Against The Tides

by TheForgottenName

When her father announced her wedding, Ariel ran away from home. She expected to find nothing but loneliness. She didn't expect to fall in love. She wasn't expecting to partake in a long journey, nor expect to meet girls who were also searching for their happily ever after. And she definitely, didn't expect to uncover the dark and ugly secrets corrupting both the worlds she loved.

3. The City of Love

CHAPTER 3!

Sigh, another Friday past. Another chapter post. I think you guys will like this chapter. Just saying.

Anyway, enjoy!

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

---

*Part III*

- Chapter 1: The City of Love -

.

.

Ariel

.

.

Ariel hit her head, and she became disoriented. She wasn't in the portal anymore, that was clear. In fact, she couldn't find any glowing greed dots anywhere.

Ariel sat up and looked around herself. She was outside, in what looked like a market. And there were people. Real people walking around.

It was only a few, though, and they were mostly opening shops and stores. Ariel couldn't believe it. She was a human, amidst humans. She was kind of normal. It was so cool!

She stood up and looked around some more. The ground was made of stones and everyone around her had dresses similar to herself. A large animal, pulling what looked like some sort of carriage rode through, and she stepped back and out of the way. The man driving the sort-of carriage dipped his head to her as he passed by. She returned the gesture. Maybe her people and humans weren't so different after all.

For the first time, she realized it was cold. A stale, kind of cold she wasn't used to. When she breathed, her breath froze and hung in the air. She brought her hands up to her arms, trying to warm herself up. The temperature underwater didn't much change, especially at the depth she lived in. This kind of cold weather was new to her.

She wished she had some money. She was seriously starving and the shop owners and keepers must have begun making their daily foods because the air was beginning to smell like it. She began backing up, taking in the sight of her new surroundings. Everything was so big. And bright. And beautiful. She could look at it all day.

Accidentally, she ran into someone, and the both of them tripped and fell. Ariel was still new to walking, and she didn't need much encouragement to send her spiraling to the ground. She fell on her hands, thankfully protecting her face. People didn't fall underwater. They didn't trip. No one ever touched the ground.

Ariel sat up, and looked at the person she'd run into.

It was a girl. A really pretty girl. She had her shoulder length blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. It showed her blue eyes nicely. Ariel knew it was her fault, so she waited for the yelling and insulting to come, but it never happened. Instead, the girl smiled.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Y-yes." Ariel said, still shocked the girl was smiling, "I'm fine. Sorry I hit you."

"It's fine." the girl said, standing up and helping Ariel up too. "Believe me, I'm used to being on the ground."

Ariel wasn't sure what that meant, but she nodded, returning the girls smile.

"I'm Ari-" she introduced herself.

She nearly said her name, but remembered last minute that she had to keep her identity a secret. Not that anyone here knew her. Still though, she was going to do everything the way it needed to be done.

"Cinderella." the girl said, shaking her hand. "You must be new around here. I know almost everyone here and no sane person is up this early. Are you a traveler?"

Yeah, sure. She could work with that story. She hated to lie, but this girl was right. She was a bit out of the ordinary.

"Yeah," Ariel said, slowly, a story building in her mind. "I'm a traveler. I got lost though and my things were stolen."

Cinderella covered her mouth in shock.

"I'm so sorry." she said, "No wonder you were in a daze. How long ago did this happen?"

Well, she got her legs just yesterday.

"Last night." she settled on, "I woke up this morning in a stupor on the street."

Cinderella actually looked near tears.

"That's so horrible." she said, "Please, let me treat you to at least something to eat. I've got the time."

Sweet. But Ariel nearly refused. She couldn't help but feel bad about lying to the girl. She began to shake her head, to deny the help, but the girl smiled kindly at her. She was so nice and generous. It felt so wrong to take advantage of her.

Cinderella looped their arms a bit oddly, and together the girls strolled down the street. Cinderella said she was always at the market square this early. The best food was there at this time, and besides, she didn't have the time to go any other time during the day. She was there to buy bread that morning.

The two split a big croissant but stayed together as Cinderella headed to the bakery.

"This is Paris, France," Cinderella said, motioning all around her. "The French capitol. The city of lights. Home of the latte and outside café."

"It's a beautiful place." Ariel said, "You must never get bored with so much to see."

"Eh," she shrugged, "Once you've seen the Eiffel tower once, you've basically seen it all."

They entered the bakery and the man behind the counter smiled at them.

"Hey, Ella." he said, "The usual?"

"Yeah," she said, "Thanks Sal."

Cinderella really did know everyone. She'd greeted nearly everyone on their way to the bakery.

"So," Cinderella said, leaning against wall. "What are you going to do now? Do you have any family you can call?"

Ariel shook her head. No. No she didn't.

"It's just me," she said, surprised a few tears actually sprang to her eyes. "And I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Well," Cinderella said, patting her arm nicely, "For now, you can come back with me. I might even be able to get step mother to allow you to stay and work, if your okay with that. You know, for room and food. Until you figure out what you'll do next."

Ariel lit up at the idea. Staying with Cinderella sounded like a good plan. She knew, somehow, the girl would have her back. But Ariel wasn't sure of the next part of her plan. Say she did manage to stay and work. What if the dots showed up? What if she ended up getting Cinderella in trouble? Ariel was no stranger to working, but being a princess did take a lot of the hardness out of living. She didn't want to be a burden to Cinderella, and she didn't want to take any more advantage of the girl.

But it seemed as if Cinderella had already made her mind up, because she was nodding with self approval.

'Sal' handed Cinderella a basket full of bread, she paid, and the two left.

"Now," Cinderella came, "I'm pretty sure I can convince step mother to allow you temporary work, but I'm warning you now. She is the epitome of evil."

Ariel laughed lightly, but grew quiet when Cinderella didn't join in.

"Really, she said, "She hates everyone. Except, mostly, her two daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. The house is rightfully mine, it having been my fathers, but she had him change his will and now its hers. I work as the maid. It's the only way I can stay in the house."

"Honest?" Ariel asked, "She's that vicious?"

"And then some. Expect no mercy, though I'll be there to help you. This will be hard, just so you know. The mornings are full, the afternoons tiresome, and the nights short. You can back out now, if you want. It's actually the smart things to do."

"No," Ariel said, "Maybe me being there will make things easier on you. I can do this."

"Alright," Cinderella said, looping their arms, "Here we go."

The walk back to Cinderella's house was excruciating. Ariel's legs hurt far before they reached they house. She blamed it on not being used to walk, as Cinderella walked with a a little bounce in her step, not effected at all. Ariel hid it well though, because Cinderella said nothing about her trudging strut.

"This is it." she said, motioning to the large house.

Ariel would have gawked at the beautiful estate. But the whole walk there, Cinderella had explained to her the layout and the chores she normally did. Instead of curiosity, like she knew she'd normally be, she was filled with dread. She wondered how many rooms were in there. How big the floors were. How much furniture needed to be dusted. She wasn't very new to cleaning, but cleaning on land had to be different than underwater.

"It's lovely," she said anyway.

"Thanks. I think so too," Cinderella said, leading her around back, "Now, when we see step-mother, you can call her Lady Tremaine. Make sure you curtsy and duck your head. Nothing irks her more than an informal greeting."

Ariel nodded her head. She was trying to remember as much as possible, but it seemed like Cinderella had so much to do. Things were getting harder and harder. And all throughout her walk, she hadn't spotted any green dots anywhere. What if she was stuck?

Ariel was led into a kitchen. The kitchen was small, but very tidy. Simple. And yet it seemed homey. It was cute.

"Come on, Ari." Cinderella said, "step-mother is normally having her tea right now. I'll bring her some milk and I can introduce you."

Cinderella grabbed a pitcher from the fridge, and together they walked through the magnificent house. Everything sparkled and Ariel's previous fears of working till she died of exhaustion or her arms fell off vanished. Everything was already in perfect condition. She imagined relaxing with Cinderella. Learning human girl things, so that when she and Eric finally met, she wouldn't make a huge fool of herself.

Cinderella stopped at a door, and rapped on it lightly. It was done so dainty that Ariel mimicked the motion behind her back. Eric might like a dainty girl.

"Come in." called a deep, rich voice.

Ariel remembered, the woman was the epitome of evil. She probably wasn't going to invite them to sit for tea.

"Step-mother," Cinderella said, "I brought you milk."

Cinderella curtsied politely before putting the milk on the table in front of lady Tremaine. The room was extremely dark, heavy purple curtains having been shut tight. A fireplace roared nearby and lady Tremaine sat in a large love seat.

"I ran into a traveler," Cinderella said, motioning to Ariel. "She's asked for temporary work."

"How do you do?" Ariel asked, curtsying low and bowing her head like Cinderella had instructed.

"Fine." lady Tremaine said, darkly. "Whats you name, child?"

"Ari." Ariel said, going off of the name Cinderella was calling her. "Ari Waters."

The fake name seemed to slide from her mouth on its own. Mermaids didn't have last names. There names were usually so original, you didn't need one. But she just felt like she needed a last name, for her introduction called for one and she didn't want lady Tremaine to have to ask for it.
"I'm afraid I've no money to pay travelers." she said calmly, though Ariel got the impression she just didn't want Ariel staying with her.

"She's not asking for pay." Cinderella spoke up, "Just room and food, for now. Until she figures out what to do next. Her things were stolen from her."

"I'm a hard worker," Ariel spoke up, feeling like she was selling herself. "And I'm a fast learner. I've got cooking experience and excellent balance."

That was basically all a lie. Well, she was a hard worker when she put her mind to it. And she did pick up things rather fast. But she'd never cooked a meal in her life and with her new legs, she was far from balanced.

"Oh, please step-mother?" Cinderella asked, "She wont be a bother. And lately I've been feeling overwhelmed. I can use some extra help. And it's just for a short while."

Lady Tremaine stirred her tea with a small spoon. Her face was stone cold emotionless, but Ariel got the sense she was thinking. Ariel hoped she was. She had no food or money or relatives here. Without Cinderella she had no one. She was all alone.

"Alright," she said, "but I do not expect to be merciful. Her load and your load will be the same. Don't think that because there are two of you, things will be easier. I've some projects you can both attend to."

"Thank you." Ariel and Cinderella said at the same time, curtsying.

"Ari," lady Tremaine said, "You will attend to Anastasia's needs."

Ariel nodded. She wasn't looking forwards to the task, but she had no other option. And right on cue, two loud, boisterous, voices rang through the halls.

"Mother!" they called loudly, in grotesque harmony, "Mother! Mother!"

Lady Tremaine seemed unaffected by the voices though, and simply added some more milk to her tea.

"Mother!" called a voice again, and this time, a girl charged in the room.

She was slender, with dark brown hair that was coiled and had a blue hair ribbon on her head. Her green dress was huge, and had an olive corset. She wore a lime underskirt and green slippers to match. Ariel tried to hide it from her face, but this girl, was hideous. Being a princess, Ariel was trained and was naturally by birth, unaffected by appearance, let alone skin color, wealth and appearance and social status. But Drizella's appearance seemed to rock her morals and she unconsciously made a mental note of everything wrong with the girl.

Her nose was too big. She spit waterfalls when she spoke. Her voice was hard and scratchy and irritating. She walked like her feet were way to big for her body. Her skin was in horrible condition, being raw looking, rough, and zit-filled. And her hair looked as if no amount of brushing could tame it.

"Mother!" she yelled, "You will never guess. This morning I woke up and when I went to my vanity... my clothes weren't laid out! It's all Cinderella's fault! She did it on purpose! I spent all morning looking for something to wear."

"I didn't do it on purpose, Drizella." Cinderella objected calmly, "I told you both yesterday that I'd be going to the market today and that I wouldn't hang out your clothes because you both like the in the closet until the last second."

"Mother!" called the second voice, and the other girl, entered the room.

This girl, Anastasia, was also slender, and a lot more fair skinned than her sister. She had shoulder length dull curly red hair with straight bangs, a gold comb in the back, and a pink dress with a purple corset. But, her nose was also very big and round. She had long laugh lines, that made her look older, though Ariel couldn't image the now straight-faced girl as someone who laughed often.

"Mother," she said, "Did Drizella tell you!? Did she tell you about our morning?!"
"Girls." lady Tremaine said, and immediately, both girls calmed down.

"Hey," Drizella said, suddenly. "Who's that?"

"Yeah," Anastasia agreed, "Who's that?"

Another fault to them, they were extremely rude.

"She some kind of nobleman's daughter?" Anastasia asked, "I didn't know we were having guests."

"Maybe she's a modeling agent." Drizella suggested, turning around and looking over her shoulder in a horrible interpretation of a pose.

"Girls," lady Tremaine introduced. "This is Ari, our new scullery maid. She will be assisting Cinderella in her daily chores."

"A scullery maid!" both girls exclaimed.

"Mother, she's too pretty to be a maid." Anastasia said.

"Yeah," Drizella agreed, "And look how small her hands are!"

Ariel self consciously looked down at her hands and turned them over. What did the size of her hands have to do with anything? She stole a look to Cinderella. The girl seemed pleasantly confused as well. Apparently, the sisters weren't the sharpest pieces of coral.

"Well accept this, girls." lady Tremaine said, "She will be attending to you Anastasia from here on out."

"Her clothes mother!" Drizella bellowed, "She can't be pretty and have better clothes than me!"

"But she's so small!" Anastasia said, "So dainty. She could never wear Cinderella's clothes."

Ariel again stole a look at Cinderella. Cinderella was taller, sure, but not by much. She reckoned the two of them could wear each others clothes perfectly. And did the two sisters not know how dainty Cinderella was? Ariel was a princess and she'd taken notice. What was it with the two?

"They'll work that out amongst themselves." lady Tremaine said, "For now, Ari and Cinderella, get back to your chores."

"Yes, step mother." Cinderella said, curtsying.

"Yes, and thank you, lady Tremaine." Ariel said, copying the curtsy and following Ariel out the room.

The two girls hurried from the room, before lady Tremaine could change her mind. They were silent all the way down the hall, until Cinderella led them back into a hidden staircase, where Cinderella opened a door and led them up.

"That went better than I expected," she said, "I expected to have to fight harder than that."

"Harder than that?" Ariel asked, "How do you put up with those sisters? Their horrible!"

"They are extreme," Cinderella said, smiling, "And very rude. But there not so bad after you learn to ignore them."

Ariel laughed. She supposed no one was that bad if you could ignore them.

"Despite what they said, though" Cinderella continued, "I think you and I are at least close to the same size."

"I thought the same thing," Ariel agreed, "I'm sure I can fit some of your things."

"And I've got a ribbon you can use for you hair, and your shoes are just fine."

Ariel realized they'd been climbing the stairs for a long time. The spiraling, winding stairs seemed to go on forever, until finally, they reached another door.

"This is my room." Cinderella said, opening the door, "It isn't much, but its mine. Of this whole house, at least its mine."

Cinderella was right. It wasn't much. Very modest and clean, but bare and, like the kitchen had been, lacking much of the furniture essential to a regular room. But Cinderella seemed to realize this and made up for the lack of furniture with other things. She decorated nicely. Very nice, to make a bare room such as this, look like a homey little cottage room.

"It's wonderful." Ariel said, spinning to get a good look around. "You're a really good decorator."

Though the room was barren, it was still filled with things Ariel had never seen. A human girl shaped dummy stood by some sort of changing screen. The bed was clearly old, and yet its design was also new to Ariel. The whole room really was wonderful, full of wonderful things.

"I know I've got an extra cot here somewhere." Cinderella said, looking around, before shrugging, "Well, I'll find it later. Let me get you a dress."

Cinderella searched through her drawers and Ariel took the time to peer out the window. They were so high up that Cinderella practically had a world view. Or at least a great view of Paris. And in the distance, Ariel saw a tall, beautiful castle at the horizon. It was like something out of a fairytale storybook.

What a view to see every day. It must look magnificent at night.

"Isn't it grand?" Cinderella asked, looking out the window beside her, "What do you think its like in the palace?"

"No idea." Ariel answered honestly. A human palace and an underwater one was two very different things. "Probably wondrous."

"More than likely. You know, I saw the prince once."

Ariel turned to look at her. A prince? What did he look like? Not black hair and blue eyes, right? Not drop dead gorgeous, right?

"You did?" Ariel asked, trying to stay calm, "What did he look like?"

"Oh, he was so handsome," Cinderella said, holding the outfit she'd taken out for Ariel and spun away from the window with it in her hands, "He had dark brown hair and beautifully chocolate eyes. He just looked so... royal."

Brown hair? Brown eyes? That wasn't Eric at all. Needless to say it didn't make him any less handsome to Cinderella. The girl looked star struck. Maybe even love struck.

"Did you say anything to him?" Ariel asked, Cinderella's mood affecting her, and she found they both had dream-like looks to them.

"No." Cinderella confessed, "He was just in the square. I saw him in passing. He had a million guards surrounding him and I could never approach him looking like this."

Ariel honestly thought Cinderella looked beautiful. Even her outfit, which apparently wasn't of good quality, looked fine to Ariel. What a pity. She seemed so smitten by him. To think she may have missed her chance...

"Anyway," Cinderella said, shaking her fantasy away, "We got to get you prepared."

Ariel was given the dress and stood behind the changing screen. It didn't take her nearly as long to put on the dress as it did the first time. She actually got it on fairly quick. It was an exact match to what Cinderella had on. And like she'd suspected, the dress fit nearly perfect, the exception of it being a little too tight up top. She was glad she'd discarded her seashells. It would have been a nightmare.

"Perfect." Cinderella said, "Now take a seat. I'll tie your hair back."

Ariel did as she was told and looked into Cinderella's shabby vanity mirror, as the girl pulled her hair back.

"You've got a lot of hair." she said, "I'm gonna need a bigger ribbon."

Cinderella opened a drawer in the vanity to find a bigger ribbon and something caught Ariel's eyes.

"Whats that?" she asked, pointing to the shiny thing.

"Oh this?" Cinderella asked, pulling it out, "It's a choker. It was my mothers."

Cinderella handed it to Ariel, allowing her to get a better look. It looked like it was covered in diamonds. Ariel figured they had to be real. They were beautiful. Underwater, pearls were a girls best friend, but Ariel found she liked the shiny diamonds a lot better. She'd never really been a pearl lover.

"It's lovely." Ariel said, putting the choker back in the drawer. "Your mother must have looked beautiful wearing it."

"I hope to wear it one day, too." she said, pulling Ariel's hair back and tying the ribbon in it. "I want to wear it somewhere important. Like on my wedding day or something."

Ariel peered back into the mirror, finding her and Cinderella had on the exact same thing. It made her giggle.

"Okay." Ariel said, calming her random giggling, "I know I've interrupted your day, so it's a good thing there's two of us. We probably have a lot of work to make up for."

"You can say that again," Cinderella said, "There are some things I can get away with, like waxing the floor at this time of day, because of the lighting, but we better get started on dinner. It usually takes the longest to do."

"Right." Ariel agreed, following Cinderella back down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

Now that Ariel knew she'd be working in it, she tried to pay a lot more attention to the tools in the kitchen and tried to see if anything looked familiar. Usually, she wasn't in the kitchen back home, so she knew this would be extra hard. If she was thirsty, she asked for it. If she was hungry, she said so. No one told her to go in the kitchen and get what she wanted. It was always brought to her.

The thought made her feel spoiled, but she recognized something and she wiped her previous thoughts away. It was a stove. It had to be. The big, intimidating appearance practically guaranteed it. And there was a refrigerator. Tall and white, a small, steady stream of cold air coming from the bottom. There were knives hanging up, and a bunch of pans over her head. Somethings, she realized, she actually did recognize.

"Alright." Cinderella said, putting on an apron and handing one to Ariel. "I'll start chopping and sautéing some garlic and onions for a creamy bachamel rue. Can you preheat the oven to 350, please?"

Ariel was still looking at how Cinderella had put on the apron. Over her head... around the waist... and tie... or was that wrong... ?

And what was that? Preheat the oven? Why did it need to preheat? Wasn't it always... hot?

She felt so lost. Going to the stove, she tried to look like she knew what she was doing, but there was so many buttons and a vision of her burning down Cinderella's fathers house plagued her mind. Cinderella would hate her.

But some of the buttons were labeled, maybe she could find...

"It's an older stove." Cinderella said, her hands moving ultra fast as she chopped garlic. "Sorry, I should have told you. You have to press the bake button."

Ariel nodded and smiled, as if that had been the problem the whole time. It was an older stove. Duh.

She spotted it quickly, BAKE. Not knowing what else to do, she pressed it. Three digit spaces popped up and Ariel pressed 350. The oven flashed PREHEATING and Ariel nearly clapped for herself. That was one task done. Now to finish dinner.

.

.

Eric

.

.

Eric was eating.

Charming was following a man around looking for whatever cheese chef Lois needed, but Eric figured Charming didn't need him for that. He was needed much more tasting the cheese at the entrance. Some of the cheese was disgusting and smelled horribly, but some was actually really good with pleasant smells.

He figured he was entitled to a snack. He hadn't eaten since before his boat ride the day before. It wasn't healthy to go so long with no food.

"They don't sell it here." Charming said, approaching. "And I was sure they would."

"Try Charlie's." Eric suggested, "They've got a lot of cheese in the back, right?"

"Yeah," Charming nodded, "OK, we'll try there."

They tried to keep low profiles leaving the store, but someone, somewhere must have recognized them, because immediately, a bell began ringing and the market square cleared out quickly. Charming seemed to ignore it, continuing on his way, but Eric hated the bell. It was just one of the things that separated the royals from the commoners.

The bell was rang, like then, whenever Charming or royals were in the area. The people were instructed to go away for the short time they were there. It was so they could shop quickly and in peace, though Eric didn't mind being around people. He liked commoners. They acted so different. So non-rigid and carefree. Around each other, anyway. People became totally different when he so much as entered a room.

People talked quieter. Backs straightened. Carefree conversations ended. Laughing stopped. Everyone walked a little slower. Spoke a little softer. Looked a little boreder.

He was like a mobile fun-sucking party ruining machine.

"Well, we tried." Charming said, "We made it further without the bell than we did last time."

"Yeah." Eric muttered.

"Well anyway." Charming said, picking up on Eric's mood, "You never told me about the girl you were talking about in the carriage."

"She's no one." Eric objected. "Seriously."

"No one's seemed to have your attention for quite a while. Tell me now or I wont stop asking."

Charming was true to his word and Eric knew it. He wouldn't stop asking.

"Ok, look." Eric said, "Your going to think I'm crazy, but whatever, you asked."

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

---

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

- Chapter 2: Overload -

.

.

Ariel

.

.

Ariel was not only exhausted, but she had a headache too. She figured it was due to all the learning she'd done. She'd made it through dinner preparation okay, managing to only look a little like she had no idea what she was doing, but she did learn a lot. Like for one, flour thickened gravy. And many dishes were better tasting when they had two contrasting flavors, like sweet and spicy. Sugar was sweet, and cayenne pepper was spicy. Perfect combo.

It was late midday now, and though outside was freezing cold, her and Cinderella had needed to open the door, the stove making the kitchen very hot. Ariel could only imagine what it was like in the summertime.

Since the food was done, they were both cleaning the kitchen now. They had about a half an hour to get it done before they had to move on to the next job. It was tiring, but Ariel had learned to wash the dishes quickly, and Cinderella was drying and putting them away. She worked at such a high speed that Ariel was rushing just to keep up.

There was a ring and Cinderella turned to where a bell was hanging by the door. Each bell was below a name. Lady Tremaine. Anastasia. Drizella. Ariel worked out that each person meant a different part of the house. The bell rung again and Ariel saw it was the bell that belonged to Anastasia.

Cinderella put her drying towel down, but Ariel stopped her.

"Anastasia is my responsibility now." she said. "I'll go."

Cinderella looked mildly startled, but nodded. Ariel saw a slight smile on the girls lips as Ariel dried her hands and removed her apron. It would probably be the first time Cinderella didn't answer a call.

"Where am I going?" Ariel asked, and Cinderella seemed to snap back to reality.

"You remember the front hall?" Ariel nodded, "Go there and just make a left instead of a right. The first door on the right."

Ariel nodded and hurried from the room. She had the oddest impression that Anastasia wasn't very patient.

Ariel's legs ached as she hurried down the halls. They'd hurt ever since the walk from the market. And Ariel had done nothing but run around for the remainder of the day. Chopping. Cutting. Slicing. Baking. Preheating. She felt like she could drop dead. How Cinderella did it everyday, alone, was beyond her. Cinderella had to not only be very strong and enduring, but patient as well. Dealing with those sisters and their mother had to really wear a persons nerves down.

Ariel reached the front hall, but found lady Tremaine was waiting there.

"Ah," she said, "It took you long enough."

"I'm sorry lady Tremaine," Ariel said, out of breath as she curtsied low, "It wont happen again."

"See to it that it doesn't."

Ariel nodded, keeping her head down. Oh, she so wanted to punch the old bat.

"Now," the woman said, "Anastasia is fancying some prunes. Run down to the market and fetch her some. And be sure that they are fresh ones."

Lady Tremaine dropped some money in Ariel's hand and walked off, holding the front of her dress up.

Ariel took a second to catch the rest of her breath. She wasn't allowed to come in or exit through the door she was standing in front of. Instead, she had to go all the way back to the kitchen and leave out that way.

Ariel hurried back down the hall, knowing Anastasia would probably berate her for taking so long. It would be better to just hurry and get it done, so that Ariel could go back to helping Cinderella.

"Your alive." Cinderella called jokingly, when Ariel reached the kitchen, "What did the witch want? A broom or a cauldron? You life, perhaps?"

"No," Ariel said, mock seriously, "She wants to kill me slowly."

"So you've still got your soul." Cinderella said, shaking her head sadly. "Pity. You'd be the one that got away. But seriously, what'd she want?"

"It actually wasn't Anastasia. It was lady Tremaine. She wants me to run down to the market to get Anastasia some fresh prunes."

Cinderella made a face. "That girl and prunes. Its unhealthy, I bet."

"Think you can point me in the right direction?"

"Absolutely." Cinderella said, leading her out the kitchen door. "And take this shawl. Its mine, and it's not very warm, but its something."

Ariel wrapped it around herself. It really didn't change things much, but she supposed out in the cold everything counted. Cinderella pointed her the right way, and after telling her the best place to get the prunes, Ariel went off.

Dark clouds were gathering, and Ariel suspected rain. But it was so cold she wondered if the rain might freeze, possibly becoming something else.

She'd walked for about a mile or so before the sounds of the market caught her ears. She was not only relieved that she'd found her way alright, but she knew the market would be a bit warmer. With the many people and all the cooking going on, she might get feeling back to her hands after all.

"Now," Ariel said to herself, "Where was that store?"

Cinderella had given her complicated instructions on how to get to the store, and Ariel found that she spotted it very easily. Good instructions had to be it, because Ariel found she was lost more often than she had expected. Everyone walked around in a quick haze. They were dressed so fancy and beautiful. The air's smell changed every step she took. Every store seemed similar to the one beside it.

If it wasn't so wonderful, it would be maddening.

"Charlie's Deli." Ariel read.

This was it. She peaked in the window of the store and found it was full of people. They all looked friendly enough. Ariel checked to make sure she had her money and was about to enter the store before it sounded like two loud bells rang. One had a deep sound, the other very high and tinkly. Ariel thought the sound was beautiful, but apparently, so did everyone else.

Charlie's Deli cleared out in a second, and so did the rest of the stores. Everyone scrambled from their previous spots and it seemed like seconds went by before the entire market was cleared out. Ariel looked around herself in a somewhat fog. Just a moment ago the market had been full and alive. Now it seemed like the whole city was empty.

Ariel cautiously entered the deli. The door had a bell on it and it jingled when it opened and shut. She hoped Charlie hadn't fled. And she hoped that whatever the people ran for wasn't danger. If it was, she was in some serious trouble.

But she got back to her task at hand. Prunes. What on earth did a prune look like, anyway? Looking around, she saw most of the items in the store was labeled. She hoped the prunes were too. And the prunes were fresh, so, they probably wouldn't be in a box or some kind of wrapper.

Ariel went to the front desk, looking around for things that looked fresh. She was about to simply begin searching down the aisles when a purple sign reading PRUNES caught her attention. She jumped and did a little twirl. This wasn't as hard as she had thought.

She went to where the sign was and found it was sitting on top of a barrel. She moved the sign and barrel top and saw that a purple liquid filled the barrel. It smelled disgusting. Ariel gagged. Why would anyone want to eat something that smelled so horrible?

There was a jar and tongs sitting by the side and Ariel used the tongs to fish out big, wrinkled, things. They were such an unnatural color, being nearly black. But she filled the jar and closed both its lid and the barrels lid. The smell was too horrible.

She heard a familiar chime and turned to see two guys had entered the store. They were both tall, but Ariel couldn't see their faces. One had black hair, the other brown. They seemed to be dressed pontifically. They must have been important.

"The story is... farfetched, but I do actually believe you." the brown headed boy said, and she saw his face as he turned towards her. "I hate when you just assume I wont believe you."

But he seemed to look right through her and went to the counter, right beside her. She held the jar of prunes to her chest, unsure of the boys that had entered. They weren't hiding like the rest of the people, or her for that matter. What made them so special?

As the boy approached, she saw that he was actually very handsome. Certainly nowhere near Eric, but handsome in his own right. He had dark brown eyes, that seemed to match his hair, and he had a tight expression on his face.

"You hate everything today." said the other boy from somewhere in the aisles. "Your too stressed."

"Can you blame me?" the brown headed boy asked, "Who'd of thought this day would be here so soon?"

"Uh, me?" the other boy told him. "You've only been waiting your whole life for today. Every year you'd say, 'one more year down'. Didn't you have a calendar made to countdown till today?"

"Ha ha very funny." brunette said, but he didn't sound much like he thought so. "This just totally snuck up on me. I'm not nearly prepared."

"That's why I've loaned you Lois's skills. He's the best chef there is."

"What did he want again?"

"Some kind of stinky cheese. I think it's aged or something."

"Isn't all cheese aged? Or like, moldy or something?"

"Can we not talk about my food being old. It doesn't make it sound appetizing."

The brunette boy sighed, and Ariel saw the other boy was right. Brunette did look stressed. She wondered what had him so uptight. So upset.

"There out of cheeses," brunette said, "I don't think Charlie's got it."

"First time Charlie's ever let us down."

"First time for everything." brunette muttered, leaning back on the counter. "Like, for instance, actually trusting you best friend. Why wouldn't I believe you?"

"Eh, when you find you future wife, my sorry life will be the last thing you'll be thinking about."

"You really think she'll be there? I mean, seriously."

"She has to be. You've invited all of France. There's got to be at least one girl you can fall in love with."

The idea seemed to settle brunette some. He relaxed a bit, and actually seemed to take a deep breath. Was he looking for a wife? Was that why he was so upset? Ariel supposed she would be too if her future depended on one night full of suitors.

"You know," the other boy said, "You really should have made more of an effort to get Jas out here. She'd speak well of you."

The brunette boy laughed, "Please. She'd probably give a woman's right speech and tell everyone their better off without men."

"And you can just pick from the girls who stayed. Slim down the pickings, you know."

"Right." brunette said, "And when my ball is full of just me and my servants, I'm going to kill you. Now, I'm gonna call chef Lois, just to make sure we get what we need. I don't want to come back out here just to hear that bell again."

The brunette left, leaving the other boy behind. Ariel then grabbed the money from her pocket and put it on the counter. She wasn't sure if she paid enough, but she was ready to go back to Cinderella's home. There was something strange about how the brunette boy couldn't see her. He had literally looked right at her.

Ariel back up towards the door, just making sure the other boy didn't jump out at her or something, but bumped the prune barrel. A jar on top rocked, but Ariel caught it before it smashed to the ground.

She suddenly heard footsteps and turned to see the black headed boy had come out the aisle.

Ariel dropped the empty jar.

It exploded in an almost beautiful shatter of glass. She was sure nothing hit her, but she'd been so caught off guard. She knew his face anywhere. Bright blue eyes. Fine-looking black hair. Fair skin. It was Eric. No doubt about it.

Eric looked mildly startled about the broken glass but approached the area, his boots crunching glass beneath it.

"I'm sorry." he said, loudly, "We didn't mean to startle you."

Why was he talking so loud? Ariel was literally right in front of him. She hadn't moved from her spot. She was standing right in the middle of the broken glass. He was just a few steps away from her. She could touch him if she tried.

As quietly as she could, she stepped away from the glass and backed away from him. There was no other explanation. He couldn't see her. The brunette boy couldn't either. This had to have something to do with Ursula's potion. Maybe Eric wouldn't be able to see her until she finished her journey. The idea sucked big time, but it was the only solution she could come up with.

"Hello?" he called again, and Ariel felt herself swoon.

Even his voice had an effect on her. She had to talk to him. Just the thought of them having a conversation made her knees shake and her heart beat faster.

"I didn't mean to ease-drop." she said. "I'm... a traveler. I didn't know what the bells meant."

"Easy mistake to make." Eric told her, getting up from his crouched position and looking around himself for the speaker. "It happens all the time."

"Really?" she asked him, and he chuckled, showing his deep dimples.

Swoon.

"No. But I'm not surprised it did. I hate that bell anyway. It deserves some rebellion."

Ariel giggled. "I don't think you should blame the bell. It does sound beautiful."

"Yeah, the first time you hear it. Every other five minutes and the sound begins to get to you."

He was searching the aisles. Trying to put a face to the voice. But he was wasting his time. He couldn't see her. She followed him up and down the aisles. Trying to commit him to memory. She felt like a stalker, but she didn't care. He smelled like the ocean and... some kind of food. Some kind of delicious food.

"I don't think I should ever grow tired of its chimes."

"Yeah?" he asked, "Stick around Paris for a while and then we'll see how you fare."

"The bells shouldn't grate you so bad. Your not from around here either, are you?"

She was in front of him now, and watched his expression go from slightly confused to mildly entertained. She mentally slapped herself. He was a prince. Everyone, but her, knew where he lived. Duh.

"No," he said slowly, "My district is further down south."

She tried to think of something to quickly distract him from her dumb mistake.

"It must be beautiful down there," she said, "So close to the ocean."

"Yes," he said, but for some reason, he seemed to lack the tone that suggested he really thought so, "But every district has something to be proud of."

His answer sounded somewhat rehearsed. Like he answered it often. She tried to think of something else to say. Something that wasn't so routine.

"What does your district have to be proud of?"

She'd simply asked the question to keep their conversation a little more interesting. But for some reason, he stopped in his tracts and his face grew extremely thoughtful. He put his fingers to his mouth and looked towards the floor, as if the question required a great deal of concentration to answer.

"I'm sorry." she said quickly, "I didn't mean to offend you or-"

"No, no." he interrupted her, laughing. "You didn't offend me. It's just... you stumped me. Its shameful really, I ought to have an answer to that, but I don't. Imagine, my own province and I can't even tell you the good about it."

"We all draw blanks." she told him.

"Yes, but, its such a simple question. I've never been stumped into silence before."

He didn't sound angry at her. He didn't even sound cross. Instead, he actually sounded intrigued. Like stumping him was a great feat that he actually enjoyed. She figured he didn't get stumped very often, as a royal herself, she knew you were trained so that being stumped never happened. She'd never been stumped into silence herself. She hoped, truly, that he wasn't ashamed of it.

"I'm sure your province has so many great things that you simply couldn't decide on one." she said, hoping to fix her mistake in words.

"Yes," he laughed, "That's what it was. How to choose, how to choose?"

He was joking, of course, but regardless, she loved his laugh. It made her smile so hard it hurt.

He sighed, stopping in the aisle. Yes, it was still no use. He just couldn't find her. He stood on his toes and looked over the shelves, but still saw no one. Even though Ariel stood right behind him.

"You know," he said, "I never caught your nam-"

He was interrupted by the chimes on the stores door. The brunette boy entered again.

"Your still in here, Eric?" he asked. "And making a mess. Why'd you break the prune jar?"

Eric made his way towards the boy, but looked behind himself, as if he might catch a sight of her. And he did. He looked right at her. But he just didn't see her.

"Come on." the brunette boy said, "I've got the chees- wait, are you smiling?"

Eric was still looking back to her, but she realized he actually was smiling. Broadly. He had a great smile. And nice teeth.

"What?" Eric asked, turning to the brunette boy, "What did you say, Charming? I didn't hear."

"Your smiling." Charming observed, looking closely at Eric. "And who were you talking to?"

Eric shook his head, "No one."

"I see," Charming said, seriously, "Well, when people normally talk to no one, we get concerned. I know you've been stressed-"

"Shut up, Charming." Eric said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just saying. You hardly ever smile. And I can't remember the last time you smiled like that. I guess I've been so concerned with my ball lately that I haven't paid you any mind. That makes me the bad best friend, but I promise-"

"Shut up, Charming." Eric repeated. "Just come on."

Charming was still talking about stress and pressure when he left the store, but Eric stayed long enough to do another eye sweep of the store. And in a split second, Ariel thought he was about to come back in, but Charming grabbed Eric's arm, his mouth still moving as he talked about psychiatrists, and pulled Eric off.

Ariel stood in the one spot. Her heart was beating wildly. Her breathing was near nonexistent. She'd talked to him. To Eric. And she'd made him laugh. And he'd made her laugh. And they were talking. And he was looking for her. Could you fall for someone just by hearing their voice? She hoped he might. He'd laughed after all. And he might have been about to go back in and talk to her some more. He was about to ask her name. But, would she tell him if he asked? Even though she wasn't supposed to? She didn't know.

She still clutched Drizella's prunes, and in that instant, she realized she was so late. She'd spent too much time talking to Eric. She rushed out the store and down the empty market street. She stopped, turning around once, and was rewarded with seeing Charming and Eric talking by the store. She was too far to hear them, but Eric was motioning to the store and it seemed Charming was shaking his head. They seemed to be having a disagreement. After a moment, they both went back into the store.

Her mind reeled and she wondered if they'd gone back in to find her. She imagined Eric calling 'hello' in his gorgeous voice, and her not there to answer him. She wanted to run back just to see, but she was late. Too late. She turned on her heels and rushed back towards Cinderella's home.

.

.

Eric

.

.

"There is no one in here." Charming said firmly, following Eric back inside. "We were just in here."

"I know." Eric said, feeling like he was repeating himself, "But we were talking. I promise."

Charming still looked skeptical, but Eric ignored him.

No, he hadn't actually seen, this girl, but he knew she was there. She wasn't in his mind. And her voice, he was sure, was familiar. If he had no sense, he would say she sounded similar to that beautiful voice he'd heard on the beach. But he knew the idea was too far fetched. He was halfway around the world from that spot. No way could she be there the same time he was.

But besides that point. This girl. Whatever her name was, she'd been so different. She wasn't like other commoners. She spoke like she knew him. Talked to him like his title actually didn't matter. Talked to him... like he was actually a person. Someone more than a crown. Someone with feelings and emotions and a brain.

And she was clever. Clever and funny. Not even Grimsby could usually stump him. He normally had an answer for everything. For every type of conversation and situation. What made this girl so different? So special?

"Hello?" Charming called, around the room, "Is anyone in here?"

Eric had just wished he'd seen her. Figured out her name. Something, anything for proof. He looked like an idiot. Smiling in a seemingly empty store. Trying to convince his best friend that there was actually someone in there. It was like a bad joke. A bad joke, gone wrong.

"She must have left." Eric said, after they'd searched the store numerous times, "She's not answering me."

Charming looked at him deeply. Deeply, and concerned.

"I'm worried about you, Eric." he said, as they left the store. "I mean, first the girl on the beach. And now a girl in the store. I mean, I don't know."

He rubbed the back of his neck, like he always did when he was either unsure or seriously troubled. Eric was about to respond with an already prepared speech about both girls' existence, but he looked back to Charming. He now looked beyond stressed.

Eric swallowed his answer. He was there, in Paris, to help Charming. Try and shake some stress from him. Help any way he could. But it seemed like he was only stressing his friend out more. Giving him more to think about. More to worry about.

"I'm just stressed, okay?" Eric said, as light humored as he could. "There's no problems."

His own female problems could wait. Right now, his buddy needed him.

"I was thinking about your clothes." Eric told him, changing the subject, "I don't think you should wear the suit your father suggested. It's a good suit, but I'm afraid it might be too fancy. The last thing you want to do is intimidate one of the girls, and I think the shy girls might feel a bit overwhelmed."

"Your right," Charming said, deep in thought, "I should go more casual. More..."

Normally, Charming wasn't nearly as scatter brained. He could hardly ever be turned away from a conversation without his knowing it, but Eric used his current state of mind against him. He needed to focus more on himself, anyway, and not Eric's own state of mind.

Charming talked the rest of the way back to the palace about his planned shoes alone. Eric was glad the walk was short, because he was beginning to feel bad about tuning him out.

"I better just go with the brown ones," Charming sighed, "Better to be safe than sorry."

Eric nodded, like he'd been doing randomly the whole walk. Charming had claimed he was 'just going to wear the brown shoes' at least 12 times now.

Loud, boisterous, trumpets played as they entered the front doors of the palace. Eric winced, but Charming continued to talk. They hadn't been in the palace for more than a few seconds before a tall, skinny man rounded the corner, a scowl on his face.

Charming ceased talking.

"Oh, great." Eric muttered, watching Grimsby glide across the marble floors towards them.

"Prince Eric." Grimsby said firmly, "What about 'wait a moment' was too complicated for you to understand?"

Grimsby was talking about Eric's sudden departure for the hospital. He had been taken straight there after the shipwreck, when Charming had called with the news of his ball being pushed up a week. Eric had boarded a jet as fast as he could, flying out to Paris without so much as telling the nurses. Part of it had to do with his rush to be in Paris, the other involved not wanting to be stuck on a plane with Grimsby. The man was already chewing him out for saving Max. He hadn't been sure he could survive a two hour flight with the man.

He'd expected the man to arrive at some point, Eric wasn't allowed anywhere without him, but Eric had hoped for a few more hours.

"Nothing was too complicated," Eric responded, "I just needed to get down here, and I knew you'd need more time to pack."

It was a lie and Grimsby saw straight threw it.

"I don't appreciate false information, young man." he said, "And you should know better. Its undignified."

Grimsby was clearly trying to guilt Eric into guiltily promising to never let it happen again. But Eric simply stared at him blankly. He wasn't promising anything. If he had the choice, he'd do it again. And again. And again. Heck, if Charming didn't have his ball coming, Eric might have done it then.

"Eric?" Grimsby said, forced patience in his voice. "Anything you'd like to say?"

"No." Eric said honestly.

Eric caught Charming looking between them uncomfortably. He made a subtle move to leave, and Eric simply rolled his eyes. Charming often tried to avoid Grimsby as often as Eric did. Grimsby was the one down point about Eric's visits. But it wasn't Eric's fault the man followed him around like he was a child.

Grimsby shook his head, like Eric was the sole disappointment in his life, but seemed to wave it off.

"In time," he said, "I suppose you will learn. Its your English blood, I swear it is. Besides this matter, my boy, we must return home. You've packing to do."

"We can go to the fields during the weekend." Eric said, "Charming's ball is tomorrow and I'm gonna be here for it."

"Oh gracious," Grimsby said, "Eric we've not the time for this. Charming is a big boy, he can attend his own party."

Funny how Charming was a 'big boy' who could do things on his own, but Eric was still treated like he was a child, not one decision in his life being his own.

"And besides," the man continued, "In a few days, you have school to attend. I suggest you begin to think about what you want to take and what you want to leave."

"Fine, I'll think about it, but it's not like what I want is even coming. You decide all that stuff. And I'm not going yet."

Eric was sure Grimsby had gone on about something else, but Eric had expertly tuned him out. He left for school, in a few days, that was true. The Royal Academy (which was 99.7% noblemen and women's children than actual royalty) lasted a few months out of the year. He'd be there for September, October, November, and December, if all went well. Should an emergency occur in his province, and he was called back home, he'd finish his missed months in the springtime. Something he was hoping wouldn't happen.

He hated and liked this time of the year. For one thing, no servants were allowed to come. So four whole months with no Grimsby. On the other hand, he was thrown in a building with sniffy boys who all wanted to be his friend, and posh girls who all wanted to marry him. Not to mention the fact that he was learning things he'd already known since 5th grade. The world history books were his childhood bedtime stories.

It was out of one madhouse and into another.

And then, there was the matter of leaving Max behind. Of course, the dog couldn't go with him, but last year, Eric had left Max in Grimsby's care only to return to find Max starving, dirty, and near dead. Eric was still heavily bent up on that.

"Eric, stop this silly game you are playing. You must return home at once." Grimsby said sternly, "Charming can handle this ordeal on his own. How does he ever expect to rule an entire land, if he calls on you every time something goes wrong?"

Charming was silently standing by, too respectful to interrupt the man and too passive and tolerant to defend himself. But Eric's blood boiled. Eric was Charming's friend. If Grimsby had any, he might know you were supposed to call on your friends when you needed help. You were supposed to tell them how you felt. You were supposed to be there for them. How could Eric be there for Charming, if he was halfway around the world?

Eric was about to tell the man this, about to really let loose, but Charming held his hand up, silently asking for silence from the both of them. It was a very... majestic... action.

"He's right." Charming said plainly, turning to Eric. "This ordeal is my own. It wasn't fair of me to ask for your assistance, especially after what happened last night. You haven't even had time to recuperate. Besides, if I can manage my kingdom, I can surely manage my own ball. It will be fine, you should return home."

Eric was about to inform Charming of the complete ridiculousness of everything he'd just said, but Charming made a face. A face that all but said 'sike' out loud. Though Charming was probably serious, he avoided conflict with Grimsby as often as he could. And while Eric was sure Charming could get along with the party on his own, he wasn't happy about him giving in to Grimsby. The man deserved resistance.

"So its settled." Grimsby said clapping, "We return home at once."

"Actually," Eric said, stopping the mans joyous mood, "I've planned on stopping in Agrabah before I went home. Its closer to Paris than it is to Europe. Let alone Germany."

"Now why-" the man began.

"-Because I haven't seen Jas since that performance those school kids put on."

"The harmony was nice." Charming cut in, "And the choreography was well done."

"But you can head back." Eric suggested. "I can travel on my own."

Grimsby folded his arms. Eric knew the man wouldn't let him out of his sights, but Eric usually said that when there was no changing his mind. He just suggested Grimsby do whatever he like, because he was doing whatever he liked. He knew Grimsby hated that, but Eric didn't much care. It really had been a while since he'd seen Jas.

"Princess Jasmine." Grimsby said, emphasizing that her name was not Jas. "Has not invited us. It is undignified-"

"She'll be fine with it, believe me." Eric waved off.

He was a bit put off that he wasn't going to stay for the ball, which was all Charming's fault, but he knew Charming would be totally fine. And besides, if he left early enough in the morning, he could catch a train and leave Grimsby behind. Maybe that way, he could get some decent time to himself.

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

---

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

- Chapter 3: Falling -

.

.

Ariel

.

.

Her shawl was blown back from the wind, but Ariel was tired of fixing it. Besides, she was moving so fast it would keep blowing back anyway. She found her way back to the house without a problem and entered through the kitchen.

The kitchen was spotless and Ariel hung Cinderella's shawl up on a hook and clutched at the jar in her hands. She'd barely made it out the kitchen before she nearly ran into Anastasia herself.

"Hey," she said, "Prunes."

She grabbed the jar from Ariel and walked off, dipping her hands in the jar and eating them like a snack. It was disgusting to watch, but Ariel breathed a sigh of relief. Anastasia wasn't angry and she was back. And... she'd spoken to Eric. And that, was the highlight of her day.

She walked around a bit, looking for Cinderella and found the girl setting the table in the dinning room.

"Your back." she said, brightly, "I heard the bells ring. Figured you'd be back a little late. How was the market?"

Ariel hadn't realized, but she was in a bit of a daze. She spun as she grabbed a handful of napkins and placed them on the table. Humming a tune to herself, Cinderella raised a brow at her.

"Have fun, did we?"

"Huh?" Ariel asked, stopping her humming, "Oh, yes. Great fun."

Cinderella handed her three plates and Ariel set them up.

"Well," Cinderella said, "Spill. What happened?"

"I fell." Ariel said wistfully.

"Fell? Fell where?"

"In love." Ariel giggled at her joke. And her giggle reminded her of Eric's chuckle. It sounded like gentle waves on the sand at sunset. Beautiful.

Cinderella laughed, "Well, with who. I know almost everyone in town. Maybe I know him. Whats he look like?"

"Imagine gorgeous."

"Right." Cinderella laughed, "I'm gonna need a little more than that."

"He's got black hair, blue eyes, and dimples deeper than the Mariana trench."

"Wow." Cinderella stated, "But I don't know anyone with dimples. Except Christian, maybe, but he's only got one. Whats his name?"

"Eric." Ariel sighed, leaning back against the wall and holding her hands to her chest.

"Eric." she said slowly, "Eric. Wait, you mean like, the prince?"

Ariel laughed. His name sounded exquisite out of everyone's mouth.

"Ari, that's nice." Cinderella said, "But girls like you and I, we don't get our princes."

"Oh, and when we talked!" Ariel sighed, sliding down the wall.

"You talked?" Cinderella asked, "Wait you- you know what. Come on, lets finish our chores so we can talk. What do you mean you talked? No, don't tell me."

They both finished setting the table, and after that. They waxed the foyer. It was a small foyer so it didn't take long.

Lady Tremaine and the girls entered the dinning room and Ariel and Cinderella served them their dinner. It was a horrible task. Both Drizella and Anastasia wanted something every five seconds. It was a wonder they ate anything at all. But after they ate, Cinderella got them settled for bed and Ariel started on cleaning the dishes and dinning room. Cinderella returned and they both finished up.

And finally, they were clear for bed.

Cinderella dragged Ariel up the stairs, loaned her a nightgown, and both girls jumped on Cinderella's bed criss crossed and face each other. Cinderella kept her shades open so they could see the gloriously lit castle in the distance.

"So go on." Cinderella said, "What happened. And start from the beginning."

"Well," Ariel said, "I'd gotten to Charlies when the bells went off. I didn't know they meant royalty was in town or something, so I went in the store. I got Drizella's prunes and was about to leave before Eric and Charming came in and-"

Cinderella screamed.

"Charming?" she asked, "He was there too? What did he have on? What was he doing? How did he have his hair?"

Ariel forgot. Cinderella was crushing on Charming probably almost as much as she was in love with Eric. The parts of her story she felt were important, she pushed to the side. She knew what Cinderella wanted to hear about.

"I think he had on a blue and white suit." Ariel told her, "It had gold buttons and a gold sash. His hair was back, I believe, and you were right. His eyes are chocolate."

Cinderella clutched her pillow and sighed into it.

"He's so dreamy." she said, looking out her window and at the castle. "Do you think he's asleep right now?"

"I doubt it." Ariel said, "He seemed stressed. I think he's planning a party, or something. Eric said he was looking for a wife."

Cinderella's eyes widened and she turned back to Ariel.

"Eric also said he'd invited nearly every girl in France. Maybe your invitation is coming."

Cinderella looked ready to burst. Ariel knew how she felt. Just the idea of seeing your love made you giddy and excited. You couldn't sit still and your heart beat miles a minuet. Ariel smiled at the girl. People got so crazy when they were in love.

"What if he marries you?" Ariel asked, and watched as Cinderella's face shifted a hundred miles a minuet.

It was never a bad thing to encourage, she thought.

"Oh," Cinderella sighed, "We better get to bed. Early start tomorrow, makes for a shorter day."

Ariel smiled, said goodnight and climbed out the bed. She found Cinderella had found the cot and set it up nicely for her. It was clear Cinderella used the good things on her; fluffy pillows, a big blanket. Ariel hoped one day she could repay the girl for her kindness.

Ariel got in bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. She replayed her day at the market over and over in her mind until she dreamed of Eric all night.

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

---

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

*Part IV*

- Chapter 1: All For You -

.

.

Ariel

.

.

"Wake up!" Cinderella sang,

Ariel was just entering the land of the conscious. Cinderella was already dressed and was making her bed.

"Wakey, wakey." she sang again, "Long day ahead of us. Step-mother wants the chimney cleaned. I've never done that, but with both of us, it ought to be a breeze, right?"

Ariel sat up and rubbed her eyes. It was still dark outside. This was crazy. But Ariel got out of bed, dressed and let Cinderella pull her hair back into its ribbon again.

"Lets grab breakfast," Cinderella said, "And then we'll try out that chimney."

Ariel nodded, slowly following a skipping Cinderella down the stairs. The girl must have been a morning person. Together, they made sausage and eggs and then cleaned up the small mess.

"This house has a million chimneys," Ariel said, her eyes now drawn to every one. "Which one does she want done?"

"Just the one in her sitting room."

Both girls entered the dark room. Cinderella opened the heavy purple curtains. Thankfully, the room faced the east and the sun was making a bright appearance. The room brightened immediately and Ariel could actually see.

"Okay." Cinderella said, "I know we have a chimney brush somewhere. I guess we just... brush?"

Cinderella found the old, scary looking chimney brush, and together, they stuffed it up the chimney. They moved it in an up and down motion and for a moment, it seemed as if they were doing a good job.

But suddenly, tons and tons of soot fell down and both girls and the room was coated in black ash.

"Well we used the wrong technique." Cinderella said, "But I think its fair to say that the chimney is clean."

Ariel coughed, and nodded.

After cleaning the room back to perfection and getting themselves cleaned up too, Cinderella said she needed to wake the girls and give step-mother her morning tea. Ariel was showed how to clean the floor and Cinderella left her.

Ariel was on her hands and knees, an old rag in hand, and a bubbly bucket beside her. The floor was huge and she cleaned about an inch a minute. Cinderella's technique worked well and efficient, but it took forever.

But Cinderella had had a huge smile on her face as she left to wake up the girls and prepare the tea. Ariel knew she'd be happy too if she had that kind of help. Ariel was halfway through the morning, and her job, when the doorbell rang.

Cinderella was still busy with the girls, running by every few minutes to get something for the girls or lady Tremaine, never failing to say how good Ariel was doing. The last time, she had a long beaded necklace for Anastasia. Ariel was glad she was there to help. She couldn't imagine the girl doing both jobs.

"Coming!" Ariel called, going and opening the door.

She was met with a boy not much older than herself. He had blonde hair and freckles and when he saw her, he smiled. One dimple, she notice. She wondered if his name was Christian.

"I've a special invitation for you." he said, handing Ariel an envelope. "And, well, I know you don't know me, but some time, if you're not too busy..."

Ariel closed the door. She made sure to smile and nod her head, but she just wasn't interested, and her attempts to discourage the boy were clearly futile.

"Maybe some other time!" he called through the door, and Ariel simply turned on her heels.

Cinderella rounded the corner, then. She'd been running top speed and skid a little on the wet floor as she raced towards Ariel.

"Did the guy at the door leave?" she asked, "I tried to get here but Drizella had me tied. Did you see who it was? You think I can catch him?"

"Its okay," Ariel said, holding Cinderella's shoulders and forcing her to breathe, "I answered it. Special invitation, see?"

Ariel gave the envelope to Cinderella, and the girl laughed.

"Gosh, what would I do without you?" she said, "I never realized how worn out I am."

Cinderella mindlessly opened the envelope, and then threw the paper inside on the floor.

"Whats the matter?" Ariel asked, picking it up, "Whats wrong."

"Its-its-its..." she stuttered, "Its got the royal seal at the top!"

"Really?" Ariel asked, her eyes running over the paper.

Ariel smiled.

"Oh, Ella." she said sang slowly, teasingly, "Guess what is says."

Cinderella's face blanched. She looked like she might pass out.

"What does it say?" she whispered, "What is it? Read it."

Ariel cleared her throat.

"To all eligible ladies/bachelorettes of the house." Ariel read in a loud, formal voice. "You are cordially invited to attend the Grand Ball at the palace. Here, you have the opportunity to meet and mingle with other ladies and gentlemen, as well as the prince as he searches for his future bride-"

Cinderella fell. Or maybe she passed out. Either way, she was on the floor, sitting on her butt.

"Ella!" Ariel said, crouching beside her and fanning her with the invitation "That's you! You've got a chance to marry the prince! You can marry Charming!"

Cinderella looked confused for a moment. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish.

"But-" she said. "But-but-but-but... I've got nothing to wear!"

"We can fix that!" Ariel said, helping the girl up. "You can sow. I can sow. We can come up with something by-"

Ariel read the date on the invitation, and her voice dropped, "By, tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow?" Cinderella squeaked, "I can't come up with a gown worth staring at by tomorrow. I don't even know if I could do it by next week!"

"Well," Ariel said, matter of factly, "I guess we'll just have to make it work. Even if we've got to borrow some things from Drizella and Anastasia, we'll make it work. I know he'll like you. We just have to get his attention first."

Cinderella looked a bit shocked, but she didn't openly object the plan. She seemed more scarred and timid than anything.

"Come on," Ariel said, pushing the girl along, "I'll finish cleaning the floors, you take the invitation to lady Tremaine. She's probably wondering where you are and she'll kill us both if she doesn't see this."

"R-right." Cinderella said, clutching the paper to her chest. "I'm going."

Cinderella hurried off, and Ariel dropped back down to the floor. She had a lot of work to finish. Ariel had had it in her mind that she and Cinderella would work extra hard and extra fast so they could work on their outfits, but she'd forgotten about Anastasia and Drizella. Both girls ran Cinderella rigid, while they looked for outfits to wear.

Ariel ended up cleaning the rest of the house, and by telephone instructions, cooking dinner as well. Ariel served Drizella and Anastasia herself, Cinderella mending the girls outfits and getting lady Tremaine's clothes together as well. Ariel cleaned up the mess she'd made cooking and sluggishly crawled up the stairs.

She felt as if only thin pieces of skin held her limbs in place. She was sure they were ready to snap at the bone and fall off at any given moment.

She wasn't sure where Cinderella had disappeared to, the last Ariel saw of her being when she grabbed a blue pearl necklace from lady Tremaine for Drizella. Ariel supposed the girl was still somewhere working, but Ariel needed sleep. She'd die of overwork if she didn't get in the bed soon. She debated whether or not she had enough energy to change her clothes, but voted against it. She just wanted to fall face first into a warm, comfy bed.

Reaching the top of the stairs pained her legs like never before. More than anything, they hurt. She supposed her leg muscles were just about nothing, and working them so hard so soon really put a strain on them.

Opening her and Cinderella's room, she stepped back a bit, surprised to see Cinderella was already in there. But Cinderella sat on the floor, her face in her hands and she cried on her end of her bed.

"Ella?" Ariel asked, forgetting her fatigue and rushing to the girl's side, "What happened?"

"I'm so sorry," she cried, just barely lifting up her head. "I just came up here to get myself together. I meant to come back down and help but I-"

Ariel shushed her. "Don't worry about me. Whats the matter?"

"Oh," she said, angrily through tears. "I've never hated a living soul in my life. But right now I... I... I hate my step-mother. I hate her."

Ariel believed Cinderella. Believed every part of it. She couldn't see the sweet girl hating anything dead or alive. And Ariel strongly disliked lady Tremaine. Ariel was surprised it took Cinderella this long to admit hatred.

"What did she do?" Ariel asked, finding a handkerchief on Cinderella's side dresser and giving it to the girl.

Cinderella blowed her nose, and sniffed.

"She wont let me go to the ball." Cinderella said. "She's got a list of chores for me the size of the Eiffel tower. I cant leave the house until I finished them."

An immediate idea popped into Ariel's head, and her mind reeled at the pro's and con's of it. The possibility rating and the punishment at it failing.

"Ella." Ariel said gently, "Your going to that ball."

Cinderella sniffed again. "But how? I'd have to work all day to finish that list."

"I'll do it."

Cinderella gaped at her. "Ari, no. If I go, you do too."

"Its alright." Ariel waved off. "Eric might not even be there, and he's the one I love. He's probably back home by now. Your prince, though, is here tomorrow night. This is a once in a lifetime chance for you and I wont let you pass it up."

Cinderella shook her head. "I don't have a dress. Any way to get there. And if the girls or step-mother see's me I'm dead."

"I doubt they'd notice you with your hair up." Ariel waved off nonchalantly. "They hardly glance at you. It would probably be easy."

"I just can't." Cinderella said. "It's too much. My dress would look thrown together. And I would be spotted in a second. Besides, I'd never have any fun, knowing your here working. I can face the facts. Charming and I just aren't meant to be."

Her statement brought an onset of tears. Ariel hated to see anyone cry, but to see Cinderella do it hurt her more than she'd ever expect. She'd only known the girl for roughly two days.

Ariel made a choice then. The girl had taken her in and then fought to let her stay. She'd shared her things without any reservation. Taught her more things in a single day than Ariel had acquired in her 16 years of life.

Ariel got in her bed, but laid awake. She waited until she heard Cinderella crawl into bed. And then Ariel waited a while longer for the sniffles to stop and calm breathing filled the air.

Knowing Cinderella was asleep, Ariel turned on her bedside lamp. It was late, and still kind of dark, so Ariel had a pretty rough time looking for what she was searching for. But she found it right where she'd left it.

The blue gown she'd worn her first day. It had always looked important to her. Clearly someone of high standing had owned the items she found. A noble or someone, but the fabric even suggested someone of higher status. Ariel went as far as to believe someone of royal origins.

But that didn't matter now. All she needed was a base and the fabric. She checked once more, making sure Cinderella was asleep, and then she tore the arm off of her dress. She'd always thought it. Her and Cinderella were close in size.

Ariel remembered seeing a needle and thread in Cinderella's drawer when she'd tied Ariel's hair back. Ariel fetched it, and with an extravagant gown idea in her mind, set to work.

.

.

Eric

.

.

The door closed back behind the rushing maid, and Eric groaned. He didn't much blame her. Regular maids were banned from royalty rooms, and she had been a regular maid. The maid hadn't turned his request down, but she wasn't about to stick around, either. The maid who had come to wake him, par special request the night before, was rough handed. He'd dreamt of the ocean, and the maid had roughly shaken him. In his dream, he'd fallen off his boat and into the water. He woke up gasping, thinking he were still drowning, and the maid had simply rushed from the room.

For a moment, still in a confused state between asleep and awake, he'd nearly caught her arm, stopping her from leaving. He nearly called out to her. Asking her to wait. To please, tell him her name. But he shook the idea away and sat up. That wasn't her, he told himself, massaging his temples.

He'd dreamt of that beach girl on the jet ride to Paris. He'd thought of her on the ride to the palace. She'd been about to save him in his dream just then. And even when he'd just woken up, he had briefly conjured an image of her instead of the maids face. Her red hair. Her glowing skin. Her thin, red lips. Her piercing blue eyes. True, the image of her was hazy, but it was real. And so was she.

Eric rolled out of bed. It might be nice if he could forget her face just for a moment. If he could get her song out of his head for a few minutes, he might have a peaceful, 3 am shower. Grimsby didn't usually get up until about 6 or 7. Eric could get a decent shower, nab some breakfast, and be on a train to Agrabah around 4, he figured. Enough time to get a good distance.

He searched through his bag quickly, grabbing the things he needed for a shower and made his way to the bathroom. He was humming 'the song' when he got to his bathroom and flicked on the light.

His song hit a disturbing pitch as he jumped back, finding the bathroom was full of people. Mostly women. His mouth was open and he found no sound coming out.

He did a silent count, finding five women and two men were standing at attention, lining the wall of the bathroom and staring straight ahead. They were in black uniform and held various items in their hands; loofah, soap, shampoo, rag, sponge, towel, lotions.

Eric bit his cheek. This wasn't a problem back home, his maids knew how he wanted things done, and unless Grimsby got involved, he had his way. Like, for instance, his love of bathroom privacy. Don't misunderstand him, he appreciated what the maids and manservant's did, but he was perfectly capable of washing himself. And he actually preferred it that way.

"Uh..." he started embarrassed, looking at how ready they were to bathe him, "...well, thank you... for being here."

None of them moved. Didn't even blink. And why... were they sitting in here in the dark? Had they been there all night?

"The thing is," he said, putting his clothes on the sink counter and putting his hands together, "I, actually like washing myself."

He didn't even get a chance to apologize for wasting their time. In perfect synchronization, they spun on their heels, set their items on the sink counter, and marched orderly out of the bathroom. Eric heard the soft click of the bedroom door closing and that was it. He was, at least he hoped, alone. He had thought he was alone before, and found a parade in his bathroom. Who knew who was hiding in the closet or under his bed?

He locked the bathroom door and did a quick sweep of the bathroom. Checking the cabinets, drawers, and shower. Just checking. When he found it was appropriately empty, he stripped down and ran the shower water. He brushed his teeth and then jumped in the shower when it was hot. How weird would it be for a group of people to stand there washing you? Washing your hair and... all of you? It was too weird for Eric. Of course, his love of privacy was a big controversy he and Grimsby had.

According to the man, they were trained to wash him. According to Grimsby, they would do a much 'thorougher' job at cleaning him. And everyone knew, 'a clean prince, was a happy prince'. Eric just didn't know why he couldn't be the one to make sure 'the prince' was 'clean'. It was actually a very stupid thing to argue about, but he and Grimsby found any topic worth a fight. The man just didn't get him at all.

Eric washed, dried, and clothed himself quickly, remembering he was trying to get out the palace before the old beanpole got up. He packed his things back up, and tip toed down the halls. Few maids were up, the ones that were jumping in surprise when they saw him, and then giving him odd looks as he crept by. He didn't blame them. He was a little old to be tipping around, but leaving behind Grimsby was worth a bit of embarrassment.

Eric made it to the large front doors without a hitch. Charming was asleep in one of the entrance chairs, holding a paper bag, and Eric slugged his arm, waking him up. Charming woke with a start, and ran his hands through his hair.

"I figured you'd of left by now," he yawned. "Grimsby's already in the shower."

Eric groaned, "Then I got to go."

"Here," Charming said, handing him the bag, "Cant visit Paris without taking home a croissant."

Eric reached in, grabbing one and munching on it.

"I'll call you when I get to Agrabah," Eric said, making his way towards the doors.

"I'll call you when I find my wife." Charming responded, and Eric was pleasantly pleased to find Charming sounded completely normal about the situation. He really was only freaking himself out.

Eric crept out the palace doors and made his way around back. There was a special underground route, used in case of emergencies, that led straight to Charming's private train station. Eric was sure Charming wouldn't mind if he borrowed his train.

He found the hidden stairs easily, and ate another croissant as he made his way down the narrow set of stairs. He passed numerous guards, all of which grim faced as they saluted as he walked by. He saluted back, just because, but none of them acknowledged him further.

They were so uptight.

The train was sitting still, just as it always was. Eric thought it strange that all those people were down there on a daily basis. Charming probably only used the train about two or three times a year. How boring it must be for people on all those other days.

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

---

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

- Chapter 2: Preparations -

.

.

Ariel

.

.

Cinderella shook Ariel's arm, and Ariel groaned.

It was still dark.

Ariel hadn't even been in a deep enough sleep to dream. She'd worked all through the night a most of the morning finishing up Cinderella's dress. She'd hanged it on the mannequin just to see the shape and hem the bottom, and she gave herself props. The fabric laid beautifully with the color, and Ariel thought the dress suited Cinderella well.

"Sorry." Cinderella said quietly, handing Ariel a plate, "The polished silver is still wet. No forks today either."

Ariel looked at the plate of food in her hands and began eating it meekly with her hands. The word 'fork' stuck with her for some reason. She wasn't sure what it was, but she felt as if she remembered it from somewhere.

"I've cleaned a lot already this morning." Cinderella said, "I just thought that maybe... I don't know an early start or something... but it's no use. I'm just staying home, that's all."

Ariel wanted to pull the dress from under her pillow and show Cinderella, but that would ruin the whole surprise. Ariel simply nodded at the girl, and together, they made their way down the stairs to prepare the fire in the sitting room for lady Tremaine.

Cinderella didn't skip like she usually did in mornings. Her steps lacked that bounce she had. But Ariel didn't blame her. She would be bent up too. In fact, Ariel knew she'd probably go that ball regardless of what lady Tremaine said. Maybe her sisters were right; she was a rebel. But Cinderella wasn't like that. She'd do what she was told no matter what.

It was a good thing Ariel was there to persuade her otherwise.

Ariel was dusting around the room and Cinderella started the fire. Ariel stared at the girl, barely doing her job. Ariel knew Cinderella felt the staring, but she probably attributed that to pity.

Ariel wasn't pitying her, though. She was looking. Looking at skin tone, and eye color and shape, and hair length and color. She wished Adella and Alana were with her. Adella's boy craziness, mixed with Alana's knowledge on beauty would make sure Cinderella was ready for the ball. The thought of her sisters made Ariel feel sad, but for the sake of Cinderella, Ariel tried to remember all her sisters ever said about beauty.

Cinderella had pretty, fair, skin. The blue would look nicely on her. And it would also accentuate the blue of her eyes. In fact, it would really make them pop. Cinderella's hair was long enough for Ariel to pull it up into a bun. Attina usually did it for Ariel when she wanted it done, but Ariel knew she could get it done herself if she really tried.

But shoes.

The thoughts of shoes had plagued her mind all day. She and Cinderella wore the same size, but Ariel had no shoes to match Cinderella's fine dress. She'd look a horrid mess with black flats on. Ariel remembered seeing shoe stores in the market when she'd gone to Charlies. Maybe she could go back and try to find something.

"I better go and wake the ladies," Cinderella said, putting her tools away and slugging off the wake the girls.

Ariel wanted to smile. She wanted to laugh. Cinderella's situation wasn't funny, but Ariel's knew her surprise would make the girl happy. She could only imagine the girls face.

Ariel finished the room and made her way down to the kitchen. She knew Cinderella most likely had already cleaned it, but she wanted to be sure. She had barely stepped into the room before a bell rang. Ariel looked to the bell wall and saw Anastasia's bell was ringing.

Hurrying down the hall, Ariel reached the girls room easily and knocked on the door.

"Hurry up!" came a shrill voice, "Come in! Come in! Hurry up!"

Ariel rushed into the room, expecting to see a murderer trying to kill the girl, but instead, Ariel saw Anastasia rummaging through her closet. She through out countless outfits and threw them onto the floor.

"I need a headband!" she cried. "I need a pink headband!"

"Anastasia," Ariel said, "I saw you had one on yesterday. Why don't you-"

"No!" she girl screamed. "I can't wear something to see the prince if I had it on yesterday! You idiot! I need a new one!"

"Alright." Ariel said, calmly, "Would you like me to go down to the market and get you one?"

"Of course, dummy! What do you think I called you here for? Here, take mothers wallet, she wont mind."

Everything in Ariel was telling her to let lady Tremaine know she had her wallet. Let the cruel woman know she was going down to the market, but Ariel had had just about enough of the immediate women in that family. She was sick of them.

Walking down the hall, she ran into Cinderella. The girl looked tired already, and the sun wasn't even fully up. Her hair was coming out of her pony tail and it was clear she had cried again.

"I've got to go down to the market." Ariel told her, trying to ignore Cinderella's painful look. "Anastasia wants a new pink headband, so I'll be back."

Cinderella sniffed.

"You remember how to get there, right?" she asked, "Right down the path. And Anastasia's favorite place to get a headband is right across Charlies. You remember how to get to Charlies, right?"

"I've got it." Ariel said, about to walk away, but last second, turned and hugged the girl tight.

She couldn't stand to see her so upset. Cinderella returned the hug strongly, and Ariel hurried down to the kitchen, borrowed Cinderella's shawl again, and ran out the door.

She probably wouldn't have hurried as much if she was just going to get a headband, but Ariel wanted to get to the market and find some shoes. And who knew how long that would take.

Ariel had counted the money in lady Tremaine's purse about six times by the time she reached the market square. She found Charlie's quickly and found the store Anastasia liked even faster. Ariel found the cheapest, dullest, pink headband she could find and brought it.

She checked the purse again, counting the money. It was enough, she thought. She tried to stay focused, but just walking around in the market reminded her of a certain black haired, blue eyed boy with dimples. She could almost smell the ocean on his clothes.

Focus. She shook her head. But it was no use. Eric was going to be there forever. She was wishing she'd run into him again when she noticed a little run down store. When she passed it, it smelled like fire and something else burning. A wooden sign above the store read Shoes. Ariel wanted shoes. And judging by the outside of the store, no one went there often. But that was good right? If Ariel found a good pair, then she knew no one would mistakenly have the same shoes as Cinderella.

Ariel tentatively stepped into the little shop. The smell was worse inside.

"Hello?" Ariel called. "Is anyone in here?"

The store was very dark. Melding pots and pans with hot liquid was everywhere. Ariel was about to leave when she heard a old voice call out 'wait'.

"Hello?" came the old, male, voice again.

"Hello." Ariel said, going to the counter, "The sign outside says you sell shoes."

"I don't sell shoes," an old, short and stout man told her from behind the counter, "I create them. Mend them and make them with my own two hands."

Riiiiiiiight.

"I'm looking for a special pair." Ariel told the man. "Something elegant and classy. Original. Something that will get attention."

Ariel knew she was asking a lot. Classy and attention grabbing in itself was a contradiction. But she knew no other way to word it.

The man looked at her deeply in her eyes. He leaned close to her, standing on his tip-toes and Ariel wanted to back away. But she held her ground. She had a feeling he was testing her. Or looking for something.

"I think I've got something." he said, and disappeared in a back room.

Ariel bounced on her toes and held her hands behind her back. She hoped the man had something worth buying.

"Here we are." the man said, coming out from the back. "My first and only pair of these slippers. There one size. Very fragile. Dainty. Classy. And I guarantee you, no one else has them."

He handed them to Ariel and Ariel looked them over. They appeared to be made of glass. Ariel slipped out her black flats and tried them on. The shoes were actually a little big on her, but she knew Cinderella was a little taller, so it would work out fine.

For such a rundown store, the man sure did make expensive things. Ariel brought them and nearly cleared lady Tremaine's wallet out. If the woman had been even a bit kinder, Ariel would have probably felt bad about it.

Ariel hurried back, her eyes still peeled and hoping to catch a glimpse of Eric.

The first thing Ariel did when she got back was hide the new shoes under her bed. She then hurried to Anastasia's room.

"Well!" she screamed. "It took you long enough, you moron!"

"I'm sorry, Anastasia." Ariel said, out of breath. "But I got you the most expensive headband they had."

Total lie, but Ariel grinned as Anastasia looked the headband over and tried it on.

"Whats so special about it?" she asked, holding a pink dress up to herself.

"It was made in Alcatraz, a land across the ocean." Ariel told her. "It's finest silk."

"Really?" Anastasia asked, looking at the headband with a new gleam in her eyes. "I knew I loved it for a reason!"

Ariel loved it for its cheep price of one euro.

She'd totally made that story up of course. Even the part about Alcatraz. The giant piece of land was actually her own. It was present from her mother when she was very young. Back when humans weren't a 'threat' her mother had given her the deed. Now, since land was banned territory, it was used as a sight for filtering water. Her father did it often, and since Attina was the oldest, she was learning about filtering water too. Eventually, she too was supposed to learn about it, and Alcatraz would again be hers.

The door to Anastasia's room burst open and Drizella ran in.

"Anastasia!" she cried. "Where's my pearl necklace?"

Cinderella was trying to sow the dress Drizella had on, but the girl kept moving and Cinderella was having problems.

"I don't know!" Anastasia roared back. "I wouldn't want any of that cheap jewelery anyway. My things are imported from Alcatraz."

"Alcatraz?" Drizella asked, jealous fury filling her cheeks. "What the heck is that?"

"A beautiful land across the ocean." Anastasia said, fixing her headband on her head, "They've got the finest silk, you know."

Drizella laughed. "If you're talking about that rubber ribbon on your head then your mistaken."

"The prince will know it's from Alcatraz." Anastasia said, offhandedly, and it seemed to set Drizella off.

The girl lunged, her sole intention of getting the headband for herself. Anastasia expertly took the girl on head first and an actual fist fight broke out.

"Girls." came a firm voice, and the fighting stopped.

Lady Tremaine stood in the doorway, a fancy red pilgrim petticoat on. She was already ready for the ball. It made Ariel nervous. How much time would she have to get Cinderella ready?

After they got the girls ready, lady Tremaine wanted a word with her daughters. Probably to review on how to behave in front of the prince. Cinderella and Ariel made their way down the stairs to clean. Since the girls would be eating at the ball, they didn't need to make dinner for them.

Ariel followed Cinderella around, watching how she cleaned and how things were supposed to be. She wanted to make sure nothing was out of place. They finished most of the chores early and Ariel found that it was far past midday when they were.

It had to be now.

"Ella." Ariel said gently. "I need you to come upstairs with me."

The girl put down the mop and followed without a word. She'd been quiet the whole day, but Ariel didn't blame her. She knew all about being silent.

When they reached their room, Ariel made Cinderella sit on her bed and close her eyes.

"Ari." Cinderella said. "Whats this all about?"

"I told you." Ariel said, getting the dress from being hidden in her bed and putting it on the mannequin. "Your going to that ball."

Cinderella barked out a laugh. "I don't even have a dress."

"You do now."

Ariel pulled Cinderella's hands away from her eyes and watched Cinderella's expression go from confused, to shocked, happy, to entranced.

Though the dress had begun simple enough and elegant, it wasn't enough. Much of the cloth was a distinct indigo-blue color with a pale blue organza over-skirt drawn back and pinned up to display the matching petticoat. The hem of the dress and part of its upper half was decorated with many elaborate swirling designs, which had probably taken the longest, as Ariel had to sow them all. And the entire ensemble was sprinkled and bathed in a glittery bath.

Most of the extra material Cinderella already had lying around. The rest was found easily in Drizella and Anastasia's room. She was sure they wouldn't miss them. Right now, they wouldn't even be able to recognize them.

Cinderella got up from the bed and touched the dress with a disbelieving hand, it was almost as if she was afraid they dress would disappear.

"You-" she started, "You-you made this? For me?"

Ariel shrugged. "If it were my prince, I'd want a little help."

She tried to play it cool, but inside, she was screaming. She'd never made anything of that magnitude and the thought of doing it had scared her a little. But she hopped to it, and now, she'd made Cinderella blissfully happy. It made her blissfully happy.

"I have to find some shoes," Cinderella said, turning to her. "I'm thinking maybe white? What do you think?"

"I think glass." Ariel said, and saw confusion cross Cinderella's face.

Phase 2. Ariel got the box of shoes from under her bed and handed it to Cinderella.

The girl looked at the box and then at Ariel disbelieving.

"You didn't." she said. "No way did you get me shoes."

Ariel motioned for her to open the box, and Cinderella did, nearly choking on a sob. She didn't even talk, just took out the glass slippers and tried them on. Ariel had to admit, the girl looked good in the shoes.

"Put the dress on." Ariel told her, "It's about time anyway. Besides, I need the whole look to figure out how to do your hair."

Ariel helped Cinderella get into her dress, it being rather big and stiff. On the mannequin, the dress had looked nice. On Cinderella, it came alive. Ariel was right, Cinderella's hair and eyes really complimented each other. And the shoes was a beautiful touch.

Ariel led Cinderella to the vanity and through a cover over the mirror so Cinderella couldn't see. And then she set to work. Her hair was first and foremost and Attina sprang to Ariel's mind. Her oldest sister could do a beautifully elegant chignon in less than ten seconds. Ariel decided that was the style she wanted and did her best to duplicate it.

Her first attempt was far past pitiful. Her second attempt was worse. It wasn't until her 9th attempt that she stepped back, not only satisfied, but proud of herself. Cinderella's hair was a lovely sight in itself. Ariel searched through Cinderella's vanity drawer and found some beaded jewels. A little dazzle never hurt anyone, so Ariel strung a few in Cinderella's hair. She shaped it into a crown. It was subtle and elegant, but still noticeable and sightly.

Ariel hesitated, but then reached into the drawer and pulled out Cinderella's mothers diamond choker. She held up to Cinderella, asking silent permission and the girl nodded. Excited, Ariel put the necklace around Cinderella's neck and then fastened the clasp.

Ariel's heart was beating. She'd never done finer work.

"Okay." Ariel said, "A little gloss but I think that's it. Go to your mirror."

Cinderella stood up shakily and grabbed Ariel's hand. Ariel really wanted the girl to love it and Cinderella was probably nervous about seeing the final result. Ariel knew Cinderella looked lovely, she just hoped it was enough to attract the attention of the prince. She knew Cinderella was a easy girl to love. She knew that if the prince just talked to her for a moment, he'd be smitten. But she worked so hard so that Cinderella could get his attention first. With so many girls, it was near inevitable that he'd begin talking to those he was attracted to first. Ariel wanted that to be Cinderella and only Cinderella.

Cinderella closed her eyes before she looked up into the mirror. Ariel bawled her hands up and held them to her chest, holding her breath. She really wanted Cinderella to love it.

Ariel watched as Cinderella looked over herself. She didn't scream. She didn't yell or wail. She just slowly turned to Ariel, and hugged her. She pulled back Ariel saw she actually had a few tears in her eyes.

"Thank you." she whispered.

That did it. Ariel wiped at her eyes roughly, trying to stop the moisture from forming. Cinderella looked out her window, to the palace in the distance. Ariel hadn't even realized it was night already. The palace was already lit.

"Well," Ariel said motioning to the palace. "You better get home. Your fiancé is waiting for you."

Cinderella giggled.

"I'm not that far yet," she sighed, "There will be a lot of girls there. Far prettier and funnier than me."

"Everyone's got a one up somewhere." Ariel told her, "But that means you do too. Your as pretty as any of them, but you've got an inside to match. I'd like to think the prince is more interested in the beauty in you."

Cinderella bit her lip, but was smiling broadly.

"I've got to check to make sure the girls ride is set." Cinderella said, "But meet me downstairs in a moment to see me off. I'll hitch hike if I have to."

She laughed, leaving the room, but Ariel didn't think it was funny. She'd put so much work into Cinderella's look, that she forgot how the girl was supposed to get there.

Ariel opened the door behind Cinderella and froze. Leading down the dark stairs, was a trail of glowing green circles. Cinderella had just come out this door. Perhaps the circles were invisible. Like she was to some people.

Without thinking. Ariel followed the green lights. They led her down a few hallways she didn't recognize, but in the end, she ended up in the kitchen. Ariel flicked on the light, but saw the lights actually continued out the door. Opening the back door, that lights led to the road, where a man was standing with his horse and carriage.

The lights stopped at the man. How strange.

Ariel left the house and went to the man. He seemed older, none to imposing or threatening. He was talking to his horse, checking its feet.

"Excuse me, sir?" Ariel asked. "Are you alright?"

The man turned around, surprised, but offered her a kind smile and nodded.

"I'm just passing through." he said, "Thought I'd ride past the palace on my way home to see the sight, but my old girl here is just a little tired."

He patted his horse's neck, and the horse neighed at him.

"She's older," he said. "Gets winded pretty quickly, especially hulling this thing."

"Can I get her some water?" Ariel asked.

The man removed his hat, showing a balding head. "That would be mighty nice of you." he said, and Ariel went to fetch a bowl and water.

She brought it out a second later, and the horse guzzled it thirstily.

"I haven't run into some very nice folks around here." the man said, "I reckon you're the first to even smile my way. I'd like to do something to repay you, if I can."

Ariel was about to wave him off with a smile. She was happy to help, really. He didn't owe her anything. But her eyes suddenly drifted to the carriage the 'old girl' was pulling. It was round-like. And it was painted white and seemed to sparkle in the moon's light. It looked expensive and high end. It was very picturesque.

Ariel smiled.

"Actually." Ariel said, "If its not too much trouble, my friend was about to head to the palace. She doesn't have a ride, but since you're heading that way already-"

"I'd be happy to escort her." the man said, "Betsy here wouldn't mind one more traveler."

"I'll get her now." Ariel said, and ran back into the house.

She was desperately tired. Her past few days as a maid really made her wake up and look around. She was so tired she felt death wasn't even a long enough sleep. Her legs burned almost constantly, even when she slept. Her body ached and even yet, she hadn't had the time to even bathe. Humans needed it more than merpeople, but she just didn't have the time.

"Oh there you are." said a kind voice, and Ariel turned to see Cinderella coming towards her. "I just watched everyone leave. I made sure they didn't see me."

"Great." Ariel said, trying not to sound winded. "Just come with me. I've got one more surprise."

"What else could you possibly do?" Cinderella laughed excitedly. "You didn't manage to get the prince here, did you? Because if anyone can, I know its you."

"You think I still have time?" Ariel joked, stopping in her tracks.

"Oh, come on." Cinderella said, "If I don't start walking now, I'm going to miss the whole ball. I know it's started already."

Ariel laughed. "I would never make you walk to the ball in your gown and new shoes."

Now thanks to the green dots, that is. They'd reached the kitchen, and before Cinderella could ask what she meant, Ariel opened the back door. Cinderella gasped. Looked to Ariel. And then gasped again.

"But- how-" she started, and Ariel just shook her head.

The kind man giving the ride hoped off his driving perch and opened the door for Cinderella. The girl was still stuttering as he helped her inside.

"Dance long and hard." Ariel told her, standing no her tip-toes and fixing a loose strand of her hair. "And just be yourself. That's the girl he'll fall in love with."

"I don't know what to say." Cinderella said, near tears again. "You've done the impossible over and over for me. No ones ever gone out of their way like that."

"That's what best friends do." Ariel said, gently, and it made Cinderella really cry.

Ariel shook her head, and the man pulled off.

"Don't forget to smile!" Ariel called after them, and Cinderella waved out the window.

Ariel stood there, watching until the carriage was out of sight. It was suddenly very quiet and lonely. Ariel went back inside and shut the back door tight. She knew she'd finish the rest of the chores herself, but she walked around a bit before she did. She was happy for Cinderella. At least she had a chance to be with her prince.

Ursula had given that chance to Ariel. And though Ursula hadn't done everything for Ariel, and certainly wasn't her best friend, she followed through on her deal and got Ariel there. Even if Eric didn't fall for her and ended up casting her out his life forever, at least she knew she made someone happy. At least for a night.

Ariel went over the list in her head, and went to the girls room first. Cleaning their room up from their fiasco itself took a lot of time, but time seemed to blend together for Ariel. Doing repetitive chores without break seemed to make time drag on.

It was nearly midnight when Ariel finally finished her chores. She collapsed on her bed, tired. She was near sleep when the sound of horses hooves caught her ear. Ariel got up, knowing the ladies of the house surely wouldn't show themselves in and change.

"Just do it, Ariel." she told herself going down the stairs. "Just smile and do what they ask."

She knew that soon, she'd find her green dots again and would be on her way. The thought saddened her. She had really grown close with Cinderella, but she had a mission. A goal. She was going to meet prince Eric. And with any luck, he'd return the love she felt for him.

"Well it took you long enough carrot-head!" Drizella greeted as Ariel opened the front door for them.

"Fire her, mother!" Anastasia cried. "Just fire her! Fire everyone! No one deserves to work or live!"

Both girls ran to their rooms.

Apparently, the night hadn't gone well for them. Oh well, Ariel didn't expect it would. They were so horrid the prince would deserve them if he so much as glanced at them with anything but malodorous viciousness.

"Lady Tremaine," Ariel said, curtsying low, "We are out of milk for your nightly tea. Cinderella just left to fetch some more. She knows a store that is open this late."

"Figures." the woman responded, bitterly.

"Would you like for me to tend to you?" Ariel asked. "I could prepare your fire now."

Lady Tremaine waved her off, and Ariel went to see if Drizella needed help. The girl chucked a glass vase at her, and if Ariel hadn't of dove of out the way, she may have returned the favor. But Ariel shook that encounter off and went to Anastasia's room.

"Anastasia?" Ariel asked, opening the door cautiously, "I'll help you into you night gown."

When Ariel entered, Anastasia was already in bed, clothes changed.

"Just brush my hair, you ninny." she spat. "You took so long I nearly died."

If only she'd of walked a little slower...

Ariel grabbed a brush off of Anastasia's dresser and sat behind the girl, brushing out her hair.

"Oh, I hate that girl." Anastasia said, to herself out loud. "That stupid blonde headed sissy! She wasn't even that pretty, dancing with my prince. He liked me! I know he did. But she showed up in her stupid glass slippers and made him laugh and chuckle and sat next to him at dinner. He didn't even talk to another girl! I cant believe it!"

Ariel wanted to jump up and down on Anastasia's bed. She only knew on girl with glass slippers.

She knew Cinderella would come through. She knew the prince had taste. He was Eric's best friend after all. Ariel tried, but couldn't wipe the grin from her face. Her entire body tingled and she thought she'd burst. Cinderella so deserved it. She so deserved it!

She knew Charming would treat her right.

Finally!

"Say," Anastasia said, "Where's the other milkmaid? She usually brushes my hair for me."

"She's run to the store," Ariel told her, "We were out of milk."

"But she just went to get milk."

Ariel swallowed, but didn't miss a beat.

"I'm clumsy. I spilled it making a cake."

"Cake?" Anastasia said, "There better be some for me."

It was plan b distraction tactic. Cinderella and Ariel had made it before hand in between chores. They planned on eating it while the others were at the ball, but since Cinderella left...

"I'll get it for you right away." Ariel said, rushing from the room.

Despite being dead tired, Ariel was still giddily happy. Cinderella did it. She found her prince, went after him, and won. Who knew what she had to go through. With so many girls, Ariel knew Cinderella had to be a little forceful. Had to take control. It was probably a new feeling for her, but Ariel couldn't wait to congratulate her.

Ariel reached the kitchen and went to the fridge. The cake was cut into large pieces, perfect for Anastasia. Ariel put three on her plate and was about to head up the stairs when she noticed the clock on the stove.

1: 46 am.

Both girls had talked about it when Ariel was doing hair. Cinderella was going to be back before 12. Ariel knew she could hardly hold her own against the girls and lady Tremaine would probably be furious when she got home. After all, both Ariel and Cinderella knew neither of them stood a chance with Charming.

Something had to be wrong. It had to be.

Ariel delivered the cake to Anastasia and rushed back to the kitchen, pacing. Ariel waited another 15 minutes before she went outside. She had a good mind to head down to the castle. She had a ride there, but not one back. What if Cinderella got hurt walking home? What if robbers got her?

Ariel walked around the house and to the stable. She'd cleaned it out earlier, and even acquainted herself with Bruno the horse. The horse was older but in good shape. Cinderella would have ridden him, but her dress wouldn't sit right and Cinderella found she couldn't ride him.

But Ariel could. Or at least, she could try.

She knew Bruno needed a saddle, but she didn't know how to put it on him. And she didn't want to waste any time. Cinderella could be in trouble.

Thankfully, Bruno was tame and calm. Ariel climbed up on a stable shelf, and used it to get on Bruno. She rocked herself, hoping the horse would move, but he didn't. Frustrated, she kicked her legs. That set him off.

She screamed as Bruno galloped out the stable and down the road. Ariel held on to his hair, praying he didn't kick her off. And at that moment, Ariel felt like that was a real possibility.

Bruno ran fast for a old horse, but suddenly, he stopped on a dime.

Bruno reared up, and Ariel was thrown off by his sudden act. She fell off of him and onto her back. The world spun for a moment, and she lay, stunned.

"Ari?" came a familiar voice.

"Ella?" Ariel asked, sitting up slowly.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked, coming out of no where and kneeling at her side. "How did you find me?"
"Bruno." Ariel said, pointing at the now docile again horse.

Cinderella helped her stand up.

"I'm sorry I'm so late." she said, "I had every intention of being on time. But it just... slipped away from me. But I'm so sorry. I left as soon as I saw the time. You didn't get in trouble did you?"

Ariel waved her off. "I heard someone else had your attention."

Cinderella giggled.

"Oh, we danced." she said, reminiscing, and dancing a slow waltz by herself, "And we laughed and joked. And we almost kissed!"

Ariel wasn't sure what a kiss was, merpeople didn't do it, but she knew laughing and joking was a good sign.

"He likes me." Cinderella said, sighing. "He does. I think he chose me."

"I'm sure." Ariel said, painfully jumping back on Bruno. "Your good to ride?"

"Yeah," Cinderella said, dreamily, "I'm not worried about messing my dress up now."

"Where's your other shoe?" Ariel asked, noticing it was gone.

"Oh," she sighed, "I left it somewhere when I ran out. You know he actually chased after me?"

She giggled again, and then hoped up on Bruno in front of Ariel.

"Sounds like he might love you." Ariel said, holding on to Cinderella as she kicked Bruno and slowly worked up to a comfortable gait. "He'll come after you. I know he will."

Cinderella just sighed again.

---

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . *

A/N: There it is. Finished. On time, just like I said it would be. Anyway, hope you liked it.

Read and Review, and good things will happen. Good things, indeed.

Hugs and Kisses and Waves and Shouts

_ScarletDrake