Hello, all!

I come to you with my newest story. This isn't my first Little Mermaid fic, but I deleted my last one because, in short, it was kind of thrown together and just didn't work.

This is something else I've been working on for a while and would simply like your input on it. Now, I've got a lot more of the story done, but I just uploaded the whole first part and both epilogues because I wanted to know whether or not it was worth it (to you) to continue writing it. So please, let me know what you think and review or even PM me.

If more people like this, I'll continue uploading chapters. Like I said, I have a lot more than this done. Please ignore errors, like I said, I'd just like your advice for now. I mean, of course you can say anything you like; idea's, things you don't like, a question, something you'd like to see. But really, let me know if you want to read more.

So without further adieu (and sorry for my long rant), enjoy!

* Part I *
- Epilogue 1 -

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King Triton

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When king Triton looked over his sleeping children, his heart beat wildly. Ushering the tired doctors in behind him, he hoped none of the girls woke up.

"Have faith." came a voice, and Triton turned to see his wife was behind him.

Triton shook his head, "Athena, what if this doesn't work? What if we have to ask the people? How can I ask a civilian to risk their life?"

"Maybe you wont have to," she told him, wrapping her arms around his waist, "Whatever happens, happens. We simply just must prepare for all possibilities."

Triton and Athena watched as all six doctors rushed around the room, syringes prepared to take a blood test. Triton didn't know how much time he had, so he made sure the doctors knew to keep things as swift and as efficient as possible. Triton recognized Attina's wine and remembered the girl was a light sleeper. But Athena entered the room and must have rocked her back to sleep because her whining was cut short and stifled.

The six doctors all filed out of the room around the same general time and Triton followed them, stopping once to make sure his wife and the girls were all right. The doctors all went to the general lab, instead of the hospital.

Dr. Current, one of Triton's most trusted doctors, didn't even slow his swim down long enough to converse. Instead, he swam to his station and immediately took the blood sample and put it on a slide, so that he could look at it under a microscope.

A general noise went up, each doctor asking for the other blood sample the required to make the comparison.

"Sebastian." Triton said, and the drowsy crab swam over to him, "Get these doctors the blood sample."

"Right away, your majesty." the crab said, stifling a yawn, but swimming with quick purpose.

The crab got the sample slides passed around, and each doctor went back to their work, comparing the slides. After a few minutes, doctors began sitting up, writing things in their open notebooks, and shrugging off their lab-coats.

They were done.

Triton decided he'd start from the end and work his way up.

"Doctor Seaweed?" Triton asked, looking at the old, sleep-deprived man, "A match?"

"Sorry your majesty," the doctor replied, "Arista isn't a match."

Triton nodded, their was still hope. He had 7 children after all, what was one?

"Not Alana either, sir." the next doctor responded.

Alana was just one more.

"It isn't Attina."

"Nor Adella."

That was only an extra two.

"Adrina was close sir, but not an exact match."

There were still two more girls.

"Aquata isn't even close, your highness."

And then there was one. But Triton doubted young Ariel was a match. It was a shame, but Triton wasn't giving up yet. He couldn't. A life, a young life, was at stake. Triton would simple call together the doctors of the oceans. He'd have the sample passed around and the doctors would simply have to check every patient's history, and hopefully, Triton could find a match that way.

"King Triton," came a voice, and Triton looked at Dr. Current. "We've a match. Its Ariel, and she's perfect."

Dr. Current moved a side, and Triton looked through the microscope. He wasn't a scientist, but even his untrained eye could see both slide matched perfectly. And to think, his baby Ariel would be used to save a life...

"Your majesty," Dr. Current started, "If it would be alright with you, I'd like to accompany you to the human world. To make sure no harm befalls young Ariel."

"Very good." Triton stated, leading the way out the lab.

Triton knew he liked that doctor for a reason. Though it was obvious Current was frightened. When he spoke, his voice had shaken. It had trembled a bit with each letter said aloud. But Triton didn't blame him. After a band of pirates showed up unexpectedly on day, the merfolk was slowly and wearily, but surely, distancing themselves from up above. A silent cautiousness was being formed and less and less merfolk were speaking of humans. Triton wasn't dim, and he was very aware of his people and their feelings.

But perhaps it was all for the best though.

"Your majesty," Sebastian spoke, swimming his heart out to keep up with Triton as he made his way down the halls of his palace and to the girls room, "Shall Athena and I keep things up here, while your gone?"

"Yes," Triton told him, "Hold any meetings and calls I have. Tell them I'm sorry and will reschedule anything I missed."

"What should I tell them if they ask where you are?"

"Tell them... I'm away on business."

The people were already on edge, best not to make them think something serious was happening.

Reaching his daughter's room, he slowed his high-speed swim down just a bit, to check on each of his daughters. He wasn't sure how long he'd be gone, and really, he hated leaving the girls. But things needed to be taken care of, and unfortunately, a king had to put duties first.

Triton scooped up a sleeping Ariel. She hardly moved in his arms, and Triton couldn't help but think this young girl was the key to save a king, a queen, a family, a nation, from heartache.

Triton shook his head. The people first.

Carrying Ariel out of the room, Sebastian had already gotten his carriage ready, and Dr. Current was already waiting inside for him. Athena caught him, luckily, right before he got in the carriage.

"Safe ride." she told him, kissing his forehead, and rubbing Ariel's. "I'm sure everything will be alright."

"What if worse comes to worse?" Triton asked, voicing his greatest fear.

Athena shook her head at him, "Red, I know this is a hard decision for you, but I beg of you, to think of everyone. Not just our daughter, but the boy and his parents as well. You must imagine how they feel."

Triton nodded, agreeing to not only think about his daughter, even though she was still first and foremost in his mind. It was too much like Athena to try to get him to see the whole picture, but for her sake, he'd think of the boy as well.

Athena gave him a last second hug before allowing Triton to get in his carriage. Triton gave the signal, and they were off.

In but a few minutes later, the carriage had reached the far end of the north-side current and was rising to the surface. The dolphins clicked when they arrived a few feet from land, signifying that the water wasn't deep enough to continue.

"Come doctor." Triton said, exiting the carriage, Ariel in his arms, "I'll change us all at once."

The doctor nodded firmly, but Triton could see his apprehension. The two of them swam close to the shore, leaving the dolphins and carriage behind, and with his trident, Triton raised it high above them. With a small amount of will power, the trident glowed brilliantly, and engulfed all three of them in light.

But a second went by, and Triton felt the familiar feeling of his fin splitting in two. The doctor gasped, the strange sensation new to him, but the moment it had come, it had gone as well. Triton gave the doctor a few moments to try to stand on his own two feet, but when it took too long, he used his trident to speed up the process.

A few minutes later and both men were walking towards the castle that loomed up the beach. Triton walked with purpose, his strides long, powerful. His shoes, though, dragged him a little in the sand. The doctor seemed to be having even more trouble, clothes being completely new to him, but he kept up well, and Triton admired that.

The moon was high in the sky and the air smelled of salt and fresh air. If anything, it was Triton's favorite part about land. The scenery and the air. So dry... and yet... so moist at the same time. But Triton had no time to admire these things. The moment he reached the front of the large castle, he banged his fist on the door heavily.

"Daddy?" Ariel asked, his knocking having woken her, "Whats going on?"

"I'll explain in a minute." Triton said, sitting her up and allowing to marvel at her new form.

She gasped, looking down at the big dress she had on. At the feet beneath the dress. She looked around herself, realizing she wasn't under the sea, but actually on land. Triton could see how confused she was, but a servant opened the castle doors and Triton ran out of time to explain.

"This way sirs," the man said, out of breath, as if he had run to answer the door, "Please, hurry. The young prince is in dire condition."

Triton nodded firmly, following the man. Both he and the doctor had a little trouble keeping up with the servant, but they managed. The servant led them to the medical bay of the hospital, and the first person Triton saw was king Daniel.

His black hair was bedraggled and his normally bright blue eyes were sunken. He was still in his blue and white stripped pajamas and he clutched a cup of coffee in his hands. His knees were bouncing so much that it alone, probably drowned out the sounds of Triton, the servant, and the doctor. Which was probably why when the servant showed his face, Daniel nearly dropped his cup in surprise.

"Presenting-" the servant said, his introduction cut short.

"Yes, yes." Daniel said, standing, "I know who he is."

Triton and Daniel shook hands, and Daniel respectfully shook Currents as well.

"Where is the donor?" Daniel asked, looking around Triton, alarmed, "Please tell me you've found-"

"I have." Triton said, bouncing Ariel a bit in his arms.

"But she's-"

"I know." Triton sighed, "But this is an experiment, and I wont lie to you nor myself and say it isn't. I simply couldn't risk an innocent strangers life for a favor of me? If anything, your boy needs royal blood. I had my children checked first and Ariel was the only match."

Ariel shrunk into Triton at the mention of her name, and Daniel's eyes seemed to soften for a moment at her. He nodded firmly. He was in no position to argue. His son needed her.

"She can come with me." Daniel said, reaching for Ariel.

Dr. Current went to object, but Triton held up a hand to stop him.

"Daniel is a friend." he told the doctor. "I trust him."

Ariel didn't fight or argue when Daniel grabbed her and put her on his waist, but looked back at him, as if asking it everything were all right.

"You'll be fine." Triton told her, and she relaxed a bit.

"We're going to head down to the room." Daniel said, "Your doctor is welcome to follow me."

The doctor nodded, following Daniel down the hall, and Triton sat where Daniel had been a moment before. The words 'experiment' kept echoing in his mind. He wanted to save the boy, he really did, but Ariel, she was his daughter. What if something happened to her?

What had he done?

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Dr. Current

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Dr. Current was already growing weary with Daniel, who was going at a tiger fish's pace. It took everything in Dr Current not ask the man to slow down, but how could he? The mans sons life was in jeopardy. Dr Current had no children, but if he had, wouldn't he do his best to make sure his child was alright?

King Daniel led Dr Current down a hallway. There was an observation room on one side of the hallway, and a large glass allowed people to look into it. Dr Current looked in and observed a large circular machine with a bed going through it. On the bed, was a little boy. Dr Current couldn't see any details, but the boy was lying quite still, his black hair looking matted down.

"In here." Daniel said, holing the door open for him.

Dr. Current tried not to look shocked at this action.

"My wife." Daniel introduced, a woman Dr Current hadn't even seen before coming up to him.

Dr. Current kept it to himself and off of his face, but she looked horrible. Probably worse than her husband. Her long black hair was sticking up more than it was laying down. She was in a sheer nightgown, but kept a dark purple robed wrapped around her tight. Her eyes were red and sunken, and her hands were shaking continuously.

But even despite this, she was extremely beautiful. When she was made up, Dr Current could tell she was certainly stare worthy. Party stopping. Second look worth.

"Cecilia." she said, shaking his hand.

Dr. Current was shocked. These people, these royal people, were treating him extremely well. Almost like he were an equal, which clearly, he was not. He supposed people would do anything for their children.

Daniel passed Ariel off to Cecilia, and beckoned the doctor to the bed where the boy was lying. Cecilia and Ariel went to look in a mirror, and Dr Current kept a weary eye on the young girl.

"This is Eric." Daniel said, combing the boys sweat-soaked hair back. "My doctors are in the lab, but I figured you might want to see him first."

Dr Current took the young boy in. Current was aware the young prince was 7, for young Ariel was 5, but he seemed so much smaller than a typical 7 year old boy. He appeared to be asleep, but his breathing was slow and irregular. Dr Current placed a hand to the boys neck, feeling for a pulse, and was extremely surprised at how fast and hard his heart was beating. His pale face was splotched with the red a high fever brought, and entire face shone with sweat beads.

The boy let out a weak cough, and Daniel gently turned the boy over onto his stomach, his fingers jumping, clearly not knowing how else to help the boy.

Though Dr Current had no children, his heart still ached for this boy and his parents. He vowed to do everything he could to help them all out.

"The lab." Dr Current's said, and Daniel nodded, leading the way out.

"There's a desk already set up for you," Daniel told him. "A sample of Eric's blood is already there, as well as a urine test, and a few samples from Ariel will be here soon."

Dr Current nodded, "Do we know anything about the boy's condition?"

"Only that his blood cells isn't holding water correctly, and that his blood seems to be unhealthily diluted."

Dr. Current nodded. It didn't sound like something the boy had contracted. More, something he'd already had, that was now just starting to show.

Daniel led him to a large lab, and Dr Current was proud to see Atlantica's lab could compare to it.

"You can work here." Daniel said, motioning to a desk.

Dr Current nodded, seeing the samples were already set up on slides. Daniel walked off, and Current set to work. He studied the boys blood in more depth. Under the microscope, it seemed as if something was happening with his red blood cells. Current adjusted the dial on the scope, zooming in and out to get a clear focus.

The cells were dying, that much was clear. They looked small and shriveled up, certainly not the round, doughnut-like shape that it was supposed to be. Current grabbed an eyedropper, sucked a bit of water up from a container by him, and dropped it on the slide, waiting to see what reaction took place. At first, the cells took to it naturally, properly diluting the water.

But Current observed the cells continuing to absorb the water. Each cell sucked in more and more water, until they burst in a dramatic miniscule explosion. Current sat back a bit, but looked in the microscope at the slide once more, just making sure he'd seen what he had. Understandably, his cells were confused. And though this wasn't a foreign case, Current had never seen such an action take place so quickly.

Current turned to the doctor beside him. The man was around his age, sweat glistening on his brow as he worked to figure out how to save his nation's future king. But the man looked up, Current's eyes pulling him from his work.

"Yes?" the man asked.

"Just test something for me," Current told the man, "Add a drop of water to the blood sample."

The man didn't even hesitate and set right to work. Other doctors were turning around, and a few of them even begun to try the experiment themselves.

"Oral water intoxication." someone spoke up, and there was a collective murmur of agreements.

"There's no known cure for that." someone else spoke.

"There must be." someone argued, "The problem is so simple. Something must be done."

"He's far along now." a grave voice sounded, "He hasn't much time now."

"I'd say but a few more hours," someone else added. "Judging by the swiftness this is happening."

The door to the lab opened and a bunch of other scientists entered. They were far younger than most of the men in the room, going so far as to still have hair that wasn't gray. The many scientists were pushing trays around, Ariel's samples. He wondered how the young girl had taken getting those needles.

A young woman passed Dr Current, gently placing a few slides on his desk. She moved on and Current grabbed a blood sample. He put it under the microscope and again, saw the same blood type as the young boy in the other room.

Current was actually surprised at how similar the human body and the merfolk body was. In fact, only but a few differences separated them. A main thing, Current recalled, was that a merfolk could breathe under water. How helpful that would be to the young boy. His blood was reacting unhealthily with water, essentially, his cells were drowning. If the boy had merfolk blood, his cells could 'breathe' under water.

Dr. Current sat up straight, a revelation coming to mind.

The boy, if he had merfolk blood, his cells couldn't drown. But... the boy wasn't a merboy. But this didn't deter Dr Current. He had Ariel's blood, and that was enough to go by.

Countless hours went by, Current mostly focusing on Ariel's blood. He drenched slides in water numerous times, looking for the reaction. Scientists and even a few doctors who had come in, were calling out to each other, each one speaking of something they'd just discovered. It wasn't until Current was on his 17th slide, that he found what he was looking for.

The factor that allowed merfolk to breathe underwater.

With shaking hands, and even a small audience watching him, Current separated the miniscule bits of DNA that allowed the blood cells to function and not get too full of water. Everyone was holding their breath, as Current dropped the small bits from Ariel onto a red blood cell of Eric's.

The blood cell jerked, foreign contact made with it. Should it have actually been in Eric's body, white blood cells would already be rushing to destroy the unknown 'bacteria'.

"Time?" Current asked.

"48 seconds." a young woman responded.

Someone handed Current an eyedropper full of water. This was it. A last hope. By now, Eric was surely not doing well at all. Ariel's blood was his last hope. Current dropped a drop of water onto the newly changed blood cell and held his breath.

The cell began to swell, sucking up water like it had before, and at a rapid speed. Everyone was wringing their hands, waiting for a verdict. Current continued to look through the scope, anxiously waiting for the cell to explode in some way.

"Time?" Current asked.

"3 minutes and 39 seconds."

"That's good enough." someone said, "It's the best shot we've got."

"Are you mad!?" someone else objected, "This may work now, but we don't know any long term effects."

"Nor," someone else added, "How Eric's body will react with this. His body might attack it, and then his fever will rise."

"What other choice do we have?" a woman asked, "Risk this now or sit back and watch him die?"

A large debate went up at this point. Everyone had something to say. Some people wanted to risk it, saying it was better to go down fighting. Others wanted more tests run, just in case they spotted something they'd miss. The noise level was high and didn't subside until the door banged open.

The servant who had led himself and Triton and Ariel inside was standing at the door, his hands shaking on the knob, sweat beading his face.

"Well?" an impatient doctor asked, "What is it?"

"He's dying." the servant said, and in a frenzy, everyone had moved.

Some went back to their work stations, others had run to the door, some gathered in small groups. Current himself left the room, following the servant back down the hall. Going back into the room, Current first noticed Cecilia. She was in hysterical tears, but still had Ariel in her arms, the young girl looking slightly alarmed at the chaos that was going on around her.

Doctors crowded young Eric, Daniel was mixed right in fray.

"Pressure?" a doctor asked another.

"Dropping."

"Fever?"

"106.3. Rising."

Daniel spotted him, and left the fray, his eyes never leaving his son.

"You've something?" Daniel asked him, desperate hope in his tear rimmed eyes, "Anything?"

"Something." Current told him, "Not guaranteed, nor completely safe but-"

"Do it." Daniel told him, "Whatever it is. Do it."

Current nodded, "We need Ariel."

Minutes went by and Current was surprised at how fast and efficient the humans got to work, setting up. It seemed as if they had Ariel and Eric changed into a nightgown in but a few seconds. Ariel was laid on the bed beside Eric. She didn't fuss, nor speak, instead simply going along with what the doctors were doing. She looked around, eyes wide, and Current knew she was looking for her father.

He went to the girl, feeling sorry for her sad situation. With any luck, though, she could go home soon and grow up to live a completely normal life, hopefully forgetting this experience entirely.

"How you doing?" Dr Current asked her, moving out of the way of a rushing doctor.

Ariel blinked at him, probably remembering the fact that he'd given her a shot at her last doctors appointment, but she seemed to bypass that.

"Okay." she said, her voice small.

"Scared?" he asked her.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, and Current could actually see she meant it. "Just confused."

Unfortunately, there was no way for Current to explain her current situation in a way that she could understand.

"Syringe." someone said, and Dr Current backed away a bit.

"This is going to pinch a bit." Current told Ariel, and she winced, as the doctor put a IV in her arm.

The same was done to Eric, but the boy hardly moved. Surrounded by doctors, Current had hardly seen the boy, but now, Eric looked far worse than the last time Current had seen him. His eyes weren't closed anymore, instead, they were slightly lidded. The red rim around his eyes made his blue eyes seem haunted. And yet, unafraid. It was clear the boy had no idea what was going on around him. Completely oblivious.

The machine Ariel and Eric was sitting under whirled to life, and Current watched fascination cross Ariel's face. Not a tad bit afraid. A doctor motioned to him, and Current went around to the other side of the machine.

"What are we looking for?" the doctor asked him.

"Separate the iron in the blood." Current told him, "You'll know what we're looking for when you finish."

"Should we start the transfer immediately?"

Current looked to the young boy lying on the table. Still. Unmoving. Dying.

"Yes." Current told him. "The moment your ready."

The doctor nodded. Current had been about to check on Ariel again when the door to the room crashed open. Everyone jumped and the scientist standing at the door seemed unapologetic as he motioned doctor Current to follow him.

Current caught a worried look on Daniel's face as he left the room behind the scientist. Honestly, walking was more tasking than swimming. And sometimes, Current thought he was too old to even do that. Needless to say, he was exhausted. But he pushed on. Something had to be up.

"Dr. Current," a woman said, fixing a projecting at the back of the room. "We've noticed something."

On a blank wall, a microscopic view of one of the microscopes was projecting an image. Current recognized it as Eric's slide that he had first tested Ariel's blood on. The tiny white specks that he had placed onto Eric's blood cells had somehow changed the cells color to a light pink color.

"Whats going on?" Current asked aloud.

A young man spoke up, "It appears that you were right, the cell took to the iron, and its no longer diluting dangerously when in water."

"The cell has actually taken the iron and dissolved it into its nucleus." another woman spoke. "But from what we can see, this effect isn't harmful in any way."

"But," another woman spoke up, "We've tested what happens when the two samples of blood near each other."

Who ever had the projector placed a drop of blood on the slide.

"This is a sample of Ariel's blood beside a sample of Eric's."

Current wasn't sure why this was tested, but he leaned back against a table curious to the reaction that was clearly monumental.

Almost immediately, the drops of blood moved within their slides through the plasma and towards each other. There was a joint gasp coming from the people who hadn't seen this the first time, and from Current himself. The two blood samples moved all the way to the end of the slide, until it couldn't no more, and simply sat there.

"It seems," an older woman said, "The iron taken from the young girls blood has changed the state of Eric's blood."

"The blood samples are attracted to each other," a man said, "The iron in Ariel's blood is drawn to the iron in Eric's blood. And vise versa."

"How will this effect them?" another man asked.

"Do you think some physical attraction may occur?" a woman asked, "It would probably be extremely uncomfortable. And possibly dangerous."

"Might this effect them mentally?" a woman asked.

"No, no, no. Of course not." a man said, "Don't be silly. This is all physical. And its more of an attractive force rather than an attraction. This is not about feelings or a state of mind. This is a hemato-philia reaction. Nothing more."

Hemato-philia, he said. But Current thought this was more than just the blood being attracted.

"Dr. Current." a man said, standing in the doorway, "The procedure is finished."

Current left the room full of arguing doctors and scientists and went down the hall to the room Ariel and Eric was in. Cecilia was pacing the halls, biting her nails, but Current could see Daniel was inside the room, watching over his son. When he entered the room, he noticed that both of the kids had a mask over their face and was unconscious. Apparently, the procedure was done. Amazing it happened so fast.

"It was a success." a man said, pulling gloves off of his hands, "A quick serum stopped Eric's blood from attacking the foreign substance and his blood is taking in the iron just fine."

Current nodded. That was good news. But, he was still concerned about the 'attraction' that would be happening soon. As long as the blood continued doing its job, Current supposed there was no harm, but still... a body that is attracted to something is bound to create some strife.

"Dr. Current." came Daniel's voice, and Current turned only to have his hand firmly grasped within the kings, "My wife and I don't know how to thank you. My doctors say Eric's fever is already going down. Your advice was a miracle. Ariel, too, is doing just fine."

Current was glad about that news. Should something happen to Ariel... Being her doctor, he'd grown quite fond of her. He wouldn't be able to bear it if something were to happen to her. And the king and queen loved her so much...

"You've discovered a cure for this disease," Daniel said, "Imagine all the people we could save, and the future cures we could create."

Current hesitated. He didn't much want to voice his concerns just yet. The man was happy his son was alive, how could he deny the man that? But Daniel, probably ever the people person, looked at him deeply.

"Perhaps we should talk." he said, gravely.

"No," Current told him, "I think-"

"-I should want to know now about any side effects or any false hope," Daniel interrupted, "I couldn't bear it if my son were to go into a state like this again. At least, you could allow me time to prepare for a future day of such."

Current nodded. Things weren't as serious as Daniel probably had in mind, but Current owed him this at least. Just something to keep an eye out for.

Daniel motioned for Current to follow him, and he left out a side door.

"Your highness." came a voice, and both men turned to see an incredibly tall man.

His hair was a dark brown and his nose was alarmingly like that of a large, curved barnacle. His eyes were so dark brown that they almost looked black. They were deep. Mysterious. Almost dangerous-like. Being a doctor, Current learned to read people, mainly his patients, but people well. And immediately, he didn't like this man.

"Grimsby." Daniel greeted, lacking the sound of joy that often accompanied that of a genuine greeting.

"Sir I must advice," Grimsby spoke, "that I come along with. For your own safety."

"Grim," Daniel said, "This man has saved my son's life. Of anyone, I feel safe with him."

Daniel spoke through almost clenched teeth and Current nearly wanted to excuse himself. It was clear Daniel and the man didn't get along, but the glaring contest they were in confirmed this. Current had never seen someone so casual with someone of royalty. It was almost disrespectful.

"I insist." Grimsby said, and it was clear, the man thought his word was final.

Which was surprising, considering he was talking to a king.

Even more surprising, Daniel gave in to the man, turning on his heels and heading down the hall. Current followed at his heels, wondering just what kind of relationship the king and Grimsby had. For someone, for a servant, to talk that way... it suggested a lot of deep hidden meanings and secrets.

Regardless, Daniel kept his composure and stayed completely regal as he led them all to a balcony door. Again, Daniel allowed Current to go out to the balcony first, and even Grimsby. Current caught a sour look from Grimsby directed at Daniel, and knew immediately, that holding the door for others, was just something Daniel did. It had nothing to do with the fact that Current had saved his son or anything like that. The man simply put others first. Apparently, Grimsby didn't like that.

"Current has some concerns." Daniel said simply, and Current nodded.

"Back in the lab," Current said, "We've noticed that both Ariel and Eric's blood seem to... attract to one another."

Daniel's face took on one of confusion and Grimsby stared at him blankly.

"And," Grimsby said, his voice dragging on, "What does this mean for our young prince?"

Apparently, he had no concerns for Ariel.

"Well," Current added, "Though this may not effect them mentally, I am thinking that physically, this may cause a problem. The blood samples we looked at, they moved at a rate that hydrophilic- excuse me- water attracted, molecules move."

"What does this mean for Eric?" Daniel asked, still lost, before adding, "And Ariel."

Well, at least Daniel was trying to be concerned for both the children.

"It means," Current said, "That, and this is just a hypothesis, that Eric and Ariel, may actually need each other to survive. His blood may not function correctly when he is far away from her."

Both men were silent for a few seconds. Current could see this information was just starting to settle in Daniel's mind. He was thinking of how this would effect his son and wife, not to mention his kingdom and people. But Grimsby, he had a look of deep thinking. Not your: how-will-this-effect-the-people-I-care-about kind of thing. But a look that said how-will-I-fix-this-problem-without-causing-an-upr oar. And while Grimsby's probable thinking wasn't wrong, Current knew the man didn't care about Ariel's health. Only Eric's.

"We must separate them." Grimsby said, "Eric's body can't be attracted to something it's never been near. The sooner the better."

"I'm afraid it's too late." Current told him, "The transfer is already complete and the reaction is probably happening as we speak. There is no turning back."

"What is it in Ariel that is causing this attraction?"

Current was appalled at Grimsby's question. Was he suggesting they risk removing something that might jeopardize Ariel's life, so that Eric could live his?

"We're not putting that young girl at risk again." Daniel said, and Current breathed a sigh of relief, "She's given my boy, and me, more than enough to last a century. If anything, we do the opposite. As long as there is no repercussion, I propose we follow Dr Current's advise and keep them together. For their own safety."

"Sir I advice against." Grimsby said, and the gritted tone he used suggested he had some kind of leverage over the man, some kind of threat, "The two of them growing up together? We can have nothing brewing between them. Its... improper. Not to mention impossible."

"We should talk about this in Triton's presence," Daniel said, "This is his daughter's life at stake. He has just as much say-so in this conversation as I do."

"But sir-" Grimsby tried, only to be cut off by Daniel.

"-Enough," he said, "For tonight, both kids are stable. Tomorrow, we will discuss our next move, and within the presence of king Triton. He's a right to know."

Current saw furry cross in front of Grimsby's features, and was a bit ashamed to say he enjoyed that look on the man. Current was far past those childish behaviors, but Grimsby had such a weasel/sneaky personality that it served him right. With a last glare sent at the king, one in which was returned, Grimsby marched back inside the castle, furious.

Daniel sighed when he was gone, "What I would give to get rid of that man."

Current didn't want to be nosy, but he couldn't help but ask, "Then why don't you? Are you not the king?"

Daniel laughed a kind of self pity laugh, and Current immediately felt bad for the man. He never imagined a king, of all people, a king, could sound so depressive. So sorrowed. So lost.

"Oh if only it worked like that." he said, "I'm afraid our human royalty line of leadership is corrupt. If my wife knew of the things..."

Daniel leaned on the balcony, overlooking the ocean and seemed to breathe in the salt itself.

"She's no idea, of course," Daniel said, seemingly to himself, "of the corrupt nature of my job. I shouldn't worry her with such a thing, she's already been a wreck lately, with Eric and her other jobs. It just wouldn't be right for me to worry her."

Corrupt? Current wasn't sure what Daniel was babbling on about, but something was clearly wrong with the leaders and power of this human province. Something that had a lot to do with the king, and possibly Grimsby.

But Current had no right to try to advice the king, and he wasn't familiar enough with him to know how to properly comfort him. But Daniel seemed to pulled himself together and stood up tall.

"Clearly," he said, "You nor anyone, will be traveling anywhere tonight. Let me show you to a room you can stay in."

Daniel led the way, and like expected, he held the door.

.

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Daniel

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When Daniel awoke, he noticed his wife was curled into his side. He was surprised. Pleasantly, but surprised. Hardly ever, was she so familiar with him. She preferred sleeping on her side of the bed, because of its softer texture, while he preferred a firmer mattress. She must have had a nightmare, or could not sleep, because as far as he knew, those were the only times she really touched him when they slept.

Daniel moved slowly, trying not to awaken his wife as he climbed from the bed. He hadn't slept a wink, but the moment the sun had peaked over the horizon, he'd been out like a light. A typical night for him.

Once out the bed, his wife taking a deep breath the only change in her sleep, he opened his balcony doors, allowing the oceans morning breeze to waft in. He loved the smell in the morning. Stretching, he made his way to his bathroom, but stopped in front of his bed to look at his wife a moment longer.

Her hair was every which way and her mouth was open as far as it would go, but she was beautiful. So, so beautiful. And even more beautiful to him, for he knew the woman's personality even surpassed her looks. Which to him, was mind boggling. He cared so much for her, that he had to protect her. He had to keep secrets. Not because he wanted to. But because he loved her. And he knew her. Knew how emotional she was. She couldn't handle things the way he could. She would fall apart at the seams if she knew the things he did. He had to protect her. Had to.

Daniel shook his head, trying to clear his head of secrets. But they were beginning to build such a large rift between him and his beloved wife. Between him and his beloved son. But he had to keep his secrets. He had to protect them. They were his life. His world. He'd give up his entire kingdom for them. They were, it seemed, the only things his, and he'd protect them with his life. He had to. But oh, if only he could tell his wife of some of the things that went on...

Again, Daniel shook his head. It was morning time. He had much to do that day, and he had important decisions to make. His son's life was involved in one of those very important things. It was best to get a head start on his day.

Within the hour, Daniel was dressed and ready for the day. He could hear his wife talking with her maids as she showered, and headed out the room and down the hall towards the temporary hospital room they'd put his son and Ariel in. Daniel had made it very clear that the two children were not to be separated. Any mishaps would mean heads would role.

But he knew something was wrong the moment he turned down the hall the hospital room was in. For one, it was flooded with doctors. But none of them seemed alarmed. They seemed much more relieved than that. Almost immediately, Daniel spotted Dr Current and went to him.

"Whats happened?" Daniel asked the man, pulling him to the side. "Are the kids alright?"

"They are now." Current told him. "Your servant- Grimsby, I believe- moved Ariel this morning. Just as I suspected, clinical death began and both children's blood flow stopped completely. We rushed the two back together and luckily, their circulation began again, but it was a close call."

Daniel had gone deaf for a moment, and he was sure that he could just kill Grimsby at that very moment. But he did what he always did when he felt that way, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. An explosion would only get around and his wife would hear. He didn't want to upset her.

"Where is he?" Daniel asked, and Current pointed behind him.

Daniel spotted the man by a window, seemingly unaffected by the situation, despite having been the whole problem. Daniel's blood began to boil again as he approached the man.

"You could've killed them both." Daniel snapped, making sure his voice stayed low, "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking," Grimsby responded, "Separation would do them good. We must ween them away from each other, as a mother weens a baby from milk. It's the only way Eric'll live a normal life."

"So you try this little experiment on your own?" Daniel asked, "You-"

"Daniel." Grimsby said, holding a hand up to silence him, "I've got this under control. For now, you play the role of the concerned father. I will handle this."

Grimsby walked off, but Daniel was still in his spot, frozen in disbelief. Grimsby... had silenced him? He had really put his hand up... to silence him? A king? Him? But Daniel's shoulders sagged. Yes, Grimsby had done that, but what could he do? Daniel was completely at the mercy of the man. He had no more say-so in his life, and that little encounter proved just that.

Daniel looked back towards the hospital room, prepared to go inside and 'play the role of the concerned father', when he saw Triton exit the room. Of course he was already up and probably boiling red with anger. Daniel, deciding he wanted to beat Triton's anger, with words of his own spoke up.

"Breakfast." he said, the moment Triton opened his mouth, "We'll talk over breakfast."

Triton nodded, but his face was still red with anger. Daniel didn't blame him. The poor man was probably as startled as he was. Daniel motioned to Dr Current to follow him, and together, the three men made their way down the hall.

Daniel entered the main dinning room and wasn't at all surprised that Grimsby was already their, platters in their respective places for everyone.

"We've much to talk about." Daniel said, as Triton sat down across from him. "You don't mind if we discuss it over a meal, do you?"

"Not at all." Triton said, and judging by his voice, he was trying to calm down, "I just want answers."

Daniel turned to Dr Current, and allowed the man to explain what he knew to Triton. None of the men touched their food and Daniel expected none of them would.

"This is serious." Triton said, after Current had explained, "But we all knew this was an experiment. I'm simply happy both children are alright."

"Precisely." Grimsby said, "Now the question is, what should we do about this? Both children cannot be allowed to grow up attached at the hip. They have different needs and live in different worlds. This simply isn't possible."

Daniel opened his mouth to object, but Grimsby held up a subtle hand to silence him. Daniel's blood stewed, and he was but a second from hopping over the table to strangle him, but he cared too much for his family to lose his temper and put them at risk. Instead, he kept his mouth shut, waiting to see what Triton had to say.

"You... are right." Triton said, a bit unsure, "But what is our alternative? I would prefer their health over their comfort. It might not be ideal, but if we have no choice..."

"I suggest they are weened." Grimsby told him, "Gradually, they should be separated. We will, of course, allow their blood to get used to the absence of the other, but this, is our only option. And we mustn't delay. The longer they are near, the harder it will be."

"He is right about that," Current spoke up, "A choice must be made now, or things will simply get harder. But the weening, I am not sure how well that will work. It is like this: you cannot ween a heart away from the body. It simply cannot be done. The body needs the heart."

"Yes," Grimsby argued, "But you can get a donor to donate a heart, and the old heart wont even be missed."

"True." Current shot back, "But donated hearts can cause problems to the body in the future. You cannot deny that the first heart is better for the body."

"You can if it was never remembered in the first place." Grimsby challenged.

"What are you suggesting?" Triton asked Grimsby, shutting down the argument.

"Nothing new." Grimsby responded, waving off the illustration, "Simply that a young boy and a young girl growing up together begs for complication. We must nip this in the bud."

"Are there any negative side effects that can come from this?" Triton asked, "I agree with the both of you. This would be a great inconvenience, but if it is best for the children I am willing to compromise."

Daniel's thoughts exactly. Of course, he was supposed to sit silently like a good little boy, so he couldn't quite voice this, but the question was plaguing him. He'd do anything for his son, and if that meant having a permanent house guess, than so be it. Triton had to go back to his kingdom, for he was the king. But Daniel would raise Ariel like his own daughter if it came to it. And he knew Cecilia would love the thought of a little girl in the castle.

He would literally do anything for his son.

"There are possible side effects." Current said, pointedly looking at Grimsby, "Even if this procedure works, it is very likely that it wont last long. In the future, their blood may randomly react with a vengeance. We've no way of knowing."

"What do you think?" Triton asked, looking to him, "I've not heard your take on this."

Daniel opened his mouth to speak, but Grimsby cleared his throat and Daniel knew he had to agree with the man. It was that... or else.

"I have to agree with Grimsby," Daniel said, "It would be no way for them to live. Once they become teenagers, they'd either love the situation or hate it. I'd like to give my boy the choice if I can."

Current was looking at him strangely, Daniel noticed. Almost as if he suspected some kind of communication had happened between him and Grimsby.

"I see." Triton nodded, "Well, is there any way we can test this? Safely so that we at least know this is even possible?"

"Of course." Current told him, "I can gather a small group of people and get right on it. We can gather information on the distance safely allowed as well, that way, if you both decide to continue, we have a control to start with."

"Excellent," Grimsby said, a victory grin on his face. "Get right on that, if you will."

"I'll accompany you," Triton said to Current, "If you don't mind, I'd like to watch."

"Not at all." Current responded, and they headed out the room.

Daniel had entered the room mildly hungry, but now, he'd lost his appetite. He'd lied. Lied to them all. He would rather be safe than sorry. He'd rather keep his boy and Triton's girl together. Should something happen in the future, if this separation plan continues, it would be his fault, because he hadn't stood up and his decision counted for half the vote. But then, if he disagreed with Grimsby, something even worse (and worse yet, sooner) might happen. Daniel didn't want to think about all the horrible things that could happen if he disobeyed Grimsby's orders.

"Your quiet." Grimsby said, lifting the lid off his food and eating. "So unlike you."

Daniel stayed silent. He was angry. Angry the man could sit there with a smug look on his face, while his son and a poor young girl who'd been through more than she was required to, sat with their lives in the balance. How could he be so cruel? Eric wasn't Grimsby's son, so he wasn't required to actually care. But Ariel wasn't Daniel's daughter either, and he felt for her as he did for his own son. It was human nature to care.

"Maybe I should ask your wife how she feels about your distant behavior lately." Grimsby said, and Daniel's head snapped to the man.

"What do you-" he started.

"Your getting lazy." Grimsby interrupted him, "Cecilia is getting suspicious of your behavior. Perk up or wait for your punishment."

"I can't help how I feel." Daniel said, his voice rising with anger from the threat.

"No," Grimsby snapped, "But you can help how you act. I control you, do you understand? And I will control your son. And his son. And his son. Even when I am gone, my reign will continue. There is nothing you can do about it Daniel, so stop fighting it."

Over his dead body.

Daniel was going to fight. And fight. And fight. And fight. He may not live to see the day Grimsby's reign fell, but he was sure as hell that his son would. His son would be free. Of that, Daniel was sure. The thought gave him strength as he stood from the table and excused himself. Grimsby wasn't one to mess with. But even more, Grimsby's boss, was no one to mess with.

If Daniel was going to do something, being blunt would get him, and everyone he loved, killed. No, he had to go at this at a different angle. He had to be sneaky. And he had to be strong. And he knew the one person who really made him strong. The one person who could really support him and give him the strength he needed to end this mad reign.

He needed his wife.

But his wife was totally oblivious to what was going on. Grimsby had spies all over the castle so talking to her outright was a bad idea. The maids were all under suspicion. The servants all possible lackeys. But somehow, someway, he would let her into the circle. Somehow, they would solve this riddle. They, and their son, would be free. Daniel was done taking orders from the man.

It was time his reign fell.

.

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* Part I *
- Epilogue 2 -

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Cecilia

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Queen Cecilia rounded the marble hallway and lifted the hem of her dress skirt, stepping over a red toy truck and heading into the 2nd foyer room. Her fog gray eyes spotted her husband peering out the large window overlooking the sea and made her way over to him with graceful strides.

"Daniel." she said, standing beside her husband, "Looking out the window isn't going to make him come any faster."

"I'm just worried," he said, not moving from his spot. "It's always an event when he comes. Things get so blown out of proportion that I wonder whether or not we really do need a plan b."

"This is a stressful time for him," Cecilia said, fixing her husbands shirt collar, "He's just lost his wife, you know."

"And that worries me," Daniel said, looking to his wife. "Athena was always our peacemaker. Between you and her things always turned out alright. As far as I know, she was the only one who could win against him."

"We'll just have to try new tactics then."

"And if he doesn't like them? Whats to stop him from-"

"Daniel," Cecilia interrupted, "There is no need crying over milk that hasn't spilt. When the time comes, we'll know what to do."

Cecilia's words calmed Daniel down a considerable amount.

"No one believes me," Daniel said, "But I actually do remember when Triton and I were boys. He wasn't nearly so uptight."

"Speaking of boys." Cecilia said, sneakily maneuvering her way out of a story from her husband, "I think Eric needs another reminder on staying tidy. I've been finding his toys everywhere. I nearly broke my neck just yesterday climbing the stairs."

Daniel cleared his throat, but Cecilia knew he thought it was funny.

"Lets wait until Triton gets here," Cecilia shot back, "When he trips on Eric's red truck and breaks his beard we'll see who's laughing."

"Alright, alright." Daniel said, not container his laughter anymore, "Where is that boy?"

Cecilia crossed her arms, but motioned with her head to the covered table near the front doors of the room.

"Why does that boy keep hiding under that table?" Daniel asked in a low voice, making his way over.

"It's not just the table. But its only a phase." Cecilia said following her husband, in a voice that was equally low, "He wants to be under everything these days. Carlotta said he slept under his bed last night."

"That's not very prince-like."

"For one day can he not be a prince?" Cecilia asked, stopping for a moment, "He's just a boy."

She was very aware that she had spiked up a previous argument they'd had, but she was determined to stand her ground.

"He's a very important boy," Daniel responded, "We've talked about this. One day he'll be king."

"But today he's only 8. I just think he's got too much pressure for someone so young."

"When I was 5, I was shipped off to etiquette school." Daniel told her, "I know this isn't easy on him, but it worked for me and this is the only way I know."

"I think your father was wrong for that." Cecilia said, "I see his reasoning, but I don't like them. We don't have to do everything he did. Eric is our son."

"We'll talk about this later." Daniel said, stopping at the table.

"Sure." Cecilia said, sarcastically.

She knew he wasn't planning on ever bringing it up again, but she would. She was going to fight for her sons childhood. She was his mother and he deserved to be a kid.

"Eric?" Daniel asked loudly, knocking on the top of the table. "You in there?"

A small head popped out from under the table. Unruly hair and blue eyes pierced Cecilia right in her own gray eyes. His young face made her want to bring the previous conversation up that very moment.

He crawled from under the table and stood at attention in front of his father.

He was getting taller, being just over her hip. Though she wasn't known for her height, Daniel was nearly a good foot taller than she was. And he was such a handsome boy, but not really your typical 'prince material'. Taking a look at a list of royal ancestors, you could see a clear trend. Most of the kings and princes had brown or blonde hair. They had green or gray eyes. They had small smiles. Eric was the opposite. His hair was pitch black. His eyes a striking shade of blue. And his smile was broad and wide.

Cecilia loved that.

Of course, she simply ought to just be happy he was alive. She reminded herself of this when he left a mess in his room, or when he left toys in the foyer. A year had gone by since the medical emergency and there wasn't a day since that Cecilia didn't think about how close she'd been to losing her boy. The joy in her life. But she couldn't help but think about the side effects that could take place at any moment of any day. In the blink of an eye, he could suddenly go clinically dead. His blood circulation could simply stop all together. And Cecilia knew no one could get Ariel and him nearer in enough time. Ariel was simply too far, being at the bottom of the ocean.

But she and Daniel tried to stay prepared. It was why they never left the beach castle.

Of course, that wasn't the only change that had happened within the year. Daniel and her... had grown considerably closer.

Secrets had a tendency to bring you together.

"Look at you." Daniel said, getting to one knee and brushing Eric's hair with his hand, "You're a mess."

Cecilia did a double take at her son. She wasn't going to bring it up, but Eric looked exactly like Daniel did when he first woke up. Needless to say that wasn't very a very pompous look, but it was the face Cecilia had fallen in love with.

It was funny to think about how similar Eric and Daniel were. They had the same hair and pale skin, though Daniel had dark blue eyes. Eric's eyes were the color of the sea on a foggy day. A light blue that rivaled even the morning sky.

They both looked even more similar as Daniel fixed Eric's suit shirt and pants.

"Eric." Daniel said firmly, "Did you leave any toys in the entrance hall?"

Eric turned his head, looking towards the doorway, then he looked at her. He made his eyes amusingly big, hoping 'the face' could buy him grace with his mother. He really was a smart boy. To know that he could never change his father's mind when it was set was remarkable. He knew his only chance was with her, thinking maybe she could somehow have his back.

"Well," Eric said, his hands clenching behind his back, "Not really."

"Not really?" Daniel asked, standing up. "How did you 'not really' leave toys in the entrance hall?"

"I was playing with it, you see." Eric explained, "But then, Chef Lois had a plate of cream cannoli's and..."

He trailed off.

Daniel's look was stern, but Cecilia softened hers. She knew what it was like growing up outside of the palace. She was born of noble heritage, but not royalty. She used to sneak food, too when she was younger. Eric hadn't done anything wrong. He was just being a kid.

Daniel opened his mouth, probably to scold. Eric must have knew this too, because he shrunk back a little.

Cecilia made a split decision and spoke before Daniel.

"Someone could have been hurt." she said, and Eric bowed his head. "What do you think you can do to make this better?"

"I can pick up my toys," Eric suggested. "So no one will fall down."

"It's a good start."

Eric ran off to get his forgotten truck and Cecilia avoided her husbands look. She knew he didn't like her interrupting him. Let alone speaking for him.

"You can't keep protecting him," Daniel told her, following her back to the window, "He's going to grow up soft. Sensitive and emotional. Listening more to his feelings than what the people need. Our people don't need a sensitive king. They need a strong one. One that can make a hard decision for the good of the majority."

"There's nothing wrong with being compassionate." Cecilia stated firmly, "Especially with your children. They need that parental love. Besides, I know his body language. He understood. There was no need to get upset with him."

"Body language." Daniel scoffed, "What body language? Next you'll tell me you have secret hand signals."

"If you would just look more at him, and not at him as if he were somehow supposed to be you-" Cecilia tried.

"He needs tough love." Daniel said, dismissing her thoughts completely.

"No," Cecilia vetoed, "he doesn't. Maybe when he's being disciplined. But no one needs that harshness 24/7."

"He's a prince, Cecilia."

"He's a child, Daniel."

Daniel huffed, throwing up his hands and walking off to probably cool down. Cecilia continued looking out the window. She loved him, she really did, but they didn't quite see eye to eye when it came to their parenting skills. She would have thought 8 years would have given them enough time to work it out, but Eric was always changing, and so their parenting had to adjust too.

Their upbringing was what really changed their view though. Daniel was a Anderson. He was a full-blooded Danish man. He went to etiquette school and took ball room dancing before he turned 11. He had hardly seen his parents as a child and they had been harsh and cold. Royalty had weighed heavily on them. They married who their parents wanted and had more of an associate relationship than a marriage.

And that was how they taught Daniel to be. A bit harsh and cold, but only because emotions complicated things. And secrets made you keep to yourself.

Cecilia on the other hand was a full-blooded English woman. Her mother had died when she was young, but her father had been a tea tradesman. Anyone who knew anything about English people knew they loved their tea.

He was very rich.

Her and her father had been close. He had worn his heart on his sleeve. He told her he loved her every night. They spent full days together, just wondering the streets because they could. Maybe Daniel had been attracted to her more carefree life. Her more emotional state.

They were polar opposites after all.

Grimsby, didn't much care for her, but that was true vise versa. Grimsby had foretold troubles like they were having, but Cecilia knew Daniel loved her and that bypassed anything Grimsby had to say. The man was a million years older than her. But she didn't think his age was what made her hate him so much. She knew it was him, in general. The things he did. The things he was involved with. Daniel and her both knew how deceiving Grimsby could be. They knew exactly what Grimsby was.

From the start she should have suspected foul play from the man. He had wanted Daniel to marry a Danish noble woman. Someone with, how he put it, 'class'. In other words, a stuffy little woman with the sole intention of staying popular with the people. Cecilia cared more about the people than the other way around. She actually did care for their well-being. But Grimsby didn't care a bit about the people, nor her.

Anyone like that, who was actually 'welcome' in a castle, had to be suspicious.

The man hated her so much though. You would have thought she killed his mother the way he looked at her sometimes. She prided herself that he hated her personality, and poor Eric was just like her. He may look like his father, but he had her spirit. At most times, he didn't care what people thought. He did what he liked. And he'd go almost unnecessarily far out his way for the comfort of others. He cried at the first sign of anger and he frightened easily. Grimsby hated it. Tried his hardest to toughen him up some, but Eric just continued to do what he liked. No he didn't want to learn to wrestle, no he didn't want to go to the gym with his father. He'd rather go out and play in the water or sneak around the castle.

Eric was simply too normal for Grimsby. Too average. Of course, Grimsby had warned about this. What didn't he warn against? A man of royal standards should marry someone equally high in class and blah blah blah. But Grimsby failed to mention that this all might come back to bite him. If Eric really was like her, he'd remember all of this. And when he was a teenager, he'd be a nightmare for his father.

The typical royal rebel.

Eric ran back to her, most likely eager to show her the newly restored entrance hall. She smiled as he approached her and made sure to treat him extra special. Sometimes, even to her, it seemed as if the world was against him. She would make sure he knew she would always be there for him. She would be his best friend.

She smiled, thinking about making arrangements to spend the day together. Like how her and her father did.

He approached her, opening his mouth to probably yell something excited, but a loud trumpet cut his words off.

Cecilia straightened her back a little and she dusted a bit of dust from Eric's shoulder. He stood like his father showed him when they had guests. He looked as if he were trying too hard, his face was calm, but she knew he was going over everything his father had said about stance and making sure he wasn't missing anything. His own mental check list.

She sighed. He was too young to have a checklist.

Daniel entered back into the room, hearing the trumpet and the three of them stood together as regal as it got.

But the man they had expected never entered. Instead, Grimsby came in, carrying a scroll. Cecilia breathed out the breath she'd been holding. She knew what to expect now and it felt as if a weight were lifted from her shoulders. She didn't have to see Triton that day.

"Your majesties." he said, bowing low, "News from Atlantica."

"Go on." Daniel pressed.

"It seems," Grimsby said, looking over the scroll, "The king cannot make your previously set date of today. He apologizes for the inconvenience. There was a mistake made with the late deceased queen Athena's funeral that he had to see to. He hopes he can reschedule for tomorrow."

"Of course," Daniel said, and excused himself.

"Ask if there is anything we can do help." Cecilia said to Grimsby, but the man seemed to almost snarl at her.

"Madam," he said, "We do not offer our assistance into another kings business. For all we know this was merely an excuse."

"And if it isn't?" Cecilia asked, "We must make sure he knows we care. If we don't help him when things aren't as urgent, how can we expect him to help us in our time of need? We must not allow little things such as pride to stop us from helping those in need. Besides, we owe the man all we can give."

"I assure you, he is one man to never be in need."

"Offer anyway." Cecilia said, "On behalf of me if you must. I want to send my condolences of his suffering."

"Then take it up with your husband." Grimsby said, rolling the scroll up. "On his word it shall be done."

Grimsby marched off, leaving a slightly open mouthed Cecilia behind. Honestly, a little respect wouldn't have hurt. She just wanted to help. Show the sea king she cared. It was the least she could do.

Boy did she hate that Grimsby. If she didn't know his secrets, she surely would have said something back to him. But she didn't want to get Daniel in trouble in any way. Daniel in trouble was her whole family in trouble. And Cecilia had to protect her family. She had to give Grimsby no reason to be suspicious of her.

"Mommy?" Eric asked, and she jumped, nearly forgetting he was there, "Can I have a snack?"

"Of course you can," she responded, taking his hand. "You can even have a cannoli or two before dinner."

That night, Daniel insisted he put Eric to bed. It was unusual to say the least. The servants normally bathed Eric and got him in bed. Cecilia came in when they were done and she would read Eric a bed time story. Making sure to tell him she loved him before he fell asleep. Like her father had done her.

But as Cecilia watched Daniel go into Eric's room in her place, she couldn't help but wonder why. Daniel pushed the door behind him, meaning to close it, but Cecilia caught it before it shut and looked in.

Eric had been laying in bed, waiting for her to come in, but the moment he saw his father he popped up into a sitting position.

"Are you going to read to me?" Eric asked, his voice excited.

"In a moment," Daniel asked, sitting on the side of Eric's bed.

Cecilia saw Eric's hands twitch. She knew he wanted to jump from under his covers to sit like his father, but he didn't. And Daniel said she didn't know his body language.

"Eric," Daniel said, thinking unusually hard about what he was about to say to Eric, "Sometimes... I meant... do you sometimes think I'm mean?"

Eric put his hand to his chin and rubbed it. She knew he only did that because he knew his father did that when he thought hard on things, but she could really see Eric thinking about the question.

"No." Eric answered simply, after a long minute. "I don't think your mean."

Daniel seemed to relax a considerable amount.

"I don't mean to put so much pressure on you." Daniel said, "I just want you to be your best."

"I know," Eric said, "That's why I'm gonna be like you."

Cecilia saw Daniel too think about the statement. She knew how much Eric wanted to be like his father, but she wondered if Daniel knew it too.

"No," Daniel said after a moment, "I don't want to you to be like me. I want you to be like you."

Eric's face scrunched up in confusion and Cecilia smiled. That idea must be totally wild for the boy. Not be like his father? She supposed the thought never crossed his mind.

"You know you're a very special boy, Eric." Daniel clarified, "I want you to be your best. Whoever you choose to be, know I'll support you."

Eric clearly didn't grasp the deepness in what his father was saying. He didn't know how big a deal this all was. He didn't know how much Daniel truly loved him. Because Cecilia knew saying that simple thing meant so much more than what appeared on the surface. Cecilia found tears running down her face, but Eric simply shrugged.

"Ok, daddy." he said, "Can I pick the story now?"

"Absolutely," Daniel said, as Eric climbed out of bed and ran to his bookshelf.

Cecilia closed the door gently, lifted her skirts, and slowly walked back towards her room.

Cecilia woke early, the absence of her husband nearly forcing her from her bed. With the unnecessary help of her maids, she readied herself for the day.

Eric was still asleep, and Cecilia was having a cup of tea when Daniel entered the sitting room with a big white box, a red bow tied on the top. Raising an eyebrow, she motioned soundlessly to the box Daniel had.

"I can't open it," he said, taking a knife from her tea tray and poking sloppy holes in the top, "It's already tied."

"It's alive?" she asked, uneasy, prepared to bring her feet up onto the chair in-case the creature broke out of the box.

She didn't mind animals. The small, cute, fluffy, domestic kind. Anything big, slimy, fast, that scurried, or flew she wasn't 100% okay with.

"Daniel," she shakily asked, "Whats in that box?"

"Just a deformed rabbit," he told her seriously, "I found it by the beach, trying to put its eye back in its face. He's only got two legs and he's got one crooked tooth, but I figured Eric would love him."

Cecilia nearly vomited.

"Oh calm down," Daniel said, amused, "It's just a dog. You know that stray that kept wandering around behind the castle?"

"Yes," she answered, "You wouldn't let me call the pound for him."

"For her. She gave birth this morning."

"And you took her puppy? Daniel!"

"Well," Daniel shrugged, "She didn't make it through the birth and I couldn't bear to take the poor thing to the pound."

Cecilia groaned. Daniel and animals. She could have swore he'd had one of every kind. Of course, he kept them in their respective rooms, because she wasn't much of an animal person, but he loved them all the same.

"Is he cute?" she asked.

"Sickeningly adorable." Daniel told her, and that made her feel a little better, "But he's a sheepdog, and they get awfully big and hairy."

Big and hairy. That was at least one thing on her list of no-no's. But after Daniel's talk with Eric that night, she refused to take away from something that would definitely bring them closer. She'd put on her big girl britches and suck it up. Oh, what she'd do for the boys in her life.

"Lets go wake Eric." Daniel said, running out the room like a child.

"He's asleep," Cecilia argued, putting down her cup and running after him, "Cant we wait for him to wake up? He has his lessons today. Daniel!"

Daniel turned and winked at her, but showed no motive to slow down. She ended up running the whole way to Eric's room. Her shoes weren't meant for running, in fact, no queen's were, so her feet ached a bit.

"Eric!" Daniel announced, marching loudly into the room. "Wake up! I've got a surprise for yoooooouuuu."

He was singing. Literally, singing. So unlike Daniel, which was a shame. He had a beautiful voice... when he used it. But Cecilia didn't complain. He wasn't often in such a good mood. She didn't want to deter him.

Eric groggily sat up from bed, his fathers booming voice too loud to sleep through.

"I'm sorry sweety," Cecilia said, sitting on the bed and rubbing his back, "Your father was too excited to let you finish sleeping. He-"

"Whats that?!" Eric asked excitedly seeing the box, jumping out of bed, and ignoring her.

She should have known he'd be too excited to be worried about something as boring as sleep.

"Open it!" Daniel cried, and Eric dropped to his knees to rip the bow off the box

"A puppy!" Eric cried and the room erupted in whoops from Eric, barks from the dog, and singing from Daniel.

Cecilia nearly passed out from the sight. The three of them nearly never had moments like those. Plus, the dog was cute. Not large and vicious like she was thinking. His little white and gray face was covered completely in hair. She couldn't even see his eyes.

"What should we name him?" she asked, joining in on the high level of energy, "Its got to be something good."

"How about Snowy?" Daniel asked, "He's white."

"He's also gray." Cecilia countered, "How about Clifford."

"Corny." Daniel whined.

"We can name him Max," Eric suggested.

Daniel and Cecilia shared a look.

"That's a great name." Daniel said.

"I should have thought of that," Cecilia said at the same time.

The dog didn't much look like a Max, but she supposed he'd grow into the name.

Before Cecilia said another word, Grimsby entered the room.

"Sir," he said, bowing, "There are some papers you must attend to. I think Triton would appreciate if they were done before he arrived so there would be no delay in his departure."

"Very good, Grimsby." Daniel said, calming down and fixing his shirt. "I'm coming."

"Can I go with you?" Eric asked, fixing his shirt like his father. "I can help you with your work."

"It's unnecessary, young prince." Grimsby said.

"I'll tell you what," Daniel said to Eric, "You watch Max for me. Max means a great deal to me, but I know he'll be safe if you've got him. So you help Max, and you help me out."

"How is that?" Eric asked, picking up the dog and studying him.

"Lets just say, Max has some of us in him. If you've got him, you've got us too."

"Did he bite a piece of you and eat it or something?"

"Yes." Daniel joked seriously, "And if you don't take care of Max, I'll drop like a sack."

Cecelia was about to object to his story entirely, but Daniel left quickly behind Grimsby and Eric continued to study Max. She didn't much approve of that little story Daniel told. She didn't like telling Eric untruths, afraid it may support unnecessary fantasies, but she supposed the thought would help him when she and Daniel had business trips and he got lonely.

"Sorry to ruin the moment," Carlotta said, standing in the doorway, "But Eric's tutors are here."

"You better go and get dressed," Cecilia said, grabbing Max from him, "Max will be here when you finish."

"Can I take him to the beach later?" Eric asked.

"We'll see." Cecilia told him, watching Eric run off with Carlotta.

And Cecilia was left alone. So much for their family moment. But, she supposed she still had the memory.

Deciding last minute that she'd sit in on Eric's lessons that day, she made her way to the other side of the castle. Max ran off and she chased him for a moment before he disappeared behind a corner. She sighed, knowing she'd need to send a servant on him.

By the time she got the Eric's school room, stopping every so often to look out the window or greet a maid, Eric was already dressed and at his single desk listening as his history teacher, Ms. Potter went on.

"And where do we live?" she asked.

"Pangrea." Eric answered, "Named after Pangea, the worlds first super continent."

"That's right." Ms. Potter said, going to her board and pulling down a map of Pangrea, "A earthquake took place hundreds of years ago that shifted the earths crust. As a result, all the lands on earth pushed together to make this super continent. Pangrea."

Ms. Potter pointed to the map.

"You live here." she said, "This area used to be known as a lot of different places, but since your fathers grandfathers fathers grandfather signed the Constitution of Rulership, this land now belongs to your father. Do you know how many different pieces of land make up Pangrea?"

"Five." Eric answered knowingly. "And five different kings rule each."

"Right again," Ms. Potter said. "Each king has a different responsibility for all the people. You have king Adrian, whose province specializes in textiles. You have the Sultan, who is the head of furniture. There's king Delrick, who's in charge of animal welfare. And then there's king Stephen, who specializes in environmental awareness."

"And daddy!" Eric said, making sure his teacher didn't forget.

"And, of course, king Daniel." she said, "Whose main job is the people's nourishment. Do you know what that is?"

Eric shook his head, so Ms Potter went on.

"That means he takes care of our people's food. He grows the food that goes in supermarkets. And his fishing trips make sure the people have shellfish and seafood. It's a very important job. Now, take out your textbook, and open to page 15, we're going to read a little. "

Eric did as he was told, and Cecilia simply watched. He'd probably had this lesson a million times, but Daniel pressed that he should know this information backwards and forwards, so she allowed it. She couldn't win every argument.

"Each province," Ms. Potter read, "Has one responsibility. Providing food for the people, the largest province, that's your father, Eric, has the most land to accomplish this task. Agriculture is completed on a grand scale, along with fishing and raising edible animals such as chickens, cows, and pigs.

The next largest province is the textile province. Its job revolves around making clothes, bedding, and other types of materials. This province also raises its own animals, such as sheep and goats, to be self-sustaining in materials.

The next province is the furniture province. This administrative district is self-explanatory, excelling in bedding, chairs, school desks, different building materials and more.

After this district comes Animal Welfare. With the animals of the land being used in every province, it is quite necessary to have a system set up to protect them, and in the long-run, protect ourselves. Without animals, Pangrea would suffer a large loss and be subject to much hard difficulties.

The last district is the Environmental province. This district is in charge of not only building houses, testing the air quality, and watching pollution, but makes sure the land is being used minimally but to its fullest. Without this district, history would be bound to repeat itself and deforestation, habitat lost, and wild fires would spread throughout Pangrea."

There was a knock on the door and a maid tentatively walked in. She curtsied deeply in front of Cecilia.

"Your ladyship," she said, "Your husband requests an audience with you and the prince. He says your guest has arrived."

"Very good," Cecilia said, standing up, "Thank you."

The maid scurried off and Eric ran to his mother's side. Ms. Potter would continue Eric's lesson at a later time.

"Mommy?" Eric asked as they walked down the hallway.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Daddy is in charge of getting our food, right?"

"Right."

"And that's only his job, right?"

"Right."

"So, he also gets us freshwater to drink, right?"

Silence.

She knew she would rue the day he was old enough to talk. He was always a smart boy, questions like those were inevitable, right? He would know sooner or later. But Daniel made a big deal out of holding this bit of information from him. He, as crazy as it was, believed Eric was actually too young to be trusted with such knowledge.

No one but herself, Daniel, Grimsby, and the other kings knew where they got their clean water source. After all, someone had to fill the underwater tanks with purified water. Someone had to make sure the wells stayed in clean and in sustainable condition. And who better than Triton and his people. Triton, and his few select people, were actually the hidden secret weapon. There was a 6th province that only the few select knew about. Only, this province was under the ocean. They excelled in their job, a fault never being found.

It was a quiet matter though because Triton liked it that way. Especially since the recent incident with his wife. He wanted nothing more than business to do with 'humans'. He was there that day to talk about new plans for another giant water tank to be built under the water. The frame of the structure was already built, but Triton said it may take him a few extra weeks to get it filled with clean, drinkable water. Apparently, purifying water was a complicated process. Something Cecilia knew nothing about.

"We'll talk about this another time." Cecilia told Eric, who was still staring at her and waiting for an answer.

Going into the entrance hall, what looked like a ball of fire flew past her. The idea was so ridiculous that she acted on it immediately. Grabbing Eric by his arm, she pushed him back roughly and he fell on his butt.

He complained, naturally, and a slight blush crept up into Cecilia's cheek as she realized the 'ball of fire' was actually a young girl. The young girl didn't even slow down as she ran a tight circle around Triton, laughing.

Cecilia immediately recognized that it was Ariel. Cecilia hadn't seen Ariel since the emergency, but she seemed as fine and healthy as Eric was, and that was a plus. She had to be, what, 6 now? She had on a pretty blue and pink dress, but she was completely barefoot as she spun in front of the window, humming a tune to herself. No, she hadn't much changed.

During their recovery time, when everyone was working on separating the two children, Ariel, Cecilia, and Eric had spent a lot of time together. Cecilia knew for a fact now, Ariel was definitely tiring. She simply had boundless energy. And, she loved to sing and dance. She was a great contrast to Eric, who was normally very quiet and shy.

But towards their second week together, he'd opened up a bit to her. It was a shame they had gradually been separated. He'd seemed to really like playing with her.

Cecilia took Eric's hand and together they walked to where Triton and Daniel were talking.

"King Triton," Cecilia greeted.

"Queen Cecilia, Prince Eric." he responded, and then bellowed in a booming voice, "Ariel!"

The young girl in the windows light stopped her twirling and skipped over to Triton.

"Hello Queen Cecilia," Ariel said, breathlessly from her playing. "Its a pleasure to see you again."

She curtsied low and didn't rise until Cecilia returned the gesture. She probably didn't much remember her, but some identification registered on her face when she saw Eric.

"The pleasure is all mine." Cecilia told her sweetly.

"Excuse me," came a voice, and Cecelia looked up from the girl to see Thomas, Daniel's main photographer, "Might I take a photo?"

Daniel was always down for a photo, but Cecilia hated them. Triton brought Ariel in front of him and she smiled sweetly. Eric stood between Cecilia and Daniel and he made a pose exactly like Daniel. They smiled a little longer and Thomas nodded, satisfied, with the photo.

"Are we finished?" Ariel asked, and Triton nodded.

With that confirmation, she went back to spinning in the window.

"How is she?" Cecilia asked Triton.

"She is a handful." Triton said. "But healthy."

Handful. That reminded her. She looked down seeing an absent spot. Expectantly, she found Eric standing at his father's side, but he wasn't his regal, stiff self, like he usually was when there was company. Instead, he held on to Daniel's leg and looked towards the playing girl.

He had to remember her a little. He spent a lot of his recovery time asleep, but when he was awake, the two got on perfectly well. Cecilia even went as far to say that she was a good friend to him. But since the emergency, he hadn't much played with princesses around his age, except Jasmine. But Jasmine was older than him, and she wasn't your... typical princess.

"Eric," she said, getting his attention, "Why don't you go say hello. You remember her don't you?"

Eric made a face at her and then nodded his head a bit.

"Come on," she encouraged, "Your not scared, are you? A brave prince like you?"

Eric seemed to think about her words, but he appeared to pick them apart and figure out it was all a trick and turned his head away from her, burying his face in Daniel's leg.

He was too smart.

"Daniel." she said, and Daniel simply shook Eric from his leg. He was too engrossed in whatever he and Triton were talking about.

"Go on." Cecilia encouraged. "She's nice."

Eric made another face at her, and Cecilia lightly pointed in Ariel's direction.

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Eric

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.

His shoulders sagging, Eric sluggishly made his way over to Ariel. He remember her. Her weird hair was definitely something familiar. He had never seen hair that color. She seemed loud and a bit too wild. She walked around without shoes. Certainly, he remembered her now.

Ariel stopped singing and spinning when Eric got close. He turned back towards his mother to see she was now talking with Triton. So much for encouragement.

When he turned back around, he found Ariel was actually less than an inch away. She seemed to be studying his face or something. He jumped back from her, only for her to giggle at him.

"Hi!" she said, waving at him cheerfully.

She waved at him. Waved. And said hi. Not even hello. No bow or curtsy. Yes, she was indeed still crazy.

Not knowing what else to do, Eric bowed at the waist. It was how he was supposed to greet her. It was how his father did it.

Ariel giggled again, but curtsied. She did it so naturally, the movement seemed to simply slide from her. But Eric had the impression she only did it to make him feel less awkward.

"Daddy says I know you." she said jubilantly, "But I don't think so."

"I remember you." he told her, his feet itching to take him back to his mother and fathers safety area.

"Do you like to dance?" Ariel asked him, randomly, and he shook his head. "Do... you... like to sing?"

"Not really."

"Hum?"

"No."

"Spin?"

"No."

"Well," she said, laughing again, "What do you like to do?"

"Read." he told her, straight faced, only for her to laugh again.

"That's fun at night." she told him, "But what do you like to do during the day? Run? Jump? What kind of games do you like?"

"I don't play games."

Her mouth dropped open dramatically.

"No games?" she asked, "No wonder you don't sing! Can you play hide and seek?"

Hide and seek. He knew the concept of the game, but it didn't much sound like fun. Hiding only to be found. The goal was pointless.

"I know how." he told her, but she must have taken that for 'yeah, lets play!' because she took his hands and made him cover his eyes.

"Now count to 10." she said, "And I'll hide."

He was about to uncover his eyes and tell her he didn't want to play, but he heard her bare feet run across the floor and figured she'd find something worse to do anyway. He mine as well get it over with.

At a decent rate, he finished his counting and uncovered her eyes. He figured she was still in the room and there weren't many places to hide. Almost bored, he went to the window, positive she was behind the long curtain.

Moving the heavy fabric out of the way, he was met with emptiness. He was actually shocked. It was the most logical place to hide. He spun around, looking around himself more keenly and went towards Triton, thinking she might be hiding behind him.

His mother smiled at him when he approached them, but he frowned, not seeing Ariel.

Walking around the perimeter of the room, he tried to think of other reasonable places a princess could hide.

Stopping in front of the snack table, he heard a light giggle. As if someone were trying to stifle the sound. He turned to the table behind him and looked at the long table cloth that covered it from view. No way would a princess climb under a table and sit on the floor just for the sake of hide and seek. Well, she was crazy.

Pulling up the table cover, Ariel let out a surprised squeal before laughing. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him under the table

"Look what I found!" she said, pointing at a plate of cannoli's.

He'd already known they were there, though. He'd snuck them out the kitchen from chef Lois, and he'd been eating them when his mother and father had found him. For a moment, he was a bit upset about her finding his secret stash, but for some reason, the feeling blew right away.

"May I have one?" she asked, "This is your house. A good guest always asks first."

She was right. Huh, maybe she wasn't totally crazy.

"Yeah." he said, grabbing one and handing it to her. "My chef made them."

"What are they?" she asked, taking a tentative bite. "Because its really good!"

"There cannoli's." he told her, eating his own, "Haven't you had one before?"

She shook her head. "Never."

"Mom eats them with a fork," he told her, "She doesn't like getting her hands dirty."

"Whats a fork?"

Eric blinked at her.

"Oh!" she yelled, finishing her cannoli, "You know my favorite thing to do?"

Eric barely had time to ask, before she wiped her hands on her dress and pulled him from under the table.

"Can you open that door?" she asked, pointing to the large window.

Eric nodded and she bounced along behind him eagerly while he opened the large balcony door. It led to one of the many balcony's in the palace, facing out into the ocean. The evening was near ending and the ocean breeze was picking up.

"Your not gonna jump or anything, right?" he asked her, as she ran around him and leaned on the wooden railing of the balcony. "Because I'm not usually allowed on the balcony."

"Come here!" she said, waving him over, "Your missing it!"

Doubtfully, he inched his way towards her. He reminded himself, she was wild. She might try something sneaky, right? But she turned, giving him a sweet smile and for some reason, he wasn't so scared to go near her anymore.

Approaching more confidently, he looked to her to figure out what her favorite thing actually was.

The wind pushed back her hair and she laughed, as if it had told her something funny.

"Isn't this great?" she whispered.

The wind lifelessly moved Eric's normally perfect hair around and he really wanted to go to his father, so that he could fix it, but he bypassed the feeling.

"Whats so fun?" he asked.

For someone who liked to have fun, this sure wasn't anything like her.

"Don't you feel it?" she asked, "The wind, it's talking. Whispering its secrets to us."

No, she wasn't crazy. Just certifiably delusional. It actually explained a lot.

"Here," she said, pulling back from her fantasy. It was clear he couldn't understand it. "What are you thinking about?"

"I don't know, the ocean." he said, looking out over the view.

"Well, stop it." she said, "Don't think about anything. Don't even think about not thinking. Just feel."

She turned him around to face out towards the ocean, and physically closed his eyes for him. He bit his cheek, but tried not to think about anything. Just feel.

"Feel it in your hair." she told him, "Between your fingers. On your face. How does it smell? Can you taste it?"

For a moment, nothing felt magical to him. But he took a deep breath, trying to see the world as she would. And then, he could actually taste the wind. It was salty, like the ocean was. It smelt like the ocean too. And it felt amazing in his hair and on his face.

And suddenly, he wasn't thinking about being like his father. Or about the super continent he lived on. He wasn't worried about his lessons or about how tall he stood or how straight his back was. It wasn't important how his shirt was fixed and how his hair was done. All that matter was the secrets. The secrets the wind whispered to him. It told him... basically, whatever Eric wanted it to.

He smiled, leaning on the balcony and into the wind. The wind pushed a little harder and his hair was lifted up even more. He felt so peaceful that he couldn't help it. He laughed. Everything was almost eerily serene. The ocean was so calm and the evening sky was cloudless.

And the feeling... it was amazing. Magical.

"Told you." Ariel said, leaning on the balcony beside him. "It talks."

He was about to laugh again, but a startled gasp stopped him and made him whip around to find his mother covering her mouth and his father grabbed him, pulling him back inside.

"What have we told you." his mother said, genuinely angry at him. Something he'd never seen before. "Your not allowed outside without us. Its dangerous. You don't know who's running around down there."

"We were just listening to the wind." Ariel explained, being pulling inside by her father. "We were alright."

Eric opened his mouth to agree with her, but his mothers stern look shut him up.

"Eric's never disobeyed us like this." Cecilia said, her words directed at Triton.

"At least not until your daughter showed up," Daniel said, and even Eric thought the comment was mean.

Triton seemed to get a little bigger, and Eric pulled back away from him and nearer to his mother.

"My daughter?" Triton asked. "Of all things, she is the last person you have a right to talk about."

"She's as wild as you are stubborn." Daniel said. "Some control over her wouldn't hurt."

"Its because of my daughter that you even have a son!" Triton bellowed and it made tears come to Eric eyes, and he worried for his father's safety against the big man. "Because of you, my daughter's life is at risk every second of every day. Without my daughter, your son would be dead. And then where would you be, Daniel? Where would I be?"

Eric was lost in the conversation, unsure about what they were talking about. But Daniel didn't back down, and the two men continued to glare hard at each other.

"Well if you lose one," Daniel spat, "You shouldn't care. You've plenty other daughters to choose from."

The air went silent for a moment. Eric, confused, looked to his mother. She had a surprised look on her face. His father must have said something mean, because for a moment, Triton looked surprised too. That is, until he turned red like a tomato and looked as if he were ready to explode.

"I've signed a contract," Triton grit out. "My services to you are final. But don't think of my people as allies to you."

"Business and nothing more." Daniel said. "Perfect."

Triton grabbed Ariel's arm roughly, and the two moved at lightning speed out towards the door of the castle.

Eric griped his mothers skirts firmly, and followed her as she followed Daniel out the room in the opposite direction Triton had gone. Both were fuming and he did his best to be invisible and not direct anything towards himself. A distant bark filled the room and Eric's spirits lifted a little when he saw Max run into the room.

The dog barked again, circling Eric's legs and followed him as Eric held on to his mother as she followed Daniel all the way outside and towards the beach. Tripping in the sand, Eric tried to see where Ariel and Triton had disappeared to. He doubted they were that far away. He hoped to get a last look at Ariel. She was his new best friend.

But he caught no last sight of her, or her father. He didn't even see the residue of a carriage that left. Without a carriage, he wondered how they got home.

Daniel rounded a corner, and Eric's face lit up as he saw what looked like a parade of ships sailing towards their harbor. Max barked and Eric pulled on his mothers skirts to point it out to her, but she was already looking.

"Did you call the boys?" Cecilia asked Daniel.

"Yes," he told her, "Earlier. I figured all of us together would make an effective team to deal with Triton. It seems they were a bit late."

Cecilia picked up her skirts and followed Daniel as he climbed the ladder up to the boardwalk. She supposed they ought to know how the meeting went.

The ships all pulled into the harbor, and it seemed as if crowds of people left their ships and boarded the Tidal Wave.

Daniel helped Cecilia up onto their own ship, the Tidal Wave. Everyone was probably already on it anyway. Eric jumped the small gap between the boardwalk and the ship and Daniel caught him, setting him down on the boats deck. Max made the jump too and Eric caught him like his father had caught him.

.

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Narrator

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Cecilia saw young prince Charming come out of the captains quarter with his mother Queen Geneviève. She was from the textile province. Sultana Cosette, the sultans wife and the furniture queen, along with princess Jasmine rounded a corner and even though Eric had just been with a princess his age, he still ran straight to Charming and the two of them ran off talking, Max following closely behind them.

"Cecilia." Geneviève greeted, "How are you."

"Alright." Cecilia greeted back, "And yourself?"

"Not bad." she told her.

"Ladies." Cosette greeted. "How are we?"

"I'm just fine." Geneviève said, "But I fear Cecilia has something on her mind."

"How did the meeting go?" Cosette asked, "I saw Daniel and he looks none too happy."

Cecilia sighed and Geneviève and Cosette shared a look.

"I'll get the ladies." Geneviève said gravely.

In less than five minutes, all the queens were gathered in the ships sitting room with a cup of tea. Madeline, prince Adam's mother and the queen of animal welfare, poured everyone their tea.

"So go on." Geneviève pressed, "What happened?"

Queen Leah, princess Aurora's mother and the queen of environmental awareness, looked on almost impassively, but Cecilia expected it. She wasn't even sure why Leah was there. Leah was more self absorbed in herself. The most selfish of all the queens.

"It didn't go well," Cecilia said, "Well, it started out alright. We greeted and everything seemed fine..."

Outside the room, Eric was trying to teach Charming and Adam how to listen to the wind.

"It isn't working," Charming stated, dismally.

"Not for me either." Adam said.

Eric couldn't understand it. He'd just felt as if he were at the top of the world. The wind had been talking to him. He'd felt blissfully calm. Why didn't it work for them?

"What are you guys doing?" asked a voice.

Eric, Adam and Charming both turned around, seeing Jasmine and Aurora looking at them.

"Nothing." Eric and Charming chorused.

"You boys are always doing something dumb." Jasmine said, folding her arms. "Boys are dumb. And will always be dumb. That's why I'm never gonna get married."

"We are not dumb." Charming argued.

"Are too." Jasmine shot back.

"Are not." Charming returned.

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Some boys are dumb." Aurora said, settling the matter. "But not all of them, right Eric?"

She batted her eyes at Eric and Eric and Charming shared a look before they burst into laughter.

"Whats in you eye?" Charming gasped.

"Can you check Eric?" she asked sweetly, wringing her hands.

Eric stopped laughing and made a face before he slid against the safety railing of the boat and made a run for it, Charming, Adam, the girls and Max following close behind.

Up above them, on the upper deck, the kings gathered to speak as well as the queens. They lounged about in different parts of the upper deck, champagne glasses already in their hands.

"I'm telling you Daniel." King Stephen, Aurora's father said, "My girl and your boy. A match made in heaven."

"Isn't Aurora already engaged?" Daniel asked, "That nobleman's son, he's staying with you, right?"

"Oh Phillip?" Stephen asked, "Yeah, but he's just backup. I'm really shooting for young Eric."

"I don't think Eric's her type." Daniel said, as gently as he could, "He's so... reserved."

King Adrian, Charming's father, laughed.

"You mean she's spoiled." he said, "That Aurora, boy, if she doesn't get what she wants..."

"She's... demanding," Stephan said, "But she'd make a fine bride. By their teen years she would have grown into a beautiful young lady."

"Beauty has nothing to do with it." king Delrick, Adams father said, "He can't stand her now. What makes you think he'll want to marry her then?"

"That's what contracts are for." Stephen said, "Ever heard of an arranged marriage?"

"Not this early in their life," the Sultan said, "Jasmine would hang me herself if I even left her in a room with a boy!"

"She'll grow out of that," Daniel said, "Every child is different."

"Yeah," Adrian said, "I mean, Aurora's already flirting with your boy, Daniel."

"Eh," Daniel said, mocking a sound of being unconcerned, "He's a fast boy."

"But Aurora always gets what she wants," Delrick joked, "She'll ask for his hand if she needs to."

"Think about it though, Daniel." Stephen said, serious again, "It could work."

"Eric could always try to court Jasmine." the Sultan suggested.

"Stop it, the lot of you." Adrian said, "You power hungry cretins. How about we let Eric choose when the time is right. He's just a boy now."

"Here, here to that." Daniel nodded.

Though that conversation was over now, Daniel knew at the very least, Stephen would bring the topic up again. Adrian was right, he was power hungry. At current, his province was the smallest. His daughter marrying Eric would bring him up more than a few pegs. Ahead of Adrian, in fact, and he was right below Daniel.

Even now, Stephen tapped his head, signaling he wanted Daniel to think about it. But how could Daniel? Right now, his son only wanted to play with his new dog. How was Daniel supposed to imagine him a teenager? Imagine him marrying? What was best for Eric now may not be best for Eric later.

Grimsby would support Stephen, Daniel knew that for sure. Aurora had 'class'. She was well raised and rounded, though a bit spoiled. She had the training she needed and even some power in the world.

Daniel could allow Eric to grow and choose for himself a bride, but what if he chose the wrong girl? What if he picked a middle class woman or someone with little to no education or power? Daniel had married Cecilia on a whim, disobeying his parents pleads against it and now he and her had their fair share of troubles. Though Daniel loved her, he wondered if he could prevent that type of problem from entering Eric's life. If he took Stephen up on the offer, would he be preventing his son from a future pain and heartache?

He promised he'd think more about the subject later, though he actually had no intentions of doing so. He knew Cecilia would fight against that decision with everything in her, and in the end, he knew she'd win the fight. And he was alright with that. His son did have a right to choice who he married.

Daniel looked down to the lower deck where his son and the kids were. Charming and Adam were wrestling, something the captain broke up quickly. Jasmine was yelling at a crying Aurora, and Eric was standing at the railing, apparently trying to see into the water. Eric was very much interested in the ocean. Nearly obsessed, for he got extremely weird when the family had boat outings. Ever since his procedure, really, and Daniel wondered whether or not he had somehow heard about the merpeople.

Looking around the deck for his wife, he caught the eye of Grimsby. Daniel hadn't even known the man had boarded. Daniel was about to look past the man, as if he hadn't seen him, but Grimsby beckoned and Daniel had to go. He had a plan of action in route. He was determined to bring Grimsby down. But for now, he was still slave to the man. He still had to obey him.

Daniel put down his drink and found Grimsby waiting for him in a cabin room full of maps and papers.
"What's happened with Triton?" Grimsby asked, simply. "I'm told today didn't go well."

Daniel squared his shoulders, "We've... had a disagreement."

"A disagreement?" Grimsby asked, his voice tense, "We need Triton as an ally. Are you aware he controls all the oceans?"

"Of course," Daniel told him, "But this was inevitable. He's just lost his wife, he has no business working when he hasn't had time to grieve. I'll make amends with him when his head is on right. For now he needs his space."

"You wont get the chance." Grimsby said, and Daniel froze.

Wont get the chance? What... what did that mean?

"Here." Grimsby said, pulling a scroll from a table and rolling it out in front of Daniel, "Sign this."

Daniel was nearly ready to do anything, with the threat he'd just gotten. It sounded so... final.

"What is it?" Daniel asked, and Grimsby shook his head.

"Just sign it."

Despite his instructions, Daniel read over the paper, and his eyes grew wide the more he read.

"I can't sign this." Daniel said, his hands actually beginning to shake, "This... this is my son's life here. I can't... I can't make this choice now."

"You've ruined our chances with Triton," Grimsby told him, "We must form new alliances. You've done this to yourself."

"I cant do this."Daniel said. "And I wont."

"I expected as so." Grimsby said, "But don't worry, I've got plenty of artists willing to copy your handwriting and make this document official."

Daniel laughed, despite himself, "And you think I will stand for that? That's treason and the other kings wont stand for it. Less myself."

"No," Grimsby droned, "I don't suppose you would."

The man rolled up the scroll and left the room, and a frozen Daniel, behind. Grimsby, he'd looked so smug. So victorious. Like he had when the kids were going to be separated. It was a look Daniel knew that meant somehow, Grimsby had already won. And that scared Daniel.

Already, he'd been threatened. And not just a discrete threat. A real, plain, threat that all but said: you are going to die soon. And now, Daniel knew his son was involved. Involved in a way that meant Grimsby was already planning ways to take over his son's life. Already trying to make sure Eric ended up like Daniel. A slave. Bond. Unfree.

It was becoming crystal clear that Daniel wasn't going to be able to see the end of his plans come to fruitage. But with good planning and a bit of luck, he was sure Eric could finish this. His son had to. For his children and the children his kids had. This had to be done.

Daniel was craving a drink now more than ever, but first, he needed to see his wife. Needed to talk to her. With any luck, Grimsby didn't know how aware she was of his situation and she would be left alone.

Daniel left the room, his heart heavy. Eric and the boys ran by him and he wondered how many times he would see his son running. Playing. Happy.
"Daniel." came a voice, and Daniel turned to see Cecilia was standing behind him.

She was smiling, a clear sign that she'd been playing Eric. But her face dropped when she saw him.

"Whats wrong?" she asked, but Daniel shook his head.

He couldn't tell her yet. If Grimsby was around, he could tell her nothing now. And who knew who else was secretly working under Grimsby. Daniel was sure a few of the sailors were. So he had to be careful.

The rest of the evening went by mostly normal. The queens talked a little longer, speaking about whatever came to mind and laughing together. Until they got bored and went to bother their husbands. It was dark by time they all said their goodbyes.

The kings, queens, and their respective children boarded their own ships and sailed back towards their own districts.

"Bye Eric!" Aurora yelled, blowing him a kiss as her and her family's ship sailed over the horizon.

Eric gagged at her, smiling innocently when his mothers stern eyes met his own.

The boat lurched a bit and Cecilia just caught her balance. She turned around to see the captain had untied them from the pier.

"James." Daniel said to the captain, firmly, "What on earth are you doing?"

"You told me you wanted to go for a ride, sir." Captain James told him. "Just this morning. Your usual spot."

Daniel nodded grimly. He'd told James no such thing, and the idea hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. James had been his fathers captain. A good friend to Daniel. And an excellent drinker who held his liquor far better than Daniel, but never gloated. And that was why it was so odd seeing him swaying as he steered the boat, because he was obviously drunk. And to think this man... he had to be under Grimsby.

"You've sure been in a weird mood since your talk with Grimsby." Cecilia told him, lowly. "You didn't tell James you wanted to go for a ride, did you."

Daniel said nothing, leaning against the railing and staring out at the ocean.

"We knew one day this would happen." Cecilia said, leaning on his arm, "Eric's down in the cabin asleep."

Daniel nodded somberly. He wasn't sure exactly what to expect from here on out, but he took comfort in knowing his son would live. There was no way on earth Grimsby would hurt Eric. No, he had too much planned for the boy.

James sailed them out west, towards the bay. The bay was where Daniel usually took the family. It was a serene spot, just a few miles away from their castle. He'd proposed to Cecilia right on the shore of the bay and since then, it had been their special spot.

Cecilia sighed, she couldn't usually resist going there. It was her favorite spot. But now, Daniel could feel her tears leaking onto his shirt. From the moment he'd told her everything, they'd expected some kind of foul play to happen and as a result, they'd probably both lose their lives. But that didn't make things easier. It didn't change the fact that you were going to die. That you were leaving your son in the hands of the same person that had you killed.

"I'm going down with Eric." she said, trying to hold her emotions back. "I'll be back."

She headed down to the cabin to check on Eric quickly. And Daniel could hardly imagine what was going through her head. Seeing her son for possibly the last time. It was a good thing Eric was asleep though. He didn't need to know of the foul play yet. Soon. But not yet. He and Charming had tired each other out, playing with Max and running from the girls. Adrian had to carry a sleeping Charming on board their ship by the time the two were through playing.

Down in the cabin, Eric slept on the master bed in the back room of the cabin. He was curled under the covers, the oceans night breeze having turned chilly, and Max was right beside him.

Cecilia stroked Eric's head, whispering she loved him. He hadn't had his nightly ritual done, but she made sure she told him she loved him anyway. And then told him again, because she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to tell him again. Feeling generous, she even pet Max on the head. The puppy didn't wake, and she took another good look at him. Eric seemed to love him so much already.

Suddenly, there was a loud crackle in the air that seemed to vibrate to the core of Cecilia's bones and the ship lurched to the side violently, throwing her to the floor.

Eric woke from the loud sound.

"Mommy!" he called and Cecilia gathered herself from the floor.

"Eric," she said, grabbing his hand and making sure he was alright. "It's alright, sweety. Everything's okay."

"What was that?" he asked and Cecilia wished she could answer him.

The air filled with another loud crackle and the ship lurched again. Eric began to cry and Cecilia scooted in the bed beside him, putting him on her lap and wrapping her arms around him. The cabin lights flickered before going off completely.

Eric continued to cry silently, and the room was filled with silence. Cecilia's heart raced and she rocked Eric gently. It was pitch black, even though her eyes were wide. In her mind, she kept wondering about Daniel. She kept hoping and praying he was alright. She may have expected this, but she admitted now that she was afraid. Terrified. Unbearably so.

A light flashed in the room, momentarily allowing Cecilia to see, and a louder crackle filled the air.

Lightning. She thought to herself. They'd rode into a lightning storm.

And then the rain began.

Sheets wasn't the appropriate word to describe the amount of rain that fell instantly. Cats and dogs did it no justice either. To her, they mine as well have been underwater.

Eric wasn't calming down, but Cecilia put him on the bed beside her and pulled the blanket up around his shoulders. She climbed out the bed and looked out the window. There was a deck light above the cabin that ran on battery power. It hadn't gone out. But it was still so dark she couldn't see.

There was a yell from above the deck and Cecilia moved first and thought later. The yell had been her husbands.

"Mommy!" Eric yelled, seeing his mother run.

Cecilia stopped just long enough to turn and yell, "Stay where you are, Eric!"

Then she bolted up the stairs.

Eric heard the cabin door open and the sound of the rain on the deck was deafening. Eric grabbed Max and hugged him to his chest. He had Max, so he had his mommy and daddy with him too, right? The thought did a lot to calm him. As long as he had Max, he wasn't alone.

The room was lit and lightning sounded loudly.

Eric grabbed Max and buried them under the blanket. He wanted his mother. He wanted his father. But his mother had told him to stay put. He wasn't supposed to move. Getting up would just make her angry again, like she'd been earlier.

The room flashed again, but this time, the sound the lightning made was deafening. It must have been very close, because for a few split seconds, Eric's ears only rang. The light the lightning provided lit the room just long enough for Eric to see Max had been barking, but the ringing in his ears was just subsiding.

There was a yell from his mother, and Eric figured he was probably safer with his father. Climbing out of bed, he ran up the steps, Max in hand, and with shaking hands, opened the cabin door. He maintained his footing on the chaotically rocking boat. Rain fell so hard he was immediately drenched, his hair running into his eyes. It felt like the ocean had rose up and was flowing over the surface of the deck. Some even ran down the stairs and into the cabin.

Eric spotted his mother first. She had somehow fallen and trapped herself in a hole in the deck. Eric supposed something heavy had fallen and created it. She was screaming towards the captains quarters, and Eric looked over to see his father had the captains hands in his own and was struggling to hold the captain still.

"Aye!" the captain yelled, laughing, "Ye fightin' it Daniel! Stop fightin' it! Ye knew what would happen didn't cha?"

"Your going to kill us all." Daniel replied, nearly getting the upper hand, but the captain laughed and spun, knocking Daniel to the ground.

"Don't cha worry!" the captain laughed, "The boys in good hands!"

With that, he grabbed a pack of matches from his pocket and lit them all at once, throwing them to the ground. Everyone, minus the captain, but including Eric, yelled as the matches struck the deck. Eric didn't think much would happen, considering all the rain, but the matches seemed to strike gasoline, because the fire lit and in but a second, the whole deck was on fire.

Something right beside Eric blew up, and Eric was pushed by the force onto the deck fully. He went completely deaf in one ear for a few moments, and tried to pick himself up off the ground. The ship began tilting, though, far to the left, and he kept sliding backwards. Finally, though, Eric was able to get back to the cabin, and climbed into the doorway, waiting for his father to inevitably come and get him.

It was amazing how fast the deck caught fire. In but a few minutes, it was all Eric could see. It smelled bad and it burned horribly. Just being close to it made Eric want to retreat. But he couldn't leave his parents, he could see his father now, trying to free his mother. The captain, was nowhere to be seen.

Eric noticed the main sail had caught fire, and even though the deck light swung around deliriously only lighting up half the deck, the fire lit up a lot more. It was all happening so fast.

Like he usually did when he found himself in a confusing situation, he looked to his mother. This time, though, he found she was screaming something at him. In the rain, with continuous thunder, he couldn't make out what she said. She was waving her hands wildly, gesturing to the cabin. He turned to see what she was pointing at. Seeing nothing, he turned back to her, where she was still going mad.

His father turned to see what she was screaming about, and the moment Eric's father saw him, he joined in on the crazy game of charades.

Lightning struck just above his parents, striking the mass and cutting it nearly in half. Eric's ears went deaf again, the thunder being louder than he ever imagined possible.

His mother and father yelled the same thing at the same time, and Eric finally heard them.

"Go back in the cabin!"

Finally getting the message, he backed down a step, prepared to turn and go down like they wanted him to, but a loud crack, unlike lightning, sounded in the air and Eric saw the giant mass snap from its perch.

It fell down right towards his parents.

Eric slipped on the wet steps and bumped his head.

When Eric came to, the first thing he noticed was the brightness. It was so bright that even with his eyes closed, he squinted.

He slowly brought his hands up in front of his eyes.

It was then that he felt the gentle movement of walking. He was being carried. He settled a little more, the idea of being carried by his father comforting. He was actually about to go back to sleep before he felt his fathers chest move and heard a voice that actually wasn't his fathers.

Blinking, he tried to clear his vision. The man carrying him had blonde hair. His father didn't have blonde hair.

"There you go, lad." the man said, setting Eric down on grass.

Two doctors approached and they poked him and took his temperature, asking if anything hurt.

Eric looked around himself. He was outside, and the sun was shining. Immediately, he recognized the area. He was at the bay. His parents favorite place. But in all his life, he'd never seen it so crowded. Most of the people had on shiny life vests, it looked like. Helicopters flew overhead and servants and maids scurried everywhere.

Eric longed to see a familiar face.

And then he saw two. King Adrian and Grimsby ran over to him.

"Eric," king Adrian cried, "There you are! We feared the worse."

"My dear boy," Grimsby said, getting on his knees in front of Eric. "Thank heavens."

Eric looked at the two blankly. He figured his parents must have been busy handling everything else, because he was sure they'd be the first to greet him otherwise.

"Where's mom?" he asked, "Or dad?"

Grimsby stood up and dusted himself off.

"Eric," Adrian said gently, "You parents-"

"They're dead." Grimsby finished harshly. "We mustn't sugar coat things for you. You're a big boy now."

"He's still a child," Adrian barked at Grimsby, "A little compassion is what he needs right now."

"I believe I was left in charge of Eric's welfare." Grimsby said, calmly, "I'll ask your advice when I need it."

"You know he should come back with me and Geneviève." Adrian said, his face was actually turning red. "He needs us right now. Anyone else will just take advantage of him."

"That's what I'm here for," Grimsby said, "Under my rule, he will finally be raised the way a prince should be."

"He doesn't need a drill instructor. He needs a friend. Someone to comfort him. Geneviève and I can give that to him. He and Charming are close, he needs that kind of environment."

Grimsby barked something back, Eric was sure, but suddenly, he felt a pressure in the back of his head that he hadn't noticed before. It hurt more and more by the second. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The pain seemed to eat away at his vision, and little by little, the world grew black.

When Eric woke up, he was back in his bed at the castle. He wanted to think the previous events were all a dream, but he knew it wasn't.

Sitting up in bed, he found Max was laying on his feet. The dog lifted his head up when Eric sat up and let his tongue hang out. Patting his lap, the dog climbed onto Eric, looking up at him with hidden eyes. Eric buried his face in Max's fur. Buried his face in what was left of his parents. If a piece of them was always in him, then he'd make sure Max was treated as well as his parents were.

Eric wanted badly to cry. He wanted to scream and throw himself onto the floor and roll around, because now, he was all alone. But who would come to comfort him when he did? Surely Grimsby would only scold him. If his parents weren't going to come calm him, then he wanted no one at all.

Climbing out of bed, Max followed as Eric went to his balcony and opened the doors. He knew he wasn't supposed to, but felt it was something he needed to do.

Leaning against the balcony railing, he looked up at the shining full moon. Closing his eyes, he felt the wind brush against his face and through his hair.

The wind was talking to him again. Surprisingly, the feeling calmed him down a considerable amount. His throat wasn't closed tight and painful anymore. He could breathe again. And his parent flew straight from his mind. You couldn't think of anything if you wanted the magic to work.

He doubted if he'd ever see Ariel again, and he knew he'd never see his parents again. This magical moment, it hurt. Hurt him to think. Hurt him to imagine. Hurt to do anything, but breathe. And yet, he wished it would last forever. He wished he could go back in time to when he played hide and seek with Ariel. To a time when his biggest problem was how to stand respectfully. He closed his eyes again and hoped the magic of the wind would last into his future years.

When all else failed, when he didn't even want to talk to Max, and when he felt painfully lonely, he knew he could always talk to the wind.

A/N: And...? How did you like it? I know this didn't really introduce any plot, and Ariel isn't in it as much as Eric, but that's because Ariel is more of the main focus throughout the rest of the story so far. And besides, we all know what happened when Ariel was younger, I wanted to introduce a kind of new plot, and also, let you know who Eric's parents were and what happened to them. Because honestly, who didn't wonder?

Review (or PM) and I'll post the next part of the story!