Pixie Wings and
Other Things

It's time for the Masque, and Mikan's invited! It's Mikan's time to shine and show Natsume that not everyone admires him, but those who don't love him just as much as they love a true friend... NXM

Thank you for reading, guys! I love you all and I even love those silent readers, even if you hate me! I'm sleepy but I gotta lotta love! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'll work hard, GAMBATANE!!! Have a nice day and please, love those around you, even the ones who widn you up and make you mad.

DISCLAIMED! I disclaim all rights to owning the Pizza Plaza and the Pasta La Vista pun line... wait, this isn't... oh noooo! I DON'T OWN GAKUEN ALICE, WAAAH, HEARTBREAK!!! T.T

Have a nice day and happy reading, my lovelies! Kisses, xoxoxoxoxox

Chapter Eight: She found her True Self...

The love of a person who is close to your heart could be the only thing you need to help you bloom. You don't need many friends, and you will only need the love of one pure hearted soul to guide you through life. No matter how much you look, you will only find a handful of true friends along your jpourney, and each day these friends take you one step closer to becoming your true self...

"Oh, you didn't know? The royal party will be held in the Grotto. They all are, ever since the King married Natsume's mother." explained Misaki as Mikan sat there in amazement., She hadn't known that Natsume's birthday would be held in the grotto he had shown her... but she was glad it was, because the grotto was spectacular! Mikan couldn't think of a better place to hold Natsume's birthday party, which was approximately a day away.

And yet Mikan still had no dress.

"That's great, I love the grotto... but I still don't have a dress for the masque, Misaki! I can't go in what I wear on a daily basis... I'll look odder than normal." Mikan said, annoyed at herself for not purchasing a dress earlier in the week before Natsume's birthday. Misaki, however, smiled like she was hiding something. Mikan didn't notice this, though.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm pretty sure you'll find something before tomorrow night. Trust me on this one, Mikan." Misaki smiled reassurringly, patting Mikan on the shoulder as Mikan nodded, then started to eat the breakfast that Misaki had prepared for her.

"Natsume must be having a rough time," smirked Tsubasa, eating his eggs as Mikan and Misaki turned towards him. Tsubasa stared back at the girls and chewed until he swallowed, "I mean it's the day before his birthday. He's not allowed outside and has to have dress fittings, food tasters and stuff like that, he's staying in the palace until tomorrow night. There are guards at every door, window and crevice."

"And how do you know that?" Misaki queried, folding her arms as Mikan set her fork down to see what would unfold,

"Ruka told me earlier, when you two were alseep. Natsume's not best pleased about it, but it's really the first toime his father's ever locked him up like this, so he can't complain... his father doesn't want Natsume to bail out of getting some fancy clothes for his royal birthday bash." Tsubasa was chuckling to himself. Mikan sat there, wondering what Natsume would look like. For the most part, he wore regular clothes like most of the wizarding kingdom, she'd never seen him in anything fancy...

She then blushed, thinking he'd be handsome in anything he wore.

"Mikan, you're blushing!" Misaki explaimed as Mikan snapped her head upright, mouth agape. She was speechless.

"I... I..." she stammered, then looked down at her plate before quickly standing up, still red in the face. "I have to go somewhere... now." she muttered, then quickly ran out of the room as Misaki and Tsubasa watched her, then turned to stare at each other. Tsubasa knew that Mikan had been thinking about a guy, but Misaki knew exactly who Mikan had been thinking about...

Mikan had found that one of her new sanctuaries in the Wizarding Kingdom was the Grotto. It was secluded, quiet, and even reminded her of home. She missed her mother and the Fairy Kingdom, but she loved being in the Wizarding Kingdom, and the Grotto seemed to give her the best of both worlds, really. There she felt like she was in the middle with the two places she loved the most.

However when Mikan entered the Grotto that day, she found that someone else was there, someone who wasn't Natsume. This time, the person was a young girl with jet black hair and wearing a white gown with gold entwined into the fabric.

"Oh, hello! Are you the Pixie Princess?" the girl asked, skipping towards Mikan as the brunette stared at the girl. She looked a little like Natsume, but a kinder, more feminine version of Natsume who could actually smile.

"Er... Pixie Princess?" asked Mikan, wondering if the young girl meant her. The girl nodded, smiling, staring up at Mikan. There wasn't any other pixie princess around, but Mikan wasn't exactly bright.

"Yeah, that's what my papa calls you, but big brother calls you Dust Brain. So, are you Dust Brain, miss?" the girl siled sweetly as ikan glared at Natsume in her head. This was obviously his younger sister, but why she knew who Mikan was, she didn't know.

Did Natsume talk about her to his family?

"Er, yeah, but call me Mikan... are you Natsume's little sister?" she asked as the girl nodde,d smiling up brightly at Mikan.

"Yes, my name is Aoi, and I am the younger and only sibling to prince Natsume. He's told us a lot about you, miss Mikan." Aoi stated as Mikan blushed lightly. So he did talk about her... she didn't know whether to be happy or insulted, but to know that Natsume actually acknowledged her as a conversation starter, well... it pleased her, and she smiled.

"Really? I didn't think he thought I was of much importance, honestly." explained Mikan as Aoi smiled rather knowingly, then took Mikan's hand in hers and stared up at Mikan, who was a tiny bit taller than the princess.

"I wouldn't say that." she smiled. Mikan looked confused. "So, shall we proceed?" Aoi then asked, clutching Mikan's hand tightly as the brunette became even more confused than she was before hand.

"To where? I only came here to think." Mikan stated as Aoi smiled sweetly, then pulled Mikan towards the exit of the Grotto. The pixie followed, wondering where the princess was taking her.

"To the palace, of course! Father wants to meet you so much, he thinks you're fascinating! He's never met a faerie with pixie wings before, so he wants to see you!" Aoi cried happily, starting to run as Mikan followed so as not to be dragged along, What was it with everyone in the wizarding kingdom that fascinated them so about her wings? She was a pixie winged faerie, nothing special...

But to others, Mikan was more than she knew she was...

"Father, I found her! Just like big brother said, she was at the Grotto!" cried Aoi the minute Mikan had been forced into the throne room. She stared around the palace in amazement. Even though she had lived in a palace for her entire life, seeing where Natsume lived was something that Mikan had never expected to see. She thought Natsume wouldn't like her enough to even let her get up close to the Palace gates.

"So you're the 'Pixie Princess', right?" Mikan heard a low, masculine voice say to her as she turned to stare at a person standing in front of her. He had dark hair tied back in a ponytail, and a kind looking face with a smile. It was obvious that he was the king, but Mikan wondered how Natsume could be related to someone who looked so kind.

"Yes... I'm Mikan, Princess of the Faerie kingdom." she stated quietly, curtseying to the King. Even if she was a princess herself, she still needed to be courteous towards the father of one of her friends. Aoi stood beside Mikan, looking proud of herself and smiling sweetly.

"I know that, Natsume's told us all about you... well, snippets, but Ruka filled us in!" the king was suddenly acting very happily towards Mikan, something she was not used to; he was informal and cheerful, not uptight and strict like her grandfather. This man was indeed a strange king...

"Erm... nice to meet you, your highness." she muttered, lowering her head then turning to look up at him again. "Is it just my wings that you want to see?"

"Oh, that? No, not really, but your wings sure are something, especially in your kingdom, right?" the king laughed casually as Mikan stood there, staring at him. Her heart saddened. Yes, her wings sure were 'something'. They were Pixie Wings, something no ordinary faerie would be proud of.

"The king noticed Mikan's sudden sadness, and stepped towards her. He crouched low to the ground so thathe was level with Mikan, and lifted her head by her chin to stare into her eyes. He smiled.

"It's nothing to be sad about, Mikan-chan. If you didn't have your wings, then you wouldn't have ran away and came here. And if that hadn't have happened, you may have never have met Natsume." he explained as Mikan stared at him, "And it's a good thing that Natsume has met you. You've really opened him up, what with your nature and everything."

"But... I'm rude to him and he dislikes me a bit, I know he does! I joke about him and I get angry with the guy, he's so frustrating! How could I open him up!?" she cried out as the King sighed, shaking his head.

"Maybe because you're like no other girl. One, you have the wings of a Pixie, a rare sight to see, yes, but you also treat him like any other being here. You don't see him with a crown... you're a wonderful girl, and Natsume see's that, he just won't admit it to you." the king exclaimed as Mikan stared at him for a moment, then looked towards the ground slowly. The king then stood straight, and walked towards a large picture of a beautiful woman;

"Did you know that Natsume's mother was fascinated with faeries?" the King suddenly asked in a loud voice, turning his head slightly to smile at Mikan who stared at the painting in awe.

"Re-really?" she asked him, and the king nodded.

"Yes, she loved faeries. They were the things she treasured the most. She even ventured out of the kingdom to see them, but she once found a faerie that had fascinated her the most..." the king paused, then turned to Mikan, "She saw a faerie with pixie wings, one she thought she'd never see before. Of course, this was before I married her, but she once told me of a young faerie she once met with pixie wings who was playing in a field of flowers."

"A... field of flowers?" Mikan repeated. The king then went on;

"The field of flowers were outside of the wizarding kingdom, but this pixie winged faerie had found sanctuary there. My wife asked the faerie how she had kept her wings, but the young faerie did not know. Then, my wife found out something during her studies; there were some faeries who were born with pixie wings and had them their entire lives; these were faeries of flower faerie descent, but with a much greater power than any other faerie."

"She had made friends with this young faerie who had pixie wings, and told her of her findings. However, Natsume's mother had to stop seeing the girl; she was with child, and rather sick. Her studies soon stopped and she found out nothing more about the faeries. However, with the pixie's research on who she was and why she was the way she was, my wife wrote a book on her findings." the King then stopped and turned to Mikan, still smiling, but his eyes looked sad. Mikan realised that he had cared deeply about his wife, and she must have cared for him just as much.

"That pixie winged faerie... was that my mother?" she whispered as the King shrugged, sighing.

"I have no idea, Mikan, but ever since she told me of the pixie winged faerie, I became fascinated and set out to look for one myself. However, before today, I have seen no faerie with pixie wings but you, and you are just as beautiful as the faerie my wife described to me." the King rested his hands on Mikan's shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and then asked her; "If you're looking for answers to as why you're the way you are, Mikan, then I suggest you read my wifes book. The only thing she wished for, other than her family's happiness, was that her faerie friend found out who she was. Now that I have met you, I want you to find out who you are... if that's what you want, Mikan."

Mikan stared at the man, then slowly nodded with a small smile.

"Yes... I would like to. Thank you." she whispered as the King smiled, then stood upright, but before he showed Mikan to where the book was, he nodded towards Aoi who grinned, then grabbed Mikan's hand, and started to pull her up towards the stairs.

"Huh? Aoi... what are you doing!?" she asked. The King smiled happily, nodding his head a lot as Mikan was taken up the stairs.

"Oh, before you get the book... I have decided to let Aoi prepare for tonights festivities~ You can't go to Natsume's birthday bash looking the way you are, now, can you?" the King sing-songed as Mikan blushed, following Aoi obediantly as the king chuckled to himself, then walked off as Mikan looked ahead of her, wondering what Aoi had in store for her...

"Oh, Mikan! You look just like a Pixie Princess!" Aoi cried when Mikan stepped out in the dress that Aoi had thrust upon her. It was scary how Aoi knew her dress size, and what was even scarier was the fact that Aoi knew she liked flowers.

The dress was a simple gown with a flowing skirt made of orange and gold leaves, and sewn onto it were numerous daisies, daffodils, buttercups and tiger lilies. The dress was very pretty, and Mikan adored it, but she wondered how Aoi had configured what her dress size was and her most favourite thing in the world...

"Misaki made this dress for you. She already knew your dress size from when Narumi took your measurements. She wanted to do something for you to make you happy. She knows how much you love flowers." Aoi explained, walking up to Mikan and smiling brightly. Mikan gasped. Misaki had done so much for her, how could she repay her friend? She was so wonderful to her.

"But I don't deserve this..." Mikan started. Aoi hushed her.

"Of course you do! You've made my brother so happy! He may not look it, but inside, Natsume's ridden with joy and hope. I haven't seen him like that since before mother died... Natsume's not the easiest person to get along with, but you've somehow helped him, Mikan. You've made my brother happy, and for that, you deserve the best of everything. Your friends love you, Mikan, and they want to see you smile more and more, especially when you bloom!" Aoi the walked towards a small table and picked something up. She walked back to Mikan and held it up, beaming.

"This flower represents the happiness you brought to my brother. The day he brought it home, it was a lonely little bud, but now... this rose has almost bloomed. Soon it will fully open and become what you have always wanted it to be." Aoi whispered, handing it to Mikan as she took it from Aoi and stared at the small bud in shocked surprise.

"He... he kept it... I thought he..." she started quietly as Aoi smile,

"Threw it away? He never even contemplated it!" Aoi said, she even sounded amazed that Natsume had kept the tiny rose bud that looked like it had no potential. Mikan stared at it and tears began tpo form in her eyes. Aoi rested a hand on Mikan's shoulder.

"Why would he... I mean nothing to him..." she started to cry, shaking her head as Aoi sighed to herself silently, then stepped back,

"Why don't you ask him yourself? I'm sure he has a reasonable explanation." she said, then walked out of the room as Mikan stod there in a stunned silence, staring at the rose that was starting to become more and more beautiful with each passing minute...

The Next Night...

"Happy Birthday, Prince Natsume-kun!" screaming girls yelled as Natsume walked through the entrance of the Grotto. He growled with exasperation. Natsume really did hate big birthday parties, especially the ones his father threw. All the girls had come as princesses or something. Oh how he wished to turn them into toads.

"Father, you're dead." growled Natsume as his father laughed nervously, shaking his head. Aoi ran towards Natsume wearing a long, sparkling white gown with Angel wings attached to her back and she hugged Natsume tightly. Many of the girls who had attended Natsume's party gasped, but said nothing as Aoi was directly related to Natsume. If she was any other girl, heads would role.

"Happy birthday, big brother!" she laughed as Natsume nodded, hugging Aoi back, then letting her go. Aoi ran off towards a group of other girls her age who had been speculating Natsume with weary eyes. It then occured to him that Mikan wasn't there yet.

On the other side of the Grotto, right next to the buffet table, there stood Misaki, Tsubasa and Ruka, all talking together. Natsume walked towards them, because surely they would know where the dust brained, pixie winged girl was.

Wait, why was he thinking about her?

"Oi, Baldy." Natsume stated coldly to Tsubasa, who turned to look at Natsume. Tsubasa was wearing a dark mask and looked a little like Zoro, but more ridiculous. Natsume would have laughed if he showed emotion in front of others. "Where's that feather brained pixie?" he snapped. Tsubasa raised an eyebrow over his mask.

"New nickname, eh? She's not here yet." he stated cooly as Natsume rolled his eyes behind his mask. Misaki then pushed her fiancé aside and smiled towards Natsume politely.

"Firstly, Happy Birthday, Natsume, and secondly, Mikan said something had come up. She will be here soon, but not yet. I guess it's to add to the suspense." she explained calmly as Natsume nodded, then turned without another word and left Tsubasa and Misaki to talk whilst Ruka followed Natsume obedianty.

"Why were you asking for Mikan?" Ruka queried. Natsume turned to stare at Ruka,

"No reason." he hissed, then started to walk again. Natsume went to sit on a flat rock that was free. It was hidden away and decorated in numerous streamers and flowers which his father had brought about with his magic. Natsume sat there with Ruka beside him, and in silence they sat.

"Where's prince Natsume? I want to give him his birthday kiss!" a girl whined as Natsume backed into the darkness further. Joy, a birthday kiss from a girl in his kingdom. She was only trying to flatter herself, really.

"What!? I'm giving him a birthday kiss! You have no chance with him!" another girl cried. It turned out that these two girls were friends, but both overly obsessed with Natsume. He rolled his eyes.

"Typical." he muttered, folding his arms as Ruka laughed. Natsume would never change, but he knew that Natsume only desired to see a certain someone who obtained the strangest wings in her faerie kingdom...

"Natsume? Natsume..." a voice called, and Natsume was suddenly sitting upright. Ruka was nearly laughing at Natsume's reaction, because they both knew who was calling him. Natsume stood and looked around as the two fighting girls gasped, suddenly spieing him. Natsume had no interest for them though, because all he saw was Mikan, standing in the middle of the Grotto looking... worried? He walked briskly towards her.

Mikan was look around when Natsume tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and nearly screamed because he'd scared her, but she just gasped, thankfully. Natsume quirked an eyebrow as Mikan stared up at him.

"You called?" he said in a low voice. Mikan nodded, then looked to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this." she muttered. Natsume was confused, then suddenly, Mikan produced the rose that she had given Natsume. His eyes widened behind his mask. Where did she get that? "You let it bloom... you told me that you had thrown it away!"

"Er... well, I was going to, but you were so... so adament about me keeping it alive..." Natsume lied, making an excuse as Mikan stared at him through an eye mask made of leaves. She didn't believe him. Natsume seemed to be a pretty bad liar.

"I never did! I just todl you that it was for you and that it was embued with pixie dust to keep it alive! You could've thrown it away, Natsume, but you didn't! Why did you let it bloom!?" demanded Mikan as Natsume stared around him. He couldn't save himself, not really... He then looked right into Mikan's eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Because you're probably the only person other than my family and Ruka to give me something from the bottom of your heart. Despite the fact that it was a useless bud at the time... it's really..." Natsume stopped, looking down at the rose then at Mikan who raised an eyebrow.

"What? It's really what?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him as he blinked, shaking his head then staring at Mikan once again.

"... blossomed." he whispered. Mikan blinked, confused, then stared down at the rose. The rose that had once been a small enclosed bud, hidden from the world and showing nothing but it's shell, had suddenly bloomed into the most beautiful rose Mikan had ever seen. The petals were wide and vibrant, a lovely red colour, and bigger than the rose she had once seen in the palace gardens. It was truly magnificent.

"It's... it's bloomed. It's finally bloomed." she smiled, ready to cry tears of joy when something suddenly happened. Mikan felt a surge go through her, a light buzz that started from her fingertips and ended with her toes. However the thing she most noticed was that her wings felt very, very different.

That was when she realised that Natsume hadn't noticed the rose blossom. He'd noticed her bloom.

"You've bloomed..." he then whispered. Mikan stood there, shocked, then slowly she turned and walked towards the small lake to stare into the water at her reflection, and slowly, as she looked upon herself, she saw...

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AND that's the cliff hanger, guys! I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed writing it! :p There were some big words in there, which even surprised me! Anyway, have a fun day guys and I hope you enjoyed the story! Two more chapters to go! Love you all, and adieu!

Lots of love, Blue-chi!~

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