Author's Note: With the Christmastide approaching, I felt the desire to offer a little gift to those who have followed my writings, who have reviewed, who have written me notes and been such wonderful company over the past year and more. I struggled with what I wanted to write as this Christmas Gift… should it be the next chapter of Sael, of Atalantë, of Indigo Sea?

No, instead, I wanted something with a Christmas theme, something by which Ariel's future happiness with Eric in her human life might begin to peek through the pain she has been suffering in Sael. Hence there arose in my mind a certain piece of snowy fluff, certainly contiguous with the story I am telling, but a little bit of a cheat, a little bit of a peek into the future somewhere between Sael and its epilogues and Shako.

With this I would like to wish a Merry Christmas and a happy two thousand and sixteen to everyone who has written to me, reviewed, and enjoyed my writings to date. I appreciate you all. I have the highest hopes that another chapter to one of my other stories will follow by the close of New Year's Day, though I shan't promise.

And last I would like to offer my warmest wishes and prayers for happiness to certain mermaid and mermen known to frequent these waters, these being The Queenie (of Course!), TardisBlueMermaid, Crisis Rose, Converse R Life, Lugubrious DBB, Eloise Rae, FizzyLemon, the BritCrit, xSummersx, LocalSportsTeam, Rosa Cotton, AndyBezh, and many others. Merry Christmas (and very likely a belated Happy Hanukkah for Andy!)

And "The Nameless One," thank you for your kind reviews and words. They are noticed and deeply appreciated!

Publication Date:Friday, December 25th, 2015 (Christmas!) (Major Emendations: Thursday, December 31st, 2015)

Juletræ

Chapter 1 – A Most Unusual Shade of Green

~~~ Saturday, the 30th of November, 1805 AD ~~~

~ 2:47 p.m. ~

Christiansborg Palace – Christiansted, Sankt Croix

With the waning of the year the days had grown short, the sun setting each day upon Sankt Croix earlier and earlier. Had it not been so overcast, the shadows of the tall towers and halls of Christiansborg Slot would have stretched far out across the small bight of sea that lay to its east beyond the quay, until they touched at last the newly returned schooner Sophia.

In the offing, mounting whitecaps strode in toward the palace from far out beyond Prince Frederick's Bay, above which the skies had taken on a somber, livid hue. Throughout the day a brisk westerly wind had been freshening, carrying with it a deepening chill and darkening skies. Since before midday rain squalls had marched in across the island from the western Caribbean beneath overcast skies, while beneath the palace, sailors and workmen moved about the dock and quay, hurrying at their tasks against the wind and hardening rains.

Sophia was now finishing offloading her cargo of goods and sundries from the American mainland. She was a slender ship, a new Essex-built three-master; one that despite the many varieties of goods being offloaded had been dispatched a little more than seven weeks ago north to Savannah in hope of receiving a most peculiar cargo.

In truth, Savannah was not known to be the best port for obtaining such an item but was perhaps closest and thus had the best chance of receiving alive the exact sort of item sought, for they were known to grow only in the mountains wherein that river and its tributaries found their sources. Bringing one so far across the seas and into such warmer climes had required careful treatment, and keeping it alive even more so. It had been something of a gamble of course, depending on the chances of fair seas and winds prevailing throughout the journey, therefore other lesser examples of the cargo sought had been also been readied in preparation for coming the Yuletide.

"Most unusual Master Sael." Aubrey Beauclerk, Lord Grimsby stood staring at the huge Fraser fir now being turned upright in the Dance Hall. "I should say I have never in my life seen such a specimen, most especially not one so very large to be sure; though I shall admit, I have heard of the custom."

"Aye. Tho' I'm telling ya' yer Lordship, 'tweren't me the' one who ha' it brought here. 'Twas just there in th' hold when I went aboard ta inspect the cargoes. Along with them other trees."

"Well, it was you who was going on so on the Prince's birthday of how we had need of one, was it not?" the Lord continued dryly. "That and mermaids, if I remember correctly were your topics of discussion that morning." he continued, drawing a handkerchief and clearing his throat.

"Well, aye, but could'na been me tha' sent one o' the Prince's ships on such a voyage. Must ha' been the lad 'imself tha' done it." Sael replied, a respectful but questioning look in his eyes as he turned his cap in his hands. "An' ya' hafta admit, we got our mermaid too!" he finished in a low whisper, chuckling.

"Ah, yes, indeed we did." Grimsby nodded. "And your explanation does seem to be the most likely for our new arrival." he added, looking up at the tree.

"Well, no matter who was responsible, I think it's beautiful!" Carlotta followed, staring upward just a little bit in awe while standing clear of where the sailors from Sophia were now raising the tree, an evergreen that must be at least twenty feet tall. Why, it almost reached halfway to the arches of the hall's vaulted ceiling! "And such a different shade of green from what we have here on the island!" she whispered to herself, smiling. "I've only heard of them down in the south." Then, turning back to Grimsby and Sael she continued, "I'm amazed that it made the voyage still so alive."

"Oh, they's about in th' old country Mistress. Seen m'first down in Holstein when I were a younger fella." Sael smiled a toothy grin at the woman. "They's families here and there tha' been lightin' em since good old Martin did so 'imself. Awful pretty when lit too, you'll see. Jus' wait 'til the Eve of Christmas!"

"I'm so excited! I can already imagine the look on Eric's face; and I wonder what our little Ariel will think."

A wry smile once again graced the Lord Grimsby's face "It is my guess that the princess will be especially excited about all of it, given what we have seen of her characteristic ebullience to date, the day before her birthday notwithstanding of course."

"Ya know, I thin' it a good sign. If th' lad's ta' rule the Danes someday, shouldn't be 'e King of 'em all, no' jus' in the north?" the old sailor replied, continuing to follow his men's movements as they finally seated the great tree in its equally large pot. "Ya' ha' ta' say tho', it's a pretty one."

The Prince's Minister nodded, looking dryly at the nearby grandfather clock. "Given your obvious enthusiasm for this rather outlandish affectation, I shall leave you two to the remainder of its associated tasks. There are other preparations for the Yuletide to be made, after all."

"Aye, yer Lordship." Hans replied, trying to offer the proper respect to a man he had known at a distance for many years, but not until the events of just a two weeks ago had he truly come to know.

Such it was, that great gulf of social rank and position which had existed between the two, Hans the lowly sailor, and Beauclerk, a Duke no less, and by all accounts not many years ago a powerful English Lord and politician. His position as a trusted advisor and Minister in the Court of Prince Frederick had brought him comparable influence therein for many years, though, as in all things with the former Regent, these had proven to be … less than secure.

With Grimsby however, Sael had always felt and understood the formality, the stiffness, even when the old Lord had been seasick, a common occurrence on Eric's many voyages. It had never been like that with Eric, mused Hans, for the old sailor had practically raised the boy at sea on ships.

With a respectful nod, Grimsby turned without a sound and departed across the dance floor, the heels of his shoes falling dully against the dark polished stone, their echoes strangely subdued compared to those of other footfalls within Hans' limited experience in this huge hall.

"Oh, an' yer Grace."

Grimsby paused, turning back, his right eyebrow lifted. "Yes, Master Hans?"

"Thank ya' fer yer help." the old salt smiled, winking at the taller man.

Once again, the old Lord nodded. "And thank you for yours, my good fellow." his wry smile curling up the corners of his mouth at the sailor's friendly impertinence. Grimsby turned silently once again and headed again for the Grand Stair. Reaching it, he disappeared without a sound into its downward spiral, the neat little queue of his white powdered wig being the last thing to vanish.

Turning back to Mistress Carlotta, Hans followed her gaze up along the tree's diagonal fringe, up to its thin point far above.

To his surprise, she turned and looked at him, smiling. "Oh, don't mind him Hans, he likes you quite a bit I think after everything you did for our new little princess." Then, looking around and toward the south side of the hall, she went on "Speaking of her, where could those two be? Shouldn't they have been back by now?"

Several miles to the west of the Christiansborg Slot a small phaeton was making its way slowly eastward, its two occupants each fixated upon their appointed tasks. On either side before and behind them rode mounted guards, four in all, each heavily armed. Ten paces ahead rode Captain Carlson.

Princess Ariel, driving, had her attention firmly fixed upon the earthen road that stretched out ahead of her, her eyes bright and wide despite the gloomy waves of clouds in the skies above and the spitting rain which occasionally worked its way underneath the raised dark top of the carriage.

Prince Eric, on the other hand, had his attention firmly fixed upon the Princess, taking great care not only to supervise her driving, but to ensure that she was comfortable and warm. With the squalls working their way across the island had come a chill quite unusual for even that time of year. The couple had begun to first feel it a little before noon that day at the Boyd Plantation, and it had come as something of a shock to the former mermaid.

Apparently Ariel didn't care much for the cold; something Eric had remedied, at least in part, by wrapping his long cloak around her; that along with his right arm. His princess seemed to greatly appreciate both gestures, given how she had smiled at and kissed him so sweetly. Sometimes it was worth being a little cold, and Ariel's gentle kisses could warm the young prince's heart like nothing else he knew.

Like most of his activities over the past month and a half with his bride-to-be, riding with her was a not-so-secret pleasure. Eric never tired at seeing the expressions in her eyes, at feeling how a smile was always near her lips at anything new, unusual, or informative. That day had been such a vast improvement over how the disastrous weekend before last had begun.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, wrapping his right arm a little more around her waist and pulling her a little closer to himself.

In reply, she turned her head slightly to him and nodded, offering a delightful smile as she leaned deeper into him. Her eyes sparkled despite the dull light as she turned them back to the Road. In the distance far beyond the town stood dimly the ochre north towers of the Palace, partly veiled by the streaming low gray clouds.

"You know," he continued, not quite in a whisper, "…if I remember correctly, you can speak now."

"Oh!" she giggled. "I was just trying to pay attention to the road like you and the Captain said I should."

"I know. You're doing great too. I'm impressed!"

"You are?!" Ariel asked, her voice rising happily. "I mean, I am?!"

Eric nodded. "Of course! You've driven half of the way back from Frederiksted, and every bit as well as I could have, maybe even better." he said, with more than a little excitement in his voice. "To be honest, I'm beginning to think that Trooper knows where you want him to go before you even pull at the reins."

Ariel smiled and giggled again "Oh! That's just because he's so smart, and sweet! Are they all as smart as Trooper, Eric?"

The former mermaid felt a moment of wetness and warmth at her temple as she was caught by surprise by Eric's silent kiss. For a moment she closed her eyes, then snapped them open again, grinning as she remembered that she had to keep them open while driving. Still, she leaned her upper body closer to her fiancé while canting her head to the right, slightly exposing the left side of her neck, being quite hopeful that another kiss might follow.

And one did.

"Mmmm…."

Sighing softly and letting her eyes flutter slightly, she wished that she could return Eric's kiss, but instead let him know her appreciation by the softness of her tone and how her slender neck continued to seek his lips, ever so innocently."

Save for her birthday, Ariel couldn't imagine a happier day than this one had become, even with the chill, wind, and rain. It had begun like so many of late, with Carlotta awakening her, whereupon she had risen to wash her body, her human body … with legs!

The two had shared what seemed like hours of lantern-lit stories and laughter that morning until the sun had finally risen in the east. The color of her dress and bow that day had been what her friend had called an "emerald green," a fabric, she had learned weeks ago, that was called "silk," one that seemed to shimmer beneath the light and felt smooth and supple to the touch, like the skin of a finely scaled fish. Had her hands not both been preoccupied at that moment with the reins, she would have probably been rubbing the fabric of her sleeve between her fingers. Most of her gowns had that feel, that slickness, being made of such fine silken cloth. She never tired of it and wondered if all human girls had such dresses.

Given that she and Eric would attend church the next day in Christiansted, when he had asked her what she wished to do for her Saturday with him, she had begged him to take her back to the Boyd Plantation on the west end of the island.

The Sunday two weeks before had been her first time to visit that place, and there had been so many new things to see and do. Piglets! Horses and their babies! What was the word? Oh yes! "Foals!" They were all so beautiful, and so adorable. She had spent an hour cuddling and feeding baby pigs and a newborn litter of puppies; and she had learned so many new words and names, seen so many new things, things like how humans made sugar.

Mr. Boyd and his wife had been so kind to her, and seemed genuinely interested in her, though then they hadn't known her full story unlike today. How pleased she was to see them again last Sunday evening when they all had surprised her so. She loved being human, and by the end of that Sunday she felt as if she had been human all of her life; though she was a bit tired, and some of the new words and concepts she had learned still seemed a bit odd to her. Eric had driven them both back home then, as she had lain against him, fighting heavy eyelids before returning to the palace, washing again, and setting out to sea.

But it hadn't been enough, not quite. She had wanted to see puppies and piglets again, and to go riding with Eric, even though they did this together at the palace sometimes. It was a different place, and that meant everything to her, new people, new experiences, how beautifully the plantation looked out over the ocean. She wondered what a sunset would look like there … not that she particularly liked sunsets.

So this morning Eric had taken her back. The morning had been a fine one and thus they had made the trip in fair time, leaving just after sunrise when the light was good enough to see. To the former mermaid, the carriage ride to Frederiksted seemed a very long one to have to sit still, inactivity not being one of her strongest proclivities.

Still, the sights to be seen, the sounds to be heard, and the scents to be smelled had been exhilarating, even though she had experienced many twice in the previous weeks since she had become human on their trips to the church in that distant town. Eric and she attended the Church of the Holy Trinity there every other Sunday, and it was that part of their new life, Eric's faith, that remained most confusing and sometimes even troubling to her.

Late that morning after a lovely picnic luncheon they had stopped in Frederiksted, and for the first time Eric took Ariel "shopping" there. As a surprise he even gave her a "coin purse," of her very own, so she too could jingle wherever she went. Strangely, the coins inside didn't jingle as much in the purse as she had hoped they might from what little Archimedes had told her, causing her to wonder if there might be something wrong with either the coins or the purse. After a little experimentation though, she found that to make them jingle she merely had to skip a bit as she walked, or simply jump; but after that terrible day two weeks ago she wasn't very comfortable jumping any more.

To her surprise, Eric showed her how coins could also be used for shopping! Aside from jingling, humans used the shiny little discs and pieces of metal in a way almost like her people had used gifts in Atalantë!

Today this had been especially fortunate because the shops in Frederiksted had been closed during their previous visits, given that both had fallen on Sundays. Sunday seemed very special to Eric's people, a holy day devoted to worship of their god that they called the "Sabbath" in English, which fortunately both he and she spoke equally well; well … almost, she giggled to herself.

Today had been different. Frederiksted had been so busy that morning, with so many people, so many animals, and ships spread out across the pretty bay! Even the darkening skies in the west had just made the sight of it all so much prettier.

The ride to Frederiksted had been lovely, despite having to remain seated for so long. Driving, though, driving was so much more fun!

It all felt so wonderful, the carriage rumbling beneath her, the wind in her hair and even the flying rain in her face, the pretty stallion ahead of them, all as she sat there in Eric's embrace. Never had she dreamt of such things before she had first seen Eric; only stories, vagaries, hints of what that world might be like. Now though, here she was, breathing the air of the upper world, feeling water on her face, water falling from the sky! She had cuddled puppies, and piglets, and foals, and all sorts of baby animals from Eric's world … her world. The world she had chosen.

She felt so … human.

"So, did you have a nice day?"

Once again Ariel nodded, joyfully this time, being unable to repress that beautiful smile of hers. "Oh, yes Eric! It was wonderful!" she replied, almost crying out the words despite herself. "It's not over yet though, it's still a while before the sun sets, right?" she asked, the hopefulness unmistakable in her voice. As it had been before the incident with Knudsen and then Østerby, she didn't want her day to end.

"That's right, though it's hard to tell with these skies." he said, looking up out from beneath the top and furrowing his brow in frustration. "When we get back, we'll freshen up, change for dinner, and then we'll have the whole evening together."

A happy giggle came from the girl. "Will you read another book to me?"

"Of course, but I'd like to see you read some of it too."

"Oh?" she asked, looking over at him then back to the road. "Why?"

"Because I love listening to your voice, and I like seeing how much you've learned. I'm not just impressed by your driving you know."

"Oh!" Ariel smiled, thinking she had understood then stopped to puzzle over what she thought Eric might have meant instead. "You're not?" Ariel puzzled at this, thinking through the words to be sure she had understood them correctly, focusing on the "not." She replied once she was sure that she hadn't followed his meaning after all. "Eric, I don't think I understood." she said, lowering her eyes slightly.

Sometimes it was easy for Eric and those around Ariel to forget that the former mermaid wasn't a native speaker of English, especially given that of them, only Aubrey had been born into that language.

When Ariel spoke, her voice was always clear, her pronunciation and diction exquisite, even given her almost American habit of sometimes dropping her terminal "g's." The latter wasn't something Eric would ever mention to her though, lest she change and thereby lose that quality which to him was so uniquely … her.

No, it was her usage that sometimes gave her alien origins away, certain phrases, modes of expression, idioms that left her befuddled or confused, or that she attempted to use, but incorrectly. Most of the time Eric had to work to remember this, and sometimes he slipped or said something confusing or incomplete, like he just had.

"I just meant that I love listening to you read. I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't express my thought very well. I just can't believe that you taught yourself not only how to speak English, but how to read it too!"

"Oh!" Ariel smiled and blushed as she watched the road ahead. "Thank you, but you know it wasn't just me Eric," she said, still smiling at his compliment and more than a little bit proud of herself. "Like I've said, Archimedes helped, even my mother did a little"

"Yes, but you're the one who worked so hard to learn it that I have to really listen to realize you haven't spoken English your entire life." Eric replied, kissing her softly again on her left temple. "In fact, I think you speak English better than I do."

"No I don't." the girl giggled, blushing again, more furiously this time. "And if so, it would only be because Archimedes shushed and corrected me every time I said something in the slightest wrong way." She paused. "Did you know that we had to go to caves with air pockets in them to actually practice speaking?"

Eric felt such a sense of relief. Two weeks ago he had feared that their new life together had been destroyed, if for no other reason than that his bride-to-be had been destroyed, her spirit broken by one of his closest friends and the untoward events that had unfolded throughout that day. His own memories of the Doctor remained unclear, two versions of the same events competing for his belief, and while there had since been no sign of Østerby, there had also been no killing; at least that had been reported. The possibility that Grimsby's assassin might have succeeded troubled Eric.

There had been a distance between him and Grim since then, but as Prince, it was Eric's responsibility. Whatever had gone before, if anything; he couldn't, wouldn't, allow a man to be murdered in his name without a fair trial. Disturbingly, the huntsman Master Van Dyke had not been seen since Aubrey had dispatched him on his errand. There was a reason that Ariel went under heavy guard now wherever she, or they, went. Eric wondered if she suspected why, but quickly forced his mind back to happier thoughts.

For all these reasons, her renewed happiness had come as such a welcome change. Of course her birthday couldn't have turned out to be a happier one in the end, what with the many surprises he and Grimsby had successfully arranged for her. Being surrounded by her family had seemed to renew the girl. Eric was heartened when Aaron had quietly told him that Monday that she was still busying herself trying to resolve the sole remaining matter from that Saturday, at least the one of which she knew.

"Is something wrong?"

"Eh?" Eric started, snapped out of the quiet thought into which he had drawn himself. "Oh, no. I was just thinking."

"I'll give you a …" she paused, her eyebrows knitting together for a moment as she worked to recall a word, the name of a coin. "… penny …" she beamed. "A penny! … I'll give you a penny for your thoughts!" she added triumphantly.

It had been weeks ago that she had heard Eric first use that phrase, when he had said those same words to her, wondering why she had become so quiet as they had sat together in the library reading together. She hadn't had the heart to tell him that she had nearly fallen asleep. She loved how his fingers felt as he would move them through her hair when he sat with and held her. It was so relaxing, and it was at such moments that she wondered if indeed she had already found Heaven, that she didn't need a soul to know such utter happiness, or if, as Eric insisted, that she already had a soul after all.

Eric smiled to himself, hearing her use the expression, then realized that he owed his fiancée an answer. The prince found himself scrambling in his mind to remember what she had been talking about. He had been listening, and for that reason his thoughts had gone off to dwell on unpleasant and even frightening things.

He didn't want to dredge up the whole business from two weeks before that seemed to have drifted away of its own accord, and he certainly didn't want to discuss his concerns about what Grim had revealed to him and Aaron. No, there was no use in having her scared out of her wits again. Her father, Grim, Aaron and the Guard all knew now, more or less. She was safe, and telling her would risk sending her back to that awful place he had found her in two week before, when Max had brought him, Hans and Aaron back to her chambers.

Then something disturbing struck him, and out of pure fear he spoke. "Wait." he paused. "Ariel, you went into caves alone with a grown man? I mean … merman?"

Ariel looked over at him, nodding quietly, as a look of puzzlement filled her eyes. "Is that … wrong?" she asked, her face the picture of innocence, before turning her eyes back to the road before them.

Eric had met the merman in the preceding weeks and knew from the moment he had that the old fellow was, if anything, almost as gentle as Ariel. He was also very intelligent and spoke impeccable English as well as Greek, and Eric looked forward to speaking with him in the future. As innocent as Ariel was, it was all too easy to see how his little mermaid had come to trust the merman so.

Ariel, for her part, understood exactly what Eric was concerned about, that she had taken a tremendous risk allowing herself, a princess no less, to grow so close to and be alone with a stranger, and an outcast. Though the human concept of a lady's "honor" seemed more complex in some ways than her people had understood it, she understood the danger of a compromise. Between her people and Eric's the concept was the same, only the name differed.

What Eric didn't, couldn't, realize was that from the moment she had encountered Archimedes that first time on the verge of the Wilderness, Ariel had remembered him. He had been her mother's closest friend and advisor for a time, a merman to whom her mother had personally introduced her on her birthday at the Cove. Other than her father, who among mermen could have been more trustworthy, who else could tell her stories about her dead mother when her own father wouldn't even speak of Athena?

"Eric, it's alright. Please don't worry." she paused. "Besides, I was still just a girl."

"Ariel, that's exactly my point." It was more the general situation that concerned Eric; he was aware from the Sea King himself that Triton had warned his daughters against the possibility of compromises to their honor, to their reputations and the disaster such an occurrence might bring. Ariel herself had been quite careful of this since recovering from the night she had almost lost her life to the Witch. So why was he so worried? "When did this … happen?" he asked, the words almost falling out of his mouth as he realized he was getting ahead of his thoughts with what he was saying.

"A year ago." Ariel stopped herself, this time a bit more hesitantly, wary of where this conversation was now leading.

Eric could tell that his fiancée was lost momentarily in thought. She had the most beautiful look when she was thinking, in this case remembering as it turned out.

"Well, maybe a little more than a year." she added softly.

Of course Ariel hadn't known back then that Archimedes had once been one of her father's most trusted advisors too, a high noble along as well as a scholar. She had simply remembered him and trusted her mother, trusted her own instincts for people. She had liked him instantly when she had met him with all of her six and then later fourteen years behind her. He was handsome, funny, and kind … and treated her with respect in the last few years when her own father had not.

Ariel felt a deep pain rising within her, a hurt which had lain dormant for weeks now. Was Eric being just like her father, not trusting her judgment?

"Eric … Archimedes would never have done anything to hurt me!" she blurted out, but not too loudly, not wanting this to escalate into a fight; but the hurt and pain had already risen in her voice. "He's like … an … an … uncle to me."

In the back of his mind Eric couldn't help imagining her, his Ariel, finding herself alone with someone charming, and intelligent, someone offering to show her all the wonders of the human world that he had not yet been able to. Someone like Østerby. What if he fell ill again as he had just a week after they had both been able to once again walk? What if he couldn't be there to protect her? It was a strange feeling he was having all at once, protectiveness, fear, anger … fear for his little mermaid; fear for himself. He knew that Aaron and Hans and Grim would be there for her, but he couldn't let go of the fear of not being there for her if she needed him. What if he lost her, just as he almost had two weeks ago, just as he almost had two months ago … just as he had lost his mother?

"Ariel. Just because someone is close like a relative doesn't mean you should trust them like that. After all, you told me that you thought the Witch was your aunt."

The former mermaid felt that familiar pain surge now in her chest as her eyes grew wet, and not from the rain either. Her jaw began to quiver as she struggled against a sudden upwelling of dark and anguished memories. Her hands shook visibly as she stared down now at the reins, trying to remember how to slow Trooper and bring their carriage to a stop; but she couldn't.

Given that Ariel was nestled so closely against him, Eric felt the change in her posture immediately, felt what might have been a stifled sob shudder through her, and realized what he had done, the effect his words had obviously had upon her. Seeing his fiancée struggling with the reins, he took her hands gently into his own and slowly brought the phaeton to a halt.

Noting the Prince's action, the outriders signaled Carlson with a low whistle, whereupon the officer turned to survey the situation, doubling back toward the carriage.

"Ariel. Ariel? I'm sorry. Please … listen to me." he whispered. In her silence Eric was reminded of how direly she had just two weeks ago reacted to his stupid words, and now fully expected her to do the same, to try to pull away from him, to flee someone who was so unthinking and callous in his raw speech; but she didn't. Instead she did the exact opposite, turning and pulling herself further into his embrace. Then, laying her left cheek softly against right shoulder … she began to cry.

Even as he wrapped her warmly in his arms, her reaction sent a chill up his spine. She should have been cross with him, even angry, and he knew she was, that she must be; but instead she had just collapsed. Rather that she were staring at him with that beautiful spirited fire of hers kindling in her eyes rather than the sobbing girl she had just become in his arms.

Whatever Østerby had done to her to leave her so fragile that Saturday, did it still hold her?

Ariel, for her part, didn't know what she should do. Eric was right, her father had been right. Yes, it was reckless and stupid for her to have taken such a risk, just as it had been with the Witch; but she had been right too!

She had been right about Archimedes. He had been the only one other than her mother who had known anything about humans, the only one who would talk to her about her mother at all. Even Attina and her sisters didn't like to because of the pain it brought them.

By befriending Archimedes, she had earned the chance to learn about her mother, to know her more in some ways even than Attina did. At the same time she had learned to never discuss Athena's fascination with the surface world with her father. Athena's secret obsession hadn't been nearly as intense as Ariel's had become, but it had been there, her love of human art, of human books, of songs, dances, even ships.

Her mother, though, had been afraid of humans too. Being older she had seen the evils some humans were capable of, and after she had actually become a mother to seven little mermaids, that nascent fear had grown stronger in her.

"It's such a shame it's so hard to find just the good ones without the bad." she had told Archimedes once, that day at the cove, Ariel's first birthday on the surface, and her first birthday on land.

Ariel knew that she had been stupid in going to the Witch, but Archimedes wasn't the Witch, he was her friend. Eric had even met him! And how could she have ever learned to speak Inwilya without him? Had she never learned English, she would have had no idea of what Grimsby and Eric had been saying to one another, and she wouldn't have fallen in love with Eric.

No. Archimedes would have never hurt her, no more than Eric would have, but now somehow, she didn't feel like fighting about it, defending herself. There were too many memories welling up from within deep her, so many memories that hurt so much. She just wanted … to be held.

By this time Carlson had returned to the phaeton, signaling the guards and outriders to surround the Prince and his Princess while they stood stationary upon the road. The wind and rain whipped his cape upward as a sheet of rain fell across his back. He forced it down with his left arm.

Eric reached up, trying to shield Ariel from the new sheet of falling rain, and as he did so caught sight of Carlson drawing near off of Trooper's right flank. The man remained silent, his eyes looking first to the princess and then back to Eric. "It's all right Derek. She's all right. I just said something stupid … as usual."

To this the soldier raised his right eyebrow and nodded respectfully, bringing his stallion about, then rode forward a few paces and respectfully out of earshot.

"Ariel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never do." Eric whispered from behind her right ear. "I just meant that your aunt was the perfect example of how you mustn't trust people just because they're close relatives or seem like them, that's all. Nothing more than that."

"She, she … it … wasn't my aunt."

"But I thought you said …"

"It just … just looked like her Eric." she cried softly. "I don't know how, but I know now that it wasn't her, I knew the moment it took me back. It was something else, I don't know what; just like I knew Archimedes was my friend and that he cared for me, that he wouldn't hurt me."

Eric paused at the girl's mention of the word "cared," wondering if there was therein a deeper meaning intended, but quickly accepted the innocent meaning he was sure his little mermaid had intended. "Ariel. All right. I know he wouldn't hurt you, and I really like Archimedes … a lot, I promise! It's just that, well, I'm afraid of what would happen if you put that sort of trust in a human man, some stranger, when I wasn't there, and then something … happened. Even if he turned out to be trustworthy, you always have to be careful of what people might say."

"I would never do anything bad like that Eric. It's not fair!" she sobbed, bringing her hand to her eyes to whisk away her tears. "Nobody says those sorts of things about boys, about men I mean."

"Yes they do, it's just that you haven't heard about it yet, but it's always much worse for the girl involved, especially if she's a princess."

It was true, what he was saying. Even in her own world, Ariel had never been much interested in the idle chatter humans called "gossip," but she had known its sting, even when she had done nothing wrong at all. And this was just about the matter of her oddness, her seeming disinterest in the young men of her own kind, all save for the one they had called Urchin.

He had just been a friend but some had still talked, talked and spread rumors.

It had all seemed so silly to Ariel until Attina had one morning impressed upon her how very damaging her friendship with the young man might be seen, a princess and a commoner, even though her father had all but adopted the boy as a son.

After that day Ariel had never seen him again. She hadn't asked him to go, she hadn't even seen him. None of them had. He had just disappeared. They had looked for weeks and weeks and been unable to find him, until finally, her father had ordered the search ended. Almost two years ago the boy had been declared lost. Not lost, but rather missing. He was out there … somewhere.

At least, that is what Ariel had wanted to believe.

While he felt terrible for having made his love cry, Eric was at least grateful that she had turned to him for comfort, and that her tears had now seemingly abated. She was breathing steadily against him, quiet in thought, her breast rising and falling against his chest as she lay still against him.

Whatever Østerby had done to her had hurt her, but not destroyed her as he had feared. She remained the same girl with whom he had fallen in love, just less sure of herself, less headstrong, more fragile and perhaps less reckless. Was it truly Nils Østerby that had done this to her, or simply everything that she had suffered over the past two months?

Eric gently stroked her back as the rain fell against the top above. By now had it not been for the oilskin covering their laps they would have both been soaked through to the bone, yet their clothes remained reasonably dry and warm. The chill was penetrating though, making Eric wonder if it would grow as cold as it had been warm just weeks ago. Such strange weather. For the first time in Sankt Croix since he had lived here, fires in hearths would be truly welcome.

Ariel would do better in someplace like that, someplace dry with a blazing fire, and a warm mulled cider to drink.

She pressed against him now, lifting herself slightly until her deep blue eyes met his. For a few quiet moments she lay like that, looking at him, then lowered her eyes slightly. "Eric, I won't be careless," she said, her voice just a whisper. "I promise … I'll try my best not to."

She was quiet then, though it seemed to Eric that she had more to say, and seemed to be thinking about how she might say it. He mused to himself if that were the case, then it would be a quality of hers worthy of emulation. So he waited, listening to the rain fall about them, listening for her next words, which after another short few moments came just as quietly as the ones before.

"I know … I know I've done some stupid things in the past." she began, her voice falling off slightly so that her whisper could just barely be heard over the falling of the rain. "It's just … I wish you would trust my judgment. At least … at least listen to me?"

For a moment she was quiet again, then looked straight down at his chest. "Please Eric … don't be like Daddy and not listen to me?"

By now Eric's heart was hurting so badly for his young wife-to-be that he thought it might burst. Rather than say anything though, he held her, gently stroking her shoulders and the back of her neck with his fingers, letting them stray only to play slightly with the hidden tresses of her hair nearby. And he used that time … to think, to think about what to say, and how to say it; and when he was at last ready and sure of himself, he spoke.

"Ariel." he said, matching her quiet with his own, holding her eyes now with his own; his lips poised a mere inch from hers. "I trust your judgment." he smiled. "And have I ever not listened to you … since your voice returned I mean? You have to know by now, hearing your voice, listening to you, having you with me is all that I live for."

Her quiet lingered, as she seemed to consider his words. Then a slight smile began to play at the corners of her mouth and in her eyes.

"No strange mermen in caves though?" she whispered.

"No strange anybody in caves." he replied, bringing his lips to meet hers as both drew their eyes closed.

For a while, perhaps a minute or so, she lay against him as they kissed, safe and warm within his arms.

Laying her head softly back on his chest, the former mermaid smiled, "I guess that means that I'm stuck with you then."

Author's Note: I've always loved the idea of how Ariel would be at and around Christmas, though in the time frame in which I've chosen to write many of our most beloved traditions didn't exist. There were others instead.

Allow me to paraphrase from Danish version of Wikipedia (da Wikipedia org wiki Juletræ):

Juletræ

"Juletæet has its origins in Germany, where the first local stories of Christmas trees were heard during the 1500s from cities like Bern, Freiburg, and Strasbourg.

In the year 1521 had the city council put guards out at Kinzheimer town woods, keeping citizens away from the felling of Christmas trees (pine trees). In 1605 an unknown author wrote: "On Christmas Eve in Strasbourg, fir trees are brought into living rooms and hung with pleasingly cut ornaments of colorful paper, apples, wafers, tinsel and sugar etc."

Until about 1800 the custom of Christmas trees was a local phenomenon of the bourgeoisie, who brought trees into their living rooms for Christmas. Subsequently the custom spread throughout Germany, and in 1796 a Christmas tree was erected in Wandsbech Castle in Holstein.

In Denmark the Christmas tree spread through Danish-German families and in Holsteinborg the first Christmas tree was lit in the year 1808. In Copenhagen the first Christmas tree was introduced in the year 1811 by the Lehmann family in New Kongensgade, where it caused a sensation. Curious people put ladders to the windows to see the Christmas tree, which was then generally considered an outlandish idea."

As it turns out, there's a lot going on herein for both Eric and Ariel. They're both really talking and thinking past each other, never really stating what is upsetting them. I'm curious if what those somethings are come across to the reader. At least in Eric's case, the title of the chapter is a double entendre.

Now for an odd thought that I'm making up as I write it: The unstated rule number one of loving a girl is to never hurt her, and if possible to never make her cry, unless it is with tears of joy. Only genuine tears count in either case of course, but if such are shed, then one is instantly disqualified from deserving her love and affection. By this standard of course, no guys deserve girls' love and affection because, let's face it, we all have our "Eric" moments with "foot-in-mouth" disease. Still, we try, and I thought the dynamic that emerged here between the two was both surprising and touching, and possibly as Eric feared, indicative of something worrisome going on within Ariel's soul as well. Wait, did I say … "soul?" Must have been a slip of the tongue.

This chapter is the first part of a two or even three part story I wish to finish by Christmas or at the latest second Christmas (did you know that the 26th of December is actually "Second Christmas?") and if that plan fails (it likely will), then there are ten more nights of Christmas that follow.

That was when I planned to complete the next chapter of "Sael" by the way, New Year's Day.

This "biting off more than I can chew" seems to be a problem for me.

Acknowledgments and Credits:

Cover Art: My thanks to the inestimable "Converse R Life" for identifying the source of the beautiful cover art I selected to accompany this story. Apparently it is from "The Little Mermaid: The Holiday Treasure Hunt," possibly from the back cover.

Thank you Converse! :-)

There may be various releases of this story available. Like other books in the Little Mermaid series, even though it is written primarily for a younger audience, it is delightful for its artwork and the story kernel it presents.

In fact, as my stories about Ariel, Eric and their families proceed, there will be moments that I draw upon elements of these books for inspiration. I'll note them of course as I do so!

The link to the original I used is: www pinterest com pin 503136589595204546

Creative Contributions: I would like to acknowledge the influence of Crisis Rose's "Keep Holding On" and TardisBlueMermaid's "Fallen Angel" on this story as well as "No Words" by Enchanted Mountain, "Out of the Dark" by xSummersx, and "Spring" by LocalSportsTeam. They're all wonderful stories and well worth reading, though the first two the latter three are incomplete.