There's a super small Eric POV, but it fits really nicely, so I'm not sorry.

Ariel woke up on the sand. Wait... the sand?

She grinned upon seeing her legs again, minus the pain this time. Her legs were bare, and aside from her clam bra, so was the rest of her body. She blushed. "Ariel!" A voice called. She grinned at her fishy friend, Flounder. She tried to speak but found the words wouldn't come forth.

So Ursula had actually taken her voice... It was slightly disappointing, but not unsurprising. What Ursula didn't know, was Ariel knew sign language, something she had picked up from chatting with her deaf friend, Gabrielle. Hopefully, others knew sign language as well...

Ariel frantically gestured to her legs as she signed clothes!

Flounder's eyes widened. "Oh! Clothes!" He darted about, shouting for Scuttle, Ariel's seagull companion. She watched as scuttle fashioned... something out of a wrecked sail. Ariel frowned when she put it on. This definitely wasn't what the humans wore... but it was all she had.

Besides, so long as Eric was in the lagoon, as he said he would be, then she wouldn't have to wait long before she was in the comfortable palace fabrics once more. She stumbled slightly as she walked, a motion that took her off guard a little, towards the lagoon. She felt... naked... without her voice. She couldn't voice her discomfort or her likes, or even just chat to someone. Clearly, Ursula had no intention of Ariel winning this deal of theirs.

She grinned when she found the lagoon but frowned when she didn't see Eric. Humming silently to herself, she made her way over and lay on a rock. She always did enjoy sunbathing, even as a child. The recent ordeals of past days had taken their toll on her, so she shut her eyes.

"Ma'am? Ma'am? Miss, can you hear me?" Ariel swatted at the hand that was shaking her shoulder. "Oh, thank god. Miss, can you open your eyes?" Ariel sighed softly as she opened them. Her face broke into a grin at the sight of her best friend. "Well hello," He laughed. "Can you tell me your name? Or how you ended up here?" Her face dropped. Oh... yeah... he doesn't remember her.

"It's ok if you can't remember," He said at seeing her downcast face. She patted her throat and motioned a wave with her hand. She knew for a fact that Eric didn't know sign language, so there was no point in trying. "Wave? Oh, were you on a ship? Were you shipwrecked?" He asked. Ariel hesitated slightly. What exactly could she tell him? That she was, actually, a mermaid? He'd throw her straight into the looney bin.

She nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry. Who are your parents? Do you know where they are?" Ariel's heart suddenly clenched painfully. Her parents... more so her mom, but... they'd be looking for her. She blinked at Eric. She shook her head sadly. "Oh, I'm sorry," Eric sympathised. Ariel wished she could speak. She wished she didn't make the deal. She stood up, stumbling slightly. Eric grabbed her arm. "Woah, steady! Steady," She met his eyes. Her heart thudded almost painfully in her chest. Less than a week ago, she was gazing into those eyes on the balcony of her room as he asked her to be his life-long partner... his Queen.

Ariel bit back a sob. "Wow, ok... um... come with me, I'll get you some help,"

~

She laughed silently in the bathtub as Carlotta poured some bubbly water. "My, you remind me of someone," She said, rubbing in the shampoo. Ariel grinned at her, nodding for her to continue. "I can't put a name out, but I once knew somebody with hair as vibrant as yours... such lovely hair you both have," Ariel fingered her wet hair with a smile. Her hair was her favourite part of her body, next to her eyes. Many a merman had fallen in love with her eyes and hair. She was a copy of her mother...

Before she could dwell on it for too much longer, Carlotta rubbed her hair with a towel. "Come now deary, let's get you styled for dinner."

Ariel sat as Carlotta ran a brush through her locks, sighing softly. The last time someone had done her hair was her mother, around a year ago, for Alana's twenty-first birthday. She smiled at the pink clips keeping her bangs out of her face. "I think we should leave it down, what about you?" Carlotta smiled as she held onto the girl's shoulders.

She pursed her lips. There was something very familiar about this girl... her hair, her eyes, her manners, despite not speaking their language... something nagged at the back of her mind, but she pushed it to the side.

Ariel smiled at the dresses laid on the bed. Tears brewed in her eyes, knowing the backstory behind them, but she refused to let the waterfall. "Which one would you like to wear tonight?" Carlotta asked. Ariel's finger trembled as she caressed the pink dress Eric bought for her as a surprise. In fact, she was wearing it when he asked her to be his partner... She pointed.

"Ah, such a beautiful dress. It will bring out the blue in your eyes," Carlotta smiled as she dressed the sixteen-year-old up. Ariel inhaled deeply. Time to face the music.

She found herself down in the kitchen after dinner. Everyone had gone to bed, save for Grimsby and Eric, who remained in the study. She thought to herself as she bumbled around. The one thing she and Eric used to do was share a cup of this... strange thing he called Tea. She methodically mixed the warm beverage and split it into two glasses. She grabbed a few strawberries from the cupboard, a personal favourite of hers, as well. She made her way back to the study, unaware of the head-maid smiling fondly from the doorway.

Ariel gently knocked on the study door, hoping Eric was still awake. Three beats passed before: "Come in," A resigned sound. Ariel frowned as she pushed the door open with her hip. "Oh, it's only you," He smiled. Ariel nodded to the tray she carried. She placed it down, grabbing a strawberry from it. "Oh, you've made tea! My favourite," He sighed over the steaming cup. Ariel noticed Grimsby had left, thankfully, meaning she could try and talk to Eric through hand gestures.

She knew he didn't know sign language, so she'd have to be creative. She cleared her throat, blushing slightly when he looked over at her over the cup. She placed hers down.

Best start with her name.

She made an A with her fingers. He frowned. "What are you doing?" He laughed. Ariel pointed to him. "Me?" She nodded. Then pointed to the E on the wall. "Yeah, it's my name." She nodded frantically. "Oh! Your name!"

Ariel sighed happily. She made an A again with her right index finger, her left index, and left middle finger.

"A?" She nodded, smiling. She held her right index finger up and curled her left one in an R shape. "R?" Eric frowned. She grinned. She held up one finger. "L?" She shook her head. "No..." He scrunched his nose. She pointed to her eye. "Eye?" She grinned again. Eric laughed. "So... Ari... Ariana?" She shook her head. She pointed to the E on the wall. "E?" Ariel nodded. Then finally, she held her right index up and laid her left index sideways at the join. "L... A.R.I.E.L?" Eric asked. Ariel grinned at him, nodding.

"Ariel?" She clapped. Eric hummed. "It's a very pretty name... suits you, actually," She sighed happily over her tea, sipping it slightly. "Ariel... can you write?" He asked. Ariel hesitated. She could write in Latin and Greek, the languages of Atlantica, but not Danish. She wiggled her hand, gesturing for a pen and paper.

Latin & Greek.
She wrote. Eric frowned at the paper. "But you understand Danish?" She nodded. He hummed. Oh, how she wanted to grab him and say I SPEAK IT AS WELL, but she couldn't.

Eric hummed to himself as he walked through the palace. His newly dubbed guest, Ariel, had retreated to her room earlier, looking exhausted. After she left, he noticed she left her strawberries, so he decided to go and take them to her. There was... something about her. He couldn't place it, but he definitely knew her from somewhere. Or at least, he definitely knew someone who looked like her. He walked up to her door, slightly surprised to see it ajar.

He pushed through and glanced around. The balcony doors were open, but there was no sign of the red-headed maiden anywhere in the room. He placed the strawberries down on the vanity table and ventured to the balcony. She'd been given a room with a perfect view of the ocean, which glittered in the moonlight. His gaze fell to the maiden in a chair, still in her pink gown, with her hair all styled. He moved to her side. "It's a beautiful night tonight," He said. She nodded slowly, inhaling deeply. A dizzy spell suddenly overtook him. There was something very, very familiar about this girl. The memory was pushing at his brain, begging him. There was something he was missing.

He blinked back to reality when she patted his hand. He met her ocean blue eyes. Unable to say anything else, Eric patted her hand back. "Good night... Ariel,"

Attina sighed heavily, tears threatening to leak from her eyes. She sat next to her mom, who sat next to her father. As the crown princess, she was required to attend all meetings concerning the two, and if it was about any of them, she was there regardless. "Leave no stone unturned. Nobody will rest until she is home safely," Her father commanded. Attina sighed shakily. "I really think you should allow the others to be here, father... they are just as worried about Ariel's wellbeing as you are." She said. She, along with her parents, knew damn well they were just outside the room, listening anyway. With a resigned sigh, her father allowed them to filter through.

"Girls... do you have any idea where Ariel may be?" He asked, running a hand down his face. Aquata sniffled loudly, while Arista hiccuped. Attina forced herself to remain stoic-faced. Alana followed her lead. "Maybe... maybe she's gone to that prince..." Arista stuttered. Athena shook her head. "No... she couldn't have. Your father took away her legs," Attina noted the slight accusatory tone in her mother's voice, something that shocked her. After Alisa died, Attina thought Athena would have been the most militant about the surface...

But then again, the rules were different for Ariel. They always had been.

"Unless..." Alana spoke. Atttina watched as she met Adella and Aquata's gaze. "She acquired legs elsewhere," The latter finished. Athena frowned. "Where from Aquata? The only thing that can do that is the Triden,"

Attina watched as her mother's face fell. She met her eyes, her own heart sinking. "Wait, why do you look like that? What aren't you telling us?" Andrina demanded. "Unless she was stupid enough to go to..." Attina swallowed, ignoring her father's glare. "Where? Go where Attina?" Adella snapped.

"To Ursula's..."