Chapter 23: Chapter : Coda

THE SUN hung low over the sea, the pink tendrils of dawn spreading out across the bay. The salted breeze scattered white petals across the deck of the ship, and the candles flickering across the rail cleared away the last dregs of night. Eric ran a hand down the ship’s side, listening to the odd silence of Cloud Break Bay. There were no calls today and no swords clanging beneath the docks. There was only the sea.

“It is a beautiful day for a wedding.”

Eric turned at his mother’s voice. Even after three years of her being back, a part of him still expected her to vanish by the time he looked.

Eleanora of Vellona, the golden crown resting on her head and the state sword strapped to her hip, had already cried all the last evening during supper and looked to be near tears again. Eric folded himself into her arms and fought back a laugh. Her Grimsby levels of stoicism had been slipping ever since they started planning the wedding.

With Ursula gone, the storms that had ravaged Vellona had stopped, fishers were pulling in regular catches again, and the farmlands were producing more than they ever had in Eric’s lifetime. It was, as most folks were saying, as if a curse had been lifted. Sait, too, had withdrawn back to their lands and quieted down. Not that they had taken credit for the mercenaries they had been paying to rough up Vellona, but the attacks had stopped the moment they realized Vellona would soon be able to fight back. No one wanted to anger the queen who had returned from the dead or her son who had defeated a witch as powerful as Ursula. The rumors about what had happened in the bay had spread to the other kingdoms. Most of them were embellished, thanks to Sauer and Grimsby.

It helped that Eric’s soon-to-be wife was a daughter of King Triton, too.

“Look at you,” Eleanora whispered, stepping back but keeping her hands on his shoulders. “I didn’t think I would get to see this.”

“You could’ve seen it twice,” he said, and she patted his cheek. “Fine, fine. Do you promise not to cry the whole time?”

She laughed. “I’m permitted a few tears on my son’s wedding day.”

“So long as you don’t cry on my coat,” he said. “I’m afraid to even touch it in case Carlotta sees another imaginary dust mite.”

“Well,” she said and pulled him away from the rail, “it’s bad luck to anger Carlotta, so let’s see.”

She brushed her hands over his shoulders. They matched, though Eleanora’s state suit was far more decorated than his and a capelet with the golden spar-row of Vellona hung from her shoulders instead of a coat. Carefully, she pulled a long, thin box from her trouser pocket and handed it to Eric. He glanced around.

“We already have rings,” he said. “Unless Max ran off.”

“This,” she said and tapped the box, “was the first gift your father ever gave to me, and it’s yours now.”

Eric opened the box and laughed. Inside was a roughly hewn flute.

“Sounds terrible and might not work at all anymore, but it’s yours.” She kissed Eric’s cheek. “New songs, darling.”

“New songs,” he repeated, and hugged her tight, chin on her shoulder. “Thank you.”

Behind her, Vanni and Gabriella waited, and Eric beckoned them over. Vanni was taller, somehow, and he had taken to wearing his hair in a little knot atop his head to keep it out of his face. It made him look older, and Eric still wasn’t used to it. Gabriella, at least, hadn’t aged at all. Nora’s green scarf had finally fallen apart last year, but several green threads from it were woven through Gabriella’s short braids.

“I wanted you to have something of his today,” said Eleanora, stepping back. She smiled at Vanni and Gabriella. “I can’t imagine King Triton is any less weepy.”

“He’s not, but Ariel’s sisters have finally gotten her dressed, and the priest is ready,” said Gabriella. She inclined her head to Eleanora and quickly greeted Eric with a hug. “Well, feeling better about this wedding?”

Eric snorted. “I can’t even remember the entire day I spent with Ursula. It’s all a blur until that shell smashed.”

“I think that’s just a wedding thing.” Gabriella smiled and sighed. “I was doing great for mine, then Nora walked in and next thing I remember, I’m throwing almonds at people as they leave.”

Gabriella and Nora had spent the year after Ursula’s downfall hunting down Sait’s mercenaries with Sauer and then married a year ago on . Once the waters were safe, they had visited Malek’s and Nora’s family and returned to the bay only two months ago.

“That was me. You only threw them at me,” said Vanni. “Some of them hurt.”

Gabriella laughed. “What sort of wedding guest doesn’t gladly accept their favor?”

“See if I ever make anything for you again,” he muttered, and rolled his eyes.

He would. He had slowly taken over the bakery part of the family business, specializing in sweets now that the shop was his alone. He’d made everything except the dinner course for the wedding tonight.

“You made me breakfast this morning,” she said.

Eleanora glanced at Eric, and he shrugged. As much as things had changed, had stayed exactly the same.

“Are you ready, Princeling?” Vanni asked and kissed Eric twice on each cheek, pulling him into a hug at the last second. “No nearly dying this time.”

“I hope not,” said Eric. “I think we’ve all had enough of that for a lifetime.”

“Well,” Vanni said and pulled away, “you look happier this time.”

“Immeasurably so.” Gabriella appeared at his side and looped her arm through Vanni’s. “We’ll be with the old reaper if you need us.”

“Please, Gabriella,” Eleanora said. “The reaper is hardly old enough to be mistaken for Grim.”

Eric snorted, and she knocked his arm.

“Come here, dear.” Eleanora shooed Eric away from Gabriella and straightened out the crisp lines of her suit, realigning the cuffed sleeves and high collar. “There we go. Don’t you three look good, and don’t I feel old seeing all of you like this. Now, time for you to wait for Ariel, and time for us to step aside.”

The three of them mingled with the guests on the deck. Eric waited near the back of the ship where he would see Ariel for the first time all day. He had seen her every day for the last three years, but that hardly mattered. They had spent most of their first two years together traveling across Vellona, speaking with everyone about Sait’s mercenary attacks and helping repair the damage from Ursula’s meddling. Quite a few people had returned after her death, and they had tried to find all of them to make sure no one was missing. Ariel had adored traveling over land, and it had given them a chance to get to know each other without the threats of curses and contracts. When they’d returned to Cloud Break Bay last year, Vellona loved Ariel nearly as much as it loved Eleanora. It made Eric’s eventual coronation feel less stifling.

Not that he would be king soon. His mother still had plenty to teach him, and he was more than fine with that.

Eric paced, wiping his clammy hands on his trousers. This time, there was no haze or fear, and the sight of the priest taking his place at the opposite end of the aisle didn’t send his heart stuttering. A platform had been placed on the deck so that the merfolk would be able to see Eric and Ariel walk down the ship to the priest, and Ariel’s sisters whispered in the waves. Triton and Eleanora chatted quietly over the rail. The ceremony would begin as soon as Ariel joined him and they walked down the aisle together.

The door to the quarters below deck creaked, and silk rustled in the breeze.

“Eric?” Ariel asked.

“Ariel,” he said, and turned.

His heart stopped and his breath caught in his chest. The white dress was the latest fashion in Vellona, but the crown glittering with magic was purely hers. Pearls dotted the blue hems of her dress, and her veil had the opalescent sheen of oyster shells. He swallowed and touched her face with a shaking hand. She was real.

True love real.

“You look wonderful,” he said.

She leaned against him and looped her arm through his. “You look much better this time around.”

“Is no one going to let me forget that day?” he asked.

“Not until we’ve replaced it with this one,” said Ariel, and she rose on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I love you.”

Eric pulled back and said, “I lov—”

Max leapt between them from out of nowhere and licked Eric’s face. His paws knocked Eric back out of Ariel’s arms, sending them both stumbling. Ariel let out a loud laugh, caught Max around the middle, and pulled him back. He licked her, too, the little box that had carried their rings clacking against the bell of his collar. She kissed his nose.

“Well,” Eric said, “welcome to the family.”

Max scrambled out of her arms and woofed at a gull flying overhead. He chased after it, Ariel laughing as he scrambled over the deck.

“I like our family,” she said, and pulled Eric close for another kiss.

Her touch was like the sea, strong and sure, washing the worries from his mind. The world around them sharpened until all he could see was her. The dawn sky was bright in her blue eyes, a new beginning for both of them.

“Me too.” Eric kissed her once more and looped his arm through hers so that they were standing side by side.

Behind the priest, the quartet began to play the song Ariel had sung to him on the beach all those days ago. The music quieted down the chatter, drawing everyone’s attention to Eric and Ariel. The crowd rose, and next to his mother, Grimsby tilted his head back to hide his tears, accepting a handkerchief from Sauer without even glaring at the onetime pirate. Malek and several other merfolk looked up from their spots on the rail of the ship. Eric smiled at his mother, and Ariel waved to her sobbing sisters in the waves. Together, Eric and Ariel took their first step down the aisle.

“Come on,” Eric whispered. “It’s time for a new adventure.”