Akiza and Yusei – Sleeping beauty.
She had been there from the beginning, cursed by a witch and kept from her society by virtue of that spell. She was different from others, that she knew, and with time her differences lead her to the lands of others, but they only got hurt and she only got the blame. How was she to know she could destroy? She was only a little girl...
The years passed and more people got hurt, they began to scorn and jeer, to hate and despise her. They wanted her gone and she thought she could do nothing more than oblige. She surrounded herself in a castle of thorns, roses, ivy; a veritable wall of nature, indifferent to the whims or taunting of the people who didn't understand her pain. But it didn't work, did it?
Her self-made prison could not block out the pain that seemed to seep through their very walls, and it was only the prospect of a worse 'outside' that kept her imprisoned. The years went by and she was so lonely, she thought she may die from sadness. But she didn't, did she?
Seemingly out of the blue, her castle was being attacked; a great shimmering dragon was slicing its way through her thorns, and on its wings came a man. At first she hated him. How dare he rip down her walls and expose her? Had he no feelings? But the man spoke to her, demeaning and belittling. It made her angry and she burst from her garden incarceration!
The pair battled and battled until finally she was weak and his dragon was gone. Having no more strength in her body, she began to fall. But low and behold the man caught her as she fell and cradled her in his arms. "Don't worry," He whispered softly, as her eyes began to close, "I will protect you..." And then she fell into a deep sleep.
The man took her from her thorny home and laid her in a bed of roses. There he cared for her as she slept, her curse was not broken yet, but soon she began to toss and turn. She was still in her prison and the roses were screaming at her, screaming about her curse! They would hurt the man who saved her! She was not changed yet! She was still the witch's accursed toy! She didn't want this, she wanted to change, she didn't want to hurt him! No! NO!
Something soft and warm enveloped her senses and she ceased to move. When she opened her eyes, there was the man. "You were calling my name." He spoke softly, stroking her hair from her face, "When you call me I will come. When you ask me I will answer. When you need me I will help. I am yours to command, though I may not always be near".
"What is your name?" She asked.
"Yusei."
"How did you wake me, Yusei?"
"With a kiss, Akiza."