"And Princess Ariel of Atlantica, do you take Prince Eric to be your lawfully wedded husband?" said the little, old priest, peaking over the top of his bible to gaze at the redheaded bride.

Ariel squeezed Eric's hand. "I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you man and wife. You may ki-"

Before the priest could finish, Eric scooped Ariel into his arms and kissed her tenderly. Her hand rested gently on his chest. Cheers erupted behind them but Eric barely heard. He kept his lips pressed to his wife's.

They were on the pier outside of Eric's castle. Ariel and Eric decided that they didn't want to repeat Vanessa's attempted wedding by having it on a wedding barge, but Ariel wanted her family to attend, so they decorated the pier and the water around it until it was more beautiful than the most elegant church. The wedding guests sat on and around the pier, watching the happy couple. They walked down the aisle between their guests, barely able to take their eyes from each other. The wedding party followed the prince and princess onto the wedding ship that had been prepared.

Eric was quiet, but it was different than his other wedding. This time, he wasn't under a spell. This time, he was busy watching his beautiful bride. Her blue eyes were bright with happiness. Her dress fit her perfectly, even if the puffed sleeves did look a little silly. A new golden ring glittered proudly on her finger. Ariel must have felt Eric's gaze on her because she turned to look at him. He wrapped his arms around her small waist an brought his lips to hers.

The crowd cheered again. Max, who was one of the most important guests at the wedding, jumped in between them, breaking them apart, and spread his wet tongue over Ariel's face. Good boy, thought Eric. You were right about her all along.

It was time for Eric to make a speech. He turned to the gathered guests and bowed. Immediately, they quieted down. Eric began to feel nervous but he felt Ariel's hand slip into his and the feelings vanished, replaced by love.

"My friends," he said. "Thank you for coming to my wedding!"

The crowd cheered.

"Gosh, I can hardly describe how happy I am. Today, there was not only a marriage between me and Ariel, but a joining of land and sea. From now on, we are going to be friends of the merpeople."

More cheering.

Eric squeezed Ariel's hand. "Now that I am married, I can be your king. I'm not going to lie, that scares me. A lot. But Ariel is amazing and imaginative and kind. With her at my side, there's no way I can fail. She is going to be the greatest queen this land has ever known!"

Ariel smiled at the cheering guests.

"I don't want to talk much longer because I know that might be boring." The crowd chuckled. "So, let's cut the cake, strike up the band, and really celebrate!"

"What's cake?" Ariel asked quietly as they made their way over to the food tables.

"Oh, Ariel," Eric said. "You've been a human for a while now, and I haven't introduced you to cake? You are going to love it."

When they reached the table, they saw that someone had already sliced directly down the middle of the cake. Eric and Ariel cut little bite sized pieces and fed them to each other. Eric laughed at the joy that emitted from Ariel as she savored her first bite of cake. He kissed a bit of frosting off of her lips.

Eric and Ariel danced. They twirled around the deck of the ship to the romantic melody of a four string quartet. Other couples joined them but they hardly noticed. The minutes ticked by, turning into hours. Ariel and Eric spoke to every guest on the boat. After a long while, the wedding party began to head back to shore. Ariel squeezed Eric's hand.

"Before we leave," Ariel said. "I want to greet my family. They won't want to stay on the surface for too long."

"I'll come with you," said Eric.

"Prince Eric, there's someone who wishes to bid you farewell," said Grimsby, taking Eric's arm and steering him away before he had a chance to protest. Ariel walked to the side of the boat and Eric was led to the center of the gathering guests.

When he had said goodbye to the last wedding guest, Eric followed his new bride to the edge of the boat. King Triton was floating next to the railing of the boat. He held Ariel in his arms. As he pulled away, Eric bowed to him. The king descended back into the water, arching his trident above his head. A rainbow appeared in the sky.

Ariel threaded her arm through Eric's and smiled at him. Together, they raised their hands and waved to the merpeople. Their boat began to pull away from the dock. Eric brought Ariel close to him and kissed her again. When they broke apart, he touched his forehead to hers.

"Happily ever after?" he murmured.

The redheaded girl with the beautiful voice smiled at him. "Happily ever after."

Don't worry! This is NOT the end. :) I'm sorry it is so short, I just had to update it since it has been MONTHS. Stay tuned for another chapter. 3