Work Text:
Once upon a time…
There was a beautiful princess simply named Haru with hair like sheep’s wool and eyes brown and warm.
She was well-loved by her subjects and she in turn would do anything for them. So of course many a suitor came to the kingdom asking for her hand in marriage.
Unfortunately Haru could not make that choice herself. Her father would reject suitor after suitor.
Eventually he decided on a young noble from the Sugimura family. He was shrewd and cold and manipulative and cared only for Haru’s title rather than the princess herself. Not that that mattered to the King. After all, while his daughter wished to marry for love, Kunikazu only wished for an heir to his kingdom.
She only met Lord Sugimura a few times but Haru knew that she would be unhappy as his bride. She also could not help but worry that if this was how he would treat his Queen, then how would he treat their kingdom?
One night, Princess Haru looked out at the night sky as the chilled wind blew and clasped her hands together.
“I know it is silly to ask but I wish for someone to come save my kingdom and I from our cruel fate.”
Then the next day, a mysterious masked young man with a small cat by his side appeared at the castle, requesting an audience with the King.
Despite his suspicions, King Kunikazu allowed it.
The young man bowed before him and the Princess.
“Greetings My Liege, I am a trickster known only as Joker and I have heard stories far and wide about the beauty and kindness of your daughter. I must ask for her hand in marriage.”
The King simply laughed.
“You are too late, Trickster. I have already given my daughter’s hand to Lord Sugimura. Now leave before I have the guards take you away!”
But instead of turning around, both Joker and his pet stayed where he was.
“I would still like the chance to win your daughter’s heart.”
Figuring that the Trickster would not leave, the King decided on another way to get rid of him.
“May I offer you a challenge then? With my daughter's hand as the prize. I shall contact Lord Sugimura and he will arrive in the Kingdom in four days. For three days while we wait for his arrival, I will have you face a trial. When Lord Sugimura arrives on the fourth day, you will face him in combat. If you win, you may marry the Princess but if you are to fail any of the trials including the very last one, you must leave the Kingdom and never come back. Do you accept?”
Joker did not immediately reply, instead he turned his attention to Princess Haru.
"And what of the Princess? It is her hand on the line after all. Should she not set the terms?"
Princess Haru stared in surprise, it was the first time that anyone asked her what she wanted. But before she could say anything, her father stood between her and The Trickster.
"I am The King and Haru’s father, I know what is the best course of action for my Kingdom and my daughter."
"...I see. Very well then, I shall accept your trials!"
The King smirked, "Then you shall stay in the guest room in the Palace's East Wing. You are not to leave the Palace ground. If you do, I will consider it a surrender. Guards, please guide our visitor to his room."
And so the Trickster gave one last bow and he and his feline companion were taken away from the Throne Room.
Later that night, the Princess carefully snuck out of her room and through the halls, until she found the room that Joker was staying in. She carefully knocked on the door and was greeted with a smile.
“Why good evening, Princess. What brings you to my room?”
“I’ve come to ask you. Do you truly wish to marry me?”
Joker simply took Haru’s hand, she could not help but notice how gentle his touch was, especially compared to Lord Sugimura’s possessive grip.
“Truly I do. Not for the kingdom or the title of King but for you, dear Princess. Though I understand if you do not wish to marry a man you have only just met. But we can discuss this after I have finished your father’s trials.”
“That is something else I must speak to you about. My father is determined to marry me off to Lord Sugimura and thus I fear he may try to sabotage you.”
“Never fear, dear Princess, for I am a Trickster. And what kind of trickster would I be if I had nothing up my sleeve?”
The Princess looked like she still worried but she decided that she would trust the Trickster.
“Very well. I wish you luck on tomorrow’s Trial. Do not let my father know that I told you that it will be a Trial of Speed.”
“Thank you, Princess Haru.”
Princess Haru then closed the door, leaving Joker and his cat alone in the room.
Once he was certain that the Princess had left, Joker removed the mask from his face and spoke an incantation.
“Oh powerful spirits and guardians. I summon you and ask you to grant me a boon to face the morning’s challenge.”
The mask then floated out of his hand and became covered in a blue flame.
There was a flash of light and before Joker stood a young man with golden hair.
“I am Ryuji, the Guardian of Lightning! I give you the Gift of Speed. Wear my mask and you can outrun the wind and bolts themselves! I know you can beat that greedy bastard!"
With that, the Guardian vanished and Joker was left with his mask now almost crackling with electricity.
The next morning, Joker put on his mask and was guided to the courtyard by the guards.
The Trickster approached the King and Princess and once again bowed to them.
"A good morning to you, Your Majesty and Your Highness."
The Princess smiled and curtsied but her father ignored Joker's greeting.
"This shall be a Trial of Speed. You will race against my quickest knights on the path through the Courtyard. The first one to return to the start first will be the winner."
With the trial explained, Joker took his starting place, next to the other knights.
“1...2...3… GO!”
And the race was on! It did not take long for Joker to begin outrunning the other knights thanks to the boon given to him by the Guardian of Lightning.
However a strange thing happened as he approached the stable of horses. It seemed that someone had opened the horses’ gates. They had all gathered on the path and the all running and excitement seemed to unnerve them.
Thankfully with his boon, Joker was able to avoid striking or getting struck by the nervous animals.
Before long, Joker reached the start of the path thus winning his first trial.
The King was obviously displeased but begrudgingly congratulated Joker.
“You have succeeded at your first trial but the next one will not be as easy.”
Thus Joker was taken back to his room and the King plotted out his next challenge.
Later that evening, there was another knock on Joker’s door. On the other side was the Princess with a plate full of various foods in her hand.
“I’ve brought you food from the dinner table. I hope you don’t mind.”
“You are too kind, Princess. Come in, let us share.”
The two sat on the floor and shared in their meal while talking and getting to know one another.
At one point, the Princess apologized for what happened with the horses, saying that it was obviously her father’s doing.
“...And I fear what else he may do to keep you from being victorious.”
“And I am sure that I will find a way to fight back against your father’s sabotage. With that said, I suppose I should prepare. You wouldn’t happen to know what kind of trial your father has in store tomorrow?”
Princess Haru nodded, “It is to be a Trial of Strength.”
“Thank you for both your information and the meal. I will do my best for your sake tomorrow.”
Joker bowed and planted a small kiss onto the Princess’ hand.
“Good luck...” She said before turning around and leaving him and his cat alone
Just as the night before, after the Princess left, Joker removed his mask and attempted to summon another guardian.
This one was a young woman with flowing ashy blonde hair.
“I am Ann, the Guardian of Fire and I shall give you the Gift of Power. Wear my mask and you shall be as mighty as a raging fire. I know you will save the Princess.”
Just as the last one, the Guardian vanished and Joker was left with his mask, feeling warm to the touch.
The next morning, Joker put on his mask and was guided to where his next trial would take place.
This time, he found himself in the Barracks where all the knights and knight hopefuls trained day in and day out.
To the side was The King and Princess and as soon as the guards brought Joker before them, he bowed and greeted them.
“Good morning, Princess… oh and your Majesty too.”
No one commented on the Trickster’s obvious disrespect though it was obvious from the King’s expression that it didn’t go unnoticed.
“Good morning Trickster. Today, you shall attempt a Trial of Strength. Any man can swing a sword blindly but only a strong man can win without one. You shall face off against my strongest knights with no weapons.”
Joker responded with a confident smirk, “Very well. I accept your challenge.”
With that, he took his place within the ring, facing against three powerful looking knights. At first Joker believed that he would fight them one at a time but was caught by surprise when all three began to charge at him.
He avoided the first one but was punched by the second and kicked while he was down by the third. The fight was clearly unfair but Joker refused to give up.
With the strength of the Fire Guardian’s boon, Joker grabbed onto the foot of the kicking knight and pulled him to the ground. He brought down the second knight by elbowing him in the stomach as he attempted to grab him.
The final knight attempted to swing his fist but Joker managed to grab it and twisted the knight’s arm until the man cried his surrender.
The crowd of knight hopefuls and servants were amazed at the sight, the Princess was relieved that the Trickster succeeded at another trial, and the King was silently furious.
"So you have beaten my strongest knights but do not grow too proud of yourself. You still have tomorrow’s trial. Take him back to his room, my guards."
Just as before after the sun had set, Princess Haru once again visited the Trickster in his room with a meal to share.
"Your kindness is just as I heard, Princess…"
"Please simply call me, Haru. I like to think we have gotten closer these past couple days."
"Very well, Haru." Joker said with a gentle smile
The two ate and talked as the night went on. But before long, Haru knew it was time for her to go back.
But before she left, she informed Joker that the next trial would test his endurance. Then to his surprise, Haru planted a kiss on the Trickster’s cheek and wished him a good night and good luck for tomorrow.
And so for the third night in a row, Joker removed his mask and summoned another guardian.
This Guardian had deep blue eyes and hair and was surrounded by a cold fog.
“I am Yusuke, the Guardian of Ice and I shall give you the Gift of Fortitude. Wear my mask and you shall be as steady and untiring as a great iceberg. I know you will protect this kingdom”
The guardian vanished and Joker was left with his mask cold to the touch.
The next morning, Joker put on his mask and was guided to where his next trial would take place.
This time, the guards took him outside the palace grounds and before one of its great defensive walls.
As usual, the King and Princess stood to the side to greet him.
Joker bowed and smiled at the Princess and did not bother to even greet the King.
The King glared at the Trickster, well aware of the disrespect that he had been shown. But he quickly righted himself and cleared his throat.
“This shall be a Trial of Endurance. You are to climb the Palace wall, if you reach the battlements then you win. If however you say that you surrender or you fall to the ground, you lose. Do you understand, Trickster?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Joker was then given a grappling hook and rope and threw the hook to grab onto the top of the wall.
It was not an easy task but with the gift of the Ice Guardian’s boon, Joker did not feel exhaustion or tiredness.
He was more than half way up the wall when Joker realized that something did not feel right.
That was when he heard the sound of the rope beginning to give.
He quickly looked around and saw a single brick just jutting out enough for him to grab.
Just as the rope finally snapped, Joker leaped up and grabbed onto the single brick. He looked up and found another jutting brick and grabbed onto that then another and another until finally he reached the battlements.
All the onlookers were impressed… except for the King who shouted from down below.
“This is not a victory! Your rope fell apart therefore you have failed the trial.”
But then to everyone’s surprise, the Princess spoke up.
“That is not fair, father! You only said that he was to climb the wall and reach the battlements and that he’d only lose if he surrendered or fell to the ground! You said nothing about needing the rope!”
A silence fell over the crowd as they witnessed their usually quiet princess stand up to the King. Even Kunikazu himself could hardly believe what had just happened.
“...Fine, he has succeeded at the third trial. Take him away, guards.”
As the day went on, the King plotted and schemed, trying to figure out a way to stop the Trickster from marrying his daughter. There must have been some secret to his victories. And so the King sent one of his loyal subjects to spy on the Trickster.
It was after the sunset that the Spy came to the East Wing of the palace. He slightly opened the door to the Trickster’s room and was surprised to see the Princess there with him, laughing and conversing.
“...I thank you for speaking up for me when your father tried to argue my victory.”
“I should be thanking you, these past few days have made me more comfortable to say what I truly feel and it is because of these little talks between you and I. I’ve come to look forward to seeing you in the evening.”
“And I’ve come to look forward to seeing you as well, dearest Haru. But tomorrow, this will be over and you will decide where our future goes.”
“...I think I’d want to keep what we have going.”
“Well we shall see. But before you go, there is something I want you to know.”
“What is it?”
“All this time, you’ve only known me as Trickster or Joker but my true name… is Akira.”
“Thank you, Akira. I wish you luck tomorrow.”
With that, the Princess left the room as the Spy hid in the shadows. But as soon as she was out of sight, the Spy returned to his snooping and that was when he heard a strange third voice in the room.
“Do you plan to ask for another boon?”
“No.” Replied the Trickster.
As long as I still have my mask, I still have the boons of the Guardians of Lightning, Fire, and Ice and that should be enough for me to succeed tomorrow.”
The Spy wickedly smiled, he now knew what he had to do. So he waited in the shadows until just before the sun had risen. Then he snuck into the Trickster’s room and stole his mask.
But little did he know that while the Trickster was fast asleep, someone else saw the deed and was quick to follow him.
When Joker awoke, he panicked when he could find neither his cat or his mask. But he had no time to search for either for the palace guards were already at his door and telling him to prepare for his final challenge.
Despite his disadvantage, Joker got himself ready. He had it this far and it would be a disservice to Haru if he simply gave up now.
When he stepped out of the room, the guards escorted him to the throne room. The entire royal court along with the knights stood to the side to watch the duel while King Kunikazu sat on his throne and a young man stood at his side.
Joker figured that this must have been Lord Sugimura and he hated him the moment he laid eyes on him. It was then that he noticed that there was someone far more important missing.
“Where is Princess Haru?”
“Her presence is not needed here at the moment. It will just be you and me with the court as our audience and the honorable King Kunikazu as our judge.” Sugimura explained
The King then presented two swords to the two young men.
“This is your final Trial. A Trial by Combat, whoever wins, shall marry the Princess.”
Joker and Sugimura took their positions and as soon as the King shouted “Begin,” the two began to clash.
Meanwhile Princess Haru was forced to wait in her room with a guard outside to prevent her from leaving. She was told by them that she would not watch the duel but instead wait for her father and the victor to arrive.
She hated this, she felt like a prisoner in her own palace.
She desperately wanted to be there for Akira and support him.
Then suddenly there was a loud crash outside paired with the sound of… wind?
Haru rushed to the door and opened it and to her shock, the guard was knocked out and standing by him was Akira’s loyal cat with his mask in his mouth.
The cat approached Haru and placed the mask before her.
“Princess Haru, please listen to me or else Joker will be in great danger!”
“Y-you spoke! But you’re a cat!”
“I am no cat! I am Morgana the Guardian of Wind. Long ago, I gave Akira the gift of guidance. I taught him magic and how to summon other guardians to request boons from them. And I was the one to guide him to you, hearing your wish on the wind.”
It all sounded so unbelievable but the proof was standing right before her and there was another important detail he mentioned.
“You said that Akira is in danger?”
Morgana nodded, “To win the previous trials, Akira asked for gifts from other guardians and those magics were stored in his mask. But somehow someone found out and took the mask early in the morning. I got the mask back but not before it was unenchanted now the boons are gone. Now I ask you, to take the mask and request your own boons to save Akira.”
Haru hesitantly picked up the mask.
“But how do I do that?”
“The same way I heard your wish.”
Haru looked at the mask and held it tight and she brought her hands together once more.
“Please someone hear me! Please grant me a boon so that I may save the man I’ve come to care for...”
As soon as her hold loosened, the mask flew into the air and became wreathed in blue fire. Then to the surprise of both her and Morgana, not one but three guardians stood before them.
The first, a woman with hair brown like the earth and eyes red like garnets, approached Haru.
“I am Makoto, the Guardian of Life and I shall give you the Gift of Healing. Wear my mask and you can save the ones you love.”
The second, a girl with flowing orange hair, approached Haru.
“I am Futaba, the Guardian of Time and I shall give you the Gift of Foresight. Wear my mask and you will predict your enemy’s every move.”
Then finally the final guardian, a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Haru herself, approached the Princess.
“You may call me, Milady, my dear fated princess. I am the Guardian of the Soul and I shall give you the Gift of Magic. Wear my mask and you will never be defenseless again.”
The Guardians then vanished and before Haru was not Akira’s mask but one of black silk. She wasted no time and tied the mask around her face, feeling the power of the three guardians within.
With the Gift of Foresight; immediately Haru could see the duel becoming more and more heated. Even with his disadvantage, Akira still held his own with his speed, strength, and durability.
But then Sugimura manages to cut into Akira’s arm and he starts collapsing in pain.
"His blade is poisoned!" She realized
With that Haru and Morgana rushed to the throne room as fast as they could.
Soon the two arrived, pushing through the crowd. Akira was on the ground, clutching his arm as Sugimura prepared to strike Akira in the heart.
"NO! YOU WILL NOT HURT HIM ANYMORE!" She exclaimed
The Princess reached out her hand and a great force knocked Sugimura off his feet and his sword out of his hands surprising everyone in the room.
Now that Akira was not in immediate danger, Haru ran towards him and channeled the Gift of Healing to restore his energy and purge the poison.
"Are you alright?" She asked
"Better… now that you are here." Akira replied
"HARU! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" The King demanded
Haru stood her ground as she finally confronted her father.
“I am tired of this, father! I will make my own decisions! I am no longer your subservient puppet!”
“How… DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!” Guards! Take her back to her room! The King shouted
But no one dared make a move, either intimidated or in awe by the Princess’ power.
King Kunikazu then attempted to approach Haru himself but with the magic granted to her by the Guardian, she lifted him up.
“What!?”
“I do not wish to harm you but you cannot stay here. Leave the Kingdom and never come back and take Lord Sugimura with you. If I see either of you return, I cannot guarantee your safety.”
With that, Haru gently let her father down and the King’s true colors were finally shown; a cowardly man who had others do his dirty work.
“Guards, please take my father and Lord Sugimura away.”
And with that, the Greedy King and his desired heir were banished from the Kingdom.
The next day, the Kingdom celebrated the coronation of Queen Haru.
And the day after that they celebrated the wedding between Queen Haru and her love, Akira.
Haru and Akira proved to be kind and just rulers and so the Kingdom flourished while the new Queen and King lived happily ever after.