The Storm

By:

shadows-light91

Disclaimer:

Unfortunately, The Little Mermaid doesn’t belong to me. Thanks to my beta, Rhea Silverkeys!

Summary:

Storms rage throughout our lives… bringing us closer to the ones we love.

Ariel looked out her window, out onto the sea, watching the sunlight cast its rays against the liquid mirror. The swaying motion of the waves mesmerized her. She still hadn’t gotten used to her changed perspective of life. It hadn’t been too long ago that she’d been on the other side of that mirror, as a mermaid, looking up at the reflection of the castle onto the sea. Every day she learned something new about this world, this human world. She loved to wake up and run to her window and gaze out, watching the city below slowly waking up with the sun.

She opened the window and allowed the warm breeze to flow through her hair. Ariel had grown to love the feeling of warmth from the sun on her skin. She’d never known such a feeling. She had never thought of the water as cold, but now she realized how much warmer it was on land. The bath water was heated, the main course was always served hot, and even the blankets of the bed kept her warm at night. But the touch of Eric’s body against hers was the greatest sense of warmth she’d ever known.

She turned and jumped onto her bed, laying back on the fluffy pillows, and studied the portraits that lined the walls of her bedroom. There was one in particular that had managed to grab her attention in the short time she’d lived here: a painting of a little boy standing with a young couple. The boy stood in front, smiling proudly, as the older man and woman stood behind him, with a hand on each of his shoulders. The woman’s eyes mirrored those of the little boy; she had assumed he was her son. She walked over to the picture to get a closer look. His eyes were a light blue, lighter than the sea. She recalled those eyes perfectly…

“You like that picture?”

Ariel shrieked, not having realized the presence of Eric behind her. “Oh Eric! You scared me!”

He laughed. “I wasn’t exactly being quiet. You must have been pretty involved staring at that painting.” Those blue eyes gazed toward her as he smiled, and she giggled. He stared at her curiously and asked, “Now, what is so funny?”

“The portrait. It’s of you when you were little, isn’t it?”

Eric nodded. “Yeah, it’s me with my Mother and Father. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about that painting. We posed for that on my fifth birthday.”

She noticed the sad longing in his eyes, and she knew he was thinking about his parents. She had always been curious about his family. Ever since she’d known him, he’d seemed to rely on Grimsby for parental advice. She had assumed Grimsby had been the advisor of his parents. “What happened to them?” she asked.

It took a moment for him to respond. “They died when I was young.” She waited for him to say more, but when she realized he wasn’t going to, she immediately felt guilty for bringing it up.

“Oh Eric, I’m so sorry.” Ariel wrapped her arms around him to comfort him, and she buried her head in his chest. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it.” She felt so bad for him. She’d hardly ever known her mother herself. She had died when Ariel was just a child too, and she knew her father was still emotional about her death at times. She glanced up to find his sea-blue eyes tearing up, and she squeezed him gently. Slowly smiling, he hugged her back.

“It’s not your fault for asking. You’re just curious,” he told her, pulling away gently. He kissed her on the forehead and moved toward the window. “Isn’t it ironic? The sea is so peaceful now. It’s hard to imagine that it can be so rough and formidable sometimes.”

She agreed. “Do you remember that night when you and Grimsby were on a ship and there was a big storm?”

“Of course, why?”

“I was just wondering.”

He turned to her and grinned. “It was the night I met you. How could I forget something like that?” Ariel smiled innocently, remembering that morning when she’d carried him to shore. “Well, let’s go have breakfast, shall we? And then afterwards, maybe we can get ready and take a stroll through the city. Would you like that?”

Ariel nodded. “Of course! That sounds wonderful.”

When they arrived at the dining hall, Grimsby was already there eating with Carlotta. Ariel couldn’t help but smile when she saw the two together. They made such a couple sitting at the table chattering away. But she kept silent as she and Eric sat down with them.

“Oh, Prince Eric, Princess Ariel! I didn’t know you two were up yet. Let me go tell Louis to fix your breakfast for you.”

Eric thanked her as she scurried out of the dining hall toward the kitchen.

“Well, Eric, what have you two planned for today?” Grimsby began.

“I thought about taking Ariel to that event tonight. Did you get the carriage for me?”

“Of course, everything’s taken care of. You are to be ready tonight at 6:00. The carriage will be waiting for you.”

Surprised, Ariel stared at him. “What event? You didn’t tell me about anything happening tonight.” Curiosity filled her tone, and Eric couldn’t help but smile at her innocent wondering. “What are we getting a carriage for?”

“You’re so curious this morning,” he told her slyly.

She sighed. “Well, of course I’m curious. Now what haven’t you told me?”

He gave her a sly look, and then responded, “Every year, our city has a ball. It is a custom for the King and Queen to host the dance. We always have it at the Royal Dance Hall.”

“But Eric, we aren’t the King and Queen yet.”

Eric smiled. “After tonight we are. We will be crowned King and Queen tonight.” He watched her reaction as her face immediately lit up in surprise. “That’s the reason it’s such a special occasion. Normally, we don’t crown the prince as King until the former King steps down, but well, under the circumstances, they decided to hold the crowning ceremony tonight. Are you excited?”

She playfully slapped him. “Of course I am! Oh my goodness, Eric, you should have told me about this earlier. Now I’m going to have to rush to get ready in time. I’ve got to make sure I have the perfect dress! And my hair!”

“Don’t worry!” he laughed. “There’ll be plenty of time to get ready. Though I suppose that means we won’t go on our trip through the kingdom this morning?”

It was her turn to shoot him a look.

“Grimsby, may I talk to you?”

His head slowly rose from the book he’d been reading. The confused stare in his eyes told her how surprised he was. “Oh Princess Ariel, I didn’t hear you come in. Of course, sit down. What did you want to talk to me about?”

She sighed heavily, her red hair falling down around her face. “Eric and I were talking this morning, and he mentioned his parents. I was wondering… well, if you could tell me about them.”

He seemed hesitant at first, just as Eric had been. But after a moment he began, “King Charles and Queen Anita were one of the most loving couples that there will ever be. I’ll always remember Anita’s laugh. She could light up the room; that’s the truth. I think that’s why Charles loved her so much. She was always bright and cheerful. His parents had never been that way. But of course, that’s another story entirely. Let’s see… where was I? Oh yes, Charles and Anita had their wedding in the summer, the summer I took my father’s place as vizier. Four years later, they had a son: Prince Eric. I assure you there was no one that Anita cared about more than Eric. I think sometimes she paid more attention to him than her own husband.” Grimsby let out a laugh, and Ariel smiled. “Oh, he was a smart lad, too. Anita had been teaching him how to play the recorder; he caught on so quickly. He had his father’s intelligence, and he had his mother’s looks: her blue eyes.”

“Yeah, I saw the painting of Eric and his parents in my room,” Ariel told him.

“She was a beautiful lady. They had that portrait done back when Eric was just a young boy. I don’t even know if Eric remembers that.” She studied the older man as he reminisced that time, not bothering to tell him that Eric did remember it. “But soon after that… actually, I think it was that next year, King Charles wanted to do something special for their tenth anniversary. So he and I planned for the two of them to take a boat out to sea and spend a few days together. I’ll tell you right now, that wouldn’t have been my idea of a fun way to spend an anniversary, but Queen Anita adored the idea.

“So it was settled. They left the day of their anniversary on the boat with just three men for a crew. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. Eric was begging to go with them; I’d never seen him pitch such a fit. He wasn’t a spoiled child, I suppose, but you would have thought so by the way he was carrying on at that dock. But his mother finally calmed him down and told him that they’d be back in a couple of days. Eric wasn’t content, but he finally stopped crying. I guess it’s true, you know, that saying that children can sense things.” He paused for a moment, and Ariel thought she saw him wince slightly.

“What happened?”

He took a deep breath. “There had been a lot of bad weather that year. The winds had been incredible, and so the seas became rougher than normal. Charles had been so happy when a spell of good weather came around at the time of their anniversary. But the day after they left, a hurricane came up from the south and flooded half the city. We never heard from Charles or Anita again…” He took another breath. “A few weeks later, we found some wreckage of a boat on the shore. I even went out there myself to make sure it was their boat. Needless to say, it was.”

Grimsby had been staring at his book for the past few minutes, but finally raised his head again to look at Ariel. “Eric was devastated. He kept saying over and over again how he’d told them they wouldn’t be safe. I’d never seen someone cry as much as he did those next few days. He was just a child then, only about five. Afterwards, I became his guardian until he was old enough to take care of himself. Carlotta and I practically raised him ourselves. It wasn’t always easy, let me tell you that.” His tone began to lighten as he rolled his eyes. “When he gets an idea in his head, there’s no stopping him. But he’s really grown up to be a fine young man. I’m sure his parents would be proud.”

A moment of silence passed between the two of them before he continued. “You know, I always expected him to have some fear of the water, because of the whole ordeal, but he never did. I think he feels at home on the ocean. Like I said, I can’t stand it. I get sea sick. But he’d get on a boat any chance you gave him. Storms don’t even scare him. That night a few days before your wedding, there was a tropical storm that happened while we were at sea.”

“Was that Eric’s birthday?”

He nodded. “Yes. We had just finished visiting Glowerhaven. I had been trying to get Eric to make a decision on who he was going to marry. At eighteen, it is custom for the prince to take a bride if he hasn’t already done so. He had just turned eighteen, and we’d thrown him a party that night to celebrate. I had even gotten him a statue to put it on display here at the castle. Unfortunately, it went down with the ship. No one ever got a chance to admire it.”

She stifled a laugh as she remembered how much she’d enjoyed looking at it. What was left of the face was probably still somewhere in her grotto. “I remember that night,” Ariel told him. “That was when I first met Eric.”

“You were the one who rescued him that night weren’t you? I’d forgotten about that.” He simply smiled at the thought. “I’d joked with him at the time about that, all that nonsense about some girl saving him.”

Smiling, she stood up, suddenly realizing how much time had passed. “Well, I probably need to finish getting ready. I don’t want to be late for the ball. Thanks for telling me about Charles and Anita.”

“Oh, of course. You two have fun tonight!”

“Aren’t you coming?”

He nodded. “But I’ll be coming a little later. Someone has to crown the next King and Queen,” he finished with a wink.

Ariel hurried out and went up to her room. She was glad that she’d already done her hair. It was almost already time to go. Thankfully, all she had left to do was to put on her dress. She shuffled through her closet looking for the perfect dress. She wanted to look absolutely dazzling, and she finally decided on one. It was light blue, fitting her perfectly around her thin waist and then slowly fanning out toward the bottom of the dress. Slipping on her necklace, she took one final look in the mirror before heading downstairs. To her surprise, Eric was already waiting for her.

“Ariel, you look amazing!”

She sheepishly smiled. “Thanks, you look handsome yourself.”

He stood up a little taller and smiling proudly, he held out his arm. “Well, shall we go, my lady?” he asked playfully. She hooked arms with him in response, and they walked out together towards the carriage. Along the way, she found herself becoming anxious. She’d always dreamt about going dancing. But this wasn’t going to be just an ordinary ball. She would become the Queen tonight. She felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine as she imagined that. She wished her father could be here to see it, but that wasn’t possible.

Still, she couldn’t wait. She watched the passing buildings with growing anticipation, knowing it couldn’t be too much further. Eric reached over and took her hand in his, brushing it lightly with his lips. Ariel smiled, and scooted even closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and gently whispered in her ear, “I love you Ariel.” She gazed up at his eyes and willingly allowed him to kiss her.

It was cut short by the carriage suddenly coming to a halt. Ariel’s head flashed toward the grand entrance of the ballroom. A dazzling light shone through the windows of the building, creating a colorful spectrum of the rainbow on the ground outside. To Ariel, it was a dream come true. She allowed the driver to help her out of the carriage, almost tripping once, but never once took her eyes off the building. She and Eric locked arms as they walked along the red carpet toward the entrance of the ballroom. She took a deep breath as they entered the lighted hallway.

Below them, hundreds of couples were already dancing and swaying to the enchanting music being played by the orchestra. “As soon as the trumpets play, we are to walk down the stairs and wait at the foot of the stage for Grimsby, okay?”

She nodded. After a moment, the music began to dim, and the trumpets signaled their entrance. Ariel readjusted her grip on Eric’s arm and smiled brightly as they passed by all the citizens of the city. She’d hardly ever seen this many people gathered in the same place and definitely not this many humans. They were all in awe, and she tried not to blush as she watched them bow.

As they descended the stairs, she saw a beautiful chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, each of the flames from the candles sending spectrums of light around the room. The decoration of the room rivaled that of the castle.

When they reached the stage, they waited for Grimsby to take the stage. Another dance passed before he addressed the audience. “Before we get on to the main part tonight, I think our musicians deserve a round of applause.” A loud cacophony of clapping echoed throughout the hall and dimmed again after a short moment. During this, Grimsby nodded for them to join him.

“Well, I guess it’s time,” Eric told her quietly. “Let’s go.” Ariel’s stomach did a flip as she took Eric’s outstretched arm and ascended the stairs of the stage. She tried not to look at the hundreds of people who had their focus completely on them.

Grimsby once more spoke. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to ask all of you to give your undivided attention to the crowning of the next King and Queen. As all of you know, it is our custom to have the former King and Queen perform the crowning ceremony. Since that is not possible, I have asked a special guest here tonight who will help me do the honors.”

Ariel glanced at Eric, who seemed to be as confused as she was. Who had Grimsby invited?

“I would like you all to welcome… King Triton!”

Her face brightened when she heard her father’s name. He walked up onto the stage, beaming proudly, and stood by her side. She couldn’t believe it. She knew her father didn’t like the human world. Even after the marriage, she knew that he still was probably hesitant about her being among humans. And yet, her father had turned himself into a human just for her! She gave him a hug as they waited for Grimsby to continue.

“As most of you know, King Triton is Princess Ariel’s father. I thought it was fitting to ask him to join the ceremony. And now… the crowns.” The entire room silenced after he spoke. Everyone stared at the two beautiful diamond crowns resting on the pillows. Ariel had thought the crowns under the ocean had been beautiful, but these were nothing like what they had. Triton slowly walked with Grimsby and they each picked up a crown: Triton with Ariel’s and Grimsby with Eric’s.

Grimsby began once more, sounding like he was quoting an old speech. “With this crown, we bestow upon you the city and all of its treasures.” He placed the dazzling crown on Eric’s head, and Triton did the same for Ariel. “But the crown does not mark a great king; his actions reflect his true measure.” He smiled at them both, and then turned toward the audience. “I present to you King Eric and Queen Ariel!”

Ariel was nearly driven to tears at the sound of cheers that arose from the crowd. Eric leaned toward her and kissed her gently, breaking away after a moment. She turned to her father to find he was crying. Giving him a hug, she squeezed him tight, understanding those tears without a word spoken. After a moment, she broke away and faced the audience once more. They had begun to quiet now, and Eric took her hand in his, leading her down the stairs off the stage.

As if he were Moses parting the sea, a path opened in the middle of the room, leading to the center of the floor. A big circle formed around the couple, all eyes patiently waiting, the musicians set to play, the lights dimmed romantically. Suddenly, it seemed as if there was no one else in the ballroom, it was just the two of them standing together, with a gentle melody encompassing them. He held out his hand in invitation, and she willingly accepted. Soon, she found herself swirling around in a dream – a wish that by some miracle had been granted. She didn’t care anymore about the stares of the people or the music being played; she only focused on her happily ever after unfolding before her eyes.

In the carriage ride home, she still felt as if she were on a cloud. The music repeated softly in her ears as Eric held her in his arms, keeping her warm. Her melody was broken up by the sound of Eric’s voice. “Look out at the sea, Ariel.”

She gazed out to find the sea completely at rest. The sun had set, and only a bare reflection of the moon shone on the water. “It’s so beautiful…” she sighed happily. Then she quickly added, “But I enjoy being with you here, out of the water.”

“I know. I was just wondering how different it must be for you to live on land after sixteen years of living under the sea.”

“I can’t begin to tell you,” she admitted. “Everything’s different. It’s odd looking onto the sea from this view. I never thought I’d be up here staring down at it. It’s so peaceful.”

Eric pointed out to the edge of the horizon. “It seems peaceful now, but look at that cloud out there. I bet it won’t be calm too much longer.” He felt her shiver, and he tightened his hold around her. “Are you still cold?”

She shook her head. “No, I was just thinking about the storm. Do you think it will be bad?”

“Well, by the looks of that cloud, it looks like it will be quite a storm. I wouldn’t doubt it if it lasted the whole night.”

Ariel pondered his answer for the rest of the ride, snuggling in closer to his chest as she watched the now-darkened town pass by in glimpses. She couldn’t see his face, but she wondered if he was thinking about the storm too.

She kissed his neck softly as she felt the carriage slow to a stop. “Eric, I want to talk to my Dad for a little while. I’ll be along in a bit, okay?”

“Sure. I’ll see you later.”

She watched as Grimsby and Eric went on inside, and then she turned to her father. “You want to walk along the beach?”

He nodded and grabbed one of the lanterns from the carriage. “We’ll need this.”

The silence of the night was soothing, with just the sounds of the ocean floating gently out to sea, and even without words spoken between father and daughter, Ariel found herself more at ease. “I was really glad you came tonight Daddy. I’ve missed you and everyone else so much.”

He smiled. “We’ve missed you too,” he told her as they embraced. “There’s been a lot going on since you’ve left. Sebastian is still composing music for your sisters’ concerts, and now he’s even opened up a music school. Flounder is even taking lessons! Can you imagine that?” He laughed deeply, and for the first time that night, she took note of his smile and how much she’d missed being without it.

“How is everybody else?”

“Oh your sisters are doing fine. Aquata has been seeing a young merman, and I think she really likes him. But you know how you girls are… you can never tell.”

Ariel raised her eyebrows. “That sounds like something Sebastian would say…”

He finally grinned. “Well, he might have said it once or twice.” He sighed and his tone became more serious. “He’s a nice young prince, I think. You know Aquata will take the throne when I step down, so of course, everyone has been interested in their relationship. She seems to be happy with him though, so I guess I can’t complain. I happen to have the best seven daughters the ocean has ever seen.”

“And I have the best father,” she reminded him.

“So, what about you? Have you been happy here?”

She nodded. “Happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I know it’ll take some getting used to, but I’m fine. I really do love him, Daddy, and I know that will get us through anything.”

He gave her a final hug and a kiss on the forehead, with a proud smile on his face. “Well, I guess I’d better go. You need to head back before that storm breaks.” Her attention was drawn once more to the darkening skies. The cloud was even closer now; it was practically above the castle. The moon was now completely covered by the clouds’ gray blanket.

“I love you Daddy,” she reminded them as he walked slowly toward the sea.

“I love you too. Be careful!”

“I will,” she whispered softly. She watched as he slowly disappeared into the water, once more changing into a merman. The silence was deafening as the echoes of their voices off the rocks floated out across the watery void. Looking around her now, everything had become dark. It didn’t look like the same place that she’d met Eric at for the first time; she almost didn’t recognize it. She walked to the edge of the water, lantern in hand, and gazed down, not exactly sure what she was looking for. On land, all she could see was her reflection, the lamp lighting up the soft features of her face – there was no sign of life below the surface. For a moment, the memory of her past life seemed surreal. She found her heart aching, torn between two worlds. The storm inside her soul was beginning to thunder now, starting to show its full potential.

She jumped when she heard the sound of Eric’s voice from behind her, his presence taking her by surprise. “There you are! I’ve been wondering where you were. You’d been gone a long time now…” He paused when he noticed she’d lost her focus. “Did I interrupt?”

She flashed her attention back to Eric. “Oh no, he already left. I was just thinking…”

“Well, we’d better hurry back before we get caught in that storm. It looks like it’s going to be a bad one.” As if to affirm his statement, a threatening crack of thunder sounded. Ariel jumped, and he quickly wrapped his arm around her, leading her back to the castle. The light of the lantern lit the way as they hurried. She felt safer in his arms but was relieved when she finally saw the castle steps in front of them.

As soon as the door closed behind them, another crack of thunder roared through the sky and rain began to pelt the roof with a vengeance. “Just in time,” he muttered. “It sounds like it’s raining cats and dogs out there.”

She giggled. “Cats and dogs?”

“Yeah, it’s an expression. You’ve never heard of it?”

“No, but then again, it doesn’t rain under the sea. Storms didn’t really bother us.”

Eric seemed to be intrigued by this. “I never thought about that. Well, come on, let’s go upstairs. I know you probably want to get changed.”

She nodded, and for the first time, she noticed how much her feet were hurting her in the high-heeled shoes. When she walked in, she took her shoes off at the door immediately. “Whew, those were killing my feet. Oh, Eric, where should I put my crown?”

He pointed to the pillow sitting on top of the dresser. “Just put it on top of that next to mine.” As soon as she put it down, he grabbed her from behind and spun her in the air. “So, my Queen, what would you like to do tonight?”

Ariel smiled at his playfulness. “Well, my King, I would love to spend the night doing nothing but spending quality time with you.”

He kissed her on her forehead. “Then that’s what we’ll do!” he exclaimed. “Go and get changed, and then we’ll spend all the time in the world together.”

She did as she was told, and after a moment, she came out dressed in her blue nightgown. It matched her blue eyes perfectly. Jumping onto the bed beside him, she asked, “So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Hm… how about us? And how happy we’ll be together?” She grinned, but Eric sensed a feeling of regret in her expression. “Ariel, what is it? You’re… you’re not having second thoughts about our marriage are you?”

Ariel shook her head. “Of course not, Eric. I love you, and I am really happy here. To be honest, I really don’t know what the problem is… I just feel torn. When I saw my dad tonight, something came back to me. I began to realize how lucky I am to have a father who cares for me and looks after me. He cared enough about me to change himself into a human – just so he could be a part of the crowning ceremony. I guess I feel guilty for leaving him... But it has nothing to do with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

She turned away and walked toward the window, once more looking out at the sea. Now it was no longer a smooth mirror; it was a torrential flood of water, ready to swallow up anything in its path. She felt as if her soul was lost in the middle of that sea, being thrown about through the waves, fighting to decide which way was up. As if by magic, the touch of Eric’s hands on her shoulders calmed her worries. “You know, I should’ve expected you to feel this way. I know you must miss your father a lot.” She heard him take a deep breath before he continued. “I know I do.”

“Oh Eric, that’s another reason why I feel so guilty. I feel like I’ve left him behind, like I don’t realized how blessed I am. I never really thought about how much I was leaving behind when I chose this life. And I’m happy I did. It’s just going to take some time to let go.” Then she turned to him. “I know it must have been hard for you tonight too.”

“They died a long time ago.”

It was her turn to take a deep breath. “I know, I talked to Grimsby today about it.”

“What did he tell you?”

“He told me what a wonderful person your mother was, and how you were so cute when you were little,” she told him with a laugh. “But he also told me about their anniversary, and… the storm.” She watched his face fall. His attention was now outside, where hers had been all night: the storm. "Is it bothering you too?"

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it,” he admitted. “It always reminds me of them whenever there’s a bad storm like this.”

She ran her hand through his soft black hair. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“No, don’t worry about it. You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s in the past, and you can’t change it. There’ll always be storms,” he said, allowing a smile to creep up on his face. “But when I’m with you, the thunder doesn’t seem so loud.”

Ariel nodded, finally feeling at rest. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Author’s Note: Wow, I must say I didn’t see this growing into what it became. It was supposed to start out as nothing more than a 1,000 word one-shot and ended up being over 5,000 words! But I hope you all enjoyed it. I really had a nice time diving into these characters a little more.