Author's Note: As I noticed after I uploaded the prologue, I forgot to put a disclaimer. So here is one. All of the characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not I, because if they did, well I wouldn't be writing about it. c: Although she owns the characters, I take most credit for the plot. I also want to give a shout-out to my absolute best friend who is my beta and actually makes this worth reading, Grace! Thank you and enjoy this new chapter. I uploaded this knowing I'll be bust these upcoming weeks because school is almost over and what not but hope to upload one chapter every weekend, but you know how life goes. So without further ado, here is Chapter 1.

"I can't believe I'm actually here…"

That was the only thought in my head as I stood before the castle of Nobel Michel. It was the largest castle in the world, best known for hosting six kingdoms worth of the royal family's marriages. It was the holy land for any girl who had ever dreamed of being a princess. But what was I doing in this place that any woman would dream of coming to? The truth was that I had been brought here thanks to that man's sudden invitation.

Earlier that day…

"A… date?" I stood fixed to the spot in shock, and another gentle smile appeared on his face.

"To ruin a woman's clothing is as serious a sin as to pluck a beautiful rose from its branch," he replied, smile growing slightly wider.

A beautiful rose…? What does that have to do with anything?

"O-okay…?" I said cautiously. The man drew my hand towards his mouth and kissed the back of it.

"I don't know if this can serve as an appropriate apology but won't you do me the honor of going with me to tonight's party?"

A party? Okay, that's what he meant by a date.

The man then continued with a serious expression. "Louis, if you could make the necessary preparations?"

"At once, sir," a disembodied voice quickly replied.

I quickly opened my mouth to speak in a hurried tone. "But I can't possible go to a party! I just came to Charles as an intern. I didn't bring anything dressy to wear or anything…" The man just smiled at me.

"That is nothing to worry about. We will take care of everything." As he spoke, he clapped his hands and several men and women appeared at his side.

'What the hell?!' I thought. Unbothered by my shock, he gave out orders to the people who had appeared just moments ago.

"A dress for the lady, please. Hair and makeup, too. Oh and have these clothes cleaned and replacements prepared as well."

End of flashback...

When I was invited to this party I never thought I would be brought someplace like this. I stepped into the castle of Nobel Michel, carefully lifting the hem of my borrowed dress to make sure it didn't catch on anything.. He told me he would see me inside but I didn't see him anywhere. I never even asked for his name. I was about to step into the ballroom when someone stepping out of the room nearly knocked me down. I looked up and saw a regal face staring down at me.

"Please excuse me. I am very sorry," said the man with beautiful blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

"No, I am the one who must apologize." I lowered my head respectfully and he smiled slightly.

"I haven't seen you at one of these parties before, have I?" he inquired.

And hot damn, he was actually really good looking. He was also dressed like the two men from earlier. I wonder if it's the formal dress from some foreign diplomatic country…

"It's a pleasure, sir. My name is Alice Brandon," I said hurriedly, trying to recover from my extended silence.

"A pleasure." Those curt words left me feeling nervous, again. "Is this perhaps your first time here?"

I nodded in answer to his question. "Yes, it is." But how did he know that? As I stared curiously at him, he smiled for a brief instant. I then heard another voice coming from behind us.

"Well, isn't this a surprise - finding you actually talking with a woman," said the voice. I turned and was faced with a big man with baby blue eyes and dark curls standing there, a friendly smile lighting up his whole face. "Won't you introduce me?" he asked.

"I'm hardly in a position to be giving introductions. Excuse me." That was all the blond one said before he stepped back into the ballroom.

"No surprise to find that he's as cold as ever… But are you not going in?"

I hurriedly stepped to the side."Excuse me, I didn't mean to stand in your way," I replied. But in response, the burly man just took my hand.

"You needn't worry about anything like that, my dear," he said smoothly.

'My dear'…? Did he mean me?

He continued. "Meeting you here like this must be some sort of fate. Won't you allow me to escort you into the party?" He peered at me as he spoke, his tone slightly teasing.

It is a bit embarrassing to walk in by myself… Maybe I should let him escort me.

"I would be honored, sir. Thank you," I said, before stepping into a world unlike any I had ever known before.

'I knew I wouldn't fit in here. Maybe I should go.' As I thought those words, I reached out for a glass of champagne from a nearby table and my hand precariously met with another's.

"Sorry…" he said. I looked up to see his light dirty blond hair and green eyes. He was absolutely gorgeous.

"Oh, no, please excuse me," I replied quickly. The man hardly seemed to notice me as he lifted the glass from the table and drained it. He then took several more glasses and downed them as well. 'That was quite impressive…' I thought to myself. Perhaps he noticed my staring, as the man did finally acknowledge my existence.

"What? Have you never seen anyone drink before?"

"Er, no… I…" Now that I wasn't looking at his face, I noticed he was wearing the same sort of outfit as the men I'd met before. I feel like I've seen him on TV or something, as well…

Suddenly, another man's voice interrupted us. "What nice manners. Instead of saying hello, you're here with the alcohol and the women," said the newcomer. There was a hint of innocence about his cherubic face and messy black hair framing his features, but it was off put by the uniform that everyone seemed to be dressed in. That sealed the deal for me. Those outfits must be some sort of local dress for formal occasions.

When he heard those words, the man drinking champagne spoke in a disgruntled tone. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," the new man smiled and the other one sighed.

"I don't know how you put up with being put on parade like this…" the one who downed all of the champagne replied.

"We don't have a choice, do we? It's part of our civil duty. Come on, it's time to be going." The drinker nodded reluctantly at those words.

"I know. Goodbye," He glanced at me for a moment before he fell in step with the other man and then they were gone, along with the burly one who was previously by my side. All of them… I'm sure I've seen them somewhere. Or was it all in my head…? Just as the thought raced through my mind, a voice filled the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! Please turn your attention to the mezzanine atop the spiral staircase!" the disembodied voice said. 'What?' I thought, looking about as everyone turned to stare up at the balcony excitedly. My eyes followed their gaze up the staircase.

"The eyes of the world are all upon them; the future kings of the six greatest kingdoms on earth!" the voice called out again.

What? Then the spotlight snapped on, illuminating the figures of six men. The future kings…? Those guys are…?! I stared wide-eyed at the men's faces.

"First is Charles' own Prince Edward!" At those words one of the men started down the staircase. The man who appeared in the spotlight was none other than the one from the flower shop. I'd thought he looked just like Prince Edward but I never imagined it'd actually be him. He stepped off the stairs and another pair of footsteps could be heard descending behind him.

"Prince Carlisle of Philip!" the voice called out. He was the one that I ran into outside of the ballroom with the blond hair… He's also a prince!? As my eyes followed him, the next prince was introduced.

"Prince Keith of Liberty!" I felt slight asphyxiation set in as I saw him come down the stairs. He was the one from the car with the blue sash… And he's also a prince… No wonder he seemed to know Prince Edward when we were outside the flower shop. He didn't seem very nice. Then another familiar face entered my line of sight.

"Prince Emmett of Altaria!" That was the big man who escorted me into the ballroom tonight…Which means I was escorted in by a future king! As I stood in shock, another man was being introduced to the audience.

"Prince Jasper of Dres Van!" A very well put-together man looked down upon the crown and stopped on me for a second, then continued looking around. That was the man who downed all of the champagne. He had a slightly frightening air about him, but even he was a prince… I couldn't hide my complete shock, even as the the spotlight fell on the last of the six.

"And Prince Jacob of Oriens!" He look a fair bit younger than the others, though, maybe even younger than me. He was the one with the spiky black hair who came over to the dirty-blonde haired man, who I now knew was Prince Joshua.

All six men made their way down the staircase and a great storm of applause filled the room. How could it be that all the men I met today turned out to be princes? Things like that don't normally happen… Right?

After the announcements it had come time for the receiving line, but I was unable to approach the princes, though I did want to go and thank Prince Edward. Despite that wish, the space in front of the princes was filled by an army of women. There was no clear way to get in front of them. Just then, someone shoved past me and sent me knocking into another stranger.

"Watch it!" a woman yelled. Flung forward, I tumbled to the ground, my hands breaking my fall. Silence fell around me for a moment. How embarrassing! My cheeks flushed as I hurriedly tried to stand until…

"Are you alright?" A hand appeared before me, together with a voice. Oh, that voice is… I looked up and there was Prince Edward smiling at me.

"T-thank you," I replied hurriedly as I used his hand to gently pull myself up. "So you are… a prince. Please forgive me for all of the thoughtless things I said…" His eyes glimmered when he heard my words.

"No, I am at fault for bringing you someplace like this without even giving you my name. I am the one who should be apologizing," Prince Edward looked at me as he spoke. "I wasn't sure how such a last minute outfit would look, but… you look divine." My face flushed red when I heard his words.

"That's not… Oh, but I do thank you for lending me this beautiful dress," I smiled back at him and he squeezed my hand.

"A dress exists only to be worn by a woman. I am sure that this dress is glad that it could adorn someone as beautiful as yourself," he said with a gentle smile.

"I…" I didn't know how to reply to his kind words.

"But if you aren't careful, you may just find yourself the target of jealousy with beauty such as yours. I'm sure the lovely flowers decorating this ballroom all wish they were quite as captivating as the bloom in your cheeks." It's really quite embarrassing, but still… A voice spoke up from behind us.

"I never would have expected you to know the lady, Prince Edward." When I looked in the direction of the voice, I saw that it was Prince Emmett, who had escorted me into the ballroom.

"Thanks for joining me before," he said with a smile. I bowed my head at his words.

"No, thank you, sir, for escorting me," I replied, returning his smile.

"What's this? You know Prince Emmett?" Prince Edward asked.

"I wouldn't say that I know him… We only just met at the entrance…"

"That's right. You must know her better than I, don't you, Prince Edward?" Prince Emmett asked in a slightly teasing tone.

Prince Edward smiled softly. "I'm afraid that I only just met her today myself. But it is really thanks to Prince Keith that I could invite her here this evening…"

Then, Prince Keith, who had been standing nearby, cut into the conversation. "Thanks to me?"

"Yes that's right. Don't you remember the woman whose clothes were ruined by your car kicking up mud this afternoon?" Prince Edward asked, looking completely amused.

Prince Keith cocked his head to the side, and then looked at my face. "Oh, you're the one from the street… But why are you here?"

"Prince Edward kindly invited me here to apologize for the damage to my clothes," I said matter-of-factly.

"He invited you? Hmm. Well he did always like to dabble with commoners." He glanced at me as he spoke, then walked away.

Well, again, he proves to be quite rude. I grimaced and then I felt piercing eyes on me. When I looked, I noticed Prince Carlisle staring at me. He chuckled as he walked away. Great, now a prince caught me making a strange face.

At that moment, Prince Emmett began speaking with a smile. "Prince Keith seemed quite worked up. I wonder if he was trying to catch your eye?" What?

"Prince Emmett, you know that Prince Keith would be angry if he heard you say something like that," Prince Edward scolded.

Prince Emmett just shrugged and laughed. "That is fun in its own way, too. However, I'd rather just talk to you. How about it?" He cracked a smile and my heart skipped a beat just as a low voice suddenly interrupted us.

"Forgive me, but tonight's party is meant for the princes to mingle. Don't you think you ought to refrain from such private matters?" I turned to see Prince Jasper standing there. For a moment, his eyes lingered on me but then his gaze returned to the other princes, as if I was of no special note.

I see… Well, there are so many people here; it's no wonder that he doesn't remember meeting me before.

"I guess I must apologize for disrupting the evening, but I was the one who invited the lady, so could you at least excuse me?" Prince Edward bowed his head politely. Prince Jasper turned his back on him and sighed quietly.

"If you're going to go that far, then I don't particularly care what you do, but I would like you to avoid causing any more disruptions." When he was done speaking, he headed back to the center of the dance floor and I heard someone chuckling at us nearby.

"What a bore…" I looked around and there was Prince Jacob, who had been the last introduced. Seeing him up close only confirmed my earlier impression that he was younger than I was.

"Oh. Excuse me. I've just always thought that such gatherings as this are quite tedious, but I should not be airing such private feelings in public. If you'll excuse me…" Prince Jacob tossed the words behind him as he left.

As we watched him go, Prince Edward laughed softly. "He never changes. Good little Prince Jacob…"

"But it's okay if he's a bit prickly. It's quite cute on him," Emmett said with a teasing smile. Cute? Hm… As I harbored my own doubts in my mind, Prince Edward's and Prince Emmett's butlers called out to them.

"Oh… I suppose we must be going," Prince Edward said reluctantly.

"Enjoy yourself, all right? I'll see you later," said Prince Emmett, just as reluctantly as Prince Edward.

"Y-yes. Thank you very much ," I said in reply as I watched them walk away. Music slowly swelled and filled the room, again from nowhere. In response to the music, couples started to form throughout the ballroom.

'Is there going to be dancing?' I wondered. It seemed as if there was a chance to dance with princes, as well, judging by the great hordes of women that were surrounding them once again. I began walking towards the tables where the food was laid out when I heard a voice call out to me.

"Might I have this dance?"

Huh? I turned and standing there before me was…

OOOH CLIFFIE. I've always hated them but I have to keep the suspense going don't I? Now, I know, all the princes are basically going after her? What is that, right? Don't worry! The ladies will be joining. I also assume you noticed the OC Prince Keith. That was a little gift to one of my closest friends. He really doesn't play a massive role. Also I want to thank those that commented, favorited, and followed this story so far. It was definitely a big boost so thank you! I love all of you. 3 C: Hopefully I'll see you next week! Enjoy and keep reviewing and all that jazz! 3
-Carrie xoxox