Prologue

Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived a beautiful princess who loved the color red. The princess was a very passionate and fiery young lady, but she suffered from incurable capriciousness. For instance, she had a habit of going through men at an alarming rate. Lords, knights, princes, it didn't matter. She would meet someone, become thoroughly enamored, devote herself to him completely…and then lose interest just as quickly. Of course, as a princess, she remained chaste through all of these encounters, but she was, shall we say, most free of her audience. Still, it seemed that no man was enough to truly hold her attention, as she had yet to choose a husband. While this never bothered the princess, the king (or rather, his chief advisor) had begun to grow anxious for her future.

"Your highness, you must listen to reason. You are growing older, and your time to choose a husband is dwindling," the advisor told her, watching as she brushed through her red hair without a care in the world.

"William, please," the girl replied, waving a hand at him. "I'm a princess. Do you think men will stop wanting to marry me just because I grow older? I'm only sixteen; do stop worrying so much."

"Forgive me, but it's my duty to worry over you. It would be nice to see you take some interest in your own future. Have you no one in mind?"

"Not at the moment," she answered. Glancing over her shoulder to look at the man in her doorway, she continued, "Have you?"

"Ahem! Ultimately, it's your decision. I'll withhold my own opinions unless the king asks for them," the advisor muttered, hiding the fact that he was slightly flustered by the question. He had always had something of a soft spot for the young princess; if he could have, he would have married her himself. At least that way, he could keep her out of mischief. But it wasn't his place to ask for such a thing without the king's approval, so he kept those thoughts silent for the time being. The princess let out a sigh and lay her head down on her vanity.

"I'll think about it. Just go," she grumbled, and the advisor heeded her orders without question. Princess Grell just lay there for a few moments, considering her situation. That night was her father's birthday, and they were hosting a ball to celebrate. All she wanted was to spend the night dancing with handsome men…but now William had filled her head with thoughts of marriage. She simply hadn't met anyone worthy of spending her life with yet; was that so wrong? Trying to put those thoughts out of her head for the moment, the princess sits up and goes to her closet, busying herself with deciding on an outfit for the night.

At the same time, in a neighboring kingdom, a young man with hair black as night stood before his king, seldom speaking, gazing at the floor. The king went by the name of Ash, The White King, and he spoke to the boy with utter disdain in his voice.

"Tonight, we'll be attending a ball in celebration of a royal's birthday. Loathe as I am to bring you along, it is a social gathering, and it would be inappropriate for my…son not to attend. Let me be perfectly clear in saying that you will be on your best behavior," the king said sharply. "You'll speak only when spoken to, and I won't tolerate disrespect. And for God's sake, don't do anything to embarrass me. …That's it. Leave me." Without a word, the boy nodded and exited the darkened chamber in which his "father" sat. He and the king had always shared a mutual dislike of each other for several reasons. It was a well-known fact that Prince Sebastian was iat least/i illegitimate, and therefore a subject of gossip for the peasantry. The king viewed his "son" as a disgrace, and was constantly searching for a way to be rid of him.

As to the prince, he seemed to all who knew him rather listless on all accounts. He knew that he was little more than a headache to his king. Ash was so ashamed of him, in fact, that he had rarely ever interacted with other people. Used to being tossed aside this way, Sebastian went to his room to start preparing for the night. Of course, he wasn't eager to attend a party, but the thought of being around other people, perhaps people who would see him as something more than a nuisance, was encouraging. And, he thought with a smirk, At a ball, there are sure to be ladies charm…