Land loomed just nearer than the horizon, growing closer with each passing moment. Ariel felt a thrill from the moment she first spied it in the distance. Her eagerness waned as she realized that it would take most of the day for the ship to actually reach the shore. It was mid-morning when she spotted land, and the ship did not actually get near the land until late-afternoon.
Ariel had been able to communicate to Killian that she sought to find land somewhere near the castle, although it had taken a lot of miming from Ariel and guessing from Killian. The whole conversation had been largely amusing. By the end of it, both Ariel and Killian were in fits of laughter from their guessing game. Fortunately, though, Killian had understood Ariel's intentions and agreed to take her ashore near the castle.
The ship anchored a ways away from the shore. Killian explained to Ariel that the water was too shallow for them to get any closer in such a large vessel. A rowboat was readied by some of the crew to take them ashore, whilst Killian and Ariel waited near the bow of the ship.
Ariel leaned over the railing. From this angle, she could see the mermaid figurehead. Its tail was sea-green, just as Ariel's had been.
"Be careful you don't fall," said Killian, "I'd feel obligated to jump in after you."
Ariel straigtened, but she didn't step away from the railing. She looked at Killian with a measure of annoyance.
"You know you can't swim. I pulled you out once before; I'm not doing it again," said Killian.
Ariel shrugged and stepped away from the railing. She walked toward where their rowboat was being readied. Killian followed close behind.
"Is she ready to go down?" called Killian, gesturing to the small vessel.
"Aye, just about," responded Mr. Smee.
"Excellent. Rosey, after you," said Killian.
Ariel stepped forward, and the crew moved aside so she could climb aboard. Killian offered a hand for balance while Ariel stepped in, and he followed a moment later.
"Lower us down," commanded Killian.
There was a general murmur of "Aye, aye, Captain." Then the rowboat began to lower, inch by inch. The movement was jerky at best, and Ariel found herself clutching the sides of the boat. Killian seemed unperturbed.
"Relax, Rosey," said Killian, "They won't drop their captain."
His words did little to quell her anxiety, but she nodded all the same.
"And don't mind what I said before. If you fall in, I'll happily go in after you," said Killian.
Ariel paused. Was that why she was nervous about the rowboat swaying so much? She had spent her whole life in the ocean, and suddenly she found herself dreading going back in more than anything else. The irony tasted bitter.
Finally, the rowboat landed in the water with a small splash. Ariel let out her breath when she felt the ocean rolling beneath them. The boat being suspended in mid-air unnerved her in the same way that a human in the ocean did; those sort of half-lives were simply never meant to be.
Killian let loose the ropes from the sides of the rowboat, and the crew pulled up the lines. Then Killian grabbed the oars and started rowing. Land was not terribly far away, but the distance was a lot more imposing from the rowboat than a large ship. Ariel wondered whether she would reach the castle before nightfall.
Killian rowed at a steady pace. His arms pushed back and forth, dragging the heavy oars through the water. The soft splash of water against the wood soothed Ariel's troubled mind. Killian rowed in silence for a few minutes. Then he spoke, and Ariel was broken out of her reverie.
"I suppose I won't be seeing you again, Rosey," Killian said carefully.
Ariel almost shook her head, but then she realized that she genuinely didn't know. She had grown almost fond of Killian over the past day and a half. The prospect of never seeing him again stirred up something at the back of her mind. But she pushed it down and just shrugged noncommitally.
"I guessed as much. Probably to be something good waiting for you at the castle," said Killian.
Ariel nodded, a small smile slipping into her cheeks. She thought of her prince, all dark hair and large muscles. He had been so very handsome, not entirely unlike Killian.
Killian's hook caught her eye. It was difficult to ignore it, as Killian had looped it through a hole in the oar's handle. The hook almost sparkled in the evening light, and its sharp tip glistened ominously. However kind Killian may have been to Ariel, that hook had always been there in all its vulgar glory.
Except when we danced, thought Ariel, He took it out to dance.
Killian noticed where Ariel's eyes had landed. He said, "I suppose you're still wondering how I got it?"
Ariel looked up at Killian's face. He didn't look angry, but he seemed not to like the idea of telling her how he had lost his hand. Ariel knew all too well the feeling of not wishing to discuss the past. So she smiled sympathetically and shook her head.
"I appreciate it, Rosey," said Killian.
By this point, they had come very near the shore. Killian had to maneuver the rowboat carefully as they got closer. When they were only a few yards away, he dropped the oars and jumped out to haul the boat ashore. Ariel stayed in the rowboat, gripping the sides so hard her knuckles turned white. The tide was rougher than she would have liked, and the rowboat bounced along unpleasantly.
The rowboat bumped onto the sand. Killian let go and offered a hand to Ariel as she climbed out. The moment Ariel's feet hit the sand, she scampered away from the ocean.
"Are you so scared of the sea?" asked Killian.
Ariel didn't nod, but nor did she deny it. She hated having to be afraid of the ocean; it was her home, or at least it had been. But with a pair of legs confining her to the land, the ocean wasn't something she could return to so easily.
"Must have been some shipwreck," said Killian.
Ariel was barely listening. The enormity of what she was about to do struck her in that moment. When she had made her deal with the sea witch, she had been in the ocean. When she first tested out her new legs and danced with Killian, she had been on the ocean. Now, though, she was taking her first steps entirely separate from the water. Something felt wrong.
"Rosey?" said Killian, waving his hand around.
Ariel looked up, trying to feign attentiveness.
"I was saying," said Killian, "I suppose this is where we part ways."
Ariel nodded. She found herself missing the mermaid on the front of Killian's ship.
"I wish you all the luck in the world, Ariel," said Killian.
Ariel smiled. She curstied, as she knew that was the proper gesture that ladies did on land. It felt oddly formal. Killian indulged her, though, and he bowed like a gentleman. Ariel giggled silently. From his doubled-over position, Killian brought his eyes up to Ariel's. He grinned, and it was the same smirk that had gotten Ariel to dance with him back on his ship.
Ariel felt a sudden urge to dance with him once more. She knew she didn't have time; she had to get to the castle before nightfall. But Killian had been the one to teach her to dance, and it seemed odd to part with only a bow and a curtsy.
Ariel held out her hand. Hook looked at it curiously for a moment. Then he placed his hand over Ariel's and curled her fingers over her palm.
"I'm afraid I can't," he said, "I need to get back to my ship, and you need to get back to your castle."
His eyes were so blue. Ariel couldn't look away, but she knew she would have to in only a moment or two.
"Perhaps you can find a handsome prince to dance with, my little mermaid," said Killian.
He leaned down to kiss Ariel on the cheek. He gave her one last smile, and then he walked away and pushed his rowboat out into the ocean. He jumped in once the tide caught it, and he began rowing not long after. Ariel watched as Killian drifted farther and farther out into the ocean. She waved, even though she was sure he couldn't see.
When Killian had almost neared his ship, Ariel turned and walked away from the surf. The sand shifted playfully beneath her bare feet. The golden sunlight of the late evening drifted over the beach and painted everything a golden hue. Ariel forced herself to smile and look ahead toward the horizon.