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Post by Aquisha on Mar 10, 2008 17:16:35 GMT -5
So, as promised, here is my newest fanfic. I'm not done with it, but I'm about halfway through. Now this story does take place in Atlantica so I tried to do my research, series fans! But, please forgive me if anything is misnamed or wrongly referrenced. Though this story furhters the plot of all the characters, it's also a big send up of the series so I hope everyone can enjoy the little allusions that are thrown in here and there and the places that we get to revisit with Ariel and Eric. Anyway, I hope everyone likes it and can't wait to hear what you think. *It's a longish section, so just be prepared:)* ************************************************************ Eric really couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this excited. In the last three years he’d only visited a handful of places and even then it was for the exclusive purpose of finding a bride. So it had been an even longer time since Eric had gone anywhere for pure pleasure. “Vacation” was a word that Grimsby cringed at, even when it had been sanctioned by Eric’s school, Crestwood Academy. When Eric came home to rule the kingdom in earnest, Grimsby had made an unofficial yet powerful edict against the prince leaving the kingdom for any reason that did not involve the kingdom’s best interest. It was great legislation for the state, but kind of rough on Eric’s adventurous spirit. The only relief from his sentence was Ariel. She always served as his break from reality. In fact, Eric felt like he was having some wonderful out of body experience every time he saw her. Even cooped up in the castle, Ariel was like a fresh breeze off the ocean for him and he just hoped that in some small way, he could pay her back. For all these reasons, Eric had felt like he was ready to jump out of his skin for about a week. And, in a manner of speaking, the feeling was quite apropos. King Triton’s 50th coronation anniversary was this year. The event would be enormous, bringing in creatures and merpeople from all the oceans and seas. Of course, this meant that all of Triton’s daughters would have to make an appearance, including Ariel. Now because of a certain pact made two months earlier, Ariel was obliged to take her prince along with her on her next visit to Atlantica. When she’d brought Eric the news, the subsequent hour was filled with nonstop questions about what to expect, what to bring, who he’d meet…just on and on and on! Ariel answered as calmly as she could, but she couldn’t completely hide how happy she was to bring him to Atlantica. For Ariel, bringing Eric home was somewhat of a secret desire that she’d hardly let herself have. But now that he wanted to go and there was a perfectly good reason to bring him, she was ecstatic. Even with the sea witch destroyed and Triton losing his spite for humans, Ariel knew there’d be a different kind of closure in bringing Eric to Atlantica. She felt like it would bring everything full circle; she’d been accepted by the land and Eric would be accepted by the sea, plain and simple. The only thing that could have taken the wind out of their sails was Grimsby. They were fairly sure that his rules about leisure excursions were still in place. After a day or so of strategizing, Ariel and Eric got up the courage to face Grimsby in his office (of course, they’d asked Carlotta to come along to butter him up). “Certainly,” answered Grimsby nonchalantly as he skimmed over the papers on his desk. The looks of trepidation on Eric, Ariel, and Carlotta’s faces didn’t change at all except that Eric raised one incredulous eyebrow. “Of course you may go and visit, Eric,” he continued, almost smiling. “Grimsby, are you sure?” asked Carlotta, still surprised at his answer. “You know you’re letting Eric do something he wants to do?” “Very funny, Carlotta,” Grimsby retorted. “If Eric goes to Atlantica for a celebration in King Triton’s honor, then it’s more of a diplomatic call rather than one for pleasure. Isn’t that right Eric?” “Yeah,” Eric said, coming out of his daze. “Of course, Grim; purely diplomatic.” “Well, then,” Grimsby continued, getting up from his chair and walking around his desk to Eric. “I’ll get everything in order for you to leave. I’ll preside over court for those…how many days did you say you’d be gone?” “We’ll leave for Atlantica next Wednesday afternoon and we’ll probably be back by Sunday evening,” answered Ariel. “Well,” said Grimsby, “that’s a short little visit isn’t it? Even better; I’m sure that I can keep the kingdom afloat for only four days. In the meantime, I think you both should try and get all the work done that you can so I’m not left with a mountain of papers to go over.” “Right,” said Eric, taking Ariel’s hand. “Will do. Thanks Grim.” “Thank you Grimsby,” said Ariel, as she kissed Grimsby on the cheek and followed Eric out of the room. Once the sound of Ariel and Eric running down the hall had faded away, Carlotta turned to Grimsby. “Thank you Jonathan.” Grimsby gave a deep sigh. One: he hated bending rules, especially his own, and two: he hated the impropriety of being addressed by his first name. “Those children have no idea how much you do for them. They’re just fortunate that you go about arguing on their behalf.” “Oh, like talking you out of your stubborn little rules is some Herculean labor. You’re a big softy. Though I must admit, even after our talk this morning I still thought you’d put up some kind of a fight.” “No, you made your point very clear,” Grimsby said walking around his desk to his chair. “It’s time that we, that I, started trusting him to…” “To live his life?” finished Carlotta. “Yes. That.” Carlotta just smiled. “Well, I’m very glad you’ve finally come around.” Then, she pivoted and started to walk out of the room. “Well, just don’t let them know that!” “Never,” answered Carlotta with her hand over her heart. Then she walked out of the door. Like any period of time between a person and a highly anticipated event, the next week passed by painfully slow. Both Ariel and Eric had been nearly trapped in their respective studies trying to get all the work done that they could. They weren’t taking any chances; they were almost positive that any second Grimsby would change his mind and say that they couldn’t go. But still, whenever they saw him, he just told them that they were doing a good job and asked if they were excited about the trip. It was just weird. But there was an ulterior motive behind Grimsby’s blessing. Carlotta had made a few points to argue in favor of the little vacation. Of course she mentioned the fact that it was high time that Eric was allowed to have a life without constant vigilance and supervision and the fact he and Ariel really hadn’t been anywhere alone together for over five months. While these were both valid points, Carlotta only truly won Grimsby over when she mentioned that this would be the perfect opportunity for a royal engagement. Usually Grimsby stayed away from Carlotta’s fits of romantic ecstasy, but even he had to admit that it was the ideal arrangement if Eric was planning to propose. “What else could he be waiting for? They’d be there with all of Ariel’s family and friends and her father would be able to give his blessing,” Carlotta’d said. With another heavy sigh, Grimsby had begrudgingly said yes to Ariel and Eric’s trip. Of course, what he didn’t say was how much he hoped Carlotta’s little scenario would come to fruition. *************** By the time Wednesday afternoon finally came, the entire kingdom was buzzing about the impending visit. Throughout the week Eric had been getting jibed left and right by the crew of his ship, The Evening Star. In fact, there was a running bet going on what color Eric’s tail would be. Captain Sayers had personally put five gold coins on fuchsia. In town, Ariel was accosted by a group of overly inquisitive children who somehow turned what was supposed to be a half-hour trip into a two hour open forum discussion of Atlantica. On the day that Ariel and Eric left, the only people who still had their wits about them were Grimsby and Carlotta. They'd worked hard to make sure that the kingdom would be fine in their monarch's absence. But Carlotta was still doing some last minute fretting as she stood on the steps that led to the ocean with Grimsby, Ariel, and Eric. “Now, you’re sure you don’t need anything?” “Carlotta, we’ll be fine,” said Eric, exasperated but still smiling. “It’s just that you’ve never gone anywhere like this before and you’re not taking anything with you.” Eric sighed heavily then looked up at his chief of staff. “Carlotta, what would I pack on a normal trip?” “Well, just clothes really.” “Have you ever seen King Triton in a pair of knickers?” Carlotta finally looked beaten. “No.” “We’ll be fine, I promise,” said Eric, bending a little to meet her eyes. “I’ll take good care of him, Carlotta,” said Ariel. “Oh I know you will. I’m just worried about Eric getting himself into trouble.” “With me?” asked Ariel, looking surprised. “When does that ever happen?” “Eric,” Grimsby said, over everyone else’s laughter. “Just listen to everything Ariel and her family tells you. Don’t get yourself eaten by a whale or some other such nonsense.” “Grimsby,” said Ariel with a knowing smile. “Don’t be silly. It’s not whales that we have to worry about…it’s sharks. Come on Eric.” With that, Eric gave Ariel a look of concern as she pulled him down the stairs toward the beach, leaving Grimsby and Carlotta on the landing. “Be careful!” Grimsby called. “Have a good time!” said Carlotta, waving after them on tiptoe. Ariel and Eric reached the beach and started walking to the water. “You were kidding about the sharks, right?” Eric asked, trying to smile. Ariel just had time to give him a “wouldn’t you like to know” look before someone called her name. In the water was her eldest sister, Aquata waving furiously with the trident stuck in the sand next to her. Ariel turned around and immediately started running. Eric just watched as Ariel waded out into the water and knocked her sister over with a hug. After letting the girls have their moment, he allowed himself to walk over to them. “Eric!” “Hi Aquata. How are you?” “I’m fine thanks,” she answered, beaming. “Just a little excited that my littlest sister and her boyfriend are coming home with me. Oh my gosh, Ariel, the girls are gonna flip!” “I know! I can’t wait for them to see him! Did you tell them?” “No, I just said that I was going to get you.” “Great!” “Wait,” Eric cut in. “Are you saying the rest of your sisters don’t know that I’m coming?” Ariel bit her lip with guilt as she looked up at Eric. “We wanted it to be a surprise. The girls never thought that you’d actually come to Atlantica so when they see you…” “They’ll have a fit!” Eric finished. “It’ll be awesome; I’m in, let’s go!” Ariel’s face melted into a smile of relief as she turned to her sister. “I love him.” “I know,” answered Aquata. “So…what happens?” asked Eric, looking at the water anxiously. Then suddenly he shot a frown to the girls. “I don’t have to take anything off, do I?” Ariel and Aquata laughed. “No,” Ariel answered. She stood up, went over to him, and took his hand. “Just walk out until the water’s at your waist.” Eric did as he was told as Aquata swam out in front of them. “Now just close your eyes,” said Ariel. “Is that it?” he asked. “Yep.” “It won’t hurt will it?” Ariel playfully hit him on the arm and turned to her sister. “All right here we go,” said Aquata.
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Post by WickedElphie on Mar 10, 2008 19:31:38 GMT -5
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
I'm SO excited that you started this story. Hee! re Eric having to take things off. Plus your Eric is lucky that he's getting cahnged by the trident, so no pain.
You totally made my day.
BTW I uploaded Chapter 3 of BSS a few days ago, if you want to take a look.
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Post by supebaby on Mar 10, 2008 22:21:43 GMT -5
Baaaah! Fantastic! Oh, Eric and Ariel are just too cute to be allowed! How do you make such delightful characters? I can't wait to see Ariel and Eric together in Atlantica. Bless you for writing this! Bless you!
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Post by grablegal on Mar 10, 2008 22:30:49 GMT -5
I am so excited to read another fan fiction from you. You capture Ariel and Eric just beautifully. I can't wait to read more!
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Post by Aquisha on Mar 11, 2008 12:31:34 GMT -5
Thanks guys! I'm glad that you're excited but we haven't even gotten to the fun parts yet!
Well, you guys know that I adore Ariel and Eric and so just I just love writing about them and shedding some light onto their adventures and their quiet times.
I'm trying to make myself wait to post more because like I said, there's a good deal more of this done, but I don't want to bombard everyone with huge posts every five minutes (which I would totally do!). But I'll probably post some more by the end of the week. I just can't wait for you guys to read it!
Thanks again guys; I love sharing these stories with you and I'm just so glad that you enjoy them!
P.S. WickedElphie, I have read Chapter 3 of BSS and I will be commenting on that in it's thread (once again, beyond intrigued and so excited to see where it goes!).
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Post by Aquisha on Mar 14, 2008 17:21:18 GMT -5
As promised, here is the next part of the story. I think the way it's divided now, I have at least 5-6 posts with what I've written so far, but I don't want to leave you guys hanging while I write, so the posts will be spaced out every couple of days so I can stay on top of it. Anyway, here it is; let me know what you think! ******************************************************* Eric watched as Aquata lifted the trident and placed it on the water. He couldn’t help but shiver as the golden prongs pointed ominously in his direction. Suddenly, he noticed that the trident was glowing. The light was growing brighter as its shimmer was carried on the water towards him. He looked back to Aquata, but she was completely engulfed in an orb of white. He couldn’t bear to look at the light any longer and had to concede to the will of his eyelids. In darkness Eric felt his feet slip from beneath him; the same way it feels in a dream when you fall off a cliff. His muscles seized up; there wasn’t any pain, just tension. Even with his eyes closed, Eric felt totally disoriented. “Eric? Eric, open your eyes.” “Is he alright?” “Yeah, I think so. Eric?” His brow furrowed before his eyes actually opened. When they did, the first thing they saw was the sun’s rippled rays coming through the water. Then he got the strangest feeling of déjà vu as Ariel’s face moved between him and the sunlight. Her hand was on his cheek and the look on her face was calm. “Am I dead?” “Yeah, he’s alright,” said Ariel, over her shoulder. “No Eric. You’re fine. Come on, sit up.” Eric was slightly intrigued by the last thing Ariel’d said. Well, first, he was amazed to find that in the water (which he was fairly certain he was under), he could hear Ariel just as if they were on land. No gurgling or bubbles, just clear sound. Second, he hadn’t even realized that he was lying down. But lo, there he was, flat on his back on the sand. He felt Ariel’s hands on his back and realized that he could feel them on his skin. Even though he knew he wouldn’t need any clothes, it still came as a surprise to him that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He pushed up on his hands and looked around. There was nothing but clear, open ocean. Light played through the water and onto the sand. Actually, now that he thought about it, he’d never been able to see clearly in the water at all. He took a deep breath (He couldn’t have told you how; he just trusted that his gills were in proper, working order and that somehow their complex chemistry was supplying him with air). It was then that he was faced with the first sure thing he’d experienced in the last few minutes: he had a tail. A shade of blue that fell between royal and the color of his eyes, there it was, complete with scales and fins. “Wow,” was his understated remark. “Alright, up we go,” said Aquata as she took one of Eric’s arms as Ariel grabbed the other. With a lot of effort, the three of them worked to get the new merman upright. “Use your fins to keep you afloat,” said Ariel. She gave Eric some time to hear her instructions and figure out how to apply them. Then she felt him stabilize beside her. “There you go.” Then, cautiously, she let go of Eric’s arm as Aquata did the same. The two mermaids swam back. “See? You’re floating!” said Ariel. “Is that good?” Eric asked, trying not to throw himself off balance. “For someone who’s been on legs for the last eighteen years, that’s very good,” said Aquata. “Great! I’m floating,” said Eric. But in his excitement over achieving buoyancy, he flicked his tail and almost instantaneously, he was upside down. Aquata covered her smile with her hand as Ariel leaned forward and grabbed her stomach with laughter. “Okay…What’d I do?” asked Eric, confused. “Nothing,” said Ariel, swimming over after her giggles had stopped. “Let’s get you acquainted with your tail.” In the next few minutes, Aquata watched as Ariel helped Eric navigate through the water. At first, he was pretty awkward, especially compared to Ariel, and Aquata couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sight they made. But Ariel was a patient teacher and Eric was a pretty quick learner. In time, Eric could swim forward and back, up and down; he could even swim on his back if he wanted to. But the second he tried to show off, he was upside down again which threw the girls into a fits of laughter. “Alright guys,” said Aquata adopting the big sister tone. “We’d better head for Atlantica. Everyone’s waiting and if we take too long they’ll know something’s up.” “Right,” said Ariel with a smile. “You ready, Eric?” “Yeah, let’s go!” As he swam by her side, it finally dawned on Eric that Ariel was a mermaid. Now true, this was a fact that was solidly established when she’d manifested a tail on the deck of his would-be wedding ship, but this was different. He’d only comprehended that Ariel was a mermaid. That was nothing to actually seeing her in motion in the water. The way she swam with a lithe fluidity he couldn’t describe or how her hair seemed to have a will of its own, buoyant and playful; it was just the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Of course, it being Eric, he didn’t tell her any of this. He merely beamed at her contently every time she turned around to make sure he was alright. Slowly, the life in the ocean revealed itself. From the shadows, dolphins came and swam next to them. Eric reached out and touched one, which sent the creature into flips and whirls of rapture. In time, a coral reef emerged. Eric had never seen so much color in all his life. No matter where he looked something was moving: crawling, swimming, walking; there was no comparison to it. Up until now, Eric thought he’d seen a pretty varied amount of sea life, but what roamed the sea that day put his knowledge to shame. He kept turning to Ariel asking about strange things from parrot fish to brain coral. Upon Eric’s request they swam closer to the corals, but almost immediately, a blue whale swam over head. Of course, Eric needed a closer look, but Ariel did one better. She left Aquata and Eric for a moment and came back with news that she’d gotten them a ride to the city. Eric couldn’t believe it, but in moments he was sitting on the back of a whale, reclining as if he were in the back of a carriage. “So he really doesn't mind carrying us?” asked Eric, looking over to the whale’s massive fin. “No. But I did ask nicely,” Ariel answered. “Plus,” added Aquata, “it doesn’t hurt if you’re Ariel: Darling of Atlantica.” “Oh, stop Aquata,” Ariel said with a smile. “Alright, so now we’re going to the city and the palace?” asked Eric still distracted by the view. “Right,” answered Aquata. “Tomorrow I arranged it so you two could have the day to yourselves. You can take him anywhere you want Ariel, just don’t get into any trouble.” “Of course not,” Ariel replied with as much sincerity as she could muster. Aquata gave her an unconvinced look before moving on. “Then Friday, Ariel, you have to help us greet guests. Eric, I’m sure we can find something to keep you busy while Ariel’s doing that. In fact, I think Finn’s having a spongeball tournament that afternoon. Maybe you could go with him,” she said more to herself than Eric. “Well, anyway, after that, Saturday we'll just do some last minute preparations and then we go to the celebration. That’s the schedule.” “Sounds fine to me,” said Eric, finally looking at the girls. “Could we come out here again tomorrow?” “Sure,” said Ariel. “But just remember, you haven’t seen the city yet either. Once you do you might want to stay there all day.” “I just want to see all the places that you talk about in your stories, especially the grotto.” “Gosh, the grotto,” Ariel repeated softly. She really didn’t know what shape it was in at all. Since her father had destroyed everything, she hadn’t been back and she honestly didn’t know if she wanted to. “You know Ariel,” said Aquata. Ariel stirred and looked at her sister. “Hmm?” “Well, we don’t really have anything to do on Friday night; at least Father hasn’t said he wants to do anything special with us. I think he wants us to have some good sisterly bonding time alone.” “Uh huh.” “Well," Aquata started innocently. "We starting thinking about what we could do: Andrina wanted to go to the sea-dome and watch the sea horse races, Adella wanted voted for the sea carnival. You know; the normal stuff. Then, Arista said something about going to Eel-ectric City…” Ariel’s hands shot to the sides of her face. “Oh my gosh, Aquata!” “Well, we thought it was a great idea until we realized that you’d be the only one without a date. We didn’t want you to feel left out so we gave up on it. But since Eric came, if you still want to go, I’m sure I could say something to Father about letting us go.” Ariel turned to Eric with the classic look of a sixteen year old girl with her heart set on something. “I’m up for anything,” said Eric, answering Ariel’s pleading look. Ariel squealed and almost knocked him over with a hug. “I thought you’d still be interested,” said Aquata with a smile. “I’ll talk to Father about it tonight.” “I just have one question,” said Eric, after Ariel let go. “Just what is Eel-lectric City?” “It’s music and dancing and everything!” said Ariel, still excited. “It’s nothing but fun, Eric,” added Aquata with excitement escaping through her usually unshakable maturity. “You’ll have a great time, especially with all of us.” “Oh, I’m sure I’ll have a great time, but, the question is will I remember it in the morning?” asked Eric. The response from both girls came in a barrage of playful hitting. But everything came to a stop as the whale they were riding swam around a large rock formation to reveal Atlantica. Ariel beamed and turned to Eric. Now Ariel had often imagined what Eric looked like as a child; she was fairly certain that the look on his face right now came pretty close. Eric was in awe, and what human wouldn’t be? The gleaming, magnificent palace, the thriving market place filled with every color and creature under the sea…nothing on land could even begin to compare to it. “Well, this is where he stops,” said Aquata. “We’ll have to swim the rest of the way.” “Eric,” said Ariel with a bright smile as she took his hand. “Come on.”
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Post by WickedElphie on Mar 14, 2008 18:38:43 GMT -5
Eric is such an adorable little Mer-Klutz! He' so cute, seeing everything for the first time. He and Ariel are SO meant for each other it isn't funny. I keep thinking of more people from the series I want him to meet. The total as of now is: Spot, Urchin, Pearl, Evil Manta, Little Evil, Gabrielle, Apollo, the Blow Fish that put the giggle spell on Ariel, Stormy, and the crab scouts. Unreasonable, me? Never. Seriously though, any of the above would make me happy-well happier, since I'm already ecstatic.
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Post by rosa on Mar 19, 2008 8:25:41 GMT -5
Wow! I'm enjoying this story a lot. What a great idea having Eric visit Atlantica. He's so adorable as a merman. Love how well he's taken to being under the sea, and his awe and wonder at it all. He and Ariel are made for each other. I'm looking forward to reading more.
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Post by Aquisha on Mar 25, 2008 8:34:30 GMT -5
Sorry about my absence last week (Spring Break in NYC="Cry Baby", "Curtains", and "Spring Awakening"!"), but here is the latest post. I can't wait to put more up! ************************************************************** The swim through the city and the market place was nearly sensory overload for Eric. Every three seconds, he was stopping Ariel to ask her a question about the necessity of fin warmers or how exactly someone goes about making a squid ink pen. By the time they reached the palace gates, it had taken nearly twice as long to get there. As they swam along the large coral pathway to the palace, they began to conference about how they would reveal Eric to the girls. “Now, you’re father knows I’m here, right,” asked Eric. “Yes, Eric, he knows,” Ariel answered. “And even if he didn’t, you’d have nothing to worry about. Daddy’s really happy that you wanted to come. You’ve got to stop thinking that he doesn’t like you.” “Well,” said Eric, sounding unconvinced. “I know if someone took my youngest daughter from home to some environment that I couldn’t even breathe in let alone exact revenge, I would be a little miffed.” The girls stifled their laughter as they got to the Grand Foyer. Inside, they could faintly hear their sisters talking with their father about what time Aquata was supposed to have come back. “Stay here, Eric,” said Aquata. “You know when to come in, right?” “Got it. Are you sure she’ll ask?” “She always does; she can’t resist,” answered Ariel. “Trust me. See you in a little bit.” She kissed him on the cheek and swam into the room. “Hi guys!” said Ariel. Everyone in the room turned at the same time and all their faces lit up. The same flood of mermaids that rushed at her two months ago raged toward her again. “Guys, I was just here for Aquata’s wedding,” Ariel protested through her sisters’ embraces. “And you all just saw me at the beach a few weeks ago.” “Yeah,” said Andrina. “But it’s so different when you’re really here!” They all laughed and parted as King Triton came over to greet his youngest. “How was the trip, dear?” he asked. “It was fine. Aquata’s doing a great job with the trident, Daddy.” His eldest beamed with pride as she handed the trident back to her father. “I can see that,” he said looking Ariel over. “Are they feeding you up there, Ariel? You look smaller.” “I’m fine Dad,” she answered rolling her eyes. “Well, we’ll feed you here. I’ve made sure that you’ll get your favorite at least once while you’re home.” “Kelp noodles in Red Sea sauce? Daddy, I love you!” Ariel looked over and saw Finn next to Aquata. “Finn!” “Hi, Ariel,” he said, giving her a hug. Her new brother-in-law always had the brightest smile for her. “It’s good to have you back.” “It’s good to be back. Are you taking good care of my sister?” “Of course. But she hardly lets me take care of her; she’s so stubborn you know.” “Well, it runs in the family,” she said with a smile. “Hey, where’s Flounder? I thought he’d be here.” “He’s studying for a test on ancient Atlantican music,” answered Adella. “Sebastian nearly flipped at the chance to help him with it. Of course, Flounder wanted to be here for you, but Sebastian wouldn’t hear of it. But he did talk Sebastian into letting him come over for dinner tonight.” “In short,” said Andrina, “Sebastian and Flounder will be by later.” “Good,” said Ariel, laughing. “So Ariel,” said Arista, lazily twirling a piece of her blonde hair between her fingers. “How’s Eric?” Arista always seemed to ask this question with the same amount of sly interest. But this time, it didn’t bother Ariel as much as it usually did. She took a deep breath and started to answer, but then a voice from the hallway interrupted her. “I’m fine thanks, Arista,” Eric answered, floating effortlessly in the open entryway. “Though, I think the water’s a little warm for this time of year.” Like the rest of her sisters, Ariel had turned to the entryway to find a handsome, black-haired merman there. Ariel just floated, motionless as her sisters rushed past her screaming and laughing in what seemed to be slow motion. She hated to admit it, but he was right that night a few months ago; she had wondered what he would look like with a tail. She was just thinking about how little justice her imagination did for that picture when Aquata swam up to her: “I think they were pretty surprised, don’t you?” “Yeah,” Ariel answered, snapping out of her daze. “I can’t believe you really got him down here,” Triton said with a laugh as he came to his two daughters. “I never thought I’d see a human visit Atlantica.” “I told you, Daddy,” Ariel answered, “he really wanted to come. Honestly, he’s talked about this trip nonstop for the past two weeks.” It had taken a while, but finally, the small riot that had broken out over Eric’s presence finally calmed down, but not before the girls chided Ariel and Aquata for keeping it from them. “How could you not tell us that he was coming?” asked Andrina, whose arm was still around Eric from the huge hug she’d just given him. “Something like bringing the first human to Atlantica is kind of a big deal don’t you think Ariel?” asked Attina. “I just thought it’d be more fun this way,” Ariel answered simply. “Do you girls greet everyone like this?” Eric asked, with a smile. “Nope,” answered Adella, mussing up his hair. “Just you.” They all laughed as Eric attempted to straighten his hair by running his hand through it. Then he suddenly stopped as he looked at the girls he was encircled by. “You know I never noticed it but, all your tails are different colors.” For a second the girls thought he was joking but when they all took in the look of honest enlightenment on his face, they all just burst out laughing or rolled their eyes into “Oh, Eric” looks. Then, after quietly watching the excitement of the last few minutes, King Triton finally stepped in. “Eric,” Triton said over the last remaining giggles. “I’m glad you were able to come.” “Thank you, your majesty,” Eric answered. “Come,” said Triton, putting his hand on Eric’s back and leading him towards the entryway. “You should get a proper tour of the palace. You know, my grandfather Neptune built palace tides and tides ago when the ocean was….” Triton’s voice trailed off as he led Eric out of the foyer and into the hallway, leaving a very concerned Ariel in their wake. Silently, she turned to her sisters. “He’s going to be alright, right?” “Oh Ariel,” said Adella patiently. “You’ve never brought a boy home.” “Yeah,” said Alana, “this is her first one. It’s so cute!” “Guys,” said Ariel, a little worked up. “It might be cute, but is Daddy going to trident-blast my boyfriend?” “I thought you told Eric he had nothing to worry about with Father,” Aquata said slyly. “I meant as long as I’m in the room!” “Ariel,” answered Arista calmly. “Father always does the ‘tour of the palace’ thing.” “It’s true,” nodded Attina. “He took Caspian on it when he first came over.” “Trust me, Ariel,” added Finn. “He’ll be fine; it’s just the throne room, the library, and the ballroom; no big wave. I promise: there’s no trident involved.” “See,” said Aquata. “Finn lived through it. So will Eric.” Ariel looked at her sisters and brother-in-law with apprehension. “I’d feel better if I caught up with them,” said Ariel, backing out of the room. “Alright, then,” said Andrina, rolling her eyes. “We’re coming.” They all swam out of the Grand Foyer toward the throne room. Ariel got there first and peeked in. “They’re not here. The library?” The others nodded as Ariel swam on. In no time, they’d come to the library. The large coral doors were beautifully carved to show Neptune gloriously forging the trident. It took Finn, Ariel, Andrina, and Aquata to push them open. In the cavernous room there was nothing except books and scrolls that looked like they hadn’t been touched for ages. They all listened for the sound of voices, but nothing came. Exasperated, Ariel blew her bangs out of her face. “Wow, your Dad’s making good time on this one,” Finn said to Aquata. “They must be in the ballroom, Ariel,” said Attina. With one flick of her tail, Ariel was off for the ballroom. Ariel took the route that would take them to the second floor where they could spy down on Triton without being seen. But as the open hall came into view, she saw that it was completely empty. She came to a halt and peered around the room one last time before she turned to her sisters, who all had identical looks on confusion on their faces. “Should I start to worry now?” “Ariel,” Aquata said as she swam to her youngest sister. “I’m sure wherever they are, Eric’s fine.” “Yeah, Father never did anything to the guys we brought home,” said Adella. “Yeah, but he never called our guys ‘spineless, savage, barbarians’ either,” added Arista in a tone that made Ariel consider pulling her hair out. “Alright Arista,” said Aquata, giving her sister a glance that took the smug look off her face immediately. Then she turned to Ariel. “Eric’s fine, Ariel; I promise. Look, it’s almost time for dinner. Why don’t you go to your room and get ready. We’ll all get ready. I’m sure Eric will come in a few minutes.” Ariel took a deep breath. She really didn’t have a choice; she’d just have to trust that Eric was still intact somewhere in the palace. On the swim to their rooms, Aquata managed to get Ariel talking about Eric’s first few swimming lessons. Ariel felt herself relax as she laughed about Eric’s talent for spontaneously inverting himself. By the time she reached her room, Ariel wasn’t nearly as worried as she had been. Once inside, she took in the familiar landscape. It was so strange that nothing had changed about the room since she’d actually lived at the palace. It was comforting yet surreal at the same time. Right now, it didn’t matter. Ariel hadn’t realized that she was tired until she flopped on the bed and her head hit the sponge pillows. In a few moments, she had peacefully dozed off. *********** “Hey.” Ariel felt a hand on her arm and her eyes opened. Eric was sitting on the edge of her bed leaning over her. “Hi,” she said with a bleary smile, as she rolled over to him. “When did you get back?” “Just now. I wasn’t gone too long; just about fifteen minutes.” “Really? Where did you go?” “Just to the Tidal Tower. It’s got a great view.” “Wait…Daddy just took you to the tower? You didn’t go to the throne room or the library.” “No,” he answered plainly. “Triton told me he likes to switch up the tour every time. He said it throws you girls off.” “Ugh,” Ariel groaned as she rolled back onto her stomach. “Hey,” Eric said with a laugh and turning her over. “I’m here now, and you’re awake, and it’s time for dinner. Or at least I hope so; I’m starving.” Ariel sighed and sat up on the edge of the bed beside Eric. Then she leaned closer to him. “Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?” “Surprisingly, I’m fine.” Ariel leaned her head back and looked him over once. “Okay.” Then she kissed him and hopped off the bed. “Let’s get some food.”
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Post by grablegal on Mar 25, 2008 10:09:55 GMT -5
Wonderful story! I can't wait to read more. : )
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Post by WickedElphie on Mar 25, 2008 11:28:18 GMT -5
Woot! More story! Hee. I loved everyone's interactions with Eric. Ariel's sisters have *so* adopted him. Triton couldn't have hurt him for fear of facing his daughters' collective wrath.
I hope we get to see one or two conversations between Triton and Eric, merman to merman, 'cause I think that'd be really cute.
I can't wait for more!
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Post by Aquisha on Mar 30, 2008 22:03:42 GMT -5
Thanks guys so much for reading! I'm glad you all are enjoying it. Here's what is probably my favorite part so far, hope you like it! ********************************************************** For Eric, here were a lot of novelties about that night’s dinner. For one, he experienced his first large family dinner. Since he had no siblings and most of his friends only had one or two if any, Eric was completely unfamiliar with the workings of table filled to capacity. Everyone was talking and laughing and moving plates around; it was the most wonderful organized chaos he’d ever seen. (Of course when Flounder and Sebastian got there, the room erupted into an even bigger frenzy as they both enthusiastically greeted Ariel and made the shocking realization that Eric was with her.) By the time Flounder had stopped asking Eric questions about the swim to Atlantica, it was time to eat. Now Eric had expected the menu to be a little different but he still wasn’t prepared for what was put in front of him. Arista had taken it upon herself to make sure that clam-baked Black Sea bisque was the main course. When she announced it to everyone at the table, Ariel anticipated trouble. This was because both girls knew that the thing about clam-baked Black Sea bisque really wasn’t how it tasted, but how to get to it. As its name suggests, the bisque is cooked and served in a large clam; a large temperamental clam. So it requires a bit of finesse to actually get to your food. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the bit of finesse that Eric lacked, which was exactly what Arista had counted on. All it took was a little misplaced force and instantly, Eric’s clam sprung open, covering him with Black Sea bisque. Everyone laughed; Aquata laughed, King Triton laughed, even Eric laughed. Everyone was laughing...except Ariel. The look she gave Arista could have made the whole ocean boil. She could stand it when Arista teased her or called her hobbies stupid, but messing with Eric crossed a line. “Ariel,” Eric said loud enough for only her to hear as he cleaned his face with his napkin. “Yeah?” was her curt reply. She hadn’t taken her eyes off Arista. Eric followed her line of sight. “Hey, it’s alright,” he said with a half smile as he rubbed her back. “It was soup, not acid. I’m okay.” The look on Ariel’s face hadn’t changed. “Come on,” he said, grinning and showing his dimples. “You know it was funny.” Ariel closed her eyes and gave a little laugh. Then she looked at him and smiled in earnest. “It was pretty funny,” she said as they both started laughing. “Okay then. Mind if I share your bisque?” Ariel smiled and shook her head. “Not at all.” “I hope you’re not mad, Ariel,” said Aquata, as everyone was recovering. Being the eldest came with an unparalleled sense of perception. “This is nothing compared to what you did to Prince Thor.” Any tension that was still in Ariel evaporated at the thought of the Olympian prince. She smiled in her embarrassment as she closed her eyes and covered her face with her hand. “I’d forgotten about Thor,” said Arista. “Oh yeah; what I did was nothing.” “Alright,” Eric said, now bisque-free. “Someone explain.” Ariel went on to tell Eric (through her laughter of course) about how she’d basically tortured the poor prince and almost started and inter-ocean incident in response to a false rumor that she was going to be given to him as a child bride. Of course Eric cracked up, as did everyone else. He just considered himself lucky that a face-full of food was the worst that he’d gotten. But even better was the fact that Ariel was once again enjoying herself and not considering mermacide. The rest of dinner was moderately peaceful, consisting of stories and a lot of giggling. Then, when the meal was almost over, Eric witnessed one of the most impressive things he’d ever seen: the working over of King Triton by his seven daughters. Truly, this was an art, or at least Eric thought it should be. It was orchestrated with the precision of a solid gold timepiece. Aquata, as eldest, introduced the topic: in this case, going to Eel-ectric City on Friday night. Attina picked up from there with factual information about the city while Andrina gave the blow by blow of what they would do there. The conversation then expanded to include Arista and Adella’s long list of social connections (of good standing) that would probably be there too. Completely nonplussed, Alana started to bring it home by de-emphasizing the scope of the outing, i.e. “We’ll probably just end up sitting at a table listening to music”. Finally, the most important part: the promise. It blew Eric’s mind that this most pivotal step in the process belonged to Ariel, the least trustworthy of all seven girls. But amazingly, she could pull it off; with a straight face and the innocence of an angelfish, she promised that they wouldn’t get into any trouble. It was as pure as if it were the first time she’d said it. Eric almost found himself believing her, with her sweet voice and open eyes. How she managed this was beyond him but he made a mental note to try and recognize this little talent the next time she used it on him. Triton sat still for a few moments as all the girls feigned indifference. “If the boys go with you and you all stay together,” he began, “then...I guess it’s alright.” “Thanks Daddy,” was the reply, in perfect unison. With their job done, dinner was over and all the girls got up from their seats, swam around the table to their father, and proceeded to kiss him on the check. When all the girls had flitted from the room, Finn and Eric, who were still in awe from the what the girls had just done, were left with King Triton at the table. “Don’t think that I don’t know what they’re doing,” said the old monarch with a grin. “I have absolutely no trouble putting my fin down when I have to, Ariel can tell you that.” Then he took a deep breath. “However, when all seven of them have their hearts set on something, well then…I guess I do give in a little. But you can’t possibly know how cold this palace can get with seven teenaged mermaids pointing their supposedly well-earned aggression on you.” Finn and Eric laughed at the image of Triton, Ruler of the Seven Seas succumbing to the collective will of seven little mermaids. Then Ariel’s head popped back into the room. “Oh, sorry Daddy.” Then, she turned to the young mermen still at the table. “Are you guys coming or what?” she asked softly. Triton gave the boys a nod before they got up and swam out of the room after Ariel, leaving the king alone smiling to himself. ***************** Before Eric retired for the night, he made a stop by Ariel’s room. This was a strange role reversal since on land it was usually Ariel who would go to Eric’s chamber where the two of them would stay in the sitting room talking until an absurd hour of night. But tonight, Eric was getting a tour of Ariel’s spacious room, with its enormous shell door and warm glow worm lamps. “This is the second coral canopy I’ve had,” Ariel said. She and Eric were looking up at the beautifully carved coral structure as they laid on the bed with their tails flopping over the edge. “The first one didn’t stand up too well against Spot.” “Spot was your baby Killer Whale, right?” “Orca,” she corrected. “And yes, that was Spot.” “I can’t believe you hid a whale in your room for three months.” “I couldn’t just leave him in the ocean alone! He was an orphan!” “I know. It’s just that most people have dogs follow them home, not predatory aquatic mammals.” Ariel rolled her eyes and pushed him. Then, she sat up on the bed and looked at him. “I’m really glad you’re here, Eric. There’s so much I want to show you tomorrow either.” Eric pushed himself onto his elbows. “Trust me, you don’t know how happy I am that I came. And I can’t wait for tomorrow.” Then he sat up and got off the bed. “I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted.” Ariel nodded as she yawned. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, leaning over and kissing her forehead. “Alright. You know how to get to your room?” “Straight down the hall to the right, fourth shell?” “Yep.” Eric opened the large door and turned back to Ariel before swimming out. “I love you. Goodnight.” “Goodnight,” said Ariel. The door closed and Ariel wiggled her way under her covers and in a matter of moments, she was fast asleep.
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Post by WickedElphie on Mar 30, 2008 23:38:12 GMT -5
Aww! I love the cute.
Dinner was fun, and I enjoyed Ariel channeling Buffy ("nobody messes with my boyfriend.") Eric was great at calming her down, and is really so easy-going that the soup thing wouldn't bother him.
I also love how Triton is surreputesly letting the guys in on his little secrets to surviving the girls.
All the series references are really fun, and I like hunting for them in each chapter.
I can't wait for more!
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Post by Aquisha on Apr 6, 2008 12:08:58 GMT -5
Yay, now we get to explore Atlantica! This is going to be a long day... *********************************************************** Eric woke up to what he considered was a gorgeous day in Atlantica. The water was crystal clear and warm with a cool current passing by from time to time. Bright schools of fish swam past his window as the first few merpeople were busying themselves in the market below preparing for the day ahead. When it came to getting ready, Eric made his way to his bathroom which had an opulent bathtub in the middle. Now, he was a bit confused as to how to actually take a bath while surrounded by water, but in a second, Eric had found what he recognized as a water pump. With a little trepidation, he moved the handle up and down and in a few moments, he was amazed to see what looked like regular water (which was already hot) fall from the spout into the tub. The incredible thing was that this water stayed in the tub instead of just mixing into the sea water around him. “Huh,” he said aloud, pondering the physics of Atlantican plumbing. But, not wanting the water to get cold, he just shrugged his shoulders and got into his bath. After his adventures with the tub, Eric made his way through the halls to find Ariel. When he got to her room, he knocked and, as he expected, there was no answer. It seemed that in the ocean as well as on land, Ariel was always the first person up in the morning. He wandered a little more, getting more anxious as he went along. He really hadn’t been paying attention last night when Ariel had given him the tour of the palace’s living quarters and he was pretty sure that he was getting himself lost. Finally, he heard voices in one room partitioned off by a curtain of seaweed. He swam in and found himself in an enormous open chamber with a huge circular vanity in the middle. Everywhere he looked tails of different colors were flying back and forth. There seemed to be mermaids everywhere, primping and preening with all kinds of things from sea urchin combs to sand dollar hair clips. Never having seen a mass of girls (let along mergirls) get ready in the morning, Eric was mesmerized. But he snapped out of it as Arista started yelling. “Eric! Get out of here!” “What?” he asked startled. “Eric,” said Andrina with a smile, “get out!” Almost immediately he was being pelted with sponges from every direction as he swam out of the room saying, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I’m leaving already!” As soon as he was beyond the curtains, he took a deep breath and tried to shake himself off. “I hear you found the girls’ changing room,” said a voice from behind him. Eric turned to see King Triton floating in front of him with a smirk on his face. “Are they always that violent?” Eric asked. “I made a wrong turn and landed up in there once. I’ve never heard them scream so loud in all their lives,” he said smiling and patting Eric on the back. “Ariel’s waiting in the dining hall for you with Flounder and Sebastian.” “Thank you, your majesty. …Um, where’s the dining hall again?” “Follow this hallway all the way down to the sea floor level, take a left at the coral columns, and it will be the first room on the left.” “Thanks.” And with that, Triton watched as Eric swam hurriedly down the hallway. ***** As soon as Eric swam into the hall, Ariel’s face lit up. “Good morning,” she said as Eric swam over to her. “It took you a while, didn't it?” “Well,” he started, defensively, “I had to figure out the bathtub, then I got lost, and then your sisters pelted me with sponges and assorted hair accessories.” “Aww,” Ariel said through a laugh. “I’m sorry. I should have warned you about the changing room.” “Yeah,” Eric said as he nodded. “And about the bathtub; how does the water stay in tub?" Then, he paused, thinking of something else. "In fact, how does any liquid stay in its container down here?” “Oh that,” she answered easily. “Actually, it’s pretty interesting. Atlantica was built on top of an underground lake of really mineralized water. Turns out, those minerals do two things: one, they make the water really healthy and two, it makes the water denser than the salt water around it, and that’s why it stays in the tub, the bowl, the cup; whatever. There you go; Atlantican Biology 101.” “Wow,” Eric answered. “Yeah,” said Flounder, “Ariel paid attention in class.” Eric turned to the little fish and crab who were watching their every move. “Morning, Flounder. Morning, Sebastian.” “Hello dere, Eric” answered Sebastian. “Hi Eric,” said Flounder, bursting with excitement. “Are you ready for today? Ariel’s gonna take you through the city! No one can take you through Atlantica like Ariel can. You should be really excited!” “I am Flounder, trust me.” “Good!” “Alright Flounder,” said Ariel, patting the little fish on his head. “I know you’re excited but we have to eat something first. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.” “Dat’s right, Ariel,” Sebastian said. “It’s good to see dat you’ve learned to be a little more sensible in da last year. Now, where are we going for dis little tour?” “Just a few places that I’m keeping a secret,” Ariel said with her token mischievous smile. “Now dat sounds like your old self…and I don’t like it at all!” As worried as Sebastian was, Eric was intrigued. True he didn’t want to be eaten by a shark or anything, but he still wanted some first hand experience of these little adventures of Ariel’s. When they’d finished their breakfast they were off like a shot through the halls. “I thought we could start with some of the more interesting parts of the palace,” Ariel told them as they raced through the hallways. After what seemed like an endless swim up a spiraling waterway, they finally reached a big room with large oval openings in its domed ceiling. In the middle of the room was what looked to Eric like a huge organ made out of coral, sprinkled here and there with starfish and clam shells. “What is this thing,” he asked in awe. “It’s a sea calliope,” answered Ariel. “My father wanted me to learn how to play it a few years ago. ...My lessons didn’t go very well.” “Yeah, mon,” said Sebastian. “She was terrible!” “Horrible!” said Flounder with a grimace. “Thanks, guys,” she said. They both shot her apologetic smiles that looked more like winces. “My father’s the only one who plays it now and only sparingly if that.” “Why?” asked Eric inspecting the white and black shell keys. “Well," Ariels started, trying to look innocent. "When anyone plays it, it has the tendency to wake up the horrible Seaclops.” Eric’s hand hovered over the keys but when he heard that last part, he slowly withdrew it. “If you want to, you can try it,” Ariel said quickly, trying to make up for mentioning the Seaclops. “We made sure that he’ll be sound asleep for the next couple of hundred tides. Go ahead.” He gave her an “are you sure” look and when she nodded, Eric sat down at the bench. Ariel braced herself for the awful sound that she remembered all too well, but instead, she heard something completely new. She looked down and saw Eric’s hands moving masterfully over the keys without missing a note. And the music he was playing was beautiful! Ariel was stunned. “Wait, how do you know how to play this?” “I learned how to play an organ from some diplomatic monks who came to the kingdom when I was about twelve,” he answered matter-of-factly without looking up from the keys. “This is about the same thing.” Ariel and Flounder all stared at Eric and then looked to each other. Sebastian was in a state of ecstasy over such fine musicianship. “Ariel, girl, dis one’s a keeper!” he said, pointing a claw to Eric. Eric stopped playing and looked at Ariel with a smile. “Well,” said Ariel with a pout, “now that we’ve established that everyone in the sea and on land can play the sea calliope but me, let’s move on.” Eric tried to hide his smile as he came up to Ariel. “Hey at least you can sing. Trust me, if it had been me singing to you on that beach, you would’ve stayed unconscious.” Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder all laughed, and immediately, Ariel felt better about her failed attempt at achieving sea calliope virtuosity. Then, the four of them swam out of the room and down the waterway towards the next stop on Ariel’s secret list. On the way, Flounder suggested some places that he’d like to see, like the big open kelp fields or the rock slides while Sebastian begged Ariel to tell him just exactly she was planning on. Then, Eric noticed that he was swimming through rooms he hadn’t seen the night before. In fact, he realized that the hallway they were currently in led straight out to the open ocean. Eric took a deep breath and prepared himself to leave the safe confines of the palace and face the wilds of the sea with Ariel.
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Post by WickedElphie on Apr 6, 2008 15:49:59 GMT -5
Well, as soon as Triton finds out that Eric can play the sea calliope, he's totally gonna be the favorite potential son-in-law. Still loving the interactions between the two of them, especially since there is so little of it (i.e. none) in the movies. The musical gives a little bit more, but still not much.
I can't wait to see where Ariel takes Eric, and I have a feeling I'm going to love it. Preemptive Squee!
Can't wait!
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Post by miklc on Apr 10, 2008 17:04:43 GMT -5
OMG aquisha this fanfic is amazing, I've just read everything you've posted so far in one go and loved every moment of it. I really can't wait for more!!! Keep up the hard work
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Post by Aquisha on Apr 21, 2008 23:32:37 GMT -5
Hi everyone! Sorry for the lateness of this post! School is winding down yet it's still as hectic, time consuming, and stressful as ever. As always, thanks again for the kind words; I'm so glad you all are reading it and that you like it! That being said, here is the next installment. Enjoy! ***************************************************** It took a second before Eric realized that they had come out of the back exit of the palace. The bustling market place was noticeably absent; there was just bright blue water to greet them as they swam outside. “Come on,” said Ariel. She turned quickly and swam down toward a small building which stood just a short swim away from the palace. They all swam through the open doorway into what was the palace’s stables. In each stall were giant seahorses of different colors. Each whinnied excitedly as they saw Ariel. “Eric,” she said, “these are our rides.” Eric was stunned. He’d always known seahorses as tiny little creatures that lived in sprigs of seaweed. But there was nothing tiny about the magnificent animals that he saw in front of him. Ariel introduced Eric to his seahorse, Pacific Crush (Pac for short), as she got onto Seabiscuit. Once Eric got his balance, they were off like lightening. Flounder, with Sebastian on his tail, swam close as Ariel took them on a fast-paced, vibrant tour of the kingdom. They roamed the corals and the seaweed beds, from the heart of Atlantica to the edge of the wilderness. Two hours into their journey, Ariel led them to the water slides. They were just like Ariel had remembered them: slides of smooth stone winding in and out of each other. She couldn’t wait to get reacquainted with each curve. “Make way Flounder, here I come!” shouted Sebastian as he zoomed past the little fish. In a tiny flash of red, the enthused crustacean was at the top of a slide. Then, with a huge “Woohoo!” Sebastian streaked by in one magnificent arch. Then, laughing the whole way, he floated down to the sea floor. Ariel, Eric, and Flounder met the little crab’s enormous grin with looks of shock and awe. “Eric, mon,” Sebastian panted, “you’ve got to try this!” “You bet,” Eric answered, not quite matching Sebastian’s zeal. “Follow me,” said Ariel with a look of excitement on her face. Eric followed the little mermaid up the side of an incredibly steep hill whose two parallel slides were full of twirls and loops. At the top, Ariel settled into one slide and directed Eric to one right next her. As he sat down, Eric noticed not only the incredible journey to the ground below but just how far the ground below was. “This is just a little high,” he said, looking down over his slide. “You can do it, boy,” Sebastian called. “Just flick your fin and slide!” “Come on Eric!” shouted Flounder. “You’re not a guppy, are you?” “Wait a minute, Flounder,” Ariel giggled, “I remember you shaking in my arms the last time you went down a water slide.” “Well…I…That was different,” the little fish pouted. “Uh huh,” Ariel answered with a smile. Then she turned to Eric. “You’ll be fine, I promise,” she reassured him. “It’s not like we’re on land; if you fall out of your slide you just float down.” “Right,” he said with more confidence. “Race you down?” “You’re on!” From there, it was another hour of racing down slides, facing forwards or backwards, without a single worry. “Well, girl,” Sebastian finally said to Ariel, who was getting off of Eric’s lap from their last slide. “If you want to go to da marketplace we’d better leave now. Da shops are gonna get real crowded real fast.” “You’re right Sebastian,” Ariel answered, “we’d better go,” she said swimming over to Seabiscuit. “Alright, but can we come back here before we leave?” asked Eric, lingering behind. “Yeah,” added Flounder, “can we come back?” “I don’t know guys,” Ariel answered as she fixed up her saddle. After a moment, she stopped and turned around. “Maybe.” “Yes!” said Flounder and Eric together. Before they got to the market place, they stopped by the stables to put Seabiscuit and Pac back in their stalls. The seahorses were just too big for the narrow pathways of the market and plus, they’d had a long ride and all they wanted was a nice bale of seaweed. Once they got to the marketplace, they realized that they hadn’t gotten there soon enough. There were merpeople everywhere, rushing around in all different directions. Ariel had the hardest time keeping track of Eric. He’d see something and slip away and the next thing Ariel knew, someone was staring at her as she talked to herself. When she caught up to him for what seemed the umpteenth time, she made the subtle move of weaving her hand into his. Hopefully, this way, if he went off anywhere, at least she’d be dragged along for the ride. It was when Ariel was telling Eric not take anything from a certain eel with a push cart that a familiar voice came from behind her. “Ariel, is that you?” Ariel turned around and found herself face to fin with a blue-tailed mermaid. As she looked up she saw the unmistakable smirk of Pearl. There was a time when Ariel thought Pearl was one of the coolest people in the sea. But now Ariel just saw her as a petit package of a whole lot of trouble. “It is you!” “It is,” said Ariel trying to sound excited. “Down, boys,” said Pearl. As usual she was traveling on her platform seat, carried by her brothers. Ariel noticed that the boys hadn’t changed much except that the looks of bitterness on their faces had gotten deeper. “Oh my goodness, girl, how long has it been?” “Pretty long,” Ariel answered awkwardly. “What are you doing back here? I thought some dashing human prince caught you in his net of love and carried you off.” It wasn’t until Pearl mentioned him that Ariel realized that Eric had once again disappeared from her side. For once, Ariel was relieved that he was gone; she didn’t even want to think about what Pearl would do if she saw Eric. “I’ve never heard it put quite that way, but yes, it was something like that," she answered, happy that she couldn't see Eric anywhere. “Back in town for Daddy’s big day, huh? I wondered if you would make an appearance. How long are ya stayin’ kid?” “Not long, I’ll be going back right after the celebration.” “Well how much fun can you have in such a short time?” Ariel just shrugged. She was getting ready to wrap up her conversation when out of nowhere, Eric swam up to her. “Ariel, I found this necklace that I think Carlotta would love. It’s…oh, hi.” “Hi,” said Pearl, dripping with an attempt at charm. “Ariel, who is this?” Ariel sighed before she gave the introduction. “Pearl this is Eric. Eric, this is Pearl. We went to school together.” “Oh, nice to meet you,” Eric said smiling politely. “Wait…this isn’t your human, is it Ariel?” “Yep,” Ariel answered with a nervous nod. “Holy Neptune! A real human!” Pearl exclaimed. As Ariel started to roll her eyes, she noticed a few heads turn in their direction. Then, she watched as a wave of discovery overtook the merpeople around her. “It’s Princess Ariel!” “Did someone say that was her human?” “There’s a human in Atlantica? Where?!” “It can’t be!” “Yes, the princess brought her human!” In no time at all, Ariel realized that the crowds of merpeople who had been intent upon their shopping a few moments ago had all turned to her. They were bubbling with everything from excitement to apprehension. They were whispering and talking, laughing and staring. Ariel felt her head spin; there were wide eyes everywhere and they were all on her. It was like she was in the center ring of some awful circus. The only thing she could think of was getting out of there. Eric had just started to notice the commotion that was going on around him when Pearl started to scan him with her sapphire blue eyes. “But who knew a human would make such a cute merboy? I’m sure you’ve got some pretty wavy stories to tell, don’t you Eric?” asked Pearl, swimming a little closer to him. “You know Pearl, we’ve really got to swim,” said Ariel, pushing herself between the two of them. “Daddy needs help getting ready for everything, you know.” “Aww, what a shame. If you all weren’t so busy with that whole royal scene I would totally invite you to go to Eel-ectric City with me tomorrow night.” “Well,” Eric started, “you know we’re actually going to…” “To be late for the rehearsal,” Ariel said, cutting Eric off abruptly. Then she turned to Pearl. “Yeah, that would have been great, huh?” she asked, slipping her hand into Eric’s. “Listen, I’ll see you around Pearl.” “Good-bye,” Eric said as Ariel started to pull him away. “Bye Ariel! Good-bye Eric,” Pearl said waving after them. Then she turned and took her seat on the platform. “I gotta see that human again,” she whispered to herself with a smirk. Ariel swam as fast as she could, away from Pearl, away from the shoppers, away from everything. “Hey what was that all about,” asked Eric, who was still being dragged by the deceptively strong red head. “Nothing,” Ariel answered still racing forward. “No,” Eric said calmly, finally stopping and pulling Ariel into him. “What is it?” “Well, besides all those people staring at the two of us like rare fish in an aquarium, Pearl’s gonna be in Eel-ectric City on Friday.” “I know. I looked up and it half of Atlantica was in the market place,” he said, completely ignoring the second part of Ariel’s answer. “I think they overheard Pearl saying that you were a human and I guess they were all curious. That's so weird though,” she said more to herself. She’d gone to the market place hundreds of times before and no one did so much as bow their head to her, which was perfectly fine; she always hated the formality of royal protocol. But now all of a sudden she was “Princess Ariel” and Eric was just “her human”. It was as if she was completely detached from the merpeople she used to see every single day. The thought of it gave her a strange chill. “Well, I’m pretty sure you don’t get many human visitors down here,” Eric said with a smile. She looked at him and couldn’t help but laugh. She pushed the excited merpeople out of her thoughts, but they were replaced by Pearl’s smug grin. “Pearl…” “What’s wrong with Pearl?” Eric asked. “You don’t think she got to me do you?” Ariel looked down then back up at Eric. “No. Not really. I don’t know. Pearl was just the most popular girl in school who always got what she wanted, no matter how much trouble was involved.” “Sounds like someone I know.” Ariel gave him a “come on” look, but she couldn’t help smiling a little. “I wasn’t thinking of swimming off into the blue with Pearl,” he said with an easy smile. “Give me a little more credit than that.” “I would if you hadn’t almost blurted out our plans to the biggest party crasher this side of the Pacific!” Ariel retorted, a traitorous smile foiling her attempt to really be angry with him. “I was just making small talk.” “When Pearl’s around, nothing’s small talk. She has an amazing knack for blowing everything out of proportion.” “Well, then, crisis averted. Pearl doesn’t know we’ll be in Eel-ectric City on Friday and as long as we steer clear of her, we’ll be alright, right?” Ariel both loved and hated that Eric was always her voice of reason. “Right. So, where is this necklace that’s so perfect for Carlotta?” As Eric started to leave, both he and Ariel stopped as they heard Flounder’s voice behind them. “Oh, hi Pearl.” “Hey little fish dude,” she answered nonchalantly, as she came up from her hiding place behind a crate of seaweed. Then she turned to Ariel and Eric, who had identical looks of surprise on their faces. “See you guys on Friday night. Eel-ectric City! Woooo-ooo!” And with one flick of her tail, Pearl was gone, leaving a very confused Flounder in her wake. “What was that?” he asked innocently. Ariel just groaned and covered her face with her hand. “Maybe that’s enough shopping for today,” Eric said weakly. Ariel gave him an exasperated look as she started to swim through the narrow alleyways of the market. Sebastian and Flounder followed her as Eric tried to explain what had happened. “You know you can’t tell your fadder dat Pearl is gonna be dere tomorrow,” said Sebastian sternly, as they reached the open ocean. “He’d never let you go wit her again.” “I know Sebastian,” Ariel said. “And we’re not going to Eel-ectric City with Pearl; if I can help it we won’t see Pearl at all tomorrow. Still, I’m not going to tell Daddy a thing, and you can’t either.” “I won’t tell your fadder, but you’d just better keep yourselves scarce tomorrow.” Ariel took a deep breath. “What makes this mermaid such a problem?” Eric asked. “Well, the last time Ariel went to Eel-ectric City with Pearl,” answered Flounder, “she almost crashed King Triton’s new sea chariot. It was a mess! Especially because her father thought that she was at Pearl’s house the whole time!” “Ariel, sneaking off to party cities, insulting foreign diplomats, hiding rogue whales in your bedroom...How did your father even let you out of the palace?” Ariel gave a laugh. “I don’t know.” Flounder gave a little laugh but he was being distracted by the slight changes in the scenery they were passing. The colorful fish that were always in abundance around the kingdom were gone and all the coral was gnarled and sharp. Without noticing it, the little fish gave a nervous gulp. “Umm…Ariel,” he said, not really wanting to know the answer, “where are we going now?” “You’ll see,” she answered with a smile. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
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Post by WickedElphie on Apr 22, 2008 0:09:58 GMT -5
Yay! More story! Uh-oh, Pearl's in town. I liked the gang riding sea-horses and the water-slides. Poor Eric and Ariel stuck being the center of attention in the marketplace. I think our boy will be attracting attention wherever he goes. Can't wait to see where they go next, and who they meet along the way!
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Post by Kimberly on Apr 24, 2008 14:47:34 GMT -5
your story is grate can't get enough please post more soon. I can't wait to see whats going to happen next!
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Post by Aquisha on May 4, 2008 17:34:07 GMT -5
Pearl's just too much isn't she? That crowd really shook Ariel up but there's no time for that right now; it'll have to wait until the day's adventure is over! Thanks guys for all the kind words! Always appreciated! ************************************************************** The more Flounder swam the more the territory became familiar…but not in a good way. By now, he was almost positive that the last time he’d past these particular rocks, something bad had happened. He just couldn’t remember which bad thing it was until they swam over a large ridge. In the valley below, was a huge canyon in the shape of a very large, very scary shark. “Shark Canyon!” Flounder exclaimed. “Ariel, why are going to Shark Canyon!” “Because,” she answered effortlessly, “a glowing shell would be a great souvenir. Plus, what’s a visit to Atlantica without a little bit of adventure?” “Couldn’t we just pick up a pretty piece of coral? They were carving people’s names into dried sea stars in the market. Can’t we go back and get one of those?” “It’ll be fine Flounder,” Ariel continued as she swam over the ridge. Flounder turned to Eric in desperation. “Eric, please talk her out of this.” “What’s wrong with this place, Flounder?” Eric responded patiently. “The last time we were here, we got chased by a huge, ferocious octopus and trapped in rock slide.” Eric stared at the little fish for about a second before hurriedly swimming after Ariel. “You know darling, he’s got a point; giant octopus chases and rock slides aren’t really the makings of a pleasant afternoon.” “Guys,” Ariel said with a confident smile, “it’s going to be fine. That was almost three years ago. That octopus is probably long gone and I’m sure the rocks have stabilized since then. Come on.” Before the boys could make a rebuttal, Ariel was swimming into the canyon. “Now’s da part when we swim in after her and hardly get out in one piece,” Sebastian said flatly. Flounder gave Eric a pout before they all swam in after Ariel. The water was cold and stagnant in the deep trench and as soon as he’d gone in, Eric wanted to swim right back out. Monstrous rock formations jutted out in strange and unfriendly contortions. On the walls of the canyon were all kinds of cave entrances, some enormous and others barely large enough for a sea snake to get into, but they all looked dark and menacing. “In here, guys,” said Ariel, cheerfully poking her head out of a larger cave. The boys swam in and followed her into the back of the winding fissure. Even inside the cave, there were tunnels connecting it to the countless other caves around it. Something about its porous structure didn’t give Eric any confidence about this canyon. They followed Ariel until a gentle glow appeared. The farther they swam, the brighter the glow became and after one last turn, they were surrounded with beautiful glowing sea shells. Eric had to admit that they were spectacular and that he would like to bring one back for the castle’s treasury. “Aren’t they great?” asked Ariel, picking up a shell. “They are amazing,” Eric said in spite of himself. “But still, we should probably get out of here Ariel. Let’s just pick one and leave.” Ariel sighed. “Alright, here,” she said, giving him a large and rather impressive spiraling nautilus shell. “But there are still so many caves we could look into.” “No Ariel,” Eric said firmly, but with a smile. “Flounder’s about to have a fit, I can hear Sebastian shaking in his shell, and I don’t feel that safe down here either. Plus, it’s getting late and we’ve still got to see your grotto.” Now it was Ariel’s turn to pout. Once again, Eric doing that voice of reason thing was so annoying, but since he did it with that stupidly wonderful smile, she couldn’t come up with a single argument against him. She sighed. “Alright, we can leave,” she conceded. So, with the upper hand and a glowing shell in it, Eric turned and started to leave the cave. “We’ve never been able to get her out of a scary place that fast,” Flounder whispered to him. “You’re really good, Eric.” Eric just laughed at the little fish as they reached the opening. Flounder smiled back and looked toward the mouth of the cave. Then, he froze. “Flounder,” Eric asked concerned. “Ey...ey…EYE!” In about a half a second, Eric saw an angry yellow orb staring at him through the opening of the cave. Ariel gasped as Sebastian squealed. “Swim back!” Eric yelled as the giant creature outside the cave started to force its huge tentacle into the opening. The force of the squid’s effort shook the rock violently and pebbles and stones started falling all around them. Finally, with Ariel carrying Flounder and Sebastian and Eric holding on to her, they reached the glowing shells at the back of the cave. “Well Ariel, it seems like the only thing that octopus’s done in the last three years is get bigger!” Flounder yelled. “How are we gonna get out of here now?” Ariel looked around as Eric kept watch on the empty, but shaking tunnel that had been their exit. “Try to find an opening with warm water,” Ariel answered. “That’s the one that’ll probably get us out of here.” Frantically, they all started putting their hands, fins, and claws up to the openings of the countless black holes around them. The walls were quaking apart as they searched. “This one!” Flounder exclaimed. Ariel turned to the smallish hole in the rock. She thought for an instant; it was going to be a tight fit, especially for Eric, but it was their only option. “Swim, Flounder!” she said. “Wait for me mon!” Sebastian said as he clamped on to Flounder’s tail. In a second they were out of sight into the hole. “Eric,” she said turning to him. “Go, it’ll be fine. Go,” he said, helping her in. As Eric started to follow Ariel, he looked down the tunnel one last time. He’d turned just in time to see four enormous suction cups explode through the cave. He gave one flick of his tail and hoped for the best as everything went black. ******** Propelled by a mass of bubbles, Flounder and Sebastian popped out into the open ocean above the jagged canyon. “We’re alive!” Sebastian shouted as he and Flounder grabbed claws and fins and started spinning around. They lost themselves in their excitement only momentarily; quickly they stopped celebrating and turned to the dark hole in the sea floor that they’d just escaped from. Then, they waited. “Do you think they should be out by now,” Flounder asked in a scared voice. “I don’t know,” Sebastian answered. “Maybe dey just took a wrong turn.” He didn’t sound very convincing. “Or maybe…” Flounder cautiously swam to the edge of the canyon and looked over. Sebastian swam up beside him and gasped. Directly below, there was the octopus (it looked even scarier when they could see its actual size). He was growling and pounding at the canyon wall, trying to release the tentacle that was hopelessly trapped beneath the rubble of the collapsed cave. “Oh my God!” exclaimed a voice from behind them. “That thing is huge!” “I know! You’re right, Flounder it wasn’t that big last time we were here.” Flounder and Sebastian spun around to see Ariel and Eric (still holding the glowing shell), completely unscathed, floating over them just taking in the view. After the initial shock ebbed, Flounder swam up to Ariel and almost knocked her over with a hug. “Ariel, I…we…the octopus!” “We were just a little bit behind you,” she responded with a laugh. “You know, it’s not as easy for us to scramble through tight caves as it is for you.” “We shouldn’t have been in dose caves at all, Ariel,” Sebastian said, irritated by Ariel and Eric’s nonchalance. “I’m sorry, Sebastian, but I really didn’t think anything would happen.” “Do you even believe yourself when you say things like that?” Eric asked. The smile that she answered with was playfully ambiguous. “I thought I was past the years of taggin’ along after her as she got trapped under rocks or lost in no-crab’s land…” Sebastian muttered to himself as he swam away from the menacing chasm. Eric leaned toward Ariel while he watched the little crab swim off. “Um, Sebastian’s talking to himself. Should we be concerned?” “No,” Ariel said with a smile. “But it does mean that we should be leaving. Come on.” She and Eric started to swim away but Flounder called after them. “Wait,” he said, hesitantly. “Where are we going now?” “Flounder,” said Ariel, “I thought you were excited about the rest of the tour.” “Sorry, but almost being eaten took some of the fun out of it.” His sarcasm was completely serious and completely adorable. Ariel giggled. “Okay; point taken. You’ll be happy to know that we’re just going to the grotto. It’s the last stop before we head home.” “Good,” said Flounder in a huff as he swam between Ariel and Eric to Sebastian. “So that was one of your famous escapes, huh?” Eric asked. “Yep,” Ariel answered with a nod. “That’s basically how it goes; big trouble, little chance of survival, large amounts of luck.” Eric gave a deep sigh. Ariel raised an eyebrow. “What?” “Nothing; it’s just that it’s official.” “What’s official?” “I’ll never be as amazing as you,” he answered absently looking into the distance. Ariel’s face turned red as Eric glanced at her imperceptibly and smiled. Ariel turned and let her hair fall into her face as she grinned. After regaining her composure, she pulled her hair behind her ear and swam on toward the grotto.
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