Author note: I do not own Yakitate! Japan.
...This idea, inspired a little by the song 'Mordred's Lullaby' by Heather Dale as well as lots of other pieces of music I heard on Youtube, was what was distracting me from working on writing the next chapters of 'Reflections,' 'Linked Together' and the 'Carnie Collection.' Therefore, do not expect this fic to be updated often unless I have writers block for all the rest of the fics.
Warning: Lord of the Loquat AU, Lord of the Loquat versions of the Yakitate! Japan characters, OCs (only up to two of them, I hope), violence, possible various pairings later on (MoniKai is one of them)
Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks!
Captivated
I. Fay
Weeks had passed since the defeat of Snowza, and the Moon Kingdom had been busy with many things since then. From organizing a festival to celebrate the defeat of said icy terror, to aiding the people that had been terrorized by her and had many things taken away from them because of her, everyone had their hands full with something.
And Meistrof...Meistrof felt like he didn't have any time to spare to himself aside from sleeping, eating, and bathing, let alone have any time to actually breathe. He had been in charge of helping to organize the festival, specifically, and much of it was getting on his nerves.
He did try to stay calm throughout the process, though, and fooled most people that he was completely fine; they had nothing to worry about him, he could handle this...
Unfortunately yesterday, when he learned that the floral decorations in the courtyard were completely messed up, he scorched a nearby tree with his thunderstorm spell out of frustration.
He didn't mean to do it. He was just more stressed than usual. He didn't know what made him lose control like that, but he hoped that it didn't happen again. When he was summoned to see Princess Moon, he hoped that the 'scorched tree' incident was not what she wanted to talk about.
"You wished to see me, your Highness?" He bowed, in greetings to her.
"Yes." The elf princess responded, crossing her arms loosely. "There have been reports of you transforming a tree into ashes in the courtyard yesterday. Is this true, Meistrof?"
Blast. So she wanted to discuss this, after all... The mage thought, bracing himself for a lecture on how more careful he should be with his temper.
"...Yes, it is." Meistrof answered her, after a moment of hesitation. He diverted his gaze from her, embarassed that she would even be talking to him about this. If only he had kept himself calm... "I apologize for this-I should have kept better control of my temper, I should have kept myself calm-"
"And obviously, you need to rest yourself from all of this planning." Those were words that he didn't think she would respond to him with. He looked up at her, confused at what she meant. "Meistrof, you've been occupying yourself so much with organizing the festival to the point that you are overworking yourself. I understand your tendency to get things done well and on time, but you need to settle down a little. The stress will not be good for you and your work."
"So...Are you implying that you wish for me to refrain from my usual duties for the day?" He asked quietly.
"Yes. You are free to do what you wish, for today."
It took a moment for the words to sink into his mind, before he bowed a bit and thanked her. He left, knowing a good place to be whenever he got stressed. He hoped it would help him regain his composure.
Moments after he left, however, Princess Moon realized that she forgot to mention something else to him. She figured she could save it for later.
He shouldn't have to worry about having an apprentice to train. Not for today.
Meistrof let out a quiet breath as he wandered the woods, not far from the castle. He enjoyed being here, but it wasn't just because it was all pretty-looking with all sorts of unique vegetation about. It wasn't because of the lovely chirping of the birds, or anything like that.
He just...liked being there, in the forest. It was like it was a place meant for him, and only him.
A blur of movement caught the corner of his eye, and he turned to see no one behind him. He hesitated, before he turned around again to see that there was someone, standing only a few paces away from him.
Shades of dark green, magenta, purple and white clothed the figure, and her thick, ebony hair reached a little past her shoulders. Azure eyes, embedded with gold flecks, bore into his light blue ones, and he knew what sort of creature it was-it was a fay. Only a fay could have eyes like those. Unfortunately, he could not make himself speak a greeting, which was what he intended, and blurted out something else instead.
"Who...are you?"
A young man, with a ponytail of blond, let out a sigh as he walked through the forest.
"What am I going to do?" He muttered aloud. That was when he heard a voice.
"Who...are you?" A masculine, deep voice resounded quietly through the trees nearby.
He hid behind the nearest tree he could find, and peeked about. He had no idea who was speaking at first. He looked some more...and then he saw the man, with long, blond hair and robes as white as a dove.
That's Meistrof...I'm being apprenticed to him. That's what Princess Moon told me earlier, anyway... He thought quietly as he continued to look. What's he doing here? I heard he was organizing that huge festival to celebrate Snowza's defeat...
"Is it not obvious, human? I am a fay." A feminine voice answered Meistrof's question. The pony-tailed one's eyes widened when he realized that a woman-no, female fay was with Meistrof. Not just that, but she was beautiful for sure.
"I-I believe I meant to ask for your name. I do realize that you are a fay...The eyes give that away, you see..." Meistrof stammered slightly, trying to keep his composure. "May I know your name, miss fay?"
"My name is Zaira, Meistrof." The fay replied quietly. She looked at him quietly, with azure eyes-
No way, the young man thought to himself as he watched. She was a real fay, for sure. The gold flecks in her eyes identified her as such.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Zaira." Meistrof answered politely, bowing a little to her. Zaira merely smiled at him quietly-a smile as sweet as honey. The pony-tailed one didn't know too much about the fay creatures, but he knew it was best to be on their good side. He wondered why Zaira would approach Meistrof. "But...may I ask of why you approach me? Is there something the matter? Or did you simply wish to greet me?"
"Well-" Zaira started, but she suddenly went stiff. She paused, before looking around worriedly. "I cannot speak now. I must go."
"Why-"
Before Meistrof could finish his question, a rush of black dust appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the both of them.
"Whoa!" The pony-tailed one let out a shout of surprise, and he had a feeling that it wouldn't be good just to watch anymore. He had to help defend them from whatever this black dust was. "Um-um...c'mon, Spencer, what's a good spell here!?" He shouted at himself aloud. He then remembered, focused himself, and pointed a finger towards the dust. "Valaistus!"
A flash of blue light shot into the dust, causing it to spread away from Meistrof and Zaira. When the dust cleared, he saw Meistrof, on the ground unconscious, and Zaira was nowhere in sight.
"Oh, blast..." He gritted his teeth as he ran over to the fallen mage and tried to shake him awake. "C'mon! Wake up! Don't die, okay!?" He shouted as he continued to shake the long-haired blond.
"Rrgh..." He stopped shaking Meistrof as soon as he saw light blue eyes flutter open. "What...happened? Who..."
"Hey, it's alright. You're alright. I can't say the same for the lady you were with, though-she's vanished. You both got attacked by some sort of weird...dust...it's hard to explain." The younger one answered quietly, helping him sit up. "You're Meistrof...right?"
"Yes. I am." Meistrof adjusted his mask, before he made eye contact with the younger one. "And, pray tell...who are you? I must thank you for doing your best to defend me and Miss Zaira." He looked around quietly, and let out a sigh. "I do hope that she escaped whoever attacked us just now..."
"I don't think Princess Moon told you yet, huh?"
"Hm?" The older man looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean?"
"Um...I'm your apprentice, starting today." The younger one responded sheepishly. "My name's Spencer. It's nice to meet you, Meistrof."
Author note: Zaira is my OC, and therefore I own her.