HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :)

So I updated this at last. Yeah, I finished my Hanamiya Makoto fanfiction the other day. X'3 Sorry for making you wait, and Thank you to those who reminded me to update this. Lol. I kinda forget tbh.

COMMENTS, VOTES, and COMPLAINTS (Lol) are deeply appreciated. Please do tell me if there's an anime character you don't know. Haha. I'll tell you what fandom he/she is from :)

The bishie on the media is Elliot Nightray :)

Enjoy!

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Chapter 01: A Serendipitous Encounter

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Stressful and tiring.

That's everyday of my life.

Being a princess was never easy. And I had hundreds of reasons why. Thousands even. If only there was an award for the Most Distressed Princess Ever, I would've won that title and keep it for eternity.

Everybody would think that I was lucky for being born as a royalty, but they just didn't know what it was like to be different. What it was like to have no freedom at all. What it was like to be me.

But of course, they had no idea what I was going through at all. That for once in my life, I wished to become a normal citizen of Magnolia too. I wanted to know what it's like to be just an ordinary person:

10) With no bodyguards following you wherever you go, even in your school's toilet. And with no special treatment, I wanted everyone to treat me as an equal.

9) With no balls or parties you have to attend almost every night. Whether you like it or not, if the King says you need to go, then you have to. Period.

8) With no Charity works. Don't get me wrong. I love helping other people. But sometimes, it's just exhausting.

7) With no Book of Ethics to check like every single time just to make sure you're still doing what Princesses do. And you must maintain poise and grace, must smile infront of your people all the time. Even if you are in a bad mood, a really really bad mood, you still have to show to everyone that you're happy. Sometimes, I would ask myself, what's up with that pretending to be happy and all? That's hypocrisy. Just because you're a princess doesn't mean you can't have a bad day. That's normal for humans. And last time I checked, I am still a human being.

6) With no Xerxes Break. He was my Personal Tutor and I tell you, he was a lunatic. My brother and I would even call him Mad Hatter. Jeez! He ate sweets a lot and sometimes he was cool. SOMETIMES. Because most of the time, he was just creepy and annoying. Why did he even become my royal tutor? I was surprised his university let him graduate and gave him his diploma.

5) With the freedom to yawn. Yeah, try attending a boring party after you were just out princessing the whole day. You were tired and sleepy and YOU BADLY WANTED TO YAWN BUT YOU JUST CAN'T BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE AROUND. Goodness me! So Princesses can't get tired? What do they think of us? Superhuman?

4) With the freedom to laugh and giggle with my girlfriends. I mean, even if I was a princess, I was still a girl. I wanted to have fun with Erza and Lucy too, wanted to hang-out with them in a bar or anywhere there's fun. And maybe flirt with hot guys too? Okay, that last one's a joke. Don't take it seriously.

3) Without no one to say when to eat or leave or stay. As a Princess, I needed to be efficient and punctual. And I was terribly failing with that two. I was tardy and, well, inefficient. Not to mention, lazy too. Super lazy.

2) Without the need to memorize the names of hundreds of noblemen in the kingdom. I mean, if the name goes with Eugene Philip Candole de Montague, you sure would go nuts. Why do they need to have complicated names anyway? If only their names were like Johnny Bravo's, then they'd make my life easier.

1) Without duties and responsibilities pressed unto you. As a member of the royal family, all your decisions must be well thought out. You need to choose what's right and good for the kingdom and for your subjects. Even if it means sacrificing what makes you happy.

Sad? Isn't it? But since I was born a royalty, I had no choice but to just deal with it. Deal with reality.

That I, Nathalie Kaye vi Phantomhive, is a princess.

Letting out a miserable groan, I plopped myself down to my king-sized bed. Not even caring about my hairstyle getting ruined or my neatly pressed dress being wrinkled. "I'm done for the day, Sebastian."

The man stood beside my bed and sighed. "But your father's birthday Masquerade Ball will be in two hours. You need to prepare, Your Majesty."

I looked at my most trusted -not to mention, handsome- butler. Sebastian Michaelis had been with me eversince I was just a little kid. He was thirteen and I was five when we first met. He was an orphan and my late mother, the queen, took him in. She let him stay in the palace, gave him everything, and financed his schooling. And since that day that he came to live with us, he never once left my side. "Do I have to, Sebby?"

A sympathetic smile curled up his lips. "Yes, Your Highness."

I puffed my cheeks. "Stop the formality, it's just the two of us."

"Okay, Halie." He smiled. "Now stand up and let's get going. I already asked the maids to prepare your tub. A milk bath would be lovely, it's refreshing for your skin." He said, positioning himself near my feet then scooting down to remove my annoying heels. He replaced them with my flats, doing everything himself as if I was a little kid. After that, he proceeded to my walk-in closet and placed my discarded shoes in there, then he was back beside me even before I realized it. "Come on, Princess. Don't be such a brat."

The reason why I ended up terribly tired and stressed even though I didn't do anything strenous was because of my History lessons which lasted for about three hours. Imagine the boredom that I had to go through for three whole hours. Ugh. I've been studying history eversince I was four, I even memorized the entire two-thousand pages of EVERYTHING ABOUT MAGNOLIA. I just couldn't understand why I had to continue studying the Kingdom's history, it's not like the history changes everyday. I was sure that until the day I die, not a single word that's written in that book about the Kingdom would change.

"I hate history lessons." I grumbled, pouting my lips.

He chuckled then sat beside me at the edge of the bed. "The lessons or the tutor?"

He was referring to Xerxes Break, my lunatic tutor. I extremely hated how the teacher acts. He was exotic. He was mad. "I don't even know what to say, Sebby. Being in the same room as him is purely torture to my sanity."

Then I grunted in utter annoyance, loud enough for Sebastian to hear. I hugged one of my soft pillows and closed my eyes. I was really serious about not attending the masquerade ball. Completely serious.

"Your Highness, it's the King's birthday. He'll get upset if you act that way." He cooed, offering his hand to me.

Then my Father's image flashed through my mind, causing me to sigh in surrender. I took Sebastian's hand and he pulled me up in a sitting position, giving me a pat on the head afterwards. He was the only person I allowed to do that. And as a matter of fact, he was the only male permitted to touch me. Besides my father and little brother, and of course, Elliot Nightray. My special friend.

Speaking of which..

"Did Elliot called?" I asked the man beside me excitedly, eyes sparkling.

"No. But I think he sent you a message." He took out my phone from his breast pocket and handed the electronic to me. "Here, Your Highness."

I rolled my eyes before plucking my Iphone 5S from his hand. "The formality, Sebby. It's irksome."

"I'm sorry, Princess."

I sent him a glare. "Sebastian."

"Okay, Halie."

"Good."

I shifted my attention to the phone in my hand. I had so many unread messages, but I currently had no time to check them all up so I scrolled down to find the message from my important someone.

Found it!

From: Elliot Nightray

Hello, my beautiful Princess. See you tonight? :) Ily.

My heart skipped a beat. That 'Ily' at the end of his message sent me squealing and wiggling and thrashing around on my bed like a girl about to be sent into the Asylum for the Fools. I totally had forgotten about manners and poise. But since it was only Sebastian that was around, I had no worries. I knew he wouldn't judge. He never does.

"Elliot is coming to the ball! I need to prepare! I need to look pretty!"

The red-eyed male beside me chuckled again. "You'll be wearing a mask, My Lady."

"Did you prepare my mask?" I asked, crawling out of bed. He helped me and even guided me down as if I was a toddler.

"Yes. Everything you need is ready." He assured.

I smiled. "Thank you, Sebby."

So after soaking up in the tub for thirty minutes, my ladies in waiting helped me get dressed for the ball. An elegant ball gown with the colors of pink and black was what Sebastian prepared for me. It was beautiful, really. I heard that it was especially made by the royal tailor for me, for the King's birthday party. But Sebastian chose the color since he knew that my favorite was pink and that I loved it more with black.

My long dark hair was neatly curled and my make-up was not too thick but not too light either. Maybe just enough shade to compliment my face. I was just done and ready to exit my room when there was a knock.

"Who is that?" I cried, adjusting my mask, careful not to ruin my hair and make-up. It only covered the upper part of my face so my lipstick was safe.

"It's me." I heard my brother's voice from outside. "Can I come in?"

"Sure. Of course, you can. That's open."

The large pair of Victorian doors creaked open and Prince Ciel vi Phantomhive came in, already dressed for the party and was already wearing his black mask, partially covering his face. He smiled as he made his way closer. "You look beautiful."

I flashed a cheeky smile. "And you look handsome."

Ciel had always been too mature for his age. He seemed like a twenty year old man trapped in a fourteen year old body. He was intelligent, calm, and brilliant. He simply inherited our father's perfection. As the Prince, Ciel was carrying the people's expectations of him just growing up exactly like the King. But since I was the eldest, sadly, I'll succeed the throne and not him even though I knew that he was more deserving to become the crowned Prince. He was simply better than me in everything. But despite that fact, there was no competition between us. We loved and cared for each other so much like how normal siblings should.

He bowed down and held out his hand infront of me. "My Princess, can I be your escort for tonight?"

I chuckled and took his hand. He kissed my knuckles before showing me one of his manly smiles. "Father is waiting."

We didn't waste another minute as we immediately headed to the ballroom where noblemen and their spouses or dates were already dancing. Influential people and royalties from all over the globe gathered to celebrate my Father's birthday. A classical music was playing on the background and the whole place was decorated elegantly with a faint theme of mystery. Colorful gowns, freshly pressed suits, and fabulous masks showered the evening. The banquet table by the corner was filled with finger foods, glasses of wines, and flower decorations. There was a five-layer cake at the center too and a chocolate punch for people who don't drink.

"Your Highness." Hearing Sebastian's voice behind us made us turn around. He bowed first before walking over to me and gently placing my crown on my head. "The King is waiting."

Both Ciel and I nodded in response before finally entering the ballroom. All heads turned to us, bowed and paid respect. Both of us forced a smile, walking over to our father who was seated on his throne infront of the dancing people.

"There you are. I've been waiting for my children to come down for twenty minutes now." He said softly, giving us a kind smile.

King Lelouch vi Phantomhive was still extremely handsome at thirty-seven. As in, he was still so goodlooking and charismatic anyone could mistake him as our older brother. He was widowed for ten years already but had no intention of replacing our mother. He was a strict and a very protective father. Though I could say he was also quite loving and silly sometimes. He was a kind and responsible king that's why his people loved him in utmost respect and loyalty. Yeah, he's got the best of both worlds.

"I'm sorry for being late, Father." I started, bowing slightly.

"That's not what I wanted to hear, Nathalie."

I smiled after I heard what he said. "Happy Birthday, Dad." Then I closed the gap between us and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

A soft chuckle escaped his throat as he carressed my cheek. I frowned. His actions were quite strange, I presumed. It seemed like he was hiding something or there was going to happen later or so. I wasn't really sure. "Thank you, My Princess."

"Happy Birthday, Father." Ciel said, smiling. "You don't look old at all."

Our father laughed softly, eyes mirrored with happiness and satisfaction. "Come here, Ciel."

My brother stood beside him and had his dark hair ruffled by our father. Ciel tried to hide his chagrin with the fatherly gesture but failed because from the holes of the mask he was wearing, I could see his eyes twitching. "T-That's enough, Y-Your Majesty."

My father withdrew his hand and stood up. "Come with me, I'll introduce you to the guests. They want to meet my children."

I secretly groaned, which reached Ciel's ears. He turned to me though I was not sure what's the stare he was giving me because of his mask. I was never good with talking to older people, while it was Ciel's forte. As I've told you, he was so mature. He could handle serious conversations and such.

What a Loser Princess I was..

We followed our father as he interacted with the crowd, we smiled and greeted the people who would approach us to offer their best wishes to the King. Random talks and business matters were also briefly discussed and all I could ever do was roll my eyes, good thing I had a mask. Because let's face it, half of the people there in that ballroom weren't there to celebrate my father's birthday, they were there for business and exposure to the society that revolves around prestige and wealth and business magnets. Plus, royal bloods.

Humans these days..

After about another hour, our father finally let us enjoy the party. Ciel literally dragged me into the dance floor where we danced and swayed to the music. The people around were throwing us amazed and admiring looks. Well, Ciel and I looked like a couple. Though I was older by four years, he was an inch taller. He looked manly and attractive in his suit, his dark silky hair framed his face perfectly, and his mask added a mysterious charm to his sex appeal. I wouldn't be surprised anymore if I'd see young girls drooling for him, desperate to get even a tiny piece of my little brother's attention.

"I want to eat, Ciel." I complained in a hushed tone. We were dancing for almost ten minutes already and it was getting tiring.

"Let's finish this dance first." He started, tightening his grip on my waist. "Pretend that you're enjoying the party, Princess Nathalie."

I pursed my lips and huffed. "So are you saying that you're saving me from intrigue?"

"Yes. Those people from the media are eyeing your every move." He glanced at the group of blonde people over by the banquet table, one of them was holding a camera, ready to document everything that would happen in the party. "Those pesky bugs! I don't even know why Father allowed them to land their little feet here in Magnolia." He added in a low tone, which was pretty dark and alarming.

Last month, an article about me was published in an issue of the Royalty Globe Magazine. An article about me being a Lazy Anti-Social princess blah blah blah with even pictures of me in a bored stupor during parties, lunches with nobles, and some other big events. King Lelouch and Prince Ciel were furious upon reading that famous magazine about royal families around the world and behind the scenes of their royal life, which unfortunately, I got featured without our consent. Father nearly sue the publishing company and all the staffs and editors for publishing such a negative article about his daughter. King Lelouch may appear kind, but deep down inside, he was actually scary and intimidating. Especially when his fatherly instict calls.

The CEO of that publishing company apologized immediately (due to witnessing such a Scary Lelouch), had his company collect every single piece of the damn magazine that were already out in the market, and published another one minus the article about me. Since the matter was fixed and my father being a merciful King (sometimes), he let it pass and moved on.

It was infuriating. I'm not anti-social, I'm just anti-idiot. They got it wrong, really. (Except maybe for the lazy part.) I would never talk to other people so casually (whether idiot or not) unless it was important or the people themselves were important to me. Like my two girlfriends, Lucy Heartfilia and Erza Scarlet, which were always missing in action during royal parties even though I've never failed to send them invitations. They're my closest friends but eversince they got their own boyfriends, they spent so little time with me. Sighs. What are friends for, they forget you when their lovelife gets prosperous and then only runs back to you to wet your dress, crying out loud with a broken heart. Oh, I just hoped Natsu Dragneel and Jellal Fernandez wouldn't hurt my two sweethearts or else they'd end up with a broken nose.

"Just chill, Little Brother. I'm extra careful now." I assured him, overwhelmed by his concern.

We danced for another few minutes before my line of view caught sight of a certain long haired blonde with heterochromatic eyes. It was the handsome Vincent Nightray, Elliot's older brother. But the younger Nightray wasn't with him, and I wondered where he was when he even told me that he'd see me tonight.

Ciel noticed me staring at Vincent who was currently walking towards my Father with Sebastian, and occassionally scanning my eyes around the ballroom too in search for someone. "Elliot Nightray didn't come?"

"I don't know, but he said he's coming." I responded, quite bothered with the idea of being stood up by my special one.

"He dared stood you up?" Ciel asked in a deep growl almost similar to a lion's, as if reading my mind. He had always hated the fact of me liking Elliot. And I didn't know why. All he said was that Vincent gives off a bad aura, and Elliot was no exception.

The Nightray Household was one of the head noble houses in Magnolia. They're one of the richest family in the entire country. My late Grandfather, the previous King, and the previous head of their house were also the best of friends. So Elliot and I had grown quite close to each other, then later on developed that closeness into something romantic. But since I'm a princess (curse that), our relationship didn't stray away from friendship and stayed friends until now. Special friends with benefits. Benefits being 'I love yous', 'Holding Hands', 'Brief Kisses', and 'Warm Hugs'. Though the mentioned above happened in secret. Our situation was really hard and the relationship we had was confusing. But Elliot remained understanding, patient, and extremely sweet. That's why I loved him.

"Maybe he's just around here somewhere." I squeezed Ciel's hand to stop the dark aura he was emitting. "I'll just go to the restroom. Okay?"

"I know you'll search for him."

I flinched and cursed the way he could see through me. "I won't. I just really need to go to the powder room."

"Fine. Your affection for that guy really gets the best of you." He led me out of the dance floor and slowly let go of my hand. "Be back right away."

"Okay-"

"Or should I call Sebastian to help you?"

"Jeez, Ciel. Stop acting like the older one among us, okay? I'll be fine." I secretly pinched his side, which I would always do whenever he irritates me. He stayed quiet after that. "I'll be back shortly. Cover up for me when the King asks."

He nodded and just stared at me as I secretly made my way out of the ballroom then through the hallways. I left my phone in my bedchamber so I had no choice but to stroll around the castle. Elliot had always been like that, he would rather stay alone in a quiet place than interact with a bunch of business talking people. And in that quiet place he would wait for me, then we would spend that blissful time together talking or joking about random things while my poor Ciel was the one who would always make brilliant excuses without fail as to where I am when our Daddy Lelouchstarts looking for me. It had always been like that until Sebastian would finally come and get me. Then we would bid goodbye, he would kiss my hand, and send me off with a sweet smile.

Oh, my Elliot. Where are you?

But as I was silently walking down the corridor, I heard a noise from one of the spare rooms lined up in that part of the castle. I stood by the door and listened.

"Why are we here, Elliot?"

With the mention of his name, I stiffened up. It was a girl's voice. My chest started to tighten up painfully. But still, I remained frozen on my spot.

"Isn't this what you wanted?"

Hearing Elliot's voice nearly made me gasp. He was inside. With a girl. What were they doing? The room wasn't lit up and for pete's sake no one else was there in that part of the castle.

"Well, yes. But-"

There was a sudden silence. Curious as to what was happening, I slowly turned the knob open. It wasn't locked at all so I pushed it slightly, enough for me to take a little peek. And my eyes widened. Elliot was kissing a girl. He was kissing her passionately.

What's the meaning of this?

I didn't know who the girl was, I was not familiar with her. I didn't even know if I had met her before. All I knew was that it was too painful. I wanted to scream just to inform Elliot that I was there, watching them. Me, the girl he promised to love and cherish forever. The girl he kissed with the same passion just the day before.

But words weren't able to be vocalized at the moment as pain was wrapping up every bit of my sanity with thorny veins of jealousy and disappointment. My tears were overflowing and I tried my hardest to hold back my sobs.

Liar!

Unable to take another second watching the scene, I hurriedly ran away from there. But because of the sudden movement, I lost my poise and dropped my crown. It apparently created a dreadful noise. Then a thud from inside the room was heard, followed by fast and heavy footsteps then the sound of the door widely opening. By the time his voice started calling me out, I was already far enough.

"Kaye! Kaye!"

But I didn't listen. I continued running with no specific place to go. I just wanted to get away from there. Away from the disgusting smell of betrayal and broken promises. Away from the suffocating air of lies.

Away from Elliot..

I reached the back part of the castle and out to the Rose Garden of my Late Mother. I sat on the round fountain, and there I cried and cried. In a place where no one could witness the misery of a Princess who had everything she needed in life yet still wasn't happy and was even stupid enough to have her heart broken by some handsome heir to a noble family who turned out to be a goddamn liar.

I couldn't understand. I tried my best to please everybody around me. I lived for them, for the kingdom, for Magnolia. I didn't deserve the pain that I was feeling. I didn't deserve being played for a fool. Elliot was the only person able to free me of stress and frustrations. He was the only person I trusted that much. And yet..

Why?

But I gasped and looked around when I heard a rustling sound. "Who's there?"

A figure of a man descended from the shadows walked closer to where I was. He was wearing a white tuxedo and his hair was all red. It was strange. Though I couldn't see his entire face because of the mask he was wearing, but the aura he was giving off was strangely overwhelming. And intimidating.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, curiosity dancing through his voice.

I gasped and immediately wiped the tears on my cheeks, suddenly aware that somebody had seen me in such a pathetic state. I composed myself and raised my chin, bringing up my princess attitude. "Who are you?"

He scoffed and placed his hands inside the pockets of his pants. "You don't have the right to ask me a personal question."

Suddenly, all too suddenly, an annoyed vein popped up on my head. Wasn't the first question he asked me personal too? Who the heck was he? "You don't have the right to be here either. The party is in the ballroom and not here. You are not allowed in this part of the castle at all."

"Heh. So what, you own this place?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Who are you?"

"I asked you the same question first. You answer me." I demanded, getting annoyed and impatient.

He just stood there, staring at me for a moment. The full moon above was giving us enough light to examine each other and the cold breeze that was blowing sent chills down my spine. That moment was somehow serene yet mysterious.. and romantic?

Romantic? There's no way!

There in that moonlit place with no one else was around, the scent of roses seemed to give a sweet ambience. The water from the fountain shone brightly as it reflected the starry sky and the beautiful round moon above. Meeting a complete stranger in such a place was no romantic at all.

I was certain of that.

"I said tell me your name." I repeated in a more commanding tone.

After another few seconds, he finally decided to answer..

"I'm Akashi Seijuro."