No, no, no. They just aren't right. My lips press together as the man in front of me drabbles on and on about my fan club. The one he started. He looks nice with simple brown hair and brown eyes. His clothes are not too fancy but I wouldn't expect anything else. I just don't want to marry a maniac who watches my every move. Who wouldn't?

"And then Terry glued a unicorn in the background on accident-"

"Hey, John?" He drops everything, listening to what I have to say. Quite literally. There is now a fork in his drink. This has been going on all of lunch, him leaning forward to hear every word I said as if were a matter of life and death. Sometimes, for me, it is.

"I don't think this will work out." I take a deep breath waiting for the insults and accusations. John just stares at me, as if I had told him that I just birthed a kitten. "John?" His nose quivers before the fat tears start rolling down his cheeks and snot comes out of his nose. I watch stunned as a grown man bawls like a baby in the middle of a restaurant.

"I thought we had something." He gasps between the wails. "You were so special and we know everything about each other! I was going to bring you to my house and introduce you to my mother!" I hate to point out that he is a crazy stalker who knows everything about me and probably conjured up a vision of me where I was really his girlfriend. Fat chance now, buddy. I place the napkin from my lap on the table and stand.

"I'm going to leave now." I announce, slowly backing off. He just cries harder. I turn and walk as fast as I can out of the restaurant.

"Must have been awful for you to have to run from him." Ken remarks, steering me to the waiting limo.

"He started bawling when I told he wasn't the one." I say. Ken laughs, a big booming sound that resonates through the limo.

"No wonder you ran. I would have, too. With my hand on my gun." I smile at the ridiculousness of tonight. Sadly, I have another date tonight. The backup for my backup for my backup and so on. I don't even know how many first dates I've been on but its been too many. Not many second dates, less third, and very rare amount of four. I think I've only had two or three who went even farther than that in all twenty years of my life, five of them dating.

"Ken, what will you do on my twenty first birthday?" My bodyguard tilts his blocky head and squints his gray eyes at me.

"Why?" He scratches his head of black hair.

"I just want to know." I reply, lifting my chin and staring straight at him.

"Well, if you get married to...your maybe fiancè, it will depend upon what he decided. If you marry someone else, you will probably convince them to allow me as your bodyguard anyways." I nod, grinning at the latter. Its true if it happens. My smile dissipates.

"I don't think I'll find someone, Ken." I whisper, leaning back on the seat. Ken frowns and leans over clasping my hand in his. Ken is almost like a father to me. He has taken care of me since I was twelve, protecting me at all costs, even though he does have a wife and a young son at home. It is his duty and his honor.

"You'll find the one, Alex. I know you will. Boys practically fall at your feet anyway. One is bound to be him." That's what I'm worried about. What if I pick the wrong boy by mistake and it turns out the one is next in line?

"Thanks, Ken." I give him a half smile as we reach the castle. He opens the door and leads me inside the magnificent palace. On the outside, it is so tall that you have to crane your neck to see the top, the gray cobblestone so smooth its almost like the pebbles you see on the shore of a river. Inside, I leave Ken at my door and go into my room. It is round, the circumference of the tower I live in. I greet my maid Loveday. She curtseys and waits for my orders. I just go to the window and stare out it, sitting on the bench underneath it. I can see, not the city, but the plains and farms beyond. I love the beauty it creates, something less tarnished than this place. Sometimes, I wish I could fly. Then I could fly away from this place and all its curses. Especially mine. I hold my left hand up, looking at the beautiful silver ring that sits on the ring finger. It elaborately twists around my finger like water, waves crashing in the middle to reveal a diamond that almost glows blue. I tug on it. It still won't come off, no matter how hard I try. It's cursed to stay until there is another to replace it. I wish I could yank it off and throw it out the window, but it's not possible.

"Princess, dinner will be ready soon." Loveday says in her lovely soft voice.

"Thank you, Loveday. Would you mind helping me into my evening attire?" I ask, standing with a sigh. Loveday bows, not meeting my eye.

"Of course not, Miss Alexandria." Loveday helps me out of my day dress, a pretty pink thing that ends just below my knees. The maid slips me up into the evening gown, a dress that when I first saw it, I wasn't sure if it was black or a deep shade of navy. It is navy. The skirt sweeps the floor, poofing out a little slightly above the waist so it doesn't wrap around me like a second skin. The top has a corset that Loveday has to tighten. There are two thick straps that go across my shoulders, leaving the top of them uncovered. White lace design covers the edges at the top. Loveday pulls back my light brown hair in a ponytail before twisting it in a nice elegant bun of curls. She clips in a pair of silver earrings that dangle to just below the lobe of my ear. She touches up my makeup, making sure that the liner that lightly lines the lid of my eyes makes the blue in them pop perfectly. She readjusts the small amount of blush and gray eye shadow before adding some light pink gloss to my lips. Loveday turns me to the mirror to see how I look.

"It looks beautiful, Loveday. Thank you." I smile at her reflection. She holds up something in her hand that dangles in the fading light from the window. I nod, saying that I do want to wear it. She brings it around my neck, clipping it behind be. I touch the diamond heart that ends the chain of the necklace. The sparkle it has doesn't take away from the small tiara sitting in my head.

"It's time, Princess." Loveday says hurriedly, pointing to the clock.

"You're right. Thank you again and see you in a bit, Loveday." I hug her good bye. Just as I pull away, I hear her whisper softly in my ear.

"Good luck." I leave the room smiling and nearly run into Ken, who is directly on the other side of the door.

"Excuse me, guard, but I have a date." I poke his shoulder three times before he actually moves. We walk out to the limo again, heading towards the same restaurant I've been going to for years. I swear, I've had everything in that menu. It's getting to me now. One can only take so much of the same thing every day, twice a day, sparing Sundays. Those are the only days I can actually eat with my family. Ken and I hardly talk on our way over to the restaurant, Everyday Elegance. We walk through the same frosted glass doors. We simply walk past the line waiting to get in, nodding at the few people who stop to gape, not believing that all the rumors are true. We walk past the candle lit tables and the couples who stare at us. The wood tables almost look on fire with the candles. We weave through the tables to get to a small curtained off section in the tan walls. I leave Ken outside and go in, prepared to meet another man. This time, I'm surprised that the man who sits at my table doesn't stand when I walk in. The second thing that shocks me is the fact that he's sitting my chair. Weirdly, all the other guys sit in the other, some intuition that lets them know that that's here they go. This man clearly doesn't. He just sits at the table, his golden brown eyes wandering down the glossy blue menu. He doesn't even glance up at me for a few seconds, allowing me to take notice of his golden brown hair and tan skin. He wears a t-shirt and jeans. I feel extremely overdressed. I am wearing priceless jewels. He's wearing sneakers. We are from two completely different worlds. He finally looks up at me, his eyes traveling across all the elaborations I have on me before resting at my eyes, connecting with something. Possibly my soul.

"Good evening, princess, I believe I didn't dress nearly to your standards." He smirks and stands, taking my left hand moving his lips towards it to kiss it. They never reach my hand. I look down in surprise as he pulls his head back and examines my head. Rather my ring.

"I'm not engaged!" I blurt. Something about this man makes me nervous. Nervous enough to blurt out unnecessary things to him.

"Well, no duh. You wouldn't be here if that was the case, even if you were cheating." He still inspects my hand.

"Let's sit." I say, hoping he'll let go because this is just way too weird for me. We sit as he continues to hold it. I just hope it's not too sweaty. Finally, he looks up at me.

"It's enchanted." I almost roll my eyes. Of course it is. It's enchanted to stay on my finger until I marry. My eyes widen at him when realize something. Nobody I have ever met has ever seen my ring. Only my parents have as well as myself. No man was able to see it or they would have think I was married or engaged.

"You can see it?" I whisper. He looks at me with an odd look on his face.

"Of course. Can't you?" He asks jokingly. If this wasn't serious, I would laugh.

"Nobody has ever seen it besides you and my parents." I whisper, my mind drifting off.

"Well, I probably shouldn't ask about it now. No life changing family secrets until the second date." He says and this time I laugh, mostly out if the relief that he isn't going to ask right now.

"Are you sure there will be one?" I smirk as he face twists up in fake terror.

"No, the horror is unthinkable. Callum Drifter never misses the opportunity for a second date with a beautiful girl." He says.

"Cal, I always try to make room for second dates." Cal Drifter smiles.

"Cal, I like that name. I've never had someone pick a nickname for me. It's nice to have a little change." The waiter decides to come over at that split second.

"Oh, Cal, you have no idea." I mutter as he orders his food.