Author's Notes: This is the first time I have ever tried to write a fanfic - having no extraordinary talent in writing. I know I made a lot of mistakes. So, please, tell me so that I can correct it. Thanks so much. =]
Disclaimer: Detective Conan doesn't belong to me. So do Ai and Conan.
** Love and Fairy Tale **
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Once upon a time, she had a love story
A bittersweet story had neither beginning nor ending
A love story that only she knew…
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Hey, Conan…
You know what, today sensei told our class a very interesting fairy tale, but you, so unlucky, didn't go to school this morning. I never liked fairy tales before. Those too sweet and dreamy stories are written for normal children, not for someone like me. However, this one seems to be an exception because, well, I think I kind of like it. You should be wondering now what this story's about that can make me, Ai Haibara, interested. If you beg me, I may be generous enough to tell you again.
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"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom in somewhere far, far away. The Prince of this kingdom was very righteous, kind, and clever. He might be a little bit arrogant but he was loved by everyone. He led a happy life, with no worry or sadness. On his eighteenth birthday, his world even became more perfect when he was engaged with a pretty princess whom he had always loved from the neighbor kingdom. Time passed by like the summer winds, strong, fast, and easy to forget.
One day, the Prince, with his righteousness, enraged the most powerful and evil wizard of the Dark. The spiteful Wizard cast a spell on him that made him very ugly and forced him to drink a poison which would gradually kill him. After that, the Dark Wizard left the Prince alone in the empty forest. He never anticipated that instead of killing the poor Prince, the poison only shrank his body to a small child. The Prince, burning with fury and desperation, swore to revenge and fight back the Dark Wizard until the day he died.
In the meantime, there lived a witch, who was one of the smartest subordinates of the Dark Wizard. She was also the one who created the poisons for him to destroy his enemies, regardless of whether she wanted it or not. The Witch had a secret that no one knew. She had liked the Prince in the far away kingdom ever since the first time she saw him in the Dark Wizard's magic mirror. When she found out her new poison had been used to kill him, she immediately left her master's castle to come to the Prince. In order to escape the Dark Wizard's long, intense chases, she cleverly transformed herself into a little butterfly that always stayed beside the Prince. Although the Prince doubted her at the beginning, the Witch gained his trust over time. Every time the Prince was in danger, she would change back to protect him. In return, the Prince tried to save her from the Dark Wizard's other subordinates' persistent hunting and searching.
Spending time with the Prince, staying close to him, so close, the Witch suddenly realized that she started falling more deeply for the Prince. From just liking him, she found herself in love with him. But, she never told the Prince anything about her feelings. Because she knew the angelic Princess was patiently waiting for him, despite his sudden disappearance. She also knew the Prince's unfailing love for her, and she was the one who indirectly, unintentionally ruined their happiness. It's just that every time the Witch saw the longing and loving look on the Prince's face as he stared at the Princess's castle sadly, she would fly away to a distant mountain for a short while. She would find a tree, carve a hole in it, and whisper her deepest secret into the hole. Then, she made it vanish as if it had never existed in this world. No one would ever know how many holes she had carved and erased without a trace or how many times she had painfully confessed her unrequited love only to let it silently dissolve into thin air.
What should never be said would never be said. What should never be known would never be known.
After many months and days, the Witch finally found a way to turn the Prince back to his old form. No words could describe how happy the Prince was to once again be who he really was. Unfortunately, when the Prince returned, the Dark Wizard appeared from out of nowhere. He was so furious to learn that the Witch was the one who had helped the Prince all along. He tried to kill the Prince again and capture the Witch. The Witch didn't want to see the Prince die or let anybody steal his happiness away just like she had accidentally done ever again. She sacrificed herself to save him and made the Dark Wizard much weaker so that the Prince could defeat him. When the fierce battle finally ended, the Prince successfully killed the Dark Wizard and destroyed his dismal castle entirely. Then, without delay, he hurried to come back to his lovely princess, who had never stopped anxiously waiting and searching for him at any moment. No words could describe how happy the Prince and the Princess were to see each other again after so many long dreams and tearful wishes. Their wedding was celebrated with great splendour, and of course, they lived happily ever after."
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How is it? It is a good story, isn't it? Prince and princess, the good always wins the bad, happy ending…
And…
What do you think about the witch, Edogawa-kun? Do you think she's smart?
Sure, she's smart enough to create the dangerous poison that could turn people forever small and kill them, leaving no trace at all. She's smart enough to change into a butterfly to hide herself from her enemies. She's smart enough to choose a so good and clever prince to be her companion and ally. She's smart enough to pick the most wonderful guy to love. She's smart enough to find the way to turn the prince back to his normal form. She's so smart that she even helped him defeat the most powerful Dark Wizard in that world.
But… why did I find her so dumb, so foolish?
She's so dumb to decide to run away from the Dark Wizard, become his enemy, and choose a false life full of fear and danger. She's so dumb to let her intelligence be used by the Dark Wizard and end up destroying many innocent lives. She's so dumb to let herself fall hopelessly in love with someone who could never ever love her back. She's even dumb enough to eventually sacrifice herself and everything she had in order to protect her beloved prince as well as help him return to his lovely princess. In the end, she faded away into the dark, into… nothingness.
Everyone forgot about her. After all, the prince and the princess had their perfect happy ending just like always. Why should anyone bother to remember someone whose name and past that were meant to be bad and evil? After all, the witch was just…another character… an extra to glorify the prince's bravery and beautify his passionate love for the princess.
Who would care whether the witch could ever have her own happy ending or not?
The witch was really so dumb, wasn't she?
Even though I say so, even though I know so well how dumb and stupid what the witch had been doing was…
If I were her, I probably still did the same…
I can imagine how hard you should be laughing if you were here right now. You would say that I am not myself any more to say anything like that or do anything like that. I can never be that sensitive or I don't belong to that romantic type like your Ran.
Yeah…You may be right…
It's so not like me to fall in love with someone easy like that.
It's so not like me to wish that a witch could have her happy ending one day.
It's so not like me to think that if that prince were you, I would definitely neither regret nor hesitate to jump into any fire.
It's so not like me to wonder what if, just what if the witch had met the prince sooner, or what if the witch had had a normal life like any other girls, would the prince have loved her by any chance?
It's so not like me to feel as though I can understand how hurt the witch must feel to realize the prince's heart could never be hers.
'Cause it is so not like me, the me I always show in front of you and others, the me I always thought it was the "real" me…
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Will I ever tell you this fairy tale?
Will you ever want to listen to me, to this silly story?
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Will I…ever have the courage to tell you how and what I feel?
Will I? Or Will I Not?
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Perhaps, these feelings, these thoughts, will be just like the witch's little secret, hidden in silence and gone in silence... in this world full of noises.
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Once upon the time, she had a love story.
A bittersweet story happened not too soon but too late
A love story that only she knew…
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