Once upon a time, there lived a princess. A princess who genuinely loved her kingdom and its people. Her hair was long and almost silvery white like frost. Strands drifted slightly from the breeze coming from the open window. Her pale skin was like moonlight and her eyes were an astonishing shade of red. She was as beautiful as she was startling. The princess was a rarity, and though she looked different than anyone else, she wore it with pride.

She gazed out at the forest surrounding her castle. The night was calm and cool. Carriages of important guests dropped off their passengers at the castle and drove away. Further out, the city went to sleep after a long day of work, nestled among the trees. The princess loved her country very much, but that night she knew it would be the last time she would ever be its princess. She smiled.

"Princess," a servant arrived at the door of her antechamber. "It's time for your entrance."

She stood up and smoothed out the fabric of her black and white dress. The embroidery design was simple, about as much as she had the patience for, but the silk threads were a familiarity on her fingers. The dress was also bound tight just a little past the point of comfortable. "Let's get this party started!"

"Presenting, his majesty, King Ludwig III and her royal highness, Princess Julchen Marie." The courtier announced just as the princess showed up to link her elbow with her brother's. The king gave her a look of restrained annoyance and escorted her down the stairs to the sound of applause and music.

"Is it okay if I pretend all of this attention is for me?" she joked.

"Jules, what took you so long?" the King said under his breath.

"Yeah, well, this is my last night as a princess. I'm allowed to be at least a little reflective. Besides, you need to relax. It's your birthday party."

"It's more than that. I've only just been coronated. I need to make a good impression. Like I know what I'm doing."

"You need to learn how to enjoy yourself a little at these things. Everyone knows that you're more than prepared to be king. And rumor has it you've got a top knotch team of advisors to help you out." She nudged her brother suggestively.

King Ludwig inhaled. "Jules, we need to talk about that..."

"But not tonight. All my friends are here, so while you're handling all the important business talk, I'm going to be enjoying the party for the both of us."

The king was soon trapped by conversation, so the princess made her escape. It didn't take her long to find her friends. Both Princess Antonia and Princess Francesca were far too attached to their wine than what would normally befit a princess, and neither seemed to care. They had no problems chatting up eligible men when they were already attached, as well as laughing loud enough their giggles could be heard from the other side of the ballroom. Frequently at these sorts of occasions, the three of them would sneak off and cause some sort of mischief, especially when they were younger. Jules missed that time, but as the three of them grew older interests and duties changed.

"You know, if my fiancé saw me talking to you, he would have a fit," the brunette princess chatted to one of the earls, completely unaware that the way she was leaning in and casually touching his shoulder. To her, it wasn't flirtatious but intentions are often different from perceptions. "Lucky for us, he's not here."

"Honestly, I'm not sure why it's taking him so long to ask." The other tucked her perfectly coiffed honey blonde hair behind her ear. "Someone like me isn't available for long. The longer I wait, the more likely I am to change my mind. Princes are so flighty. They show interest but can never seem to commit. So many nobility come up to me and expect me to match their affections based on sweet nothings, but my heart is not so easily won."

"Yes, what wins your heart is money and a title," Jules announced her presence to her friends, as if the fanfare hadn't been enough.

Princess Francesca gave Jules a sly look. "Better than you, my dear. At this rate, no one will even want your hand."

"Good," Jules replied and took the wine offered by Antonia. "Besides, I'll be taking my own vows soon."

"What vows?" Antonia asked.

Francesca rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me you're joining a convent."

"Knighthood. Luddy says he'll make me knight commander." Jules beamed.

"Wow, congratulations!" Antonia said.

"Good for you!" Francesca joined as well. "But just so you know, if you ever change your mind about getting married, I know a couple of very eligible, blue blooded men that would love to marry first born royalty."

Unfortunately, being firstborn in Deutrussia did not mean as much than it did in Francesca's or even Antonia's country. Antonia was an only child and would inherit her kingdom when it was time. Her country was comparatively poorer, so she was engaged from a young age to the son of a neighboring country who was also first born. Once they were wed, their countries would merge. As for Francesca, she wasn't first born, but her beauty and charm gave her a slew of bachelors to choose from, which she did so frequently.

"I'm pretty sure I've scared them all off at this point," Jules confessed. Of the three, Jules had the least pleasant personality. She enjoyed being blunt and honest about how she felt. She seemed to find out the true personalities of people that way. She saw no use for a husband if she didn't even like them and moving to another country was what she wanted the least. "Speaking of that, where's your real target? I figured you'd be stuck on him all night," Jules addressed Princess Francesca, taking a sip of the wine.

Francesca scowled. "I could have sworn I saw him earlier, but he keeps disappearing on me."

Something about that didn't sound right to Jules. Prince Alfred was not the type to just disappear. Honestly, Jules hadn't seen him in a few years thanks to a certain incident, but based on her experience growing up with him, there was no way he'd be anywhere else but the spotlight. She looked to see who her brother was talking to. It was the king of Ameranda, Alfred's father, but the prince was nowhere in sight.

"Honestly, I wouldn't be all that surprised if he refused to show his face here, international scandal aside," Jules commented.

"No, Francesca's right. I saw him, too," Antonia added. "We talked about harvest yields for the year."

To Jules, that sounded even less like Prince Alfred. It's true that he was first born and should be having conversations like that with other future leaders, but that wasn't him.

"I'm going to go look for him," Princess Francesca declared. "Anyone care to join me?"

A couple of the lords surrounding her volunteered like the lovesick puppies they were.

"Princess Antonia..." A hand reached out a grabbed Antonia by her hand. The man was visibly fuming, unable to hide his dissatisfaction even during a state affair such as this.

Antonia cringed and turned. "Darling, I thought that you weren't going to make it until later."

"My schedule opened up." He said curtly.

The man Antonia was talking to bowed politely, addressed the prince, and dismissed himself.

"Honestly, Antonia, I'm getting this close to canceling the treaty..." Prince Romano seethed under his breath. "I will not let me or my country be made a fool."

"Darling, don't be over dramatic. I was just being friendly."

"A little too friendly..."

Jules let them go about their rude little lover's spat. From the corner of her eye, she saw someone leave the ballroom out onto one of the balconies. She thought she saw who they were but had to make sure. She downed the rest of her wine and excused herself from the conversation she was only half listening to.

Leaning over the balcony was a man dressed in blue formalwear. Handsome. Blond. Quiet as he sighed and breathed in the night air. His hair was on the longer side. Wavy. It looked soft in the dim candlelight.

"Didn't expect to see you hiding out here," Jules said as she joined him.

He flinched in surprise. "Ah, Princess Julchen. I was just making my way over to greet you."

Jules stifled a laugh. "I highly doubt that. And you can drop the formalities. It's just us, and I don't care."

He laughed nervously. "Right, well..."

"So, why are you hiding?" Jules asked.

"Not hiding. Just catching my breath. When you're as popular as I am, so many conversations tend to wear on you," he said haughtily.

"Uh huh," Jules remarked doubtfully. "And you're sure you're just not trying to avoid me?"

"Avoid you? No, I would never. It'd be stupid to avoid you in your own home. Besides, it happened years ago. We were kids..."

"You can cut the act. I know, you're not Prince Alfred," Jules interrupted him.

He paused, then smiled. "Really? You can't even recognize me after all these years? Has my handsomeness overwhelmed you?" he joked. "Honestly, your highness, it's almost rude."

"You do have an uncanny resemblance. And you almost have the mannerisms right. You must have had a lot of practice to fool this many people, but Prince Alfred is much more of an unapologetic dick."

He had the decency to blush in embarrassment. "A person can change in a few years."

"Yes, but it'd take a miracle to make him grow out of that level of immaturity."

The man pursed his lips as he debated internally. "What should I have said instead?"

"First, you would have screamed like a baby. Then you would have said, 'Julchen! Someone get the crazy bitch away from me. Oh god, it was a joke! Please not again.'"

He stifled a laugh. Jules knew she was close to catching him.

"I...would not have said that," he continued to hold back. "In this hypothetical situation, where decorum means nothing of course, I probably would have challenged you to a rematch."

The princess opened her mouth to correct him, but paused and thought. "That does sound like Alfred. Stupid. So very stupid with useless masculinity. And you would have lost worse than the last time."

"I have no doubt about that, princess."

"Who are you?" Jules demanded.

"Prince Alfred of Ameranda," he replied.

"Don't lie to me. You're in my country. My brother is the king."

"Prince Alfred of Ameranda-" He said again.

"You lie to me again, and I'll give you the same treatment as Alfred, but worse."

"-'s body double. I'm his body double."

Princess Jules could hardly believe her own ears. "A body double? You expect me to believe Prince Alfred has a body double?"

"Yes, I'm standing in for him so that our country doesn't lose face. It'd be seen a gross negligence if we didn't send our crown prince to the coronation of one of our most powerful allies," he said.

Jules sighed. "I knew Ameranda was rich, but to think they'd waste all that time and money to find and keep a body double for a lousy prince? It must be stranger than I thought."

"Very strange. Could you tell me what exactly you did to Alfred?" he asked. "He wouldn't ever tell me, and obviously, it affected my act."

Jules grinned smugly. "So, the little bastard couldn't admit it. I beat him soundly after a practice duel and squeezed his family jewels for saying that being a knight was a dumb dream. You would have needed to find a new heir if we hadn't have been separated by the commanders. He never apologized, but I think he was still recovering."

"He wouldn't speak for a week after that incident," he said in awe.

"Right, well, I'm sure he didn't want to admit that he was going to be the last of his bloodline because he insulted a princess. How long have you been his body double?" Jules asked.

"Since I was born, pretty much. Now that the cat's out of the bag, I've been meaning to thank you. Alfred is an asshole. The beating you gave him did make him mind his manners for a bit," the body double said.

"I'd gladly give him another lesson, but I guess he's not here. Where is he?"

"Sorry, Princess Julchen. I'm under orders from the king not to say a word. In fact, I really shouldn't have told you that I'm not him."

"It's Jules. And in that case, I'll just settle for your name. If you don't tell me, you're just an uninvited guest."

"It's Matthew."

Jules grinned. "Alright, Matthew. I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance. I don't believe we have ever 'met' before."

"No, we haven't. I don't get involved much outside of our own nation's affairs. Since you were such a very strong candidate for Alfred to marry, the king thought it was important for Alfred to meet you himself," Matthew said.

"Interesting. That would have been quite rude if I had agreed to marry you, but got someone like Prince Alfred instead," Jules said.

Matthew opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind.

"So, Matthew, I'm curious. Have you ever gotten yourself into a situation to intentionally make it harder for Alfred?"

He laughed. "Well, I'm not doing too great right now. I do, sometimes, for things that need his attention that he tends to ignore. Diplomatic issues and what not. He's the one that usually makes more trouble for me, like the whole scandal with you."

"And do the two of you talk often?"

"We sort of have to. Despite his shortcomings, he is my best friend."

"But doesn't that make him like your only friend? I can't imagine there's really anybody who knows that you're Matthew and not him."

"I'm friends with a lot of the staff in the castle. They know who I am, or know I'm not Alfred, at least. But you're right. There's not a whole lot of people my age who know I exist."

"Well, you've got me now. Should Ameranda ever need advice from Deutrussia's military, I'll insist on you."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Princess Julchen, not to seem presumptuous, but are you flirting with me?"

Jules smiled coyly. "Maybe a little. Now that would be a scandal, if people saw the prince of Ameranda and the princess of Deutrussia alone together outside on a balcony. Especially after all of our history."

"Not to mention the Princess Francesca. She'd be heartbroken. Losing a crush and a best friend in a single evening." Matthew took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, your highness, I'm afraid it's not in the stars for us."

"Pity. We should talk again when I'm no longer a princess..."

"And I'm no longer Alfred's body double. I do hope that we meet again soon, Jules."

Matthew left first, returning to his duties as pretending to be Prince Alfred. Jules returned a little later, running into her brother.

"You two seemed to get along. What are you up to?" he asked.

"Nothing, honestly. He was just apologizing for being a dick when we were kids," I lied.

"Prince Alfred apologizing?" King Ludwig asked incredulously.

"I know, right? I think his father must have made him talk to me. So, what did you want to talk about? The knighting ceremony?"

"We can talk tomorrow, as you suggested. We can meet in the great hall first thing in the morning."

"Sounds to me like you're procrastinating. Not that I mind right now." Jules grabbed another glass of wine. "You know, I saw Prince Romano earlier. You know what that means..."

Jules elbowed her brother as a subtle shade of pink colored his cheeks. "That doesn't mean she's here..." Nevertheless, King Ludwig scanned the ballroom.

"Of course she's here. You should ask her to dance."

Ludwig was full on blushing now. "You know I don't dance. Besides, she wouldn't want to dance with me."

"Of course she would. It's your birthday. And you're the king. She can't say no." No proper princess would, and Venetia was a proper princess.

"Then, I definitely can't ask her."

Jules scowled. She loved her brother but she wished he would follow his heart instead of focusing on formalities and what others might think. She downed the rest of her glass again and grabbed her brother's hand.

"Jules, let go," he protested as she dragged him through the crowd. Jules only stopped as she got in front of Princess Venetia, who was wearing a green dress that highlighted the red in her ornately braided hair. She seemed surprised to see the siblings, or rather to see them approach so quickly. Still a model princess, she curtsied.

"Your highnesses," she said in her singsong voice.

Ludwig stiffed out a quick bow but was otherwise stiff as a board. Jules dipped her head in acknowledgement.

"Princess Venetia, you look lovely tonight. I'm sure my brother agrees."

Ludwig didn't show any response. He was barely even breathing. Venetia blushed prettily.

"Ah, thank you, Jules. You look lovely as well."

"My brother and I were just talking, and he was going on and on about how much he wanted to dance with you. He wanted to be sure you were the first person he danced with tonight."

Venetia beamed. It was easy to see why King Ludwig had been in love with this girl since they were children. Her smile lit up the room and even the stiffest of politicians were pulled in by her innocent charm. Jules often admired how powerful wife she would make in the right pairing. "It would be my pleasure, your majesty. I would love to dance with you."

It seemed to take a moment for Ludwig to wake up. He held out his hand. "May I?"

Venetia took his hand daintily and was escorted to the dance floor.

Jules could see he was never going to loosen up if he thought everyone was watching. True, everyone was looking at them, wondering if this was a political move, but she had an idea to create an even bigger scene.

"Prince Alfred" was standing with his "father." Jules approached the two boldly, barely remembering to curtsy to the king of Ameranda.

"Your majesty. If I may be so bold, I was hoping to borrow your son. Prince Alfred, might I have this dance?"

The pair of them blinked at her in astonishment. A new song was just beginning. The King's waltz. She knew she needed to act fast.

The king showed a bemused smile. "Go on, son. It's rude to keep her waiting."

"Ah, yes, father. Princess Julchen..." Matthew held out his hand and Jules took it quickly.

"What are you thinking?" He said in hushed tones. Already, people were unable to hold back their gasps. "Are you trying to cause a scandal now?"

"Yes," she whispered back. "I need to make a scene. If you're trying to save Alfred's reputation, you can pretend like you don't enjoy it."

"I never said I'd do that," he said.

Once they got to the dance floor, they quickly got into position.

Jules grinned. "Matthew, are you flirting with me?"

"Whoops."

Seeming to understand what she needed, Matthew swept Jules around the dance floor, exaggerating every move to essentially give Ludwig and Venetia the privacy they needed.

"Diplomatic and a dancer. You might as well be a prince. It's a shame it's just pretend," Jules said.

"It is a shame. But it looks like I'm not the only one pretending," he said.

"Oh? And what am I pretending to be?" Jules asked playfully.

"I'm not quite sure what you're pretending to be. Someone who doesn't care, obviously, when you do care a lot more than what others give you credit for. Believe me it's hard to find that passion in royalty. It's a real shame that you won't be a queen."

Jules' mouth gaped open slightly as she was stunned into silence. They continued to dance, as Matthew pulled her close for their final pose.

"Did I overstep?" he whispered.

"No, no..." she said dismissively.

The dance partners bowed to each other as the music stopped. Jules quickly turned back around and went back into the crowd. She suddenly wasn't in the partying mood.

"Jules..." Princess Francesca found her before she was able to escape the ballroom. "What in the world was that? Why were you and Prince Alfred together?"

"Luddy wanted me to dance with him as a show of our countries' relationship," Jules lied. She found she was telling a lot of lies tonight. "Don't worry. Prince Alfred is all yours to pursue."

Francesca seemed satisfied with the answer, so Jules made her exit.

She made her way to her room and gazed out the window. Jules loved her country very much, but she couldn't be its princess. She couldn't be its queen despite being first born and learning all that she could about being a good ruler on top of sitting through lessons on being a proper lady. She also loved her brother and could never wish ill on him. Still, her hunger for power and significance clashed with her sisterly nature. She would rather watch her brother succeed than to snatch her dream away from him.

So to Jules, the night was bittersweet, and no amount of partying or men with intriguing secrets would ease the aching in her heart.