Once upon a time...there was an unhappy young Princess who lost her Prince... after two years of loneliness and survival, she secretly falls in love again...

This is my first fanfic: it's on four chapters and I'm a little bit good to write a story. I'm a big sucker for those lovely and beautiful pairings and I made this for all AsheXBalthier fans.

Pairing – Ashe and Balthier

Story - Spoilers set on the post-game after Ashe's coronation.

Disclaimer – This story is my idea. All Final Fantasy XII characters/plot belong to SquareEnix.

Author's note – This is for katmillia, Refi-Lewise, sapereaude13, Tora Glory, Ashe83, Roux Roux, DarkBeliverAnge, Izzy Lawliet, tashachan28, droolingfanfemme, Laerkstrein, bunannza, gunshou...and the beloved The Balthier/Ashe Fan Community staff (livejournal). WHEW!

May the love hidden deep inside you heart

find the love waiting in your dreams.

May the laughter that you find in your tomorrow

wipe away the pain you find in your yesterdays.

– Kay Knudsen

Prologue

An Unfinished Fairytale

After four years, where Ivalice and it's dark times of war and violence between two nations. Four years where the Empire took control on a small kingdom of Dalmasca. Four years she sworn vendetta and brought her kingdom back...but in two years, two years of aching and intense memories she remembers that night where he desired her in their secret place...

Tonight, she's alone and waited. Waiting patiently she sat there outside of a large balcony of her castle. It is the balcony on the eve of their wedding four years ago where she and her new husband, her beloved Prince, holding hands together as they overlook the entire city of Rabanastre. It is the same balcony four years followed after the endless war where the Sky Fortress Bahamut lies there at the outskirts of the city.

She refused to sleep. She remains awake. She's sitting there on the middle of the night. She was patient as her face was silent as solemn, enjoying the view to the ruins of the sky fortress to the glimps above the full moon. It shines and it's glows, calm and illuminates, and it's past midnight. The city of Rabanastre spread around the less firefly-like flickered lights. Two airships sailing smooth around the city. The warm winds she felt–the breeze from the vast deserts of Estersand writhing around her body. And the dark skies were surrounded with silver stars and moonlight streaked across the city and across the balcony.

She sat there in a white iron bench, her arms were wrapping her legs against her chest. Her head laid against her knees and she smiled firmly. Her eyes looked down as she opens the palm of her right hand were her wedding ring. The ring that her Prince had given her during the wedding.

It was an emotional yet powerful fairy tale: Once upon a time...one year ago there was an innocent, vulnerable, and exquisite woman-child of nineteen, she had grown up lonely but strong and hauntingly beautiful being. As a sole surviving member of the Royal family and descendant of a Dynast King, she was a Princess who lost everything. She's sworn a revenge for her family and her beloved Prince. And above all, her Dalmasca itself. She had dedicated herself to the desperate and brave insurgents of the Resistance movement where she leads is to fight their nation. She liberates to free Dalmasca from the Occupation with the help of her new companions. Her comrades. Her loyal friends. Now, she had won and restore her kingdom. The war has ended at last.

And then at the coronation the following month after the fall of the Bahamut, she dedicated to her loyal soldiers, her close friends and her loved ones to fight and to protect for Dalmasca. To this day, Ivalice has it's new horizon. A new day has dawned. It was the dawn of the Golden Age of Peace and the people of Dalmasca welcome her as Queen.

As a Queen, she honored herself and to her royal subjects. Triumphantly gave a word of hope and liberation to her people. Her duties are to help rebuilding the future of Dalmasca. And thereafter, she's at the conference room of her castle along with politicians, senates and members as witnesses, the newly young Archadian Emperor and the Rozzarian leader are shared and reconciled with her as an agreement to signed a peace treaty.

But inside her Hume shell: she was trapped. Trapped in a loneliness and wretched world. A world had gone mad. A world that turns the tides around her upside down. It was dangerous journey goes ahead of us. A journey to the distant worlds. She dearly missed her friends – two free-spirit youngsters, a loyal knight who sworn duty is to protect her, a dashing sky pirate and his Viera partner. She can reached them again someday.

For the moment as she stood alone in this warm midnight, she stared down at the ring and closed it onto her palm. She still resting her head on her knees as her eyes closed . And then she waited. She is waiting for him. Waiting for years and months wanted to see him again once more. Waiting for day and night she wanted to see his face and to hear his soft voice. Waiting her arms are hunger around him. Waiting for the passion and desire that still burns within her response from his embrace. Waiting she wanted him to tempt and welcome her body and soul again. Waiting.

And so, after two eternal and forbidden years. Memories still haunt her life forever. Memories that she'll remembers to this day and she'll never forget that night where he showed her the true meaning of love. It was an unforgettable, timeless and ethereal moment.

It wasn't the arms for her Prince. It was the arms of a sky pirate.

Yes, it was love inside her. And her ring, it was what started the whole affair. And the fairy tale it's not far from over, but it's added with yearning passion and adoration. And yes, it's in the middle chapter of the story.

Chapter 1 is coming soon! I hope you'll enjoy my first prologue (I fixed already on grammars and words properly. HELL!). So please, if there's a mistakes, bad grammars, incorrect words, paragraphs...ANYTHING! So comment me before I'm going to cry like hell and die! Thanks^_^