Main Pairing:

Clef x Umi x Ryuuhou (OC)

Fuu x Ferio

Hikaru x Lantis

One-sided Pairing:

Umi x Ferio – Lantis – Ascot (everyone possible)

Clef x Presea

Hikaru x Eagle

o

Things will get better through chapters, I promise.

Chapter 1 – The meeting

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom named Cephiro. It was large, rich and very beautiful; with high mountains, huge green forests and a vast blue sea. People lived in peace and happiness, oblivious of the monsters in the North thanks to both their powerful army and magicians. As beautiful as the country itself, the rulers of Cephiro were a golden-haired queen and her dark-haired king, a great priest. Along with her infamous beauty, the queen, Emeraude, was also very wise and had an invincible power that other lands wanted. It was this reason Cephiro was always the strongest land in the world. Escudo, the power, was passed through Cephiro's royal family for thousands of years and only given to the future queen of the land.

That was why when the three princes of Cephiro, Queen Emeraude's brothers, held a selection ball for the throne, princesses from all lands attended.

"I'm soo boorred..." An 18-years-old boy with rough green hair and golden cat-like eyes groaned. Tracing his face was a long scar that gave him the impression of courage and wildness. He was wearing a white royal suit with gold lines and a green coat was draped lazily around his shoulders as he was leaning against one of the palace's balconies, staring blankly at the sky. Despite how much he was unlike the beautiful queen, he was undoubtedly handsome as the second prince of Cephiro, Ferio.

Despite how much did he love his brothers and sister, this was one of those rare times thatFerio hated being a part of the royal family and worse, the heir to Cephiro's throne. Because of that little fact, he was now locked here instead of hunting in some faraway place, waiting for his future wife instead of finding true love.

It made him laugh that all three princes of the richest land in the world didn't want their title. His big brother, Prince Lantis was great swordsman and he preferred to travel the world than rule their country and his little brother Ascot, who, in his opinion, was a weirdo, spent all his time immersed in his monster training and dreamt of becoming a summoner. Ferio, like his brothers, didn't like the idea of being bound, but because of the fact that he was the most articulate one of the three brothers, the throne was given to him.

Their dear sister was a little too thoughtful when she organized a party in order to choose the brides for them.

"Prince, here you are." A deep voice suddenly cut his musing. Ferio relaxed a bit while recognizing the voice as his best friend, Clef. Since Prince Lantis was never home and Ascot always hid in the forest with his monstrous friends, Clef was the only one Ferio could talk to. He was his childhood friend and the prince's tutor at the same time.

The second prince always held a deep admiration for his friend. Clef was the greatest mage of Cephiro and the world as well. He was born with a natural magic that was only rivaled by Emeraude's power. That was why although he was the same age as Ferio, Clef was already the royal advisor, entrusted with the protection of all of Cephiro. He was also the mysterious one in the palace with many secrets about him. 17 years ago, Clef was bought to the palace and raised along with the princes. By 10, he already surpassed even the best mage and was requested by the previous queen to teach the royal heirs. Since then, he had stopped growing and remained in his childish form. As the Master Mage of Cephiro, his petite body was covered in many layers of his white robe, a headdress with a large blue stone in the front was placed in his lavender hair, and he always carried around a staff even bigger than himself. The only thing that was un-childish about him was a pair of cold blue eyes and his deep, wise voice.

"Hey, Clef." Ferio greeted the mage. He was not surprised that Clef showed no reaction. Even he, himself, had never seen the mage's smile and was already lucky to hear him talk. "What's up?"

"The queen requests your presence. The princesses are all here." Clef's tone was even, as usual.

"Already?" Ferio groaned, "Please Clef, you know how much I hate that." He pouted like a child.

"It's no use prince, it's for Cephiro's sake that you must find a queen to take Emeraude's place." The mage replied. "But don't worry, there're a thousand princesses for you to choose from."

"Oh my god! A thousand!" Ferio wanted to faint. Here he was, the ever inexperienced one with girl, and he had to deal with a thousand princesses fighting over him. That was torture! He was in the process of jumping off the balcony and running away when Clef's purple magic wrapped around him as they teleported to the palace's grand hall.

Sighing in defeat, Ferio had no choice but to follow Clef.

"My dear, what took you so long?" Queen Emeraude exclaimed happily at the sight of her little brother. Ferio saw that his brothers and sisters were all ready for the welcoming party.

Queen Emeraude was wearing a pure white dress that hugged her slim body and fell around her on the ground. She was leaning against her husband, King Zagato while his arm draped around her waist. The two always made a marvelous picture with their opposing beauty. While the Queen was as bright as the sun, the King was cold as the darkness. Their passionate love was one of the reasons his sister wanted to step down off the throne. Ferio knew that they had gone through many difficulties to be with each other because the royalties from other lands were all against their marriage, scared of the combination of the great Queen and a powerful Priest. Zagato was once Cephiro's second strongest mage beside Clef but he threw away his title to marry Emeraude. Now they just wanted to leave everything behind and have a peaceful life. Knowing his sister's wish and wanting to help her, Ferio didn't object much when they announced him as the heir of Cephiro's throne.

Standing beside the King and Queen were the two other princes of Cephiro. Lantis, in his usual black knight suit with a bored expression on his face, was oblivious to many princesses who were giggling and pointing at him. With his short black hair, captivating dark eyes and especially his calm attitude, Ferio always thought that the 20-year-old prince and their brother-in-law were very much alike.

Next to him was the youngest prince of Cephiro, Ascot. The 17-year-old boy had an innocent and gentle look on his face with a pair of green eyes and brown hair. Unlike his big brother, Ascot blushed as a princess waved boldly at him. Since he was not the social type, people's attention always made him uncomfortable.

Ferio nodded and walked toward them.

Queen Emeraude smiled and clapped her hands. "My dear princesses, since our princes are all here, let's begin the party."

Leaning against a tree in the palace's garden, Clef sighed. After he brought the prince to the hall, he secretly slipped out, wanting to avoid unnecessary attention. He knew it would make him more mysterious, but Clef never cared. He just wanted to be alone.

"Hey kid." Clef's eyes snapped open. It was impossible for him to not sense a presence approaching and he was surprised. Staring at his face, just a few centimeters away was a pair of big blue eyes. Startled, Clef gasped and fell to the ground in a very childish way.

"Are you alright?" The young girl in front of him asked, amusement filled her gorgeous orbs. She was wearing a white princess gown with no jewelry except a crystal crown on her head which made her pale skin glow in the dark night. The thing that amazed him most was her unusual but absolutely beautiful blue hair. It was long and swung elegantly in the wind. Her smile was sweet and serene.

If Clef hadn't grown-up with the golden flower of Cephiro, Queen Emeraude herself, he would immediately declare that girl to be the most fascinating creature in the world.

"Here." He blinked as she held up a hand to him. After she helped Clef up, she began to brush off dust from his robe and said in a very gentle, sisterly tone. "You look like you're fine. I'm sorry to have surprised you. What's a child like you doing here?"

It was clear that this girl did not know that she was facing the great Master Mage of Cephiro. Feeling irritated at the embarrassing situation, Clef brushed off her hand forcefully and snapped. "Aren't I the one who should ask that question? I live here. You're the stranger."

She grinned. "I came here on Queen Emeraude's invite. Oh no!" She gasped, as she suddenly remembered the invite. "I'm gonna be late! You just said that you live here didn't you? Take me to the grand hall!" With that she quickly grabbed the little man's hand and began to run.

"Hey! Hey! Stop!" Clef's protest was ignored as he was dragged along rather roughly.

Please R&R. All suggestions are appreciated.