The title comes from the fact that everyone in a fairy tale has a wish of some sort. -Rin
To Wish - Sleeping Beauty
Once upon a time, there was a king a queen who had been wanting a child for a very long time. Finally, after many years, the queen have birth to a healthy baby boy, who she named Jirou. It seemed their troubles were over.
They threw a grand banquet to share their joy with the whole kingdom. At the top of the guest list were the seven fairies of the land, who had agreed to be the baby's godfathers. This is where the trouble began.
In a tower in the north, there lived an eighth fairy. He had heard tell of the celebration, and when the day of the banquet arrived and he had received no invitation, he grew angry. He would make them sorry for not inviting him, he vowed.
The banquet was a splendid affair, with wonderful food and decorations, and beautiful music. Each of the seven fairies was given a gift as thanks for the blessings they heaped upon baby Jirou. And what blessings they were.
The first fairy, Atobe, had given the gift of beauty. "So that he will be as beautiful as me." He declared, striking a pose.
The second, Oshitari, gave Jirou the gift of wit. "He'll be as witty as I am." He chuckled.
The third, Shishido, gave the gift of grace. "This is lame." He mumbled, earning him an elbow in the side from another fairy.
The fourth fairy, Mukahi, gave the gift of dance. "Dancing's cool. The kid'll be good at it."
The fifth, Hiyoshi, gave the gift of song. "My gift is better than Atobe's. I will overthrow him." He muttered angrily as he returned to the table where they had been sitting.
The sixth fairy, Otori, gave the gift of music. "So he can play many instruments." He explained cheerfully.
Before the seventh and last fairy could give his gift, the doors to the great hall flew open with a bang. Heads turned as the forgotten eighth fairy strode in, a young boy following several steps behind, though lacking the same enthusiasm.
"What a lovely party. My invitation seems to have been lost." He twirled a lock of his hair around one finger.
"Who are you?" Atobe, the closest to the newcomer, spoke first. The eighth fairy spluttered indignantly.
"Wh-don't pretend like you don't know! I am Mizuki, the most beautiful fairy in the land!" The hall fell silent for a moment, until Atobe scoffed.
"That's ridiculous. I am the most beautiful. I've never even heard of you."
"All right, that's it!" Mizuki stomped angrily with one foot. "I was just going to come and demand payment from the king for leaving me out, but now I'm really upset!" He held an arm out to his side, hand open, palm up.
"Yuuta, my wand!" The boy who'd entered with him earlier emerged from the crowd and trudged into the center of the room looking irritated. Mizuki remained still, frozen in his dramatic pose until the boy called Yuuta put the wand into his outstretched hand.
"Now, Atobe, you will regret your words! And you, the king and queen, will regret not inviting me to your party! Nfufu!" He cackled.
Mizuki made his way to Jirou's cradle and looked down on the sleeping baby.
"I'll give the brat a gift, too." He raised his wand. "When he turns seventeen, he will get a paper cut reading manga, and die!" There was a flash of purple light.
"Come, Yuuta, my work here is done!" Mizuki strode out, with Yuuta following slowly behind. The room immediately filled with hushed voices. What would become of the young prince, now that he was cursed?
A loud snap rang through the hall, silencing everyone within. Atobe stood smirking, one hand in the air.
"I can fix this." He assured the king and queen. "Kabaji." The seventh fairy, who had not had the chance to give his gift, stood.
"Usu." He went to the cradle, where Jirou was now awake and crying. "I cannot undo Mizuki's curse, but I can lessen its effects. Jirou will not die, but instead fall asleep until true love's kiss wakes him." This was the most anyone had ever heard him speak.
Jirou stopped crying and fell asleep again. His parents were immensely relieved, but still worried. The king ordered all manga in the kingdom destroyed, so that the curse could never be fulfilled.
Prince Jirou had made friends with a boy his age from town when he was very small. This boy, Marui, was the son of a foreign diplomat and a local woman. He and Jirou played together nearly every day, and the servants became used to the two running through the castle, causing trouble. Marui knew about Jirou's curse, but he was too young to care.
But when they were sixteen, Marui's mother decided to send him to travel with his father, so that he could learn about the other side of his family, in that far off country.
Jirou and Marui did not part gladly, but Marui promised he'd be back. The trip was only for a few months, after all.
The young prince turned seventeen not long after Marui left. The king made the laws against manga even more strict, since this was the year the curse was supposed to take effect.
Months passed, and as the prince's eighteenth birthday drew near, it seemed the king had defeated the curse.
Jirou had grown up beautiful, witty, graceful, and skilled in song, dance, and music, just as the fairies had promised. On the eve of his birthday he went to the bookstore in town, hoping they had restocked his favorite novel.
When he entered the store he found an old man working, rather than the young owner. The man was sitting at the front desk, reading a curious looking book. Jirou moved closer and leaned in to see better.
"What's that? There are so many pictures." He'd never seen such a book before.
"This? It's manga. Don't kids these days read it?" Jirou shook his head and the old man sighed.
"Your generation has no respect for tradition. Here, have a look." He handed Jirou the book. Jirou flipped to the beginning and began reading.
"This is amazing!" He turned the next page, accidentally running his thumb along its edge in the process.
"Ow." He inspected his thumb and found a small bead of blood beginning to form.
"I-" Jirou fell to the floor, unconscious, before he could finish. The old man shook him, but when he didn't wake up, he ran for help.
When Jirou was brought back to the palace, the queen had him laid on a bed with silken sheets, and they called in the fairies.
"The curse has taken effect." The king frowned gravely. "What should we do?"
"I'll take care of this." Atobe snapped his fingers, and Shishido handed him a sign that read 'Kiss the prince to wake him.'
"We'll put this by his bed, so that when his true love comes along, they'll know what to do." Those assembled looked puzzled, but Atobe only looked at Kabaji expectantly.
"Usu." Kabaji cast a spell to put the whole castle and town to sleep, so that they would be frozen with the prince until he woke. Atobe hung the sign next to the prince, and they left the castle.
Once outside, Atobe created a tall hedge of brambles to protect the castle, and the fairies went into the forest, to wait for the day the prince would awaken.
A long time passed. No one who had come from neighboring lands had braved the brambles to reach the castle. A layer of dust settled over the furniture. Jirou and the rest of the town slept on.
However, there were those who had not heard of the cursed prince's fate. His old friend Marui had returned from his father's country. He went to see his best friend, but soon came up against the wall of brambles around the castle.
"What the heck? Did the gardener quit?" Marui took out his sword and began to hack through the thicket. After what felt like an eternity of this exhausting work, he stumbled through the wall and looked upon the castle.
"Finally." The main gate had been left open, which Marui found strange. Perhaps they were expecting someone. He continued onward, wondering at the complete silence surrounding the castle.
"Hello? Anyone here?" His voice startled a bird nesting in the window, and it flew away. Marui was starting to worry.
He entered the grand hall and froze. There were people in every chair, but not one of them moved. Were they dead? Had some terrible misfortune fallen upon the castle while he had been gone?
Marui hesitantly shook the shoulder of the man nearest him. When he didn't respond, Marui felt his wrist for a pulse. He was alive, though he seemed to be asleep.
Marui dropped the man's hand and looked around. There were the important lords and ladies, there were the king and queen. Where was Jirou?
He went down the hall he knew lead to Jirou's bedroom, and knocked on the heavy oak door.
"Jirou? I'm coming in." He pushed the door open and looked around.
"Jirou!" Marui spotted his best friend lying on the bed and went to try and wake him.
Jirou didn't respond when Marui spoke to him and shook his shoulder. Marui turned and paced the length of the room, trying to figure out what was going on.
Surely he was missing something. And then it hit him.
"Ow!" He looked up to see what he'd run into. It was a large wooden sign. 'Kiss the prince to wake him.' It proclaimed.
"What?" Marui looked at Jirou, and then back at the sign. Well, nothing else had worked. It was worth a try.
He went to Jirou's bedside, leaned in, and gave him a peck on the cheek. He waited, holding his breath. Seconds ticked by. Nothing happened. He sighed.
Just then, Jirou began to stir. He blinked, yawning.
"Marui?" Jirou sat up. "I thought you went with your dad?"
"Jirou! You wouldn't believe what I've seen. There's this giant mess outside, and everyone else is asleep or something." Something dawned on him. "Wait, is this about that curse you told me about when we were little? I thought you were kidding!"
Jirou shook his head, but before he could speak the king and queen rushed in.
"Jirou! You're awake!" The queen hugged her son, and the king looked at Marui.
"Did you kiss him?" Jirou and the queen turned to look at him too.
"Um...that sign said to, and everyone was asleep. But it was just-" The queen cut him off with a hug.
"You saved my little Jirou! Thank you." She ignored Jirou, who was trying to tell her he wasn't little.
"You shall be married, as the sign says." The king pointed to a few lines of very small text that Marui hadn't noticed.
"Whoever wakes him gets to marry him." Marui read. "What? I don't wanna marry Jirou!"
"And why not? He's a prince, and a fine young lad." Jirou made a fade at the description.
"Dad, I'm not marrying Marui."
"I have a girlfriend. She'd kill me if I got married." Marui pleaded.
"And I think the apothecary's shop clerk really likes me." Jirou chimed in.
Before the king could comment, the fairies came in through the already open door.
"So, my sign worked." Atobe smirked. "I overheard your conversation. The sign didn't say they have to get married, so don't worry about it."
"But if this boy was Jirou's true love, then...?" Ootori smiled at the king.
"Their love is platonic, but it worked, didn't it? True love doesn't always have to be romantic."