Disclaimer: Awww... Do I have to say it? *sulking* Fine... *grumbles* Never owned it, never will. Oh, by the way. The beginning is taken (the idea, that is) from Dealing With Dragons.

Warnings: AU, fantasy, shounen-ai/yaoi

Pairings: 2x4, 1x3 (Might be more later on...)

Rating: PG

Author's Note:

Tanashi- It's been awhile since I last added a chapter, ne? ^^;; Anyways, I read back on it, decided I didn't like it or where it was going.

Layli- So now she's revising/rewriting it!

Tanashi- Yep. ^^ It's going to have the same first two paragraphs, but more likely than not, it will change a lot. I'm not sure whether I want to keep it to just Duo and Quatre, or add in the others. Ah, well.

Layli- On to the revised fic!

Yumemaboroshi

Prologue

By: Tanashi

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a king and queen who ruled justly over their kingdom, Htaed. But this story isn't about them. It's about the son the queen gave birth to. The happy couple named him Duo Therandil Solo Maxwell. At his naming ceremony, the king and queen invited faeries to be his godparents, for they hoped that they would bless their child. They purposely 'forgot' to invite a certain dark faerie, for they also wished that their child be cursed and have a chance of living happily ever after when someone breaks it. Curses were always cast and broken when a faerie wasn't invited. It was always so, and would continue to be. That is, until now.

The invited six faeries attended the feast and had a grand time. The dark faerie came as well, although she wasn't invited nor was she on time. Gifts from the six faeries included perfect health, a good sense of humor, strong bones, an optimistic view, being handsome, and excellent eyesight. Unfortunately for the young prince, or fortunately, depending on the way you look at it, the dark faerie that wasn't invited also had a grand time dancing, drinking, and eating, so she left cheerily without casting any curses whatsoever. The king and queen were appalled. Whoever heard of an uninvited faerie not cast any evil curses? The baby, oblivious to all of what was happening around him, just cooed happily in his cradle.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, a little after the prince was born, another boy was born, this time to the bordering kingdom, Tresed. The boy was their second child, but first male. The king and queen named their little boy Quatre Christopher Nicholas Charmont Raberba Winner. The princess Iria Rosella Finola Lorelei Aliana was thrilled to have a younger sibling. After hearing about the... er... misfortune of their neighboring kingdom, the monarchs decided to invite all faeries, but to keep the gifts sTanashile. The gifts included musical talent, a sunny disposition, gracefulness, good health, athletic ability, and intellect. When the last gift was given, Quatrine couldn't help but think, 'What, did the faerie not think Quatre would be intelligent on his own?' She stopped herself from commenting aloud.

Through all of this, a certain dark faerie was plotting on casting a curse on the poor baby. Angry about what happened, or didn't happen, at the last christening, the faerie cast a nasty curse on the boy. To be more precise, the curse was cast on the kingdoms.

The dark faerie, not to be mistaken with an evil faerie, Ethelinda smiled sweetly. "Approximately 16 years from now, the kingdoms of Tresed and Htaed will find themselves threatened by the kingdom of Nollim. A war will break out. I wonder who will emerge the victor..." Her smile grew sinister and she laughed, disappearing into thin air.

* * * * *

"...and I believe that it would benefit both kingdoms," the queen Quatrine finished. Her husband was unable to come, so she had came to the conference in his stead.

King Maxwell thought over it. He nodded his head. "Yes," he said slowly. "Yes, I agree that it would most likely be the best course of action. When the time comes, we'll combine our armies temporarily until everything plays out."

* * * * *

A fifteen year old peered over the balcony. Spotting his poor, unfortunate victim, he signaled to his companion, who handed him a bucket. The former hoisted the bucket up so that it rested on the edge of the balcony. He glanced at his friend, who had moved to stand next to him, violet eyes sparkling with mischief. 'Ready?' he mouthed, a grin threatening to break out on his face. A nod, and the bucket was tipped, its contents falling onto the person who was just walking by. The two quickly ducked out of sight.

There was a moment of silence. "Duo!" An angry yell sounded out as Noin glared up at the balcony. She gingerly touched the top of her head, bringing her hand down to find it covered in watered down pudding. Closing her eyes, she silently counted to ten. Surprisingly calm for someone who was covered in pudding, she spun around and went back in the direction she came from.

Once the woman was out of earshot, Duo burst into laughter. "Did you see the look on her face, Heero?" Duo gasped out. "Priceless!"

Heero shook his head, although he was smiling. "Some day you'll find yourself at the receiving end of a joke."

"Not anytime soon!" Duo grinned. The clock tower rang loudly, signaling the end of an hour and the beginning of a new one. Duo's eyes widened. "Uh-oh." Shaking his head, Heero roughly grabbed Duo by the arm. "Hey! That hurts!" The brunette remained silent, determined to get Duo to breakfast on time. "Heeee~ro! So what if I'm late? Ow!"

The king looked up, already expecting Duo and Heero from Duo's loud complaints echoing down the hall. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the two enter. "Son! What a pleasant surprise to see you at breakfast on time!"

Duo rubbed his sore arm, glaring at Heero. Grumbling about evil friends, he took his seat by his father. Heero just smirked and sat down next to Duo. "I'm starving!" With that said, Duo started to eat, shoveling food into his mouth, pausing once in a while to take a drink from his glass. His friend just rolled his eyes, not bothering to comment on Duo's lack of table manners.

His father chose to ignore. "Duo, as you know, you're sixteenth birthday is in a few days." Duo nodded, not being able to say anything comprehendible through his mouthful of food. "Good. I think that would be the best time to meet your fiancé."

The moment of silence was broken by Duo choking on his food. He managed to swallow what was in his mouth before looking at his father incredulously. "What?!"

"Did I not mention it before?" The man looked at his son calmly. "Your fiancé is Prince Quatre of Tresed." He paused. "I believe the wedding should be held after Quatre turns 17..." he said thoughtfully.

Duo's shocked expression was priceless. "But... but... I don't even know him!" He quickly racked his brain for an excuse. "What if I don't like him? What if he turns out to be a real jerk? What if he's some stupid person who can't tell a horse from a lamb? What if I can't carry a conversation with him? What..."

The king's face hardened. "You shouldn't say such things of Quatre! And you will get to know him at your birthday celebration because, as I just said, he will be invited. You are going to marry him. You have no say in matters such as this. End of discussion!" He stood up. Without another word, King Maxwell left the room, leaving Duo with Heero.

One look at Duo, and Heero decided against saying anything.

* * * * *

A blonde haired boy combed his horse's white mane. His horse sighed in gratitude. "You like that, don't you Sandrock?" Quatre smiled, lightly petting his horse while he continued to run the comb through her mane. His companion gave a small smile, watching Quatre take care of his horse from his position against the wall. "Trowa? Why does someone need so many names?" he asked, thinking of the six he had and the five his sister possessed. Quatre turned his head in time to see Trowa shrug his shoulders. "Why exactly would a faerie give me the gift of intellect?" he mused softly. "Did she think that I wouldn't be naturally smart?" He shook his head as if to clear it and smiled. "Ah, well. No matter. We should head inside, Trowa." He put the comb back in its proper place and left the stables with friend.

Once inside, he immediately started for the throne room, knowing that his father expected him to sit next to him. Protocol was protocol, after all. Quatre slipped into the room and sat quietly in his seat. Trowa slipped in as well, although he took a position in the shadows, next to the wall. A new messenger entered the room, looking grave.

The boy bowed his head, kneeling on one knee. "Sire, I bring bad news. Nollim made signs of starting their campaign to overtake Tresed and Htaed. We will need to take action, fast, or else none of the kingdoms will make it." He raised his head slightly, trying to gauge the king's reaction.

The king was motionless for a moment. He sighed. "Very well. Take your message to Htaed. They will need to be informed as well. Go to the kitchen to get provisions first." He dismissed the messenger with a wave of his hand. Without another word, Quatre's father stood up and swiftly walked out of the room, heading for the council room.

The room was empty save for Quatre and Trowa. Quatre broke the silence. "Trowa?" he spoke up.

Trowa now stood next to Quatre. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the prince. "Don't even think about it."

"But Trowa, I have to do something to help. I can't just sit around and watch." He looked pleadingly at his friend. "Please?"

Making the mistake of looking at Quatre's face, Trowa sighed inwardly. Reluctantly, he agreed to go along with whatever Quatre was planning. "I assume you have a plan."

Quatre smiled. "Of course. We disguise ourselves and join the army."

* * * * *

Heero raised an eyebrow. "That's your brilliant plan to get out of meeting Quatre?"

"Yup! Pretty ingenious, don't you think?" Duo looked rather proud of himself for thinking it up. "See, all it takes is a little strategizing on your part and we can pull it off."

"Join the army? You do realize that your dad would have a fit, not to mention it would be a difficult for you to disguise that braid and violet eyes of yours, since you're so attached to your hair."

"That's why I have this!" Duo held up a wig. It was a dark shade of red-orange. "And I got the court wizard to put a temporary spell on my eyes so that they would turn hazel. It's activated when I want it to, and I can deactivate it too." He grinned. "Pretty neat, huh?"

Heero refrained from commenting on the plan. "And you want me to go with you?" Vigorous nodding. "What happens if I tell your father?"

A glare was directed at Heero. "You wouldn't dare. Besides, think of the challenge this little stunt will give. After all, joining the army and going through war isn't going to be a piece of cake. You in or out?" Duo knew Heero was always looking for a good challenge.

"Mission accepted."

* * * * *

Tanashi- ...Let me rephrase what I said. The entire thing was rewritten! ^^;

Layli- Don't expect to see the old plot anymore!

Tanashi- It's all her fault! She's my muse, after all.

Layli- Hey!

Tanashi- I apologize if it skipped from one scene to another schizophrenically. ^.^ It's meant to be an introduction, after all. It does say 'prologue' at the top... Oh well!

Layli- Comments would be appreciated! Especially constructive criticism!