Act 2:

The Palace of Hard-knocks

Deep within the center of Flower Bud Kingdom laid the prominent capital, where a beautiful white caste stood. The fairytale castle was surrounded by seemingly endless flower gardens, hedge mazes, and horse stables. Inside, many dedicated servants worked to keep everything in clean, working orders. But more importantly, the castle held what some considered to be the two most unexciting members of royal known in history.

In actuality, those more prideful towards their country preferred to think of them as the most handsome prince around, around with a moderately beautiful princess.

In the spacious, opulent throne room, a stout figure happened to be scolding a younger, taller figure that looked frustrated as it rested its laurels on a luxurious golden throne with comfortable red cushioning.

The one standing about and flapping his arms had neatly-fixed brown hair, beady little eyes, a round pink nose and a brown mustache underneath. He wore a big golden crown that glittered with various jewels that was taller than his head, and wore flowing red robes.

The other one was a more cynical looking fellow with a full head of messy black hair and stern, dark eyes. He wore a dashing white coat with red lining, and matching white pants.

"Alexander, I am telling you! If you are to inherit this kingdom, you will require a wife alongside you! Without one, the kingdom is assured to fall apart without a legitimate heir to lead for the next generation! And as King of Flower Bud, I will not allow it!" the shorter guy shouted.

The younger man sighed. "As I've already said, I don't even like the prospect of mingling around pointlessly in a crowd of people who will eye me either for status, wealth, or because they happen to like the way I look for one reason or another." He stated in a cold, firm voice. "Besides, I don't necessarily have to be king. I can use the dethronement to finally pursue my interests in medicine, and I'm sure my good friend Jack won't mind taking over royal duties."

"The Royal Messenger and Adviser?! Surely you jest! You know as well as I do that it is only fitting to be succeeded by blood! The Loyal Roswell Family has remained the rulers for generation, so it is only natural you shall take over! Now, you will listen to your Father and King, and you will attend this "silly" ball!" the King ordered.

Alexander folded his arms and gazed at the side with disgust.

"Honestly! This is all too meaningless and sudden! Must father really insist in pulling this match-making contest? I bet the overwhelming majority of them will be screaming fan girls, and the rest will just be there to ridicule me for my "lackluster" personality. I find it quite odd that my interest in "life philosophy" would be the equivalence of sedation to this society." He thought to himself in disgust.

"And, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to sound more… "exciting" in your presentation. Go ahead and let the people know of the many horse races you've won with your white stallion, or all those dragons and witches you've slain over the past few years." King Theodore suggested.

"Don't be absurd, Father! You know as well as I do that dragons are merely myths! And the one Witch I took care of was merely taken care of with a peace offering of poisoned toadstools!" Prince Alex argued.

"Hmm… well, I suppose a "peace-making" Prince makes a good reputation in terms of diplomacy, but it still won't make for an exciting bachelors. At least you have that impeccable horse-racing record under your belt! Just bring that up and no one will DARE call you boring!" King Theodore cried in triumph.

Prince Alex lowered his head shamefully. "F-Father… I'm not going to make a braggart of myself just for the sake of impressing a bunch of thoughtless fan girls, whether they be poor or rich." He groaned.

His mind pictured the various girls that will either pursue him, or scoff at his "underwhelming" personality. Strangely enough, his mental slide show paused on a mysterious girl with light blue hair.

"Wait a minute, how did end up recalling this face all of a sudden? Well, she does bring up some pleasant nostalgia to me. I don't exactly recall why, though…"

And so, Prince Alexander continued to ponder over mysterious thought while King Theodore threw out whatever argument he had to convince his son and heir to attend a ball established out of haste.

At the same time, a more peaceful discussion was occurring in the Princess' Quarters. This room, although appropriately elaborate for one of her status, happened to resemble more of a library than a living quarters.

Two ladies were sitting by a small round table of to the side, with a fancy white pitcher in the middle, and two matching teacups with saucers right near them.

One of conversers was a cheerful lady who bore an uncanny maturity. She had long, wavy pink hair with blue irises adorning it. She wore midnight blue gown with puffy sleeves over a cream corset. What was most noticeable of all was her unwavering smile.

The other was a more composed young lady with cool elegance. She had straight, long blue hair held back by a golden tiara. She also wore a silver dress of similar to design of her conversation partner's.

"Ugh… I know my Father means best when he tries to hold these consistent balls, but they always end up lonely. The last thirty he held to find me a proper suitor ended rather quiet, and out of ten of those, the ballroom was only packed because of my brother's obsessive fangirls. At least this time it's intended for them, but… he still made the last effort to include my part in this ball, too. Sometimes, I wonder if it's still worth it." The blue-haired maiden sighed.

"You really mustn't loose hope so easily, Maria! You know how men can be sometimes! It takes them a little while to start taking notice of women! And you have plenty of charm to amaze those mature enough to understand!" The pink-haired maiden argued.

"Thank you, Lyla, but I'm not sure if that such a thing applies to me anymore. In fact, I remember two years back when Lord Jack and Sir Louis held a duel to earn your fair hand. Sure, Lord Jack was a little hesitant to move on with it, and that Sir Louis was convinced to issue the challenge by Miss Ann, but I could tell both loved you dearly." She said in envy.

Lyla laughed nervously.

"How interesting that I decided upon the one who forfeited the duel, too. But at least Sir Louis and Miss Ann found discovered their feelings for each other before it could turn into a fiasco." She thought to herself.

"Ah… perhaps it was merely luck?" Lyla threw out.

Princess Maia shook her head. "No. I'm certain that you were blessed by the Harvest Goddess with ample charisma while I was cursed to be a bland, unattractive soul for a past transgression. " she moaned.

She then got onto her knees and clasped her hands together "O blessed one, what must I do in order to restore favor with you and gain what I was deprived of?" she pleaded.

Lyla watched on uneasily as her friend continued to pray for good fortune in love.

"Uh, Maia… maybe if you weren't so reliable on faith, and found something special within yourself, perhaps the men would begin to take more notice of you instead of passing you up." Lyla suggested.

"What? Why so? Is not faith, along with knowledge, the foundation of our society? Is it not these elements that keep order in this kingdom, nay, the world, and reduce the misfortune of sin that plagues humanity?" Maria argued.

Lyla shook her head. "No, I do not mean to renounce it. I just mean that, maybe if you found some way to express your internal self instead of preaching about ethereal virtue, maybe they would understand you more… instead of marking you off as a possible zealot." She answered uneasily.

"But… this is an essential part of me, as well. Don't you understand? Showing my faith… I believe wholeheartedly that this how I can show the world how much I care about it and its precious life!" Princess Maria refuted.

Lyla shrugged. "Then perhaps… you could maybe talk about a love of animals? Most guys definitely believe a sincere compassion for animals is an endearing quality, and if I recall, Princess Popuri of the Mineral Kingdom caught the eye of Craftlord Mitchel Blaze in a similar manner!"

Maria looked open and ready to embrace this suggestion, but something held her back. "Eh… but what about the plants of this world? Do they not deserve the same praise as those of the Animal Kingdom?" Princess Maria answered back.

"Okay... then how about sharing a love of flowers as well? That tends to spark an artistic romance in others when discussed eloquently, and I am well aware of your natural silver tongue!" Lyla added.

"True, but then I feel the trees and shrubs of this world would be forsaken! And I know how much those plants bless us with a natural bounty of fruit." She explained.

Lyla's usually smiling mouth was suddenly gaping open. Maria's meticulousness started to frustrate the poor girl, but then she saw in her dear friend's eyes a genuine compassion for all she spoke of. The pink-haired maiden could not help but be touched by this rare quality of her's.

"You know what Maria? Forget what I said earlier. You're fine just the way your are… you just need to find someone who will understand you. At the very least, with the lack of men vying for your affection, it will be easier to find that special someone, don't you think?" Lyla grinned.

Maria nodded understandingly. "I suppose that does make a lot of sense. Thank you, Lyla... I think."

The two maidens then took a sip from their respective tea cups.

"But you know… maybe all this talk about animals and flowers wouldn't hurt." Maria grinned.

Author's Notes: Honestly, I'm NOT trying to bash poor Maria here! That's just how she came up in my mind! Actually, she was one of the prospective wives I was considering, well, before getting to know Lyla of course….

But, anyway. This ended up shorter than expected. Maybe I'll get this done sooner, and get back to "Guns and Dolls" and "Charms of A Scarlet Lady" after getting through this, and few troublesome College projects. This "play" wasn't intended to be a long epic, anyway. Just a few acts.

Next up, "Litte Red Riding Hood" With Dia, Dan, Martha, and the woodsman! Guess who? (It should be obvious… unless, you know, you were expecting the "other" woodsman. Maybe you'll get two for the price of one?) Hilarity insues, and Mr. "Wulfe" will be sporting some mean martial arts, among other things…

And also look forward to a future Flashback Chapter! Indeed, Alex DOES know Gina from the past! But... how is this so? Isn't Gina some chick from the faraway countryside while Alex is a Prince holed up in his Castle Quarters? Good questions!

Onward, Cinder Gina!!!

(Again, Sorry for demeaning you for the sake of a story, Maria… )