Ariel hadn't moved since Aella had left. Slowly, she raised her hand a touched the place on her cheek that Aella had kissed. Something dawned on her, and her hand froze against her cheek. She heard footsteps running down the hallway but could see nothing through the darkness. Suddenly, a figure stood in front of her, breathing quickly. She took Ariel's hand and together they sprinted towards the back entrance of the castle.

Aella seemed to know every twist and turn of the castle, and it was all Ariel could do to keep up. Finally, they arrived at two huge doors and Aella shoved her way through them, her hand still intertwined with Ariel's. Ariel thought they were going to stop, but they continued running. They left footprints in the snow through the back gardens, charged through the forest behind the garden, and emerged overlooking a giant chasm.

Both girls were breathing heavily, and Aella broke their connected hands to bend over and place her hands on her knees. Ariel stepped forward and looked over the chasm they had reached. Except the chasm didn't have an end. When she squinted far enough downwards, she could see the faint glimmer of stars. She turned to Aella, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Is-is this?" she stammered.

"Yes," Aella smiled. "It's the edge of the world."

Ariel sat down in the snow in shock. Aella giggled, clearly enjoying her surprise. "No one else knows about it," she whispered. "I found it a few years ago, after my first panic attack. I ran through the forest and found myself overlooking it. It looks way better at night, doesn't it? It's my way of looking at the stars." She sat down and swung her legs over the edge. Ariel gasped, before doing the same. They sat in silence, Aella comfortably, and Ariel struggling to think up a logical explanation for what she was looking at, but her mind began to wander to their earlier conversation.

"Aella?" she asked, turning to face her.

"Yes?"

"What's going on?"

Aella turned to Ariel and a small smile appeared on her face. "I think it was destiny," she whispered, her large eyes filled with seriousness.

"Ugh, you keep saying " grimaced Ariel. "You know there's no such thing as destiny."

"But what if there is?"

"There isn't."

"Think about it," Aella said. Her eyes lit up as she spoke. "What are the chances we'd meet like this? Why did I need to bring you to –" she paused, "Here," she finished, letting out a breath.

"You're strange," Ariel replied. "But it's cute." Her face flushed a dark red and she turned away to hide it. "I mean – I mean," she stammered.

Aella touched her hand to Ariel's face and turned it towards her. She smiled gently. "Is it my imagination," she began. "Or is Princess Ariel blushing?"

Ariel smacked her shoulder playfully. "Shut up," she murmured. Then, forgetting the edge beside her, leaned to her left and began to tumble off the cliff.

In a flash, Aella had Ariel in her arms, pulling her up over the edge. Ariel's face was white with fear, but Aella was strong and had her up in a few seconds. They collapsed on the ground breathing heavily.

Without meaning to, Aella burst out laughing. Though Ariel tried her best not to, she was soon laughing along with her. Both girls couldn't stop, and they laid back and laughed until their stomachs hurt too much to continue.

Gasping for breath, Ariel managed to speak.

"I don't know why that was so funny," she breathed.

"I think we both needed that more than we'd admit," Aella replied.

Both girls flipped over to their stomachs and looked over the edge of the world. Aella reached her hand forward as if to grab a star. Ariel giggled, still a bit giddy, and realized she had never had so much fun, despite almost falling off the edge of the world. Her earrings glittered like Aella's necklace, but not as bright as their eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Ariel reached out and took Aella's reaching hand and clasped it in her own. They looked at each other and Ariel finally knew what to say.

"Aella?" she whispered. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Aella replied.

"For what?"

Aella leaned over and kissed her. Surprisingly to Ariel, it didn't feel strange. It felt....right. She pulled away and looked straight into Aella's eyes and found tears mirroring her own.

"This makes so much sense." She spoke below a whisper.

"I know."

No longer trapped in an endless cycle of confusion, Ariel wrapped her arms around Aella, and they stared out to the stars, losing the feeling of loneliness that had encompassed them for so long.

Suddenly, a bright flash travelled across the sky stretched out in front of them. Aella gasped in wonder, while Ariel looked on in awe at the shooting star they'd just witnessed. She laid back, feeling the cold of the snow bite her skin. Ariel shivered, not used to the Winter weather.

Aella turned to face Ariel and laughed. "So, it was a good idea bringing you out here, huh?" she giggled. "You're not going to yell at me about princes and husbands and not being independent?"

In response, Ariel used her hands to prop herself up, leaning towards Aella and planting a soft kiss on her lips. "You sure you want a husband?" she smirked.

"Well...it would be nice..." Aella pondered jokingly, a dark shade of red blotting her cheeks.

"Don't start," Ariel grinned. She reached above Aella's head and messed her hair up playfully.

Aella gaped at her. "How could you?" she shrieked, running her hands through her long brown hair to fix it.

"That's what you get for considering a husband over me," Ariel laughed. She leaned towards Aella again and puckered her lips, grinning. "Hello there m'lady," she said in a deep voice. "I'm Flynn, here to take you away to my palace. Care to dance?" She stood up and grabbed Aella's hand. "I know you want a prince for a husband, and of course, I'm the most handsome choice."

Aella, unable to choke back her laugh, stood up and pushed Ariel lightly. "You know I'd never marry that big-headed prince!" she managed between giggles. She scooped up and handful of snow and thew it at Ariel, hitting her in the shoulder and leaving a huge grin on the girl's face.

Ariel ran towards Aella, wrapping her arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Aella tried to wriggle away, but Ariel held on tight. She lifted her arms to the sky, just as snow began to fall. Aella stuck out her tongue and caught a snowflake.

Ariel laughed at the sight of such a dignified princess catching snowflakes on her tongue. It filled her with a feeling of warm happiness she couldn't describe. Slowly letting Aella down, she pressed her lips the girl's forehead as a sense of peace enveloped her, knowing they'd always have each other, proving their rightness in the world.