The Beginning

Chapter One: Nice To Meet You

It was January 27 and Ambrose had just turned 12 annuals and his parents were getting ready to throw him a huge birthday party later in the evening. For now it was only six in the morning and he was running from some boys who wanted to beat him up because he had scored the highest on the science test and the other boys were tired of him getting all the scores. They had offcially dubbed him 'Teacher's Pet' and this wasn't the first time they had tried to beat him up.

Ambrose looked back as he ran into the woods from the outskirts of Central City. "COME BACK HERE AVERY!" The leader boy shouted as they continued to chase him not realizing they had run out of the Shining City on the Hill as they chased Ambrose into the woods. "CHICKEN...." One of the other boys shouted as Ambrose ran faster dodging the trees. He turned to look back ahead of him and cut his cheek on a branch but ignored the tiny scratch and just kept running through the trees.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The princess Lavender had gotten tired of sitting in the palace with nothing to do. She was just waking up as her father and herself headed for the realm of Finaqua in the early morning. She watched the scenery pass by with a bored expression on her face, her lavender eyes sparkling in the light that was shining from the first sun that was rising in the sky. "Daddy I don't want to go to Finaqua it's so boring there...." The girl said.

She would be 12 annuals in 11 months seeing as she had just recently turned 11 on 1208. Her long dark hair hung down to her waist as she stared at her father with dismay. "We have to Ozma, there's things we need to do...." Her father replied looking at his daughter with a gentle smile. Lavender sighed and continued gazing hopelessly out of the carriage window before realizing that they had stopped for some reason. Taking her chance the young princess jumped out of the carriage and ran into the woods from the Old Brick Route. Her father stood on the carriage step with his hand on the door handle calling his daughter back before running after her, but she ignored him as she ran into the trees.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambrose continued to run through the trees in the direction of Finaqua as Lavender ran for the direction of Central City. Both looked back at the same time and not watching where they were going ran into each other causing each to fall to the ground. The two kids looked at each other and yelled before Ambrose covered the girls mouth.

"Shh, please...." He begged looking at the strange girl with his friendly brown eyes.

Lavender nodded and gently pulled away and looked at Ambrose as she tried to catch her breath. "Who are you running from?" She asked as her heavy breathing turned into calm gentle blows of air. Ambrose took one last deep breath and sighed closing his eyes before touching the tiny cut on his cheek and noticing the trickle of blood on his fingers. "I was running from some boys. They want to beat me up...." He said wiping the blood on his tight dark denim blue jeans.

"Why, what did you do to them to make them so angry?" She asked looking at him with a confused expression.

The boy sighed and rubbed his eyes with his left hand before looking back at this strange girl. "I got the highest score on the science test at school...." He said without looking away from her sparkling lavender eyes. "I got the highest score on the science test...." He unknowingly repeated still looking into her eyes. Lavender giggled and tilted her head causing her long hair to fall over her face. "You said that already...." She said with a smile looking at the boys tattered red and black striped shirt that was a little to big for the skinny boy.

Ambrose shook his head with his eyes closed before opening them again with an annoyed expression on his face. "Ugh!" He growled as she shook his head before looking back at this new strange girl just in time to see her push her long hair behind her ear so it was no longer in her face.

"Sorry about that, I don't know why that happens?! Well who were you running from?" He asked pointing to her causing the sleeve of his shirt to fall over his hand. He put his hand in the air so his sleeve fell back so it wasn't over his hand and crossed his legs before looking back to make sure the boys weren't coming. "I was running from my father, he wants to go to Finaqua but it's so boring there...." The young girl replied as she too crossed her legs and put her hands in her lap gracefully. Ambrose listened to her and nodded before licking his lips and standing up holding his hand out for the girl to take. He gently pulled her to her feet and shook her hand and smiled as she shook his back.

"My's name's Ambrose Rylenjahull Avery. What's yours?" The young inventor said smiling at the princess. "I'm Ozma Maria Natalia Gale, but you can call me Ozma or Lavender...." She replied as she shook his hand back. Ambrose raised his eyebrow when she said her long name, but then shrugged it away. "That's a long name princess...." He said smiling at her as a shimmering white light seemed to dance around their hands. Lavender looked at Ambrose with a surprised expression and tilted her head. "How did you know I was the princess?" She asked looking at him now the surprised look turning into a confused expression.

"Well no one else has the power of light except the royal family...." He said smiling down at her hand.

Lavender looked down finally noticing the silvery white glow dancing around their hands before finally letting go. "Oh right!" She said shaking her head as she looked over her shoulder to make sure her father wasn't coming. "I think we're safe...." Ambrose said as he looked up into the tree and then smiled. "There it is...." He said as he looked up seeing his backpack hanging from the branches. Lavender tilted her head in confusion once more and looked up at the black messenger bag with the OZian crest on it in the middle of the front. "How did it get up there?" She asked as Ambrose looked for a way to climb the tree. "Those boy stole it yesterday. I thought I had to do everything over again...." He said as he climbed the tree and reached out to his bag after trapping his feet in between the branches.

Lavender noticed that he had a scared expression on his face and looked at him. "You want some help?" She asked as she walked over so she was under the tree and directly under Ambrose' backpack. "N-n-No I'm alright...." Her new friend replied with a terrified expression as he reached out with one hand to his backpack. Without watching Ambrose reached his outstretched fingers toward his bag and turned causing his right had to let go of the branch so he was hanging upside down by his feet. "Oh god!" He said in a scared voice as he closed his eyes and put his hands over his eyes.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Lavender asked and wasn't surprised to see Ambrose was nodding even though he was upside down. "Hang on!" She cried as she tried to think of a way to get Ambrose down.

"To what?!" Ambrose asked in an angry, but scared tone as he kept his hands tightly over his eyes. He was hanging from his feet and swinging scaring him even more. "Hurry! Please!" He called out in alarm as Lavender looked around for a way to get the boy down. "Can you hoist yourself back up?" She asked looking up at Ambrose before sighing. "Swing very slowly and hoist yourself up back into the tree...." She said as Ambrose allowed his hands to fall so that they were hanging down bleow his head. "Easy for you to say...." He said before swinging forgetting about his phobia of heights. He grabbed the branch and tried to hoist himself up.

Lavender watched and noticed the dark black leather belt the boy was wearking around his waist even though the pants seemed to fit him fine as his shirt hung down a little. "Why are you wearing a belt and ragged shoes and a tattered shirt?" She asked as Ambrose was able to lift himself so he was in the tree. He grabbed his backpack and still not remembering his fear of heights threw his backpack down and then jumped from the tree. He landed on his feet but them immediately fell on his butt before standing up.

"Why am I what?" He asked tilting his head looking at the princess confused.

Lavender looked down at the boys ripped black converse sneakers and then gently pulled on his black red striped, stretched out shirt. "I asked you why you're wearing a tattered shirt, a belt with pants that fit and a pair of ripped sneakers...." She calmly replied as she looked at Ambrose finally noticing that he had curly dark brown hair. Ambrose sighed and shrugged his shoulders not wanting to mention his lack of "proper" clothing before finally answering her question. "This shirt was my father's and so were the sneakers. As for the belt, the pants fit me fine, but I like it...." He said pulling up his shirt so she could see the waist of his pants and the black leather belt clasped under the belt loops.

Lavender just shrugged her shoulder as Ambrose adjusted his shirt seeing as it was falling off his shoulder. "My father's never really home and my mom doesn't have a job...." He said in a guilty kind of voice as if he were ashamed of his parents even though he wasn't at all. Lavender looked at him as her new found friend picked up his messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'm sorry...." The young princess muttered as she walked toward Central City following Ambrose.

"It's ok, nothing to be ashamed of...." The boy replied as he walked next to the princess. "Nothing to be ashamed of...." He once again repeated not realizing it until Lavender confronted him about it with a smile. "Ohhhh!" He said in an agitated voice as he shook his head. "Hate when that happens...." He said angrily. "I think it's kinda cute actually...." The princess replied as she walked next to Ambrose smiling as the suns began to rise.

"Really?" Ambrose asked with a hopeful kind of note in his voice before forgetting and perking up. "You want to come to my birthday party? You see today's my birthday and my parents are throwing my a huge birthday party tonight...." He said taking Lavender's hand and looking into her beautiful sparkling lavender eyes which he had instantly fell in love with. "Sure...." Lavender said with a smile glad to finally have something to look forward to as they continued walking. Once they reached the glowing gates of Central City Ambrose stopped and sighed as Lavender's father rode up on a white horse looking down at his daughter with a stern fatherly look even though he was smiling at her still.

"I'll see you tonight Ambrose...." Lavender called before running over to her father and jumping onto the horse. "Nice meeting you!" She shouted as her father lifted his young daughter onto the giant horse. Ambrose smiled and watched before blushing and licking his lips. "Nice meeting you princess, see you later!" He shouted before running off to find his mother and father to tell them about his new friend even though they might not believe him.