AN: Probably a very overly done story line but I wanted to give it a try 😊 I hope you enjoy. Also, I gave Eric parents since he was a prince and not a king just to add more depth to the story.

Life Under the Sea

Chapter One – Flipping Your Fins

Ariel stared in front of her. Eric had saved them all, brought back her father and the "poor unfortunate souls", defeated the sea witch and now he was dead on the ocean floor. She had tried to move his body but he had died when the ship had impaled Ursula and Triton had already told her that humans could not breathe underwater for very long, even the experienced seamen.

That meant that he had given his life to help her and her home and her family.

She placed a hand over her mouth, how could she have been so stupid? It would have been easier to watch him married to somebody else but this, a limp body that soon the sea bottom would cover. No. She wanted more for him. He had to have more than this.

"Ariel," Triton said as he saw his little girl swim over to the human corpse, blinded through the tears as she swept back his black hair. He had hated humans but he loved his daughter. He swam over to her and placed a hand on Eric's chest. There was a little bit of life left. "You love him, don't you?" he asked and Ariel nodded. "There is one way to save him but please don't hold me responsible for the consequences, Ariel" he told her and the red haired teen nodded.

She watched as her father placed his trident onto Eric's legs and her eyes widened as she saw them morph into a tail. It was a deep royal blue but she was scared of what his reaction might be to becoming a merman. She knew though that this was the only way to save him. He would die before she could have brought him to the fresh air, her father couldn't do anything differently, he wouldn't survive with these injuries, this much loss of oxygen.

Shortly after the spell was cast and Ariel noticed the marks on the side of his neck, the very subtle gills, she placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked at her nervously.

He took her hand in his and blinked into her gorgeous eyes, "Am I dreaming?" he asked her. He tried to stand but it felt as if he were paralyzed from the waist down. "How am I…" he looked around, "Where am I?"

"Eric," Ariel said as she looked at him sadly, terrified of what his reaction might be. "I'm so sorry, this was the only way to save you. I am so sorry. Please, forgive me?"

"Forgive you?" Eric asked, he ran his fingers through her hair, "I…I love you. I mean, maybe it's crazy, we barely know one another but I can feel it. I can feel that you're the girl of my dreams," he looked around again as he noticed merpeople watching them, fish swimming around. What kind of a place was he in? "Are you sure that this isn't heaven?"

Ariel placed a hand on his waist with sad eyes, "Eric, it was the only way that we could save you. There might be a cure or…or we can find out a way to get your legs back," she told him and Eric looked at her confused before taking a look where his legs were and he saw the fish tail. He stared at it in horror before trying to move it, it moved back and forth as he tried to move his legs as if they were one unit. "Eric, I am so so sorry," she told him. "If you hate me…" she trembled and Eric shook his head.

"No, I can't hate you," he said though he was still in shock. He moved the tail again and tried to move up but he had little control. He felt as if he were a toddler struggling to walk although then he would have legs and feet, toes, toe nails. This would take a lot of getting used to.

"Eric, here," she whispered as she threw one of his arms around her shoulders. "Keep time with me, up and down, I'll take you somewhere special to me, somewhere no one else will go," she said as she managed to help with some of his weight. She heard him whispering to himself in order to keep the rhythm and she brought him to her cove.

…

…

Ariel was thankful that Eric was such a strong swimmer and that he had had the upper body strength to make up for the loss of his legs. Still, this must be so strange and frightening to him. She had at least asked to be human, he had never asked to be a merman. Did he hate her for this change to him? "Why don't you sit right here," she said as she got to a large rock on the ocean floor.

She swam in front of him, placing her hand on his blue tail. Her eyes sparkled with her tears and her anxiety about her. "Eric," she whispered as she dropped her head, "I am so so sorry. If I hadn't had met you…" she said nervously and Eric gently cupped her cheek.

"If you hadn't have met me then I would have died," he told her, "at least this way we're still alive. Yes, it's an adjustment but we're together and I'm sure there is something that can be done. Either way, we're both alive and we're together and we're safe. Don't worry so much about me, all right?" he tried to smile and Ariel nodded before swimming over to him and pushing her head into his chest.

"I'm still so sorry that I took your life from you," she apologized and he shrugged.

"Come on, being a merman isn't that bad," he said to her as she watched him nervously, "I've always loved the water and I'm sure that I can get used to it. Maybe this way we can stay together rather than having to be apart. I know that's certainly one thing that I don't want to do," he chuckled but Ariel was scared for him. Would he start to hate her for taking him away from the human world?

She really hoped not.

…

…

"I'll go back to the castle, join me?" the king said to his wife and she shook her head, she took a few steps back and towards Grimsby and Max.

"Give me a little more time," the queen said to her husband, she bowed her head nervously and turned to look at the sea. She had heard what had happened those three days ago and it seemed impossible that her son would turn up but she didn't want to give up hope. She wanted to know if he had somehow survived and was swimming back to them right now. She couldn't lose her little boy. He was meant to be king one day. The king nodded and the queen heard Max starting to bark as if excited about something. He ran forwards and Grimsby watched him as he went over to something in the water, a round ball or something.

"Darn that dog," he said as the queen stopped curiously, "Don't worry, your majesty, I will retrieve him," he said before stopping in the moonlight and he saw that Max was swimming towards the…"Prince Eric?" he asked and the queen started running towards him. "We thought that you were dead, if you come out of the water we'll have the house staff draw a bath immediately to get you warm and dry."

Grimsby paused as he saw the way that Eric was fearfully staring at him.

"You didn't see me, all right," he asked as he appeared to be treading water. "Something happened, something that I…" Eric's eyes widened as he looked at his mother. He hadn't prepared himself for this. He didn't want to risk destabilizing the country rule and he wasn't ready to face rejection. He had been training for three days just to get this close to his home, his mother would disown him if he showed her his condition.

"What do you mean, we didn't see you?" Grimsby asked confused and Eric let Max go back to the shore. He looked at them sadly. "It's such a relief to see you, Eric," he continued and Eric shook his head.

"Not if you saw my condition but please take care of everything for me," he said and the queen took off her shoes and started to walk into the water despite the dress that she was wearing. Eric's eyes widened and he swam towards her. "Mom," he said painfully and swam over to her, exposing the blue tail that made his mother look at him in fear. He stared at her and then turned away disgusted that he had shown her. "I'm sorry."

"I don't understand," Grimsby said but saw the queen kneel down by the shore as she placed a hand on Eric's back, her fingers going over the tail. Without saying another word, she pulled her son to her and gently smoothed his hair. "What happened?"

"I died or would have died, instead I became this…" he told them, "I guess I really was meant to live at sea," he continued and the queen gently pushed his hair back. This was still her son despite his changed appearance.

"I hear you met someone, saved the girl's life. I'm so proud of you," she told him and he kept his head bowed. "Grimsby," she said as Max started to lick Eric's cheek. "Can you do something with the castle, create an opening that is safe for my son to swim into. Make sure that he's safe and protected within our kingdom. I want my son to feel that he can come to his own castle," she said and Grimsby nodded.

"This form…you're not…repulsed by it?" he asked her wanting to make sure. "I mean, the woman I love, this means that I get to be with her. She's a mermaid and her family is kind to me but if I didn't have you and father, then…"

"Eric," the queen whispered as she wrapped him up in her arms, one hand going down his tail gently. "We love you regardless if you've been cursed or not. You are still our son," she said and Max barked in agreement. "I'll let you go back but next time I hope that you can introduce me to that wonderful young woman that you met," she said and Eric nodded. He pet Max again before swimming off into the ocean.

Watching him go, the queen turned to Grimsby. "Make it known that if anyone places my son in any type of danger, they will be brought before my husband and myself. Make sure he gets the best treatment and that you don't judge him for this change. He is still my adventurous and charming boy and prepare a room for him as quick as you are able."

Grimsby nodded, "Good luck, Eric," he whispered as he turned to face the ocean.