Hai.

You know the drill, people. Enjoy this beautiful little fanfic and your time with Ling! This was requested by @fmageek77, and also @CompleteWeabooTrash, @SongWolf42, and @KaitlynHollon wanted this. Holy shizniz a lot of people like Ling. And that is okay, because I decided to try and make this as adorable and cute as possible.

And it is also very long, and Ling may seem a little bit OOC. I am sorry about that. Actually I am not sorry. Also I do not believe that Prince Kai is an actual Prince of Xing. I made him up so he is the only thing I own in this story. Not that I want to own him because he is a meany.

Anyways, ENJOY THE CUTENESS AND THANKS SOOOOO MUCH YOU GUYS!

~Kida

~*~

Once upon a time, you were a noble. So why were you here, living on a small farm in a poor town, working out in the feilds until your back protested enough to make you decide to stop working and go rest?

In your eyes, it was the better option.

Your parents were nobles in Xing, and you were their only child. You were raised by a nurse that worked there, and when you were thirteen your mother decided to talk to you. You were in your room, writing in a journal you kept, when she walked in. Being polite, you put away your book and stood up to greet her.

"(Y/N), I have something that I'd like your opinion on." She said to you.

You nodded. "Yes, mother?"

"Well, you are getting older, darling, so your father and I decided to start to talk about your marriage. What is your opinion about it?"

Marriage? But I'm only thirteen! You thought. You'd never say that to your mother, though, so instead you decided to word it much more politely. "I believe that marriage is a good thing," You said, truthfully. "For when you found someone you truly love. I do not think that I'd be ready for such a responsibility at my age."

Your mother nodded. "Yes, you are still young. Which is why we will wait, and introduce you to the Prince Kai at the ball that will be happening next Thursday."

Did you not just hear what I said?

"Yes, mother." You told her, and she smiled to you before leaving. Sighing dramaticly after she left, you fell onto your bed and closed your eyes. "This is too sudden."

~~Skip to after the Ball~~

You walked back to your room, and uncerimonially changed into your night gown before snuggling up in your bed. The ball had been interesting, and you did your best to be polite and kind to the Prince, but...he just wasn't your type.

One thing that just sold you off was when you learned that he had forty eight other wives. That guy got around, and why he had so many was beyond you. He was only twenty two, so how did he get so many in such a small time? Some of the wives you met and conversed with were incredibly stuck up and snotty, others depressed, and others just too happy for their own good.

The Prince himself wasn't a bad man-he was a Prince after all. He was polite and kind to you, and incredibly handsome, but it just seemed like a little too much. And besides, he looked as though he was wearing a mask and that his true self wouldn't be a kind and polite person. So, in short, he wasn't your type.

But when you decided to try and tell your mother that, she didn't listen to you at all, telling you that in time you would grow to love him. You didn't really believe her, but couldn't deny to yourself that the wedding was going to happen whether you wanted it to or not.

~~Three Years Later~~

Your mother had just informed you that the wedding was going to happen that weekend, on the Saturday at noon. You were not in love with him, and you didn't want to just become another objet. So, you decided to do the only thing that seemed reasonable in this messed-up fairy tale that you were in: you ran away.

And elderly couple took you in not long after you had met them, and you began to work with them on their farm. You were well disguised, because no one seemed to be able to recognize you at all. Then again, after wearing such elegant dresses, jewlery and makeup, it wasn't all that surprising that no one seemed to recognize you now that you were wearing "peasant clothes", as you mother would call them. Besides, it seemed that the last thought anyone would have would be that a noble girl trying to hide from everyone else was hiding as a peasant girl.

Some people were just stupid.

As you worked out in the fields, you started to hum a tune that your nursemaid used to sing to you when you were a young girl. She would hold you close during a thunderstorm and sing that song to you, making you feel much more safe. "Now, (Y/N) dearest, don't be afraid." She would say to you. "When the time comes when you have to face something such as thunder again, just hum this tune, and remember that I will always care for you. And if not me, then it shall be your Prince Charming! Someday he will come along, so don't ever lose hope on that."

You shook your head at the "Prince Charming" thought. In your own opinion, a Prince could indeed be charming, but that might not make him pure or the "right one" for you. After meeting Prince Kai, you seemed determined to think that all Princes were stuck up and too full of themselves. You didn't need a Prince Charming, after all. You were a warrior, and you would fight to keep your freedom from becoming another person's objet.

It was later that night when your grandfather(the couple insisted that you call them "grandfather" and "grandmother") asked you to go into the woods and fetch him some herbs for his medicines. You agreed, and after your grandmother warned to about getting home before sundown, you took your satchel and went off in search of the herbs.

You knew these woods like the back of your hand now, after living here for over two years. You were eighteen by now, and you were very happy with the way things seemed to be turning out. So far your true identity had not been discovered, you were living in a nice and quiet village with great people who loved and respected you, and you could finally learn the one thing that you had always wanted: medicine. You loved learning about it, and your grandfather was willing to teach you all about it as soon as you mentioned it.

Now gathering some herbs in your satchel, you stood and began to walk away, when a strange growl came to your ears. You froze, and slowly turned around to see some sort of weird cat slowly stalking towards you. You had never seen one like it before, and didn't know what to do about it. You assumed that it was carniverous by the way it was stalking towards you, and that you had been picked to be it's next meal. All you had to defend yourself was the little knife you used to get the herbs, but it was pretty dull and probably would only work in slowing the beast down a little bit.

Nevertheless, you stood your ground and slashed at the beast when it attacked you, but you only suceeded in making a small cut on it's arm. The cut didn't slow it down either, but just made it angrier, as though now it was thinking, Well, I was just going to catch you and eat you, but you had to make it hard. I guess that I will just have to catch you and eat you instead!

Now that you thought about it, that thought didn't make any sense at all.

So, when the beast began to attack you again, you raised your knife and decided to aim for it's chest, but the beast fell to the ground before you could do so. You fell back, leaning on your hands behind you as you looked at the man on top of the cat. He had long black hair and very(very very) thin eyes. He was wearing a yellow shirt that exposed part of his chest, and white pants with sandals, with a gleaming sword in his hand that he pulled out of the back of the cat. He wasn't that bad looking, but you shook your head at that thought and instead you replaced it with annoyance.

"I could have handled it myself." You grumbled, standing up and dusting yourself off.

That man looked at you with his head cocked slightly to the side. "I usually don't get that response."

You crossed your arms and frowned at him. "What kind of response do you usually get?"

Jumping off the dead cat, he walked towards you and stopped right in front of you. You were even more annoyed that he was actually taller than you. "Well, usually the damsal in destress will run up to me, hug me, and say, Thank you sir, I owe you my life! I should introduce you to my parents so that we shall be married in the morning!" He made his voice high-pitched at the end, as though mocking a girls' voice. He was obviously being sarcastic with that, which was reveal by his smirk, but you were unamussed.

You glared at him. "Oh, my Prince Charming." You sarcastically said.

"I suppose you could call me that." He grinned, putting his hands on his hips.

"I was being sarcastic," You told him, sticking up your chin in annoyance, hoping to offend him somehow. "I'm not calling you that."

"Very well, then, you can call me Ling."

"Fine, Ling," You stood up a little straighter, deciding that you had enough, and that you should get back home before your grandmother got angry. "I suppose that I, Owe you my life and should introduce you to my parents so that we shall be married in the morning." You made sure to make that last part more high-pitched like he did. After saying that, you turned around and started for home.

"You know, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea," He grinned, starting to follow you. "But I would really like to know the name of the lady I'm marrying before I marry her."

"You are not marrying me," You growled. "And I don't need to tell you my name."

"Aw, come on! You can tell me, I won't tell anyone!"

"You're acting like a stubborn Prince." You grumbled.

"A stubborn Prince?" Ling repeated, frowning at you. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I've known a few, and you are acting like one!" You yelled at him.

"Not all Princes are stubborn," He disagreed. "Some of them can be nice. You must have just met some of the stupid ones!"

You huffed. "How are you so optimistic all the time?"

"It is just another part of my charm!" Ling winked at you, making you roll your eyes. "And if you shall not tell me your name, then I shall call you...Princess!"

"Please, no, anything but that." You said, meaning to sound a little more enthusiastic about that, but instead you ended up sounding much more bored.

"Then you must tell me your name, Princess." Ling got in front of you, stopping, and making you stop.

Looking up at him, you frowned. "Ling, get out of the way. I have to get home."

"Tell me your name first!"

"No."

"Then I shall take you to my house!"

"NO!" You yelled, clenching your fists by your side. "If you really want to know so badly, then it's (Y/N). Now stop following me."

"But I wanted to meet your parents so that we may get married!" He laughed, falling into step with you.

"That'll be a bit hard, because I don't have any parents." You grumbled.

"You don't?" Ling asked, the smile leaving his face to be replaced with a frown.

"No," You grumbled. "I live with my grandparents."

"Oh." Ling sounded sympathetic. "Well, if it is any consideration, I don't really know my parents either."

"Oh really?" You asked, raising an eyebrow and not quite believeing him.

"Yep! I know my father, but not my mother. I was adopted, but I can still keep in touch with my father."

"Why don't you just live with your father?" You asked him.

"Because he doesn't have the time to raise children. He's a busy man, and I think that he wanted to give me and my siblings a chance to be raised in what you may call a "loving family" instead of being raised by a man who can't look after you."

You almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

When the trees opened up to reveal your village not too far away, you almost sighed in relief. "Well, I'm sorry but I must leave now, Ling. It was nice talking to you, blah blah blah, and I hope that we never meet again."

"Do you hate me that much already?" He asked, smiling largly.

"How does that thought make you happy?" You asked.

"I think that it's a new record." He winked at you again, making you roll your eyes again. "And that means that my charm isn't quite working all the time." He raised his sword high in the air, grinning. "It is now my goal in life to get you to fall for my charms and make you happy to see me!"

"Yeah, good luck with that," You started to walk away from him. "Goodbye."

"Thank you, but I don't believe that I shall be needing luck!" Ling yelled after you, waving.

He almost made you smile at that, but you shook your head and continued walking away.

~*~

Over the next months, when you would go to collect herbs for your grandfather, Ling would end up being there somehow. You had no idea about how he knew when you would be there, but you ended up learning more about him(and he about you) without any choice. He would try to get you to fall for his charms, but you always just turned away, calling him a "Stubborn Prince" and in turn he would call you his "Enchanting Warrior". It wasn't the worst nickname you could have, and you didn't mind it incredibly much, but that seemed to be the only thing you didn't mind about him.

Over time, you ended up enjoying Ling's precense more, and even found yourself smiling around him. You would end up catching yourself, but once in a while he would catch your smile. The first time he caught you, he gasped and poked your mouth. "I never knew it could go upwards!" He teased.

You immediatly stopped smiling. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do! You just smiled!"

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did!" He gave you a grin of his own. "And it was beautiful. You should smile more."

You just managed to look away before he could catch your tiny blush and tease you about that too.

Your grandparents seemed to notice that you would stay longer in the forest to get herbs, and your excuses didn't really matter much anymore. I just couldn't find this one was getting old, and you didn't know about how much longer you could hold off telling them about Ling, who had apparently become a friend even though you denied it.

"It's a boy, isn't it?" Grandmother asked one night while you were helping her clean the dishes.

You visibly stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, (Y/N), don't try to hide it! Your gandfather and I may be old, but we're not blind. I was the same way when I was your age!"

"It's not a boy!" You argued. "It's just some guy I met in the woods while getting herbs and we've just been talking, but that doesn't mean we're together!"

"But do you want to be?"

"Of course I don't!"

"(Y/N), don't push away love," Your grandmother said, now with a serious look on her face. "If you push this boy away now, you may end up realizing you love him when it's too late."

"I don't love him! He acts like a stubborn Prince, and I refuse to fall in love with someone like that!"

Grandmother sighed. "Just don't push him away, alright? What if he loves you and is trying to show it, but you keep pushing him away?"

"He doesn't-" You paused then, thinking about all of the things that Ling had tried to do to "charm" you. He had shown you more of the forest, more of the land, showing you different things that you ended up enjoying more than you would let on. He knew about the different herbs and the forest, even though he dressed and acted as though he were a noble. He knew how to fight and defend himself, and had taught you as well, even though he claimed it was just incase of an emergency. He was always kind to you, even if you tried to push him away. "-well, now that I think about it I don't know."

Grandmother smiled at you. "Well, I suppose that there is one way to find out if it is love."

"What?"

"You kiss him and find out his reaction!"

Your eyes widened. "No way am I kissing him!"

"(Y/N), if you want to find out if it is love, then you should do so. It might even bring to light your own feelings."

You sighed, now scrubbing the bowl you were washing much harder, deciding to take out your anger on it. "I don't want to jump into love before I'm ready to."

"Well, maybe now you are ready to." Your grandmother smiling kindly to you. "I know that you've told me you've been wary and hurt in the past, but you shouldn't use the past to disguise your future."

"I just didn't want to become some objet to some stupid Prince who would forget who I am right after I had married him." You finally put the dish aside, deciding to spare it before you broke it.

"Well, maybe he won't think of you in that way."

You sighed. "Is it alright if I go to sleep?"

Your grandmother nodded. "Go and think, child. I just don't want you to lose this possible chance for you to be happy."

You nodded and walked away, to your bedroom, where you changed into your night clothes and laid down on your bed. Is it possible that I do love him? You thought. I don't want this to end up as some fairy tale that had a once upon a time, but has no happily ever after.

~*~

The next day, as you went to get some herbs again, you ended up running into Ling. He grinned as he walked to you, and you looked away after you saw him and continued to gather the herbs. "Good morning, my Enchanting Warrior!" He greeted you, sitting down next to you and pulling some flowers out from behind his back.

You took them hesitantly. "Uh, thanks, Ling." You said, allowing the tiniest smile to come onto your face, and you hoped that Ling wouldn't see it.

But of course he did, because whenever he saw you smile his own would grow even larger and brighter. "Do you like them?"

"No, they're hideous." You told him, but he knew that you were being sarcastic.

"It's unfortunate that you think so. When I saw them I thought they were very beautiful, because they reminded me of you."

You blushed slightly, deciding to put your face in the flowers and smell them to hide the pink on your cheeks. "At least they smell nice." You mumbled, willing the blush to go away so that you could look at him. "What are they for?"

"Well, I'm going to be leaving for a while, and I thought-"

"Wait, leaving?" You asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Yes. You've heard about how the Emperor is dying, yes?"

"Well, yes, but what does that have to do with-?"

"He is going to chose someone to be his heir, but if I want to become Emperor then I have to impress him. I've decided to go to Amestris, where I will be able to search for the the Philosopher's stone. If I can do that, then I will for sure be able to become Emperor."

You frowned. "But I thought that only the sons and daughters of the Emperor could become an heir to the throne..."

Ling frowned himself, matchin your face. "But I am one of the Emperor's sons."

You both stared at each other in silence for a while. "H-how-?"

"I-I guess that I always just assumed you knew that...I gave you hints all over the place, and I think I even told you so at one point..."

You looked at Ling for a while longer. He was a Prince-a Prince-and he never told you. Or he did, and it was just at one point when you weren't listening to him. You wanted to hate him, because you had met Prince Kai and a few others after you had run away, and they were all the same: stuck-up, bratty, too good-looking to be real, and always feeling the need to "charm" anything that could walk and talk in the same language they were speaking. You hated royalty, and you didn't want to ever end up falling for royalty or let alone marry royalty.

Yes, you admit it. You had fallen for Ling.

But, try as hard as you could, you couldn't really find yourself hating Ling. After getting to know him all that time, he just wasn't like his brothers. You wanted to give him a chance, but you just couldn't really find yourself being able to. Nevertheless, you decided that you had enough herbs and would leave to think things over.

Standing up and gathering your things(even the flowers), you gave him a small smile. "Well, I wish you luck then, Ling. But it's not like you'll ever need it."

Ling frowned, standing up with you. "You're leaving already?"

You nodded. "Yes. I've got all of my herbs."

"(Y/N), I don't want this to really change anything-"

"No, I don't really want it to either. But listen, Ling, I need time to think about this. I do wish you luck, though."

Ling sighed. "Look, meet me here tomorrow, alright? I'm not leaving until Saturday. I don't want this to be the last we see of each other for a while."

Without giving him an answer, you walked away.

~*~

"He was royalty, grandmother!" You groaned, laying your head down on the table as she cooked soup for dinner. "Royalty."

"Well, at least you've admitted that there is a boy." Grandmother smiled cheekily at you.

You glared slightly. "I can't believe this."

"Well, it would appear that you have no choice."

"He's leaving on Saturday to go to Amestris."

"Really?"

"I'm not going to see him for a long time, it would seem."

"Such a shame. Something similar happened when I first met your grandfather. He had to go off to another country, so I gave him one of my lucky rabbit's feet for his luck and to remember me by."

You sighed, closing your eyes. "I don't know what to do, Grandmother. What should I do?"

"You should reassure him that you will be there for him. Maybe not in person, but in spirit. And if you love him, tell him before it's too late."

"But I don't know if I do! I'm so confused right now!"

"You deserve a fairy tale ending to this story, (Y/N), after all that you have been through."

You sighed. "Yeah, well I just don't want my story to have started off with a Once upon a time and then not have a Happily ever after."

"You will get your happily ever after."

That night, you went over that conversation in your head over and over again, and hoped that your Grandmother was right. You decided that you would tell Ling about how you felt-somehow. You weren't sure how, yet, but you wanted him to know. Getting up, you went to your night stand and went through your drawers, looking for something that would be able to help you with your problem.

~*~

"(Y/N), you came!" Ling cheered the next day, rushing over to you. He stopped right in front of you, as though he was going to hug you, but stopped himself. You were almost disapointed.

"Yep, I'm here," You told him, rolling your eyes at his enthusiasm. "And-"

"Wait, before you say anything, I have something that I would like to say." He told you. He cleared his throat, and put his hands on your shoulders. "I'm sorry."

You frowned. "Sorry? For what?"

"For not telling you clearer when we first met. It wasn't fair to you-"

"I'm actually glad you didn't, because if you did, then I probably would have never entered that forest again."

He frowned. "Which one of my brothers did you meet to get you this way?"

"I first met Kai." You grumbled.

He whistled. "Well, that couldn't have been a worse choice. I understand that you don't like royalty because of that."

You chuckled slightly. "Yeah. Anyways, I want to apologize for my own behavior as well. It was unfair to you that I would judge you like that just because I found out you were royalty when I had known you for so long."

Ling raised an eyebrow. "Wait, are you telling me that you actually enjoyed my company?"

"Don't get your hopes up," You told him, shrugging his hands off of your shoulders. "And...I wanted to give you this." You took out of your satchel a cloth, and inside of that cloth was a rabbit's foot on a long red lether string. "My grandmother gave me this. She said it should bring you good luck."

Ling looked at it with a smile. "It's..."

After a moment of silence, you began to fold it back up in the cloth. "Ah, I'm sorry, what was I thinking? You don't need luck after all-"

"No!" Ling shook his head, taking the rabbit's foot. "No, I want it. I think that I will need all the luck I can get on this journey."

You smiled to him. "Alright."

Taking the rabbit's foot, he took out his sword and attached it to the end of the hilt. "This way, whenever I am fighting I can always remember that I shall be fighting for my Enchanting Warrior."

You blushed slightly, but shook your head. "Yeah, whatever."

Ling smiled at you. "And I promise that after I get the philosopher's stone and become Emperor, I shall change the rules so that Royalty may marry whomever they wish."

You frowned. "Why?"

"There is a rule right now that Royalty may only marry nobles," Ling reached out and pulled you close to him by your waist, surprising you, and you put your hands on his chest to balance yourself. "And when I am Emperor, I shall change that so that I may marry you."

You couldn't stop the blush this time. "Oh really?"

"Yes."

You chuckled slightly. "Well, Ling, I suppose that I should tell you something as well." He nodded. "I ran away from my family. I used to be a noble."

His eyes widened, but then he smiled. "But no one else knows that."

You sighed. "Yes, I suppose so."

"Well, when I become Emperor I shall change the rules, marry you, and if you don't want to be known as the old noble you were then we shall never bring that up."

You genuinly smiled. "Fine. But I suppose that I have no say in this, huh?"

"No, you don't, because I am the royalty here." He poked your nose. "And you're not. Therefore you shall do as I say."

"I'm not as annoyed right now as I should be." You grumbled.

"Good." Ling leaned down slightly and kissed your forehead. "I will come back soon, alright?"

"How soon?"

"I'm not quite sure yet, but I promise that it will be soon."

You finally gave in and hugged Ling, lying your head on his chest while he put his chin on top of your head. For a while you both just stood there like that, before he finally let go. "I have to go now, but I promise that I will return for you."

You put your hands on your hips. "What do I look like, a stupid damsal in destress? I'm a warrior, thank you very much."

Ling smiled brightly. "I know you are."

~~A Few Months Later/Epilouge~~

It had been a long time without seeing Ling. You had recieved no news about him or his whereabouts, but you knew that he would be alright. It had gotten quite lonely and you life seemed less bright without him around. When you finally told your grandfather you needed some sort of medicine for that, and after telling him your symptoms, he only laughed and told you that you were love-sick, and that there was no cure for that.

Just another thing to dampen your spirits.

Your grandparents had decided one night that they would go to the nearest town to sell the medicines they had like they always did around this time of year, but this time you elected to stay behind. You wanted nothing more than some soup, a nice bath, and some sleep that night. They had agreed for you to stay behind, and then went off.

After you had eaten your soup and taken a nice bath, you dressed in your night gown and prepared to go to sleep, even if it was a little early. Your grandparents wouldn't be home until the next day, so you would have some time to yourself. Closing your eyes, you prepared to sleep, when suddenly there was a large knock at the door. Confused, you waited for a moment until you heard the knocking again, telling you that you hadn't imagined it.

Putting on a robe over your night gown, you walked to the door and opened it to reveal none other than Ling Yao. He was dressed in his yellow shirt(that exposed his pretty chest-wait, you did not just think that), white pants, sandals, and had multiple bandages on and scars. At his side was his sword with the rabbit's foot on it, and your eyes widened at the sight. He was back. "Ling?" You asked hesitantly, and he smiled and nodded.

"May I come in?" He asked you, and you stood aside to let him in right away.

"Would you like something to eat?" You asked him after forcing him to sit at a chair at the dinning table.

"Well, I don't want to be rude-"

"Ling, I know that your stomach is like a black hole, and there is plenty of soup left." You told him, already getting him a bowl. "Now you are going to eat or I am going to force it down your throat."

"I am so happy that my fiancé cares for me so." He smiled brightly, gladly taking the soup.

Fiancé. It made you feel very happy for some reason, and couldn't get the happy thought out of your head. "Yes, well I will turn into an angry fiancé if you don't eat that soon."

After Ling had about seven bowls, he finally took out a vial with red liquid inside. "The Pilosopher's stone, (Y/N). I got it."

You smiled as you looked at it, and then looked at Ling. "I knew you would."

"I'm pretty sure that your rabbit's foot helped."

You laughed at that. "Well, I'm not quite sure about that."

Ling smiled at you. "I missed you."

"I didn't miss you."

"Aw, come on! I know that you did."

"Maybe a little bit."

"Well, that's a start."

For a moment you both sat in a comfortable silence. "Would you like to stay the night?"

His eyes widened. "Uh, are you sure about that? I mean, me staying here and all-"

"Relax, my grandparents are away. And if you do nothing bad then I won't kick you out."

Ling smiled. "Can we cuddle, though?"

You decided to tease him with a scrunched up face. "Cuddle?"

"Yes. You have no say in the matter. I am royalty and a Prince, therefore I demand that we cuddle."

"You're so stubborn."

"And you're so enchanting."

You smiled. "Fine, we can cuddle."

A few months later, Ling became the Emperor. There was a huge ceremony, and not long after he had become Emperor he changed to rule of Royalty only marrying nobles, and took you up to be his wife. After becoming Emperess, you and Ling had (however many children you want), and your grandparents became well-known doctors. You never really did meet your real parents again, but you suppose that you don't need to. You were happy, and that was really all that mattered.

And you all lived happily ever after.