Gakuen Alice

Of Love & War

Author's Notes: This is a prize fic written for "YellowFlowerPot" in DeviantArt for winning first place in the GakuenAlice-club's 2nd Birthday contest.

It was requested that I write a story with Mikan, Natsume, & Luna; where Mikan accidently sees Natsume kissing Luna but at the end he tells Mikan that is is her that he likes, not Luna. Unfortunately, I have seen this theme in many other Gakuen Alice Fanfics, so I tried to find a way of doing my own unique little story. Therefore, I used Medieval and "Sci-fi" types of elements in this story.

I hope that everyone will enjoy the story. Please Read and Review.

Disclaimer: The characters of this fic belong to Tachibana Higuchi. Only the ideas for this short story belong to me. Thank you!

Sakura Mikan, the princess of the country of Azumi, raced very unladylike through the halls of the palace. She held the skirt of her floor length gown above her knees so that she wouldn't trip.

"Mikan Hime, don't run, the queen will scold you again!" Lady Nonoko, one of Princess Mikan's Ladies in Waiting, called down the hall after her. However, the Princess paid the warning no heed. She was far too excited to care about her mother's scolding.

Mikan had been waiting impatiently for this night! It was the night of her Betrothed's 16th birthday, and the teleportation portal would be open for quick travel to the country of Hyuuga. She had not seen Natsume Ouji in nearly 6 months. They had been betrothed since they were babies. Growing up, he had always been mean to her, but never the less she had come to love him and looked forward to the time when they would be married. She was certain that he loved her as well, despite his mannerism, since he had become jealous when Ruka Ouji of the country of Nogi asked her to dance at her birthday ball.

The teleportation portal was only open between the countries of Alice when there was a special occasion. This law was made in order to prevent the use of the portal for inappropriate purposes. Each of the 13 countries had to agree as to when the portal would be open and how it would be used. Because it was a 4 day travel by carriage to the country of Hyuuga from the Azumi Palace, the portal was the most favorable way to travel.

Mikan skidded to a stop in front of the portal room door and straightened out her orange ball gown. Her hair was tied up elegantly with her tiara. Hanging against her chest was the red Alice stone that Natsume had given to her for her last birthday. She calmed her nerves with a deep breath and stepped through the huge double doors into the room.

"Mikan Hime," the guards of the portal acknowledged her presence with a deep bow. Narumi-san, the keeper of the portal for the Kingdom of Azumi turned at the sound of her name.

"Ahh, Princess, you are early," Narumi-san told her with a smile. "Are you anxious to see your beloved Prince?

Mikan nodded. "Do I look alright?" She asked, patting her hair to be sure there wasn't any strands out of place.

"You look lovely," Narumi replied, taking her hand to kiss it with a bow.

"May I go now?" Mikan asked with her sweetest smile. "Please?"

"I'm afraid not, Princess," Narumi answered with a stern glance. "You know the rules. You have 5 minutes until it is Azumi's time to use the portal." Mikan pouted and gave a pleading look. "Rules are rules, and even the Princess must follow this one. " He reminded her. "Your parents could get in trouble and I could lose my job."

Mikan sighed in frustration. Five minutes seemed like forever. She paced the length of the floor and pouted in disappointment. At that moment, Lady Nonoko walked into the room. "Hime, you mustn't act this way, the Queen and King are coming." Nonoko warned as she approached Mikan.

Mikan stopped and looked at her friend in panic. She gripped both of Nonoko's hands between them. "What if he doesn't like this dress? Are you sure that I look alright?" Mikan asked, referring to Natsume.

Nonoko smiled and squeezed Mikan's hands to reassure her. "You look fine, Princess. "

At that moment, King Kazu and Queen Yuka entered the room. The guards immediately bowed low at their presence. Narumi stood in his position by the portal and waited until they approached before bowing and kissing the Queen's hand. Nonoko took a step behind Mikan and followed as she approached her parents, at which point, Nonoko bowed respectfully in greeting.

"You look lovely," King Kazu told his daughter with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

Queen Yuka smiled and hugged her daughter next. "Now, I want you on your best behavior," she warned.

Finally, it was time. Mikan stepped through the portal into the Hyuuga Palace's portal room. It would seem that the country of Imai had just used their portal as well. "Hotaru!" Mikan exclaimed and glomped into the Princess of Imai. Being that the country of Imai was right next to Azumi, the two countries had court together often. Mikan considered Hotaru to be her best friend.

The country of Imai was known for its inventions and advancement in medicine. Princess Hotaru pulled out her favorite invention, which she called the Baka gun, and clobbered Mikan with it. "You'll wrinkle my dress," Hotaru said coldly.

"Mikan! Didn't I ask you to be on your best behavior?" Queen Yuka scolded, glancing apologetically towards Hotaru's parents and older brother.

"Sorry," Mikan said with a smile, already having recovered from the blow of the baka gun. "I was just excited to see Hotaru-chan."

"You just saw me last week," Hotaru reminded her.

Mikan laughed and took both Nonoko's and Hotaru's hands to lead them out of the room.

Along the way through the palace to the ballroom Mikan was greeted by Yuu Ouji of Tobita and Ruka Ouji of Nogi. Prince Yuu and Princess Hotaru were betrothed. Nogi was a fairly new country in previously uncharted land to the East. Prince Ruka was new nobility and hadn't yet been betrothed. He took Mikan's hand and kissed it. "We meet again," he said with a gentle smile.

Mikan blushed and pulled her hand away slowly. "Yes," she replied, unsure of what else to say. Looking past him down the hall she saw Natsume. Her heart leapt with joy and she politely excused herself to hurry to him. However, she stopped short when she saw an unfamiliar girl dressed in a silver colored, tight fitting gown that flared out at her knees. She and Natsume talked for a moment, during which time Mikan walked slowly down the hall towards them, wondering what was going on. The new girl had her arms wrapped around Natsume's waist. They were standing too close to be conversing casually. Mikan thought that she saw Natsume look at her for a second before suddenly turning so that his back was to her. Mikan froze in disbelief when Natsume suddenly wrapped his arms around the girl to kiss her. Mikan stared in horror at the sight, her heart pounded in her ears. What was going on, she wondered, and how long were they going to kiss? Natsume had never kissed her like that. Covering her hands over her eyes she spun around on her heals and ran in the other direction down the hall. She passed her parents as they were leaving the portal room with the King, Queen and Prince of Imai along with the King of Sakurano, who was the youngest King of all 13 countries.

"Mikan?!" Her mother called after her in disapproval, but Mikan continued to run.

Mikan ran until she found herself in the courtyard. She collapsed on a bench beneath a cherry tree. It was the end of November, but she barely felt the cold due to her state of shock. She wondered how he could do this to her. What was he thinking? Their mother's were best friends. Didn't he stop to think that a war could be started because of this? Her father wasn't likely to be too forgiving of his actions. She jumped when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. She turned to find that it was Hotaru, who was offering her shoulder to cry on. It was truly a rare thing for Hotaru to do, but also proved how good of a friend she really was. After collapsing into her embrace, the dam holding back Mikan's tears broke.

Nonoko sat beside the two princesses and rubbed a hand over Mikan's back reassuringly. Prince Yuu and Prince Ruka stood close by, obviously concerned but wise enough to leave the comforting to the girls.

"H….how c…could he…" Mikan sobbed. "Who was SHE?" She sniffed, her sorrow slowing turning into anger.

"It was Luna, the Princess of the colony on the Moon." Ruka answered. Mikan pulled away from Hotaru to look at him with inquiring eyes. Within the past 10 years, a new Alice was discovered; one that allowed the user to open a portal to other planets and moons in space. That Alice was used to establish colonies out in space. The Kingdom of Imai had even designed the oxygen domes that surrounded the colonies and allowed humans to live where they otherwise could not.

A sudden explosion and the rumble of the earth beneath their feet caused all three girls to let out a scream of fright. Chaotic screams could be heard coming from inside of the Palace. Yuu and Ruka exchanged a look of disbelief before taking off into a full run back inside of the Palace. Mikan stared at Hotaru with wide eyes before following in pursuit of the Princes. Their family and loved ones could be in trouble and might need their help.

As they ran down the hall, others were running past them into the opposite direction. "What happened?" Mikan stopped Sumire Hime to ask. The Princess of Shouda pulled her arm out of Mikan's grasp and glared at her as if she were insane. "There was an explosion in the ballroom," Sumire said and turned back around to run towards the courtyard.

"Mom, Dad!" Mikan exclaimed in concern and lifted her gown above her knees to allow her to run faster down the hall. She quickly caught up to Hotaru and passed her.

"How Dare You Defy Me!" An unfamiliar voice echoed from the ballroom and down the hall. Mikan skidded to a stop behind Princes Yuu and Ruka at the ballroom door. She peeked inside to find that all of the Kings and a few of the queens were on their defense, seeming ready for a battle. "Didn't I warn you that we, of the Kingdom on the moon, are prepared to eliminate any Kingdom in Alice who defies us?" The voice announced again. Though A few people pushed past her in their attempt to flee from the ballroom, Mikan managed to catch a glimpse of Luna. She was flanked by Natsume and his father, both who held onto one of her arms. She looked enraged.

"I apologize for the commotion my fellow monarchs of Alice," Natsume's father announced. "Four months ago the Kingdom on the Moon invaded our country of Hyuuga, demanding that our skillful worriers come under their control for their desires to take over the 13 Kingdoms. To protect you all, my son and I decided it would be best to gather everyone together to fight this invasion. This required careful planning, whereas my family has been under the watch and control of the Moon Kingdom for these past months. Rise up with us now to eliminate our enemy!"

A rumbling sound could be heard coming from down the hall towards the ballroom. Mikan dared to look behind her to find a small army of men and women coming towards her. She was pulled out of the way by Ruka, who held her against the well as they passed. "You are no longer a threat to us," the King of Hyuuga announced to Luna as the small army filed into the room. They stopped and parted to allow for someone to walk through them. It was Prince Andou, from the Kingdom that colonized Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. With him he pulled along King Kuonji of the Kingdom on the moon. Luna Hime stared in horror as her foster father was forced to his knees before the King and Prince of Hyuuga.

Mikan's head spun with confusion. Was there an attack? Mikan slipped out of Ruka's arms and ran into the ballroom. The small army from Europa was still parted to form a path that lead from the door to where Natsume and his father stood. Luna and Kuonji were being taken into custody by the guards. Mikan ran down the path towards them with an urgent need for answers. Natsume watched and waited as she approached. Stopping short in front of him Mikan slapped the Prince with a loud smack that echoed through the ballroom. The entire room became silent after a gasp of shock from the witnesses. She glared at him with eyes of furry. "Why?" She demanded in anger.

Everyone watched in astonishment, unsure of what was going on. It was the King who spoke up first. "I apologize for what you had to witness, Mikan Hime, but it was necessary to ensure that we could protect everyone from harm."

Mikan continued to glare at her betrothed, waiting for his answer. "I was forced to kiss her, in order to keep her from harming you and your father's Kingdom," Natsume explained. Mikan's handprint burned brightly against his cheek, but he stood tall and wore it proudly as the consequence for his actions. Better that he was slapped then Mikan be physically harmed, Natsume thought to himself.

Mikan stared at him in disbelief, unsure of what to believe. "b…But, y…you've never kissed me like that," Mikan announced for the entire room to hear.

Natsume smirked and stepped towards her. "We haven't seen each other in half a year," he started to explain. "I was planning on kissing you better than that tonight."

Mikan stared at him with wide eyes. A blush crept into her cheeks.

"Stupid, don't you know by now that you're the only one that I can love?" Natsume announced to the court before pulling her into his arms and bending to kiss her with more passion than ever before.