Hello~~~~~~ I have finally decided I shall finish this :D sorry for the long wait T_T
I really, really hope ppl read this :D even if you hate me right now v_v I'll try to make it REALLY good though :) promise!
I just want to put it out there that I DO NOThate Ichigo. I actually like her, but she and Berri (I like her too!) had to be the "evil" step-sisters xP
Anyways, Enjoy~!
o0o
Lettuce, who had been working hard the whole day, finally got a small amount of time to finish her mother's dress, which she now hid under her neat bed. No one would look there, she barely looked there. So, it was safe.
For now.
"Lettuce!" her step-mother called. "Come, we have a guest!"
"Coming," Lettuce called back, quickly standing up. She whipped the little dust she had on her dress off before she rushed downstairs; where her step-mother would be waiting.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs, her family was waiting for her. Ichigo, Berri, and her step-mother, they all had scowls on their faces.
"Y-yes?" she asked, nervous. Whenever someone came over, she would have to do about a thousand more chores than usual.
Her step-mother tapped her foot in anger. "Is it true that you got an invitation to the ball?" she asked coldly, her eyes piercing through her.
Lettuce gave a shocked look. How did they find out? She thought, surprised. She had hidden it very well, so that no one would find out until it was time to leave.
"Well?" Ichigo sneered, hands crossed like Berri's.
Lettuce looked down. "Yes..." she barely whispered.
Her step-mothers scowl worsened as her hand was in front of Lettuce's face. "Give it to me. You will not be going to the ball this time, young lady. I might've let you go if you would've told me," she lied to her.
Lettuce was about to object, about to tell her that it wasn't her right to take it away from her. But it was, and she knew it.
So, she handed over her only chance of getting close to the ball; her only chance of having a fun night like every other girl.
Her step-mother snatched the card away and stormed out of the room. But before she was fully gone, she told Lettuce, "Come and serve the guest and us some tea. Hurry it up."
Lettuce trudged towards the kitchen, but Ichigo and Berri stopped her by getting in her way. "Ha, you totally lost your chance of going to the ball now, maid." they laughed.
Lettuce didn't say anything, like usual, as she kept her head down.
"Yea," Berri joined. "I bet you got your hopes up! And I bet you were going to wear an ugly dress! Ha, as if the prince's would go for you anyways!" she boomed, laughing cruelly with Ichigo.
Lettuce, finally not being able to stand their laughing, spoke up. "Please move. I have to go and serve tea," she said, barely above a whisper.
The girls looked shocked that she actually talked, but waved it off. "Whatever. We are going to our rooms to change anyhow." And with that, they left towards their rooms.
Lettuce stalked to the kitchen in dead silence, her hope fully gone.
Minto's house
Minto studied herself in the mirror as one of her many servants put light make-up on her. By now, she looked lovely, though, that's what she would expect.
"Miss, the carriage will be here soon to pick you up," one of the servants informed.
Minto nodded, still looking at herself in the mirror. She didn't always get to dress up, so it was fun for her. She looked down at her invitation once more, entranced by its beauty. Another invitation was lying beside her invitation, for her mother.
Minto let out a small sigh. Her mother was off in France with her father, celebrating their twentieth year together. Minto had informed her mother of the event, but her mother was dead set on going to France with her father.
"Miss, it's time to go," the servant from before informed, lightly knocking on the opened door. As Minto stood up, he gave her a wrinkled smile. "You look magnificent tonight, Miss."
Minto smiled at the old servant. "Thank you. Shall we go?" She stood up, scooping her invitation up. The servant began to leave, thinking that Minto was right behind him. However, Minto wasn't. She was staring at the invitation that was meant for her mother. On a whim, she snatched it up and quickly followed after the servant.
The servant took her to the carriage, helping her inside before climbing up to the front. He began to guide the horses down the road, towards the ball while Minto stared at the window.
She held on tightly to the second invitation cooped in her hands. In the distance, she could make out Lettuce's house. She had known Lettuce since her mother had died; they met at the funeral when Minto's mother was consoling Lettuce's father.
Naturally, the girls were too young to fully realize what happened, but they knew that Lettuce's mother wasn't coming back. After that, they hanged out a lot, always playing either inside or outside. Until Lettuce's father's girlfriend became his wife. Lettuce slowly stopped playing with Minto until it became a complete stop. When Minto went to Lettuce's house to question why, her step-mother told her Lettuce was too busy with school to hang out.
Soon after, her father allowed her to go and hang out, believing that she needed some air. That was the day that he died in a car crash. After the funeral, Minto never saw Lettuce outside again. She was taken out of school and never came over to her house.
As the carriage got closer to Lettuce's house, Minto could make out a carriage and three people. Of course they got invited, they are rich, she thought as she squinted her eyes to see who was getting into the carriage.
She could make out the step-mother and her two daughters, but no Lettuce. Without giving it a second thought, Minto jumped to the other side of the carriage and opened the tiny window above the seat, seeing the servant's thigh. "Stop the carriage!" she shouted, trying to make her voice known through the wind.
"But, Miss—" the servant started to protest.
"Now," she then shut the window with a loud slam. She stared out of bigger window with a glare as the carriage came to a halt. She watched as the step-mother and her daughters got into the carriage until the servant blocked her view. He opened the door and his eyes darted around the carriage until they landed on Minto.
"Miss?" his voice came out as a question. "Is there something wrong?"
She could see the carriage leaving behind the servant. Slowly, she nodded. The servant waited, unsure of what was wrong.
"Go to Lettuce's house," she commanded.
The servant raised an eyebrow. He had been Minto's servant for as long as she could remember and had known what happened to Lettuce after her father's death.
"Miss, I'm positive that she was invited and we need to hurry—"
"Please," Minto stared at him in the eyes, pleading with him.
He stared back before giving a long and deep sigh. "Fine," he closed the carriage's door and got the horses moving again.
Lettuce's house
She stared at her mother's dress, sighing. She couldn't stop the tears from falling as she started to sob. All of her confined feelings were released; how much she missed her parents, how much she missed school and hanging out with Minto, and everything she used to have when her parents were still alive. But mostly, she missed her parents.
She missed everything about them; how they laughed, how they talked to her, how they acted. She could hardly remember what her mother looked like, since her step-mom took all the pictures of her parents down. Her father was still so fresh in her memory that she sometimes thought he was still alive.
She had never felt so miserable.
Then the doorbell rung throughout the household. Lettuce jumped up, surprised, and raced towards the door. Maybe, just maybe, they came back to get me, she hoped.
Before she opened the door, she quickly rubbed her eyes, removing tears. She peeked out the door, seeing who it was who rang the bell. To her surprise, Minto stared back at her, wearing a lovely dress.
"M-Minto?" she gasped from shock; out of all people, she didn't expect Minto to be at her front steps.
"It took you long enough to answer," she huffed, complaining. Her servant, Sebastian, or Seb for short, waved at Lettuce. "Anyways, change so we can go to the party." Minto held up two invitations, smirking.
"What?" Lettuce was dumbfounded. Minto wanted to take her? She started to cry again. "How'd you know they wouldn't take me?" she asked through her sobs.
Minto grinned. "I'm surprised you have to ask," she laughed as she and Seb walked past Lettuce and into her house. "Now, let's get you cleaned up so we can go and have fun!"
"But won't they notice?" Lettuce asked, worriedly, as she closed the door. "They'll see me."
"It's a masquerade ball, but you don't have to wear a mask, so they are informing people at the dance and handing out masks there," she informed. "But I told Seb to make two masks for us, one blue and one green."
Lettuce looked at Seb, now noticing how he was making something while walking. She giggled, smiling. "You always know everything, Minto."
Minto blushed a little, turning away. "Of course! Now where's your dress?" she asked, looking around the living room as if they dress should have been there.
"It's in my room, hold on!" Lettuce raced towards her room, her heart beating loudly.
I'm going to the ball! Lettuce thought, happily.
Pudding at the castle
"How long will the ball last, Tart?" Pudding asked, glancing inside the ballroom with Taruto.
He glared at the nickname she gave him. "Until two in the morning," he answered.
"But I have school tomorrow, Na no da," she said out loud.
"There's no school tomorrow, don't you listen to anything?" he snapped at her, rolling his eyes. "Children these days."
Pudding jumped in front of him and smiled. She put her hand on top of her head and slowly moved it until it was just over Taruto's head. "But Pudding is taller than Tart!" she giggled as he swatted her hand away.
"Hey, brat, there you are," a voice behind them growled. Taruto gulped as he and Pudding turned to see who the voice was.
"Zakuro…" Taruto suddenly turned, about to bolt away, when Pudding grabbed onto his collar to hold him in place.
"Thank you, Pudding," Zakuro grabbed Taruto's arm and started to drag him away with Pudding following.
"You guys know each other?!" he shouted, squirming. Pudding giggled.
"We work together once in a while, Na no da," Pudding informed him, smiling as he gaped at her.
They continued to walk with Zakuro leading the way until they stopped in front of a door. Zakuro opened it and threw Taruto inside. Once the two girls went inside, she shut the door and locked it. "Now, Taruto, change into this," she commanded, thrusting a pair of clothes onto him.
He quickly got up, blushing deeply, thinking he had to change in front of the girls. Zakuro smirked at him. "The changing room is right behind you," she informed. "I would rather you not change in front of Pudding and I."
Taruto's face flushed, realizing Zakuro would never allow him to do that. "I-I knew that!" he shouted before storming inside the changing room and slamming the door shut.
Pudding and Zakuro laughed. "Tart is shy!" Pudding giggled.
Zakuro stared at Pudding for a bit before asking her, "Why are you here anyways Pudding? Did they promise you a lot of money?" she asked, curious.
Pudding smiled at Zakuro. "Sort of. The King offered Pudding some gold if Pudding entertained the guests," she told her. "What about Zakuro? Pudding thought you stopped dancing."
Zakuro shrugged. "I did, but the King himself asked me to train the three idiots to dance." There was a pause. "I meant princes," she said nonchalantly. Pudding laughed at this; Zakuro had not changed in the slightest.
The door to the changing room squeaked open, revealing Taruto. He was in a marvelous black and white suit. However, his bowtie was horribly done. While Pudding stared at him with a light blush, Zakuro stood up and fixed his bowtie. When she was done, she nodded her head in approval. "You look at least decent."
Taruto glared at her, but before he could remark, Pudding jumped on him, excited. "Tart looks like a gentleman!" she squealed.
Zakuro watched as Taruto's face flushed. "Hey, Pudding, do you still have that fiancé?" she asked, watching Taruto's reaction; his face showed his confusion.
Pudding got off of Taruto and made a troubled face. "Yeah, Na no da," she pouted. "Pudding is still refusing though."
Zakuro nodded while Taruto gaped at her. He couldn't believe someone his age had a fiancé. "Is he coming today?" Zakuro asked.
Pudding made a face. "Pudding hopes not."
Taruto could feel that his breath came easier now, knowing that Pudding downright disliked the fiancé. Though, he didn't know why.
Before he could think of why, Kisshu barged through the door, swinging a key in his hand. "Yo," he grinned at Zakuro, who glared back at him. He was wearing a suit like Taruto's, but without a bowtie or a tie.
Pai appeared behind him, closing a book. His suit had a lovely tie to go with it. "Father will be introducing us to the guests shortly, so let's go," he informed, nodding politely at Zakuro, before leaving.
Kisshu grinned at Pai. "Well now that you know Taruto, let's go." He looked at Pudding. "You look great Pudding. I just wish you were older," he laughed as Taruto pushed him out of the room angrily.
As the brothers left, another boy walked in. "Zakuro, are you ready to go?" he asked, not noticing Pudding.
Zakuro stood. "Yes, I am." She turned to Pudding. "Pudding this is Ryou, the three idiots tutor." She didn't correct her 'mistake' this time.
Ryou glanced at Pudding curtly before leaving. "Where should Pudding go?" Pudding asked, realizing she didn't know where to go now.
"Just follow me and I'll tell you when you should start your entertainment," Zakuro gestured for Pudding to follow her.
Minto and Lettuce
Minto adjusted her mask quickly as Lettuce placed their glasses down. Minto thanked her as she took a drink. The music hadn't started yet and everyone was sitting at their tables, a waiting for the royals to show themselves.
"How long do you think it takes for these guys to come out? I want to dance already," Minto grumbled, annoyed.
"Minto," Lettuce whispered her name, worried that someone might've heard Minto complaining. "They're royalty, they can take their time."
Minto still grumbled about how they were taking time from her busy schedule. Lettuce gave a small smile. Minto hadn't changed since they were children. Suddenly, music started to play and everything went dark. Everyone gasped, confused.
Soon, a few lights turned on, focusing on stairs where the three princes, the King, and two others stood.
"Lettuce, that's Zakuro! The famous dancer!" Minto squealed, fangirling. Lettuce was about to tell Minto to quiet down when she noticed that everyone was talking.
The King cleared his throat, causing the ballroom to become silent. "Hello everyone and thank you for coming. I'm sure you were all busy. I would like to introduce my oldest son and heir to the throne, Pai—"
Pai took a few steps down to stand beside his father. He bowed to the guests.
"—my second son, Kisshu—" Kisshu waved as he stood next to Pai, with a silly smirk.
Minto rolled her eyes at him.
"—and my third son, Taruto." Taruto nervously walked to take his spot next to Kisshu. Once he was there, he stiffly bowed, trying to copy Pai.
Everyone began to clap. "I hope everyone enjoys the feast and our entertainment!" the Kings voice boomed.
Pudding
Pudding was sitting out of the way in a corner, where Zakuro had told her to go. She was watching Zakuro the whole time, waiting to get the signal. She was wearing a yellowish suit (A/N: Her Mew Mew outfit) with a mask that was a mixture of the same yellowish color and purple. Her prop for her performance was a large, inflated ball.
"I hope everyone enjoys the feast and our entertainment!" Pudding heard the King announce. She couldn't believe how loud his voice was.
Zakuro gave Pudding a quick thumbs up, meaning it was Pudding's time to shine. Along with other entertainers, Pudding started to make her way into the middle of the ballroom. With her hands out, she walked on the ball, causing people who saw her to clap.
With a quick movement, Pudding switched from her feet on the ball to her hands on the ball. She heard some gasps and then applause. She continued to do stunts for the crowd as some people got up and began to dance.
Minto and Lettuce
The two girls were eating a plate of sweets as they watched one of the entertainers. Minto glanced at the princes, scoffing. Lettuce looked up at her, confused.
"That one prince, Kisshu, is such a player," Minto stated, rolling her eyes. Lettuce looked over to see Prince Kisshu flirting with the girls that surrounded him. "The heir, Pai, isn't as bad, but he's just too polite to the girls," Minto continued.
She was right; Prince Pai was stiff and didn't react a lot to the girls.
"What about the little prince? Taruto, wasn't it?" Lettuce asked, curious.
Minto shrugged, getting back to her sweets. "He's probably alone."
Lettuce looked shocked. "Why? His brothers are surrounded by girls." She paused. "Is it because he's too young?"
Minto raised her eyebrow. "How do you read so much, but not know this?" she asked rhetorically. "The first born is the heir. The second born is his advisor. The rest after the second born don't matter."
Lettuce looked down. "Oh." Their surroundings became quiet as they munched on their food.
Minto stared at Lettuce, noticing her down mood. With a sigh, she stood up. "Come on, let's dance." Minto offered Lettuce her hand.
Lettuce stared at her for a moment before smiling. "Sure."
They began to dance together, laughing.
Pai
"Do you like animals?" one girl asked.
"He must like dogs," another girl falsely stated, giving Pai no time to actually answer the question.
"No, he must like cats."
"Or birds!"
Pai cleared his throat, getting the girls' attention. "I actually like the finless porpoise," he informed them. When they didn't understand what that was, he muttered, "It's a fish."
They nodded, acting as if they already knew what he had said. They began to ask him tons of questions again, not giving him a chance to answer, so he didn't pay attention to the girls.
He looked back them, seeing many people dancing. That's when he saw her; a green haired, glasses wearing girl. Her dress was a bit strange, but it looked beautiful on her. She was dancing with another girl who was dressed in blue. They were both smiling, having fun.
He was entranced by her smile. He could've gazed at her forever. But forever was shortly lived, as his attention was pulled away by a tug on his shirt. Turning, he met the gaze of a short, pink haired girl.
"What?" he snapped harshly. Quickly remembering who he was, he scrambled to find nicer words. "How can I help you, Miss?" he quickly said, trying to look kind to no avail.
The girl gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes like the green haired girl's smile did. "My names Ichigo and this is my sister Berri," she said as she gestured to the girl beside her. Pai didn't even glance at the other girl. "We were wondering if you would dance with us?" she asked, trying to look cute.
Pai then noticed that slow music was coming on and the lights were dimming. Couples were getting up to dance and strangers were asking other strangers to dance also. This was the time were the princes were supposed to find someone to dance with.
Pai thought a moment. "I'm sorry, but I already promised to dance with someone else," he lied smoothly.
The girl, Ichigo, pouted. Pai quickly turned on his heel and searched for the mysterious girl. She wasn't dancing with her friend anymore, nor was she dancing with another male. So she must've been sitting down somewhere.
Then he spotted her friend. She was grabbing two drinks.
Without a moment to lose, Pai gracefully rushed towards the blue girl, the question of where her friend was was ready to roll off his tongue.
Kisshu
All the girls surrounding Kisshu begged him to dance with them. "Please, Kisshu-sama!" one girl begged, her eyes pleading with him. The other girls began to copy her and some even grabbed onto him.
Kisshu quickly backed up, removing the girls from him. "Sorry girls, I just don't like dancing," he saw a group of boys all sitting at a table close by. "I'm sure those lads would love to dance with one of you ladies." He pointed towards the boys, who all heard him; they looked shocked and embarrassed.
The girls mumbled among their selves. Then a few of them went to the boys and asked one to dance, then another few, and before long all of them had left Kisshu. Although he liked flirting with them, he was fine with them leaving; they were obnoxious.
Turning around, he looked for girls who weren't dancing. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he couldn't dance at all. So, he just wanted a girl who wouldn't force him to dance.
Then, he saw her. She looked a bit younger than him and her darkish pink hair stood out among the crowd, though there were a lot of girls with pink hair; other girls had white, yellow, brown, green, black, and even orange as far as he'd seen.
Though, this girl looked cute with her hair, unlike most others. She was sitting down with another girl, talking. So, Kisshu walked up to her, making his presence known. She looked up at him, one eyebrow raised.
"Hello, Miss, my name is Kisshu," he introduced himself, giving her his 'sexy smirk'.
She didn't look impressed. "That's great," she replied back sarcastically. "What do you want?"
Kisshu tried to hide his surprise. He wasn't use to the girls he flirted with to be like that. "Um, to talk?" he answered lamely.
"No thanks, I'm already talking to someone." She then turned away from him and continued to talk to the girl across from her.
Kisshu stood there awkwardly before slowly walking away, utterly confused. 'What's wrong with her' was all he could think. All the girls wanted to marry a prince, so why didn't she like him? He didn't love her but he still didn't like how she just blew him off.
That's when he was his older brother, Pai, talking to blue haired girl. The girl didn't look impressed with him, and by the way she thrusts her finger to the side, she was showing it.
Kisshu grinned as he watched Pai bow to her and walk off. He didn't know what they were talking about but he was curious. Not to mention he hadn't flirted with a blue haired girl yet.
Minto
Minto sighed, shaking her head. Prince Pai had come over to ask her about Lettuce, which shocked her. Then he wanted to know where she was. Of course, Minto found it annoying, having to help him, but showed him where Lettuce was anyways.
She looked at the dancing folk, feeling the sudden urge to dance. Sadly, she didn't have anyone to dance with, and now that Lettuce was about to be swept off of her feet, she couldn't force Lettuce to dance with her.
"Hey," a voice from behind her called. Minto turned around, glaring at the owner of the voice: Prince Kisshu.
What did this one want? "What?" she snapped at him; already annoyed.
He grinned. "Whoa, calm down, birdy, I just wanted to talk," he said, laughing.
Birdy? She mentally questioned, eyeing him strangely. She just shook her head and turned her back on him, getting another drink.
Kisshu didn't know why, but she intrigued him. With a grin, he walked to her side and leaned on the table. "So, what'd my brother want with you, birdy?" he asked, curious. He didn't know why he called her birdy, but it just seemed to fit her.
"Go ask him," she spat, not even glancing up at him.
"But I'm already asking you," Kisshu replied back, still grinning.
She let out a breath and closed her eyes before turning to face him, her eyes glaring at his. "Look, I don't care if you're a prince or not, but you're getting annoying, so leave me alone."
Kisshu made a pouting face. "I just wanted to know," he grumbled, acting as if he was Taruto's age.
Minto rolled her eyes. "Yeah, still don't care." She turned back to her drink, thinking he would leave.
He didn't. "So, what's your name?" he asked, suddenly curious. She didn't acknowledge the question. "Or should I just continue calling you birdy?" he teased.
Minto snapped her head towards him. "I honestly don't care about what you call me." She grabbed her drink and started to walk away.
For whatever reason, the way she acted didn't get him upset like the way Ichigo acted. Instead, he felt that he didn't want her to leave. So, he called out to her, "Birdy!"
She stopped and sighed, turning around to face him. "What?" she asked in a bored tone.
Kisshu didn't know what to say; he didn't think she would've stopped. "… Want to dance?" he asked sheepishly.
Minto stared at him, before smiling. She found her dance partner.
Pudding
It was Pudding's break time and she was sitting beside Taruto. "Tart, why aren't you socializing, na no da?" Pudding asked, taking a sip from her drink.
Taruto placed his cheek on his fist, bored. "Because only Pai and Kisshu are looking for brides, not me," he informed lamely.
Pudding slowly nodded her head, trying to comprehend what he was saying. "Look, Zakuro and Ryou are dancing!" she quickly said, changing the subject. Taruto looked over to where Pudding was pointing to see his dance teacher dancing with his tutor.
"I think they're dating, but I can't remember." Pudding gaped then became giggly. Taruto raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"Zakuro is so bad with boys, so Pudding is happy she found someone, na no da!" Pudding smiled, causing Taruto to blush and look away.
"Well—" he was cut off by someone standing in front of him. The man was way older than both of the kids.
"Miss Pudding, would you mind dancing with me?" the strange man asked.
"Ron?!" Pudding asked, surprised to see him here. "What are you doing here, na no da?" she asked.
"Who's this?" Taruto asked, reminding the two that he was there.
Pudding was suddenly bashful. "He is, um…."
Ron answered for her. "I'm her fiancé."
Taruto snapped his head to Pudding, to see if it was true. How could a kid compete with an adult? Though, he didn't know why he would want to compete with Ron anyways.
"Anyways, Miss Pudding, may I have this dance?" Ron asked again, reaching for her hand. Pudding looked at Taruto before looking at Ron, not sure whether to go or not to go.
Taruto suddenly slapped Ron's hand away and dragged Pudding away. "Let's dance, Pudding!" he shouted at her, but no one seemed to hear him.
Pudding's face flushed as she smiled happily. "Okay, Tart!" she agreed, laughing.
Lettuce
Lettuce was quite thirsty and wondered what was taking Minto so long. Minto was supposed to bring back drinks for them.
"Um, excuse me," a quiet voice came from behind Lettuce as the man tapped her shoulder. Lettuce turned around, surprised to find Prince Pai.
"U-um," Lettuce was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say. Maybe he thought she was someone else. "Yes?"
"I'm Pai, the heir to the throne," he introduced himself a bit stiffly.
"Yes, I know," Lettuce replied back, uncertain. "I'm Lettuce…"
Pai gave her a small smile. "You look thirsty, Lettuce. Here." He handed her a glass full of water. Lettuce graciously accepted with a small thanks. "I noticed you earlier and wanted to talk to you," he admitted to her sheepishly.
Lettuce looked surprise. "Really?" she smiled a little at that. "Then it's good you found me, isn't it?"
Pai was happy that she didn't find him strange and smiled. "Yes, it is. Do you, by any chance, know what a finless porpoise is?" he asked, curious.
Lettuce's face lit up. "Of course! They're my favorite animal!" she exclaimed. "Not a lot of people know them, so I'm happy you know them, Prince Pai."
"Just Pai is fine."
Lettuce smiled softly. "Then just Pai it is."
Minto
"You what?" she hissed. She was in the middle of the ballroom, dancing with Prince Kisshu, her hands wrapped behind his neck, only to be found at a standstill.
He avoided eye contact. "I can't dance," he mumbled under his breath. He could feel his hands sweat as they held onto her waist.
Minto stared at him as if he was stupid. "Then why did you invite me to dance with you?" she growled lowly.
He gulped. "I just didn't want to stop talking to you," he admitted.
Minto felt a blush creep up on her. She made a noise with her tongue. "I guess I have no choice but to help you out this time and show you how to dance," she muttered. Kisshu noticed her blush and smirked.
"You're so cute, Birdy."
She ignored his comment and began to show him how to dance. "Hold onto my waist more firmly!" she commanded after almost slipping from his grasp.
Kisshu grinned to himself as he pulled Minto extremely close to him, only an inch separated them. "Like this?" he asked, trying to sound seductive.
Minto rolled her eyes, blushing a bit. "Close enough," she grumbled, going back to telling him what to do.
Pudding
"This is fun, na no da!" Pudding exclaimed, happy. She and Taruto were dancing like fools compared to everyone else, but they were having fun.
Taruto smiled at Pudding. "This is way better than just sitting down!" Taruto laughed. Pudding agreed, laughing with him.
"Hey, Tart, those are your brothers," Pudding pointed out, nodding toward them. "Pai-sama is dancing with a mysterious girl, na no da!"
Taruto looked too and saw Pai dancing with a green haired girl. "Yeah, he is. Weird. He's even smiling," Taruto observed.
"And there's Kisshu-sama," Pudding stated, pointing towards Kisshu. "He's dancing with Minto, na no da."
Taruto looked, seeing him dancing with a blue haired girl. "Who's Minto?" he asked.
"A girl from Pudding's school, she's a great dancer, na no da," Pudding informed Taruto. "She's the only one who knew about Pudding's fiancé."
Taruto turned to stare at Pudding, who was still looking at Kisshu and Minto. "Why does he have to be your fiancé?" Taruto suddenly asked. When Pudding looked at him, full of surprise, he looked away.
Pudding gave a small smile at him. "Because Ron beat Pudding at martial arts," she told him.
Taruto looked back at her, surprised. "What? Just because he beat you at martial arts?" he asked.
Pudding nodded. "Papa owns a martial arts studio in China and met Ron there. There papa and Ron trained until one day Ron beat papa. And since papa promised Ron that if he beat him, he could inherit the studio, but to do that he has to marry Pudding," she explained.
Taruto was quiet for a moment, slowly understanding Puddings position.
"Though, Pudding is still denying the proposal, but Ron isn't a bad guy so Pudding guesses it wouldn't be too bad to marry him," she forced a small smile at Taruto.
He stared at her, at her fake smile. He hated it. He muttered something under his breath, something Pudding couldn't hear.
"Sorry, Tart, what did you say?" she asked, titling her head to the side.
Taruto gulped and looked straight at her. "Don't marry him," he repeated louder. Pudding stared at him, surprised. "Don't marry Ron. I'll learn martial arts and beat him. I'll beat Ron."
A smile started to form on Pudding's face before she even realized it. "Is Tart saying he'll marry Pudding instead?" she asked.
Taruto's face flushed and he looked away curtly. "O-of course not!" he stuttered. There was a small pause before he lowly muttered, "Maybe…"
Pudding's face flushed with his as their dancing came to a halt. She then smiled and jumped on him. They fell to the ground, but attracted no attention. "Training will start tomorrow, Tart!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe Pudding will even beat Ron and then Pudding can inherit the studio, na no da!"
Taruto smiled with her. He had no idea what possessed him to somewhat confess to Pudding, but it was a good thing it happened.
Lettuce
She and Pai had been dancing to every song, just talking about everything. They were really alike, they realized. It had seemed like they knew each other since they were children.
"Pai, you're amazing!" Lettuce stated, smiling.
Pai blushed and smiled. "You're amazing too, Lettuce," he told her. He took a deep breath. It was now or never. "I know that we just met and everything, but I have to ask you something important." He waited for a reply from Lettuce as he stared deeply into her eyes.
Lettuce's face flushed, even though he hadn't said anything that would make it flush. "Y-yes?" she tried to sound calm as she replied back to him.
Pai continued to stare into her eyes. "Will you," he paused, as if for effect, "marry me?"
They stopped dancing and just sat there, staring at one another. It seemed like an eternity had passed before Lettuce replied. "Um, if you would have me, Pai, then yes…" she said quietly, her face completely red along with Pai's.
Pai smiled. "I would love to have you as my wife, Lettuce."
Slowly, he leaned down and they kissed.
Minto
The music had suddenly came to an end. Minto and Kisshu slowly let go of each other rather reluctantly. "What's going on?" Minto asked, directing her question at no one.
Kisshu answered it anyways. "Pai must've found a girl to marry."
Minto had a guess as to who that girl might be, but didn't voice it. "Does that mean that the ball is over?" she asked. The clock just struck midnight.
"Pretty much." They sat there, like everyone else, in the middle of the ballroom in silence. "Oh, there's Kisshu and his fiancé." Kisshu pointed towards the stairs where he had entered earlier.
Minto followed his finger until she saw Pai and Lettuce. She smirked. "I knew it," she murmured under her breath, causing Kisshu to give her a look.
The King appeared beside his heir and Lettuce. "I would like to announce the engagement between my son and heir, Pai, and Miss Lettuce."
Minto glanced at Lettuce's step-mother and her daughters to see their faces. Minto snickered at them as they gaped at Lettuce. She then remembered the time.
Without making much of a scene, she started to slowly back up, until she disappeared through the crowd. However, Kisshu didn't notice. "Hey, Birdy, what would you do if I asked you to—" he turned, his face a bit red, and saw that she was gone. Quickly looking around, he saw that she had disappeared.
Minto rushed out of the castle, taking off her mask. She reached her carriage and knocked on the door rapidly. "Seb, wake up!" she hissed, freezing from the cold. The castle was rather warm compared to outside.
Her old servant slowly opened the door, just waking up. "Ah, Miss, you're done already?" he asked her, still half asleep.
"Yes, now let's go home before I freeze," she commanded, helping him out of the carriage. She quickly got into the carriage as her servant got the horses ready to go. In the next minute, they were leaving.
By the time Kisshu made his way outside, Minto was nowhere to be found.
The next day: Lettuce, Pai, and Kisshu
"Eh?" Lettuce looked at Kisshu, surprised.
"Wait, repeat that," Pai asked in a commanding voice, just as surprised as Lettuce.
Kisshu sighed, his cheeks tinted in a light pink. "Who was that girl you were with? The blue one?" he asked once more, murmuring.
Lettuce and Pai stared at each other, surprised still. "Um, why?" Lettuce asked timidly; she had only just met Kisshu, but she knew of his—at times—short temper.
Kisshu gave a loud sigh and pushed his hand through is hair. "I want to date her," he informed them, not looking at either them, and instead focused on the wall.
Lettuce gave a small smile towards Pai. "Her name is Minto."
Minto
She was laying on her bed, sprawled out. She felt exhausted from yesterday. She stared out her window, thinking of Kisshu. With a shake of her head, she shoved her face into her pillow. She refused to think of the prince.
There was a knock on her door. "What?" she snapped. She had told everyone she didn't want to be bothered today.
"Um, Miss, there's someone here…" Seb's voice trailed off.
Minto grumbled as she stood up. She didn't change out of her nightgown and stormed to her door. Within a second, she slammed open her door. "What—" she stopped short when she saw who was standing in front of her doorway.
"Hey, there, Birdy," Kisshu grinned at her. "Or should I call you Minto?" he asked, trying to sound seductive as he said her name.
Minto didn't respond as she slammed the door shut. He tried to open it but it was locked. "How'd you find out my name?!" she hissed from the inside of her room.
She could hear Kisshu laugh from the other side of the door. "Our soon-to-be Queen told me," he informed.
Lettuce, Minto grumbled mentally. "Go away," she shouted.
"What? No way. You aren't even speaking to me properly," Kisshu complained. Minto rolled her eyes.
"What do you want?" she asked.
There was a long pause. "I want you."
Minto's face flushed and she was thankful that she wasn't facing him. "W-what?!"
"I know you heard me perfectly fine—"
"I didn't!" she shouted, embarrassed. "Get out!"
She heard Kisshu take a deep breath. "I. WANT. YOU!" he screamed.
A minute passed by before the door slowly opened. With a flushed face and averting eyes, Minto stepped out. "W-what could you possibly mean by that?" she questioned in a mutter.
Kisshu grinned as he got down on one knee. Minto's eyes widened as he pulled out a small box. She started to panic, when he opened up the box.
"Will you go out with me?" he asked, grinning at his little prank. Inside the little box was the bird blue lorikeet on a necklace.
Minto stared at him in shock before laughing.
~0~
That was how, in the small kingdom with three princes, they all fell in love.
o0o
FINALLY! I finished it! :D took me awhile *cough cough* three years *cough cough* but it's finally finished :D celebration time! ^^ Hope you guys enjoy it!