The sound of hoofbeats. The subtle brush of the grass. The occasional call of a bird as it flitted through the sparse trees. All of these noises were melding together into the constant drone of Prince Alfred's existence. He didn't know how long he had been traveling, nor how much longer he would have to travel to meet his goal.

….What was his goal again? Oh right! To locate, rescue, and marry a princess. The same "right of passage" expected of all princes of his standing. Although he had left home one day on nothing more than a whim, his mission was now set, and failure would mean humiliation and ridicule. Not to mention his twin brother Matty would no doubt rub it in his face. His ghost-like, flighty brother didn't have much to brag about, aside from having nearly the same dashing good looks as Alfred did, but he wasn't about to give him any new opportunities.

"Man...This road just goes on FOREVER." He groaned, speaking to no one but the pure white stallion upon which he rode. The gledding flicked its ears back towards its rider, snorting in agreement. There was a tinge of resentment in that snort, however, as Alfred wasn't the one doing all the walking; HE was. Alfred, having always been keenly aware of that mysterious world of animal language, noted this and gently patted his steed's neck to reassure him. "I know, George, thank you for taking me all this way. Don't worry, " he asserted, leaning back in his seat as he rose a triumphant hand to the sky, determination in his voice, "This will all be worth it when I have the hand of some fair maiden laying in wait for my heroic rescue!"

The horse's eyes shifted back towards the rider once more, providing only a short whinny in response. 'Hero': a word used far too often in his owner's vocabulary. At least he was kind to him...and fed him oats. Oats were the important thing.

They continued on in silence for what seemed like hours, each tree they passed bearing an uncanny resemblance to the one before it. Alfred may or may not have gotten them lost multiple times through this particularly dense part of the forest. They eventually came upon a clearing lined with the most gorgeous array of blossoms. Flowers of every shade and type covered the field like some ancient tapestry, depicting the very creation of the earth. Alfred pulled back on George's reins, coming to a halt just before the field. He gazed out, somewhat stunned by its beauty, but quickly averted his gaze to the west where he spotted a road.

"Ha! The road!" he announced, kicking George forward once again, "See, I told you that we'd make it out of there."

As they descended the hill, a chorus of hoofbeats joined their own, catching both horse and rider off guard. Approaching from the south, Alfred spotted a pitch black mare, draped in blue and red cloth; a sign of the kingdom of Lengand. The colors were a stark contrast to his own horse, who bore the colors of his birthright: red and gold, the land of Rimaeca. Upon the horse's back sat a young man, in matching outfit, a miniature crown placed askew on his head. His pale blonde hair bounced slightly with each fall of the mare's hooves, his impressively thick eyebrows seeming to do the same. He wasn't very impressive-looking. Small in frame, pale, looked like he hadn't seen a day of sun in his life. But something caught Alfred's attention: those distant, pale green eyes. There was an inner sadness in them, turmoil and desertion. This man was on a mission...The very same mission that he was on.

A Rival! Alfred thought, gripping the reins tightly, brow furrowed. I'll show him-there's no way I'm letting that wimp steal my princess!

Alfred drove his steed forward, racing towards the interloper at top speed through the clearing. The other man's head shot towards Alfred, gritting his teeth as he twisted his own horse to face him.

"Woah! What the bloody 'ell are you doing?!"

he called out in a thick, Lengand accent.

Alfred wasted no time with formalities and pulled out his sword, looking the rival squarely in his eyes.

"Prepare yourself, Lengandian! For the princess in the tower is mine, and none the likes of you can stop me!"

He pushed George onwards, feeling the horse's sides heave with each deep intake of breath. As soon as he was within range, he swung his sword in a wide, sweeping motion, with the likely intention of whacking his opponent's head clean off. To his displeasure, he was met only with the metal ringing of steel on steel, as the green-eyed prince unsheathed his blade just in time to stop him.

"Stupid...Rimaecaers...Always striking first and asking questions later." he muttered between clenched teeth.

Alfred pushed against the other's blade, surprised when the stranger held his own despite the amazing amount of force he was using. There they sat, mounted side-by-side, neither one backing down despite the increasing pain in their forearms. Then, as suddenly as the fight had began, it ended, Alfred lifting up his blade, slinging it over his shoulder, and letting out a boisterous laugh.

"HAHAHA! You're pretty good, Blondie!"

The man nearly fell off his horse from the abrupt change in behavior, fumbling with his sword before adjusting himself enough to look upon Alfred in astonishment.

"-What's the meaning of this?!" he demanded, annoyed and confused by this turn of events. What nerve! "And who are you to call me Blondie! You're no less blondie than I!"

Alfred paused his fit of laughter, returning his sword to his sheath as he wiped his oncoming tears away.

"I was just testing you, see? And you passed! You're worthy to be the rival of Prince Alfred Jones!"

A smile lit up his entire face, his blue eyes bright with mischief as he gave a playful wink. The man looked frazzled for only a moment more before returning his own sword to its sheath and narrowing those furry brows of his.

"I'll have you know that I don't appreciate such brash introductions. Especially not from a Rimaecaer. I'm a Prince of Lengand! Prince Arthur Kirkland to you." Arthur's eyes faced forward. "I'm not asking to be anyone's rival, so if you would be so kind as to get out of my way, I have real work to do."

With that, he tapped on the reins of his mare and started her forward down the road at a steady pace. A minor upset, to be sure, but he wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of his own mission.

"Oh come on, man!" Alfred started, coming up to join beside him as they walked down the long stretch of dirt road. "It was just a joke, right? Geeze, you Lengandians take everything so seriously."

Arthur cast him a side glance before closing his eyes, frowning. "Maybe to you this is all a joke, but some of us are seriously on a mission here. Now I didn't ask for a traveling companion or a rival, so why don't we part ways here and pretend we've never met. It will be a win-win situation for us both."

Alfred rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. He debated mentioning the stuck-up attitude of the Lengandian royals once again, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his horse. George seemed...happy somehow. Happier than usual. As Alfred and Arthur had been walking in unison arguing, George had been getting rather friendly with Arthur's black mare. Alfred couldn't help but blush as he noticed George nuzzling her muzzle lovingly, the mare returning the affection.

"Uh..." Alfred began, having ignored any ranting that Arthur had no-doubt been spouting this whole time.

"What is it now, you twit?" Arthur started, following Alfred's eyes towards the budding romance. His face too reddened as he jerked back the reins. "Elizabeth! Elizabeth no! I forbid you to associate with the likes of him and his kind."

The mare nickered, shaking her head to free herself from his grip and return to her handsome stallion. Alfred was having equally as much trouble controlling George, who had disobeyed his rider's commands to trot back a ways, picking flowers from the bountiful clearing, and returning to the mare's side.

"Elizabeth, what did I say!?" Arthur tried everything he could to pull her away, save to the point of dismounting his horse, but the two were inseparable. He had to admit, the white stallion was surprisingly sweet, offering Elizabeth the flowers as the two stood nose-to-nose. Alfred, although embarrassed, cleared his throat to speak first.

"Looks like we're not going anywhere anytime soon, pal. At least not on our own."

His more confident smile returned, that mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Say, why don't we try traveling together? Might come in handy for spotting Damsels in distress, or Princesses in peril? They say two heads are better than one, and since we're stuck together anyway, why not make the best of it?"

Arthur stared blankly at the younger prince, utter displeasure and chagrin on his features. He sat there, looking between Alfred's face and Elizabeth's twitterpated affections towards George, releasing a hopeless sigh. It was either travel together with this jolly barbarian or not completing his mission. Failure was not an option.

"It would seem...You make a valid point. I suppose that it couldn't hurt if we travel together for a short while."

No sooner had the words been spoken that Alfred let out his echoing chortle once more.

"Alright! But don't think that I'll let you off so easy now that we're partners. You're still the rival to the great Prince Alfred Jones! The first princess we meet belongs to me!"

With that, his took his steed's reins in both hands and trotted forward, Arthur unable to keep his own mare from following blindly after.

What have I gotten myself into...?