Once upon a time there was a girl, a Queen actually. A very young Queen. She was barely even an adult, being seventeen, and maybe... that is too young.

She was heartless, they said, but she does have one, and she poured it out to a King she loved very much.

Problem is, he does not love her the way she does him. That is the main reason 'Him and Her' could never work out. 'Him' being captivated by the oh-so-nice and oh-so-gorgeous princess from the neighboring kingdom, and 'Her' always trying to convince herself that they are still perfect.

In the end, he got tired of resisting, and she got tired of pretending. In the end, she fought for him, but he did not. In the end, she realized that she deserves someone better.

When they let go, it was for the best. She did not even realize that she needed saving until a certain Dark Knight did.

Then, the games started. The pushing, the pulling, the hitting, the hurting, but in the end... she knew it was worth it. Because she needed something to hold on, he let her hold on. She needed something to love, he let her love him.

She wanted to keep him... and that is the problem. It turns out, that the Dark Knight, no matter how much love there is, as long as there is temptation around, could not be kept.

He broke her, and he broke her in the worst way- he broke her heart. (Well crushed into a million, tiny, little, bite-sized pieces would be more appropriated, but anyways...) He left her, a little bit worse than how the last one left her.

With all her riches and powers, it may seem that she has everything, and maybe she did. But why does she feel like she has nothing?

Then one day, a peasant she saw through the window was looking at her. All in all, it was almost a blank expression, except for the eyes... his eyes filled with knowing, like he could see right through her, like he knows... with that thought, she looked away and continued on her Queenly duties.

The next day, he was once again within the view of the window, but he was not looking at her. It turns out, he was a Storyteller to children. (She was kind of relieved because she was thinking maybe he is just a figment of her imagination and she is going crazy.)

She watches as he acts out a scene, and listen as he tells the story, well she could not actually hear him, being far away, she just imagines as he makes dramatic gestures with his body, (Okay, maybe she is going crazy) much to the children's entertainment.

As the days pass by, she finds herself looking through the window maybe a little bit too often. On some days, she could tell that the stories were about evil dragons that tries to destroy the kingdom and knights who always save the day. On other days, he would tell stories of powerful wizards and warlocks. Sometimes, it would be about a prince and a princess or animals that talk, but whatever the story is, it always ends happily.

She also finds herself smiling whenever his young audience would cheer as he finishes with a and they lived happily ever after.She knows this is what he says because he always mouths it in a exaggerated fashion (as if making sure she knows).

But when the kids leave, he would always turn to her, and look at her with the same almost-blank expression he wore the first time she saw him. It was her signal to stop and look away.

One day, she woke up and decided that maybe today, she would talk to the Storyteller, or at least get close enough to actually hear the stories he told.

She called on her maids to get her something to wear, but all the dresses they have presented were too beautiful and glamorous (yes... that happens), so she sent them away.

All of them left, except for one. The Queen looked at her skeptically, waiting for her to explain. The maid suggested that she might find something in her mother's, the former Queen's old bedroom. The Queen smiled and dismissed her. The maid hurriedly left, glad that she didn't anger the Queen.

She stepped inside and carefully observed the room. It looked exactly the same, and for a second she was taken back to the time when they were all there, happy as dysfunctional they may be. Her father that was very loving but went away too early, and the former Queen who might not exactly be 'Mother of the Year' but she still loved them very much.

She let a singular tear fall from her face before scanning the closets.

She pulled out an old dress.

Simple yet beautiful.

She took off her make-up and let her brown hair fall down to her shoulder.

Simple yet beautiful.

As she was leaving, she could tell that the people in the castle was eyeing her with shock and curiosity... she would deal with that later.

It has been a long time since she went out the castle, maybe a little too long because she was surprised by how warm the sun was, but it is not that bad.

The Storyteller was in the middle of a story when she reached him.

'He was searching the crowded ballroom. Searching for the girl with the chestnut locks and the brown eyes he always seem to get lost in. The girl who he only met once but managed to take his heart away.'

His voice was... nice.

'Is it this girl?'

She watched as the little girl blushed when the Storyteller placed his hands on her shoulder's.

'No, you have golden hair... maybe it is this one?'

He turned to another girl.

'No, you have big blue eyes... how about this one?'

He turned to a young boy and everyone erupted in laughter. The Queen smiled as she heard the giggles of little children.

'Or maybe...'

He looked up at her

'... the girl...'

He was getting closer and closer and she did not know what to do.

'... is her.'

He then bowed and offered his hand.

'May I have this dance?'

She did not say anything as she let her hand fall on top of his.

He pulled her towards the front and settled his other hand on her waist, she placed hers on his shoulder.

'They danced and they danced and they danced and they danced and they danced...'

He continued the story while swaying and twirling her around.

'... because he never wanted it to stop. He's been wanting this for a long time, and maybe she did too.'

He started to slow down and he does not seem to notice when her head falls into his shoulder.

'When the music ended, he promised her that he would never let her go... and I am happy to say he kept that promise and they...'

He looked down at her.

'... lived Happily Ever After.'

After the kids have left he turned to her.

'And to what do I owe this pleasure... your Majesty?'

He knows.

'I thought you did not recognize me.'

'Ah... yes. You change your hair and you change your clothes but...' he took a step forward and brushed his hand on her cheek '... only you, have eyes like those.'

She felt her cheeks burning up and moved backwards. She could not believe that he just touched her, no one ever did. But it was the way she reacted to it that worried her. It was way too familiar.

'It seems you are quite famous with the children here.' she said, shaking off those weird feelings.

Upon seeing her reaction, the Storyteller laughed to himself.

'I must be, seeing I have piqued the interest of the Queen.' he smiled.

'Well, I do have a good view of you from my window...' she pointed towards the castle '... curiosity got the better of me, I suppose.'

'Well... I happen to know that you have been watching me...' his smile was starting to look like a cocky grin '... and it has been going on for a while now.

'I looked because you were looking.' She crossed her arms and plastered a grin smilliar to his. She is surprised though, because judging by his looks (not that bad) and clothes (bad) she's sure he was just a peasant, but here she was, having a friendly- if not biting- banter with him. 'Why were you looking at me anyways?'

'Well it seems Your Highness... you intrigue me.'

She was, once again, shocked. He does not talk to her like she was a Queen... more like a nice acquaintance... and they were anything but. This leaves her half-worried and half-relieved. She would not mind to have somebody she could... um... well, whatever they were doing... but it does bother her that she found it in this... peasant.

'It surprising how differently you talk when the children are away.'

'Well I could not possibly talk like that in front of royalty, could I?'

'No, but I am surprised you even know how.'

'Well I think I have told enough stories to know.'

'Tell me, what exactly is intriguing about me?' she asked curiously 'I do not think that the life of a Queen is so interesting.'

'Not you as a Queen, but you as you.' he answers simply.

'Okay...' she looked at him curiously 'Then what is so interesting about me, aside from being a Queen?'

He smiles.

'I am afraid that, that question could not be answered now.'

'Why not?' she asked, slightly irritated.

He pointed up and she saw that the blue sky has turned into a shade of pinkish-red.

'As much as I enjoy our chatter, it seems that you should get going.'

'You are right.' she said a bit surprised. She could not have spent the whole day with this stranger, could she? Although it was fun, and she really could not wait for another 'Would you be here tomorrow?'

'I am sure you already know the answer,' he said with a smirk 'but for the sake of answering that question properly so my head would not get chopped off... Yes, I would be here.'

'Okay since I am feeling nice today, I will ignore that comment and you could keep your head.' she said mock-serious with a playful smile.

'Yes, you are the most merciful, Your Highness.' he laughed, which causes her to laugh. It surprised them both, but they decided that they like it.

'You know, it has been a while since I laughed like this.' she said, really serious this time 'Thank you. I really enjoyed this.'

She smiled. It was beautiful, he noted... and it was not just because she was naturally like that, but because it was genuine. He is happy that it was not forced or fake like the one she usually uses. He knew this because... well, let us just say that he knows more about the Queen than any person could imagine.

'What is this? The Queen thanking me because she enjoyed a day outside the palace walls? This must be a sign.' he joked.

'You are right. Me, even saying hi to you would send the kingdoms into war, but this would just lead to...' she trailed off.

'The end of the world.' he finished.

After a few moments, they burst into laughter, which proceeded until she decided that she liked his laugh and he concluded that hers was his favourite sound in the world, and until they were out of breath.

'I really should get going.' she said almost miserably.

'Yeah, you should.' he replied, looking at the now dark-blue sky.

'See you tomorrow.' she started walking back to the castle.

He watched her as she walked away. Then, he remembered something.

'Thank you for helping me with the story!' he called after her.

She just turned and smiled at him in return.

He decided that her smile was his favourite too.

If you take away the things she was forced to have, you will see that she is just a girl.

If you ignore the fact that he has almost nothing, you will realize that he's just a boy.

And if you look at this story closer, you would know that this is just a story of Boy Meets Girl.

A Simple Story of the beginning.

Just the beginning.

Thank you for reading. Please review.