One morning, Prince Trowa of the L3 Kingdom was taking a stroll near his castle on his beloved horse, Heavyarms. He saw a lion dancing and jumping around a midsummer tree and was deeply fascinated. Prince Trowa had always been quite fond of those adorable furry kings of the jungles. Unfortunately, his protective father King Wufei would have none of it in his kingdom and thus denied poor Trowa of such a request. Now that Prince Trowa had a chance to get close to his favorite animal, he was not about to let it slip away. The prince picked up his sword and galloped after the lion, completely forgotten about the danger that lurked in the woods.
The lion started to run faster as Prince Trowa strove to keep up with his hunt. The woods got darker and darker as the prince wandered further and further away from his safe home. Finally, with one big leap, the lion disappeared behind the bushes, leaving behind it a devastated and upset Prince Trowa.
However, the bad luck was only starting. Suddenly Prince Trowa found himself surrounded by a heavy fog, and soon he was separated from Heavyarms. The young prince could do nothing but wandered around in the dangerous woods, trying his best to use his analytical ability in order to solve the problem. After what appeared to be several hours, Prince Trowa was still nowhere close to home.
It was then that he saw a light not far away before him. In desperation, the poor prince rushed forward, hoping vainly that it was someone from the castle who had come looking for him. But to his disappointment, what he found instead was a strange garden where flowers were birds and creatures of the unknown. Different things moved before him in an assortment of colors, like the ever-changing pattern of a kaleidoscope. Knowing that he had stepped into unknown territory, Prince Trowa decided to retreat. But alas! It was too late! The exit had long been sealed.
"Why are you running away, young man?" The voice was low, cold, and quiet; it was soothing yet dangerous. Prince Trowa turned around and found before him a blue-eyed young man sitting at what appeared to be an elaborate throne. The owner of the voice had a beautiful face and his muscular figure was hidden under a long cloak decorated with the patterns unknown to mankind. The patterns and images on his cloak seemed to move as he spoke, like a dozen colorful snakes moving and creeping over a dark cloak. The mysterious man's dark brown hair appeared to be as soft as the down of a new-born chick. Everything about him appeared beautiful and dangerous at the same time.
"I must return home," Prince Trowa replied politely. "For this is not of my domain."
"Nobody comes to my garden and leaves," the owner of the garden rose and shed his cloak, revealing his strong and finely sculptured body. He reached out and seized the panic-stricken prince. "I'm the beast of Midsummer they so warn you of. Remember that I have a name, and it is Heero Yuy." With those words, Heero gleefully carried off his new prey into his den.
The peaceful kingdom of L3 was now plagued by the atmosphere of tragedy. Their prince had not returned from his outing. The king's men found his beloved horse galloping outside the castle walls, but the attempts to bring back Prince Trowa was futile. Inside the now dark and grieving castle, King Wufei paced back and forth before his throne. His handsome face was now ravaged by the worries and concern for his beloved son. Where could he have gone? It had been more than a day and his men was not able to bring back any trace or word of his son. Finally, the king sent for the ever-so-adorable and well-liked Prince Quatre of the neighboring L4 Kingdom, who was engaged, to Prince Trowa.
"My dear Prince Quatre," said a grieving King Wufei. "I deeply regret to inform you that your beloved Prince Trowa is missing. He disappeared two days ago while taking a stroll in the woods. I am afraid that the worst may have happened..." The king sighed while Prince Quatre paled and fainted. "This is not Justice. How can I ever face my dead wife?!"
"I shall see to it that your son and my brother get married," the ever-so-outspoken Prince Duo caught his brother just as he fell. "Please provide us with enough weapons so that we may set out and bring back your son, as you know that L4 kingdom has no weapons due to its love for peace."
"Of course, Prince Duo," King Wufei nodded in approval despite his usual stubborn self. "Though I disapprove of your typical gaudiness and talkative behavior, I must say that I agree with your suggestions and support it. Therefore I shall bestow upon you and Prince Quatre the weapons needed to bring back my son. However, if you shall fail to do so, you shall never see your homeland again and your heads shall be hung among my wall of trophies."
So this was how Prince Quatre and Prince Duo ended up on the trail for the Midsummer beast and Prince Trowa. For many days they wandered in the woods, hoping that by mere luck of the draw that they would find what they were looking for. However, they found nothing after a week.
Prince Quatre got off his Sandrock and sat down under a tall Midsummer Tree. "I shall never see Trowa again!" His big blue eyes filled up with tears. "It was all my fault! I should've married him last month!"
"Awww... brother," the ever-so-kind Prince Duo patted his brother on the back affectionately. "Surely we will find Trowa before it's too late. I've heard that the Midsummer beast is insatiable. He would not pass us up." Prince Duo's words did little to appease his dear fragile brother; his words only served to exacerbate the already hopeless situation.
"That means Trowa would be dead by the time the beast wants us!" Prince Quatre was sobbing in earnest now, his small frame rocked by the force of his sobs. Prince Duo could do nothing but try his best to cheer up his beloved brother, as he had done many times in the past. It was then that they saw a light from not far away. Both young princes stood up and climbed upon their beloved horse, galloping forward to the source. Alas! They had found what they were looking for.
Heero the Midsummer Beast couldn't help but grin as he felt his victim struggling under him. This pretty thing had proven to be the tastiest and the most enduring. It made Heero even hungrier as he felt his victim's heart beating fast and hard against his. He enjoyed feeling the fear of his victims. It was always fulfilling for Heero when he toyed and feasted, but the aftermath was always filled with agony as his conscience reprimanded him for his evil deeds. It was a never-ending cycle of pain and torture.
Heero smiled as he reached inside again, feeling that vital part of his body connected and was enveloped by that same warmth of Prince Trowa. This was one of his favorite part of the ritual. It was one of the best way to drain the life from his prey. Heero would come back and took the prince again and again, until there was scarcely any life left in the poor victim; then, the beast would proceed to drink down the soul. Ah ... the hallowed ritual of the pleasure of flesh preceding that of the spirit ...
It was the presence of two human beings that deterred Heero from completing the ritual. So close to finishing. The beast stood up and turned his face toward the entrance of his den. Standing before him were two young men of extraordinary beauty. One had beautiful golden locks that reminded him of an angel while the other one was seductively delicious. Though the latter was not of the type that the beast would go for, Heero found himself deeply drawn to him. The beast approached the two princes. Oh how surprised they were to see that the legendary beast possessed the form of a young man!
Prince Duo decided that a small sacrifice must be made in order to give his brother life-time happiness. Thus, he stepped forward and embraced the beast suddenly, his arms locked around the latter and refused to let go. "Why!" Prince Duo cried. "Tis the man of my dreams! I have finally found you, my love!!" Prince Quatre ran forward to his distressed fiancé and wrapped his cloak around Prince Trowa's nude body.
It took Quatre all his strength to lift Prince Trowa and carried him out of the den. As Prince Quatre turned around in search of his brother, the most amazing event occurred. The den was now gone and so was the garden. In its place was a big castle-the legendary L1 kingdom had arose from the dead. The curse had been broken. For the enthusiasm and kindness of Prince Duo had overpowered even the most powerful spell in the world.
So our beloved Prince Trowa married Prince Quatre upon returning to L3 Kingdom and after Prince Quatre having succeeded in convincing Prince Trowa that he would still marry him despite the horrid fact that his originally pure self had been tarnished by the hands of the wretched beast. As for the ever-so-happy Prince Duo, he married the former beast and was happily torturing him everyday with his never-ending blabber. It was here that the Legend of the Beast of Midsummer came to its mesmerizing close.