Princess and the Crow – Story Idea
Description: Story idea. Husky is a girl and a princess of Sailand. She is exposed and leaves with a foreign prince to keep Cooro and the gang safe. The gang finally finds her five years later, but can they save her?
Author's note: Just a oneshot that wouldn't get out of my head until I wrote it down. Might incorporate into another story or make into a full story if I feel like it. Oh, and I'm afraid Husky and the others might be a little OOC in this. If I rewrite this, I'll try to fix that, but again this is just a story idea.
Disclaimer: I do not own +Anima.
"It's a simple choice, Myrrha. You can come with me quietly, and no one gets hurt or has to know that you're a +anima, or you can run, and I'll follow, kill your friends, and take you with me anyway. Either way's fine with me. I always enjoy a nice chase."
"It's not that easy, Birak…"
"Sure it is."
"I… I can't just leave…"
"I'm fine chasing you."
"You don't even like me."
"What's not to like? A beautiful princess with a grave secret that could have her killed! I get a connection to the royal family of Sailand and a beautiful bride who won't dare oppose me; you get a rich husband that can keep your secret. We both win."
"I meant me."
"I'm getting bored here, Myrrha."
"Let me think about it…"
"My well-armed men are already posted around your camp. You really shouldn't have left them without a lookout. Oh, yes, but that would mean telling them why you were slipping away, which would mean you'd have to tell them who you really are."
"…Fine."
"HUSKY!" screamed a far-too familiar voice, and a crow +anima burst through the foliage. He was quickly apprehended by four of the several dozen guards surrounding the area. Husky leaped forward automatically to help him, but was grabbed by the man she'd been talking to.
"This changes things," said the man coldly. He nodded to one of the men holding Husky. "Kill the brat."
The man he'd given the order to pulled a knife and held it to Cooro's throat, ready to slice.
"NO!" screamed Husky, swinging her staff and breaking free. She rushed forward and slammed her staff into the heads of the men holding Cooro captive, then grabbed Cooro in a tight, protective hug, which the surprised crow +anima returned after a moment.
"Husky? Are you okay?" he asked. In his arms, his best friend trembled. He couldn't see Husky's face, but he could feel tears falling to his neck. "What's going on?"
There was no way out. They were circled by dozens of well-armed men. Even as they sat there, Husky knew there were archers aiming arrows at Cooro's back, plus all the men with swords and knives. Back at the camp, Nana and Senri were sound asleep, also circled by guards. Birak had told her so, and he had no reason to lie.
He was more than capable of slaughtering all her friends, and he would take her with him either way.
Husky lifted her head and met Cooro's eyes, her own filled with tears, before giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "I'll miss you," she whispered. "You'll never know how much these last few months meant to me."
Before he could respond, she got up and walked over to Birak, her head down and her famous fighting spirit crushed.
"Wise choice, princess," said Birak, setting a heavy hand on her shoulder and directing her towards the roadway and his waiting carriage.
Cooro made to stand up, but was grabbed quickly by three men and forced to his knees.
"HUSKY!" he shouted. "HUSKY!"
Husky didn't look back. But she couldn't stop herself from crying.
Five years later…
"I'm telling you, Nana! That's Husky!"
"That's a not Husky, Cooro. That's Princess Myrrha of Sailand, fiancé to Prince Birak of Callabria. I know you miss Husky, Cooro, but she's too different. People say the princess never speaks, rarely even appears outside the castle, and is completely expressionless. And I can't see Husky growing out her hair that long and getting dressed up like that…"
She said that, but her eyes never left the princess with the pale skin and striking silver hair standing beside Prince Birak where he was purchasing her a gift from a jewelry merchant.
Senri frowned and looked at Nana and Cooro, his face showing his deep concern. "Husky," he said, agreeing with Cooro, complete certainty in his voice.
Nana bit her lip, not able to argue. "Well, we can't exactly walk up and ask to speak with her. What if we're wrong? We need to find a way to check."
"I'm sure it's her. That man is the same one I saw take Husky all those years back. I'm positive. The man that had Husky crying. That called her princess. I still can't believe I didn't figure out earlier that she was a girl. I didn't even start wondering until that night when she hugged me and kissed me goodbye, though that 'princess' comment of that man's was the clincher."
Cooro shook his head in annoyance with himself. "It's Husky. I know it. We have to save her. She only went with that man to protect us."
Senri nodded in full agreement, ready and willing to follow Cooro's lead.
Nana sighed. "Fine, but let me make the plan this time. I'll figure out a way to get us into her chambers so we can talk to her. If it is Husky, then we'll explain to her…" Her voice cracked, and she had to clear her throat and turn her gaze from the beautiful young woman at the prince's side. "We'll explain how much we missed our friend Husky. How lonely it is without her. That we don't care if that man comes after us, we want to be with her anyway. We'll find a country he can't chase us to, one that accepts +anima, and settle down there."
"And I'll tell her I love her," said Cooro firmly, his eyes still glued to the princess. "That I never stopped thinking about her and that I'll never let a man that would make her cry take her from me."
Nana smiled slightly. "Not very subtle, Cooro."
"Husky always appreciated it when people got to the point," was the crow +anima's response.
Senri nodded in agreement.
Between the three of them, and with years of experience under their belts, the three +anima broke into Prince Birak's castle that night, snuck through, incapacitated any guard in their way with Nana's sonar, and made it to Princess Myrrha's suite of rooms.
The door was locked. From the outside. The threesome exchanged worried looks, and Senri busted the lock off with his bear claw.
They entered, and saw the princess had heard them coming. A candle had been lit, and was being held up by the princess with the long, silver hair, watching them with amazingly familiar light blue eyes.
Those eyes widened in recognition and the candle wavered as her hand shook.
"Guys?" whispered Husky in shock. "What…? No, I must be dreaming…"
Cooro dashed forward, enveloping Husky in black wings and warm arms.
"I missed you, Husky," whispered Cooro, his arms squeezing tight. "So, so much."
"What are you…?"
"We've been searching for you," explained Nana. "Since that night. Cooro told us everything, and we've been trying to track that man and his guards by the clothes they were wearing." She came over and sat next to Husky on the bed. "We couldn't let you go. Especially not after what Cooro told us about how you'd left."
"But it's been years… shouldn't you have…?"
"Need Husky," said Senri, reaching over and patting Husky's head. "It… wasn't right."
"No matter how long it took, Husky," confirmed Nana. "We love you. You're my brother." She blushed suddenly. "Sorry, sister. I have to remember that."
"More than a sister," said Cooro, his arms tightening around Husky. "I love you more than that, Husky. And I'm never letting you go again."
Husky started laughing in what sounded close to hysteria. "What? But… no! We can't! Birak…"
"He can't touch us in Astaria," said Nana. "We've made friends over our travels, some in very high places. We visited Sailand too, and none of them were happy over the news that Prince Birak had 'rescued' the missing and presumed dead Princess Myrrha and she had 'agreed' to marry him. It won't be that hard." She took Husky's hand. "And, even it was, we'd still want you to escape with us."
Slowly a trace of the old Husky reappeared in the princess' eyes. "Well, I can't say no to that. Give me a minute to change into something normal. And cut my hair. It's a total pain at this length."
"But it's really pretty…" began Cooro in a slightly pleading voice, sounding more like the boy from five years ago than Nana and Senri had heard since Husky was taken from them. He happily ran his hands through the long tresses, smiling when he saw she still had her +anima markings on the side of her neck.
Husky glared at him, but there was no anger in her eyes. "Get off me."
Cooro smirked and kissed her on the cheek, and only then released her from his hug.
Husky quickly dumped the annoying princess nightgown, jumped into a simple tunic and pants, hacked off her hair to chin length, and grabbed a staff (she'd been allowed to keep one for protection, just not allowed to carry it around when she was with the prince) and a small bag of jewels and money that she'd been saving for the 'someday' when she escaped.
An image of a furious Birak came to her mind and, for the first time in years, she smirked at the picture instead of trembling in fear. Serve him right. She would go with her +anima friends, who loved her, not some pretty picture that could be locked up whenever it got in the way. Who had searched for her for five years, despite the fact that she'd lied to them about her past, despite the fact that she'd left them.
They left the castle, quickly and efficiently. Princess Myrrha disappeared from Birak's kingdom as completely as she had disappeared from Sailand.
And thus began the new adventures of the four +anima teenagers.