Part of Your World (Disney Twisted Tales) - Liz Braswell Page 0,115
bushy brow, but sparks shone there.
When Eric saw him last, that fateful wedding day-, Triton had the tail of a fish. Now he had two broad, strong legs.
"Father," Ariel said, and a thousand meanings were m that word: apology, sorrow, joy, love.
"Ariel," her father breathed, choking on the first word he had said m years. Then without a moment's hesitation he wrapped his arms around her and began to cry.
All the humans around them felt similarly to Eric, he could tell: amazed but vaguely uncomfortable, wanting to leave the two alone. Even in his emotions, the long of the merfolk was mightier than mortals. "I am so sorry," Ariel whispered. She, oddly, was not crying, though she hugged her father back firmly. "For everything." "You are forgiven. For everything," he said, stroking her hair. "How?" she asked in wonder.
"Someday, yrou will understand," Triton said with a smile. "Perhaps when yrou are a mother." Then he looked around and seemed to notice the small crowd of mortals.
"Father, this is Prmce Eric," Ariel said smoothly, taking Triton's hand and indicating Eric with her other. "He has been a great help in your rescue and defeating Ursula." "Eric," Triton said neutrally, "I thank you for all the sen-ice you have rendered to my royal self and the mer of the sea." "King Triton," Eric said, bowing his head. "It is an honor to meet you."
"All of these people, all of these humans, helped save you," Ariel said. "This is Grimsby, Eric's right-hand man. This is Vareet, who, despite her age and size, risked her life to get us valuable information. This is Argent, who knew about mermaids and can apparently wield a shillelagh with no small skill. Sebastian and Flounder you already know. Jona the seagull and Max the dog were both instrumental in defeatmg Ursula. Scuttle is the reason we are all here today, and why you are now free!"
"I did what I could," Sebastian said modestly from her pocket.
"I thank you all," Triton said with a bow. "Would that I could stay and reward you as you so honorably deserv e right now—but I miss my home, and must needs return to the sea at once. Ariel, my trident."
She handed it over gracefully and formally, but might have been gritting her back teeth.
"You will be recipients of my gratitude shortly," the king added, addressing the townspeople in front of him. "The sea does not forget."
He put his arm out and Ariel took it. But not until after she gave Eric a quick kiss on the cheek. It was so familiar, so Honey, I'm going out for a few minutes, back soon, that Triton—and not a few other people—gasped. Grimsby looked as delighted as a gossipy old hen. Vareet looked embarrassed, disgusted, and vaguely amused. Max barked.
"See you in a few tides," she whispered.
Eric grinned and then kissed her back firmly on her lips, tipping her head back so he wouldn't accidentally bleed onto it.
The townsfolk cheered.
When they were done, Ariel scooped Flounder out of the fountam, holding him under her arm. She and her father walked through the crowds—which parted, almost everyone bowing to the mer couple. They went straight to the docks and leapt off together, tails slapping the water as they dove down.
"HA!" shouted the old woman with the club. "I got to see two\ TWO mermaids!"
This was the second time in a month that she had been conscripted by a foreign entity to carry a message of grave importance. The gull winged her way out over the sea laden with a sense of historic gravity, the special roll of paper tied to her leg and tucked up into her feathers. She was probably the only bird m the world who carried regular communiques between two of the major—though somewhat self-important—civilized races of the world. It was something to think about.
Crazy joy overtook her: and she allowed herself exactly one loop-de-loop and a smgle long whoop! before returning to her original heading and task. She was. after all. her great-grandfather's great-grandgull. Sometimes the crazy was hard to keep in.
There were terrible, terrible messes to clean up afterward.
For the first and perhaps only time m history a seagull was used to deliver a message to the ships sent out to sea—to prevent them from bombing Atlantica. While the prince was fairly certain Ariel and her dad would stop it in time, it didn't hurt to offer an official order to prevent them before another deadly storm was unleashed.