[D o o m s d a y]
The impending doom enshrouded her naïve ways, and I knew I was the one that would end it all…
A Servant of Evil Story
Len x Miku
Click-clack-click-clack…
The repetitive clanks from the wooden wheels of the carriage were starting to bother me.
They were beginning to sound like the steady heartbeats of a living human: one that was happy, healthy, and lived a life without that feeling of something spontaneously deadly looming over their existence…
A tingling chill poured down my back, and I gripped my thin jacket tighter to my naked skin, assuming that it was Mother Nature's doing.
But deep within my heart I knew that my conscience had purposely sent that eerie sensation as punishment for a crime I was about to commit…
I can remember my petite little princess sitting on top of her throne with her usual sense high authority.
Her bony arm was propped on top of one of the chair's sides, her head limply leaning against it. Her face showed solemnity, with her eyes aiding this sense of solitude by reflecting her boring life of being tied into the bloodline of royalty.
I had been her only source of comfort, despite my class as a lowly peasant. Although it wasn't much, I was the one that gave her the most meager amount of spice in her political, condescending life.
She'd appeared sickly, too: her face was paler than usual, and the hue in her blue-toned eyes had faded into an indifferent grey. Her lips were chapped and thin, compared to their once-full and radiant glow.
"What were you doing today?" she asked me patronizingly, as if we were in court.
"I was out in the city, Your Highness," I'd replied as casually as I could. I'd purposely averted my gaze from hers as I attempted to dust a few porcelain pots that accessorized the throne. "I was getting the things the cook would need for tonight's dinner."
"Oh is that so?" she said with a hint of haughtiness. I could already imagine her eyes widening with sarcasm at my inadequate lie.
"Y-Yes…"
"So why was it that I saw you out in the village square instead of the butcher's?"
As if on cue, the feather duster slipped through my fingers and gracefully fell to the floor. Sweat started to accumulate on the nape of my neck as I slowly titled my head in her direction.
Again, I was rewarded with her hard, cold glare. Her icy eyes never blinked the entire time I looked back at her, and I was beginning to shiver with intimidation.
"Well?"
"I had to-"
"Don't you lie to me," she interrupted under a cool yet powerful tone. "You were looking at The Princess of Green, weren't you?"
I looked down in shame: I'd been caught in the act of being disobedient and rebellious.
"Despicable," she hissed, tossing her blonde head in annoyance. "Just despicable."
An uncanny silence spread its way across the throne as she sat on top of her throne, with me turned to look down out of defiance.
After the long, dreadful pause, my princess finally came to a horrifying conclusion.
"Let's just get rid of her."
I quickly wiped one sweaty palm by rubbing it on the dirty beige fabric of my pants. I began to grip the reins harder and harder until my hands started crack and bleed from the coldness of the night.
As I shifted on my place on the carriage, I nervously craned my neck to look behind me, where an innocent princess was tucked snugly inside the furnished little chariot, happily humming a classical melody from her kingdom.
The Princess of Green had no idea that I wasn't one of her servants; in fact, Lady Meiko – warrior of the Kingdom of Green – was her sworn guardian who'd been entrusted with the duty of looking after her.
And now, that deadly red huntress was probably rampaging all around the area, searching for her kingdom's missing princess…
"Servant," the green princess suddenly piped, "Are you sure we're going the right way to our kingdom?"
"Of course, Your Highness," I replied back as coolly as I could.
"Oh, okay then."
'Our'…
Oh, how I'd longed to hear those words come out from her precious lips!
It had always been a fantasy of mine ever since I'd seen her in the village square. She'd always settle herself on the fountain's stone edge and watch passerby, as if she herself was a peasant. Oh, how considerate she was!
But alas, despite my exhilarating enthusiasm whenever the Princess of Green came to visit, I knew that I was being watched by a jealous other who knew me all too well…
"Y-You're Highness! Surely you're mistak-?"
"How dare you question my authority!" she screeched. "My decisions are final and that is what I want!"
Of course, my princess had always gotten what she'd wanted, even before her mother had died of a chronic illness. She'd always been given expensive toys, exotic cuisine from faraway lands, healthily-grown horses to ride…and even me.
Perhaps I was underscoring myself.
Was I really that important to her…?
"I want her dead, do you hear?! Dead!"
"S-Servant," the Princess of Green stammered from inside the carriage, "Can I ask you something?"
I stiffened and braced for the question, thinking that it was something pertaining to my true identity.
"Y-Yes?" I stammered back.
"I'm quite nervous when it comes to nighttime," she whispered.
I could've sworn a tear forming in one of my eyes.
Instead of my heart thumping out of ecstasy, it was beating with like a drum of approaching doom.
Her innocence was too easy to take advantage of…
"That's why I was wondering if I could…" she paused and turned a pale pink before continuing. "…If I could come out and sit next to you."
Thump-thump-thump…
My once-wistful fantasy was turning into a twisted nightmare…
I recall a dance my princess had hosted not too long ago.
Us servants had decorated the dusty ballroom and had transformed it into an elegant place made of gold, glass, and decorated antiques.
My princess had danced with me day and night, practicing her footwork and dinner table behavior. I could clear remember how she'd turned from a child to a young woman. It was as if she was trying to impress someone at the dance…
And it would've been none other than The Prince of Blue.
When the day had come, he'd arrived being the princess's Guest of Honor and dance partner.
The way my princess danced with him showed the loads of intense practice we'd had; her exuberant air filled the ballroom with such happiness it seldom had, and I'd planned to congratulate her, too.
However, when the music had drawn to a close and it was time for another dance, The Prince of Blue had made a beeline for another partner.
And to my princess's dismay, The Prince of Blue had chosen the Princess of Green.
And as they danced, I noticed that her smile had transformed into a disdainful frown…
I stopped the horses with a hard pull and then hopped off to bring her up front. It was quite awkward; me, an ordinary servant, about to touch the hands of an angelic figure that wasn't part of my kingdom…
Was this really what my princess had intended?
I'd opened the small carriage door, and there she was: her frivolous green-pigtailed hair, her graceful, entrancing eyes…
She robotically stuck out her hand, and I took it with desperation.
Her hand was dainty and smooth, clearly reflecting her calm and peaceful Kingdom of Green.
I then led her over towards the seat next to mine.
Hesitantly, I took her by her tiny waist and helped her up, blushing madly.
She noticed my shy behavior and giggled at my reaction, which only made my face redden even more.
Once we started up again, she began to twirl her long pigtailed hair irresolutely around her fingers.
"Servant," she said after a long pause, "What is your name?"
"L-Len…" I mumbled as I shuffled for a free hand to quickly tip my cap lower.
"Thank you for taking me home, Len," she said in the sweetest voice I'd ever heard. Her eyes softened and a virtuous smile creased across her mouth.
"I hope I can ride around with you more often," she said.
And I had hoped, too…
"M-My word! Rin, why do you loiter around with this uncouth servant!?"
"I have no reason not to," a little Princes of Yellow fired back to her mother, her blue eyes showing the same uncaring coldness they currently presented.
Her mother, taken aback by her daughter's atrocious behavior, was speechless.
"W-What a horrible daughter I have…" her mother murmured under her breath. "How could I have raised such an evil girl?"
"Call me whatever you want. It doesn't matter to me," she replied black, swiftly turning around and walking away with my hand intertwined with hers.
I turned to look at her and saw a malicious grin emerge from the trims of her loose golden hair.
"Perhaps I should be called the Daughter of Evil…"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I believe that our horses have become exhausted," I said as I stopped the carriage once again.
"Really?" she inquired, straining her neck to look at the horses' faces.
"I really hate to do this to you, Your Highness but…" I gulped before continuing, afraid of what she was about to say about this solution. "I think we have to travel by foot."
"By foot?"
"Yes."
She blinked her green eyes in wonder, as if estimating how far they would travel compared to how close they were to home…
"Alright then," she said.
"But I know a shortcut through the woods," I quickly interjected.
Again, I could already feel the sweat beginning to rise from the pores of my body.
She paused to think again, putting a pensive finger to her chin.
"Very well then," she replied with a whole-hearted smile.
"I believe you, Len."
"I don't want any mess ups, you understand?" she said through narrowed eyes.
I turned to look at her, though her perch at the library desk prevented me from seeing her face, as it the leather seat was swerved away from my view.
Her back was stretched erect, acting like a cold-hearted queen.
"And don't even think about disobeying this order."
Unwillingly, I managed to make a crooked smile.
"Yes, Your Highness."
The hoot of an owl made her flinch, and she gripped my hand harder.
"Len," she said worriedly, "Are you sure this is the correct shortcut?"
"Yes," I replied as I focused my eyes on something other than her.
"I'm quite…scared," she whispered, a sense of fretful agony in her voice. Her pigtails swayed from side to side as she looked in every direction as the trees began to enshroud us as we headed deeper into its mysterious realm.
T-Thump-t-thump-t-thump-t-thump…
This downhearted tale was drawing to a close and my breathing heightened as I gently dragged her over towards a large elm tree.
The moonlight that managed to shine its way through the cracks of the branches illuminated this small spot, which would soon turn from green to red…
"L-Let's rest here," I offered, letting her hand free and leading her over to a moonlit spot next to the tree.
"Alright…" She stood in the light and stared up at the moon, absolutely expecting nothing suspenseful coming around the corner. "It's quite a beautiful night, isn't it, Len?"
"Yes, it is…"
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
"Len?" she called, turning to look for me in the dark shadows. "Come over here. You can see the moon so clearly from up here."
"In a minute…"
"Why not now? You might miss it!"
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
"Princess…"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry…"
"What for? Is something the matter?"
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
"If only I'd compromised, this would've never happened…"
"Len?"
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
A blind attempt to reach for me managed to grab the sleeve of my shirt, and she desperately latched onto it for a sense of security.
"Len?"
I let her drag me over to the moonlight, her eyes expecting to see me with my downtrodden cap and regular exterior.
But her eyes soon widened with horror as she saw the glint of a sharp silver knife raised high above her delicate head.
I looked at her with regretful eyes, the tears my eyes had been containing for the past hour, and with a quivering lip.
"I don't want to do this…" I whispered shakily. "But I have to."
"L-Le-!"
T-thump-t-thump-t-thump-t-thump-t-thu-…
I would never forget the piercing sound of a bloodstained knife cutting through an angel's heart, and an earsplitting shriek that had soared across the entire forest with the message of an odious homicide…
"I knew you could do it, Len," she grinned cruelly.
She leaned against the wooden frame of my room as I washed my hands.
"I knew you were really my servant all this time."
She shrugged and chuckled with an unnatural tone of wickedness.
"The Daughter of Evil and her Servant of Evil," she whispered with a deceitful grin.
As she walked off into the corridor, the steady beat of running water filled my body with a vile memory that had happened deep within the forest...
My bloody tears that poured down my shameful cheeks complimented the crimson towel that I was using to wipe away the remnants of my princess's piece of evidence regarding the murder of The Princess of Green.
And the more I cried, the harder I wiped the blood-spattered knife, hoping that if I wiped more maybe my sins would go all away, just like my tears did as they mixed with The Princess of Green's blood as they flowed down the sink…
-END
Shana's Notes: This is definitely one of my darker works, but I acutally kind of like it. I played around with some word choice, so I hope that changed things up a bit. There are many Evil Series stories, but I hadn't come across any that had said much about Miku's position in this. Being a fan of Miku, I was appalled by one YouTube comment on the Servant of Evil video, saying: "OMFG, this is all Miku's fault!" So, I guess I was inspired by my hatred for this stupid commenter? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading (it was kind of long), and reviews would be appreciated. Thanks!
-Shana-san