7:53 PM.

A light, sweet-smelling breeze blows across an open sky, the sun setting into the mountain horizon with brilliant shades of pink, orange, and crystal gold. The twilight air is thick with the pungent smell of browned grass and approaching summer. Shadows cast themselves at the feet of a young girl, who stands in the gardens of the palace. She traces her fingers along the branches of a cherry blossom tree, then sighs.

From behind her came a man, who called, "Pardon my intrusion, Your Highness! I just received word that the Prince has arrived at the gates and will be here in a matter of minutes." The princess by the name of Ichigo smiled.

"Thank you, Sir Vincent." The young man bowed cordially and smiled a tired smile that seemed to have been worn for too long. He paused momentarily, took a deep breath, and nodded to Ichigo, tipping his hat.

"My lady, you look lovely. I noticed that your hair is down."

"Dressed to impress," Ichigo said with a weak smile and a slight wave of her hand. "You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Sir Vincent cracked another quirky, short smile before he disappeared behind the archway leading into the palace gardens. His footsteps tap-tap-tapped off, but Ichigo still watched the place where he left. She didn't even realize she was still staring at the place where she was. Her mind was so absent that she wasn't even sure what it was she was thinking about. She just seemed to clouded up in her head, like her thoughts had wadded up into a giant pile of mush.

Ichigo twirled a branch of flowers in her fingers as her gaze finally flickered from the place where her servant once stood. At least she was proving her body was capable of some kind of motion. Her white dress swayed in the breeze that swept over her and pulled goose bumps up to the surface of her skin.

When she lost interest in her fiddling, Ichigo took a seat on a small stone bench. Glancing to her left, she saw a cat sitting under some brush. She recognized it as the fat old kitchen cat, Krinkles. He waddled over to where Ichigo was and lazily hopped up on the bench where Ichigo was. Ichigo kindly welcomed him onto her lap. She ran her fingers though the silky soft fur of the purring feline. Krinkles meowed in pleasure, kneading Ichigo's lap with care.

Ichigo smiled. "You're lucky, Krinkles. Being a cat must be pretty cool."

Pretty boring, Krinkles meowed.

"Better boring than unpleasant," Ichigo mumbled. "You don't have a care in the world."

I suppose that's pretty accurate… meowed Krinkles. All I really have to worry about is getting kicked out of the kitchen by that heath department guy… "Exciting," Ichigo mumbled sarcastically, smiling at the cat on her lap. "Your life is just so full of adventure, isn't it?"

Well your life isn't exactly adventure, is it Princess? Krinkles meowed in retort. He let out a big cat yawn.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo said. "I'm getting Prince Charming, aren't I?"

But what's the adventure in that? Krinkles replied. Isn't there supposed to be some kind of battle with swords and dragons and stuff? Most adventure stories I've ever heard are like that.

Ichigo sighed. "Look, I-"

Sorry to say it, but you've gotta hear this from someone, Krinkles admitted. Even if it's from me. You've either got to suck it up, stop spacing out and stop whining so much…or you should call the whole thing off.

"But I-"

You know what I'm talking about. Look, if I were you, I would choose answer A.

"Which is…?"

You don't like him, Krinkles finished, mewing. You should just be happy. Make the best of it. Don't be so ungrateful.

"I suppose so," Ichigo replied. "It's just that I'd rather not force myself to be happy, but just, you know, be happy already."

Sometimes you have to make the best with what you've got, Krinkles mewed quietly. Right now you have just about the best you can get anyway. He's the prince. Can't get much better than that.

"I just wanted my happily ever after…fairytale ending and all that."

That's not how real life is, sorry to break it to you.

"But I am a princess…isn't there some kind of exception?"

To reality? I suppose, in some cases, there would be…

"So maybe I could actually get a happily ever after?"

Just make the best of the one coming to you.

Ichigo frowned. She huffed a long, hard sigh and glanced down at her feet that she folded on top of each other absent-mindedly.

"I just thought of something," she declared, keeping her voice low as she spoke to Krinkles. "You know what usually happens around this time? In all the stories I've read, this is where the valiant knight comes in and rescues me." Krinkles's ear twitched. His whiskers itched.

Isn't Masaya the valiant knight? Krinkles mewed.

"I guess he is the knight in the story," Ichigo huffed. "He's not really the bad guy, so I guess don't need rescuing, huh?" Krinkles lifted a paw and rubbed his face. Something was up. Something was always about to happen when his whiskers itched. Suddenly, Ichigo heard a voice that wasn't in her head, like a feline's was, but right in her ear.

"The question is who exactly is causing your sadness. Whoever hurts you is the bad guy."

Ichigo gasped at the new voice. She was too scared to turn her head. The voice didn't sound like Masaya's at all. It had just come out of nowhere. Krinkles sat on Ichigo's lap and silently stared at whoever was behind Ichigo, not daring to move as Ichigo was frozen.

"Masaya?" Ichigo asked hesitantly, a futile attempt to calm herself- with the little glimmer of hope that this wasn't someone who was about to kill her.

"Guess again," replied the voice sneakily. It was the voice of a man…but it held a strange dialect that Ichigo didn't recognize.

"I…who are you?" Ichigo asked weakly. Her voice caught in her throat. Her words were almost a whisper.

"The valiant knight." The voice paused. A breeze picked up. Ichigo held her breath. "But you can call me…Kish." Ichigo swallowed her gasp. She drew a shuddering breath and chocked out more words that spilled out of her mouth in a cluttered mess of a question.

"Kish? Like, like P…Prince Kish?" The character known as Kish chuckled malevolently. Ichigo bit her lip. Her palms began to sweat in anxiety.

"Am I that famous around here? I'm flattered. Yes, Prince Kish. Glad to be of acquaintance, your Highness." Ichigo made to turn around, but she felt Kish grab both of her arms with his cold hands. They felt like they were huge, and they were able to grip both of her thin arms as easily as someone would grip the handle of a sword. Ichigo heard footsteps approaching.

"Hold your breath if you want to stay awake," Kish breathed into her ear.

"But-" Ichigo started, her consciousness not fully recognized. Her mind was being thrown into a frenzy from all of the suddenness of this appearance. Before she could say another word, she felt a heavy force closing in on her that made her insides turn over. A powerful cloud filled her mouth, ears, and nostrils. The scenery all around her blended into itself and bent inwards. She felt her mind slip as she let out a gasp, trying to breathe. She only inhaled what felt like toxic fumes. Then, she lost consciousness.

Ichigo, once awake, felt like she had just slept for a while. Her body was relaxed. She felt oddly calm. Then, she remembered what had just happened. Though the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and her eyes blinked a little, she tried to keep still. She didn't open her eyes, but tried to take in her scenery without revealing that she was awake. Her fingers felt something soft. She was lying on something familiar. She moved her leg slightly. Then, she realized what it was. Satin. It felt good against her skin. Ichigo decided that pretending to be asleep wouldn't do her any good as to figure out what was going on. If she was going to die, she might as well get it over with. So, she groaned a bit.

"Mmmh…" she moaned, blinking her eyes open and shifting her legs some more. As her eyes adjusted to the scenery around her, she found herself staring at a stone ceiling. She turned her head to the side and was looking across a large bed covered with black satin sheets. On the opposite wall was a desk with a mess of scrolls and books on it, as well as piles of boxes stacked high. Thinking this was strange, she propped herself up on her elbows.

"Awake?" Kish said from the other side of the room. He was standing, looking out an open window that was facing towards the bed where Ichigo lay. Her eyes adjusted to the light, and her eyes grew wide when she got a better look at Kish's back, where there was displayed one of the biggest wingspans Ichigo had ever seen. Granted, she hadn't seen very many wingspans in her lifetime to begin with. The Demons and the Angels were two different people apart from Ichigo's race, but she hadn't seen nearly as much Demons as she had seen angels. Ichigo had been kept in the castle for so long that she wasn't often allowed to venture anywhere that Demons would be present. So here was one of the most powerful she had ever seen…and, for all she knew, he was about to kill her.

Sheltered as she was, Ichigo knew who Kish was. She had heard of him many times before. He was a prince, like Masaya. But he wasn't the good kind. He was the first and only son of the king of the Demon Kingdom. Rumors were that he was bred as a fighter and was hard-boiled like his father. Among the rumors was word that he was also a man of good looks. Ichigo had always scoffed at these, but now that she was actually here…she wanted to believe anything good she had heard about this prince of demons. So if handsome looks counted as a good attribute, than Ichigo was going to try to focus on anything good about her soon-to-be killer (she had convinced herself by now that she was going to die).

"Where am I?" she asked hesitantly. Kish turned from the window and strolled over to the bed where Ichigo was sitting, hands behind his head.

"You're in my bedroom," he said. He cracked a smirk. "Sorry it's so messy."

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat when she got a good look at Kish. Whoever said that he was a man of good looks was telling the good truth. His skin was pale- almost as white as snow. He looked to be about a head taller than Ichigo, though he was almost as thin as she was. His costume was drastically different than what the angels' or humans' was. He was dressed in something that Ichigo recognized as the typical style for the demon nation- denim pants that almost covered his feet, a red shirt, and a black jacket over that. His dark green hair was grown out in front of his ears (which were of abnormal length). But, of everything about him, the first thing Ichigo noticed was his eyes. They were a bright, piercing gold. The most brilliant gold she had ever seen. His eyes shined like the sunset she had seen earlier. She was immediately entranced by them, following his gaze as he watched her steadily.

"Who…you're…Prince Kish?" Ichigo murmured incoherently. She continued to follow his eyes as he walked over and sat on the bed where she was.

"The one and only," he replied formally. "And you are Princess Ichigo…haven't we already introduced ourselves?" Ichigo's face hardened and she frowned, turning her head stiffly.

"Why am I here?" she asked curtly. "What's going on?"

"Normally I wouldn't explain the circumstances to captives, but I'll make a special exception for you, Princess," Kish purred slyly. He stood up and began to pace in his room. Ichigo's glanced followed him as his back was turned, but she looked away whenever he faced her. "You see, I heard about the wedding between you and the prince of the Angel Kingdom. I also heard that this arrangement was made in order to formally unite the armies of the humans and angels…? Naturally, I couldn't let this happen. So I planned to kill the princess, thinking she was the easiest target.

"I've been lurking around the palace for the last few weeks, trying to find a place to strike. I've only seen you a few of those times, and, when I finally had my opportunity tonight…I brought you back here."

"You're going to kill me now?" Ichigo asked, forcing a confident voice.

"No," Kish replied bluntly. "I've changed my mind since then. In the hours you have been asleep, I have sent a message to the King, demanding that he break up the marriage in exchange for the return of his daughter."

"He's not my dad," Ichigo said coldly. "He doesn't really care about me like that. I'm just his tool. The plan won't work, Kish. He won't want me back. You might as well just kill me now. It would probably save you some trouble." Kish glanced at Ichigo with concern, one eyebrow raised. After Ichigo thought about it, she figured that he probably thought she was some kind of crazy, suicidal girl. Kish, however, made no comment on her last remark and instead shook his head drearily, stopping his pacing.

"Well then who is your dad?" Kish asked with seemingly great interest, sitting down next to Ichigo.

"Why should I tell you?" Ichigo spat. She inched farther away from Kish. "He's no one of significant importance, so you can't send a ransom to him either."

"So kill me for asking questions," Kish said, shrugging. "I was just curious. You don't need to be so uptight."

"I'm being kidnapped by the prince of demons and held in his room. You're lecturing me on being uptight?" Ichigo couldn't help but crack a smile at her own remark. Kish let out a breath as he smirked.

"You have a point. So…if the king isn't your dad…who is?"

Ichigo, a bit annoyed over Kish's changing of the subject, said, "He's gone into hiding since the government took me away from them at a young age. It's a…long story."

"I'm listening," Kish said, propping his head up on his hand. Ichigo looked annoyed.

"Do you really think I'm going to tell you my story of all people? Some of my good friends don't even know about this!"

"Well it's not like you're ever going to see me again," Kish pointed out casually, pretending to pick at his nails. "And I was just curious…"

Ichigo sighed. "Why do you care?"

"Would 'I'm bored' be a good enough answer?" Kish said.

"Do I have to?"

"Or I'll move you off the bed and you can sleep on the floor," Kish threatened, grinning mischievously. Ichigo rolled her eyes and sighed. Admittedly, Kish had won.

"Fine…where do I start?"

"Who's your real family?

"Well…I'm the only child of Shintaro and Sakura Momomiya. I was three years old when the government came to our door, demanding that my parents give me up for inspection. They were forced to agree, and the inspectors found me to be the one child among hundreds who looked the most similar to the king. My "father", the king, was secretly taking children and passing them off for his own. The king had a daughter that he stole at birth, but she had developed a deformity on her face that caused her to develop wrinkles at a young age. They decided that she wasn't beautiful enough to become the new princess, so they found me instead. The old one was sent to a far away country and never returned. They raised me to be their tool, their feminine icon of the Human Kingdom among the five other brothers I've never met."

"Wow, that sounds bad," Kish said sympathetically. "Then what happened?"

"Well then the Angel Kingdom and Human Kingdom decided to marry the prince and princess of the two kingdoms together. Masaya and I have to get married for the two armies to formally unite." Ichigo glanced up at Kish, who was listening with great interest. "Why am I telling you all of this anyway?"

"Sometimes it's best to get stuff like that off your back," Kish mumbled. "Just talking to someone can help."

"Help what?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Help you feel at ease."

"But I don't feel any better…" Ichigo argued.

"Well now you don't have to sleep on the floor," Kish added with a smirk. "The Human Kingdom really sucks, huh?

"Not really. They just have some corruption in the political system," Ichigo murmured. "Anyway, it's still my kingdom. There are good people in it that rely on me, so I have to go through with this marriage whether I want to or not."

"You don't like Masaya…the angel prince?" Kish asked.

"Of course I like him!" Ichigo objected. "He's nice and all, but I just don't love him. He's too polite, and…not very attractive, if you get what I'm saying."

"Perfectly. He's boring."

Ichigo giggled.

"Sort of. Nice, but…"

"Boring," Kish finished bluntly. He flashed Ichigo a puppy-dog "I'm right and you know it" grin. Ichigo smiled. "See, now you've even spilt to me about your love life. Feel any better?" Kish asked.

"A little bit," said Ichigo. "I still can't believe I told you all that stuff…thanks for listening."

"Thanks for telling," said Kish. "I'd tell you all about me, but it's pretty simple. Dad wanted me to be the biggest, toughest demon ever. Dad trained me to the bone since I was a kid. Dad got sick. I trained myself, gained a personality. That's about it."

"Your real dad is the king?" Ichigo asked.

"That's right. We try to hide it, but he's not in very good condition right now. We fear he might pass away soon."

"I'm sorry," Ichigo said sympathetically. "It's kind of you that you try to hide his faults. No one likes looking weak."

"Yes, well," Kish sighed with a roll of his eyes, "my dad is one of those people who likes to look stronger than he is…promise you won't tell?"

"Promise," Ichigo agreed. "As long as you don't tell anyone that I'm not really from a royal family."

"It's a deal," Kish said with a smirk. Ichigo extended a hand, which Kish took and shook enthusiastically. Ichigo stared at Kish's hand oddly. Not only was it way out of proportion from the rest of his body because of its size, it closed in her hand like a father's hand grasps the hand of a baby. Why was she even making deals with a demon in the first place? Something inside Ichigo stirred as she turned over this thought in her head.

Kish's glance went from Ichigo to her hand. His eyes held a warm look to them that seemed so serious, but at the same time so curious. He held onto Ichigo's hand and brought it to his face, where he gave her hand a gentle kiss. Ichigo yanked her hand away instantly, cradling it as if Kish had just slapped it. She stared at him with an alarmed expression.

"Has anyone told you how lovely you are?" he said graciously, smiling happily. Ichigo blushed and lifted her hand to her face.

"Yes…I'm a Princess, remember? …But I have to hand it to you, you're the first demon to have told me that…" Kish seemed to snap out of his trance, choosing to look at the floor.

"I'm probably the first demon to tell you anything, right?"

"I think so. You're not as bad as I imagined, though."

"I suppose you were imagining bloody, black cloaks, giant fangs, and torture devices?" Ichigo nodded hesitantly.

"Um…yes. But you do have fangs."

"Little ones," Kish said, opening his mouth and pricking his finger with one. His finger began to bleed blood that was black as ink. "Ow," he murmured. Ichigo smiled a little.

"And you have big ears."

"True. They are giant," Kish said, reaching up and giving one of his ears a light tug.

"And you have gigantic wings," Ichigo said in awe. Kish smiled proudly and spread his wings father. Ichigo continued with a yawn, lying back down on the pillow, "You know, you're pretty cool for being a kidnapping demon."

"Thank you," Kish whispered softly. His eyes were swept back into that strange trance. "Get some sleep. I don't know how long it will be until I receive a reply to the ransom. Until then, you might as well rest."

"Goodnight, Kish."

"Goodnight, Ichigo."

Ichigo shut her eyes slowly and began to breathe deeply and quietly. Kish hesitated to get up from the bed. He sat still, entranced by the princess lying on his bed. His eyes wandered up and down her sleeping form. He breathed slowly, quietly, listening to the rhythm of their breaths together in the dead quiet of the room. Kish heard a loon coo from outside, snapping him into reality. He rose from the bed and walked to the door. He opened it, stepped out, and closed it behind him with the utmost care not to make any noise.

The story is set

It's turning the wheels

History is changed

Her fate has been sealed...

{{A.N./ So I actually started this story a long time ago. This is about..oh, a year or so old. You may recognize a lot of my old writing style in here because I was writing this at the same time as my last chapter-fic, TLLS. So, yeah, I already have 90 or so pages of this baby typed up. Meaning that updates should come fairly often. After all, it is summer! And I'm finally back home after my insane boarding school experience...it's crazy stuff, guys. So much drama...

*cough* Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed the story! Drop me a line if you like. Review to let me know if you liked it or not! Just a note: you can be as harsh as you want because I honestly don't care if you do. I have a pretty awesome life beyond this website right now, so if you want to tell me how much this sucks, I'd love to hear you. =) Also, if you have any idea who I am and remember me from back last summer [holy crap I feel old!], than I'd love to hear from you again! Ciao!}}