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Once there was a Prince named Heero, known throughout the land for his nasty temper and violent manner.
As his mother had often warned him, one day he said the wrong thing to the wrong person, who happened to be an indignant sorceress named Relena. Angry because of his sharp tongue and his habit of ignoring her flirting (he was very handsome, and she had hoped to have him for herself), she turned him into a unicorn right then and there, chasing him into the forest to roam wild and uncared for.
The only thing that would break the curse was a magical ring, which Relena hid deep in the forest, in a place Heero couldn't reach; for you see, unicorns can't clumb, and Relena had tauntingly hung it in a high oak for all to see.
But none dared bring down the ring; they were too afraid of the former prince. And so poor Heero lived alone in the forest for months, growing to regret his bad comments, but still maintaining his horrible temper.
Now one day he ran across a boy in his forest, trying to fish from a stream. Heero was about to chase him away from his drinking water when the boy turned and saw him, grinning cheekily. "Ohayo!" he greeted. Heero stared. His eyes were riveted on the lean form and long braid.
"I'm Duo," the boy offered, bouncing to his feet, his violet eyes sparkling. "Who're you?"
"Heero," the unicorn said gruffly, glaring.
Duo hid a smirk, acting innocent. "My, my, a horse that talks. Now I've seen everything." Now Duo knew very well who Heero was. Anybody who was anybody had heard of the prince's misfortune, but Duo said none of this.
Heero nodded towards the nearby oak, his hope sparked by Duo's seeming ignorance. "See that ring in that tree?"
"Oh, hai."
"If you get it and give it to me, I will grant you one wish."
Duo hemmed and hawed comically for a moment, then grinned. "All right!" Right away he scrambled into the tree and plucked the shining ring like a fruit. Below him, Heero fought to control his excitement.
"Yes, now bring it to me."
"Just a second," Duo said umpudently, pouting. "First you need to hear my wish."
"Fine, fine," Heero said, stamping his hooves impatiently, hoping it was something easy, like money. "Tell me. Anything, it's yours."
Duo's eyes glinted as he said, "You are a very pretty horse. If I give you this ring, I get to ride you for a day."
Heero balked, then said firmly, "I cannot allow that."
Duo shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "Fine. THen I can't give you this ring."
Fuming, Heero paced around the tree, thinking furiously. 'The boy has no idea what I really am,' he reminded himself. 'Once I transform, he will have to make another wish.' Smirking at his own cleverness, he agreed. "All right. Granted. Now give me the ring."
But Duo leapt down and tugged on the prince's mane insistently. "First come home with me. I'll get you some food, and then you can have the ring."
And so Heero reluctantly followed the chattering boy to his cabin. Once there, Duo slipped the ring over Heero's horn and hurried into the forest, calling, "I need to get some firewood. Make yourself at home, horsey!"

When Duo returned almost an hour later, burdened with firewood, he found the human prince sprawled on the couch, deep asleep, a contented look on his handsome face. A few dishes lay nearby from his meal. Grinning, Duo hastily stacked his wood in a corner, chuckling deviously.
Heero's eyes snapped open as he felt something heavy settle on top of him, nimble fingers peeling open the robe borrowed from Duo's closet.
"Baka!" he yelled, glaring up at the grinning boy straddling him. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Duo's grin widened as he leaned over, running his hands over the finely sculptured body, chuckling as the other boy shuddered beneath him. He kissed him soundly, and when he pulled away, his voice was husky as he lazily divested his guest of the interfering robe.
"Tsk, tsk, Prince, don't you remember my wish? You promised to grant it. Now shut up. I'm not letting you get away so easy."
Heero would have protested, but found himself unable to do more than gasp as the braided boy's mouth and hands went to work.
It turned out that Duo's wish lasted more than a day, and the two lived happily ever after.

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