After applying a thin layer of sunscreen, Alexandra stretched out her long, tanned slender legs on the blue-checkered lounge chair and put her sun glasses back into place on her nose.

The burning ball of sunlight in the clear, blue sky was shining down on her bikini clad body, spreading warmth throughout. It was a beautiful cloudless afternoon and the perfect temperature for sun bathing, with the exception of an occasional cool, ocean breeze that would tickle her bare skin.

This was exactly the type of day she was looking forward to seeing for the rest of the trip. The cloudy day she saw yesterday couldn't come close to fazing her good mood today.

Alexandra had her whole afternoon planned out with her friend, Summer. An hour on the sun deck, a trip to the restaurant for lunch, some shopping at the gift shop; there was absolutely nothing that was going to spoil her day.

"Ms DuPont?"

Alexandra lowered her sunglasses from her eyes, shielded her eyes with her hand from the harsh sunlight and tilted her head up to meet a pair of blue eyes. "Yes?"

The young servant held out a tray of decorative glasses filled with tropical juice. "Would you care for a cold beverage?"

Alexandra smiled politely and took a glass. "Thank you."

The servant moved to the side to serve Summer, whom was lounging right beside her friend.

She took a glass, while making sure to be obvious that she was checking the young man out.

When the two girls were left alone, Summer flashed Alexandra a wide grin. "Sun bathing on a luxurious ship, pineapple juice served with little umbrellas, and handsome young servants; what could be better?"

Alexandra returned the grin and pushed her sunglasses back on to her nose. "Absolutely nothing," she said with a soft sigh. She cleared her mind and relaxed back into her chair as her bare skin absorbed the warmth from the sun.

"Your highness, can we get a picture with you?" A voice called across the sun deck.

Alexandra swallowed the frustrated sigh that wanted to escape and opened her eyes, expecting to see someone standing over her with a camera in hand and a hopeful smile on his or her face.

But to her surprise, she didn't see anyone within a ten foot radius of her.

Then, a glint of sunlight caught her attention, drawing her eyes over to the right where a small group of people stood at the entrance of the sun deck.

It felt like a mini explosion went off in her chest.

Amongst the group of people stood a smiling Prince Kade as he took turns speaking to each individual. Attached to his arm was a tall, slender young woman with dark chocolate hair pulled back into a high ponytail. A pair of Ray Ban sunglasses covered her eyes, hiding most of her face from view.

Her blood red painted lips curved up into a polite smile as she spoke with the person beside her.

Instantly, Alexandra took a disliking to her. The way she held herself, with confidence and elegance, gave her the impression that she could be stuck up.

The princess licked her dry lips and forced her eyes away from the couple, but keeping them in her peripheral vision. Of all the places that they could go on the ship, they had chose the sun deck out of all of them. Absentmindedly, Alexandra ground her teeth together in annoyance.

"We could leave if you wish," Summer spoke quietly, her eyes flickering to the couple. Alexandra whipped her head to her friend, a bit startled.

Summer's eyes roamed over her face, as if trying to read her thoughts. If being in the same room with the prince made Alexandra uncomfortable, then she would do everything in her power to help her.

Summer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion when Alexandra shook her head. "No, it's okay. We were here first. I'm sure I can handle it," she said with an assuring smile, though it was weak and a bit shaky.

Her friend gave her a doubtful look, but reluctantly relaxed back into her seat with the magazine she had been reading.

Alexandra tried to do the same, but no matter how hard she tried to ignore the two new presences on the deck, she found herself stealing glances their way. Her eyes narrowed behind her sunglasses as she watched Kade put his arm around her bare, skinny waist. Alexandra's fists clenched at her sides as fire flashed in her eyes. The bikini the young woman wore hardly left any imagination to the viewer's eye. There was hardly anything there!

When the group of people surrounding the young couple began to disperse, Kade began to lead his girlfriend over to a few available lounge chairs direct across the deck on the other side.

For a fraction of a second, the prince paused in his tracks when Alexandra's familiar frame caught his eye.

In that brief time that Kade's forest green eyes met hers, it felt like time had stopped. A thousand butterflies exploded in her chest and her mouth went dry. Then, as if nothing had happened, Kade turned away, leaving the princess feeling cold inside.

She ducked her head, silently cursing in her mind. She forcefully reminded herself that Kade was just a thing of the past, that what they once had was only an illusion; a trick of the mind. She couldn't allow herself to think that way about him anymore. It would only create problems for both him and herself.

-:-:-:-

"Ms Branston, please sit still," the hair stylist told Summer, whom was fidgeting in her seat as the woman tried to fix her hair.

With a sigh, Summer did as she was told, frowning at herself in the mirror. "I don't understand how you can stand having people poke and prod you each morning," she muttered to Alexandra.

The princess was silently watching her own hair stylist brush and comb her long flowing hair in the mirror in front of her. "Trust me, I'm not so crazy about it either. But tonight you and I are having dinner with the captain; we should look our best," she replied. While the hairstylist was pinning her hair up, another person was painting her nails a deep magenta to match her cocktail dress she was going to wear tonight.

Twenty minutes later, the two girls were ready. Summer's curly hair was tidy and hung over her shoulder in loose waves. On her short, curvy frame, she wore a spaghetti strap royal blue dress that stopped above her ankles and on her feet, she wore two-inch heels.

Alexandra was wearing the deep magenta cocktail dress she had picked out earlier. The hemline stopped just above her knees, showing off her long, tanned legs and black pumps.

Unlike Summer, her long honey-ginger hair that fell halfway down her back was now pulled back in a high, curly ponytail with a few delicate curls hanging down on either side of her face.

After a few dabs of make up, the girls grabbed their matching shawls and exited the suite room.

The walk to deck E was fairly quick as the girls took the elevator, and then proceeded down the short hallway to the fancy restaurant.

Upon entering through the double doors, some kind of slow jazz mix entered their ears. Alexandra inhaled the arrange of delicious smells, like fish and spices, in the air.

The restaurant was a large room with a high ceiling, containing nearly one hundred tables. At least half of the tables were filled tonight with most of the guests who may or may not be joining them at Alexandra's sister's wedding.

The princess glanced around the fairly crowded restaurant until she spotted the back of the captain's head, as well as some of his crewmen, and a few of her sister's good friends whom were part of multimillion dollar companies in North America that Alexandra couldn't quite remember their names.

Alexandra and Summer began to make their way to the captain's table. She knew that it was very likely the prince was also going to be in the restaurant that night. But as she threw quick glances around her, Alexandra couldn't see him--and she couldn't help but feel relieved.

"Ah, your highness. I'm glad you can join us tonight, how was your trip?" The captain asked as the two girl's took a seat across from the captain. He was a bulky man with greying hair and sparkling light blue eyes lined with wrinkles.

"It was fine, thanks for asking," Alexandra smiled at the man.

"As I was explaining to my crew, the ship will be undergoing some new renovations in the next month." The captain continued with his previous talk. For the next hour or so, the conversation topic was mostly about the ship and the week long trip from Vertmere to Bellshore. Then, the captain shared some of his sea stories from when he was younger while the food was being eaten. It was a friendly atmosphere full of laughter and tales.

Eventually, Alexandra began to feel stuffy in the restaurant. Since she had long-ago finished her dinner and was growing a bit bored by the conversation, she excused herself and walked over to the mini juice bar near the front of the restaurant. As the evening slowly dragged on, the restaurant was becoming more crowded with people.

Alexandra reached into the front of her dress and pulled out her cell phone she had stuffed in there because of the lack of pockets on her dress. She quickly sent a text to her parents, informing them that she was alright and everything went well with dinner with the captain, and then checked the time. It was almost nine thirty. She had about two and a half hours left until midnight. She exhaled lightly and then left the juice bar to get some fresh air outside.

On the large balcony outside the restaurant, it was more peaceful and quiet, except for the faint sounds of the restaurant music and people's chatter.

Alexandra blocked out the unnatural sounds and focused on the night sky above her. As a chilly ocean wind passed over her arms, she shivered and pulled the thin shawl she had around her shoulders closer to her.

Away from the lights of towns or cities, the night sky was more vivid and twinkling stars much brighter. This was one of her favourite things she liked to do on the ship; stand on the balcony at night and stare at the stars, clearing her mind of all her stress and worries.

Closing her eyes, Alexandra breathed in deeply, taking in the salty ocean air as she listened to the sounds of the waves lapping against the sides of the ship. As she listened, she could feel her stress roll off of her. To her, there was nothing in the world that could be more peaceful. The ocean calmed her and put her at ease.

To imagine a life in the sea, it was nearly impossible. But one wouldn't have a care in the world, nor any worry about where life would take he or she, they could just ride the current and see where it takes them.

At the thought, Alexandra raised her hand to finger the small gem hanging around her neck on a thin, silver chain. She slowly opened her eyes and held it away from her throat to look at it. It was a tear-drop shaped gem, the colour of an emerald. On one side, the gem was beginning to go dark, making the colour look uneven in the moonlight. To think this could be her last year on the ship, she thought.

"Now, how did I know you'd be out here?" a familiar, deep voice said.

Startled, Alexandra whirled to face the person. Her heart beat sped up and her mouth went dry, taking in the sight of Prince Kade. Now, up close, she could see that he hadn't changed much in the two years that they hadn't seen each other.

He had the same soft, forest green eyes that seemed to pierce right through her and read her like a book, and the neatly combed dark hair that was slightly spiked at the front.

Seeing him standing in front of her, after all these years, brought a wave of emotions to the surface and she couldn't bare to keep eye contact for very long.

Contrary to her nervous state, Kade smiled weakly. "Hi, Alex."

Alexandra didn't trust herself to speak, for fear it would come out scratchy, so she remained silent, only acknowledging him with her eyes. Hearing him call her Alex after so long sent a stab of nostalgia through her. He was the only one she had ever allowed to call her Alex.

Kade stepped forward, removing the hands from his pockets and rested his elbows on the balcony railing beside her. The whole time she had been watching him with a calculating and cautious look, as though she thought he'd pounce on her at any second. But somehow she knew he wasn't going to do that, not this time, which she was telling herself that that was the only reason keeping her from running back to the safety of her room.

There was a tense silence that passed between the two. Although no audible words were being said, it was clear that the night was clouding with unsaid thoughts from the two. Alexandra feared she was going to crack if he didn't say anything soon. It was nearly driving her crazy with anticipation.

"I remember you always liked to escape outside when you felt crowded in places," Kade murmured softly as he stared out at the darkened ocean with those intense and alluring green eyes. She knew that if he were to capture her own eyes in his, she wouldn't be able to look away again.

Before he caught her staring like a deer caught in the headlights of an on coming car, she quickly dropped her eyes to the cool metal railing under her hand. She felt his stare on her, but she refused to look at him.

"You were always searching for freedom; for a means of escape," he continued.

This time, she found the confidence to look up to meet his eyes. They narrowed on him.

Now, it was starting to become clear to her on why he had followed her out here, and it wasn't just to make friendly conversation. It was starting to feel like a repeat from two years ago.

"I'm sure you didn't come out here to just talk about my personal life," She spoke up.

Kade's eyes dulled slightly. "No, not entirely."

"Then, why did you come out here?" She asked him bluntly.

Kade averted his gaze away from hers to stare back out at the ocean. He sighed lightly, running a hand through his hair as he collected his thoughts. "I came out here for some kind of confirmation," he said.

Alexandra's eyebrows knitted together with confusion. "Confirmation?"

Kade's fingers tapped the railing, looking uncomfortable. "Yeah; I wanted to find out if you still...felt the same way about me."

Alexandra's heart beat skyrocketed in her chest at the bluntness of his question. She couldn't believe he was asking her such a thing.

She fingered her necklace, averting her eyes away from his.

"Kade, this isn't the right time to be talking about this," she spoke quietly.

"Why?"

"Well, because it isn't!" Alexandra breathed out in exasperation, stiffly turning away from him. "You can't just come out here and corner me with such a question," she lowered her voice to a soft tone, "you have a girlfriend. It wouldn't be right."

The word girlfriend felt odd on her tongue, almost like it was a dirty word. She didn't like it, not one bit.

She heard a shoe scuff on the ground and she could sense Kade was a lot closer to her now.

"No, it wouldn't be right if you did," he agreed quietly, "but if you didn't, then there wouldn't be a problem. I've always been honest with you, Alex. All I'm asking for is the truth. I need to know so I can move on with my life."

His words felt like a freight train had hit her. They burned a hole right through her heart, leaving her feeling cold and lonely all of a sudden. How could he sound so serene and monotonous about this? Like Alexandra was just another item to scratch off his list with no regret. Had his feelings for her changed? And what makes him think that it was possible that she still had feelings for him?

Alexandra pushed her emotions aside and stood up straight, turning to stare him in the eye with new found confidence. "I've already moved on a long time ago, Kade."

The prince's eyes searched her features carefully, as if looking for any sign of dishonesty in her face. Then, he muttered, "I can see that; since the day you decided that you didn't want to see me anymore-"

Alexandra grimaced slightly at the reminder of their past. "That wasn't for me to decide."

Kade raised his eyebrows at her excuse. "It wasn't for you to decide? Alex, I waited--" He paused in mid-sentence, realizing his voice was rising with each word he said.

He abruptly turned away from her, pinching the bridge of his nose like he did when he was frustrated or stressed.

Then, in a more composed voice, he said, "Alex, I deserve to know why you had decided to end our relationship with no warning."

The princess could feel her irritation rising in her body. "I don't know why you're bringing this up now, after so long."

"Because you've always avoided the question."

Alexandra rubbed her temple with weary. "Kade, just drop it, please."

Kade sighed in frustration. "I don't think I'll ever understand you. You used to be so open with me, but you've changed."

Alexandra squeezed her eyes shut momentarily, trying to maintain the swirl of emotions raging through her. "Please leave, Kade."

A brief moment of silence passed. Then, Kade exhaled a breath of air. "Fine."

He started towards the door, but then stopped when he had something else to say. "I'm getting married next month, I thought you should know."

With his last words lingering in the air, the prince left, closing the door behind him and leaving Alexandra in an upset state.

She tried to tell herself that his words hadn't affected her, that she no longer felt anything towards him, but she'd only be lying to herself. Her whole life had been falling apart since the day she broke up with Kade, and it was all her doing. She'd been living with the same regret for two years and it's been eating her up inside. She had thought that someday she could finally share what she was feeling to Kade, but she never had the strength to do so.

Now, it was too late.

Alexandra turned to face the ocean and wrapped her arms around herself, and only the cold wind could hear her quiet sobs.