A/N: Thank you for all your kind reviews. It warms my heart to know that so many readers are enjoying my story. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own The Little Mermaid

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Eric was exhausted. His neck ached from leaning over the desk, and his eyes burned. But he had finally finished deciphering his father's map. For several hours, he'd spent tirelessly retracing each line of the map, solving each riddle written in his father's familiar hand. The result was a map with precise and accurate directions to an island where a treasure had been buried long ago by King David himself.

Captain Blanch ambled over from the window where he had been standing and peered down at the map. He thoughtfully rubbed his chin, examining Eric's work without a hint of emotion on his face. It was difficult to read what he was thinking.

Finally, the captain straightened. He fetched a long piece of rolled parchment from the chest in the corner, spread it out on the desk, and jabbed his finger at an uncharted area that had yet to be mapped.

"Here be th' island yer father speaks of," he said.

"You would risk sailing uncharted waters to reach this unknown island?" Eric asked contemptuously.

The pirate smiled. "I would, aye. To some it might be a fools errand, but to a pirate it be but another adventure."

Captain Blanch wrapped his bony fingers around the neck of a bottle and tore off the cork with his teeth. "To th' finding of a lifetime," he said, before taking a swig of rum. The amber liquid dribbled down his scraggly beard.

Eric, feeling repulsed, glanced away.

"Do ye have any idea what this treasure be?" Captain Blanch suddenly asked.

If Eric had known, he suspected he would have gone after it years ago just for the taste of an adventure to quell the youthful audacity inside him.

"No," he replied. He trailed his gaze over the map, wondering what his father had hid that was so valuable to have needed to be kept hidden from the eyes of men such as pirates.

"Long ago, yer father was a brave sea-man. He sentenced many a pirate ships to th' bottom of th' sea in his day. He was always intent on protecting his kingdom, no matter if his duty put him in th' direct path of death on an occasion or two.

"One day, he came upon a pirate ship with cannons still smokin' from a recent attack. Yer father had th' ship raided and th' men captured. He took the treasure, had th' pirates vessel torched, and hid the precious jewel on an island."

Captain Blanch took another swig of rum. Eric watched him, silently yearning to hear the rest of the story of his father's daring escapades at sea.

The pirate continued, a dark, enigmatic gleam in his eyes.

"Do ye know what that treasure was?" He set the bottle of rum down with a thump on the desk. "Tell me, Prince Eric of Denmark. Do you believe in legends?"

"It depends on what that legend is," Eric replied evasively. He hadn't believed in the stories the sailors used to tell about mermaids, but after being rescued by one on the eve of his eighteenth birthday, his mind was now changed.

"Then ye have heard of King Triton, yes?"

My father-in-law, Eric thought, almost smiling. "Stories, yes," he muttered instead.

Captain Blanch took a seat in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "Well, I'm out to prove that those stories be real," he said, much to Eric's sudden discomfiture. The captain fixed him with a hard stare. "Th' treasure yer father plundered from th' pirate ship happens to be th' crown of Queen Athena, King Triton's deceased wife."

Eric had to contain the sudden urge to stare with his mouth gaped open. He was shocked beyond words. "A crown?" he stuttered, finding it hard to conceal his shock'.

Captain Blanch gave a curt nod. "Aye, a crown. It is said that this crown be th' key to summoning th' Sea King himself."

As those words sunk in, Eric felt dread fill him to the core. He had the sudden urge to protect his father-in-law from these wicked men who wished to potentially harm him.

But how? He was merely a prince with a humble upbringing. King Triton was a powerful king, and his powers surpassed any Eric had every believed to be of this world.

Still, he couldn't let the people of his wife be discovered. They had lived in peace for so long without the interference of humans. Eric couldn't let that peace be broken.

Although he wanted very-much to grab the map he had drawn and destroy it, the safety of Ariel depended on him keeping quiet and going along with Captain Blanch until he could come up with a way to save Ariel and her people from being discovered by the unscrupulous race of pirates. With that thought in mind, he put an amicable smile on his face.

"I will help you find this treasure my father hid," he said with forced calmness. "That is, in exchange for Ariel's safety. That's all I ask. Do we have an accord?"

Captain Blanch nodded curtly. "Aye. We have an accord." He stood up from his chair and motioned for Eric to follow him.

"I will give ye full order of th' helm to take me to th' island," he said as they walked out into the cooling evening air. "But if ye try anything foolish, th' accord is off."

"Understood," Eric said tersely.

When they reached the deck, he stopped in his tracks and stared incredulously at the sight before him.

A crowd of pirates were gathered around Ariel, who had been given a pair of trousers to don over Eric's shirt. She was intent on telling them a tale. They were so engrossed in her melodic voice and vivid story-telling that none of them heard their captain enter the scene.

The spectacle was actually quite amusing. A hoard of men, scraggly, unshaven and unscrupulous with shady backgrounds behind them, were gazing upon Ariel like children. They were hanging to her every word, anticipating what was to come next in the story she was weaving.

Captain Blanch had a deep frown on his face. His men had turned from fearless cutthroats to placable souls by a single woman. His frown turned into a furious scowl.

"Men! Get yer bloody arses back to work!" he bellowed, causing his crew to scatter and scramble back to their posts.

Captain Blanch turned his furry on Ariel. His face had gone red. He looked as if he'd been in the sun for far too long. Eric rushed forward to intervene, placing himself in front of Ariel to keep her from this pirate's unpredictable temper.

"If you lay a hand on my wife or say a bloody word to her, our accord is off," he growled.

Captain Blanch took a step back, but his eyes still held his anger.

"I will honor our accord," he said icily. "But if yer wife distracts me men again, there will be consequences."

"Understood."

Eric turned to face Ariel. He gave her a silent look of warning before following Captain Blanch to the helm, where he was to take over the duty of steering the ship.

He would speak to Ariel later. Until then, he hoped she would go back to her cabin and stay out of the trouble that often than not seemed to follow her like a shadow.

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That evening, when it was late and the moon was high in the sky, Eric was permitted to go to Ariel and spend the night besides her. He had been surprised when Luddy came with the new orders from Captain Blanch. No more would he dread having to spend the night in a dank cell.

Eric left his post and dragged his tired body to the cabin. He knocked softly before stepping inside.

Sebastian was resting on the pillow near Ariel's head, his eyes wide-open. He glanced up with a glare in Eric'a direction.

"Quiet, man. Ariel is sleeping," he hissed.

Eric quietly removed his boots and set them by the door. "You don't need to keep watch on her now." It still felt foolish conversing with a crab, but considering said-crab could talk back, he supposed he wasn't going insane.

Sebastian harrumphed. "It is my duty to protect her. But if you can manage it, I will take my leave and spend da rest of da night where I belong—in da sea."

The crab hopped off the bed and scuttled to the door. He disappeared underneath without a backwards glance.

Eric took a seat on the edge of the bed, and it dipped from his weight. A smile tugged at his lips. Ariel looked so peaceful in her sleep that he couldn't resist but to gently run his knuckles down her soft cheek.

Ariel stirred. Her eyes fluttered open. "Eric?" she whispered sleepily.

"Shh, I'm here. Sebastian left to go back to sea."

Eric tugged off his shirt and tossed it on the small table besides the bed. He stretched out next to his wife, folding his hands behind his head in languid fashion.

Ariel curled up against him and rested her head on his chest. "You're warm."

Eric was suddenly concerned when his wife shivered and pressed herself closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her to pull her close and offer up some of his body heat.

"What does Capitan Blanch want with us?" Ariel asked through a yawn.

Eric stiffened. He didn't want to lie to her, but the truth might scare her.

"He wants me to find a treasure for him that my father hid years ago," he answered, stating a bit of the truth. "If I do, it'll mean our freedom. And this brings us to today on the deck."

Ariel sighed. "Don't sound so disapproving, Eric. These men are actually quite harmless. All they wanted was a little story, which I told them. There is no harm in that."

"Please promise me you'll stay in the cabin from now on," Eric implored. "These men are still dangerous, and Captain Blanchard doesn't take kindly to you distracting his men from their duties."

"I understand. I won't interfere again."

Ariel sounded so forlorn that Eric couldn't help but sigh. He didn't want to make her upset, but at the same time, he wanted to be certain that she followed his orders.

"I only have your best interest at heart, love," Eric murmured. He pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Until I honor my end of the accord with Captain Blanchard, we need to tread lightly and try not to upset anyone, especially the captain."

Ariel muttered something against his chest that he didn't quite comprehend. Then she wiggled closer in an attempt to get more comfortable. Once she was settled, Eric was sure sleep would soon claim her.

He was wrong.

"Eric, I feel like I don't much know about your past," she muttered. "Tell me about your family."

"Well, there was my mother and father. Theirs was an arranged marriage," Eric told her. "But despite that, it was a happy one. They were blessed with two children, Adalric, who is my eldest brother, and—"

"You have a brother?" Ariel asked, sounding incredulous. "But you never told me!"

Eric had his reasons why he didn't like to speak of his eldest brother, but he supposed he shouldn't have kept the man's presence in the dark. Ariel deserved to know.

"Adalric is the king of Denmark, whereas I rule over only a portion of the land," he explained. "But since the day father died and my brother was crowned king, we have kept our distances. We never really got along, to be truthful. I don't agree with how my brother rules over our people."

"Is that why your brother didn't attend our wedding?" Ariel asked.

"No." Neither did he acknowledge it or send a gift, the bastard. "But that doesn't matter to me. For years I've succeeded on my own to run part of the kingdom given to me, and I have never needed my brother."

"But sometimes it's nice to have an older sibling to look up to," Ariel argued. "I have six older sisters. Life was very interesting growing up. We each had our differences, but in the end we are sisters and the bond between us has always been a strong one."

Eric fingered a strand of Ariel's silky red hair, running it between his thumb and forefinger.

"That might be so, but not all siblings get along, love. Although, I suppose things would have been different if my father hadn't doted upon me . . . "

For years, Eric had known he was the favored son. He had strove to be the man his father wanted him to be, and in turn, had gained favor where his brother had not.

Adalric had always been an impulsive one—still was. His lust for power had gotten him the things he wanted, but it hadn't earned him respect from their father. Only disappointment and despair had filled King David when he gazed upon his eldest son. But because of the law, it was Adalric's birthright to become king when father passed on. Because of that the land ruled under Adalric suffered from his unwise choices and his audacity to act impulsively.

Eric sighed. There was nothing he could do but watch from afar and hope his brother's actions didn't provoke war from the surrounding countries.

"You would be a wise and wonderful king," Ariel murmured sleepily.

Eric smiled. "Thank you, love. My father thought so, too." He tugged up the thin wool blanket around her and tenderly kissed her brow. "Sweet dreams, my little mermaid . . . "

Ariel didn't respond. She was already fast asleep.