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Hours passed. They were dreadful, heavy and miserable hours for the kingdom. They were also hours of absolute disbelief and shock. What everyone on that wedding ship witnessed...
Surely, it was not real. Surely, they were dreaming. Dreaming did seem to be the wrong word though. Was there such thing as nightmaring?
Grimsby and Carlotta stood in the empty and terribly silent dining hall. She sat in one of the dining chairs she had pulled out from the table. Her head was down, eyes staring at her joined and trembling hands. Grim was silent and still, statue-like, as he looked out the large windows that took up the entire wall. The only sounds were the occasional whimper that escaped the woman or a sniffle here and there.
"We have to stay strong Lottie," Grim started, despite himself.
Even talking was a challenge. Seemed like breathing was a chore instead of second-nature. She merely nodded solemnly and finally brought her tear-strained eyes to the back of his head.
"We have to assume he is still alive."
"...and Ariel too."
The elderly man stared at nothing in particular, the darkness had long-since taken over the kingdom. The waves had calmed down from their ravaging since that...creature? Whatever that thing was that threatened to kill the Prince and Ariel...who was a mermaid. Reality would admit they were crazy for even thinking what they witnessed could be true. But there really didn't seem any way it couldn't be true. The emotions were too powerful. And when she was taken by that thing, their prince wasted no time in going after her.
The door opened from the hallway, and both turned to see a guard walking towards them, his hat below his shoulder, gun tucked over his other.
"Any sign of them?" Grim asked a little too quickly.
It was stupid to ask, they both knew, as the demeanor of the man alone told them all they needed to know.
"Still nothing, Sir, Madam," he nodded towards Carlotta. "We've doubled our efforts now. Neighboring kingdoms have been sent word of our plight."
The guard knew his words were pointless. The only thing that would relieve the two, the kingdom, was finding their Prince and the girl alive.
"Thank you Soren," Carlotta barely said above a whisper.
He bowed his head again and left as quickly. Silence reigned.
The search now reached three hours. It started from the sight where the sea witch had appeared on the ship, and was being conducted in a circular pattern outward. The focus was on the ocean, so of course they would remain unfound on the shoreline. However, the shore itself was not close to the palace or kingdom, complicating things even more. It spanned a good two miles out.
Because of this, a certain underwater kingdom was also in distress in finding their missing princess. King Triton had turned back in to a merman once the Trident hit the floor. It took a couple minutes, and in that time Ariel had taken Eric far away to shore. When he came too, he was more than confused. It took Sebastian's frantic calling of his name to stir him from his thoughts.
The crab then slowly and carefully reminded the king of what had happened. Panic and stress were abound when he realized that his youngest daughter was nowhere to be found. He scanned the initial area a few times before reluctantly returning to Atlantica and calling all military into action. Search parties were formed quickly and by the dozens. His familiar phrase of "leave no stone unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no one in this kingdom sleep until she is safe at home," reverberated once again through the underwater paradise. He would have joined the searches immediately, but knew his place was with his family at the moment. So, he slowly entered his daughters' dressing room.
They all sat on the middle flat rock. Their heads were down and their hands were clasped, much like Carlotta was right now. By chance, Attina looked up and spotted him.
"Father," she almost choked.
This caused them all to meet his eyes.
"Girls..."
He swam closer and sat beside them, putting a hand on Aquata who was on his immediate right.
"We have to remain strong for your sister. Remember, it's Ariel we're talking about here," he tried to smile, but found it strained and near impossible to hold.
When he got no responses, he sighed.
"I am going to join the searches here soon. I'm not going to force you to wait here. If you want to join me-"
"I will," Arista's response was quick. "She would do the same for me," she rose from the rock.
One by one, each sister swam up and looked at their father with pleading eyes.
"We're not accomplishing anything by sitting here like crybabies," Attina rubbed her eyes.
He would have been proud, and praised his daughters for their determination and bravery had it been under different circumstances. There would be no real smiles or laughter until they knew their baby sister was alive and well.
So much had happened since her disappearance. And King Triton had finally pieced everything together when he met Ursula and learned of Ariel's deal for a chance at love with a human. While it positively enraged him, his heart had shattered with guilt that he was the one who had driven her to make that life-altering decision. With all that had transpired since that moment, he knew that the only thing he would be able to do when he found Ariel would be to hold her and weep.
When he told his family about why Ariel was missing, the reactions were all over the map. There had been anger, disbelief of course, and sadness. Anger that she abandoned them for a human and sadness that she was willing to even do so. Did she not love them? Her home? After painfully having time to think things over, her choice really didn't seem that crazy. That was just Ariel. They knew she loved everything about the world above the waves. Stubborn and always craving adventure. That was just who she was. Though none of them ever thought it was possible for her to actually trust the sea witch, become human and try for a chance at love with a total human stranger.
Back on the shoreline, hidden away from the entire world at the moment, the unfathomable lovers laid. Their heaven a stark contrast from the unknowns their families and friends faced. With a few more laps of tide, wind blowing gently across them, the Prince finally stirred first.
