Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

Her Knight In Shining Armor

By Sunlight210

When she was a kid, she'd dream of having her own prince- one who was nice, charming, and most importantly, one who would save her. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.

Ruka was the most charming guy she could ask for.

He was handsome, nice, and funny...

But why was it that her heart didn't beat for him? Not even a single skip was made for him.

And what was worse, was this:

Once upon a time ago, a princess fell in love with a crimson-eyed arrogant commoner. And a prince fell in love with the princess.

And which, you could add this to the story:

The princess didn't know what to do, and so she went with her mind. She chose the prince.

But...

Every time the princess spent time with the prince, she...always felt like something was missing.

Sure, it might sound cliché, but it was real. It definitely wasn't some made-up story.

She had fun, of course, riding horses and such with the prince...but the prince never really had the sort of definition of "fun" as the egoistic, crimson-eyed lad had.

And...

The prince had already fallen in love with the princess. He looked at her with such caring, deep blue eyes. But, the princess could never return his look. She could never return those feelings.

Funny thing, isn't it? Love... it makes you do the weirdest things ever.

And then, the pompous red-eyed lad started to avoid her. For days, she searched for him on the streets, but he was never there. She started to have a longing feeling for him. . . For everything about him- the fun he gave her, the comfortable feeling she felt when she was with him, the feeling that she just had to impress him...and be herself at the same time, and just...the feeling of being around him. She missed all of that.

As a kid, she'd always dream of a prince, whose hair was blond, who had the most dazzling smile. She'd dream of a kind prince who would fall in love with her.

Well, she got her wish, eh?

Fate sucked, sometimes.

...It was so, so wrong. All of it, really.

How could she not return his feelings to him; especially when he was like prince charming, ready to sweep her off to a dance? To royalty. To happily ever after.

But, she didn't want a 'happily ever after'. No way. After she met Natsume Hyuuga, she wanted to be free. She wanted to break rules-

-Not follow them.

She didn't want to be locked up.

She didn't want to be the "perfect" princess, so strict on etiquettes, and most importantly, she didn't want to be a "fake."

And when her dream of having a prince rescuing her to a happy ending (like how Cinderella was saved by her prince, and how Rapunzel let her hair down, so that her prince would climb up and save her) broke- she didn't know. Or maybe it was still there, but with a different image of a prince.

A prince with crimson eyes.

And raven hair.

Although, he wasn't literally a prince. He was a prince in her eyes.

And somehow, she had to get him see her as his princess.

The guy had always come and saved her from terrible moments. Like the day her mom-

-The queen-

-had died...she had been bawling. He gave her a warm, welcoming hug and stayed with her.

And like how the princess had been so stressed out...

He came and-

-rescued her.

He would always point at himself and smirk, every time she asked him how he had found her and how he even knew.

And he'd say, "Princess, I know everything."

"Polka, I know everything."

That was egoistic, of course. But, he knew that she understood the unspoken words that came after that...The unspoken words that came after every single time that he held her hand...or every time he gave her his warm hugs. His hugs had always gave her that safe feeling...the same feeling that she felt when she was around him...but more. She couldn't help but think that he was perfect.

The perfect prince for her.

But with his attitude, he just couldn't be a prince.

But...

Maybe...

Perhaps he...

Was her knight in shining armor.

He had always came to save the day.

He had always helped her escape her worries...

And Mikan could imagine Natsume, now. As clear as daylight. His armor was dull. His sword and shield were old...but he'd still be shining. A smirk would lay on his lips, and he'd have that highly amused look, when he teased her.

Yes.

And when he'd be riding on his horse, she'd be admiring him.

Because he was her knight in shining armor.

And perhaps in his eyes, she was his lovely princess.

Her kind of "happily ever after" would include him. They'd argue. They'd fight. And he'd tease her. . .

But, they'd always know they were meant to be.

And she would always remember the unspoken words he'd conveniently forget to say to her, day after day.

"I'll be there for you."

And that was all that mattered.

He'd be there for her, because he was her knight in shining armor.

...And in return, she'd be there for him, too.

Just like the fairy tales.