Sleeping Beauty's curse was dispersed after the Prince kissed her, and they lived happily ever after.
That ending made me remember this story that happened long time ago, when the seagulls were still crying in Rokkenjima.
It's not a weird thing for Rosa to be away, but it's rather unusual for Maria to be sick during those times. Unusual, though really it's just a matter of time until she finally does, and when she really did Sakutaro panicked.
He found himself on the verge of crying, running back and forth while muttering his trademark 'uryu' over and over, unable to think straight, while on the bed lying with pale face and ragged breath was his beloved Maria.
Maria was dying; no doubt because of stress and Sakutaro could somehow feel her worsened by the second. Her temperature rose, and she coughed more and more. She couldn't eat, because her stomach returns everything back to her mouth, and she couldn't go to doctor because Rosa said so.
It was bad for her image, apparently.
Sakutaro panicked when he couldn't found any medicine for Maria, and he simply couldn't be expected to go to store to buy more of them. Even if he could survive the human toxin, how would the clerk react?
"Uryu… what should I do… Uryu…"
He wished he could call someone, anyone, to help the poor little girl, but alas he couldn't.
"Calm down, Sakutaro… I'm fine, you know… uuu…" Maria said with a weak laugh.
"It's just a mild cold… I'll be fine after a while, uuu."
How could she say that?
Maria was not okay.
An 'okay' person would not be too weak to do anything but laying on the bed and would not throw up sweets he gave earlier and certainly would not be as hot as blazing summer sun.
"Don't die, Maria…"
Perhaps in reality, Maria wasn't that sick.
Perhaps just like she said, she only got a mild flu. But still Sakutaro loved Maria too much to see it that way. Beatrice the Golden Witch had said to everyone she met countless times that without love, the truth couldn't be seen, but apparently too much love hid the truth also.
Sakutaro didn't know that of course, and that's why he panicked in the first place.
Maria just laughed, and patted the empty space beside her, signaling him to move closer. The still crying doll did so, all the while making weird choked voice. When he finally within her reach, she pulled him down and mess his hair.
"Seriously, Sakutaro! Maria is fine, uu."
Perhaps if she hadn't coughed, Sakutaro would have believed her.
Instead, he cried harder.
"I'm not going to die… really… uu… Beatrice once said that medicine works like magic, so after drinking it, I'll be fine, uu…"
"There's no more medicine here… We ran out of it uryu…" he said between his hiccups and sniffles.
"Don't worry! U, when we don't have medicine, we can always use magic!"
Sakutaro sniffed and nodded. Beatrice never failed in reviving, and so if just returning back to healthy state, it should be as easy as pie. Really, Maria was more talented in magic. There's nothing Beatrice could do that Maria couldn't do.
At least that he knew of.
"Maria can't speak well, so Sakutaro must be the one who cast the spell, okay?" she instructed, her voice barely heard because of the coughing.
Sakutaro nodded, his mind brought him back to Rokkenjima. Beatrice broke things too many times for her own amusement, and Maria had seen Virgilia fixing those poor broken things far too often to kept count. She, as well as Sakutaro who never left her side, remembered the spell better than alphabet song.
"Come, try to remember, uryu… what kind of form did you have?"
Maria closed her eyes in anticipation, and so did Sakutaro.
After a minute passed and Maria coughed again, they realized that nothing had happened.
No glowing light, or golden petals, or anything. Maria was still had her fever and her throat was still sore and hurtful.
Was the spell only works on non-living and magical beings?
Maria would need to be dead first?
Those two thought appeared in an instant on their minds. Maria, being a pure little girl who believed in magic with all her heart and soul she was, merely shrugged and laughed in between her coughs.
"Kihihi… So we must wait a bit more, u. Recite it once more after I die, okay, Sakutaro?"
He was lost for words. Really, those words Maria just said were very 'Maria-ish', but to think she really seriously thought of that plan. Sakutaro decided that he have to issue a complain to Beatrice as the diplomat from Mariage Sorciere. Maria really needed to be taught the importance of life!
But Maria wouldn't listen to him. Surely she'd say that resurrection is possible. Because Beatrice said so.
Speaking of Beatrice…
"Maria..."
"Yes, Sakutaro?" she mouthed before coughing some more.
"Didn't you make a lot of spells with Beatrice?"
She nodded, and showed him her grimoire. It had always been next to her.
"Uryu... do you have a spell to cure cold? Maybe we can use that instead of 'Rewinding Spell'."
Apparently, Maria couldn't say another word. Her coughing had gone so much worse that she lost her voice. She smiled though, and gave him a thumb up. Sakutaro sighed in relief. There was another spell that could be used.
Maria opened her grimoire, and when she had reached a certain page, she showed it to Sakutaro.
The lion boy squinted his eyes. Truth to be told Maria's handwriting was hard to read, and more to it she had drawn a lot of doodles over the writings. Finally though, by some miracle, he read it although with difficulties.
"To transfer a sickness to others... uryu, this is like a curse..."
Maria nodded, a wicked grin plastered on her pretty face.
"Uryu... to transfer sickness to others, only one way exist. And that is... Uryu? u... uryu?"
Seeing his reaction, Maria's grin grew even wider. If she hadn't lost her voice, surely she'd laugh her trademark witch's laugh. Sakutaro's cheeks had become as red as his eyes, and his mouth hanging in disbelief of what was written in the grimoire.
"To press your mouth into the intended victim's?"
Or in more popular term, kiss the victim.
Where was Virgilia when this spell was made?
Even Sakutaro didn't realize that Beatrice and Virgilia told Maria that spell as love trial for Rosa. If Rosa agreed to be kissed, then Maria surely would not see her as Black Witch. But at that time, Rosa was not there, and Sakutaro would have to be the one who receives it.
"... Is there no other way?"
Maria shook her head, and seeing that made Sakutaro sigh.
Being one of many creatures born from love, Sakutaro tried to convince himself that a kiss just one way to convey love to others. Maria herself as a 'Mother' had kissed many of her 'children'. It'd be just like those playful times, he thought.
"Okay... I'm ready, uryu!" he exclaimed, his scarlet eyes closed because he thought it was the appropriate thing to do.
Another thing he didn't know was that Maria had learned something from Asmodeus during that one time he was being monopolized (or as how he'd put it, kidnapped) by Mammon.
He had expected Maria to planted her lips on his cheeks, or forehead perhaps, but instead...
He found himself a heartbeat later frozen to the spot, unable to move from the shock.
'That's right, Maria-sama! For this spell to work, you must plant your lips on the other's lips! That way, the curse from your body will transfer into the victim's directly~ What a lovely curse! Kyahahaha~'
And as if the deed had used all of her magical power, Maria then closed her eyes and drifted to a very deep sleep.
...
..
.
"I'm cured, u!"
Five hours had passed since, and Maria woke up feeling better than ever. Her voice had returned, and she didn't cough anymore. She sweat a lot in her sleep, so her throat felt unbelievably dry, but cold veggie juice from Sakutaro fixed that already.
The sun was shining brightly, the birds were chirping... And Sakutaro standing beside her bed as usual.
All in all, it was a promising good day. It made Maria feels even better, even though Sakutaro's red face was a bit worrying. Ah, well. He must have used up all of his power, she thought.
"Sakutaro amazing, u... I don't know you have such amazing curing power!" she said, which was weird. Didn't she think of the kiss as some sort of curse, using her own magic power?
"Maria, do you remember what I did?"
Sakutaro had a bad feeling about that.
"Sure! Sakutaro recite the 'Rewinding Spell' and then I fell asleep, and you gave me delicious juice after I woke up. Sakutaro is very capable, u!"
The lion doll fell down, feeling a bit tired despite himself. Apparently Maria's sickness had made her move unconsciously. She didn't remember the event after 'Rewinding Spell' at all.
But...
Does it matter? He smiled. Maria was cured, and she seemed so happy.
And so, the Prince stayed quiet and continue to look after the Princess, never once mentioning his embarrassing way. Surely it's the best outcome, because he loved her too much to chain her to his hand just because of a simple innocent kiss.
And they lived happily ever after.
Of course, the love between the two would grow and bear fruit eventually, as supported by demons in Golden Land, but it was another story to tell.
- Taken from collection of unpublished stories by Touya Hachijou
Truth to be told, I had no idea how to end this... so, it may sound weird, but please give me criticism.