don't let me catch you doing anything else that'll earn you the gallows." And with that, he was gone. The three sighed as Frey led the way to their next destination: Lunch.
Chef Louise's
They had stopped at a wonderful restaurant that was close to the ocean. It was a usual kid's and family hangout, considering a few teens were sitting out on the sea balcony tables. While they were walking near it, the boys had explained along the way that the guy that nearly amputated Ariel was named Mercer; he was the appointed Security officer for Port Royal, by Gov. Cutler Beckett. While they were outside, in Frey's backpack, Dax and Sebastian had heard the entire story and Sebastian was fuming, "Da king was right, these humans are nottin' but Barbarians."
Dax shrugged, "No, it's this Beckett guy that sounds like the real barbarian." He then looked offended, "Chopping off people's hands? That's like so five centuries ago." But then, he stopped as he took a sniff at something. He unzipped the bag he was in as he sniffed some more in the air. And then he sniffed one time and his eyes lit up, "I smell CLAMS!" And with that, he jumped out of the bag, and without the three kids noticing, was running behind the restaurant.
Sebastian saw this, and said to himself, "No! No, I'm not going to go after him." He then folded his claws together as he told himself, "If dat fowl-mouthed aquatic feline wants to get himself killed, fine by me!" He then turned away to forget all about him, but something kept tugging at him, urging him to follow. He then sighed in defeat, jumped out of the bag as the teens entered the building, and scuttled after the otter, mumbling, "Dat rat had better appreciate wat I do for him."
He then spotted Dax squeezing through an open crack of a window. He saw a couple of vines going up towards the window, and started to climb as he grumbled, "Why do I do all these annoying things? First I was babysitter for da headstrong teenager, and now I need to play keeper for an otter who claims he's a guardian sent by the Sea Goddess…", he grunted as he pulled himself up on the window sill, "…who disappeared for over 8000 years ago." He sighed as he got through the window, as he mumbled, "I should have stayed home. Dodging that hairy shark on legs seemed better than dis."
He then screamed as he fell down on a table; he rubbed his aching shellback as he spotted the annoyance. Dax was near a bowl full of fresh clams, scarfing down as much as he wanted. Sebastian shook his head as he scuttled over and scolded, "Well, I'm glad that you've stuffed yourself so silly…"
Dax recognized that voice and spat out a few clam meat chunks as he scampered over to Sebastian. Dax looked worried as he asked, "Sebastian! What are you..?"
Sebastian saw some steam coming form behind Dax and asked, "hat's going on? Wat are you hiding from me?"
Dax looked worried as he stated, "N-Nothing….", he then waved at Sebastian, "Just do yourself a favor. Don't look behind me!"
Sebastian shoved Dax away as he asked, "Why?" But then his red face turned paled as his eyes went wide, and he went slack-jawed. What he realized was that they were in the kitchen. There were fish bodies shopped up on the table, cephalopods being boiled. But then Sebastian paled at something even worse; on a table, place neatly on a plate was a couple of dead crabs stuffed with lettuce and bread. After seeing all that, Sebastian paled and fainted flat on his back.
Dax shook his head as he ate one more clam, and shrugged, "Told you not to look."
Inside the Restaurant
As soon as the teens entered, they found a seat next to the window, that showed the sea. They all sat down as they conversed on what they were gonna do tomorrow in a pleasant manner. They sat the bags down and Ariel sat down next to the window, but pulled Eric with her to sit next to her, while Frey sat down and watched the two lovebirds together. Then they were about to order something to eat; Frey stated he was gonna have a burger and fries, but Eric decided on a chicken salad. Ariel looked at the menu, and just pointed to what Eric had ordered.
That is until a very familiar voice came up from behind them, "Well, look who it is, guys? Thatch and Pheromone Loser." Eric and Frey sighed in exhaustion as they turned around only to be greeted by none other than Seifer, Krad and Foo. Seifer was dressed in a blue sleeveless shirt with purplish brown pants with combat boots and a white duster with not sleeves, and finally a black snow cap on his head. His buddy Krad was dressed in a red Chicago Bulls Jersey, with black sweat pants with red stripes going down the sides, and blue wristbands, and red and black sneakers. The quiet one Foo was dressed in a blue sleeveless blouse, with khaki shorts and crocodile shoes, and still looking as dead-panned as ever.
Seifer looked among the group, and noticed the redhead as he raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Who's the babe?"
Eric looked over to Ariel, and back to Seifer as he quickly, and without thinking, answered, "This is Ariel; she's my girlfriend."
Frey nearly face-vaulted over, while Seifer and his buddies looked in complete shock by this, including the dead-pan Foo from hearing what Eric had just said to them. For as long as the three had known of Eric Thatch, he had never dated or gone out with any girl ever. They all went to him, telling him that they wanted to be his girlfriend, but he all shot them down. And then suddenly, out of the blue, he comes in and says he has a girlfriend; a girl that no one has ever seen before.
Seifer regained his mind as he asked, "Oh really?"
Regretting his decision but sticking to it, Eric nodded, "Yes, she is. So what's it to you, Seifer?"
The two boys were now in a heated argument, but Ariel just smirked at this. But she slightly blushed as she turned away for a moment. She blushed as she remembered what Eric had said a few seconds ago, 'He called me his girlfriend…' she couldn't stop smiling at that, but then she looked out at the window towards the sea. She couldn't help but feel saddened, even just a little. Somewhere out there, her sisters and friends were probably looking for her; worried sick about where she was. And her father….it was true that he had destroyed her trove, but deep down she knew he only thought he was doing the right thing. She missed them so dearly, but then she turned her attention back to Eric, who was still arguing with Seifer. She smiled, 'I know I miss home…but being near Eric's enough now.'
It was then when she looked at the table, her eyes spotted a very familiar sight. It was a set of a fort, spoon, and knife, but she immediately recognized the fork, or dinglehopper. She grabbed and started to straighten her hair out; she wanted to look her best at this moment. She was using it like a comb or a brush, and straightened her long flowing hair with it, catching attention. She stopped as she saw that Seifer and Eric were looking at her with raised eyebrows. She turned to see Krad, Foo, and even Frey looked at her puzzled. Feeling like the awkward one, Ariel put down the dinglehopper, and just sat there, shying away from them, feeling a little embarrassed.
Eric looked slightly confused for a moment, but then seemed to understand what was going on. He guessed that she must have thought a fork was sort of like a comb in some reason. So he did the only thing he knew would make things better; he took his own fork and combed a little off the top for a moment. Ariel turned to see Eric, and saw that he was combing his hair a little with the dinglehopper, and smiled at this. She knew now that wasn't what the dinglehopper was used for, seeing all the awkward stares, but knew he did it to help her out, 'Thank you, Eric.'
Seifer grabbed Eric's hand that held the fork, and put it on the table. He then leaned in towards Ariel, who seemed a little nervous around this guy. Seifer then asked the three of them, "Just…where exactly did you say she was from?"
Frey and Eric looked at each other, trying to think of something. But Eric stuttered a little as he answered, "Um, well…she's from a lot farther from the Caribbean than your father sailed from, Seifer."
Seifer looked at Eric with a look saying he didn't believe him, and only said with a half smile, "Try me."
Back in the Kitchen
Sebastian was slowly stirring awake; his vision was coming back as he looked upward. It wasn't a sight to see as he saw Dax, waving a clam shell like a fan in order to wake him up. Immediately, Sebastian shot up and snarled at Dax, "Dax! How could you…what are you…why did you go into dis death trap?"
Dax, not liking the snippy tone that Sebastian was giving him, remarked, "You're welcome for waking you up." He then shrugged, "I can't help it; I like clams." He then slouched over as he was doing a Homer Simpson on Sebastian, "Uuuugh! Just thinking about those clams….", he then gargled a little as a small drop of drool ran down the edge of his mouth.
Sebastian was about to pinch the otter's tail, but something caught their attention. They turned around and saw a human, wearing black pants, a white shirt, a chef's hat and apron, humming to himself. He was a portly fellow but surprisingly in good shape, with a clean mustache. He then turned around with a bowl of dead salmon as he then started to sing in a French accent,
Nouvelle cuisine, Les Champs-Elysées
Maurice Chevalier
He then walked over to the table and placed the bowl down with a small chuckle. Sebastian and Dax both hid together and watched whatever the man was doing. The man took a knife and sharpened it for a second, then placed one salmon down gently, as he continued,
Le poissons, Le poissons
How I love les poissons, And then chopped the fish in little pieces and did grotesque things to it and the other fishes, much to Sebastian and Dax's horror, Love to chop and to serve little fish.
First I cut out their heads,
And I pull out their bones,
Ah, mais oui ca c'est toujours delish, Sebastian was on the verge of throwing up on Dax, but the otter glared at him as he whispered, "Hold it in. Don't…even think about it!"
Le poissons, Le poissons
HE HE HE, HO HO HO!
With the cleaver I hack them in two, the two critters made a run for it, with Dax in the lead and Sebastian right behind him. However, before Sebastian could catch up to him, a fish head landed right in front of him, causing him to nearly faint, but hid near the spices as the insanely happy chef continued, by pulling out fish guts and frying them for a platter,
I pull out what's inside, and I serve it up fried,
Cause I love little fishes, don't you?
Sebastian groaned as he tried to find a way out of there. He saw Dax hiding behind one of the tables, signaling him to hurry before he was discovered. He saw his window of opportunity as he saw a piece of lettuce, and ran over it and hid underneath it like a blanket. And slowly and undetected, Sebastian made his way across the chopping table, as the chef sang while doing his work, causing Sebastian to cringe in fear with every step,
Here's something for tempting the palate,
Prepared in the classic technique,
First you pound the fish with the mallet,
Then you slash through the skin, give the belly a slice,
Then you rub the salt in, cause that makes it taste nice…
The Chef then looked around for another lettuce ingredient, and spotted another one nearby. He reached up and took it, spotting a frightened Sebastian with his head tucked in his shell. The chef looked in surprise as he picked Sebastian up, "Zut alors! I have missed one." Sebastian cringed in his shell, and Dax looked in worry, as the chef began preparations to make another Stuffed Crab, singing to each step as he did it in order, much to Sebastian's fear and terror through every step,
Sacrebleu! What is this?
How on Earth could I miss such a sweet, little succulent crab?
Quel dommage! What a loss, here we go in the sauce,
Now some flour, I think just a dab,
Now I stuff you with bread, it don't hurt, cause you're dead,
And you're certainly lucky you are,
Cause it's gonna be hot, in my big silver pot, and then he threw Sebastian towards a huge pot, boiling with scorching hot water.
Tootle-oo, mon poisson, aur revoir.
Sebastian went wide eyed with terror as he fell straight towards the pot. He closed his eyes tightly as he screamed in his head, 'Barreling Barracuda! This is it! I'm about to perform that big symphony in the ocean in the sky!' And then, at the last second, he was caught by Dax, nearly the edge of the water. Sebastian opened his eyes and saw the otter had rescued him, whispering, "Oh, thank you, man." However, the only thing Dax was doing was grinding his teeth…seeing that he was standing on the burner, and shouted in pain as he and Sebastian crashed on the ground.
However, this little rescue didn't go unnoticed as the chef turned around, hearing a crying whelp. Dax groaned as he picked up Sebastian, and was about to leave the room, until something grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. Dax then paled as he came face-to-face with the chef, who raised an eyebrow to the otter and asked, "What is this?" Dax innocently smiled as he lifted Sebastian to the chef's face…and Sebastian pinched on the chef's nose hard. The chef cried out in pain as he threw Dax and Sebastian back at the stove.
The chef ran after the two, reaching to them ready to finish what he had started. Dax and Sebastian dodged separately at the last second, causing the chef to touch the burning burner. The chef cried out in pain, clutching his slightly burned hand. Dax grabbed one of the pots on the ground, and slammed it hard on the chef's foot, causing him to bounce up and down in pain. The chef growled at the otter as he grabbed a handful of cutting knives, and Dax took off to under one of the tables as the knives missed him when they were thrown at him.
The chef bent down as he tried to grab Dax, but Sebastian was on top of the table, and pushed on the chef's head, a bowl of sauce. The chef growled at this, and grabbed a cleaver; with one powerful strike, he sliced the table in half, and smirked at the two defeated creatures. However, they were long gone as he saw the two making their way towards the door. However, they were forced to retreat near a shelf full of china and dished, as a cleaver, which was thrown at them, blocked their pathway. The two hid, and saw the chef running at them with a mallet and knife in either hand, and pounced right at them, shouting, "NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
At the tables, everyone heard a huge crashing sound and more so as they heard it coming from the kitchen. The waitress, Carlotta, looked to the customers with a little worry as she nervously smiled, "I'd better go see what Louis's up to.", and with that, she took off to the kitchen.
The kitchen was a complete mess; a war zone with everything nearly messed up, save for the orders. Louis the chef, was still fuming as he searched for his opponents, the otter and crab. His shoes were gone, his shirt was slightly torn, and his chef's hat was missing as his hair was messed up, and the tip of his mustache's left side was lit like a candle. He fumed as he looked under a table and then shouted, "Come out, you little pipsqueaks, and FIGHT LIKE MEN!"
"Louis!"
Louis stopped his pursuit as he turned towards the sound of his boss, Carlotta. She had come in only to find the kitchen in shambles as she looked to the source of it; her chef, Louis. She scolded him, "What are you doing?"
Louis stammered a bit as he tried to explain, "Well, I was just, uh…", he then sighed in defeat as he nervously smiled and put out his burning mustache, "I'm sorry, Madame." Carlotta shook her head as she took two trays and walked back to the tables with the dishes in tow.
Meanwhile back at the teen's table, after Seifer had left, Frey and the two were in a sort of conversation. Frey then pointed out, "You know, Eric. I think our princess here might enjoy a little tour of Port Royal's historical spots." He then winked at Eric, "Starting with the beach, and a little surf and turf."
Eric and Ariel were sort of having a silent conversation, but then Eric turned his attention towards Frey. He raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Huh? I'm sorry, Frey. What was that?"
Frey sighed in annoyance as Carlotta came in with eth treys and sat them down on the table. Then as soon as she went to the back to scold Louis, Frey silently scolded Eric as he yelled quietly, "Look! You two can't spend all your time, cooped up in the house. You and Ariel need to get out." He then pointed out, "Do something; live a little. Go surfing with her; teach her how to swim like a human, go sunbathing. Anything; pick a beach activity."
Eric raised his hands in defense to calm his friend down as he stated, "Easy, take a chill pill, Frey. The beach doesn't sound like a bad idea. I mean, if Ariel's interested." He then turned towards Ariel as he asked, "Well, what to ya say, Ariel? You wanna head down to Port Royal Cove for a little beach fun?" Ariel was a little surprised by that, but smiled as she nodded yes to that.
Frey smirked as he replied, "Great, now let's eat. I'm starving.", and then he lift the lids off the trays. But no one ate, as they looked in surprise to what they saw. Dax was lying on his stomach, with an apple in his mouth, with Sebastian, covering his sides with lettuce. The teens looked to each other for an answer to this puzzling sight, and Frey questioned, "What the heck are you guys doing?"
Dax spat out the apple as he explained, "Well, let's just say it's a long, ugly, and humiliating story.", he then pointed to Sebastian as he quirked, "Particularly humiliating for the crab."
Thatch Household
Night
Eric was dressed in his pajamas as he walked up the stairway, followed by Dax who had explained the whole ordeal. Eric had to laugh at that little scourge that he and Sebastian had with the chef. He wished he could have seen it with his own eyes and laugh out loud at the whole thing. However, Sebastian had been fuming like crazy, stating it was the most humiliating moment of his life.
They had reached the second floor and were about to walk towards his room, when Eric bumped into Ariel once more. Ariel was dressed in the same oversized pink sweatshirt that she wore to bed last night, but this time she was using a towel to dry off her long red hair. Eric was just staring at Ariel once more as she finished drying her hair. Her hair was a little damp and it just seemed really weird that he was staring at her as she was drying it. He thought as he looked at her, 'Wow! I never noticed it before, but she's really gorgeous with her hair wet.' He shook that thought aside as he needed to tell Ariel something. He had to clear this up as he said, "Um, Ariel…about in the restaurant…when I told Seifer you were my girlfriend." He then nervously scratched the back of his head as he asked, "You knew that I just said that to get him off your case, right?"
Ariel was a little surprised to hear that, knowing that Eric didn't really mean what he said. She sighed a little, feeling a little disappointment, but then looked at Eric with a half smile. She knew what he meant, 'I know, Eric. You were just caught up in the moment.' And with that, she walked over and hugged him, surprising him in the process. She blushed slightly as she rested her chin on his shoulder as she thought, 'But when you said I was your girlfriend…I couldn't have been happier to be with you.'
After an awkward moment with the hug, Ariel pulled away, and warmingly smiled at Eric as she retreated to her room and closed the door. Eric just stood there, blushing a little at that scene, but then turned back towards a smirking Dax, and asked him, "Okay…what just happened there?"
Dax shook his head as he stated, "Eric…you've got a lot to learn about how that girl feels about you."
Ariel's Room
Inside her room, Ariel walked over to her bed as she looked at the bags with her new clothing in them. They were heading for the beach tomorrow so she had picked out a bathing suit for herself as well as a wet suit for later on. The last thing that she wanted to do with Eric tomorrow was learn how to surf. It seemed like so much fun and she wanted more than ever to surf with Eric. But enough was enough for the day so she walked over to the guest dresser and picked up a brush and brushed her hair as she walked over to the bed.
Sebastian was still fuming about what happened at the restaurant. He stood near the desk lamp next to Ariel's bed as he fumed, "This had got to be, without a doubt, the single most humiliating day of my life." Ariel couldn't help but smile at Sebastian as she patted him lightly on the head. Sebastian turned towards her as he scolded, "I hope that you appreciate what I go through for you, young lady." Ariel then sat on her bed, and felt the softness of the mattress. She still couldn't get over at how soft this bed was. She had nothing like this at Atlantica except for a huge sea sponge. She immediately lay down on it and pulled the blankets over her and started to fall asleep.
Sebastian was still planning on an idea on how to get Eric to kiss Ariel. The clock was ticking, and now Ariel had only four days left. Sebastian was not about to let Ariel's fate be one aboard the Flying Dutchman. So he planned out loud, "Now we just gotta make a plan to get that dense boy to kiss you tomorrow. You've only got four days left now, Ariel." He then formulated a scheme as he said it, "Tomorrow, when you both go to da beach, you've got to dress and look your best." He then flashed his eye lashes as he stated, "You gotta bat your eyes…", and then he puckered up his lips, "You gotta puck up your lips, like dis." But then he saw Ariel fast asleep, and couldn't help but smile at this. He jumped up and switched the light off, and crawled onto Ariel's pillow.
He walked up to her and stroked a little hair out of her face, as he smirked, "You are hopeless, child. You know dat?" He then curled up on the pillow and followed suit with Ariel, falling asleep as he yawned out, "Completely hopeless."
Atlantica
Sea Palace
All was quiet and dark as night fell upon the city of Atlantica, but not for all as Triton looked out his throne window. It had been nearly two days since Ariel had not returned home, and he had himself to blame. He had let his anger get the better of him and now his daughter had run away because of it. He then saw that one of his scouts, a Mer-Orca, swim up to him, and Triton asked, "Was there any sign of them in the Artic Region?"
The Mer-Orca shook his head as he replied, "No, King Triton. Our scouts searched our borders, but turned up to nothing. Every fish, Merperson, Mer-Orca, Mer-Mantas, and even a few of the Mer-Eels have searched all the seven seas. But it's the same everywhere; we found no trace of your daughter, Ariel. Or Sebastian for that matter."
King Triton sighed in depression at this, but then ordered, "Well, have them keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no on in this kingdom sleep until my youngest daughter and Sebastian are safe at home."
The Mer-Orca bowed, "Yes, sire.", and with that, he swam away to carry out the order.
King Triton swam up to his throne, and buried his face in his hand as he seeped into depression. He muttered to himself, "Oh, what have I done. I'm sorry, Ariel….I'm so sorry….", and continued to fall into depression, all through the night, silently praying for his daughter and his friend to come home safely;.
Next Chapter: Surf's Up; Kiss The Girl