Chapter Text
Once upon a time there was this forest filled with magic on the planet Arath. It may sound like it was a brutal planet but in reality it was a very peaceful planet back then. There were magical creatures and plants but the most magical beings of all were the Alaens. They were a race of winged human looking beings but not quite human enough to be mistaken as one. For you see they had the skin color of green of all shades with gold and silver sparkles that would shimmer in the light but would not be visible in dark lighting. They had wings that could reach up to 8 meters when fully grown. Their wings were shades of white black and brown that were gorgeous with the many different patterns they could have. They had big horns coming from the side of their heads that were the colors of their wings and can live for billions of years but they are not immortal; they can be killed and will die after their life span is complete and they think it is time; they were the protectors of the forest and all of its magic and creatures. The Alaens would protect all the creatures of the forest and the forest itself though they weren’t the only beings that held power. There was the fae, an equally beautiful and powerful race that had skin that looked of silk with shades of peach and browns and ears that came to a point at the end. They are immortal but easy to kill by iron and violent acts; but they would help tend to the forest and its creatures. The Alaens and fae would work in unison and help each other when they needed it. But then a war broke out. Back then it was the year 3195 it is now 4195 and no one knows where this magical forest could be. Or if it even still exists.
But now we will go back in time to 3195 and tell the story of two people who never thought they would end up as friends again or even more. One is a princess and the other is her knight.
When Alice and Claire were young they would always play together out in the field behind Alice's castle. They would have picnics, paint together, ride pegasi, run around in the field or anything they really wanted to do but one day Claire had to leave with her father. At this point they were both 10 years old. Neither of them understood why Claire had to leave. So there they are at the front doors of the Alaens castle saying goodbye “ oh Claire why do you have to go, I’m going to miss you so much send me letters whenever you can” “I’m going to miss you too alice, I don't know why we have to leave but I will write you when I’m able to” they were both crying and hugging each other then claire had to get in the carriage and be on her way.
It will be 3202, 7 years till they see each other again but they are different now. Alice was engaged to prince Zendrik at 16 a year before Claire became a knight. Alice was very polite and when Claire was gone with her father she became a knight at 17 and Claire became gauche while she was gone.
But those first few months in 3295 they would send a letter to each other every week. Claire would talk about the places she has been and all the wonderful sights she has seen. Claire found out the reason she had to leave and told Alice in her letter. It was because her father was being summoned back to his home village by the village head who was her grandfather. She found that out not long after getting to the village because he wanted to meet his granddaughter. He was a kind man with kind eyes. And the one to introduce Claire to swordsmanship and that's what made Claire decide to become a knight. Alice would talk about her piano lessons and how she was getting better day by day, that she was starting a garden with her mother that had flowers, vegetables and fruits, and how the pegasi were doing. Alice told her how one of the unicorns and a pegasus had a colt and somehow the pegasus birthed an alicorn. That hasn't happened in a long time. This is the first alicorn in 100 years. There would not be some sort of celebration for it because they are not super rare; one is born every 30 or so years but that was the longest it has ever been. The last alicore was born 100 years ago and another one wasn’t found after the 30 year mark nor anytime after that until the new colt was born, alicorns can live for thousands of years so the new colt wasn't alone he would have others like him around. They had a small celebration at the castle only Alice and her parents and the colts parents of course. The letters went on like that for a year and a half. They would tell each other what was going on in their lives at that point they would be just about to turn 13. But after a while the letter became less frequent one letter every 2 weeks for 3 months then every 4 weeks for 5 months then 3 month went by with nothing from Claire then on the last week of the last month Alice got a letter from Claire in Claire's last letter to Alice she told her how she isn’t able to send her letters after this last one and was apologizing for taking so long to write her back and for all the times she made her wait for a reply before because she is too busy with training and traveling to different places to have time to write but she did say she will be returning in 3 years. By now they are both about to turn 14. but in reality Claire just couldn’t keep up the act of pretending she isn’t in love with her best friend. She has always loved Alice since they were kids but in the last few years and couple months Claire has come to realize that the love she has for Alice was not just platonic; she was falling in love with her. So Claire came up with the excuse of training and traveling which aren’t really excuses because Claire was traveling and she was training to become a royal knight of the castle but she had time to do many other things. But because she was scared of what she might say in one of her letters and wouldn’t be able to take what she said back and what Alice might say in return. So Claire thought it would be for the best if she stopped talking to Alice and hoped she understood. She would still write letters for Alice but she would never send them to her. She kept all of the letters in a special case under her bed.
When Claire and her father got back it was 3202; they were greeted at the palace doors. It was just like all those years ago when they said goodbye but this time Claire isn’t leaving she is there to serve. At this point they are both 17 years old and have grown into fine young women. “Hello Claire it is nice seeing you again after all this time” “It's nice to see you as well Alice" shall we go inside” as they were walking inside Clare was thinking about how she has been assigned to Alice by the king's request. The reason for that was, Claire has proven herself to be one of the best fighters they have seen in a long time. Claire is not displeased by this; she is worried about how Alice will take it when she finds out that she has been assigned to watch over her. They haven’t talked in 3 years and she is worried Alice will be upset with this arrangement. Claire just hopes they can renew their friendship; she has come to accept that she and Claire will never be together. Yes she is still saddened by this but she is sure everything will be fine as long as she can be friends with Alice again.
On the other hand of this Alice is freaking out that Claire is back. She has waited so long for this day for the past 3 years ever since Claire's last letter she has been waiting to see her again. Her father said he has a surprise for her for making her marry prince zandrik. Don’t get it wrong she does love prince Zendrik but not in the way she should. But her father said that it is ok to not be in love with him. All she must do is produce a hair for their kingdom and she can do that, she will do that for her father and for her kingdom and then she will never have to touch or be touched by Zendrik again. The prince's knight can be a bit stand of ish but other than that he is ok. Though he is always with the prince which is to be expected but in the normal way like when he leaves the castle. But he hovers by him no matter where he goes. It seems he might have an unhealthy attachment to the prince but she doesn't mind because she finds it cute.
It was no secret to her father that she preferred female company over males before she came to him and told him. He could already tell by the way she acted with other people. Of course he was ok with it; he accepted her with open arms; the only thing he asked was if she could produce a male hair for their kingdom. Yes he felt bad for asking for this but she is his only child and if anything happens to him the throne will go down to her. He tells her she can be with whomever she pleases as long as she has a hair. He knows how much his daughter did not want to rule. She would if she had to but he wants her to have a hair so she doesn't have to rule. It may be unfair to the child but he didn’t get a choice either. He was born into this role and he will play his part so the child will have to do the same. Alice agreed she understood that having a hair would be beneficial for the kingdom and she was told she could be with whomever she wants as long as she has a hair. And this is where prince zandrik comes into play. He was a handsome young prince and his parents were trying to get him to marry so Alice went to him with a proposal. Alice requested that they marry and have a hair for her kingdom. Then after they don't have to speak or touch each other aging but they would still be married on paper. This would solve both of their problems so prince zendrik agreed to this arrangement. His parents were overjoyed when they heard the news of their son's wedding. This also made Alice's dad happy; he knows that she will never love him and he has a feeling that he will never love her either. they will have love for each other in time that is just inevitable but it won’t be the romantic kind of love it will be the friendship kind of love. Which is perfectly fine they probably understand that as well.
All of them were in one of the sitting rooms of the castle, discussing the marriage agreement. Going over what the agreement would entail like having a child and staying married after that for appearances and living together in one of the houses behind the castle to have some privacy. It is half the size of the castle and Alice thinks it is perfect. Alice didn’t like how big the castle felt at times so she was happy to live in a smaller place even if it's only for the time being. Of course Zendrik's knight will be with them though she still didn’t know his name. He was nice, she has been meaning to ask but hasn’t gotten around to it yet but Alice knew she'd be getting a knight in just 1 week. At the same time Claire is supposed to get back from abroad. Alice wondered if Claire would be her knight. And that's all she could think about but that's too good to be true right. But she can hope and who knows maybe her dreams will come true.