Prince Eric

"You look familiar. Have we met?"

- Eric to Ariel

Prince Eric is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the sixth episode of the third season. He is portrayed by Gil McKinney, and is the Enchanted Forest counterpart of Eric.

Eric is based on the Prince from the fairytale, "The Little Mermaid".

History
In the Enchanted Forest, Eric is prince who meets the misfortune of a shipwreck and almost drowns, but is miraculously saved by an unknown savior. Since then, he's been plagued with dreams of that person's face. A year later, Prince Eric attends the year's Under the Sea celebration paying tribute to the sea goddess Ursula. As he walks in, his attention is instantaneously piqued by a red haired woman from across the room. He smiles at her and she shyly begins making her way over to him, but in the process, stumbles clumsily to the floor. Prince Eric goes to her side to lend a helping hand up.
 * -|Before the Curse=

After learning her name is Ariel, he begins to suspect she looks familiar, and remembers her as the person who saved him from the shipwreck. Ariel refutes this claim; stating she is new in town. To this, Eric imagines perhaps Ursula saved him instead, and sent Ariel. When she shows interest in seeing the world, he invites her to an adventurous expedition, which is setting sail tomorrow. He promises to wait for an answer from her and is hopeful she will say yes. The next morning, he lingers at the balcony hoping to see Ariel, but to his disappointment, she never arrives.