"Neh, Fate,"

"Yes, Alicia?"

"Promise me, okay?"

"Promise you what?"

"Promise me that you'll do what we planned,"

"You'll be there. We'll do it together,"

"Even if I'm not, you have to go, okay, Fate?"

"But..."

"Please, promise me,"

"I-I promise, Alicia,"

000

The horse was saddled, and Fate mounted it with such grace that even her brother had to admire her.

"Are we leaving or not, Chrono?" Fate asked impatiently.

"Calm down," Chrono held up a hand. "We're going, we're going,"

After Alicia and Fate's mother had died, Lindy Harlown had taken Fate in among her three children: Chrono and a second orphan named Hayate.

Resisting the urge to tell him to hurry up, Fate fingered the hilt of her blade a little nervously. She had hacked off all of her long, golden hair until it was chin length (save for the two chunks in front that fell to her shoulders) and saved her money to buy proper armor in preparation for the trip.

She had promised Alicia that she would become a knight, just as Alicia had once dreamed of herself.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Chrono eyed his foster sister skeptically, as if wondering if she could lift the blade around her waist, let alone achieve what she was aiming for.

"Yes," Fate bit back a harsh response. "Can we leave now, please? I'd rather not be on the road during nightfall,"

"Good point," agreed Chrono. "But Mistress Hayate is still getting ready,"

"She's going with us?"

"Just halfway, to the convent,"

"Oh,"

There was a brief silence as they both listened to the bump of wheels against the road.

"Fate! Chrono!"

In the makeshift carriage (which was really more of a cart with a flimsy roof on top), Hayate Yagami waved and grinned. Her eyes, blue as the ocean, were sparkling with anticipation. Chrono and Fate exchanged glances. Hayate lived for this sort of thing; the convent would probably be a good thing for her.
Although she looked sweet and innocent, Hayate had a lot of untapped power; again the reason she was leaving to join the priests of the Goddess. Fate, who would have put up a tantrum (or at least, a Fate tantrum, which was more of a loud argument) at the thought, was disgusted by the thought of walking around in skirts and learning to curtsy as well as to practice her magic in ways 'appropriate for a lady'.

"Let's go," it was Chrono's turn to be impatient now.

Fate flicked the reins a little, turning her horse, a mare named Thunder, towards the path.

Inside the cart, she could already hear the murmuring of Hayate's three self-assigned handmaidens (although Signum was more of a guard than a maid), and the low bark of the two dogs—one of whom belonged to Fate herself.

"Come on, girls," Chrono put special emphasis on the last word, as if it was an insult.

Without comment, Fate followed him as he wove through the thick trees, away from the small town that Lindy herself ruled over, Asura.

000

"Princess? Princess Nanoha? Are you there? Princess!"

Nanoha didn't bother answering her closest maid and friend, a girl named Alisa, and continued practicing, using her Gift to make the balls of pink light float around the room.

"Princess?" there was a knock on the door.

Nanoha turned slightly, frowning. Her teacher, a mage named Yuno Scrya, was supposed to be busy, teaching the squires and knights magic. She had thought he would be teaching a class at this hour. "Yuno? Are you back from class already?"

"It's dinnertime, Nanoha—I mean Princess,"

Nanoha glanced out the window, slightly shocked to see that the sun was merely a stripe of orange against the horizon. "Oh. I didn't know,"

"Alisa tells me you've been locked in there for the past five hours," Yuno went on. "What have you been doing in there?"

"Practicing," Nanoha's voice was a tad defensive.

"What have you been practicing, then, Princess?" Yuuno's tone was mocking now, and Nanoha didn't like it.

Flicking a hand at one of the floating balls, she directed it towards the door. When it connected, it singed a large hole that revealed Yuno's shocked expression. Nanoha laughed.

"That's not very safe," Yuno scolded, opening the door with ease. He had probably unlocked the door already.

Nanoha sighed. "All you ever taught me was boring stuff, like summoning, or small offensive spells...I want to learn big magic,"

Yuno smiled a little bit. "I know, Nanoha. But your parents wouldn't like it very much if they saw you blowing up the garden with that attack you created..."

"Starlight Breaker," Nanoha supplied.

"You don't need a spoken spell, Nanoha. You of all people should know that,"

"But I like it," Nanoha disagreed. "It's a pretty name,"
Yuno sighed, but didn't argue with his princess further. "Come down to dinner. Princess Vivio has been dying to see you," he said.

"My brother and sister still aren't back yet?" Nanoha questioned.

"They're still leading the war against Riel. Be patient, they'll come home soon,"
Nanoha sighed, but gathered her hated skirts and got to her feet, flicking a finger to put out the globes of light as she followed Yuno towards the private dining hall.

000

"Are we there yet?"

Fate had reached the end of her patience about six times ago, and turned to glare at her foster sister, who was sitting in the cart innocently, as if she wasn't actually annoying Fate beyond her wit's limit.

"No. We'll be there in a few minutes," Chrono sighed, for about the twelfth time.

"Oh,"

There was silence, just the steady clops of Chrono's steed, Glacier, and Fate's Thunder as their hooves created new prints in the worn earth.

"It's getting a tad dark. Who wants to light candles?" asked Chrono, a small smile quirking his lips.

"I do!" shouted Hayate before anyone else. Being around twelve herself, as opposed to the fourteen year-olds, Fate and Chrono, she appeared much more childish than her siblings.

"Go ahead then," Fate encouraged.

It took only a moment; they didn't even have to pause as Hayate closed her eyes and balls of bright white light appeared, suspended in midair, lighting the way for them all.

"Thank you,"

"You're welcome," Hayate beamed.

Neither of her siblings complimented her; this was standard for their younger sister.

Five minutes later and one more "Are we there yet?", the little cart rolled to a stop.

"This is where we part company," Hayate said, a little sadly.

"We'll see you again," Chrono comforted her.

"Yes, you can come visit us," added Fate.

Hayate nodded, then sat up a little straighter. "I'll take good care of Arf for you, Fate,"

"Thank you,"

"Let's go, Signum,"

The woman at the front flicked the reins, and the two horses walked forward slowly, dragging the cart away from Fate and Chrono, taking the light with them.

"I suppose I'd better light our way," Fate said halfheartedly.

"Yes,"

The white globes were replaced by yellow ones that hung, suspended by nothing, ringing the two as they trotted slowly through the dark and towards the palace.

000

"Sistah!" squealed Vivio in delight, as Nanoha sat down beside her younger sister.

"Hi, Vivio,"

"Where were you?" demanded Vivio.

"Practicing magic," replied Nanoha filling her plate with a mixture of chicken and salad, along with some bread and cereal grains (rice).

"Show me!" ordered the young princess, but Nanoha refused, smiling slightly.

"Sorry, maybe later. Did you learn anything with Miss Suzuka?"

Suzuka, a childhood friend of Alisa and Nanoha, was now working as Vivio's personal tutor in everything except magic.

"Yes! Three and three make sex,"

Nanoha covered her mouth with one hand to muffle her giggles. When she was finally able to speak, she gasped out, "I think you mean six, Vivio,"

"Oh," preoccupied with this new knowledge, the two of them ate in silence for a moment.

Alisa walked in, holding a letter in one hand. "I have a letter for you from your older brother," she announced.

"I'll take it," Nanoha said, holding out one hand. Alisa placed the scroll into the open palm. The writing on the outside was shaky, as if the writer had had trouble putting pen to paper. Unrolling it, Nanoha read:

Dear Nanoha,

How are you? I apologize for not being home very often, but we're very busy. We lost a lot of men yesterday. Miyuki has taken to fighting recently, although Mother and Father had forbidden it, she's very good with a sword. Don't tell them, please. Anyway, things are going as well as can be expected, but we are both alive. I wanted to write to tell you that a group of new pages will be arriving shortly, around your age. Father asked me to relay the message to you (I'm not sure why he didn't tell you himself...), but I hope you can find a friend in one of them. But not a close friend (those were Father's words, not mine. I think he's worried about your chastity. He already seems to think that you and Master Yuno were having an affair. Actually, I heard that too, but—never mind). Anyway, please be well, and tell Vivio that four plus four is eight, not ape for me.

Much Love,

Kyoya Takamachi

"What did brother say?" asked Vivio curiously.

"That four plus four is eight,"

"No. It's ape. Like three plus three is sex," Vivio said stubbornly.

"Um...no. Thanks, Alisa," she turned to the blond, who was watching the conversation with raised eyebrows. "Could you take this to my room, please?"
With a nod, Alisa took the scroll and walked out of the room.

A new group of pages, huh? And Kyoya thought she could become friends with them?

Yeah, right.

Nanoha rolled her eyes and turned back to her meal.

A/N: Was it good? Bad? Horribly OOC? Disgusting? I don't know Kyoya's personality too well, sorry if he sounded way out of character; I've never watched Triangle Hearts and haven't completed the entire first season of Nanoha. Chapter 2 might be up by Monday. Arisa was changed to Alisa for reasons unknown, and the king and queen are not Momoko and Shiro. More on that later. Review, please!