My third fanfiction but I have yet to finish the second one :(
I hope you like it!
Don't mind the grammar too much =))) I'm no English major, I'm sorry. :(
Disclaimer: I do not own Alice Academy or any other anime and manga out there!
~-+M+H+E+-~
This isn't your typical fairytale. This doesn't involve fairy god mothers that help you, a prince that saves you or a magical kiss that saves everything. This is a story about our two lovers, how they found love and how they succeeded ... if ever they did.
It all started in the village of Shadylane, a village where flowers bloomed throughout the year; where birds sing a beautiful hymn every morning; and where happily ever afters are common. However, a princess was born with a curse.
It all happened on that fateful day when Reine, a witch in disguise, learned about the marriage of the king whom she loved so much. Years had passed and now the queen and king have their first child, their first daughter. Upon knowing this, the witch bestowed a curse upon her.
"You, little child, will never experience love. You will only feel pain, the same pain I felt when your father rejected me and chose your mother. No man can hear your voice or else grave consequences would happen to the both of you."
Now, 16 years had passed and Mikan grew up to be a beautiful lady, skin so fair, lips so plump, hair so smooth, eyes which always glow but a voice that remained unheard.
"Wake up Princess Mikan. It's your big day tomorrow. There are still many things to be done. Hurry up! You need to prepare now or the Queen herself will have to come here and dress you up." Ellaine, Mikan's personal maid, entered her room.
Princess Mikan removed the blanket that is over her head and a pout embraced her lips but as soon as she saw her dress a smile was formed which brightened her whole face. She jumped in delight.
"Princess Mikan! Stop jumping up and down. That is not how a young lady such as you should act!" Ellaine nagged once more. Princess Mikan grabbed her feather quill and paper and wrote "I'm sorry Ellaine, I'm just so excited for tomorrow" in a very legible handwriting. "Still, you should refrain from doing that or else we'll both receive a scolding from your mother, the Queen. You know how she disagrees of your un-ladylike habits." Ellaine calmly replied.
Princess Mikan grabbed her quill and paper again and wrote "Okay. I'm sorry. I'll go get dressed now. Go on, go ahead! I'll just follow". After dressing up she went to the dining room.
"My dear Princess! How are you? Are you ready for tomorrow's ball? You seem so excited." King Izumi greeted her beloved daughter as soon as he saw her. "My daughter's all grown up. Come now and sit, let's eat breakfast. Oh Mikan, I almost forgot! Do you have a date for the ball already?" Queen Yuka greeted with the same enthusiasm as her husband. Princess Mikan looked down and remained silent and the Queen took the silence as a no.
"Hmm. How about Ruka, the one you used to play with? He is the son of one of our loyal knights here. I am sure he would love to come." The queen happily suggested. The Princess abruptly lifted her face because of the absurdity of her mother's statement. She is not taking her only friend to the ball just for the sake of having a date, it's like she's using him and she doesn't like that idea. So, with no other means of answering, she simply shook her head.
"Who then? Narumi, perhaps you know someone?" The queen said feeling a bit disappointed.
"I do have a nephew who might be of the same age as the princess, my lady." Dutch Narumi replied. "And who might he be?" Intriguingly asked by the queen. "Natsume is his name, my lady."
The night time falls and yet the princess couldn't remove the excitement in her. After all these years, she's finally meeting a new friend. She kept on thinking of how this "Natsume" would look like. Is he tall or short? Does he have black hair or is he blonde, brunette or even a red head? Is he kind? Does he have a deep voice like Ruka? Or the opposite of that? Seconds, minutes and hours passed all she did was imagine and, before she knew it, she fell into a deep slumber.
Princess Mikan remembers being awoken by Ellaine, moving out of her bed, going to the bathroom and then everything suddenly turned black.
After hours of the everlasting darkness, light is slowly surfacing once again. The creaking of the door snapped her out of her sleep, and while she's busy trying to remember what happened, the stranger moved its way towards where she's at, which is the bathroom, and then her hazel eyes met the stranger's ruby ones. They knew that they were staring at each other but no one dared break the eye contact. That is before Princess Mikan tasted... toothpaste.
Before Princess Mikan could remove the toothbrush off her mouth, the stranger, who couldn't hold it any longer, laughed. This caused her to blush furiously, slam the door of the bathroom and lock it immediately.
Her heart was racing and she doesn't know why. Those eyes seem familiar yet at the same time, not quite. It was like she had seen him before but she couldn't remember when or how. On the other side of the door, a heart is racing just as fast but for him it is because he's found the one, the one that caught his heart the first time they met.
"I am sorry Princess Mikan, I didn't mean to be rude by laughing." The stranger said apologetically. The man noticed that a paper is being slipped under the door, he picked it up and read it, and it says "Sorry but, can you please leave?" "I'm really sorry again Princess, I'll tell the Queen that you're still preparing. And, Happy 16th birthday." The man said as he leave quietly and a bit disheartened.
As the man turn around, a door creaked once more but so subtle this time that the man didn't notice. As he move, Chocolate orbs followed his every step with all curiosity. The princess still couldn't remove the idea of familiarity towards the man. "Maybe I just saw him before when I roamed around the village" she would think, but deep inside she knows that there's something more than that. The door to her room finally closed signaling that the man already left. She sighed in relief for a reason she doesn't know. Then she remembered the time and started preparing for the day.
After spending an hour in the bathroom she's finally done, the only thing left is her clothes. She walked up to her wardrobe and opened it and to her surprise it's practically empty aside from this lovely orange colored gown. She thanked Ellaine silently for she knows that the she chose it for her. She tried on the gown and it fitted her perfectly. It has a simple design but it looked magnificent on her, it showed off her shape and complemented her eyes. And as if on the queue, Sumire, the royal hairstylist, entered the room just in time to see the princess trying to tie her hair.
The hairstylist was amused by the scene and spoke in between giggles, "Worry not Princess Mikan." The princess recognized the voice and smiled in delight. "Today, you should look more beautiful than ever. Are you excited?" Sumire said as she prepare the things that she would need for the princess's hair who in exchange nodded with all enthusiasm.
Thirty minutes passed and the princess is all set. Then her stomach grumbled. "It seems that you haven't eaten yet, princess. Let us go then to the dining room. You might still catch the King and Queen eating." Sumire suggested.
The two moved their way towards the dining room and to Sumire's surprise and the Princess's dismay there, seated near the king, is the man who entered her room a while ago. The king noticed the presence of the two and immediately signaled them to come over.
"My beautiful princess, you look wonderful." The king said as the princess made her way towards them. Mikan just smiled in return which kept the ruby eyed man staring at her. "I am guessing that you met your date for tonight's ball?" The king added as he noticed how the young man stared at her daughter. The princess tilted her head and confusion filled her eyes before it widens in realization. She suddenly pointed at the man and disbelief showed in her face.
"Do not point, my princess. And yes, he will be your date for tonight. His name is Natsume a very good and knowledgeable young man." The king reprimanded the princess but still answered her question.
For Princess Mikan, everything happened so fast, one moment she's being introduced to Natsume and now they are preparing for the ball which is to start in an hour or so. She's still feeling a bit uncomfortable having him around and even now she still couldn't remember anything from her past that is connected to the man. Her line of thought was cut when she heard the same laughter as this morning and she gave the man a questioning look.
"I apologize; it's just that I noticed that you've changed so much." Her companion said. This gained him a confused look from the princess. "Does that mean you don't remember me?" He added.
His statement was confirmed when the princess looked away and a frown formed in her face. What the princess failed to see was the hurt that filled Natsume's eyes and a sad smile that embraced in his lips. "Don't worry, we were so young back then of course it will be hard for you to remember." Natsume said trying to sound unconcerned. This made the princess sadder. "Why the frown, princess Mikan" He said sincerely bothered by her expression. Mikan took her paper and quill and wrote, "Because I can't remember anything, but you do."
Natsume laughed at this and tried to console the princess, "I said don't worry. It's in the past and it's not like there's something... eventful... aside from me loving you." He silently said the last part on his mind. "Everything is important, that's why I want to remember" the princess wrote. "Tell me about it" she added
"Well-" Natsume started only to be cut off by the arrival of the queen. "It's time Mikan. Is everything going well with this young gentleman?" The queen inquired. Princess Mikan nodded shyly which made Natsume smile. "Let us go then, everyone is waiting." She continued. The three made their way to the room where the ball is being held but the Queen stopped the two.
"The two of you will enter when I give you the signal, ok?" She instructed them. She then walked inside the room and closed the door leaving the two wondering what the signal might be but their question was soon answered when they heard the Queen talking.
"Today is a very special day for me and my husband and most importantly for our lovely princess. Since this is the first time that we are holding a ball for her. Without further ado we give you, our beautiful daughter, Mikan." Everyone clapped as the two walked in, side by side, arms linked together and a smile on both their faces. Everyone is watching their entrance with joy and excitement except for a golden haired gentleman who was filled with jealousy. The said man is slowly walking upfront to get a closer view on the person that he loves the most. Princess Mikan and Natsume noticed him and both were surprised.
After the speech of the king and queen, the ball was then declared open. At that same time, the golden haired gentleman came closer to the princess.
"Do you still remember me, my lady?" The man replied bowing slightly with his right hand over his left chest. The princess seem to be humored by this and her smile widened all the more as she wrote, "Of course, Ruka!" This allowed a genuine smile to grace his lips. "I am happy to know th-" he started but only to be cut off by Natsume. "Shall we dance, Princess Mikan?" The princess was having a hard time deciding whether she'll dance with Natsume or listen to Ruka's stories. "And while we're at it, shall I tell you then what you wanted to know a while ago?" Natsume added which caught the princess's attention, she wanted to know about her past so badly so she smiled apologetically to Ruka and danced with Natsume.
"So, what do you want to know?" Natsume said as he immerse himself into the beautiful melody playing and to the beauty of his companion. Mikan only pouted. Laughing a bit he was able to utter a reply, " Ok, from the start, then?" The princess smiled contentedly.
"We were 7 years old when we were introduced to each other by the queen and my uncle, Narumi. We played every weekend from morning 'til night. Occasionally we we're allowed to go to the village but you always insisted on wearing the same clothes as them. Then, we met Ruka while we were playing in the forest. Since he's a son of a knight in the castle, he spends more time in the castle than I do. Then you two became closer and we spent less time together because he always wanted to tag along. After Ruka introduced her mother, I don't remember much about what happened after. What was his mother's name? Reine?
At the mention of the name the princess clutched her head in pain. "W-what's wrong, Princess?" Natsume panicked and almost stuttered. He hugged the now kneeling Princess. After 2 painful minutes, the princess finally calmed down. Princess Mikan grabbed her paper and quill and wrote, "I remember everything now." "What do you mean?" he replied.
Everyone is already gathering around them.
"Ruka is the son of the witch who cursed me. He asked Reine to prepare a potion that will make me forget… you" she wrote hurriedly. Natsume scanned the room and spotted Ruka preparing his sword and so, he did the same. With no words said they started the fight both for the woman they love but one is for a selfish desire while the other has the desire to protect. Natsume won the battle with just a scratch which he didn't really notice getting. He went straight to Princess Mikan and hugged her tight.
Mikan is feeling extreme happiness, she finally know the reason behind the fast beating of her heart and the comfort that Natsume's presence brings to her. She shed a tear. She now knows that this person in front of her is the one she's looking for all her life, the one she love and the one she's willing to take a risk for.
The queen cried as she looks at the scene, she knows what will happen next and so does the king. The king hugged his wife to comfort both their hearts.
Natsume then led Mikan to the balcony.
"I'm sorry, if I hadn't told you, none of these would have happened." Natsume said with much pain in his voice. Mikan shook her head in disagreement and smiled and for Natsume, it is the most beautiful smile he's ever seen her made.
"I love you." Natsume said as he look deep into Mikan's eyes. This took Mikanby surprise but she simply smiled even more and tears flowed out of her eyes.
Natsume continued, "I have loved you since the first time I saw you and I will always do. No matter what happens I-" Natsume was cut off by the lips of the woman he love. The moment was short-lived but it felt like forever. All their feelings were poured in that one kiss that they shared. And finally, Natsume heard the most angelic voice uttering the sweetest words.
"I love you too, Natsume"
And as soon as those words left her mouth, both of them turned to dust.
-OWARI-
~-+M+H+E+-~
Comments and suggestions please! :D