The Little Mermaid: A Different Tail

~5: Attina & Eric~

~Attina~

Attina gasped. Had her father really done that? Sure, the situation wasn't great (in fact, it was very poor, and Attina was shocked at what Ariel had been up to) but that didn't warrant what her father just did. The others were stunned into silence as well.

But then they realised the danger that posed to their baby sister and rushed to her aid. Attina felt torn, she agreed with her father in terms that humans were a danger, and were the cause behind her twins' far-too-early demise. But he hurt her sister, her baby sister. And nobody did that, regardless of who they were. She, along with Aquata and Alana, rushed over and grabbed Ariel's arms and waist, hauling her up to the surface. Attina could distantly hear her mom tearing into her father about how she never married such a cruel man, and given the chance again, wouldn't marry him.

Attina suddenly felt a small bitter spit in her heart towards her littlest sister. She was the cause of her parent's arguments. But that spark quickly left when Ariel whimpered.

Attina and Ariel were playing by the coral reef. Attina was 10, Ariel was 4. Athena was chasing Arista and Aquata while Alana, Adella and Andrina chatted about boys and makeovers. "What is dis?" Ariel asked, picking up a pink bit of coral. "This is coral," Attina answered, gesturing to the area they were sitting on. "It's pwetty," Ariel answered, picking up some more. "I want a necklace!" She shouted in joy. Attina laughed. "I can make you one?" She offered. Ariel's eyes instantly lit up in joy. She handed Attina all the coral she'd picked. "Dese pwease!" Attina began to make Ariel her coral necklace, talking her through each step. Ariel tried to follow along, and Attina went as slowly as she could.

But then, Ariel gasped and whimpered. Attina whipped her head round to see what'd happened. Ariel was holding her finger, it bleeding ever so slightly. "Oh, you've only cut it! Look, it's tiny!" Attina tried to reassure. Ariel's lip wobbled. "But it hurts!" She cried. Attina suddenly picked up the red coral. "But look! It matches the small cut on this coral piece!"

Thus, Ariel's 4-year-old attention was drawn away from her cut finger to the coral.

They finally broke the surface, Ariel gasping as the fresh air hit her face. Attina's nose scrunched involuntarily. Alana was stroking Ariel's wet hair out of her face, and Aquata was looking around. "I can kinda see why she's so interested, ya know... the colours up here are so much brighter," Aquata said, turning to look at her sisters. Attina tried to frown but found she agreed with her younger sister on this. The moon, a full one, was much prettier above the water. The white sparkles in the sky were brighter and there was a nice scent to the sea on this night.

They found a beach, and on that beach, a man lay. They hauled Ariel onto the sand, letting her lay there. Attina was just happy to see her baby sister alive and breathing. Aquata began to look around nervously, and Alana found her gaze on the mystery man. "Go, if you want. I can stay with her until this mystery man shows. Mom's told me what he looks like," She assured. "But I don't wanna leave you here alone... not after Alisa," Alana spoke back. "Well, you can wait hidden under the surface if you want instead, but I can tell you don't want to be up here. Go, I'm fine... honestly." She reassured. Aquata frowned but began inching towards the water again. "You sure you're gonna be good?" She asked. Attina nodded, smiling. "I wouldn't say so if I didn't think so. Ok? Go, and make sure mom hasn't killed dad, please." Aquata snorted but swam off back home.

Alana also disappeared below the surface, leaving just Attina and her baby sister. She moved some of Ariel's hair out of her face. "Oh, Ariel... what have you done?" She whispered. With a loud groan, Attina's head whipped up to the mystery man. Attina could make out the instant jet black hair and striking blue eyes. Looking briefly at what he wore, that was what her mom had described him wearing usually. To be fair, had he been a merman, Attina would have crushed on him as well. "Ariel!" He yelled, snapping Attina's focus back. She leant over her sister's body with a glare. "Who the hell are you?" She snapped. She knew his name: Eric. Her mom had also told her that, but she wanted to know this was the right person.

The man stopped, shocked. "I-uh... Eric, my name is Eric." He stuttered out, very obviously thrown by Attina's tail. Attina stopped leaning over Ariel's body, and let Eric tend to her. "What on Earth happened to her?!" He asked, pushing some hair out of her face (gosh, human hair must be very annoying, Attina thought) and pressing his fingers to her neck. "Long story, too long to explain." Attina curtly said. She caught his eyes, and for a moment, Attina was shocked at the worry in them. "Is she ok?" He asked. Attina nodded. "She should be, she's just unconscious. She'll probably wake up in the morning now." Eric nodded and began to stand. Attina scooted back a few paces, being mindful of her tail. Eric then reached down and put his hands under Ariel's body. He held one arm under her... bendy things, and one arm around her back. "Thank you for bringing her here safely, by the way." He said, looking down at Attina. She was shocked: she hadn't expected him to say thank you for something so... so... simple. "Uh... you're welcome?" She answered, confused. "Take care of her," She said when he looked at her. "She's my baby sister, and I've already lost one sister, I could do without losing another." Attina looked away. "I will do not worry. I, and my finest doctors, will tend to her until she is at her best again." She finally let a smile ghost her face.

"Until next time," She bid goodbye, entrusting the human man with her baby sister's care...

~Ariel~

Ariel woke up in a comfy bed. She opened her eyes slowly and recognised the room as the one she stayed in the last time she was with Eric. With a jolt, she sat up.

Eric! She'd left him on the beach after she left with her mom!

"Hey! Hey, calm down! It's ok!" Ariel spun her head to the left and instantly deflated when she saw Eric sitting on the chair, unharmed and ok. "You're ok," She sighed. Eric chuckled quietly. "While I am glad you think so, are you? Ok, that is," Ariel shrugged. "I think so... I've still got my legs, and I'm not in pain... so I would assume so." She smiled. "I did also get my doctors to check you over... I hope that was ok?" He asked. Ariel's heart fluttered at that. He cared about her enough to get her medically checked over. She smiled, "That's more than fine." Eric smiled as well, but Ariel had to look away, for she knew her cheeks were blushing.

"Oh, that reminds me: Grim has me down for dinner this evening, would you like to attend? If you don't want to go, we can head into the town instead?" Eric offered. Ariel knew royal etiquette enough to know when someone has been scheduled for dinner, it means it's a royal obligation that they can't get out of... god knows she'd been forced to do many of her own. "Oh, I'd love to attend! Ooo! Does that mean I get to wear a fancy dress!?" She asked excitedly. Eric chuckled. "If you so wish... as a little gift from me, you can have a meeting with our in house seamstress, if you would like? Then, it'll be your own outfit." Ariel's eyes widened. "For real?" She asked. Eric laughed. Hearing him laugh made seahorses float in her stomach. "For real," He nodded. She squealed and threw back the cover on her bed. "Is she in now? Oh, please, can I go now!?" Eric laughed again. "I see no reason why not, but you won't be able to have the outfit by this evening, as it takes 3 days to make, however, once we have your measurements, we can take a stroll into the town and get a gown from the boutique?" He offered. Ariel nodded frantically. Eric chuckled and stood up. "I shall get Carlotta to get you ready for breakfast first, then we can go." Ariel giggled and stood up herself.

Her legs lit up with pain the second they touched the floor, making her yelp in surprise. "Woah, are you ok?" Eric asked, making his way around the bed quickly. Ariel frowned and wiggled her toes, wincing when they too lit up with pain. She looked up with a confused smile. "They tingle," She lied. She didn't want Eric getting worried and sending her back to her mom. Eric's face fell with a sigh and a small smile. "You've probably got pins and needles. It happens sometimes, it's nothing bad. The more you move them, the less they hurt." Ariel kept her smile, despite knowing he was very, very wrong.

Maybe her dad had been serious...