Of Fairytales
Once upon a time there was a pretty girl who worked in a bathhouse. She spent her days scrubbing floors and scrubbing baths, scrubbing customers and scrubbing tears away before anyone could see them and call her weak. She had nice eyes and nice hair, and nicer dreams that didn't include dirty spirits or endless orders.
Her own dark decisions had landed her there, and while she was pretty and nice and kind and sweet, it would be dark plans she would use to try to leave. For Lin was very human-like for a spirit, and very unprincess-like for a fairytale.
Lin liked to think that, in general, she was rather more intelligent that the idiots she worked with. At night, when they all lay whispering of daring escapes and 'fool-proof' plans, she could only scoff at there lack of foresight or courage, for not only were their plans implausible and stupid, but their owners didn't have the guts to go through with them.
Yubaba was not the only way out of the bathhouse. Conning her second in command would be just as productive.
And far easier.
Haku was a distant boy who had a casual aloofness that mixed almost betrayingly with innocence. He didn't mingle, didn't smile, didn't seem to care about anything other than making sure everything went smoothly. Everyone avoided him, but only because his whole presence demanded distance.
She had been planning her course of action for a week. While part of her hated herself for lowering her standards to attract a mere boy, her standards were a tiny price to pay for a one-way ticket to anywhere-but-here.
She sighed heavily as one of the new girls burst into tears on the other side of the room. Placing her bucket on the floor, Lin was beside the young child in an instant, an arm wrapped around shaking shoulders.
"It's alright," she whispered softly, trying her best to be soothing. "You'll get used to all this soon, I promise. And it gets much easier after a couple of days." Her warm smile was returned with a wobbly one, and soon the child went back to waxing the already gleaming floor.
She had to escape from this place.
"You wanted to see me?" The cool, disinterested voice of Haku distracted her from her thoughts, and she turned to the boy, smile in place.
"Yes, Master Haku. I was wondering if you had a moment to discuss some of my ideas for the cleaning staff with you?" She bowed submissively. "I know that you are unhappy with the current work-rate, and I thought I might perhaps be able to help in some way."
"I suppose," Haku said after a moment of hesitation. "Yubaba will not be back for a couple of hours yet, and you are considered senior staff, in a way." Lin had to fight back the urge to punch him over his last comment.
"Great!" She pronounced with a façade of enthusiasm, grabbing Haku by the arm and dragging him slightly out to the corridors. It was obvious by the way the boy tensed up that he had neither expected physical contact nor liked it. "I thought we could possibly grab some lunch and discuss everything out on one of the balconies, I know you don't have an actual office to talk about things in."
The first part of her plan had been to unsettle Haku, and she was pleased by her progress in that area. No one talked to 'Master Haku' in a friendly manner, and no one treated him as if he was as normal and real as the rest of them were. Certainly, in the time that Lin had been at the bathhouse, no one had ever asked Haku to join them for lunch. While Haku's perfectly blank mask never slipped in the time it took them to grab their lunch and search out the perfect balcony, the fact he never said more than three words to her despite her rather forward approach spoke volumes.
"Anyway, one of my thoughts was to lower the wages slightly, but offer an incentive scheme as a result," Lin commented brightly once they were sitting cross-legged on a balcony that overlooked the lake. "That way, to simply maintain their current wage, everyone would have to work harder right away, and those who prove themselves as most dedicated will be rewarded for their hard work." She knew that her co-workers would hate her for making such a suggestion, but if her plan worked, Lin wouldn't be a recipient of the changes herself, and right now her escape was all that mattered. Haku listened with his head titled slightly, listening intently to her suggestions as she continued on, slowly eating the warm bowl of noddles as he took in her words.
"You have some interesting – if undeveloped – opinions, Lin." Haku said once she had finished. "If you could form them in more detail, perhaps they would be more useful." With those cold words he stood up stiffly, brushing his trousers down as he did so.
"Yes, Master Haku," Lin responded with a demureness that was not her own. "Perhaps if we could meet up again in a week, I would have put together my thoughts in a more plausible way, now that I know they might actually be of use." Haku turned his soulless eyes on her then, studying her with an impassiveness that seemed almost impossible. But something flickered briefly in previously unmarred cement as he glanced down silently at his empty before back up at her, before he spoke up.
"I suppose, if I have time." Even though the words were said with boredom, they sent a thrill through Lin's body. She remained sitting on the balcony long after Haku had left, smiling at the small victory she had achieved towards winning her freedom. Perhaps this would be even easier than she had ever dared dream, if that one flash of raw emotion had been interpreted correctly.
Loneliness. The great Haku was lonely.
But not for long.
Lin was almost disappointed over how well her plan seemed to be working out. In all great fairytales where the female hero was facing her escape, she had to overcome great adversary and make unmentionable sacrifices. While the fact that everything was flowing so well was great for her ego and her future, it all appeared just a little too simple.
A boring tale it might make, but Lin was not stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Besides, she had to meet Haku in a minute, and it was time to progress her plans. It had been easy to convince Haku to meet up with her on various occasions to continue the discussion of their 'plans', in fact, Haku had occasionally been the one to initiate their meetings. It was painfully obvious that Lin was the only person Haku ever saw on a one-on-one basis aside from Yubaba, and Lin would surely have felt sorry for the lonely boy if his weakness weren't such a key part of her entire escape.
"The sunset looks lovely tonight, doesn't it?" She welcomed warmly when Haku arrived, nodding towards the setting sun.
"I have never understood why people hold such a passion for something that happens everyday," came the empty response as Haku walked to her side, gazing with little interest at the array of colours presented to him. "The shades may change and the glow become more or less pronounced, but there is nothing different or special about each rise or set."
"Spoken so truly by someone who has obviously never really seen the sun set," Lin responded, attempting to keep her words light, even though she was treading on new and unstable ground. Even though they had been meeting for over a month now, their conversations had always been strictly work based. "Look closer, Haku. See the way the pink gives way so gently to the blue? There's a promise there, entwined between the two shades. The day is saying goodbye to the sun, but it promises to be there when it returns, and that they will welcome in dawn together, come morning." She didn't dare turn to face the boy, the mere fact she had got away with calling him merely Haku the only thing that was keeping her going.
"But the setting sun is leaving behind a message for us, as well," she continued. "It's saying that the blackness of night will soak up all our sins and indiscretions, which is why night is always so dark and heavy once the sun is gone. The morning light brings only a fresh purity with it, greeting our cleansed souls with a smile." She dared look at him then, a slight glance out the side of her eye. His study of the setting sun was different to his previously unemotional response, and he appeared to be deeply contemplating her words.
"I think," he eventually spoke, never breaking his distant gaze. "I think that I might grow to enjoy sunsets." He turned to her, a small, hesitant smile on his face that made him look far younger than the scowl he usually wore.
Perfect.
"You know, there is a festival on tonight down by the river, we should go down there and have a bit of fun!" No amount of training on Haku's part could keep the surprise from his face as Lin deliberately babbled on, trying to sound as unthreatening as possible. "You really don't get out enough, and there is a wonderful fire cracker display going on later, as well."
"I don't like crowds." The response was a throwback to the old Haku, and for a moment, Lin despaired over the ground it appeared she had lost.
"That's ok, I was thinking of going to see the fireworks from the far field anyway, they always look so much prettier when there aren't any distractions and spirit noise around." She put on a shy smile that was as fake as the rest of her deception. "Would you like to come with me?" For a moment she thought he would say no, but she shouldn't have been worried. She had softened him up just enough …
"Alright. As long as there is no-one else around."
So very, very easy.
The field was deserted as she had expected, and the pair had barely sat down on the slightly damp grass before the fireworks started. Colours as vibrant as some of the paintings in the bathhouse exploded into the sky, their brilliant light allowing the slight awe that slipped occasionally through Haku's mask to be more visible. Was this the first time the boy had seen such a display? Lin wondered, focussing more on her target than the fireworks. It was difficult sometimes to remember how young he really was, especially considering the stern, unforgiving way he usually acted.
But then, appearances often meant very little when it came to age in the Spirit world. He could be a hundred for all she knew, and more experienced in life than she would ever be. Still though, the way he was watching the fireworks …
She could remember the first fireworks display she saw here, alone in this very field. She had been crying bitterly, and had felt as though the sky was laughing at her, to taunt her with such brilliant colours that were being set loose before her very eyes. How was it that the fireworks were allowed to escape from the bathhouse and not her? Surely she wasn't the only one to see the unfairness in that. She had promised herself then, that she would never be here for another fireworks display, that somehow she would have managed to escape just like the firecrackers.
Such a naïve promise. But as she continued to watch the display, that same desperation began to sink back in, and her dread of returning to the bathhouse when the show ended began to grow. If she did not escape now, she would never leave, and she would forever be a spectator of the fireworks as opposed to a companion. She would surely go crazy if she even stayed a day longer in this hell.
"That was … quite nice," Haku said quietly when it was over, not noticing that his older companion was slowly beginning to panic. "I've never seen one of the displays here before. I've always had other things to do."
"I suppose you would," Lin replied, distracted, trying to shake the image of seeing herself scrubbing baths at the age of 80 out of her head. "I suppose you would." She smiled then, gently placing one of her hands on his, even as part of her mind screamed that she was taking this far too fast and her plan was sure to fail. "You really should get out more," it came out almost as a pur.
"I think I should go back to the bathhouse," Haku said, suddenly professional, snatching his hand back. "I've wasted far too much time out here."
No. NO. Haku couldn't reject her, otherwise everything she'd worked for so far would be for nothing.
"Don't be silly, Haku. Everyone will be heading home now, and besides, friends should spend time together, don't you agree?" She smiled slightly as Haku stiffened at her words, doubting that anyone had actually called him a friend before. This time, he remained frozen as she ran a light hand down his arm, tugging playfully at his sleaves. "I don't think I'd rather spend tonight with any of my other friends over you," he didn't resist as she gently pushed him down onto the grass. She ignored the slightly pained eyes as she ran a hand across his chest before carefully slipping his shirt off over his head. "In fact, I don't think I'd rather spend tonight with anyone else but you." Lin lent over him, brushing her lips against his. "Haku, please." Her hands moved to her own blouse, which she took off slowly. "Tonight will be ours, and then tomorrow we can leave here for a couple of days, get away from the bathhouse for awhile." No need to make mention of the fact she didn't plan on returning with him.
"So that is what you want. Freedom." Haku's soft words surprised her. "Of all the things I used to suspect you wanted from me, I never thought you would be so daring to aim so high. So silly I suppose, to let you convince me that you wanted to be my friend." His words died as she kissed him again, deliberately not letting her mind process the fact that she had been caught in her deception.
Suddenly, she was on her back, five or so meters away from where she had been with Haku. Haku had moved as well, and was standing above her, face impassively cold.
"I am officially putting your proposals into place, starting tomorrow." He spoke, a deadly softness in his voice. "You will be in charge of making sure the changes go over smoothly, and while I understand that you will have to work more hours as a result. You will be paid extra for your dedication."
"You traitor!" Lin seethed, quickly backing away from the boy. "How DARE you! After all I've done for you?"
"All you've done for me?" Haku responded emotionlessly. "I believe friendships must be overrated, if this is how you try and show how good a friend you are. Not that I care about something so superficial, as it is. Now, I suggest you leave, before I am forced to report this entire incident to Yubaba."
It was a dangerous threat, and Lin knew it. She rose unsteadily to her feet, desperately trying to figure out where her plan had gone wrong as she buttoned up her blouse, tears threatening to fall. Everything had been going so perfectly, but Haku had ruined it.
This was all Haku's fault.
"It's almost sad, isn't it," she bitterly threw at him, anger in her eyes. "There isn't a single person at the bathhouse that would spend any time with you, other than to try and use you in some way. You are so very pathetic, Haku. Much more than me for trying, because you actually fell for it. You honestly thought that someone would want to spend time with you." She laughed, tears falling freely now. "And as much as I am trapped here, you are even more so. My situation doesn't seem quite so bad, compared to yours. At least I have friends and people who care about me, you have no one." She smirked, triumphant even in failure as she turned on her heels and fled, not caring how Haku responded to her words. He had rejected her, crushed her hope of freedom as though it meant nothing. She cursed herself as she ran, cursed herself for pushing to hard to fast, for panicking and going too far.
She would never forgive herself for losing her cool. And she would never forgive Haku for denying her the only thing she had ever wanted in life. Freedom.
Once upon a time, there was a pretty girl who worked in a bathhouse. Of all the things she wished for most in her life, freedom was the one thing she wanted above all others. In an attempt to get it, she hurt a pretty boy who hurt her in return, and while no wishes came true as a result, both learnt that sometimes the things you wish for most – freedom and friendship – exist only in fairytales.
And that sometimes, not even fairytales end with 'and they all lived happily ever-after'.