"What's this?" Alice, our diminutive and avid reader, looked at the new book lying on the floor. "This wasn't here before."
Looking around, Alice realised that her Valentinian coin, previously lying on the ground next to the book "Armageddon", had disappeared. A few minutes passed as Alice fervently searched for the coin, but to no avail. It was like it had disappeared into thin air.
"How very odd." Alice muttered. "Where could it have gone Socrates?"
"Meow."
"You don't think the Pookas took it do you?"
"Meow."
"I mean, these are just stories... right?" Alice asked, a bit uncertain.
"Meow." Socrates, being a cat, continued to make feline noises.
"Oh you're no help!" Alice huffed, before turning her attention to the new book on the floor. Leaning down, she examined the embossed title. "The...Wheel of fate? What an odd title."
Flipping the book open, Alice read the first sentence.
Gwendolyn was falling through-
Alice's eyes widened in shock as she realised she was holding the continuation of the story that she thought had ended tragically. Her curiosity rekindled, Alice took the book to her favourite armchair and plonked herself onto the comfy leather. Taking a moment to get comfortable, Alice flipped open the book and begun to read...
Alice felt her eyelids drooping as she finished the last page of the book. She had smiled upon reading about Gwendolyn and Oswald's happy ending, but was sad when she saw no mention of Velvet and Cornelius.
As Alice fell into a slumber, Socrates's gaze turned to the corner of the room. After a few minutes, a blue portal appeared and two individuals stepped out.
"Look Velvet." The male of the pair, a tall strapping young man with long blonde locks, exclaimed. "She's sleeping."
"And that's why you should whisper Cornelius." The woman, Velvet, murmured softly. "We don't want to wake her."
"But we must thank her for giving us the last coin."
"Perhaps we still can." Velvet's eyes fell upon the book that they'd left her. "By finishing the story."
"That's a perfect idea!" Cornelius grinned, before waving his hand. Immediately, new pages filled the book. "There we go. One happy ending."
"Good." Velvet looked at the snoring little girl on the couch. Willing or not, she had played a major role in the very story she had read. "Now then, we should go."
"Are you sure we shouldn't thank her in person?"
"Yes." With a wave of her hand, Velvet summoned the portal once more. "After all, to her we're just story book characters."
Giving Socrates a wink, Velvet stepped through the portal. Cornelius, before stepping through the portal, gave the girl one last look.
"Thank you for giving us a happy ending." Cornelius whispered. The girl shifted in her sleep, a wide grin appearing on her face. "I wish you the best."
And with that, Cornelius the Pooka Prince stepped through the portal, and was gone.
"Mmmmm..." Alice stretched her arms and let out a big yawn. "I had the oddest dream Socrates."
"Meow?"
"I dreamt that Prince Cornelius and Princess Velvet came to thank me for breaking the Pooka curse on them."
"Meow."
"I know it's just a story. But it felt so real."
"Meow."
Alice, realising she was getting no where with Socrates, turned her attention to the book in front of her. With a start, she realised that there were still a few pages left.
"Didn't I finish this book already?"
"Thank you for giving us a happy ending."
A kind voice suddenly rung through Alice's head, causing her to blink. It felt like...a memory.
"...it can't be..." Alice murmured. "...can it?"
"Meow." Alice turned her attention to Socrates, who was pawing at a seemingly random part of the floor. "Meow."
For the first time in her life, Alice wished she could understand cat.
But since that wasn't going to happen, she decided to instead continue reading.
"A happy ending hmm?" Alice said to herself, turning the page and beginning to read. "Well, let's see..."
Cornelius and Velvet continued to...
Alice felt a smile grow on her face as she finished the last page. In the end, Cornelius and Velvet had, just like Oswald and Gwendolyn, achieved their happy ending. They too, would live out their remaining days in peace.
"That was nice." Alice exclaimed. "But poor Ingway and Mercedes. They deserved a happy ending as well-"
Alice paused, her eyes having noticed something. There, hidden behind the last page, was what appeared to be an engraving on the back of the cover. Flipping over the page, Alice gasped.
A beautiful image of a massive tree, with a red glowing crystal in its roots, took up the majority of the page. A single root stretched the length of the page. But this wasn't what made Alice gasp.
At the bottom of the image was a smaller etching showing a familiar looking man lying on the ground. The man was ghostly, but Alice could recognise the features that matched the books descriptions of Ingway. The apparition of Ingway was reaching out towards the end of the previously mentioned root. At the end of the root, a single white flower was depicted. Alice knew the flower was the very same flower that Mercedes wore in her hair.
Without even realising it, Alice felt tears flow from her eyes. A ragged sob left her mouth as she begun to cry.
In the end, Mercedes had defied everything and joined the one she loved.
"Alice!" A voice called from downstairs. "Cassian is here to play!"
"I-i'm coming!" Alice replied, having regained some of her composure.
Wiping the last remains of her tears, Alice closed the book and placed it next to the others, before rushing down the stairs to see her friend.
"Hi Alice." Cassian waved. He was a bit taller then Alice, with pale grey hair and a relaxed smile. "What have you been up to?"
"Reading." Alice replied. "Grandpa has a bunch of super old books in the attic."
"Cool." Cassian looked wistfully at the open door of the house. Outside, a brilliant blue sky beckoned. "Wanna go for a walk outside and tell me about it?"
"Sure!" Alice grabbed Cassian's hand and pulled him out the door. She blinked as the sun blinded her for a moment. "Wow it's so bright!"
"Well, yeah." Cassian laughed. "Its a beautiful day after all!"
Alice looked at the scenery that spread out before her. Green rolling hills, with forests and fields dotted between them. An endless blue sky with wisps of clouds floating randomly. And a shining sun high up in the sky, illuminating everything Alice could see.
"So, what's the story about?" Cassian asked, as the two of them begun to walk down the winding yellow road that led towards the hills. "Is it about dragons and stuff?"
"Yes! It's called Odin Sphere and has six books."
"Six books?" Cassian repeated, sounding amazed. "That's a really long story!"
"It is. But its the best story I've ever read."
"Really?"
"Really." Alice replied with absolute certainty.
"So then, how does it begin?"
"Well." Alice looked at the sky, just in time to see a single blue bird soar overhead. A wide grin appeared on her face.
"It begins with a girl called Gwendolyn."
Fin.
Well I hope you enjoyed my little one shot. Odin Sphere had one of the best stories in...well anything. It was simple, but managed to capture emotional turmoil and growth very well. Poor Mercedes and Ingway.
Fenris