For some reason, she was on a horse. And she seemed to be along the countryside. The weather was fine, but her clothing was strangely constricting. She looked down at what she was wearing and gasped in disbelief.

"What the hell IS THIS?!?!?!?!" She screeched.

On her body, was a beautiful, dark blue gown, that looked like it came out of the Victorian era-petticoats and all. And if that was shocking, nothing at all prepared her for what she saw next.
"Ojou!!!" She heard them call, and as she turned her head to look expectantly at the familiar voices she desperately needed to wake her up, she saw...

Ooshima Kyoutarou, Wakamatsu, Tetsu and Minoru, a tutu-like thing around their necks, balloon pants and sleeves, dressed in a like timeframe as she was.

What was this, some horrific nightmare?

She wanted to gag.

"Oi! Kyou-san! Where are we and what are we doing here?" She yelled. "And what's with this getup? I WANNA KNOW WHO DRESSED US!"

"Demo, Ojou..." Minoru tried, shakily. "You're supposed to be a princess, and we're supposed to be your uh...relatives, so Kyou-san here's a duke-well...you get the picture."

"Oh. and we're supposed to be accompanying you on a quest to find 'Sleeping Handsome.' He's a prince that's been helping you out a lot these days, spends a lot of time in the castle-even saved your life once or twice. He'll be doomed to sleep for a hundred years..." Tetsu added, helpfully.

"...if he doesn't get true love's kiss." The Young Duke supplied.

"But...! But...! Why does it have to be a kiss?!?! It'll be my first, and I want to give it to my true love!" She wailed.

"Well...if you kiss him, and he wakes up, maybe he'll become your true love. Not like we know how you feel about him, now. You've always been looking at that other Prince, so maybe, we don't even have to do this." Wakamatsu answered.

"No. We'll do it! He saved my life...twice, did you say? We should, at least, try! Are you ready, men?" She asked, with amazing conviction and fighting spirit (like she always does.)

"Ou!" Her loyal...uh...relatives answered.

"Wait. Shouldn't I be the one sleeping, and waiting to be kissed, not the other way around?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh." The Young Duke, Ooshima Kyoutarou replied, a mischievous grin on his face. "Ojou! Did you want Sleeping Handsome to kiss you, instead? I didn't realize you were at that age, already."

She punched him and missed. Damn.

"Well...it turned out like this since according to recent studies, the ratio of women to men is 4:1. That's why it's the women who now have to hunt for husbands." Wakamatsu informed her.

"I'M HUNTING FOR A HUSBAND, NOW?!?!?" She yelled, incredulous.

"Our king, your grandfather, is getting old, and he wants your future secured, so if everything works out well with Prince Handsome, maybe you can..."

She cut off Wakamatsu before he said another word.

"MY first kiss is about the only concession I can make!" She stormed. "So! Let's get this over with! Where's the damn castle I have to storm into and who do I have to beat up to get to that sleeping punk, huh?!?"

They pointed to a rather elegant castle that had SAWADA emblazoned in Bold Arial Print across the huge main gate. Tetsu jumped in and opened the gate, while the rest charged ahead on their Mighty Steeds (tm)!!!

They were surprised to see a batallion of soldiers awaiting them.

"There's no way i'm letting Corrupt Royalty like you, save my only son!!!" The King of Handsome Country announced. "Get them, men!"

They trampled the soldiers, and beat up the unfortunate few who survived. Heh. They should know better. Fighting wasn't about numbers. The fools.

They tied the grouchy king up, and left the queen to cower, somewhere, as they let her enter Sleeping Prince Handsome's bedroom.

There, he slept. His smooth, shiny, tv commercial-like hair, framing his angelic face.
Wow. They didn't call him prince handsome for nothing.

Then, she remembered him. The truth was, all this time, she was too busy thinking about how his father hated her and her family, and

the fact that she was older than him, that she had probably tried to cling more to Prince Older, But Also Handsome, and kept pushing this one away, and throwing their ages and situations in his face-repeatedly, harshly.

Now, faced with the possibility of Sleeping Prince Handsome never waking up, she remembered all the times he was there for her. To talk, to laugh with, who always supported her and looked out for her, and even saved her on occasion-even if he was just a teeny tiny bit younger.

She couldn't imagine life without him. Maybe she did love him. Even before this, shed definitely thought of kissing those soft, red lips he always seemed to touch with his fingers.

She sat on the side of the bed, and caressed his still-sleeping face.

"I don't know if I love you. But I do know that I don't want to lose you. I hope you wake up..." She said quietly, and as she leaned forward, she whispered his name, as she pressed her lips to his.

"...Shin."

...

"What?" He asked, irritably, as he stood over her. She had her head against the desk. They were in the classroom. All the other students and teachers had already gone home.

"Eh?" She asked, jolting upright, not really sure where she was.

"Oi, baka. I was about to wake you up. It's getting late and you fell asleep earlier." he explained, in an exasperated tone.

"Why didn't you just wake me? Or call someone to pick me up?" She continued, as she yawned.

"You seemed tired. Did you really want me to call someone?" He asked, waiting for the meaning to sink in.

"Aheheh...ehe..um. No." She replied, laughing nervously, as she picked up her stuff. So he waited for her, to make sure nothing happened.

He was worried about her. how sweet.

Then, she remembered her dream.

She let out a long sigh. So...back to this, huh?

"Aww...you're such a sweet kid!" She said, ruffling his hair, knowing he'd hate it.

"Stop that. I'm not twelve." He snapped. "C'mon. I'll walk you home."As they walked home, she talked with him about anything and everything that went on that day, until they reached the gate.

He stood there, looking at her-really staring in that intense way, that both made her nervous and excited, as if waiting for something.

She put on her 'idiot smile' and sent him off.

She smiled slightly, as she closed the room to her door, finally alone, as she looked out the window.

That was a nice dream.