My Kinda Fairy Tale

Prologue

//Once upon a time, many years ago-//

The paper was crumpled and thrown over the writer's shoulder. "Screw that, ok, new beginning…"

//In a land far, far away-//

That was added to the growing pile behind the occupant's chair. "Who knew an English assignment could be so hard?"

//Ok, here's the deal-//

The author leaned over and started to bang his head on the table. The door to his tiny room opened and a small face peeked in.

"Duo?" the child asked.

"Yea Hilde?" the boy, presumably named Duo, lifted his head and looked over at the little girl. "Did you want help with something?"

"No!" the girl bounded into the room and stopped by the pile of papers on the ground. "Whatcha doing?"

"Homework," Duo scowled at the paper on the battered desk. "I have to write an original fairy tale and it's a lot harder then it looks."

"Can I help?"

"Well, maybe…"

"Whatcha doing it about?"

"I have no idea," Duo moaned and whacked his head on the desk again.

"Maybe I can 'spire!" Hilde came over to the desk and looked at the paper. " All fairy tales start with 'Once upon a time'."

"But it sounds too… old fashioned."

"You're right," she sat back on her heels and thought hard. Duo smiled at the concentrated look on the seven-year-old's face. "Hmmm…Why is Once always up on Time anyway? Maybe it should be Once wasn't on top of Time. In fact, Once couldn't find Time! Time was lost!"

Duo laughed at the interpretation of the cliché. "I'll think of that, thanks Hilde."

"I have a story for you too!" she stated proudly. "There was a princess, no wait a prince! He was kind and gentle during the day but at night he was a vampire, with blood sucking fangs and preyed on young woman-"

"I think you're getting a little off track," Duo gulped at the images he had heard Hilde spin late at night when he had still been in the dorms and she had snuck out of her bed.

"Maybe just a little," she blushed. "Well, there was a good Prince and his father wanted him to get married, so a handsome prince took the prince's hand and-"

"Two princes?" Duo smiled. He wasn't sure if it was his influence or if Hilde just had a dirty mind, that she thought that up.

"Yea! Like you and Heero! You did say you wanted it to be original."

"I guess you're right. Thanks Hilde I think you're on to something. Dinner must be ready, could you go ask Sister Helen?"

"'K!" she dashed from the room. Duo smiled at the youthful energy and turned thoughtfully back to the paper.

Duo Maxwell sat on the end legs of his chair in deep thought. "Just like me and Heero… Mr. Marquise would get a kick out of that! Maybe it's not going to be as hard as I thought…"

Duo had lived in Maxwell Church for as long as he could remember. Sister Helen had told him stories about how she had heard knocking on the great Church walls. She had opened them to see Duo standing on the stairs, shivering in his thin shirt and jeans. Duo had no recollection on why he had stopped by the Church or what had happened to his family. He was raised in the Orphanage Sister Helen and Father Maxwell had started a few short years ago. He was sixteen now, in high school and still counting his blessings.

He turned determinably back to his paper. He needed the marks on this. With his English grade slipping below a 50, Mr. Marquise had promised that if Duo did above a 70 on this assignment, the grade would be a passing one.

//Once, in a place where no one was on time…//