First thing in the morning, April headed up to the main deck to find the Captain. She wanted to talk to him one on one. The party they crew had thrown for her last night was fantastic. There was music, dancing, and laughter. April had spent the majority of the party socializing and dancing with Michelangelo. But near the end of the night, the captain had politely stepped in for one dance. He pulled her close as they glided across the deck. After it was all over, Raphael escorted April to her room. He bowed to her and cooed, "Sleep well Princess." She returned his thanks and practically fainted once the door closed. Before she could sleep, she had to write one more letter to her father. Once that was done, her eyes shut and she was fast asleep. She made it up the stairs but couldn't see him anywhere, but she did see his baby brother. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Morning Michelangelo! Have you seen the Captain this morning?"

"Good morning Princess. No sight of him since last night. He's been busy."

"Thank you so much for the party last night. I had the best time."

"I could tell," he winked at her and April's face instinctively turned red.

"HEEEEEY HOOOO!"

A figure appeared on the side of ship. It climbed over the side and seemed to teleport over to April.

"My love! My angel! At last I have found you." It was Casey. That no good, arrogant, foul mouthed brute had found her. At the sound of his yell, Raphael had appeared from the captain's quarters and had his sword drawn.

"What's going on?" He was angry and defensive. April smiled.

"I'm so glad to see you again my love! Now at last we can be together." Before she knew it, Casey had grabbed April, swung her over, and was kissing her intensely. The last thing April wanted was to have anything to do with him. She squirmed and tried to communicate but all she could manage was whining. Once he let her go and returned her to an upright position, she passed out. She hit the floor and lost it for a few seconds. When she awoke, Raphael and Casey were talking. She pretended to be asleep so she could hear them talk.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I've saving my fiancée from dangerous peril and certain death."

"Fiancée? Princess April is your fiancée?" Raphael sounded like he wasn't impressed or he couldn't believe it.

"Soon-to-be actually. Ever since she went missing, I dedicated my life to finding her."

"Well congratulations. Your life goal took all of five days."

"Who are you exactly, freak?"

"I should be asking you the same question. I'm the captain. And who are you?"

"I'm Prince Casey of Arcanum. I came to visit the princess a week ago and it was love at first sight. The moment I left her, I knew that we could never be apart for long periods of time."

"Uh-huh. And how long did you actually talk and spend time with her?" Raphael was still not impressed and wasn't convinced this guy was a real prince. He dressed in all black and was very unclean.

"Thirty minutes?"

"Thirty minutes?! And you think you can just come here and forcefully kiss the girl you spent half of an hour with and ask her to marry you?"

"It's none of your business freak!"

They were getting in each other's faces now. April remained still.

"It became my business when you stepped foot on my ship. And to be completely honest, if your one job was to come here and sweep the girl off her feet, you failed!"

"She's swooning as we speak." Casey gestured to April on the ground.

"She fainted because SOMEBODY doesn't understand personal boundaries!"

"What do you know about women, turtle?"

"More than you know. And I know for a fact the Princess has no intention of marrying you."

"How?"

"We've talked, for longer than thirty minutes! And I'll be damned if I let you harm her or force her into any shotty marriage."

"Aww. If I didn't know any better, I'd think this disgusting freak has developed feelings for the Princess. What makes you think she'd ever want you? You were born a freak and you will die a freak. All Alone."

April hadn't seen it before, but Michelangelo had informed her that the Captain had a wicked temper. He was huffing before Casey had finished the sentence but as soon as he did, Raphael punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. And he would have done worse. He was towering over the boy when April finally spoke up.

"Don't!"

"Princess I can handle him."

She stood up to face the Captain now.

"I know you can, but I've got this one."

His anger subsided and a gentle smile formed as she turned to help the Prince up.

"Casey, as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, I cannot marry you. I have no interest in settling down or returning to Bonaventure any time soon. I'm staying on this ship so I can finally experience life the way I want to. The palace cannot give me that. I am sorry that you wasted all this time. Before you go however, I would like to ask one favor of you."

"Anything Princess." Casey façade had faded and he seemed like an understanding guy. He knew when he had lost, and today he had. April reached for the hidden pocket on her dress and pulled out eight large letters.

"If you would be so kind as to deliver these to my father. They explain my reason for leaving and why I need this time to myself. I have told him that I will write often and hope that he will do the same. They also say that if my father were ever to get sick, I would gladly return and take my rightful place as Queen. But until that happens, I will be the Ocean's Maiden."

"Very well Princess. I hope to hear from you again sometime soon." He bowed to her. "And Captain." Raphael looked around April to make eye contact with Casey. "Best wishes mate. I can honestly say I've never been more envious of a giant turtle." Raphael laughed and shook Casey's hand before the Prince jumped back over the side of the ship to his much smaller boat. After he was gone, the pirate and the princess looked at each other.

"I can't believe you just did that," he said.

"Me either."

"You were planning to stay this whole time."

"Not the whole time. I made my final decision two days ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't let the special treatment disappear. I had to keep you on your toes." She patted him on the back as the whole crew roared cheers at the April's revelation.