A/N. So... new story, new possibilities. I'm really excited for this one. Anyway, onto the chapter!

Princess Arizona was sat at her vanity, combing her shoulder-length blonde hair. Her father was the ruler of this realm, and she was first in line for the throne when her father would step down. Both of her younger sisters didn't want to be Queen, so Meredith and Jo had made it that their vile cousin Robert would ascend as King if Arizona was unable to rule.

While she sat pondering, one of her handmaidens came into her room. "Your Highness, the King has requested that you come to him immediately." The woman bowed and left the Princess' room again.

The blonde sighed and stood up, dusting of her dress. It wasn't stuffy and tight, thank the Goddess for that. Her father wanted her to be comfortable, and so Arizona was free to choose her own wardrobe. She always chose light summer dresses. She began a leisurely pace toward the throne room, not being too concerned with time.

When she walked into the room where her father sat on the throne, the King sent everybody away, though the guards stood on the other side of the now closed door. "Hi daddy." She said with a brilliant smile.

"Hello, my little princess." His battle-hardened face, softened up when talking to his oldest daughter. "We have to talk. Come, sit." He scooted over, so that the blonde could sit on the armrest of his throne.

She sat down, facing her father. "What is it daddy? You look concerned." The blonde traced the stress lines on her father's face, trying to get him to smile.

"Zona, my brother, your uncle, has been causing trouble again. He has found some ancient law, saying that a princess needs to get married before she can be crowned Queen. Now, I don't want to make you do something you don't want to. But, if you're not married to someone by Winter Solstice, I shall organise a tournament for your hand next summer."

The woman froze. What? She needed to get married to someone in four months? "Father, that's in just over four months. So, if I don't get married in four months, I will be forced to marry someone next summer?" her father nodded gravely at that.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but this is how it will be." The blonde stood up and went back to her chambers in a daze, when she arrived she called for one of her handmaidens. "Call for Lady Eliza, and leave once she is here." The maiden bowed her head and went to fetch Eliza. The blonde just sat on the edge of her bed, too deep in thoughts to hear someone enter her bedchamber.

"Zona, love. Are you alright?" She looked up at the silky voice of Eliza, but once she looked into those beautiful blue eyes, she burst out crying. The brunette was shocked, but held Arizona close, embracing the blonde tight.

"Liza, I-I have to get married next summer." The blonde choked out. "There will be a tournament, and I have to get married to the winner. I don't want to get married to some stranger. Please Liza, hold me." She looked at her lover, begging her to hold her close and love her. And the brunette did. She made love to Arizona, slow, full of love and passion. When they finished and the blonde was drifting off, Eliza kissed her forehead.

"I'll do anything for you, my love. I shall protect you against the entire realm." Had the blonde been awake, she would've known this was a goodbye.

|AR&EM|

When the princess woke up, she was pleasantly sore. She stretched her aching limbs, and climbed out of bed to get bathed. She wasn't surprised that Eliza had left, the brunette was her secret lover, so they could not be seen together before they announced their relationship. She hoped that the brunette would agree to marriage, Eliza was the only one that she would ever consider marrying, at least then she would be married to someone she actually loved. She shook her head to clear the thoughts and started getting ready for a night in the tavern with her friends.

It was just past dusk when she got to the little-known tavern. It was owned and run by Richard, he was a friendly elderly man who made most of his profits from the young nobles. She walked into the tavern and sat down with her friends. They were a tight-knit group, it consisted of her sister princess Meredith with her husband prince Alex, her sister Jo with her intended Stephanie Edwards, who was the daughter of an important nobleman and Jackson and his husband Nathan. Nathan was Eliza's brother, and they were both children of the King's Right Hand, therefor they had high positions within the court and nobility. Nathan was the only one who knew of the relationship between his sister and princess Arizona, and he had been sworn to secrecy. Arizona's sisters and their partners were already there, so they were just waiting for Nathan and Jackson now.

They didn't have to wait long, Nathan stormed into the tavern with a murderous look on his face. "Tell me princess, where in the hell is she?" He growled out, his eyes were pitch black, the reason for that were his mage abilities. Mages were rare, but in the Minnick line all the males had been blessed with the gift of magic, that was why they had been the King's Right Hand for centuries.

"What are you talking about Nathan?" She asked him, genuinely confused.

"She left! When I came home all of her stuff had disappeared, only leaving a note to not look for her. WHERE IS SHE?!" He roared, his magic crackling around him. Jackson moved in front of him, trying to calm him down once he saw the devastated look on the princess' face. It took a while for it to work, but eventually Nathan returned to his normal self. Their group had questions of course, and Arizona knew she had to answer them.

"Eliza and I had always been close," she began. "we grew up together, we were each other's first kiss and each other's first time. We started being more than friends when we were fifteen, so we have been in a relationship for almost six years." Tears were beginning to fall down her cheeks, her friends were listening breathlessly.

"But because of the scandal that would come out if everybody knew that the princess and the Right Hand's daughter were together, we kept it quiet. Only Nathan knew, but that was because he caught us when we were sixteen." This was it, she was going to tell them about the tournament which was imminent now.

"This morning, father called for me, he said he had some big news. Robert and his father have been causing trouble again, this time they dug up some old law which said a princess needed to be married before she could become Queen. Father said he was giving me until winter Solstice to get married, but if I wasn't married by then, he would organise a tournament. The winner would get to marry me. I was going to ask Eliza to marry me, since we already love each other. That isn't a possibility any longer, so I have to get married to a stranger come this summer." The whole group was shell-shocked, and she saw Nathan looking at her with a look that was a mix of guilt and pity.

"So yeah, now you know the truth. Just… don't go and tell it to anyone, okay?"

Little did she know, that her lover had a plan. And that they wouldn't see each other for nearly an entire year.

A/N. I'm already in love with this storyline, I have it all written out. I hope you enjoyed, leave your thoughts in a Review. Captain sailing away in her rainbow ship.