[OLD VERSION -- READ THE NEW ONE PLEASE] Crocodile Tears

Identity

Really sorry about not updating for a long time (if anyone cares)...I've completely rewritten the previous chapters and changed the plot...But I promise I will never change the previous chapters' plot again. Promise.

Tears are the most worthless things on this world.

When you see the shadows flicker across the moon, do you remember how I used to dance for you? I could finally spin without tripping on my dress now, but I would fall a thousand more times if you were here to catch me.

She begged her eyes to lie, to bend the light so that she could see what didn't exist. Closing her eyes, darkness was to be her only companion. If only that voice didn't reek of the northern accent she despised so much... Even a few moments of fooling herself was a luxury.

She turned around. The downpour had weakened to a drizzle, and the umbrella rested on the ground without a firm hand to support it. It was too late. All that remained was a trail of footsteps fading away into the forest.

Those destined for one another will always meet again.

"Dawn! Where have you been!" her aunt's worried expression was the first thing that greeted her as she dragged herself home. She hugged the mud-stained umbrella even closer to herself as her aunt tried to pry it away from her grasp.

"Don't. Please..." those were the last words that she had the strength to mutter. Then she collapsed.

It is hard to let go. Even if it was never meant to be yours.

When she awoke, the dull stone walls had been replaced by a carefully carved golden ceiling that boasted of a soaring dragon and a dancing phoenix. The dim light that accompanied her childhood now became a display of candles. She rested on a bed of clouds, or perhaps it was the nest of a phoenix. The whole world had changed, stealthily rearranging itself during her deep slumber. But here, there was not even a vague shadow of him or their past.

"Princess is awake!" a young servant exclaimed, her eyes darting to the figure on the bed before settling once more on the floor.

Those words seemed to conflict with the seventeen years of memories stashed in her mind. Was it too much to wish that this was a new life of rebirth? No. She was cursed by the heavens, who was she to hope for another chance to meet him?

Flustered steps echoed throughout the room, and a chorus of greetings sounded. The rustle of skirts grew louder and clearer. A woman accompanied with a crowd of maids entered the room. Her silk gown was studded with the brightest of gems and embroidered with the finest of gold threads. With her heart-shaped lips and her sunflower seed face, she must have once been beautiful. It was not hard to imagine the crowds of men begging for her hand. But now, even with the intricate hairdo that seemed to stress her royalty, a few odd strands of snow-colored hair stood out.

She was so familiar, yet so distant. Perhaps the part about this graceful woman that stood out the most to Dawn were those eyes - they were simply mirror images of her own.