Greetings dear Reader!
This story was actually based on my second fanfiction. I did a little Prologue and I got a few comments saying that the fairytale that Maka tells at the beginning could be a one-shot all on it's own. I was so pleased to read that, that I decided to edit the Prologue to make it a full story. So please enjoy this fairy tale version of my other fic. : The 3 Hearts of a demon
Disclaimer : I do not own Soul Eater
Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was an imposing city going by the name of Death City. This grand town was located between the Shinigami Mountains and the Asura Desert, and at the edge of this city, surrounded by the cursed Arachnophobia Forest, you could find the castle of the Great Demon Lord Soul Eater. He ruled over all supernatural beings residing from the highest snow covered peak of the mountains to the far end of the burning desert.
The Great Demon Lord Soul Eater was feared and respected throughout the entire land, and the secret of his great power dwelled within his 3 most prized possessions. His first treasure was a silk scarf as blue as the azure skies. This scarf was imbued with protective spells and charms, and who ever wore it could never be harmed physically. His second treasure was a book bound by white leather and edged in gold. This particular book was said to have been created by a certain Eibon, but no one knew of his whereabouts so no one could go and ask him if he really was the author of said book. As irony would have it, this book could answer any and all of the questions that you asked of it, but the only time that the pages stayed blank was when you asked it who created it. Last but not least, the demon possessed a rare and immortal heart, and was thus considered like royalty among his kind.
Being immortal seemed like a wonderful gift, but to be honest Soul hated his heart, his immortality. During his long life he saw mountains rise and vanish, countries expand or disappear, forests grow then wither into deserts, streams expanding into seas,… truly he had seen it all. And no living being seemed to be able to hold his interest for very long. They were so fragile and short lived; they vanished in the blink of an eye for him. Life got a little better when the humans finally discovered music and started crafting musical instruments. He particularly favored string instruments, especially the piano, but other than that, he was bored. Jaded by life. The world just didn't seem amusing or interesting anymore. Even the colors of a sunset seemed dim to him. But he had responsibilities, so every century or so he would come out of his castle, check for trouble on his domain, destroy a few villages to remind them that he was the fearsome demon that ruled over the land, then go back to his castle and continue his nap for another hundred years.
On one of his centennial outings, he came across a little human girl, the only daughter of the village's drunkard, crying in the middle of a field of wheat. Normally he wouldn't have had bothered with another scrawny human being, but something about her caught his attention. Her soul, still small and undeveloped, was an angelic soul, a Grigori soul. If cared for, and harvested at the right time, it could be a great delicacy for a demon. Soul approached the little farmer girl thinking that he could just take her back to his castle, let his cook Tsubaki stuff her soul until it was ripe, then eat it between to naps. Once he was close enough for her to notice him she raised her head to see who was intruding on her crying. Soul stopped dead in his tracks, mesmerized by her appearance. She was small, maybe around 4 or 5 summers, with a frail looking body in a pink dress that was a little loose on the sides and short enough to let her white baby bloomers show if she started jumping around. Her hair, of the same shaded blond like the wheat she was hiding in, was help up in twin-pigtails and her eyes were of the deepest emerald green that he had ever seen. Seeing Soul, she straightened her back and held her head high, green eyes shinning stubbornly with defiance, refusing to show tears in front of a stranger.
She wasn't running or screaming or even cowering away from him. Instead she held still and proud. He was actually impressed, even full grown warriors would flinch at his appearance with his unruly snow white hair, his bloody ruby colored eyes and his razor teeth. Other than that he looked like any healthy 20-year-old man, wearing a casual white shirt and black pants. Staring blandly at the little girl with his shoulders hunched over and his hands stuffed in his pockets, Soul felt something he hadn't felt in a very very VERY long time. She had spiked his curiosity; he had finally found something interesting.
"Who are you? You're not human, are you?"
Yeap. He had definitely found something interesting. Her voice cracked a little, and she was still sniffling a bit because of her earlier crying, so Soul crouched to level his eyes with hers and smirked before answering her.
"Nope. I'm the Great Demon Lord Soul Eater. But you can call me Soul."
His words were drawled out in a lazy fashion, but he didn't miss her reaction when her eyes widen with wonder and curiosity, her mouth hanging a bit open due to her amazement. Seeing her so at awe, he couldn't help but give her a big wolfish smile. His best friend Black*Star would have gloated about receiving such a look of admiration.
"I'm Maka. Maka Albarn."
"Maka? What an interesting name... And what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Your parents are going to be worried."
The young Maka suddenly let her head fall, her bangs hiding her eyes as a gloomy aura started enveloping her. When she spoke, her small voice made her sound completely dejected :
"They don't care. Papa's out drinking with other women and Mama left the house l-last night."
Maka took in small breaths, her little fists balled up and shaking as her eyes became watery, but she held the tears back. Soul looked at the little girl that was trying so hard to be strong before letting out a long sigh. Reaching out he started rustling her hair, only to receive a half felt glare from her, but at least the tears weren't threatening to spill over anymore.
"Come on pigtails, cheer up. You're not alone."
"Yes I am. Papa spends more time at the tavern than at home and Mama…"
Her words hung between them. Soul didn't like the sad look on Maka's face. Her soul would never mature correctly if she stayed that gloomy, he had to think of something to raise her spirits again. But what…?
"No you're not. Blair's there for you."
"Who…?"
Just as Maka started wondering just who this Blair person was, she felt something rub against her legs. It was a beautiful black cat, with fur shimmering with a purple hue in the sun, as its golden eyes twinkled with mischief. After a few minutes of Soul assuring the little girl that she could indeed keep the cat, Maka shot him a bright and innocent smile while hugging her new friend to her small chest and giggling with glee. Soul the Great Demon Lord couldn't help but grin at the scene, watching her run back to her house to give Blair a warm bowl of milk.
The next day he found her in the same field of wheat, playing with Blair. He indulged in a game of hide-and-go-seek with Maka and the cat, telling himself that this was to help her Grigori soul mature correctly… NOT because he felt a warm and fuzzy sensation in his chest every time he saw that dazzling smile of hers. Besides, he didn't really have anything interesting to do other than humoring her so… . As the days passed, Maka would go out and play every evening with Blair, and Soul would be near the wheat field waiting for them. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, until winter came with the snow and the harsh winds.
Around that time, Soul had been busy hunting down a small Plague-Demon that was roaming near Maka's little village at the foot of the mountains, so he hadn't been able to play with her for a few days, but when he arrived one sunny day at their usual meeting place, Maka wasn't there. Soul thought it strange that she wasn't out yet. The sky was blue, the sun was shinning, the wind didn't blow… it was a perfect weather for a fight with what she referred to as "snowballs". The name was utterly ridiculous if you asked him, but why bother trying to change Maka's mind on the naming of things. She could be very stubborn, and always wanted to have the last word, so he just shoved his hands in his pockets and played along. The little girl loved making him build a wall of snow so that she could hide behind it while throwing snowballs at him. He didn't really find it cool to be hit by a cluster of frozen water that had been thrown weakly by a 5 year old human… but the smile and little cheering dance that she made when he "failed" to dodge were so endearing that from time to time he would let her win the fights. She also liked to build a snowman or making snow angels. She found it hilarious to see the Great Demon Lord Soul Eater making a snow angel.
Shaking his memories away, Soul, not really wanting to stay out in the cold just to wait for Maka and Blair to show up, decided to go get them himself. Once he arrived at her small farmhouse he found her lying in bed, her father nowhere to be seen, with Blair guarding her. Little Maka had been affected by the Plague-Demon. The curse wasn't strong enough to kill a grown-up, but the children would get terrible fevers and not make it through the night. Not wanting to lose the source of his distraction, and the chance at a delicious meal, Soul unwound his magic scarf from around his neck and gently passed it around the feverish Maka. Of course he probably could have given her a potion to dispel the curse, but she was growing on him, slowly thawing his heart with her warm smiles. He didn't want to let her go just yet.
Thanks to the blue scarf that Soul had gifted her, Maka was cured over night. After that she never took it off, and thus, never fell ill again. A few years passed and she became a healthy and energetic child… even if Soul found her a little violent at times. When armed with a book she could probably kill even a demon with one of her "Maka-chops". He was actually thankful for his immortal heart or he probably would have died of a concussion a few times. But even if they bantered from time to time, the demon and the human had become really good friends, and every afternoon they would meet up near the wheat field to play a game, talk, or lounge around while Maka read a book.
Maka had always been a very curious child, and very smart. Unfortunately, that didn't mean that she stayed out of trouble, on the contrary. Her curiosity got her into troublesome situations many times when she was smaller. At the age of 12, her understanding of the world kept getting bigger, so her curiosity took bigger proportions, and with that inflation came the mountain high troubles. Her Grigori soul was also growing very nicely and Soul always kept a close eye on her. At first he told himself that it would be a waste of a rare treat to let her die too early, but now he really cared for his friend… even if he would never admit it to her.
With that knew knowledge, Soul started taking his role as the ruler of the lands around Death City a bit more seriously. After all, the fewer uncontrollable demons he left roaming around, the slimmer were the chances of her accidently dying on him before her soul was ready to be harvested.
That also meant less time playing with Maka and Blair. Blair didn't mind as much, but Maka sometimes did. She didn't want to be seen as a bratty child so she kept her mouth shut, but she still missed her friend when he left for days on end to attend to some "demon business". Today was another one of these days were he had to leave early after a game of hide-and-go-seek, and go back to his castle for work. Not wanting her fun to end here, Maka started following Soul back to his castle. Of course she had already seen it from afar. The grand castle painted in black and red with giant spikes coming out of the towers, the giant skull dead centered to warn away anyone who dared approach, and of course the giant aura repelling candles that were always lit but that never seemed to thaw out. Of course the castle itself was easy to spot, but getting there was a whole other story since the cursed woods surrounding the castle tricked your mind and senses. Many villagers had entered the forest, but very few found their way back out.
With Blair following closely, Maka told herself that as long as she followed Soul she couldn't get lost. So when the demon entered the cursed forest she followed in after him, still keeping a safe distance so that he wouldn't spot her and send her home. At first it was easy, but when the sun started to set and the light got dimmer, things got a little more complicated. It didn't help that the number of trunks, and the vegetation, gained in density the more she closed in on the castle. Her footsteps slowed as she stepped over twisted roots while straining her eyes to see were Soul was going. At some point he passed through a bush, making her lose Soul and Blair from her sight. Once she passed the obstacle herself, they weren't there anymore. She was completely and utterly lost. The worst part being that Blair had followed Soul, so Maka was now all alone. And who knew just what roamed this cursed forest at night?
Soul was lost in thoughts, making his way through the forest at a lenient pace. He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings since nothing would ever dare attack him in this forest, but he did feel as if he was being followed, but shrugged it off as the forest trying to mess with his senses. He arrived at his castle after nightfall and went strait to his study. He had sensed Hellhounds coming in from the desert and he wanted to deal with them before they started ravaging the villages around the city… especially since Maka's village was in their trajectory. He was so focused on his work that he didn't notice the black cat with golden eyes that came to sit on a bunch of papers he had on the side. When Blair started meowing he mechanically started petting her so that the noise would stop bothering him. After a few seconds she bit his hand to fully get his attention. Surprised, Soul pulled back his injured hand and looked up, eyes growing the size of saucers when he saw Blair in front of him… alone.
That stubborn little human had probably followed him through the forest. Why she did that was beyond him, but if she really did get lost on her way to his castle, he was definitely going to give her a good scolding after finding her. Without a second thought he rushed out of his home and back into the cursed forest, backtracking on the road he had taken earlier, screaming out Maka's name. He searched every nooks and crannies for her, yelling out her name until his throat hurt, but the forest wasn't cooperating. The trees kept moving around, sending vines to block passageways, constantly changing the forest's layout. If he hadn't been worried that he would hurt Maka, Soul would have had burned down the bloody forest in a heartbeat. He was furious. Well, truthfully he was filled with dread, but since in was such an uncool and unpleasing emotion, he just covered it up with anger. The longer the forest stayed silent to his shouts, the more pissed he became.
The night felt like it would never end, the creaking branches seemed to be mocking him, he was covered in sweat, his heartbeat was erratic and, truthfully, he wasn't thinking straight. He had been in such a rush to just go and look for Maka that he had totally forgotten about his magic book. Not wasting anymore time, he summoned his second treasure and asked it to guide him to the human girl. Following the instructions, he arrived in no time to her location. She was curled up between two roots, tear tracks still visible on her cheeks, and fast asleep from exhaustion. Seeing her like that in front of him, safe, Soul's knees gave out as relief coursed through him. His head felt so light and he was so at ease that the carefully picked her up, cradling her small frame to his chest, and planted a small kiss on her forehead. He stayed like that, knees digging into the soil and dead leaves beneath him, for a few minutes while listening to her slow breathing and steady heartbeat. Once he had regained his cool he got up slowly, not wanting to wake her up, and headed back to her house. After that incident Soul never gave her that scolding like he had promised himself he would. Instead he gave her his magical book so that she would always be able to find her way back to him.
As more years passed, the two became very close and Maka continued to mature while Soul stayed the same. She had finally grown a more feminine figure with a soft curve at the hips, had gotten a chest size that you could actually notice, had shapely long legs and left her long blond hair fall loose to her mid-back. Soul and Maka saw each other every day, they stilled played silly kid games but most of the time they just talked or lazed around, and during winter, when the farm didn't need as much taking care of, Maka would even spend the night over at the castle. Soul cared deeply for Maka. He saw her as an equal, a human he could trust with anything. She always had interesting comments during their conversations, and the way she got mad at his snarky remarks was so damned adorable. Black*Star had once insinuated that, maybe, he had a crush on the human girl. After ending up pinned to the castle walls with scythes protruding from his body, the noisy blue haired demon never breached the subject again. Maka, on the other hand, knew that she was in love with Soul. He was the only male figure that she truly trusted. At first she saw him as a father, then as an older brother, but for the past year she knew that he was so much more than that. He was her best friend, her confident, her strength, her partner,… her demon. Of course, she had asked her magic book about demons and had practically read all that there was to read about them. She knew he was WAY older than her and that he would live even longer after she was gone. So for once she kept her mouth shut and never tried going any further.
One night, a few weeks after Maka's 18th birthday, her father came out of his drunken stupor to wish her a happy birthday, telling her just how much he loved her and her mom, and that it was time she found a suitable husband. She was to leave for Death City the next morning in order to meet respectable suitors.
Maka's first though was of Soul. How she only wanted him as a suitor. Then she remembered how fragile her human body made her compared to that of a demon's. For her, it would last a lifetime. Her lifetime. But to him, it would only amount to a small fraction of his existence. Much to her father's surprise, she stayed quiet, and at the first rays of dawn she was gone, leaving behind her blue azure scarf and her book, but taking Blair with her. Maka hadn't had the time to tell Soul that her father had sent her to the city, but she could always go and surprise him tomorrow at the castle. Not using the paths in the cursed forest, to get to Soul's castle that was looming over Death City, meant having to endure an entire day of carriage on the rocky mountain paths. Going around Arachnophobia Forest was a bumpy and tiring trip. The carriage had to go downhill just to climb back up, cross torrents of water, go through an unstable tunnel, and use narrow passageways that were surrounded by deadly hundred foot drops.
The trip went well as the evening started dawning over them while the two horses walked at a good pace. Maka sat beside the coachman, by the name of Sid, as he kept her entertained with stories of his youth and how he became the kind of man he is now. Blair was taking a nap on the roof of the carriage, soaking in the sun. As they crossed an old wooden bridge, one of the horses spotted a black snake winding itself up on the ropes. Scared, the poor animal picked up the pace with his partner, and galloped to the end of the structure. With the sudden change in speed, Blair slipped off the roof and landed behind the carriage. Being rode on too fast, the bridge swayed dangerously once, then twice, before the main cording on the right side broke, tipping the carriage and its occupants into the water. Blair had had the time to run back off the bridge and was now anxiously scanning the turbulent waters for Maka. The two horses thrashed through the water towards the rocky shore, pulling along Sid who was still holding on to the reins while he freed his two horses from straps of the carriage. The cat, not seeing Maka come out of the water, ran back towards the mountain and entered the forest to find Soul.
When Blair finally reached Soul he knew that something was very wrong. Ever since Maka had passed out in the cursed forest, Blair had always stayed right by her side. He followed the cat back to the broken bridge, summoning the winds to go faster. Once he arrived at the scene, his heart sank. There she was, her pale body laid awkwardly against the rocks a little down shore to where a coachman was trying to calm down two horses, next to a broken down bridge. He walked slowly across the water, fearing that the current would take her away if he so much as blinked or moved too fast. She was laying on her back, arms bent at an odd angle, her long blond hair splayed around her and covering the dark pebbles she rested on. The bottom half of the body was still in the water and her beautiful pink dress swayed with each ripple. As he got closer he felt his throat close up, his body go numb and his brain shut down. She had a nasty gash on her left temple, tainting the side of her face with blood. Soul vaguely registered a whimper, not sure if it was from him or Blair, when he reached down for her. With shaking hands, Soul slid one arm at he crook of her knees, and wound the other one around her shoulder blades, before gently lifting her up from the river. As her limp body followed his slow movements, cold water trickled down her gown and arms, reminding him of how still she was.
Reaching the nearest trunk, Soul sat against the tree and held the human softly against his chest, his hand cradling her cheek, scared to break her even more. He had lost her. He didn't want her soul anymore. Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to eat her Grigori soul for years now, and right now he didn't want her to be a simple fleeting interest, no. He wanted Maka Albarn. He wanted her smiles, her tears, her witty comments, her pouting lips, her green eyes shining with vitality and pride, her courage and her strength, her kindness and understanding, her good and bad traits,… he wanted it all. He wanted this woman more than the scarf or the book or even his tortured yet still beating heart. He loved her. If he hadn't known any better, Soul could have sworn that his immortal heart had been shattered to pieces. As he bent down and kissed her cold lips, he slit his soul in half. Giving her half of his heart and soul would bring her back to him, bind her to him, and they would never be lonely again, he would never be lonely again. They would always have each other, and if she started resenting him for imposing this eternity on her, he would gladly let her go, knowing that she would always be safe.
When she finally opened her green emerald eyes, Soul knew that he would never regret sharing his life with her, and neither would she, so he leaned into her and claimed her lips for the first of many times.
Up to this very day, if a demon offers you his three most prized possessions, his three Hearts, then you will live happily ever after.