"I'm glad you're feeling better, Prince Eric," Grimsby said across the breakfast table, dabbing his mouth with the corner of his napkin. "You gave us quite a scare, you know."

Eric sighed. "I'm going for a walk on the beach, Grim."

Carlotta cleared away Eric's empty porridge bowl. "Would you like me to have Louis prepare a picnic lunch for you, dear?"

"Nonsense!" said Grim. "We have to discuss the continuation of our journey to find you a bride!"

"I can't think about that right now," Eric stood up. "Don't worry about the lunch, Lotti. I won't be gone long. "

Carlotta and Grimsby shared a worried glance. The old man opened his mouth to tell Eric of the importance of his princely duties, but Carlotta shook her head gently to stop him. Carlotta realized that the young prince needed time to recover emotionally as well as physically. What she didn't know was that Eric had been out in the village all morning looking for the girl with the beautiful voice. When he couldn't find her, he decided he would never give up until he was holding her in his arms.

Eric left the dining hall and walked to his room. Max sat up from where he lay on the bed when his master opened the door. "Hey buddy." Eric scratched the grey and white dog's head before grabbing his flute from the bedside table. "Want to go for a walk?"

Max chased his tail in agreement.

Eric leaned against a rock by the water's edge. "Where are you?" he wondered aloud. He couldn't explain how he was feeling. In his lifetime, he had met many women. He was, truthfully, afraid of them. They were so intimidating with the way they spent endless time on their appearance, the way they huddled in groups like seagulls around a crust of bread, and the way they acted when they discovered that he was a prince. It always made him uncomfortable. They fluttered their eyelashes and hit him with their fans and in extreme cases, they swooned so he could catch them gallantly. It was, all together a terrifying experience.

But this girl was different.

She saved his life, sang him a song, touched his cheek, and disappeared. No girl had ever done any one of those things to Eric. And she was beautiful. He had to find her.

Eric put his flute to his lips and played the song his mystery girl had sung to him. "That voice," he told Max. "I can't get it out of my head. I've looked everywhere, Max. Where could she be?" He sighed and began to walk slowly across the beach. The words of her song played in his head.

"What would I give to live where you are?"

Did she live in a different country? Eric was perplexed. How had she saved him? There were too many strange and unanswered questions.

"What would I pay to stay here beside you?"

Why couldn't she stay? Eric wondered. Why did she run away?

"What would I do to see you smiling at me?"

Eric smiled. Just thinking about the mystery girl made him giddy with happiness. He decided right then that when he found her, he would smile at her every day.

"Where would we-"

Suddenly, Max barked loudly. He ran down the beach, turned around and ran back, urging his master to follow him.

"Max?"

The dog barked again

"What?"

More barking.

"Huh? What?"

The dog took off down the beach again. "Max!" Eric ran after him. While it wasn't unusual for Max to find something to bark about, the way he was acting now usually meant there was another person involved. Eric always had to follow him closely to make sure he didn't terrorize any unexpecting beach visitors. "Max!" He rounded the corner. "Max!" he yelled one more time. His dog ran to meet him.

"Quiet, Max!" he commanded. But the dog barked again. "What's gotten into you, fella?" Eric looked up. "Oh. Oh, I see." Max barked some more. There, seated on a rock and wrapped in what appeared to be a ship's sail was a redheaded girl. "Are you okay, miss?" Eric asked politely. He quickly made his way over to her and caught Max's head in his hands, trying to calm the excited animal down. "I'm sorry if this knucklehead scared you," he laughed. "He's harmless really, uh…"

The girl had leaned over the rock's edge so that their faces were inches apart. Eric's fear for girls came rushing to his stomach. They were so close. She smiled at him at him sweetly, blinking slowly. She was really quite beautiful. "You… seem very familiar to me. Have we met?" A small spark of hope started in his chest when she nodded vigorously.

Max barked again. He jumped in between his master and the girl. Eric shoved him away. Nothing was going to keep him away from this girl, not even his dog. He had found her. "We have met! I knew it!" He clasped her hands in his, a happy smile on his face. "You're the one! The one I've been looking for! What's your name?"

He waited for an answer, but she just moved her lips. Her face crumpled with worry. She placed her small hand on her throat and looked away.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Eric asked.

She patted her neck.

"You can't speak?

The girl shook her head.

"Oh," said Eric, his face mirroring her disappointment. For a few precious moments, he thought he had found her, the girl of his dreams. This blue eyed redhead wrapped in rope and sail was pretty, but the voice of his mystery girl is what made him fall in love. He was haunted by that music. This girl couldn't even talk. "Oh. Then you couldn't be who I thought."

Suddenly, she started waving her arms around, pointing at her throat and the sea and the sky.

"What is it? You're hurt?"

She shook her head.

"No no. You need help!" he guessed.

The girl waved her arms more until she lost her balance and fell off the rock.

"Whoa, whoa, careful! Careful, easy!" Prince Eric said, catching her in his arms. Swooning? Really? Eric thought.

She clung to him. Their eyes met again. Eric almost let go of her, but then he saw the fear and sadness in her big blue eyes. "Gee, you must have really been through something. Don't worry. Don't worry, I'll help you." He put his arm around her. She was very unsteady on her feet. Eric wondered if she had been shipwrecked or attacked by pirates. He resolved to take her to the castle. Carlotta would know what to do to help her. "Come on," he said soothingly. "Come on, you'll be okay."