"I, Princess Ruby Royalty, shall pick... Prince..." The princes are anticipated for Ruby's answer and before she could slightly say the name of her chosen prince, she is interrupted by a loud scream along with a loud frightening bang, lake a door slammed opened. Guards had rushed over to the scene upstairs, which was coming from the princess' chamber.
The guests began to worry, whispering to each other which the royal court tried to settle them. "What is the meaning of this?!" The king angrily shouts. The grand duke whispers in the king's ear about the situation.
"Your sire, this stranger was trying to escape through the window of the princess' chamber," one guard reports as he and the other was holding back the suspicious intruder who wore a large cloak on. "Let me go!" They protest. "Let me see their face!" He demands as the guard removes the hood of the cloak from their head, revealing none other than the real princess.
Everyone in the ballroom gasped and shocked to find two Princess Ruby standing right in front of their eyes. The princes are confused, hoping this was all just a mean joke. "Well I be damn! That girl was right." The king was disappointed that Emma was right all along. "Which one of you is the real princess?" The king asked, glancing at Ruby then at Princess Ruby.
"Me! I am, father!" Princess Ruby says, raising her hand up, the guests gasped once more, seeing that the so-called intruder was Princess Ruby. "Impossible! But my daughter is right here," the king said in disbelief as he points towards at Ruby. "She's right, I'm not the real Princess Ruby. I am Ruby Royalty from a different world," Ruby admits.
"She's from a different world?" "They even share the same name?" "Are there people in her world that are the same as us?' The ballroom is filled with guests asking questions, hoping Ruby and Princess Ruby would answer.
"Enough!" The king shouted as the ballroom is now in silence. "If this girl is posed as my daughter for so long, causing trouble to the six elite princes, I have no other choice but to take her in as prisoner." The king orders his the guards to take Ruby to the dungeons.
"No, father. Stop them! This is all my fault. Let me explain, please!" Princess Ruby begs for her father to stop the prisoners, but the king won't budge. "I'll take any punishment you give me, just please let Ruby go!" The king looks at his daughter, seeing how sincere she was.
"Very well. Please let that girl go," he instructs the guards as they released Ruby from their grip. "Chip and I used a spell to get to Ruby's world and I requested her to take my place for the Annual Dance Ball. You see, I can't dance nor even know how to. Even if I tried and practice so much, I just can't seem to get it right. I wasn't born to have a talent like everyone else. Everything Ruby has done in the kingdom shouldn't go to waste. Ruby worked so hard, she even got along with the princes."
"She's right. Princess Ruby or not, this girl helped us through dancing. She is an amazing dancer and we all would like to dance with her one last time," Prince Seokjin steps in. "We got to meet her personality more than her personality," Prince Yoongi adds on. The rest of the princes agreed with Prince Yoongi and Prince Seokjin.
"Your opinions are very valuable, but I just follow the laws. I am unsure whether Miss Ruby here should continue to. Participate in the ball," the king said. "Father, no! Please allow Ruby to continue, not just as me, but as herself. I promised I'll work hard and practiced as much as I can! Please!" The king thinks about it for a moment, before finally giving in. "Alright, I allow Miss Ruby, here, to continue if all my guests here agree?"
No doubt about it, the guests applaud and cheered for both Ruby's which made the king smile and signaled Ruby to go on ahead and pick. The cheers die down and the ballroom is now full of silence, anticipated for Ruby's choice. However, Ruby removes the ruby-diamond crown from her head, returning it to Princess Ruby. "I don't think I need it, after all, I am not royalty," Ruby says as Princess Ruby softly grabs the crown from her. She smiles at Ruby before saying, "You may not be born royalty, but you are A Royalty," Princess Ruby winks and puts the crown on for her.
Ruby, once again, stands in formation as the other princes were already ready. "I, Ruby Royalty, shall pick..." the princes were feeling nervous, hoping she'll pick them. "Prince Jungkook Jeon of the Dandelion Kingdom!" The princes look up, confused and annoyed whether she was joking or actually serious. The ballroom is filled with loud whispers, not knowing how she was given a chance to pick and chose a prince outside of the six elite princes. "What kind of prank is this kingdom pulling?" One guest asked.
"Ruby, what are you doing?" Princess Ruby asked. "Prince Jungkook is alive and well. He is standing here with us, tonight at the ball!" Among the guests, a certain king and queen of the Dandelion Kingdom, also known as Prince Jungkook's parents, had stepped forward upon hearing their son's name. "What evidence do you have to claim you're correct?" The king asked. "Ever since I stepped foot in this kingdom, my eyes were set on the poster of The Lost Prince. The princes had spoken about their stories from what they remembered the last time they saw Prince Jungkook."
"If you claim my son is here, where is he?" The king of the Dandelion Kingdom spoke up, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's so obvious now, Prince Jungkook is actually Jare Rabbit!" She shouts as she points over at Jare who was standing with the crowd, confused at Ruby's statement. "That rabbit-boy?" Both kings asked. "Jare, do you remember anything from your past before your grandmother founded you?" Ruby asked, but as Jare could remember at least something from before, his head pounds in pain, he groans in agony.
"It's obvious he has been cursed with an ugly spell that caused him to turn into an animal-human-like. My theory is that Jare or Prince Jungkook got off the boat from Rumba Beach and walked a short path to Foxtrot Forest where a witch had cursed him a terrible spell, blurring out his memories. His grandmother who cared for him found him near her home, close to where the last traces were found from Prince Jungkook by the large oak tree. Coincidentally, Jare's birthday is the same day Prince Jungkook disappeared and the same day his grandmother found him." They couldn't believe what Ruby was explaining. They were astonished by her theory, but it still doesn't prove whether Jare was Prince Jungkook or not.
"After Prince Jungkook was cursed, a witness says she had found this at the oak tree." Ruby pulls out the gold medal with the Dandelion Kingdom's symbol. "That belongs to my son," the queen cries. Ruby walks up to Jare, holding both of his hands, and looked into his eyes. "Thank you, for everything you taught me. I guess it's true that dancing could bring fate. I know I'm foolish for not picking the princes, but I don't think I deserved any of them, because my heart desires the person who I've been looking for. That's why I chose you." Ruby grabs his arms, lowering down so that her lips are pressed against his. When Ruby pulls away, she steps back to watch magic dust surround Jare.
The guests step back and watched as small white clouds and magical sparkles covered all around him. After such a transformation, standing where Jare was, revealed Prince Jungkook. His appearance changed and different. He didn't have his rabbit ears, his beautiful face normal, and his white fur was now his white hair. "It's Prince Jungkook!" "She was right!" The king and queen were very happy and cried in tears as they rushed to hug their long-lost son in their arms.
After their heartfelt reunion, Prince Jungkook walked towards and said, "Thank you, Ruby. Thanks to you, I was able to return to my human form and now I regained my memories, remembering my past. I am Prince Jungkook Jeon of the Dandelion Kingdom, I ran away because I wanted Prince Yoongi to be happy if I wasn't in his way. When I stole the boat from my palace, I didn't notice I arrived on shore, here in this kingdom. I ran to an enchanted forest where I met up with an evil witch. She put a curse on me, transforming me into a rabbit boy. But why did you choose me?" Ruby glances at the princes and sadly smiles before glancing back at Prince Jungkook.
"Because you're the rabbit that taught me how to dance." "Though the laws of this ball say a princess must choose one prince out of the chosen elite princes, I don't consider Miss Ruby a royal princess, so I, the king of the Red Chrysanthemum Flower Kingdom, allow Miss Ruby Royalty of the other world and Prince Jungkook Jeon of the Dandelion Kingdom, to share their first waltz of the night!"
Following their waltz, Prince Jungkook reunited with Prince Yoongi. "Please forgive me, I didn't want you to leave just because I wanted to be first place." The two princes hugged, knowing it was all in the past. "I hope you all don't hate me for not choosing any of you," Ruby says. "Not at all, as a matter of fact, we're glad that not only did you pick Jare- well, Prince Jungkook, but you were able to break the curse," Prince Seokjin said.
"We can continue to be friends," Prince Hoseok said. "Let us dance our hearts away!" Prince Jimin cheers as they all went to the dance floor meanwhile Prince Jungkook stands in front of Ruby. "I wanted to tell you that I love you." "I love you too," Ruby blushes. "Then, will you marry me, and together, we will live a happy life back at my kingdom?"He proposes, getting down on one knee. "As much as I would want that, I must return back to my world. My friends and family are waiting for me." "I understand." He sadly smiles, but at least, he was able to spend one last time before she would return back to her world.
Lastly, the ball finally comes to an end, Ruby, Princess Ruby, Chip, Emma, the princes, Princess Juliana, the princess' twin cousins, and Prince Jungkook had gone to the palace's garden to say their last goodbyes to Ruby. Chip uses her wand to create a magic vortex in the center of an arched rose trellis. Each said their goodbyes and thanked Ruby. "Are there people in your world that are like us, like you and Princess Ruby?" Prince Taehyung asked. "Yes, there are," Ruby giggles. "Don't forget I'm still your friend," Emma scoffs. "Of course we still are." "Take care, Ruby, after all, we are still friends," Princess Juliana says. "I hope you and Prince Seokjin continue to stay as friends, even if you don't have feelings for each other," Ruby tells Princess Juliana.
"You really had a good chance to pick Prince Seokjin," Princess Rosie huffs in annoyance. "But it's okay though, at least now, Prince Seokjin is still looking for his future queen," Princess Josie said with a smirk. "At least take care of yourself," they both say with a grin. "Please don't forget about us," Prince Namjoon softly speaks. "I won't." "Teach your friends how to dance," Prince Yoongi said. "Thank you, Ruby. I hope we meet again," Prince Jungkook said as he pecked her cheek. Ruby waves goodbye to them one last time and entered the vortex, knowing this would be the last time she'll see them ever again.
~
Ruby wakes up in her bed, dressed in her PJs, she jolts up, looking around in her room. It was her own bedroom, seeing the digital clock hanging on her wall, the lamp on her bedside. Her desk displayed at the end of her bed and pictures are decorated on her wall. Ruby stretches and climbs off the bed, walking towards her window. She pushes back the curtains, seeing the busy cars pass and the people walking as they enjoyed the nice hot summer.
"I'm back to my world now," she sighs. "But, was it a dream that felt so real?..."
To Be Continued...
~~~~
2,129 Words