Love's Desire (an AU fic by Andalite and Fallon)

## Prologue

The cold Winter air blew her white blonde hair across her face, her pale blue eyes overlooking the Winter wonderland.  She took in a deep breath before letting it out, a small cloud of her breath appearing.   Her large white wings were as white as the sparkling snow below, her fair complexion not like of her her family’s.

Her sharp ears caught the near-silent sound of walking and slightly turned her head back.  “What is it?”

“Pardon me, my lady, but your parents wishes to see you.”

“Very well.”  She looked back at the kingdom again before walking off, her heart was yearning for something…something beyond the white lands.

*I wish to see colors other than white…something like…* She looked around the large marble hall for anything and saw two servants, one drinking—tasting something to see if it was drinkable.  The bright redness of the wine always caught the young lady’s eyes.  *That’s what I wish for.  I wish to see more of that color.*

A man was crouching in the shadows, red and orange leaves covered the ground.  His clothes were dark.  His raven hair brushed his shoulders, framing his handsome face.

If one looked at him, despite his clothes, they may assume he was of high blood.  They wouldn't know that he had been stripped of his title only days ago for a crime he didn't commit.

"Oak,"  A voice breathed behind him.  He turned.

It was a boy, a few years younger than himself, with brown hair and rainbow eyes.  "Sir, the guards are going to begin patrol soon, if you want to do this, you need to hurry.

The man, Oak, nodded.  "Thank you, Birch.  Keep watch."  With that, he darted forward, towards a large mansion.  Expertly, he scaled the wall and crawled in through a window on the second floor.  The room was silent, deserted.  The bed sheets were still rumpled from that night, when his mother had woke him with urgent words of betrayal, telling him to flee.

Oak glanced around slowly, taking in his room for what may be the last time.

He shook himself.  He was still being hunted, this was not the time.  Silently, he went to his closet.  An empty bag lay at the bottom, and he quickly began filling it with clothes and any belongings he felt he may need.

Once he'd finished there, he went to the kitchens, then the weapons hall.  He knew the swords and axes were mostly for decoration, but the daggers were perfectly sharp and small enough that they wouldn't be missed.

Once his bag was full he made to leave the way he came, but he paused outside of a closed door.  Slowly, carefully, he opened it.  The room was dark, but not lifeless like his own.  His mother lay sleeping on the large bed, his father was gone, no doubt forced to join the hunt for him.

Oak moved to her side, memorizing her features.  The pale skin and raven hair that matched his own, the nose and chin of his sister.  Dried tears left their marks on her cheeks and he wiped them away gently.  With a final glance, he left the room.  But not without grabbing her favorite red coat.

## Chapter 1

“You must behave yourself delicately and with dignity, showing others that you are above them or that you do have a status to be worthy of,” the tall woman in front of her said.

“Now, shall we try our walk again, Lady—”

“Fly, if you don’t mind,” the young woman said with her eyes closed, four thick books stacked on top of her head.

The woman sighed and took the books off. “Honey…we understand that you don’t like your name, but please try to bear with us. Our family’s name is important and we must uphold it in order to be accepted by everyone.”

“What about me? What if I don’t want to be accepted?!” She opened her eyes and looked up at the woman. “Why can’t I *ever* go outside?! The farthest I’ve ever been was to the Winter King and Queen’s castle. But I’m not allowed any further than that or go anywhere else!”

“Honey—“

“I’m tired of being a noble!” With tears streaming down her face, Fly ran out of the room and down the hall to her bedroom, passing her three older brothers on the way. The two eldest ignored her after shrugging it off, but her twin watched her for a while.

Fly closed the door to her bedroom behind her, leaning against it with tears still streaming down her face as she slid down to the floor and hugged her knees. *Why?* A flutter of wings didn’t get her attention as her large, sleek griffin flew into her room from the balcony. The griffin crouched in front of her, screeching a bit as it rubbed its head against her thin body, though quietly as if it was upset with seeing her crying.

“Oh, Screech, what do I do?” she whispered to the griffin while soothing out its head feathers. “I love my parents…but being a noble is so hard and boring. And so restrictive. I don’t know what else to do.”

## Chapter 2

Oak and Birch had been on the run for some time now, and they took to it better than you'd think. Oak's natural stealth made him an excellent thief, and his ability to twist words and spin stories in mere seconds got them both out of a lot of trouble.

Alternatively, Birch's quick-thinking often saved their lives, and with
his patience and knowledge, he taught Oak many survival skills. All in all, they were a surprisingly good team.

However, that didn't mean they were invincible. There were some days
when they had nothing but the clothes on their backs.

This was one of those days.

The two returned to their campsite empty-handed. They had pawned off everything they could afford to lose a few days ago.

Oak glanced around the 'campsite', which was really a few blankets and sticks thrown together to form something that resembled a tent that had barely survived a heavy storm, a small pile of timber for a fire, some scraps of cloth and a few sacks and jars for food, which were currently empty.
They both sighed, trying to pretend the pain in their stomachs didn't exist.

"That was the last nearby town that didn't recognize us," Birch said, reclining on the grass. "The next town is at least a week's trip, and that's *if* they don't know who we are."

Oak nodded. Since they ran he had given up any pretense of being a noble, except under very specific circumstances when he needed to distract someone or buy them out of jail with money they didn't have. He now responded to Oak, rather than 'Sir' or 'My Lord'.

"We can't stay in Autumn," Oak said. They both knew they would need to leave the Kingdom someday, but neither had wanted to bring it up. Even though they were on the run, it was still home.

Birch nodded. "We're a few days away from the Summer boarder. If we cut back through Yellowgrove we can-"

"No." Oak interrupted. "Summer is too closely allied with Autumn. If word of us has spread outside Autumn, Summer would be the most willing to turn us in." He sighed. "We'll try one more raid tonight. Our goal is food and clothes. In the morning, we head for Winter."

## Chapter 3

“One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, twirl, and again.”

Fly’s mind was blank as she stared distantly past her partner’s shoulder, or at least tried to. Repeatedly…hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. It was the same thing over and over and over again. Fly hated every bit of it.

“That’ll be it for today,” the dance instructor told them.

Fly immediately headed for the door when her dance partner grabbed her wrist. He opened his mouth but stopped when Fly glared at him. “Er, Fly. Can we talk?”

Fly wrenched her wrist from his grip. “What’s there to talk about, Polar?”

“You’ve been….distant lately. You haven’t really been doing your best in classes or anything else except your target practicing.”

“And what’s *wrong* with target practicing?” she snapped.

“Nothing!” he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s just that…do you want to go out with me?”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“As in…would you like to go to the village with me?”

“….Are you being serious?” Fly asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I am!” Polar said.

“Wait for me in the garden.” As soon as Fly was in her room, she packed a few things in her satchel and changed into more suitable clothes. This is my big chance in a lifetime! she thought excitedly.

“You seem awfully excited about going out, Fly,” Polar noted, see how she was a bit cheerful and had her satchel with her.

Fly immediately frowned. “And what’s wrong with being excited to go somewhere I’ve never been to?” she snapped at him.

“N-nothing!” Polar relaxed, his face worried as he looked at her. “You just…don’t seem to be yourself lately. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. Now, come on and let’s go or else it’ll be dark when we get there.” Not that I have a problem with that, she thought with a slight smirk.

## Chapter 4

The Winter Kingdom was nothing like Autumn. Gone was the calming, cool breeze and colorful leaves. Instead, there was harsh, bone-chilling winds that threatened to sweep you away, and slick ice that was just waiting for you to take a careless step.

Needless to say, Oak was not enjoying himself.

He pulled his red coat tighter against the blizzard and squinted. The snow seemed to aim for his eyes and he could barely see a foot in any direction. The blurry brown of Birch's clothes was the only hint he had that his partner was still with him.

Oak paused and was almost knocked over by the force of the storm. *We need to find some kind of shelter. I'd take a* prison *at this point.*

He looked around wildly, his shoulder-length hair whipping his face, but he saw nothing but the white of the blizzard.

He felt more than saw Birch's collision with him. Being the smaller of the two, the mimik was being thrown around worse than Oak. The boy's lips moved and though the wind stole his words, Oak knew what he was saying from the smile on his face.

"Shelter!"

The two half-ran half-stumbled towards a tiny speck of flickering light that Oak never would have noticed on his own. Unfortunately, before they could reach it, they were met with a large, frozen wall far too big for anyone to climb.

However, cold and hunger will drive people to do crazy things and Oak and Birch were certain that the wall would, at the very least, keep the wind out. So with only a moment's hesitation, they began to climb.

## Chapter 5

Fly and Polar stumbled into an inn, shutting the door using both of their strength.

“Wow,” Polar said as he brushed the snow out of his hair. “That blizzard literally came out of nowhere.” After making sure Fly was already, Polar went to see if there were any rooms available.

Fly rubbed her hands and arms to help bear the cold—even those living in Winter got a little cold, which was….a bit unusual. She looked around the inn in awe. *So* this *is what people stay in when they visit places'**.***

Polar returned to her. “Two rooms upstairs near the back. You okay with that?” He smiled when she nodded and led her upstairs, where they checked out their rooms before going back downstairs to eat some supper. Fly could hardly contain her excitement but despise the powerful eagerness, she remained calm and collected, eating like she should as a young lady. But she remembered she wasn’t with her mother anymore and ate as she pleased though it *still* looked like she was eating like a proper lady.

Polar chuckled as he watched her. “*Someone* is still excited about this.”

“Oh be quiet and let me eat in peace,” Fly mumbled from her mouth being full with bread.

“You know you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full,” Polar reminded her.

“So? Mother’s not here to tell me that.” Fly ignored her twin’s look of suspicion at her. *When he’s asleep.* That’s *when I can slip out and explore the land.*

## Chapter 6

Oak and Birch sat panting in the snow on the other side of the wall. They were tired, weak and hungry. They just wanted to lay there and
sleep, let the cold take them. But the light of a building shone bright nearby and if they just went a *little* further...

Oak's fingers and toes were numb. His lips had turned purple with the cold and Birch didn't look much better. Oak's coat had protected him for a time, but now it was soaked through with melted snow and did him more harm then good. His vision was blurry and he wasn't sure if that was from the snow or his own exhaustion.

Reluctantly, the duo forced themselves to stand and move toward the light. At this point, they didn't care if they were caught, and walked through the streets openly. However, the streets were deserted due to the storm and no one stopped them as they made their way to the inn.

They hesitated at the door. They had no money and most of their things
had been lost or traded off on the trip to Winter. Oak doubted he'd be much use in a fight right now, he was shivering so hard he'd likely fall over if someone bumped into him.

They looked up. There was an open window only two floors up.

Ha. *Only*.

Mentally telling himself that it was worth the effort, Oak began to climb again, Birch at his side. They slipped a few times, their numb, blue fingers having trouble gripping anything, but they eventually made it.

Oak and Birch collapsed on the floor immediately, Birch shutting the window behind him.

*We made it.* Oak thought to himself before he passed out.

## Chapter 7

Polar stretched as he stood up from beside the fire. “Well. It’s getting late and there is nothing to see in this blizzard so let’s get some sleep.”

“I’m still awake. You can go to bed. I won’t be up for long.” Polar nodded and bid her goodnight, going up to his room.

Fly must’ve waited for at least an hour to an hour and a half before deciding to gather her things and get out of here as soon as possible. *I’ll never have another chance like this again!* She quickly hurried up the stairs, thinking about her plans when she gets away from the village.

*I’ll get to see the other kingdoms and see what they’re like!* She quickened her speed, excitement growing inside her. *Ohh, I hope the other kingdoms are as colorful as they mention in the books! And definitely warmer too. I’ve felt the heat from the fire in the fireplace before, but it probably doesn’t match* anywhere *to the Spring, Autumn, and Summer warmth!*

The more she thought about it, the faster she went to her room. She opened her door, suddenly realizing how cold it was. Rubbing her arms, she went to close the window when she tripped over some and fell down. As she pushed herself up, she looked up to feel the warmth of breathing and when her eyes adjusted to the light, she realized that there was a face in front of her!

## Chapter 8

Distantly, Oak heard a door open. He chose to ignore it. He was cold and sleepy. The door could open all it wanted as long as it didn't bother him.

Then someone tripped over him. *That* bothered him.

He cracked an eye open and found himself face to face with a young
woman. Her pale blonde hair was in an elaborate braid, her blue eyes were wide as they stared at him. She wore a silver dress and circlet, and large white wings sprouted from her back.

Oak blinked away the sleep and ice, trying to force his brain to wake up. Numbly, he realized she was speaking.

"Who are you?" She hissed. "How did you get in here?"

"The window." Oak said, pointing up at the window with one hand and rousing Birch with the other. "As for who I am," He sat up, groaning as snow and water fell off of him. "I'm cold, tired and hungry. You?"

The girl seemed to be only half listening as she looked him over. He sat up taller under her inspection, giving her a charming smile.

"You're not from Winter." It was a statement more then a question, but he answered anyway.

"No. We're from all over really, we travel wherever we like." Oak said, gesturing Birch and himself. *Well, anywhere that we aren't being hunted, and that has food to steal.*

Something in the girl's expression changed and for a horrible moment, Oak thought she recognized them. But no, it wasn't recognition but...longing?

Well, whatever it was, she didn't know about them. Oak gave Birch a final shove, which woke him up and stood. "Oak Redleaf, at your service miss," He said with a bow fit for royalty. "And this is my companion, Birch."

Birch mumbled a greeting and stood as well, knocking some ice off of his coat.

"And you are?" Oak prodded.

"Fly."

## Chapter 9

Oak looked like he was expecting more.  “Fly….?”

“Just…Fly," she answered.  She stood up, striking the candle so that there could be light in the room.  She turned around to face the two young men and was a bit startled when she saw them.  Though wet from ice that was still attached to their color, the colors never faded.  To Fly, they only seemed to have brightened in the light.

Oak had raven black, shoulder-length hair, his green eyes shimmering in the candlelight.  And he was wearing the reddest, most beautiful coat Fly had ever seen.  She had thought the wine was red and had loved the color, but this red…this red just seem to draw her in.

Fly’s attention was diverted—sadly—from the coat back to Oak, who had cleared his throat.  “Oh! Um, yes.  There’s a fire downstairs and I’m sure the innkeeper can get something for you two.”

“I appreciate it but we’ll just stay up here with some dry sheets and the food would be nice.”  Fly could tell if Oak was being serious since Birch’s face said the exact opposite.

“Are you sure?”  Fly asked.  “Because it’s not very warm here and dry sheets won’t just help you two from getting fevers.”

“Natural body heat will save us!”  Oak cheerfully said.

“I’m going downstairs,” Birch mumbled, walking past Fly, holding himself like a miserable wet being.

Fly looked at Oak.  “Did you want to join him?”

“Just a quick question: how many people are down there?”

Fly gave him a confused look, but answered, “Just maybe a couple.  Not that many.”

Oak looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.  “Alright.”

## Chapter 10

Oak followed this...Fly, downstairs and was immediately hit with a wave of warmth.  He sighed happily as his fingers began to thaw.

Looking around he counted three people, minus the Innkeeper.  Not too many, and they didn't look like they would cause much trouble.

Oak moved to sit next to Birch, who was seated in front of the fireplace.  Fly sat at his side and Oak tried to ignore the fact that she kept staring at him.

*I know I'm handsome but really?*

They sat in relative silence for a while and soon, Birch was getting some color back in his face and Oak wasn't shivering.

"Where are you going next?"  Fly asked.  Oak gave her a questioning look.  "You said you travel all over, where will you go next?"

"We were planning on staying here in Winter for a while.  See the sights."  Birch said.

Fly mumbled something that sounded like, "Not much to see."

Birch got some hot soup from the kitchens and they ate in silence until Oak's coat was no longer frozen stiff.   Once they were done, Oak rose.  Fly's seat nearly fell over at how fast she stood.

"I want you to take me with you."  She said.  "I want to go to Summer, or Spring or Autumn, I just want to *leave*."

Oak sighed.  "I told you, we're planning on staying here for a while.  We're not going to-"

"You will or I'll have you arrested."

Oak's breath hitched but he covered it quickly.  "Whatever are you-"

"I can call for some guards and tell them you robbed me. "  She said, her voice hard.

*Just a threat.  She doesn't know who we are*. Oak thought, keeping his expression neutral.  He tilted his head at her.  "And why don't you just leave on your own?"

## Chapter 11

Fly tried to stay stern, but couldn’t really as she slightly looked away.  “I can’t.  This is my only chance to get away from here.”

She stiffened when she felt Oak’s gaze on her and looked back up at him—into those green eyes.  Green as poison, and deadly looking too.

*He’s a snake Shapeshifter,* she realized when looking into his eyes more.  She didn’t know why, and only hoped it was because of the fire’s heat that made her cheeks feel warmer.  She backed up a couple of steps, diverting her eyes away.

Birch had fallen asleep in his chair by the fire, looking peaceful.

She could *still* feel *his* gaze on her and started to get uncomfortable and shuffled her feet uneasily.  “Can you…stop staring at me?”  she mumbled.  “It feels weird.”

She heard Oak chuckling with amusement slightly.  “If you can’t leave on your own, then why are you here?  *Alone*.”

*I can’t tell them about Polar….I can’t.  And I don’t need Polar to know or else….* “I could only make it this far.  I’ll be sure to be found if I go on alone.  Plus…”  She straightened up and looked back at him straight in the eye.  “You’re not exactly meant for this climate or blend in with everyone in this *white* snow.”

“Can you even handle yourself out there, *even* if you’re with us?”  Oak asked.  “And what about your family, if you have one, *which* I am assuming you do if you say that you can’t leave here, which means that you’ve been imprisoned somewhere or kept locked away at home.  Isn’t that right?”

*He’s good,*Fly thought, shuffling her feet uneasily.

## Chapter 12

Oak hadn't realized he had been staring when she asked him to stop. He told himself he was studying her, looking for weaknesses or any sign of a threat. He was quite skilled at lying, even to himself.

He smirked as she became uneasy, knowing he had caught her. "And if that's true, wouldn't your family come looking for you? And seeing you with us, we could be arrested for kidnapping." He said. "Seems like a lot of trouble for us."

Fly composed herself surprisingly quickly. "Then you had better make sure we aren't found." Her blue eyes were hard. "I want out, and you are going to help me, like it or not."

Oak met her gaze unblinkingly, holding back a triumphant grin as she looked away. He leaned back into his seat, thinking over his options.

On one hand, this girl would slow them down. It would mean less food and water for them or more stealing on their part, and they would have to leave Winter, the only place they had left that was somewhat safe. She would quickly learn that their way of life was less then honest, and, should she want to, get them caught.

However, she could also be useful. She was obviously high born, given her expensive clothes and jewelry, and could be used as blackmail. Her family was clearly very protective, so they would no doubt give them whatever they asked for in return for her. And, should they need to, they could use her as a hostage in case they were caught.

She could be trouble yes, but they'd dealt with worse. And there was always the blackmail idea.

"Alright." Oak said, holding out a hand for her to shake. "Welcome to the group."

## Chapter 13

Fly stared at him in shock, not believing her ears. She brightened. "Really?"

Oak smirked in a way that made her heart flutter into speed. "You can always *not* accept it."

"Oh I definitely am!" She smiled, feeling so accomplished. I did it! Now... "When do we leave?" she asked eagerly.

Her wings drooped in disappointment when Oak answered, "In a couple of days."

..I can't wait that long...Polar would sure want to go home once he's awake. She shook her head and stared at him sternly. "We leave now."

"With all due respect, but I believe getting a good night's rest would be appropriate, plus my partner and I need to get used to the environment."

"Then we leave later tonight. I'm not staying here another day." Fly was determined to get out of here as she glared at him. *I'll*force*him to leave tonight with whatever I got! I can't stay stuck here forever.* "And if you don't agree, then I can easily get the officials and have you arrested." She smirked slyly. "Two foreigners traveling in *this* weather *is* quite suspicious if you ask me..."

*That'll get him for disagreeing with me. Besides, I doubt that he would want to mess with me. And I could probably convince Polar to help me....if anything goes*wrong.

## Chapter 14

Oak was tired, cold, and still a bit sore from the journey.  Not to mention grumpy from the lack of sleep.  Yet he still found himself out in the cold, a pack stuffed with *acquired* goods slung over his shoulder, and his coat wrapped tightly around him against the freezing winds.

This was *really* getting old.

"Oh yes, let's travel at night.  Gotta love that hail, eh?  Goes great with the frostbite..."  He grumbled under his breath, once more fighting the wind.  At least there were no snowflakes to blind him this time, only quarter-sized hail pelting him.

"What was that?"  Fly asked from a few steps back, the wind making it hard to hear anything below a yell.

"Just commenting on the lovely weather!"  He called back with an obviously fake cheerfulness.  She shot him an unamused look, which he ignored.

Birch had taken the opportunity to snag as many blankets as he could from the inn, and was now a walking
bundle.  Oak envied whatever warmth the boy had.

After a bit of walking, Oak spotted a shop.  A shop...with *wagons* parked outside.

He smirked.  "Birch!"

The boy looked up, his eyes and nose just barely visible under his blankets.

"I've been thinking about getting a new wagon, what do you think?"

The Mimik followed his gaze and nodded.  His voice was muffled by the layers, but Oak assumed he was in.

"What?"  Fly asked with a slight frown.

Oak grinned back at her.  "Congratulations!  You are going to help us steal a wagon."