Hi! So, I was watching the Shrek movie, and thinking about Gakuen Alice at the same time and BOOM! this idea came out of it. So, I changed a few things here and there and I got a…
SHREK-Y ALICE!!!
…man, that sounds weird. Ah, oh well. It fits the category of the story (hey, that rhymed!)
So, anyway, just to make this clear: this is the prologue. Mikan and Natsume won't be 7 forever (well, I know that, but you know what I mean…), you'll see. So, here we go!
It was a bright morning in the swamp. A big, bright, beautiful world, if you will. And it also happened to be the Pyro, Natsume's, 7th birthday. Excited, he raced down the stairs to his eager mother and father, black hair flying all over the place, red eyes glinting with happiness.
His parents were, of course, waiting at the foot of the stairs. Both his mother, Serina, and his father, Jinno, had black hair and red eyes. It was a trademark combination for Pyros. The two proud parents looked at Natsume, the hope evident in their faces.
"Now son," said Jinno sternly. "We've been taking care of you since the day you were born. Ever since you made your first spark," he said, as Serina demonstrated how it supposedly looked: a tiny flare of fire appeared on her hand that apparently appeared on Natsume's when he was one and a half. All Pyros could make fire with just the flick of the wrist, hence the name "Pyro". Other than that ability, and the odd hair-and-eye color combination, they looked like ordinary humans.
"But today," Jinno said, a bit more brightly "You're 7, which means…" Natsume grinned and prayed what fun thing they were going to do for this birthday. Last year it was a scare-fest towards some passer-by. The year before, it was a clean lake that his father found, where Natsume learned how to swim. But what he always wanted to do was visit the nearby kingdom of Arisu, where he knew there were young children his age. All he ever wanted was a friend to play with.
Trip to Arisu…Natsume thought/prayed. Trip to Arisu…
"…time to start living on your own!" his parents said proudly. Natsume's heart stopped. Leave his parents? He loved them for his entire life. Why would they do that? he thought sadly.
"You know the tradition," said Jinno. "When a boy turns 7, he goes out with his father into another part of the swamp. Together, they build a house for the boy, and he never sees his parents again. If you're a girl, you just stay with the parents," At that moment, just for a second, Natsume wished he was a girl. Or maybe that the tradition was only for girls and not boys. His wish changed to that.
"Come on! Let's go!" said Jinno, marching out the door. Natsume turned to Serina and hugged her. Much to his surprise, she didn't respond with the normal warmth and comfort that she had always done. Instead, she pushed him off her and towards his father, and closed the door without a reply.
But Natsume heard, or maybe hoped, that he heard a sob coming from inside the house. Little did he know that, later that very same day, another person would be sharing the same emotions as he.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Princess Mikan was a happy, bubbly, brown-eyed little brunette. It was a bright day today. Perfect for her 7th birthday party. All of her best friends would be there, including Nonoko, Anna, and Wawako. She couldn't wait for the supreme happiness that would soon overtake her.
After all, she just woke up. Nothing could go wrong.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Natsume and his father finally arrived at a small hill. On top of it, Natsume saw a carved out base of an old oak tree. It was, by the look of it, just smaller than his parents' house.
"I thought I would build it for you, in case you became an emotional wreck," explained Jinno, chuckling. Who's leaving tradition now? thought Natsume fleetingly. He didn't except the fact that he was leaving the only two people he loved. Forever.
"Right, how about a look inside?" Jinno asked, walking towards the door of the house. Natsume followed begrudgingly. To Natsume's surprise, it looked identical to his parents' house on the inside. Except for the pictures. There were no pictures.
SLAM! was the first sound Natsume ever heard the door make. It was also the last sound he heard his father make.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKAN!" all of her friends shouted happily. Mikan giggled happily. Today was going to be great. Everyone in the kingdom was there. Even the white fairy, Hotaru, who was over a hundred years old, even though she looked her age. She could bend her age at will, that was how Hotaru explained it. The only person who wasn't there was the black fairy, and Hotaru's sister, Luna, who had all the same powers of her twin, except that she was evil. Pure evil. Not that Mikan realized that. She just thought that they always fought. That's a 7-year-old for you.
"Which present do you want to open first, dear?" her father, King Narumi asked. His hand was on the waist of his wife and Mikan's mother, Queen Yuka. Both were beaming at their daughter.
"This one!" Mikan shouted, pointing to the largest of the lot. It was big enough to fit a large person, with large wings…
It ended up being a life-sized doll of Mikan. The real McCoy giggled and poked it. The doll fell over with a soft "fump". Nothing more, nothing less. The tag revealed that it was from her mother and father. She thanked them and started opening a smaller gift, hardly big enough to fit a small ring into. She opened the tiny box.
"HEE-HEE-HEE!" shouted a voice. Mikan dropped the box in shock, as if it electrocuted her. A large ray of light burst from it, to reveal none other than, Luna.
"You think that you can run away from me?" sneered Luna, who looked about 30. "By not inviting me no less? No matter," she turned to face the quivering princess and chanted:
"Force upon the
The curse of flame
Change her soul
A raging heart"
Mikan gasped, and a bright light enveloped her. Shrieks could be heard from all over the room. Hotaru was about to start on her sister, but, with a cackle, Luna disappeared. Soon after, the light around Mikan disappeared too, and a gasp was heard from all around.
Mikan was still there, but she looked different. Her hair was now black, and her eyes were ruby red. She opened her hand, and to her surprise, a tiny flame appeared in it. Luna's spell made her a Pyro. She gasped, and it went away. She started crying. Everybody turned to Hotaru, who was still staring where Luna disappeared, a crab leg dangling from her lip.
"I can't reverse it. That will start a magical war, the last thing that any of us need," she said, pulling the last of the seafood out of her mouth. "But, I can try this," Hotaru walked toward Mikan and started to chant:
"By day one way
By night, another
True love's first kiss
Will awaken love's true form"
Another surge of light around the little princess, but after its disappearance, Mikan looked like herself again. She tried to make fire again, but she couldn't and looked very happy. Everyone started cheering, but Hotaru silenced them.
"Don't do that. It gives me a headache," she said irritably "Also, it doesn't work quite like you think. I changed Luna's spell to only take effect on Mikan once the sun goes down, but when it does, her personality will be twice as ferocious," everybody protested, and Hotaru silenced them again. "That gives me a headache too. Anyway, Luna's spell will be completely broken once Mikan gets her first kiss."
"Then it's settled," said Narumi brightly. "Bring up one of the younger children…No, not a girl, you idiot, a boy…" he was discontinued by the now annoyed Hotaru.
"It doesn't work like that," she said angrily "It has to be with someone she falls in love with," Narumi began to protest. "Oh, you want my spell to be taken off completely? O-"
"NO!" shouted the entire kingdom. Narumi sighed.
"In that case…Mikan, you've read all of those story books, right?" he asked his little daughter. She nodded. "Would fall in love with a prince who rescued you from a tower? Like Rapunzel?" she beamed and nodded again.
"Especially if he slayed a dragon just for me!" she said happily.
"'Slew,' not 'slayed,'" Hotaru corrected. Mikan shrugged. Yuka and Narumi looked at each other.
"Mikan, would you like to do something like that?" Narumi asked Mikan. Mikan squealed and nodded.
"Alright," he said, "I want a tall tower a couple of days on horse from here, with a moat and a dragon, as soon as possible," he turned towards his daughter. "You'll have your fairy tale ending sweetie. Don't worry," Mikan beamed, not worrying that later that same afternoon, she would find out that she won't see anyone for a long, long time. She only had a magical food sack, a magical clothes sack, a magical book sack, a bed, a chair and a window.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Natsume and Mikan would stay in this rut of a bad life for 8 years, not knowing that they understood exactly how the other felt. Every day, they tried to make the most of their horrible lives, but they couldn't. However, soon, everything will begin to change once more.
A little short, but it is the prologue, so next chapter will be longer (at least a little bit longer, pinkie promise). Hope you will enjoy the real chapter one when it comes out.
Now, I won't force you to or anything, but I would love to see a review or two…or seven…or seventy…
Sincerely,
Melody H. Grace