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.

7. Stranger in the Woods

I'm back. Sorry I'm late with this (even if it is by a day) but I got caught up yesterday and just couldn't find the time. Besides, I bet you didn't even finish that last chapter yet.

I had no idea it was so long. My gosh, sorry, but for now on, I've got to start shortening the chapters a bit. Not only will I stretch out what I have written, but it'll probably be easier to read anyway, if it weren't so long.

But, this one is pretty long, so it should keep you guys busy.

Another day. Another rant. Sorry.

Read on.

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Ariel

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Ariel woke up feeling warm inside. Warm, and fuzzy. Maybe it was the blazing fire that was still burning bright. Maybe it was the magical dress, she'd yet take off. But no, she was pretty sure it was being wrapped in Eric's arms. Wrapped in his arms while she slept. She had never been at such peace. Never felt so secure, than when she was in his arms.

He stirred, and she bit her lip, trying not to let a sigh escape her lips and disturb him. He was such a peaceful sleeper, but he woke easily.

She didn't remember falling asleep, truly. One moment, they were sitting up talking. They next, they were leaning back on their arms talking. Then they were laying down, talking. And then she woke up. She hadn't been wrapped in his arms when she'd fallen asleep, but it was a pleasant midnight surprise. But, it was all his fault that she couldn't get back to sleep.

She was actually surprised that she got to sleep at all. They'd had a long silence, one where she was forced to think. He'd asked her where she'd come from, and she hadn't wanted to lie. Truly she hadn't. The thought that all her father had ever did was lie to her had greatly influenced her to want to tell Eric the truth. The whole truth. Even the part about her having been a mermaid. But she couldn't. Her words had been on the edge of her tongue, but scenarios of rejection had flooded her mind.

She'd just ducked her head, and begged him to ask her another question. She'd answer anything else he asked... just not that.

She'd told him all about her family and sisters, which she even admitted she got carried away with. Confirmed her father's name was Triton, but she couldn't tell Eric her father was a king. He'd surely think she were crazy then, for her knew every royal in Pangrea. But many things confused Eric, like how she saved him. No human could have made that swim, and no human would have disappeared when Grimsby showed up. Ariel couldn't even tell him she was a good swimmer, for she had nearly drowned in a lake that night he saved her.

She knew he had to have been frustrated with her. There was some things she couldn't answer. But for her too, questions plagued her mind. Like why, and how, her father turned them both into humans. How he'd known Eric's parents. Why he hated them so much now.

In an effort to probably try to calm her nerves, Eric had changed the subject and he'd told her all about the conversation he'd overheard from Grimsby. How worried he was for her safety, despite who her father was. All of that seemed to have taken hours to say, but she'd learned a great deal about him too.

Like, he was an only child. He was only one year older than her. He loved to sail, though he'd been afraid of the water after his parents death. He kept the event of his parents short and brief, but she understood him. She could hear the pain in his voice when he mentioned them. He hated paper work almost as much as he hated wearing crowns. He has a pet named Max, who was probably almost as tall as she was. His best friend was Charming, and he hated eating lamb and okra. She had no idea what lamb or okra was, but she'd nodded anyway. He ruled over Pangrea's largest province, the 1st one, and he mainly lived in Germany. He'd showed her a map he'd found in the room, and she'd found that he lived right off some large bit of water called the North Atlantic ocean. She recognized a marked current, and desperately wanted to tell him that apparently, she lived in the Atlantic ocean. Only, her people called it Atlantica. But she kept silent. His father was Danish, though his mother was English, (which made him a mix of what he called Danglish) and sometimes, when he visited England, he said their accent rubbed off on him a lot. Which made him sound funny because he already spoke with a German accent.

The whole time they were talking, he'd been tracing odd shaped on her arms. She didn't think he even realized it, because it had caught her attention a few times, but he never spoke about it. At first, she'd thought they were leisured tracings, like her wringing her hands or cracking her wrists, until she found he repeated some of the shapes. Some more than others. It had tickled.

It felt so good having learned so much about him. She felt free. Light. Lying beside him was just a huge bonus. She felt so close to him, now. Maybe this was why she couldn't get back to sleep.

She curled back into Eric, hoping his warmth would lull her back to sleep, when she hear a loud bang. Eric groaned, but Ariel sat up. The bang had practically shaken the entire castle. She waited for a moment, listening.

When it sounded again, she felt Eric jerk awake. He looked at her, but she shrugged. Getting out of bed, she followed him to the window. The window had frosted, but Eric cleared the frost away with his sleeve. And that was when Ariel spotted the large parade of people, each carrying torches. Ariel stepped back from the window when another large bang shook the castle.

"Their breaking in." Eric clarified, and he turned, rushing to the door.

Ariel followed, but Eric stopped and she flew into his back.

"Stay here." he instructed, and she had every mind to object.

"But Belle is out there." she told him.

She'd nearly forgotten about the girl, but now that she remembered, her heart beat a little faster. She'd adopted the girl as her temporary Attina. And Ariel would never let anything happen to Attina if she could help it.

"Then she's probably with Adam." Eric said, "When I find them, I'll come back."

She wanted to object again, but instead she nodded at him. She wanted Belle and Adam to be safe. She wanted Eric to hurry. She knew she'd only slow him down, though. Eric kissed her briefly on the lips, before he ran down the hall. It took a moment for Ariel to gain her bearings back, and she shut the door, locking it. Was it wrong to feel that kind of elation in the midst of danger? Was it wrong to feel like you could fly, when others might be in danger? She didn't know, but she did know, that suddenly, she felt like she should have objected harder. She should have fought him on that topic. She should have gone with him.

Eric was sure to be quick though, right? The mob outside hadn't even gotten in, by the time they could find their way anywhere important through the maze of hallways, Eric, her, Belle and Adam would probably be somewhere safe, right?

Ariel paced the room, trying to convince herself that Eric and the others were fine. The continuous banging, though, didn't help calm her nerves. She didn't even notice when the banging stopped, too preoccupied with her mind. Why was it, that every time she was having a good moment, especially with Eric, something had to come up to ruin that?

Ariel went back to the window, looking out and down. No one was there. She tried to calm her racing heart. The mob had gotten in... but that didn't mean they were immediately coming for her or Eric or Belle or Adam. The castle was large and confusing. The mob would... probably split up... but it would still take them a good amount of time to reach her. She still had time. Eric would be back long before they found her.

Just in case, though, she went through the closet and found a comfy pair of shoes. It was odd, the shoes were the only thing there, just like the dresses had been. Somehow, it was like the closet knew what she wanted. Shrugging, Ariel put the shoes on. There was no clothes in the closet to change into, so she was stuck with her ball gown. No the ideal outfit to run in, but it was better than nothing.

The roses in her room, still glowing brightly and enchanted, calmed her down. She looked at them in greater detail, observing the way the petals were, how even the stem glowed. They were truly beautiful. She'd distracted herself with them to the point where she'd gotten herself into a stupor.

She was still observing the captivating flowers when a giant knock came to her door. She jumped, so startled she nearly passed out right then. But she righted herself and approached the door. If it were Eric, would he knock? She pressed her ear to the door, trying hear whether or not he'd call her name. She was sure he would, knowing how afraid she was.

But she never heard his voice. Instead, a giant bang shook the door, and some of the wood splintered and fell to the floor.

Ariel backed up from the door quickly. That certainly wasn't Eric. Ariel ran to the window and looked out. She was very far up from the ground, and no ledges or balcony was outside of her window. Just a sheer drop down to the bottom.

Another bang hit the door, and the door buckled greatly. She was trapped. She couldn't leave and she could stay. She had nowhere to go. She thought about climbing under the bed, but knew it was ridiculous. They'd find her in a second. She didn't even have time to come up with a new hiding place before the door burst open and she was met with the gruesome, grisly, face of at least a dozen men.

All of them looked scruffy and mean and bore yellow, rotten teeth at her. They had to be drunk, she summed, because they swayed and leered, some of them rocking back and forth, seeming unable to stand correctly.

She came to the conclusion that she'd prefer they weren't drunk. Drunkenness muddled your senses. She'd rather be against sane.

"Heeeeeeey," one of them spoke, pointing at her and smiling, "You've changed your hair."

No she hadn't. Did he think she was someone else? They were definitely drunk.

"That's not Belle." one of his friends said. "She's someone new."

"Oh, I like her." another guy said. "Can we keep her?"

"Of course." the first guy said, waving his hand, "But we better show her to Gaston first. He'll want to see her."

"No, I don't think we should." someone else added, "He'll only want her to himself."

"Then we can have Belle." someone added, but a cry stopped him from going any further.

"I don't want Belle no more." the cryer said. "I want her!"

As they spoke amongst themselves, Ariel was slowly inching her way towards the bathroom. She'd rather lock herself in there than listen to the delirious men talk about her like she was some kind of pet. If she were to belong to any man, it would be Eric. And none of them even held a candle to her Eric.

"Were you goin' pretty lady?" asked a voice, and Ariel sprinted the last few steps the bathroom.

She slammed the door and locked it behind her, knocking the heavy pantry full of towels and rags down in front of the door. These men, they were like the men locked up in their cells in Jafar's hideout back in Agrabah. Leave it to her to cause attention to the ones who weren't locked away.

There was a bang and Ariel watched the door jump with the force of the men on the other side of it.

"Come out pretty girly." a muffled voice sounded.

"Yeah," someone added, "We wont hurt ya."

"Please!" came someone else, "You can come home with me tonight!"

"No she can't! She comin' home with me!"

"Who said you can have 'er?"

"I called her first!"

"Well I saw 'er first!"

Ariel ran her hands through her hair, holding back tears. Not only were the men confusing her, but all their jumbled voices were confusing and upsetting her all at once. None of them could have her and none of the could take her anywhere without Eric and her friends. Why on earth would she want to go home with any of them, and if they broke in, would they give her a choice?

She desperately wished Eric was there. He'd explain everything. He could fix this. He wouldn't let anyone take her anywhere without her wanting it.

Another bang erupted and the door wood splintered nearly in half. She could see through certain spots and her heart raced. Tears sprang loose, fear and panic finally taking over her and she turned around, and rushed back as far from the door as she could get. Getting on top of the toilet, she pried open the bathroom window.

Cold wind blew in, and hoping in place a few times, she hoisted herself up onto the bathroom's window sill. Looking out, she could see there was nothing below the window, but drop-off, like the room, but above her, she could see a gargoyle. She figured it was within reach, if she could somehow stand on top of the window. There was a light coming from somewhere above the gargoyle. It must be a room light on or a hallway. From the gargoyle, she should be able to reach it. Or... she could fall and die.

It was risk that, or stay and wait for the men.

"Yoo-hoo." called a voice, and Ariel turned, seeing the men were drunkenly climbing over the doors ruble, "We just want to talk to yooooouuuuu."

"Kinda." someone butt in.

Perhaps it was adrenaline, but Ariel quickly wiped at her tears and climbed onto the window sill as fast as she could. She'd gotten her knees on the windows sill before a hand grabbed her foot.

"Let go of me!" she cried, her voice cracking, "Let me go!"

She pulled on the top of the window, trying to break the mans grip, but he held on tightly.

"Yer crazy, woman!" the man cried, laughing, "I like a crazy woman!"

The tears were back, and Ariel cursed them. They were obscuring her vision. Plus, the man was hurting her ankle. He was pulling on her so hard, he was actually lifting her up. With her free leg, she sent a well placed kick to his face. The man didn't let go, but he faltered enough for her to break his grip on her.

She pulled her leg free from the man and got herself to a standing position on the window. She clutched at the inch or so of window she had to grasp on to and for a moment, she shut her eyes tight, pleading with herself not to look down at the dark drop off below her. It would only disorient her and she'd just get dizzy. And then where would she be?

So she didn't look down, and instead, looked up. She'd been right, the gargoyle was within her reach. She grabbed onto it, unsure whether the men had given up or preoccupied themselves with something else. But Ariel had no way of knowing, and now that she'd let go of the window, and was clutching the head of the gargoyle, there was no turning back anyway.

The gargoyle looked like some kind of bird. Ariel grabbed on to its 'beak' and managed to pull herself up enough to get her other elbow on top of it. A benefit of being a former mermaid: great upper arm strength. With most of her battle completed, she put her thought and focus on heaving herself higher onto the gargoyle, praying it held her weight.

When she'd gotten herself high enough, she spun herself around and ended up sitting on the bird's head. She breathed a sigh of relief, but with nothing else to see, she consequently found her eyes had found their way down hundreds of feet and to the ground. Her breathing stopped as her mind tried to calculate the zillions and zillions of miles that was between her and the distant earth below her. Her fingers clenched painfully into the gargoyle and her eyes watered again.

What had she gotten herself into?

There was no way she could get back inside the window, so she looked up, expecting to see a flat roof she could climb and walk across to get back inside the palace. But she was utterly disappointed. Instead of a rooftop, even a slanted one would have been something, she was met with a straight, 90 degree angle of wall. It seemed, the gargoyle was just a decoration, sticking out from a random, otherwise barren, wall. She could see the light she'd seen from the window, but it was another few feet higher than where she could possibly reach.

Directly above her, as if taunting her, was a platform that stuck out of the wall. The light was coming from somewhere on that platform, probably another window or a door. But the platform was too far to reach, even if she found the guts to stand and even jump. She could never make it. And if she missed...

Delirious tears fell down her face and she let out a bark of a laugh. And then another. How on earth had she gotten herself into that situation. Hadn't her sisters made her promise not to do anything stupid? Wasn't climbing out a window, unsure of where she was going, considered stupid? What happened to look before you leap? Or rather, make sure you know there's something you can reach before climbing out a window.

Her hysterical laughing turned into panicked breathing as she found her eyes were for some reason drawn to the painful death that waited should she fall. Her breath caught in her throat as she once again observed the long distance she could be subject to falling. Her head spun and for a moment, she felt like she was already falling. Like she was spinning round and round and out of control. Like in a portal. Her throat closed tight and she felt like she was going to pass out. Which would mean certain death.

"Ariel!"

The sound of her name nearly sent her flailing and falling. Her shaking hands shook a little harder. Her breathing stopped even further. She was sure, if she had to sit there just 5 minutes more, she'd pass out and drop like a rock. But wouldn't that be better than awake, and dropping like a rock?

"Ariel." the voice said again, and her sluggish mind recognized it and she looked up towards the voice.

She might have thought she were dreaming, if Eric's face hadn't looked so petrified. He was leaning over the platform, the one she'd thought she could get to. He was dangerously close to the edge, looking as if he could go over at any moment. She'd of told him to back up, for his safety, but her throat was closed so tight she couldn't breathe. Her voice was gone, along with any kind of sense or reason. Maybe this was what you called a panic attack.

Eric inched himself further off of the platform, but he watched the center of his weight and balance carefully, she observed. Ever so carefully, he reached a hand down towards her.

"Ariel," he said, his voice soothingly calm, "You've got to stand up."

Stand up. His words were processed in her head. She understood them, she did. But for some reason, all her motor skills weren't working. She couldn't shake her head no, because she was sure that if she stood, she'd fall for sure. She couldn't tell him this, because she wasn't even sure if she was breathing. And talking required that little bit of air.

But he read her face. Read her like a book. She saw it in his eyes. He was searching for a reason to her stillness. Searching for why she wasn't moving. Wasn't talking.

"I know your scared." he said, nailing the emotion reading, "But I can save you. I just need your help."

Everything he said sounded good... until the part about him needing her help. She just couldn't. He wanted her to stand. To reach for him. But her hands were shaking so bad she was afraid she'd just shake right out his grip. Her mind was swimming so much she feared it would swim her right out of balance and down down down to the ground. She felt weak. Unbalanced. She couldn't move.

"Ariel," he said, that calm still in his voice, "Look at me."

She did so.

"Put your right hand on the wall behind you."

That involved moving... she just... she wasn't sure if she could. If she moved her hand, she'd loose that balance, and then, she could fall. Fall down. Down down down to the ground. And then what? And then, no more fairytale. No more loving sisters. No more Eric. No more Ariel. That would be it. Every choice and decision she ever made in life would mean nothing. She'd die a human. In a world that wasn't quite her own. Her sisters would wonder what happened. Her father would probably rage war against human kind. And Eric...

"You can do it," he encouraged, "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

He sounded so confident in her. So sure she could do this. Why couldn't she feel that way? Why couldn't she believe in herself like that? But maybe it was that confidence that fed her bravery... or stupidity. Slowly, she reached a tense, bleeding hand from the gargoyle and put it on the wall behind her. She felt shaky. Insecure. Wobbly.

But Eric was there. Right above her. He wasn't leaving her. He'd stay until she was safe. And then, he'd wrap her in his strong arms, and she'd be safe again. That was all she wanted. To be safe in his arms again.

"Your alright," he reassured her, "Your fine. Now, put your left hand on the wall behind you."

What was he crazy? That would mean no hands on the gargoyle. And that would mean zero purchase to hold on to. Nothing to catch her if she fell.

"Trust me," he said, picking up again on her hesitation. "You can do this."

He said it was so...easily. She tried to calm her shaking. Her rapid, shallow breathing. She needed all the concentration and balance she could get. And yet nothing responded to her commands. But Eric believed in her. He believed she could do this.

Her entire body seemed to be shaky, but still, she brought her left hand up behind her, and clutched the wall. Now, she was squatting, the toes of her shoes wobbling, her hands pressed against the wall behind her. She wished she could somehow ditch the shoes. She'd found that feet had a lot more friction.

"Ariel."

Ariel looked up towards Eric. He still had his hand hanging down towards her. He looked a mixture between afraid, proud, and tense. She wasn't sure how she could get such emotions from his once facial expression, but his expression seemed to scream out at her.

"You've got to stand now." he said.

And finally, she found her head shaking at him and her throat restricted enough for her to actually squeeze some words out.

"Eric," she ground out, her voice raspy and shaking. "I-I cant."

She wished she could somehow convey to him everything she'd just been thinking. Everything that included falling to her death. He was just so far from her, and yet, he was so close as well.

"Ariel." he said.

His voice was calm. It was actually soothing, something completely crazy to Ariel, considering she knew she was hyperventilating. And yet, his voice slowed her heart down to only slightly unhealthy. It was dark, but she could see it in his eyes. The worry. The fear. But also, the reassurance he wanted her to see. The faith and trust he had in her. It was so strange to see, considering they'd only just become close.

"Reach for me."

His voice was nearly a whisper, but she found his hypnotizing voice, deep and rich, seemed to hypnotize her. It reminded her just how much she really did love him. Its sound was just enough to block out her throbbing heart beat and tune out her rushing blood. It was just enough to blind her common sense and make her legs move on their own accord. Just enough to distract her from the fact that she was standing up.

She could see his arm muscles strain through his shirt as he labored to reach out to her further, but without falling. His voice was powerful, but not enough to take away all of her edge. Her hands were still shaking, but she tried to think of something else as she reached out to him with one hand.

She thought about their kiss. Their dance. Sleeping beside him. Good things. Happy things. Things that didn't allow her to look down at the deep abyss she was hanging over. But the more she tried not to think about it, the more she found her eyes fighting to. She didn't want to look, knew it would only make her freeze up, but temptation won out and she glanced down.

The moment her eyes left the reassurance of Eric's, she wobbled. And once one foot wobbled, the other wobbled, trying to pick up the slack. Maybe if she were used to legs, maybe if she'd be born with them, she might have had better balance.

But she wasn't. And she didn't. And in an instant, she found her body tilt too far to the left, and momentum claimed her.

Thankfully, Eric's balance was impeccable.

He leaned out to her, more hazardous than she would have liked, but managed to catch her flailing hand.

Ariel wasn't breathing, just stood on her tip-toes, hanging out over her drop, nothing but Eric's firm grip keeping her away from deaths grip. Her eyes were wide, and she was frozen, in a bit of a daze. But Eric pulled her back and she got better footing on the gargoyle. Then, with little effort, he pulled her up and into the air, until he got a firm grip around her waist, and finally, she found herself on solid ground.

She was still looking towards the ledge Eric had pulled her over, and for a moment, couldn't quite comprehend how she'd gone from hanging over the edge, to standing there with Eric. But gentle hands pulled her from her thoughts as Eric placed his hands on her face and turned her to face him. She was yanked back to reality and became all too aware of her shaking. Of the tears streaming down her face. Of her loss of breath. Everything rushed back to her in a second. Eric leaving. The men. The drop. She felt like she might faint.

Eric pulled her into him, and she clutched at his shirt, allowing the tears to fall, trying desperately to get her breath. She'd never been so afraid in her life. Falling was never an issue under the water. Sure you could sink, but all you ever had to do was swim up. Gravity was nearly nonexistent to her. To think she might have fallen to her death...

"Your okay now," Eric murmured to her, "Your safe."

She gasped, sputtering a bit. She felt like she was choking. She couldn't breathe. She gasped again, trying to get the air she so much needed, but she felt like she had when she'd fallen into that lake. Like there was no air for her to take in. Like she was drowning.

"Sit down." Eric instructed her, and she obliged, feeling like she might faint anyway. "Breathe."

Breathe, he said. She would gladly compel, but that seemed to be her whole problem. She couldn't.

"Relax." he soothed, a hand going to her back, and rubbing small, comforting circles, "Breathe. Try and take a deep breath."

She tried, but it felt more like she was panting. He took her into his arms again, rocking her gently, a kind hand running through her hair. He held her there until finally, she calmed down enough to actually take a deep, short-winded, breath. She clutched to his shirt and looked up at him. He looked back at her, his face looking as rugged and unwound as she felt. But his eyes, boy did they tell her a story.

She felt like she could read everything in his eyes. She looked deep into them, and suddenly, the last of her little freak out melted away. Things felt alright again. She felt safe. Secure. Protected in his warm embrace. From day one, this was the feeling she'd been most excited for. The feeling she'd dreamt about. The one she'd hoped and wished for. And to have it now, even now, just felt... so right.

Ariel closed her eyes and sighed, actually content on the platform level they were on. She felt a drop of water on her face, and for a moment, she believed Eric was crying. Looking up at him, he looked up at the sky. She followed his gaze when suddenly, lightning lit the sky. And with the lightning came an onslaught of rain.

"Perfect." Eric laughed, his hair becoming matted down.

Ariel smiled back at him. It actually was kind of perfect.

Until, of course, someone fell passed the level she and Eric was on and down towards the ground. The ground that was millions and millions of miles down.

Eric pushed her back a bit, but rushed to the edge of the level, looking down at where the man, the one still screaming, had fallen.

"Gaston..." Eric whispered, but Ariel didn't know what that meant.

Ariel stood where she was and covered her ears, closing her eyes tight. She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to think about it. This wasn't happening. She wasn't thinking about that fall. Wasn't thinking about how much she thought that might have been her. She wasn't thinking about the poor man... because there was no way he could survive...

"Come on." Eric said, grabbing her hand and leading her inside the castle.

His moves were frantic. His voice wavering. And she knew he figured the man who had fallen, might have hurt one of his best friends. Gaston might have slipped, or maybe... he was pushed. Ariel worried for Adam too. He'd taken her in without so much as an opposing thought. He gave her clothes. Gave her food. Gave her warmth. And asked nothing in return. And... Belle clearly loved him so much.

Eric didn't head down any stairs though. Instead, he led her up a staircase and out to a balcony. Both he and Ariel breathed a sigh of relief when they noticed Belle and Adam were standing out in the rain, gazing at each other lovingly.

Ariel was a bit taken back now, though. Adam was no longer the 'creature' she'd grown accustomed to seeing. He wasn't furry. Or had fangs. Of claws. In fact, in his own right, he was actually quite handsome. Belle seemed to notice this too, for she had her arms wrapped around his neck, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Ember," Belle said, unwrapping her arms from Adam, "I was so worried about you. I'm glad your alright."

Ariel laughed a bit, "I've worried about you too... but I see you're in good hands."

Belle blushed a bit more, and Ariel smiled inwardly. Teasing the girl was like teasing Attina. They both neither really knew how to handle personal situations or conversations, everything else they mastered.

The four of them all stood around each other, silently relieved they were all alright, until a voice cut in.

"That dress looks awfully familiar." came the voice.

Everyone turned to look behind Ariel and Eric and Ariel found the stern gaze of Grimsby. He looked unchanged. Unaffected even, by the tremendous situation that had just occurred. His suit was crisp, his hair perfectly tended to. Even the falling rain seemed to fall around him, not even daring to drop onto his form. But his eyes held furry, though his body language contradicted that. His face was stern, and his blaze of anger was directed towards either her or Eric. She couldn't tell.

"Your dress," he said again, motioning to the gown she still had on. "If I'm not mistaken, I've seen you in it before."

Ariel looked down at her gown, trying to fast forward in her mind to figure out where he was going with his accusations.

"I remember." he said, snapping his fingers with sarcastic realization. "You had it on just last night."

"Grimsby-" Eric interrupted, seemingly having caught on to him before Ariel had, but Grimsby cut him off as well.

"What did I say?" the man snapped, and Ariel found herself leaning into Eric and away from the man. "You quite assured me, that this was no 'fling'."

"It isn't a fling," Eric tried, only to be cut off again.

"You weren't in your bed when I came up." Grimsby motioned dramatically to both Ariel and Eric, and Ariel found she was still lost in the conversation. "What would you call that?"

"A misunderstanding. Nothing... happened." Eric tried again, "We just fell asleep."

"And you!" Grimsby said, his finger pointing right at her face.

Ariel's breath stopped short, his anger now fully directed at her, and she knew Eric was about to defend her. But before he could get a word in, Adam spoke up instead.

"Chill out, Grimsby." Adam said, a bit of spite in his voice, "As a guest in my home, I would expect you to treat my guests with the respect they deserve."

Grimsby crossed his arms, but the fire in his eyes didn't dim. He was still clearly very pissed off, but some of the heat left her as it was directed to Adam. But Adam was right, and Ariel could tell Grimsby was the type of man who went by the book. He couldn't argue.

"Come." Grimsby said, after a moment to Eric, turning on his heels and marching back inside. "We're leaving this instant."

Grimsby's tone was dangerous. Eric obeyed, grabbing her hand and following the man, but Ariel knew that even if he didn't move, she probably would have. His tone was a warning tone she'd only heard in his father but a few times. It meant business. Seriousness. A dare to disobey.

Ariel was pulled back and away from Eric in a painful yank, but found herself relaxing when she saw it was just Belle. The girl smiled and hugged her tightly.

"I'm glad your okay." she whispered, and Ariel hugged her back.

"I tried to look for you," Ariel told her, "Eric wouldn't let me."

"Smart man."

Belle winked at her, but let her go, Eric replacing the spot she'd been at, a protective hand going around her waist.

"We'll talk later." Adam said to Eric, and he gave a respectful, almost playful, nod to Ariel.

Ariel smiled at him, but allowed Eric to lead her away from her new friends. She'd known them only a short period of time, but she had grown close to them, especially Belle. The girl was like a reminder of her sisters.

Which reminded her, she really needed to get in contact with them. Let them know she was still alive. Even if it seemed just barely.

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

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Part VI: The Academy

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Ariel

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Eric kept her close as they approached the entrance of the castle. Had Grimsby not been leading the way, a trail of angry fire in his wake, Ariel would have convinced Eric to let her go back to her room for her flowers. She truly did love them, even the note he'd left would have come with her. But Ariel suspected leaving, or even speaking, would get the man riled up, so she had to be content with the memory of her gifts. She had Eric, anyway, and he was the best gift she could have.

Crazy enough, as they entered the front foyer, the room was full of maids and servants. Ariel had never seen any kind of maid or servant as happy as this group. They were loud, singing and dancing, hollering and flipping around.

Ariel clasped her hands together, jumping slightly in her steps, everyone's mood effecting her. Adam had to really be a wonderful person to have his servants so happy. Her father needed to take some advice from him, because Ariel had the impression her servants didn't much like serving her father.

Ariel couldn't help singing along to the cheerful song filling to room. There were no words to the song, so she hummed and twirled in Eric's arms. Eric grinned at her, but his eyes held less confusion than hers. Almost as if he knew why they were celebrating.

Two servants opened the front doors for them, and outside, Ariel could already see a carriage was waiting for them. What a crazy turn of events. At some point, the clouds had blown away and the moon was out. The empty halls were now full of people. The quiet palace now rejoiced with the happy cries of people. It felt like a completely different palace.

As they made their way down the stairs, the sounds of people receded, and when they got in the carriage, Grimsby directing the driver, the noise of the castle was all but muted. But when Ariel looked out the window, the castles lights were all on, and Ariel could still imagine the sound of happiness.

In the carriage, Ariel sat beside Eric, and Grimsby sat across from them. Eric had his arm draped around her shoulder, and she leaned onto his chest, enjoying the ride and avoiding boredom... and Grimsby's hard stare. The man had a glare like Surabi; just on the verge of crossing the line between nothing but a visual discomfort and becoming an actual physical dagger.

Ariel had been looking out the window, but she noticed Eric was doing odd things with his hands again. She watched his hands a moment, as he made squiggly and swirly lines on his leg. He didn't seem to be focusing on his hands, but Ariel wondered why he did that. He'd done those strange patterns on her arm as well. She hoped it wasn't a nervous condition. The last thing she wanted was Eric uncomfortable around her.

Grabbing his previously tracing hand, she traced the lines in his hand. Following them up to his fingers and back down to his wrist. She could tell he was watching her lightly, probably wondering why she was doing what she was doing, but she had no answer to why. She simply continued tracing the lines in his hand, looking at the differences and similarities between her hand and his.

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Eric

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Eric would have loved to say he was exhausted because he had fought long and hard to protect his friends, Ariel, and Adam's castle. But he hadn't. Not really. When he'd been woken up out of his sleep, he'd practically been woken up from death. He'd been in such a deep sleep. Deeper than he could ever remember himself having.

He wanted to say he'd simply been tired, but truly, he thought it had something to do with Ariel being in his arms. The moment she'd fallen asleep, he'd tried, truly tried, to force himself to go back to his room. Grimsby was already suspicious. But he probably hadn't even finished that thought, because the next thing he knew, he'd been woken up.

And of course, in the middle of the best sleep of his life, a mob had to come and try to overthrow Adam. Certainly not ideal.

He'd made Ariel stay and the room and rushed to find Adam and Belle. Belle had been nowhere in sight, which was made evident when she came minutes later behind the mob, and Adam had gone into some depressive comatose state. Eric had had to drag a limp Adam out the room, and down the hall to another, because that part of the castle was one of the first to be infiltrated.

Adam had perked up when Eric told him Belle had come back, but the moment Eric realized the mob had got in at a faster speed than he had anticipated, he'd left Adam, who had begun recovering, and ran back to Ariel.

Imagine his surprise when he found her room had been full of old, drunk, villagers. He'd forced his way in, roughly pushing any bloke who delayed him even a second. He'd asked for the redhead, hoping someone was somber enough to tell him, and he got his answer when they all pointed out the bathroom window.

His heart had stopped then, and even now, Eric remembered the terrible heartache and even the physical pain that had come with the villagers accusation. He'd wanted to sit down, try to comprehend what was happening, but something in him was still fighting. Something was there, reassuring him that all was not lost.

"Yer crazy, woman?" someone yelled, and Eric's head had snapped to the side bathroom.

It was so full of men that Eric knew he could never reach the window. But he certainly wasn't about to stand by while the love of his life probably dangled from something out the window. The layout of Adam's castle was engraved into his mind, and luckily, Eric knew an unfinished balcony lay just above the room.

In but a second, he found himself out on the balcony, talking to Ariel who was stuck on a gargoyle. He almost didn't even want to know how she'd gotten on it, but she'd been deep into a panic attack and he'd had to coax her through every step. Even when he'd gotten her up onto the balcony, she'd still began hyperventilating and he'd needed to sit her down.

But that all seemed like a day far from now, as he watched her lazily trace the lines on his hands. He didn't mind, her hands were warm and soft, and it was nice, someone else tracing patterns for once. He didn't feel quite so weird.

For probably the 10th time in the past day, he thought about how lucky he was. He was truly, truly, lucky. She was everything he wanted in a wife. In a girlfriend. In a friend period. She was sweet. She was funny. Clever. Certainly adventurous. And her voice... Not to mention the fact that she'd been his first friend. The girl who had saved his life. The girl who talked to him as if he were a real person. The way she made him feel... it was incredible.

She'd stopped tracing his hand, and when he looked down on her, he found she was fast asleep. Her face... it was the face he wanted to wake up to every morning. The one he wanted to fall asleep staring at. Forever, and even a few days after that.

She was his everything.

"Eric." Grimsby spoke up, his voice kept low. "The moment we arrive back in Germany, I want you to be tailored by our sempstress."

Eric rolled his eyes, "Why? She probably knows my sizes better than she knows her own sons. I don't need to be fitted again."

"You do, and it is final." Grimsby said, looking out the window. "This must be right. We've but once shot at this."

"What do I need to be fitted for?" Eric asked. "All my suits fit me fine."

"Yes," Grimsby said slowly, sounding slightly annoyed, "But your fathers suit will be a bit too stocky I believe. It needs to be hemmed and trimmed in some places."

Eric sputtered, "My-my fathers suit? Why would I need that hemmed?"

Grimsby folded his hands on his lap, as if he were about to break something very complicated down to a small child.

"For your approaching wedding, of course."

Eric, again, was shocked. For some reason, he'd been under the impression that Grimsby hadn't liked Ariel. Hated her, actually. But here he was, talking about getting Eric's fathers suit hemmed for his wedding.

Eric laughed, disbelieving, "I haven't even asked for her hand yet."

"You don't believe she'll say yes?"

Eric was silent for a moment. The thought hadn't quite plagued him yet. In fact, it hadn't ever crossed his mind that she might say no. In fact, he hadn't quite envisioned his wedding at all yet. Eric looked down to her, sleeping peacefully under his arm. She was so still, so calm. So beautiful. And that hardly had anything to do with her physical attributes. So was so beautiful on the inside as well.

What would he do if she said no?

He was quite sure, that rejection would be too much for him to handle. The moment she said no, was the moment he died.

But then, did he really have anything to worry about? He was so sure of the love he felt for her. So sure. And the same night he confessed his love for her, she'd confessed her love for him. She loved him, and he believed that whole souled.

"I think she will." Eric said, a pinch of confidence sneaking into his voice. "I'm sure."

"Yes," Grimsby droned, "I'm quite sure myself."

The rest of the ride to Adam's private airport was silent. Eric still couldn't believe Grimsby was suddenly on board with his marriage. With his love. Back in the kitchen of the palace, Grimsby had made it seem like he were willing to do anything to get rid of Ariel. He'd gone so far as to sound like a threat. And the whole phone business with the Queen of Hearts...

Maybe Eric had just been overreacting. Maybe, he had misunderstood everything. He was being silly. Grimsby had been his fathers most trusted adviser. The man had known him since before birth. Grimsby was like family, and family didn't hurt each other.

This thought, it allowed Eric to finally sit comfortably for the remainder of the ride. He was able to breathe in the wonderful, and yet familiar, scent of Ariel. Able to feel her breathing. Hear her breaths. Hold her. It was like some wonderful dream he couldn't wake up from. Some amazing experience he couldn't stop.

Leave it to him to send himself into a panic attack over nothing.

When they pulled into the airport, Grimsby got out first and made his way to the airport gate to probably get them a pilot and a plane. The carriage driver got down from his perch as well, and followed. A few minutes went by, and Eric simply watched the man go. He still couldn't believe the 360 Grimsby had made in opinions.

It seemed to easy to be true. After all, the mini-ball they'd had? The stiff behavior? The mysterious Queen of Hearts? His strange hold over Ariel? Those were things not to be overlooked. Despite how he seemed to act now, it didn't excuse the fact that Grimsby had acted different before. That he'd acted suspicious.

Eric shook his head. Was Grimsby innocent or wasn't he? The question was up in the air for him. For now, all he could do was observe. Watch and gather intelligence. More suspicious moves of his would beg further investigation. But Eric doubted Grimsby was anything but misunderstood. Grimsby had been his fathers right hand man, after all. And while Eric didn't remember much about his father, he knew his father didn't take any nonsense. His father would never allow some foul person to be his adviser.

Opening the carriage door, Eric decided he'd been in the carriage longer than necessary. Gently, he grabbed Ariel bridal style, and made his way across the parking lot and towards the airport gate's lounge. He couldn't help but slow his pace a bit, marveling a bit at how amazing it felt to carry Ariel. Perhaps it was some buried male-trait, but he truly enjoyed carrying her. It was fun, in a weird, kind of way.

She just fit in his arms like a puzzle piece fit to its puzzle. Her head seemed meant to be cradled in his neck. Her arms were just long enough to sit around his neck comfortably. Her legs were the perfect length, where they didn't flop around, but sat controlled.

He hoped she didn't mind him carrying her like this when she was awake, because simply put, carrying her was too much fun. Perhaps, he could carry her away on their wedding day. Because surely, she would say yes when he asked her. Love like theirs, he'd never seen it before. The couples he met at balls and parties, they were stiff. Official. Very polite and starchy. Never had he caught a couple laughing quietly between each other. Never did he catch any loving side glances, when the person was supposed to be paying attention to someone else. Never did he see them holding hands or sharing a quick, slightly inappropriate kiss.

And yet, Ariel made him want to do all those things. All of it. He wanted to show her the side of him that he was much to rigid to show anyone else. He wanted to tell her the secrets he knew about the stiff and stuffy people he was made to be around, and laugh with her at all the ridiculousness he usually was forced to keep to himself. He wanted to look around a crowded room, and catch her gaze, feeling a magic only they two could feel. He wanted to hold her hand even when they were sitting right beside each other. He wanted to steal kisses from her when no one was looking.

Right then, on the short walk from the carriage to the lobby, he'd imagined a whole future with her. Imagined how they'd act at parties. How now, he had a permanent dance partner, and no longer had to dance with loud, boisterous girls whose sole purpose in life was to marry him. Because now, he was taken. And happily so. He couldn't wait to show her his castle. And his kingdom. Introduce her to the people. Take her out sailing. For a horseback ride. He had plans for his kingdom, for his people, and while he'd planned on showing them to Charming first, his heart sped at the prospect of having a fresh, innocent, and pure set of eyes looking over his private designs.

Entering the lobby of the airport, Eric was immediately waved over by Grimsby, who was standing beside a man in uniform. Eric didn't slow his gait, simply continuing after the men. It wasn't until Eric had boarded the plane and was instructed to buckle up that he finally put Ariel into a seat beside him. Truly, he loved holding her.

She was still asleep, deeply so, as he buckled her in first. Grimsby sat across the aisle, a few seats ahead, on the empty plane. Eric wasn't sure why the man insisted on renting the entire plane out. Eric didn't mind having to share, not to mention the fact that hundreds of people now had to wait for another flight because Grimsby had taken not only their pilot, but their plane as well. But Eric knew any argument he could come up with would only delay the poor people who had now missed their flight from another, so he sat quietly, wondering how he could prevent the problem in the future.

Ariel stirred in her seat, and while Eric didn't mind her shifting, Grimsby whipped around in his seat as if she had somehow physically hurt him by her small movements. For a moment, Eric was sure he caught something in the mans eyes. Some form of hatred deeper than malice. A kind of hate that could only come with years and years in the making. But the flash in his eyes ended when Grimsby, by chance, caught Eric's eyes and turned back around in his seat.

Eric was still processing in his mind, what exactly was wrong with the man. It was very confusing. One moment, the man was asking about a wedding. The next moment, he was inferring Eric was having an affair. Another moment Grimsby seemed as if he hated Ariel. And the rest of the time, he simply acted shady. As if he knew some big secret that he knew could put everyone just where he wanted them.

A slow weariness of the man was inching its way back into Eric's mind. Back in the carriage, he'd written his cautious feelings off as possibly being overprotective of Ariel. Told himself that he'd known Grimsby much too long to suspect something so drastic. After all, the man had known him for so long, and while he was definitely a pain in the butt, he'd never caused Eric any intentional harm.

But what was it about Ariel that made that all change?

When Ariel was near, the man was malicious. He accused Eric, he snapped at him. Even threatened him to some extent, though he never elaborated on it. And even Ariel herself seemed to shrink back around the man. She got quiet. Shy. She hid behind him as if trying to disappear. She didn't look him in his eyes.

Eric was sure, the little 'talk' they'd had, was more than a little talk. And if Eric found out the man had done anything wrong to her...

Eric would be the first to admit, Grimsby could get a little passionate about things. Everything had to be perfect, or the man fell apart. Eric had no doubt in his mind, that Grimsby had a little book full of things that was supposed to happen in Eric's life. He had ideas about how Eric was supposed to act, and how he was supposed to be. Anything to throw that off would simply rock the man too far off of his cradle.

It was why Eric tried to forget the conversation they'd had back in Adam's kitchen. But now that he thought about it, maybe he shouldn't try to forget. Maybe, there were some deeper meanings and hidden clues. Grimsby definitely hadn't been making much sense to Eric.

For one, he'd known so much about her. About her father and where she was from. And then, he'd half-wittedly challenged her entire species. Not race. Not social class. Species. Claiming she wasn't even a real girl. Well, if she wasn't a girl... then what was she? Not that Eric gave any credit to the accusation, but for simple curiosity. And the whole thing about her hurting him and his entire kingdom? What was that about? How could this one, wonderful, beautiful... special...down to earth...tremendous...extraordinary...caring...funny...innocent...talented... what was he talking about again? Right, how could she cause anyone anything but a taste of perfection? The idea was enough to make him laugh.

No, not her. She was too perfect to put anyone through anything of the sort. But still, none of this answered any of Grimsby's accusations.

Eric sighed, turning to Ariel and brushing a loose strand of red hair out of her face. He supposed all he could do was resign himself to the fact that he'd never find out any of those answers on his own. He simply didn't know enough. For now, he supposed staying cautious was his only option. He had to keep an eye on Ariel, and his friends, and keep Grimsby at an arms distance.

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Ariel

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Ariel cracked her eyes open and found she was very well rested. In fact, she was energized beyond relief. There was a dull throbbing in her shoulder though, but she had a feeling it wasn't her previous injury, and that maybe she'd simply slept wrong.

Ariel looked around herself, hoping to figure out just where she was, because the last she checked, she'd been in the carriage. Her surroundings wasn't familiar, but Eric was. He was in a seat beside her, his face calm and smooth as he slept. His hand was resting on the armrest, and he had her hand in his, their fingers intertwined lightly, and her heart sped up at the sight. It felt so... so... so wonderful to know he loved her. So amazing to know that he showed ways he cared even when she wasn't aware of it.

She honestly could have sat there, staring at him like it was some addiction. Like she was addicted to him. Like he was her drug. And even more addictive, was the drug he gave her. The drug he filled her glass and body with every second of every passing moment. That drug. That love drug. But a staticky voice cut her moment to an end and it woke Eric up with a start, his hand tensing around hers.

Passengers, we've landed in the Germany airport and the checklist has been finished. Weather's a cold 37 degrees with a slightly cloudy overcast and 16 mile per hour winds, so bundle up. Our co-pilot will be back to open the door and allow you out. Hope you enjoyed your flight.

Ariel watched Eric stretch in his seat. She wasn't quite sure where she was, but as long as he was there, she was sure she would be alright.

"Hey," he said, lazily, running his hands through his hair.

"Hi," Ariel greeted cheerfully, "Sleep well?"

He looked at her, an almost surprised look on his face.

"Fine." he answered, in response to her question, before asking, "Morning person?"

She just shrugged. She just felt... good. Energized. Happy. That is, until Grimsby appeared, a stern look on his face. Ariel tried not to shy back in his presence, and held his firm gaze as best she could. But he won out in the end, and her eyes snapped to her and Eric's intertwined hands, trying not to show her defeat had actually meant something to her.

"You may both change in the restrooms at the back of the plane." he said, "Clean outfits are awaiting you both."

Eric nodded, but Ariel saw his face held a touch of confusion and a bit of spite towards the man. For but a second, the two of them had a stare-off, like Ariel and Grimsby had done just a moment ago. But this time, Eric won out, and Grimsby spun on his heels marching down the aisle and went through a door.

Ariel couldn't help a small, silent smile to herself. She felt... protected. It was just a stare-down, nothing about it actually mattered in real life. But for Eric to win right after her loss, she couldn't help but think it actually meant something.

"Come on," Eric said, standing up, "Lets get ready."

Ariel stood with him, allowing him to lead her down the hall. She looked out the windows on the 'plane', trying to better see Eric's home. Not that this was his 'home', but it was his province. And maybe, hopefully, it might some day be hers too. The thought made her giggle, and Eric looked at her, an amused eyebrow raised. But she shook her head at him, not wanting to explain that the thought of them married actually made her giggle. Actually, the thought made her swoon. And sigh. And laugh. And overall just made her feel like a flying fish; leaping and bounding out of the water for the sole reason that she was happy.

"Do you live far from here?" Ariel asked, bending over a little to look out a window. "Is your castle large? Are there many tree's here? Because there aren't many in Paris."

"Um," Eric said, probably trying to sort her questions out, "No, I don't live far. I suppose its pretty big. Yes, there are a lot of trees here, but not in town. And yes, your right, there are no forests or woods in Paris."

Ariel was about to relay another long line of questions she had for him, when they stopped their walking.

"Here you are." he said, "I'll be right across the hall."

Ariel nodded, entering a bathroom through the door Eric had led her to. The bathroom was not very huge. Puny compared to Adam's bathroom. Dull, white, and plain compared to Jasmine's bathrooms, but luxurious compared to Cinderella's. It was interesting how Ariel now compared certain things.

Hanging on a hanger behind the door, she found a beautiful dress, much like the pink one she wore back at Adam's castle. This dress was clearly more of a day dress, not being so long, instead, stopping a few inches below her knees. The bottom of the dress was full of fluff and ruffles and Ariel knew, just by looking at it on the hanger, it would be even fluffier once she put it on. This dress was blue. A bright blue that reminded her of the oceans surface after a storm had passed. It had long sleeves, though it was off the shoulder, and was tightly synched at the waist.

There was a pair of matching black shoes to match, and Ariel wondered whether or not Eric would like her outfit. She hoped he would, naturally. But besides this, lotions and different soaps lined the sinks counter, so that she could wash up. But even this didn't excite her as much as the toothpaste and toothbrush did. Brushing her teeth was the first thing she did before anything else.

A while later, even she had to admit it had taken quite a long time to get herself to a point where she felt presentable. She'd dressed in the blue dress, correct about its fluffiness. She opted to leaver her hair down, simply content with brushing it out well.

She opened the door, expecting to wait for Eric, but when the door opened, he turned to look at her from one of the seats, already have been finished in the bathroom.

"There you are," he laughed, "I was about to call in for backup. I wondered if you'd been kidnapped."

"Sorry," she admitted, embarrassed, "I guess I got carried away."

"No need to apologize." he said, getting up. "I suppose it was worth it, you look wondrous."

Ariel tried to keep down the blush rising to her cheeks. Back home, she rarely was given compliments. But it seemed as if it was all Eric seemed to give her. It made her feel... light.

"Thank you," she told him, "And you look wondrous yourself. I like your boots."

They were black and shiny, but clearly worn.

"They were my fathers," he told her, twisting them on the ground making them squeak. "I like them too."

Ariel giggled a bit at the squeak his boots made, but took a second to see his whole outfit. He wasn't in a suit, like he'd been before. Instead, he had on a white v-neck collared shirt, a red sash around his waist, and navy pants. She liked that look on him; he looked casual. Comfortable.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, taking her hand and leading her down the aisles.

"Starving." she told him.

"We can stop in town on our way to the castle," he told her, "and have breakfast there. I'm afraid I've got some packing to do, but after that we can do something together."

"Sounds like fun." Ariel said, bouncing.

Despite that little thing Eric needed to attend to, she was eager to spend the day with him. She wanted to get to know him even better. She wanted to see his town. Get a feel for his people. She wondered if they loved him, like they had her mother, or if they mostly feared him, like they did her father. She couldn't imagine, though, anyone fearing Eric. He was so lovable!

"Eric." came a voice, and both Eric and her turned to see Grimsby holding a coat. "You mustn't go out without a coat."

Eric shaded pink a bit, snatching the coat from the man and glaring. He must have felt a bit childish, Ariel figured, but noticed Grimsby had something else in his hand.

"I doubt Eric would leave if you hadn't something to put on," Grimsby said, handing Ariel a furry black shawl to put on.

"Thank you." Ariel said, put it over her head.

Eric said nothing to the man, taking her hand again, and leading her outside. They were extremely high off the ground, and needed to go down a long flight of steps to get to the bottom. Ariel focused on Eric's hand in hers, and not how similar she felt this drop was to the one back at Adam's castle. This was totally different, she told herself. Totally different.

They seemed to be in some empty lot, Ariel observed, but then, maybe they'd cleared out because Eric was present.

"How would you like to get to town?" Eric asked her, "We can take the limousine, the carriage, or go by horseback. It wouldn't be a long ride."

Eric led her towards her apparent 3 choices and she thought about which one. She'd already ridden in a carriage, and found that it wasn't very entertaining nor very different from her own carriage rides back in Atlantica. She didn't know what a limousine was, but it was black and dark and look kind of scary looking. She'd liked riding back with Cinderella, despite having been tossed by Bruno. A stable hand was standing beside this horse, holding the reins.

"Would you like to ride?" Eric asked, noticing she was looking at the horse. "It isn't a long ride."

Ariel bit her lip, "I don't know. I'm not much of a rider."

"Don't worry." Eric said, leading her over to the horse, "We can ride together."

Before Ariel had known it, Eric had lifted her up onto the horse sideways and had somehow swung himself on with such grace that she'd be surprised he was actually on the horse. The horse, a light brown creature with white hair, a white tail, and white spots all over, snorted a bit.

"He's alright?" Ariel asked, concerned. "Carrying us both, I mean."

Eric smiled gently at her, reaching his arms around her to grab the reins from the stable boy.

"He's fine." Eric told her, "Horses are very strong animals."

Eric kicked the horse, and the horse began a slow, leisurely gait from the lot they were at and towards a path off to the right. From the path, Ariel could see the town really was close by. She could already see it.

Ariel leaned back into Eric's arms. This was definitely different from the last time she'd been riding. But, she liked it. It was like taking a walk in the park. She, nor him, needed to say anything. Instead, she just enjoyed his company. Enjoyed being in his arms. A few weeks ago, she would have never imagined that she could be this happy. With her father and his stupid arranged marriage, she would have thought she was destined to be sad and lonely. A few days ago, she wouldn't believe she'd be sitting in Eric's arms, riding towards his town, on his horse, in his arms.

But now, everything seemed so real. Every moment seemed a bit better than the last. Every new thing she learned about Eric got her a little closer to knowing everything about him. She was convinced: this had to be some wonderful dream.

She sat up a bit, the sound of people having got her spirits up even more. The town, it was right there. Stores and shops were set up, people walked around carrying baskets of bread, children played together, friendly neighbors chatted. It reminded her greatly of Jasmine's little town square back in Agrabah. So busy.

"I really think your going to like it in town." Eric told her, as the crossed over a brick bridge, and fully into town,"It's a bit old fashioned, but its got its charms."

"It's so cute." Ariel gushed, watching a group of young children run by. "Everyone seems so happy."

People stopped, some watching as Eric rode by. She couldn't imagine their shock. She wondered if Eric often rode into town without guards or some kind of personal protector. Or with a girl riding with him. A few men they passed bowed Eric's way, and the rest of the entire square practically pulsed with the united heartbeats of single women as he passed through—and a few married ones, as well, she suspected.

Eric stopped the horse in a less crowded part of the town, though it was now increasingly becoming the most crowded, curious people having forgotten what they'd been doing and was now trying not to be noticed as they crept closer to Eric and Ariel. Eric paid them no mind though, dismounting in a single, fluid motion.

Ariel didn't even open her mouth to ask for help, for automatically, he reached his hands up and gently got her down, like she were a small child. The thought made her giggle a bit. But it was short lived, as she spotted something she'd seen in a book back in her sunken ship.

"A well!" Ariel said, excited jumping up and down, "Oh, I've never seen a well before. Can you get water out of it?"

Eric looked amused at her antics and nodded. "Most of the people in town get their water from that well."

"How curious." Ariel said, tilting her head a bit, "And it just continues to fill with clean water? Amazing."

"Yes, but it's not very functional." Eric said, "You can imagine how crowded it gets in the summer. Its simply outdated, I think, along with a few other things around here. Grimsby disagrees, of course, but I've drawn up plans anyway to make life easier for my people. And proper plumbing, is one of the first things on the list. Of course, the ideas silly-"

"No, I can see this modernized." Ariel agreed, and Eric seemed to sputter a bit.

"You-you can?" he shook his head, clearing out the last of his surprise, "I mean, you agree with me?"

"Yeah," Ariel nodded, "I think industrial would be a bit too far, if I may say so, but I can definitely see glass buildings and painted boutiques and stores. And plumbing doesn't sound too bad either. Maybe even a stable of sorts, to put the horses people ride into town. Like a parking lot."

"And streets," Eric cut in, looking around himself, imagining. "Cobblestone is completely obsolete."

"Maybe a shoe store or two." Ariel added in and Eric laughed.

"I can see that. I've got to show you my plans, a lot of what you said is on there."

"I guess we were thinking the same thing."

"Yes," he said, his voice just above a whisper, "I guess we were."

He was giving her a bit of a curious look. Like he'd just noticed she was from another world. Or that he'd just spotted a second head on her neck. But just as fast, his face had changed, and she suddenly got the exciting feeling that he was going to kiss her. He had that same dazed, but uncertain, but certainly adorable, look on his face. He'd had that face when they'd danced at the ball.

Ariel eagerly awaited that soft, sweet pressure, of his lips pressing against hers. That thrill she got when he suddenly pushed harder against her in the middle of the kiss. The rush she felt when his hands were on her face, pulling her in closer.

And then she was certain he was going to kiss her, despite a small crowed of people, slightly growing in size. She lidded her eyes, feeling his ragged breath fan her face. Something in her chest knotted tightly, and it took everything in her to simply allow him to kiss her, things going the other way might be inappropriate. After all, she had no ideas about the rules of kissing.

His lips had just brushed against hers, sending bolts of lighting up and down her spine, when a throat was cleared loudly beside her. Startled, she pulled back, expecting to see Grimsby or some angry villager. Instead, though, she was met with someone she'd never seen before. This man was tall. Freakishly so. And he had on a tall black hat and a red and yellow uniform. He looked like he ate spiked coral for breakfast.

Ariel leaned into Eric, and he wrapped a comforting hand around her waist.

"It's alright." he told her, "Grimsby must have sent the guards when he saw we weren't at the castle."

Ariel looked around herself, finding the villagers were all gone. In their place, was all duplicates of the very guard in front of her. They all stood facing different directions. Angry looking. Mean. But she supposed when you protected royalty, you had to be threatening looking.

"Your highness," the guard said, bowing at the waist, "You've a visitor that requires your audience."

"Of course." Eric said, as if he somehow should have expected that.

Eric turned, about to lead her back to the horse, when the guard spoke again.

"That's unnecessary, your highness. Please follow me."

Eric and her shared a confused look, but followed the guard as he made his way through town and approached a set of woods. The woods looked happy and cheery enough, but Ariel wondered just what kind of guest Eric was expecting.

As they approached the woods Ariel caught a guard hiding behind a tree. When he noticed she saw him, he ducked back, hiding.

Ariel laughed.

Eric, a smile on his face asked her, "What are you laughing at?"

The more Ariel looked around, the more guards she saw ducking behind trees.

"Your guards," she laughed, "There hiding behind the trees."

"Yes..." Eric said slowly, still smiling, clearly having already known this, "They do it to protect me."

"They look like their playing hide and seek." Ariel laughed, and even Eric chuckled a bit.

"Yes, I suppose they do."

"Sir," the guard cut in, "He's right over there."

The guard stepped back, allowing them to get a good look at the visitor. At first, Ariel could only see the back of his head, which was full of neatly placed brown curls of hair. The man was looking up into a tree, his hands moving wildly as he motioned to... something. Ariel couldn't see what had gotten his attention so captivated, but whatever it was had totally taken his attention away from the fact that he'd called Eric and Ariel out of their daily lives to walk through the woods.

"Come down, please." the man said, half whispering to the tree tops, "I don't mind you climbing trees, but for today, could you-"

"Florian." Eric said, calling to the man.

The man, Florian, turned around almost surprised. Almost embarrassed. But he shook his shock off gracefully, almost royally, and straightened his shirt. He didn't seem too much older than Eric, his brown eyes looking deep and concerned.

"Eric." the man said, approaching them, "I hope I haven't taken you away from something important."

"Not at all. Florian, " Eric said. "This is... this is..."

He'd turned to introduce her, but Ariel could read it in his eyes; he was searching for what to call her. The thought had drifted into Ariel's mind as well, though she hadn't come up with an answer. What was she? His girlfriend? His lover? His love? His fiance? Well, the last one couldn't be it, he'd never proposed. But still. There was no proper, and royal-approved, title for the love of your life. For someone you hadn't proposed to yet, but still planned to marry, for you were both in love.

"I'm Ariel." she told Florian, saving Eric from embarrassment, and curtsying. "It's wonderful to meet you."

"And same to you." Florian said, bowing at the waist.

"Why not come to the castle?" Eric asked him, "You know your always welcome."

"Yes," Florian said, slowly, almost uncertain, "I felt... no, this is better. But please don't think what I have to say isn't so important, because what I want to tell you is very serious. A speculation, but very serious."

"Of course," Eric said, his voice taking on one of seriousness Ariel had never heard.

"I came to you," Florian said, "Because I know of how close you are to the others. I trust you can get this message to them more efficiently than I could."

"I could gather them," Eric suggested, "It wouldn't be a problem. You can tell us all together. By sun-down they can all be here."

Florian seemed to think on this, "Please, allow me to tell you what I have to say first. If you think I should tell the others myself, then by all means, please gather them."

"Are my guards alright to stay?" Eric asked, and Ariel, once again remembered the sheer amount of them around.

"I'd prefer not." Florian said, lowly. "If, of course, you don't mind."

"Of course not." Eric said, "We can talk by the creek."

They both moved forwards, and Ariel wondered whether or not she should follow. Florian had asked to speak with Eric, no doubt, he didn't even know Ariel was with him. Deciding she'd better stay, she gently pulled her hand from Eric's.

"I'll wait here." she told him.

Eric nodded at her, and he and Florian continued down towards the creek. As they passed the tree Florian had been talking to, he cast a curious look up into the leaves, before shaking his head and continuing on. Once they were out of sight, Ariel's curiosity took over and she rushed to the tree. She couldn't imagine he'd been talking to a squirrel or a bird.

No sooner had Ariel reached the tree, that a girl jumped down from its branches. Ariel contained her scream in, covering her mouth, not wanting to alarm Eric, and put a hand to her racing heart.

"Goodness!" the girl said, apologetic, "I didn't mean to startle you."

Ariel took the girl in. Besides the leaves, dirt, and twigs that covered her, she was very beautiful. Her hair was short and black, covered in twigs, but not a curl of hers was out of place. Her lips were very red, but not naturally, like Ariel's were, but almost like the lipstick her sisters used to put on. But... for this girl, it worked. Her pale skin, in contrast with her dark hair and red lips made her look very strong for some reason. Her clothes were the most interesting Ariel had seen so far, besides the queen of hearts. She wore a red headband with a bow, a dark blue bodice with short blue puffy sleeves, both with 3 red raindrop-shaped designs on both sides. She had a high white collar, and a long light yellow skirt, white petticoat, and a red cape. Plus, she had no shoes on.

Definitely an interesting look.

"It's alright." Ariel told her, shaking her head from the girls unusual, but extremely fun, look. "I'm fine."

"I'm Snow White." the girl said, her voice taking on a bit of a sing-song tone.

Snow White. That name... she knew it. And then she remembered. Snow White had been the story she'd read about back at Adam's castle. If... if this was that Snow White, then this girl used to be a princess. Of course, Ariel hadn't gotten the chance to finish the story, but from what she'd read, Snow White and her husband had lost their land to king Daniel. With no hard feelings, both families still kept in contact and was rather friendly with each other. Ariel couldn't much understand that. She couldn't see her father loosing all of the oceans to someone, and still being friends with the conqueror. It just seemed... weird.

"I'm Ariel." Ariel said, surprised when the girl took her by her arms and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh what a lovely name!"

So much for a proper introduction and a curtsy, but what the heck. Ariel hugged the girl back tightly. She preferred hugs over a curtsy any day. When Snow White pulled back, Ariel had to ask her the million dollar question.

"What were you doing in that tree?"

Snow White actually looked a bit embarrassed.

"Oh," she said, "Nothing. I was just putting a baby bird back into its nest. It fell, you see."

"It fell?!" Ariel asked, looking up into the tree.

She couldn't imagine a poor baby animal falling out of its home. The poor thing.

"Yes," Snow White said, a bit shocked at Ariel's reaction, "But he's alright now. A chipper thing, he was. Adorable too."

"May I see him?" Ariel asked, her hands clenching together, "Is it alright?"

"Of course!" Snow White said, grabbing Ariel's hand. "I can hold him out so you can see. He wont mind!"

"Oh," Ariel said, a bit dejected, "Wont it disturb him to take him out his nest again?"

Snow White's face took on one of curiosity. "A bit. But he wont mind. Unless... you'd like to climb up the tree?"

"I would," Ariel said, looking at the now monstrous looking tree, "But I've never climbed a tree before."

"Oh I can teach you!" Snow White cried happily. "It'll be a bucket full of fun!"

Ariel couldn't help smiling along with the girl. Her mood was too contagious.

"Here." Snow White said, grabbing the tree. "It's easy. Just do as I do. Find a hand hold and a foothold and pull yourself up."

Ariel did as Snow White had instructed, glad she had a decent amount of upper arm strength. But the bark was hard and it scratched her hands a bit.

"No ones ever wanted to climb a tree with me before." Snow White said, effortlessly pulling herself up higher and higher on the tree. "Except Florian. Sometimes he climbs with me. Climbing with others is so much more fun than alone! And now, your climbing with me and it's just so much fun! This makes us friends doesn't it? I love making new friends! Your my best friend. Besides, of course, Florian. And my forest friends. But you fit right in! Are you doing alright?"

Ariel clenched the tree to herself, trying not to think about being high off the ground. Why had she thought this was a good idea?

"Fine." Ariel ground out to Snow White, and the girl continued talking.

She talked a lot.

"Here." Snow White said reaching a much appreciated hand down to help Ariel, when she'd reached the last bit of the tree.

Snow White helped Ariel up onto a thick branch she could sit on, and Ariel caught her breath, stretching her fingers out and trying not to think about how she'd get down.

"Look," Snow White said, "Here's the baby bird."

A small, bird was sitting a little nest made of sticks and twigs and leaves. The baby woke at the sound of Snow White's voice, but didn't make a sound, just tilted its head at her curiously.

"He's adorable." Ariel said, observing him.

He didn't have fluffy feathers like the birds she'd seen, but he had his own little cuteness.

"Really?" Snow White asked, "No one ever thinks the blood quills are cute."

Ariel was starting to wonder how many friends Snow White had. Besides Florian and the... the forest animals, of course.

"He likes you." Snow White told her.

Ariel looked at her curiously. "How do you know?"

"He told me." Snow White giggled. "We're friends, you know."

Oooh kay. Well, Ariel wasn't judging, she used to speak to fish so who was she to judge. But, Ariel had never seen a human communicate with animals. And under the sea, fish weren't really animals to her people. They were more... of a distant species. They were treated just as well as the merfolk.

"You can pet him," Snow White said, petting the little bird with her finger, "He's really soft."

Ariel couldn't deny the girls personality though. She was so... lively and unnaturally nice. Kind of like Arista was. She was the kind of person that could never make you angry, and if she did, you couldn't be upset with her for long because she was always genuinely sorry. Even if things weren't her fault.

Ariel pet the baby birds head gently, smiling widely when she saw the smile Snow White had on her face.

"This is fun." Ariel told her, and the girls face lit up even more.

Suddenly, a big bird landed on the nest, sitting on the baby and both Ariel and Snow White jumped back, shocked at the birds arrival. The two girls shared a look, before they both began laughing. Both girls opened their mouths to comment on the event when a worried voice cut through the air.

"Ariel!"

"Up here, Eric!" Ariel responded, looking down to Eric, who'd wandered back into the woods.

He looked up at her with a kind of wonder, and Florian stood at his side, shaking his head as if he should have expected her to be up in the tree.

"Hi Eric!" Snow White called, waving his way.

"Hey, Snow." Eric said, his eyes still never leaving Ariel.

"Come on!" Snow White said, leaping from her branch, falling all the way to the ground and landing on her feet.

Ariel... was pretty sure she couldn't do that. That wall she'd fallen off back in Agrabah had hurt her ankles so bad she remembered the pain at that very moment. That throbbing, pulsing, feeling that made you think your ankles would fall off. Yeah, no thanks.

"Come on," came Eric's voice, his hands outstretched, "I'll catch you."

For some reason, that idea seemed even more farfetched. She seemed so far up that her vision swam when she looked down. Jumping just seemed like suicide.

"That's alright." Ariel said, turning around slowly and gripping the tree like how she'd come up, "I'll just climb-"

Her words turned to a shrill cry as she found out going up was a lot easier than going down, and she lost her footing, falling backwards and into thin air. She felt like she'd fallen for minutes, but she knew it had to only be seconds, because in an instant, she was in Eric's arms.

"Never mind." she muttered.

He gave her a half smile setting her down.

"I'll see you back at the castle." Florian said, watching curiously as Snow White conversed with a squirrel.

"Are you alright getting back?" Eric asked, and Florian nodded.

"Our horse is around here somewhere. He'll turn up somewhere. We're fine."

Eric nodded, and grabbing her hand, led her back into the woods.

"Goodbye!" called a voice, and Ariel turned around to see Snow White was waving merrily at her, "I'll see you later, friend!"

Ariel waved back at her, continuing with Eric until Snow White's continuous 'goodbyes' was nothing but a dull whine.

"She's nice." Ariel said, to Eric, but he didn't seem to hear her, "A bit strange, but very nice."

Eric hummed in agreement, but still, Ariel could tell he wasn't quite in the conversation. He stared straight ahead, his eyes almost unfocused, as he lead them back towards town.

"Eric?" Ariel asked, getting his attention, "Are you alright?"

Eric blinked at her before casting a weary look around himself. Ariel followed his gaze, just catching the swish of a red jacket, as one of Eric's guards hid behind a tree.

"Perfect." he said, overly cheerful, and Ariel nodded.

There was something else, wasn't there? She was sure, something horrible had happened and now, Eric was involved. She could feel it. The last time Eric had had a look like that on his face, well, he'd kissed her, but then he'd clearly shown her that her father was a liar and nearly everything she knew about him was a lie. She wondered what atrocious bits of information awaited her now.

---

A/N: And there it is. Ba-Bam! Read and Review so that I know you guys like it. Seriously. Over 50 people have been looking through the last chapter alone (and it was uploaded just last week) and no one has time to simply say 'I like this'? Honestly. C'mon people! PLZ?!

I'll give you a virtual cookie!

_TheForgottenName