fairy tale; au

Once upon a time, there was a princess in a faraway land. She had long hair the color of a sunrise and eyes that rivaled a midday sky in beauty. She was considered the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, and perhaps the most beautiful princess there ever was.

A lot of people wanted to meet the princess and see her beauty in person, but unfortunately, most didn't think to look beyond that. For much of the time, she was surrounded by admirers - townspeople who lavished her with gifts, artists who would create things in her honor, and princes from far and wide that would seek her hand in marriage.

Though at first she relished in these things like a spoiled little lady, it wasn't long before she realized that most everyone only liked the way she looked on the outside. They didn't know that she loved roses, hated cabbage, and could kill anything with the whirl of a survival knife.

She knew no one would ever know these things unless she lived her life up to her own rules. And so, she devised a plan to run away.

The princess snuck down to the palace kitchen one night and packed herself some food. She covered herself with servant's robes she had snitched, and as an added precaution, stained her petal-smooth skin with the juice of several rotten berries. It marred her face for the time being, giving her the perfect disguise.

Just as she'd reached the edge of the palace walls, bringing herself closer to freedom, someone tugged on her sleeve. The princess instinctively swung her survival knife at the intruder, believing it to be a guard.

"Please spare me!" the intruder shouted. The princess lowered her knife, eyes narrowed as she stared at him, not recognizing the young man that stood in front of her.

"What is your business out here at this time of night?" she demanded to know.

"I also had a plan to run away," he confessed. "I know not of why you do so, but I believe we could help each other survive until we find a new way of life."

She hesitated, but quickly realized this would be for her benefit. Besides being trained to throw a knife, the princess was skilled in little else that would have much use beyond the palace walls. Surely this man could help her in some way.

"All right," she finally agreed. "But I humbly make one request - that you never gaze upon my face, no matter what the circumstance."

If the man thought this an odd request, he didn't say so, and only glanced away and nodded. "I will do what you ask."

From there, it was a simple matter of leaving the palace grounds through the servant's quarters. The princess was exhilarated to be on her own - well, almost - and while she faltered at times, it wasn't long before she had carved what felt like a better life for herself. She learned to kill and cook her own food, and the young man who became her most loyal companion even taught her how to use a bow and arrow, so that she became even more able.

Likewise, she taught him how to thoroughly cook his meat, how to mend his clothes, and even some songs to help pass the time. And all throughout this process of them building a new life, he kept his word and never once looked at her face, though many times he was certainly tempted. Several times, he noticed the juice of rotten berries on her hands and wondered if she put it on her face, as though to deter him from temptation.

Over time, the young man realized he was growing rather fond of his mysterious companion. She offered little about her own life, but did seem genuinely sympathetic when he spoke of his desire to be a scholar, despite the fact that he was seen as little more than another pair of hands to do the dirty work in the palace. It was only when they'd managed to steal a book from an old scholar so that the young man may read it and entertain them that she was convinced that was what he was meant to do.

The book was a multitude of stories from all sorts of writers throughout the ages. Though the princess could certainly read herself, she seemed to like hearing her companion read out loud much better. Oftentimes, she would fall asleep to the soothing tone of his voice, her head nestled on his shoulder. His eyes always remained ahead and never on her, as was his promise.

Despite never seeing her face, he gradually grew to realize that he loved her dearly. He would always reverently look forward to when her head would fall upon his shoulder, only barely getting glimpses of her stained skin.

Usually, he would move her so that they lay apart in sleep, but one night, he decided not to. They remained twined together, leaning against a tree as they slept. But it also happened that this would be the morning their refuge in the woods was discovered.

"Thieves! Intruders!"

The young man and the princess woke with a start when they realized that they were being trailed. Quickly, they gathered what they could and ran away, but their pursuers were relentless. Eventually, they came upon a stream.

"Quick, we must cross this and hope they don't dare follow," the young man said.

Knowing there were things in life you just needed to do, the princess made her way across the water. Carrying their things made both of them clumsy, and they fell several times, but miraculously, they made it to the other side just as their pursuers lost interest.

"Let us hope they don't have more waiting on this side." The princess knelt by the stream, wringing out the excess water from her robes.

"We should easily outrun them." It was only as he said this that the young man's book - his most prized possession - slipped from his hands and fell into the stream. Instinctively, the princess leaned in and reached for it, though the book was in a sorry state when she rescued it.

Little did she know, the young man had gone to gather it at the same moment. When she turned her head to return the book - no matter what its sorry state - to him, he did not have time to look away. Instantly, he found himself looking at hair that was the color of a sunrise and eyes that rivaled the beauty of a midday sky. He could not bear to tear his gaze away.

The princess gasped and glanced at her reflection in the stream, realizing at once that the water had washed away the berry juice that she used to mar her skin.

"I must go," she said, quickly getting up. The man was from the palace, and surely he would bring her back.

"Wait, Your Highness." He grasped her arm, but did not look at her face again. "Truly, you are beautiful in your hair, your eyes, and every way that is easily seen. But I…I must confess that I fell in love with the things that are not so easily seen. Your bravery, your compassion, and your will to live the way you want to. Please, let me gaze at you as I have always wanted to."

Slowly, the princess turned to face the young man, seeing only honesty in his eyes. She realized that there were many things she loved about him as well - things that no one but her had bothered to see.

Of course, they were there, if one took the time to look.

—

Snow peeked over his brother-in-law's shoulder, chuckling quietly at the sight of his daughter sucking her thumb. "Whoa, you actually got her to go to sleep. What'd you do, tell her that fairy tale again?"

Hope nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. I mean, she likes it, so I figured…why not."

"Anything to help the cause!" Snow laughed. "Has Light ever heard it?"

Hope blushed. "No."

"Probably a good thing. She doesn't seem like the type to go for that princess-y stuff, y'know?"

"I guess." He glanced at his phone, noting that his wife and Serah were due back soon. At least now he could get the credit for doing most of the babysitting - not that Snow hadn't done anything, of course. This was his own daughter and all.

But Snow and his daughter were completely alike in the fact that it took them both forever to get to sleep.

"Think you'll ever get another story up your sleeve?" Snow asked. "I mean, she likes that one now, but y'know. Kids."

"…You're right." Hope chuckled. "I think next time, the princess should be fiercely independent. That's what I've always loved about her."