I love tragedies! Hmm…I promised earlier that I'd make it up to Red and Yellow for putting them through so much torture…but I really felt like this story here symbolizes an important lesson.

Their first meeting was completely by chance. The boy with hair as dark as night and eyes the color of cherries and the girl with the long blonde hair and golden colored eyes. Fate just happened to put them together in the same forest, the boy on a mission, the girl playing freely. The young girl's mind was full of fairytales with beautiful princesses and charming princes which always ended in a happy ending at a magnificent ball, where love could be sealed with a "true love's kiss". She loved fantasizing that she was a princess, and someday, her Prince Charming would come and rescue her from a ferocious dragon, and they would be happily married.

Once upon a time, a little blonde princess had gotten lost in the woods. The nearby villagers had warned her to stay clear of these very woods, as that's where the evil wizard Giovanni and his ferocious beasts were rumored to live, and they destroyed those who dared to enter their realm. Giovanni was the reason why the princess could no longer freely play in the woods she loved, and she longed that someday, a hero would come to put an end to his evildoings. Despite the warnings and tales of horror, the princess snuck out into these woods that she loved so much, where she could be free to play with her animal friends. But that very day, the woods seemed disturbed by an evil presence, and a vicious dragon came to attack her. She feared the worst, it was all over for her, but when she opened her eyes, her handsome Prince Charming that she had only dreamed of was there. Her prince had come just in time to slay the beast, and save the day. She later learned that he was the one who vanquished the evil Giovanni, and liberated the forest from evil.

But the two of them were always too shy to exchange many words. And whilst in their mind, they longed for each other, neither had the courage to take a chance, make a move. This was their great mistake.

But fate gave them another chance, and their destinies crossed again and again. Finally, the once young girl was 16 years old, and the boy was 18. Both of them were now highly coveted by many across the land, but each of them had only one true love that they both longed for desperately. No matter how many times fate crossed them together, they failed to make their feelings known time and time again. Neither of them knew why they were so afraid, but both of them, while their fear was unfounded, were greatly scared of rejection.

Finally, fate decided to give them one final chance. The Viridian Ball, the largest event of the year was taking place. The prince and the princess were finally working up the courage to make a move.

In the prince's quarters, he was seeking help from his loyal friend, a lord with spiky brown hair and deep green eyes.

"But what if the lady should not return my affections?"

"She shalt do so, you only need the courage to ask."

"Perhaps you are right…then tonight is the night I shall ask the question."

In the princess's carriage on her way, her waiting maid, a pretty brunette with sea blue eyes, was also trying to offer her some advice.

"Don't be shy. Smile, and try to show him how much you love him."

"But, that sounds so desperate. Are you sure I ought to do it?"

"Milady, whether he accepts or not, you have to try to make this work."

The princess's carriage brought her to the ball too quickly for her comfort, and upon entering the doors of the Viridian Palace, she saw the red-eyed boy and their eyes met. The blue-eyed girl began to escort her friend to the prince, while the green-eyed boy requested a popular romance song.

"Would you honor me with a chance? I mean a dance?" She nervously accepted his offer, and the two began their waltz. But neither could enjoy themselves, as they were all too concerned that somehow, they would end up humiliating themselves. They spoke few words, and anyone nearby could sense the tension building. Off in the distance, the maid and the lord watched the scene together.

The princess sat up in her bed bolt upright, and turned to the figure lying next to her in bed.

"What's wrong?"

"I was dreaming again…of that night. I dreamt that we both lacked the courage to make our moves, and you hadn't proposed."

"But you know that's not the case, right? I love you, and you love me back, so when I asked the question that night, it's only natural that you accepted, and we were married happily the next year."

"Yes, of course."

"Now then," the man said, patting her abdomen, "soon, there shall be evidence of our eternal love."

"Yes. It's too bad we can't dance as long as I'm in this state."

"It'll all be worth it when our child comes along."

This is the happy ending they both dreamt of even now, and this is the happy ending that the princess read about in her storybooks. But sadly, not all fairytales end with a happy ending, real life is no fairytale…and there's always the many souls who never reach their happily ever after.

"They'd be such a cute couple, if only they could get over their shyness."

"I can see why my prince has taken a fancy to the princess. Would you like to dance?"

"It would be my honor." The maid and the lord began their own dancing in the corner of the room, and when the music came to a halt…they had already exchanged a kiss or two. The red-eyed prince saw this and seethed inside with envy. Why could he himself not be as bold and daring?

In the meanwhile, the prince and princess could only think that if neither of them spoke, then this could well be their last dance together. And they couldn't bear the thought that their time with their lovers was running short. Both of them wished that the magic could last forever, but alas, whenever one opened their mouth to speak, they both found themselves suddenly cursed to be mute.

But they loved each other no doubt. Around him, she felt that her fairytale fantasies could well be true. And he felt that as long as she was there, then everything in the kingdom would be perfect.

The two continued their dance throughout the night, but when the ball came to an end, neither had said more than a few meaningless words to the other. Neither had taken the chance to confess, and now they would pay the price by having the remainder of their lives doomed to unhappiness. If only they had spoken, then maybe their happily ever after could be possible. The prince and the princess left the ball that night, full of regrets and a broken heart, but neither could blame anyone but themselves. Each of them left thinking if only I had taken a chance.

The maid took her princess to a nearby tavern, to help cure her broken heart. She talked about her own experience with the dashing brunette lord, and the princess thought enviously of how she wished her own story could be the same. At the tavern, the princess met new men, and a broken heart is a vulnerable one. Shortly, she found herself a lover, though none could replace the hole in her heart. In the meanwhile, the prince had begun courting his maids. With their friend's help, they both quickly forgot about each other, so that when they did finally meet again…at the Viridian Ball next year, they acknowledged each other, and the other's date with a polite nod, while trying to hide the tears behind a mask of joy, and that was all that remained to them of the person they had once and still loved so deeply. And in the meanwhile, their maid and lord were happily engaged, looking forward to a life of happiness.

Yea…don't be shy, take a chance, and you might be surprised. That's what I've been told. Anyways…please review! I hope you enjoyed! Sorry if this was rushed…I kinda tried to write something up fast since I haven't updated in a while, I've been having laptop issues. If anyone out there cares, I might not be able to write up anything for about another 2 weeks, since my laptop's being tooled with, and this is the only story I had on a drive.