The Prince and Me

Chapter 1

Note: Here's another one-shot story for you guys, but this will be a little different. There will be other parts after this one so be sure to stick around. This was a fan-requested story. Normally, I would try to vary what I'm putting out, but this couple has been dominating my story attention so I had to pay some respects to them. Also, there are multiple gender bends in here so I hope you guys don't get too freaked out or feel turned away from this story. I promise to make it worth the read.

The day has finally come. Princess Kotori has become marrying age. With her birthday being the talk of the kingdom, everyone dropped their things and headed to the castle to celebrate this glorious days. Neighboring kingdoms also decided to join their day of celebration in hopes that Princess Kotori may find a man worthy of being called her prince.

Kotori's day started off bright and early. She jumped out of bed and ran to her balcony. She looked out over the kingdom and saw the entire town bustling. This put a smile on her face as her door opened up behind her and her servants walked in.

"Today's the day, Princess."

"I know. I'm so excited. It doesn't even seem like it's actually happening."

"Well, the bath is ready for you and your change of clothes are already laid out for you." She suddenly skipped right at one of the servants and took her hands. She then jumped around in circles and laughed.

"Come on. There's no need to be so official. Today's my birthday. It's supposed to be a fun day."

"But Princess…"

"Don't give it a second thought. I relieve all of you of your work for today. Go out, have fun, live like you've never lived before." The three of them looked at each other with bewildered eyes. They couldn't believe they were hearing these words come out of her mouth.

"Princess, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. If you're stopped by anyone, just tell them that I personally told you not to work and if they have a problem, they can take it up with me." They suddenly bowed to her and smiled.

"Thank you so much, Princess. We wish you a wonderful happy birthday."

"Thank you. Enjoy your day." After that, they stood up straight and left her room. Meanwhile, Kotori exited her room and walked towards the bathroom.

On her trip there, she encountered all of her servants who had a smile on their faces. Although they served her and her family, Kotori never considered them to be servants. They were more like friends that did everything for her, and today was a little special. When some of them were carrying things, she decided to take it from them and walk it to wherever it needed to go. If one of them was directing orders of things, Kotori stood by them and made sure that everything was going smoothly. Of course, all of the workers took notice of her and couldn't help but laugh it off. They all knew she was sweet girl and since today was her birthday, she was definitely letting go more than usual.

Once she finished up with her morning routines, she made her way down to the main hall where her parents were. She ran down the stairs and leapt into their arms.

"Mother, father, good morning."

"Good morning sweetheart. Are you excited about today?"

"Of course. The whole town is bustling and everyone has a smile on their faces. How could I not be excited?"

"Well, it's your birthday. Go have a little bit of fun. We'll handle things here."

"Really?" Her face suddenly lit up as she hugged them once more and ran in the other direction.

Kotori decided to take another exit towards the town since leaving through the main gates would be too much of a scene. However, there was something that helped her out a bit. The townspeople very rarely got to see her in the flesh so most of them didn't even know what she looked like. They only had a rough idea of what she looked like. Instead of using the clothes that her maids put out for her, she grabbed something else to look less conspicuous.

Once she made it into town, she was blown away at what was happening. Everyone was putting up decorations, cooking food, and having loads of fun. She knew her kingdom was a great one, but seeing it live in person only confirmed her belief even more. As she walked through the streets, everyone greeted her without a single hint that she was their princess in the flesh. This put a smile on her face as her plan was finally working. She looked at the all of the booths, talked to some of the townspeople, and even helped out some of the people working. This made it even easier to blend in with everyone around her.

The last place she visited was the sea port. Of all the things she loved in this, the sea was her favorite. In her eyes, the sea was the prettiest and most mysterious thing in the world. She walked down the pier and watched all of the ships make their way into the bay. As she did, she knew that most of the ships were from neighboring kingdoms. Their ships were huge and so pretty. As they all started to unload, Kotori decided to greet them into the kingdom. She gave them a handshake and a wonderful smile that brightened up all of their days.

Unfortunately, she couldn't stay there for long since it was starting to fill up quickly with foreigners. She decided to head back into town to get one last looked at things. When she did, she noticed that there was a flower shop that she had never seen before. She knew at that moment that that would be her final destination for the day.

She walked into the shop and was immediately consumed by the freshness of all of the flowers. She could smell so many different kinds without a clue as to what they actually were. It was so colorful. Red flowers, blue flowers, pink flowers; she felt like she was in the middle of a rainbow.

"Ah, good morning young lady. How may I help you?"

"Oh, I'm just looking. Thank you though."

"No problem. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

"I will." She resumed walking around the shop until there was one flower that caught her attention. "Wow. So pretty." The flower she was looking at was unlike anything she's ever seen. It was a shade of dark blue that took her breath away. It had a total of eight petals around it and in the middle were q-tip shaped things that made her giggle.

"These are quite stunning, just like you." There was a voice behind her which made her turn around. When she did, she met eyes with the most handsome man she's ever seen. He had amber eyes with lovely blue hair. "Excuse me sir, would you happen to have these as just a flower?"

"Of course. Let me get one for you."

"Thank you." Meanwhile, Kotori was speechless. This man in front of her was something out a fairy tale. "I'm sorry. I must be making you uncomfortable." At that moment, Kotori finally snapped out of her trance.

"Ah haha, no, no. I'm fine. You just startled me is all."

"I'm terribly sorry." He suddenly took her hand and kissed it. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance."

"I-I-I-I feel the same way."

"Here you go sir."

"Thank you." The shopkeeper handed him that same flower, but without the stem. He then put it in the base of her little hair loop. "Perfect. You look beautiful."

"T-T-Thank you." Ding dong! At that moment, the bells from the castle rung which meant that it was finally time to enter the castle grounds.

"My apologies, young miss. I must be going. I hope to see you again sometime." He kissed her hand once more and ran out of the store without another word. On the other hand, Kotori was still standing their like an idiot. Her head was on fire and she didn't even know where she was anymore. It wasn't until the shopkeeper came up behind her and told her that celebration was starting that she returned to normal and ran back to the castle.

When she arrived at the castle, her maids quickly changed her into her birthday dress and guided her to the balcony of the castle. Once she was there, she took her place in the middle of her parents and greeted everyone inside of the castle grounds. It was hard to see their faces since they were so far, but it was obvious that they were eight very important people standing in front of all of them.

"All hail the majesties of the Minami!" That voice broke out of the crowd as everyone got down on one knee and took a bow. As this happened, Kotori couldn't help but be amazed by this sight.

"Such a magnificent sight, isn't sweetheart."

"Yeah, there's so many people here."

"Of course, and they're all here for you." Her father smiled and walked forward. "Greetings, my fellow townspeople. I want to welcome you all to the castle grounds, and I would also like to welcome our 8 very special guests who are to here to win my daughters hand in marriage." He turned to look at her, but she was too embarrassed to look back at him. "Now, would you all be so kind as to introduce yourselves." The 8 of them took a step forward while Kotori's mother pushed her near the edge so that she could get a good look.

"I am Hoshizora Rin of the Thunder Kingdom."

"I am Koizumi Hanayo of the Forrest Kingdom."

"I am Toujou Nozomi of the Mist Kingdom."

"I am Yazawa Nico of the Western Kingdom."

"I am Kousaka Honoka of the Northern Kingdom."

"I am Nishikino Maki of the Cloud Kingdom."

"I am Ayase Eli of the Sun Kingdom."

"I am Sonoda Umi of the Isle Kindgom." At that moment, Kotori's eyes shot wide open.

End of Chapter 1