The Little Mermaid and the Man of Tomorrow II

"And cousin Hercules would have won that last golden medal too but the team from Denmark had a very good pilot on their ship, Herc could row 5 times as fast as them but the pilot was so skilled that they only needed one paddle for every 5 that Herc did." Attina regaled her parents about their visit to Greece to see Ariel, as they followed their father on his official duties as King, or rather his new ones.

Ever since that long ago summer where that mysterious boy had saved her mother something changed in the human kingdom near theirs, the one called Tirulia. Her father was surprised to have his merman bring him a great human box weight with stone and filled with all kinds of things from the human world, die, jewels, spices, fruit, all manner of things. And a bronze letter that said:

''Long life and many good years King Triton, it has come to my attention that our ships pass through thy territory oh king of the waters and as such I humbly give this small token as apology for constantly crossing your borders without your permission or a tribute to thy person. We deeply apologize for this transgression to thy honor. We ask that, if your majesty is amendable, passage through thy lands before us, clear skies above us, fair winds for our sails and our souls, a route to be shown that shall not disturb thy people, in exchange we offer a tenth of all goods on the ships in exchange for thy blessing, Oh Great Lord of the Sea."

- Prince Eric Andersen of Tirulia.

-Regent Grimsby

Ever a surprising race, the humans had quickly started to jettison barrels filled with a tenth of their cargo and King Triton replied in kid with fair winds and a route that would not pass over and disturb Atlantica. This one was a result of such an act.

Trade flourished between the merepeople and the humans near them as boats teaming with fruits and vegetables that grew in the human world beyond Greece came to Tirulia, those were exchanged for seaweed, kelp and other things that was not present in the human world. During a session of these trades Triton discovered that like the people of Atlantica humans used ambergris from whales in perfume and made many things from their bones and despite what the humans originally thought, Triton was delighted when he saw shark being sold in the human world! Sharks where amongst the many species in the sea that merman ate and Triton found he rather like the human recipe of shark fin soup.

Because of the trade whenever there was a harvest season coming to an end and the crops gathered the first taste of land was given to King Triton and the first taste of the sea was given to the ruler of Tirulia or rather the regent called Grimsby.

As Triton, his family and entourage approached the ships a line of smaller boats filled with merchants showed drinks, foods, candies and many things specially made to last a bit more under the sea so as to give as food to the merpeople. His own people did the same with versions of their food prepared specifically for the human world.

Triton was particularly fond of that human thing called 'coffee' that helped him when he was tired. The king of the sea made his way deeper into the human waters.

"Good morning your majesty, I am afraid the prince is indisposed at the moment, he heard rumor of pirates to the east and sailed at once, he is due to be back later today." The regent said with a tone that made it clear that the prince had done something like this before.

"I too have a child that needs little reason to wander over the horizon." Triton said as the two shared a good-natured chuckle as Triton turned to re-introduce his family to the old caretaker.

"This is my Queen and Co-ruler Athena, my daughters: Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista, Andrina and my youngest…..ARIEL!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ariel wait!" Flounder said as he barely managed to keep up with his friend.

"Keep up Flounder, we're almost there!" Ariel said as she followed a path that took her to a very specific point in the ocean, a place where you could see a great way into the distance and there, she saw it! Thousands of nautical miles away there it was! The glimpse of a strange structure that appeared overnight, on the place where before she was born a star fell, from there a great white peak came out of the northern waters. Stories from the humans said that a great fortress rose out of the frozen artic, one made of ice and snow.

A shadow passed over Ariel's face as she saw a small human ship and she decided to follow, it reached a bigger one that was anchored to the frozen wasteland of the far north as Ariel breached the surface to watch despite her friend's panic.

"Grimsby I am so sorry that I did not make it back in time." A voice spoke and Ariel's eyes went wide as she saw a human, a human that made her watch him more than other humans.

"Find any pirates? Eric, I wish you'd just have told me that you came here in order to prepare for another attempt at reaching the Ice Fortress."

"I will reach it Grimsby!" Eric said with fire in his eyes as Ariel felt a kinship with him.

"Then why not plan a proper expedition using the funds you have available."

"I won't waste other people's money on myself!"

"I'm not surprised. You do realize that you shall have to spend an extra day with the lady's that came to see you."

"You mean the ones who came to see the man of tomorrow. I'm just the guy they ask to meet him, or his tittle." Eric said in bitterness as he walked away from his servant and father figure to be alone.

Ariel followed him beneath the waves as she saw him strip of his coat and jump into the water right next to Ariel who was beneath.

They both jumped in surprise before they both gave each other a tentative wave before they both went up for air.

"Sorry."

"Sorry."

They both said and then giggled.

"Sorry for startling you."

"It's okay, also I…unintentionally, intentionally overheard what you said…sorry about that."

"It's okay, not like it's a secret. A lot of people who only care about titles and how much trade there is come to Tirulia."

"I understand completely. We get a lot of new visitors to come to Atlantica and only see what can benefit them."

"Funny think about fame. It's nice to be appreciated but it also brings out the people who'd bleed you dry."

"I hear you. Will the other humans be joining us?"

"What? No, I'm the only one who can swim in waters as cold as this. Grimsby says that maybe I'm part polar bear." Eric said and Ariel giggled.

"What are you doing so far north? I never heard of mermaids from Atlantica travel this far?"

"I came to catch a glimpse of the building in the far north. Are you really going to reach it?"

"Yeah, but it's not easy. The trail forward runs a mix of water, snow and in between. I have a lot of planning to do and gather supplies for each stretch of the journey, but I have to reach it. It's my birth…..it feels like since birth that I had to go there." Eric said as he had a faraway look of wonder in his eyes. The same one Ariel had in her eyes; Eric knew this because they shared a glance.

"I could help! I can chart water passages ahead!" Ariel offered.

"That'd be great! Help yourself to my supply station! Consider everything inside yours!"

"Really!?"

"Of course. We're partners in this." Eric said and offered his hand, Ariel swam a bit closer and shook it.

"Almost worth it to miss the Harvest Festival."

Ariel's eyes grew wide at that.

"Oh no! I'm so latte! I'll never make it back in time." Ariel said with dread, this area was beyond the northern current and to get back she would have to swim against it, making her take twice as long to get back, she never planned to go past the peak but then she sighted the human ship and….Her dad would ground her till she was retired!

"Not while I'm here. GRIMSBY LAUNCH THE SONG OF THE SEA!" Eric shouted to the ship as the bigger ships ropes and pullies lowered a third red smaller ship into the sea that had 3 hulls on it.

"Come on, we'll get you home in no time." Eric said as he guided Ariel to the ship, as she climbed up on and inside its hull Ariel found something familiar about the ship as Eric guided her bellow.

"This is the ship from the games! You're Eric the Dane!" Ariel said with glee, she had not recognized him at first since at the games he was so tired after facing her cousin that he did not bother to remove his sea goggles or hat and had laid down to sleep in the first-place podium from exhaustion.

"You where there!?" Eric said in enthusiasm he had recognized several merfolk in the crowd but they all had their heads covered with a special mermaid veil that kept them moist since that day was a very hot one, but it also obscured their faces.

"Yes, my cousin was part of the Greek team. He said that he looks forward to the rematch and next time he'll outpace you in the curves of the race!" Ariel said as recognition dawned on Eric.

Eric smiled at that, at being recognized as Eric the Dane, he sailed for that team since he spent his youth in the Danish naval Academy and was eligible for their team since his country did not have one, he was not Prince Eric the man of Steel, or the Man of Tomorrow, he was just Prince Eric, even better than that he was just Eric!

"Your cousin is Hercules? Damn, what have they been feeding that guy?" Eric said as they started to pick up speed as Ariel got a first-hand glance at Eric's style of seamanship, her cousin was pure power and tried constantly to be as fast as possible, Eric actually used very brief moments of breaking to slow down enough to maneuver before picking up speed, in longer races like the last one of the games this style trumped her cousin's one that was more suited to short races. The Song of the Sea sailed with the wind against the current, this was one of the few conditions that allowed it to outpace a mermaid who were the fastest beings in the sea and ocean.

The whole ships tilted so much so at time that Ariel thought it would capsize at some point but Eric remained unphazed as he leaned in expert timing with his maneuvers to keep himself steady.

Ariel was mesmerized by him as she turned a glance towards the window that showed the ocean before them as the Tri hull ship moved to fast that Ariel at one point felt the ship rise a bit out of the ocean, it's speed to great it raised itself out of the water.

"20 degrees to the left for a minute, then 10 degrees portside." Ariel said and despite being surprised Eric conquered and just like that they avoided the worst of a troublesome wave and not only not lose time but also gained a bit of speed.

Grinning like two children they continued on as Ariel's knowledge of the water and Eric's skilled seamanship made the Tri hull glide across the waves, reaching the festival ever faster than Eric promised.

"I got to get back to my main ship, but I'll see you soon."

"I look forward to it."

"The feeling is mutual. Oh! Here!" Eric said and handed her a key.

"It's for the Song, so if I'm not here you can enter it to use as you like."

"You are so going to regret that. I am very messy; you have obviously never seen my room." Ariel teased.

"Ha! Wait till you get a load of my room, you'll discover new lifeforms there!" Eric said and they both shared a look before Flounder, who somehow was ignored by both of them this whole time, managed to remind them that Ariel was late.

They both said another goodbye as Ariel moved to leave.

"Tomorrow is my birthday! I'm going to have it on the ocean, you're welcome to come!" Eric called after her as she disappeared into the ocean, uncertain if she heard as he in a morose mood turned the Song back towards the North.

Both Ariel and Eric kicked themselves for not setting in stone plans to meet up again and Eric almost threw himself in the water when he realized he had not asked her her full name.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx Atlantica, meeting room xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ariel…I have gotten used to your disappearances and latte appearances for official functions, events, almost anything related to the sea…so, wanting to make this a less boring experience with you I decided to take you to land. The one place that holds your attention and you still miss the event?" Triton said with at first anger then he gave a chuckle, finding the whole thing rather amusing.

"If you wish to blame someone, blame me my love, Ariel inherited my itchy fins." Queen Athena said.

"Oh, don't I remember." Triton said fondly remembering a time when he and his wife where young, adventurous and could hardly wait for what was over the horizon, it seemed like their youngest had inherited both their untamed sides.

"Come on dad, you can't say it was such a big surprise, right?" Alana said trying to smooth things over with her dad.

"The one saving grace was that Prince Andersen was also away chasing pirates real or imaginary. I was so hopping your girls could meet him." Triton said, over the years messages from the Prince of the neighboring kingdom where the highlights of Triton's day, week, month or even year depending what trouble his lovely daughters, particularly the youngest, got themselves into. Prince Andersen was different from other princes, despite being human, in that his letters where always professional and were directed for mutual benefit between their kingdoms, obviously the Prince despite his wanderings knew of his duty, as such Triton hoped this would rub off on Ariel.

The girls all rolled their eyes at another snooty Prince that kissed up to daddy hoping to get his favor. Men where really all the same, even human ones.

"Ariel, you are a princess, even if you were, if we were just another family, you'd still have responsibilities. Not out of obligation but out of necessity and I can't stand by while seeing you never learn this lesson. So as your father I am banning you from going to anywhere else but Atlantica until you go back to the Academy, no more wondering outside!"

"Father this isn't fair!"

"Fair? If you where any more late then you'd have slept in the open ocean, it's clear that fair is no longer a valid defense!"

"That's not true! Eric's boat was so fast that he could have got me here above the palace sooner but he needed to get back as well!"

The room was shocked at that.

"Eric? Who is this Eric?" Triton said as hope flared a bit inside of him. Had she by chance met Prince Andersen?

"Eric the Dane father, the Danish Prince who's race I told you about in my letters! I met him on the sea today and he helped bring me home before dark." Ariel said and her sisters, and even her mother, seemed like hungry sharks for a good juicy gossip.

King Triton felt his heart beating fast at that. The Danes lived long, LONG, away from here. If Ariel was wondering long enough to encounter other restless souls, then who knows where she could wander off too?

"And if that boy had not been there then what? The decision is final, no more wandering outside of Atlantica!" Triton said firmly.

"Darling, at least allow her to visit Tirulia, at the very least the markets and its rivers. You can even ask Prince Andersen to keep an eye on her." Queen Athena said intervening for Ariel.

"Fine, I will send a letter, but I'll also mention that she is not to leave the oceanside border of the kingdom." King Triton said and Ariel smiled as she hugged her mother in thanks, then her sister and much to her father's surprise him as well as she went to bed after that.

"She'll be fine my love. Remember how we were at her age?"

"That's what concerns me my Queen, I do remember. And" Triton said in good nature.

"You can't stop her from running towards the horizon, even if it's over a cliff."

"I'd have no trouble if the cliff was in water. And that's the only reason I agreed to let her visit the human kingdom, otherwise she'd do it behind my back and I like to occasionally pretend that I am King and my word is law from time to time." King Triton said and chuckled as his wild daughters, born from a wild wife and a more wilder husband in his youth. Oh, how he loved every grey hair that they gave him.

After his wife went to sleep King Triton was restless, he needed to do something about his daughter to maker her understand that you needed some measure of self-control in life. But he had no idea how to do that.

How do you punish your child when the thing that makes you punish them is also what makes them smile the most?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Outside of that scene of a king and queen in love two soon to be lovers each sneak off. Ariel escapes and heads to her secret grotto, unable to sleep she already brainstorms about how to chart the icy waters to the North.

Eric was of the same mind as he practiced Tigh curbs on the Song of the Sea as he prepared to sail her to that fortress he created by accident last year with the green crystal.

They both spent half the night in this mischief before they both went to bed. Ariel even found a new trinket. It was a strange piece of rock that she knew didn't exist in the sea.

"Such a pretty rock!" Ariel said as she put the glowing green rock in her satchel.