Deep as the Ocean, as Shallow as the Ladle

"Ariel, I cannot stay any longer. It has been nearly three days already! You must return home with me!" Sabastian argued as he chased behind her.

Ariel shook her head as she made her way through the now familiar palace grounds. "I shall not return, Sabastian." Her steps halted and she turned slowly, looking down at him. "Sabastian… I appreciate all that you have done for me… you've always stayed by my side… and I'm grateful, truly… And you have gone through a great ordeal to be here with me now, but…" She lowered and scooped him up in her palms. "I love him, Sabastian… And I'm staying here." She carried him over to an inconspicuous area in the ballroom and sat him down. She gave him a sweet smile as she turned away from him and sought out Eric in the crowd.

He caught her pinky finger in his claw carefully. "Ariel… please, you don't have to do this… Let's just go back home. Your parents are going to be worried… Ursula is worried…"

A sad smile curved her lips. "I've already told you… beside… if they miss me, they are more than capable of transforming as I have done. Are they not?" She waited as he nodded and released his hold on her before lowering and placing a light kiss to his shell. "I'll see you off tonight after the party."

He let out a heavy sigh as he watched her walk away. "Yes… they could shift… but they would be no happier about seeing that selfish prick use you as his personal entertainment either…" He muttered. As people began filling the ballroom, Sabastian hunkered under the draping petals of one of the many overfilled flower arrangements decorating the room.

The hours ticked by slowly as he was forced to watch his dear Ariel mask her agonizing pain as she danced every dance. As the night waned the ache in his heart grew. He was silent as he followed her out to the bay surrounding the back of the palace. "The pain in your feet and legs have not lessened, has it?"

Ariel winced as she tried harder to hide her pain. "I'm sure it will with time…"

"You've grown up underwater. You're not accustomed to the gravity of the surface or the pressure of feet to ground… you were made for the water… you should be in the water…"

Ariel shook her head. "You were made for the water… I… was forced to be in only the water… told all my life it was the only option for me." Her smile brightened as she gazed out across the bright night sky. "This is where I want to be, where my parents… my father spent most of his life before leaving grandfather's palace." She slipped off the painful high heels and walked gingerly into the bay letting its cool waters soothe the now permanent ache of her feet.

As Sabastian lowered himself into the water his body began to shift back to its natural form. His brows furrowed as she seemed to ignore his transformation. He splashed her lightly with his tail. When she giggled and bent, splashing him back, his frown deepened. "Do you not miss it at all?" He swam over to her and caressed her cheek as he studied the emotions deep within her eyes.

She hesitated and looked away. "I do... But I can't be with Eric in that form, so it's no good to me now." She pulled away from him and stood. "I should be getting back." She sent him a troubled smile. "I hope I can see you again soon..."

Sabastian could feel his own emotions build, threatening to overflow. He cleared his throat. "Yeah... me too."

Ariel let out a long sigh as she stepped from the soothing water and back onto the rough grain of the sandstone walkway. She watched, sending him a wave, as Sabastian swam out toward the horizon.

"That was an interesting display... I had no idea such a thing was possible?"

Ariel sucked in a surprised breath as she whipped her head around. She let out a sigh of relief, clutching her hands to her chest. "Oh... It's just you." Her sullen expression brightened as he neared her, taking her face into his large hand. She leaned into the touch letting him cradle her cheek. "I was just saying my goodbyes to an old friend."

"And can you shift forms as he can?" His eyes sparkled with amazement with the many possibilities swirling around in his mind. He took a step closer and hooked his free arm around her waist, tugging her against him.

Her hands pressed against the silken fabric of his blouse as she nodded. "I can..."

His smile widened. "I would like very much to see that." He lowered his lips to a hoover over hers as he teased the soft curve of her ear with his fingertips. "Could you shift for me, my love?"

Her eyes widened as she repeated his endearment with a stutter. "Your... your love?"

He sent her a charming smile. "Well yes..." He faked hurt. "I'm wounded that you question my feelings for you so readily." He pressed out his bottom lip, fighting against the wicked grin that threatened to show itself. "Is it because you do not feel the same, my love?"

She quickly shook her head. "No! I've loved you since first laying eyes upon you!"

He searched her eyes. "The day you rescued me from the shipwreck?" When she nodded, he continued. He brushed her hair behind her ear. "I'd wondered if it had been a miscommunication when Anderson had said as much the first day you were here, but now I believe I understand." He tightened his grip around her waist and lowered his lips even closer to hers. "Show me, love. Show me how it is that you were able to rescue me... what form saved my life back then." He could feel her shutter against his body causing a triumphant smile to curve his lips as he brushed them teasingly against hers. He hid his amusement as she pressed up onto tiptoes and puckered her lips in anticipation of an actual kiss. He stepped away, holding her at arm's length. "Shift for me first, then I shall be yours... but for now my curiosity is simply too high to give our love making the proper attention you deserve."

Ariel nodded as she drew in an uneasy breath. Her heart pounded against her chest as she carefully stepped out of the pantaloons the maids had insisted she wear regularly. Her hand trembled slightly as she passed them over to his waiting hand. Her cheeks heated in embarrassment. "Would you mind looking away as I remove the gown?"

His eyes narrowed and the corners of his lips lifted. "Ah, but have I not already seen you in the nude, my love?" He stepped closer and gently slid his hands down her shoulders, bringing the lacy material with them. "If we are to become lovers, I shall see every inch of you... as you shall me." He brushed his fingers across the swell of her breasts, before moving their skilled focus to her bodice. Her pert, youthful breasts sprang free of their bindings bringing an admiring smile to his face and a brighter blush to hers. "You are stunning, love. There is no need to be so shy." He nodded to their surroundings. "It is just the two of us after all."

She swallowed hard as she nodded and let the dress slip from her slim body. She wrapped her arms around herself, self-consciously, feeling his eyes burning into her. She glanced from the sand to his handsome face. "I... I must be in the water first... I believe."

He nodded toward the waters. "Do as you must but do hurry the suspense is killing me."

She swallowed hard once again as she turned and began walking back into the cool waters. She slowly lowered herself into the waters and squeezed her eyes tightly shut in concentration. She could feel the bending and shifting of bone and flesh as her body assumed the form she'd once thought to be her one and only. She opened her eyes, nervously seeking his. When he seemed pleased, she sent him a nervous smile and lifted her fin from the water.

He kicked off his boots as he quickly tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it dismissively to the beach. He waded into the water, drawing closer and reaching out to touch the intriguing structure. "Simply amazing..." His eyes met hers. "And you can do this at will?"

She nodded. "As long as I'm in water... I assume... I admit I've only shifted twice now..."

He tilted his head still studying her. "But the boy you were with earlier could not shift to a human form? Instead, he took that of an animal... Can you shift into an animal? An Octopus or squid... perhaps?"

Ariel shrugged. "I do not know if I can take on an animal form or not... I've never tried... Neither could Sabastian, it was only because of a spell from my auntie... but I do know that she and my parents can also take on human form." She rushed on nervously. "They lived most of their lives as human... before I was born."

His eyes narrowed as he ran his hand over her hips and around her waist. He was increasingly happy he'd studied up on Latin. The girl had much to say of interest. He pulled the pins free from her hair and watched the brilliant red strands flow over her shoulders. "And why is that?"

She cleared her throat, nervous at his closeness. Her cheeks heated as her eyes continued to move to his bare chest of their own velation. "I... don't know exactly... May...maybe because my father is a son of Poseidon, and my mother and aunt are direct relative of Oceanus..." She stumbled through her words as the tantalizing movements of his hands against her skin and the sight and closeness of his bare chest clouded her judgements. She licked her dry lips before biting into her lower lip, trying to restrain herself from reaching out and touching him as he was her.

He smiled seductively down at her as he took one of her hands and pressed it to his chest. "Touch, love, I don't mind." He lowered his head and placed a kiss to the lip she was still biting. "Tell me more." He whispered against her lips before placing another teasing kiss there and sliding her hand lower down his abdominals.

"A...about what... My Lord?"

"Call me Eric as you did when you first arrived." He continued placing teasing kisses to her lips as he continued sliding her hand lower with one hand and gripping what should be her ass with the other.

"But it is improper. Anderson said so-aw!" She let out a forced moan as he tugged her roughly against him, and something hard pressed into her sensitive fin.

He chuckled. "But what did I say? We shall be lovers. I shall be yours, and you mine. Do you not want that? Do you not want to be mine?"

She nodded frantically. "Yes, very much so!"

"Then say it. Say: I am yours, Eric."

She gasped as his lips trailed down the slender column of her throat. "I... I am yours, Eric."

"Very good, love. Now, tell me you want me."

"I... I-ahh! I want you."

He pressed against her, curious as to where and how he could have sex with her in this form. He let her gasps and moans guide him as he unfastened his trousers. He pressed into her causing her to call out in pain. "Will I be your first?" He whispered against her lips.

"First?" She panted breathlessly against his lips as she clung to him.

A smile curved his lips. "This shall not do. Shift back, love. We shall try this later."

She did as he said but tightened her grip. She gasped in even more shock when the hard thing pressed more fully and painfully into her body, invading her very core. "Eric, wait! That hurts!"

He didn't stop but instead slowed his movements. "It will only hurt for a short while, my love. It is how we become lovers."

***

Eric tightened his robe, a satisfied smile curving his lips as his eyes moved over the soft curve of the beauty curled up in his bed. He slipped on his slippers and headed from the room. With but one confident tap, he pushed open the door and stepped into Anderson's personal study. "Ah, you're still up and at it, Ol' fellow, just as I'd expected."

Anderson took in the prince's disheveled appearance. "I take it your night did not end with the ball, Sire?"

A wicked smile curved his lips. "It did not. Much, much better, in fact, Anderson." He poured himself a brandy and flopped down in one of the leather armchairs. He smiled down at the amber liquid in his cup as he swirled it around and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Our financial troubles are forever gone, Anderson. We shall be rich beyond our wildest dreams." His eyes sparkled with excitement as he continued. "And I shall prove my parents' deaths were by a sea monster." His eyes reflected a manic glee he'd done well to hide these past years from most as he continued, focusing on Anderson. "They didn't believe me, called me the crazy prince, withheld my crown and rightful title in lieu of my father's passing." He sat forward. "I shall be crowned king, by gods! And I shall mount that beast's head over the mantle of the grand fireplace!"