CPOV

"Mommy!" Seraphina cries. I jump up from my sleep and rush into her room. She's sitting up in her bed bawling her eyes out. Once she sees me her arms shoot out as her way of saying "pick me up".

"What' wrong Ser–Berry?" Simon had granted her with that nickname when she turned 2. I walk us over to the rocking chair and sit down. I move us slowing back and forth while whispering calming words into her ear. She eventually calms down and tells me she had a nightmare. "Do you want me to tell you a story?"

"Yeah, tell me the one 'bout the pwince and the maidwin." She's loved that story ever since I can remember, well as long as she could that is. She loves it that sometimes she even asks me or Simon to play it out with her. So I begin to tell her the story.

"Once there lived this beautiful prince. Everyone in the kingdom was in love with him, especially all the girls. But why wouldn't they? He was perfect, from his looks to his personality. He played out this happy fantasy when he saw his people, but once he was alone he was sad. No one ever knew of the prince's troubles. He had hidden his true feeling from everyone, even his family.

"One night the King and Queen of the kingdom decided to throw him a ball. They invited every fair maiden that they had in the kingdom, even the ones from the small towns. This ball was going to be huge. Ladies would dress up in the finest silks, wear the shiniest jewelry, and the most sparkly shoes. The men would wear the finest suits money could buy. The only rule was that everyone invited to the party must wear a mask. The ball had lasted 2 nights. There was laughing, dancing, eating, and so fun much. Everyone who came felt they were the luckiest and everyone who didn't envied the guest.

"During the ball the perfect prince was asked to dance with millions of girls. Near the end of the second night the prince excused himself from dancing. He walked over to the balcony to catch his breath and just let everything slip past him as he went into deep thought. Little did the prince know that a maiden, not as fair and dressed up as the rest but still beautiful in her own ways, was watching him for the past 2 nights. Tonight she decided she had enough courage to talk to him.

"The maiden had walked over to the balcony, next to the prince, and gently rest her arm against the railing. Still not catching the prince's attention she coughed hoping he'd look her way, which he did. He had plastered on a fake smile and greeted the maiden. 'How do you do, my name is…' but the maiden had cut him off.

'Yes I know who you are your majesty,' the maiden curtsied and bowed her head.

'Oh no, please don't bow,' said the prince. 'I wouldn't want you to ruin your beautiful gown.'

'As you wish,' she replied. Silence surrounded them and she looked out towards the forest. 'You know,' the maiden began. 'I see you.'

'Well I am a pleasant sight to look at,' boasted the prince. 'I am the most handsome prince around and all the girls love my perfect looks. You aren't that bad looking yourself,' he winked at her but it only made her frown.

"She pointed towards the forest and town then asked the prince 'What do you see out there?' Confused the prince looked out towards the darkness and houses. All he saw was bland land compared to his backyard.

'All I see are some run down houses and a black forest. There's nothing beautiful or interesting about it.' The maiden sighed and started to walk away from the edge of the balcony. 'Did I say something wrong?' the prince he asked hoping not to upset her more.

'If you only see the beauty in yourself then you won't be able to appreciate the beauty of other things,' she was about to leave but the prince had grabbed her arm.

'I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you,' he whispered. 'Show me more beautiful things,' he lightly pulled at her beautiful locks of hair, admiring the soft, shininess of it. Softly the maiden chuckled and agreed. The rest of the night, before she had to leave, the prince and the maiden sought out more beautiful things. THE END"

Seraphina had fallen asleep by the end of the story. I looked down at me beautiful angel and smiled. I quietly and gently placed her back into her bed. When I got to my room I plopped onto my bed and let sleep take me away.

Dream

Once they had left the balcony they grabbed a couple glasses of wine and traveled through the halls. They looked at the beauty of the paintings, the maiden had adored art. They had joked all night. After looking at lots of paintings the prince asked if the maiden would like to come to his room. She was hesitant at first but decided that she enjoyed being with the prince, the real prince. Not the one that hide himself from the others. He was sweet and kind, not tough or a manwhore, he was be himself.

Once they got to the room the prince had shut the door. He wrapped his arm around the maiden's waist and pushed her hair to the side so he could gently kiss her neck. The maiden tilted her head to give him more access as she moaned. She turned around and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was gentle and sweet. She loved kissing him this way but she wanted more.

The kiss became hungry and filled with want. The prince had swiped his tongue across her lips asking if they can go farther and she opened her lips as to tell him it was okay. They explored each other with their mouths and hands. The maiden moved her hands into hi beautiful hair as his hands moved up and down her sides. The prince had undone the maiden's dress as she removed his shirt.

He removed his lips from her, both of the gasping, and stared into her green eyes. He bent down a bit and wrapped his arms around her. He carried her over to his bed and started kissing her again. The maiden knew that she might never see him again and that he might forget her. That is why she wanted to make this last, but once the sun rises she'd be gone.

The whole night was magical. Then when the maiden had woken up during the night she saw that the prince was still asleep. A single tear slid down her face, she knew she had no right to cry but she only let one slip. She gotten changed quietly and walked over to the side of the prince. "Farewell my prince. I hope you find the beauty in this world," she whispered. Gently she placed a kiss on his head and disappeared out of the castle.

End of Dream

JPOV

Dream

I look around the room and for some reason there's this girl in front of me and all I want to do is kiss her. I lock the door then move to kiss her neck. Her skin is so soft. She turns around and kisses me softly. I kiss back with the same feeling. I run my tongue across her lip and she allows me to enter.

The kiss becomes more hungry and wanting. Her hand run through my hair and I can't help the moan that releases when she tugs. My hand run up and down her body. My finger moved to the back of her dress and I start to undo her dress. During this the girl moves her hand to undo my shirt.

I removed my lips from her, both of us gasping for air. I look into her eyes that seem so familiar, who is this girl? I bend down a bit so to carry her to my bed. I put her down lightly and then my body is over hers in seconds. I lend to down kiss her more. Is this real? All of a sudden the scene changes and I'm asleep. I wake up and feel the bed around me. …..? My eyes shoot open and see that the girl is no longer here. Disappointment runs through. 'I don't even know her name.' sadly I fall back to sleep.

End of Dream.

I wake up due to knocking on my door. Groaning I get up and head towards the door not so happily. I swing open the door angrily and stare down at the cowering maid. "What is so important that you had to wake me from my sleep?"

Sheepishly the maid replies "Your father wishes to speak to you in his study at once." She bows her head and scurries off to do some other task. I huffed in annoyance and wonder why my father wants to see me so early in the morning. As I get changed my mind wanders to my dream. 'Who was that girl?' Deciding this wasn't the right time to wonder about a girl, I get changed and head towards my father's study.

I knock on the door to alert my father that I'm here. I hear him grunt through the door to enter. "What is it father that you had to wake me?"

"I need to talk to you about Lady Hood." At this I wake up more and become more alert. "We need to devise a plan on how to capture her." I nod my head and we begin to discuss the situation. This is why I can't think about any other girls beside Lady Hood. Yet my mind still wanders to that girl with red hair.