One fine and sunny day, the King’s daughter, Hirai Momo, set out to venture through the woods on her trusty, white steed. Her long, dirty blonde hair and her equestrian outfit, complete with a cape, flowed through the wind as she galloped through the woods.

She came upon a field filled with various beautiful flowers surrounding a tall tower. She squealed at the sight and hopped off her horse.

“Wow! Look at all those beautiful flowers! Especially the pink ones!”

While she was frolicking through the field, she suddenly heard a sweet, melodious voice singing a tune. Looking towards the direction of the song, Momo spotted a delicate young damsel with long, beautiful black tresses, sitting by the window of the tower and singing her heart out.

“She’s beautiful,” Momo unconsciously muttered.

At that moment, Momo was immediately entranced with the fair maiden. She gaped at the raven-haired beauty, not once taking her eyes off her. She stayed to listen to the unknown beauty sing until the song ended. She was in complete awe at the girl, high in the tower, with her beautiful fair skin and her soft features.

The King’s daughter yearned to speak to her, so she tried to look for an entrance to the tower, but she couldn’t find any way in. She decided to give up for the day and go back to her castle with the damsel’s song in her mind.

Momo had returned to the tower the following day to listen to it, but much to her dismay she had not heard it. Thus, she had made it her goal to come by everyday in hopes to hear the heavenly voice again.

--

One day on her usual routine to hear the fair maiden’s song, Momo noticed a dark figure make its way down to the middle of the field, towards the large tower. She decided to watch from behind the thicket, lest she would attract attention to herself. Straining her ears, she heard the figure speak.

“Oh Mina, Mina. Let down your hair.”

In a second, the damsel walked up to the window and unraveled what seemed to be her own hair down to ground. The dark figure proceeded to climb upon it. Though she could not see the figure’s face, she assumed it must be an old witch.

Momo began to notice a pattern from her visit the next few days. With her wild imagination, she assumed the dark figure was possibly a witch who trapped the beautiful maiden in her tower and only came every three days to check up on her. And each time the evil witch came, she repeated those same words to allow the dark locks to drop down for her to climb up. Momo decided that on the day the witch wouldn’t show up, she would say those same words and climb up to the stunning young damsel.

--

Mimicking what she heard before, Momo called out, “Mina, Mina let down your hair.”

…

When met with silence, Momo raised her voice.

“Mina, Mina! Let down your hair!”

…

Silence once again. Perhaps the girl had not heard her. At an even greater volume, the blond-haired princess hollered.

“MINA! LET DOWN YOUR—“

Splash!

A bucket full of water drenched Momo, her hair covering her entire face. “What the h-”

“Will you be quiet! Can a girl get some beauty sleep without someone barking outside?” Mina yelled to the best of her abilities, glaring from the top of her tower.

"Wait, what did you say? I can't hear you. Are you whispering?"

Mina rolled her eyes at the loud blonde and angrily left the windowsill. After a few moments, she returned with a cone in her hand and yelled through it, "I SAID..."

Mina's voice died as she saw the scene unfold almost in slow motion. With one smooth move, Momo raked her fingers through her wet, golden mane. Mina was immediately left speechless at the attractiveness of Momo, burning her vision. Taken aback by that one simple gesture, Mina’s anger slightly dissolved. In fact, if this annoying, loud-mouthed girl had not woken Mina from her peaceful slumber, she would’ve thought the girl to be quite charming.

"I-I'm trying to get some sleep," Mina's voice slowly faded away.

“My fair maiden! It is already noon! Stop sleeping, for I have come to save you from the enchantress!”

“What are you talking about?” This time, Mina sounded more civil. But it was definitely not because of how attractive the other girl looked with wet hair.

“You know, the wretched, old witch dressed in a dark hooded cloak who always comes to your tower every few days.”

Those thoughts of a "charming" girl were quickly squashed as the blonde opened her loud mouth. Anger resurfaced as Mina spat back, “Are you stalking me? You dim-wit! That’s my sister! And she’s far from wretched or old! I don't even know you, so I don't even know why I'm telling you all this!”

“B-but-”

Before the King’s daughter had time to respond, the black-haired beauty had slammed her window shut. Momo should be upset. Surprisingly, the damsel was not only very unlady-like, but had also thrown a bucket full of water at her face. Yet, Momo seemed not to be fazed one bit. In fact, she was already enamored with the maiden’s entire being. Momo, a fool she was, was not one to easily give up.

"Gosh, she sure is cute when she's mad," Momo giggled to herself.

--

The next day, Momo returned to the tower in the afternoon, in hopes that the damsel would not be sleeping during that time.

“Mina, Mina. Let down your long hair! For it is I, your gorgeous and beautiful knight, here to free you from your self-imprisonmnent.”

Momo expected the silence, so she tried to call for the girl again.

“Mina? Mina!”

“You again? Are you asking for another bath? Because I can grab a bucket of water for you right now if you won’t leave me to my nap.”

“What? Are you serious? How much sleep do you need in a day?!”

“Hey! I told you I need my beauty sleep! Obviously you wouldn’t understand.”

“Wha- Are you trying to call me ugly?!” Momo puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms.

Mina bit back a smile and thought the act of this self-proclaimed “knight” was quite cute. Too cute to be a real knight. She was curious now.

“Why are you so persistent anyway? Just give up. I already told you I don’t need saving.”

“Well you seemed trapped up in that chamber of yours. I couldn’t find a way in.”

“And why exactly are you trying to find a way in, huh?”

“Why, uh... How do they say it.... Oh! To court you of course!” Momo responded with a huge goofy smile.

Mina’s jaw dropped in disbelief. She thought this idiot was seriously too straightforward for her own good. Who tells someone that they are trying to woo a person? It would just defeat the purpose.

“Sorry, but many suitors have tried to court me and they all failed. Just give it up.”

“But I’m different!”

“Oh, please. That’s what they all say.” Mina rolled her eyes.

“You’ll see, Mina! One of these days, I will win your heart! For you had already won mine through that beautiful song of yours.”

Mina felt something towards the other girl’s confession. The golden hair, bright eyed girl might be different.

“What’s your name anyway? And who are you exactly? You’re definitely not a knight if you’re in a dress.”

“Hirai Momo, daughter of King Hirai Desmond. I'm actually a princess, heh. Does this mean you will consider me?”

“No. I need to know your name in case I need to place a restraining order on you. Or maybe call for a bounty hunter," Mina smirked.

Momo laughed out loud, not at all fazed, “It will change soon. Look forward to falling in love with me, Mina! For I may not be a true knight, but I will be your lover!" Momo flashed her extremely charming, flirtatious smile.

For a second, Mina felt her heart skip a beat at the gorgeous smile. Momo was definitely different.

--

So on the days that Mina’s sister did not show up, Momo came to the tower to speak with her. At first, Mina was reluctant and still slightly annoyed by Momo. She hated people disturbing her quiet time. But due to Momo’s persistence, her clumsy nature and her cute innocence, Mina was completely charmed by the goofy "knight."

Mina gradually opened up to her and slowly enjoyed Momo’s presence. No matter how much Mina tried to give her the cold shoulder, Momo never stopped coming to the tower.

When Mina wanted to complain and talk about random nonsense, Momo attentively listened to her. No one else did that.

--

“Wahhh! Bug!! Get it away from me!” Momo panicked and fell off her horse.

Mina giggled at the scene.

“Cute.”

“What?”

“Nothing! I said you’re a dummy!”

It took a few seconds to realize, but then Momo registered those words. She knew the long haired damsel had unconsciously let her true feelings slip out. A smile slowly crept up on her face.

“Are you sure you don’t think I’m cute?” Momo purposely pouted, flashing those gleaming, puppy-like eyes.

Not wanting to confront Momo’s question, Mina quickly shot back. “Uh…The bug’s on your shoulder!”

“WHAT?! Ahhh! Get it off me!”

--

Momo eventually learned that Mina loved staying in and since the city was too noisy, the long-haired maiden decided to live in this tower where no one could get in to disrupt her. Mina never liked crowds or loud places. Only her sister, who lived in the city, came by every third day to give her necessities. Mina wasn’t as cold as she seemed, but simply chose to show affection in her own unique way.

Mina learned that the King’s daughter didn’t enjoy the diplomatic discussions that she was forced to attend, so she chose to play in the forest for as long as she could before she returned to her castle. Not that Momo could understand anyway, she had other things in mind that were much more entertaining. Momo wasn’t really as simple-minded as she appeared to be, but chose to see the beauty in everything around her. She was stubborn in a way where she was determined to get what she wanted—Mina not being the exception.

--

Soon, both girls grew very fond of each other. Momo doing little things to capture Mina’s heart, like blowing her kisses every day before she returned back to her castle or bringing her exotic flowers and carefully planting them in Mina’s garden. Mina feigned disinterest, but deep down she loved every moment of it. Mina was completely smitten with Momo's charisma and patience, just as Momo was enamored by Mina's sweet presence.

--

"Mina, I really like you a lot."

"I think I already know, you goof. How many times have you said that?"

Momo started to furrow her brow and appeared to mumble to herself as she counted her fingers.

"You dork! I didn't actually mean you should actually count it!"

"Oh... I'm serious Mina! I really, really like you. I like everything about you and everything you do and everything you don't do."

Though many admirers in the past had flattered her just the same, for some reason, these feelings she held for the blonde princess-knight were special.

--

One afternoon, Momo did not arrive by the foot of Mina’s tower. Days had continued to pass and still she had not returned. Mina figured that Momo decided to give up on her. Perhaps the latter had found someone else she fancied. They all do at some point, for Mina was very good at playing hard to get. It was a pity because she was starting to like the blond-haired, princess-knight a lot. Mina started missing her more and more and realized that she might be smitten with the King’s daughter.

Mina became sulky and even refused visits from her sister. She did not want to talk to anyone at all.

After two weeks, Momo returned in the middle of the night.

“ACHOO!” “Damn these cold nights,” cursed Momo.

The princess was impatient. After many nights of not being able to see Mina, she wanted to be near the long-haired beauty as soon as possible. So she decided to come and wait at the foot of her tower until she would wake up.

Another sneeze. Momo had then regretted not bringing her wool coat before rushing off for Mina.

Hearing the constant sneezing, Mina woke up feeling irritated. Heading towards the source of annoyance, she saw Momo standing around with her horse in her tow. Mina felt elated at the sight of the blond-haired girl, but was also slightly angry that the latter left and came back without notice.

“You! Why are you suddenly back after leaving me without telling me! And in the middle of the night making all this noise!”

“Mina! I’m sorry, my love! ACHOO! I had business to attend to at the lands down in the south! Father dragged me at the last minute and I had no choice but to go. I returned as soon as I had the chance. I couldn’t even wait to see you again. I’ve missed you so much. But I was going to wait until day broke before I called for you, since I know you need your beauty sleep. ACHOO!"

Mina suddenly felt overjoyed upon hearing the heartfelt confession. She wondered if the blond-haired girl had always been so caring and affectionate towards her or if Mina had missed her too much that she had forgotten what it felt like to be loved by her. But she couldn’t give in just yet. Not even if she had a good excuse for leaving so suddenly.

“Yeah well, your silly sneezing woke me up!”

“I’m sorry. You should go back to—ACHOO!—sleep. I will be here when you wake up.”

Even Momo's sneezes were cute to Mina. Figuring the older girl had had enough torturing and missing her too much, Mina dropped down her long hair.

“Here.”

“Wha—”

"You should come up before you catch a cold."

“But shouldn't you go back to sleep?”

Mina exhaled loudly and mumbled to herself, “Is this girl really that dense that she doesn’t get the hint?”

“Momo, get your up here before I rescind my offer!"

Quickly obeying, Momo clambered up the long, raven locks and hopped through the window. After winding her hair back into the room, Mina quickly closed the window.

"Wow, this is my first time up here. And so close to yo—"

Mina stepped towards Momo and pulled her into a hug, surprising the latter.

“M-Mina? I t-thought you were upset with me?”

“You goof, I wasn’t serious.” Blushing at the proximity, Mina looked away and continued with a small voice, “and I’ve missed you too.”

“So does this mean...”

“Yes, you idiot! I’ve fallen for you. Don’t you dare leave me again without telling me!"

A smile formed on Momo’s face as she returned the embrace. Bursting into laughter, she lifted Mina off her feet and spun them around. But before she completed a spin, she tripped and tumbled on Mina’s long hair, sending them both down on the floor, with Momo cushioning their fall.

“Ow.”

With faces inches away from each other, Mina kissed the tip of Momo’s nose playfully.

“You are such a klutz.”

Momo kissed the corner of Mina’s lips.

“Actually, I think your hair is the thing at fault here.”

“Just admit you’re clumsy.”

“Hmm. Okay. I may be clumsy, but at least I will be able to catch you when you fall.”

“You know, you don’t need to use such cheesy lines to woo me anymore.”

Momo chuckled lightly in response.

“But… It’s a good thing I’ve only fallen once and you caught me. Because falling in love with you is enough for me to last a lifetime.”

“Thank you for letting me be the one to catch you then.” Momo brought one hand up to caress Mina’s cheek lovingly.

"Your face is so beautiful up close, adorned with those stars. It's like I'm looking into the universe."

"Stop. I can't take it anymore. You're such a romantic."

"You really want me to stop?"

Mina leaned down to let her lips meet Momo’s in a gentle kiss. "No, don't ever."

"By the way," Momo broke off the kiss and looked deeply into Mina's eyes, "I love you too."

--

“I’m sorry you had to wait for me out in the cold. I hope you weren’t standing there for too long.”

“You know, it was freezing outside earlier. But I didn’t mind. As long as I can be with you eventually, I will be warm. And now I am warm because I am enveloped in your love.”

Mina rolled her eyes, but smiled widely at the supposed smooth talker. It might take a while to get used to all the corny, affectionate pick up lines that Momo gushed at her, but Mina figured she wouldn't mind.

"Your cute, gummy smile is my favorite thing to look at in the world."

Yup, she definitely wouldn't mind it one bit.

--

“Will you come with me to live in my castle now?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“First of all, what about my sister? Also, I really love to sleep and stay indoors, if you haven’t already noticed…”

“Your sister can come live with us if she wants. We have many guest rooms! And I love sleeping too! I have the best bed! It is made from the finest quality feathers from a—”

“What are you trying to imply? You are a huge ert! Just because I let you in my tower!” Mina swatted Momo's arm playfully.

Momo stammered, "N-no! That's not what I meant! I just—"

"Listen," Mina turned serious and cupped Momo's face with both hands. "I just want you to be with me when I fall asleep and when I wake up. I want you to stay inside with me when I don't want to go out. Anything else you want... is okay with me too," Mina breathed out the last sentence in a whisper against Momo's lips.

Momo blushed furiously and stumbled on her words even more, barely able to form words. “I- uh... S-since whe-when were you so forward?”

“Since you never understood my intentions. So I have to let you know, you dummy.”

“But wait, that’s a yes right?”

Mina had given Momo her answer with a kiss.

--

And so Mina left the tower to live with Momo in her kingdom. Since Mina no longer needed her lengthy hair, she cut it to a nice shoulder length, at which Momo was in complete awe and gushed at her even more.

Then they lived happily ever after… except for the moments when Momo was being a ditz, resulting in Mina smacking her. Or the moments when Momo would accidentally wake Mina from her slumber with her booming voice, causing the latter to give her a good tongue-lashing (figuratively-speaking of course, but that usually resulted in a literal battle of tongues with each other). Despite all that, their love for one another never faded.