A/N: I know I have another in progress Tsubasa fic, but I decided to start on this one as well anyway. I just felt so inspired by the heartwarming yet heartbreaking love story of Kurogane and Fay! This fic is dedicated to this oh so wonderful pairing that lit up my life… Anyway, this one is another Kuro/Fay from me. Oh, and that fic I discontinued will be continued one of these days… I'm working on it. And also as an early warning: I am also a beta, so I may not update my fics very often… That's all, and thank you for all your support! Oh, and this is set after Piffle World…

Princess Fay?!

Prologue:

The prince violently shook his head and turned away from his father, the king. "No! There is no way I'm going to marry! I'm seventeen, for gods' sakes!"

The king raised his voice. "Eivenrich! You know that as a prince of our country Eizenhovern, your duty to marry is crucial! If you don't marry soon, the Sovenhoots will cancel their alliance with us, and without a strong military force invaders will view our country as easy prey! And on top of that, we will lose power!" (1)

Eivenrich turned sharply. "SO ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS MAINTANING YOUR POWER OVER THE COUNTRY?! WHAT ABOUT MY HAPPINESS, FATHER?!"

The king raised his voice a tad higher. "EIVENRICH! AS A PRINCE, YOU HAVE TO SACRIFICE YOUR OWN HAPPINESS FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR PEOPLE!"

The prince's face tightened as he bit his lip and clenched his fist. "…Of course. Whatever you wish, father… But what about the mysterious source of power…?"

The king nodded. "We cannot aggravate the people by saying that you need to marry. We will use that as a price to cover up the real purpose of holding the contest. Now I must go." The king then went out of the royal hall together with two lesser nobles who were trying their best to flatter the king. The prince shook his head and returned to his royal chambers.

"Hyuu! What a strange world we have landed in this time…" Fay commented while looking around. A faint growl came from underneath him.

"Oi… Get off me…" Kurogane said in a dangerously low voice. It turned out that Fay was still sitting on top of him while Sakura and Syaoran already got off. Fay just laughed and pretended not to notice, all for the sake of angering the now very irate ninja.

"Hmmm, I wonder where daddy went?" Fay pretended to look around. "He doesn't seem to be anywhere. Do you see him, Mokona?"

"Kurorin! Kurorin! Where are you?" Mokona laughed while getting on Fay's head and pretending to look around for Kurogane.

"Oi… you damn mage…" Kurogane was about to explode. Fay just kept pretending to look around while Syaoran and Sakura were sweatdropping. Mokona and Fay just continued to call Kurogane names in a singsongy voice while still sitting on top of him. That was the last straw. Kurogane got up abruptly which caused the mage to fall down hard on the ground. The said mage stood up, wincing from the pain.

"Waaah, Kuro-pon… You're so mean…"

Kurogane clutched his sword victoriously. "Not my fault if you didn't wanna get off."

A few minutes later, they reached the town just outside the forest they had landed in. There were people bustling around in what looked like to be market stands, and they were surprised at all the beautiful maidens running around. They were even more surprised when they saw a large picture of Sakura's feather on what seems like to be some kind of tapestry hanging over a huge building that looks like a castle. There was some strange writing on it.

"I can read it." Syaoran said. "It says, 'the price for the most beautiful maiden in the land.' I can't read the rest, though."

"Amazing, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura praised. "You can read anything, no matter what world we're in!"

"Yeah, amazing indeed, Syaoran-kun." Fay agreed. Syaoran blushed.

"I learned a lot from my father."

"Putting that aside, how do we get the feather? If you said it says that it's the price for the most beautiful maiden in the land… Could they be holding some kind of contest?"

"You're right, traveler." An old woman piped in. "I'm sorry for butting in rudely. I am Sarankoch. That feather is the price for the most beautiful maiden in the land, but of course choosing the best is not going to be easy."

"Why is that?" Syaoran asked.

"You see, beauty is a natural gift to all the maidens in this land. There is not a single maiden alive who is uglier than a fully bloomed Sakura."

"Amazing. So what is this contest?"

"It's simple, really. Even travelers like you can join. You just dress up in your best dress and go to the castle next week. If you're lucky enough to get chosen, you will get the feather! Every maiden in this land has been trying hard to get their hands on that feather, because it is rumored to grant their hearts' deepest desires."

"Ah, I see. Thank you for all the information. One more thing, where do you suggest we might stay?"

"Perfect timing! I run an inn. You can stay there if you want, but since maidens from far and wide have come, I only have two rooms left. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's a very big help. Thank you." They then followed her to the inn.

End of Chapter

A/N: So how did you like it? This one is kinda different from the other fics I used to write, so please watch out! Oh, and I need five reviews to update.

Note:

1: The names: I invented them, made them sound noble-ish… Whatever…