Fine's POV
Some sacrifices must be made for the sake of others, even at the cost of your own life.
My sister and I cowered in fear as the monster towered over us, laughing a horrible laugh.
"You cannot escape now, futago hime. The life of the Mysterious Star is on the line. You wouldn't betray your beloved planet, would you? Now come here, my little pets."
We didn't want to do this.
We didn't want to be used by this monster.
But we had no choice.
It was for the sake of all our friends, for the sake of everybody living on Fushigi Boshi.
It was our job to protect them.
It would be our little secret.
I gripped my sister's hand and we walked forward.
We were doing the right thing…right?
Morning came. I awoke to the sound of Camelot's ranting.
"Fine-sama! Rein-sama! Wake up! You're going to be late for school!"
I buried my head in my pillow.
"Just a little longer…" Rein and I murmured in unison. The same words every morning. The same lazy princesses who didn't want to get out of bed.
Only this time it wasn't because we were being lazy.
We were genuinely tired—from yesterday night.
"You're going to get points taken off if you're late again de-poomo," Poomo reminded us.
"Mmmm…" we answered, still half-asleep.
Poomo didn't know.
And we weren't planning on telling him.
But we still had to act normal, to prevent suspicions.
So that's why, a couple minutes later...
"AHHHHHHH! HURRY UP WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" I yelled, frantically bustling about and getting all my school things.
"What did I tell you de-poomo?" Poomo sighed.
I shoved on my hat while Rein got her schoolbag and we flew out of our room.
The school bell was chiming.
Five…Four…
We ran faster.
Three…Two…
We were almost there…
One.
"WE'RE HERE!" we shouted as we burst into the classroom.
Some people looked up, but most of our classmates were already used to this daily morning routine.
Rein and I breathed a sigh off relief, then started toward our seats. Suddenly, a sharp pain sliced through my stomach. I let out a cry and fell to my knees, clutching it in agony.
Damn, I forgot about the wound.
Rein hurried over. I could tell she was scared, really scared.
"F-Fine, are you all right?" She looked about ready to cry.
"Hey, don't worry. I'm okay. Just—" I winced.
It hurt so much.
But I couldn't let anyone know about it.
It was our secret.
The whole class had rushed to me when I collapsed. I heard their worried voices and saw their troubled eyes. But they were only making me hurt even more.
Shade came over and kneeled down to face me. When his troubled violet eyes met mine, I felt a pain deep inside my chest. Shade...I'm sorry...
"Fine, what's wrong? Do you have a fever or something?" He reached out to feel my forehead. I immediately backed away and picked myself up, trying as hard as I could not to show the unbearable pain I was in. Spots danced before my eyes. I felt lightheaded. But I sucked in a huge gulp of air and smiled a big smile.
"Daijoubu! Daijoubu! My stomach just hurts a little. I must've eaten a bad cake yesterday." I forced a laugh.
Rein came over and backed me up.
"That's what you get when you eat so many cakes," she pretended to sigh. Turning to the others, she said, "I'm going to bring her to the infirmary for now. It's okay. Knowing her, she'll recover soon."
"Here, let me come with you," Shade offered.
At this I shook my head vigorously. Shade couldn't come. He of all people couldn't find out.
"No, no, it's alright," Rein assured him. "You wouldn't want to miss class, would you? Don't worry, we'll be fine."
Without another word, Rein and I shuffled quickly out of the classroom.
"Hey—Wait!" Shade called after us.
His voice made my heart ache.
I wanted to run back to him.
I wanted to tell him everything.
But that wasn't an option.
So I just squeezed my eyes shut and kept walking.
It hurt so much, so much.
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