A/N: The inspiration for this story came somewhere around when I learned that Disney was a supporter for LBGT rights. This sparked my curiosity as to why they had not made a movie for this audience, namely a movie based on a gay prince or lesbian princess type. (Hey, why not?) The fallback, I figured, was the outrage it would cause in the close minded community. Anyways, I decided Disney would never make a nice fairytale story aimed at a new audience. So I began to develop my own fairytale story with a slight twist from what some people would view the 'norm'. I decided to use one of my favorite couples, Haruka and Michiru. However, for the sake of this story, I'll be using their English names as their Japanese don't quite fit into this world. I hope you guys enjoy this story and I hope I bring it into light the way I wish to. Their personalities may or may not be 'slightly' altered to fit the story.

Michelle/Michiru and Amara/Haruka belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

The War

Two kingdoms have been at war for several years. The high kingdom in the sky, Ouranos, and the kingdom far below surrounded by endless oceans, Aquarius. Ouranos sits high above Aquarius on a giant piece of floating land spanning hundreds of miles and is home to thousands upon thousands of people. Blankets of snow cover the kingdom of Ouranos during any time of the year, locking the kingdom in a permanent winter. Pine trees spread far across the piece of land and provide a home to the wild life. Despite the constant snow and cold weather, the people live happily but with only one fear – the war with Aquarius. The eldest son in each family is expected to enlist to fight the war, most never make it back home.

The kingdom of Aquarius is home to a more tropical environment. This kingdom sits in the center of a giant ocean, and it too spans several hundreds of miles. Aquarius is surrounded by tall mountains on its border minus one area that is home to a giant beach. On this beach one can view the kingdom of Ouranos which appears to be no more than a small speck in the sky. Hurricanes are their second largest threat, just under the war.

Soldiers from Ouranos mount on flying war steeds in their assault. A head-on approach would be foolish as their horses would tire too quickly. Often the battle is fought on islands that are dotted in front of Aquarius. The armies of Aquarius have found ways to tame the sea life in their favor. Neither side pushes too far, and often the war only takes meaningless casualties. Many have forgotten the reason for the war and yet it continues endlessly.

Chapter 1: The Invitation

High in the sky kingdom a woman often finds herself sitting at the edge of kingdom over looking the waters below. In one hand she holds her violin. An instrument of superior and unique craftsmanship, her violin is the only thing she has that was left from her parents. Orphaned as a baby nearly twenty years ago, she now lives with her grandmother.

With a smile she brings the instrument to her chin. In a far distance, far below the floating kingdom, she can hear the beautiful music from the people below. The enchanting music serves as inspiration for her own songs. One day she hopes to visit the land below Ouranos to meet the people she listens to daily – a day too far away.

Michelle is a well known bard throughout the kingdom of Ouranos and often plays in festivals and small gatherings. Her dream has always been to play at a ball in the kingdom, one that is fast approaching.

The sun is beginning to set in the distance. Beautiful colors of red and orange have began to spread over the white snow. The music below has stopped and now Michelle has began to play her own piece, drawing inspiration from what she is seeing and recently heard. She plucks a few strings and majestically glides the bow over her violin. For a few minutes she loses herself in her music.

"Michelle," The elderly voice of her grandmother calls from afar. "Where are you, my darling?" The sound of her footsteps are joined with the sound of her cane as she advances.

"I'm here, Grandmother." The wind carries Michelle's reply to the older woman.

"Are you listening to the songs again?" Her grandmother stops just beside her and admires the sunset for herself.

"It's beautiful, if only you could hear it."

Her grandmother gently places her free hand onto Michelle's shoulder. "These old ears aren't what they used to be. Why don't you play to me what it sounds like?"

Michelle simply nods in the direction of her grandmother and begins to play the tune from the foreign land. Her knack for playing music emerges as she copies the song beautifully. Each note a perfect replica from the world below. The song slowly draws to an end and Michelle looks up to her grandmother. "I hope one day I will meet the people that I listen to every day."

"One day I'm sure you will." Her grandmother's sentence trails away with a cough. Michelle tries her best each day to hide the sadness as she observes the health of her grandmother dwindle.

The sun had nearly found its hiding place behind the horizon and the cold night air had began to blow in. Michelle shivered and put her violin safely into the carrying case. "Let's make our way home." She spoke softly and took a final glance at the world below. Small lights dotted the islands below her home kingdom. A soft breeze and the sound of the tide hitting the land below was all she could hear now.

The two slowly make it back to their home, Michelle carrying her violin case in one hand and her other arm locked to help steady and her grandmother. Their cabin is small but nothing short of a home. It is situated in a small village of about fifty other cabins of similar design. Their cabin is a simple log cabin with two smalls rooms, living room and a kitchen. In the living room a small fire cackles in a corner, keeping the house warm. Several soft carpets span the floor and a few decorations hang on the wooden walls.

Once settled inside her grandmother rests in a chair next to the table, slightly out of breath. "I will prepare dinner shortly, I just need... to rest." The old woman's sentence is lost in a few coughs.

Michelle holds back a few emotions, knowing her grandmother may have just a year left. She shakes her head and insists her grandmother rest while she makes dinner. A task she has been doing more often with each passing day. A knock at the door interrupts her preparation and she answers it.

A man dressed as a royal soldier stands at her door. His full-plate armor is flawless and sparkles under the moonlight. His golden colored cape drapes around his shoulder and is carried gently in the breeze. In one hand he holds his helmet and the other is an envelope. He nods at Michelle and offers the letter to her. "Good day." He turns with a smile and leaves. Why a royal soldier would have come to her house was odd. Normally they would only come to houses bringing letters stating the eldest son would be required to join the royal army. Instead, this envelope was different from those letters. Rather than a plain white envelope and the royal seal pressed into golden colored wax, it was some sort of invitational letter.

"What did he want?" Her grandmother called from the kitchen table, still sitting in the same chair.

Michelle slowly advanced to the table, never once taking her eyes off the letter. Her head was racing and heart pumping. Could this be an invitation to a ball? It was always her dream to play at one. She could feel parts of her body shaking from nervousness and anticipation. Before she could open it, a second knock came from the door. She went back to answer the door once more, wondering if the solider had made a mistake and was to take the letter back.

"Martyn." She smiles to the hooded man at the door a bit relieved it was not the solider once more. They had grown up together and Martyn was like a younger brother to her. However, he did not return the smile. Something else was present in his eyes – sadness. This she noticed instantly. Martyn held a small envelope in his shaking hand. The seal of the kingdom pressed firmly into the wax. The message was unopened but anyone would know what it was for.

"I knew this letter would come soon." His voice shook in sync with his trembling hands.

Michelle knew it was a matter of days before he received this notice as well. Any happiness she had just experienced, vanished. She invited him in to sit with her grandmother at the table. He laid the letter down on the table and removed his hood. Short locks of brunette hair fell from under the hood which he slicked back behind his ears and held a deep breath. Martyn had recently celebrated his eighteenth birthday, the age of enlistment.

"I couldn't open the letter alone. My parents and brothers don't know I've received it just yet." He finally reached for the letter, turning it over a few times and running his fingers over the wax seal. "I don't even know why we open them, we know what they all say." He traced the wax seal with his finger a few more times, heart pumping. "I can't open it. They might as well send a notice for my own execution. No one ever makes it back from the war." He finally dropped the letter onto the table.

"I can open it if you want." Michelle still kept her cool. He would not be the first friend the war would have claimed. She reached her hand for the letter and opened it. Despite always maintaining her emotions, they got the best of her. It wasn't until she reached the final words on the letter that she noticed a few tears had streaked down her face.

Martyn sat quietly with his face buried in his hands. Michelle's grandmother also wore an expression of shock and sadness. After a few moments of silence he finally removed his hands from his face. "I saw the soldier come to your door as well." He cleared his throat and faked a smile.

Somehow Michelle had forgotten about the letter she had received. "Yeah." She was still trying to piece together everything that seemed to be happening all at once. "They delivered something to me as well."

"What did it say?" Martyn asked, knowing his dear friend had no doubt received some good news.

Michelle opened her mouth to respond, only to shut it and stammer with her words when she finally spoke. "I-I haven't opened it." She presented her own envelope that she had tucked away safely.

"I can open it for you." The smile he had been faking turned genuine as he reached for the envelope. He broke the seal and read the letter. His lips moved as he read each word carefully with his smile growing larger the more he read. "Your dream come true." He folded the letter up. "They want you to play at their next ball, can you believe it?"

Michelle was a bit confused at the moment, should she be happy or should she feel sad? Her best friend was to go to war in a few months, likely he would never return. And now her dream of playing at a ball in the kingdom was approaching. "I don't know what to think."

"We should both be happy. I've heard rumors the war may be ending soon." He retrieved his own letter and tucked into his pocket. "I only hope the rumors are true. This war has been going on for over twenty years now. I may not even be one to reach the islands below if that is true." Michelle could see a sparkle of hope in her best friend's eyes. She, too, hoped this rumor would be true.

"You will make a fine soldier regardless." She assured Martyn.

"Thanks, I better head home and give the news to my parents." He pulled his hood back over his hair and smiled another fake smile. "Hope you are ready, the ball is in a few days."

"Come see me before you leave?" She followed him to the door.

"Of course, you are like family to me." He pulled her into an embrace before leaving the cabin.

Michelle quickly closed the door to keep the cold night air out and turned back to finish he preparations for dinner. Her grandmother continued to sit quietly at the table re-reading the letter Michelle had received.

"What an honor! I'm so exited for you, my dear." The old woman spoke. "Martyn will do great, he's a fine young man." For years her grandmother had hoped there may be something more that would come out of their friendship – marriage, grand children. But Michelle always reminded her that she would never see him that way, Martyn would always be like a younger brother to her.

Michelle is two years older than Martyn. They met when Michelle was seven and he was barely five. The young boy had been running around in town and had slipped on some ice. Michelle witnessed the accident and went to the boy. His jacket was pushed up his arm and the ground had scraped his arm pretty bad. He had also fractured his wrist and found it hard to stand back up.

She helped the crying child to his feet and calmed him down just before his parents had come onto the scene. They thanked her for her kindness and left. A few days later she found him playing outside again, this time with a cast on his arm. She introduced herself and they became friends. Later she brought her violin out and played a few songs for him, she was a musical prodigy at a young age. The two often got themselves into trouble as children, but no matter what happened to them they always remained the best of friends.

"Dinner is ready." Michelle announced and brought the dishes to the table. Their conversation was focused on the invitation to the ball. What Michelle would wear, songs she would play. She had many songs in her repertoire and knew she would amaze the audience in the kingdom. The conversation slowly found its way back to Martyn's enlistment notice, it would be another week before he was required to leave for training.

After dinner, Michelle cleaned and prepared for bed. Sleep would not come easy for her over the next few days. Her thoughts kept her awake and finally the night before her performance she found sleep. She had spent all day preparing herself for the ball. The kingdom had even sent a small coach to take her to the kingdom, this was unexpected.

Her heart raced when she laid eyes on the beautiful coach. Beneath her thick jacket she wore a beautiful aquamarine gown that complimented her hair color. She held the bottom of her gown so as to not ruin it in the snow. The driver helped her settle in the coach and made sure she was comfortable before they took off. The ride to the castle wasn't too long. Her town was situated half a mile from the castle.

From a window she watched as the tall castle drew closer to her, exciting her more and more each minute. Michelle was anything but nervous, she never failed at a performance and many spoke of her music to be almost enchanting. Because of her talent, she also drew in many admirers from all over the land, men and women alike. Each and everyone that had been shot down in their approach. Michelle would not accept anything less than what she felt to be 'true love'. Little did she know, true love was closer than she ever imagined.

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I hope I managed to present this world the way I imagined, the layout of the lands and such. Also to give incite of how the war really effects people. I would also like to note (because I don't think it should be mentioned in the story) this world doesn't oppose the idea of same-sex partnerships as ours does. When one finds something as rare as love, they act on it. (The way it should be :) )