The priest asked loudly and clearly, "Do you, Crown Prince Tazio swear to be king, always taking care of the kingdom, through tribulations and times of peace, to the best of your ability?", holding Eric's old crown over Tazio's head.
Tazio nodded, firmly speaking his oath, "I do swear to be king with all the best of my ability.", and the priest gently placed Eric's old crown, now his, and announced, "From this day onwards, you shall be King Tazio of Tirulia!".
Tazio felt the burden on his shoulders, yet he sat strongly on his father's throne chair, no, his throne chair now, and he saw his family beaming proudly at him, as Bascus then announced, "Queen Ariel and Crown Princess Mira!".
Tazio glanced over to see his mother and his wife coming up on the podium, and Ariel smiled as she stood at her old throne chair, with Mira taking a seat on it. Ariel curtsied before the priest, and the priest asked clearly and loudly, "Do you, Queen Ariel, surrender your title to Crown Princess Mira, and become Queen Mother to King Tazio?".
Ariel spoke firmly and clearly, "I do.", and the priest gently took her crown off, and stepped aside as Ariel moved away a bit further away, but still close by, and the priest held the crown above Mira's head, announcing, "Do you, Crown Princess Mira, swear to be queen, always taking care of the kingdom, through tribulations and times of peace, to the best of your ability?".
"I do swear to be queen with all the best of my ability.", Mira nodded; obviously not as nervous as Tazio was but then again, she wasn't the one who was having more of the pressures upon her head with the burden of rulership.
"Then from this day onward, you shall be Queen Mira of Tirulla!", the priest announced after placing Ariel's old crown, now hers, on her head.
The lords and ladies of Tirulia, along with representatives of the villagers applauded loud and clear, and Ariel smiled as the priest announced, "Long Live King Tazio! Long Live Queen Mira!", and the audience echoed the words as the applause became louder and livelier.
Tazio felt his hand being squeezed, and he glanced to see Mira's hand, and looked to see his wife smiling warmly and encouragingly at him, and he smiled back, feeling better as he realized that he isn't alone, not really, with all the family here.
And so, a couple of hours passed, with everyone congratulating the newfound king and queen as they celebrated the start of their reign with food and dancing. Ariel, warmly watching her son dance with his wife, hearing the happy chatter of the rest of the family, is resting upon a comfortable bench.
Tired from all the conversation and mingling, she elected to doze off when she heard a familiar voice yet it's free of old age, "Care to dance, my little mermaid?", and she opened her eyes, tears springing up in amazement, a smile coming to her face as she saw Eric before her, yet he wasn't slopped in the shoulders, silver-haired, or weathered in the skin anymore, as he's somehow back to his 18 year old self, wearing his sailor clothes, smiling at her lovingly with a hand outstretched to her.
"Sorry I made you wait for a bit there.", Ariel apologized as she took his hand and stood up. "I do wish a bit that I didn't wake up that morning too.", she told him.
Eric smiled warmly, "I know, my love, and I am not mad for you for prolonging today...I'm just happy to have you in my arms again.", as he escorted her to the dance floor, and Ariel, with every step, she felt younger and younger, and she took a glance back at the bench, seeing her mortal elderly body resting peacefully with a smile on the face, asleep forever.
Ariel then looked back at Eric who smiled at her knowingly yet tenderly, "Shall we have our song?", and she smiled radiantly, and without missing a step into their dance, she began to sing, no tiredness or weariness in her voice, her simple lovely blue dress swishing around as Eric led her.
Tazio smiled at Mira as they danced, "No matter what title, you always dance beautifully, my angel...", and Mira giggled, "Why, thank you.", before noticing something over his shoulder, a confused look in her eyes, "I thought all the villager representatives are supposed to wear formal as best as possible...That couple is wearing old-fashioned clothes...".
"Which couple?", Tazio asked as they continued dancing, he was obviously looking around as they rotated and spun, trying to see where exactly she was looking.
Mira responded, "The couple in sailor clothes and the pretty blue dress.", gesturing with her chin, and Tazio looked in her direction, and his eyes widened in shock and awe as he saw the familiar smiles on the couple, and realized that even with the old-fashioned clothes, it was his parents, just like in the first portrait of them...Bright eyes in shades of blue, inky black hair, and vivid red hair...
He whispered as he heard his mother singing, seeing his father looking at Ariel with an intense look of adoration and love, "It's my parents...", and Mira gasped softly as it is her first and last time of seeing them so young and free...
As they kept dancing, never taking the eyes off the obviously transparent couple of Eric and Ariel, the all too familiar song ended, and his parents, with a gesture of Ariel's face, they looked over, and eyes locked...
Eric proudly nodded at Tazio with a warm smile, and Ariel brightly smiled at Mira before Eric then took Ariel's cheek warmly, whispering something, and Ariel, since the last few days Tazio saw her, she looked beyond happy as Eric kissed her passionately, and as they kept dancing, they changed into merpeople, with Ariel resuming her violet bra and green tail, and Eric resuming his ice blue tail, and they swam/danced into the air, with Eric taking his turn to sing the family lullaby, going through one of the windows, and then nothing, yet Tazio and Mira saw a shooting star flying through the air in the night sky.
"She's home...", Mira whispered with a soft smile, and Tazio smiled tearfully before hearing a devasted cry from Melody across the room upon checking Ariel's mortal body, and he whispered, "The story of the mermaid princess and the sailor prince won't be forgotten...".
Tazio closed his eyes tight as he began to sob himself, now just the wave of emotions hitting all at once with the impact of Ariel dying. Mira shed tears as well as she tried to comfort him.
Before the moon even reached the highest point of the highest flagpole, the horns announced the death of the Queen Mother.
The march the next day started on the shore where all of Atlantica showed up, paying their respects to the Queen Mother, and then went through town, with all the villagers paying their respects as well, and Ariel's mortal body in its beautiful casket was buried next to Eric, as it should be...
The legendary story of the mermaid princess and the sailor prince is indeed etched in the history of Tirulia and Atlantica, yet beyond the kingdoms, it's a fairytale story.
Yet the memory of Ariel and Eric lives on in their family both in Atlantica and Tirulia, and it will be living in generations unaccounted beyond, and it is an end to their mortal lives, but they will be always watching over them from the heavens, and that's just fine with them as they are together, soulmates forever.
The End.