Ariel: What Really Happened

Chapter 7

^Eric^

Eric stood up, muscles creaking in protest. He wriggled his toes and stood up. He stretched his back, and let out a groan. Black hair flew everywhere as he shook sand off like a wet dog. It rained down heavily, making his skin crawl.

He stood on the near-abandoned beach, and tried to recall who he was. All he remembered was a colorful man named Salmon, and a beautiful girl with copper colored hair. It was thick and swirly, long and shiny.

He remembered it tickling his nose, but most of it just went into his mouth, and made Eric gag. As beautiful as it was, it was absolutely disgusting. Eric wracked his brains, trying to recall the rest of her. She was wearing a purple bikini top(not that he really studied it, or anything, right?)  She was obviously pretty fit, if she could bring him from a shipwreck, and all the way in to the shore. But the strange part was, he didn't recall any legs. No kicking, no poking, no subtle leg brushes. Nothing.

But there must've been a lot of fish, because he got bumped by scaly things really-

And then it hit him all at once. The sea glass colored tail, flicking through the semi-clear blue waves, attached to a waist, attached to a girl with...

Crimson hair.

Beautiful clear, grassy green eyes, a couple shades lighter than her sleek tail.

Eric shook his head, half-trying to clear sand out of his nose, half-trying to get over the fact that some willowy mermaid hauled  butt saved his life.

He flopped back onto the sand, overwhelmed by all the information that was overtaking him. His vision blurred, and everything swirled into black once again.

Eric opened his eyes, and a foreign aroma wrapped itself around him. It was a sweet, soft smell, like cinnamon and hardcore baking soda. A woman hovered over him, wild black hair pulled into a net. She wore a crisp black dress, and a starchy white apron wrapped itself around her not-so-trim waist.

Two other men sat in chairs at the foot of his bed. One was older looking, with black hair, and crinkled green eyes that strongly resembled his own. He felt a wave of affection for the man, but he wasn't really sure why. There was something vaguely familiar about him, like the ghost of a memory, settling itself on the tip of his tongue.

The man sitting next to him was entirely unfamiliar. He seemed friendly enough, and his ice blue eyes seemed to grin as Eric stared at him.

He stood up awkwardly and said "I'm Doctor Ferris."

Eric continued to stare.

Doctor Ferris continued, clearing his throat loudly. "Uh, do you recognize any of these people, Eric?"

Eric shook his head no. "How do you know my name?"

The doctor didn't respond, and only continued with his innuendo. "You have short severe memory loss. It will come back eventually, but it will come back more easily if its triggered by something. Is there anything you remember?"

Eric nodded slowly, not sure if he wanted to share.

"What is it, Eric?" the green-eyed man prompted. The maid stood in a corner, stewing in obvious impatience, and muttering monosyllabic spanish curses at the doctor.

"I-I remember a girl," he began.

~Ariel~

King Triton was furious, past the point of threatening to sautee his shellphone snail's babies.

"You what?" he roared.

Ariel cowered and stammered out, "I, well, I had to, Daddy- He could've died!"