My parents always told me I was their princess. Sure, I didn't rule any kingdom, but apparently, I ruled their hearts. It was such a cheezy but cute phrase. I felt lucky with them. I sat on our home's doorstep and looked at the bright, full, moon as I thought about them. Dad was carefree and always tried to live his life to the fullest. While Mom was a bit more organized and preferred the simple things in life, but that was what brought them together; Their love of life.
They loved life, and they loved me. Thinking about that made me happy. It brought on a sunny and giddy feeling. Well, to be honest, I've had this feeling for a while now, but thinking about Mom and Dad intensified it. How Mom is always so serious but turns in to such a badass when someone threatens us, while still keeping her 'composure'. When Dad sneaks out to fight monsters when Mom's away will always make me let out a chuckle. They've always got each other's backs, and I know that they'll always have mine.
Maybe they've got my back a little too often though. It's not that I'm not thankful. I just want a little freedom. A chance to explore whatever lies beyond our kingdom.
Both Mom and Dad had to work today. They came home tired and have probably fallen asleep by now. I should be too, but today I just couldn't. I felt happy and full of energy. I needed to let it out. If not I'd be up all night doing nothing but counting trees from the forest. Either that or I would fall asleep from boredom.
The trees tempted me to leave. They were probably 15 or so meters away. I could go and walk around a bi /pt, then come back and fall asleep as if nothing happened. I knew how to fight, and I had a good sense of direction. No one would be hurt.
I thought about whether or not I should go. Mom and Dad were always fine with me going into town on my own, but the forest was another story. It was large and dense. "You could get lost, or run into a wild monster. Maybe trip and break your leg, and no one would ever find out.". If I went, I would oversee each step. I wouldn't go too far in, and I could probably knock out a wild monster with one punch.
I looked up at the moon. It was still full, but something about it was off. It wasn't as bright as it usually was. Looking at the slightly dimmed moon, a feeling of happiness and rebellion came over me. I needed to go out there and now. I needed to leave my house as soon as possible. I stood up and began to walk. The moonlight would lead me, even if it couldn't give me all of its light.
I walked into the forest, not looking back at my small house even once. I told myself I couldn't go too far. Rephrase: My PAST-SELF said I couldn't go too far. But I wasn't my past-self anymore. I'm my present-self now. I could go a little farther if I wanted to.
The forest was dense just like my mom had said, but that didn't stop me. I would walk for a bit, asking myself if this was far enough, but it never was. The deeper I went, the more there was to see. The dimmed moon still shined beautifully. I couldn't stop now even if I wanted.
I looked up at the moon while still walking. It looked like it was shrinking. I kept staring at it. After a while, I could definitely tell it was shrinking. There was a dark shadow covering more and more of the moon. I stopped for a second and continued to look at it.
I realized then that didn't know what time it was, I didn't know how long I'd been walking, and I didn't know where I was. I was lost, completely lost. The moon distracted me. Why would I let it distract me? "Come up, Bunny! You just HAD to screw it up again!", I scolded myself. I looked around the forest for a bit, but all I wanted to think about was the moon. I looked back up at it.
And I started walking.
My legs were beginning to feel weak, and I was tired. After a couple more minutes, I spotted an opening. Through the opening, I could see buildings.
Freedom!", I yelled as I ran to the opening. The sky was way darker than it was before. The moon was almost completely gone. I needed to make it before all the moonlight disappeared. The happy feeling was returning, stronger than ever. I kept running and laughed. I was so close!
I made it through the opening. There weren't multiple buildings like I initially thought there were. There was just one building. A huge building. A castle. The Royal families castle. I didn't expect to end up here, but it was a start. If I walked a little to the left, then I would end up back in town. I smiled to myself, proud to have figured out how to get home from the Castle. Even if I've never been this close to it...
I walked to the left, past the wall that divided the forest from the castle. I saw a fountain, pouring out water. There was something on it, but I couldn't quite see what it was, It was so dark. It turned around and saw eyes.
His eyes.
The moon didn't completely disappear like I thought it would. It just turned red. Blood Red. And with it, so did everything else. Everything but those eyes.
I walked towards him. He stood up and walked towards me. As he got closer I could see his features more. He seemed so familiar.
"Do I know you?", I asked once he was close enough. "I don't know...", his voice was also familiar. From where did I know him?
Distantly, I heard a piano. It was such a pretty piano piece. We both looked around, searching for a source. There was none.
"May I...have this dance?", He asked me. I knew he would. I didn't know how I did, I just did. He held out his hand, and I took it. The piano music continued to play. As we danced under the Blood Moon, I felt so light. As if every single worry I had had suddenly disappeared. It was only the mysterious stranger and me.
That name didn't fit him. He didn't seem mysterious, and he sure wasn't a stranger. I knew those eyes from somewhere. I could easily imagine them. When he was smiled, his beauty mark would move up about a centimeter, which only complimented his smile. I imagined his face full of beauty marks as if they weren't beauty marks but instead a mask...
A tuxedo and a mask surrounded by red light. I'd seen it somewhere. Maybe it came on TV at some point or one of those plays the kids would put on during the summers. I could very clearly remember the image; I just couldn't remember from where.
We continued dancing, and I continued to search my memories for him. Nothing came up. The same thing happened when I searched for memories of dance lessons or dancing in general. I knew for sure I had no dance experience and I was more clumsy than graceful. But still, I knew exactly when to move my foot and where, when to turn, when to hold his shoulder, when to let go, the whole deal.
I focused on his eyes and my worries about dancing and remembering where he was from disappeared.
But after what felt like a whole hour of dancing, so did the light. The world was now very dim again. We stopped dancing.
"Where do I know you from?", we both asked at the same time. "You go first.", we said. "No, you!". We both covered our mouths in shock. Then we burst out laughing.
When we finished, we sat down on the water fountain. Maybe his name would trigger something in my mind. "Soooooo, what's your name?", I asked him. He looked around started and started chuckling nervously. "Well, um...my name? My name yeah, Uh I-It's..", he awkwardly cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "My name is Sol, uh...A pleasure to meet you", he stuck out his held out his hand for me to shake.
"That's a real nice name! I'm Bunny!", I took his hand and shook it. "So, why are you outside the castle at night?", He questioned. I thought about sitting on my porch, running off into the forest and walking around for who knows how long. That felt like hours ago. "Long story short, I was bored, so I walked into the forest and found my way here," I explained to him. "What about you?", I asked.
"My mom is working here as a maid right now. The Royal Family was preparing for this huge ball in the underworld, so she needed to work overtime. Like really overtime. They let her stay the night kind of as a thank you for her hard work. She brought me along so I could see what it was like in the castle", he finished his sort of explanation. It still didn't answer my question. "That doesn't explain why you were out this late," I told him. He thought about it for a moment.
"I...I couldn't sleep. I don't know. It was weird. I just felt like I needed to get out of there. I snuck out to get some fresh air, and I've been here since", he gave me the answer I was looking for. We stayed silent for a couple of minutes after that. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was a comfortable one. It gave me time to think about all this. Like how the name Sol never did trigger any memory of him. Sol didn't seem to fit him at all.
"Hey, is your name actually Bunny?", He asked me before I could ask him. It seemed stupid, but I had to take a moment to ask myself that. Bunny was always my name. My real birth name. Not a nickname or anything. It was what everyone had called me. But when I heard him say it, it didn't sound right. "Yep. Is your real name Sol?", I questioned. He seemed like he needed a moment to think about it too. "Yeah...", he finally answered.
I took a look at his facial features. Before I could think about it too much, I blurted, "You look more like a Marcivious." He looked at me; then he looked up. "You remind me of the stars," he pointed up.
"The stars and Marcivious...", I said. Then it came to me, "Star and Marco...". He looked at me with wide eyes. He remembered too.
"The Moonlight is a messenger of love" ~ Sailor Moon
Recently there was a lunar eclipse over in the western hemisphere. I saw it; it was pretty dope. Anyways, it inspired me to write this. Idk if it was clear or not, but here Star/Bunny was reincarnated as a peasant. Marco/Sol isn't royalty, but he does have a bit more social status if that's what it's called. I plan to write another chapter. It'll be the same thing but from Marco/Sol's perspective. Anyways, constructive criticism would be appreciated. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!