Ursula cackled, snatching a shrimp and eating it with an audible snap. Things were going better than planned. Not only was Ariel enthralled, but her second target, the alien boy, was head-over-heels as well. Now all she had to do was catch one and the other would inevitably follow. That catfish was in the bag, as well. Ariel may be disobedient, but she was not disloyal.
"Even if that irritating female human doesn't do her part, Ariel might still not be able to go through with it!" Ursula sighed dramatically, puckering her lips in a mock pout. "She has such a pure soul!" Flotsam and Jetsam cackled obligingly and the witch joined in with her own low laugh. "Yessss," she hissed, rising from her seat. "I can almost feel the trident in my hands, the crown on my head. I can see Triton and all his pathetic fish friends bowing down to--"
"URSULA!" The sea witch started, sweeping her bubble screens from their pedestals to burst against the wall. Just in time. A second later, a platoon of mer-soldiers stormed the room with Triton at their center. The trident in his hands glowed red.
"YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" He boomed. The floor shook.
Ursula tutted. "Inside voices," she insisted infuriatingly.
"You are to blame for this!" Triton growled, aiming the tip of his weapon at the villain's chest.
"She came to me," Ursula corrected passively. "It's a free country. Unless you are such a controlling father that even freedom is denied her."
"Don't try to paint me as the villain." Triton accused. "You deceived her."
"So I'm being arrested for lying?" She snorted. "The contract she entered into is legal. Binding, and completely unbreakable." Ursula's too-red lips curled into an evil smile. "Even for you." The trident in the king's grip flared red, but he took a deep breath and contained his fury. Ursula, that serpent. She wanted him mad.
"No, you're not being arrested for simply being immoral. You're also being arrested for one hundred fifty-three accounts of embezzlement, staging a coup, and plotting with humans to sabotage a member of the royal family. Is that enough for you?"
Ursula realized she was trapped legally and logically, and she was no match magically for the trident. But maybe, with enough speed-- the culprit lashed out with a whip of black, static-y magic meant to knock over enough troops to allow her escape. Triton was quicker. Energy from the trident ate up the black magic, the trail leading back to the source in a split second. The gold magic wound around the witch and tightened in a death grip. Triton slammed Ursula against the wall and held her there, the magic from the trident creeping up over the wall until Ursula was caught in a gold web.
"I'm placing you under house arrest." The sea king informed his prisoner. "What happens to my daughter decides your-- ultimate demise." He turned to his men, leaving the sea witch to wrestle with her bonds.
"Ten of you stand guard." He looked up past the spine of Ursula's home toward the surface. "We don't want to take any chances."
********
Ariel stumbled off of the solar surfer still laughing, squealing when her knees buckled beneath her and she fell onto the cool sand. She turned over, kicking her feet as she giggled.
'Are my legs supposed to feel like jellyfish after riding on a surfer?' She asked. The moon was bright enough for them to see, and he smiled at her naivete.
"Yeah, it's fine," he said, rubbing his casted leg absently. He had forgotten all about it when they were in the air, and he was in too good of a mood to pay attention to the ache now. "Like finding your land legs after being on a ship for a time."
His companion nodded hesitantly, then directed her attention to the surfer again.
'But it's really a marvelous contraption. How come other people in the town don't have those?' Jim jumped, his mind scrambling to find an answer.
"Well--" he hummed, "this is-- just a test model. To-- see if it's safe." He gave the sail a good-job pat. "Yup-- seems pretty stable."
'It was amazing," Ariel insisted, rocking back and forth with her hands on her ankles. 'You could sail across the whole ocean faster than a dolphin.'
"I don't know about the whole ocean," Jim replied, sighing as he lowered himself carefully beside her on the soft sand. "Your legs would probably get stiff." She nudged him playfully, and he chuckled. "They would be good for scouting though..."
Jim thought for a moment. If Earth were a part of the Intergalactic Space Union they would probably have flying pogo sticks by now, but they weren't. The ancient leaders of the planet had denied any extraterrestrial trading because the other planets would swarm to Earth's resources. But if they had joined the ISU, Jim realized, they would be open for immigration. Everyone on the planet would know about aliens.
He wouldn't have to lie to Ariel.
That was irking him more and more lately, the weight of his secret bearing on his conscience.
Jim fell back on the sand with an exasperated exhale.
The sky was clear and black tonight, and a multitude of stars shown down on them. The spacer felt his eyes sting a little as he gazed at them, mesmerized. Then something hard shifted onto his shoulder and something soft brushed his face. He looked to his left to see Ariel's face only inches from his. Jim's breath caught in his throat.
'It's beautiful, isn't it?'
Jim looked hastily away from Ariel and back to the celestial lights. "Yeah," he said, "breath taking."
********
Ariel situated herself on Jim's sturdy arm (only noticing the muscle for a moment, you understand) and looked up to the sky with a sigh. They lay in silence for a few minutes. Ariel could see her companion's chest rise and fall with his breathing and made a little game of matching his breathing pace. When they were breathing in unison she focused on the stars again and a question came to mind. She poked Jim's side.
'What are the stars made of?' She asked. 'Are they angels, or fairy dust, or diamonds thrown into space by the gods?' Jim laughed at her.
"Nothing so glamorous." He said finally. "They are gaseous balls that are on fire, born from giant clouds in space." He gathered his courage and looked over at her.
All he could see were her forehead and eyes full of admiration.
'How interesting!' She exclaimed. 'They are really on fire. How does that happen?'
"Umm," Jim stammered. He'd never met a girl who took such a genuine interest in space before. In space stars and everything about them was common knowledge. On Earth they weren't considered interesting.
"They convert hydrogen into helium, and use fusion--"
'What's that one called?' Ariel interrupted, pointing at a star. Jim followed her trail.
"I think you're pointing to Betelgeuse. She's in the constellation of Orion. That one there is Rigel--" It had been so long since he had talked about the stars so freely, Jim couldn't contain himself. He continued to name off the stars in Orion and told a little bit about each one.
"--and that central one, there--" he said animatedly pointing to the center of the constellation. "--is not even a star at all. It's the Great Orion Nebula. But those aren't even my favorite stars." He grinned from ear to ear when he saw that Ariel was still listening intently, holding onto his jacket like she was clinging to every word. "My favorites are just up and to the right of Orion, that star cluster-- there! That's the Seven Sisters-- Pleiades." He sighed. "Just looking at her makes me feel more at home." They stared at the stars in silence until Ariel tugged on his jacket again.
'You belong there.' She sighed. 'If only that were possible... then you would be happy.'
He wanted to say it was possible, that that was his home, but all he could think of to say was-- "I am happy."
Ariel jumped slightly, a shock running through her. She turned her head up to look at him again. 'What was that?' She tugged on him again.
"I said," he looked down. Mistake. She was even closer than before, her nose level with his. "I am happy, here, with you. It--" he swallowed as their lips came closer, almost like a magnetic current was drawing them together. "It's almost like heaven."
In that moment, Ariel could only think of how cold the night was, and how his breath smelled like the chocolate from his dessert. She leaned into the smell, realizing that he was moving towards her as well. As the logical part of her brain shut down and her heart rate sped up she wondered if her breath smelled good, too...
********
"Aryal!" The couple lying on the sand jumped at the interruption. "Eet's dark! Dont yoo tink yoo shud be in bed by now?" Ariel nodded slowly, sitting up, far enough away not to hear the sailor let out an annoyed growl. Slowly, as her brain started to kick in, it dawned on the charmed human what she had been about to do.... with iJim/i. She scrambled to her feet and stared down at him, a look of utter horrified confusion on her face.
Jim just looked back up at her, a wry smirk on his face. There was a bit of regret in his eyes. He had kept his feelings hidden on the basis that Ariel did not return them, but she hadn't pulled away. As much as the romantic in Jim wanted to whisk her away, the probability of him being able to smuggle a human being off the planet was zero to none. Still, he didn't want Ariel to have any regrets, whatever her choice may be.
Sebastian beckoned again, and Ariel hesitantly turned and began to follow him.
"Wait," Jim said suddenly. Ariel whirled around again, a bit too quickly.
"Aryal!" Sebastian reprimanded, seeing the contradicting reaction as well. Jim held up a hand to the crab, signaling him to be quiet.
"Don't worry," he reassured, "I'm not going to talk her out of anything." He whistled and Max came running, Jim's crutches strapped to his back. The sailor retrieved them, waving Ariel off when she tried to assist him.
"There are--ugh--" He hefted himself up finally, and her jaw unclenched. "--some things you need to know."
'Do you want to sit--'
"No!" Jim barked, then exhaled nervously. "I'm sorry-- no. This is just really important. I-- haven't been necessarily honest with you."
Sebastian could barely keep from gaping as Jim told Ariel the whole story: about his rocky past, the solar surfer, the meaning of his special training on Earth-- everything. The ex-mermaid could only stare.
"Will you please 'say' something?" Jim asked. His knees were shaking so bad he felt like collapsing, but she somehow didn't notice.
She remained motionless.
"Aryal?" Sebastian asked worriedly.
So much was going through the princess's head. Jim was from the stars. He'd lied to her this whole time, let her believe that he belonged there like she only wished she could. But the one fear she could not shake was,
'You mean,' she sputtered, 'you-you're--leaving?'
Jim reached out a hand for her but she was too far away, and leaning forward would throw him off-balance. "Ariel, I have to. I--"
'No, I--I understand,' she interrupted, backing up. This simple act made Jim's stomach drop. 'You're from-- outer space and have-- obligations there.' Ariel was looking at the ground and the night was dark, but the spacer could make out the tears on her cheeks. 'You never planned to stay. Why should-- why should--' Her hands had subconsciously balled themselves into fists, and now she pushed their heels against her leaking eyes. Eventually she was able to draw them away and she attempted to scream, 'Why should you stay?!' before bolting for the house.
Jim made a shaky advance after her, but the sand betrayed him and he had to stop to steady himself.
"Tanks lad," Sebastian said quietly.
"Yeah whatever," Jim mumbled, completely emotionally drained. He whistled again breathlessly, and Max came bounding to his side. He licked his surrogate master's hand, oblivious to what had taken place. Jim smirked mirthlessly at the thought. "Lucky you."
********
Sebastian could only watch as Ariel sobbed. He could not think of anything sufficiently soothing to say, and anything he would have said to dissuade her of her feelings for Jim she was saying already.
'He taught me to be human, he taught me their ways!' She said bitterly. 'And he's not even human himself.' The crab bit back a defensive response. He had become fond of the lad as well, but Ariel could not afford any distractions. He wasn't even sure if she could pull out of this heartbreak.
'He looks human, though.' She reasoned. 'What differences are there, really, between him and a human being?' She lay silent for a moment, sprawled on her back over the bed, her right arm flung over her eyes. The other hand clutched her snarfblat to her chest.
'Still, he shouldn't have... he shouldn't have tried to kiss me if he knew he was leaving!' This brought another fit of sobs, and she was grateful once again for her lack of voice. Jim probably knew she was crying, but at least he didn't have the confirmation of hearing her actual cries. She hiccuped.
'I didn't realize how much I depend on him, Sebastian.' She gasped. 'Even as I look into my future; meeting the prince, staying human, marrying Eric and making a home here on the surface... I saw Jim there beside me every step of the way.' Ariel gave a wry chuckle. "I even imagined my children running around in this very room. Childish, I know, and narrow-minded, but--" the edges of the ex-mermaid's mouth turned up slightly in a genuine smile. 'I don't know why, but the thought made me happy.
'And then he had to lie to me, and I-- lie to him. It really wasn't meant to be, was it? This friendship-- wouldn't--' she stopped and another sob shook her frame. 'Wouldn't everything have been better if we'd never met?' Ariel cried even harder, because she knew that she wanted nothing of the sort. She clung the pillow to her face out of habit to muffle the cries that made no sound.
Sebastian crawled close enough to his ward to put a claw on her shoulder.
"Ah cannot say-- anyting dat will make dis ordeal easia fo yoo, Aryal," he began, "'cept dat everyting dat boy did-- well, almost everyting-- he did fo your good."
Ariel sniffed, but said nothing. Sebastian patted her again, then scurried out of the room.
When Ariel heard the door close after him she turned over on her stomach, holding up the snarfblat to the lamplight. Her eyes skimmed over the smooth wooden surface to the carved inscription. Another unbidden tear trailed down her cheek. She missed her grotto. She missed her friends... She missed her father.
Ariel gasped, her gaze snapping back to the initials on the snarfblat's bell. LH.
A lot of Jim's explanation that night had revolved around his bad relationship with his father-- Lacertes Hawkins. LH. The girl's eyes widened. Jim mentioned losing something called a--pipe-- with his father's initials on it. He'd lost it when-- then he'd-- and the stone that had released the anchor--
He'd saved them. And she had the sna-- the pipe he was missing so badly.
She gripped the pipe harder. He had always been there for her, whether he knew it or not. Ariel turned the pipe over in her hands, then hesitantly put the stem in her mouth. Finding the taste pleasant, she chewed on it as she thought.
It was too coincidental to be a coincidence... that a girl from the sea and a boy from the sky landed in the same place at the same time and found each other. It was almost like fate. Ariel sniffed. Well, fate had forgotten some crucial details. Jim had to go back to space and, oh yeah, she needed to kiss the prince to stay human.
'Stupid fate,' Ariel grumbled as she turned off the lamp, hid the pipe under her pillow, and settled in for a sleepless night.
********
Jim lay sprawled out on his bed, irritated because in his crippled condition he couldn't toss and turn like he wanted to. He couldn't sleep. He was still thinking about that night. She would have kissed me, too! He thought, his cheeks growing hot as he recalled their close encounter earlier that night. He found himself, as he battled with his conscience, wondering what her lips would have felt like. He was fairly sure they would taste salty, but were they soft or form? Her lips weren't chapped he knew that much. Had she ever been kissed before? Around this point Jim would remind himself she was off-limits and concentrate on how he could have handled the whole thing better. Morph cooed in his sleep at his owner's collarbone and Jim petted him absently. He couldn't have kept his secret any longer without regretting it. And now Ariel would not choose him even if she could, which would spare her the pain if she didn't know his true identity. But he couldn't bear the thought of her being angry at him. Maybe if he apologized...
Oh please, Jim scoffed to himself. You weren't in the wrong. The Academy ordered you not to tell anyone, and it's not like Ariel isn't keeping secrets from you too. Actually, it's pretty bloody obvious.
Stop that! Jim retorted. If I'm not in the wrong, perhaps she's not either. Perhaps she is in danger, or would be if her secret got out--
And I, of course, cannot be trusted because I lied to her even though she is lying to me. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Jim sighed inwardly. I just can't believe that you fell for a random girl after knowing her two days. TWO DAYS. And right after you promised yourself you were done with serious relationships.
Hey, when did this become a "serious" relationship?
Right when you told her the one thing that could lose me my scholarship to the Interstellar Academy. Both sides were silent for a minute as Jim stared out the window.
"You're right." He said aloud. "I've allowed this to go too far. But there's no use denying feelings that obviously exist. The question is, what to do about them?"
He lapsed back into silence again, his face toward the moonlight. He wanted to go home. To see his mom, sneak out to have a drink with Silver, to go solar surfing in the daytime and sail among the stars. Everything was simpler when he wasn't confined to the ground.
Seems to me--and you-- that the answer is obvious. The critical part of him mused. You don't belong here... the Earth girl does. So our only option is to disconnect from the relationship and get off of this bloody planet as fast as possible.
Jim growled, causing Morph to shiver slightly in his sleep. He didn't want to admit it, but he was right. But that didn't mean he had to obey. The spacer sat up, careful to not wake Morph, and put on his boots. He wasn't getting any sleep tonight.