A long time ago, in a place that was both magical and extraordinary, there begins a story that unfolds with a sweet pain called memory. Now, let us start at the beginning.

There once was a princess who ruled over the Yellow Kingdom. After the untimely death of both her parents, there was speculation as to her involvement in their demise. Gossip and hateful remarks surrounding the young ruler circled relentlessly. Soon the girl was seen by those who did not truly know her as cruel, cold, and certifiably insane. She was only fourteen years old. While this may seem a heavy burden to bear for one so young, she bore it.

I suppose what made it all worthwhile to her was the company she held. You see, she had a companion, her other half. They had been inseparable since they were children. He was her servant and she was his princess. Standing next to each other, they looked like perfect twins with golden blond hair, and clear blue eyes. But it was more than just a similarity in physical features; they brought something out in each other no one else could, a light around them that lit up a darkened room. Together they grew like weeds, weeds beautiful enough to be called flowers.

One day in a public marketplace the Princess of Yellow did something so truly unexpected ... she fell in love. With just one glance at his dashing grin, she felt her heart flutter for the first time. Later on in this story, you might recognize this as the beginning to something dark and twisted. You might ask yourself why this moment came about. You have to understand that we all love, and we all hate, for reasons so complicated they're easy to forget. All the same, it's true. The Yellow Princess fell in love with the Blue Prince.

Unfortunately, the rumors had reached the Prince’s ears of the Princesses evil deeds. He knew of her indifference to her people’s pain and he felt no fondness for her. No, he loved someone else. The Green Princess, who's eyes shone like turquoise. She was kind and gracious, beautiful and forgiving. The Yellow Princess soon saw this also and began to feel a hate so strong it consumed her.

Before she had treated others horror with a practiced condolence. She did not truly wish it on anyone, but alas compassion was not a thing the Princess knew much of. How could she in her towering palace, knowing nothing of the world or its people? Now, things were different. Now, she could only hate the people who had rejected her time and time again and force the loss she felt onto someone else.

Filling herself to the brim in self-pity and revenge, she wanted them to suffer. Most of all, she wanted the Green Princess to not exist at all. Fury hot in her veins, she became what people thought her to be: a monster.

Her young servant was distressed beyond control; he knew his princess better than himself, but could not understand. He desperately begged her to tell him what was wrong. The Princess looked back at him with such cold and uncaring eyes he froze in shock. His sweet and loving Princess was gone, replaced by something that would not stop, would not waver, until it was satisfied.

The Yellow Princess called upon her advisers and Generals and Captains and gave them their orders. For her servant she gave a special task. . . When his duty was finished out, the boy cleaned off the blood from his frozen fingers. Walking to where his princess sat, he kissed her hand like he always had, and smiled up at her like he always had, not hesitating a moment to reassure her. Though he knew nothing could be the same again, for just a moment he let himself be her devoted servant, and let her be his Princess.

The Blue Prince cried tears of despair over his loves body. Her blood ran down her white dress in slashes of rust on her cold lifeless figure. He knew who had done this. Of course he knew. Only one person would massacre an entire village and cut down even those who were peaceful. The Yellow Princess needed no reason. She was a monster, beyond caring. She would pay. Yes she would pay. With her tainted blood she would pay dearly.

The Princesses servant allowed himself a few precious seconds to think about the Green Princess that night as he wriggled in his bed. The moment when his knife plunged deep inside her chest was one he would always remember; her eyes sad but understanding. He thought of all the times he had watched her. Remembering the way her smile lit up a room, and her laughter that was pure joy all in itself. Unwelcome tears trickled down his cheeks. Nevertheless, he did not regret what he had done. He would protect his Princess; even becoming evil, to keep her innocent smile.

The Blue Prince summoned the Red lady; a skilled mercenary that he knew would play her part well. It was obvious that the once strong Yellow Army was still weak from conquering the Green Kingdom. The little princess would not pose much of a fight. This plan would go smoothly and flawlessly. His deranged thoughts even went as far as to say it was destiny.
The boy saw the soldiers marching toward the palace, could feel their malice pounding at the back of his skull. He ran to his Princess locking on to her arm as he whispered, "Come with me."

The army the Blue Prince had constructed was full of many people, all whose lives had been torn apart by the Yellow Princesses actions. They hated her, enough to kill her; to desire the sight of her crimson blood. They broke through the Yellow Castles’ great barriers and doors, and as they swallowed the Princess deep into the belly of the mob, there was a great cheer of triumph.

"The little servant of hers rebelled quite fiercely, but he was easily subdued," the Red Lady informed the Blue Prince.
"You killed him?"
"No. It was merely a little tap on the head." The Prince nodded in satisfaction. The only death he truly wished to be on his hands was that of the Princess.

The Yellow Princess was to be executed by guillotine the next day as clock tower chimed three o' clock. The tower sounded its’ approval as onlookers watched the girl in a yellow dress struggle but fail. She had found what she had been seeking. Blood calls for blood. The Princess looked down into the crowd, eyes finding and attaching themselves on a dark cloaked stranger. She smiled sweetly even as she heard the blade whistle.

The blond haired, blue eyed girl in a black cloak looked up. Horror covered her face and soul as tears found their way to her cheeks. She runs from her twins' corpse, not as a princess, but as a girl. A girl who is a fugitive, a girl who is alive that was meant to be dead. While she is running, a scene replays over and over in her mind:

"Come with me." Mindful confusion fills me; but I let you lead me. "Lend me your clothes."
"What?"
"Hurry up!" I hear the urgency in your tone. I still don't begin to fathom, but I trust you. You would never do anything to hurt me. So I do as you say. In the end I am standing in your clothes. I glance your way and see you in my summer dress. It's yellow, and I take a moment to inspect you closely. You look just like me.
I smile and laugh a little, teasing you. Your face remains serious. I tilt my head slightly to one side. What's the matter with you? You shake out your hair and pull back mine. I'm starting to get impatient and annoyed at your strange prank. "What kind of joke is this? This isn't funny!" I'm angry. I don't understand and you won't explain. I'm surprised when I see your gentle smile. Sick dread eats its' way up my stomach like spiders. "Are you listening to me?"
You kiss my forehead. Oh no... No. No. No! Something’s terribly wrong. You see my desperation.
"It's OK. I promise you'll be alright." Voices echo down the hall in anger. Your fingers trace my cheek softly. "Goodbye." The crowd rips you into their hands. I scream, pounding them, scratching them. Where are you? A sob chokes me. I see black eyes and red armor as the voices fade out...

"You can't be dead! It's me who was supposed to be there! Me! How could you do this?" Angry, hurt tears blur her vision. They turn to tears of sadness. "Why did you leave me?"

The girl doesn't matter how selfish she sounds; it's his fault for leaving her here all alone. She feels her ice heart breaking in half and shattering into minuscule pieces that pierce her chest from the inside. "Why am I still breathing when you're not? It's not fair! Not fair at all…" She can hardly talk anymore. The sharp pieces are making her windpipe bleed and her voice waver and convulse. But she has to speak; to tell herself this awful nightmare is real after all. The pain is impossible to describe. It echoes out of her very cells; there is nowhere to hide from it.

She runs to the hill by the ocean. Memories haunt her of flower crowns and giggling laughter. She is crying, crying, crying... She puts her feet in the sand where they made sandcastles. In her mind she sees his face, so clear and close she could reach out and touch him. She looks up and whispers sweet words to his ghost, "the sea washed them all away... You comforted me." Crying, crying, crying...

When she walks along the shoreline she finds a small washed up glass bottle. However, she has no ink or paper. Instead she writes to him in her head. 'If we ever meet again, would you still smile at me?' She kisses the bottle lightly then sends it flying in the air as far as her fingers will allow; farther than she can see. Through her tears the sun is setting. Turning back to his disappearing shadow, she whispers, "It looks like your smile."

THE END