Requested by: paultiteuf360

Prompt: Self given

Warnings: None

Extra: I made a really stupid move and accidentally deleted your PM before I had the chance to copy down your request, so I went by what I remembered. If there's anything I missed that you want me to add in, let me know!

~*~

The memories of my parents were comforting, gentle. Whenever I thought back to the better times in my life, it made me think that everything was going to be okay. At least, until I tried to look at my parents' faces. They didn't have them.

I could remember their warmth, their kindness, but I couldn't even remember what they looked like. It had been too long since I had seen them. Since they had died of an illness when I was younger.

Since then, that warmth didn't exist. I had to learn how to fight to survive. I snatched away food from the market that wouldn't be missed, I found shelter in the strangest places, I taught myself how to read and write in the times I wasn't struggling to survive.

Coo. Coo.

I glanced at the bird above me. It had a worm in its mouth. To feed its family...

"Don't think like that," I sighed, trudging on. I didn't know exactly where I was going. In the past, I had found certain caves that I could sleep in for a night or two. The last one had been taken over by animals, making me go and try to find another one.

The nights were slowly getting colder Soon, the common rain would turn into snow, and I would have to fight even harder to stay alive. It was all a vicious cycle.

I felt a raindrop on my hair Trying to ignore it I trudged on. When that single drop became a plethora, warning an oncoming storm, I began to run in a desperate attempt to find shelter.

Through all of the trees and other scenery, I finally saw my saving grace. It was a castle, pristine and grand. I had never seen it before, but then again, I had never travelled this far back into the woods before.

Sprinting through the front gate, I barely took a moment to look at the beautiful garden surrounding the front. I had to get inside, get warm.

I bounded up the stone steps of the castle, to the front door. I knocked frantically and loudly, stepping back and tapping my foot impatiently. Nothing. Sighing in frustration, I gave the door a little push. It opened.

I took a few slow steps inside. My footsteps echoed off of the walls and back to me. Lanterns and candles around me were lit, letting me know that someone had been here recently. But where were they?

"Hello?" I called out, preening for any sign of movement or noise, "I'm sorry for bursting in like this, but it was raining outside and I had to find a place to..."

I trailed off when my nose caught wind of a delicious aroma. Food, warm food. I hadn't had a decent meal in a long time. And maybe I would find the owners of the castle in the kitchen.

I wandered through the halls, glancing distractedly at the different paintings and decorations that they held. Even with all the grandeur and intrigue surrounding me, nothing was more appealing than the food that I smelt.

"Wow," I stepped into the large dining room, marveling over the large array of food in front of me.

Meats, soups, desserts, drinks, and sandwiches. Each one on its own plate decorated to look as appealing as possible. My mouth watered. Without being able to control my own body, I moved forward, reaching out for the treats.

"I'm glad we could get all of the horses into the barn before the storm really picked up," a gentle voice reached my ears. I panicked, crawling under the table to hide.

I wasn't entirely sure why I was hiding. I came in there completely willing to talk to the owners of the castle, to beg for food and shelter. Or at the very least, some warmth, so why was I so scared?

"I just feel sorry for all of the little critters stuck without a warm barn," a second voice reached my ears.

"We take as many in as we can Cin, but you know we can't help everyone," a third voice spoke, "My Momma always said that you do what you can when you can."

"The food looks delicious Tiana, you've outdone yourself as always."

The sound of a lid lifting caught my attention, and a new smell entirely wafted into my nose. I couldn't put a name to it. It was exceptionally sweet however. My stomach growled loudly, announcing both my hunger and my presence.

My heart stopped. Three of the chairs scraped against the floor and away from the table. Starting up again, my heart hammered against my rib cage. I saw their dresses touch the floor. Then their faces reached my level.

All of them were beautiful, and regal, and entirely princes like. But against my normal thoughts of what royalty would look like, none of them were scowling, or yelling at me, all of them seemed full of kindness.

"What are you doing under there?" The blonde one in blue gigled, holding out her hand to help me out, "We aren't going to hurt you."

I took the woman's hand, nearly gasping when she pulled me up by my arms and held me on her hip like a baby. I was six, not a toddler, but it was the first time affection had been shown to me since my parents were alive. It was nice, like a hug but more motherly. I looked up at the woman, before glancing at the other two.

"What are you doing here?" The woman decked out in gold asked me.

"I was um, I was trying to get out of the rain and I saw this castle and well I looked but I couldn't see anybody so I followed the smell and all of this looks delicious," ignoring the pang in my heart as I did so, I left the woman in blue's embrace, standing on my own, "Um, sorry. I can leave."

"No, no, no," the woman in green stopped before before I could run, "You look hungry, and cold. Oh your clothes. Where is your family?"

My eyes teared up at the mention of my family. The determination to survive had always kept them away from my mind before I could overthink my situation. But here, with these people who just oozed out maternal instincts and caring natures, there was no holding back.

"They're gone."

The one in gold pulled me into a tight embrace, lifting me off of the ground by my armpits. I could feel the smooth silk of her dress beneath my cheek. It was all too much. One minute I was searching for a cave, and another I was being comforted by people I didn't know. Still, I wrapped my arms around her.

"They left me alone. They died and left me here by myself," I cried, gripping the flowing fabric of her skirt, "I don't know what to do. I can't- I can't keep doing this. Every day is so hard."

"It's alright," the woman stroked my hair, "Just let it out. Everything will be okay, I swear to you. And princesses never break their promises."

"Thank you," I pulled away and wiped my eyes, a bit embarrassed that I just spilled my emotions out so easily, "I'm sorry about all this."

"No, don't be sorry," the woman in blue led me over to a seat, motioning to all the food spread out in front of us, "Go ahead and eat as much as you want. Tiana made more than enough."

Without any objections, I began piling different kinds of food on my plate. There was an interesting grey pudding in front of me, and when I took a scoop of it, the same smell that hit me earlier.

"That's the grey stuff," the woman I cried into spoke up, "It's truly delicious, and the only good thing I know how to make."

"It looks interesting, but it smells amazing," I assured her, "So, what are all of your names?"

"Belle," the woman in gold smiled brightly.

"Tiana," the chef waved.

"Cinderella," the last woman in blue introduced herself.

"I'm (Y/n), nice to meet you all," that was the last thing I said before I began shoving as much food as possible in my face.

After dinner had finished, with the three princesses eating a lot more properly than I was, they led me up the large flight of stairs near the entrance and down a pristine hallway. There was either a gold statue or a painting every few feet.

"This is your bedroom," Cinderella pointed at the door closest to us, "All of our bedrooms are on the other side of the staircase in the west wing."

"My...My bedroom? I don't understand, I'm just staying for tonight aren't I?"

"Darlin'," Tiana let out a laugh, "You didn't think we would let you keep fighting for yourself did you?"

"You're letting me stay?"

"Of course," Belle pushed open the door, "Over time we'll get you more things to make it feel like a true home, but it's warm and it has a nice soft bed, so we hope it will be good for more."

"This is more than I could have ever hoped for," I spun in a circle, awed by the large room around me.

"The mice are making you some new clothes right now. So I brought you one of our nightgowns," Cinderella held out a soft dress, "You'll never have to wear old dirty clothes again."

"Thank you," I pulled the three of them into a tight hug, holding back the urge to cry again. Tiana reached down and pulled me into her arms, carrying me over to the bed and setting me down on the edge.

"You had a long day. Get some rest. Tomorrow morning, we'll eat breakfast and show you around the castle," leaving a kiss on each of my cheeks, Tiana joined the other two at the doorway.

The princesses left me alone in my room. I wandered around for a bit, finding the connected bathroom easily. I took a bath inside, revelling and reflecting on everything I had been through today. I had the animals who took over my last cave to thank. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have found the castle.

After putting on the comfortable nightgown that had been given to me, I layed down on the cloud-like bed. It was a bit strange, considering the fact that I had normally slept on a makeshift bed of leaves, but it was a welcome change.

~*~

The next morning I woke up to a light knocking at my door. Groaning, I rolled over, trying to ignore it so I could fall back asleep.

"(Y/n)," the door opened. Heels clicked across the floor, and the curtains opened, allowing sunshine to rain down on my face, "Tiana is almost done with breakfast, and the mice have finished your outfit."

"Can I just sleep for a little bit longer," I pulled the covers over my eyes.

"(Y/n)," Cinderella sighed, "If you sleep longer you won't get to eat, and then the entire day will be put behind schedule. We want to show you around."

"I don't want to."

Cinderella stalked over to me, her gloved hands poking my sides. I squealed, nearly jumping out of bed. She laughed, holding up her hands as if threatening to tickle me again.

"Fine," I groaned, rolling out of the bed. My feet touched the cool floor, and I shivered.

"Here you are," Cinderella held up some clothes in front of me, "The mice are making more things as we speak. I hope you like this. I'll meet you in the dining room with the others."

Once Cinderella was gone I slowly changed into the outfit she gave me. It was full of rich blues and deep reds, with gold on the edges. It was fancier than anything I had ever worn, and Cinderella said they were making more outfits like this for me.

I would never get used to being treated like royalty.

After I was finished changing, I found my way back to the dining room, careful not to take any wrong turns and be lost forever. When I made it down, the other three had already started breakfast, talking animatedly with each other.

"Glad you made it down," Belle pointed at the seat I ate dinner in yesterday, "Go ahead and eat. We'll be taking turns showing you around later."

I nodded, loading my plate with the new breakfast foods. Even if they were all different than yesterday, they weren't any less delicious. I had to hand it to Tiana, she knew how to make good food.

When all of us were finished, Cinderella and Belle left, leaving me with Tiana first. She led me to the kitchen, pride shining obviously on her face as she pointed out the different appliances throughout.

"I always wanted my own restaurant. Being able to cook for you makes me feel like I have that," she informed me, moving on to a different sitting room, "I call this my wishing room. You can see the sky perfectly from here. My father used to tell me that if there was anything I ever wanted, I had to wish for with all my heart on a shooting star."

I looked up at the bright sky. There were no stars out, but I knew I was going to be going to that room more often than not.

After Tiana had showed me her rooms, she led me to the library where Belle was curled up with a book. When she noticed I had entered, she grinned, pulling me further inside.

"This is my library," she explained, motioning to the large expanses of books on the walls, "There are thousands of books in here, and I want you to know that if there's anything you ever want to read about, you'll be able to find a book on it."

"Thanks, but I don't know how to read that well," I flushed in embarrassment, "I haven't been to school so it's a bit of a struggle for me."

"Oh don't worry honey, if there's ever a word you struggle with, or if you ever need any help, let me know and I'll help you," Belle assured. After that, she led me to one of the largest rooms in the castle. The ballroom, "We like to dance here, obviously."

"It's amazing," I gasped, shocked by the shinning gold everywhere. I didn't know where it was coming from, but there was music, "Where's the music coming from?"

"It's magic," Belle's eyes shined excitedly, "There's magic all throughout this castle, you'll notice it the longer you stay here."

"Magic," I mumbled, standing still and listening to the faint music.

"We'll teach you how to dance like a true prince someday," Belle's gloved hand came to rest on my cheek, the cool silk contrasting the warmth I could feel from her hands, "When you're a little taller. Cinderella is waiting for you in the garden. She's really excited to introduce you to all of the animals," Belle pointed out the woman, sitting on a bench surrounded by flowers.

"Thank you Belle," I bid goodbye to the woman before leaving to talk to Cinderella, "Belle told me you wanted to introduce me to the animals?"

"Oh yes, but I wanted to do more than that," she spun in a tight circle, hands raised to the sky, "I wanted to show you nature. All of the animals here communicate with us, and help us with everyday things. Like how the mice make our clothes."

Cinderella led me to the stables and introduced me to the horses, then the pigs, cats, mice, dogs, deer, and all of the water animals in the lake behind the castle. There were more animals around than I ever saw during my time staying in the forest, but all of them were nice, and in a strange way, they seemed to speak with me. Not out loud, but I knew what they wanted to say and how they were feeling.

It was magic, just like Belle said.

"I think you've seen most of the castle," Cinderella led me back inside, holding my hand as if I would wander away, "I have to be honest with you, the reason we kept on switching off and keeping you distracted was because we were preparing a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Yes," Cinderella pushed me into a room I hadn't been in before. There were four large thrones on a raise floor at the very end, "You're a royal now, one of us."

"And a royal needs a crown," Tiana and Belle stepped out of the shadows, Belle holding a golden crown encrusted with jewels, "Go ahead, sit."

I sat down on the throne that was a bit smaller than the other three. Belle carefully placed the crown on my head. The three princesses cooed, looking me over proudly. Each one kissed my cheek, almost like it was a coronation ceremony. I grinned. An accidental discovery of a palace in the forest, and I had a new family, a new home.

"Our little prince."