Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, CLAMP does. I don't get any profit out of it besides (hopefully) your comments!
I wrote this for a fairytale challenge at the kuroxfai-community at livejournal and wanted to share it with you guys.
AU, angst, death, Kurogane x Fai of course.
The secret of the blue crystal
Once upon a time in land far away there was the highest mountain one could ever imagine. Its top was so high that it reached beyond the clouds and was covered in snow the whole year. On this highest of all mountains stood a tower made of crystal, silver and marble; so shining and pure that it blended into the icy surroundings. But no one had ever dared to climb that mountain so that the people that lived at the foot of it didn't even know there was something unusual on top of it. Only when night fell, the clouds cleared and the tower sparkled in the moonlight like a star on its own.
In the kingdom at the foot of the mountain there lived a beautiful and wise princess. She was loved by her subjects, but above all by the knights that protected her.
Among them was the black knight, the bravest of them all. He was hopelessly devoted to his princess and asked her every day to give him a quest to fulfil that could prove his love. The princess finally gave in. One clear, warm summer night she pointed up to the top of the mountain where the tower sparkled.
"Do you see that beautiful light there, black knight?" she asked. "If you really want to prove yourself to me, then climb up the mountain that was never conquered before and bring me back whatever shines to brightly up there."
The black knight nodded. "I will, my princess." He wasn't afraid of the treacherous rocks and glaciers nor of the biting cold, so he packed some gear and started on his journey.
For three days and three nights the knight climbed. The rocks seemed to fight him off, wanted him to fall to his death, but he persevered. The cold wind tried to sweep him off, but the knight held on tightly.
So finally, on the third night, the brave black knight finally reached the top of the mountain. He saw the beautiful tower and believed himself in a dream. Who could erect such a building so high up here and why? Curiously he stepped closer. There was no door or even a window; the knight had to look up very high to see a window at all, but the surface of the tower was far too smooth to climb. But the black knight wouldn't give up that easily. He drew his sharp sword that was forged out of dragon's breath and took a swing against the tower's wall – and it gave in a bit. Encouraged the knight hit the wall again and again until he finally had made a hole into it that was big enough to climb through.
The knight was awed by the sight that presented itself to him. He stood in a big, round hall that was decorated with carved marble pillars and beautiful ornaments as fine as frost patterns. Not even the princess's huge palace had such a hall. Curiously he stepped in further and found a winded staircase that led up.
The next level was as curious a sight as the first. The walls were covered with shelves that held thousands of books; the black knight found that he couldn't even read most of the titles because they were written in various strange languages. The knight climbed further up and found a laboratory on the next floor. Strangely coloured liquids bubbled in vials, and parts of devices he couldn't even begin to comprehend lay around.
"If someone is really living here, it must be a wizard," the black knight said to himself and gripped his sword again. He wanted to be prepared; there were also wizards at the princess's court, but he didn't trust them at all.
The knight climbed up even more floors until he had lost count. He was now sure someone was still living in here because he found a kitchen that seemed to be used recently and clothes strewn around in front of a wardrobe. The only strange thing was the cold. The black knight hadn't noticed at first, but the tower's inside was as cold as the outside.
The rooms grew smaller, and finally the black knight reached the last staircase. Above it lay a small room that was covered with satiny pillows. Translucent curtains hung from the ceiling, and to all sides were huge windows. The light of the stars and the moon fell through them, illuminating a lone figure sitting there.
The black knight gripped his sword more tightly and came closer. As the figure heard him approaching, he turned his head to look at the intruder.
It was young man, maybe around the knight's own age, but slender and delicate as a girl. White, almost translucent skin, long, blond locks that surely reached the floor when he stood and the biggest, bluest eyes the knight had ever seen. In fact, the beauty of this young man, bathed in moonlight, matched even that of the princess.
"Who are you?" the knight finally managed to ask.
The master of the tower smiled. "I don't have a name. A long time ago I was simply called the white mage. And who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I came to look what glittered up on top of the mountain," the knight said.
"Ah. So please sit and tell me more. It's been at least a thousand years since I last spoke to someone." The white mage gestured at the pillows next to him.
Still wary the black knight sat down. "A thousand years?" he asked unbelievingly.
"I was cursed to live forever in this tower. I don't remember why though, but I know I can't leave here. The one that cursed me said that the only way to ever leave was to look into my own eyes. That is why there are no mirrors in this tower and I can't conjure one up with all my magic." The white mage's smile was unfaltering. "But it doesn't matter. I like it here. My library has all the magic books that were ever written, and in my laboratory I can mix every potion that was ever invented. And at night I can look at the stars. No one is closer to them than me up here."
The black knight furrowed his brow. "But don't you get lonely?"
"No," the white mage answered. "Why should I? And since you are the first to find me here, you can stay a bit and tell me about the outside world. It will make an interesting story."
So the knight told the mage about the kingdom at the foot of the mountain and about the princess. He also told him why he had come here.
"The princess told me to bring her back whatever was shining up here," he said. "But I can hardly bring her back that whole tower of yours."
The white mage laughed brightly like silver bells. "If you promise to stay for a few days with me, then I'll give you something to bring back to your princess. Something unique and sparkling."
The black knight agreed.
On the first day, the mage showed the knight the strange magic devices and the magic potions. They could conjure up everything one could imagine: flowers, even animals, music or tasty food. But the living things didn't last long in the cold, so the mage had given up on this kind of short-lived companionship a long time ago.
On the second day, the mage showed the knight the magic books in the library. He told him of the arcane wonders that were written there, but no magic spell could free the mage from the tower.
On the third day the mage took the knight down to the great hall. The hole in the wall was closed again, the black knight noted, but it was still as chilly as the deepest winter night.
"This is supposed to be a ballroom," the white mage said. "But no one ever danced here."
"So make one of your magic devices play music," the black knight answered and held out his hand. "And we will dance."
The mage hesitated, but then he took the knight's hand. Because he was frozen himself, the knight didn't notice the cold of the mage's hand. The music began to play, and they began to dance. None of them knew any steps, but it didn't matter.
Finally the mage stopped. "You must go," he said. "You're already as cold as I am. If you stay here for longer, you will die. I will now give you the present to bring back to your princess."
The mage closed his left eye and held his hand in front of it. A brilliant light flashed, and when the knight could see again, the mage held a bright blue crystal in his hand. It glittered and sparkled brighter that anything the knight had ever seen.
"This is the magic of my left eye," the white mage said.
"But you can't give that to me!" the knight protested.
The mage smiled. "Of course I can. There is great magic in both my eyes. With my right eye I am able to reveal the greatest secrets of the world. But I don't know what the magic of my left eye does. Since I can't look at it myself, I will never know, and it is useless. So take it."
So the black knight took the blue crystal and wrapped it carefully. "I thank you," he said, drew his sword and made a hole in the wall with it again.
"Goodbye, black knight. It was nice talking to you." The white mage smiled brightly again, and his hair fell over his now empty left eye.
"Goodbye, white mage. I hope you can break that spell one day," the black knight answered and left the tower.
Three days and three nights later he reached the foot of the mountain. It was still summer in the land, and the black knight was happy to feel warm again. He brought the blue crystal to the princess who was glad to see him back save.
"What a wonderful crystal!" she exclaimed as the knight had told her the story of the mage. "It is as blue as the sky and brighter than the stars. But I want to know what kind of magic it possesses."
So the princess gave the crystal to her court wizards. For weeks they tried to discover the secret of the blue crystal but no spell could reveal it.
"Why do you want to know what kind of magic it has?" the knight asked his princess. "You wanted something shiny and I got it for you."
"But I'm not satisfied," the princess answered and handed the crystal back to knight. "I have hundreds of crystals and gems this beautiful in my treasure chest. Without knowing its magic it is quite useless. But you told me that the white mage's right eye can reveal all the secrets of the world. Climb that mountain again and tell him to look at his own left eye."
The knight took the crystal. "I will do that. And since the mage told me the only way to break his curse is to look into his own eyes, maybe it will help him as well."
The wise princess smiled and gave her brave knight a kiss. "So go and try to help him."
Once again the black knight climbed the mountain. When he reached it at the third night, he found the mage again at the top floor of his tower, gazing at the stars.
"I never thought that you would come back." The mage stared at the knight in surprise.
"Me neither," answered the knight and held out the blue crystal. "But my princess wants to know what kind of magic is in your left eye. So please look at it. And maybe this will break your curse as well."
The white mage shook his head, clearly afraid.
"Please, do it for me," urged the knight. "If you are free, you could come down with me to the princess's land. You would never be alone."
Finally, the mage took the blue crystal and looked at it. The crystal went bright again and vanished. As the mage looked up, his left eye was back in place.
"So what did you see?" the knight asked. "What is the secret of your left eye?"
The mage smiled sadly without answering. "You were right. I felt the curse lifting. Let's go outside."
When they reached the ground level of the tower, the mage stepped carefully trough the hole in the wall. No magic held him back as he left the tower. The knight followed him.
The sun began to rise, but the clouds that had shrouded the tower by day were gone. As the sun's warm rays touched the tower, it began to melt. The ice and snow surrounding it melted away, too.
"I tell you what I saw," the mage said. He reached out to touch the knight's face, and the knight felt wetness. The mage was melting away in the sunshine, like he had been made of pure ice, too.
"It was a part of my frozen heart that I gave away," the mage continued, still smiling. "When you gave it back to me, it was warm, so warm... you have melted my icy heart with your presence. The curse is lifted, and I'm finally free. Thank you."
The knight tried to hold the mage, but wherever he touched him, the delicate body melted even faster.
"Please stay with me, don't vanish!" he shouted.
But it was too late. Like a frost pattern the mage melted away to nothing. Only a blue crystal remained.
The black knight took it and held it close to his heart, weeping. Around him the melted ice and snow gave way to a field of green grass and delicate flowers. The longer the sun shone onto them, the more flowers opened, blossoming in the most beautiful blue shade.
The knight didn't return to the princess, but stayed on top of the mountain.
It is said he is still there, sitting in a field of blue flowers, forever holding onto the secret of love.
"Why do you tell the princess always such silly stories?" Kurogane growled as Fai exited Sakura's bedroom. It had taken a while to comfort Sakura after the sad ending, but now she was sleeping, cradling a still sniffling Mokona in her arms.
"Silly? I found it in a book at the library." Fai waved with said book and smiled. "It's one of the many legends of this world. Maybe it isn't a fairytale at all."
"It is still dumb," Kurogane insisted, folding his arms across his chest. "The knight and the mage were both idiots!"
"So?" Fai lifted a delicate eyebrow. "The tell me, Kuro-pon, if YOU had been the black knight, what would you have done?"
Kurogane took the bait. "Easy. I had ignored the princess's wish and never climbed up that mountain again. That way everything had been alright." He waved dismissively with his hand. "Just don't tell the princess any more of these dumb fairytales. It just gives her nightmares." With this, he retreated to his room.
Fai looked after him. "If I had been the white mage, I would have killed the knight the instant he tried to invade my tower," he whispered into the emptiness of the room. "But it's already too late for that."
fin
Hope you liked it!