Hello all! I'm back! It's been a LONG time since I've written anything at all. This is more based on the live action (I know, I know, but there was more going on in that one to go off of). So if that upsets you, you can sign off now.
It had been a long day, but to Eric it hadn't been long enough. He hadn't gone exploring the kingdom in a long time and seeing it through new eyes by way of his traveling companion was a breath of fresh air. The girl may not be able to talk, but Eric discovered that she really did not need to in order to express herself. Sometimes he wished that he could hear her exact thoughts on what she was looking at or how she felt about certain things. But he could tell she loved nearly everything and that excitement and joy was very infectious.
It had been a while since he spent time with someone who seemed to genuinely enjoy his company and be fascinated in his own interests. They had spent hours the previous night looking at all his trinkets and then pouring over maps while he explained where he had gone on his voyages and what he had seen. She had been so invested and had been the one asking for more information (by way of enthusiastic pointing and excited smiles). It was such a change of pace for him. Everyone else he ever talked to about his voyages always just tried to shut him down or brush him aside. It was nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff. He wished he could ask her about what she liked to do and where she came from. Unfortunately, they were hindered by her lack of voice.
She was just so genuine and full of curiosity and it's what led him to asking her to go look around at the kingdom with him. He just had to see her reactions to the beautiful little island. She happily agreed. And he was not disappointed at the result. She had to look at everything. If he had taken anyone else out, they would have only been interested in the finer things and passed by most of the stalls, but not her. For example, she spent a good amount of time looking at the different fruits instead of the jewelry. He wondered what fascinated her so since when he asked if she wanted some, she shook her head, continuing to examine the bananas.
He couldn't help but want to show her more and more things throughout the day. They spent a large amount of time in the market, but then he took her to the beach to see the docks, then later they headed to the rainforest (just the outskirts).
Before he knew it, the sun was setting. Where had the time gone? He didn't want the day to be over. As they rode in the carriage, Eric slowed the horse to a trot and he found her looking up at the sky with a thoughtful expression. He looked up as well, once again wishing he could hear her thoughts. After a moment, he decided to express his own opinion on the matter, "I love this time of night. Sometimes, you see the eyes of a screech owl…"
He wasn't able to finish his thought because a bird suddenly swooped down and grabbed his hat from right off his head. Shocked, he called after it. It merely flew off into the trees. He had only just bought that hat and what's worse, his new friend had picked it out specifically for him. He quickly pulled the carriage over and tied the horse to a nearby tree. Grabbing his companion's hand he took off into the trees with a laugh. He wasn't really sure he would be able to catch this bird, but he knew it would be fun trying and if he knew anything about this girl so far, she would enjoy running after it with him.
They both laughed as they ran. He could see the bird coming in and out of sight and he continually called after it, checking back at the girl with a wide grin. He realized they were headed straight towards the lagoon. This only spurred him on since he knew they weren't about to get lost in the forest. After some time, they found the bird had dropped it in a rowboat near the lagoon. Thank goodness it hadn't dropped it in the lagoon. Eric breathed a sigh of relief as he clambered into the rowboat to retrieve it.
He displayed the hat to the girl before putting it back on his head. "Didn't want to lose this."
However, she wasn't paying attention. She was running her hands over the rowboat in fascination. Eric had seen that look many times throughout the day. It meant she liked it and wanted to try it out. And if he had learned anything about himself today, he couldn't deny her anything.
"Do you want to go out on the boat?" he asked, just to be sure.
She looked up in excitement and nodded. He smiled. "Alright, hop in. I'll push it out."
Within moments, they were out on the lagoon, Eric rowing gently. It was now evening and the water was still and peaceful, like a mirror; the large, bright moon perfectly reflected onto the surface, only to be disturbed by the oars dipping in. They could distantly hear the waterfall and Eric decided to row towards it. He had this burning desire to show her the most beautiful parts of his kingdom and the waterfall was one of his favorites. Even though he knew she was impressed by even the smallest things, he knew she would be blown away by the bigger and more beautiful ones.
The two of them were quiet and Eric just watched her as he had done all day. She gazed at the water and the trees and then dipped one of her fingers into the water, wearing a small, content smile. He sighed and he admired how the moonlight shimmered on her dark skin, almost making her glow. He had thought several times that day that she was a beautiful girl, but right now he thought she looked stunning.
His silent reverie was interrupted by some rhythmic thumping of bamboo, followed by crickets chirping. When flamingos flew overhead, nearly taking his hat with them, he couldn't help thinking it all almost sounded like a song. He nearly chuckled at the thought. What next? The animals were going to start singing to him?
He turned his gaze back to his companion when a little voice in his head told him that even though she didn't have much to say there was something about her.
He'd never had a little voice quite like this one speak so clearly before and he looked around in confusion. Was there someone actually speaking to him? He looked back at his companion to see if she had heard anything, but she gave no indication that she had heard anything. Hmm. Well, he did agree with that little voice. There certainly was something about her. He'd been thinking it all day, but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. She intrigued him and he could not help but smile whenever she looked at him. No one else ever inspired such a reaction out of him before. He liked her a lot, that was for sure.
Suddenly, the voice then told him to kiss the girl. Shocked, he looked around once more. Where did that thought come from? He didn't— he couldn't— No! He spun his eyes back to her, thinking for a wild moment that maybe she could hear his thoughts. She still appeared completely oblivious, looking around at their surroundings. He relaxed slightly.
Yes, you want her. Look at her you know you do, the voice said. Eric took deep breaths, trying to ignore the thoughts. It was the atmosphere and the moonlight! It was all too romantic. If he had been here with Grimsby, he would've had the same reaction… no. No he would NOT have! Never in a million years! He shook his head at the wild thought. What was going on here?
Possible she wants you too. Eric could feel his heart beginning to pound in a panic. These thoughts were ridiculous! There was no way she would want him to kiss her! They had only just met! Besides, he didn't actually want to kiss her… did he?
To his horror, she chose that moment to reach forward and grab the oars. Her hands brushed against his and he found himself fighting to keep his breathing steady. He couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes at first, worried she might see his inner turmoil reflected on his face if he did. He finally did look up at her after a moment once he was sure he had his emotions under control.
"Do you want to try?" he asked softly.
She nodded and got up to join him on his seat. Just as she was about to sit down, she stumbled and fell. Instinctually, he reached out his hands and caught her. Suddenly her face inches away from his own, their noses nearly touching, and they were staring into each other's eyes. Go on and kiss the girl, the little voice urged again.
Eric was terrified she could feel his heart thumping in his chest and he quickly released her. If she couldn't feel it, she probably could hear it. He certainly could and was surprised he could hear the annoying little voice over the pounding in his ears. He swallowed hard and began showing her how to row, their arms moving in synch. He smiled a bit as they reached the waterfall, enjoying watching her movements. He couldn't quite bring himself to look at her face still since the voice was now accusing him of being shy for not going for it.
He was not being shy! He just did not want to kiss her. He couldn't do it. It would be entirely inappropriate! He would never do something so brazen. He liked her, yes. But not like that… surely? She was special and he wouldn't just go throw their friendship down the drain by doing something so stupid as kissing her.
However, he admitted that he did enjoy being beside her more than he probably should have. The voice was still going on about how he was going to miss his chance. He was getting seriously annoyed and just tried to block it out by focusing on the girl beside him and the movement of their hands together.
Once they got out from under the waterfall, he looked up at the sky, calming his breathing. He was not going to kiss her! He was not! He wasn't about to scare her away. She would think he was some sort of lunatic for kissing her out of nowhere after they had had such a nice day.
He needed to get his mind on something else, talk to her again. They hadn't said anything this entire boat ride (well, obviously she hadn't) and that was probably why this annoying little voice had creeped into his head. He needed to return to their original flow.
"What a clear night," he remarked, saying the first thing that came to mind, "You can see Orion."
When she looked at him in confusion, he hurried to explain. "Oh, the sailors use constellations to navigate. That one is Orion, the hunter."
He leaned back and pointed to said constellation. She followed suit, scooting in directly beside him so she could see exactly where he was pointing. Eric did his best to ignore how painfully close she was. That stupid voice was really getting to him!
"There's Aries, the ram," he continued as casually as possible, "That's Cassiopeia."
They were silent for a moment as they looked up at the sparkling lights. Eric sighed and glanced over at her. He had been wishing all day that he could know her thoughts, but he also realized that he didn't even know what to call her. He said this thought out loud, "That's funny. I don't even know what to call you."
She didn't respond to this. Clearly she didn't have much more of a solution to this than he did.
"Let's see… is it Diana?" he wondered.
She shook her head. He knew there were so many names to go through, but perhaps she had a very common name and he could easily guess it. It was worth a try at least. Besides, he needed to keep himself talking in order to keep the little nagging voice at bay.
He tried again, "Or… Katherine?"
She raised a disapproving eyebrow at him. He almost laughed at the face and shrunk back a little. "No, definitely not Katherine. How about—"
She was suddenly pointing at the sky. He looked up in confusion. She was clearly trying to tell him something, but he wasn't sure what. What girl names had to do with the sky? "Sky…?" he asked hesitantly.
He tried looking back at her, hoping for more of a hint, but she just forced him to look back up. He squinted up in confusion. However, he realized that she was pointing specifically at a constellation he had just shown her.
He looked back at her with a smile. "Aries?" he asked and she nodded, "Aries?" But she cut him off by placing a finger over his mouth.
He tried saying it again and she ran her finger over his lips as he did, so it came out more as "Arie-uh."
What was she trying to get him to say? She was obviously trying to communicate something different than "Aries" here. So he tried saying it again and once more she ran a finger over his lips. This time it came out sounding more like "Arie-ul."
She nodded, giving a small smile. He repeated it without her help. "Arie-ul… Ariel?" he asked. She nodded again and he smiled, amazed at how clever she had been. What a breakthrough. He gazed back up at the sky. Ariel. The name suited her. Unique and beautiful, just like her.
"That's a beautiful name," he remarked. He paused before adding quietly, "Written in the stars."
Now's your moment. Oh no, the voice was back. Finding out her name only made it worse because now they were physically close and they had just connected over yet another thing. Eric could feel a churning in his stomach. When he turned his head, her face was so close! His heart rate sped up once more, except this time it wasn't from panic. He realized the churning feeling was actually maybe… excitement? Oh dear.
He once again had to make an effort to keep his breathing steady as he came to this revelation. Was that really what it was? His mind was spinning. He felt that… maybe he actually did want to do it. Perhaps the voice was right. But no. He couldn't do it… Could he?
He turned to look at her and found her already looking at him. Kiss the girl, kiss the girl, kiss the girl, the voice said.
Alright, he would try it. He began leaning forward, his eyes slowly beginning to close as he did so. Just as he was beginning to accept that maybe the voice was right and this was what was meant to happen after all, Ariel sat up abruptly.
Unnerved, Eric quickly sat up as well. What had just happened? Had she been oblivious to what he was trying to do? Or had she pulled away because she didn't want him to kiss her? Eric's mind was reeling and his stomach flipping, yet the little voice did not cease, insisting that the mood was perfect and that he shouldn't hide his feelings or stop trying. Eric was getting a little bit annoyed and flustered. He didn't know what he wanted or what he was supposed to do anymore.
The tree they were under (when did they get here?) was suddenly alight with fireflies, giving the air a perfectly magical feeling. Well, at least voice was right about the mood. Ariel had moved to the other seat again and was looking up at the lights in amazement. She smiled at him, clearly hoping that he would share her excitement, but he couldn't quite muster up the feeling, getting too lost in her eyes. What was happening to him!? He had acknowledged her beauty several times throughout the day, but something was happening right now where he was getting inexplicably drawn to her. She was suddenly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
They then noticed there were some fish swirling around beneath their boat, but these were no ordinary fish. They were glowing and they lit up the water with glittering swirls. Both Eric and Ariel looked into the water in awe, Eric still trying to block out the persistent voice that was encouraging him to do what it said.
The fish then began spitting water over the boat. Ariel smiled at the sight and when Eric went to lean over the edge to get a closer look, he found himself getting squirted in the face. He laughed and turned back to Ariel. Ariel was laughing too and she reached out to wipe the water from his face.
Eric started at the contact. The warmth of her hand against his cheek sent a buzz all through his body and immediately erased all his protests from his mind completely. Suddenly, all he could hear was the voice in his head. You got to kiss the girl.
Yes. Yes he did. He reached up to his cheek and grasped her hand in his own. She looked at their entwined hands, no longer smiling, but she didn't pull away. He took this as enough encouragement to take both her hands into his. Why don't you kiss the girl?
She allowed him to lace their fingers together. All Eric could hear was that voice. He was filled with so much desire to actually kiss her. Why had he been ignoring the voice? He couldn't remember. He was surprised he hadn't just kissed her already. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd been wanting to do it all day, perhaps maybe even since he first found her in his treasure room and they poured over his maps. No wonder this little voice had shown up to push him into it. He just had to make sure she would let him.
He looked into her eyes, and saw nothing but pleasure at his touch as she gave him a soft smile. Go on and kiss the girl!
Good enough for him. He leaned forward to do exactly that, but before their lips actually met, the boat jolted and he found both himself and Ariel in the water, sputtering. Somehow the boat had overturned. Well, so much for that! He'd already experienced too many emotions in the last few minutes that it all just culminated into a laugh. He went to assist Ariel out of the water and found she too was laughing. He got too distracted with helping her out of the water and then trying to get the boat turned back over that he almost completely forgot about what he had almost done.
It only crossed his mind later when they got back to the castle. Perhaps the voice had been dreamt up after all because he never heard it again… but he found he still did want to kiss her.