Author's Note: For all of those here in the States, Happy Thanksgiving! (That would be "T'anksgiving" coming from Sebastian.) I would also like to extend my thanks and appreciation to everyone here in FanFiction, past or present, who has written stories that I have reviewed, reviewed my own stories, and even just exchanged notes with me. You've been a treasure … especially certain mermaids out there. (You know who you are!) :-)
Given the return of the Yuletide season, how can I not indulge in at least a little bit more of "Juletrae?" Over the past eleven months or so, I've concentrated instead on both "Sael" and a Master's Degree, with the latter receiving most of my devotion as of late. Still, "Juletrae": hasn't been far from my mind. A major challenge in writing it has been not spoiling too much of what is yet to come in Sael, as the stories are set only two weeks apart.
Forums: I am now posting additional essays and supplemental information regarding the world of "Ariel's Isle" in my forums. So far, most of the information therein was previously located in my profile, which I have now shortened. This will change as I add new essays. There are several categories. Please "follow" if you wish to receive updates when new material is posted. Functional hyperlinks are at the top of my profile, but FanFiction strips them out when I try to include them in the story.
https: www fanfiction net/myforums/Axantur/5311978/
Publication Date: Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016 (Thanksgiving Eve!). (Author's notes updated Sunday, November 27th, 2016)
Juletræ
Chapter 4 – Evergreen
~~~ Saturday, the 30th of November, 1805 AD ~~~
~ 5:57 p.m. ~
Christiansborg Palace – Christiansted, Sankt Croix
~ Deeper Meanings ~
The East Wing of the Christiansborg Slot stood cold, dark, and quiet … almost. Despite the sun having not quite yet set, the blustery gloom outside had ensured that evening had already begun its visit to the lofty halls of the palace.
Ariel was not accustomed, however, to either the darkness or the distinct chill in which she now stood, and for a brief moment, she wondered if she should be excited, afraid, or a little of both. She hesitated when Eric didn't immediately reply to her question; but when he neither moved to her side nor stepped in front of her, the young woman knew that the mysterious atmosphere of the room couldn't conceal a threat. If there was anything that she had realized over the past seven weeks with her prince, it was that despite his seemingly relaxed boyish charm, Eric tolerated nothing that might endanger her and would quickly step in the way of any peril, either real or perceived. It was a quality of his that she had found that she rather adored, given that in just the last few weeks, she had discovered that despite its beauties and wonders, her new world was far more dangerous than she had allowed herself to believe as a mermaid.
"Eric hasn't, though, stepped to my side or pulled me behind him." she thought; so whatever it was before her that she was now looking upon must be safe.
As that little moment of uncertainty passed, Ariel began to feel a growing sense of excitement, excitement at something new to be discovered. The former mermaid's eyes grew wide and her delicate chin dropped ever so slightly. Still cold and shivering, the young maiden stood fascinated by what she saw before her, wondering what it was.
The chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling above, lanterns protruding from the long walls, candelabras on the many stone mantles; every luminary she had seen that had beforehand filled the great hall at night with a beautiful golden brightness … was now extinguished, darkened.
In their places, perhaps, the many hearths of that long chamber now stood alive with dancing yellow and red flame, all of them, or such as those that she could see. She looked to the closest, having seen one lit only a handful of times, and then normally for cooking or boiling water to warm her bath. Never had she seen so many lit all at once and in so dark a setting. Their incandescence reminded her of her father's Trident. Reflected about the long hall, the combined effect of the dancing lights that they cast seemed somewhat reminiscent of the Eärelen, but more golden and red in hue. It had been years since she had last looked upon it upon her mother's breast, but no length of time nor even tragedy could diminish the memory of its beauty in her mind and heart.
Within that nearest hearth, a stack of cut wood glowed red and gold at its edges, hissing, crackling, and popping as though it were laden with loud, fiery snapping shrimp, until little sparks spat forth and slowing, drifted up the high chimneys above. Even from as far away down the hall as the stairs leading up to her bedchamber, Ariel could distantly discern the sounds of burning, sizzling wood.
She remembered that second night of her human life beside the lagoon with Eric, when she had sat there with him upon the shore, soaking wet and cold, wet and cold like she had remembered only once before feeling. He had built a fire for her then, to warm and dry both her and her clothes before they had returned to the palace. She remembered how she had stared at it in fascination; how he had caught her hand in his own the instant before she had touched the hungry flames. She remembered how she had felt as both her hope and heart had shattered as that moment of closeness between them had vanished, just as her hope had been returning in the wake of her lost first kiss.
It was the first time that Ariel had seen so many of the hearths lit, though she had learned of their uses many weeks before from Eric. Until today, she could have never imagined the need for any fires, let alone so many, but was now quite thankful for their collective warmth … if only she could get closer to this one … any one.
The entire Dance Hall, its many graceful arches and vaulted ceilings, its long lines of alcoves and statues, its tall ranks of arched windows looking out upon the quay; beyond the firelight, all of them lay submerged in shadow and darkness. Had it not been for the reflections of the many fires in the ornate hangings and mirrors of the chamber, all would have been hidden from Ariel's sight. Through the windows dribbled in a cold dimness, gray, almost black, giving proof that the day outside was finally failing.
The former mermaid sighed.
It was all so … beautiful.
Ariel thought quietly about how she knew the names now for so many of these gorgeous things, human things – fireplaces and hearths, ceilings and arches, statues and windows. She knew of fires and wood, and where they came from, even how fire was made. Eric, Carlotta, and Gertrude Elise had taught her most of them, Archimedes a few others before she had become human; some she even had learned all by herself. There was, however, no substitute for actually experiencing them, whether on her own, or so much better, in Eric's arms.
It was not the fires, though, that had transfixed her the most, nor the appointments of the vast chamber, as had so many things, sights, sounds, and sensations every day in her new world. It was not these that had elicited her initial, almost frightened, question to Eric.
No.
It was the silhouette.
In the midst of the spacious hall, between her and the distant stairs that led up to her bedchambers, stood a tall … something.
A very tall something.
In the deep shadows that enshrouded that place, it lay hidden, its vaguely triangular outline revealed only by the flickering reddish-yellow light from the many fireplaces. As she canted her head slightly to her left, Ariel began to discern hints as to its mysterious shape; edges, angles, and surfaces that shone and danced amidst a yellowish red sheen that rose and fell upon them like waves washing onto the shore.
Carlotta Grimaldi stood at her side, holding her right hand. Behind her, standing just on the threshold of the stairs, Eric and Aubrey looked on. Looking first to Carlotta, then over her shoulder back to Eric, Ariel saw that the eyes of each remained gently focused upon her, something that made her feel rather self-conscious. In the dim light, she realized that each of them was smiling, trading glances between her, the other two, and the object that stood before them in the waiting hall.
Eric had watched silently as his little mermaid had examined the hearths and the chamber's strange, tall object with care and hesitation. Her eyes shone in the dim red light as she struggled to understand what she was seeing, caught as she often was between perplexity and awe. Her damp hair shimmered in the golden red light, the folds of her gown and fine features of her face rose and fell with the shadows cast by her own gentle movements. In that moment, the young prince was sure that she was the most beautiful creature on earth, yet he had always thought so, since the moment that he had first seen her …
"… silhouetted above him upon the shore." he realized. Eric felt his heart swell with love as she turned to him, her face hidden in the soft shadows that danced about it. His smile grew.
As Ariel's gaze finally came to meet Eric's, she found his eyes filled with what could only be a look of love and admiration. She smiled back, wondering what this was all about.
"It's all right love. Go ahead, have a look." he said quietly, breaking the silence that had fallen.
His voice was soft, quiet, but held within it a tone that made her feel very safe, as it always did. Whatever it was that stood before her, Ariel finally decided that she now felt comfortable being excited about it. She took a hesitant step forward, turning her eyes back toward the silhouette as she shivered beneath the wet cloak and blanket that she now wore, wondering optimistically if the fire nearest the object might offer any warmth.
Slowly, she stepped out across the dance floor; the soft clicks of her damp heels the only sound heard against the sizzling and crackling of the blazing fires. It was a sound that she found she rather liked, one so symbolic of her newfound humanity, so laden with the memories of her first day as a human being. It was a sound utterly impossible for her to have imagined in her former life.
After the events and her distress two weeks ago, she was so thankful and amazed that she was able to once again walk and maintain her balance so well. It occurred to Ariel that humans took their skill at these things so much for granted. Balancing oneself often seemed such a frighteningly difficult and elusive task, but one crucial to not just her safety, but also her very validity as a human girl. She wondered if it seemed unreasonable for a former-mermaid to be so afraid of falling, not just of its resultant pain, but much worse, of the offense it gave to her sense of whom and what she desired so much to be.
As Eric walked with the others close behind her, he watched his little mermaid as she approached the tall unknown that towered over her in the center of the hall. Sometimes, he liked to let her questions linger like this, not answering them directly, letting her enjoy the thrill of her own discoveries, just as long as he knew that she was safe.
That he had managed to save her life from the Witch against all chances; that her father had managed to restore her human form despite the closing of her fate; these were gifts to not just his beloved, but to him as well. In the end, though, his love's true humanity, her soul as she might have it, was hers alone to win; to win against the deceits and perils of the world, to win in a way that he could not for her; simply through the living of a virtuous human life. Always, though, he would be there, with her, for her; and if he could, he would never let anything separate them, not after all through which they had together been.
He smiled as he admired his fiancée's elegance as she moved, the gentleness in her steps and grace in her movements. Watching her silhouetted at first against the firelight, the way that she moved and carried herself, the skirts of her gown held in her left land yet still swaying about her ankles as she walked; Ariel reminded him of a song in motion.
Save when she fell, there was always almost a melody in how his little mermaid moved, a harmony in the graceful motions of her arms, hands, and torso of which she seemed so unaware. To Eric, they added so much to her already stunning beauty, bringing to mind that moment when she had first appeared to him in the Dining Hall little less than two months before. A wistfulness suffused his smile as he allowed himself to remember, as he watched that same girl now wrapped in a blanket and his wet cloak before him.
Ariel stepped closer to and then around the strange object, whatever it was, able now to discern far better than before its dark triangular shape. It was very large; round at the bottom, coming to a sharp point at its top that stood high above her. A fresh, aromatic scent pervaded the air about it, a coolness that reminded her of the green leaves that Chef Louis sometimes used to garnish his desserts. It had branches, pointing upward and outward like many of the corals that she had known, but in far greater profusion.
Was it … was it a tree?
She had seen some trees on their isle, of which this object reminded her, but their branches had looked different, pointing upward much more than these did. Reaching out, she felt it for the first time, letting her fingers play at its soft tips, but she found that it had no leaves, and instead, something like the small soft needles of the strange trees that Eric had shown her. These needles, though, neither pricked nor stung her sensitive fingers, as had those when she had touched them.
By now she stood between her new discovery and the closest hearth, gratefully feeling the warmth of the latter's flames against her back as she saw her own shadow cast in its light against the strange object before her. Following its ragged edge upward with her gaze, she marveled at its height, thinking it must be easily three, perhaps even four times her own.
As Eric and the others watched, he savored how the firelight flickered against it, and saw it thus reflected in Ariel's eyes, still playing upon her damp hair as she circled it and reaching out, touched it almost like she might a newborn child. It was the first time that he too had ever seen one, a Yule tree, but that was the last thing then on his mind. Instead, his attention remained fixed upon the vision in green that walked half-wrapped in a blanket slightly before him, caught in fascination at this latest discovery that she was experiencing.
Eric could feel the warmth radiating from the fireplace behind her and was happy for that, happy that his beloved might be warmer now, knowing how cold she had felt to him outside, and therefore how cold she must herself have felt. Now though, he could feel the curiosity and excitement in his sweet little mermaid's heart, just by how she held herself, how quiet she was, how fixed her eyes were on what she saw before her.
Though a smile had been playing in her eyes and at her lips, now that she held a soft bough in her hands, stroking it, she leaned forward, closing her eyes, and drew in a soft breath through her nose. Immediately her smile grew into a grin as she opened her eyes in delight, looking over to Eric, as well as the man and woman who had practically raised him as their own son.
"Eric please … what is it!?" she begged, clasping her slender hands together in delight almost trembling with excitement as she stood there, so overcome with curiosity she was. As she did so, the heavy blanket slipped from her shoulders and fell to the floor below, leaving her exposed to the lingering chill in the air. She looked down at the blanket, now piled around the hem of her skirts, then back up to Eric.
"A Yule tree, love." he said softly, smiling as he looked to Grimsby and then Carlotta, each of whom he found to be smiling as well.
"A … yule … tree?" she replied, her smile softening but not fading as the firelight continued to dance in the left corners of her eyes, to flicker and shimmer in the sheen of her wet crimson hair and face. Her eyes looked to Carlotta, then Grimsby, then to the tree again, seeking something more.
As she watched the former mermaid looking with such awe upon the tree, Carlotta Grimaldi couldn't help but think of her own two little girls whom had never seen even their first Christmas, her little angels whom she had never even once seen after they were taken from her. The Housekeeper felt such a pain in her chest, rising to her throat, thinking of all their Christmases that could have together been. But then, she thought of all of those Christmases that she and Eric had enjoyed with Aubrey, of their little house near the Amalienborg, and all those that they would share with this wonderful new daughter whom they were about to welcome into their happy little family.
Stepping over to the girl's side, the woman wrapped her arms around her, replying softly to her earlier question as she did so. "It's a Christmas tree, angel."
A little surprised by the Housekeeper's unanticipated gesture of affection, but not at all upset by it, Ariel lowered her head, laying it against Carlotta's right shoulder as the woman rocked her and smiling softly as she did so. Though only seven weeks a human, Ariel knew already what an angel was, rather liking the term for its intended sweetness and in comparison to "ainahala," a word that her father, Attina, and Alana had always used affectionately of her, and supposedly before them, her mother.
She tried to force out of her mind memories of the thing that she had once hoped to be her Aunt, for it too had used that term of endearment of her.
Aside from Eric's embrace, she couldn't imagine any place that she now felt warmer or more loved in her new world than in Carlotta Grimaldi's arms. Opening her eyes, Ariel looked up.
"A Chr … Chri … Christmas tree …" the young woman repeated, her slender red eyebrows slowly knitting together as she considered what she had just been told, wondering if its name related to the meaning of words, a name, that she had heard with Eric when she had accompanied him to church the past several Sundays. The word seemed … familiar … to her somehow, as though she had come across it sometime before; sometime, perhaps, even before she had met Eric.
"What … what does it … do?" she asked softly, the excitement and happiness rising in her voice at this beautiful new thing that shimmered in the firelight before her eyes.
Rocking the young maiden slightly back and forth in her arms as the two stared at the tree before them, the Housekeeper paused to collect a few of her many thoughts, wondering how to explain something so personal and so complicated in a way that their former mermaid might understand, given her newness to both humanity and Eric's faith. After a few moments of quiet reflection and reverence for what the tree meant to her personally, the woman spoke.
"It's for showing our love for each other sweetheart," Carlotta paused, kissing the girl lightly on her left temple. "… and for reminding us of how very deeply we are all loved."
Ariel smiled at Carlotta's gesture, considering her words and wondering what they meant, feeling blessed by the older woman's seemingly unconditional affection for her. The young princess remained still, her head nestled against the Housekeeper's shoulder; her blue eyes fixed upon the majestic tree before her, watching it in wonder as the light of the many hearths of the hall continued to dance and glimmer in and upon its fragrant boughs.
"There must be some special significance to it." she thought, because while she had seen green plants and flowers inside human buildings, the churches she and Eric visited for example, she had never seen a tree inside of one; not until now, that is. She tried to remember then. What was it that she had once read wherein she had found the word Carlotta had used "... Chris … Christmas?"
Grimsby and Eric stood nearby, listening in silence to the two women, sharing furtive smiling glances with one other, happy to see a plan long made coming at last to fruition. Between moments of almost boyish awe, each man silently considered the two ladies before him, how much each of them meant to him, each in his own way thinking, that true happiness comes … in the form of a woman.
"Oh dear … you're still so wet and cold." Grimaldi worried quietly. "We need to get you upstairs."
Ariel looked up at the Housekeeper with a look of disappointment and even alarm in her eyes.
"Carlotta my dear," Grimsby broke the silence. "Your point is quite well taken. We mustn't forget that our young princess would do best with a warm bath and dinner. She must be absolutely famished and half frozen after that long damp ride through the wind and rain."
The Housekeeper turned slightly to him and smiled, obviously enjoying her moment with their former mermaid. Ariel looked over as well.
"But Carlotta ... I'm feeling warmer now, I promise." Ariel pleaded, not wanting the moment interrupted just as she was about to learn everything about this new discovery. Somehow, perhaps it was the fiery hearth behind her, perhaps it was the insistent warmth of Carlotta Grimaldi, the former mermaid felt less cold and more warm … much more warm.
An almost desperate look entered the girl's eyes as she looked to the other woman. "Carlotta, aren't you going to tell me more about the Chr … Chris … mas … Christmas tree?" Then, turning to Grimsby she continued, "The … Yule … Tree?" Then in a last moment of desperation to learn more, she turned finally to Eric. "Are they the same? Eric, what is Yule? What's Christmas!? Are Yule and Christmas … are they the same thing … or are they like Inwilan and the Bri … British Empire?"
The Housekeeper laughed gaily, beginning to walk the girl toward the staircase at the north end of the hall leading up to her bedchambers, "Oh, honey, now don't you worry about that tree. Master Hans told me all about it, and I promise, he'll tell you all about it tonight at dinner."
"At dinner? Hans is coming to dinner!?" the girl squealed, bouncing slightly, her growing disappointment giving way immediately to a sudden excitement. She hadn't seen the old sailor for at least a week and aside from being the source of the best birthday present she had ever received, she had found him to be kind, caring, every bit as gentle as Aubrey – and fun too!
In fact, it rather upset her that he didn't himself reside in the palace with them, given his long closeness to Eric.
Given that the girl was still too cold and too wet despite her protestations, and that there was still so much to yet be said about their new addition to the Prince's household Yule celebration, Carlotta felt that the topic would best wait until dinner. As she had hinted, they had arranged for the young Prince's old friend and Sailing Master to join and regale them with tales of the strange German custom.
"Yes dear, and I'm sure he can tell you everything you want to know about that tree and more if I can only get you and that boy of yours washed up, dried, and properly dressed." she said, looking worriedly at the nearby grandfather clock, its pale dial and golden Gothic numbers only dimly lit by the firelight. "Now come along."
Eric cast a sidelong glance and smirk at Grimsby, who, also seeing the irony in Carlotta Grimaldi's words struggled to contain his own mirth. As both men now knew, it was their firm belief that no one alive was capable of telling their little mermaid everything she wanted to know, for her curiosity and insatiable interest in new things were simply boundless.
"But Carlotta … I …" the girl paused, turning slightly and looking back over her left shoulder to her prince.
"Eric?"
"It's alright love. Let Carlotta warm you up and get you dressed. I'll be waiting for you for dinner. I can't wait!"
"But … aren't you going to get warm too?" she asked, an unmistakable worry in her voice. "You don't even have a bla … blanket." She said, looking down at hers, which Carlotta was now retrieving from the floor.
"Don't worry, love, I'm going to get myself warmed up." He smiled as he spoke, chuckling softly. "That's one thing you can be certain of."
Seemingly comforted by his reassurance and laughter the young princess smiled sweetly. Raising her right hand at the elbow, she waved her fingers to him especially, though she cast her beautiful smile to Grimsby as well. She continued to look at Eric over her shoulder, smiling, even as Carlotta walked her away.
Eric watched the two women as they slipped into the shadows beyond the firelight, approaching the stairs beyond. Near one of the farthest fireplaces, he discerned a sidelong movement as Carlotta leaned down out of the shadows to light the wick of a candle from the roaring flame. Placing its chimney glass back around it, the Housekeeper set the candle down on the mantelpiece and turned back to Ariel. Eric had to strain somewhat to make out her voice.
"All right now honey; lift the hem of your gown now, let's get those wet shoes off of those pretty feet. I'm sure that they're covered in mu …" The Housekeeper paused for a moment. "Oh good heavens, look at that.
"Carlotta, I'm so sorry, I didn't think that they … why are they so … are they ruined?"
"Don't fret, honey. No, they aren't ruined. They just need cleaned and a good polishing. Now, let's help you out of them.
Eric watched, smiling softly as Ariel shifted uneasily and hopped a little on her left foot as Carlotta slipped the elegant little pump from her right, then shifting to her right foot, repeated the movement with her left. It didn't help the girl's balance that her attention kept wandering back down the hall to the tree … along with the young man who stood now beneath it.
"There, that's it. Now, let's get you up these stairs to your bedchambers. There's a hot bath and hot cocoa waiting for you up there."
"There is? But … " she said, looking back over her shoulder to Eric "Is there something waiting for Eric? He likes tea and cough … cof … coff ... ee."
"There's some nice hot tea waiting for him beside his bath too sweetheart. Now, don't you worry. He'll be right up after you. Come along now, dear."
Stepping back over to their former mermaid, Grimaldi set the girl's shoes aside. Taking her free hand into her own, the Housekeeper began to carefully help Ariel up the stairs.
Before a fortnight ago, Eric had never seen such hesitation, such fear in Ariel's movements. Now, though, whenever heights were involved, one couldn't miss them. Ariel had learned so much in her short seven weeks with him. She was still learning, but part of what she was learning was to be afraid; and that was something Eric couldn't bear, not given how before her arrival in the human world, his world, she had dreamt only of its many wonders.
If only he knew something that could be done about it … anything.
~ Their Lingering Concerns ~
As was his custom regarding matters of the Household, Aubrey Beauclerk deferred to their Headmistress, and thus remained silent as she led the young princess away. The darkened Dance Hall, Master Hans as their dinner guest, a romantic evening for their two lovebirds; all of it had been a part of the plan Carlotta and he had together contrived, but mostly Carlotta.
The old Lord watched with Eric as the two women made their way up the stairs. Besides her warm and caring nature, perhaps the most delightful aspect of their young mermaid princess was her newness, her almost but not quite childlike sense of wonder, her seemingly limitless curiosity and adorable propensity for astonishment at the beauty of common things, and her intense interest in things often overlooked and ignored by most people.
In Ariel's joyful expressions of happiness, her obvious love for not just Eric, but for both him and Carlotta as well, her love given so freely and so sweetly expressed, each had found a perfect joy. Already the four had become a family of sorts; each had once been broken by loss and in some way lost; but now they had found each other. The day after next Easter, each of them would be made whole.
Grimsby watched as Eric followed Ariel with his eyes, up every stair, every slow, methodical, careful step. Eric's face was long and sad, his eyes glistening as he drew the back of his right arm across them. It was obvious that he wanted to be there, helping her up those stairs himself, just as it was obvious that he still blamed himself for everything that had happened to her. Of course, that wouldn't do.
"Don't fret my boy, she'll come through this." the old man offered in a quiet voice.
Eric looked over at his mentor, his eyes wide with surprise; then he sighed and lowered his head slightly in embarrassment. "Sorry Grim." he whispered.
The old man smiled and chuckled softly in reply. "Oh, well … Eric." Stepping closer, Grimsby wrapped his left arm on the younger man's shoulders, tugging the boy closer to himself and giving him a hardy shake. "It's not as though the rest of us aren't worried for her as well."
Grimsby said nothing of how he and Carlotta now worried about Eric too, considering the late hours that the prince now kept, along with the single-minded sense of protective responsibility that he had adopted on Ariel's behalf. Since the girl had entered his life, especially over the past fortnight, the young man had evinced a renewed seriousness toward his duties, while still making as much time he might to court the young woman as was expected of a gentleman for his lady, much less a prince for his princess.
"I think our little mermaid is a most resilient young woman, Eric, more than I suspect you give her credit for." Beauclerk offered this with wry smile, studying his young charge's reaction as he spoke. "It may take a while, but from what I have seen over the past two weeks, her spirit remains mostly unbroken."
Eric smiled, hopeful at Grimsby's assessment. "She usually takes it so well though, like today. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?"
Aubrey stopped and sighed, following Eric's eyes back to the stairs at the far end of the hall, considering the things the girl had just done to which the young man might be referring. Coming to no conclusion, he thought it best simply to continue. "The poor dear, it must be so very difficult for her. It never ceases to amaze me, the wonder of it all, that such wondrous creatures are actually real … mermaids." He shook his head slightly, smiling as though almost still in disbelief. "All of this, this mundane world that we so take for granted, how overwhelming it must seem for her."
Eric nodded slowly. "I'm trying to make it as easy for her as I can Grim. I just don't know what else that I can do that I'm not already doing. Sometimes I think it's all just, well, too much for her, even as bright as she is."
"Ah, Eric, I think you are doing very well. Our little Ariel has obviously learned a great deal already. She seems quite happy, and that, I think, should make all of us quite happy." As they walked, Aubrey paused in his speech, momentarily considering a new topic. "You understand, of course, why I stopped you from following her out into the rain?"
Eric chuckled. "I'm sure it wasn't that you were worried about me getting wet." The he paused, thinking for a moment. "I know Grim." he continued softly. "She needs to be allowed to make friends and meet people by herself, to learn on her own, to make her own decisions."
Beauclerk nodded in turn. "Yes, of course … well, sometimes. I should think though that our little mermaid is coming along splendidly. It is true, she has been through quite a lot, but she seems to be learning at least as well as any young lady might, and a very clever one at that. As you said, she's very bright, even brilliant sometimes, I think. Oh, and I must confess, her facility with languages is superb. Grimsby paused looking at the Grandfather clock as had Carlotta but minutes before. "Reminds me a bit of you actually."
"What?" Eric replied.
"You put your father to shame."
"Only because you and Carlotta made me study all the time when I wanted to be outside playing with Max, and I had to with all of the voyages."
"Ah yes. How could I forget? Not just us, but those sailor friends of yours as well." Beauclerk looked back up the stairs. Carlotta and Ariel had disappeared around the newel and by now should have been nearing the girl's apartments.
Eric paused. "Grim, how is Max? Is he warm? Fed?"
"Oh yes Eric, he's fine, nice and warm in the barracks. It is my understanding that Sergeant Lundgren himself has been watching over him."
"Oh!" Eric said, surprised and smiling. "May he eat dinner with us, Grim? I hate having left him alone all day long."
"Well, my boy, that, I am afraid, is up to Carlotta. I'm sure though that we can make arrangements for you and the young lady to visit him and cheer him up."
Eric nodded in reply. Decorum and the rules of the Household demanded respect, and animals, even his beloved Max, weren't allowed in certain places. Only when Eric had fallen ill had Carlotta allowed Max to remain with him out of sheer hope that his presence would aid the young man's recovery. Eric could count on one hand the number of times the sheepdog had joined him for dinner in the Dining Hall.
"What do you say we get you upstairs to that bath my boy. I'm sure it will do you a world of good to relax, warm, and refresh yourself, yes?" Taking Eric by the left elbow, Beauclerk began to lead him to the Grand Stair.
"Grim, why back in the West Wing? I've been living across from Ariel's room for two weeks now."
"Well, Eric, I'm afraid that is where I had Carlotta have your bath drawn. You'll be dressing nicely this evening for our young lady, and your finest attire remains in your apartments."
"I don't like being that far away from her anymore." the prince replied, not relenting but allowing himself to be drawn along.
"Everything will be fine Eric. Two good men are standing right outside her door, men you picked yourself, I might remind you. Our princess is quite safe. You should try to relax my boy. If you hope to remain by her side, though, you need to rest or else you'll be right back where you found yourself two weeks ago."
"It's just … hard though Grim. I'm just so afraid that something is going to happen, that she'll get hurt, get sick." Eric turned his head back outward toward the windows overlooking the quay as they two began to ascend the Grand Stair. "What else is out there waiting, ready to come for her that we don't know about? What if Østerby comes back?"
"Alas Eric, such are the fears of everyone in love, those who realize what they have to lose. You needn't stand too far away, only far enough to let her, spread her fins, so to speak." the old Lord mused, smirking at himself in his cheekiness, carefully avoiding mention of the extreme measures that he had himself set in place against such threats.
"I know. I'm surprised that she hasn't been more upset about her escort. Even her father was shocked that she hasn't tried to slip away."
The two now began to climb the outer spiral of the stair. Now holding his elderly mentor's arm in his own to support him, Eric couldn't help but notice how frail old Grimsby seemed. If anything, he seemed even more hesitant than Ariel as he took each step.
"Why, whatever do you mean, my boy?"
"From what he told me, that was her favorite pastime, evading the palace guards that he assigned to her when she had him in a temper." Eric looked down at the lower flights for a moment. "Which happened a lot, at least from the stories that he's told me."
"Ah, yes, I seem to recall some of them. Fascinating fellow." The old man replied in a dry, dispassionate voice. "It's hard to imagine really, such a turn of events, isn't it?" he asked, wishing that he could take a puff on his pipe now, and looking forward to a moment later that night when he could retire outside to relax and think.
"What do you mean, Grim?"
"Oh, well, nothing really Eric …" the old man drolled, allowing himself to smile mischievously. "… just the minor matter of gaining a lesser god of the sea for your father in law."
Eric broke out into a laugh at what had become a private joke between the two men, and then he grew quieter, allowing his own smile fade a bit. "I like him a lot, and I always look forward to spending time with him. Ariel is so blessed to have him as her father."
Aubrey nodded silently in reply, quite pleased at how such a potentially troublesome meeting between the merman and his future son-in-law had grown into such a fond relationship. At times, Beauclerk wondered if Triton might have found in Eric a son that he had wished for but never had, enough so that he worried that Eric might someday exchange his legs for a tail and swim off with their little mermaid on some mad aquatic adventure. Eric, though, had given no such sign, and Grimsby wondered if it were even possible. Even if it were, Carlotta would be surely beside herself at such an announcement.
"Such an irony given the merman's legendary hatred of human beings." the old man considered, realizing that the same thought had occurred to him just weeks before.
Reaching the uppermost floor and the royal apartments, the pair passed the statue of Holger the Dane, the epee that Grimsby had earlier drawn now safely back in place. A hint of scented traan filled the air, wafted into the room from the bright-burning lanterns mounted for along the hundred of feet of hallway that led to the Prince's apartments at the west end of the palace. Despite the light, the many alcoves and crossings left much of the hallway in shadow.
"I'm worried about her, Grim. We almost had an argument coming back from Frederiksted." Eric said, hanging his head and shaking it slightly.
"Oh? I'm sorry to hear that Eric, but it's not unusual for a couple, young or old." Aubrey said, as the men walked along. "Tell me more. What was this argument about?"
Eric was quiet for a moment, thinking, as though he weren't sure if he should reveal any more. For a moment, he closed his eyes. "Men."
"Men?"
"Yes, men. Other men … mermen actually, being alone with them in strange places."
"Ah. I see. And you objected? Was there an example?" the old courtier asked.
Ahead, the twin doors to the Prince's apartments loomed in the lantern light. Were it not for the detestable weather outside, Aubrey thought, the moon might have provided a better light that evening, given that it was overhead and nearly half-full, or so had gone the late afternoon report from Lieutenant Isaakson.
"Archimedes." Eric replied. "Ariel said that he and she would go to air-filled caves together to practice speaking English."
"Ah. Fine fellow. Excellent name, though a bit unusual for a merman, don't you think? I rather like the chap. Doesn't look half his age you know."
"Please, don't remind me Grim." Eric lamented, considering once again the one, most painful possibility of his impending union with Ariel.
"So Eric, what exactly is your concern then? Surely you don't worry that she has feelings for the fellow?"
"No, of course not." Eric scoffed, looking off into the sky as the two passed beneath a dark window above. Great streaks of rain driven by the outside wind ran across its face, glimmering in the golden light of the hallway's lanterns. The glass rattled and shook beneath the wind.
"It's just that; well, it's not proper and if that had happened with her and someone like Østerby she … she …" Eric's words caught in his throat, and he quickly wiped at his eyes.
Grimsby paused alongside the prince as the latter came to a standstill. "Yes, my boy?"
"She … could be hurt, or killed, or … or worse."
Fighting to maintain his composure, Eric changed the topic. "Even if she is with a perfect gentleman like Archimedes, people will still talk, Grim. Eventually those words, the rumors, they'll catch up to her, hurt her." Eric looked to the older man, his face anguished as he imagined what might happen to his innocent fiancée. He thought of Ariel's sweet smile, how she would regard him with such joyfulness and love when he introduced her to something new. He thought of how guileless she was, unable, he imagined, even to conceive of looking to another for what she had found already in him. He wondered though, had he taken her love, her devotion, for granted? He didn't want to. Instead, he always wanted to be worthy of it.
"She just doesn't seem to realize how bad it could get; not yet at least."
"No? So, Eric, tell me, what happened with this argument that almost happened?"
"Nothing. Noth …" Once again, Eric's voice cracked and he choked on his words, lifting his right hand to wipe at his eyes. This time though, he was too late. A tear ran down his face. "She just … collapsed … Grim. She just broke and cried." He whispered, lowering his head again. The prince simply stared at his hand, which glistened now in the flickering yellow light. "She didn't even try to defend herself."
Beauclerk put his hand on Eric's shoulder in a feeble attempt to comfort the boy. "Yes, I see." He paused, considering Eric's words in light of everything that had befallen their little family-to-be since the Princess's arrival many weeks ago. "Eric. I'm afraid that I sense that blackguard Østerby's work still at play, don't you?"
"I don't know Grim." Eric paused, thinking back to their ride back from Frederiksted. "At first, I thought so, but how can we be sure? Even after talking with her father, we still have no idea of who he was or what he did to her, or any of us; do we?" He sighed. "I wanted to believe that it was just all of the terrible things that she's been through, that it would pass with time; that time would heal her."
Aubrey Beauclerk remained quiet, listening, waiting for the younger man to continue.
"Now, though," Eric looked up to meet the older man's gaze. "Now, I'm not so certain."
Author's Note: For those who follow my tales, you may already have noticed that I sometimes make minor revisions to previously published chapters. Normally this is to correct typographical errors or improve dialog, sentence flow, or paragraph structure. Sometimes though, I do this as part of a deliberate plan of obfuscation within my storytelling.
There are secrets in Ariel's Isle, secrets that I don't perhaps want the readers to immediately recognize. I allude to, offer hints about, and have strewn them through all of the stories that are congruent with the main story. Currently "Night Comes to Ariel's Isle" no longer fits this scheme, but it will eventually. Think of these elements as little rewards for studying a chapter in detail or simply going back and re-reading it.
Secrets and Hidden Meanings: There are hidden meanings, secrets, Sael, in Juletrae, in all of the stories of Ariel's Isle, secrets that I don't perhaps want the readers to recognize immediately. There are layers upon layers to the world and many different perspectives. I allude to, offer hints about, and have strewn these elements through all of the stories that are congruent with the main story. Currently "Night Comes to Ariel's Isle" no longer fits this scheme, but it will eventually. Think of these elements as little rewards for studying a chapter in detail or simply going back and re-reading it.
A Special Note: Once again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed my stories to date. It means so much to me to hear others' thoughts and feelings, and lets me know that my efforts are worthwhile and appreciated. I hope to publish at least one more chapter of "Juletrae," as well as "Sael" and "Atalantë" before the season ends, which the Nameless One (one of my more distant readers I think) reminded me, actually takes place January 7th in some parts of the world! That gives me extra time!
God bless all of you!
Acknowledgments and Credits:
Cover Art: "The Little Mermaid: The Holiday Treasure Hunt." (Oh, Converse, where did you go?)
Creative Contributions:
* Among the many lovely stories here in FanFiction is "Coldness and Burning" by Rosa Cotton, published on February 13, 2009.
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This story is simply lovely, and mesmerizing, delving into one of those moments just barely glimpsed between Ariel and Eric, after their boat capsized throwing them both into the lagoon that seems to lie not far from his palace.
In the movie, we hear Eric's words, "whoa, hang on, I've got ya." as he comes to Ariel's aid and lifts her out of the rather shallow water. If one studies the image above Ursula's cauldron well, Ariel and Eric, even the expressions on their faces, can both be seen, and there's a little story to be told. Rosa does so wonderfully, and I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't read it. Even if you have, it's worth another visit.
As I've mentioned before, I could never improve upon some moments that other writers have imagined, nor would I want to try. Instead, I offer them to you with the sentiment that somehow, they happened much like that in my own story as well.
* I think that there is also a wink in here for Converse R Life's "Altered Reality." You can find the chapter here:
s/5616737/14/Altered-Reality