Chapter 5: Eyes Wide
Here we go, some added scenes into the movie and a worrying Eric as well.
Enjoy the chapter!
The castle was a marvel in it or itself. Made from white, gleaming stone, earth-baked tiles and painted with gold bands, it was a beautiful sight to behold. But the main pride in it was in the architecture and engineering. The castle itself had been built on a tiny strip of beach, mainly rocky back in the day. Most of the structures had been built into the cliff and into the sea. Several arches came over the water and looked out into the horizon, creating stunning sights varying on the time of day.
A large stairwell had even been made heading down towards the sea where one could come down and start swimming if they liked. Another thing that also displayed the kingdom's seafaring pride was a dock built right into one of the castle's sections, complete with a kingly vessel ready to sail at his disposal.
Inside the castle, however, was an entirely different sight as well. Plush, velvet rugs covered the shiny marble floors. Tall pillars stretched up to the ceiling and held up many of the doorways and arches. Many windows had an ocean view and were stretched tall with richly-colored curtains. Fancy decorum, statutes, artifacts, paintings and furniture gave the viewer a sense of the royalty that dwelled in this place.
Eric came into the main hall, eyes scanning for the people he sought out to take care of the slumbering girl in his arms. Max's nose was placed to the ground, sniffing pout for the scents of the two people he was searching for.
"Carlotta! Grimsby," he shouted. The halls echoed his voice and the sound of doors opening and slamming close could be heard. "Grimsby! Carlotta! I need your assistance," he called out again.
Max barked as the sound of hurrying footsteps could be heard and in an instant two people appeared before him. Grimsby, who took out his hankerchief to dab his forehead with it, and a sweet-looking woman in maid-servant clothes. Her hair was tied up in a bun and held back by a piece of cloth as she bowed politely before him.
"Yes, Eric? What is-," she took in the sight of the young woman lying unconscious in his arms. "Oh my word! What happened?" She was instantly over her, hovering to see any injuries or such on her. Eric took a sharp breath in and steeled himself to tell the cover story he had been planning as he made his way back.
"Carlotta. Grimsby. This is Ariel. She's my friend and I found her today on the beach, lying unconscious like this when I went to take Max on a walk. Could you please help her," he asked. Both eagerly nodded and went to take her from his arms, but he held her close and offered to carry her to where she needed to go. It wasn't that he didn't trust the two. In reality, they were the closest things he had to parents and trusted them with his life, but the worrisome concern he felt at the moment for Ariel's safety wouldn't allow them to take charge just yet.
Carlotta guided him to one of the bathrooms and showed him a spare couch to let her to rest on until she woke up and could be treated. After giving her word to always be standing by to aid her when she awoken, he finally was persuaded enough to go out the door and leave it to her. As Eric closed the door, he sensed he would have some explaining to do.
"Eric, I would like to have a word with you," Grimsby said. Eric sighed inwardly, but nodded and followed after him.
Her limbs felt heavy and her head throbbed with a searing pain. Her eyelids fluttered as a painful glare of light penetrated the thin layer of skin. She felt completely drained of energy and wanted nothing more then to rest awhile longer, but in the deep recesses of her mind the aspects of the deal still echoed. She had three days to be human and she didn't want to spend those three days just resting. Slowly, she lifted up her head and sighed as the dot of light shooting at her eyelids disappeared.
She cracked open one of her eyelids. It tried to flutter close with the lack of strength, but she managed to keep it open long enough to take a look at her surroundings. She looked down and saw she was wrapped in a soft pink blanket and that she was laying on a great big, magenta... she didn't know what. But what she did know that she felt warm and comfy on it, despite her aching, tired muscles.
She looked up and, to her astonishment, the beach and sand had been replaced with a more complex and shaded scene. She appeared to have been taken into a room of some sort. The rough ground had been changed to a smooth, shiny floor. Light filtered in from several windows looking out onto the ocean. In the middle of the room, a bit to her surprise, was a huge pool of water with stairs on either side leading up to a door above it. The water was bubbly and the air around it smelled sweet and soothing.
Footsteps came across the floor and stopped before the sofa. Her eyes went up and she brought the blanket up to her nose as a human woman stood before her. Aside from Eric, this was the first human she had ever seen up close or had seen her. Her hair was the same color as Eric's and her clothes matched the descriptions that Eric said the servant's wore. Her face had a surprised expression, but it soon turned into a warm, smiling one.
"Oh, I see you're awake," she said. "You must be Ariel." Her hand reached out for her to shake. Ariel froze as her mind raced for the proper response. She slowly then reached out her own hand and grasped hers, giving it a small shake before letting go and retracting it. She silently thanked Eric for teaching her some of his human customs.
"My name is Carlotta. Eric instructed me to take care of you as you recovered," she explained. Ariel relaxed more after hearing her name. Eric had spoken highly of Carlotta and had described her as sweet and kind and when given a task she took to it immediately with care. She knew she was safe with her. Carlotta took a step closer and kneeled down a bit so that she was at proper eye level with her.
"Pardon me asking, miss, but can you speak at all?" Ariel grew rigid at the question. Flashes of the deal and Ursula and the pain as her tail was torn into legs came fresh into her mind, renewing the pain she felt from the experience. She drew in her legs close to her chest and lowered her head so that it rested on her knees. Her eyes blinked rapidly to prevent the tears that were already accumulating behind her lashes. Carlotta caught on and quickly stood up and look sadly towards her.
"Oh, I am so sorry, dearie. Washed up from a shipwreck and you've lost your voice," she said wistfully. Ariel nodded but then slowly uncurled herself and straightened up. She was human now which meant she could cry tears now, but she was human and she didn't want to spend the three days she had feeling sorrowful. She flinched at first but then leaned into the woman's warm hand as she gently petted her head a few times.
"Oh, you poor thing," she cooed, but then gave a reassuring smile her way. "Don't worry, dearie. We'll have you feeling better in no time."
Carlotta's hands reached out and grasped the blanket gently pulling it away sand off her before one went to help Ariel stand. Her legs felt stiff and numb from the pain, but she slowly slid them off the couch and onto the floor. She felt a shiver go up her spine as her feet touched the smooth, cool floor. Slowly, her knees bent forward and she pushed herself off the soft cushion. Carlotta steadied her movements as she began taking small steps to the tub where she was going. Her legs sometimes buckled and one time she nearly fell forward onto her face, but she eventually made it to the rim.
Ariel blushed as Carlotta took off her makeshift dress and then her shells and then directed her to go into the tub. As she first stepped in, instantly her head threw up and her mouth opened with silent screams. The water was outrageously hot. The sea was never this hot. On good days it would turn warm near the shoreline, but it mostly stayed at a cool to cold temperature. This water's temperature reminded her of the boiling water around the rims of the geysers surrounding Ursula's lair.
Still she continued into the tub, despite the initially feeling of being boiled alive. Gradually though she adjusted to the heat and the warmth soothed the dull ache in her legs and muscles. She amused herself with the foamy, soapy bubbles while Carlotta helped clean her up. The scent of sweet pea and lavender soothed her senses and allowed her to relax more. She closed her eyes as Carlotta poured slightly cooler water on her head to get rid of the suds.
The bath ended sooner then she had hoped. Soon the tub was drained and she was pulled out and she started shivering. Carlotta thankfully came over and helped wrap a soft, wooly towel around her before leading her off to get some clothes while her cloak was getting washed. Ariel's feet buckled and ached a bit as she moved, but she excitedly came along to her next experience.
"Eric, please be reasonable. Your coronation is just days away and you still have to find yourself a suitable woman for a wife," Grimsby called out from his chair at the table. "I know the subject of marriage isn't what you're mostly engaged in right now and I wish there was another way, but tradition states that you must have a queen to rule alongside you when you become king." Eric was looking out one of the windows at the ocean. He sighed before turning back to him.
"I'm tellin' you, Grim, I have things all under control. I'm gonna find the perfect girl and I'm gonna marry her. There's no need to worry." He came in close and clasped a hand on the man's shoulder "Have I ever let you down," he asked. The older man sighed and shook his head.
"Not that I know of." He then looked up again at his face. "But I do worry about you and I know that you're still going to have to find a wif-"
The man was cut off as the sound of giggling came from the doorway nearby. The silhouette of Carlotta appeared and she was trying to bring out another person.
"Come on honey. Don't be shy," she bade. From the shadowed hallway stepped out a girl. Her feet had been decorated with jeweled, pink slippers that clicked on the smooth tile floor as she stepped into the light before the two men.
Her makeshift dress had been replaced with an elegant, rose pink one that came down to her feet. The sleeves were ruffled and covered her shoulders before moving down to her wrists with a sleeker form. A layer of pink polish had been applied to her fingernails, making them appear shiny. Her hair had been brushed out and her red locks tumbled down her head like a waterfall. A simple pair of pearl teardrop earrings had been placed on her ears while a small, shell-shaped barrette had been tucked on the side of her head. The sunlight illuminated her features, making her appear even lovelier then she was, if that was even possible.
"Oh, Eric, isn't she a vision," Grimsby asked as Eric walked over to her.
"Wow. You look wonderful," he said. She blushed and dipped her head politely down before sending a small smile to say thanks his way. He quickly came before Grimsby and took her hand before gently leading her over to an empty seat. He pulled out a chair for he and pushed it in once she sat down before moving over to his own seat.
"Uh. It's... it's not often that we have such a lovely dinner guest, eh Eric," Grimsby noted as he tried to start the conversation out right. Eric narrowed his eyes slightly at him for the comment, but Ariel was too busy looking at the plate and silverware laid out before her. She gently grasped one of the forks and stared at it before sighing. The forks back in her grotto that had been hit by her father's magic had exploded or rusted away and disintegrated at an alarming rate. Forks were among the very first human things he explained to her, something that she treasured a bit more over the rest of the things in her now destroyed collection. Sighing again, she placed the fork down and looked up to try and engage in the conversation. As much as she could at least.
She brightened up considerably when Grimsby took out his pipe to smoke. She remembered then that it was one of the pieces in her collection that she had forgotten to ask Eric about. Scuttle had explained best he could, but it was not the same as Eric telling her all about it. Scuttle had said you were supposed to blow into the end and beautiful music would come out. As smoke rose from it her curiosity about it only grew. Grimsby took notice of her looking at him.
"Uh," he said before he saw her eyes focused on his pipe. "Do you like it," he asked as he handed it over to her to handle. Eric's eyes watched the scene play out. He didn't approve of smoking, but he allowed Grimsby to do so every once in awhile. He silently prayed she wouldn't attempt to do the same. It is rather... fine-"
Ariel's lips suddenly clamped down on the mouthpiece and she blew hard. A cloud of soot and smoke burst out and went right over Grimsby face. Once it settled and Ariel handed him back his pipe, a bit disappointed that it didn't play any music. His entire head and front coat were covered in a thick black dust. Eric nearly fell out of his seat at the sight. He buried his face in his arm on the table as he roared with laughter.
"Oh, my," he called out, before regaining his composure and clearing his voice. "Ahem, so sorry Grim," he apologized, though the grin on his face still was evident afterwards.
"Why, Eric, that's the first time I've seen you smile in weeks," Carlotta pointed out gleefully.
"Oh, very amusing," Grimsby said as he began wiped his face of the last bit of ash and sooty tobacco leaves. "Carlotta, my dear, what's for dinner?"
"Oooh, you're gonna love it. Chef's been fixing his specialty. Stuffed crab."
Ariel stiffened at the sound of the dish. She had known about humans fishing, hunting and killing her seafaring brethren before going on to eat them, but she never suspected that she might partake in this otherwise barbaric aspect of life. The thoughts of sea life being placed on a plate before her, mauled and heated up, sent her stomach churning with disgust.
"Mm," Grimsby said. "Sounds," he blew a kiss with his fingers, "très magnifique."
Eric saw Ariel's form grow rigid and internally cringed at himself for not being prepared to protect her. Her first day as a human, the first shot had been fired and he was unable to defend her from it. He slowly reached over and grasped her hand. His thumb stroked the top of it and he saw her relax a bit. She turned her head towards him and gave a small smile, but he could see her uneasiness scrawled out over her face.
All of a sudden, everyone perked up at the sound of thumping, dishes cracking and breaking, and an angry person, possibly the chef, yelling. Carlotta set down the tray with the dishes she was holding and smiled sheepishly towards the three.
"I think I'd better go see what Louis is up to," she said before rushing off quickly to the kitchen. She came back not half a minute later with the trays in tow and a slightly miffed expression. She, however, changed her face to a kinder one as she served the guests.
"You know, Eric, perhaps our young guest, Ariel was it, might enjoy seeing some of the sights of the kingdom," Grimsby noted after taking a sip from his glass. "Something in the way of a tour?" Eric's gaze was fixed on Ariel and was staring entranced by her beauty, but when he realized Grimsby was talking to him he quickly looked towards him.
"I'm sorry, Grim. What was that," he asked. Grimsby's head cane in close and he began talking rapidly.
"You can't spend all your time just lazing about. You need to get out," he said as he lifted his plate cover up. "Do something, prepare for your life. Get your mind on the matter of mari-"
"Easy, Grim, Easy," Eric said, trying to stop him before Ariel could hear. Actually, Ariel had found herself interested in a much more concerning matter. Looking onto Grimsby's plate she saw a familiar red crab huddled up amongst the other things on his plate. Sebastian took notice of her and she lifted up her plate cover and waved at him to come over while the two men were distracted. He quickly muttered over and dove onto her plate, just as Eric turned to look at her. She leaned down on her plate cover and placed her hand under her chin, pretending that she had been paying attention the entire time.
"Well Ariel, whaddaya say? Would you like to join me on a tour of my kingdom tomorrow," he asked. Ariel's head came up and she nodded eagerly. He smiled as her eyes sparkled wildly with excitement.
"Wonderful," Grimsby said as he picked up his fork, "now let's eat, before this crab wanders off my plate."
His fork came down and clicked against the plate, making him look down and stare with confusion. Inwardly, Ariel sighed with relief, and so did Sebastian under her own plate.
After sneaking food from her plate and then afterwards sneaking her into the kitchen to pick up a ham, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with some mayo for her real dinner with a few freshly picked strawberries for dessert, Eric showed Ariel to her room, before heading off outside with Max to get out some of his energy before bed. The sheepdog energetically pranced and leapt around and slobbered his master's face a few times before he showed signs of sleepiness.
He came in close to be pet from his master when he suddenly looked up high towards the castle. Eric followed his face and found that in the lastly lit room up above was a figure leaning down and watching him on the balcony. He smiled and lifted up his hand to wave at her. She looked startled at the fact that she could be seen, but she waved back before heading back into her own room. He smiled, but then looked down to his arm where he felt a heavy drop of water fell. Little beads had accumulated where it had fallen. He felt another land on his head and heard the faint rumbling of thunder in the background.
"Time to come in Max," he said and together the two came back inside and into Eric's room before the rain fell.
His bedroom was not much different from the other quarters in the castle, save for the king-sized bed and the coat of arms with the royal family's emblem on it. And of course Max's dog bed. It was not too elaborate a room, something he was grateful of. It had just a few chairs and a sofa, a table, a desk with several papers and writing utensils strewn about it, a bedside table and a fireplace.
After changing into a loose t-shirt and pajama pants, he flipped back the navy fabrics and crawled into bed. He quickly blew out the candle before his head landed down with a thump on the goose down pillows. After tossing and turning a bit he finally found a position that he was comfortable in and just laid there to fall asleep. The rain had started to fall down and it plunked against the locked glass doors. In the distance thunder rumbled loudly as he storm grew stronger. He closed his eyes and started to let slumber take a hold of him.
A flash of lightning illuminated the rain on the glass panes as he suddenly sat up. Something was not right. He could feel it, but he didn't know what. He threw back the covers and slipped his feet into his slippers and went over to his closet to take out his bathrobe. Max looked up from his bed as Eric turned the doorknob and started out the door, but set it back down once the door closed again.
He squinted in the dark as he kept moving. He wasn't sure where as he walked down the hallway, but he felt as if he was being drawn someplace. He soon found himself stopped before Ariel's room. After another particularly loud roar of thunder, he could hear it. From behind Ariel's door, in the darkness in her room, he could hear whimpering. His hand rushed to turn the doorknob and come in to comfort her, but he stopped as he grasped the handle. His mind battled his decision. Part of him felt drawn to come in to see what was wrong while the other thought towards her privacy and how wrong it would be of him to come into her room at this time of night.
Another flash of lightning broke and he made his decision. He knocked lightly, trying to see if he would get a response. He then mentally called himself out when he asked himself how could she when she couldn't speak and probably was too asleep to answer him. He then straightened up with startled surprise when he heard loud whimpering from behind the door.
He turned the handle and walked briskly into the room. His eyes squinted in the dark as he tried to see. The candle had been blown out and the room was shrouded in shadows, yet he soon found his way over to the bedside. To his horror and concern, Ariel was resting on her side and whimpering. Her blanket was still folded at the end of the bed, indicating she had either been too exhausted to bring it up or she didn't know how to use it. She was shivering from cold or fear, or both. What sickened him the most though was the steady flow of tears falling down her face as she silently screamed and wailed into the night. With each roar of thunder she seemed to curl up even more and bury her head farther into her pillow which was already growing wet with tears.
Slowly, he extended one of his hands and reached out to place it flat against her back. Her formed shivered again and head threw back into another quiet wail as he then tried to shake her away.
"Ariel," he whispered, but the storm drowned his voice out. "Ariel. Please wake up," he whispered again, louder this time. He heard a gasp escaped his throat and her eyelids popped open. She searched through the darkness until she finally looked behind her and say his face. He took in her disheveled appearance. Her hair was slightly tangled and her lashes were stained with a constellation of tears that stained her cheeks as well.
"Bad dream," he asked and she nodded. Taking in another moment to make his choice, he then climbed onto the bed and sat down next to her. His arms spread out like an eagle and he nodded to her. She understood well enough and moved into a crawling position and moved closer to him. She threw her arms around his neck for the second time that day and held him close as hot tears fell on his shoulder and stained his shirt. She pushed her head closer and buried into the crook of his neck when another crash of lightning came and he held her tightly. One of his hands went around her waist as he pulled her into his lap while the other came to her back where it rubbed it soothingly in order to calm her down.
Her shivering finally lessened after a few minutes of comforting embrace. The storm finally died down a bit to the point where it was just the rain pattering lightly outside. Her ragged breathing soon became still again and the tears stopped flowing so much. She curled up against his chest again and let the beating of his heart calm her down more. His hand went up to softly brush the hairs clinging to her face and wipe the tears off too. His mind went to ponder the ways of what might had frightened her as much to cause her to wake up in the middle of the night silently screaming and crying. She had acted so afraid and weak when he had found her that morning and she had been fine the previous day. Horrible imagery conjured up as he thought of the things that could've happened in between those times.
For now he would just keep holding onto her and reassuring that she was safe here. Eventually the storm stopped and so had the crying, shivering and whimpering. To his shock, she had fallen asleep in his arms, thread nestled against his neck and arms wrapped tightly around it. He began to feel his face grow hot, but pushed down the feeling of embarrassment and set to work untangling her from him. She whimpered a bit in her sleep as he pulled her off him gently and her eyes attempted to flutter open a few times, but eventually he succeeded in placing her back down on the bed. She squirmed a bit against the down mattress to get comfy before she finally settled down calmly. Her arms hugged her pillow as she rubbed her face against it. Softly, he crawled off the bed and unfolded the blanket before draping it onto her still body. She shivered a bit as a slight draft of hair hit her, but cuddled against the soft fabric and fell deeper into slumber. With that being done Eric quietly made his way out the door, but not before bending down and planting a gentle kiss of her forehead. He took one last glance at the soundly sleeping female before softly closing the door behind him.
Little did he know that a certain crab had been watching the entire scene and was smiling thankfully at where Eric had been for his honorable act of compassion and kindness done in a modest manner. He then curled up on the pillow again and resumed sleeping.
Meanwhile, back in the undersea palace of Atlantica, the king of the seas paced worriedly in his throne room. He leaned on the rim of one of the holes in the castle and stared out into the darkened sea as if searching for something. Or someone for that matter. He perked up as an sunset orange seahorse in a duke's collar swam up to him.
"Any sign of them," he hopefully asked.
"No, your Majesty," the small creature replied, shaking his crested head sadly. "The reports have come back with nothing. We've searched everywhere. There have been no traces found of your daughter or Sebastian." The king looked distraught at this news, but he was quick to respond.
"Well, keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Search every last corner in the seven seas if you must," he ordered. "May no one in this kingdom sleep until she's at home safe."
"Yes sire," the seahorse replied before swimming off again, leaving a trail of tiny bubbles in his wake. The king then came over to his throne and sat down before burying his head and face into his large, callused hands.
"Oh, what have I done? What have I done," he mourned. "Ariel, I am so sorry," he whispered.
Moral of the story kids, DON'T SMOKE. Thank you Disney for poking fun at smokers at this era, but for all you readers out there smoking has major disadvantages and poses a huge threat to your health. Seriously, the medical issues it can cause are many and great. So if you are ever pressured to smoke, just say no.
Have any of you ever wondered if Ariel ever had suffered any trauma from this entire ordeal? Really, do any of you think that she wouldn't have suffered the least bit emotionally and psychologically from that experience? Having her legs split and making a deal with a person that she had probably been forewarned up being someone to stay away from. I know I was scared at the climactic part of "Poor Unfortunate Souls", but I wasn't directly experiencing it all like she was. Disney has been know to dial down or skip over these kinds of things, Simba's trauma of seeing his father die and thinking he was to blame for it in the Lion King being another notable example. Then again, Disney does know where their audiences are and is after all trying to protect the younger generation from being traumatized at this kind of thing. Still, it would have been nice to see something similar to this in the movie, maybe with Sebastian being the voice of comfort, and in the Lion King too.
I'm also glad they added that scene with Triton feeling guilt for his vacations. It makes him sympathetic since he regrets his actions, yet shows a deeper, caring side that isn't shown too much in the first part of the film. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Please leave a review and I'll see you again next time. Sincerely, v.t.7
