Ariel giggled softly, "I don't think so, Sebastian. Gotta check it out!", before swimming straight on for the ship, with Sebastian shouting, "Please, Ariel, come back!", but Ariel was getting too far away to hear, only focused on the ship, widening her eyes as she heard music, wonderful music, and she swam closer, grabbing into the side, grunting slightly as she climbed up, finding a seat on one of the jotting pedestals of the ship as she peeked over one of the openings of the side.
Her heart pounding in excitement and amazement, she saw many humans, more than she had glimpsed through the years, and they're dancing! Playing instruments of music everywhere...It is incredible to her as she watched it all unfold before her, smiling as she enjoyed the beat of the music.
"Ariel, my girl!", the young mermaid nearly jumped before she turned to see her ditzy seagull friend Scuttle gliding by her.
"Scuttle! Keep your voice down! They'll hear you.", Ariel quickly regained herself. "Oooh, I gotcha, I gotcha. We're being intrepidatious. WE'RE OUT TO DISCOVER!", Scuttle shouted as she quickly grabbed his beak to shut him up.
Ariel hissed, "Please be quiet! I need to see this.", smiling before she heard a bark, and she glanced to see a strange land animal pouncing around...If Scuttle is right, that must be a pet of some kind.
The barking animal was bouncing, enjoying the party when a voice called out, "Max, hey, Max!", and the animal ran over, barking and yipping as it met up with a man, a very handsome man as Ariel gasped silently, seeing him play with his pet, Max, smiling and laughing.
"Do you see that human with his pet?", Ariel whispered to Scuttle, and Scuttle blinked before chuckling, "Ariel, that human is the birthday boy. That's why the food is good tonight for us seagulls.".
Ariel looked at him, "Birthday? Is that why the exploding lights is for? For his birthday?", and Scuttle grinned, "Yep.", as Ariel is watching the man dance and play music on something, a flute, maybe...He's really good...
"What is his name?", Ariel whispered, and Scuttle was about to reply when the party quieted down all of a sudden, with an elderly man calling out, "Alright, alright, settle down, everyone!".
"Ah, come on, Grimsby, ya spoilsport! Let us enjoy the celebration!", One of the sailors laughed as Grimsby cleared his throat.
"Now then... it's my honor and privilege to present our esteemed Prince Eric with a very special and very large birthday present.", Grimsby announced. "Eric...", Ariel whispered as she looked at the young man. "He's... very handsome.".
"Eh, taking a shine to the landlubber, are ya?", Scuttle joked as Ariel clamped his beak again before she kept watching.
Eric chuckled, "Oh, Grimsby, old bean, you shouldn't have!", and Grimsby proudly smiled, "Oh, Prince Eric, thank you. Happy 18th birthday.", with a nod to the sailor next to the wrapped large present, removing the paper and all.
The paper came down to reveal a large statue of Eric, positioned like he was standing at the front of a ship looking out to the horizon.
"Wow, Grim... it's something...", Eric didn't fully know how to react. He wasn't vain or anything like that, but he did feel a bit awkward of seeing something in his likeness which always did feel weird to him like seeing some of his portraits around the castle.
Grimsby chuckled warmly, "Indeed. I had it commissioned with the money from those rewards of capturing those Barbary pirate ships last year, you remember?", and Eric nodded, "Oh, yeah...I guess that's a good way to look at it...Speaking of which, we did return the stolen treasure to their owners, right?".
"Oh, yes, we have, and for the pirates themselves, let's say that they met their end at the rope in Venice and all.", Grimsby replied, and the sailors cheered at that, and Eric grinned, "What did Father used to say? Karma always goes around.", knowing how his father had seen the terrible work of pirates on further shorelines, ransacking villages' ships and such.
"Anyway, I was originally hoping though when I first had it commissioned that this would be something we could unveil as a wedding present.", Grimsby said as Eric rubbed the back of his neck, "Come on, Grim, we're not doing this right here and now, are we?".
Grimsby sighed deeply, "Alright, alright, I will back off as I'm sticking to our deal but do tell me one thing. Why are you so adamant on true love?", raising an eyebrow.
Eric sighed, walking to the side where Ariel and Scuttle is, and the duo immediately ducked down, hiding, and he leaned his arms against the banister, "I don't know, honestly, but I know I want to have it just like my parents, and heck, most of everyone in the village, including this crew here.".
The sailors nodded, "Hear, hear!", and Grimsby asked, "But if you don't know true love, how do you know when you meet the right girl?", as Ariel listened very deeply for, she similarly felt the same way, not knowing true love, but wanting it like how her parents did.
"Believe me, Grim, when I find her, I'll know - without a doubt. It'll just - bam! Hit me - like lightning.", Eric chuckled before cruel irony struck as lighting could be heard and seen quite a distance away. "Uh... did anyone see that storm coming?", Eric asked.
"Is it heading our direction?", Grimsby asked as he handed the telescope to Eric. Eric looked through the telescope, and cursed, "Shit! It's heading our direction!", and called out, "Storm brewing! Captain, drive us out!", hurriedly giving the telescope back to Grimsby, "Stay safe, Grim! I got this!", as the sailors went to their positions.
"Move it, lads! All hands on deck! Stand fast, secure the riggin'!", the captain ordered. "Your majesty, this ship's gonna be in for a rough time... you might be better staying in a safer place just in case we get debris!".
Eric shouted, "You need all hands, captain, and I am a sailor at heart! I ain't leaving my crew!", as he scrambled around the ship, helping secure the rigging. Ariel held on tightly, having a bad feeling about the situation. It's not a storm, it's growing into something worse... Did Daddy find out that she's beyond her appointed curfew?
"Ah, Ariel... this be a bad one! This ain't no normal storm coming through!", Scuttle feared as Ariel nodded. "Certainly can't be one of Daddy's, no way he'd do this, certainly not right now...", she worried.
As the ever-changing storm approached, rain came down in heavy torrents, along with wind, strong wind, and the sailors kept fighting, rigging the ship as best they could, before the captain shouted, "Storm's too strong! We best abandon ship!".
Sailors scrambled for the lifeboats which is two large boats, with Grimsby running to one of the lifeboats, with Eric checking everywhere for every sailor, counting before he realized something, "Grimsby, where's Max?!".
"He's in your cabin!", Grimsby shouted, and Eric shouted to the captain, "Get them out of here, I gotta get Max!", before running down the ship to his cabin, calling out, "Max, Max!", as the storm was getting worse, growing into a hurricane.
Eric heard frantic barks and claw scratching, and Eric fought to the door, grunting and bashing open the door, "Max! Come on!", and Max barked, running to him just as debris suddenly came down.
From outside the ship, Grimsby shouted, "Do you see him?! Is he out?!", looking up at the ship, searching frantically for Eric, stuck in the lifeboat, and Ariel was anxious, scrambling through the hole of the side, glad that the rainwater is helping her slide around.
She heard barking and everything as she tried to slide, hearing Scuttle's scream, "Ariel!", going for the hallway that led down to the cabin as the hurricane became a monster, lifting the ship as the sails were boosted up by the winds and all, destroying anything in sight.
"Scuttle! He's not coming out!", Ariel shouted back to the bird, trying to find where Eric had ended up. "Then forget him! Save yourself, darling!", Scuttle yelled.
"I can't! I couldn't live with myself if I couldn't save him! I'll be okay if the ship sinks!", Ariel reminded him as Scuttle quickly remembered that she was a mermaid.
"Oh, that's right...", he said before he screamed when a huge gust of wind sent him flying away. "WAHOOOOOOO!"
Ariel scrambled, sliding and grabbing anything solid in sight as she tried to follow the barking, the rainwater vicious and soaking everything as the hurricane began to toss the ship around, narrowly managing to make to the hallway, sliding through the hallway as the barks became closer and closer.
Ariel scrambled, gasping in horror as she saw Eric under debris, with Max trying to dig him out, "No! Eric!", scrambling even faster, sliding as she used the rainwater to her advantage, and Max barked frantically, looking to her, as Ariel went to get the debris off Eric, with Max helping along.
As the ship shuddered, broke, and splintered thanks to the hurricane, Ariel managed to pull Eric out of the debris, yet he looks bad, but she can't tell how bad, and she grunted, trying to drag him as she scrambled, but the ship rocked violently, sending her, Eric and Max back into the cabin.
Suddenly, the winds became even more fierce, breaking the glass, covering the cabin, and Ariel screamed in pain as glass pierced her tail and skin, with Max barking frantically, dragging the ragged blankets to them from the wreckage of the bed, and Ariel covered Eric, putting him in the corner of the nailed down bed, ducking down as possible as she could, but her tail was more slippery than a pair of legs, as she tried to scramble, holding into the leg of the bed, debris going everywhere, and before she knew it, something hit her, causing her to lose hold, sliding around, getting more injured in the process before Max saved her by the fin just as the hurricane was about to suck her out of the cabin.
And just as fast as the hurricane came, it ended, far away, with the ship finally breaking into half when it crashed into cliffs, throwing debris further into the cabin, leaving the trio injured, unconscious and all, unable to wake up until late morning.
The tides moved fast; sending the adrift mariners far and away from where they once knew by many miles before eventually what remained of the ship that carried them; almost just a few pieces of wood and cloth by this point, finally reached a shore. The trio was washed onto the shore and laid on the beach as the sea waves gently brushed them.
Eventually, Max was the first one to awake; the old sheepdog managed to somehow avoid most of the injures and was only feeling sore for the most part as he slowly started to get back onto his paws and shake the water off his body.
Max looked around, whining before perking his head up, barking as he pounced toward Eric, licking his face, poking and touching him with his cold nose. Eric slowly woke up, squinting his eyes, feeling so much pain in his body, groaning softly, and whispered roughly, "Max?".
The dog barked, happy to see his master was alright, or at the very least, still alive. "You okay, boy?", Eric asked as the dog barked again as Eric gave a small chuckle before wincing in pain and rubbing the dog's head. "Good boy...", he groaned.
Eric sighed heavily as he checked his body, moving toes and fingers, his legs and arms, his neck, torso, and hips...Everything ached really bad, but he is still able to move, thank goodness. Max yipped happily as Eric slowly got up, sitting up, wincing as he can feel bruised ribs, his head ached horribly, but nothing of a concussion, thankfully, sighing deeply as he's really roughed up in slowly forming bruises, scabs, and clotted cuts, his clothes still intact yet awfully torn up here and there...
He looked around to gain his bearings when he saw her, widening his eyes in shock and surprise, seeing that she's a literal mermaid, and Max barked excitedly, prancing over to her, licking her face. Ariel groaned softly, opening her eyes to see Max, and she shrieked out in fright and surprise, trying to move before she screamed out in pain, looking down at her tail which has several embedded glass pieces; small and large, along with her fins that is slightly shredded, with one of the fins bearing Max's teeth marks.
Eric was still stunned at what he was seeing. All his life, he was told about mermaids, about how they were nothing but myths and legends and yet right here laying before him was a real-life mermaid. And she was absolutely beautiful in his eyes. Of course, she could probably easily siren song him to his doom, but he wouldn't care as he just stared at her.
Max whined softly to Ariel, licking her face, and Ariel blinked, realizing that he meant no harm before gasping as she recognized him, and looked around before locking eyes with Eric..."Thank Poseidon you're alive! I thought you were gone...Are you hurt, Eric?".
Eric was surprised to hear her speaking his language before he nodded, "Uh, yeah... I am..." His eyes were still focused on her fins before she quickly realized that she was exposed, in terms of being a mermaid and tried to cover herself with her hands, to very little success.
"I... uh... I...!", Ariel tried to think of some sort of excuse. "You're... you're a mermaid?", Eric asked as he was still feeling every breath he took being stolen away.
Ariel nodded slowly, "Y-yes, I am...", nervous yet relieved, "I'm glad you are alive...I really tried my hardest to save you...You were trapped by...de...debris?", speaking that new word for the first time.
Eric blinked before widening his eyes as he remembered that he was trying to save Max when debris came down on him, and looked at her, "You...you saved me?".
Ariel smiled softly, "I wouldn't forgive myself if I hadn't saved you, Eric.", moving her tail before crying out in pain again as the glass pieces are really in her tail, wrenching every nerve in angst, threatening to even break bones, tears starting to leak from her eyes as she sobbed, "My tail...Am I really crying real tears?", touching her cheek in surprise and confusion.
She had cried underwater, but she never saw real tears until now on the surface...Eric gave a small chuckle as he got next to her. "I guess it's hard to tell underwater...", he said as he looked over her tail.
"Looks like you took a lot of injuries as the ship came apart. We need to get that glass out of you for sure.", Eric sighed, "And I'm without the royal doctor...". He bit his lip, "I, uh, thank you, by the way... for saving me.".
"You're... you're welcome.", Ariel wiped away her eyes as she took a few deep breaths. "Well, first things first... do you need to be in the water or are you okay as you are now? If we can, we can try to get that glass out now rather than having it more difficult to do it in the water.", Eric asked.
Ariel exhaled, "I need water, but I can't be in the sea right now...Blood will attract the sharks...I can't last too long in the sun.", and Eric nodded, "Fresh water, got it. Max, search for a pond or river. Search for fresh water.".
Max barked firmly, sniffing the ground and the air before running off, and Eric rubbed the back of his neck, "He will be fine. He can take care of himself...Er, I should take you to the shade of the trees before the sun gets too high to heat the beach...Can I carry you, miss?".
"I know you are a good man, Eric...I was there at the party...I saw you...I heard your name...And it's Ariel...my name is Ariel.", Ariel smiled softly, and Eric blinked in surprise before smiling, "Ariel...That's a really pretty name...May I carry you, Ariel?".
Ariel nodded, "Yes, Eric...Just...please, be careful of my tail...", and Eric smiled reassuringly, "I will be so careful, Ariel, and besides, this is what I can do for you since you saved my life.", before gently and slowly scooping Ariel, internally blushing as he can feel the warm skin on her back yet a bit amazed that her tail is surprisingly warm, full of texture, not cold-blooded or slimy.
Ariel whispered, "I'd never been this close to a human before...", and Eric managed to smile, "Well, I'd never been this close to a mermaid before.".
Ariel gave a small chuckle at his little joke before she winced in pain. "Sorry.", Eric apologized. "I know it probably hurts, and it'll probably hurt even more when we get those shards out of you, but... just try to hang on, alright?".
Ariel nodded as she just closed her eyes and tried to relax as best as she could while he tried to find a better place for her. "Eric... do you... do you know where we are?", she whispered.