Ariel sighed, back against the old tree trunk. It was quite a desolate spot, patches of grass here and there, some sparse trees and a couple of boys playing "I spy."

"I spy… something vertically tall." One said to another. The other thought for a while, then gave the curt answer of, "A tree." The small boy uttered a cursed word.

"Ok, ok. I spy… something with bark."

"Tree. My turn! I spy something with leaves."

"Tree. I spy-"

"Tree."

"Not fair!... Tree."

"I think we should play another game."

"Yeah…"

Ariel laughed a little, sleepy still from her rude awakening. She yawned, tucked herself into a nice comfortable position and soon enough, she was fast asleep.

Waves. The first thing she always woke up to was to the sounds of waves crashing above. Her mother singing once upon a time. But, what can a mermaid do about the past right?

Ariel awoke, eyes slowly opening to the ceiling of her and her seven sisters' room. She got up, excited, and then realized it was just another day, another family walk. They all were dragged out of bed, forced to walk with their father around Atlantica, greeting other mermans and mermaids. After that it was just fun with Flounder, Sebastian trying to keep up with their latest shenanigans.

And then that ship. Oh, how it was amazing, seeing that ship. Her curiosity got the better of her as she darted up to the surface of the passing vessel. It was barely touching the water's surface, and she jumped up, grabbing a hold of it and pulled herself up(though the deadweight of the tail never did help much out of the water) and up, and up, and up, and up…

Then there was that human. He was gorgeous; blue eyes the color of the ocean, brown hair tousled as if he has bed-head. He was horsing around with a pink glob of a thing that was laughing at something the human must have done. He had such a peculiar piece of jewelry dangling from one of his ears as well. That just intrigued her more. And he was pretty fine looking, waking up feelings she had never had for another merman, no matter how handsome he was. This boy topped everything off.

The shipmates were having a party, waving drinks and singing tunes loudly out of tune. Ariel laughed, smiling and just having a good time. Who couldn't be at such a festivity?!

But maybe he was looking too closely, or just stared out the hole where she was peering from at the wrong time; well, whatever the case, he found her. He ran towards her, thinking she was a damsel in distress from a shipwreck, and Ariel was too stunned to move. Then he saw the fins, the tail, the shell bra.

(Bad thoughts arose, Jim later told Ariel)

She mistook his curious stare as one of fear and began to calculate how far she would have to go before she plunged into the ocean depths. Instead, however, he took her hand gently in his and said in the softest, most beautiful voice she had ever heard, "Hi. I'm Jim Hawkins. What's your name?"

From there it was just a matter of time and location, him meeting her at the shore where she could wade and sit and splash in. Sometimes they swum together, and fish in the sea quickly took a liking to Jim. Even Ariel's sisters approved, calling him "a great catch." All, that is, except one.

"Ariel, you knew I forbid you from going to the surface. Humans are barbarians!" King Triton roared at his youngest daughter.

"But Daddy I love him!"

"No. Have you gone mad? He's a human, you're a mermaid! You can't coexist together!"

"I don't care. And he loves me too."

"And soon he will kill you for what you are- a mermaid."

"Jim's not like that!"

And she made a dramatic exit, leaving her old weary father to question whether he was too hard on her. Sebastian quickly answered, saying that Ariel should be the maker of her own future, and Triton only her mentor who helps her along her own path. Making up his mind, the father woefully turned his baby girl into a human, entrusting her in the arms of James Pleiades Hawkins. (After a while, actually, daddy got used to the idea, seeing that Jim truly did love his daughter and wasn't like the rest of the humans.)

However Jim knew nothing of this change, and stared out into the ocean and stars, thinking about the girl who had captured his heart and he was doomed to never be with. As the ship made one final pass over this planet's ocean surface, he saw a girl waving to him from his and Ariel's rock. Who ever should it be but Ariel herself, waving to her love!

He grabbed her hand and swung her aboard, holding her in a bear hug and kisses plastered all over her. And together they went to Montressor, to start anew and introduce Ariel to Jim's mother.

A flash of light behind eyelids awoke the young girl, and the thunder rolling behind it just jolted her wide-awake. She had dozed off for who knows how long, the little boys long gone and replaced with gray menacing skies. She scrambled up and got on her board making it home before it started to downpour.

"I'm home!" She called out, grateful she wasn't rained on. She was greeted with a gloomy Ben and an even grayer Morph. "Morph? Ben? Where's Jim?" she asked, worried now.

"Out looking for you. He's been looking all day, worried sick." Ben replied.

"Worried sick. Worried sick." Morph mocked, amusing himself with jumping up and down on the couch cushions.

"Out there? In this rain?!" She practically cried out, rushing to the window as if that would will him home. She stared out into the crying sky, begging for somebody- anyone- to bring her love back home.