Hello everybody. This is my official RK summer fic. If all goes well, this
should be done within two months, after which I might probably be in
Midori's situation and not be able to write as regularly. ^^ Sabbie-
chan, I haven't forgotten about How to Impress a Girl 101, and the story is
already planned out. You will forgive me though if I have no drive yet to
write for Vandread. (AXN has to show it again, ne?) Hopefully I will
alternate between the two, and finish both by the end of summer.
One thing I will make clear from the start, by the way. I came from writing White and Black (I mean, the writing is done for it, it only has to be edited and uploaded). While this will be K/K, let me warn those who are not familiar with me, that one of the other pairings is not A/M. ^^ Hopefully, that won't ruin your enjoyment, though.
For this starting chappie, Firuze's "Of Legendary Creatures and Mystical Beasts" and a Smallville episode are the main inspirations. ^^
.............
Long, long ago, in a castle far, far, away, there lived a prince....
Yes, cheesy opening line to a cheesy fairy tale story. One that even the snow prince would hate, even on one of his good days.
Not to say that the snow prince was a bad prince, oh, no, he was not. He was tolerated fairly well in the kingdom, although everyone would not deny, that he was not a social person. He was the best at making alliances with the nearby territories, and he was known to foster trade among them. He had the trust, if not exactly the friendship, of all the kings. Dealing with subjects, however, he mostly delegated to his princess and to the chief retainer.
That was why he was called the snow prince by the realm. Aside from the fact that his hair was white as fresh-fallen snow, he had a somewhat icy personality. He hated balls and parades and occasions. He only stayed as long as necessary, then left as quickly as possible, much to the annoyance of his princess, who liked being around people.
Speaking of the princess, she was running up and down the palace one bright morning, asking all the knights, servants, pages, and maids for the palace magician. Her braids were getting rather loose from all the tugging she did to her hair.
"This is a serious situation, Misao-hime, if you're looking for the palace magician!" the chief retainer noted, quickly walking beside her.
"This is not the time to be teasing, Sou-chan!" the princess retorted. "Yes, we all know that the palace magician isn't the best around, but there's no one else we can go to!"
"What about, Misao-hime?"
"Those new spectacles Eni-chan has? I have a hunch that they're enchanted," the princess reasoned to the chief retainer. "I know Eni-chan is hard to be with and all, but the past few days, he's not been himself!"
"Tell me about it, Misao-hime!" Soujirou complained as well. "Ever since he got those odd purple spectacles, he's been unbearable. He's been shouting at the servants all morning, and they've done everything like clockwork. I've fixed all of his appointments, and still he finds something to get mad at. And, two of our guests have walked out on him already!"
"Oh, no...not THEM! One of them was Lord Hiko!" the princess panicked. "We needed that alliance!" She tugged at the chief retainer's sleeves. "We HAVE to hurry and find the palace magician!"
"Your speed or mine, Misao-hime?" he grinned.
"Yours, Sou-chan!"
He lifted her up and held her by his arms. He began to hop and skip, as if starting his engine. "Hold on, princess, I know a sure place we can find the little raccoon."
The two sped down the halls of the outer court at the speed of light.
The problem started a week ago. Queen Yumi, from the neighboring kingdom, made a routine courtesy call to the snow prince. Nothing much; they worked out that all present arrangements continue, and all trades go on as normal. However, at the end of the negotiations, the queen presented a box before the prince. "A gift," she said, "from Shishio- sama."
"From Shishio?" even the prince was surprised. "Highly uncharacteristic of him..."
Indeed it was highly uncharacteristic. The relationship between the two kingdoms were tense, to say the least. Lord Shishio was always after dominating the other kingdoms. He had already invaded the prince's territories several times. The snow prince kept his current property, thanks in no small part to Saitou, his chief commander. Thus, for Lord Shishio to be giving him a gift, was very unusual.
"It is a simple token of our wonderful alliance, Enishi-sama," Yumi crooned with careful eyes, as she opened the beautiful velvet-lined box. It revealed a pair of purple-tinted glasses. "Why don't you try them on?"
He did, and things have not been the same ever since.
He was always anti-social, but he was not vicious before. In the course of one week, twenty servants were removed from their positions, for no reason. Several criminals were beheaded without a fair trial. He had also been rather rude to several emissaries of late. The princess and the chief retainer were having more and more difficulty explaining this erratic behavior to dignitaries.
"I understand," the palace magician nodded. Misao and Soujirou finally found her, practicing her sword swings in the forest. The young woman was more of a frustrated knight than a magician, very capable with the practice wooden sword, but unpredictable in her cooking and spell- casting. "What do those glasses look like?"
"The lenses are made out a unique purple glass, unlike anything we have seen," the princess described.
"It shines with an eerie glow, and makes the eyes of the wearer appear more evil than they truly are?" the magician sounded like she was quoting from a book.
"Precisely, Kaoru-san!" the chief retainer exclaimed.
"The eyes of malice," the magician identified. "We have to go to my house and find my spell book."
She waved a little wand over the three of them, chanted a few words, and soon they were engulfed in a white light.
The next moment, all three materialized five feet off the ground, then dropped to the stone floor with a crash. "Ow, ow.." The princess murmured as she rubbed her bottom.
"I am so sorry, your highness!!" Kaoru apologized. "Let me make it up to you..," and she began to wave her wand again.
"NO----thank you, Kaoru, I'm alright," the princess stopped her, afraid of more mistakes.
The magician went to a small bookshelf and eyed the titles one by one. She took out a book, and flipped furiously. She stopped at a particular page in the middle. "Here it is, the eyes of malice." She read quickly. "After the spellcaster prepares the glasses to the specifications here, he recites this chant: 'May the wearer only see the worst in men.' The one who wears it first will see people only in an unfair light, and will therefore treat them unfairly."
"So what is the spell to counter it?" the chief retainer asked.
"Big problem. You need one of those special wizards, the ones with fiery hair, according to the book," Kaoru frowned. "And not just any fiery- haired wizard. It must be one with a kind and devoted heart. Only that kind of wizard can break the spectacles, and the power they hold over the wearer."
"So, all we have to do is have a search of the kingdom for anyone with fiery hair!" Misao clapped her hands with glee. "How many could there be?"
"I don't think there are any left, Misao-hime!" Soujirou replied. "Most of them used to live in one of the farther counties, but the plague wiped them out."
"Surely there must be at least one left, there must be!" the princess desperately prayed. "I don't want Eni-chan to stay this way! We'll be taken over by that annoying schemer of a Lord Shishio if we do nothing!"
"We can still try, can't we, your majesty?" Kaoru smiled. "I'll go first thing in the morning."
"KAORU!!" A terrible tenor resounded from outside the door.
"Uh-oh, what did I do now?" the magician trembled along with the other two.
"No use hiding, you witch! I will have you evicted from the palace!"
"Now who dares call me a witch?!" she went on a rampage. "Landlord or not, nobody calls the palace magician an ordinary witch------"
But as she swung open the door to her little cottage, she found herself face to face with the ruler of the realm. His eyes were blazing with anger. The glasses were perched on his nose, and they were glistening with malevolence.
"Your highness, calm down, please!" the magician implored in fright. "I haven't broken any dinner plates, or ruined any rooms....or.....or.....I haven't done any spell-casting in the palace all day, your highness!"
"Explain, then, why Misao and Soujirou are nowhere to be found in the palace," he threatened. "Two of the last three negotiations have failed! It must be your fault-traitor to the realm! Either you personally cast a spell against it, or you have hidden Misao and Soujirou! Now answer, or I might have your head!"
Instead of answering, the young magician grabbed for the prince's glasses, threw them to the floor, and tried desperately to stomp on them with her foot. But the spectacles would not break. It was as if they were made of stone and diamond.
"WHAT are you doing, you little witch?!" he grabbed her by the throat.
"Trying to get you back to normal, your highness!" she protested with a gag. "The glasses will be your undoing!"
"Listen to her, Eni-chan!" the princess ran forward and threw herself at his feet, with the chief retainer bowing beside her. "You're under a spell from Lord Shishio!"
He dropped the magician to the ground, picked up the glasses, and perched it again on his nose. "So there you are, you two," he addressed Misao and Soujirou. "Tomorrow, both of you will stay in my sight all day. You will do as I say. And you," he returned to the magician, "you are suspended from the palace over the next thirty days. Get out."
"But, your highness....."
"GET OUT, KAORU!"
She stood her ground.
She put her hands together, closed her eyes, and chanted a few words. She then put her right hand over the prince's heart, until a soft glow appeared. "May you someday fully remember, the kindness of your heart," she recited, and released her hold.
The snow prince dropped to the ground in a faint, barely caught by the swift chief retainer. Both he and the princess looked at the magician, demanding an answer.
"I'm not strong enough to undo the spell, but I tried to put in a hole," she explained. "If my spell worked the way it should, you should have at least two hours in a day where he is quite almost his normal self. That would be the hours he takes in guests and dignitaries. Make full use of those two hours, try to talk to him then, but I don't guarantee he will listen. My spell will work for the next thirty days, while I'm gone. In the meantime, I'll go looking if there's still even one fiery-haired wizard who can undo the eyes of malice for good."
"Thank you, Kaoru-san," Soujirou smiled. "I surely hope your spell works right."
"So do I; my life might depend on it!" the princess quipped. She took off her signet ring and gave it to the magician. "This is to prove that your mission is for the benefit of the kingdom. Good luck on your quest. Report whenever you could, alright?" She hugged Kaoru and gave her a friendly peck on the cheek.
"Of course, your majesty!" she hugged the princess back. "Now, hurry and get his highness back to the palace, before he wakes up and brings hell down on you both again."
.............
Sorry to those who don't particularly like E/M. Don't worry, this match will have second priority to the main one, so it won't bother the anti- Platinum/Jade people so much. Ice blue eyes? I'll see where I can put him eventually.
The basic concept for this story came from a simple question: We all know how he got the white hair, but how did he get the funky sunglasses? ^^
Hope you liked what you got on this first chappie. Please send in your suggestions and comments, I'll need them both! This is my second AU long piece, but the first one was a parody fic, so this is my first AU fic where I plan everything. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all again!
One thing I will make clear from the start, by the way. I came from writing White and Black (I mean, the writing is done for it, it only has to be edited and uploaded). While this will be K/K, let me warn those who are not familiar with me, that one of the other pairings is not A/M. ^^ Hopefully, that won't ruin your enjoyment, though.
For this starting chappie, Firuze's "Of Legendary Creatures and Mystical Beasts" and a Smallville episode are the main inspirations. ^^
.............
Long, long ago, in a castle far, far, away, there lived a prince....
Yes, cheesy opening line to a cheesy fairy tale story. One that even the snow prince would hate, even on one of his good days.
Not to say that the snow prince was a bad prince, oh, no, he was not. He was tolerated fairly well in the kingdom, although everyone would not deny, that he was not a social person. He was the best at making alliances with the nearby territories, and he was known to foster trade among them. He had the trust, if not exactly the friendship, of all the kings. Dealing with subjects, however, he mostly delegated to his princess and to the chief retainer.
That was why he was called the snow prince by the realm. Aside from the fact that his hair was white as fresh-fallen snow, he had a somewhat icy personality. He hated balls and parades and occasions. He only stayed as long as necessary, then left as quickly as possible, much to the annoyance of his princess, who liked being around people.
Speaking of the princess, she was running up and down the palace one bright morning, asking all the knights, servants, pages, and maids for the palace magician. Her braids were getting rather loose from all the tugging she did to her hair.
"This is a serious situation, Misao-hime, if you're looking for the palace magician!" the chief retainer noted, quickly walking beside her.
"This is not the time to be teasing, Sou-chan!" the princess retorted. "Yes, we all know that the palace magician isn't the best around, but there's no one else we can go to!"
"What about, Misao-hime?"
"Those new spectacles Eni-chan has? I have a hunch that they're enchanted," the princess reasoned to the chief retainer. "I know Eni-chan is hard to be with and all, but the past few days, he's not been himself!"
"Tell me about it, Misao-hime!" Soujirou complained as well. "Ever since he got those odd purple spectacles, he's been unbearable. He's been shouting at the servants all morning, and they've done everything like clockwork. I've fixed all of his appointments, and still he finds something to get mad at. And, two of our guests have walked out on him already!"
"Oh, no...not THEM! One of them was Lord Hiko!" the princess panicked. "We needed that alliance!" She tugged at the chief retainer's sleeves. "We HAVE to hurry and find the palace magician!"
"Your speed or mine, Misao-hime?" he grinned.
"Yours, Sou-chan!"
He lifted her up and held her by his arms. He began to hop and skip, as if starting his engine. "Hold on, princess, I know a sure place we can find the little raccoon."
The two sped down the halls of the outer court at the speed of light.
The problem started a week ago. Queen Yumi, from the neighboring kingdom, made a routine courtesy call to the snow prince. Nothing much; they worked out that all present arrangements continue, and all trades go on as normal. However, at the end of the negotiations, the queen presented a box before the prince. "A gift," she said, "from Shishio- sama."
"From Shishio?" even the prince was surprised. "Highly uncharacteristic of him..."
Indeed it was highly uncharacteristic. The relationship between the two kingdoms were tense, to say the least. Lord Shishio was always after dominating the other kingdoms. He had already invaded the prince's territories several times. The snow prince kept his current property, thanks in no small part to Saitou, his chief commander. Thus, for Lord Shishio to be giving him a gift, was very unusual.
"It is a simple token of our wonderful alliance, Enishi-sama," Yumi crooned with careful eyes, as she opened the beautiful velvet-lined box. It revealed a pair of purple-tinted glasses. "Why don't you try them on?"
He did, and things have not been the same ever since.
He was always anti-social, but he was not vicious before. In the course of one week, twenty servants were removed from their positions, for no reason. Several criminals were beheaded without a fair trial. He had also been rather rude to several emissaries of late. The princess and the chief retainer were having more and more difficulty explaining this erratic behavior to dignitaries.
"I understand," the palace magician nodded. Misao and Soujirou finally found her, practicing her sword swings in the forest. The young woman was more of a frustrated knight than a magician, very capable with the practice wooden sword, but unpredictable in her cooking and spell- casting. "What do those glasses look like?"
"The lenses are made out a unique purple glass, unlike anything we have seen," the princess described.
"It shines with an eerie glow, and makes the eyes of the wearer appear more evil than they truly are?" the magician sounded like she was quoting from a book.
"Precisely, Kaoru-san!" the chief retainer exclaimed.
"The eyes of malice," the magician identified. "We have to go to my house and find my spell book."
She waved a little wand over the three of them, chanted a few words, and soon they were engulfed in a white light.
The next moment, all three materialized five feet off the ground, then dropped to the stone floor with a crash. "Ow, ow.." The princess murmured as she rubbed her bottom.
"I am so sorry, your highness!!" Kaoru apologized. "Let me make it up to you..," and she began to wave her wand again.
"NO----thank you, Kaoru, I'm alright," the princess stopped her, afraid of more mistakes.
The magician went to a small bookshelf and eyed the titles one by one. She took out a book, and flipped furiously. She stopped at a particular page in the middle. "Here it is, the eyes of malice." She read quickly. "After the spellcaster prepares the glasses to the specifications here, he recites this chant: 'May the wearer only see the worst in men.' The one who wears it first will see people only in an unfair light, and will therefore treat them unfairly."
"So what is the spell to counter it?" the chief retainer asked.
"Big problem. You need one of those special wizards, the ones with fiery hair, according to the book," Kaoru frowned. "And not just any fiery- haired wizard. It must be one with a kind and devoted heart. Only that kind of wizard can break the spectacles, and the power they hold over the wearer."
"So, all we have to do is have a search of the kingdom for anyone with fiery hair!" Misao clapped her hands with glee. "How many could there be?"
"I don't think there are any left, Misao-hime!" Soujirou replied. "Most of them used to live in one of the farther counties, but the plague wiped them out."
"Surely there must be at least one left, there must be!" the princess desperately prayed. "I don't want Eni-chan to stay this way! We'll be taken over by that annoying schemer of a Lord Shishio if we do nothing!"
"We can still try, can't we, your majesty?" Kaoru smiled. "I'll go first thing in the morning."
"KAORU!!" A terrible tenor resounded from outside the door.
"Uh-oh, what did I do now?" the magician trembled along with the other two.
"No use hiding, you witch! I will have you evicted from the palace!"
"Now who dares call me a witch?!" she went on a rampage. "Landlord or not, nobody calls the palace magician an ordinary witch------"
But as she swung open the door to her little cottage, she found herself face to face with the ruler of the realm. His eyes were blazing with anger. The glasses were perched on his nose, and they were glistening with malevolence.
"Your highness, calm down, please!" the magician implored in fright. "I haven't broken any dinner plates, or ruined any rooms....or.....or.....I haven't done any spell-casting in the palace all day, your highness!"
"Explain, then, why Misao and Soujirou are nowhere to be found in the palace," he threatened. "Two of the last three negotiations have failed! It must be your fault-traitor to the realm! Either you personally cast a spell against it, or you have hidden Misao and Soujirou! Now answer, or I might have your head!"
Instead of answering, the young magician grabbed for the prince's glasses, threw them to the floor, and tried desperately to stomp on them with her foot. But the spectacles would not break. It was as if they were made of stone and diamond.
"WHAT are you doing, you little witch?!" he grabbed her by the throat.
"Trying to get you back to normal, your highness!" she protested with a gag. "The glasses will be your undoing!"
"Listen to her, Eni-chan!" the princess ran forward and threw herself at his feet, with the chief retainer bowing beside her. "You're under a spell from Lord Shishio!"
He dropped the magician to the ground, picked up the glasses, and perched it again on his nose. "So there you are, you two," he addressed Misao and Soujirou. "Tomorrow, both of you will stay in my sight all day. You will do as I say. And you," he returned to the magician, "you are suspended from the palace over the next thirty days. Get out."
"But, your highness....."
"GET OUT, KAORU!"
She stood her ground.
She put her hands together, closed her eyes, and chanted a few words. She then put her right hand over the prince's heart, until a soft glow appeared. "May you someday fully remember, the kindness of your heart," she recited, and released her hold.
The snow prince dropped to the ground in a faint, barely caught by the swift chief retainer. Both he and the princess looked at the magician, demanding an answer.
"I'm not strong enough to undo the spell, but I tried to put in a hole," she explained. "If my spell worked the way it should, you should have at least two hours in a day where he is quite almost his normal self. That would be the hours he takes in guests and dignitaries. Make full use of those two hours, try to talk to him then, but I don't guarantee he will listen. My spell will work for the next thirty days, while I'm gone. In the meantime, I'll go looking if there's still even one fiery-haired wizard who can undo the eyes of malice for good."
"Thank you, Kaoru-san," Soujirou smiled. "I surely hope your spell works right."
"So do I; my life might depend on it!" the princess quipped. She took off her signet ring and gave it to the magician. "This is to prove that your mission is for the benefit of the kingdom. Good luck on your quest. Report whenever you could, alright?" She hugged Kaoru and gave her a friendly peck on the cheek.
"Of course, your majesty!" she hugged the princess back. "Now, hurry and get his highness back to the palace, before he wakes up and brings hell down on you both again."
.............
Sorry to those who don't particularly like E/M. Don't worry, this match will have second priority to the main one, so it won't bother the anti- Platinum/Jade people so much. Ice blue eyes? I'll see where I can put him eventually.
The basic concept for this story came from a simple question: We all know how he got the white hair, but how did he get the funky sunglasses? ^^
Hope you liked what you got on this first chappie. Please send in your suggestions and comments, I'll need them both! This is my second AU long piece, but the first one was a parody fic, so this is my first AU fic where I plan everything. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all again!