Eric's mind pulsed with every stroke of his oars. The sea felt more alive to him than ever. It held more secrets than he had ever imagined. There were mermaids and witches with legs like octopi. There was magic and evil and danger. For the first time, Eric felt afraid of the ocean.

The sky was darkening quickly. Eric searched the water for a sign of where Ariel had gone. A few lengths away, he saw the water glowing the same gold that had come out of Vanessa's broken necklace. Eric moved his boat until it was directly beside the light. He searched the boat for a weapon and saw a harpoon gun resting by his feet. Perfect, he thought. Eric lifted the gun. Taking a deep breath, he dove into the light. Years of swimming made it easy for Eric to propel himself deeper into the water. It wasn't very deep because they were near the reef. His eyes swept the rocks, searching for a sign of Ariel. He saw a flash of red hair. He swam towards it. The scene before him was confusing. Ariel swam over a shriveled creature. The octopus lady who used to be Vanessa held a trident. She stroked it. Eric couldn't hear anything because of the water around him, but it looked like she was laughing. Suddenly, Ariel sprang towards the witch and grabbed her from behind. The witch flung her off and pinned her to the ground, holding the bright trident to her throat. No! Eric aimed the gun at the purple monster. He fired. The harpoon shot through the water, grazing the witches arm and landing with a quiet thud in the sand beside Ariel.

The witch turned and looked at him furiously. Ariel's mouth moved and she struggled to get to him. The witch pointed to the prince and appeared to speak to two eels. They replied by swimming towards Eric. Eric was running out of oxygen. He turned and swam towards the faint light that was still in the sky. He broke through the surface of the waves and clung to the side of his boat, but before he could take more than one breath, something gripped his legs and pulled him back into the depths. The two eels wrapped their slick bodies around the prince and dragged him down. Eric had no breath in his lungs. He needed to get back to his boat. Suddenly, the eels released him. Without looking back, he made his way to the surface. When his face left the water, he gulped in the air. He hung onto his boat and took several deep breaths.

"Eric!"

Eric turned and saw Ariel swimming towards him. He immediately let go of the rowboat. All he wanted was to hold her in his arms.

"Ariel!" he called.

"Eric, you've got to get out of here!" the mermaid said.

Eric gathered her in his arms and held her close protectively. "No," he said firmly. "I won't leave you."

There was a rumbling and a purple light came up from the waves. A great yellow spike came out of the water directly between Eric and his love, forcing them apart. As it rose higher into the air, Eric saw that they were on the sea witches head. She had turned herself into a real monster. She was fifty times larger than she had been before. Eric grabbed Ariel's hand and they jumped away from her. When they were in the water, Eric took Ariel in his arms again. He had never been so afraid in his life. How are we going to get out of this one? he thought. Ariel shook in his arms. She was as afraid as he was. I must be brave for her. He tightened his arms around her.

"You pitiful, insignificant fools!" bellowed the witch. The clouds darkened. The waves shook. The witch's tentacles jerked around like serpents.

"Look out!" Eric yelled, swimming away as one of the black and purple tentacles splashed in the water directly next to them.

The waves were angry now. They rose up higher than Eric's castle. Eric tried to swim back to Ariel, but the water was too strong. It pulled him away.

"Eric!" the mermaid called out. Eric was thrown up and down on the wild ocean waves. Eric struggled to keep his head above water but the waves continued to crash on top of him.

Then, a ship appeared. The witch must have displaced some of the wrecked ships with the unnatural way she's moving the water, Eric realized. The ship plowed towards him. It was going to hit him. Eric was pulled under it, his head missing the rotting wood by inches. He was caught in the current created by the vessel. He reached for something to hold onto and his hands found a stray rope. Using all of his strength, Eric pulled himself up over the edge of the boat. He was far away from the sea witch and Ariel now, but he could see them clearly. The witch pointed her trident at Ariel and fired a bolt of lightning at her. Ariel was flung into the water. She disappeared from sight.

Fighting the jerking of the ship and the water that crashed over the sides, Eric made his way to the wheel. Eric forced his sore muscles to control the spinning wheel. He carefully steered the ship towards the cackling sea witch. She didn't notice him. She was focused on aiming her trident down a whirlpool. Somehow, Eric knew Ariel was at the bottom of it. When he got close enough to her, the witch turned and saw him. The horrid laughter in her eyes quickly turned to surprise and then pain as Eric twisted the wheel and sent the broken mast of the ship through her heart. Electricity vibrated over her body. She howled in agony and fell forward on the ship. Eric jumped just as the witch and the ship vanished beneath the waves.

As the sea calmed, Eric was able to swim back to the beach. He crawled onto the sandy shore, breathing heavily. Ariel, he thought.

And then, everything went dark.

The sun was coming up before Eric regained consciousness. He groaned. Everything hurt. He could barely move. Carefully, he rolled himself onto his back and closed his eyes again. He couldn't remember where he was or how he had gotten there. Slowly, it began to come back to him. Vanessa, the wedding, Ariel. Eric struggled to sit up. He had to find Ariel!. He needed her. He knew that more than ever. He wanted to protect her, love her, make her smile. His heart dropped. He hadn't seen her after the sea witch died. What if she didn't make it? He rubbed his head, looking out over the water urgently.

But his worried frown was instantly replaced by a loving smile. Ariel was walking towards him on two human legs. She was sparkling in a beautiful blue dress. She looks so good in blue, Eric thought. All of the stiffness he had felt before seemed to melt away. He jumped up and ran to her, lifting her into the air and spinning her around. The feeling in his heart was indescribable. She was the one. He wanted nothing more than to make her his bride. He couldn't wait to talk to her, to laugh with her, to cry with her, and to spend the rest of his life with her. He looked into her shining eyes. His feelings were reflected in her. He could see that she loved him. She had always loved him. He saw that now.

With the sun rising over the cliffs, Eric knew it was finally the right moment. He pulled his little mermaid close to him and pressed his lips to hers in a perfect first kiss: a true love's kiss.