Author's Notes: Alright people. Obviously you know now the results of that poll I gave out to some of you. x_x Almost everyone voted on this, so thank you for replying. Remember that you have to read this part of the story to understand everything. Things will get interesting after this. This isn't exactly a prologue or introduction, but consider it as one if you wish. This is the only part where Serena will be completely talking from her point of view. Also note that Serena, Darien, and their families aren't filipino. You'll know what I mean once you read the fic itself. With that said, let's get with the new story: Hidden

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Hidden (PG13) By: Hell's Huntress
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~Exciting, interesting, sometimes frightening.....I can go on forever naming words that I could use to describe my life. Ever since I tried to escape, things have started to actually turn interesting. Usually I've never even bothered trying to leave my home, but just the thought of what's out there made me crave my freedom. I thought that if I could leave, everything will change. I was both right and wrong. Everything DID change.....more than I expected actually. That's the problem. When everything changed, it wasn't the good type of change I was expecting. I never thought I'd end up this way. Sitting here in the home of Joselito with a pen in my hand, writing about what I remember before this whole mess started while dressed in.....

Maybe I should start from the beginning. I am the Princess of Lihima, a hidden city on the border of Palawan, an island in South East Asia.....specifically part of the Philippines, as my parents have told me. My parents have told me plenty, but I often find myself in doubt. I used to wonder how my family landed in a city forbidden from the open world among people of a different nationality. I asked them this once, but I never did bother trying to ask them again. They often talked about it anyway, though I really don't see why they should waste their breaths. The history of how my family came here seems to change everytime they open their mouths. They told me that my ancestors came here on a ship in search of spices. Another time they told me that they got lost while traveling and found their way here. It's as if they don't want me to know what really happened.

Unfortunately, that just leaves me wondering; What really did happen? How did we end up as a royal family on the border of an island that seems to be far from my real home? What is my real home? Were my parents born here? Was I born here?

Was I born here......that's the question that always seems to disappoint me. Whether or not I was born here is beyond my knowledge. What I do know, is that I was born into royalty. I was born into a hidden city. Being born into these two things is something I never wanted. It's strange actually how I always seem to end up with what I despise rather than I what I long for.....what I crave.....what I DO want. I want to be free of the duties and high expectations that come along with being a princess. I want to live among the people who know nothing of this city. No one knows about this hidden paradise I live in. That's something my parents have told me, and probably the only true thing they said, because I've proved it true. Yes, there are trees that tower above me, mountains colored with the flaming sun, and waterfalls that pour out like thunder, but I need more than these.

I don't want this kind of life. There's a word for it....a word that describes it very well. What is that word? Do you remember how I was naming words I could use to desribe my life? Well, I missed one: Hidden. My life is hidden. I don't want it to be hidden. Being a princess is what holds me back. If only I wasn't of royalty then I would be free to explore other lands and perhaps return with a man from there. All my life I've watched people get married and leave to find their own home on some other place. I never had that chance.....until now. I used to want marriage, but now I suddenly hate the word.

I am getting married. I'm suppose to get married. I've been forced to marry some man almost a decade older than me. I don't want someone that old! My parents think that just because he's charming, more mature, and rich he'll make a good husband for me. I think otherwise. If I must end up with more duties than I already have I would go mad. It's not my ticket to leave because I've seen that man and overheard him telling my parents that if he marries me, he wants to live right here with me.....if. That's the keyword he didn't even notice. That "if" isn't going to happen. I never was the type of girl who sits around waiting for life to rescue me. I did something about it.....something that I sometimes regret. I was desperate! I did it hoping that my life would change....hoping that it wouldn't be hidden anymore. That was my mistake. Leaving a life that covered me from the outside world only ended up hiding me even more than before......more than it should have.......more than anyone expected......

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Author's Notes: Wait for the next parts to this.....that's when things will get interesting. I only made this chapter to clear things out for you before everything else begins. I'm working on the next chapter now so hopefully I'll get that out soon.