Happy early Halloween everyone!
Sorry this has taken a while to update. I've had a lot going on over the past few monthes. I lost my job, but then shortly after I got a much better one LOL. And I've been pretty busy with that one as well as all the other things in real life.
Without anything further, here's the next chapter.
Once again, you all have been wonderful and I'm grateful for your pantience
**********************************************************
Ariel placed a dainty hand upon her belly, feeling a nudge just under her ribcage as the baby took her out of her slumber, kicking her with its legs, or flipping at her with its fins. Whenever she rested she had very strange haunting dreams. In one she had been trapped in the ocean holding her baby, watching Eric marry some brunette above the surface. She just floated there, unable to even call out to him while the baby wailed in her arms. But it was only a dream, she reminded herself. It was only a dream.
She rolled to her side for a moment. The wet sand shifted along with her siren's body as she moved to look down at her belly again, which reminded her of a manatee. It had been nearly a month and a half since she and Sebastian had began to looking for Tiburon Canyon. It was proving to be harder to find than had been originally implied. Ariel rested a second longer on her back, while her blue orbs gazed at the waters above. Then she winced at the pain forming in her lower back. Her small figure still wasn't used to transporting the extra weight that came with motherhood. She was still a petite lady by many standards, but she was feeling more like a beached whale everyday. How could her mother have gone through this seven times?
She felt moved and guilty at once for taking any time to dwell on her own discomfort as she felt another wiggle from within. A big part of her frustration came from fighting her bitterness towards her father. She loved him, or she kept trying to, as they kept wandering in hiding, day after day. The princess was tired, and getting discouraged by the endless journeys leading to nowhere.
She thought of how happy she could be right now; sleeping in a warm bed next to her prince just the two of them. Maybe it was the hormones, but the image made her want to cry and curse her father's name at the same time. Of course more guilt would follow from that.
Would these emotions ever settle down?
She kept coming back to the same thing; what a fool she was. How was she ever going to be a good mother to anyone?
Sebastian yawned as he woke up and scratched his back with his claw. The crustacean scanned the area then proceeded to pull out a map he conveniently kept in the back of his shell. He read the map again, wondering if there was something he might have missed. His days as a crab scout leader had come in handy. Though, as helpful as it had been, they were still lacking a lot of knowledge about Tiburon Canyon. The only information they had discovered was to "just keep heading west". Such skim instructions didn't build a lot of confidence.
However, they kept moving. The journey was getting more strenuous not only on the mermaid, but the crab as well. Though, neither spoke of it to the other. Ariel couldn't for obvious reasons and Sebastian wasn’t going to add to the stress of the situation. He didn't have the energy to fret much anymore.
Sebastian noticed that Ariel had woken up, so he stuffed the map back into his shell and swam over to her. "Morning Ari-elle. How are you feeling?" he asked as he did every morning.
Ariel shrugged, and then did a teeter-totter motion with her hand to say she had been better. She offered him a smile for once again showing her consideration.
A small cluster of little sea turtles swam above them in circles and twirled around one another while laughing. Ariel giggled too, and enjoyed the break from her worries for the moment. One of the turtles was bum-rushed, and bounced onto her stomach, not enough to hurt itself or the little one inside. But it did give her a belly laugh.
"Oh, sorry dudette," the little turtle exclaimed to the crimson haired mermaid.
"Squirt, Where'd ya go?" another young turtle called out from the top of the trench above.
"Down here, dudes." Squirt called back to them.
The little swarm of them floated down to greet their friend, the mermaid, and the crab.
"Oooh. Why's your belly so big?"
"It's cause she's fat"
"But the rest of her is all skinny and stuff."
All gave their theories. Though being very young they were only familiar that one was hatched, rather than born. It didn't enter into their minds that a child resided in Ariel's stomach.
Ariel, like most women, didn't like being referred to as "fat" no matter the circumstance, but chose to smile through it, even though she was feeling very tired. She then decided to show them with a charade by rocking her arms, and then she patted her stomach.
Some of the older, smarter turtles caught onto it "Oh! You have a baby in your belly? Cool!" one of the turtles commented.
"But aren'tcha 'posed to hatch the baby in the sand then they'd swim out to find you?" Squirt asked.
Sebastian watched, a little nervously, as the turtles interacted with Ariel. He hoped that none of them would recognize either Ariel or himself. But his fear ceased as he saw the children were still "young" in the matter of even identifying other species birthing processes.
Ariel shook her head and giggled silently some more. Though, she didn't feel like she could explain this, given she wasn't their mother. She was going to try to inform them to consult their parents about such questions.
The water then became eerily still, so you could almost hear the swaying of the seaweed as it brushed against the coral.
Her mind flashed to an encounter from months ago.
**************************************
"Flounder, would you relax? Nothing is going to happen..."
**************************************
Her eyes shot open as she turned to see not far in the distance of the blue waters was a great white shark. Even as far away as she was, the mermaid could make out the predatory, mindless grin. She gasped, instinctively clutching her stomach.
Sebastian commented "Ari-elle, what is it 'dat you are lookin’ at?" Sebastian the spotted the monster as well, becaming a paler shade of red while his jaw chattered in fear. The turtles shook in their little shells, their eyes wide in horror.
"Lets swim away!" said one of the turtles.
The shark charged.
Ariel gathered the turtles in her arms, Sebastian beside her, and they began to swim as fast and as hard as they could. They needed a plan! What could they do? Though she shouldn't have been that surprised considering they were heading to "Tiburon Canyon".
She kept swimming. Her body was not as nimble and quick as it had been before her pregnancy, but she kept pushing herself. The motley crew zigged and zagged around the maze-like trench. The shark wasted no time and crashed through the walls, while the rubble flew through the water.
Her heart was about to leap out of her chest, and she wasn’t sure if the rapid beating was coming by her or her baby. She was too scared at that moment to even realize she was crying. Her pale arms held onto the turtles as their little voices chimed with terror. Sebastian churned his claws, struggling to keep up with them. The force from the water was growing stronger, followed by the gust of bubbles from the shark chomping its jaws as it kept swimming.
Was this the end?
Fate smiled on the crimson haired princess, and she spotted a little nook, not far ahead. If she put the turtles in there, then she and Sebastian could find a way to trap the shark, since fighting it was out of the question.
She looked to Sebastian, and he gave her a nod of understanding, not arguing with her. She dashed forward, and swam downward. Sebastian then swooshed around, and tossed a small rock at the shark’s head. "Hey you over-grown guppy, why don'tcha pick on someone your own size?"
The shark snarled looking at the crab. The killer machine decided he could get the mermaid and the turtles in a moment, but the crab was so irritating he'd just finish it off now.
Sebastian gulped then swam into a crater, followed by the shark.
Only....
The shark didn't count on how shallow the opening of the crater was and violently smashed its head against the wall, knocking itself out.
Ariel was waiting just above as Sebastian swam out. She used all her might to push a large boulder down in front of the opening. If anything it might slow the shark down when it woke again. The two then wasted no time swimming to the nook where she had left the turtles.
They reached the turtles and found them all shaken, but physically unharmed. After minutes spent, the turtles began to praise Ariel and Sebastian saying how cool it was and how they wish their parents could have seen!
Ariel blinked, her feelings were not along those levels. True, she had used to run into sharks, and then after she got away, hadn't reflected much on anything other than how amazing the danger of it felt. It wasn't like that now.
"Squirt! Little dudes! You okay?" An adult male turtle swam over to them at full pelt.
"Yeah Dad! We're great! Did ya see us?" Squirt exclaimed.
"Yeah little man." The turtle then cupped Squirt in his palm. "You were seriously jack'n my pulse up there, dude." The turtle then waved to Ariel " Heya there, dudette. I really owe ya one for savin' my offspring. You and the C-man there." He then gave a wave to Sebastian. "What shall I call you most excellent ocean-dwellers?"
Sebastian just looked exhausted, but was glad to be done with the nightmare a moment ago. "My name is Sebastian and her name is Ari-elle, and da reason I'm answerin' is because she can't speak."
"Oh, rock on. Silence is golden, ya know what I'm sayin'?" the turtle chuckled in his Zen-like manner. "And name's Crush by the way. And I was serious when I said I owed you a solid."
Sebastian looked around. "Well... would you happen to know where Tiburon Canyon would be?"
"Ha! Yeah, dude. Just on our way to visit an old amigo of mine. Name's Queequeq, he’s a swordfish dude." Crush exclaimed.
Ariel's eyes widened in delight and Sebastian leapt in the air. "Wheee! Dat's who we're lookin' for."
"Kay, then just come along with us dudes." the sea turtle invited.
Ariel felt relieved that they had finally gotten somewhere, rather than wandering aimlessly. She glanced back at the destruction created by the shark and sighed silently.
She looked forward to leaving this place.
***********************************************************************
Eric looked out the window of the French castle onto the sage forest it seemed to be hidden in. He rubbed his forehead exasperatedly, wondering why he'd agreed to do this. Certainly it was his royal duty. Though after the near eight months of extreme aggravation he wasn't feeling like socializing at the moment. Or, to be clearer, he didn't feel like socializing with a bunch of uptight, pompous people.
These gatherings just seemed like an excuse for nobles to flatter one another while more important things in the world went unattended to. Eric was normally fine with parties where he wasn't the main focus, or when Grimsby wasn't trying to engage him to half the girls in the room (he couldn't relax that way). But again, he wasn't feeling up to it at the moment.
The prince did his best to burry his annoyance, fiddling with a button on his cuff in the ballroom.
Rosalita smoothed out the lines of Eric’s jacket. "No need to be so tense Bonito." she smiled
Sayers just rolled his eyes. That woman.
Rosalita had snuck aboard the ship during their Tortuga trip. She had still been mad at Sayers and not about to drop it that quickly. By the time they had discovered she was on the ship, they had been at sea for hours. She wasn't about to leave, and Eric didn't want to waste any more time by going back to Tortuga even if it was bad luck to have a woman aboard.
So the Captain had to suffer for the next two weeks listening to Rosalita go on about his inability to commit to anything, and Eric mapping out what last inch on the earth they could search for the red head.
They ported just in time, since the big man was ready to kill one or both of them.
"Why don'tcha wipe his nose while you're at it." She looked beautiful, adorned a scarlet gown with a matching flower residing in her caramel strands. Honestly, she had hardly aged in all the time he knew her. But he wasn't about to compliment her either; he didn't do that often, to anyone.
Rosalita shot the man a look. "Keep that up and I'll have to leave you and run away with a handsome prince,” she teased tweaking Eric's nose. She wasn't at all serious, but she found the prince's ability to turn pink so fast just darling.
Sayers didn't look up from his watch as he replied. "Fine. Just promise not to break him. I don't think he's quite *that* experienced."
Rosalita gave a smile like a cat hiding a cannery in its jaw. "Can't make promises..." She gave Eric a wink for good measure.
Eric's olive skin tone turned magenta rather quickly. He cleared his throat while blinking, as he tried to feel like a grown-up again. "Uh, well, I think I should try to find the hosts and thank them for having us."
An attractive girl approached just then. Butterscotch tresses sat upon her head, and she wore an emerald gown that matched her eyes. The girl offered a curtsey. "Prince Eric of Italy, I assume?"
Eric smiled at the girl, politely. "That would be me, and you are Miss?" She seemed nice enough, friendly, but not overly sugary.
"Lady Marianna." she smiled. "Is this your first visit to France's shores?"
"Actually no, I have been here a few times, but not this area. It'll be my first time meeting his--" Eric stopped at that moment as he gazed across the gold-laced ballroom. What caught his vision was a petite form clad in a pale-pink ball gown. Her red locks danced across her back like a waves rippling along the shore. He gave a quick glassy look to Marianna "Excuse me." He wasted no time making his way over.
Only...
He bumped into a waiter, who dropped a tray of glasses onto another servant's foot, who stepped back onto a over run table cloth, that sent the fine English China and glasses filled with champagne crashing to the floor. A woman yelped, as she was drenched with the drink, and flung her arms up as she did and smacked a fellow party guest in the face. That guest then fell onto another party member from the force of the slap, to which that guest then fell onto the edge of the dessert cart, as a small army of pastries flew into the air.
Eric was too concerned with getting to the redhead to notice, as his heart beat faster and faster. He gently touched her shoulder for her to turn his direction. He frowned as he faced her. She had lovely face, but it was not his mute maiden.
The girl in question raised a brow "Yes?"
Eric shook his head. "Oh, I thought you were someone else. I'm sorry."
She was about to reply when she looked behind him, wrinkling her nose at the disaster he had caused. "What in the...."
Eric turned, eyes wide at the mess he’d brought about. He strode over and knelt down beside a servant girl "Oh, I am so sorry. Please let me help you."
The servant girl just kept her head down as he spoke. "No. Really, Your Grace, it's no trouble."
Eric insisted "No. This is my fault."
The girl then stared at him without blinking. "Please, Your Highness. You're getting crème on your knees. Just go back to enjoying yourself. We'll take care of it,” she said in a kind tone that was best described as "Please stop, you're embarrassing yourself."
The Italian prince rose. "Well I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to."
"I know."
Eric sighed, feeling horrible for creating such a disaster, then he registered all the eyes fixed on him. He suddenly felt much like he had when he was four and would hide behind his mother's skirt at such events. Even that young he’d felt self-conscience with so many people watching him.
He turned, trying to not be so awkward, even though he all he wanted to do was disappear. The Italian then tucked off to the sides of the room and snuck out to get some air on the balcony that over-looked the canyon below.
Inside the ballroom Rosalita was tempted to follow after Eric, but stopped when a very beautiful servant woman with short rich brown hair and a similar figure to her own approached. "Mon Dieu. Is everything alright?" inquired the woman with the light French accent.
Cogsworth had been instructing to staff to square away the remains of the disaster, then saw, as he expected she would, Babette was butting into something that was not her concern. He quickly made his way over to her, and the woman that had been accompanying the Italian prince. "Babette, I do not believe she desires you to pry into their affairs." he scolded.
Babette just stood a little taller, tilting her chin up. "Well, before you decide what is prying why don't you give her a chance to answer." The maid used her feather duster to brush teasingly over Cogsworth's face.
Rosalita smirked. She liked this woman already. "It's no trouble to me, gracias. And to answer your question, Chica, I'm sure Bonito is fine, he just has a lot on his mind is all."
Babette saw the woman was easy going herself, and the maid was not one to easily shut her mouth, so she leaned in closer to ask, "So are you here *with* him?"
Cogsworth stiffened his lips and groaned. Such typical Babette. Good thing Lumiere wasn't here to encourage it.
Rosa rolled her eyes amused and snorted. "No." she laughed a little. "True, he is muy magnífico, but he is still a niño, so very young and sweet. I just like to see him blush."
Cogsworth groaned under his breath. "Not another one..."
Rosa went on. "My loyalties lie with one whom I have history with that shares many of my own traits."
Babette nodded, "Oui, as do I. He's over there" she pointed to a slender follow with prominent European features, who had tied back sandy brown hair. "Lumiere?" She called. "Come over here I want you to meet..." She then realized she hadn’t caught the woman's name.
"Rosalita, but you may call me Rosa." The Spanish maiden folded her arms, and rested her weight on one leg. "Now what do I call you Chica and your beau?
"I am Babette, and that would be my Lumiere." She answered.
Ignoring the glares from Cogsworth, Lumiere bent down to place a kiss on Rosa's hand. "Le plaisir est tout le mien, la Mlle."
Rosa smiled down at him, "Gracias, Señor."
Sayers then entered back into the room, and asked Rosa "So what'd I miss?" He then saw Babette and instantly recognized her. He gave the French maid a wink and pointed at her, "Le Flor Nior?"
Babette chuckled, "Oui. Do I have to guess that you paid us a visit?"
Rosa rested her elbow on Sayers arm. "Is the Pope Catholic?"
The four of them went on with their exchange while Cogsworth tried to block out the noise of the reminiscing of dance halls and what took place there. Hopefully, this would just be a one-time occurrence....
Meanwhile...
Little did Eric know that he wasn't alone in his dislike of these events. Adam tried to play the part of the gracious host when the occasion arose, but he felt like it was all a sham. The years in his monster’s form weren't ones he’d spent sharpening his social skills, not that they had been great to begin with.
He couldn't strike up sparkling conversation, or dazzle people with his wit. He mused that the best he could do was to make the announcements, smile as politely as he could muster and pray no one would see through him. That the Christmas party had gone so well had been a miracle.
He wasn't sure what would come of the event today. Belle reassured him that it would take time but that he'd feel more comfortable soon enough. Once again, she provided reason and insight. Still, the former beast wasn't sure if he'd ever find someone else who he could talk to without it becoming horribly uncomfortable.
Speaking of awkward… There was a man Adam guessed was just a few years younger than himself, with Mediterranean features that contrasted strikingly his blue eyes that had caused quite a catastrophe. The last time he'd seen anything un-ravel so fast was when Cogsworth and Lumiere had fought over who it was that originally said that Belle was going to break the spell.
Adam heard whispers that he was a prince. Which Adam was in all honesty shocked to hear. Not exactly the type he thought of as royalty. But then again, he should have known better since he was exactly the picture of elegance himself. Credit was due to the dark-haired prince though, since he was willing to help afterwards. Most nobles wouldn't think of partaking in servants work, or even owning up to such clumsiness. He shifted slightly. What could have been the boy’s reason for being so uneasy?
It wasn't as if it was any of his business, however he thought that he should do as Belle suggested and try to be more personable with his guests. Shortly after the other man left the room is, Adam followed him out onto the balcony. He tensed up seeing the canyon below. It didn't exactly bring pleasant memories to mind. "Um... I-Is everything all right?"
Eric blinked at the voice, then turned to see a man with long tied back honey-colored hair, who had a larger build than his own, and wide blue eyes. "Oh, no I'm all right, really." Eric answered.
Adam nodded, not sure how to reply but went on, "Well, I was just hoping your stay here has been nice."
Eric winced "You mean this is your home?"
Adam nodded.
Eric sighed, feeling very stupid. "And you are Adam of France." Well, so much for being a good representation of his homeland. “I'm so sorry I made such a huge mess, I was just a bit distracted, I guess."
“It was an accident, I’m sure.” The former beast approached the edge of the balcony to stand near the younger man. He had such obvious discomfort. Awkward silence fell between them as blue birds twittered by the backdrop of the pale blue sky. Two birds landed on Adam's shoulder, and bounced about, expecting him to have some sort of feed on his person. Adam just rolled his eyes but didn't swat them away. "Are you sure everything is all right?" he asked breaking the silence.
Eric looked at him as he cocked a thick eyebrow. The man seemed nice enough. Sure he was asking questions, but it wasn't prying or intrusive. Upon further inspection Eric saw that the other man didn't seem particularly comfortable himself. "Yes, everything has been wonderful here. All of your staff has been so friendly."
Adam nodded to the younger prince. "They are great people, I really have no idea what I'd do without them. I see you brought some of your's as well."
"Oh yes, that's my captain and Rosalita, his...." What could Eric call Rosalita that wouldn't sound scandalous to the prince? ".. Companion."
Adam smirked. "Lumiere and Babette have been 'companions' for years. There's no need to try and cover on my account."
Eric chuckled lightly at this. "Well, okay then...."
The two engaged in a pleasant conversation that grew into a genuinely enjoyable talk for both. They mostly exchanged stories about their staffs and quirks possessed by each member. They also discussed other events both had attended. The laughter was kept at a lower level, so as not to invite too much attention from the other guests. When Eric asked Adam if he'd done much traveling, Adam just replied he hadn't really felt up to it for a while.
After most of the insignificant chatter was out of the way, and the initial discomfort was demolished, Adam finally asked, "So what was it that distracted you earlier if you don't mind me asking...?" No regal arrogance was crossing his Parisian features as waited for whatever answer Eric had.
The sailor didn't have to tell him his whole story but he could suppose it wouldn't hurt to open up a bit. "Well.... Have you ever felt so badly about something, that you're sure no matter what you did, you can't make up for it or change it?"
Adam froze for a moment, like an empty suit of armor in the grand hallway. He was silent for a few minutes before he answered. "Yes."
Eric looked to him with pensive eyes. "Really?" Eric sighed shaking his head. “But I really screwed up.”
“I guarantee what ever it that you did was not as bad as what I have done." The mood was damping again, and Adam tried to reassure. "But I found that you could make up for things, or try to. True, you can't erase what your past holds... I guess what I can tell you is that you can learn from it, and grow." Adam tried to give the best advice as he could. "I was lucky,” he admitted. "When I thought things couldn't possibly become worse Belle came into my life. I had no idea how much I'd care about her until later on. And even after what was said and done, she forgave me." Adam smiled almost to himself looking back to the trees. "Of course, I couldn't have ever done it without my friends here, either. And looking back I don't think I thanked them enough for their help."
The corners of Eric's mouth upturned slightly at this, how relieving. But Eric also didn't ask the details of Adam's story. He figured if Adam wanted to share them he would.
"Does that help at all?" Adam wasn't normally one to dispense advice.
Eric nodded and smiled faintly. "It does, thank you." The sailor then went onto think about how he'd been with Sayers and Grim about the search for Ariel. Was it entirely selfish of him? He was sure she was his true chance at happiness and that he couldn't give up on her. And after what happened between the two of them, he couldn’t just let go.
A third person joined the two princes on the balcony, a young woman with chocolate brown shoulder-length hair, and large upturned hazel eyes, dressed in a soft golden ball gown with pick-ups surrounding the skirt. She placed a kiss to Adam's cheek, stretching on the balls of her feet as she did. "There you are. I was wondering were you went." She then turned to Eric offering a smile, "Bounjor, and would you be sir?"
Adam smiled at receiving the kiss from his wife.
Eric also grinned at the pretty girl and answered, "I would be Prince Eric of Italy, and you must be Belle. Adam has been telling me so much about you."
Belle stole a glance to her husband, before she looked back to Eric, “Italy! I must say I've always wanted to go there.” Her eyes brightened even more. “Machiavelli was one of my favorite authors. I don't tend to go for his particular style but his use of language is so-" Belle stopped, and bit her lip, reflecting back to her life in the village. It was no wonder she didn't have many friends since the only time she spoke to them was only about her interest. She realized that now. "I'm sorry, I tend to ramble."
"Don't be.” Eric smirked at the side of his mouth. “I do the same thing with sailing or traveling. So, I have to watch it also, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one that does it. By the way, I really like Machiavelli as well."
"We'll have to make some time to come visit next time you hold an event of your own." Adam suggested.
Belle nodded to her husband, “Definitely.”
"Well, one could always make time for friends." Eric agreed, smiling at the couple. They certainly seemed happy with one another.
He saw the redhead from earlier pass by the entrance as they stood there and felt another pang of disappointment that never entirely dissipated.
((Heya again! I hoped you enjoyed that last chapter. Now I just wanted to let you all know that I do realize it would be impossible for Crush and Squirt to exist in Ariel's time. but maybe they could have gone through some magic portal XD. Also, I wanted to mention the scene between Eric and Adam (Beast to most people ^^) was partly inspired by a lovely piece WickedElphie had shown me of her's. Who is also a fantastic beta reader for me
Also I have to mention that the dance hall named by Babette is the creation by my wonderful friend, LumBabsfan ))
) 
) 
&&&
&&&
I hope Ariel can find her was back to Eric ( or vice versa ).
)..but I'm not sure. And I'm really curious because I keep hearing the name everywhere!
