Daily Story
Ariel looked over her fallen sailor as he lay on the sand, the wind ruffling his wet black hair as best it could. She couldn't help but be entranced by him. She'd never been so close to a human before, and she was surprised to see how like the merfolk they actually were. They couldn't be that bad. Certainly they caught and ate fish, but that was only because they didn't know any better. How could they?
Prince Eric, for that was his name, didn't look like he would intentionally harm anyone. He looked kind, and gentle, all the ways the underwater princes didn't. Ariel couldn't help but like him better.
She'd met some of those other princes when they came to court her sisters. They were unbearable. It seemed that they though the biggest draw they could provide was protection. Men seemed to judge themselves on how many predators they had battled, and killed. Maybe humans didn't have to deal with that. They didn't have to worry about predators.
Maybe that's why this prince could look so kind.
Ariel wondered what would happen if she could be there when he woke up. Would he be disgusted by her? She was only half-human after all. Maybe...
Suddenly, all the fears her father had instilled in her, all the warnings throughout her childhood bubbled to the surface.
What if he tried to capture her? What if this was some kind of trap?
Why couldn't she move away?
Ariel reached out and touched his face, he was breathing normally, to her relief, and he opened his eyes.