: Black Sheep Princess :
by Shadow.of.Illusion
Summary: Not every princess gets the stereotypical fairytale treatment.
Disclaimer: Don't own FFVII, or the characters, or the plushies (yet). I do own (most of) the games and the movie, which probably doesn't really count for much...?
WARNING!: Yuffie's language, brief smatterings of badmouthing, that should be it.
Brief A/N: "..." Honestly, people, I don't even know what to say about this one. It was supposed to just be a 500 word drabble that got a little out of hand, and its sole reason of being posted is to say that yes, I am still alive. Just unable to write much. And I adore this pairing, and am saddened that not many new (or updated stories) are being posted.
--xoxo
Princesses are these gorgeous ladies with long hair, beautiful smiles, and impossibly long dresses, right? At least, if you go by the storybooks. Me? I guess I'd be the black sheep in the entire world of fairytale princesses. A ninja just doesn't ever cut it for the image most people are looking for. It's all wrong, wrong, wrong!
Long hair being teased into intricate knots, loaded with wondrous hairpins and bangles and all sorts of things you'd never wear yourself. Your mother looked beautiful in all these, however, and you were more than content to let her have all the glory—even those times you'd sigh in the mirror at the woefully short dark locks you swore to never grow out.
Even my people are kind of, hell—they know I'm not the princess they were looking for! It's not like it's a big, amazing, super well-kept secret or anything. I've always, always, been like that. Fair? Probably not to them, but what am I supposed to do about it?
"Follow your dreams." You heard someone say that someone else had said that before, but the memory's old, dusty, and worn-out through forgetting and remembering about it for years on end. You've always liked those words though, and clung to them semi-consciously through everything. Even when your mother was murdered and your entire world was turned upside down, they haunted your thoughts, the back of your mind, like a friendly, well-meaning ghost.
I'm a thief, a ninja (a kick-ass one at that!), and the Single White Rose of Wutai! I'm a part of AVALANCHE, now in the WRO, and the list goes on and on and on. Some days, I can't even begin to keep up with everything, and other times it seems like nothing's ever gonna happen.
You loved being a part of something, being able to save the world, even if you denied it up and down in every direction. You were out to restore the glory and honor of Wutai, and perhaps this would help turn your country in the right direction again. Years passed, you wonder when and if anything you do will aid your country's restoration, but try to have faith that it will. Optimism is your number one quality, and you're not about to let it regress.
So there you have it, number one princess screw-up Yuffie. But you know what, I wouldn't trade it for anything, so there! If I had to run around in a kimono all day, and deal with super-mega-long hair, I'd go crazy and kill someone! Or be all miserable and unhappy, 'cause there's really no way to steal much when you're wearing something that bulky and long—and yes, I've tried it. Once. Gawd, that is so not going to happen again!
You've read all the fairy tales, as Marlene loves to act them out with you and Tifa: Snow White, Cindrella, Sleeping Beauty, and more. Each one causes you to wince and shrug sheepishly at some point, in turn causing the younger girl to eye you, speculating. You'd wave it off, and jump onto another scene in the story-of-the-moment, effectively making sure she didn't read too much into it.
I think that everyone forgets I'm royalty at times, and it's kinda good and bad all at once. Like those candies that are so sour they make your mouth pucker and then are like super sweet and you're wanting to shove more in your mouth to get the same flavor. Like all those times I fell in like (never love) with someone, but realized I couldn't 'cause everyone knows that a princess has to marry a prince, and it just isn't fair.
You were shocked and surprised, but nonetheless pleased to find yourself caught up in the gunner's slightly stiff, but still warm and protective, embrace. You reveled in it, knowing he'd only do so in the shadows, only when no one else was there to see. You were always patient, knowing he still needed time to get over everything, and made sure to prod him along when you felt he needed it (all the time).
But you know, love still seems to want to bite people in the ass, like Cid always says. And boy, does he have a way of saying stuff! It's true though, and even a screw-up princess like me found her prince (not royalty so it can't be) charming, and a happily (never) after.
His breath fanned against your face, as you closed your eyes, sinking quickly into the desperate heat of his kisses. You knew that this was probably something you'd have a hard time cajoling (coercing) him into again, at least anytime soon, so you were determined to not let him keep anything back. You wanted him to trust you, to share some of his burdens with you, to stop being so damned moody and gloomy, and this was your time to shine in his memories.
So, maybe I won't have a happy ending with my prince, but I'll make it work. The great ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi, will not allow any old jerks in Wutai's government to stand in her way! Nope, so not gonna happen! This black sheep princess will figure out a way to have a happily ever after, with all the bazillions of good stuff that the other princesses always get.
--xoxo
Any thoughts on it? I'd love to try to write more in this series, so feedback would be loved greatly!! Critiques especially. :)
--S.o.I.