"Eric, you're being—ow!"
Ariel broke off suddenly, wincing in pain as she felt the doctor pinch at her swollen wrist. She was currently seated in one of the comfortable chairs the study had to offer. Her left hand was holding an ice pack against her smarting ribs, while her right was being carefully wrapped up.
"I'm being reasonable," Eric answered, leaning against the desk with his arms crossed, expression firm.
The woman gave a sigh, blowing her bangs away from her face. She slumped deeper into the circular backing of the chair, her features easily twisting in frustration. She wasn't in the mood argue over how "reasonable" her husband was being.
"Carrying me all the way here is hardly reasonable. I could have walked." Ariel snorted, wincing again and shooting the doctor a dirty look.
Dr. Berg chuckled lightly, but refrained from saying a thing to the woman. It was obvious that the queen was not exactly in a happy place right now. Eric, however, had no qualms about challenging his wife's assertions.
"You had just gotten kicked." He replied, by way of defense to her accusation.
"I've had worse."
"And you had just gotten your wrist broken."
Ariel gave an indignant gasp. "It's only a bad sprain!"
"Caused by someone else purposely," Eric finished up, his eyes angry and his mouth set in a frown. A thousand ways he would punish the man who hurt his wife were running through his mind. Thankfully, the coward who had runaway after attacking Ariel would be apprehended by the guards, and meaning he would soon have the opportunity to give them what-for. "What were you even doing there? I thought you said you were going to go for a swim?"
"I was," Ariel started, grimacing in pain, "But I got sidetracked and ended up in the nursery. Then I realized you were probably still stuck in here with that trade report, and I felt bad, so I was on my way back."
Eric raised a brow. "Why were you in the nursery?"
"I was hoping for some inspiration on what to get the new baby." Ariel said obvious frustration.
"Still no luck?" Eric sympathized, and had she been capable of it at the moment, he was sure his wife would have thrown her arms up in defeat.
"None! I have no idea what Alana would want!" She said, with a moan of contempt. "This is her third as it is; what do people even want when it's their third baby?"
"You're asking me that question? The only child? Who's raising an only child?"
"Point taken," Ariel answered sourly, still upset about the whole issue. Then, she perked up. "But I did find the old baby books; did you know I actually put little baby handprints in them?"
"I remember," Eric grinned, "You came down here to get ink, and Melody's fingers were stained for a week."
Ariel smiled at the memory. "If she wouldn't have squirmed so much, I would've been able to wash off her hand right after."
"She was, what, a month old?"
"Month and a half, according to what I wrote in underneath." Ariel laughed lightly,
and then cut it short with a groan at the pain in her ribs.
Eric took notice, and his good mood vanished. The frown resettled onto his features. "I still don't understand why you're not more upset about the fact that someone hurt you like this."
"Oh, she was just upset." Ariel answered back airily, defending the very person who was giving her pain at the moment.
"She? It was a woman?" Eric wondered aloud, his black brows furrowing in confusion. Ariel was no ditzy little girl; if anyone wanted to harm her, they better be twice as large, because she would put up a good fight.
"Sort of." Ariel answered, carefully balancing the icepack on the armrest when she felt a chill start to settle in her.
"How can it 'sort of' be a woman?" Eric inquired, his eyes trailing off to the splint the doctor was setting around Ariel's wrist.
"Because our daughter's only a teenager, Eric." Ariel tried to clear up, wincing yet again as Dr. Bergh managed to prod her swollen wrist slightly.
"Ourdaughter? Are you trying to say that…Melody did this?" Confusion now alighted every part of Eric.
"Melody?" Ariel questioned with the same confused tone. She looked up at her husband as though he was crazy. "Where in the world did you get the idea that Melody could do something like this?"
"But you just said—!"
"I meant," Ariel cut him off effectively, exasperation in her tone, "our daughter, Harmony."
"Alright, you've lost me." Eric sighed in frustration, feeling like this was going nowhere. "Who's Harmony?"
Ariel gave him a look that held more meaning then her words could ever describe. Realization slowly started to creep into his mind, pushing away the fog until he was suddenly pressing a hand to his forehead. Slowly, his features turned from outright clueless to an expression of pain.
Oh.
That daughter.
Eric shut his eyes, letting a tightly controlled breath of air be released from his lips. "Right. Her."
"It seems more like she was a dream, doesn't it?" Ariel asked softly, her eyes turning down to stare at the carpet. Her throat was starting to tighten.
Eric shook his head, muttering, "More like a nightmare that's been dragged out for years."
Ariel knew what he meant. They had both watched a part of their world — the future plans they had made, the dreams they'd whispered — crumple away in one moment. It was hard not to feel a sense of bone-crushing pain at the idea that their family was always missing one.
And then, suddenly, she jerked out of it.
"Eric, she's back." Ariel whispered, looking upwards with a fiercely determined expression. "She's not our baby anymore, but she's back. She's here, with us, like how it was before. Like how it should be."
Tears stung at Ariel's eyes, tears she was sure came from an overwhelming sense of happiness. She expected Eric to jump ten feet in the air and whoop in joy. After all, this was what they had always hoped, always wanted. All she got in return, however, was her husband wearily sighing.
"Darling, please." Eric said softly, capturing his wife's good hand in his. "I thought we promised to stop doing this to ourselves years ago."
Ariel sighed softly, her gaze falling down to her lap. "But she is back. She is here. Harmony is home."
The way she said that sentence, so easily incorporating that name made Eric flinch in surprise. They never used her name whenever the rare subject of their once, other daughter was brought up. It just allowed for anguish to flow freely, something neither of them wanted.
Or at least, they hadn't wanted too until now. It would seem like Ariel, for some reason, had finally cracked. She was speaking about things that were impossible. Oddly, it did not worry him because knew that he'd find the person who had hurt her, and caused this. Then he would proceed to break every bone in their body.
"Dr. Berg, my wife's delusional." Eric said finally aloud, dispelling the heavy air that had suddenly settled in the room. The doctor warily turned an eye towards his king, letting his eyebrows rise up.
"I am not delusional!" Ariel gasped in an affronted manner, trying to jump to her feet. She was pressed back into her seat by her husband, who gave her an imploring look.
"And she's trying to injure herself further." Eric continued on to the doctor, ignoring his wife's protest once again. "Can we sedate her?"
It was clear by his light tone that he wasn't taking this option very seriously. In fact, it seemed like he was downright teasing, as though trying to forcibly lighten the atmosphere. Ariel, however, was a different story.
"Frederic II, if you even try to sedate me, I'll put you in a coma for the next twenty years. Don't think I won't!" Ariel replied, a bite to her words.
He gave a short laugh, but immediately sobered upon seeing Ariel's glowering, almost murderous expression. Perhaps she was serious after all. He held up his hands in surrender.
"It was only a suggestion for your own benefit, no need to resort to full names and threats." Eric answered, trying not to smirk at the annoyed look sent to him by his wife.
"I'll show you a suggestion for my own benefit," Ariel muttered, squirming in the chair.
"Your majesty, please. If you keep moving you're going to end up actually fracturing your wrist." Dr. Bergh wearily reminded, trying to finish up the wrapping.
With her inability to sit still, something that should have taken five minutes had taken the better part of fifteen. Ariel gave a loud, overdramatic sigh, her blue eyes turning towards the doctor with an imploring look.
"How long do I have to wear it this time?" She wondered, the fight leaving her as she let out a frustration huff.
"A good two weeks. And then, your highness, your ribs are bruised, you'll have to take it easy." Dr. Bergh answered, and Ariel gave another sigh in response.
"Two weeks." She repeated to herself, frowning slightly. "There go my plans." Ariel mumbled unhappily under her breath, wincing again as her swollen wrist was prodded.
"It'll fly by darling." Eric reminded gently, though he only received a glare from his wife for his words. "Does it help if I promise not to tease you…much?"
"No," She grumbled, clearly irritated. "It doesn't help."
"Well, at least it's only two weeks, it could be—"
A loud knock sounded on the door to the study, causing Eric to swivel around, perplexion written all across his features. Shooting a confused look back towards his wife, who gave a shrug in return, Eric crossed the room and opened the door.
"Sorry to interrupt you, sir, but I thought you might like to talk to the person who hurt the Queen."
This new man's voice deadpanned those words in a serious tone. Marcie continued to squirm, despite her hands having been tied behind her back with rope after she was traded off to this new man. She had surmised that this man was more important than the one who had caught her, and that's why she'd been handed off to him. All in all, however, this was not how she had planned to spend her after-school time.
"You caught them?" The girl looked upwards in alarm at the sound of another man's voice, but she found that from the angle she was being yanked along at, it was nearly impossible to see his face.
"Yes, sir. It wasn't too difficult," the new man answered, tightening his grip around her.
"Alright, have some of your men look after him for now," the second man started, his voice having a hard edge to it. "Keep him in the guard tower. I'll deal with him in an hour."
"Actually," here the new man with the grip on her hesitated, enough for the teenager to take notice, "I think it would be best if you handled this right now."
"Now?" The other man seemed visibly surprised at the notion. "She's inside, though. I don't want her to get hurt…again. And I don't expect to be level headed when I'm breaking his jaw."
"I don't think that will be an issue," here the new man said, sending a sideways glance in the girl's direction.
"You're sure I can't deal with this later?" The other man seemed hesitant now, worried even.
"Positive, sir." The new man turned to look at the other person, his grip tightening on the back of the teen's sweater. "Trust me. You'll be glad you did this."
The second man sighed. "Alright, fine. Bring them in."
Marcie was dragged into the room, and then thrown not-so-gently on a couch. Her school bag was tossed onto the ground near her feet, thankfully not spilling out again. She turned to shoot a glare towards her captor, when she noticed something else.
This room looked…big.
The expensive kind of big.
Bookshelves holding volumes thicker than her head stood against the far wall, covering it from floor, to very high ceiling. Couches and chairs were spread sporadically around the large room, and each one looked inviting. A window took up another wall, with a fair amount of natural light spilling into the room. There was even a large desk, with papers and a globe.
She was so engrossed in looking around this room that Marcie didn't realize that there was more than one person gawking at her.
Eric kept staring at the teen with wide eyes. Wearing a gray shirt, blue trousers, and a pair of black-and-white shoes, he would have kept the assumption that this was a young man, had it not been for the faded pink, long sleeved, zippered...garment. Her bright red hair, identical to that of Ariel's, was cut short, coming up only to her collarbone. Her blue eyes were almost hidden away behind thick glasses.
Eric shook his head. This was impossible. He was simply letting his wife get inside his mind with all her talk. This girl just must have an eerie alikeness to Melody. There were people like that, right? There had to be.
"What's your name?" He finally wondered aloud, his voice sounding hoarse. His eyes did not leave the teenager's face.
Marcie's head shot up like a bullet, her ice-blue eyes connecting with his. She saw how he shuddered lightly, taking an automatic step back. The girl frowned, anxiously looking at him. Did he think she was scary?
He looked strong, but not like the buff man that had first captured her. He had dark hair, and blue eyes that were similar to her own. He looked…troubled. She looked down at herself; she was disheveled, but she didn't think she looked threatening. Maybe she could negotiate her way out of this mess.
"If I tell you, will you let me go?" Marcie bargained, almost hopeful.
"Don't be disrespectful, girl," the new man that had dragged her here growled, jerking her shoulder to keep her in line.
Marcie looked up at him, glaring once again, before staring at the expensive marble flooring of this room. Well, if she was going to be hurt for speaking, then she wasn't going to speak at all.
"Captain, really. That's hardly necessar-ar-ar-ouch!" A woman's voice, a familiar woman's voice, cried out.
Marcie's head shot in the direction of it, and she realized with a start that the woman was the crazy lady from earlier. There an older man standing to the right of her, trying to make her stay still, as he was doing something to her wrist. The man wore stethoscope, so she instantly labeled him as a doctor, even though he was missing the white coat.
"Sorry, your majesty." The Captain said ruefully, acknowledging that he'd been called out. "Go on girl, tell them your name."
In response to what 'Captain' told her to do, Marcie's eyes widened, and she shook her head fiercely. She could hear the man grinding his teeth together in annoyance. The teenager gave a soft gulp in fear.
Yes, it was best if she kept her mouth shut.
"You're not going to speak at all?" The dark-haired man asked in confusion. Marcie shook her head again. "Why not?"
She stayed silent, casting her eyes downwards so that she wouldn't have to have the temptation of speaking. Even if she could, how would she say that she was afraid of what would happen to her? Or that she needed a phone? Obviously these people trusted him, a lot more than they trusted her at the moment.
"Girl, he asked you a question." The 'Captain' growled again, but this time, Marcie flinched and was able to avoid him jerking her shoulder once more. She was starting to catch on.
"I see." Crazy Lady's sudden voice made every head in the room swivel towards her, but she only locked eyes with Marcie. "You're not speaking because you're afraid the Captain is going to hurt you."
Marcie bit back her tongue, which, if let loose, would have said 'the Captain isn't going to hurt me; he will hurt me'. Instead, she dropped her gaze. She scuffed her left sneaker against the marble floor, awkwardly unstable with her hands still behind her back.
"If he promises not to hurt you, will you tell us your name?" Crazy Lady asked, her voice kind and caring. The girl weighed the options for a moment, before giving a hesitant nod.
"Captain Raleigh," Crazy Lady started, in a slow, understanding voice "Can you promise that you won't hurt the girl?" Behind her, Marcie could practically hear the Captain stiffen, before he gave a disparaging sighed.
"I promise, your majesty." He mumbled faintly, as though he was a child saying an apology.
"Good." The dark haired man said. "Now that that's settled, can you please tell us what your name is?"
"How about this? I'll tell you my name, but first, you gotta untie me." Managing, with some struggle, the girl wiggled around to show her tightly bound wrists to these people.
"That wasn't part of the deal," Eric reminded, starting to recover from the initial shock of the teenager's presence. Yes, she looked similar to Melody, but it didn't negate the fact that the girl had taken it upon herself to hurt his wife.
"You tied her up, Captain?" Ariel questioned, seemingly astonished by the news, her eyes finally taking note of the fact that the girls hands were behind her back.
"Standard protocol, your majesty." The Captain responded, though his voice edged on a smug tone. "And she's a feisty one; tried to take a few swipes before I tied her down."
"She's violent," Eric mused, appraising the teenager with a hard, judging look.
Marcie shot him an offended look. "I am not violent."
"You broke my wife's wrist, and then bruised her ribs," the dark-haired man deadpanned, eyes darkening and face twisting into a scowl. "And then you ran off. I think it's a fair statement if I say your actions here have spoken louder than your words."
Marcie blanched. So he was married to Crazy Lady? Granted she didn't look too crazy at the moment, but one could never be sure. And she had actually broken the woman's wrist? That didn't bode well for her.
"Eric, it's a sprain." Crazy Lady reminded her apparent husband in an exasperated tone.
"Look, I didn't want to hurt her," the girl's careful voice conceded. 'Eric's scowl deepened. The teenager swallowed hard. "I'm sorry she got hurt, but she wasn't letting me go! It was like….like total self-defense! She was acting like she was totally drunk, and I didn't want her to beat the living daylights out of me so I had to run!"
A sense of hysteria took over, the stress of the day finally catching up. Her chest started to heave, in and out, and before she knew it her eyes were blinded with tears. She crumpled into a fit of sobs a moment later.
"I…I just wanna go home. I h-had a rough day…I just wanna g-go home!"
Tears fell in rapid succession down her face, but Marcie could do nothing but hang her head. She just wanted to forget all about today. She wanted to go to her house, try to scrounge up something to eat, and then curl up in her cozy bed. Actually, scratch that, she'd do anything but stay here.
She looked up at them, all the adults in the room, her nose running and her glasses slipping down her face. "I-I don't even know where I am! I'm just a kid, please, just let me g-go home!"
The anger Eric had felt was draining from him, tense shoulders collapsing under the weight. He had daughter the same age too. He could tell that the teenager was frightened, and though he wasn't sure how to reconcile the pity he felt for her and the anger he felt towards her, he felt foolish standing there doing nothing.
"Captain, can you please untie her? This is honestly ridiculous, she can't even wipe her nose," a woman's voice chimed in, clearly exasperated with the situation. Marcie looked up through her tears, surprised that the redheaded woman was sticking up for her, especially after the teen had hurt her.
"What?!" Two of the men in the room spluttered, breaking the girl out of her musings.
"Ma'am, I have to protest! That is not a good idea!" The 'Captain' started, protest deeply rooted in his voice.
"He's right," 'Eric' continued, his tone firm in the belief. "What if she gets the idea to attack you again? After all, she is violent."
"I'm n-not violent!" The teenager once again declared through her hiccups, a fresh wave of tears springing to her eyes.
Ariel gave the girl an empathetic look. "She's right, there's really no need to make such a fuss over something so silly."
"Right. Silly." Eric repeated flatly, giving his wife an imploring look, as though expecting her to see reason. "I know you try to see good in everyone, but she physically attacked you. A few tears won't change the fact that by law, she could be imprisoned for such an act."
"But I didn't d-do it on purpose!" Marcie cried out, now more than ever terrified. "I told you, she w-wouldn't let me go! I don't w-wanna go to jail!"
"No one is going anywhere," Ariel answered the girl, though her eyes were still trained thoughtfully at her husband. "Besides, she's not wrong, I was the one who grabbed at her. It was my fault, and really, I should be the one apologizing. No harm, no foul."
"I don't care who's fault it is," Eric argued, his tone taking on a sharp, protective edge. "No one should ever be reacting by breaking your wrist."
"Dr. Berg," Marcie watched the woman say, turning her head in the man's direction. The doctor looked up at the woman with raised brows. "Can you please tell my husband that, for the last time, it's a sprain?"
"Dr. Berg," Eric answered the indirect question, rolling his eyes, "can you please tell my wife that she's utterly delusional and I'm not releasing the person who hurt her?"
"I never said to release her," Ariel said quickly, almost hotly. "I just said to untie her hands."
Eric started to speak, but his wife, realizing this would not be good, cut him off before he started. "Oh, honestly, she's a teenager. Are you two actually saying that a little girl like that can actually be considered a threat?"
The man opened his mouth to retort, but found nothing coming out. Frustrated, he snapped his jaw shut, and swiveled around to size up the girl. She was watching the exchange with wide, unblinking eyes, concern marking every part of her features.
He sighed. There were some arguments he was never meant to win. Finally, he muttered. "Please untie her, Captain."
"But sir, she's—" The man stopped his protest upon seeing the glare levied onto him by the king. With a grimace, he complied, yanking at the rope that held Marcie's hands together. "Fine."
The pressure on her wrists was suddenly gone. Marcie blinked, surprised it had taken so little to free her. Although "free" was a touchy subject, considering this Captain had grabbed onto the back of her jacket with the force of a python.
She rubbed at her wrists quickly, trying to get the feeling back into them. Then she pulled her too-big sleeve across her nose and rubbed at her eyes, ignoring as it fell slightly, revealing enough of her arm to show a meager bracelet.
What she didn't realize, however, was that all eyes in the room were suddenly focused on a dull gold charm hanging off the string bracelet. It occurred to those watching her that a girl dressed as she was, in clothes that looked worn and didn't fit, would have limited means of acquiring such a piece. Even from a distance it appeared out of place on the teenager.
"Where did you get that jewelry, girl?" The 'Captain' asked aloud, his voice accusing.
Marcie blinked, twisting slightly to look at the man in confusion as her arm fell back to her lap. She felt her ears for earrings, and looked to her hands for rings, but found nothing. "What jewelry?"
"I think you know what I'm asking," the Captain replied, his eyes flickering to her left wrist. "That bracelet is well hidden under your sleeves."
"My bracelet?" Marcie questioned, bewildered, and clutching her left arm reflexively. "I made my bracelet. It's just braided strings."
"And the gold charm hanging off of it?" The Captain pressed further, apparently disbelieving every word coming out of her mouth. Anyone who injured the Queen would never have a good position in his book.
"It's mine," Marcie answered, quickly. "I've had it forever."
"Forever since this afternoon, when you snuck into the Princess's room and stole it?" Came the retort, causing Marcie to gasp indignantly.
"I didn't steal anything," she answered, pushing her sleeve back to reveal the multi-colored bracelet and its hanging charm. "Look, on the back side there's a scratched out name, but you can see my birthday and an M for Marcie. The front of it is mostly worn out because I'm always messing with it."
"An interesting choice of a lie," the Captain responded, snorting. "What a coincidence that both names start with an M."
A feeling between offense and fright took over Marcie, and it was all she could do to keep her head held high. "This is my bracelet. I've never stolen anything, ever. I'm not a thief."
Pleadingly, she looked over at the other people, Crazy lady and 'Eric', hoping that they might help her out here. She tried to make the innocence show clear on her face. Maybe her sincerity would drive them to believe her.
"No one said you were a thief." Crazy Lady said smoothly, and Marcie felt relieved that at least someone as on her side. "I'm sure the Captain," here she fixed him with a narrowed-eyed look, "has a very good reason for what he's saying. Don't you, Captain Raleigh?"
"Your majesty," The Captain began hastily, "I've seen her type before. There's another story to that charms on her bracelet. Mark my words, I'm sure if you check, you'll find the princess has very similar one that has suddenly gone 'missing'."
"So what if someone else has a similar charm?" Marcie suddenly questioned, feeling herself growing cornered. "Lots of people probably have the same ones that they bought at a store too! But mine is different, it's got my birthday and an M!"
"Don't be impertinent." The Captain growled, jerking her shoulder again. Marcie gave a soft cry of surprise, before miserably slumping back against the couch.
"Why don't we just clear this up quickly?" Ariel suggested, trying to act as a diplomat. "Apparently, I'm not allowed to move," here the queen shot an annoyed look at the doctor, who chuckled lightly, "so honey, why don't you come over here so I can see your bracelet and make sure it's nothing like our daughter has?"
"Ariel, I don't think—"
"Your highness, I'm not so sure—"
"Gentlemen," Ariel cut off both her husband and the Captain of the Guard with a fierce edge to her voice. "I am a grown woman, perfectly capable of handling my own battles. And since we've already established that the girl isn't violent, I don't believe she'll go on the offensive unless threatened. Right?"
Marcie's head spun as she tried to recover (along with the men) from the woman's sudden prowess of language. She nodded dimly. "Um…right?"
"Good." Crazy Lady smiled, but it was sort of sly and directed towards Marcie.
"Can you come here?"
The teen blinked, wary of her surroundings once more. She knew what Crazy Lady was about. But everyone was on her side. So if she went all crazy again, and the girl had to hurt her to run away, these men might just pounce.
Then again, Marcie thought to herself, she's stuck up for me a few times, and she hasn't been really acting crazy...
Making up her mind quickly, she ripped herself away from the man's tight grasp, and stood up. She half expected the Captain to lunge at her, but nothing happened. She felt both his eyes, and those of Eric, following her shuffling steps, and tried hard to ignore them.
She awkwardly stopped about half a foot away from the woman, swallowing with nerves she didn't know she had. Crazy Lady didn't falter in her gentle smile, although her winces were frequent as the doctor beside her did things to her arm.
"Here," Marcie finally mumbled, pushing back her sleeve once more to expose her bracelet, and shoved her arm towards the woman.
"Thank you," Crazy Lady said in an automatic response.
Her warm fingers probed Marcie's wrist, gently twisting the bracelet around, admiring its handiwork. While she did this, the teenager tried hard not to let a cold sweat break out on her forehead. She didn't like being this near people.
"You made this bracelet?" Ariel curious, and rather impressed. Yes, it was made from string, and probably worthless monetary wise, but the redhead could tell that it had been crafted with painstaking care. The girl gave a pensive shrug.
"I always do. Whenever one starts to get tattered, I make a new one, and add a little loop for the charm," the teen explained, trying to keep her voice light and even.
"I see. It's lovely." Ariel complimented, before letting the charm fall into the palm of her hand. "This is your charm?"
"I've had that since I was a baby." Marcie explained, noticing the way the woman's eyes seemed to light up at the word. "See? That side has a design, but if you flip it, the other side has my birthday and I think my name, just its sorta scratched out. If you look really close you can see an M, for Marcie."
"A design," Ariel muttered to herself, turning her eyes down to focus on the charm. Her heartbeat quickened at the sight of something she saw everywhere around the palace. Though it was faded, it was clear enough to tell what it was. But then that would mean…"And if you flip it…your birthday and something scratched out…."
"Your majesty, I don't think it's wise to get so riled up, not with your newly bruised ribs…" The third man, the Doctor, warned, noticing, just like Marcie, that the redheaded woman was on the tipping point of losing it.
Up close, Doctor Berg noticed a birthmark on the side of the girl's face, up by her temple. It was curiously shaped, almost like a shell. A recollection tugged at him, something about a clearly distinctive feature on a set of twins…?
"Ariel?" The Doctor's words pulled Eric out of his hushed conversation with the Captain. Suddenly he was much more alert and reached his wife in half a stride. "Ariel? What's wrong? What's going on?"
"I didn't do anything!" Marcie declared, wide-eyed with panic.
"Eric, one side has a design, and the other has her birthday and something scratched out. A design and something scratched out!" Ariel repeated, excitedly, cupping the charm in her hand.
"I don't know what she's talking about! She's, like, crazy!" The girl stated quickly, her eyes pleading for this man not to blame her.
"She is not crazy," he stated firmly, leveling the teenager with an almost searing look. The girl turned her face away from him, a hot rush of blood coming to her cheeks. Eric looked at the third man. "Doctor?"
"Her wrist is bandaged and her ribs should heal quickly, but…" Doctor Bergh sighed, shaking his head. "I can't explain her emotional state, other than she was looking at the girl's charm, and then…"
He trailed off, his eyes going from the queen, who kept mumbling that same phrase over and over again in a hurried tone to herself, before finally resting on the teenager. Eric followed his gaze, noting that Ariel was still holding onto the charm.
"Let me see that, darling," Eric said gently, finally deciding to lean down and peer at the bracelet. He only wanted to know what was causing his wife so much anxiety, but what he found was quite the opposite.
The charm itself was a gold, rectangular shape, and although dull, it still retained an air of expense. As Ariel had said, something was scratched out, almost impossible to distinguish. As it stood, he could just barely make out the first letter; it was either a half missing M, or possibly, maybe, in the right lighting…an H? There was also an engraved date underneath, the numbers cloudy, but still legible.
"What the…" Suddenly rushed with energy he hadn't had before, Eric turned the rectangle over. He tried to swallow hard, but found his mouth too dry at the familiar image.
No one seemed to notice Marcie stiffen, biting her lower lip in worry. Concerned that saying anything might upset these people more, she kept quiet. When Eric's hand retracted from her wrist, as though it was on fire, she looked up and found him staring at her.
"After all these years, you kept it," Crazy Lady spoke up again, making the teen break away from Eric's gaze, and look at the woman. "You kept it because one side had a design, and the other has your birthday and some scratched out stuff!"
"Lady, for the last time, I don't know what you're talking about!" Her voice rising to a strangled yell, Marcie searched all around the room with her eyes, until she found Eric. "Tell her she's crazy! Please, tell her to leave me alone!"
For all her hoping though, Eric was useless at this point. He just stared at her, his mouth opening and closing, but no sound ever coming out. From what Marcie could tell, he had gone just as crazy as that lady.
It was that last thought that spurred the girl into action. She yanked her extended arm away, but she hadn't realized that the woman had grasped onto her charm again, holding onto it for dear life. With Marcie's harsh pull, it broke off of her bracelet and slipped out of the woman's hand.
With a startled cry, Marcie started to spread her hands out like mad across the carpet. In a panic, sweat mounted on her like a hurricane while she searched through the long fibers. She could feel her heart start to beat in her ears, and dimly, she realized she was speaking.
"…no! Crap, crap, crap!" Her voice was cracking as she scrambled around, no longer concerned for her safety, but desperately intent on finding her charm. "No, please, no. I can't lose this! It's all I got!"
"I think you've caused enough trouble already," there was a deep, unsure voice that reached Marcie's ears at the same time as she was yanked upwards by her shirt.
Twisting around with wild eyes, the girl saw that it was the Captain doing this. Any other time, she would have been shaking her in shoes, so scared that he may hurt her. Now, however, the girl used all of her adrenaline to wrench herself away from his surprisingly loose grip.
"Leave me the hell alone!" Marcie roared, shocking the Captain, and even herself, at this display of anger. She didn't hesitate in turning back around and starting to search through the carpet again, muttering to herself, "I've gotta find it!"
"I don't think this is the right time to go searching for that thing, girl." The Captain returned, his voice hesitant as he flicked his eyes up at the two monarchs.
Without warning, he leaned down and grabbed the girl again. As she was being lifted back onto her feet, Marcie felt her hand press against something cold. She dug her fingers into the carpet and captured what she'd been looking for, clinging onto it like a life preserver.
"Doctor Berg?" The Captain called out, as though asking for an update on his rulers situations. The physician shook his head, motioning towards a crying, hysterical Ariel, and a very stiff Eric.
"There isn't much I can do," The man said, features wildly perplexed at the sudden reaction from the monarchs. "Maybe you should take the girl away?"
"Right!" The Captain answered back loudly. "Come on, girl; we're going to—" The man broke off in disdain to see her fiddling with that damn charm in her hands.
It was that charm that had led to whatever was going on with his monarchs. At the moment, both seemed incapable of doing anything, brought down by a silly little gold thing. The Captain knew these people, had been with them for years now. Something about that thing, whatever it was, was causing their inner strength to crumble.
Suspicion and a hint of anger were in the man's narrowed eyes. Was it witchcraft? He wasn't taking any chances. He made a swift determination, and started to mutter to himself. "I'll be taking that."
Reaching over, the Captain rudely snatched the thing away from the girl. She gave a shocked cry, but it was no match for the man's large fingers forcing hers apart. He looked at it for a moment, trying to figure out what was so special about the thing, before shrugging and starting to put it in his pocket.
Marcie watched this in horror. "Give it back!" She swatted at the man until he stopped midway to his pocket, annoyance creeping into his eyes. "That's mine!"
"I think," the Captain said coolly, blocking off the girl's hands with ease, "it'd be best if you stopped talking, before you dig yourself into a deeper hole."
"But you don't get it! That's mine!" The girl pushed, desperately trying to regain her charm. "Please! It's the only thing I still got from my parents!"
Somewhere in the room, there was a soft laugh. "Sweetie…we're your parents."
For the briefest of seconds, Marcie felt like time stood stock still. She swiveled around to where that voice had come from, and her eyes connected with those of Crazy Lady. She knew that there was no way for her to say she hadn't heard those words perfectly.
She blinked, and the world came screeching back to life. Within seconds, anger started to seep into her veins. Yes, there was a fury coming over her, something that had not happened since she was teased in grade school.
"You're crazy." She spat out, with as much venom as she could procure.
"You're all insane, and…and…I'm going home!"
Turning fast, the girl reared up and kicked the Captain as hard as she possibly could. The sudden motion startled the man, although it wasn't much of a hit. His mind in a complete whorl, he jerked instinctively and dropped the charm still in his hand. Not missing a beat, Marcie swooped downwards and caught the thing before it fell back into the rug. She stuffed it back into her jacket pocket immediately.
With her heart pumping in her ears, she ducked under the Captain's hands. She shot towards the door, her heart pounding faster as she heard footsteps behind her.
White-hot energy seared through the girl. No longer working with her conscious mind, but going on instinct, Marcie closed her hand on the knob…
…and that's when all of the adrenaline inside of the girl suddenly came to a crashing halt.
A person stood right in front of the teen, eyes wide with surprise. They were big blue eyes, the same ones Marcie had seen every morning when she looked in the mirror. The girl's long dark hair shifted slightly as she took a step back, her dainty, pretty hands coming up apologetically.
But the redheaded teen wasn't alarmed with the other girl's hands or hair. Oh no. What caused Marcie to jerk back in surprise was the other girl's face. Though she had it twisted in embarrassment and shock, there was something oddly familiar about her features.
Then realization hit her like a ton of bricks: the other girl's face was the same as hers.
Suddenly, the world went very dark.
Disclaimer: Ariel, Eric, Melody and the setting for this story are from The Little Mermaid, which is property of Disney. I own nothing; everything represented from the film(s), tv series, etc. is/are the property of Disney. Other characters are from my own imagination and are not associated with Disney.