Killian is still asleep when Ariel slips out of bed. His arm, which had been wrapped around Ariel's midsection, slumps against the bed. Ariel tries not to bump into anything in the pressing darkness of the cabin, but she can't see anything except for vague outlines. The floorboards of the cabin feel cold against her bare feet as she gathers up her clothes.
Ariel grabs the dagger from the shelf near the door. Upon leaving the cabin, she finds the stairs easily enough. She has to be careful not to trip on the ascent, though.
Her night vision has almost entirely adjusted by the time she emerges onto the deck. The moon looks like a Christmas bauble strung up just above the horizon. It provides just enough light by which to get dressed. After donning her clothes, Ariel straps Gold's dagger to her hip. It weighs heavy in its sheath.
Ariel wonders what time it is. Then she decides that she'd rather not know. She'd prefer not to spend these last few, night-shrouded hours counting down the minutes until she fights Ursula.
There are lanterns on deck, but Ariel doesn't bother lighting them. She doesn't mind waiting in the dark. She doesn't have any matches, anyway.
Dawn is long in coming.
Ariel leans against the mast as she waits. She feels vaguely cowardly, having slipped out of bed in the middle of the night. And for what? To to avoid a messy goodbye?
Killian would not try to talk her out of it, Ariel knows. But whatever the case, it would serve no other purpose than muddling Ariel's heart. And quite frankly, she doesn't want to deal with that. Not today.
Ariel watches the sky grow lighter as time trickles by. Black turns to blue turns to the faintest pink around the horizon. When dawn is near, Ariel descends the steps down the side of Killian's ship. It's almost time.
She waits where the docks meet the street, far from Killian's ship. It's safer if Ursula doesn't know where it is.
Ariel leans against a building as she waits, trying to appear dauntless. Her position is strategic: from this vantage point, Ursula cannot take her unawares. Still, Ariel is nervous. Her life depends on her ability to best the sea witch. What if she doesn't have it in her?
Ariel thinks of Killian, of having to see him beaten and bleeding. She takes a deep breath and stands a little straighter.
Killian is still in bed. He yawns, stretches, and reaches over to flick on a lantern. The sheets slip down to his thighs, leaving his torso exposed. Killian shivers in the morning chill and beings to look around for his shirt. In the heat of last night, his clothes had gotten strewn all over the cabin. Killian grins at the memory.
There comes a sound from outside the cabin. Killian's ears prick up but catch nothing. He disregards it as the wind.
As he is pulling on his boots, he hears the sound again. It sounds like a voice, a woman's voice.
Killian shoves his sword roughly into the scabbard at his waist. Then he leaves the cabin in pursuit of the voice.
He hears it, whispering his name. And he would stake his life on it being Ariel's voice. He probably knows it better than his own.
"Ariel!"
"Killian!"
Her voice is coming from farther below deck. Killian runs down the stairs, following Ariel's dulcet voice. It is all the sweeter for his not having heard it recently.
"Killian!"
"I'm coming, love," he says, "I'm coming."
Faster, faster he goes down the steps. Ariel calls out to him all the way down, but she seems to get farther away. He can hear her voice coming from somewhere below him, though. Is this a trick? How could Ariel have gotten her voice again?
He stops. Ariel is still calling out to him, but there is something off about her voice. How could it be hers, when she is gone to fight the sea witch? Killian knows then that this is a trick. He turns and runs back up the steps. Ariel is on the dock, not in the hold of his ship.
The sun has cleared the horizon, and still Ursula has not appeared. Ariel is growing concerned. What if Ursula has deceived her?
She pulls the dagger out of its sheath and palms the grip compulsively. She passes it from hand to hand and practices thrusting it forward. Oh God, why didn't she prepare for this?
Sunlight blooms over the docks. Ariel feels its warmth spread over her face. She will not need her coat if Ursula takes much longer. Today is going to be unseasonably warm, she can tell.
Finally, she hears footsteps. She turns and sees Ursula coming down the street, cool as you please. The sea witch has her hands tucked in her coat pockets, and she has a wry grin spread across her face. She looks as though she has already won this fight.
"Sorry I'm so late," says Ursula in a cloying tone.
Ariel steps away from the building she'd been leaning against. She grips the dagger firmly.
"Oh, were we allowed to bring weapons? The messenger boy didn't specify," says Ursula.
Ariel does not let Ursula goad her into attacking first. She can what trick the sea witch is playing.
Ursula steps closer, prowling like a cat. She's grinning manically, and it gives Ariel the distinct impression that the she's actually enjoying this. Ariel, on the other hand, can practically feel the fear and electricity crackling along her skin. She's ready for a fight, dammit. Ursula is dangling it in front of her, teasing her with the idea. But she won't let her actually have it. Not yet, at least.
"Are you going to kill me? Is that the plan? I think you'll find me surprisingly hard to kill," says Ursula.
Don't let her get in your head, Ariel tells herself. She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves.
Ursula is only a few feet away now. Ariel maps out the spot on Ursula's chest where she'll drive the dagger in. It'll be easy, she tries to tell herself. But she feels herself begin to tremble like a scared little girl. She tries to force down the nerves. But oh god, she has to kill someone or else she's going to die. What if she can't do it?
Ursula is barely inches away. Ariel steps back, reacting to the sudden closeness. Ursula's very presence makes her uncomfortable. She can't bear the thought of Ursula actually touching her.
"Do it. Kill me," whispers Ursula. "Or are you too scared?"
Ariel lets herself be driven back toward the edge of the dock. She's still holding the dagger, but she can't find the courage to use it.
"Is your pirate coming to help you?" says Ursula.
Ariel swallows her fear as best she can. But it gobs up in her throat, and she finds herself suddenly unable to breathe.
"Between you and me, I don't think he's coming. I've set up a little something that's going to have him laid up for a while."
Ariel freezes. Her mind races through all the possible horrors Ursula could have inflicted on Killian. Her eyes flick toward the Jolly Rodger, but of course, she sees nothing.
"Would you like to know what it is?" asks Ursula.
Ariel shakes her head "no." She won't give Ursula the satisfaction.
But a second later, she hears the explosion.
Magic hides the ship as it initially sets afire and rips apart. But the explosion bursts apart enchantment and ship alike. After only a few seconds, fiery wreckage fills the air to clatter onto the dock or land flacidly in the water.
Ariel scans the dock for Killian. She cannot see him.
Ursula takes advantage of Ariel's distraction and grabs her by the shirt. She practically lifts Ariel off the ground and gets in sickeningly close to her.
"Shall we call that the starting signal?"
She throws Ariel across the dock with surprising strength. Ariel falls hard on her hip, but she manages to keep a hold on the dagger. She scrambles to her feet as Ursula gets nearer and nearer.
The sea witch holds a ball of fire in each hand. She lets them fly with a flick of her wrists. Ariel leaps to the side at the last second to avoid them. A charred hole marks where she stood not even a second ago. Prickles rise on her arms as her brain processes what the blasts might have done to her.
If she had a voice, she surely would have squeaked like a frightened little mouse.
One by one, Killian's senses slowly come back to him. Consciousness slipped away from him for barely a moment, but his head is still swimming. He knows he has his sight back by the distinctive way that the sunlight plays on his eyelids. Hearing is the last sense to return, and when it does, everything still sounds muddled.
It was lucky that Killian wasn't in the hold when the ship exploded. He surely would have died.
He counts his limbs, shifting them against the dock so as to take inventory. Arms, check. Legs, check. His torso feels like it's in one piece, or as near as makes no matter. His head is a little worse for wear, but thoughts are coming in clear enough.
He'll live.
Killian opens his eyes. Then he hears a thoroughly unwelcome voice.
"It's dishonorable to attack an unconscious man," says Eric. "Even worse to attack his dead body."
"Lucky for me," says Killian, but the words come out as a garbled mess.
He tries to sit up, and he almost succeeds. But then the dock comes up to meet him and smacks him in the head. Who is lifting the wood, he wonders?
"Not too far from a corpse, I think," remarks Eric.
"Go to hell," says Killian. His words come out much clearer this time.
"I'd be happy to send you there," says Eric.
Killian presses his hands into the dock for balance and rises to his knees. He checks that he still knows where the ground is. Assured of that much, he stands. He has only a moment to gather his bearings before he is set upon by an adversary of negligible skill.
Eric focuses largely on throwing punches and not much on blocking them. Killian gets in at least two hits for every one that Eric lands. But Eric has the advantage of not having just barely survived an explosion, a handicap which is proving more than a little annoying to Killian. His ears are still not acclimated from the loud blast. Every one of Eric's jibes sound as though they are coming from underwater. The thought gives Killian an idea.
He drives Eric toward the edge of the dock easily. Having been in too many fights to count, moving his opponent where he wishes is as natural as breathing. Eric, Killian knows, was a prince back home. He was accustomed to honorable fights where men played fair. Killian fails to see the fun in that.
Eric only sees Killian's ploy when he is very near the dock's edge. He tries to run forward to avoid the trap, but Killian catches him around the middle.
"Not going to be so easy as that," says Killian.
Then, as easily as if Eric were a sack of potatoes, he shoves the bastard off of the dock and into the water with a satisfying splash. He hears a large spluttering and a fair amount of swearing. He grins.
Eric is still shouting as Killian walks away. Killian's strength is quickly failing him, as he used what little he had left of it to deal with Eric. But then he sees something not far off that gives him strength enough for twenty men.
Ariel.
Ursula knocks the dagger from Ariel's hand. Her talons catch Ariel's skin, leaving bloody red claw marks. Ariel recoils, clutching at her hand. Ursula takes the chance to lunge forward. But a second later, she falls back. Behind her, Ariel sees Killian holding his bloody hook in the air.
She has never seen a more magnificent sight.
Ursula is not badly damaged by the hook. A little bit of blood trickles down her hair, but Ursula pays it no mind. She quickly whirls around to lash at Killian. He ducks her first blow easily, but he is not prepared for her magic. Ursula unleashes a blast that sends him sprawling.
Ariel takes advantage of Ursula's distractedness to reach for the dagger. Her hand is only an inch away from the damned thing when the back of her arm rips open for no visible reason. Ariel knows it to be Ursula's work. The slashes are identical to the ones that Ursula gave Killian on his legs.
Ursula sets upon Ariel again. She pulls her away from the dagger before her fingers can close around the handle. A desperate cry rises in Ariel's throat and escapes as a silent whimper.
"Set your attack dog on me, did you?!" cries Ursula, "See how you like it when I tear his flesh to ribbons!"
Ursula slams Ariel against a nearby bench. The edge of the bench hits her in the middle, and she feels her spine crack. Her neck snaps back and forth, and for a moment she sees stars.
"You paid me your heart in exchange for legs. Last I checked, you still have legs," says Ursula.
Ariel tilts her head toward Ursula, but her eye is drawn to what Killian is doing behind her. He crouches to the ground, and he seems to be reaching for something. Ariel suppresses a smile as she realizes what it is: Killian is holding the dagger.
Ursula swoops down to pin Ariel to the bench. The metal presses into Ariel's back, making her wince in pain. She tries to move out of Ursula's iron grip, but the sea witch is strong.
There comes a large thump. Ariel tilts her head and is surprised to see not one, but two black-haired men lying in a heap on the ground. She knows immediately who the new man in the fight is. Why is he soaking wet, though?
Ursula turns around but does not break her grip on Ariel. She surveys Killian and Eric briefly before issuing a crisp command.
"Finish him," she tells Eric.
Ariel knows Killian can best Eric in a fight. But when Ursula has finished pulling out her heart, she will surely turn around to slaughter Killian, too. Or maybe if she has Ariel's heart in her hand, she will command Ariel to do it. The thought makes her shudder.
Ursula turns back to Ariel. She adopts a simpering smile, and she crowds in close to Ariel's face. Ariel tries to turn away, but Ursula grabs her jaw roughly and forces her to look her in the eye.
"I'm a reasonable woman," says Ursula, "I only want payment for doing you a service. Your new legs have served you well, after all. They're fairly valuable, I'd say."
Ariel shakes her head. She mouths "please" but no sound comes out. Desperate, furious tears well in her eys. She reaches out to claw at Ursula, but the sea witch catches her arms and digs her razor-sharp nails into the cuts on Ariel's arm. Ariel squirms in pain.
"It will be more painful if you do not stay still," hisses Ursula.
Ariel bites her lip. She looks over Ursula's shoulder for one last look at Killian, but her eyes are instead drawn to Eric. He has the dagger in his hand, and Killian is right next to him. But Eric does not attack him.
Ursula extend her arm toward Ariel. Her long, red fingernails stretch forward for the first taste of blood.
Ariel's eyes do not stray from Eric. What is he doing? Then suddenly, she feels hope flare up in her chest.
Eric throws the dagger up in a soaring arc. Ariel watches it, not comprehending what is happening. She watches it go up and up, unsure of where it is going to land. In the bay? But then it begins to fall, and she sees that it is coming towards her.
Ursula's hand pierces through Ariel's shirt, scratching the skin below. Ariel's hand closes around the dagger. She catches it by the blade; it cuts a sharp line down her palm. Ariel wastes no time in shifting the blade to her other hand, handle-first.
Ursula's hand is submerged to the wrist in Ariel's chest. Ariel can feel the woman's fingers scrabbling around for her heart. It will be easier to get out this time, having been pulled out once before. But Ariel has no intention of letting that happen.
Ariel shoves the dagger into Ursula's chest.
Ursula pulls her arm away, leaving Ariel's heart behind. The knife sticks out of Ursula's chest as she falls to the ground, screaming in agony. Black blood oozes out from her wound, turning to smoke as it comes into contact with the air. It shrouds Ursula in a demonic, dark haze.
Ariel rises to her feet slowly, watching the whole display in equal parts relief and horror.
Then it is over. Ursula screams no more, thrashes no more. The smoke dissipates. All that is left is the broken corpse of a woman deranged.
Ariel clenches her palm, trying to ignore the pain. She can patch herself up when she returns home. She steps forward and kneels beside Ursula's body. She takes a long look at the dead sea witch before prying the dagger from her chest.
Gold. She needs to get the dagger to him with the blood still on it.
Ariel stands and almost sets off running before she sees Eric. His head is tilted downward contritely and his hands are, as ever, shoved in his coat pockets. Ariel looks down at the dagger in her hand. Why did he throw it to her?
"I loved you, you know," says Eric.
There it is. The harsh truth Ariel never wanted to acknowledge when they had been sort-of-together.
"I couldn't just watch you die," he continues, "And there's something else…"
Eric reaches down the front of his shirt to draw out a seashell on a string. It is shaped like every other seashell on the beaches of Maine, but there is something odd about it. Ariel can't put her finger on it.
"Ursula made me go buy it from Mr. Gold. It didn't come cheap, you know. But I think it was worth it," says Eric.
He pulls the shell off of its strung and throws it to the ground. The shell splinters. Gold light seeps out from the cracks. Eric crushes the shell beneath his foot, and the gold light flows freely through the air. It buffets about as if gusting in the wind, and then it comes toward Ariel.
She feels her throat grow warm. She recalls the first time she drank fresh water after gaining her legs. She remembers what it first felt like to speak without seawater clogging her mouth. When she speaks now, she has never known words to taste sweeter.