Purity - drabble #1, Eric-centric

Rating: T

She was everything pure in the world.

Her voice, that she used it to show emotion through thoughtful words and chords. It was never used to impress, though it could very easily have been. Her curiosity. The questions that she asked with no guile, no ulterior motives. "Where are your chambers, Eric?" Had anyone else asked that, he wouldn't have answered. But he knew she wasn't asking with any ill will, nothing malicious of the sort. She was asking simply to know. Her beauty, the loveliness that was fairly obvious to anyone that came across her. She was aware she was pretty, but never took it for granted, and never used it to her advantage. It had nothing to do with who she was, so the fact that she was beautiful always stayed far away from her mind. Her awe. She would find joy in the littlest things, often overlooked by others. The first time she saw a dandelion, he had regretted every moment that he'd derided them. A weed? No, not at all. To her, a field of weeds were bouquets of orchids. She was so radiant, sometimes it nearly blinded him.

How could he have found someone so wonderful? It astounded him.

He loved teaching her new things. The dances. The greens. The lands. The animals; though not the fish, of course. Some things he left to Carlotta – How to use the bathroom. How to keep yourself clean. How to deal with the monthly… ahem… bleeding. But there were the not-so-innocent things that he taught her himself. Kisses. Caresses. Embracing. Uses of a bed that did not involve sleeping. The worries that he shouldn't be the one taking away that innocence, brushed away by a loving Ariel that was resolute in the happiness Eric gave her.

And then there were the things she taught him. Again, the weeds that were more than just weeds. The jumping and dancing – human things – that he'd taken for granted before. The beauty of fish before they're made into a meal. The exhilaration of trying something new. Even when he hadn't known she'd been a mermaid, he'd known she was different. Such as when they were on that horse and carriage; how could anyone look at a cliff and have no thoughts other than to jump? Obviously, this was reflected in Ariel's efforts to be human. Of course she looked at a problem as just something to be solved. And she showed it in everything she did, inspiring Eric the entire way.

She thought that she was the lucky one. But really, from the first moment they'd met – quite metaphorically and literally – she'd saved him.

x

Hey TLM family. Thought I'd join in your ranks. I've been so obsessed with The Little Mermaid recently, I just knew that I had to write about it. This will be a series of drabbles, and I've already got a few ideas ;3
Hope you enjoy.