Chapter Text
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months, and somehow Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle managed to keep their mouths (or beaks, and whatever crabs and fish have) shut. Sebastian told King Triton he’d received word that Ariel was staying with some distant relatives (definitely not Ursula) in the Mediterranean Sea, which eased his worrying tremendously. However, he still hoped his little one would return to him someday.
As for Ariel and Eric, they soon became best friends. They were finishing each other's sentences, and could often be found together in his study - pouring over maps or admiring the many items he’d collected. Ariel always felt a pang in her chest when they did the latter, remembering her now-destroyed human treasure. She proved to be quite good at map-reading and making (even though it took a while before she could read fluently. And once she started she couldn’t stop reading, and often - especially when Eric had a royal commitment which didn’t require her presence - could be seen deeply engrossed in a book, and would jump when someone called her name to get her attention), especially when it was a map relating to the ocean. In fact, she often had to correct Eric on several inaccuracies.
“How do you know so much about the ocean?” Eric asked one time
Ariel shrugged. “I have my ways.”
Eric chuckled. “It’s amazing. You’re amazing.”
Ariel blushed and ducked her head before quietly adding a coral reef into a previously bare corner (only a handful of humans had visited it, so she wasn’t surprised that it hadn’t appeared on the map).
Although he never quite forgot the mystery girl who saved his life, as time went by Eric found himself growing more and more attracted to Ariel. It wasn’t just the way her big brown eyes sparkled with life and mischief, or how her magnificent red hair fell down her shoulders and back, or her laugh that felt like sunshine on a cloudy day, or the gentle curve of her face. It was also how she was full of great ideas, the way she’d rush over to help a child who had fallen over get to their feet or assist an elderly woman by carrying most of her shopping from the market, her curiosity, her joie de vie. He would look at her, ever so fondly, and be unable to take his eyes off her (even when it meant accidentally walking into a column. Ariel teased him gently about it, but tenderly rubbed his poor sore nose. Eric sighed blissfully. God, her featherlight touch felt so good). When he helped her into a carriage or onto the back of the horse (Ariel had been a bit wary around horses at first, and hung back - away from their enormous legs that could rear up, kick someone in the head and cause serious damage, their swishing tails, their big flaring nostrils. She fell off the horse quite a few times when she first started riding lessons, and Eric was always there to help her get back up. She’d cling to him, and he’d just hold her, and let her cry if she needed to. Despite the black and deep purple bruises covering her arms and legs, she kept getting back in the saddle, and although they had yet to make a fully accomplished horsewoman out of her she was making some very good progress) - until she insisted on doing the latter herself - his hand would linger in hers. If she yawned and rested his head on her shoulder, or her feet were aching from a busy day, or she just needed someone to talk to, he didn’t shrug her off (and even rested his head atop hers), either carried her shoes or swept her up in his arms, and listened to her every word. Ariel herself was on cloud nine. At last she belonged somewhere. Yes, there was so much of the human world that she didn’t understand, but she was finding her way a little more every day, and - from afar - Tia Dalma couldn’t have been more proud of her.
Unfortunately, life is not a fairytale - no matter how much we wish it was. Soon Queen Selina was receiving replies from the kingdoms she wrote to, asking about Ariel, and something wasn’t right from the moment she finished reading the first one, a befuddled look crossing her face. Her confusion grew as she read the rest of the letters, and she abruptly stood up just as she finished the last one.
“Eric. My study. Now. I would like a word with you,” she commanded.
Eric missed a beat before he complied, putting down his knife and fork, leaving his half-eaten breakfast and following his mother. Ariel was left alone at the breakfast table, unsure of what to do. Eventually she stopped picking at the rest of her food, ate it, and crept off in the direction of Queen Selina’s study.
“As you know Eric, I have received word from the kingdoms that I wrote to asking of Ariel,” said Queen Selina, direct and to the point.
“Yes? Has any one of them stepped forth to claim her?” Whilst Eric was happy for Ariel, who would potentially be going home, a piece of him deep down wanted none of them to claim her. The castle would feel so cold and lifeless, so empty, without her.
“... No. In fact, not one of them knows of an Ariel who matches the exact description I gave to them.”
“... … Oh. … Well, surely the ruler of a kingdom cannot keep track of all their subjects, Mother.”
“Perhaps that is true. However, the rulers whom I wrote to had servants ask all around their kingdoms for a petite red-headed young lady named Ariel. Whilst some have had red hair and a petite stature, none of them were her.”
“So that has led you to believe that Ariel… may not be from the Miskito Kingdom, or Suriname, or Barbados, or Martinique?”
“Yes.”
There! Eric had gotten what he wanted. But why did the victory feel so cheap and hollow? Even now Ariel didn’t like to talk about where she had come from, and Eric didn’t want to pry so deep that he would push her away. She kept her face turned firmly towards the future, and didn’t dare look back. “Well, try writing to more kingdoms please, Mother. There has to be somewhere that knows of her,” he asked, almost begging.
Queen Selina wasn’t sure. In her own way she’d grown rather fond of Ariel, who was such a sweet, good girl who remembered her manners and waited patiently for her turn to speak. But aside from some passing remarks about a strict father and six older sisters, she wasn’t one to talk about her homeland. Odd. Very odd indeed. She sighed. “Very well. I shall try. You are dismissed.”
Ariel, who had been outside listening in the whole time, hurried away, her heart thumping so hard against her ribs she thought it would burst right out. She could barely breathe; it felt like someone was choking her. If anyone found out her secret, she would be done for.
For the rest of the day Ariel was on edge. She kept wringing her hands, and didn’t speak unless spoken to. When Eric asked, she replied that she was fine, when that couldn’t have been further from the truth. She finally relaxed at the end of the day, after dinner in a nice warm bath, all the tension seeping out from her muscles. The only sounds were her slow, calm breathing in and out, and the faint footsteps of servants bustling about the castle. A deep sense of peace washed over her, so much so that she let her guard down and did something she hadn’t done in what felt like forever. She sang. Softly, quietly to herself, which grew louder and louder until her beautiful, ethereal voice filled the bathroom. She sang about all the joy she’d experienced, all the hard times, the future in a time where the world was at her feet. She sang, and sang, and sang, and it was as if her voice and body had found each other again, and were curled up in a tender embrace, softly whispering “I found you.”
Eric happened to be passing by, and stopped dead in his tracks. Goosebumps prickled up and down his arms. Tears welled up in his eyes. Her voice was the most wonderful thing he had ever heard. Why had she kept it hidden for so long? He listened to the whole song, and was frozen completely solid for what felt like hours after it had finished. Lashana walked past him into the bathroom with some fresh towels, and complimented Ariel on her angelic singing, but it felt like he was hovering near the ceiling, watching himself and everyone else. Her voice was the kind that soothed all one’s broken pieces, but it also sounded so familiar. Almost like the girl who…
No. It couldn’t be.
… Could it?
He shook his head and walked away.
As Eric was beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together, underwater King Triton was undergoing a similar revelation. Do you remember how Sebastian lied and said Ariel was staying with distant relatives in the Mediterranean Sea? Well, the young merman sent there as a diplomat (his name was Fernando, and he was a quiet young man with big brown eyes and messy dark brown hair) had just returned from there, and was reporting back to King Triton about the state of things in the Mediterranean. Thankfully, everything was peaceful.
“And my daughter? How is she?” asked King Triton, his whole face lighting up.
“Your daughter, Your Majesty?” Fernando’s tone shifted into a scared, uncertain one.
“Yes. Sebastian told me she is staying with relatives there.”
“... Oh. She-” Fernando was shaking. He quickly composed himself. “Your Majesty, she wasn’t there. I don’t think she ever was.”
“WHAT?!”
With that, Fernando swam off, and got as far away from King Triton’s wrath as possible.