Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom, there lived two prince brothers: Hiro and Tadashi Hamada. They lived in the grand palace with their aunt Cass, who became the good queen of the kingdom when her sister-in-law and older brother passed away.
One day, Cass decided to hold a grand ball for Tadashi. After all, he was eighteen years old, the proper age for him to select a bride. "But Aunt Cass, I don't want to get married," Tadashi insisted.
"Don't be ridiculous," Cass said as she monitored the ballroom preparations. "You are eighteen. Royal tradition dictates that you are to select a bride to continue the bloodline."
As the two talked, Hiro sat in his room, bored and alone. As the younger prince at age fourteen, he was usually ignored. After all, his brother was meant to be the next queen when Cass died. Because of this, Hiro had become jealous of Tadashi. Fortunately he had a small friend: a male calico cat named Mochi, the royal family's pet. Hiro often spent most of his time snuggling with Mochi, making the adorable cat his only friend.
"Oh Mochi," Hiro sighed, petting the calico cat. "Why is it that Tadashi gets to meet a maiden tonight? What about me? Will I get to meet a girl someday?"
Mochi meowed in response and looked at Hiro. It seemed he was unsure about Hiro's wish as well.
That evening, the grand ball began, the Hamadas all dressed in their finest clothing. Cass wore a deep purple dress, black flats, and a gold crown. Tadashi and Hiro were both dressed in dark blue clothing, although Hiro's usually messy hair was gelled. All in all, the three looked absolutely stunning.
As the ball progressed, Tadashi was starting to look bored. He was greeted by just about every single girl in the kingdom, but he looked uninterested in any of them. That is, until one girl walked in late.
She had just entered the ballroom wearing a silvery-blue kimono and silver sandals. Her black hair was tied in a bun and held in place with a pair of light blue chopsticks. She looked very elegant and classy.
Without thinking, Tadashi rushed over to the girl and started speaking to her. On the balcony, Hiro told Cass about this news. Needless to say, she was pleasantly delighted.
"This is wonderful Hiro!" Cass exclaimed as she and Hiro watched Tadashi socialize with the girl. "I don't know who this girl is, but if Tadashi likes her, that's good enough for me! I shall make wedding preparations first thing tomorrow morning!"
As Hiro watched his brother and the strange girl, he started to get bored. "Come on Mochi," the younger prince said. But from the corner of his eye, Hiro could see a black, white, and orange figure leaving the balcony. Curious, he began to follow the cat.
As Hiro followed Mochi, he ended up outside of the palace and into the woods. As he walked, Hiro became rather filthy, covered in leaves and bits of mud stuck to his body. Eventually he came across a tall stone tower. But Mochi was nowhere to be seen.
"Mochi!" Hiro called out. "Mochi where are you?!"
To Hiro's surprise, a melodious voice came from the tower as hair fell out of the lone window. But it wasn't any hair. It was gorgeous, honey-blonde, and long enough to reach the ground. Entranced by the song, Hiro tried to find an entrance. But seeing that there was none, he decided to use the gorgeous blonde hair as a rope.
So as Hiro climbed, the singing stopped, replaced with tiny little yelps. He ignored the yelps as he continued climbing, wanting to see the beautiful maiden in the tower. Once he reached the top of the tower, Hiro was surprised to see the maiden.
Sure enough, she was very beautiful with her long honey-blonde hair and wide bright green eyes. She wore a plain long-sleeved pink dress and a flower crown made out of orchids. It wasn't long before she caught a glimpse of Hiro as he entered the tower.
"My goodness!" the maiden exclaimed.
"Sorry for the intrusion," Hiro said, bowing slightly. "I was trying to find my pet cat when I heard you sing. I'll just climb back down and-"
"You're not going anywhere looking like that," the maiden said. "Just take off your clothes and I'll give you a nice warm bath."
Hiro was surprised, but he did what she said. The next thing he knew, he was sitting in a bubble bath with the maiden washing his hair. He didn't want to tell anyone, but Hiro loved it when his hair was touched. He sighed in content as he felt her gentle fingers rubbing into his scalp. It made him very sleepy. And with it being almost midnight, it wasn't long before he fell asleep.
The next day, Hiro woke up to the feeling gentle fingers caressing his thick, fluffy hair. He opened his eyes and discovered he was laying next to the maiden from the tower. Memories from last night flashed in his head and he realized he was on the maiden's bed, dressed in his now-clean clothes. "What happened?" he asked.
The maiden giggled. "You fell asleep in the bathtub last night," she explained. "So I cleaned your clothes, got you out of the bathtub, dressed you, and put you next to me in my bed. And might I say you have very fluffy hair."
"Thanks..." Hiro said, blushing. Then suddenly...
"Aiko, Aiko, let down your hair, so that I may climb the golden stair."
The maiden looked tense. "Aiko?" Hiro asked. "Is that your name?"
"Quick, get under the bed!" Aiko whispered. "Madame Gothel would kill me if she saw you!"
Not wanting to displease this maiden, Hiro hid under the bed. Some time later, he saw a second pair of feet in the tower, presumably belonging to this Madame Gothel.
"What was that I just heard while I was on the ground?!"
"Nothing, Madame Gothel. You were merely hearing things."
"Was I?! Or did you let a random stranger climb your hair last night?!"
"No, Madame Gothel."
"Then that means there should be nothing under your bed."
Suddenly, Hiro found himself dragged out by a forceful hand. He saw that Madame Gothel was a black-haired woman dressed in red. Was she forcefully keeping Aiko in this tower?
"You shouldn't have come here," Madame Gothel said. Then before Hiro could respond, she threw him out the tower and into a pile of thorns. The thorns blinded Hiro, leaving him unable to see. Needless to say, it hurt.
As Hiro tried to get out of the thorns, he heard a loud scream. What was Madame Gothel doing to Aiko? Regardless of what, he knew he had to save her. But first, he needed to get back to the palace to see if he can fix his blindness.
Thankfully Hiro heard a meow. "Mochi?" the younger prince asked. "If that's you, please go get Aunt Cass and bring her here."
Some time later, Hiro heard a familiar voice. "Are you okay? Tell me you're okay." It was Cass!
"I'm fine," Hiro said. "Just a bit blind."
Then Hiro felt a painful tug on his ear. "Then what in God's name were you thinking?!" Cass asked.
On the way back to the palace, Cass angrily lectured Hiro. "For ten years, I have done the best I could to raise you and Tadashi! Have I been perfect?! No! Do I know anything about children?! No! Should I have picked up an enchanted scroll about parenting?! Probably! Where was I going with this? I had a point?"
"I didn't mean to leave the palace without an escort," Hiro nervously said. "Mochi wandered off."
"Well you had me worried!" Cass said. "It's bad enough Tadashi is searching the entire kingdom for a black-haired Asian girl!"
"He's what?" Hiro asked.
Cass took a few deep breaths and calmed down. "The girl Tadashi met at last night's ball left at midnight and left behind one of her silver sandals," she explained. "So instead of making every girl in the kingdom try the sandal on, he knows that girl was of Asian decent and had black hair." She sighed. "I just hope he doesn't end up looking racist."
And with that, Hiro felt overshadowed again. What about him? He just found a maiden in a tower and he wanted to save her from a witch-like woman. Doesn't he get his happy ending?
"Aunt Cass?" Hiro asked. "Can I tell you something?"
"What?" Cass asked.
Hiro told his story to Cass. When he was done, she was surprised. "So you want to find this girl who was trapped in a tower?" she asked.
"Please Aunt Cass?" Hiro asked. "I know I can't see, but I want to save her from an evil woman."
"Oh, alright," Cass said. "But bring Mochi along. He'll act as your eyes."
With Mochi by his side, Hiro searched all over the woods. He repeatedly called out Aiko's name, but she didn't reply. No matter how hard he tried, he was rather unsuccessful. But just when he was about to give up, he heard a familiar voice.
"It's you!"
Then Hiro felt a pair of arms circling around him. Sure enough, it was Aiko. "Oh why did she do this to you?" she asked. He said nothing as he felt her hug him tigheter.
Suddenly, the younger prince felt wetness on his eyelids. To his surprise, his vision was restored. And was he in for a shock, for he, Aiko, and Mochi were in a swamp. Worse, Aiko's hair was gone, only a few short locks remaining. Hiro knew this was the work of Madame Gothel, but regardless of the lack of hair, Aiko was still very pretty.
But when Hiro touched Aiko's nearly-bald head, her honey-blonde hair was instantly restored. It wasn't as long as it was before, but it was still long enough to reach her waist. "Your hair..." Hiro said. "It regrew!"
The younger prince rejoiced with the maiden, both happy about the miracles that fell upon them. "Come with me back to the palace," Hiro said. "You'll be safe from Madame Gothel."
"Palace?" Aiko asked. She gasped. "You're the crowned prince!"
"Indeed I am," Hiro said. "Now let's get out of this swamp."
When Hiro and Aiko (along with Mochi) returned to the palace, Aiko told her tale to Cass. Apparently the maiden's birth parents were desperate for lettuce so the wife could give birth to a child. When the husband asked Madame Gothel for some lettuce from her garden, Madame Gothel allowed him to take as much lettuce as he wants. But as soon as baby Aiko was born, Madame Gothel forcefully took her as payment. Aiko did remember life in the outside world, but when she was twelve, she was locked up in the stone tower, unable to see sunlight again. When asked why Aiko remembers all of that, she remembers how Madame Gothel told her the story because she did not care for the child and she didn't want to be mistaken for the maiden's birth mother.
"Oh, you poor girl!" Cass said when Aiko was done. "Then it's a good thing my nephew found you. You will be safe with us."
Without warning, Tadashi returned home, looking rather annoyed. "How was the search, big brother?" Hiro asked.
"Failure," Tadashi answered. "I searched the whole kingdom and there wasn't a single black-haired Asian girl in the kingdom."
"Hang on," Aiko said. "Did you say you were looking for a black-haired Asian girl?"
"Yes," Tadashi said, confused by this stranger's appearance. He look out the silver sandal. "She was wearing this at the ball last night and I want to return it to her."
"I think I know who you're looking for," Aiko said, smiling wide.
And so, Aiko brought Hiro and Tadashi over to the Tremaine residence. When she knocked on the door, the three were greeted by a blonde woman dressed in gold and black. "Hello Lady Tremaine," Aiko said, curtsying. "May my friends and I come in for a visit?"
"Who are you?" Lady Tremaine asked.
"It's me, Aiko," the maiden answered. "From ten years ago."
"Aiko?" A brunette girl wearing a plain dark green dress and black flats approached the doorway. "As in the blonde girl raised by the kingdom's witch?"
"Oh that's right," Lady Tremaine said. "Do come in."
Inside the home, Lady Tremaine offered green tea to the three visitors. "What a surprise to have royalty visit us," she said.
"I wish to speak to your daughter," Tadashi said.
"Which one?" Lady Tremaine asked. "I have two: Gabrielle and Charlotte."
Gabrielle was the plain girl, while Charlotte was another brunette, although she was shorter and dressed fancier than her sister. But Tadashi was displeased with both of them.
"This can't be right," Tadashi said. "My friend here said she knows someone who has black hair and is of Asian decent. Don't you have any other daughters?"
"I'm afraid not," Lady Tremaine answered.
But Hiro noticed a third girl in the kitchen. "Then who's that?" he asked.
"The girl in the kitchen?" Lady Tremaine asked. "She's a little stunted kitchen wench which her late father left behind, but she cannot present herself. She is too dirty."
"Leiko?" Gabrielle asked. "She's not that dirty."
"There you go again," Charlotte said with a dry tone of voice. "Always favoring the kitchen wench."
"May I see her?" Tadashi asked.
"Sure!" Gabrielle happily said. "Hey Leiko, think you can come on out? Someone wants to see you."
Leiko entered the room. She had long black hair and brown eyes. She wore a worn-out brown dress and a piece of rope for a belt. "Alright, what is it?" Leiko asked Tadashi.
Tadashi stood up and walked over to Leiko, moving a strand of hair away from her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. "It's you," he said. "The girl I danced with last night."
"Don't be ridiculous," Lady Tremaine said. "She was at home cleaning dishes the entire time. She couldn't have attended last night's ball."
But then Tadashi took out the silver sandal. "May I?" he asked. When Leiko nodded, he put the sandal on her foot. When he did, she pulled out a second silver sandal and put it on her own foot. Then just like magic, her appearance was transformed into that of the girl Tadashi met at last night's ball.
Gabrielle was delighted. "I knew it!" she cheered. "I knew you were that foreign princess from the ball!"
Charlotte, on the other hand, was just as worried as her mother. "Please forgive myself and mother!" the shorter stepsister begged.
"Relax," Leiko said. "I forgive you two."
That afternoon, a grand wedding was held for Tadashi and Leiko. And as a way of showing forgiveness, Leiko invited her stepfamily to attend and hooked up Gabrielle and Charlotte with suitors of their own so they wouldn't feel left out. As for Hiro and Aiko, they remained the best of friends, promising to get married when a Hiro was of the proper age. And everyone did indeed live happily ever after.
The End