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Swim
Chapter Three
Moon Kitty 2005
April 12th, 2006
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- Five Years Later -
Eighteen-year-old Shirogane Ryou rose from his bed, running a hand through his shaggy golden hair before slumping over to the door to pull it open, catching an eyeful of shiny pink hair and the smell of strawberries. "Ahh, Ichigo... what brings you to my chambers so frickin' early this morning?"
The girl huffed and clenched a slender hand in her skirts. "I swear, Ryou, your language is so unbecoming. You hardly act like a prince. I was on my way down to breakfast and thought I should wake your lazy self up so you wouldn't miss it."
He quirked an eyebrow and shot back, "Now who's acting unroyal? God, Ichigo, you actually did something yourself?"
The girl glared at him and turned, swishing her way down the hall. "I hate you, Shirogane Ryou."
"Likewise!" he shouted after her, shutting his door loudly, trudging back to his bed before sighing into his pillows. Yet another day of being nagged to death by my fiancé...
He turned onto his back and stared at the canopy of his bed, feeling something cold slither down his neck. He smiled nostalgically and pulled the necklace out from under his shirt. The morning sun caught the prisms of the shiny emerald gem, making little green dots appear on his wall. Retasu...
He clenched the gem in his fist and stared at the ceiling, a small, sad smile crossing his lips before he rose to get dressed for the day.
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Retasu swam towards her father's bedroom, pushing her locks behind her ear. Before she opened the door however, she slipped off the ring that still rested on her finger and placed it under a rock temporarily. She opened the door and stared at her father, her hands behind her back. "Yes, father?"
The older man sighed and ran a hand through his short black hair. "Retasu, you know that I've been busy as of late trying to organize the kingdom... and you know that I haven't been talking to you as of much lately."
Retasu nodded. "Yes, I know."
"But I've been hearing things from subjects in the kingdom. Things such as people seeing you swimming to the surface for hours on end, almost every day. Could you tell me, possibly, what exactly is so damn interesting that you have to risk the safety of your people?"
Retasu gulped and dug her nails into her palm harshly. "Don't worry, father. No one will be able to see me. I hide behind the rocks. Besides, there is a wall separating the castle from the sea." When she uttered those words, a sharp pang permeated her heart and made her breath catch in her throat. Ryou...
Hiroshi shook his head. "That is not the case, my dear. Someone might see you, and then where would we be? Our entire kingdom would be in danger. What are you thinking?"
Retasu shook her head and stared at her father, tears beginning to form in her emerald eyes. "Father, I'm just waiting for someone... but chances are, that person won't be coming there anymore." After all, he is getting married... Yet another stab hit her heart.
"You mean you've already met someone? That right there could endanger us! Why weren't you using your head, dear? Why?"
"Father, it was five years ago!" she sobbed, breaking down. "It's doubtful that he even remembers me..." With that, she looked down at the floor of the cavern, sighing forlornly.
Her father looked at her with sympathetic eyes, but straightened his back. "Retasu, I must ask that you not go to the surface anymore, even if you are careful. Like you said, it's most likely that he has forgotten you by now, so there is no need to go wait for him to come meet you when you obviously exist to him no longer."
A silence filled with many emotions filled the room before Retasu burst into tears and swam from the room, scooping up the ring before going to her tranquil place to cry and contemplate over things.
Once there, she curled up in a comfy bed of seaweed and stared at the ring. It seemed to emit a soft light as the gentle water caressed the stone, and it sent blue prisms across her tear-stained face. "Did you really forget about me, Ryou? Is that fiancé of yours keeping you occupied? Or... did you not want to talk to me?" she muttered to herself, a few unnoticed tears escaping her eyes. "Maybe it was the fact that your fiancé was so much prettier and nicer than me that you just didn't want anything to do with me anymore."
"I don't think that was it, my dear," a ghostly voice echoed from the side of the clearing.
Retasu gasped and propelled herself upwards, staring at the thick foliage of seaweed and hiding her ring behind her back. "Who-who's there?"
A woman came out from behind the plant, a kind smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. She seemed to be not that old, but she exuded a kind of aura that screamed that she was wise and knew almost everything that went on around her. In fact, she didn't look too much older than Retasu herself did. "Don't be worried. I'm not here to hurt you in any way, sweetheart. I am just a simple woman who can grant you young people's wishes."
She ran a hand over her braids and looked at the woman, a little relaxed. "So what are you here for, then?"
"Well..." the woman started, swimming closer, her black hair flowing behind her. "... I take it that you are in love with someone who is promised to another?"
Retasu nodded miserably, her eyes downcast.
The woman reached forward and placed a slender hand on her chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. "And what would you say if I said I could help you with that? What if I told you that I could give you the chance to be with him?"
Retasu almost couldn't believe her ears. I could be with Ryou? No questions asked? But... "What would I have to do?"
The woman sighed regretfully and turned her back to Retasu, crossing her arms and resting her chin in her palm. "It would cost you something very precious."
Retasu bit her lip and placed her hand on the woman's shoulder. "What would it cost me?"
She turned to look the younger girl in the eye. "It... it would cost you your love for him... and he wouldn't remember you at all."
Retasu nearly felt her heart shatter as she gripped the ring in her hand. "P-please explain this to me."
"I can turn you into a human for about a month... in which time you will spend at the castle. I know the king and queen would not abandon you if you were to be found lying on the beach. However, he will not remember you. He will have no recollection of ever having met you... so you must keep that ring hidden. And there is one more thing..."
"What is that?" Retasu asked fearfully, leaning forward slightly.
The woman looked at her with sorrowful eyes. "You cannot tell him who you are... and you cannot, I repeat, cannot tell him that you love him. If at any time that you tell him that you love him, the spell will be broken and you will come back down here, and he will forget about you forever."
Retasu looked at the ring that was in her palm and smiled a little as the light from the surface caught the gem. She rubbed her thumb affectionately over the smooth stone and glanced up at the woman. "He would have to tell me that he loves me, wouldn't he?"
The woman nodded in response.
The younger girl bit her lip and curled her fist, holding the ring against her chest. "I would be willing to do anything for him... even have him forget me. I want to see him again. I've been waiting five years. Every day I've gone up to the surface hoping to just get a glimpse of him... even if he forgot me, there's always the chance that he will love me again..."
She looked up, a determined look on her face.
"I accept your offer."
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Authoress Notes
Ahhh, it's long! Hope I didn't screw up the storyline too bad... tell me what you thought of it, please. I dunno... seems a little rushed to me, but I'm a perfectionist. Grr... wanna fight about it? EEPERZ :runs:
