A/N: I am writing this story based on the trivia knowledge that in early drafts of TLM, Ursula is King Triton's sister, though I am giving her a reason for her 'unique' appearance in this story and why she'd not look like a merperson like her brother would. Hope that makes sense, and happy reading!

Chapter 2

ARIEL glanced around the magnificent castle that was the Prince's home with awe in her eyes. The castle was grand, old, and in slightly ill repair, but magnificent, nonetheless. She could have never imagined that her wish to be human would have led her to such a wonderful place. It was almost as grand as the palace of Atlantica.

As she walked down the cold stone hallways, which were lit by torches, she stretched a hand to touch the cold stone walls. She was so enraptured with the portraits of the royal family that covered the aisle that she did not see where she was going. She accidentally ran straight into the back of the kind nursemaid, Carlotta.

She jumped back and shook her head to apologize with a bright pink blush covering her face and nervously waited for the nursemaid to scold her. But Carlotta merely smiled and motioned for Ariel to follow her down the hall.

"Your room, dearie," she chirped and slowly pushed the door open when they came to the end of the hall. "The master hopes you will find it acceptable and comfortable. If you would prefer different quarters, we would be more than happy to prepare a new space for you." Ariel slipped past the older woman and into the room, her lips parting in awe as she did so. The room was breathtaking. There was a rich red rug on the floor, and a grand comfortable-looking bed. Attached to the room was a beautiful library consisting of a large window that overlooked the sea, and a grand fireplace for light and warmth. Ariel could not recall a more exciting time in her life.

Before Carlotta disappeared to see to the rest of her duties, she gave Ariel simple instructions. She could go anywhere in the castle she wished, though, to avoid the Prince's private chambers.

The older woman quietly informed Ariel that the Prince was a private person and valued his privacy. Ariel nodded her understanding and tried to convey her thanks with just a single look.

As Carlotta left the room, she shot Ariel a look back that told her the nursemaid did not want her thanks.

Carlotta expressed her relief that Prince Eric was seemingly taking an interest in her, as he was a shy man who was quiet and mild-mannered, though quite timid, as human contact had been little besides a few staff here in the castle since his parents and older brother had died at sea. Carlotta explained how thankful she was that Eric had stumbled across her and left Ariel alone for the time being after saying her goodbyes.

Ariel, too restless and teeming with anticipation to stay cooped inside her room, magnificent though it was, decided to explore. Ariel was perplexed by the aftermath of her transformation. Ursula, the sea witch, and Father's sister, had granted her legs, but her body struggled to adapt to life on land.

Her entire being felt ablaze. Her flushed skin and tingling stomach were immediate responses to venturing down an unfamiliar, dimly lit hallway. The generous Prince, who rescued her from a peculiar creature he called a dog, had granted her freedom to roam the castle as she pleased. Now, during the tranquil nights when the halls were deserted, she yearned to explore and experience things on her own, away from prying human eyes.

As she reached the end of the hall, her skin warmed, perhaps a consequence of Ursula's magic. Her body was still acclimating to the changes, causing discomfort rather than pain. Leaning against the cold brick wall in silence, Ariel struggled to regain composure, her breath heavy.

She could hardly take another step, but she desperately wished to continue her exploration of the castle.

With silent prayers to the gods, she hoped no one would discover her vulnerable state.

She took a hank of her red hair in her finger to twist and twirl as she looked out the closest window at the storm in the distance and flinched at hearing the low rolling rumble of thunder. She wondered if it was Daddy, if her father, as temperamental as the king could be, had discovered her to be missing, and if he learned what his sister had done.

Daddy and his infamous temper had been responsible more than once for sinking a human ship or two when provoked and his solar flare of a temper ignited until the tempest could not be stopped.

She felt a tidal wave of guilt wash over her as she hoped Flounder and Sebastian did not have to endure the worst of her father's wrath and vowed somehow to make it up to her friends if she ever saw the fish and the crab again.

The air that blew through the open windowsill felt cool.

For a moment, the sudden almost brutal wind startled Ariel, her eyes snapping tightly shut. After a moment, when the wind had died down, she regained her composure as she fluttered her watery eyes and sighed.

It's Daddy, she thought to herself, her breaths catching in her throat as she could not tear her gaze away from the black and purple thunderclouds out at sea.

Daddy's notorious temper had caused the sinking of human ships when provoked. The guilt washed over Ariel, fearing her friends' fate under her father's wrath. She vowed to make it up to them. The cool breeze through the windows startled Ariel momentarily, but she regained composure. Her gaze fixed on the ominous thunderclouds at sea, worried but curious about seeing Prince Eric again. Despite the risks, she couldn't resist being near him.

With determination, Ariel moved through the hall and discovered a slightly open door with a faint light inside. She cautiously entered a vast library with a crackling fire in the hearth. Ariel marveled at the beauty of the flames, unaware of their potential danger. As she looked around, she realized she wasn't alone.

A man stood nearby, resembling Eric but older. Their eyes met, and Ariel felt captivated yet shy.

She knew to seek out the Prince of the realm was perhaps not wise, that he would have better things to do with his time than waste on a girl who could not even speak, but her desire to simply be near the man won her doubts.

Once Ariel had regained some strength, she pushed herself away from the wall and continued down the hall. A door that was slightly ajar caught her attention and noticed a faint light from underneath the door.

With furrowed eyes, she listened intently for any sounds of noise, and she heard nothing.

Gingerly, with a very deep breath, she pushed the door open. The door creaked horribly in its rusted iron hinges, instantly alerting anyone who was in the room to her presence. She drew in a breath as she came into a vast library filled with books and lit fire in the hearth that was…oh, what was the word again?

It was there, on the tip of her tongue, she could practically taste it. Ariel's eyes widened in shock as she recalled Daddy once telling her to avoid fire as it…burned, it hurt.

Ariel frowned, not understanding how something so beautiful as the small red and orange flames in the hearth on the other side of the room could be painful.

Ariel glanced around with wide awestruck eyes, and she could not believe it took her this long to notice that she was not alone.

A tall and slender man stood near the fireplace with arms folded neatly behind his back, his posture stiff and rigid.

As the man turned to face her, Ariel felt a shiver run up her spine as the stranger looked at her.

His eyes were deep and blue, the color of the ocean, just like Prince Eric's. With his pale skin and high cheekbones and dark hair that was a lovely shade of walnut brown that in the right dim light looked black like Eric's, she wondered if the two men were related. For a moment, she felt lost in the stranger's stare, unable to move or think.

Goosebumps broke out over her skin as a small, sensuous smile spread to his lips. His hair was messy, and Ariel felt her heart swell with hope as he sensed he was not alone, though her hopes were dashed when she realized this man was not Prince Eric, as she'd been hoping for.

This man was older, she pegged him to be perhaps forty years old. This stranger was someone new, someone, who was unfamiliar to her, and as he turned around to face her, she was instantly shy, even though one of the first things she noticed about this man was that he was taken, for a thick gold wedding band glinted proudly on his ring finger.

"Eric, it's about time, mate, I've been waiting an hour. What kept you this time, did old Grim nearly keel over from a heart attack when you brought the girl home with you, what does he think you've done, I—oh, excuse me! I-I beg your pardon, I did not know it would be…you," the man apologized sheepishly, a blush rising to his face out of embarrassment. "You, uh, must be the master's guest, am I right?" questioned the man, his voice soft and kind as a timid little smile came over his sharp and angular features, and Ariel felt herself relax.

No mention was made of her lack of voice, and for that, Ariel was quick to like him.

The tension in her shoulders disappeared as she took a step forward, the skirts of her ivory chemise and yellow overdress swaying a bit with her movements as she moved slowly to him.

Yes, I am, she tried to communicate in her impossible telepathy, giving a nod of her head. Ariel bit down on her lip and nervously waited, her body teeming with anticipation.

She hoped her eyes and her body language would communicate what her voice could not, as Ursula had advised her when she had asked how she would be able to communicate with the humans without her voice.

She was relieved to see a light ignite in the handsome man's light blue eyes that reminded her of the sky after a fresh rainfall.

He nodded, but kept his voice to himself, though it seemed to Ariel that he understood.

F...forgive me, but Prince Eric is where...?

She tried to gesture with her hands to him, trying to ask her new companion the Prince's whereabouts.

It took him a moment, and for Ariel to point with her index finger toward an oil portrait of the Prince's likeness on the wall, but then he found his voice after she thought she saw the beginnings of understanding flash across the man's face.

"If you're looking for Eric, he's off with Grimsby doing who only knows what. Probably suffering through another of the Head of House's tirades of marrying a princess of noble blood, poor chap. Marrying some strange princess he's never even met is the last thing on Eric's mind right now, the Prince is too preoccupied with thoughts of a siren of the sea to pay much heed to all else," he snorted, rolling his eyes to the ceiling, though his eyes were twinkling.

Ariel felt the blood drain from her face, yet she swallowed down past a lump in her throat and did her best to hide it. She sharply turned her head away so her new companion wouldn't see how pale she'd turned.

I-I see, she tried to gesticulate with her hands, for she did not know what else to say or of a better way of communicating.

Poseidon's Trident, but she did not even know this man's name! She cautiously eyed the man watching her interestedly out of the corner of her lowered gaze and immediately felt guilty for not having asked the man his name when he'd been the one to speak to her first.

I-I'm very sorry. I must have missed it. What's your name…? She asked, looking as kindly as she could into the devilishly handsome man's face as she pointed to him.

Her hand gestures set the stranger faintly smiling. Ariel flushed as the man's gaze lingered on her lips a moment before he flicked his gaze to his brown suede boots which were slightly muddied before he spoke to Ariel softly.

"Darius, my lady," he said, seeming to grasp Ariel's point. "And yours, I suppose you can't tell us your name, can you, Luv?" he murmured, a strangely placid expression resting over his serene features as he lifted his gaze to her.

Ariel flushed a deep cherry red and she shook her head in disappointment.

An awkward silence settled over the two of them passed the point of comfort, but before Darius could speak, or Ariel could cast her gaze about the room to search for something that she could use to tell her name, there came the sound of footsteps coming down the hall.

"I need to…oh, excuse me, Darius! I did not, er, know that you would be here or that you were keeping company with Eric's…friend."

Ariel nervously flicked her gaze towards Darius, who she was surprised to see did not look at all pleased at the newcomer's arrival.

His mouth was pursed into a thin line of disapproval and there was none of the previous warmth or kindness in the man's blue eyes that had previously been directed at her.

The newcomer fell silent and let his gaze linger on Ariel, who studied him intently. He was almost as tall as her, broad in the chest and shoulders, his blond hair tousled and in need of a trim a week ago.

As his lips curved upward into a smile, a chill went down the mermaid's spine as she realized it was an impish grin, and she was reminded of Ursula's eels, how the wretched watery snakes tended to leer and seemed to smile at her.

Her first impression of this boy who looked not much older than her, maybe nineteen or so, was that he was spying on her. And she did not like it. He looked like the sort of boy who took delight in causing mischief, and true to form, Ariel knew she was right in her hunch the moment the boy turned to Darius and spoke out against her presence.

"It's almost a shame, Darius, isn't it? She's quite pretty, for a wench. That this girl is surely no better than one of those poor souls left with no other choice but to work in the taverns. Old Grim would never let my uncle marry a commoner," he spoke up in a smooth buttery purr that immediately set Ariel on edge as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

She frowned as she clenched her teeth behind straight lips and dug her fingernails into the skin of her palms. So this boy was...Prince Eric's nephew? With furrowed eyes, she looked at the blond boy for the truth.

The boy's face flushed a deep cherry red and with a smile that held a bit of rake in it that Ariel disliked immediately, he glanced down.

"Forgive me, girl, I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Lucas, Eric's nephew," he mumbled. He frowned when he noticed Ariel studying him intently and flicked his gaze from Ariel to Darius. "Darius, I must ask. What is she-" he started to say, though the older man immediately held up a hand and cut the Prince's young nephew off angrily.

"She is here as the Prince's guest, Lucas, I already know what you're going to say," Darius bit out with a cold edge to his voice that suggested this man was not one to be trifled with. "She's been given the run of the castle and if you're thinking of trying to stir up more trouble with her, then I suggest you look elsewhere and keep your forked tongue in between your teeth, you snake," Darius growled through gritted teeth as he moved to stand beside Ariel, seemingly protective.

Ariel felt the blood drain from her face as she swore she saw a clenching of the boy's jaw as the Prince's nephew Lucas looked towards her with what she could only perceive as anger, his green eyes cold.

The boy looked as though he wanted to say something, but must have thought better of it, for he closed his lips the moment he heard Darius growl from deep within his chest.

Lucas clicked his tongue and shattered the silence between them and made to turn and flee the room.

"Well, then, I should…be going, I suppose." The blond began to turn on his heels and had just gotten to the door when he paused and turned to look at her. "You are beautiful, my lady. For being a girl who can't even speak. It's a shame, really, though I suppose there are other uses for your tongue," he murmured in a flat and hollow voice.

She felt Darius nudge beside her, but she did not turn to look the man in the eyes until she watched the door gingerly close shut behind him as the Prince's nephew made a swift and silent exit.

Ariel only turned to face Darius once more when she was sure they were well and truly alone. She offered him a slight nod of her head and hoped her eyes conveyed what her voice now could not.

Thank you, Darius, she said, using her hands to communicate and she reached for the man's arm and patted it.

He looked surprised at her touch but he quickly smiled a reassuring smile and nodded to her, though his smile faltered as he kept his attention fixated on the door. It was as if he feared Lucas would return and cause trouble.

It was a moment or two before Darius spoke.

"You're welcome, Luv. I'd steer clear of Lucas if I were you. The boy is a witless worm, nothing more than a vicious brat and he's fallen under Eric's care ever since his parents died. Lucas wishes that he had a claim to the throne instead of Eric. If it were up to me, I'd have the slippery little worm thrown out of the castle and perhaps even banished from Ipswich entirely, but Eric was always too good a man and he can't bring himself to banish him." Darius paused and looked at Ariel up and down from head to toe slowly before shaking his head in disappointment and disgust, as though sending away an unhelpful image in his mind he did not wish to see. "You're lucky that I was here. Carlotta and I seem to be the only ones in this whole bloody castle who Lucas is remotely afraid of. He listens to us, at least." Darius's frown deepened as he looked to the door as if expecting him to return and cause trouble.

Ariel shivered and wrung her hands together nervously, not sure what to say.

Her cheeks turned bright pink as she was embarrassed at how much trouble she already seemed to be causing the Prince and his friends in just the first few hours of being escorted back to Eric's castle.

She glanced around the room for something she could try to communicate with that would make her habit of 'speaking' easier on her and Darius, though before she could, the door creaked open loudly.

Ariel and Darius both turned with weary expressions towards the doorway, it was obvious both of them were anticipating that the Prince's young nephew had returned, yet it was Eric who stood in the door, watching the two of them with a concerned look on his face.

Prince Eric nervously flicked his gaze from Ariel to Darius, though he was too nervous to eye her for long, as a pink blush settled on his cheeks, and he kept his attention fixed a little too firmly upon Darius.

"Darius, I heard you talking to Lucas on my way here, I passed by my nephew in the corridor, he seemed quite...upset, is everything alright?" he trailed off, concerned, as he returned his gaze to Ariel in front of him as he stepped into the room and moved to stand beside them.

"It is now, Eric, my friend," Darius murmured, the older man's expression still as grim as a grave as he briefly looked towards the door and then back to Eric. "Your charming nephew was getting acquainted with your new guest," he sneered, the edges of his lips curling up.

Eric merely nodded to Darius and looked towards Ariel, never taking his eyes off her when next he spoke, though his words were directed towards his friend.

"I thank you, then, Darius, for dealing with my nephew, and for keeping our new guest company." Only when his friend nodded did Eric turn his attention to Ariel and address her. "It is truly wonderful to see you again. I'm pleased to see that you're already making yourself at home here in the castle. It's your home now too, for as long as you'd like," he offered, a faint smile flashing across his face as her smile warmed him several times better than sunlight. "These halls can be a maze, my lady, if you don't know where to go. I was hoping to find you I thought, if you'd like, I could give you a tour of the castle," he offered hopefully and only continued when Ariel nodded, eagerly. "I apologize for the boy, my lady, I'm afraid he knows not what he says," he sighed, with a run of a fast hand through his messy black hair in anguish.

She watched curiously as it seemed a wave of protective instincts kicked in the Prince, and when he spoke, his voice was firmer.

"You may not be able to speak, but you deserve respect, and on behalf of my nephew, I apologize. There is no harm you could do while you stay here in the castle, I hope you won't let Lucas get under your skin. He's a fool, nothing more and nothing less."

Ariel frowned but she nodded in understanding. The topic of the Prince's nephew was beginning to unnerve her, for something deep within her did not feel right about talking so atrociously about someone whom she'd only just met and was inclined to give Lucas the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the boy was just having a rough day. She was inclined to let his rudeness go, though Eric, it seemed was not, judging by the look on Eric's face.

Darius smiled warmly and nodded.

"You're welcome, my friend. It was the least I could do." To Ariel, his smile widened. "I'm glad that I got to meet you, even if we don't know your name yet," he told her, with a slight teasing lilt to his voice, which was heavily accentuated and deep. It lulled Ariel even deeper into her haze. "If you have got the chance, I hope you get to meet my wife, Helena, she's a maid here in the castle and works under Carlotta. It would do her good to have a friend close to her age," he said, chuckling under his breath as he caught sight of the blood rushing to the Prince's cheeks.

It was clear Eric really needed a moment alone with the girl. Barely stifling his grin, he clapped the Prince on the back and politely excuse himself, promising to stop by with Helena, perhaps over dinner so that Ariel could meet her and hopefully make a friend here in the castle if she was going to stay a long time as Prince Eric's guest.

Ariel smiled, touched by Darius's thoughtfulness, and was grateful the man was being so kind to her.

She was eager to meet the man's wife and hopefully make a friend here in the castle. She'd not had too many friends outside of her sisters back home and looked forward to building a bond of friendship with someone new. She was jolted from her thoughts by the sound of the door to the library once more closing as Darius left the room, and now that he was no longer distracted, Eric turned his attention back to Ariel.

She was astonished as the Prince looked deeply into her eyes, as though searching her face for something, she did not know what. But what the Prince asked of her, she could not have guessed.

"Can you read?"

Ariel nodded shyly, her expression a mix of relief and gratitude.

Eric's eyes fell upon a nearby table where a scroll lay abandoned. The scroll contained the alphabet, each letter beautifully illustrated.

Realizing that Ariel might be able to communicate through writing, Eric picked up the scroll and pointed to the letters one by one, silently asking Ariel if her name was among them.

Ariel's eyes lit up as she spotted the letter 'A' on the scroll.

With a finger, she traced the shape of the letter, confirming that it was indeed her initial. Eric smiled, a sense of connection forming between them as she traced the rest of her name until he learned what it was for himself.

Ariel.

It set him faintly smiling.

"It suits you," Eric complimented warmly. Having learned Ariel's name, Eric decided to extend an invitation. He pointed to himself, then mimed eating, and finally asked, "Dinner?" he asked hopefully.

He knew he wanted in his mind more time to linger, and what better way to do that than over a meal?

Ariel's face lit up, and she shyly nodded, accepting Eric's invitation.

With a newfound bond and an unspoken understanding, Prince Eric led Ariel out of the forbidden hall and towards the royal dining hall, holding her hand in his hand. As they walked together, the evening moonlight streamed through the castle's stained glass windows, casting a pearly white glow upon their path.

Silently, with a painfully beating heart and a rush of emotion that Ariel could not quite understand, she followed Prince Eric through the maze of halls of his castle, him leading her gently by the hand.