Disclaimer: I do not own Ultra Maniac, nor do I own its lovable characters. Please don't sue me! Me have no money! By the way, thank you so much to all the wonderful reviewers! ;D

The first chapter may be a little misleading... This story actually takes place ten years after they met. Things will become clearer as you read on. At least, I hope it would. (sweat drops)

By Your Side

Chapter Title: "An Unexpected Rendezvous"

-o-o-

It was a day unlike any other. The whole town bustled with excitement as preparations were made for the grand ball that evening. After all, it was the prince's seventeenth birthday. Nonetheless, this was nothing extraordinary to the ignorant mind, for the royal family held such anticipated events profusely throughout the year. Then again, this was no ordinary ball. At least this is what her parents kept telling her.

Nina sighed heavily as she stared at the glittering yellow gown hanging in her walk-in closet.

Smiling a little, she lightly traced the soft fabric with her long fingers. Perhaps the only consolation Nina had in this whole ordeal was that the new evening robes they bought her was in her favorite color. "Way to think optimistically," she congratulated herself, entirely pleased.

Besides, it was very much unlike her to worry about such things. It was ludicrous for her to even think she should be worrying! After all, she need not concern herself with matters that are obviously beyond her reach. Despite the overstated words of encouragement from her parents and the occasional compliment elicited out of pity, she was no stranger to the fact that she was not the greatest at magic. In fact, she was not an excellent witch at all. She was anything but a witch worthy of praise, let alone the future bride of the prince.

Of course, she had had her own little fantasy that maybe the young prince would consider her to be his bride. Who hadn't? Most of the other girls in the Magic Kingdom had at some point in their life, why shouldn't she? She may be a little strange at times, but she was not any different from them.

At any rate, she was over that now and had accepted her fate; a less than promising witch like her could never become a bridal candidate for the prince.

If only her parents would see the obvious...

Letting out another sigh, Nina traversed the room and went to sit down in front of her vanity to get ready for the ball. Hopeless as she was to be chosen as a candidate, she still wanted to look nice. Maybe she would even get to at least meet the prince this one time, being elusive as he was during such events.

Who knows? Maybe she could get him to give her some tips on magic. He is, after all, the greatest wizard in their time.

-o-o-

"I hate this," a long haired teenager muttered bitterly, tugging on his deep blue vest impatiently.

A tall man with dark hair chuckled at the young prince. Putting on a clueless face, he asked in jest. "Which one, the ball or the vest?"

Yuta tried his best to look peeved, but the trace of a smile was still evident on his face. "You know very well what I mean, Charles." At this, Charles let out a small guffaw. He shook his head in mirth and said, "Yes, very well indeed. You have only been raving about it since the day His Majesty and Her Highness had told you about their plan to hold the engagement ball on your birthday, as you put it, 'of all the bloody days in this decade.' Am I on target, young master?"

Yuta raised a brow. The smile he was holding back a while ago reappeared. "Was I? Then I suppose I must stop all this complaining and do something about it," stated the young prince, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

An anxious look crossed the older man's features. "Are you thinking of doing something inappropriate again, young master? You know what happened the last time..."

Yuta shook his head. "No, nothing like that. But I would appreciate it very much if I could at least get myself out of this stupid ball."

"What did you have in mind, then?"

"I would need your help on this one, Charles. Would you do it? After all, you know me better than anyone else. It's perfect! Absolutely brilliant!" Yuta looked at his confidante eagerly for an answer.

Charles let out a sigh of defeat. "What do I have to do?"

The prince smirked at this, the twinkle still in his eyes. "Simple." The smirk grew wider as Charles dreaded the next few words that came out of his mouth.

"Be me for the evening."

-o-o-

Nina gasped at the sight of the ballroom as she stepped onto the soft carpet beneath her. It was... magnificent, for lack of better word. The entire ballroom seemed to glitter with its golden walls newly polished and the silverware reflecting the light from the crystal chandeliers. The deep crimson drapes on the large windows provided a rough contrast to the glimmering sight, pulling the whole atmosphere together. Of course, she had seen such wonderful set-ups before, but this definitely outdid the previous balls held in the castle.

There was no doubt about it. This was indeed the night when the bridal candidates would be chosen for the prince.

Suddenly self-conscious, the girl with auburn hair straightened her gown at the back and descended on the flight of stairs. She looked around for a friendly face. Then her face lit up. Who she saw did not exactly look friendly, but was someone she knew ever since childhood.

"Maya!"

The blonde haired girl lifted an eye brow at her and said in an uninterested tone, "Hey."

"Isn't this exciting?" Nina glanced around enthusiastically. "Look at everyone! They really prepared for this night! I wonder who the candidates would be?" Her tawny brown eyes brightened as a look of realization dawned on her face. "Oh, Maya!" She took the hand of her childhood friend. "You could be chosen! After all, you came from the Orihara family!"

Maya stared blankly at Nina for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "Why must you be so enthusiastic for me? What about you? Perhaps the prince would consider..." She trailed off when Nina began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." Nina smiled with glee and hugged her. "You hold me too much in high regard sometimes, Maya-chan," mused the auburn haired girl, reverting back to the old nickname she used to call her childhood friend.

"But I really do not see the reason why the prince would not choose you. You are in fact... What now?" Maya huffed impatiently when Nina began to giggle again.

Nina shook her head. "Nothing, nothing." She took the other girl's hand and led her to where the people were now gathering. "Come on, I think it's starting."

-o-o-

"Young master! What did you do to your hair!"

Yuta rolled his eyes as he placed the disposed hair in a small sack and pushed it under his bed. "Okay, so it's a bit shorter now, but I used to wear my hair like this when I was a child. I think you're overreacting, Charles."

"A bit!" exclaimed Charles, too flabbergasted to maintain regal demeanor. "You cut at least ten inches of your long hair! What will His Majesty say?" The prince's royal companion paced nervously, dreading the answer to his own question.

Laughing a bit, the prince shook his head. "Relax... I needed to cut it for the spell I am going to use, okay? It's not like I can't use my magic to grow it all back after this."

Charles fell silent, then whispered, "I suppose so..."

"Good." Yuta motioned him to sit on the bed. "Stay there and leave the rest up to me." With one last smile at his confidante, he closed his eyes and began to chant.

-o-o-

"Do you think the prince will be here tonight?" Nina whispered to Maya.

Her childhood friend simply shrugged. "He ought to be," she told the other girl, then muttered incoherently under her breath. "He'd better be. I was forced to wear pink because of this ridiculous event."

Nina blinked. "What was that, Maya?"

"Nothing," replied Maya, closing her eyes. After a while, she snuck a peek to her right side and saw that her friend was still looking at her. As a distraction, the blonde haired girl simply stated, "It's starting."

The auburn haired girl immediately shifted her attention towards the royal balcony. "Really?"

Fortunately, the timing was perfect. The moment Nina looked upward, trumpets sounded to announce the arrival of the royal family. The auburn haired girl eagerly tiptoed to get a better view, but was disappointed when she saw that the prince was not there. Her shoulders dropped. Not there... I wonder where he is? she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, the same question was being asked above. "Where is that boy?" King Viagro hissed impatiently at his right hand man.

"He is not in his room, Your Majesty," whispered the man clad in a ruffled shirt and puffed breeches.

The king grumbled in frustration. "He never changes. When I get my hands on that..."

"What do you plan to do, father?" an amused voice interrupted him. The king turned around and saw 'Yuta' smirking at him. The king looked relieved at the sight of the prince. "Good, you're here. Come." He motioned his son to take the seat next to him.

Excited murmurs traveled quickly as the crowd below realized that the young prince had just arrived.

"It's the prince!" Nina exclaimed enthusiastically. Grinning at the blonde haired girl beside her, she teased, "He looks really handsome tonight, Maya..."

Maya rolled her eyes. "And you're as hopeless as ever, Nina." The other girl simply laughed, causing the former to sigh in exasperation. "Like I said..." the blonde haired girl muttered. "Hopeless."

Shaking her head, Maya stared at the still laughing Nina. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether her friend was just the happy-go-lucky type, or maybe has more than a screw loose in that silly head of hers.

-o-o-

"It has been a while since I last used this," Yuta whispered to himself as he lifted the invisibility cloak from his body. Taking a quick look around him, he realized that he had somehow wandered into the terrace of the grand ballroom. "How convenient," he muttered. He looked to where all the girls were gathered, hanging onto every word that was being said. Out of curiosity, he entered the room and joined the other crowd just behind them, where all the parents and relatives of the girls were.

He grinned widely when he saw Charles looking at him from the balcony above.

Nina did not miss any of it. The small smile which escaped the lips of the prince had interested her, especially since he was directing it to someone in the crowd. She looked behind her and tried to figure out which of the girls he was looking at.

It was hard to tell, really.

A light frown formed on her forehead, her curiosity still not satisfied. Lips pursed, she decided to leave it be. Nina turned her attention back to the speaker.

"... and so the announcement regarding the bridal candidates will be made tomorrow. For the mean time, please enjoy the evening."

Nina blinked. She had not been listening the whole time and was clueless about what had just been said. The girl with auburn hair turned to Maya. "What are we supposed to do again?"

Maya stared at her in disbelief. "Weren't you listening? He said that the decision will be made tonight, but we would not know until tomorrow."

"Oh, right..." her voice trailed off. "Okay then! Let's go have fun, Maya!" She made a swift move to grab her friend's hand but was evaded. Maya curtly shook her head. "No way. I am going to sit over there if it's all the same to you." She gestured towards an empty velvet chair near the wall. "And I do not plan to move from that spot until this whole thing is over." With that, she went to her sanctuary.

Nina made a face as she stared at the retreating back of her childhood friend. "Oh, pooh. You're no fun..."

She shrugged. "Oh well!" Nina glanced around cheerfully, taking in the atmosphere. Most of the girls in the room seemed anxious, but who could blame them? It was the night they had all been waiting for... It was the night their future would be decided.

Not for her, of course. Nina grinned at the thought. Sometimes, it was a good thing to be dead-last.

She knew they were all waiting for the prince to join the celebration, but she was not about to get suffocated in the crowd that would surely enclose him once he stepped onto the ballroom floor.

Nina glanced around to look for her parents and found them waltzing slowly on the dance floor. The auburn haired girl sweat dropped, not because of how intimate her parents were (she was used to that at home), but because the music playing at the moment was rumba.

The faint sound of girls giggling caught her attention. She turned to where it was coming from and saw a boy her age having a lively conversation with six girls. The boy was rather attractive with his unusual aqua green eyes. He had dirty blonde hair... actually, it seemed to be more of a light ochre shade but she was not good with colors anyway. He also seemed to be the type who was popular with girls. Nina raised her two eye brows when she saw three more girls join the conversation. That became obvious quickly enough.

He seemed pretty much okay, although he looked like the arrogant type.

But what really struck her the most about him was that he seemed familiar to her somehow... She quickly shrugged off the prospect. It could not be possible, of course. She had never been fortunate enough to travel outside the town, and living there all her life, she knew he was not from around. He was probably a foreigner.

She stopped to ponder on her thoughts. Wait a second... Her eyes widened in recognition as she stared at the boy more closely.

Could it possibly be him...?

-o-o-

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