For Day 5 of Platonic VLD Month 2017: History

"Goodnight, Angel."

"Goodnight, Daddy!"

Keith closed his eyes and waited. One… two… three…

Once he reached ten, the eight year old threw his blanket off and peaked under the bed. "Merla?"

There was a sound behind him and he turned just in time to see Miz being tossed onto the bed next to him. Merla quickly followed, staring down at her cub. ~You should be sleeping.~

Keith smiled and hugged the hippo. "I'm not tired. I want to play."

~No, you need rest. And you are tired, I can tell.~

"Am not."

~Nice try, but we're not playing that tonight.~ The two glared at each other before Merla stepped forward to nuzzle his forehead. ~Come on, lay down and I'll tell you a story.~

"I don't need a bedtime story. I'm not a baby."

~Trust me, you were far less stubborn at bedtime when you were,~ Merla snorted. ~How about this, if you can stay up through my story, then we can play.~

Keith narrowed his eyes at her. "What's the catch?"

~No catch.~

"And it will be a good one, not like the boring stuff we have to read at school?"

Merla's tail twitched as she thought, then she nodded. ~I've got a good one.~

He bit his lip before nodding. "Okay, deal."

~Then lay down.~

Pouting, he laid down with a huff and pulled the blanket back over himself and Miz.

Merla climbed up onto his pillow to curl around his head. ~That's better. Now, long, long ago, very far from here-~

"Miz says this sounds boring."

~Well Mizuiro needs to hush up and listen or else he's sleeping in the toy box.~

Keith gasped and clutched the hippo closer to his chest.

~As I was saying, there once was a wild land, filled with all sorts of creatures. This land was watched over by different kingdoms of fairies, one of which was ruled by a mighty fairy king. The fairy king was strict, but kind. He cared for his subjects and protected the creatures of his lands alongside his younger siblings.

~One day a queen from a neighboring kingdom approached the fairy king, wanting to marry him, but he turned her away.~

"Is this going to be a love story?"

~Yes. No. Just hush and listen.~

"But-"

~Do you want to go to bed?~

"No."

~Then hush.

~So the queen was mad about being turned down so she hired an assassin to kill the fairy king.~

"Seriously?"

~Cub!~

"Sorry."

~Yes, she hired an assassin. She was a kwaila. Anyways-~

"What's a kwaila?"

~ANYWAYS! The assassin arrived at the fairy king's castle, but she was suspicious of the queen's motive so while she prepared to kill the fairy king, she also looked into the queen. It was then that she discovered the queen's true plot. The queen intended to kill the assassin, rescuing the fairy king from his supposed killer in an effort to earn his favor. More than that though, she discovered that the queen was actually a witch who had been experimenting with dark spells, casting them on the creatures of her kingdom and turning them into monsters. The real reason the queen had wanted to marry the fairy king was so that she could gain access to the creatures of his land to continue her experiments.

~So the assassin set out to get revenge on the queen. Unfortunately, the queen discovered her plot to reveal the truth about the queen and outed the assassin for what she was. The fairy king, not knowing the truth, sentenced the assassin to death for her crimes.~

"Oh no!" Keith muttered, tugging the blanket up.

~Oh yes. Thankfully though, the fairy king's youngest sibling, the fairy highness, was a caring and open soul. They saw good within the assassin and did not believe she was the cold-hearted killer she was said to be. They spoke on the assassin's behalf and persuaded their brother into giving the assassin a trial, wanting to give her the chance to explain herself.

~When the queen heard of the fairy highness's plan, she was furious. If the assassin was given a chance to speak, she would tell the court of the queen's plans. She knew most would think the assassin's words were nothing but the lies of the condemned, but if even one person - especially the fairy highness - believed, then the queen's plans could be thwarted.

~The queen decided she would have to silence the assassin forever.

~What the queen didn't know, however, was that the fairy highness and the assassin had developed a friendship during her time planning to kill the fairy king. Because of this, the fairy highness had snuck down to see the assassin as soon as their brother had agreed to the trial, hoping to discover for themself why their friend had been plotting against their brother. When she told them the truth, the fairy highness grew worried for their friend. They knew that the queen would not allow them to live long enough to speak to the fairy king. Thinking quickly, they tricked their brother, the fairy prince, into guarding the assassin's cell in secret.

~He was shocked when the queen came to kill the assassin, but reacted quickly, fighting off the queen before she could do too much harm. The queen escaped, but the damage was done. When the fairy prince gave witness to the queen's actions, the fairy king banned her from his kingdom forever, on penalty of death.~

"Wha' happened t' the 'sassin?" Keith asked with a yawn.

~She'd done many bad things in her life, but because of the fairy highness's kindness, she was given a new chance at life. The fairy king allowed her to live as long as, in return, she dedicated her life to protecting the fairy highness and the kingdom.~

"S' they lived happily ever after," Keith muttered, his eyes closing.

Merla chuckled. ~Not quite. After all, the queen was still out there, causing trouble. And she would return. But for a time, yes, they were very happy.~

"Wha' the queen do when she came back?"

~Another time, cub. For now, the story's over.~ Merla nuzzled his cheek. ~Goodnight, cub. Love you.~

"Love you too." Keith turned over and snuggled into his toy. "Ni', mama."