A/N: Fuu/Ferio all the way! ^_^ Hehe. Pairings are F/F, H/L, U/A, and a bit (possibly) of C/P. A warning—sheer fluff! If this fic were any more fluffier, it'd be a freakin' marshmallow. Review, please, and I'll give you a cookie! Oh, and I'm not sure whether this is gonna be a one-shot or not, so a sequel may be in the workings if I get enough support!

Vernal Equinox

"Ferio?"

Prince Ferio turned at the sound of his name. Out of the lingering shadows stepped Lantis, a long-time comrade. Ferio acknowledged his arrival with a brisk nod of the head, and turned back to the sheer pane of glass out of which he had been staring. Cephiro was dark, night having set in only an hour or two ago. The dashing prince saw his breath against the cool panel, and wiped it away listlessly with his sleeve. Tomorrow was the day. Tomorrow . . . they would come back to everyone in the castle; they would come back to Cephiro . . .

Why, oh why, wouldn't the next day hurry?

Ferio sighed a bit. "Lantis, do you miss Hikaru?"

Lantis looked to Ferio for a second, and paused a bit before answering. When he did, it was in only a whisper. "You know I do. I miss everything about Hikaru. I miss her life, her smile, the way she lights up the room with merely her presence."

Ferio couldn't help but grin. "Lantis, I'm surprised! You never struck me as such a romantic guy."

"But you're the same way, are you not? You can't wait for Fuu to come back to you."

Lantis saw his friend sober, and he shook his head. "It's just a few more hours. You'll probably want to get some sleep, besides. Do you want Fuu to see you at your worst?"

"There's nothing to fear, I'm always at my best!" Ferio winked. "But I'll take your advice. I'm a bit tired, after all."

Just a few more hours . . . Ferio kept telling himself that. It reverberated in his head, an endless mantra.

Just a few more hours!

***

Fuu Hououji's heavy satchel banged against her leg with each step she took. Sakura blossoms twirled overhead, a sure sign that spring had finally arrived and that the long winter was finally over. It still was a bit chilly, though, and the breeze was cold against Fuu's thin school uniform.

She finally broke through the thick forest of cherry blossom trees, happy to see that her house was finally in sight. Her sister had just arrived home as well, and was fumbling for her key in the doorway.

"Hello, Kuu!" Fuu chirped as she approached her sibling upon the front stoop.

"Oh, good afternoon, Fuu," Kuu replied, finally gaining access to the house. She took a step inside and turned back to look at her younger sister. "Don't tell me, you're going to the Tokyo Tower again?"

Fuu grinned, her wire-rimmed glasses catching the stray rays of the sun. "Of course! I just have to get changed." She shivered a bit, and felt goose-bumps rise on her arms. "Let me in, I'm freezing!"

"I've got to run out, too. Bring me back some of those delicious pastries from the Tower, okay?" Kuu winked at Fuu before she disappeared around a corner.

***

Fuu searched her bureau thoroughly, scrutinizing her wardrobe as she searched for the perfect outfit. She hadn't seen Him in a month and a half, and she wanted to look her best. It struck her then and there how much she had changed from after she had gone to Cephiro—well, then again, it was no surprise. She, the timid Fuu Hououji, had fallen in love with a handsome prince, saved a magical race from extinction, destroyed the Pillar of Cephiro in a heinous battle, and took on three other foreign countries searching for reign over the place she, Umi, and Hikaru had worked so hard to defend . . . that would bring a on drastic change in anybody.

Fuu sighed, and finally decided on what outfit to wear. It was a knee-length skirt; a maroon garment with a buckle to one side and a plain white T-shirt. It fitting, and pleasing to the eye. Ferio should like it.

Fuu nodded at her reflection in the mirror with satisfaction and began out her room and down the steps. "Kuu, tell Mother and Father that I'll be back soon!" Without waiting for an answer, she headed into the inviting spring, the canvas of painted Sakura petals.

***

"Fuu, you're late!" Tall, elegant, and blue-haired, Umi was the personification of a supermodel. But right now, she was an angry supermodel. She stood before the bashful Fuu, hands on her hips, making tsking sounds with her tongue.

"Calm down, Umi-chan!" Hikaru chirped, her crimson ponytail bobbing about her shoulders. "I'm just glad you got here okay."

Fuu smiled and patted Hikaru on the head comfortingly. "You were worrying about me? You silly."

Umi sighed, unable to feign anger any longer. She grinned. "C'mon, guys. What are you waiting for? I'm sure everyone in Cephiro is waiting."

Without another word, Fuu took Hikaru and Umi's hands and closed her eyes. Her heart was fluttering within her ribcage. The knight of wind could practically feel Ferio's presence glowing closer as the light from the other world engulfed the three highschoolers. The other occupants of the Tokyo Tower took no heed as the seemingly normal girls vanished into thin air.

***

Fuu gasped for air as she made it through the typical wall of water hovering over Cephiro. The sky was clear, clouds white, and the nearby castle was shimmering with its own luminosity.

"Um, guys?!" Hikaru cried, pulling a stray strand of hair out of her mouth as the three of them fell through the atmosphere, wind whipping by them carelessly. "I thought we had it all worked out with Clef to be transported to the inside of the castle!"

"We did, didn't we?" Fuu mused.

"You don't have to be so calm!" Umi shrieked.

The knights were nearing a forest by the waterside, and there was no sign of Fyula diving to the rescue . . . nor was there any sign their plummet slowing. Fuu squeezed her eyes tightly, hot tears streaking out from behind her glasses. No, God, I don't want to die yet! I haven't seen Fer—

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as she began her descent through tangled limbs and oversized green leaves, which cut at her skin with a passion. After what seemed like an eternity (but could not have been more than a minute) she broke through the greenery and found herself staring face-to-face with the cold, hard, unrelenting ground.

***

The first thing Fuu noticed was the warmth. She hadn't felt so content for such a while . . . It was the kind of warm one got while snuggled under the covers with a mug of hot cocoa, watching the embers flicker in the furnace. She smiled in her dreamy stupor, sighing. Don't wake me up . . . this feels so good.

"Wake up, young Magic Knight. Your friends are waiting for you."

My friends? Who? Hikaru and Umi? They're here? Slowly, Fuu cracked open her eyelids. It was a surprisingly hard task to achieve, as her eyelids seemed to weight a ton a piece. Her vision came into focus, followed by her sense of self. She realized she wasn't laying broken on the ground. Far from that—she was flying in the arms of an angel.

Well, something like that. The woman's skin was startlingly pale, her blood red lips standing out in harsh contrast to her complexion. Her eyes were two deep pools of azure, her hair a scarlet halo—it must have reached her knees. The angel was garmented in a flowing robe with a plunging neckline; the fabric pressing up against Fuu's side was as soft as a baby's bottom. The dress was outlined by a slight, lucent lace which was as fine as a thread of hair. The two wings sprouted from her back were equally thin, only the shimmering outlines visible.

Fuu stuttered a few times before she was able to talk. "Who are you?" She whispered. "Did you save me?"

The beautiful woman's lips twitched into a grin. "I caught you before you hit bottom."

"Th-Th . . . Thank you. Can you take me to the castle of Cephiro?" Fuu suddenly felt sleepy again. She wanted to rest, but she couldn't, there were too many questions to ask . . .

"Go to sleep, honey. I'll take care of you. That Fyula caught your two friends before they hit the ground. Don't worry about them . . . go to sleep."

Her words were like a lullaby. Fuu's eyes closed once more as she drifted off into slumber . . .

***

Sawn found herself staring at the great light blockade surrounding the castle of Cephiro. With a few incomprehensible words muttered from her lips, a small rip tore in the very material of the magical barrier. She easily flew drifted through. The rift closed behind her and Fuu shifted a bit in her arms. Sawn smiled a bit at the girl she was cradling and set her down before the main doors of the palace. With a small wave of her hand, Sawn disappeared as suddenly as she had come.

It took around a half hour for Fuu to come around. She instantly sat up when she recognized her surroundings. "I'm inside the castle," she gasped. But how can I be here? I was supposed to have died. I hit the ground, didn't I?" She stood, adjusting her eyeglasses as she did so. Upon further inspection, she was perfectly fine—in one piece, and no visible injuries were evident. She stretched a bit, and felt no pain in her arms or legs. Finally convincing herself that she was alive, Fuu pushed open the doors to the castle.

Too confused to bother pondering the how's and why's of everything that had just happened, she began her trek down the all-too familiar corridors.

No one was around; she supposed everyone was asleep. But wait, that that made no sense, either. Clef had said if they had come at a certain time, they would have come at the beginning of the afternoon. How long was I unconscious? She thought uncomfortably.

"Ferio? Hikaru? Umi? Clef? Everyone?" She called softly. "Are you there?"

Suddenly, Fuu felt a heavy hand fall upon her shoulder. She gasped and leapt forward a few feet. "Fuu!" came the shocked cry from behind her.

She pivoted to find a concerned Ferio standing there, arm still outstretched.

"F-Ferio . . .!"

Fuu instantly felt all fear and confusion melt away as she threw herself at the prince—no, her prince—and embraced him tightly. "I've missed you so much!" Fuu was on the verge of tears, out of both happiness and relief. She had almost been ripped from him forever, but here she was. It was almost as if fate refused to let her die yet. She felt invincible in his hug, like she able to take on anything.

"Fuu, I . . . everyone here's been so worried . . ." He paused a bit before continuing, reveling in the feeling of the girl in his arms. "Something went wrong with the teleportation process from your world to ours. Clef still isn't sure what exactly . . . but he managed to save Hikaru and Umi just in the nick of time. They've been beside themselves for the past two days--"

Fuu jerked her head from Ferio's chest suddenly. "What did you just say!? Two whole days?"

A/N: Okay, I was originally going to make this a one-shot, but I decided it might be easier to break this down into parts—that is, considering I get enough support for the pilot chapter. Oh, sorry for the lack of fluff present so far, I swear to God that it'll be coming up! ^_~ That said . . .

PPPPLLLLEEEEASSSSEEEE, REVIIIEEWWW!! ^____^