Please read the author's note at the end. I don't own FushigiBoshi No Futago Hime.
Years passed, everything became peaceful once more. Fine and Rein were trusted by the people of Mysterious Star and were able to defeat the darkness. Eventually, Shade and Bright finally, finally, asked them the most important question of their lives. No, it wasn't to ask them out, though that did quite some time as well. It was a question of marriage and today's both of their weddings. Right now, Fine and Rein were worrying as they were getting ready.
"I'm so nervous Rein, what happens if we mess up by accident?!"
"We'll be fine... I hope." Her answer just made Fine even more nervous which caused her to be nervous, and well, you get the idea.
"There's no reason to be afraid, because no matter what those two will still love you," a familiar voice told them. The twins looked at who was at the door. A woman with long white hair and alongside her, a man with blue hair. She smiled. "It's okay to mess up, if you make a mistake while being nervous, that just means that you loved them very much."
"You are..." The look on their face was curious, who was this woman in front of them...Why did she seem so...familiar? Almost like an old picture book. "Who are you?"
The woman just smiled.
"I'm...so happy that you two were able to be happy." Suddenly, woman hugged them. "Oh, I'm getting sentimental again. You two look beautiful. I wish I could have made the dresses, but there's only so much that I can accomplish right now." She had a scent of tea, sweet tea.
"You… Did you know us? Maybe when we were younger?" Rein questioned. The woman looked so familiar, but Rein's memories becoming vague and distant, the more she tried to recall them. It felt like something was blocking her memories. A pain resounded in both of the twins' minds as they were seeking for the past.
That woman could have said anything, she could have answered with the truth, but she did not need to. "Moon," the man called out. "We need to get going now."
"Will you not be staying for the wedding?" Fine asked. Somehow there was an unusual feeling congesting within them. Why did they feel so sad? Why did they feel so disappointed? Did this woman have a connection to them? She felt so warm, like their mother and father. Moon… The name resounded in their hearts as they desperately tried to remember.
"Oh, already?" She sighed. It was such a small amount of time, but she had no choice. The woman let go of the twins. "Then, good day dear princesses. I hope that you two are happy with your soul mates as I am with mine."
"Thank you very much…" They just couldn't shake the feeling, but soon Camelot and others came rushing in to ensure that the princesses were in perfect states of mind and appearance. The time that felt as though it had stopped had once again rushed into action. They forgot the pain and focused on the present issue, the more impending issue.
"Then excuse us." The woman walked out smiling, but the man was frowning in concern of his lover.
"Are you sure you're fine?"
"Of course. I'm glad to see that those two have forgotten about me, but that means Pumo had to perform the spell." He was so reluctant to use it, but in the end he had no choice. It was necessary. Moon knew that since the beginning. "But I had expected this. After all, they probably thought that they had a hand in killing me even though it was all my doing."
"Is it not crueler to leave them like this? You had raised them for a long time in order for them to grow strong," Alex stated. "Do you not feel any regret at all that they no longer remember you or any of the times that they spent with you?"
"No. They don't need me anymore to wipe their tears and protect them from their devils. Shade and Bright have grown strong enough. My job here is done."
"For all the worlds?"
"For all of the children that have their faces. For now, there are more people who will take my place and guard the hearts of those children. I've already been long replaced and you know that Alex. Our story is over."
"Will this be our rebirth?"
She smiled. "You know what's going to happen, so stop asking me. I hate repeating things, Alex," she reminded him as he took her hand.
He kissed her forehead softly, "Are you happy?"
She continued to smile, not answering his question. He knew her answer. A man with blonde hair rushed passed the two in a hurry and she finally told him the words that remained in her heart, "Thank you for all your hard work, Pumo. I wish you eternal happiness with your dear Mariage."
Pumo turned around in shock after hearing the voice. "Moon-sama?" But the couple disappeared to a place beyond where stars and flowers could no longer reach. He knew though, it had been her. He could still smell the tea.
"Pumo?" a delicate voice called out to him. Pumo's precious Mariage was by his side. The twins are by his side. What more could he need? "Weren't you going to Rein-sama and Fine-sama? What are you still doing…Pumo? Is everything alright?"
Pumo was crying and he didn't even realize it. "I'm sorry, I just remembered the days before I came to you. They were some of the best days of my life," he admitted to her. He stood there, wanting to go back to them, those happy days where nothing seemed gray, those days that slipped by, those days that he always thought would continue forever. But it didn't end up like that, those days were gone, but that didn't mean that the happiness was gone.
Mariage smiled. "Don't worry, we'll make even better memories and better days, just look at today. The princesses that are practically like family to you are getting married!"
"Yes," he agreed, wiping his tears. "That's right." That is already far in the past. It is too late to go back, they cannot go back. "Fine-sama, Rein-sama, I presume that you two have already finished your preparations?"
"Wait a second Pumo!" both twins shout as they scrambled to put on some final touches.
"What more do you two need to do?! You both look perfect and we're already out of time!"
"Pumo you're just saying that!"
"Give us two more minutes!"
"There's no more time!" Man, he can lose his composure completely, can't he? Of course, that's only because he cares so much for Fine and Rein. "Now let's hurry, everyone is waiting for you two!"
"Fine, Rein," King Truth called out. "Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
As the music began, Fine and Rein each walked on one side of their father in so much dignity and grace that their respective husbands-to-be were completely enchanted. Who would've thought that after everything that happened, the twin princesses would be able to have a beautiful wedding ceremony with so many people blessing them on this joyous day?
"Prince Shade, Prince Bright. Do you take the woman next to you to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part?"
They've grown from their teenage days, but their desire to protect the ones they love has remained as strong as it was before. Their eyes were looking towards the future with the one they loved as they proclaimed "I do."
The priest smiled then addressed Fine and Rein "Do you take the man besides you to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part?"
Fine and Rein glanced at each other, smiling before turning to their grooms and answering, "I do!"
With a kiss to seal their vows, people stood and cheered as a certain couple from beyond gave one last silent blessing to their favorite pair of twins. What a happy day indeed!
Decisions are made and paths are taken, the paths will eventually lead to separation, but that dear children, is just a part of life. With every encounter, we must one day face departures. It's scary, it's hard, it's different, but we all must learn to move on, for time will never stop. With this, the last message is said, even if we must part, at the very least, we can be grateful for the times we've spent and the memories we've made.
Now these dear children will move onto tomorrow, without fears to chain them, without hatred to corrode them, they are moving onto an uncertain future yet a bright one.
Um... hi?
Why did I use so many ruses when I was coming back in the end? It's because it's never easy to say good bye. I've come to realized that no matter how much I hate it, I have to move on because I cannot stop and people around me are not willing to stop. I cannot stop.
For the full story, I'll put it on my profile instead of wasting room here.
Just… Here's the thing, I can't write like I used to. Part of that is because of the major style changes, another is because I lost some of my passion for writing. I'm not 12, or 13, or 14, or 15 anymore and I'm sorry that I couldn't stay the same. I'm sorry.
Yes, I can write. Yes, I still write. But it's not the same. It'll never be the same.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I can't continue to write stories forever for this fandom in the way I used to write. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up. I'm sorry if you were expecting me to return fulltime and commit as much as I used to. I'm really sorry.
Thank you all for everything over the years. May you dream larger than I ever could.