When Ariel woke up the next morning Jim was already up. He looked up as she stumbled in, trying to walk and put on her flat soles at the same time. She looked up in time to catch his smile, and the sight sent butterflies careening about in her stomach. His smile faltered when he noticed her watching him and he turned away, dishing eggs and bacon onto two large plates.
She sat down at the breakfast table as he laid the dishes at their places and caught the mug of tea the boy slid to her. They ate in silence for a few minutes, and Ariel became more and more frustrated. She did not want it to end this way. If all meals from now on were going to be tasteless and her mornings hungover with guilt-- if he was always going to be silent and give her those sad smiles-- she didn't want to go on living.
Finally, she slammed her mug on the tabletop, hot tea sloshing out the sides and burning her hand. 'I can't stand this!' Jim looked up with a start. Even Morph, who'd been enthusiastically sharing in his friend's meal, stopped mid-chew.
'I can't be mad at you! I have no iright/i to be mad at you, Jim!' She reached over to take his hand. She didn't know why she did it, but it comforted her to hold his strong hand in her small one.
'I want us to be friends, even if we can't be--together.' Somehow the last word didn't feel right, or maybe it felt too right, but either way she stared intently at her only bipedal friend and hoped beyond hope he'd forgive her childishness.
He stared at her for a moment, then his eyes narrowed a little and his lips twitched, like he was choosing his words very carefully.
"I could never not like you, Ariel." He said softly, finally. He patted her hand and removed his captured one slowly, almost as if he were trying not to startle her. Ariel's hands quickly withdrew, and she examined them closely, her fingers flexed experimentally. The spacer sat back and exhaled, then his eyebrows settled into the slightly brooding, normal way they always did.
When he snagged a bite of her eggs and asked, "You gonna finiss tha?" through his mouthful, Ariel knew that he held no ill will. She should have been more relieved, but she found herself wishing it had ended differently. The ex-mermaid quickly corrected herself. How could she wish something so selfish? Did she always hope for the most complicated, romantic outcome? She bit her lower lip when she realized the answer. Yes.
'I'm going to go-- talk to my friends.' She signed hesitantly, rising from her chair and rushing to the door. Jim swallowed and watched her go, a genuine smile on his lips and his heart beating too fast. How could he not be in love when she acted so ridiculous?
Ariel plopped down on the sand, then fell back so she was sprawled out on the ground, her fingers curling around the tiny stones. Sebastian surfaced first.
"Yoo no," he said in his deep baritone, "Your hair is goin to git sand in it if yoo stay dat way."
'I don't care.' Ariel pouted. 'I have to leave today.'
"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Flounder asked from the shallows. "Y-you'll get to see th-the prince! A-and stay hu-hu--"
"Hu-man!" Scuttle finished abruptly.
'I know,' Ariel whined, 'And I know this is what I have to do. I have to follow through with the--the imess/i I've gotten myself into. But--' Her glance went briefly toward the villa. '--something doesn't feel right.'
"Pre-wedding jitters." Scuttle diagnosed. "Everyone gets them. You doubt your reasons, wonder if he's really ithe one/i, and generally get your knickers in a bunch. But don't worry, honey--" He elbowed Ariel in the side and winked at her. "We'll be there for ya, all the way."
Ariel smiled and sat up. Something must have still been off about her, though, because Flounder asked, "You're having doubts, Ariel?" He was genuinely concerned for her. The princess smiled again. Throughout this whole disaster, Flounder had never blamed her, never reminded her of what an idiot she was.
'Yeah,' she admitted. 'But it will all work out.'
"Good or bad, do?" Sebastian pointed out. "Dat is de question."
Jim and Ariel walked as far as the edge of town, just as far as it took for them to get to the coach station to rent a carriage. The man at the station helped them load Ariel's bag and the large box containing the surfer into the back of the carriage, but Jim insisted on driving himself.
They continued at a reasonable pace as they cantered through town, but every time Ariel caught a glimpse of the palace she paled.
"--and BEN ran right into the-- Ariel?" Jim stopped in the middle of his story when he caught Ariel staring at their destination, her face plastered with terror.
"He's going to love you, literally." He assured her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She relaxed; she wanted to hold his hand there. When it withdrew, her shoulder felt unnaturally cold. Her look of fear returned. Jim noticed it again and frowned, turned back to the road, pursed his lips and determinedly flicked the reins. Ariel clung to the armrest, just as startled as the horses as they shot forward. Jim yelled warning to the early morning shoppers as the carriage crashed over the cobblestone roads. The girl looked over at her companion. His face looked similar to the previous night while riding the surfer, full of ecstasy and adrenaline. Ariel smiled, laughed, then whooped as they swerved around a wagon of produce.
Jim saw her laughing and decided to take their morning adventure to the next level. He stood up in the carriage, chariot-style, and threw one arm back with a yell. The standing was killing his crippled leg, but her smile was worth it. She stood too, but fell against him as they took a sharp corner past a bakery into an alley. She left her arm around his waist to support some of his weight. Jim smiled down at her and offered her part of the reins. She smiled and accepted, then gave the reins a smart flick.
The couple laughed harder as the horses ran faster, Ariel's fear fading as the adrenaline took over. In fact, Prince Eric and Ursula were completely forgotten for a few precious minutes, and she focused on keeping upright, turning the right corners, and synchronizing with her partner's movements so not to confuse the horses.
The ex-mermaid clung to her spacer friend tighter, wishing she could stay this way forever, in the coach, riding into the sunset together.
Unfortunately, making the horses gallop for their lives the whole trip to the castle nearly cut the arrival time in half. They fell, giggling, from the carriage, and Jim gave the reins to the tired horses to a valet. When he turned around, Ariel was sober and serene again.
He sighed. "You are going to do fine."
Ariel shook her head and muttered something he could not read.
"Look at me," he coaxed. She shook her head, clutching her bag like it would run away. "Come on, look at me!" He lifted her chin with his hand. "I will always be there for you. Even when I'm not by you, I--" He swallowed. "--I'll want to be. Because you're worth it, understand?" Jim's voice hitched a bit on the last syllable, making the princess's heart jerk. Ariel let out a silent cry, dropping her bag and flinging her arms around his neck.
'I don't want you to go!' She cried over his shoulder, though he had no idea what she was trying to communicate since her face was turned away. 'I'm scared and nervous and I can't run a kingdom! If you leave, I don't know what I'll do!' He hesitantly returned her embrace, petting her head and making soothing "shhhh" sounds to calm her down and possibly cover up the frantic beating of his heart.
"Come on," he said finally, loathe to break the hug, even if the court servants were giving them strange looks. "You've got a meeting with a prince."
Sable heard of Jim's arrival as soon as he descended from the carriage and hurried to the window to catch a glimpse of him. She was fully prepared to fulfill her part of the witch's bargain so they could send the rest of their lives together, but in her heart she still harbored the hope that Vanessa had been wrong, and Jim had remained faithful to her. Even from her perch at a third-story window, though, Sable could see the feminine, redheaded form that followed her beloved from the coach. The duchess watched with boiling hot fury as the redhead looked up at the castle, then threw herself at Jim. Sable bit back tears as Jim hugged her back.
"All true," she hissed. "That tramp! I'll show her to steal my man! She'll be deported and never see this coast again if I have anything to say about it!" And with that, the duchess stormed downstairs to meet her cousin's guests.
Ariel gazed up at the gold sculptures and painted murals curling around the high, arched ceiling in the main reception room, her jaw slack in awe. Jim was explaining the nature of their visit to one of the many butlers in the palace. The grey-haired, balding man stared at the redhead for a moment, gasped, and then enthusiastically scurried off, not asking why the girl was wearing boy's clothes and gaping at the ceiling. If this was ithe one/i, it wouldn't matter.
"I've told Brigan what our-- business here is." The spacer told Ariel, tapping her on the shoulder to jolt her from her revelry. "He will go alert the prince of your arrival. However," Jim exhaled out of the side of his mouth. "Eri-- the prince has been absent for a few days, and so has quite a bit of paperwork to catch up on. It might be a while before he is able to receive us, giving you plenty of time to--" He nodded toward her bag. "Get pretti--er." Ariel held her breath to keep from blushing and nodded. She looked around for a suitable changing room. She turned back to Jim, a quizzical look on her face. The boy's face turned bright red.
"Oh right!" He grabbed her wrist and led her down a hall. Ariel stared at their joined hands as they walked, realizing with suppressed sadness that this was probably one of the last times they would touch this way.
They bobbed and weaved through multiple corridors and soon the couple was hopelessly lost. Jim had to call to a maid and sheepishly ask for directions. The maid winked at Ariel and gave her a thumbs up signal as the two continued on their way, but the ex-mermaid was clueless as to its meaning. Finally, they stopped in front of a set of dusty pink double doors.
"The lady's waiting room is right through here, you can change here--" He began, but just then another grey-and-balding butler rushed up to them, his collar ruffled from running and his coattails flying out behind him. He skidded to a rather impressive stop, though, and straightened his pressed suit in record time.
"Mr. Hawkins?" He intoned in a very professional voice. Both teenagers looked at the man in a slightly awed, baffled manner.
"Yes, that's me." Jim managed, glancing over at Ariel and giving her a sideways i-have-no-idea grin. "What is it--"
"The prince requires your presence immediately." The butler recited. "He says that he must discuss your-- proclamation before he sees your, ah, guest."
Jim nodded, taking a step to follow the manservant.
"Get ready," he urged the girl clutching her carpet bag, "and wait here. Someone will come fetch you when I'm done talking to the prince, OK?" Ariel nodded reluctantly, turning away as Jim began to move away. With a sigh she pushed a door to the waiting room open, a feeling of regret building in her stomach.
For some reason it was a lot harder to change out of Jim's clothes than she had thought. Not only was strong sentimental value attached to the patched up clothing, but putting on the pink dress she was wringing in her hands meant she was leaving behind her newfound life forever. No more solar surfing, no more secret cave restaurant getaways, no more coffee making, and definitely no more bar fights-- Ariel brushed a stray tear from her cheek as Sebastian scuttled from his pocket on the outside of her bag to the stool she was sitting on.
"Ah yoo ready yet, Ary--oh."
Ariel frowned; was her distress so obvious? 'I'm-- I'm going to go through with it.' She told the crab. 'It's just scary, is all. What if I'm not able to woo the prince? What if one day isn't enough...'
"If eet's tru love, it'll be more den enough." Sebastian assured her, his claw on her thigh. "But yoo will only make eet harder on yourself meeting him in dees-- rags." Ariel gazed down at the cascade of fine pink material in her hands and nodded, standing to undress.
There was no other way; at least when she was married to the prince, she would be able to see Jim off when he-- when he left. Ariel sniffed. As Ursula's slave, she would never see her alien friend again, an idea which was fast becoming the princess's worst nightmare.
"And you are sure she's the girl, Jim?" Eric leaned forward in his high backed velvet chair, his arms supported on his desk. It was covered in various sheets of parchment for defense reports and from dignitaries. Many of them looked like they had coffee spilled over them; whether on accident or on purpose, Jim did not know.
"Yes, I am sure." The sailor nodded. "She can't sing or speak-- at least not at the moment, she lost her voice from drinking all that seawater, but--" He leaned his hands on the prince's desk.
"Eric, you know me. I would never bring you a girl that I wasn't sure was your mystery girl. She loves the ocean, comes from a faraway country as a runaway, and can recall all of the events of that night by heart. When the ship exploded you-- you gave her quite a scare."
Eric stood, his clear blue eyes full of hope. "Bring her in!" He declared, leaping up.
"Your Highness, she's is in the women's waiting room at present," a nearby maid-- the one Jim had asked directions from-- piped up. "Shall I go fetch her, sir?"
"No," The prince decided. "That would take too long. We will go get her ourselves. Come Jim!" Thought the prince had only requested for the sailor to accompany him, the rest of the room poured out after Eric, eager and curious to see the alleged "Mystery Girl." The spacer followed as well, but he dragged his feet, and so brought up the rear. He had really been hoping to escape before Ariel and Eric's reunion. Jim sighed, trying to ignore the babbling gossip and speculation occurring in front of him. He wanted to want only what was best for Ariel, but his heart refused to comply. Well, he had to be present, but that didn't mean he had to watch, and as for the wedding... if he could help it, he would not be there at all.
When Ariel was done changing in a small booth, a girl was waiting for her outside of the curtained off room. The girl was very beautiful; she had tan skin and luscious brown hair and eyes. Her form was petite with curves in all the right places. Ariel knew enough about men that even the most prudent of them would be attracted to this girl. Her red lips, however, were contorted into a slightly disconcerting smile, making her face seem almost grotesque.
"Hello, honored guest," the girl said, standing to acknowledge the other teenager. "I am here to escort you to the prince."
Ariel followed the brunette down multiple hallways and staircases, looking for anything familiar but not wanting to question her daunting guide. Soon, however, the ex-mermaid noticed the windows they passed were smaller and not as extravagant, less tapestries hung from the walls, and the paint was more chipped and faded. Ariel's gut began to churn; her hunch had been right. This girl, whoever she was, was not taking her to J-- to the prince.
"You really are a foreigner, huh?" The girl said, her voice cold enough to raise goosebumps on Ariel's exposed skin. "To not know who I am-- everyone, from this area at least, knows who iI/i am." The other girl stopped abruptly, turning on a high heel to face her guest. "Well, I know who you are. You're the tramp who is low enough to move in on my man while I'm away."
Ariel's eyes narrowed in confusion, and she shook her head to jog her memory. The only name she could come up with was;
'Eric?' She mouthed, baffled.
"Don't give me the innocence act!" The brunette growled. "I saw you attack him this morning, like the sorry excuse for a woman you are!"
The redhead's eyes widened. Jim. She's talking about Jim. So this girl must be--
Suddenly, Ariel felt much less safe.
"But don't think he loves you, because he is imine/i, and will stay mine until I decide otherwise!" Sable began advancing toward her rival.
Ariel, feeling a bit behind and oddly defensive, had no choice but to keep the distance between them by backing away.
Didn't Jim say he despised this girl? Ariel reassured herself. And he did-- Jim did confess that he-- was attached to Ariel. But perhaps it was not wise to tell Sable that.
"Still," the brunette was saying. "I can't have you getting permission to stay here and remain a nuisance, can I?" This threw Ariel off. What was this crazy human babbling about?
Then, Ariel felt the wood of a door against her back. In one fluid motion, Sable reached around Ariel, pushed the door open, and twirled her guest around so that the redhead head was facing the dark maw of the supply closet.
"Now be a girl and stay in here till sunset, k?"
Ariel let out a silent scream of surprise as Sable pushed her into the dark room. On instinct, the princess turned about as she fell and grabbed onto the first thing she could touch; in this case, Sable's skirt. The two girls landed on the threshold in a heap. The brunette lost no time in clawing at the other girl to let her get up. A dazed Ariel kept hold of the skirt with a vice-like grip. "Let go of me, you common trash!" Sable hissed, scratching at Ariel's face with her fingernails, leaving pink trails down the princess's confused face.
Sebastian struggled to the rim of Ariel's pocket to see what was going on.
'Jumping jellyfish!' He exclaimed. 'Aryal, woo is dees, and why ah yoo arm wrestling?!"
'Sable.' Ariel managed to mouth between silent grunts. 'Thinks I'm-- here for Jim.'
"Well, we have no time for dis!" The crab decided, and scurried up his ward's side to the smaller girls' hands where he proceeded to pinch her.
"Augh!" Sable screeched upon seeing the crustacean. With a violent flick of her wrist, Sebastian flew from his perch on Ariel's shoulder and slammed into the wall. The princess swore she heard a crunch. 'Sebastian!' She tried to scream.
"Oh, and she is friends with crabs too." Sable sneered, though her face was still pained from the pinching. "This just keeps getting better."
Something in Ariel snapped. Suddenly she was back in the bar in the city, and this petite, devilish girl was yet another barrier keeping her from where Jim was being helplessly tortured. With newfound vigor, Ariel hoisted herself up to grapple with her foe on even ground. Sable was startled by her captive's abrupt courage, but she recovered when the redhead planted her palms on Sable's shoulders and began to push.
"No, you don't!" Sable ordered, pushing back. She was stronger than the taller girl had anticipated, and the brunette gained ground. The duchess smirked as Ariel had to lean forward more to gain leverage on the marble floors.
"To think Jim could actually love a weakling like you." She grunted, pushing harder. "He was obviously trying to make me jealous."
'He hated you!' Ariel tried to reply. 'Jim scowled every time he heard your name. He will never love you!' Sable did not know exactly what the redhead said, but her growling assured the mute that she'd gotten the jist of it. Both teens kicked off their shoes to gain more traction on the slippery stone floor.
Periodically one of them would make a kick for the others' leg, or slash at the other girls' arms. Their grips on their foe's shoulders formed bruises. They mostly concentrated on keeping their footing. Both girls were running out of breath, and beads of sweat rolled down Ariel's face as she began to cave. In hand to hand combat Sable would not have stood a chance, but when it came down to fancy footwork Ariel only had three days worth of experience and next to no muscle mass.
Ariel made a go at Sable's face, trying to lure the girl into a fist fight, but the duchess knew where her strengths lay.
"I could make so many jokes about your apparent lack of lower body strength," the petite girl chortled, "but I will just say this; Jim is mine." Mustering up all her strength, Sable gave the redhead a final, firm push, and Ariel's slanted stance made it impossible for her to regain her balance. The ex-mermaid backpedaled into the supply closet and landed with a thud on the floor. With a triumphant leer, Sable slammed the doors shut and locked them with a flare of jangling keys.
When Eric and Jim arrived at the women's waiting room, pretty much all of the palace staff had joined them.
"This had better be good." Grimsby said, a tad perturbed. "I interrupted my yoga session for this." Captain Harris was even there, eyeing Jim on his crutches worriedly. The crease between the captain's eyebrows deepened when Jim bent over in exhaustion, the fish-shaped scar on his collarbone visible under the sagging cloth.
"She's in there?" Eric asked impatiently.
"Yeah," Jim said hesitantly, glad his breathlessness covered up some of his regret. "I'll-- I'll get her." The sailor knocked on the door. "Ariel? Ariel, are you ready? The prince is here to see you."
No answer.
Jim knocked again, calling out the same message, but no bouncy, flustered redhead answered the door. The youth frowned and his stomach clenched painfully. Something was not right.
"With your permission, Highness?" He looked pointedly at the prince, requesting entrance into the women's area.
The prince looked confused for a moment, then his eyes widened and he nodded insistently. "Of course!" He said, "Please go retrieve her!"
Jim propped one of his crutches against his side so he could hoist open a door, then swung himself in. He called out her name constantly as he scoured every inch of the pink, fluffy interior; in the toilet rooms, behind changing curtains, under vanity desks, but his friend was nowhere to be found.
"No," he groaned. "No, this can't be happening!" Panic seized him when he found his clothes discarded on the floor. "Ariel, where are you?!"
Eric hurried in upon hearing the teen's frantic cries. "Jim, what's--"
"She's not here. She was here, I dropped her off here. Look, there are the clothes she was wearing before changing--"
Eric raised an eyebrow. "She wore your clothes?"
"But now she's gone!" Jim said, ignoring the prince's query. "I told her to stay here. Augh, I'm so stupid! I should've known she wouldn't listen to me! I should have stayed here and waited for her. I shouldn't have left her side. Now she could be anywhere, lost and --" Jim ran a shaky hand through his hair, and the movement unbalanced him. He would have fallen if Eric had not caught his distraught friend.
"It's OK, Jim," He said with a chuckle, though disappointment was evident in his face. "We'll all look for her. Besides, my castle is perfectly secure. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Aryal? Aryal, knock twice if yoo con hea me!" Sebastian said from the other side of the locked doors. Ariel lunged at the door from her place on the floor and knocked hastily. "Okay, okay, I kno de-- repercussions hea." The crab reassured. "I will go try to fine' dat-- Jim boy. But I'm not makin'-- any promises. Dis place is huge, and I-- took quite a blow to de shell in dat catfish fight." There was a pause, and Ariel bit her nails in guilt. She was always involving Sebastian and Flounder in her schemes, and nine times out of ten they ended up in danger. Why did everything she attempt end in someone getting hurt? She remembered Jim's face at breakfast that morning, and tears welled in her eyes.
"Yoo-- did try hard, chile'." Sebastian said finally. "I'm so proud of yoo." Faint scuttling sounds permeated the wood as the crustacean hurried off.
The ex-mermaid sat in the dark for a few minutes, as numb as the darkness around her. She had failed. All of that work, her friends' sacrifice, the danger-- and for what? She'd even broke Jim's heart for a man she'd never met-- and never would meet, if this continued. At sunset she'd become a mermaid again-- though she did not know how she could be Ursula's slave while she was landlocked.. and literally locked.
Ariel frowned. No. Even if this solution hurt her the least, what about her friends? Flounder would be alone. Sebastian would be given the task of explaining all of this to her father. And what about her father? Her family? She hadn't even properly said good-bye.
Then there was Jim-- out of all of them she owed him the most. She didn't want him to find out her true nature, at least not like this. The princess sniffed, standing shakily to her feet. Not if she hadn't even tried yet.
Ariel charged the door, slamming into the thick oak with her shoulder. She clenched her teeth in pain, but she found satisfaction in hearing the wood groan. A few charges later she had dislocated her right shoulder, and was reduced to banging on the doors till her hands bled, and then pounding some more. She would not lose like this. Even if no one heard her or she if couldn't break the door down herself, she wanted the pleasure of knowing, no matter the consequences, that she had tried. She hit the door again, but her efforts were barely heard through the deserted halls.
Half an hour later everyone reconvened in the lower lobby, every search team fruitless.
"Where could she be?" Jim gasped, visibly shaking with exhaustion. The canary on his shoulder chirped in concern, pecking his face gently.
"I'm sure she's-- fine, Jim." Eric said, looping his arm under Jim's to support some of the sailor's weight. The youth scoffed.
"That line isn't as convincing the twentieth time." He pointed out.
The prince smiled wanly. "And your self-assurances just get more and more sincere. How do you do it?"
"Where haven't we checked?" Captain Harris asked, changing the subject.
"We've been everywhere the main corridors lead, the kitchen, and all of the suites." Eric mused. "That leaves the basement, the offices, and the Old Castle."
"Old Castle?" Jim croaked. "What's that?"
"You need rest." Harris said sternly.
"With all due respect, sir, no." Jim replied, matching the burly man's tone. "I've taken care of her, I brought her here, she's my responsibility." He turned his attention back to Eric. "So, what's Old Castle?"
"It's, uhh--" Eric swallowed. No one had ever talked to the captain like that before. "I-it's the original castle. We don't use it for much more than a dungeon and storage anymore, but my forefathers did not have the heart to build over it, so the untampered structure still stands."
Jim pondered for a moment, his chin in his hand. Then he repositioned himself so he was standing on his own again.
"Take me to the dungeons." He said.
Ariel finally gave up on pounding to nurse her wounds and explore her surroundings. Sucking the blood from the heel of her left hand while the other dangled uselessly on her right, she stood and felt around with her feet, using her bare toes to investigate any object she found. The new human discovered a few sacks of mulch, a stack of wooden planks, and a rake before her foot found something near the center of the small room. In fact, she nearly slipped on it, the arch of her foot bending over the cylindrical object and kicking her leg forward.
Ariel was able to regain her balance, but the strange item clanged about on the other side of the closet. Another few minutes elapsed before the girl found the treasure again. She rotated it in her hand, explored it with her fingertips. The object was metal, about three inches in length. It sloped to a slab at one end, and had a hole cut near the tip. The thing was apparently hollow. Ariel brought the slanted end to her mouth and blew. A shrill sound erupted from the small instrument, and the redhead nearly dropped it.
'A snarfblat.' The princess mouthed, for lack of a better word. 'The one Sable wore.' She blew into it again, the resulting note so sharp that Ariel's ears rung. Beyond the locked doors the high frequency echoed off of the walls. 'This sound will travel much faster and farther than my futile banging.' The girl realized. She pressed herself up against the door and exhaled hard and fast into the little metal instrument.
Hear me, Jim, she pleaded. Come rescue me.