Summary: Prince Li is bestowed to Princess Daidouji, the fairest beauty of her kingdom. But, what happens when he falls in love with the kitchen maid, who refuses to pass him a second glance?

A/N: Not Sakura! There are too many S&S stories out there. This is a MeiLi! ^-^ Please enjoy and R&R, minna-san!

~*~Once upon a Midnight Lotus~*~ Chapter 1: Things aren't always meant to be...
It was minutes latter sunrise. A group of young maids were huddled by a large wooden door leading to the Prince's room, hoping to catch a glimpse. An older servant walked down the hall and brutally pushed them away, and began scolding them.

"You have ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT to be looking in there! What were you thinking! If you were caught, you would be thrown straight out to the streets! Have you no pride?! Return to your assignments IMMEDIATELY before I tell the Mistress about your gawking!"

All the girls grumbled and obediently rushed off to their chores. Inside the room, the Prince sighed. This happened everyday, well, atleast since the marriage was made definite, and he was getting darn well sick of it. Sighing, he finished dressing and picked up his sword, which he had gotten polished the previous night. He then headed out to practice.

~*~*~

"I wish she wouldn't always make us leave right away!" Whined Sakura.

"I know! Doesn't she remember what it was like to be 14?!" Naoko cried in disappointment. (A/N: Syaoran and Eriol are 15 in this story!)

"No. That was probably WAY to long ago for her old, wrinkled head!" Joked Chiharu.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about. You know none of you have a chance with him, so why bother?" Meiling joined in.

The five teenage maids were working in the kitchen, preparing lunch. Naoko's knife slipped at that last comment, and she slit her finger.

"What do you mean?! A girl has gotta dream!" She stuttered.

"Meiling is right, you know." Rika chimed in. "Tomoyo is to marry him, so there really is no point."

"Speaking of which-" Chiharu paused to test the noodles. "-I haven't seen the princess down here for a while now."

"Well, she's got a lot to do!" Sakura winked and stuck out her tongue. "She IS going to get married soon!"

Naoko cleaned off her finger and bandaged it. "The wedding is in three months! She SHOULD be able to fit it into her schedule!"

Chiharu shook her head, and added seasoning to her noodle dish. "You know how her mother feels about her mingling with us. She's probably trying to get her to act more like..."

They all looked at each other and sighed, then said in unison,

"Royalty."

Rika shook her head. "Well, it can't be helped...we should be glad that she even talks to us!"

Sakura nodded. "Atleast she's not a stuck up brat like most of them!"

Chiharu sighed. "Yeah, but she's SOOOOOOO lucky! I would give ANYTHING to be a princess, and marry a handsome man like Prince Li!"

"Well, keep dreaming. Not like you'd have anything to give, anyway!" Teased Meiling. "Besides, I thought you had that hot guard, Yamazaki!"

Chiharu blushed and began to make the salad. "He-he's just a friend..."

"SURE he is!" They all teased.

"Who is?"

They all turned around in shock, to see Princess Tomoyo standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Long time no see! Oh, we were just bugging Chiharu about her secret crush on Yamazaki." Rika informed her with a grin.

"I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!" Cried a flustered Chiharu.

Tomoyo giggled. "So what have you been up to?"

"Nothing really." Sakura said. "Just checking out your Prince Charming!"

Tomoyo blushed.

"What? You can't say that he isn't one of the...finer ones, can you?" Joked Naoko.

"To tell you the truth, I honestly am not to thrilled about all of this..." She replied meekly.

"What do you mean?" Meiling questioned, while putting the finishing touches on the desert.

"Well, you see...I kind of...like someone else...and I know it's not my choice but..."

The other five girls leaned forward and started questioning.

"WHO?!"

"You're not excited about your wedding day?!"

"Is he hotter than Prince Li?!"

"Is that possible?!"

"Is he even royalty?!"

"WHO?!"

Tomoyo giggled, then sighed and got a dreamy look in her eyes.

"You see, I haven't hardly even talked to him, and, I guess this sounds like a little girl's fantasy, but I guess you could say it was love at first sight..."

~*~*~

Well, that's the end of chapter one! I hope it isn't confusing...sorry so short! I promise there will be more of 'Prince Li' in the next chapter. Sorry to all you people hoping for an S&S romance, but I'm not gonna do it! :P I have this planned out pretty much, but any suggestions would be appreciated. All I'll say is that Tomoyo and Syaoran aren't going to stay together...spoiler! Hehe...I got the idea though from my best friend Avi, she thought that since Meiling isn't in the manga that Syaoran and Tomoyo should hook up...^-^ Anyway, R&R please, everyone! Ciao for now!

-Orenji-chan ^-^