Lol, this is one of my favorite chapters. Mimi's so cute. XD Anyways, on with the fic!

Chapter V – The Spoiled

Takeru smiled as he heard Iori say his name. Iori only called the Prince by his given name when he was really angry… or really worried. Good luck, Takeru…. was definitely one of the worried times. He walked off into the forest that stood outside the Kingdom of Server. He had been outside of the Kingdom several times, and had walked around the outside the forest more than once. However, he had never actually been inside the forest itself, though he knew everything about it. He had studied several maps of the forest and committed everything to memory.

Nighttime came around, and he paused. He made sure that he was in a safe clearing to stop for the night. He ate, he slept, and then he got up in the morning to continue on his journey. He was unsure of where to go, but he knew that his feet would lead him to where his brother would be. He wandered around the forest again, going straight to get out of it.

Takeru would have continued, but he heard sobbing to his right. He knew where that led to, the Pool of Ice, that so readily stayed in the forest, despite how hot or cold the weather could possibly get. With one hand on his sword, the other pushed through the trees to get to the pool. He easily made out what was making the sobbing noise.

A beautiful girl that seemed to be slightly older than Takeru sat on the other side of the pool. She was crying, but that didn't take from her beauty. She had dark blond, nearing brown, hair, and eyes that were just a shade darker than her locks that curled down her back. Although she was crying, her eyes still shone. She wore an elegant, yet loose pink dress that hung to her hips and arms. The golden circlet on her head confirmed that she was a Princess. Takeru walked around the pool, trying hard not to disturb her, for he heard her moaning about her fate.

"Oh dear… what is a girl supposed to do? Thrust out of her lovely life in order to fulfill some curse that was put on her…." She sobbed before she continued. "I can't even marry a lovely prince, or a knight at that, I'm going to have to be rescued by some lowly peasant, I just know it! And then… and then… I'll be living in the dirt having to take care of some lowly cows!"

"Now, now… I wouldn't say cows are that low," Takeru said behind her, right when she clutched her head to continue crying. She gasped and twirled around to see the beautiful blond haired Prince standing behind her. She cried out and clutched at him.

"Oh! How fate murders my heart! If you were a peasant, I would gladly get married to you right now!" she cried, clinging to him.

Takeru sadly smiled. She wasn't different than any of the other girls, though he did have to admit, she was beautiful. He rested a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, "I'm afraid that I will not be able to help you with your plight, my Lady. For I am a Prince, and as I heard, you wouldn't be able to marry me anyways."

The girl coughed back a sob. Takeru almost felt sorry for her, so he sat her down. He took a seat next to her in the grass and offered her some water which she took while giving many thanks. "My name is Prince Takeru of the Kingdom Server. What is your name, and can you tell me about the curse you were crying about so heavily before?"

The girl nodded, wiping off some of the tears from her face. She sighed, then started, "Well, to answer your first question, my Lord, I am Princess Mimi from the Kingdom of Network. On the day of my eleventh birthday, I was behooved from my fate as a Princess by an evil witch. She came to my ceremony and out of angry stupor put a curse on me."

"Was she angry that you didn't invite her? That does occur quite often you know," Takeru said. Even if the witch was evil or the fairy had bad intentions, if you invite them, they can't do anything.

Mimi sighed huffily, "It's not like I could have invited her. It was up to my parents. I hadn't gotten up to that section in my lessons yet! Now can I continue?"

Takeru was slightly taken aback, but waved his hand in a continuing motion, for her to continue.

"Now, as I was saying," the Princess said, tears obviously dry, "She put a curse on me. She told me that I would be thrust from my hometown and then kidnapped. And I would be forced to marry my savior, but he would not be Prince or Knight, for he would be an unlikely hero." She started to sob again, "Now, the first part of it came true. My Kingdom was under attack and I so gallantly ran away as per orders from my father. Now I'm going to be kidnapped and forced to marry someone who doesn't even have any riches!"

Her face was hidden behind her hands as she quietly sobbed. Takeru sighed. It was another Princess bemoaning her fate, so graciously misinterpreting it. However, being the Prince that he was, he couldn't leave a defenseless Princess to be kidnapped knowingly, even if it was part of a curse. He put a hand behind his head as he said so to the Princess.

"Look…I'm a Prince, so I obviously can't marry you or help you in any way. However, I can ask you to accompany me on my journey to find my brother. That way, you won't need to be all alone here in this forest, with its many enchantments and dastardly ways."

The Princess' eyes lit up. She nodded frantically. Even if she couldn't marry such a beautiful boy such as himself, if she was able to spend time with him, that was enough. However, one thing did make her wonder…

"How old are you?" she asked innocently.

"Hm? I'm almost eighteen, why?" Takeru said, helping her up.

"You're so cute and so young! I'm twenty, myself!" she said, putting a hand to her chest in a haughty way.

Takeru laughed, "Well then, I'm certainly out of your league."

He started walking away from the pool with Mimi tagging along behind him, giggling.