Heavy is the Head

Half Term - The Seven Seas

Chapter 15

There were a lot of differences when it came to Ariel's life in Arendelle and her life in Atlantica. One of the most significant was that in Arendelle she was just another student trying to navigate life away from home like everyone else. However, in Atlantica she was an influential figure in society - someone who little girls looked up to and wanted to be when they were older.

Another massive difference was she was never alone in Arendelle, because she was always out making new friends, however in Atlantica she needed to be with someone else at all times whether it was one of her sisters or a bodyguard. It was one of her father, Triton's many rules although he didn't do much to maintain them. That was Sebastian's job.

The rule about going to the beach alone was just one of the many rules that Triton expected her to follow, and while Ariel understood that she was in a very privileged position and that it wasn't safe to go to certain places by herself, she longed to just be free to go where she pleased. The ceremony would hopefully be the turning point, where Triton realised that she was able to do the things that her sisters were and that she was growing up. She especially hoped that Triton would allow her to date, now that Eric was in the picture.

Ariel was asleep when the car pulled up to the gates of the manor. Another big difference between Arendelle and Atlantica was the weather. Atlantica was a popular tourist destination - mainly for the water parks, resorts and beaches but also for the weather which was bright and sunny most of the time. Andy had to shake Ariel awake so they could both thank the driver and then they hoisted their suitcases out of the back of the car and walked up to the front door to scan their fingerprints and gain entry to the house.

Ariel and her sisters had grown up in a massive house, the kind in which most people dreamed of. Each of the girls had their own bedroom with adjoining offices and their own personal beauty salon. They all had a wardrobe most people their age would kill for and their bedrooms had been specially designed to fit their personal tastes. The house had balconies, a free-standing garage, gym, a pool and their own tennis grounds. Nearly every inch of the property was wired with cameras, security lighting, and motion sensors keeping intruders out. Or the girls inside. It depended on which way you looked at it. None of it really mattered though, because it was mostly all for show. Triton had stopped checking the footage and the girls had long since stopped caring if they were caught sneaking out.

Triton had always been protective over all of them, but with Ariel in particular the over protectiveness was stifling which is why she always made the most of her time away from home. Ariel's eldest two sisters had moved out already at 21 and 20, to a swanky apartment in the city and the remaining four were all leading their own lives as much as they could while fulfilling their duties. They had all been extremely close before Triton finally allowed them to go to boarding school. Some of Ariel's favourite childhood memories included the volleyball team Aquata had convinced them to form, the choir, the fashion shows Arista and Alana would host and the band. However, the minute Ariel and her sisters no longer had to be in each other's space, they had disbanded and found their own interests and friend groups away from each other.

Andy held the door open with her foot (an impressive feat considering it was tall enough to accommodate a family of giraffes and extremely heavy), passed her suitcase to Ariel without breaking a sweat and turned back around. "I have that appointment at the hairdressers today. Cover for me?"

"Fine." Ariel sighed.

The door closed and Ariel was left with two heavy suitcases in the foyer. She wrestled them into the elevator and counted to 10, imitating the 'ding' sound it made when it reached the second floor. Ariel dragged both of them through the hallway, dropping one in front of Andrina's door and then opened her bedroom door to see a woman in a dark blue suit sitting on her bed clacking away at her laptop, her bronze hair pinned up in a neat bun.