Author's Notes: Hello :) Here it is my first try of a fic with a light touch of fun and humour, or so I hope :) Hence, here it is the first chapter of my second work till this day and I hope you enjoy it :)

Dedicated to: Landis Icelilly, Aorin, Laguna's Twin Sister, Baschashe, Zaz9-Zaa0, sorasheart281, Swamp-Eyes, Sita Silver-Breeze, AikoShinobi, That Belle and Silvara, for all your support and for being outstanding :)

Summary: "To celebrate his sixteen birthday, the Emperor of Archadia Larsa Ferrinas Solidor hosts a ball in his Residence. However, this ball is quite different from the ones he have been hosting in previous years..." Timeline: 710 Old Valendian, three years after Ashe's coronation. Rated T for now. Featuring: Basch x Ashe x Balthier, Vaan x Penelo x Larsa, Fran, Al-Cid, Zargabaath, Mjrn, Montblanc and probably other secondary characters from FFXII.

This is full of love triangles. I know! I just wanted to give it a try XD For the ones who already know me, I intend to be faithful to my favourite pairing :) (for the ones who want to know who is said pairing, just check my profile). As for the second love triangle, well... I haven't decided yet XD

I know this is hardly an excuse, but I am not English born, although I am honestly trying my best to improve my grammar :) Perhaps this and the next chapters will have to be edited again if I find some errors, but I will not change the facts.

Disclaimer: Everything related to Final Fantasy XII belong to Square Enix. I only own my Carnival attire XD

.: MAGICAL CARNIVAL :.

Prologue

- The Emperor's Excellent Idea -

Everything began with just an innocent inspiration born in this young man's mind, which quickly changed into a quite foolhardy plan. But one should expect no less from him; an initiative so audacious and somewhat senseless could only come from an intrepid mind like his. He was becoming less like the refined and prudent boy who assumed his throne too soon, considering his age, and more like his own late brother; in fact, with time, he proved to Archadia that he was as strong and intelligent like the previous ruler, with a resolve that not even the Senate managed to stoop down. He also turned to be a quite handsome man, a faithful copy of his brother yet with the difference that the smile which frequently adorned his face was a genuine one, and his gaze was warm and welcoming, instead of being the cold and piercing glare and the commonly sarcastic grin that were trademarks of his older brother.

Those features added to the fact that he never aspired to conquer the world, much less doing it by fear and force, assured everyone that this young man was not another Vayne Carudas Solidor. Otherwise, he was being the ruler that Archadia once hoped to see in Vayne or even in the late Emperor Gramis.

This young Solidor was a true blessing to his people, although he had also inherited the cunningness and boldness that characterized every member of his family. He frequently managed to overwhelm the Senate and the Judge Magisters by presenting his own plans and projects not only to Archadia prosperity but also to improve their relations beyond their borders, all in an endless effort to clean Archadia's good name from the actions taken by its previous rulers.

And he knew he was in the verge of shocking again the Senate and the Magisters… but not in a positive way, this time. But he found out he didn't care. He was growing too fast for his own taste, and a man is only young once in a lifetime. However, he was well aware that, as he was the Emperor, behaving like a common adolescent was an extravagance in every sense of the word.

But he was The Emperor Larsa Ferrinas Solidor. The last word belonged solely to him; his wishes would turn into unquestionable orders, even if they were… peculiar. Therefore, if his wish was to host a ball to celebrate his sixteen birthday, his subordinates should do nothing more than to assure that everything is done to accomplish his will; even considering the fact that this years' ball was not an ordinary one.

Not at all.

But first, he wanted to have a word with two of the finest and trustful men at his employ about his plans for the upcoming celebrations. And he grinned to himself, because he was already predicting what would be the reaction of, at least, one of them.

Being a Judge Magister and the Head of the 9th Bureau, Basch fon Rosenburg was officially in charge of gathering and circulating vital information related to Archades' scientific and socio-economical development; therefore, he was always extremely busy in dealing with the most various tasks, since acknowledging the latest projects of agencies and institutions like Draklor's Laboratory, or studying and approving reports delivered by his subsidiaries, among other official - and unofficial - duties.

Larsa had this particular Judge in high regards and frequently summoned him to his elegant desk room, not only to discuss the most diverse issues related with his duties – but also to indulge into casual conversations that frequently ended with Larsa mentioning the most recent letter of their friend Penelo, who frequently asked about him, Basch, curiously in the same paragraph where Her Royal Majesty Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca had been mentioned as well.

What of the odds.

This time, Larsa summoned not only Basch, but also Judge Magister Zargabaath – the loyal and respectable Commander of the Imperial Fleet who would willingly give his life to save Rabanastre three years ago; a man that also knew that the Judge standing beside him was no longer Gabranth but his twin brother instead who, for his instance, had been officially charged for high treason to Dalmasca and executed thereafter.

The Commander had to give much credit to this man, Basch, for flawlessly assuming the position of his late brother, since his arrival to Archades four years ago.

Cast aside formalities, both men took off their heavy – and menacingly looking - masks, and Larsa eyed first the older man, with eyes as dark as his curly hair, adorned here and there with grey tufts, neatly framing his face. And then, he glanced into the blue eyes of the younger one, his golden hair and the faint stubble in his jaw line framing his face; although this man changed his appearance when he went to Archades four years ago, he grew himself weary of his new look soon after – as he wasn't able to see anything but his late twin brother each time he faced a mirror - and allowed his hair to grow again to its former look.

Well, both these men, who seemed younger than they really were, aged ten years in five seconds when Larsa announced his quite… uncommon plan for his birthday. A Masked Ball. All well and good, if Larsa didn't demand as well that every single guest should be disguised and his identity not revealed or announced by any means, unless if it was, of course, the wish of the guest.

Of all the possible and wonderful ideas for a birthday party.

Moreover, Larsa strongly discouraged both men to patrol or even attend the ball masquerading as Judges and avised them to find a proper attire for the evening, keeping in mind their status of guests.

And that should be considered, of course, as an order.

And Basch had a sudden flashback with himself, Vaan and Penelo in a street of Archades, as he implied that serving royalty was not an easy task and, when he whirled around, he found a certain princess smiling at him.

"Did I make myself clear?", Larsa asked, in the same professional but threatening tone he usually adopted with the Senate.

"We are grateful for granting us such honour, My Lord", replied Basch, heeded by Zargabaath. "But a ball of this nature may compromise your safety, as it will be easier for eventual insurgents to penetrate the Residence's security and attend the party disguised as guests. With all my respect, I beg for you to reconsider."

"Or at least, allow us to perform our duties as Judge Magisters and remain at your side at all times, My Lord", Zargabaath added.

"I am well aware of the implications of hosting a celebration of this nature, my friends. But this time, you must not concern yourselves with such matters. Fortunately, you are not the only Judges I have on my employ, yet both of you are the only ones that will attend the ball as my guests; the remaining Magisters and our finest imperial squads will be in charge to take the necessary precautions concerning the safety of my guests and my own. Rest assured, for I am determined to have everything carefully planned."

Basch knew there would be no point to press further the subject and insist for Larsa to plan a regular ball. He knew how dull the Emperor used to be in his previous birthday celebrations, especially in recent years as he have been enduring the constant pressures by the Senate, for him to find a suitable noblewoman among the Archadian gentry. Following the etiquette, he had always invited for the balls beautiful yet snobbish maidens, who granted him nothing more than tedious moments of empty conversations. Hence, instead of discouraging his young charge, Basch offered all his assistance in planning this rather uncommon event, assured his presence in the ball as his guest, but silently promised to himself to keep a constant vigilance during the evening.

He just had to find out beforehand which would be the young Emperor's disguise for that evening. But still, there was another predicament.

Her.

Author's Notes: I know this was a very short chapter XD but as it was the Prologue, I didn't want to extend it too much. I have already written other chapters and their length is very changeable.

I actually found an official artwork of Zargabaath, but I rather picture him like the artist runaire pictures him on DeviantArt. As I don't know if I am allowed to post links in here, just go to DeviantArt, type for "Zargabaath" in the search engine and hopefully, among images of armours and helmets, a black and white picture of a man, by runaire, will also appear, and that would resemble the Zargabaath I am describing here.

Just in case you are wondering... the idea for this fic actually come from a tradition greatly respected in my hometown, one of the few towns in Portugal that have Carnival festivities. But one of the five party days we couldn't get out to march and parody around the town, due to the stormy weather, so I decided to start to write a Carnival fic to keep up the cheerful mood XD

Hmm, I have nothing much to say for now, just a request: Review :P

XD I talk too much. Sorry... XD I promise I won't rambling so much in the next chapters.

On the next chapter: As Vaan and Penelo receive an invitation to attend the ball, they are also asked to deliver Balthier and Fran's invitation as well, if per change they manage to find the sky pirate's duo. Meanwhile, in her Palace, Ashe also receives the invitation, and as she write back to express her gratitude and accept the invitation, she realises how much she misses the old friends that helped her to restore her country.