Chapter Nine

Ariel looked around above the water in great fascination. Her blue eyes widened as she looked at the night sky. The sky was filled with so many colors that made a popping sound. It was beautiful!

"Great big shining fish!" Sebastian exclaimed.

"Fireworks," Rapunzel murmured.

"What did you say?" The red haired mermaid questioned.

"Nothing. Come on; let's go see what's going on."

Ariel grinned. She swam after the purple tailed mermaid who was getting closer to the ship that was near the booming lights. She could hear Sebastian calling he name but she ignored him. She was too curious.

Rapunzel reached for the ladder that led to the hatch of the ship. She reached and held onto the ladder, and attempted to climb. Now I really wish I had my legs back! It is not easy climbing up a ladder without them! The princess of Corona thought to herself.

One minute later Ariel appeared on the left side of the ship, and began to climb to the hatch. The mermaid was extremely was fast. She climbed like a professional using just her arms! Of course, Ariel had been a mermaid all her life and was use to this sort of thing.

Rapunzel shook her head and continued her ascent upward. Her hands were slippery from being in the ocean and she nearly fell into the sea; but Ariel grabbed her hand and pulled her up before that happened. The blond mermaid gave the red head a grateful smile and looked at what was going on onboard the ship. Her green eyes widened as her eyes fell upon a very familiar person. Her smile grew bigger. "Eric," she whispered.

Ariel stared at the blond mermaid curiously. She had a look on her face that her father and mother used to have when they would look at each other. The green tailed mermaid shook her head it was probably her imagination. Suddenly, her eyes fell upon a red haired man. Her blue eyes lit up! Hans was on this ship! She had not seen him in months. She grinned then frowned. How was she supposed to talk to him with all these people around?

"Hey, sweety! What a show, eh?" A very familiar annoying voice yelled.

"Scuttle, be quiet. They'll hear you," the red haired mermaid whispered.

"Oh, I get it," the sea gull said. "We're on a secret mission; we're out to- we're out to DISCOVER-"

Ariel and Rapunzel grabbed his beak at the same time because he kept getting louder. The bird tried to speak, but it was of little use. The mermaids had his mouth shut tight. After a few seconds, they let go of his beak.

"I've never seen so many humans at once before," Ariel whispered. She let out a sigh. "He is very handsome. Isn't he?" She questioned as her eyes kept on Hans who was writing in a notebook.

"Which human are you talking about?" Rapunzel asked in a low voice.

Her friend pointed to a red haired human. The lost princess of Corona grinned. Ariel was in love with a human and the famous author who wrote some of her favorite stories. Rapunzel continued to study her emerald tailed friend. She had a look of familiarity when she looked at the author. It was almost like she knew him. Was that even possible?

Rapunzel was about to say something, but then she heard Eric speak. That broke her from her thoughts immediately. She had not heard his voice in so long. She had almost forgotten what it sounded like. However, he sounded very upset.

"Eric, you need to give up on this search. The crew has been searching for a month and a half. You need to go to the kingdom and run things there. Stop this ridiculous search!" Grimsby said.

The black haired prince faced the man that had been like a father to him. His brown eyes flashed with anger. "No," he replied. "Rapunzel is far more important to me than any kingdom in the world, including my own. I love her and we are going to find her. IF the crew wants to stop the search, they can. I will go on my own and I will not stop until she is found and returned home."

Grimsby smiled. The boy was growing up and was willing to stand up for this girl. This was great! Corona and Denmark could be joined together by marriage possibly since the young prince cared so deeply for the princess. "Okay, we will continue the search since you feel so strongly about this. Now are you doing this because you feel sorry for her parents, or because you love her?" He questioned. Grimsby knew why he was doing this, but he wanted to hear Eric admit what he was feeling.

"What a stupid question for you to ask, Grimsby, you know I love Rapunzel. In fact, one day I would like to marry her!" Eric said quite loudly.

The entire crew faced the prince when he said that. The prince blushed.

Rapunzel let out a gasp. He wanted to marry one day! She smiled at the thought. She had imagined them getting married a few times, but to hear him say it made her happy.

"Well, since that is your wish. I have an announcement to make," Grimsby told the crew. "It is my privilege to represent to Prince Eric a very special, a very large, birthday present."

Oh, great! Eric thought. "You old bean pole, you shouldn't have," the prince said. He playfully punched him the older man in the arm.

"I know," Grimsby told him with a dignified tone of voice. "Happy birthday, Eric."

The crew members pulled on some ropes that were holding a large tarp. The tarp fell and revealed a huge statue of Eric in his royal attire. "Wow, it's really something," the prince said. He did not like the gift at all because to him it looked like he was a rude, stuck up person.

Max did not like it either. The sheep dog was growling at the statue. Eric nearly laughed at his dog.

He was about to say something, but suddenly out of nowhere a large storm appeared. The crew ran to their stations to keep the ship safe. This storm was very similar to the storm when he and Rapunzel were separated. He did not like it. He like this at all.