magic
066. midnight
"I'm afraid of the dark," she tells him, hands clutching at his cloak tightly.
"Not of the dark," he replies, loosening her grip with his large, comforting hands, "but of what's in the dark."
She contemplates this for a moment, and silently agrees.
Tick, tock, tick, tock. It's five minutes to midnight.
"I'll tell you a story to ease your fear, then. Do you know the tale of Cinderella?" he asks her gently, and she shakes her head in befuddlement.
"Cinderella? Is that a type of poison?"
He laughs darkly, and runs a hand through her hair as she blinks in confusion.
"Cinderella was a maid who wished to meet the prince of her kingdom. She was offered the chance one day, and was granted a beautiful dress, in exchange for it to disappear at midnight." At the last word, she stiffens, and her grip on his cloak tightens once more.
Tick, tock, tick, tock. It's four minutes to midnight.
"Cinderella met the prince, and he fell in love with her immediately. Just as they were about to kiss and seal their love, the clock struck twelve. She fled just as her glamor began to disappear, but accidentally left behind a single glass slipper—which, surprisingly, remained intact."
She blinked like an innocent child, lost by the story's wonder. "What happened then? Did Cinderella ever regret having not kissed the prince?"
He chuckles again. "What do you think?"
Tick, tock, tick, tock. It's three minutes to midnight.
She shakes her head. "I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."
He takes her hands in his and eases his cloak out from her fingers. Pressing his lips to her fingertips, he heard her breath catch in her throat, and cannot help but smile when her eyes widen in surprise.
"The prince searched through his whole kingdom for the girl with the glass slipper," he murmurs, his lips tracing patterns on her fingers. "He arrived at Cinderella's house, but was sidetracked by her evil stepsisters and stepmother and did not realize that the beautiful girl he was searching for lived in that house, for she was locked in her room."
She doesn't breathe, and all that's heard is his silent laughter. "Then what happened?"
Tick, tock, tick, tock. It's two minutes to midnight.
In amusement, he leans in, and she does so as well, on instinct. "Guess."
She pouts. "But I don't want to guess! Why can't you just tell me?"
He cradles her face in his hands, and she stares up at him with a shining innocence. Her breath tickles his cheek, and he strokes her hair gingerly. "Cinderella broke free from the room, but when she made it down, the prince was already gone." His lips widen into a smile at her bewildered expression.
"You mean the story doesn't have a happy ending?" she asks in surprise. Again, he chuckles, and shakes his head in amusement.
"Do you think it has a happy ending?"
Tick, tock, tick, tock. It's one minute to midnight.
"Well…" Her brow furrows in confusion and slight frustration. He pulls her closer and brings his lips just mere centimeters away from hers. Her breath catches in her throat—he can feel it—and he could not help but adore her child-like innocence.
He presses his lips against hers for the briefest of moments, but in that moment, it felt like all of eternity has passed. He pulls away from her, and she is astonished.
"The magic," he says, "always happens at midnight. But the real story is always after."
She shakes her head. "You confuse me," she tells him. "Why don't you just tell me what you mean?"
He chuckles. "Perhaps you'll understand when you wake up." And he presses his lips to her forehead softly.
Ding, dong. It's midnight.
When the lips leave her forehead, she opens her eyes—but he's gone. All that's left, she finds, is a single ring placed on her finger, with the kanji that reads promisingly, crimson.
She wakes up in her bed with the ring clutched tightly in her hand. And, she realizes, that the story does not have a happy ending. It does not have an ending at all. It continues, and continues, and continues; midnight after midnight; magic after magic…
She keeps the ring close to her heart, and searches the village for her prince.
A/N: I am near ecstatic. I got such wonderful reviews for the last chapter. It's a shame that there are more people who have this on alerts than there are reviewers. ;) If you have something to say, just say it!
And, yeah, that sentence ostinato was sort of from Five Minutes to Midnight by Boys Like Girls. If you haven't heard it, go and listen!
Also, I started a site that has all stats and information on my chaptered fics, both originals and fanfiction. The link is on my page, just under the ToS. You guys should go check it out!