Set two years after the previous chapter. All will be resolved, despite the rather large time jump. I'm sorry for taking this long, but fandom issues (do not ask) have caused me to abandon everything for a short while.

I also wanted it to be amazing, something deserving of a final chapter.

Ariel sighed.

A frozen smile, a tense posture, a pleasant voice and a fickle heart; is this what she had been reduced to?

She wanted to hide; from this palace, these people, this world, her husband and even herself. She was so tired. Exhausted of pleasantries and handshakes and stiff, unrelenting words and praises and compliments she didn't know what she ever did to deserve.

She hadn't been happy for such a long while; she'd had this problem before, and the soft words and tight embrace of her husband had chased them off, but only temporarily.

She wanted to leave; she had for a long time now.

Only now, there didn't seem to be anything to stop her.

XXX

"They want me to leave?" Ariel shrieked.

"Only for a short time," Eric said hastily, "The palace thinks it will be for the best."

"They're going to isolate me, Eric. They're going to send me away. They've never wanted me here. The only reason they've let me remain here this long is because of our unborn child!"

"Please, Ariel," he whispered. "Please be rational."

"You have no need to fear my not being rational; I am with a perfectly clear mind."

He walked across the room and attempted to put his arms around her, but she stepped out of his reach and pressed a hand against her abdomen; tears pricked at the back of her eyes. "Melody does not deserve this palace," she said. "I do not want our child growing in such a restricted place."

Eric put a hand on her shoulder, but she choked on a sob and pushed him away. "I do not want her forced to wear what is proper, or be forced to act the way is deemed ladylike in this unseemly world. It is enough that I am forced to, I will not have our child living the same."

Eric breathed low in frustration. "The palace is not so bad," he said, as some sort of peace offering. "I was raised here."

A scream ripped through her throat. "And you are a mannequin! A doll! You are stiff and smiling and have replaced my beloved prince with someone who does not understand me anymore. I want my prince back. What have you done with him?"

"Ariel…"

"No. I will not listen to you anymore," she said. "You are right, I have wanted to leave the palace, but if I ever do it shall be on my terms, not what is deemed appropriate by you and your—your puppets!"

"You have left all reason behind," Eric said in a low, dark voice. He grabbed his coat off the bed and went for the door. He leaned back, for a moment. "I do love you, Ariel. I am on your side, no matter what you believe. I will leave and wait for you to calm down. When you are ready to accept the facts of the situation, it is only then I will be ready to talk."

Then he pulled the door behind him.

And it is then, and only then, Ariel let herself fall to her floor, break down, and cry.

XXX

He found her right by the edge of the sea.

She could feel his shadow pressing into her; hovering at her back. "What have you come for, Eric?" she said; the cold bit into her words, turning them hollow and bitter.

"To check up on you."

She sighed; tried to keep her breathing low and steady. She felt her pulse hitch in her throat. "I am not some object to be fussed over. I am a grown woman fully capable of tending to her own affairs."

"Excuse my poor word choice."

Ariel pressed her fingers to her lips to keep angry words from spilling forth. "You sound wooden, Eric."

"You sound quite the same."

"I would have thought I sound upset."

She heard, felt, his feet shift in uncertainty. "Are you?"

A fine gust of sea air brushed against her body, bleeding through her dark hair. "I am upset, yes. Not necessarily with you."

"Oh?"

His sentences were becoming shorter; collapsing into single syllables. She sighed. Pain flared at her temples. "I don't know what has become of us, Eric." She stood and brushed the sand from her skirts. She turned to face him; age had crept into his bones, made his face sag with discontent. She knew he was still so young, but anxiety and grief had cost him much. "I do miss you. I miss my husband."

He closed his eyes for a moment. "And I miss my wife."

She traced under her eyes to keep tears from falling. "I may have lost my temper earlier."

He smiled, a soft smile, as soft as candlelight. "It's the red hair." He opened his arms to her, and it only took a moment of hesitation before she fell into his embrace.

"I do not want Melody inheriting my flaws," she whispered. "She would be miserable."

"Hush that thinking," he murmured into her hair. "If Melody inherits half the traits you have, she will be blessed and grow to be the gorgeous human being I know you are. Even if she may be a tad stubborn." He stopped, and laughed.

"Thank you," she said. "You always know the perfect thing to say."

He laughed, his chest rising sharply. "Of course, my love." He said. "But whatever may happen, I need you to know that I do love you."

She pulled away; he wiped away her tears. "I know that."

He breathed against her, deep and long. "Tell me, Ariel. If I took all the best stars in the sky and made a wife out of them, she would be perfect, would she not?" he paused until she nodded her agreement. "But I do not want this perfect wife. I only want you."

Her tears spilled down her face; she'd been told a child could make her emotional, but all of her tears felt genuine, genuine and filled with joy. "We can work this out, can't we?" she said. "The mighty seas know we've fared worse. I just don't want to be unhappy with you anymore. I don't want you to be unhappy."

"But I am not unhappy, Ariel," he said. She blinked up at him; he smiled. "What reason could I have to be unhappy? I have the most beautiful princess in all the land and a child on the way. I have no cause for discontent."

She almost choked on her words; emotion stuck in her throat. "I love you, Eric. I don't think you can ever know quite how much."

He pressed his lips to the side of her head. "We will fix this. I promise you, we will fix this. Permanently. I know you've felt the castle and their aversion to you, and I will not try to avoid it anymore. I will not try to hide it." He said.

His arms tightened around her. "I have thought about what you said. And you are right; Melody should not be raised by what my society deems fit. Not solely. We will raise her together, and each imprint her with our own ways. We will find a medium between the two," He stopped and looked at her, into her shining eyes. "But I promise you, I will do my best to make sure she is never unhappy. Not about something of such importance."

She smiled up at him, pressed her lips against his. "I believe I have found my prince again," she whispered. "I have my prince back."

Ariel sighed at the sea; but not with longing or unhappiness. With simple, simple content. She had been foolish to ever think her legs wouldn't come at a cost, but she'd never thought her love would as well.

But if life in the sea had taught her anything, it was that storms, while rough and often taxing, are usually over quickly if you have something to hold onto. And she had that something, and that something was her prince.

And not for one moment would she ever forget the beauty that came in the aftermath of these storms. She has learned that life in the sea and life on land may not align on all points, but they can run parallel if you're looking for it.

You can't get such beauty without a storm, and if you want a rainbow it may just have to rain a little first.

But if you have something to hold on to, it will always be worth it.

I would apologise for that last line, being so freakishly fluffy, but that's no nothing never mind now. I'd like you all to know I adore you, alright? You've been so great, I'm a little sad to end it here.

One thing I want you to remember. Always look for rainbows.