Eric sighed as he walked through the hallway to his castle, making his way to Elle's nursery. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered Ariel with something like this but Grimsby had brought it to his attention.
Apparently, Hades had submitted the paperwork for a restaurant on the Isle. Every business on the Isle had paperwork in Auradon, just so if anything happened to the respective villain, the transfer of the business to their children could go smoothly.
But Lord Hades knows he doesn't have to fill out the paperwork right? Eric thought. I mean, he's a God for crying out loud. I may be a mere mortal but I'm no idiot. If anything happened to Lord Hades, the restaurant would immediately go to Mali, paperwork or no paperwork. Well first it'd go to Lady Persephone until Mali was old enough but that kinda goes without saying.
He sighed, as he'd begun to do, as he thought of Mali and Persephone. The Goddess had promised she'd be over as often as she could so that Elle could bond with her cousin but so far, there hadn't been a peep out of Persephone.
"Eric?" Ariel asked softly and Eric realized he had made it to his daughter's room. "Is everything alright?"
Eric nodded. "Lord Hades just submitted a request to open a restaurant on the Isle. Grimsby brought it to my attention since he's family but I was going to go ahead and just approve it after you saw it. Is that alright?"
"Of course," Ariel said before turning back to the window she was in front of and let out a small sigh. "Eric, what are we going to do? This weather...it's completely out of the ordinary in terms of what we've come to expect from springtime. And yet grandfather has said Aunt Persephone has refused to see anyone so it's not even as if we could ask her if something was wrong with Lady Demeter."
"I know," Eric said and gently went over to rub Ariel's back. "And I don't know what we can do. All I know is it's got to be soon before crops start to fail."
Ariel sighed and held Elle close to her. "It's...it's strange. We know it's supposed to be springtime but...this weather..."
"I know," Eric said. "Clearly something's bothering Aunt Persephone or even her mother. Maybe we...should we ask at the hospital? I'm sure her sister might know something."
"Eric, you know as well as I that Eileithyia would never gossip especially about family," Ariel told her husband before letting out another small sigh. "Oh if only this was happening in the ocean then one of my sisters might have some clue as to what was going on! And they're notorious gossips, they'd tell me what I'd need to hear in a heartbeat."
"Ariel...if...if you can get information from family...why not reach out to your uncle?" Eric suggested. "You have the mental link and Lord Hades considers you family. He'd know if something was troubling Persephone and then we can work with Grimsby to fix it."
Ariel shook her head. "The link's not a guarantee Eric. Uncle Hades could have it muted while he's working or helping his pirates with their kids while Aunt Persephone's in Auradon with their daughter...do you think something's wrong with Mali?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well...it's just Aunt Persephone said she'd bring Mali around to attend Elle's first birthday but I haven't heard anything about it. And now, with Aunt Persephone not having any audiences..."
"I got it," Eric nodded. "I hope nothing's wrong, but wouldn't that be a good reason to use the mental link? You're obviously concerned about Mali, and I am too. And if we know we can help."
"Eric...I want to go to the Isle. I want to talk to Uncle Hades in person."
Eric paused and looked at Ariel in shock. "Um...are post-partum hormones different for merpeople than they are for humans? And do they often last so long since Elle turned one...?"
Ariel looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "I'm the woman who blindly made a deal with my aunt to get legs in order to stay in your world. I think the only shocking thing about what I said is the fact that I haven't already gone off and made my way to the Isle to talk to Uncle Hades."
"Ariel, really think about this," Eric said. "Yes we didn't technically set up the Isle, that was handled by a committee, but it was done in our name. Meaning the Isle isn't going to be the safest place for you. If...if anything happened to you..."
"I know," Ariel said softly. "But I have to go Eric. If there was any other way, I'd be on board and you know it. But I can't just think about my own safety here, I have to think about Elle. She's only one Eric and this weather...if she wasn't Poseidon's great-granddaughter I'd be terrified for whether or not she could withstand this wintery spring."
"I'm guessing there's another reason you want to go?" Eric asked.
Ariel sighed. "Eric, this weather isn't just impacting the mainland of Auradon but the Isle as well. Yes I know, we've been getting reports that it's not as bad as what we're getting but they're still getting the weather. And there're children on the Isle as young as Elle—children who are my family. I can't just sit by and leave them to suffer. Not if I can prevent it."
"...Do you want me to come with you?" Eric asked.
Ariel smiled and gently kissed his cheek. "I love you for asking but no. Someone has to stay here with Elle...and biologically, I'm the best person to go."
"Ariel—."
"Eric, I'm the granddaughter of Poseidon. Everyone knows how he's the only brother Uncle Hades even talks to anymore. Plus one person can be more discrete than two. I can take one of our older cars, or even one of the carriages."
"Take the car," Eric said with a small sigh. "I have a feeling it'd stick out less than a horse drawn carriage would."
"I have a feeling you have a point," Ariel nodded and gently kissed Eric on the cheek once more. "I'll be back soon enough. I promise. I just...I need to talk to my uncle and if Aunt Persephone isn't seeing anyone but her mother and sister, then Uncle Hades is my only option in terms of getting information."
"Why not your Great-Uncle Zeus?"
Ariel raised an eyebrow as she looked at her husband. "Really? You're really asking that?"
"I realized the foolishness as soon as I opened my mouth," Eric told her. "Well...we should bring in the council, arrange for security for you—."
"Eric, there's no time," Ariel told him. "I need to go now and any security will only draw attention to the fact that I'm there. Like I said, one person can be more discreet than two and certainly more discreet than however many people you have planned for my security. If I could out swim a shark when I was sixteen, I can handle myself on the Isle."
"I know you can handle yourself, but that doesn't mean I like the idea of you being hurt."
Ariel smiled softly and leaned into her husband's touch as his hand gently cupped her cheek. "I promise, I'll be alright. Uncle Hades might be a bit...prickly but he wouldn't let any harm come to family."
"Um..."
"Okay let me rephrase, he wouldn't let any harm come to family he likes," Ariel said. "Which is why you're not going to call Hercules and tell him about this."
"He'd want to help you Ariel."
"And leave Meg alone with two young children while he goes galavanting?"
Eric sighed. He honestly felt like they were going around in circles and they didn't exactly have time to waste. "Look, I'd really appreciate it if you took Hercules with you. Please? For me?"
"Eric, I—?"
"Okay, if not for me then would you do it for Mali?" Eric countered and Ariel paused. "Something's clearly bothering Persephone and babies seem to sense stress. Do you want Mali to potentially get Failure to Thrive because something happened to you on your way to Lord Hades because you didn't bring Hercules into the fold?"
"...Sometimes I hate when you're right," Ariel said with a small sigh.
"I wish I wasn't," Eric told her. "But it is a possibility and you know Hercules would want to help. Mali and Lady Persephone are just as much his family as they are yours."
"Will he see it that way?" Ariel asked. "With everything Uncle Hades did to him and to Zeus?"
"You know Hercules asked if he could visit with young Macaria the day we had Mali and Lady Persephone over?" Eric asked.
"No...no I didn't...why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to overwhelm anyone," Eric said. "But does that seem like someone who doesn't consider Mali to be family?"
Ariel sighed and shook her head. "No...no it doesn't. Alright Eric, I'll call Hercules."
"Thank you," Eric said and kissed the top of his wife's head. "I didn't want to seem like a nag but...like I said, if anything happened to you..."
"I know," Ariel said with a small smile. "And I get it, now that I'm older...I can understand my father's protectiveness better now than I did when I was a teenager and the last thing I want to do is make it so you're raising Elle on your own. But I have to insist on Hercules being the only addition. Guards would make us too obvious and like I said before, one person or two in this case can blend in."
"As long as you have someone who can protect you, I'll agree to that," Eric said.
Ariel gave him a small smile once more and gently kissed his cheek before pulling out her phone to call her cousin. Yes she could have used the mind link but she didn't want Eric to think she was pulling a fast one....which was probably a fair assumption considering all the push back she gave to the idea of having someone go with her. Thankfully her cousin picked up after the first ring.
"Hercules?"
"Ariel? Is everything okay? Did something happen with Elle? Wait, is this a family call or an official call?"
Ariel sighed. "It's technically an official call but also a 'this call never happened' type of call so you don't have to use my title. Elle's fine, but I think something is going on regarding our shared family."
"You're referring to the weather changes?"
"You've noticed them?"
"Ariel, I lived on a farm for most of my life. I was practically raised to pay attention to weather patterns."
"Ah...that makes sense," Ariel said, trying not to flush at the realization that it had probably been a stupid question to ask. "Well anyway...Aunt Persephone or Aunt Demeter are obviously upset about something and I need to go to the Isle to ask Uncle Hades if he knows what's going on so that we can make them no longer upset and our kingdom won't suffer in the actual winter."
"And you're asking me to come with you?" Hercules asked.
"I know it's a big ask, especially with your relationship with Uncle Hades but Eric and I would be a lot more comfortable if you were there as well," Ariel said, the white lie slipping off her tongue with surprisingly little effort.
"Pegasus and I will be there in about thirty minutes," Hercules said to Ariel's surprise. "I don't want to leave Meg without the car with our two little ones and she hates flying anyway."
"But...I thought..."
"What, you thought Meg was going to object?" Hercules asked. "Ariel, you're family. Meg knows how much family means to me and she's not going to object to me helping when my family comes asking. Pegasus and I will be there before you know it."
"...Okay," Ariel said with a small smile.
"See you soon," Hercules promised and Ariel nodded, softly hanging up the phone.
"Well?" Eric asked.
"He'll be here soon," Ariel told him. It wasn't too long after that that both royals heard the familiar whinny of Pegasus and Elle seemed to giggle in delight as she heard it.
"Maybe Pegasus will let Elle and I go on a fly with him while you and Hercules are on the Isle?" Eric said.
"You're trying to find ways to raise Grimsby's blood pressure aren't you?" Ariel asked, lightly shaking her head in amusement.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your highnesses but Lord Hercules is here?" Carlotta said with a soft knock on the door.
"Send him in Carlotta, we've been expecting him," Eric nodded.
Carlotta nodded and opened the door for Hercules, who walked in; giving everyone a big smile.
"Please let me know if you need anything your highnesses, Lord Hercules," Carlotta said as she turned to leave.
"You don't have to use my title, just Hercules is fine," Hercules said, the smile never leaving his face as he looked over at Carlotta. "I'm not acting in any role for Olympus today, just a cousin visiting his family."
"Yes my Lord," Carlotta said and gave Hercules a small smile before walking off.
"Thank you so much for coming," Eric said. "With Ariel wanting to go to the Isle...I know she can take care of herself but I'd feel so much more comfortable if she had someone with her..."
"Eric, you don't have to explain," Hercules told him. "As I told Ariel, this involves family. Meg was practically tossing our throw pillows at me when she heard me mention Aunt Persephone during the phone call."
"I thought she'd object because we'd be visiting Uncle Hades," Ariel told him.
Hercules sighed. "In all honesty, Meg probably has a better relationship with Hades than I do," he said. "Yes he owned her soul but he did uphold his end of their deal to the letter and in all honesty, if Hades hadn't had me kidnapped, I might have never met Meg or had Hyllus or Macaria. And I wouldn't trade them for the Cosmos."
"...Are you sure you're Uncle Zeus' kid?" Ariel asked as the two cousins turned to leave.
"I'm sure," Hercules chuckled.
"Be safe," Eric said and gently kissed Ariel on the cheek.
Ariel smiled and returned the kiss. "We'll be back before you can say 'dinglehopper'," she promised before turning and walking off with Hercules.
It was time they had some answers.