The following story was previously exclusive to my Patreon as the monthly reward for April 2021. The public uploads of the illustrations produced for this story can be found in my Patreon Rewards gallery on DeviantArt (watchers only): HERE
Prince Eric from Disney's The Little Mermaid has always been one
of my low-key fictional crushes in my youth, though obviously I didn't
want to get between him and Ariel. Still, I've fantasized about her
tickling him for ages now, and when he was selected by my Patreon
subscribers as the subject for April 2021's monthly reward, I decided to
finally put said fantasy out there in both illustrated and written
form. Such an elaborate scenario could only have been fully brought to
life in writing, after all, and I didn't want to just leave it at one
picture, especially since his being less detailed than the other
characters I've drawn for these things would've made a single
illustration a bit of a cop-out. And that's how no less than four variations
of the pic happened, along with a 13-page story tying them all
together! There's a few nods to several other pics of him as a ticklee
I've seen on dA in the past as well, though some may have been removed
since I last found them - see if you can find the subtle references as
well as all the in-jokes and nods to the movie proper. ;)
As stated above, the full illustrations for this story are in my Patreon Rewards gallery on my DeviantArt account. That said, however, given the amount of love I
put into this story - particularly because, as much of a headache as
Disney as a company is currently, more than a few of the older movies
released under its brand were a big part of my childhood, including and especially this one - I figured it'd be worth putting it out there to be seen by everyone and
not just my watchers exclusively, as opposed to the previous Patreon
reward stories that I've attached to my watchers-only public uploads of
my monthly reward pieces. Consider this a gift from me to the rest of
you for your continued support after all these years. Thank you, thank
you, THANK YOU! <3
The Little Mermaid (c) Disney
It was late afternoon in the kingdom of Tirulia, the sun just barely beginning to descend from its zenith in the clear blue midsummer sky. The usual hustle and bustle of the kingdom was more lively than ever, and not without reason — for a few months ago, a series of extraordinary events had culminated in the marriage between the most important inhabitant of the extravagant royal palace at the edge of the main port and a young woman he had helped free from a terrible kind of dark magic. These events had changed the kingdom forever, to say nothing of improving the reputation of the royal who had repaired her relationship with her estranged father, defeated a fiendish usurper who had wanted to use this woman for her own cruel ends, and united the two kingdoms in matrimony.
None of these facts were of any help, however, in curing that most dreadful of curses, one which may befall any poor unfortunate soul: boredom.
The wedding had been true perfection, but it seemed to the dark-haired young man resting on the beach just beyond the palace grounds that nothing could ever exceed it, no event before or since. As it happened, the moment the next sun had risen, it was back to the usual business of managing Tirulia: approving mandates, overseeing petitions, delegating roles and responsibilities, and so on and so forth. As important as it was, it sure was exhausting, and he was glad to have someone like his newlywed wife around nowadays. But at the same time… something seemed off about her now. Like she was trying to hold in some kind of deep, dark secret.
Granted, it was already known that Ariel of Atlantica was, in fact, a mermaid who had been turned into a human twice now. Everyone knew that already. But was there something else about her that he didn’t know about? If he had to be honest with himself, Eric couldn’t actually tell.
As it was, though, he had other things on his mind. Namely the overwhelming urge to get away from it all for a week or two, probably relax by himself for a bit. A few days at sea usually did wonders for his mood, as had always been the case. One such trip was in fact how he’d met Ariel in the first place, after he’d encountered a storm and gotten washed overboard which led to a mysterious woman with an amazing voice saving his life. But on this day… something still nagged at him. He wasn’t sure what, but it tugged at his heart nonetheless, and he didn’t like it.
There was one place he’d always paid a visit to after those occasions when things had gotten a little too stressful for him to handle. Just beyond the stretch of coastline where he and Ariel had first been washed ashore together, behind a small stretch of land jutting outwards towards the sea, was a cove hidden from the rest of the kingdom, with a stretch of sandy beach and multiple tidepools that a casual explorer would be more than happy with. Eric happened to be a casual explorer and, when he’d discovered this place, he knew it was perfect for spending a little private time, and when asked where he’d been after he’d first found it, he had made the rest of the palace staff swear not to tell anyone else about it lest it be located and turned into a destination for visitors to run riot. If that happened, there’d be no tranquility anywhere in the kingdom, now, would there?
Admittedly, there was another reason he’d wanted himself and the palace residents to keep this secret from the rest of the kingdom, though that one was a little more personal. One of his visits was notable for a peculiar discovery, one that he was wondering if he could repeat today. His boot-clad feet were, after all, quite sore from having to stay moving all the time to keep things under control during a particularly important dignitary visit. He just needed to cool his heels a little…
Just like before, he stopped at a particular tidepool, sitting down near its edge before pulling his boots off. That first time, he hadn’t really thought of anything in particular and didn’t know anything would happen, but this time as he lowered his bare feet into the water, he was fully expecting what did happen.
That first time, all Eric had on his mind was how relaxing the cooling water had felt to his bare feet — at least for the first few moments. Then, out of nowhere, he’d felt it — something had started rubbing against his naked sole! Quick and slippery, it had darted along the length of his arch, under his toes, and around his ankle and heel. Startled, he had just withdrawn his foot from the pool when the other was assaulted in the same way. Only then had he peered down into the water to notice who was the culprit: a small, curious fish, silver and slim.
Curious, he had then decided to put both feet in the pool to see what would happen. Then more fish started to emerge from little crevices in the submerged rocks they were hiding in, especially he started wiggling his toes in an inviting way. Within moments, Eric had felt his feet being surrounded and then nibbled and rubbed against by a whole school of the little tiddlers — such a funny, squirmy feeling that had made him burst out laughing!
He had no idea what this weird feeling was called, but it had made him crack a smile for the first time in days, and the rush of sensation had given him a much-needed energy boost. It had only been around five minutes of this before he decided to pull his feet out and put his boots back on, but he’d remember this for a very long time. Whenever he needed to unwind, he’d find this same pool, slip his bare feet in it, and let the fish have some fun with them.
Except this time… they didn’t appear. Not even one was there. What had happened to them? Had they been washed out to sea? He didn’t know. But still… he hadn’t realized how much he’d miss that feeling of his soles and toes being nibbled by them until they were gone.
Five minutes passed and then ten. He finally gave up on waiting for the little minnows and pulled his feet out of the pool, a disappointed and mournful look on his face. Where was everyone, and were they trying to actively distance themselves from him? Was it because he’d married someone from another kingdom — no, another race? Considering that King Triton had forbidden his daughter from associating with humans only a few weeks back…
He stood up, still barefoot, and set off towards the beach, not thinking of anything except his loneliness. Everyone wanted to give him a wide berth because he was royalty — touching him was practically taboo. There was only one person who could be close to him, and she was acting weird even by her standards, so that was probably out of the question. But without her… who would be there to hold him close, or give him a squirmy pick-me-up after a rough day keeping his kingdom running?
As soon as he reached the golden sand of the coastline, he sat down, set his boots aside, and then flopped onto the sand, flat on his back, arms and legs spread. Staring up at the clouds drifting lazily in the expanse of pale blue, he couldn’t help but sigh to a world that wouldn’t hear him.
If only someone could give him even one minute of gentle physical contact. Just one. Was that too hard to ask of anyone, or would he be doomed to be like a museum artifact, with a great big “Do Not Touch” sign hanging around his neck?
Thoughts and worries much like this plagued him for some minutes, but the warmth of the sun and the rhythmic sound of crashing waves finally lulled him to sleep. He wouldn’t remember his dreams, but once he woke it’d surely be back to the same aloof routine, day after day. Business as usual, nothing personal.
And no touching. Because of course.
Little did the slumbering prince know, however, that he was being watched. A figure peered at his prone body from behind a nearby boulder, a glint in their eye. Now that he was unaware of their presence, their work could finally begin…
“Huh? What the—?!?”
The next time Eric awoke, he was just about to stretch his arms when he realized that he couldn’t move them. In fact, his entire body was trapped, buried in the sand he had been sleeping on earlier! The only parts of him sticking out of the beach were his head and part of his upper body, with the upper arms exposed but the lower ones firmly stuck, and his bare feet, poking out of a small sand pile in front of him.
“Um, hello? Could someone dig me out, please? Anyone?”
He looked around. No one was there. The only sounds were the rush of the waves and the cries of seagulls in the distance.
Eric sighed, shaking his head. If there was no help coming, he might as well at least try to get free on his own. He was just about to start tugging his arms out of the sand, however, when he noticed something else.
There was something rising from the water ahead of him.
“Hello? Ariel?” He was starting to sound more concerned now. “Anyone?!”
The thing emerging from the sea was not his beloved wife, however. It certainly didn’t look human. But one look at its bulbous red body and the eight long, wriggling appendages at its base gave away what it was almost immediately. With his bare feet right in front of it, the octopus raised two of its arms and wiggled them, pointing their tips towards his bare soles.
Eric wasn’t sure what was happening or what the creature was intending. But for some reason, he was now beginning to feel a chill running down his spine.
“W-wait!” Droplets of sweat trickled down his forehead as he watched the tentacled terror move closer. “What are you doing? Why are you staring at my feet like that? This isn’t funny!”
If the octopus even could understand his words or the increasing panic in his tone, it didn’t care. It moved closer and closer, and as Eric realized that it was giving his soles its full attention, he felt his toes curl as tightly as they could.,
“No, get away!” he yelped, inwardly lamenting that he couldn’t kick the creature away and make a swift escape. “Whatever you’re doing, please refrain from — Aah! Ariel, where are you?! H-HELP!!”
The octopus was now just a few inches away from his feet. It reached out with its arms, and with Eric only able to watch, it began running the tips of its slimy appendages up and down each arch.
“AAH!” There was that funny feeling again, not unlike the fish rubbing against his soles but far more intense. He’d fully expected to be pulled out of the sand and dragged into the ocean, but this was certainly a surprise. Unable to stop himself, he burst out laughing, jolts of sensation shooting through him with each teasing stroke.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHH W-WHAT IS THIHIHIS?!” he cried, trying to wiggle his feet around and managing to do so too little to dissuade the creature. “G-GET AWAHAHAHAY! NONONO EEEHHEHEEP! OH MY GOHOHOODNEHEHEHESS!!”
With each movement of his bare soles, the octopus seemed able to match it, never letting up even once as it continued rubbing its appendages against his skin, glomming onto the soft surface with the suction cups on their undersides like dozens of kisses and tracing along every crease and wrinkle.
With increased confidence in the immobility of its catch, the octopus brought more and more tentacles into play. Now there were four of them making their rounds, teasing up and down and all around the twin expanses of exposed, vulnerable flesh. At least it was helping remove the sand grains from his skin, but that was of little comfort.
Eric would swear his helpless laughter and useless cries for help could be heard from the other side of the cove. Unable to even lift a finger in protest of his predicament, he still tried to push himself out of the sand, or at least lift his legs. But the weight of the ground itself encasing him was too much, and only his head and feet could move about uselessly.
“GET ME OUT OF HEHEHEHEHEHEHEEERE!” he yelled, sadly unheard by anyone.
The octopus continued its assault, moving its tentacles up towards his wiggling toes. The sucker-lined arms began slithering against the especially tender bases and undersides and in between each digit, easily slipping through even as he tried to clench his toes to hold them fast, leaving a thin coating of slime in their wake that only seem to heighten his reception to touch.
He wasn’t sure how long it had been by this point, but the maddening sensation only seemed to get worse by the second. He risked craning his neck a little, and realized to his horror that now all eight of his tormentor’s tentacles were now playing with the skin of his soles, with some occasionally slithering up to stroke along the tops and sides of his feet as well! Not an inch of skin was spared from contact, the octopus deftly reaching and exploring without a care in the world.
And all Eric could do was watch and laugh, tears beginning to well up in the corners of his eyes as he found himself overwhelmed.,
“PLEHEHEHEASE NOOO! STOP IT! S-STOHOHOP! I CAN’T TAHAHAHAHAKE IHIHIHIT!” Poor Eric squeezed his eyes shut, tears pouring down his cheeks in earnest. “I-IT’S TOO MUUUUUCH! HEHEHEHEHEH! SOMEBODEEHEHEHEHEEE! S-SAHAHAHAHAVE MEEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEEE!”
It seemed as though this situation of helplessness and forced mirth would go on forever and ever, poor Eric doomed to be toyed with by a monster from the depths. He didn’t know how long it was before he heard someone else calling out his name, but it seemed like almost a relief when that did happen.
“Eric? ERIC!”
The octopus seemed to sense someone else’s approach. Within a few moments, it had slid backwards and away from his feet, and then with a splash, it vanished into the surf.
Gasping for breath, blinking tears from his eyes, Eric turned his head to see who had come to rescue him. That bright red hair, those stunning blue eyes… It could be no one else.
“Ariel! Oh, thank goodness, I thought you’d never come—”
“It’s alright, Eric. I’m here. Is everything okay?”
He felt his toes curl again. “It… Ariel, I…” He struggled to find the words, but ultimately managed to compose himself. “It was, yes. That is, until I found myself trapped in the sand and at the mercy of a terrible eight-armed creature. What it did was indescribable — had it continued to have its way with my feet, they might have been at its mercy forever! Thank goodness you’re here, though.”
To his surprise, Ariel had a brief look of discomfort on her face. But her expression softened a few moments later. “Hang on, let me get you out of there. That can’t have been pleasant, being stuck in the sand the way you are…”
Eric gave her a suspicious look. “True, very true. But… there aren’t any ways for sand to have fallen on me naturally. No dunes, no strong waves… I’m sure someone must have buried me deliberately and left me at the mercy of that awful sea beast. But… there is no one around except the two of us, is there?”
“Just sit tight and be patient,” she replied. “I’m going to dig you out. I don’t know how long it will take, but—”
The flash of silver in her hands told him everything he needed to know. Something metallic with tines was clutched in her fingers, definitely not for use in excavation.
“…and just how, exactly, will a fork be useful for digging me out of the sand?”
“Dinglehopper,” Ariel corrected him. “And I have my ways, don’t worry. If I may, is it alright if I started by getting your feet free?”
Eric’s eyes widened. “No, wait, you don’t have to start there—”
“It’s alright,” she replied hastily. “You’ll just have to trust me on this one.”
She knelt down in front of his feet, and only now was he able to make out a fork in each hand. But just before she got to work, something occurred to the pinned prince, and he spoke something that made her stop in her tracks.
“Were you the one who buried me like this?!”
The ex-mermaid’s eyes widened. Then they narrowed. And then her lips curled up in a smirk.
“Well, you got me. Yes, it was me who piled the sand on top of you. I’m surprised you didn’t even notice the shovel over there,” she added, pointing towards the boulder her trail of footprints had come from. He turned around to see the implement, still leaning against the rock with a fine dusting of sand covering its head.
“But no matter,” Ariel continued, returning their attention to his twitching soles. “I saw the whole thing, actually, the octopus included. And now that I have you where I want you, the real fun can begin…”
Eric was about to protest, but then he felt the tines of the forks begin to slide up and down his arches once again. “EEEEEEK! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOOOOHOHOHOHOHO! ARIEL, YOU TRAHAHAHAITORRRR! AHAHAHAH W-WHYYYYYY?!”
She smiled back in the dreamy, pleasant fashion he loved so much. “What’s the matter, Eric? Your feet don’t happen to be… ticklish, are they?”
His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard that word. That was the term he was looking for to describe that feeling! He hadn’t really been able to name it for a while because he’d forgotten for so long that it even was called that, but there it was now. Ariel, the girl of his dreams, was tickling his firmly stuck soles!
Eric didn’t want to admit it, but he’d fantasized about this for weeks now. All those times when she’d stared at his bare feet whenever they’d been in private together had been for a reason, and the way she’d held onto them and looked at them in fascination, rubbing her fingers up and down their length in a manner that had reminded him of the way those little fish in the tidepool had stroked his soles so gently. It had felt amazing, better than he could’ve hoped. He had been hoping she’d come up to him and ask if she could take it further — if she could actually tickle his feet, without any reservations.
So why did this particular occasion feel so wrong?!
A moment later, however, he realized why. He wanted to enunciate it, but the tickling was getting too intense now for him to remain coherent for longer than a few seconds. “CUT IT OHOHOHOUT! PLEHEHEHEHEASE!”
“Come on, Eric, laugh for me in that cute, amazing way!” She began tracing the forks in little figure-eights over the arches and balls of his feet. “And don’t worry, by the way — we’ll be taking this to our graves, and that’s a promise.”
“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEHEHEHEANT! EHEHEHEHE STOP IT STOP IT STOHOHOHOP IHIHIHIT!”
“Hmm? And why should I?”
“ARIEL, PLEHEHEHEHEASE! THIS IS TOHOHOHORTUUUURRRRE!”
Ariel looked at him, suddenly confused, and then gasped upon seeing the redness in his cheeks and under his eyes. Had she reduced him to tears?! Instantly, the feeling of the utensils against his soles was gone, leaving him to gasp for air for a few precious seconds.
“W-what do you mean, torture?” she asked, looking worried.
It took a moment for Eric to regain his composure, but finally, he mustered the strength to give her an unimpressed look. “Ariel… H-how could you?! I didn’t agree to being buried in the sand like this, and yet you did it anyway.”
She gasped, covering her mouth, the full implication of his words hitting her like a tidal wave.
“I’m both disturbed and disappointed,” Eric continued, shaking his head in shame for his wife. “I expected better of you than this. What was wrong with waking me up and telling me what you wanted to do, so I could judge whether it’d be good to take you up on your offer?”
Ariel had gone from shocked to downright distraught, the forks dropping uselessly onto the sand. “Eric, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have — Hang on, let me get the shovel again, and I’ll dig you out—”
“Now now,” said Eric. “I know what you’re thinking, I have every right to be upset. In fairness, of course, I will concede that Atlantica’s customs are different than those of Tirulia—”
“Even the people of Atlantica always ask first before doing things that affect others, though!” Ariel buried her face in her hands. “I didn’t, and look how you feel about that now.”
Eric regarded her, his expression shifting from disgust to pity. She’d annoyed him with her foolishness, sure, but maybe he’d been slightly too rough on her in response. He took a moment to choose his next few words carefully.
“That may be true. And it may also be true that you’re young, inexperienced with being a spouse, and unfamiliar with Tirulian customs. But that’s what my advice is for: to help you know better.”
She looked at him, still on the verge of sobbing. “But I— I—”
“Don’t worry. There are two reasons for my willingness to forgive you. The first is that I can tell your guilt is sincere, and relatable at that. We all make mistakes. It’s part of what makes us human. You’re talking to someone who got hypnotized by a sea witch because he thought she was the owner of the most beautiful voice in the world, and not you.”
Ariel couldn’t help but chuckle at that even in her distressed state. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that…”
“And as for the other reason, well… Can you keep a secret?”
She glanced at him, surprised. “Um, yes? Why?”
Eric paused, looking away and blushing. “Truth be told… I’ve actually fantasized about you doing this to me, tickling my bare soles, ever since we wedded.”
Her eyes widened. “Don’t tell me… You actually like this?! I honestly thought you would tell me no if I asked about that to your face!”
The look Eric gave her was one of bemused consternation. “What did you think, Ariel? I’ve spent my entire life as a member of royalty. If you think trying to hide your prized human item collection from your father was stressful, try being unable to speak casually with any of the castle staff for a second without being told to leave them to their business, having to deal with someone instructing you on how to properly hold every single utensil every two minutes at each evening supper, or being unable to touch anything without at least one complaint about a fingerprint ruining the polish.”
“Oh… Oh, wow. That’s just awful! Please don’t tell me you were—”
“Not allowed, at least publicly, to bond with my loved ones through physical contact because that wouldn’t be proper? Pretty much.”
Ariel thought about this for a moment. “So… Does that mean you actually wanted me to share a lot of intimate, casual moments with you? Privately, I mean? Or for that matter, that you wanted me to tickle the bottoms of your… what do you call them… oh, feet?”
“Well, yes, that’s correct. I just didn’t think the way that dream scenario of you doing that would play out for real would involve you burying me without, you know, asking me first.”
Ariel flinched. “I’m sorry. Yes, that was my mistake… If you still want me to free you, I’ll—”
“Don’t. There’s no need. You already put me in the sand in the first place, so I might as well resign myself to my untimely demise.” He snorted in amusement, spreading his toes idly. “Can you at least promise me, though, that from now on you will remember to obtain my approval before capturing and tickling me, and in general put permission from others above your own impulses, as should be the case for any healthy relationship?”
Ariel’s cheeks flushed. “I’ll remember for sure. Thank you for telling me this — I needed to hear it.”
Eric smiled warmly, wiggling his toes. “Then along with accepting your apology, I give you my full permission to tickle my feet as much as you want. Don’t hold back, either. I wanted this thrill for a very long time, and you have the perfect opportunity to indulge as well. The last thing needed now is for me to deny you said opportunity.”
Ariel cracked her knuckles, her eyes narrowing in another cheeky grin. “Say no more, sweetie.”
Eric spread his toes invitingly, resisting the urge to curl them so his wife could get full access to them as she lay chest-down on the sand in front of his feet. Now that they had managed to come to an agreement, the rapt look on her face when she took in the sight of his soles matched his secret fantasy almost perfectly.
And he did have nice feet, too. Quite large, it seemed, and with virtually no blemishes, they were soft as silk from wearing boots all day, with thick, meaty toes and a handsome curve to each arch. His soles were not too broad and not too narrow, and the way they’d flexed and curled with each tickly stroke from the octopus’ tentacles had been so enticing, too. The perfect tickle-toys to play with, in other words, and they were Ariel’s and Ariel’s alone.
She started off by running a single nail each along his arches, causing a flurry of giggles to escape his lips. Gently, lightly, they glided along the skin, tracing around the regions where the tendons of his arches were closest to the surface, the parts of his feet which were notably sensitive. It was such a struggle to keep his feet as still as possible and his toes spread, but he tried to do it for Ariel’s enjoyment. Still, when she started running her nails up towards the bases of his toes, he couldn’t help but scrunch his feet again as he burst out laughing again.
“Hehehehey! Ariel, wahahahahaiieee! That t-tickles so muuuch!”
“I’m glad it does,” she replied, now starting to walk two fingers each up and down the length of his soles. “Could you imagine if you weren’t ticklish? Then all my worrying over whether to ask you would’ve been for nothing!”
“Wahahahah I can see thahahahahat!” he replied, shaking his head a little as he tried not to lose his composure completely.
“But in any case, let’s see if we can test the limits of how much you can take. And now here comes the pair of scuttling crabs, looking for a stretch of beach to dig holes into…”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH OKAY, THAT’S JUST MEHEHEHEHEAN!”
She was now using all five fingers per hand to tickle the balls of his feet in a spider-like fashion. His eyes widened and watered, his face screwing up in laughter and his cheeks flushed once more. Finally he gave in, letting the laughter flow through him as Ariel started tickling him more intensely than ever before.
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! ARIEEEEHEHEHEELLL! OH GOHOHOHOHOSH, IT TIHIHICKLES! WAIT, GET THE TOES TOOHOHOHOHOOO!”
“If you say so,” she replied, moving her fingers up so their long, sharp nails were now exploring the stems of his toes and flicking into the spaces between. These particular spots were so delicate that the stroking and prodding dealt upon them sent him into an absolute frenzy.
“EEEEHEHEHEHEHEEE! I REGRET HAVING SAID THAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAATTT!”
Still, Ariel didn’t let up, continuing to tickle his toes with wild abandon, matching every wiggle and wriggle of his feet in the process. Occasionally she’d move them down towards the balls of his feet and then his arches, and then back up, dipping lower and lower each time. She eventually found a particular soft spot where the arch met the heel and focused on that as well for some time, making him scream with laughter even louder than normal.
And all the while her serene, friendly look was still on her face, a good deal more unnerving than if she’d looked more devious. Even in the haze of laughter, Eric had to remind himself how fortunate it was that they had managed to resolve the situation peacefully — if she were to happen across a criminal being punished in a pair of stocks in the town square and decide to have some fun with them, the poor sap would’ve had nightmares for weeks.
Finally, she stopped, giving him another breather and looking at him expectantly.
“How are you feeling?”
Eric spluttered a little, wondering what to say for a moment. “Thahahat… That was… intense…” he wheezed finally. “R-remind me never to give you a reason to discipline me with tickling — you’re so good at it that it almost scares me!”
“I’ve had to hold in the urge for a very long while,” she replied. “Letting it out is such a rush!”
“As is getting to experience it first-hand. Or rather first-foot,” he quipped.
Ariel winced, and then held up the forks again. “Time for the second part of your little pun-ishment, it seems,” she said with a devious smirk.
“Okay, I take that back!” he replied in a pleading tone, though he still felt a thrill of excitement, knowing she was going to go ahead with using the “dinglehoppers” in a very innovative if mean-spirited fashion. “Please have mercy?”
“Let me think…” She pressed the tines of one of the forks to her chin, her expression pensieve. “…No thanks.”
And then the same feeling of the fork tines scratching oh so lightly up and down his tender soles returned in full force. This time there was no holding back — she was dragging them along as slowly as possible in a bid to elicit the best reaction from him, and it was working.
“AIIIEEEEHEHEHEHEEE N-NOHOT THE DINGLEHOPPEHEHEHERS! EHEHEHE ARIEL, PLEHEHEHEHEEEASE!”
“Oh, come on! I didn’t bring them with me all the way out here just to be told not to use them, now, didn’t I?”
“WAHAHAHAH, FAIR POHOHOINT!”
“Point, you say?” She started tickling the bases of his toes with the forks, and when his feet scrunched up in response, she dragged them gently along the tops of his toes and his insteps as well.
“EHEHEHEHE OKAY, MAYBE I SHOULD’VE CHOSEN MY WORDS MORE CAHAHAHAHAREFULEEEHEHEEEE!” Eric howled, his mind becoming overwhelmed by ticklish agony once again.
The cycle repeated accordingly for several long minutes, Ariel tickling her beau’s most sensitive spots with the forks for several moments while he tried to keep his feet from curling, and then teasing the tops of his feet when he inevitably failed in this endeavor, making his feet uncurl and spread their toes once more. Rinse and repeat.
After five more minutes of this, five very long tickly minutes, Ariel decided to give him another breather. “There we go… The ultimate tickle session! Isn’t it neat?”
“Hah… hhhh… If you say so,” Eric replied. “I’m trying so very hard not to make the most obvious joke about my name in relation to this, but either way I just know you’ll make the tickles even more intense in retaliation. Or just for the fun of it!”
She laughed, that delightful, melodious laugh. “How did you know? Well, I might as well provide an appropriate finale, if you want. Or maybe we could just continue this further until the sun goes down?”
He thought about it for a few moments. “As much as I’d like that, we shouldn’t keep the palace waiting. What did you have in mind for this ‘finale’, if I may?”
“Ah. Just this,” she replied, grinning broadly.
Before he could respond, she’d leaned in, and much to his surprise, started licking the stem of his left big toe! At the same time, the forks returned, running up and down his arches in maddening circles.
The response was instantaneous. Even though he was getting a lot of enjoyment out of this himself, especially because of how good it felt, he couldn’t help but protest as the most intense tickling yet hit him like a ton of bricks. “YIIIIEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEE! NO NO NONONONO NOHOHOHOHOOO! THAT’S TOO MUUUUCH! AHAHAHAHAH ARIEL, WHYYYY?!”
“Because it’s fun, silly,” she teased, before resuming her hyper-ticklish toe worship. He couldn’t even wiggle his toes to try and catch her rough and slick tongue, which left it free to flick in between them and around the hyper-sensitive stems.
She continued ticklishly licking the toes of his left foot for another minute, and then switched to his right, causing him to throw his head back and scream in sheer hysteria.
But even then, she was not quite done. Another minute of licking passed, and then to his surprise, she leaned forward even more and started sucking upon three of his toes at once, letting her tongue slide in between them while still inside her mouth!,
“YAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOHOHOHOHOHOSSSSHHH!” Eric thrashed his whole upper body from side to side, drops of sweat and tears being flung onto the sand. “ARIEEEHEHEHELLL! HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD AT TICKLING MEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEE?!”
She withdrew her head to smile at him, shrugging, though her forks were still tickling his arches and heels. “I don’t know,” she replied in a matter-of-fact way. “It just comes naturally to me, it seems!”
Then she leaned in again and started suckling upon the toes of his left foot!
“AAAAIIIIEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEEEE! OH NO NOT THAHAHAHAT!” Eric shrieked and thrashed about helplessly, overwhelmed by the tickling despite the thrill rushing through his whole body. “MERCY, PLEASE! MERCEEEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEE!!”
Ariel continued alternating between each of his feet with her toe-sucking and foot worship for another three long minutes, Eric’s shrieks of laughter reverberating throughout the cove the entire time. But finally, mercifully, it was over. The forks vanished, as did the feeling of Ariel’s tongue, being replaced by the less maddening but still somewhat tickly sensation of her planting kisses all over his soles. This left him free to let his laughter die down gradually, until he was left giggling and gasping for breath, sweat and tears now wetting the entirety of his face and even staining his shirt collar.
Once she had covered every inch of his soles with kisses, it was finally over. She sat up, brushing the sand from her shirt and dress, and appraised her husband one more time.
“How are you feeling? Better, I hope?”
Drawing breath after ragged breath, he was still smiling from residual laughter, but finally, he closed his eyes with a contented sigh.,
“Thank you, Ariel. You’re such an amazing tickler and a wonderful wife. And I definitely needed that, after all we’ve been through…”
Ariel smiled back. “In fairness, I did need to let something out myself. At least it felt as good to you as it did to me!” She then paused and added, “Well, at least after you accepted my apology—”
“I’ll accept it in full after you dig me out,” he added with a teasing chuckle.
“Oh, right! Sorry! Just give me a moment to get that shovel…”
Five minutes later, and Eric was slipping his boots back on. Ariel still had a slightly guilty look on her face, but they both knew that all was forgiven. She was still learning how to be a princess, and for that matter, a human being. That was what he was here for… and if the reverse was true, if he were to visit Atlantica, she’d be there to coach him.
“So, um… No hard feelings, right?” she asked, still feeling a little nervous.
“None at all. You know better now, and we’ve both made a non-verbal arrangement as to how to go about this, especially now that we both know each other’s hidden desires.” He stood up, and offered a hand, before noticing her reaching out to take it and adding, “The shovel, Ariel.”
She gave him a sheepish look and passed it to him. “That includes asking you first, I’m guessing.”
“Exactly. Once again, permission comes first. As long as you remember that, though, I’m sure we’ll go a long way together.”
Ariel laughed, and then hugged him briefly. “I’m so lucky to have you as a husband, for all sorts of reasons. One being that you’ve taught me a lot since I met you, and another being that our interests go so well together. I’m so happy to know that!”
“You could’ve at least told me about what you wanted sooner. Though admittedly, the reverse is true, too,” he added with a chuckle.
“So, does that mean you’ll let me indulge in tickling you whenever I feel in the mood for it? Consensually, I mean?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
She couldn’t help herself. Next moment, her lips were locked with his own, the two of them embracing each other in a chaste but deeply personal union.
When they broke off again, Ariel wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “That takes such a huge weight off my chest, thank you! And I assume yours as well now that we’ve both come clean. Though, well… I’m guessing we’ll have to keep this just between the two of us. Because doing otherwise wouldn’t be proper.”
“That we can agree upon,” replied Eric. “Now, let us return home. Supper isn’t supposed to have itself, after all!”
She giggled once more, before giving him another quick hug. And with that, the two of them set off back towards the palace, arm in arm... though Eric couldn’t help but fondly glance back at the hole left in the sand before they left.
For all the intensity of this evening’s ordeal, Prince Eric was both ecstatic and relieved that his dream of his beautiful wife tickling him to tears had finally come true. The earlier mishap about not getting his permission before trapping him notwithstanding, Ariel had proven to be every bit the ruthless tickler he had fantasized… and once they’d talked things over, he’d loved every second of it! He certainly hoped he could get the opportunity to enjoy such an incredible experience — or maybe something just a little more intimate — again in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment