As a small girl I've always loved fairy tales. My mother was in the highest pedestal my heart and mind could ever conjure. Her ability to know things I didn't even mention to her made me believe she was some sort of magical fairy, the toys and luxuries she showered me with reinforced this statement.

She was beautiful, she was young, she was charming and there was always a smile on her face. A kiss and my cuts and scrapes didn't sting anymore and my tears would disappear, giving ways to a smile. Her hair was golden, and reflected the rays of the sun; her eyes were blue, and made you feel safe and at ease. I fervently believed that she could be hiding fairy wings underneath her beautiful clothes, that she let them free at night to make other children happy around the world.

But I was her daughter; she was my fairy the twenty four hours of the day, seven days of the week, and twelve months of the year.

I even thought that, when I grew up, fairy wings like hers would sprout out of my back and I would have that same charming magic she possessed. I would make children happy and would make a handsome man like dad to fall head over heels for me and marry me.

The dream hadn't turn out too different from reality. Only that everything had begun with a nightmare.

Today was a new day; second day of vacation. It was eight in the morning when I woke up. I looked across the room lazily and noticed Ellen wasn't in her bed. It was very tempting to just ignore everything and go back to sleep to make up for all those Saturdays I had to wake up horribly early…

The bed was warm…

The pillow, soft…

But my mouth was dry. No matter how much I tried I just couldn't sleep like that. That was what dragged me out of bed and into the bathroom to wash my face. My golden hair was a mess and my blue eyes were half closed. Regardless, I smiled. Today was Saturday.

The word Saturday had become tightly related to the name Hieronymus Grabiner.

Too bad I wasn't going to see him again for a while, burning letters away like a little boy mad at his dad for not buying him his favorite toy.

"Chloe!" Mom called from downstairs. All my anger for her had been washed away by sleep. There were a few magical things I could still enjoy… "There's mail for you!" She shouted again in a sing song voice.

Mom was up to mischief.

I sighed and went downstairs. What could had life prepared for me that Saturday May 3rd?

As I went downstairs lazily I could only wonder who could have sent me mail. Could had been Virginia, but she could have contacted me on Facebook or something, or…

"From your husband." Mom, who had been waiting at the end of the stairs, handed me the letter.

I carefully took it and indeed it was from Grabiner. I just zoomed back upstairs, leaving my mother standing.

Giggling like a little school girl who had just received a valentine from her crush, I sat down at my bed and opened the letter. I could only imagine what kind of subtle words he would use to convey in the most indirect way possible that he missed me.

I should have known better than to make myself illusions.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" So much for casting the anti-anger spell called Sleep. The sun had to cast Morning and life had to cast Reality.

"Dear –did he really write "Dear"?—Chloe Susana Grabiner:

I recently received a letter from your mother stating her knowledge about our marriage –" I had stopped reading there.

I swore I head the night lamp's light bulb exploding, if it weren't for the heartwarming header much more damage could have been provoked.

Okay, calm down… calm down… Breathe in… and out… in… and out…

"—and I should have known better than to underestimate her. I had gotten a premonition about her identity and decided to ignore it. Probably Marie already mentioned this to you, but we have known each other for some time. Do not be too angry at her, regardless of her antics. She means well.

Putting these unpleasant matters aside, I will take the opportunity to ask about the quality of the first two days of your vacation. I am hoping that you are having "fun" along with Miss Middleton, but do not forget your responsibilities as a witch. Your mother will make sure of that, but you have to be aware of your own situation as a young woman. Do not leave studies aside, or I will be seeing you in rather difficult situations in the future.

I am looking forward to further correspondence, and to see your performance next year.

Yours,

Hieronimus Grabiner."

I stared at the letter, more flushed than angry. It was nice to know he cared about me, even if he showed it in lectures. I also felt relieved at the absence of the strange titles; he either disliked or didn't acknowledge his position. Then again, he and his father weren't in the best of terms. Just like me and my mother in that moment.

But Hieronymus had asked me not to be mad at her. Nicely.

So I went downstairs after fixing my hair with the intentions of discussing things in a civilized manner. I sat at the dining table quietly as mother handed me a plate with a simple omelet. Good, she still remembered how much I liked simple meals. Last night hadn't been bad, but I could only stare at it sometimes, wondering if anything was going to move. My tastes were simple, but I could be picky as well.

Mom sat across me, eating her breakfast gracefully and nonchalantly. There was silence, until I spoke up.

"Why did you send him that letter?" I glared at her, getting a piece of my breakfast into my mouth and chewing it, slowly.

"Why," She swallowed. "I wanted to convey some small words to my son-in-law, of course."

"I wanted to tell my husband myself, thank you very much." I retorted, still glaring at her. She just smiled it off, eating as if we weren't having an argument at all. I knew Hieronymus only wanted to maintain this until necessary.

25th of January.

My freshman year at Iris Academy had gone by in the blink of an eye, and I ended up married. I feared to end up divorced after my sophomore year.

"That Ellen girl," Mom begun. "She's lovely. She came to me last night to the gardens and asked me to teach her some magic."

"Okay." I dryly answered. "Speaking of which, how much Blue magic do you know?"

"Not as much as Hieronymus…" She trailed off. "I know somebody else that does." I could see a faint smile forming on her face and knew that, for sure, something was going to be happening… soon. "By the way, why do you ask? Want to impress a certain someone next year?"

"…Never mind." I just wasn't in the mood for any teasing. "Where's Ellen anyway?"

"In the back yard, of course."

"Studying?"

"Yes. That girl is very diligent!" I kept silent. "Oh, by the way… Just to calm you down a bit, Hieronymus isn't as old as he looks. Actually, he's younger than me."

Okay, what?

Mom looked around her twenties; Hieronymus looked a few years older than he probably was!

"Frowning makes your face get all wrinkled. Also, the Otherworld incident did affect him…"

"You know about Violet?!"

"Yes." She stood up, taking her empty plate and walking up to my seat to take mine. "Though I do recommend asking him about the full story."

"I know. He doesn't like people prying into his private things…" She began washing the plates and I rested my chin on my hands.

"The nasty old man got a better wife than he deserved…" Didn't she just say he wasn't old? "His ill tempered and self loathing; he aged mentally and emotionally. You can fix that, I'm sure."

"I'm a witch… but I can't do miracles."

"I raised you to do miracles around those you love."

Mom was a charming fairy that made people around her smile.

She wanted me to be that same charming fairy, and make my husband smile like he had never done before.

She provided me with the necessary tools; the paint and brushes to adorn the world around me with the colors I desired. Now was her time to stand back and watch what I did with them. It was entirely up to me how and what miracles to perform.

The following days went on normally. Hieronymus and I exchanged (friendly) letters regularly. I considered asking him for some tips on Blue magic since I was planning to start with decorating my room first. Yes, I had taken what mother asked for seriously. It didn't really sound like a bad idea…

But, back with asking Hieronymus for advice, I had decided against it. He probably wanted a break from having to be lecturing foolish, hormone charged students around, and writing me letters was enough distraction from his sacred reading.

One day I went to the library along with Ellen to return some books and look for new ones while mom went to do some shopping by herself.

Once Ellen and I submerged ourselves further and further into the secret magical section of the library –the owner was a wizard and allowed us to enter knowing we were witches- I got more and more relaxed.

Books.

Books were the best.

They taught you things without putting you on the spot, yelling at you, reminding you how ignorant you were, or showering you with demerits. That was Hieronymus Grabiner I had just described, but between books and him, I'd obviously choose the man I loved. He was around fifteen years older than me, but that was probably one of the things that I found attractive about him. If people looked past his frown, they would obviously notice that his appearance spoke wisdom. His looks weren't bad anyway, and his intellect seemed to know no limits… compared to mine.

That understanding and realization of my own ignorance was other of the many reasons I had been visiting the library in a weekly basis lately. I did not search for Blue magic books exclusively, but about all the other four magic types as well. I also brought a Latin book sometimes.

Ellen sat at the table we always chose, engrossed in a Green magic book. Apparently, she was interested in the masterpiece that was mother's back yard. Across from her, was my section that had become a mess of books that I would later check in further detail and choose which books to take home.

Of course, there were mainly Blue magic books. It was my favorite type, my special talent. I yearned to understand it at its fullest and learn as much as I could, because I knew I would be learning to paint in the canvas of my surroundings, and shape it to my will using my wand as a brush, and my magic as my endless palette of colors.

I sat down at my section of the table and began skimming through the first pages of the book, including the index, to have an idea of what exactly the book was about or if it was of my level. I ended up deciding to take ten books with me; three for Blue, two for White and Red, two moderately sized for Black and Green respectively, and a Latin book, just like always. They were thin, and included different rules and vocabulary, so I took one weekly.

Just by looking at the pile I could feel their massive weight on my arms. Ellen could help, but she didn't look like she wanted to leave anytime soon. I had finished rather early, but just because I felt impatient and the task of reading the big amount of books, even if it was just the first pages, seemed boring and repetitive. It worried me since I was usually more patient than this…

But I dismissed it again; it was probably the hormones. I could always come back and get those books I thought could be good but was too lazy or impatient to check out.

"Are you staying?" I asked Ellen, who seriously looked like she wanted to read the book from cover to cover and recite every word afterwards.

"Yes, why?" She reluctantly parted her eyes from the pages.

"I finished and I kind of need something sweet to lift my mood. I'm going to the ice-cream shop right next to the library. Could you watch over the books? Mom is probably not even done shopping yet." She nodded and I went ahead. "You really don't want to come?" I asked before leaving.

"No, no. I'm fine." She was better here than there, obviously. Knowledge was a better pastry than the real thing for her.

So I left with a simple "alright, see you later" and entered the empty shop called "Blue Berry." The walls were painted with shades of blue, green and white and the atmosphere was relaxing. The piano playing in the background was already making me feel at ease. I knew the person behind the counter…

"John!" I smiled brightly and ran towards the counter. The black haired young man also smiled back. "Slow business again?"

"He, he! You know we have enough regulars." He said my old and very strange nickname and leaned forward across the counter, wrapping his big muscular arms around me. "But that doesn't matter. Big news, kitty! She said yes!"

"You're getting married?!" It was really unbelievable. He graduated recently from my old school and was known for never having a serious relationship. I was glad to know he was finally growing up!

John Coran used to be the typical popular, almost perfect boy of the school along with her recent fiancée, Paris Corsel. He was my cousin, Paris was an old friend of ours, and they were like the big brother and sister that I never had. They defended me, not from bullies, but from boys getting crushes on me and not wanting to give me up.

"Nooo, she's going to adopt me as her son!" We both laughed at that. "Uncle Will said it was too early, but meh." Will was my dad, and if he told that to a 20 year old independent man with a stable economic situation, his own apartment and good looks…

Imagine what he would say to me.

"You two have been in this whole drama for a while now! I think it was time already!" I said melodramatically, crossing my arms. He was flushed red from embarrassment.

"H-hey! Who are you to talk? I mean, what about that boy you had a crush on?" That was a memory I did not want to have back, and it showed up on my frown. "You know what? Let's talk about this over ice-cream. My shift's almost over and I've got nothing to do for the rest of the day."

"I'm waiting for Ellen and mom to finish their stuff…" I put a finger on my chin thoughtfully "So okay."

"The usual?"

"Yup!" My spirits were high again; I was my usual smiley self and not a ball of hormones!

I considered going straight for a table, but then took a glance at the piano located at a corner of the place. I went towards it, lifted the lid and slid my fingers through the old keys. Almost as if they had a mind of their own, they began playing a melody. My right hand begun slow and simple, but then it was joined by my left hand. It sounded slightly off as it overlapped with the background music, but it was soon turned off by John from the counter.

It didn't exactly mix with the atmosphere of the place, but it was a melody that John himself had taught me, being a pianist himself. The song wasn't like those childhood melodies or ancient tunes, but a cover of one of his favorite game soundtracks. I wasn't a fan myself of the game series, but for some reason I liked to play the song.

It had such passion to the melody, it made me feel… as if I was liberating some kind of deeply bottled energy, and I was; my fingers danced swiftly and energetically around the old keys. I was surprised that I could still play this so well after so long…

When I finished, I carefully put the lid on again and stretched my arms.

"So, John, do you still like Touhou?" I asked as I slowly turned around in the seat. "Because I'm sure Paris would like you to be worshipping lolies aro… Oh." My eyes met three persons now in the room, but my attention was fully occupied by the man standing in front of me with a small smile that expressed delight. He began clapping slowly.

I could only blush as much as human anatomy allowed me. My mind debated on how to call him…

Professor Grabiner?

Mr. Grabiner?

…Hieronymus?

Author's Note:

Here's Chapter 2, and more will come. Critique is encouraged.

Touhou ( wiki/Touhou_Project) is basically a japanese shooter game with cute female characters.