Ohayo! This is set in the distant past. It's about my OC's. If you read my story 'Gone', or at least chapter 7 of it, then you know who Makoto and Lunarie and Lumina are.
This is just abot MakotoxLunarie. I was debating on not putting this in this series, or rather using a different prompt, because I was thinking about doing a separate story about them, up until Lunarie was frozen, but… that would take too long.
Anyhoo! On to the chapter!
Ai Otsuka's Cherish. Very lovely song^^
Chapter 14: Cherish
Summary: She was as white as the moon…
He had always been under the impression that parties were supposed to be fun. And so far in his life, all he had attended had been. But this was anything but. Makoto was bored out of his mind.
Honestly, I would rather be in the kitchen, helping the cooks scrub pots.
This was supposed to be his and Nathan's eighteenth birthday celebration. But in reality, he knew their fathers were trying to find them suitable brides, hoping that one of the lovely young maidens present tonight would catch their eye.
They both new nearly every one in the room. And none of the women present were very… interesting, to be polite. The were beautiful, of course, and each was unique in her own way. But they just did not appeal to him. They were either mind-numbing or self-centered.
He had always pictured himself with someone intelligent, funny, charming, with personality. Someone who had dreams and aspirations. And there definitely was not anyone here who fit that bill.
"Your stalker is gawking at you again." Nathan sighed from beside him.
With his chin resting on his palm, Makoto turned his head slightly to see a young girl in a gold dress with red hair and bright green eyes staring at him. Clair Le Flure. He growled slightly to himself.
The girl might have been pretty, but she was an outright airhead. She had absolutely no common sense, and didn't know when to leave well enough alone.
"Too bad the Vampire sisters left already. Maybe you could have talked one of them into eating her for you, if you asked nicely." Nathan laughed. Makoto looked at him with an annoyed expression. "Uh oh, she's coming this way!"
Makoto groaned. He really wasn't in the mood to put up with her. Luckily, some other guest captured her attention.
"I'm going for a walk." Makoto said quickly. He stood up and disappeared into the crowd, in the opposite direction from his pursuer.
From across the room he could see her looking around for him, so he turned away and began moving through the guests, occasionally stopping to chat.
He was speaking with the wife of the local dress shop owner when something caught his eye. Or rather someone.
He couldn't see her face, her back was to him, but he was sure he had never seen her before, he would remember her. Her black hair piled in an elegant bun atop her head and her blue and white dress with silver trim. Her head was turning back and forth, then she took off walking.
Not taking his eyes from the strange girl he bid the elderly woman fare well and promised to speak with her again soon, then nearly ran to catch her.
Makoto wandered around for a few moments then walked out onto the balcony. He had lost her in the crowd and he felt his heart pang for some reason. Resting his elbows on the railing he looked down at the estate's grounds.
He was about to go back inside when a flash below him caught his attention. Leaning over the edge he saw the girl running along the cobblestone path below him.
That leads to the gardens. Why would she be going there? How does she even know where they are? He watched after her for a moment, no one was following her. I'm going to see what she is up to.
Makoto ran through the ball room, past his curious looking Father, not stopping to talk. He took a short cut out the mansions rear exit to reach the garden faster. She wasn't there either. Maybe she went back?
He didn't believe she would have went further into
He turned to go back inside but halted when a pleasant aria reached his ears. He swirled quickly to look for the source of lovely tune but saw no one.
He trekked slowly across around the garden, searching all of the nooks and hiding places. The melody stopped and Makoto froze, then a sweet voice began to sing…
"Depuis quand avoir nous perdu,
Les choses merveil-leuxeuse cela nous besoin quelque part?"
He turned quickly in the direction it was coming from. From the denser area of greenery behind the main garden, where the wild roses and fruit trees grew. He thought no one knew of it except for those that lived on the estate.
"Je avoir peur de la rapport avec votre coeur
Et je cacher me l'intérieur ma corps
Pendant celles jours quand je mentir ma avoir peur de,
Vous être déjà à mon coeur"
He ran towards song, ignoring the dirt path. He barely noticed the tree limbs snagging his clothing.
"Même nous pouvoir faire des erreurs
En cette il était une fois,
Je te vous toujours amour vous
Et je te tendre ma main à vous"
With each beautifully enunciated word, Makoto could feel a tug from inside his chest. Urging him further.
"L'amour est telle une faire peur à chose
C'est pourquoi nous s'enfuir comme nous recherche de elle
Elle ne plus avoir quelque chose à faire avec être un adulte ou être un enfant"
He froze.
There she was. The girl from earlier. Surrounded by white roses, she danced, bare foot, on the rim of a large fountain. No longer wearing the bulky dress, the thin white chemise draping her lean body fluttered, just like her long black hair.
She didn't even realize he was there, only a few meters away. She was so absorbed in her song.
"Cette se sentir juste comme il est ma première amour
Tellement de la sorte cette je croire que elle devoir être destin"
He felt the pull again. Like something was leading him to her. As if her song were calling his heart to come.
"Pas même dans ma rêves faire je sente
La manière je faire quand nous tenir l'une l'autre"
Halting in her song, the girl turned towards him, her blue eyes opening to looking up into the night sky. She raised her right hand longingly, as if to capture the moon. The flowers around her seemed to be pulsating. Quietly she crooned…
"Si nous ne peux être ensemble,
Je ne peux rire cette manière comme quand j'ai avec vous "
Makoto had to strain to hear clearly. But her voice began to grow slowly in volume.
"Cette année, le plus merveil-leuxeuse chose être
Pouvant être par votre côté"
She twirled continuing her dance. He assumed this was what the dancers from the ballet he had heard of danced like, she was so graceful.
"Même nous pouvoir faire des erreurs
En cette il était une fois,
Je te vous toujours amour vous
Et je te tendre ma main à vous"
At the last word she dropped form the fountain onto the ground, then she sat down falling back on the stone rim. Eyes closed, hands clasped above her stomach. She looked as if she were sleeping.
Makoto longed to be closer to her. To hear her voice again. To gaze upon her face. To look into her eyes.
He did not even realize his body had moved. He only heard the snap of a twig resonate from below and watched as the young girl's eyes snapped open and locked on him and she jumped to her feet. She moved so fast!
Neither said anything, they just stared at each other. She blinked a few times, her eyes roaming up and down, taking him in.
He used the time to study her as well.
Her face was thin and elegant, with lovely full red lips and her bright blue eyes reminded him of the ocean. Beautiful. She was unlike anyone or anything he had ever seen before.
Without warning, she lifted one hand and pointed at him, the other came to rest on her chest and she said in a monotone voice, "Lecher."
Makoto blanched. Stuttering he tried to defend himself, "I was not…! I never…! If you…" He could feel his face growing hot.
The girl burst into laughter, it reminded him of chimes. "You should see the look on your face! It is as if you are about to combust!"
He could tell his face was getting redder.
"I'm sorry." She managed between giggles. "Did I offend you? Are you alright? Should I call for a doctor?"
"Maybe… you should put your dress back on." He said, still embarrassed. "That way, no one will be no more 'Lechers' ogling at you."
"Oh, fine!" She trotted off, pulling her dress form a low tree branch and began to tug it over her head. "I was under the impression that no one would be out here. What with the hullabaloo inside.""What gave you the impression that you where allowed to wonder around out here without permission?"
"I did not believe anyone would notice my absence. I informed my sister that I wanted to see the gardens. If anyone came looking for me, she could find me here." She appeared before him and sat on the fountain again, turning so she could stick her feet in the water. "What were the odds that someone would look for me though? Given that everyone is obsessed with the Birthday boys tonight."
He watched her curiously for a moment as she plucked a white rose from the bush growing up the side of the fountain and lifted it to her face.
She was so pale. And her dark hair made it even more noticeable. In the light of the moon, her skin gave off a faint glow.
It was as if she were the living embodiment of the white orb in the sky. He faintly recalled a story his mother told him of children called Tsukiko, a fabled moon child. He believed this would have been what one would have looked like. She was as white as the moon.
No… she is lighter than the moon.
"Well, do not just stand there like an idiot! Sit down!"
Without question, he obeyed. Though he didn't really know why.
Her eyes roamed his face. "You are not French." It wasn't a question.
"No, I was born here but my parents are from Japan."
"Really?" Her blue orbs grew wide in excitement and she leaned towards him. "Where is that?"
"It is on the other side of China. It's an island country in the ocean."
She pressed a finger to her lips in thought. "Other side of China? Hum. What is your name?"
"Makoto Otonashi." He watched as she repeated his name to herself.
Her face lit up. "Oh! So you are Monsieur Otonashi's son! I should have realized this sooner! You do look like him, but not greatly so. You are much taller than he."
"I have been told that I look like my Mother. Wait, you know my Father?" It was true most people did know his Father, both through the business and because of his different origins. But he knew nearly everyone his Father knew, and he had never met this young lady, surely he never could have forgotten such a beauty.
"Yes. My sister and I have done business with him. He is shipping some wine for us."
Wait… wine… sister… business… No… she can not be… "If you do not mind my asking, what is your name?"
Her knowing blue eyes locked on his red-ish brown ones. "Lunarie. Lunari Clariet."
He couldn't say anything. Clariet? The Vampires daughter!? When he had first saw her, he never would have come to that conclusion, even if she did seem different.
Absently he thought, Even her name compares her to the moon, lunar and pale.
"I know what you are thinking." Lunarie stated sadly. "You can leave now if you want… Most people do."
Makoto could see the pain on her face and here the heart ache in her wind chime voice.
He did not like seeing her this way, it hurt. "I am not going anywhere."
She glared at him, voice dripping with venom. "Do not stay because you feel bad for me! I do not need, nor do I want, your pity!"
"It is not pity that makes me stay. I stay because I want to. If you had not informed me of your name I never would have know, I never would have given you being a Clariet a thought. You are not what I would have expected."
The kindness in his eyes thawed her rigid façade.
"Neither are you. You being from such a high standing family such as this, I would have thought you would be arrogant and every bit the ladies' man. And here I see you, hiding from an over-exuberant little girl. And yet, you are brave enough to sit and talk one-on-one with a supposed vampire. Very darring."
"You saw that?" his cheeks tinted. "Every time I see her all she talks about is 'when we get married… this and that'. I would love to know when we became engaged, I certainly do not recall it." Lunarie laughed and he continued. "And she is clingy, she will not leave me be. And no matter how I try I cannot carry on a serious conversation with her, it always has to be about her! She drives me insane!"
"I can not say that I blame you then. I would hide too."
They were silent for a few moments. Then Makoto asked, "What where you singing?"
"Hm? Just a silly tune ma Maman taught me when I was little."
"I thought it was very lovely. You have a beautiful voice."
"It was nothing really." Slowly she met his eyes. "You liked it?"
"Very much so."
"Thank you. I love to sing, I do it all of the time. But no one has ever said anything so nice to me before." Lunarie seemed truly surprised.
"You do not converse with others much, do you?"She turned away again. "I told you. Most people do not like us. They never stay long enough to even begin a conversation."
"Well, I like you. You are a good person, that I can see." Her blue eyes locked on his. "And I mean what I said, I think you have an amazing voice."
She gave him a flashy smile. His heart stuttered in his chest and a wave of contentment surged through him. What…? What is wrong with me? Has she bewitched me?
"So you said your parents are from Japan?" He nodded. "Have you ever been there?"
"No. I have never been out of the country. But I would love to go there someday. I hear that it is a beautiful place."
"I would like to see it as well. I have always wanted to travel the world! Maybe someday, Lumi and I can go." She sounded excited.
"Lumi?"
"My younger sister, Lumina. She and I have always wanted to travel. I want to see what wonderful places are out there." Her face fell. "But there is no way we could go. It is unheard of for two young girls traveling alone."
"I would take you…" Why did I say that?
"What?"
"I… I said… I would take you. You and your sister. I would take the two of you to Japan. Nathan would probably want to come, too. And we could take the two of you anywhere else you would like to go." He wanted to show her the world. If it would make her smile like before, he would do anything.
"Why would you do that for us?"
"It would be lonely for anyone to go on their own. Even if I went with Nathan, he is my best friend, but I really do not think I could put up with him on my own for that long." He laughed slightly.
"I would like to go with you. Everything is always more fun when you share it with friends."
There it was. That smile.
He felt warmth bubbling inside him. Unconsciously, he reached for her hand, clasping her small fingers in his large ones. Her smile grew.
"Lunarie! We are leaving now!"
Both of them jumped slightly at the sound of the voice. As Makoto looked up, Lunarie turned her head to see who was approaching.
A young girl in a red and gold dress was marching towards them. And she looked exactly like Lunarie. The only difference was her eyes. Where Lunarie's had been a claming blue tone, this girls were a startling, fiery blood red.
But what shocked him more than her eyes, was the fact that Nathan was walking beside her.
"Lumina…" He heard the groan from the girl beside him. When she reached them she promptly ripped her sisters hand from his. In its absence, he suddenly felt cold.
"We need to leave." Lumina pulled Lunarie to her feet.
Lunarie ignored her sisters demands and turned back to Makoto. "Makoto, this is my younger sister, Lumina. Lumina, this is my new friend Makoto Otonashi! He is Monsieur Ryou Otonashi's son."
"It is a pleasure to meet you. Your Father speaks so fondly of you." The hostility he felt moments before vanished.
Lumina's sudden attitude change surprised him, and the look on Nathan's face spoke the same.
"I see you have made a friend as well, dear sister. I take it you are Nathan Mahler. You look like your Father. It is wonderful to finally meet the son he speaks of so often."
"It is nice to meet you as well, Mademoiselle Clariet."
"You may call me Lunarie. I do not care much for 'mademoiselle'."
"Lunarie then." Nathan bowed to her.
Lumina glowered at him then turned to her sister. "Lune, we really need to be going. It is getting rather late." Her red eyes found Makoto's. "Not to be rude. Really, it was nice to meet you. But we have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Fine, let's go. Have a pleasant evening, boys." She smiled and wave good-bye to the two of them, then followed her sister.
No! When will I see her again? He couldn't stand the thought. He stood and started to go after her.
Just before they disappeared into the greenery, she halted. Turning to them, she called, "I will see you again soon Makoto. I enjoyed talking with you." She smiled her beautiful smile.
He returned the gesture. "Yes. I did as well."
Lunarie turned away and vanished.
Makoto fell back onto the fountain. Nathan sunk down beside him. "Wow. They were something, huh?"
"Yes."
"Not what I was anticipating at all."
"Lunarie is unlike anyone I have ever met." Makoto brought his hand down to rest beside him and felt something beneath it. He lifted it up. It was the rose she had plucked earlier.
As he gazed lovingly at it he felt at ease. He didn't know how but he was knew he would see Lunarie again. Very soon.
With his fingers he gently spread the petals.
"That Lumina is feisty! I swear! And boy does she have a sharp tongue!" Nathan's comments fell of deaf ears.
Makoto was looking down at the flower in amazement.
As he spread the petals, he noticed something off about its color.
Blue, the exact shade of Lunarie's eyes, now flecked the pale white petals of the rose.
A/N: Hope you liked it^^ I wanted to give my OC's their own voice. I'll eventually do a LuminaxNathan one too.
The song Lune sang is Cherish by Ai Otsuka, what I used for the title, translated into English and then into French. I tried to find a pretty French folk love song but I wasn't having any luck so I went with this. Excuse my French, it is really rusty... apologies ahead of time.
And the rose thing. It seems Chiropteran Queens love roses. Every where Saya and Diva go there are roses there. Saya's pink, Diva blue. Probably has something to do with the color of their eyes, Saya did love red until Hagi came along. So, rather than associating Lunarie and Lumina with solid blue and red roses, I decided to be different and give them each a white rose flecked with blue(Lune) and red(Lumi). No one else had done it that way^^
Next Chapter: My life is like a storybook…