One lovely spring day, about four months after his marriage and about one month after his coronation, Eric found himself standing in a crowded hall, bidding goodbye to an important delegation from the neighboring kingdom of Henova.

"King Eric!" the ambassador of Henova cried out. "I thank you for your hospitality, and am delighted to be returning to my own kingdom with the news that we have cemented our fine relationship with you. In parting, I am commanded by my king to present you with one of our finest national treasures. Knowing how much your people love the sea, I am sure that our token of regard will be warmly received by you."

"I am sure that it shall," Eric replied.

"Without further ado," the ambassador said proudly, "let us bring in this peculiar sea-creature!"

Trumpets blasted out a few loud notes.

Then five strong Henovian men entered the hall, bearing on their shoulders a large, ornate, crystal bowel measuring six feet across and three feet deep. It was filled with salt-water, and seated on its edge was a mermaid about fifty years of age, her auburn hair streaked with grey.

They processed through the hall and laid the bowel in front of a dumbfounded, horrified Eric.

….

Athena's bones ached. She had been placed in a bathtub for the long journey to Eric's kingdom and then that bathtub had been placed inside of the largest carriage she had ever seen. The journey had been difficult. She was not used to the constant bumps on the roads. At last, they had arrived, and her captors had brushed her hair and made her presentable.

She had submitted as spiritlessly as she had swum around her old cell to amuse the humans who paid fifty cents apiece to gawk at her.

The last eleven years had been the hardest of her life. In one moment, she had gone from being the Queen of Atlantica, the wife of Triton and the mother of seven beautiful daughters to an exhibit at a menagerie. The pirates who had caught her in their net did not take long to realize her worth. First they had removed her gold crown, earrings and necklace – anything but gently. Then they had her chained to the deck and periodically poked at her tail and pulled on her fins. She had begged for mercy until she was hoarse, but realized quickly that every such plea only amused her captors and encouraged them in their heartless pursuits. She retreated into silence, and never spoke again to any human. Only at night, when everyone else was asleep, she would look at the star-filled sky and murmur the names of her husband and daughters. After a few weeks of such torture, the ship came into port, and the pirates sold her to an aquarium for a large sum of money.

The keepers there were hardly any better. They at first asked many questions about where she had come from, inquires which she refused to answer for fear that they would discover Atlantica's location and attack all those whom she held dear. They threw her into a pool with glass walls and paraded an endless stream of humans past her new home. Some children cried with fear as they saw her, others jeered. Everyone stared, but no one gave her a smile or in any way acknowledged that she might be a creature who might have understanding or feelings.

Years had passed. She spent every waking moment missing her family. She prayed and hoped that Triton had managed to recover from the shock and grief of losing her. She thought of her daughters, and wondered what sort of ladies they were growing up to be.

She had lived – nay, existed – thus till a week ago. Suddenly, she found that the pool was draining at a rapid rate. Within a matter of hours, it was devoid of water, and she was sitting helplessly on the bottom of it. The humans came in, grasped her and carried her off to the ambassador's caravan.

She overheard that the King of Henova had decreed that she be given to his neighbor, King Eric, as a gift. Athena cared not. They could do whatever they wished with her. She had long ceased expecting anything but misery out of life.

She sat like a statue, now, in front of King Eric. Her eyes looked downwards. She braced herself for his gawking at her tail. She waited for him to approach and grasp her fins to assure himself that they were real.

Instead, he stood and stared at the ambassador, who was explaining how his country had acquired a mermaid. When the ambassador finished, the young, handsome king still seemed at a loss for words. One of his advisors, an old, thin man had to approach him and suggest a diplomatic answer in a low tone. King Eric thanked the ambassador stiffly, assured him that he would prize the gift, and then allowed him to take his leave. The delegation left, and as soon as they had cleared the room, the king quickly dismissed the remainder of the court save for the advisor who had saved him in front of the Henovians.

Athena took a deep breath. No doubt it was coming now…the poking of her tail and the pulling.

King Eric approached her slowly, and – to Athena's great surprise – stopped a respectful distance from her.

"Madam," he said in a soft tone, "I am so sorry for all that you have been through. What is your name?"

Athena forced herself to keep looking down and not to react to his words. He…he sounded…kind. A human, kind?

But eleven years of torment could not be so easily erased. How could she trust a human? She kept silent.

Eric tried again.

"Are you from Atlantica? Or another part of the ocean?"

Athena managed to stop herself from flinching. How did he know about Atlantica? He mentioned it as if it were common knowledge. Had humans found the location of her husband's kingdom? Oh, no!

"Eric," the advisor said, "I don't think that she understands you."

"I think you are right, Grim. She must speak another language. Oh, what are we to do?"

"I am sure your wife will know what to do. She should be back from her outing soon."

"I wish I could spare her this terrible sight," the king said, gesturing to the captive mermaid. He suddenly paled. "And what will my father-in-law say? He was just beginning to trust me, and my world – this will confirm his worst opinions of us!"

"Well, you can do nothing but tell the Queen and her father the truth and work to make this wrong a right."

"I know you are correct, Grim," the king sighed. "Please ask my wife to step into the throne room as soon as she comes home."

….

They did not have to wait long for the human queen. Within a quarter of an hour, footsteps were heard in the hallway. A beautiful, redheaded girl wearing a tiara came into the room.

"Eric?" she asked in a joyous, clear voice, "you wanted me?"

"Yes, my dear." The King said. "I need your help – desperately. I - "

He got no further, for his wife gasped and began to stare at the mermaid seated behind him.

"My dear?" Eric asked, frightened by her sudden expression. Ariel's face was absolutely pale and unreadable. He had expected her to be angry and sympathetic to the mermaid, but he never thought that she would seem…overwhelmed…at the sight of her. She stood as still as a stone statue, staring.

"Dear?" Eric repeated, starting to walk over to his wife.

She did not look at him, however. As if in a trance, she began to walk over to the mermaid, who was still gazing at the ground.

To Eric's, and Grimsby's great surprise, Ariel began to hum what sounded like a quaint lullaby. When she was but a few feet from their guest, she began to sing the words to it,

"Oh the waves roll low, and the waves roll high…"

The mermaid's head snapped up. She found her gaze interlocked with the human queen's. But…what was this? Eyes, as blue as the heavens? And hair of the most vivid red…she had seen many humans, and many mermaids in her life, for that matter, but Athena only had seen tresses of such a shade of red on only one head – that of her smallest baby girl. And that song! How did the human queen know the song that she, Athena, Queen of Atlantica, had composed for her husband and daughters?

"Under the bright, blue, endless sky…" Ariel continued, tears beginning to pour out of her eyes.

Athena shook her head, arguing with herself. No, it was impossible!

Ariel reached the bowl and perched on the side herself.

"Waves try to measure, the days that we treasure."

As the song went on, Athena found her doubts vanishing. Her maternal heart knew what her reason refused to acknowledge.

When the human queen finished, Athena took a leap of faith. For the first time in eleven years, she spoke a single word to a human.

"Ariel?" she whispered.

"Mom!" the girl cried out.

Without another moment's delay, they fell into each other's arms as Eric and Grimsby looked on, stunned.

"My darling!" Athena cried out, sobbing openly. "My own little darling! I never thought that I would hold you again!"

"Nor I you," Ariel whispered, burrowing her head into her mother's auburn hair.

They held each other for a long moment, and then Athena pulled back to look at her daughter's face once more and down at her legs.

"But how is it that you are -" she began.

"Daddy turned me into one," Ariel replied with a smile.

"Your father turned you into a human?! But he was always so prejudiced against them!"

"He got even worse after we thought that you had died because of them. Believe me, I didn't just swim into the throne room one day and ask him to turn me into a human," Ariel smiled wryly. "I did some foolish things, and Eric had to use every ounce of his courage to save Daddy's life and the life of everyone in Atlantica, including mine, before Daddy was reconciled to the match. "

Athena looked over at her son-in-law. If her husband and daughter trusted him, so would she. With an apologetic smile, she held out her hand to him.

"It is very nice to meet you. Forgive me for now responding to you earlier…but I am sure that you will understand why I did not."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Eric replied, taking her hand and bowing over it. "I can only imagine how much you have suffered at the hands of my fellow humans. If I was in your position, I would act in a similar way."

Athena found that she was already learning to like him. She squeezed his hand. Then she turned back to her daughter.

"How is everyone in Atlantica? How are your sisters? And your father – did he ever remarry?" Athena asked, suddenly anxious.

Ariel laughed.

"Of course not! It took ten years before Daddy could even bear to listen to music again! He would never give his heart to another mermaid. He will be so happy to see you! We must summon him without delay!"

"Let me help you down to the beach, Your Majesty," Eric said. Athena looked at his outstretched arms, and put her arms around his neck. When he scooped her up, and to his great surprise heard the mermaid say,

"Please, call me Mom."

….

Eric carried Athena across the beach, Ariel walking at their side. Eric gently put Athena down in the shade of some boulders, and the two of them watched as Ariel wadded into the water to find a messenger. In a few minutes, she gently caught a small fish in her hands, lifted it out of the water, and asked it to go to Atlantica and tell King Triton that his youngest daughter needed to speak to him immediately. The fish agreed, and was put back into the water. It swam off in the direction of Atlantica.

"He is usually here in less than an hour when I call, especially if I say the matter is urgent, like I did today," Ariel said as she rejoined her mother and husband.

"I can hardly wait," Athena said, clapping her hands eagerly. "In the meantime, tell me more about yourself. How long have you been married?"

The minutes passed quickly. The threesome chatted about Ariel and Eric's wedding, about Eric's diplomatic dealings, about Athena's other daughters. Soon, they heard the soft sound of someone surfacing from under the water, and from their hiding spot behind the boulders saw King Triton making his way towards shore.

Athena's heart began to pound at the very sight of him. Looking down at her suddenly shy mother, Ariel stood up and whispered,

"Let me go and prepare him." Athena nodded.

The girl ran off in Triton's direction. He called her name, and opened his arms to receive her. She engulfed him in a hug. He stroked her hair and held her close. Then they parted, and King Triton asked,

"What is the matter? Why did you need to see me at once?"

"Eric met someone who we thought might be an old friend of yours," Ariel informed him. "We wanted to reunite the two of you today."

King Triton raised an eyebrow. He had certainly never been friends with any humans before Ariel had married Eric, and he had not the slightest idea of what his daughter was speaking about.

The human queen waved her hand in the direction of the boulders. Eric emerged from behind them, carrying Athena.

Triton's jaw dropped as he gazed upon the auburn-haired mermaid. He would know those green eyes and that blue tail anywhere, even if he had never expected to see them again.

"Hello, Triton," the mermaid said, blushing.

"Athena," he gasped, infusing all the pain, love and longing which he had felt because of her during the last eleven years into those three syllables.

His Queen leaped from the arms of her son-in-law and splashed into the sea. A moment later, she surfaced again, and began to advance towards him. For the first, and only time in his life, Triton's precious trident slipped from his hands. Thankfully, Ariel was standing nearby, and caught the instrument before it fell into the tide. His arms were outstretched towards his wife.

The moment their hands met was pure ecstasy. Triton embraced his wife so strongly that he nearly crushed her frame. He could not speak. He could simply kiss her hair and shed tears.

At length, he managed to put a few inches between them. He touched her face, and asked in a trembling voice,

"How is it that you are still alive?"

"The pirates hoisted me into their net just seconds before their vessel slammed into the rocks. It has been a long eleven years, but finally I was given as a diplomatic gift to our son-in-law, of all people. He treated me with great kindness. I must say that our Ariel has chosen well."

Triton glanced over at Eric, who was looking at the pair uneasily. Guessing his thoughts, Triton replied,

"I have come to realize that there are good and bad people in every nation and every kingdom. This man is one of the good ones. I am proud to have him as a son-in-law."

Ariel and Eric both smiled with relief. Triton reached for his trident and gently removed it from his daughter's hands.

"Eric, have you anything planned for the next few days which you cannot cancel?" the Sea King asked.

"No sir."

"Then come with us. You are part of the family, and I don't want you to miss the family reunion."

Understanding the King's meaning, Eric nodded. The trident began to glow, and was pointed at Ariel and Eric. A few moments later, the haze around them disappeared, and the newly-minted mermaid and merman dove into the sea. They all began to swim towards Atlantica, looking forward to presenting Queen Athena to her other six daughters and to her loyal subjects.

THE END