A/N: Now featured as its own story by popular demand, here it is! I'll post the full chapter of chapter two soon! For those of you new to this story, please enjoy!

p.s. FAT CATS RULE!

No Ordinary Princess

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She was no ordinary princess. Her family knew that the moment she opened crystal blue eyes and didn’t cry from birth. But even so, they had loved her and named her Kaoru. No one knew exactly what the little babe was thinking as she took in her world. And least of all did they know of her thoughts on making life at the castle a little more interesting than it was before.

As the young girl grew, strange things kept occurring around the castle. Items would be misplaced with bugs or snakes to remain in the spot and the maids always shrieked about a large shadow while butlers talked of a little boy that always disappeared around the corner. To sum it up, they thought the princess was a nightmare curse.

“None of this freaky stuff had happened before, your majesty!”

“We can’t work under these conditions! This castle is cursed because of the princess, your majesty!”

“I’m allergic to spiders! But I keep finding them in the bedspread of the princess’s room, your majesty!”

“Please your majesty! Do something or we will all be forced to go on strike!”

Hearing all these complaints was giving the King a migraine, but he nonetheless decided to talk with Kaoru. He had an uneasy feeling that she probably was behind all these mischief. The King soon found Kaoru reading in the library. A thick book was sprawled across her lap with her chubby fingers rubbing the page.

The King smiled at the picture she made sitting by the soft fire. He wondered how any of the servants could think of this adorable child as a monster? He shook his head, focusing solely on his mission’s goal and took a seat next to his daughter.

“Hello Kaoru-hime. What exactly are you reading right now?”

Kaoru gave her father a toothy grin and showed him the cover of the book.

“Right now I’m reading about the Basic Interactions of the Human Relationship for a Royal and his/her People, Father. It’s actually quiet interesting and I find most of the author’s accusation pretty funny!”

Her smile widened at the puzzled look on her father’s face. She hadn’t exactly read the book on her own. She had overheard her mother, the Queen talking about a certain writer and his works and had repeated the exact words to her father right now.

“Er…. That’s nice Kaoru-hime.”

“Yep! It’s so fascinating how the author describes the pigheadedness of some kings, Father!”

The King could only nod politely hoping to catch a glance at the author’s name again and throw him in the dungeon later on. But that could wait. He still needed to talk to her about her little games.

“All right Kaoru-hime. But we need to talk about your games with the servants.”

“What games, Father?”

Kaoru instantly had on her innocent face while inwardly cursing the servants for their tattle-telling on her.

Thankfully, the King knew his daughter and was not at all affected by the little girl’s almost teary eyes.

“No more tricks Kaoru-hime. The servants are ready to go on strike if your shenanigans continue.”

“But Father I–”

“No but’s Kaoru-hime! And no more tricks! If you keep on being a bad girl, I’ll start treating you like one.”

Kaoru sighed dejectedly. She nodded in agreement, but vowed to get revenge. She’d just have to be more secretive about it.

The King smiled at his daughter’s obedience and once again wondered who could have ever accused her of being a monster! She was such a sweet child!

“That’s my girl!”

He enveloped his big arms around the small girl and laughed at her squeals.

“I promise to try Father.”

The King smiled again and kissed her on the forehead before leaving the library. He’d trusted her but wasn’t too sure how long she could contain her mischievous side. After all, she had gotten the trait from him as he wasn’t called Prince Terror for nothing back in childhood.

Kaoru threw the book on the couch after her father had left. She’d keep her promise for a bit. She just couldn’t stand a disappointed look in his eyes, so she’d play the angel for now. Looking around at the library seemed boring now. Instead she decided to head to the temple and find that secret hiding spot she had found last week.

Her feet pattered against the tiles racing toward the temple. The temple was absolutely ancient, built at the same time as the castle. It was rumored that a demon slept dormant somewhere inside the temple but no one had found anything to support the myth.

Kaoru believed otherwise. There was a presence always fleeting but still there, that she could always feel watching her. If she was fast enough, she swore she’d catch a glimpse of red. But never was she able to find the mysterious presence that burned at her back.

She shook her head of such frustrating thoughts and concentrated more on exploring the temple. Upon arriving she took a moment to admire the towering pillars painted in red. The golden decorations glinted in the sunlight while jaded guardians stood alert on the temple’s roof. She grinned and raced inside.

Inhaling the musty scent, Kaoru carefully slipped between two statues to a small crevice. Inching between the two walls would probably dirty her clothes but she didn’t really mind. Sometimes being a princess meant having a million outfits that you’d only wear once in your lifetime. No love lost with this dress.

Carefully she managed to avoid a spider web when stepping out of the squeezed space. She dusted her clothes when a sight of red froze her actions.

From the corner of her eye a young man sat in a chair. Long tresses of maroon cascaded his back with long bangs that only seemed to accentuate his piercing amber eyes. He was dressed in rags but held his head high. Kaoru could only continue to stare at him before his voice penetrated her thoughts.

“And what might you be doing here Princess Kaoru?”

His deep musical tone made her want to shiver yet she kept a straight face.

“Who are you?”

He smiled predatorily but said nothing. Pouting she repeated the question again.

“Let’s just say, I am the shadows of the temple. But if you wish to call me by a name, call me Kenshin.”

“Kenshin, that’s a nice name.”

“As is yours Princess Kaoru. But now that I’ve answered your question will you answer mine? What are you doing here?”

“Oh! I was just exploring the temple when I squeezed through those two walls.” Kaoru pointed her hand in the direction of the walls to emphasize her point.

“Hmm… I see. But shouldn’t you be back in the palace? An ancient temple is no place for a princess to play in. Who knows? You might wake up the demon in here.”

His smile prompted her laughter but she could she the hidden warning beneath it. There was something he did not want her to know.

“Hey Kenshin, do you know anything about the demon in the temple? All anyone would tell me is to not go into the temple because of the demon. But they never told me why.”

Kenshin stared at the little girl in front of him. She was too curious for comfort but he could not deny the demands of a royal.

“Well, the demon actually had a name. It was a name that filled the hearts of many with fear. Battousai.”

“Battousai?”

“Yes. He was a demon that actually helped your family when the war during the Revolution. He was the servant of a royal.”

“My family? Who was his master then?”

Kenshin slowly looked away from her question gaze and closed his eyes in memory.

“Tomoe.”

Kaoru smiled in recognition jumping excitedly.

“Queen Tomoe!?! She was the one who helped bring peace to our kingdom! Wow! I can’t believe she had a demon!”

“No ordinary demon, I remind you. This demon was the ace card to actually winning the Revolution. He helped kill the opposing enemies to put your family back in power. But the price of controlling such a demon was a deadly cost to Tomoe.”

Kaoru frowned slightly. She hadn’t understood every word Kenshin had said but she got the feeling something bad had happened.

“What happened to her?”

He turned his gaze back to her face and answered her question with a deadpan expression.

“She died.”

“She… died?”

Her voice was trembling but his expression had scared her stiff. Kenshin knew more of this event than he let on.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“I killed her.”

“Why?”

“Because she wanted me too. As a servant to her, I could not disobey.”

Silence followed his words as Kaoru slowly processed his words. When she realized the weight of his words, her blue eyes widened at shock.

“You’re Battousai then!”

“Not anymore. I am no longer the demon who lives to kill. I am a shadow in the temple. My master is dead and I will soon die with her.”

“B-but you didn’t want to kill her, did you?”

“No. I did not.”

He smiled sadly at her that Kaoru felt her heart shatter. Here was a demon that’d helped her family in the past but was now sealed away in the temple. He had nothing left and was just waiting to die. How could she leave him like that?

“Then don’t say it’s your fault! You didn’t do anything bad!”

“No. It is my fault. I shouldn’t have made a contract with her to begin with.”

“But Queen Tomoe agreed with you right?!! So you aren’t entirely to blame! I think, she knew what was going to happen to her, but she needed you to help her anyways. Please don’t be sad Kenshin. I’ll come visit you more often so you won’t be so lonely anymore.”

“I like the solitude.”

“No you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t have come out to talk to me.”

Kenshin couldn’t help but smile at her spunkiness. This princess did not know how much warmth her words had on his frozen heart.

“All right. I would like that very much Princess Kaoru.”

“Good. Just don’t call me Princess Kaoru. I’m your friend now so Kaoru is fine.”

“All right.”

He was right. She was no ordinary princess.