A/N: I have to apologize for how long it has taken me to get this chapter up, long story short my car caught fire and the end of my Master's class showed up so I was pretty busy the last two weeks with real life stuffs. In OUAT news, I don't know about you guys, but I am super excited for JoAnna Garcia to be playing Ariel next season, I think she was perfect casting for the role. I have to admit I am a bit disappointed that Ariel is stuck in Storybrook and not showing up in Neverland but oh well, maybe when Hook and them get back things can happen between our fav pirate and mermaid lol ;) (I know probably crazy wishful thinking but hey if your ganna crackship might as well go all out)

I realized I might have to forego watching any new OUAT until I finish this fic .….Because watching the new Rookie Blue season killed my last muse for that fandom when things changed so much with the characters I was writing about that the muse just sort of keeled over on itself. I don't want that to happen with this fic because I am loving it so much.

Quick shout out to all my followers and to those that put either me or this fic on your favorite list! You guys are awesome possums! It was so uplifting and nice to see every new follower/favorite notification in my email. Even if I am not getting a lot of reviews for this story its lovely to know that people are enjoying reading it.

Also, I was totally on an Ellie Goulding music kick while working on this chapter (which took me 2-3 days to complete, that's a long time to have a CD on constant repeat lol).

Anyway may pretties, here be the next chapter. Enjoy and remember to show your love in reviews - XOXO

Posted: 9/28/13

Part of His World

By: Morgansgurl

The day prior had been so physically and emotionally exhausting for Ariel, and it didn't matter how brief the encounter had been. She had gone days in pitch black with her only company being an entrapped Sultan, fighting the pangs of starvation, and feeling the overall weakness of captivity. It had taken a lot of her meniscal strength she had left and energy she couldn't spare to go through the turmoil of yesterday with that horrible Pirate Captain and his sailor boy Max.

Her thumb rubbed the spot on her ring finger where her wedding band was now glaringly absent. It was the first time since Eric had put it on her finger that she had ever not had it on her person much less parted with it. Just the thought made her blood simmer with anger. She would get what was hers back, and that Captain, well he would get what was coming to him. She would make sure of it.

Two positive things however had occurred yesterday despite it all. She had been able to eat and Aladdin had the keys to their freedom from this hell hole.

On the negative though was the realization that human flesh and blood was…addictive. She hadn't tasted it in millennia but she could feel how quickly it had reenergized and restored her body. It wasn't anything like the fish, sea plants, and fruits she had been consuming and turned accustomed to. It terrified her that eating human flesh made her feel like she had returned home. When she had sworn it off she had been so very young even by Mermaid standards, and surprisingly naive. Now that she was older she could certainly see the appeal and understand the obsession her Sister's had with it. She could sympathize with the cravings and the desire to consume every inch from a man's bones.

It was a frightening realization.

Her macabre thoughts were drawn away from themselves when Aladdin started to stretch and let out a loud sigh of a yawn. At some point during the night, if it even was night, they had fallen asleep while in the comfort of their platonic embrace. How could she have developed such a protective nature over this human man in such a short time? It had to be some sort of misfiring in her natural system, a fault embedded in her since birth.

Ariel always had an enduring curiosity and everlasting endearment with the human world and those in it.

In truth Aladdin had filled her urge for human contact again. In the week or more they had been locked down here together they had shared many secrets and stories. There was a companionship about them now; they were linked by experience in this space and time, connected by this moment. Even if he hadn't become some semblance of a true friend, at the very least an enemy of thy enemy is thy ally. It was to her advantage to keep this relationship nurtured for now.

Of course, now that she felt she knew and understood the man, and how pure of a soul he was, she would fight to the death for him. She saw in him the same qualities her Eric once had. In as many ways as Eric and Aladdin were different, she could also see how they were the same. At one point for the briefest of moments she had entertained the thought that if reincarnation were real and possible, that Eric would have come back to this world as Aladdin. What a notion to believe that Eric had returned to her in some way, but she was well aware that it was only a silly notion that was had in the throes of starvation.

This man was in love with what she could only imagine was a woman who rivaled the sun, moon, and the stars in the sky – based on all she had heard about Jasmine. Ariel had no desire to tear that apart or even try, and now that she was of sound mind she knew that her delusions were nothing more than musings of a deprived mind and body. Still, this man was the first friend she had had in her life since she returned to the sea.

It was funny how the world worked, how it brought people together and crossed their paths with one another. If she had died when she thought she should have that fateful day, she never would have ended up in the belly of this ship, talking to this extraordinary and devoted man. Maybe her life had a greater purpose after all – of course it couldn't include this ship and being held captive. Maybe her purpose was to help Aladdin retrieve Jasmine, maybe if she helped someone else return to their epic love she would finally get to pass in peace and go to wherever Eric was surly waiting for her. After all, she would only be replaying Aladdin for saving her; it wasn't like she had a whole lot waiting for her on the other side of these wooden walls. It was a fanciful notion, she knew.

Even if she didn't want to admit it or realize it, Aladdin restored her faith in humanity, regardless of every time that horrible Pirate Captain stole it from her.

Ariel had already awoken hours earlier, her body and mind restless. Her dreams had been filled with terrible nightmares and of worlds and days long past. She wouldn't be surprised if she had tossed and turned in her slumber, but looking at the man that had been entangled in her arms and hair it mustn't have been so because he had been dead to the world, his soft snores the only sign he was still alive.

Now though he was waking.

Ariel almost didn't want him to wake – she wanted this small moment in time to stand still. She knew that when he was fully up and about that it wouldn't be the same anymore. He had the keys to his freedom, to his goal, to the love of his life. She knew in the pit of her gut that as soon as he was able he would be plotting his way out of here and their time together would be over and they would probably part ways.

A blink of and eye in her long life.

Her heart started to beat quicker already foreshadowing the anxiety and adrenaline sure to come later.

Just a minute longer. A few more moments were all she asked.

They weren't to come.

"Ariel," Aladdin acknowledged when he finished stretching, pulling himself into a seated position with his back resting against the curved wooden wall next to her. "There is no more time to waste." He told her softly, as if he shared the emotions of her same former thoughts that when this escape attempt started, all would be different. Change.

Every creature was resistant to change.

But she also yearned for freedom. For the Ocean. They couldn't stay here forever, and frankly she didn't want to.

She heard the soft jingle of the keys on the heavy ring as he pulled them out of his pocket. Eventually the Pirates would realize those keys were missing. Maybe not anytime soon, obviously, but eventually when the Captain wanted to check on them again they would find them gone and it wouldn't take long from that discovery to figure out what happened and who had them now.

There wasn't any more time to waste.

"I can't see in this darkness…" he trailed off as he handed the keys over to her. She took them silently and the cool metal in her hand was like a shock to her system and her heart started to beat faster. This was it. They were about to make their break for it.

Ariel pulled herself over to the iron bar doors and she could hear Aladdin's unsure footsteps behind her, following suite. Turning to check she could see him keeping his hands on the wall and using them to guide himself to the front of the cell until he could grasp the bars of the iron and work his way next to her and their exit.

She grasped the heavy and rusted lock into her hand and tried one key after another; she could feel her heart rise into her throat when none of the keys she was trying would twist in the keyhole…that was until the last one on the ring. An intricate and ornate iron key that mocked their surroundings, as if at one time the lock and key had been purposed for something different than a cell for prisoners. It slid into the pad lock with ease and twisted with no resistance until she heard the resonating click she had come accustomed to as the lock popped open. She pulled it off the door and tossed it haphazardly behind them into the muck, paying no mind as it landed with a splash.

She pushed the door open slowly, her breath catching in her throat as the hinges protested with a creaking she was almost sure would be heard. After a few tense moments though, when still no one came rushing down the stairs, she pushed it all the way open, careful not to let it clang loudly against the iron bar wall it was connected too.

Ariel reached out and grasped Aladdin's hand and guided him out of the cell, allowing him to place his other hand on her shoulder for support as she led him slowly towards the stairs. Her tail dragging along the floor as she scooted along slowly trying to stay as silent as possible.

"You'll have to open the cellar door," she told him softly, her voice remorseful. "I can't climb the stairs…" she said with the same penance he had had in his tone when he explained he couldn't see in the darkness. It was a sentence neither had to say but felt necessary anyway. She handed him the ring of keys and perched herself at the bottom step. She watched with apprehension as he made his way on his hands and feet slowly up the stairs. He was extra careful to make sure he didn't trip, slip, or fall it would do no good to draw attention to them so soon.

They both knew even if they didn't say it aloud that it was just a matter of time before they were eventually discovered. If she remembered correctly there were about four or maybe five level decks they needed to go up and get through in order to reach the upper deck and have a chance at getting off the ship. Ariel felt herself worrying her bottom lip as her earlier words were ringing through her mind…she couldn't climb.

She waited anxiously as Aladdin tried one key after the other, his actions much slower than hers inhibited by his inability to see in the darkness. She watched as one hand would feel out for the keyhole and the other would guide a new key to it, all done by touch. Thankfully to both their relief they heard the distinctive click of the door latch pulling back.

The mild sliver of light was blinding to her sensitive senses, so much so that she let out an unconscious instinctive hiss and she could hear Aladdin taking in a sharp gasp as well. They had been deprived of light for so long that their eyes would need to adjust and adapt again to any amount of it, but they didn't have time to wait for that to happen. They would just have to be at the disadvantage for however long it took to adjust.

She watched as Aladdin cautiously creaked the cellar door open a small bit before setting it down again, she watched him do this a few times in a row, peaking out for a few short moments each time. It seemed to go like that for ages before he finally pushed the door open all the way careful not to let it slam back, even though the light was only the soft glow emitted from the gas lamps in the hallway it seemed as bright as the sun to both their eyes.

"I am going to go check the hallway and assess the situation, I will be right back." He whispered, loud enough that only she would hear. She nodded and watched as his form exited the stairwell into the hall, listening for his soft footsteps. The man was light on his feet she noticed, straining to hear his movements as he went. He had mentioned he was once a common thief before his world had changed drastically; silence would be a quality a thief was bound to have.

Before she knew it he was peering back through the open seller and down the stairs at her, "It's clear for now." He whispered, she watched as his head disappeared and his body reappeared as he made his way back down the stairs towards her. "I was able to snag this from a utility room," he told her as he showed her the dusty and chipped sword now on his hip and the worn leather belt attached to it keeping it on his person. It was obvious that it was a piece that was forgotten and had been stored because pirates weren't ones to throw something that wasn't truly broken away. At least they wouldn't have nothing. She didn't know how skilled Aladdin was with a sword but she was sure he was better than herself.

"Here," he told her turning and crouching down so that his back was facing her "wrap your arms around me, I will carry you up." He said, his tone leaving no room for argument, not that she would have given one considering her current position. What she wouldn't give for legs right now. She pulled up the slack chain tail of her wrist shackles and wrapped it around one hand and then wrapped her arms around Aladdin's shoulders. When he stood she could feel his body strain under her weight, but he didn't protest verbally as he hauled her heavy body one step at a time up the long flight of stairs.

She knew that despite her small human half her Mermaid tail was heavy. Her tail was large and long and filled to the brim with muscles and she knew that it alone had to weight twice if not thrice that of a full grown man. Half way up the steps she could hear Aladdin's breathing become labored and a sad smile started to form on her lips. There was no way he alone would be able to carry her up another three or more flights of stairs and fight off who knows how many men they would come across because surly the higher up the deck the more populated it would be.

When they reached the top he kneeled down and she released him. Now that she was on the flat floor of this deck she could pull herself further away from the opening of the cellar that led down to the brig. His labored breathing as he caught his breath made her feel guilty that he was risking so much for her when he could as well just leave her here to her own defenses. She knew though, that if the roles were reversed, she wouldn't leave him behind, not to suffer the horrible fate they were sharing before alone.

"You are more beautiful than the legends do justice Ariel," he told her breathlessly now that he was able to truly see her form even in the dim light. Her blood red fiery hair was tangled but he could tell it had a natural curl and wave to it, her skin was so light it was almost translucent and it shone like marble, her blue eyes were as dark as sapphires with just as much gleam at the gem and were striking especially with the cat like pupils.

She wasn't sure how to respond to his words, she looked away feeling suddenly and strangely shy about her appearances. She knew she was gorgeous, it was a natural trait of the Mermaid, and it was a predatory adaption to be appealing to their prey.

Now that they had some real light, she could see his features better as well. He had dark sun kissed brown skin, his black hair was long and almost shaggy in nature, his eyes were deep in color like dark chocolate, and he was tall standing at six foot or more with a lean frame but a sculpted muscular build. He looked like a man in his thirties would, his face peppered with a bit of a scrabbly beard since he'd been unable to shave. It amazed her how different humans could be from one another. Mermaids had little variation when compared to humans.

Unable to find words to respond to his complement she choose not to reply at all. She wondered if for him it was like seeing a God for the first time. He had called her a legend many a time, the Hearts of the Ocean he would say were the tale of her epic love with Eric, so renown he had said. She wondered if her reaction would be the same as his if she were to meet Hercules in person. To be in awe of his Godlike beauty and strength. Trying to see things from his human perspective was harder than it seemed.

"I have to get something first," he told her cryptically after a few long moments, pulling her from her musings of Greek Gods and myths. It was a tone she had only heard come from him a few times during their conversations and though it made her curious and slightly suspicious when she heard it before she had learned long ago that some people had secrets they had to keep and they kept them for a reason. He hadn't given her any reason to doubt him thus far so why should she start now.

"Go, I will be fine." She told him, shutting the cellar door softly and dragging herself over towards some wine barrels, setting them up as best she could to hide her form for the time being. She wasn't defenseless but she was certainly at a disadvantage without being able to walk. Without legs. In the water she was a force to be reckoned with, on land her prey had to come up close. That necessary proximity put her at a distinct disadvantage, with more opportunity for her to be injured or worse.

He handed her the keys and she took them, trying them one after the other on her shackles with no luck, she supposed they had already had enough luck with the keys for one day, it wasn't as if the shackles were a hindrance so much as an annoyance, she had plenty of slack to maneuver with them on.

Ariel watched as Aladdin seemed to silently scamper down the dimly lit hallway. She was sure in another life he would have made a formable predator as she watched him turn the corner. She sat in her corner of the hall behind her barrels and kept her ears and eyes vigilant of her surroundings. The hall itself she could tell wasn't well traveled, and by the curve of the wall she was against it was a corner that dead ended into the side of the ship. She probably wasn't far off in guessing that the only time living souls walked this way was when they were needing to get to or headed towards the brig.

Dust lined the spares furnishings which consisted of the wine barrels and a rickety old wood side table and the occasional stray wobbly wooden chair. There wasn't much in the way of decoration here, unlike the Quartermasters bathroom she had been in, that even for a bathroom's standards had been filled with rich furnishing. She could also tell it wasn't well kept, practically neglected, with the way the dust clung to the walls and floor. The oil lamps were so dim she was sure they were only filled up with fuel once they had already long burnt out. Perhaps they could consider themselves lucky for what little light they did have right now.

The time seemed to pass slowly and she could feel her anxiousness and worry rise with each passing minute that Aladdin wasn't back. The only encouragement she had was that she didn't hear the commotion of men turning back down the hall dragging him behind to toss back into the cell. Then again, they could have just slit his throat easily and tossed him overboard – but if that were the case they would still need to come check on her, surly they wouldn't assume that she were safely locked away if he were caught running about considering they shared the same cell with the same door and lock. Either way, it was a positive sign that men hadn't come rushing her way yet. Still, she wished he would return with whatever it was he said he needed sooner rather than later, if just to ease her nerves.

Ariel felt like a sitting duck, just waiting for the worst to happen and to inevitably make its way down to her.

The longer she waited though, the more she entertained the idea that he had abandoned her there to her own forces. That he had found a way off ship and wasn't returning for her, after all he hadn't said he would be back this time like he had last time, so he wasn't really obligated to return for her was he? Would he really leave her here though? It wasn't like she couldn't fend for herself but she doubted she would be able to get off the ship without some serious help, what with her blasted fin and all. A fear started to grip her chest at the thought of being forced to stay on this retched ship with these bastard pirates, and this time she would be trapped all alone, nobody in her corner.

She also couldn't blame Aladdin if he had left her.

Jasmine was his priority after all. If the roles were reversed she would do anything for the love of her life (and she had done anything) and whoever got hurt along the way be dammed, no matter how much she had come to quote on quote care for those that ended up harmed. The life of the one you loved was often even more important than your own; you would die for them without a second thought – so of course it wasn't a stretch to think one would leave practically a stranger behind for them.

Just as she was about to lose hope and started trying to figure out what she was going to do now on her own she could hear the distinctive sounds of a sudden commotion break out on the deck or two above her. She could hear men start to yell and with her advanced hearing she could pick up on the thundering of feet running about and if she strained hard enough possibly the clanking of swords. She had no doubt that Aladdin had at the very least been spotted. It had taken some time though, longer then she would have imagined, so she was still impressed, but alas she knew that no matter how sneaky he was their good fortune wouldn't have lasted forever. Not with so many pirates between them and freedom.

It wasn't too long after that she could hear some of the ruckus making its way down toward her, as she suspected some of the men must be coming to check on their prized captive.

The first man to turn the corner was a large burly African male; he looked like a power house made of nothing but muscle with what could have been mistaken as tattoos if they weren't clearly raised up scars in patterns and designs on his skin upon further inspection. He didn't have a shirt like some of the other men. His stature was intimidating at well above six foot; the top of his bald head seemed to brush along the top ceiling.

Ariel shrunk behind the barrels as much as she could, curling her tail under herself, peering through a crack between two barrels as the man practically charged at the cellar door and threw it open, nearly ripping it off its hinges from the force. She heard his heavy footsteps as he descended the stairs two at a time and then his drawn out "Arrrrugh!" grunt of frustration that bellowed through the walls with his deep voice powering it.

When she heard him thundering up the stairs again she decided she had to act, it would only be a matter of time before he found her, besides how could a fish out of water get far without legs. When he appeared from the brig and turned to face down the hall he had just come she lurched up suddenly like a snake that had been poised to strike, using her powerful tail to bring her up to his height as she threw her arms over his neck and pulled the shackles of her chain taught against this skin. There was a grunt of surprise from the dark skinned man but he reacted quickly, throwing his weight back and tossing her against the wall but she kept her hold strong, knowing if he got free that would be the end of this escape attempt.

He struggled and tossed about, shoving her from the wall to the floor with just his raw power and though she had her own strength he was a formidable advisory. She saw him reach for the sword he had dropped but she twisted him away with all her strength and felt him thrash in anger. She could feel his hands pulling at hers as the breath was kept from his lungs. Ariel could feel the panic as it started to enter his body, the way his legs kicked trying to get a hold or leverage and cringing as he kicked the barricade of barrels sending them sprawling about and one to shatter against the adjoing wall spilling wine all about the floor.

When she felt him finally pass out from the oxygen she let out a sigh of relief, about to relax when she heard a deafening pop and felt an agonizing pain shoot up her left arm. Her body juiced with adrenalin she let out a throaty growl and glared at the source of her pain, a blubberous white man holding his pistol out at her with a shaky unsure hand.

With a roar of anger she tossed the dark man down the stairs and slammed the cellar door shut and like a creature out of a horror film with her red hair falling over her face as she started to basically slither towards the stupid blubberous man, one arm extending in front of the other her claws digging deep into the wood as she pulled and pushed herself forward with her inhuman strength. She watched as the man started to shake harder and take a few questionable steps backwards, looking behind him to see if help would turn the corner any moment.

As she drew nearer to him he fired off another shot that jolted her body back and she let out a howl of pain as it burned up her shoulder and neck, it made her pause for just a moment before her eyes flashing with bloodlust turned back at that very very foolish man. It would take far more than a few bullets to stop her even out of the water, unless he went for a headshot, but she had heard the Captains orders, he wanted her alive. Was the man more fearful of her or what his very own Captain would do if he were to find out he had shot his prized captive dead.

She was willing to take the bet that he was idiotic enough to be more terrified of his Captain.

Ariel growled deeper as she advanced on the man, and she watched as his pants started to form a wet spot at the apex of his leg that seemed to trail down his trousers. The stench of urine soon assaulted her senses and she scrunched up her nose in disgust. The man was so afraid of her he had pissed himself – how precious. Still she advanced and when he tripped over a ripped up dusty rug another shot rang out, leaving a ringing in her ears, but the bullet had gone through the ceiling instead of hitting her this time.

The fat man started scrambling backwards in an attempt to get away or get up but he was so full of fear and clumsy now he couldn't seem to get a hold of himself or his footing. At one point he was kicking so hard that all he was managing to do was kick up the rug and go nowhere. He raised his pistol one more time as she got ever closer and tried to fire another shot, but this time all that happened was the click of an empty chamber. He tried a few more times with the same result, the rapid soft clicks of an empty chamber lacking any bullets.

"A useless gun for a useless man." she hissed darkly, a wicked smile playing on her lips. She could feel the hunger burning in her throat; she could hear his rapid pulse in her ears tempting her to feed.

Just as she reached her clawed hand out to grab the man's ankle and yank him towards her she was startled by the sharp high pitched shrilling sound of a pygmy goats baaaa, and soon after it was followed with the small goat rounding the corner and jumping on top of the fat mans stomach causing Ariel to snatch her hand back quickly and sit up in surprise. Her facial expression clearly said `what the hell` if anyone were watching.

The little goat jumped off the fat mans stomach and leaped down the hall bouncing off the walls and kicking over one of the stray chairs. Ariel watched the little creature wide eyed for a moment, a chance that the fat man took to get up and run away scared shitless, she didn't even give the fleeing man a second thought except for a hint of annoyance at the interruption by the small creature as she watched the tiny white goat with amusement and confusion.

Not too long after another little tan pygmy goat rounded the corner, followed by a reddish haired goat, all of them giving off shrill baaa's, jumping over each other and over her and basically off the walls. If it weren't for the pulsing and stinging of her bullet wounds she would have thought she was dreaming. What really confused her was when she heard a small muffled baaa-ing coming from under the cellar door, watching as the door periodically jumped a few times before a small black goats head wedged its way through the crack. She watched in fascination as the dark furred creature used all its strength and wiggled its way out from under the cellar latch door to freedom, before bounding off down the hallway and around the corner with yet some more shrill and loud baaaa's.

It was all so strange, like she had suddenly fallen and found herself in crazyville. This was one complicated and strange hallucination – if it was even that. She was pretty sure it wasn't though because there was still a painful burning present in her arm and shoulder. As if things couldn't get any weirder suddenly there was a large plume of blue smoke filling the hallway and filling her lungs, causing her to caugh.

"AHHHHHHH MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" a loud voice boomed from the smoke, and as it dissipated a large floating blue man was stretching his arms above his head. "If he thinks I am going back in that lamp again he has another thing coming to him, I thought I was going to be trapped for another millennia when he didn't show up for his appointment – you should never break an appointment without calling first!"

Ariel's eyebrows shot up sky high as she balked at the figure before her with his flamboyant personality, talking to no one in particular. Maybe she had died? Like the shots had killed her and this was a twisted version of the afterlife? maybe? no? ok.

"GOODNESS! guuuuuuuuuurl you wouldn't even begin to believe the ruckus currently going on out there right now gorgeous! I swear those pirates, between you and me," suddenly his big blue face was inches from hers and he lowered his voice like it was a huge secret he was about to tell "are so sensitive!".

She was sure her face was an amusing mixture of different facial expressions right about now.

"HOW RUUUUUUUUUDE OF ME! I didn't even introduce myself." he told her suddenly, spinning about dramatically, when he looked at her and she was just blinking back at him clueless and shell shocked he simply continued "Genie, at your service madam!"

A/N: I know I know I already had a long authors note above, anyway I hoped you liked this chapter! I feel like I am finally making some progress in this story! I had the hardest time deciding where to stop this chapter so I decided why not make it a cliffy and expand next go around (don't hate me, I promise not to make you all wait so long this time for the next one). I hope you like the addition of Genie ;)

BTW if you haven't seen a Pygmy Goat before, google them and youtube them, they are adorable creatures with stubborn crazy personalities, I felt they were the perfect fit for the Pirates to turn into lol.

PLEASE Review! I loooooooooooooove and live off reviews (even if they are only two words long) ;)