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When they arrived back at the house, Jim's houseguest insisted that she would not go to bed until she had treated his wounds. Jim soon learned she had no idea how to do this, so he had to walk her through it, step-by-step (she wouldn't allow him to do it himself, to which he'd protested "Who's taking care of who around here?").
'So... who's Sable?' Ariel asked after a few minutes of instruction.
Jim thought about writing off the question. He really didn't like the subject of Sable, and told his guest so. But then he remembered how valiantly the girl had fought that night and that look of hers disarmed him somehow, and he caved.
"She's a girl... the prince's cousin," he added, as an afterthought. Ariel perked up at that aspect. "Anyway, she has a thing for me, I suppose-- no, fold the poultice to this side-- but that's only because I want nothing to do with her. She's a real pain, and persistent to boot. I've been trying to get rid of her since I arrived here two weeks ago, and these past couple days have been the first that she's detached herself from me."
Ariel considered this for a moment. It was hard to believe that a girl like THAT could be related to her perfect prince. Another thought struck her; one she couldn't shake for some reason.
'You have no feelings for her?' The redhead asked, pretending to be disinterested.
"I have strong feelings of distaste, yes," Jim said, leaning back in his chair, but keeping his arm outstretched so that his nurse could tend to his swollen knuckles. "But as for romantically? Heck, no! I've sworn off women." As soon as he said the last statement, for some reason Jim wished he could take it back.
If Ariel had been bothered by it at all, she only showed it with a small crease between her eyebrows, which promptly vanished as she finished her work on his hand and presented it to him.
That's right, Jim thought, as he applied the poultice to his aching shoulder. She's here for Eric, not me. Which caused Jim to grow a forehead crease of his own.
******
Ariel was in a large, black room riddled with purple dots, evil laughter ringing in her ears. "Your voice!" It triumphed, "I have your voice! Now I can star in the opera of my choice!" Ariel tried to call out to Ursula, for that's who it was, and demand an explanation for such treachery. But before she could, Eric's stone statue, minus a face, fell from nowhere, shattering the floor and dropping Ariel into the abyss below. She grabbed out for the statue, 'Save me, Eric!' She cried, but there was no reply. After a while it didn't even feel like she was falling anymore; just hovering alone in a bleak nothingness. And then, "Ariel? Is that you?" A window opened in the black and there was Jim, waving frantically above a hoard of tattooed and hairy beasts. They looked vaguely familiar, but their claws and spiked bodies prevented her from identifying them. "Ariel, wait right there! I'll come to you!" Jim reassured, but no matter what he said, he couldn't pull free of the beasts' grip. Ariel hoisted herself through the window and landed on the floor with an awkward flop. She looked down. A long, sleek tail was in the place of where her legs should have been. Oh no, she thought frantically, looking past Sebastian in bunny ears and holding a large gold watch to find a good hiding place. I can't let them see me, discover the merfolk. No, she realized. I don't want Jim to see me this way, to know that I-- I lied to him. "It's OK," Jim chuckled, finally extricating himself from his bloodthirsty attackers and landing beside her. The sun was setting behind him, which strangely made her all the more afraid. "I don't have legs, either." And indeed, when Ariel looked down, he didn't have legs at all.
Ariel woke with a silent scream and without a moment's hesitation pulled herself from the bed and sprinted down the hall. She slammed into several walls as she went, her terror throwing her even more off balance. Max, who'd been sleeping at the end of her bed, was awoken by her "outburst" and followed excitedly, wondering what all the hubbub was about.
She threw open the door to Jim's bedroom so hard it slammed against the wall. Jim woke up with a yell of "It's a supernova!" before noticing who had disturbed him.
"Ariel?" He asked, sleep heavy in his voice, "what--"
The girl approached the bed at a determined, brisk pace and ripped the covers from the bed to show-- Jim's two injured, but still attached, legs. Her nightmare proved to be just that, a nightmare. She laughed hysterically for a moment, then collapsed onto the sheets in tears.
"Whoa," Jim breathed nervously, wondering what to do. He hadn't seen her so scared since he first met her. and he'd NEVER seen her so out of control. "What's going on here? Did something happen to you?" Her shoulders only continued to shake, and Jim had a strange urge to hold her close to him. He shook his head. What?
He patted her shoulder hesitantly instead, whispering, "There there."
Suddenly Ariel hurled herself at him, her fingernails digging into the back of his nightshirt as sobs continued to rack her body. She was mouthing something at top speed, but he couldn't see her face while it was buried in his shoulder. Jim blushed as he realized other, more trivial and embarrassing things about their situation. He noticed how soft her hair was as it fell over his hands which were now on her back, holding her up. He noticed how pale her skin was in the moonlight and her smell; like flower petals on breaking waves. He also realized how her nightshirt was soaked through with sweat. He leaned over to turn on the lamp on the nightstand.
"You've had a nightmare," he mused aloud. Ariel nodded profusely, gripping his arms, as he now held her at arm's length.
'There was a dark room and a statue that wouldn't help me and you were being attacked by monsters and I was a-- Sebastian had ears and Ursula-- and you had no legs-- I am so scared!' She shrugged his hands from her shoulders and pulling him to her again. Jim blushed profusely over the girl's shoulder, but didn't push away (later he would wonder why that was).
Ariel suddenly realized the awkwardness of there situation and pushed him away again, pulling herself into a cross-legged position with her hands in her lap.
'Can-- can I sleep in your bed with you?' She asked meekly, avoiding his eyes. 'I don't-- I can't...'
Jim rolled his eyes and sighed. Did they not have such a thing as innuendo where this girl came from?
'Please,' she begged, sensing his indecision. 'I want to make sure nothing happens to you!' Jim wondered how his blush could possibly get any redder. Really, this was all too much. Still, she looked so terrified, and she was giving him that look again...
"Fine," he growled. "But Max sleeps between us. Get up here, Max." The dog didn't need to be asked twice, and the girl was put at ease, mouthing a thank-you as she wriggled down into the covers.
"Yeah. yeah," Jim mumbled, "Good night."
Jim couldn't sleep. Ever since Ariel had come into his life, he didn't know what to think of her. Could he trust her? No; she had probably almost certainly lied to him about how she ended up on his beach. And yes, he could trust her; she's saved him in the bar. He could trust her with his life. He had intended her to be a sort of project to keep him occupied, but he ended up being swept up in her wake. And he didn't mind. He acted strange around her, that was certain. Adolescent and nervous. But then Jim remembered; it didn't matter how he felt about her. She was bent on being with Eric, and Jim was certain that she was the "mystery maiden" that he was after. She'd have no problem snagging the prince. She'd had no problem snagging him. For, as much as Jim hated to admit it, he knew that he was attracted to the girl sleeping only a few feet away.
Not in love, but maybe, just maybe, he was willing to be.
Could he compete with a prince?
Very hesitantly, Jim reached across the sheepdog and swept the thick red bangs back from Ariel's face, absently stroking her temple. The teenage girl didn't pull back like he had, but smiled discreetly in her sleep.
That's right, Jim recalled. She dreamt about ME.
After that, he was able to fall asleep.
******
Triton was in a panic, pacing the throne room restlessly. His baby girl was in the human world, and not only that, but she'd fallen in love with-- the alien! The sea king didn't know how it could get any worse. He ran a shaky hand through his beard. He'd known about the other-worldly boy, of course. The Academy had to ask his permission before their students could train on Earth, and they had been using Earth as a training ground for decades. But this... he didn't know if he could allow it again after this. If he knew Ariel, she'd want to go with her newfound love into space...
If she even knows what he is. Triton's eyebrows rose, hope returning. He turned back to the scrying screen which he'd kept running since his disturbing realization. He'd watched as Ariel told her story to the humans, fought in a bar fight, and ultimately ended up in the boy's bed after a nightmare. Quite a busy first day. But at no time had there seemed to have been a conversation between them which revealed their true identities. Aside from the Ursula situation, maybe there was hope of saving his daughter yet.
Triton gripped his trident tighter and ground his molars.
That's right. The Ursula situation.
Ursula was having the time of her life. She'd conjured multiple scrying bubbles which allowed her to keep an eye on Ariel, her host, and her prince.
"In HD and surround sound," Ursula commented to herself, snatching another shrimp from their dish. The sun rose in the bubble displaying Jim's room, the sun's rays splaying across the bed.
"Finally," she giggled, settling farther down in her stone chair, "the game begins-- again." Flotsam and Jetsam hissed excitedly until she shushed them.
Right as the sun hit his face Jim got up, dressed in the restroom, and moved to another room that he seemed to have set apart for a special purpose. The day before the sea witch had spared no screen time for the boy, instead following Ariel's every move like a hunting shark.
Ursula had had much fun the day before, celebrating in the budding romance between the mermaid princess and a boy that was definitely not the prince. That would make things interesting. Knowing the noble princess, she would choose the one she loved over the smart choice, and Ursula's victory would be all too easy.
But now since Ariel was still sleeping, Ursula's camera of sorts followed Jim into his back room where he began to tinker and build upon a technology advanced even by human standards. The sea witch gasped. She'd heard the rumors, but...
"A SPACER?" She whispered, not believing her own eyes. But then he was joined by a canary that shape-shifted into a pink blob, and there was no doubt. A sinister smile cracked Ursula's face to expose her incisors.
Why go for the ocean? She asked, grasping Jim's image in the bubble and crushing it, When you could have the galaxy?
*******
Sable was having a bad day. The food in Florin tasted funny, no one appreciated her humor (didn't they know who she was?), and the service was terrible, too. She had to blow her whistle at least twice before a maid came running. It was only nine thirty AM.
The boys in this kingdom were a far cry from the buff men of her homeland, too. The duchess rubbed her gold whistle broodingly.
To top it all off, the maid she'd sent to keep an eye on Jim still hadn't reported back yet.
In the end Sable had not been able to send her letter to Jim. She hadn't been able to ask questions about his health and such like Eric had suggested. Wasn't SHE the only one who mattered in this relationship? So she'd given up altogether.
She wished she could have, though. Even though the guys in Florin were all too eager, they all seemed dull compared to the elusive Jim Hawkins.
Sable couldn't stand being indoors anymore. She'd stayed inside on Eric's orders (he thought she'd get in trouble if let loose or something), but enough was enough. Sneaking past her two maids/wardens playing chess, Sable slipped out onto a deck and down the stairs to the beach without a sound.
The waves broke against the rocks, flowers bloomed, and the birds twittered cheerily from the lush trees. But Sable didn't notice any of this calming beauty; she could only think of Jim. Why didn't he fall over his feet for her like the other sailors did? He didn't look any different from them, wasn't any more wealthy, and was without ANY social standing... yet he had so much self-respect. It was unexplainable and disgusting. Like he was from another planet.
Sable kicked a hermit crab from her path. Why HADN'T that maid reported in yet? It had been a couple days since she'd left; she should have gotten at least one report from her, even if it was to say that he'd not left his house all day. At least she'd know he wasn't cheating on her. She kicked another crab, just for fun. Then it dawned on her.
If I, the duchess, have to have such a commoner, think of how badly other common wenches would want to get their-- wenchy fingers on him! That little beggar might be flirting with him right now! Sable's eyes teared up at the very thought of such treachery.
"Get away from my man!" She yelled into the waves as if her servant could hear, picking up a rock and throwing it into the ocean. "Keep far away, witch, or I swear I'll kill you!"
"I like your spunk," said a captivating voice from behind the angry noble, "but witches aren't all THAT bad."
Sable tensed, then turned slowly to meet her visitor, a look of incredulity knit into her brow. The tall woman tossed long, dark tresses over one shoulder dramatically, and her mouth curled up in a way that Sable didn't necessarily like.
"My name's Vanessa," she said fluidly, holding out a hand. "And I believe we have important business to discuss."
"What business could we possibly have?" Sable asked shakily. She looked at the outstretched hand and folded her arms against it. "I don't recall MEETING you, much less agreeing to talk BUSINESS." Sable sneered at the last word. This stranger was lying. Any work-related relationship she would have shunned.
"You're right, we haven't met." Vanessa said, lowering her hand but still smiling. "Though I have some information you may be very interested in; information that maid of yours WON'T be bringing."
Sable was intrigued now, but pretended not to be. "What kind of information?"
"In a word," the older woman said slowly, "Hawkins."
With that one name, Sable was sold; hook, line, and sinker.
"What about him?" Sable asked, and then added suspiciously, "And why won't my maid be telling me any of this?"
"That's beside the point!" Vanessa almost snapped. "The problem is, in your absence, Jim has moved on. There are rumors in the marketplace that a girl is staying with him... at his house." Sable gasped and almost folded onto the sand but didn't because that would ruin her dress.
"Who?!" The duchess demanded. Vanessa only shrugged, her smile now nearly a smirk.
Sable didn't like this woman very much. She seemed to be feeding off her distress. But she had to know.
"No one knows who she is or where she comes from, only that she is very beautiful, and apparently a gifted storyteller." The tall brunette shrugged indifferently. "She and Jim are desperately in love, however, and she is going to meet with your cousin, the prince, the day you return to transfer her citizenship."
Sable actually growled. No one moved in on her prey. "You said 'business'. What, do you want me to pay you for this worthless information?"
"Oh no, Duchess," Vanessa insisted. "My only wish is to help you. The girl's time in your land expires at sunset tomorrow. Keep her away from Eric until the end of that day and poof! She's taken home and you have Hawkins all to yourself again!"
Sable tapped her chin. It sounded like a good plan, except; "If I know Jim, he'll follow the girl, especially if she's got him as brainwashed as you suggest. Then what?"
"Then it's not my problem," Vanessa said, a bit annoyed.
"And what part of this was your problem?" Sable shot back.
Vanessa raised an eyebrow. This girl was good. "Fine," the woman conceded, her beautiful voice once again amiable. "After the lover leaves, I'll personally send you and your dear Jim to an island paradise where no one can find you until you so choose it. How's that?"
That was extremely tempting, especially to a controlling and desperate Sable.
"Can you do that?" She asked, eyes as big as saucers.
Vanessa chuckled almost diabolically. "Honey, I'm a witch," she raised her arms with a flourish, "I can do anything."
******
Ariel woke alone in the big bed and, feeling the initial lightheadedness that comes with waking, immediately buried herself under the covers again. She inhaled their scent and sighed, feeling wholly content.
In that moment she felt completely at home, like she always slept in this bed and lived in this house with her loved ones; like she belonged there. Then the light and heat of the sun reached her and she remembered; tomorrow was the big day.
She padded back to her room and changed, still groggy and not recalling all that had happened the night before, and went in search of Jim.
She saw the light on in his study and, after knocking first like he had instructed, entered. He was polishing the board for the wave rider, the one she'd hid behind the day he'd found her-- was it only a day ago?
After smiling at him and receiving one in return, Ariel went to the kitchen to grab an apple and make what was called "coffee" for Jim. He seemed particularly attached to it, and it was the first thing he taught her to make. She located everything with ease, and even remembered to rap twice on the closet door before even attempting to open it. Once again Ariel felt a feeling of familiarity sweep over her. This was quickly dispelled, however, by the fact that this wasn't even Jim's dwelling, but was being rented out to him. Still, she was excited that she was taking to humans' everyday activities so easily.
"Thank you," Jim mumbled when she set a hot cup next to him, once again enthralled in what he was doing. She watched him for a moment, wondered if he was troubled. He usually invited her to sit with him. He loved telling her about sailing and how everything worked-- Ariel waved the thought away and went down to talk to her friends. If something WAS bothering him, it probably didn't concern her.
When she got to the beach, her marine friends were already waiting for her. She gave Flounder a big hug; she hadn't seen him much lately, and she missed having him as a confidant.
"I've missed you too, Ariel." He told her sheepishly as she placed him back in the water.
"Hiya, shweetie!" Scuttle cawed. "How goes land life?"
She just shrugged, but her beaming face gave it away. She was loving it. The food, the colors, the smells, the people-- one in particular. Ariel assumed that the face to come to mind with the last thought would be Eric's, but she found that she could not conjure it. Ariel frowned, propping her chin up with her hands to think. Why couldn't she remember his face?
Jim sighed and sat back once Ariel had left the room. Tomorrow was the big day, and he had come to a conclusion.
This wasn't his fight. Ariel loved the prince, and Eric appeared to love her. Getting in the way of their combined happiness for his own was selfish. Jim smirked mirthlessly, swiping a hand through his hair in barely contained frustration.
She seemed happy when she was with him though. If Ariel didn't ask him about the prince at least seven times a day, Jim would have gone for it. To the Black Hole with the consequences. Jim closed his eyes. Why couldn't two friends who were happy as friends not be happy as more?
Morph cooed worriedly, jerking the spacer from his revelry. He petted the little creature and sported a real smile.
"I'm OK, boy," he assured the shape-shifter. "It's not as if I know her really well anyway." Morph chirruped, not convinced. Jim chuckled. "True love? Come on, Morph," he joked half-heartedly, hefting the creature onto his shoulder. "You know there's no such thing." He turned back to the board he'd been polishing and, picking up a screwdriver, chipped two notches in the wood. He'd stopped counting the days on this wretched planet since the accident. Time to start again.
Ariel was thoroughly disturbed by her inability to recall Eric's face, and so thus avoided Jim for the most part of the morning (which wasn't so hard, since he was in his workshop). Instead, she tried to remember her prince's smile, or the shape of his face. She knew his basic features from what Scuttle and Sebastian could recall, but she couldn't conjure any of it on her own.
"Impossible chile'," Sebastian said sullenly as they watched her pace. "She wanted 'elp wooing de prince, an now after only two days on land she 'as forgotten 'im." He retreated half way into his shell. "True love mus' have changed definitions since ah was a youngster."
'What do you mean by that?' She stopped and stared at him. Sebastian blanched, but then noticed that she didn't look offended or angry, only confused.
"Well," he began slowly. "True love isn't usually based off of a life or death experience, but from fren-ship and affection." Ariel sat down in front of him and Sebastian, emboldened, continued.
"Love is based on passion and attraction at first, of coss. But true love, de stuff dat lasts a life-time, 'as both passion an pay-shonce, lust an long-suffering. The man yoo will love will be able to put up wit yoo at your wost, an yoo him. Yoo wud protect ech otha. Make shoe-ah your love for de prince is like dat before yoo marry him." Ariel stared at her lap for a moment, then wrote in the sand;
'What if the prince doesn't meet these requirements?' After a pause, 'What if someone else does?'
Sebastian thought about this for a moment. If it wasn't the prince, Ursula would have the princess for all eternity. And if the "someone else" was who he THOUGHT it was...
"Follow your 'art, Aryal." He finally said. "An do wot's RIGHT."
"And... finished!" Jim said joyfully, pressing down on the solar surfer's release button to unfurl a beautiful fire-orange sail. Jim had redesigned the contraption for the purpose of surfing the waves and not the sky, since the atmosphere of Earth was too heavy for the surfer to fly on its own, no matter the horsepower. The engine Jim had built (then reconfigured) allowed it to at least hover, however, and it was also able to operate in water. The young inventor smiled proudly as he stroked the hand-stitched fabric, tracing down the mast to the circuit-work embedded into the soft, light wood. It was a graceful instrument. A little crude, but sturdy and aerodynamic to a fault. A wonder of this world. To say Jim was a little smug is an understatement.
He had planned the craft to accommodate his cast and wanted to try it out right then, but couldn't ride it in broad daylight and risk anyone seeing.
Tonight I'll try her out. He thought and couldn't help sighing to himself, "Freedom."
"How did they find out where I lived?" Jim asked, slightly annoyed but also relieved.
He and Ariel had been eating a light lunch before heading to town, but the girl had been eerily silent for a mute. She hadn't asked a question, made an irrational remark, or even smiled. She just stared at her plate like it was staring back at her. Just as Jim was going to ask what was wrong. a barrage of knocks came from the front door. Jim used his crutches to cross the room and looked through the peep hole. He started; it was Jimbo and his band of brats.
He let them in, and they all stampeded past him to where Ariel sat forlornly.
"Why haven't you come ta see us yet?" Jimbo demanded, taking her hand. Ariel smiled, also grateful of the distraction.
"We were going to--" the host began to explain, but Jimbo cut him off.
"Did I ask you?" He snapped smartly, and the others giggled. Ariel frowned. She tapped the cherry wood tabletop to silence them.
'Don't treat him that way.' She ordered. Jimbo frowned back at her, but said nothing. Jim stood speechless, his brain only half comprehending what was going on. He hadn't pegged Ariel as the confrontational type, much less on his behalf. But she'd done it twice now.
It was quite a blow to his pride that he'd done nothing in return.
'Shall we go?' Ariel asked, rising to her feet. She didn't look at the children (she was still angry with them), but she didn't look directly at Jim either.
"Yeah..." The spacer's forehead creased slightly. What was going on?
They arrived at the well in the town square about an hour later, and a gathering was already waiting for them. Jim was nervous; he'd never been good with crowds. And Ariel's cold attitude this morning toward everything concerned him. But when Ariel saw the crowd of humans eager to hear her stories she brightened considerably and gave them all a huge grin as they parted to let them through. After Jim showed Ariel how to use the blackboard the school teacher had brought for her to use, she began.
'That was amazing!' Ariel squealed as they made their way through the hustle and bustle to the dress shop one of their listeners had recommended. 'Who knew hu-- the people of this country were so sensitive toward our-- the merfolks' needs!'
"You talk about them as if they were real," Jim chuckled, wheeling fast to keep up with her enthusiasm. Sebastian pinched Ariel hard in the leg from his place in her pocket, reminding her to be more careful of what she "said". Before Ariel could respond, he continued,
"But I have to say, you outdid yourself. The characters were very relatable, even though they were merpeople, and the imagery was amazing. Like I was really there." The redhead couldn't help beaming. "It was lacking in one aspect, though..." Jim mused, slowing down as he stroked his chin.
Ariel slowed as well, looking at him quizzically. 'What?'
"A resolution. Yes, the war between the two opposing underwater cities had a peaceful and satisfying ending, true, but the conflict which started it all, the princess who could not choose between the prince of the opposing city and the pauper from her own, was not resolved!" Jim watched her intently. "So, how did it end?"
Ariel blushed violently, then narrowed her eyes at him. 'If I remember correctly, you finished that particular part of the story for me.' Jim laughed.
"True, true. But I was a bit prejudiced when I told them that you-- she, I mean-- chose the pauper after the prince confessed his love for the mermaid working in the convent."
'Prejudiced?' Ariel wondered. 'What do you mean?'
Jim refused to blush, instead he leveled his steely gaze on her watery one. "I asked you a question first."
Ariel looked back for a moment, then turned away and shrugged. 'I don't know how it ends. I mean, the prince was perfect. He was kind and just and handsome. But the "pauper", as you called him, was-- REAL.' She shrugged again, her head turned so that Jim couldn't see her face. 'Does every story HAVE to have an ending?'
The spacer rubbed his neck thoughtfully, but said nothing.
Sebastian broke the silence.
"So," he asked in his deep baritone, "Where ah we going to next?"
The French shopkeeper at the local tailor's recognized them immediately.
"You are ze two storee-tellers from ze market-plaze!" She squealed, taking hold of Ariel's hands in her large, soft ones. "My cheel-dran love your storees! My dau-taer even wants to be a mare-maid when she grows up!" She smiled sweetly, leading Ariel back to where the dresses were hanging.
"You are heer for a dress, are you not?" She turned Jim, who was looking over a black leather coat, with a scandalous glint in her eye. "It is obvee-ous that zeez clothes are not a ladee's."
Jim frowned slightly. "It's not like that." He said sternly. "She needs a dress because she's going to go see the prince tomorrow." The storekeeper nearly shrieked in delight; this was better than a scandal.
"I have ze perfect sing for you, darleen!" She cooed, rushing into the back.
Ariel stroked the delicate fabrics in awe. Nothing this fine would last underwater, 'which is a shame' she mused. At the end of rack, hidden by the rest, was a sleeveless, light blue gown. It was of simple design, streamed to fit the body, but made of a stretchy, durable material to allow the wearer to move about (namely, dance). She gasped, taking it off of the rack to press it to her body. It seemed to sparkle from beneath the seams, even in the dim room. She spun around, giggling as the cloth brushed her bare calves. Jim pretended not to see, wheeling behind a shelf of boots before allowing himself to smile.
"I have eet!"
Ariel hurriedly returned the shimmery gown before the shopkeeper came out with another. This one was a rose pink with puffy shoulders and a low neckline. Jim leaned around the shelf to see what the woman had chosen, then quickly hid himself again so the vender wouldn't think to suggest something for him to match. As Ariel graciously accepted the gaudy dress and was ushered into a small room to change, Jim wheeled around the shelves to the dresses rack, opposite to the side where Ariel had been earlier. He tugged the side of the blue gown thoughtfully.
Ariel knocked on the wall a few minutes later to signal that she had changed. Jim immediately went to meet her, then stopped short. The dress was still as prissy and ridiculous as ever, but somehow Ariel wearing it made that OK. What's more, it fit her like a glove, hugging just the right curves and gliding gracefully in long folds over her legs. She had retained her innocence, but still looked like she belonged in a court. Like she belonged in a fairy tale.
With a prince.
Jim's face fell at the notion, the shopkeeper's praise not reaching his deaf ears.
Ariel was getting dressed up for the prince, not him. She loved Eric, not him. She was LEAVING him. Even though he had seen it coming, it was like his father all over again. Knowing there must be a look of horror on his face, Jim wheeled around, silently laying the due on the countertop and leaving the store, jingling the bell over the door.
And that's the end of the sixth chapter!
Thank you all for reading this fanfic. I love this couple, and am so happy when people are drawn to them through my writing. Now, to clear up some things:
~ In this fic, Jim is 17. He's been in the Academy for a couple years, so he's aged (obviously). Personally, I think in the movie he was closer to seventeen, since in the beginning as a child he was missing a tooth, but meh. Most people think he's 15, so that's what I went off of.
~ Prince Eric is neither love rival or villain in this tale. When I look at the film, I see that, to start out with, Eric is only basing his determination to marry his mystery girl on her beauty and life saving abilities. It's not until he gets to know her that he falls for her. Here, he does not get his 3 days, and so I paint him as a valiant prince trying to pay back the woman who saved his life in the best way he knows how.
~ This is a what if fanfic, so I am allowed to break the rules. So there. :D
But really, I appreciate all of the reviews (good and skeptical), and respect those who can calmly tell me they do not prefer the pairing. I'm just glad that they read it. XD