ERIK: *leads her near his cave* This ship is nearby my home so that is probably why you never found it.

ARIEL: I haven't ventured out here

ERIK: That was probably wise. *smirks at her*

ARIEL: *looks down*

ERIK: *smiles at her* come on, perk up. We're almost there... *leads her towards a huge sunken ship*

ARIEL: *looks up* Wow! It's huge!

ERIK: Yes, it is quite spectacular. It came down here about six years ago so it's still in decent condition.

ARIEL: *swims eagerly to it*

ERIK: *follows quickly after her* I believe it's a pirate ship. I didn't find any treasure trove so it must have been having a bad season.

ARIEL: *swims around it* Hmm... Perhaps.

ERIK: *smiles* shall we investigate the inside? Perhaps they hid the treasure. Though, gold and jewels aren't much good down here.

ARIEL: But they're pretty

ERIK: True, they are.

ARIEL: *swims eagerly inside*

ERIK: *follows her* *keeps an eye out for problems*

ARIEL: *sees a small crack of a hidden passages* What's that?

ERIK: looks like hidden passages. *swims towards it*

ARIEL: *waits for him to make sure it's safe*

ERIK: *investigates* It looks safe enough.

ARIEL: *swims through it and gasps*

ERIK: find something interesting?

ARIEL: Yeah! *eyes widen at the jewels*

ERIK: *examines them* We hit a gold mine...literally.

ARIEL: beautiful... *picks up a ruby necklace*

ERIK: It is beautiful... *takes it gently from her and drapes it around her neck* It looks lovely on you.

ARIEL: *blushes* You're too kind...

ERIK: I simply tell things as I see them. *smiles gently at her*

ARIEL: *looks through the treasure until she senses something near*

ERIK: *looks around* Do you have the same feeling I do? *whispers in her ear*

ARIEL: It depends... If you feel like we're not alone then yes...

ERIK: *pulls her into a hidden spot* let's see if it'll show itself.

ARIEL: *watches*

*a shark stalks the area*

ERIK: Do you want to stay here in hopes it'll go away or try to make a run for it? I can distract it while you get away?

ARIEL: Stay here... I want to explore more...

*shark turns toward them*

ERIK: Um, we may not have that choice... *pulls them further into the shadows*

ARIEL: *is trembling* Erik... I'm s-scared...

ERIK: hush. He won't harm you. *pulls her close to him*

ARIEL: *holds onto him, shaking with fear*

*shark swims into another part of the ship*

ERIK: *calms her gently* Now, in case he comes back. Remember that large clump of sea weed that is just a little ways from here? I want you to go there and hide while I distract him. Understand?

ARIEL: Understood

ERIK: Good. And, under no circumstances are you to leave the sea weed until the shark is gone.

ARIEL: I won't, Erik.

ERIK: Thank you. Now, you look around some more. I'll keep my eyes out for the shark.

ARIEL: *explores some more*

ERIK: *follows her, watching for the shark*

ARIEL: Wow! *holds up a crown*

ERIK: *grins* Someone did some stealing from a king...

ARIEL: Pirates... *goes to him and places it on his head*

ERIK: *chuckles and glances up at the crown* *removes it for a moment to look for something*

ARIEL: What are you looking for?

ERIK: an inscription that might give us some idea what nation the crown was from. *finds what he is looking for* Ah. It is Spanish. *replaces the crown on his head*

ARIEL: I wonder if there's a matching one for a queen...

ERIK: *finds one* here, try this on. *hands it to her* I believe this is the matching one, my Spanish queen. *drops a bow*

ARIEL: *giggles* *puts it on*

ERIK: *smiles* It suits you.

ARIEL: I'm not sure you are worthy to wear that crown...

ERIK: Why not?

ARIEL: You're not from Royal blood

ERIK: but, I'm still a king. Even kings have roots as peasants.

ARIEL: And you married your servant...

ERIK: who was a princess. That is done in the world above though it causes quite a scandal. *removes the crown gently* when I was in France last, I knew a royal who married his servant.

ARIEL: I just wish I wasn't forced... And that you'd stop treating me like I'm made of glass

ERIK: to me you are. I couldn't bear it if you got hurt. *ignores her statement about being forced*

ARIEL: *sighs and sits down on top of the gold* Married....

ERIK: *sits down beside her* If you had married anyone else would they let you come back and look for human things? You know as well as I, most mermaids don't like human things.

ARIEL: It's improper...

ERIK: What is? Marrying or looking for human things?

ARIEL: Human things

ERIK: Guess what, I don't care about what's proper. Being proper makes life horribly boring.

ARIEL: True. *smiles slightly*

ERIK: so, you admit you would likely be bored with anyone else?

ARIEL: I didn't say that...

ERIK: *arches eyebrow

ARIEL: I just said I don't enjoy serious people

ERIK: very well. But, admit it, I'm one of the few mermen who would let you do this and probably the only one who would come with you.

ARIEL: You are.

ERIK: *grins* Now, would you like to keep looking around? I believe you would find the captain's quarters quite interesting.

ARIEL: *grins and swims to the captain's quarters*

ERIK: *follows her*

ARIEL: Woah... It's amazing

ERIK: Yes, it is.

ARIEL: *puts on the captain's hat and giggles* Arrgh!

ERIK: *laughs with her* It looks quite good on your head. Maybe we should think of piracy instead of ruling!

ARIEL: *chuckles* Maybe!

ERIK: I was on a pirate ship once.

ARIEL: You were? How?

ERIK: I had gotten bored with underwater life and decided to try the on land life for a while. So, I did. I did a lot of things while on land but the sea kept calling me. So, I went to work on a pirate ship as a first mate. But, the sea wanted me beneath it, not on top of it so I came back under again.

ARIEL: That's quite a story

ERIK: It was certainly enjoyable.

ARIEL: Hmm... *gasps and takes the hat off, swimming backward a bit*

ERIK: what is it? *swims towards her*

ARIEL: N-Nothing...

ERIK: *looks at her curiously and swims to her side*

ARIEL: *swims away from him*

ERIK: What is wrong? *says very firmly*

ARIEL: Shark...

ERIK: Where? *tone still very firm*

ARIEL: B-Behind you...

ERIK: *spins around* *sees the shark*

ARIEL: *swims off* Run, Erik, Run!