fandom; The Little Mermaid
pairing; Ariel/Eric (Ariel-centered tho)
warnings; some mild gore & angst
disclaimer; I own nothing.
i.
It's not that she's too young or naive or anything - it's not like she doesn't know that what she's doing is wrong. To even seek out the notorious witch of the seven seas is madness, but to actually make a deal with her is not only frightening but incredibly foolish. Rumors say that there's always a catch, that you'd have a better chance at getting away by striking a deal with the devil.
Ariel knows all of this, but the fact that she's here is proof enough of her determination. Then again, to give up her voice; her well-known and loved-by-oh-so-many-voice; her only talent, the only recognition she's ever had, the only thing connecting her to her beautiful mother-
(butbutbut that human boy was so very very pretty, water dripping from pitch-black locks of unruly hair and onto his tanned, warm skin where the splay of her fingertips lingered just a bit too long, where she could dream for just one fleeting moment of being part of his beautoful, beautiful world; he saw her saw her saw her, but he probably claimed it to be a mere hallucination and oh if Ariel could only do the same)
-suddenly, it is very clear that there's no turning back.
"You're not frightened, are you, dear?" Ursula cooes, her voice balancing on the edge between mock-kind and delighted, fat lips pulled into a half-grin. "Just sign the scroll and it will be over with!"
Ariel isn't too young to know the disadvantages of entrusting something important to someone who perhaps should never be trusted, and even as she tries to collect the confidence she was displaying oh-so-surely to her friends earlier, she hears her father disapproving tone in the back of her head.
"You know this is wrong", it echoes, again and again and again, until her pretty head is much too dizzy to discern anything but blurry dots of color, and she kind of feels like they remind her of the splash of stars that she can see from her treasure cavern, sometimes, when it's not too cloudy and when the tide has yet to roll past.
Stars doesn't belong in her world, though - it's just a taunt, something far from soft sand and tickling waves - but it does in his. And since she is fully ready to give up her own life to be just a small part of his, perhaps she will be able to see the stars more clearly someday soon.
Ariel thinks that this is the most sure she'll ever be, and as she grabs the pen to quickly write her signature - as if not to change her mind - she surprises herself by not being able to look (as if not accepting the sins she knows she is committing).
It all turns very foggy from there. She can feel the presence of her father's warnings slowly fade as a soothing warmth begins to encircle her lithe body, sparks and swirls lined in green and her own voice echoing all over the small place (not drowning out Ursula's maniacal laugh completely).
A strange surge flows through her form at once and the lower part of her body feels oddly numb; unfamiliar, uncomfortable but not painful in the least - and then, her vision betrays her and she finds herself swallowing water that her body isn't able to take in anymore and then there's more laughter, more numbness, and she can feel herself being pulled upwards by something, upupup-
Ariel breaks the surface barely conscious, greedily sucking air in, only to realize a second later that this must be what it feels like to be human (to be part of this odd but oh-so-pretty world - his world).
ii.
It's strange, Ariel muses, delicate fingers sweeping across the expensive oil paintings and the golden decorations adorning the hall walls that seem to go on for miles.
Here she is, in the very castle of the prince from her sugar-sweet dreams-
(really, she can't believe how lucky she was, brushing back damp bangs as he approached her, kind smiles and words she wanted nothing more than to believe, the warmth of his arm wrapped securely around her shoulders)
-and on top of it all, she's walking on the very legs she could only fantasize about up until now, pretty dresses adorning her body and impressive dinners being served every night; she can jump, run and even dance, her skirt flowing at the motion, laughter bubbling in her silenced throat and Eric's big hands at the small of her back, supporting her.
Ariel is grateful; she's happy. And yet, it's strange. Yet, it's..
"Hey, what are you looking at?" a familiar voice calls, his presence striking a chord that echoes inside of her tiny body. She is jerked from her thoughts, already turning half-way, already feeling her lips pull into a smile-
"Were you watching the ocean?" Eric asks, knowing full well that she cannot answer, standing next to the redhead and eyeing the display of the illuminating blue beyond the castle's garden through the huge window.
Ariel lowers her gaze, fingers slowly falling off of the polished glass, relishing in the fact that his hand is pressed against her lower back; she feels safe. Safe and happy.
Yet, it's strange; it's as if she can feel the sea calling out to her, murmured voices accompanied by the melody of underwater-wonders, thumping against the shore with the intensity of the waves. It's strange because she can almost feel the flow of water beneath her feet, splashing at her bare legs and urging her to enter that endlessly blue.
(she can't, though, if she did she'd lose her precious breath and she'd diediedie, or she wouldn't be able to swim through the currency flow, her fragile legs much too weak to resist the strong waves and then she'd diediedie, besides; she doesn't belong there anymore, she's not welcome; in her father's and sisters and friends eyes she's probably already deaddeaddead)
"So. I see you're ready for the ball tonight. You look lovely", Eric comments, earning a smile from her without really trying, "I bet you're looking forward to it? I know I am."
Ariel nods, and even though she's clad in a ridiculously expensive dress with matching shoes that glow like the pearls safely tucked into the clams at the sea bed, she feels just as much of a child when she grins as when she was spinning along with the fishes, searching for human treasures.
"Very well then. May I have the first dance, princess?" Eric says in a mock-formal tone, changing his voice and making her giggle.
The curtain slips from her grasp as it is pulled over the enormous windows by some of the servants, and Eric pulls her into his embrace and twirls her around to a soundless beat, her legs stumbling to fall into his easy rhythm.
Are you happy? Are you? You better be. This is what you wanted, isn't it? she can hear the voices hissing at her, bubble-foam and pointy shells fuzzy in her mind. Dance, then! Dance, now that you have your longed-for legs, dance! It's what you wanted, isn't it?
She bites her lip and suppresses the sea-salty tears in the corners of her eyes, focusing on feeling his body movements sweeping her staggering form along, on dancing.
Isn't it?
Ariel dances for all she is worth, struggling to keep up to the tune her body is so unused to - the tune so unlike sea-stars and aquatic plants - and she dances and dances because, well - this is what she wanted, isn't it?
iii.
Ariel knows that she'll be able to tell him, one day. Maybe not today; maybe not soon. She prays for a miracle, any miracle that will result in her getting her notable voice back. And then she will tell him. Straight out, clear as a summer's day; and he will understand, she knows he will, because he is everything beautiful and bright in her silly little fantasy-world, because he is her knight in shining armor and the man of her life.
"What are you thinking about?" Eric wonders, brushing strands of maroon hair from her smooth face. She smiles, because she has nothing to say. Not yet. One day, you'll know. You'll see who I really am.
(because that's the way the story is supposed to end, don'tcha know?)
It's a morning not unlike any other when she is jerked awake by a high-pitched yell that makes her entire body quake in fear, hair tousled and night gown all wrinkled as she sits up in the large, fluffy bed.
Ariel can hear frantic voices coming from outside, and she makes a run for the main balcony without knowing why - somehow, her chest tightens as if to shorten her breath and she's panicking without reason.
When the glass doors of the balcony are slammed open, she throws herself at the rail, standing on her very tiptoes and glancing towards the shore-
(a violent sonata is rumbling throughout the entire ocean, sharp waves and stormy water)
-only to find a large group of people, Eric among them, seemingly gathered around something or someone. She squints her eyes, leans forward a bit more, and there - there!
The very blood in her veins turns to ice as she sees her own sister; beautiful, beautiful Arista thrown upon land and shaking with the obvious need for sea water, looking completely dried out. Her tail looks torn, large gashes dotted upon it, and- and..
Ariel forces a horrified breath down into her now-lungs as she notices a large man raise some kind of strange-looking weapon and- and..
Beautiful, beautiful Arista, ripped apart so ruthlessly to the frightened but egged cries of the humans; and Eric, her Eric, shouting orders concerning the 'dangerous creature', not looking too bothered by the horrible scene.
Ariel, had she had a voice, would be utterly speechless. And as it all becomes blurry due to the sudden flow of tears escaping her eyes, redredredsomuchred (even redder than Arista's carmine-shaded tail), she can't help but run away on the godforsaken legs she gave up not only her voice, but everything connected to her in the past for (and Arista probably came looking for her, butbutbut she's nothing but scattered pieces now).
The little, naive mermaid knows that it is probably not only her dreams of happily ever after pooling on the solid floor, but also the torn fragments of her very heart.
[end]
Okay, so, that was a bit.. twisted. I was kinda in a bad mood when I wrote this, and so I took it out on poor wittle Ariel. Sorry~!
That aside, it is good looking at a happy story from a different view. I mean, not everything ends like in the fairy tales. And so this was just a much darker side of what could've been, you know?
Hope you enjoyyyy!
