A Love That Holds

by KawaiiPie ^^


"My Defiant Heart'"
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When I was a child of about seven, I was told the story of Cinderella, of princes and princesses, of evil step mothers and step sisters. It was the story of fairy godmothers and magical pumpkins. It soon became my favorite story and I demanded that my nanny read it to me over and over again.

Why?

Because I had a dream that one day Prince Charming would ride up to my father's castle and take me far away to a place with trees of gold and streams of silver. Before I went to bed, I used to imagine my wedding to him. The royal Princess Usagi, married to the handsome Prince Charming. My golden odangoes would be decorated with jewels; I would be the envy of every girl in the kingdom. And of course, Prince Charming would be the most handsome, fun man ever.

Though the pictures in the story book portrayed him differently, the Prince Charming in my head had wild, rugged sexiness to him. He was strong and masculine and he gave me a safe feeling whenever I thought about him. It was strange how often I began to think about this image in my head. In those few moments before one falls asleep, I imagined us going on wild, breathtaking adventures.

When I turned twelve, I told my mother about my wish to marry the man I had dreamt up in my head. I described to her my dreams of the two of us riding a white stallion. I told her about the many adventures we went on together. She laughed it off, saying, "You're going to marry a quiet, intelligent, sophisticated man that will provide for you, honey. Not some barbarian in your dreams."

She had no idea what saying that did to me. At that moment, it dawned on me how many things I was missing out on. I was told that I was born to privilege, yet I knew that for everything I could have or do, there were ten things that I *couldn't* have or *couldn't* do.

Even at such a young age, I realized how restricted the life of a Princess was. I ran away when I turned thirteen, fed up with the boring, everyday life that was mine.

A naive little girl who has been born and raised within the walls of a prison never realizes she is in a prison until she has seen the outside.

I saw the outside.

For three days I lived the life of a peasant, until I was spotted by a servant in the middle of a market. I was taken back to Memoire Passee, my prison. My father beat me black and blue. My mother tried to stop him so many times...But he kept on throwing punches. I was bed ridden for six days. I never planned another escape.

It was odd for my father to show such anger towards my running away. He was the lively type that was always telling me to do what I felt. He told me I would have anything I wanted and that I was very special. His only daughter, I was obviously his favorite.

Since the night he beat me, I had been extremely obedient, terrified to awake the sleeping tyrant that was hiding somewhere in my father. Though he'd been nothing but kind and loving to me since that night, I was afraid that one day I'd make another mistake.

As a matter of fact, my father looked at me as if he was afraid of *me* from that night on. I think when he saw me, he re-imagined the horrible bruises on my faces. In time, I forgave my father for those weeks of immense pain. I loved him and I obeyed him as if nothing happened. But every now and then, he would give me a look that clearly meant he regretted ever hurting me. For that, I loved him more. I lived three more years in the prison called Memoire Passee, quietly and meekly. I grew accustomed to the sheltered life.

One night, he took me into his study and told me what I had wanted to hear my whole life.

"As long as I am living, Usagi," he said. "You will be free to marry who ever you choose. Though I hope you are not as unwise as your mother seems to think; I trust you will make an intelligent choice, one that will not stain the Tsukino family name."

I nodded meekly. "Yes, sir. I will not embarrass my family."

In the years that had passed, my mother became angry. She spent a lot of time in her room, sometimes I heard her crying. I didn't know what to say, because if I asked what was wrong, she yelled. It scared me when she yelled. It's impossible to help a tortured soul when you don't know what's wrong.

Then one fateful day, my father died in his sleep. He left me alone with my four brothers and my eccentric mother. I was happy, however, that he died painlessly. He was very dear to me.

I remember the day my mother told me of my fate. I was in the study, the very same one my father had promised me different.

"By the way, you'll be marrying the prince of Medingal. He's a sophisticated man who will provide for you," My mother said, like it was something so simple and easy to understand. It wasn't, not for me.

That night, I ran away again.

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END
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The whole story won't be from Usagi's point of view, I just thought it would make for an interesting prologue. It's going to be a darkfic. Dark issues, so if you don't like that sort of thing, then this fic isn't for you.
--Kawaii Pie ^^

PS: Can someone *please* send me an email to LilRebel9046@aol.com, explaining how to use bold, italics, etc in my writings at fanfiction.net? I know the tags, b and u but they never work when I post...Please help, I'll be very grateful!