Summary: She was a beautiful princess, and she didn't deserve anything less. Yukiko-centric. Yukiko x Chie. Oneshot.
Author's Note: Another surge of inspiration hit me during the ungodly hours of the morning. This particular fanfiction was inspired by the meaning of Yukiko's name, her favorite color, and her shadow. This practically wrote itself. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Additional AN: I used the 'where the roses are painted red' philosophy from Alice in Wonderland because, like the Red Queen, Yukiko is trying to force or twist the natural order of things to bend to her own selfish desires, even if she may not deserve it. Anyway, due to that I thought it was a fitting quote for this particular oneshot.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Persona series, but considering Yukiko's Shadow will be a playable character in P4U2, I think ATLUS is doing a great job owning the franchise regardless.
Princesses and Prisons
Created By: x-LittleMissAlice-x
xXx
"Just paint the white roses red!"
Alice in Wonderland
xXx
She didn't deserve anything less.
She was a beautiful princess, and every princess had a castle.
Her castle had large gates and majestic horse statues made of pure white marble. The smooth tiles were accented with gold, completely unscathed with scratches or dirt floor after floor, hall after hall inside her domain. The luxurious curtains draped the windows, the same hue of scarlet as the interior walls and lavish rugs. The throne room was exquisite; spacious and elegant enough for a ball, with a chair fit for even a queen...
Everything she touched, everything she saw - all of it was perfect.
Living here was perfect. It was so different from her other life; the creaking wood, musky steam, demanding customers and hustling of the staff didn't exist in this world. This place wasn't the Amagi Inn - not even close. She had room to breathe here, in the long halls and grand rooms of this castle. She could be herself here, where she was the ruler and no one could defy her wishes, just obey.
Everything in this world was hers, after all, even them.
The Shadows knew her deepest wish, and like devoted knights they would do everything in their power to fulfill it:
I don't want anyone to bother me. I don't want anyone to take me back to that other world. I want to live here forever...
She had every right to, and so she would.
This was her sanctuary, and it was perfect. Well, almost perfect.
There was still something missing. Something like...
Roses.
Yes, her castle needed roses.
The Amagi Inn didn't have them, and she had always wanted her future home to have a garden blooming with lovely roses.
They would be in front of the castle, as trees by the horse statues perhaps and maybe even a garden in the back. No, she wanted them everywhere - even around the entire castle itself. Poisonous thorns would adorn the rose vines, and they would snake around the exterior of her home, blooming beautifully. If anyone dared to touch or climb them, the poison would take effect and the intruder would plummet to their death.
So she needed them. She needed roses, but what color should they be...?
How about... red roses - no, white. She could always paint them red later. Yes, paint them red with the blood of any fool who dared to storm her castle uninvited, of anyone who had the nerve to try to take this world - this dream! - away from her. If enough people came and died in vain, there would be more than enough time to paint them all. These roses wouldn't shrivel, wither or die - they would last forever and ever, just as she would stay in this castle forever and ever.
This was her world, after all. She could do anything she wanted.
She could have white roses that would never die, and loyal subjects that would sing and dance as they painted those roses red, and she could have a... prince.
She was a beautiful princess, and every princess had a prince.
But... who was her prince?
Certainly not Yosuke. He wasn't 'prince-worthy' at all.
The transfer student Souji maybe? Perhaps he could sweep Yukiko off her feet. A white horse and cape would have certainly suited him, and perhaps silver could clash well with red...
Red was her color, after all. It was the most flattering on her... Chie had told her that.
Chie had told her they were best friends.
Chie had told her she would always be there, by her side like a noble prince.
Chie had told her a lot of things...
Did that mean any of it was true?
Bullshit. Everything she told me was a lie. She isn't here! She doesn't deserve to be here! She isn't a damn prince! No, she's just a selfish little bitc-"
-No. She was here now, not there, with her. There wasn't any point in thinking about her anymore.
She was a beautiful princess, and a princess didn't waste her time on peasants.
In the end, Yukiko was so, so, so much better than her anyway. Chie didn't have high marks or was well regarded by their teachers like she was. Chie spent the majority of her time watching Kung-Fu movies and eating steak, not working her skinny little ass off like she did at the Amagi Inn. Chie wasn't... as pretty as her either, right? Isn't that why there was an 'Amagi challenge' and not a 'Satonaka challenge,' because so many boys wanted her and not Chie...?
Yes. Yes, that had to be it.
She was a beautiful princess, and a princess was naturally worshiped by those around her.
Peasants, on the other-hand, were... were unimportant compared to a princess.
Who really gave a damn about Chie, anyway? Certainly not her. Why should she?
Yukiko was the one of worth. She was the one sought after, not Chie.
There were more important matters to think about anyway. Like... like this home she had created for herself, this home she deserved...
There was still something missing... What was she missing?
She had knights to roam the halls in the floors below her, and roses that would never die. She could make subjects to help her paint the roses, and eventually find a suitable prince... so what else did her castle need?
Snow.
Yes, her castle needed snow.
There wasn't snow in Inaba. It was almost always too hot for that. It was just sun and rain, sun and rain, then rain and rain and fog and thesameoldbullshit.
So she would change what she wanted, to make her own world completely different from that place.
She was Yukiko, a beautiful ice princess, and every ice princess had a castle with snow.
All she had to do was slip her eyes shut and imagine the fluffy textures and unique designs of snowflakes, and if her whimsical imagination focused enough her wish would come into being. She could have a winter that would last forever, with snow that would never melt, onto the roses that would never die, at a castle that would never disappear. And eventually, one day, everything would block the entrance to her sanctuary...
Then no one could come in, and she would never feel tempted to leave.
She didn't need to go outside, anyway. She could always watch the snow from the castle window, falling slowly from the sky, drifting through the air effortlessly like... like...
Like light, graceful little feathers blowing in the wind...
...Why hadn't she realized it sooner?
She had been wrong all along. No matter how many modifications she made, no matter how she changed this world to her liking, this place would never truly be a home.
She was a bird, this castle was her golden cage, and the snow would serve as her shed feathers, slowly but surely gathering at the bottom and rising to eventually consume her.
If she shed enough of her faults - if she rid enough of those beautiful and envious feathers - could she be reborn as a strong, powerful phoenix? Could she melt the snow around her and be freed of this cage so she could fly with many other unique birds in the big blue sky...?
Why bother thinking like that anyway? It didn't matter. It didn't matter...
This cage was her prison, and she wasn't strong enough to break out of it and fly.
So she would stay here, forever and ever...
She wasn't a princess, and only a princess was saved by a noble prince.
She was just a lonely little bird, and every lonely bird lived in a golden cage...
That was all there was to it. That was her fate. Even if she wasn't content with it that was the way it was and would always be.
But still, there was something she felt like she needed...
"...kiko."
Yes, there was still something missing. Something... Something like...
"Yu...ko..."
...What was she missing?
"Yukiko, we're here to save you!"
Was that... Chie?
Yes, what she was missing, what she needed all along, was... Chie.
Is she really here? Did she really... come for me?
"Just wait! Yosuke, Souji and I are here for you!"
Chie... I'm sorry. I'm so... sorry for doubting you...
She wasn't a princess, and Chie wasn't her prince.
She was a bird, and Chie, like always, was there to keep her company, until the day she was strong enough to break out of her cage herself and fly with her in the bright blue sky.
And she didn't deserve - or want - anything less.
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this piece, please let me know in a review. I love reading your thoughts.
If this story receives 8 or more reviews, I will write another fanfiction for this series.
That's all then. Have a lovely evening.
xLMAx