A.N: I was informed by Reba-chan that this fic was filled with unnecessary formatting tags. Thank you for pointing that out! I fixed it.

"I sat in my armchair, my eyes half closed. Today was my fifteenth birthday. Since my parents had never bothered themselves much about me, I knew I wouldn't be getting much attention today. But with much persuasion and begging, I had convinced them to permit me today to relax from my royal duties. I could tell that they had only agreed grudgingly too. This relaxation would be this year's birthday gift from them. I know that doesn't sound like much, but as the Princess of the Green Kingdom, it was a huge relief to be deprived of my responsibilities for once. Besides, I didn't care how much my parents ignored me, or whether they gave me good presents or not. There was only one person that mattered that much to me…

"Happy Birthday, Miku." I opened my eyes and smiled in recognition at the boy standing before me. A boy with dark blue hair and mesmerizing ocean blue eyes. It was Kaito Shion, who had been my friend for as long as I could remember. Over the years, he and I had gotten closer and closer, and I had eventually come to admire him. I had tried to deny it to myself at first, but I just couldn't resist him. However, I knew for sure that he would never notice someone like me… he deserved someone much better than me. Nevertheless, I grateful that I had been blessed with the privilege of being his best friend.

"Thanks, Kaito." I replied getting to my feet.

"No problem, Milady." Kaito said. I giggled at the nickname. I did have a royal title. But since Kaito and I were so close, he had never really thought of me as a princess. He did occasionally address me as "Milady" or "Princess" just to tease me. "I have a birthday present for you, Miku." He said, and offered me something that he had been keeping in his pocket. My jaw dropped. It was a blue rose. They were by far my favourite flower. But they were extremely rare and expensive. In fact, they were so costly, that even as royalty I couldn't have them around very often. I don't mean to be discriminating, but commoners like Kaito can hardly ever afford such luxuries.

"Th-thank you so much, Kaito!" I exclaimed, taking the rose. "B-but how did you afford it? They're really expensive!" Kaito laughed at the comment and sank into a deep mock bow.

"Anything for you, Your Highness." I chuckled, and continued to admire the azure petals.

"It's beautiful." I murmured. "Don't you think that blue roses are the most beautiful things in the world?"

"Oh yes," Kaito responded, nodding in agreement. "They are really pretty. But they're nowhere near as beautiful as you." I felt the heat rising to my cheeks.

"H-Huh? Oh, come on Kaito… you're just being nice… I-I'm not really that pretty-"

"Yes… you're right. You're not pretty… you're breathtakingly beautiful." I blushed harder.

"Just how am I pretty?" I countered.

"In every single way." Kaito breathed, drawing closer to me. His gaze was fixed directly at me, and it seemed as though he was unable to look at anything else. "Your hair… it's so silky... so smooth… it just looks amazing. And your eyes… they're the most beautiful thing about your face. They're simply… spellbinding. You look like an angel. I mean it. You could get just about anybody you like to fall for you." Suddenly, Kaito blushed and looked away. "U-um… I just remembered… there's another present I have for you… um, y-yeah…"

"Why are you so flustered?" I asked, frowning slightly. "Is there something wrong?"

"N-no… there's nothing wrong…" Kaito mumbled, still avoiding eye contact.

"Well, you don't usually act like this." I commented.

"O-okay… I'll give it to you… j-just close your eyes…"

"Sure." I replied, shutting my eyes. Suddenly, I felt something warm and soft brushing against my lips. My eyelids snapped open. The boy whom I had loved since childhood was now kissing me. It wasn't a very hard kiss, just a gentle, light peck. My eyes were wide open with the initial shock of it, but after a few seconds, I closed my eyes and returned his actions. Kaito pulled me closer and deepened the kiss, with a bit more passion. It felt so good, so impossibly good, that I never wanted it to end. All I could smell, feel and taste was Kaito, Kaito, Kaito…

Suddenly, an infuriated yell came from the corner of the room, and we instantly broke apart turned around in alarm. My heart filled with dread once I saw the source of the sound. I was staring into the enraged faces of Mother and Father.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" They shrieked. Before we could protest, about ten guards came and surrounded us. Half of them grabbed my shoulder and forced me to stay where I was. The other half grabbed Kaito by the collar and dragged him away from me.

"Get the hell AWAY from her!" Father snarled.

"NO! STOP! LEAVE HIM ALONE! I ORDER YOU TO LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I screamed, struggling in vain to help Kaito.

"Do not listen to her!" Mother commanded. "Get him out of the palace!" She added pointing at Kaito. She had occupied a cruel and unnecessarily accusatory tone of voice. "He has committed a terrible crime! Never allow him past the palace gates again!"

"NO! He's done NOTHING WRONG!"I screeched. I could feel tears burning in my eyes. How could this be happening? It had all gone wrong… so horribly wrong… It seemed impossible that mere minutes – no mere seconds ago I had been happily accepting Kaito's gifts and now Mother and Father were forcing us apart forever…

"Yes he has!" Mother snapped. Her cold emerald green eyes flashed with anger, and I couldn't trace the slightest bit of pity in them. Her eyes were devoid of emotions other than contempt and anger and she seemed blind to the terrible pain that Kaito and I were experiencing. "By showing signs of affection towards you, he has already sealed his fate! I will not permit you to be with a commoner! This is for your own future!"

"NO! I – I don't want this! The only future I've ever envisioned is by Kaito's side!"

"You?" Father sneered. "Princess of the Green Kingdom? With a commoner? What a disgusting thought. We've already betrothed you with the prince of a prosperous kingdom. That'll benefit you a lot more than marrying some commoner!" He turned to the guards. "Get that disobeying monkey out of here!"

"NO! KAITO!" Suddenly, Kaito broke free of the guards grasp and embraced me. Gently caressing my hair, he whispered:

"M-Miku… there's nothing we can do… they're going to make us part ways forever… but please accept this…" He slipped the blue rose into my hand. "You dropped it. And also… remember that I love you." He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

"N-no! K-Kaito, I love you more than anyone else in the world! I want – I need you to be with me!" Kaito smiled at me, a smile that obviously cost him severe pain.

"Hearing you say that is more than enough for me, Miku…"

"Get him away from her!" roared Father.

"Yes, Your Highness!" The guards yelled. They seized Kaito and began dragging him away from me.

"KAITO!" I shrieked and tried to run to him, but the guards impeded me. In utter despair, tears began rolling down my face. At this, a look of deep concern broke across Kaito's face.

"M-Miku!" He shouted suddenly. "Listen to me! Just hang in there, and I swear to you… that I'll be there for you!" The guards overpowered him and forced him out of the door.

"MIKU!"

"KAITO! NO!" I managed to break free of the guards grip and began to run after him. But by now I was completely blinded by tears, and before long, I tripped over and the guards dragged Kaito out of sight. The remaining guards surrounded me, blocking me from going any further. "K-Kaito… no…" I groaned, sobbing uncontrollably. I groped uselessly at thin air, but I knew that now I would never be able to reach for Kaito again…"

"KAITO!" I woke up in bed, gasping and screaming Kaito's name. I tried my hardest to calm myself down. It had all been a dream… no, it hadn't just been a dream… it had been a memory. An excruciatingly painful memory that I had had to suffer through almost every night since I was forced to say part ways with Kaito. I laid my head back on the pillow, my parent's screaming for Kaito to leave ringing in my ears. I felt real tears now forming in my eyes and falling down my face. Why had my parents forced us apart? Even if we couldn't be together as lovers, why couldn't he still remain as my best friend? I had been so happy during the time we had been friends, why had all ended. I gazed at the blue rose, which was in a vase full of water on a table beside my bed. I had kept the vase next to a photograph framed in silver. The photo depicted me and Kaito playing together in the snow when we were five years old. We both looked so happy… now I would be prepared to sacrifice anything to see his face one more time. The blue rose that had been gifted to me nearly a year ago had long ago lost its beauty. The stalk was drooping, and the one remaining petal was shrivelled up and had lost its beautiful royal blue hue. Like my heart, when Kaito was still here, it had been intact and fully bloomed. Now it was withered, ugly and good for nothing. I shut my eyes, my aching body begging for sleep but I knew I wouldn't be able to for the whole night.