The best stories, so they say, begin 'once upon a time'. Rouge has never thought those stories were the best, though, and she knows so many more that are far more enchanting than mere fairy tales.
She wasn't there at the start, but she knows it so well that she might as well have been. There was a boy, born to the creator of the worlds, who grew to wield the power of life. He was a kind boy, the sort that grows into a gentle man, but the world treated him cruelly.
Rouge remembers hearing the ways the world turned its back on the boy. He was made an outcast, sentenced to live his life on the outskirts of the village. When he grew, power bubbling inside of him, the man moved to the mountains, seeking solitude from the world. He grew strong, Rouge learned, and he grew lonely.
That is how she came to exist. The power of life extends to all things the man creates, and so it wasn't hard for him to draw a companion, an ink black rabbit. This was how Rouge was made.
She spends years watching the man from the fusuma. He is kind still, despite the loneliness, but she can see him fading. Rouge knows he will lose himself, and her heart beats frantically against her chest at the thought. She tries to peel herself off of the fusuma, tries to reach the man's side and press her tiny body to his foot. She wishes she can show him the tiniest things she sees in him, but all she can do is move about the fusuma like a common rabbit, entertaining the man as she runs through fields of gently-swaying flowers the man has drawn for her.
When he sleeps, the man sleeps before her, and Rouge watches over him. She likes to think she can take away some of his pain as he is sleeping, that she can heal the wounds that the mortal people in this world have delivered. She isn't sure she is capable of such things, but Rouge knows deep within herself that one day, one day, she will make a difference.
The man builds her a city. It is beautiful, and she can see the want in his eyes. This is where the man wants to be, a beautiful world where no one needs to be alone. His fingers touch the fusuma gently, and Rouge follows him as he walks around the room, telling her stories of the world. He always calls it their world, naming her as its queen, and Rouge wants to laugh. She isn't much good for ruling stuck as a rabbit drawing.
Things change, Rouge comes to find. It's late one night, and she is watching the man from a flower field. She can see the rise and fall of his chest and Rouge wonders what it feels like to touch another's warmth, to feel love properly and not just from a distance. She closes her eyes, and her body stills, golden light surrounding her.
Rouge isn't sure what is happening and she opens her eyes. Kyōto – both their Kyōto and the cruel one the man lives in – has vanished. Rouge feels as if she is floating, limbs hanging below her body as she sees a woman before her. Rouge knows who she is before the woman speaks and hastens to bow her head to the Bodhisattva. The woman smiled, reaching out tenderly to stroke Rouge's rabbit ears, and pulls Rouge to her breast.
"You've always kept watch over him," she says, and Rouge can feel her warmth. She wonders if this is what it would feel like if she was able to touch the man, and she nods.
"I can see your desire," the Bodhisattva says gently, and she places the tip of her finger right between Rouge's eyes. A prickly feeling spreads through Rouge's body, and she shudders, closing her eyes as a shiver passes through her.
"Your loyalty and love is to be rewarded," the woman says, and Rouge feels her press a kiss over the spot her finger had been. It's warmth this time that spreads through her, and Rouge takes a deep lungful of air, as if she's breathing for the first time. Her body feels strange, and she opens her eyes, the Bodhisattva smiling softly.
"There are conditions of course, and once you have given your love you must return this form," she says, and Rouge lets her body float. It's heavier than before, and she is scared to look down at herself. She does anyway, summoning up the courage of a great beast rather than that which belongs to a rabbit, and tears prick her eyes as she sees pale limbs, human limbs, stretched out before her.
"Thank you," she whispers, though she knows the woman has gone already. "Thank you!"
Though there are conditions on how she uses this body, Rouge will never be able to thank the Bodhisattva enough for what she has done. Rouge feels elation rise in her chest and she wakes with a joyous laugh, red hair spilling over her shoulders as she moved to cover her mouth.
The noise is still too much, though, and the man wakes with a start. He moves first for a knife Rouge knows he keeps on his person at all times, and she watches him with wide eyes. He looks at her, mouth falling open, before she finds herself covered in his sleeping blankets, the man turned away.
"Why is a naked woman in my house?" he says, and Rouge looks under the blankets. She's always been naked so she never noticed the difference. Instead of black fur there's now human skin, so much human skin, and she flushes a little.
"It's my house too," she says, picking one of the blankets up and wrapping it around herself. She isn't sure why the man doesn't recognise her, but she feels disappointed. Perhaps if he looks at her, he'll understand.
"I've always lived here," she says, moving towards the man slowly. It's strange to walk on two feet, but Rouge has no serious problem managing it. She wonders briefly if she was destined for this, if she has always meant to live in a human's body.
"You're the rabbit!" the man says when he finally does look at her, and Rouge smiles, proudly. She knew she could trust him, and he takes one of her hands, fingers gentle as he inspects her hand.
"You're perfect," he says, then clears his throat and moves away, shaking his head. "I'm sorry," he says and moves to one of the cupboards where Rouge knows spare bedding is kept. He sets her bed up, returning to fetch a shirt and soft trousers for her. Rouge recognises them as his favourite, and she looks at him first, asking permission to touch the clothing.
"I want you to have them," the man says, and Rouge takes them gently. "I'll go to town tomorrow to buy you some proper clothes," he promises, and Rouge smiles. Her fingers brush his as she reaches for the shirt, and Rouge startles. Roger looks guilty, as if he's done something terrible by touching her, and she thinks he will run away if she doesn't say something.
"You're so warm," she says softly, eyes wide. For all she's imagined in her fusuma world, it wasn't this. The man is so warm and full of love that Rouge isn't sure how she will ever cope being human. She feels full and she shakes her head, wiping her eyes.
"My name is Rouge," she says, and the man nods, turning to light some more lanterns, all thoughts of sleep abandoned. "I've watched over you for a long time."
She slips the clothes on as the man turns around, settling in her bed and preparing to show this man how much she cares for him, how much she has wished for this opportunity her entire life. Rouge wants to show him that he is worthy of love.
"My name is Roger," the man replies, and the way he smiles shows Rouge that he has just as much to tell her as she does him.
.
Rouge runs her hands over the drawings on the fusuma, smiling as her favourite meadow sways gently, as if welcoming her back. Roger is out at the moment, and she has the run of the house. She's cleaned and prepared dinner, and she is keeping a close eye on the storm raging outside. She hasn't closed the house down entirely, but it won't be long before she's forced to place shutters over the windows and look for any leaks in the house.
Rouge turns from the Mirror World and picks out a book from the vast selection Roger has brought home for her. They've been collecting for years now and most of the books are dog-eared and well-loved, but Rouge still treats them as treasures she's never seen before. They are her treasures, anything from Roger is a treasure still. She smiles softly, but it fades as a huge clap of thunder sounds overhead.
Something is wrong. Rouge can feel the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she moves to open the doors of the house, staring into the woods that surround them. Her instincts as a rabbit never dulled, and Rouge always knows when something is wrong.
Methodically – and she's done this more times than she's happy to admit – Rouge takes the medical supplies out from their cupboard and begins preparing clean water and cloths. By the time she hears Roger's voice calling, Rouge is prepared and she walks into the rain with a hardened expression, prepared – as she always is – for the worst.
It's not Roger this time, though. He is carrying a boy, one who cannot be much older than seven or so, and there is desperation on his face. Rouge spins on her heel, casting aside blankets from her bed and calling for Roger to set the boy down.
The wound is terrible, Rouge thinks, and she wipes a stray piece of hair away with bloodied fingers. There is no end to the blood, and she thinks that the boy is going to bleed out before she can do anything. Rouge hisses out a breath and redoubles her efforts at stitching the gaping wound over the boy's stomach, trying not to think about how it came to be. It's a clean wound at least, but the blood is endless.
She knows there's nothing they can do, but she continues still. Rouge works and works, hardly noticing the boy is drifting from them until Roger lays a hand on her shoulder.
"He's almost gone," Roger says, and Rouge grits her jaw. She's seen the dead before, adults and children alike, but she cannot give up on this one.
"No," she says, and there is fire burning through her body, determination rising. She can fix this. Rouge can heal this child, she can bring him back from the darkness.
"No," Roger repeats, and there is a hurried motion around Rouge as he grasps for his ink. She wants to watch, wants to see what is so important that Roger has to create it now, but she is too busy trying to stop the blood. How can one child lose so much?
"Get him to eat this," Roger says, returning to Rouge with a round fruit. The seeds inside sparkle like rubies, and Rouge almost gasps, knowing what this gift is. The child will live, she thinks, and that is what matters.
Rouge presses the pomegranate to the child's lips, pressing the seeds through the line of his teeth. They won't choke the child, there is nothing that can stop the turning of the world's wheels now, and she scoops out as many glittering seeds as she can, forcing them into the child's mouth. It is worth it, she thinks, and she pulls away slowly, reluctant to let nature take its course.
Roger takes the remainder of the pomegranate as it dulls, its work complete. The boy is still beneath her hands as she continues to clean the wound, and she is pleased to see that the blood flow has staunched. The boy will live, immortality their gift to this child.
"There's been a war," Roger says bitterly, while Rouge cleans her hands and disposes of soiled cloths outside. They'll burn them in a bit, she thinks, and shakes her head, trying not to think of the war raging on the mountain below them.
"He was alone, bleeding out in the mud," Roger says, and Rouge wipes her hands dry. They are still pink, still a little stained, and she wonders briefly if they'll ever be clean.
"You did the right thing," Rouge says, pressing a palm to Roger's cheek. He draws her close, kisses her gently, before Rouge moves back to the house. She knows what caused the boy's wound, and she knows he might not believe their conviction that they did the right thing. He will believe, eventually. Being alive it worth so much more than being dead.
It happens, as Rouge suspected it would. The boy wakes with a bone-chilling scream and reaches for the blade they'd taken from him. Roger's in the room when Rouge rushes to see the commotion, and her face pales as the boy tries to take his own life, again and again. The blade comes away blood when he removes it from his stomach, but he is immortal now. He will bleed and bleed and bleed, but it will never be enough.
"You did this," the boy says, sounding so old for one so young. Roger is unmovable, and he nods, taking the tantō from the boy's hands slowly.
"I did," he says, and Rouge keeps to the shadows. She can see the boy's hatred as clear as day and knows that if she wants to be a friend (a mother, a voice whispers), she needs to stay out of this. "And I would do it again if I had to."
The boy's face breaks then, tears streaming down his face as he curls into a ball. Roger set the tantō down beside him, moving away to where Rouge is.
"He will be alright," he says with a soft smile, and Rouge kisses the lines around his mouth. She is full of love, both for Roger and this child, and she knows that despite the boy's pain, Roger's decision was the right one.
It takes weeks for the boy to learn to trust them, and even then the flicker of hatred he feels for Roger always remains. He is open with Rouge, however, and accepts the animal companions Roger draws for him. Rouge thinks that he does love Roger, but he will never be able to fully accept him.
Rouge is fixing some clothes when the boy tells her his name.
"I'm called Marco," he says, and Rouge smiles. She pats his hand gently, passes him a new shirt to fix up, and promises she'll make his favourite meal for dinner.
Things get easier after that. Marco grows, and it's all Rouge can do to keep up altering his clothes so he can be comfortable. Marco's days are spent chasing their dog around the mountains, bringing back armfuls of food he's foraged off of the forests. He helps Rouge and even sits through Roger's lessons, eagerly absorbing anything and everything. Their family isn't perfect, but it's Rouge's family, and she loves both Roger and Marco dearly.
It's midday when Marco returns home, and Rouge instantly knows something is wrong. The dog is barking, and she stands, dropping her book on medicinal plants, blanching as she sees blood flowing from a cut on Marco's forehead. His nose wrinkles, and Rouge takes his hand gently, cleaning the wound. It won't need sewing, and she questions Marco, worry curling in her stomach when he reveals how he obtained the wound, that the people nearby are growing restless and clearly have no hesitations about attacking their family anymore, stooping to harm a defenceless child.
"It's not safe here anymore," Rouge says when Roger returns. He's carrying a stack of firewood, and he grimaces, head low. Rouge thinks he's always known there will be a time when this would happen, and she hopes he has an answer. She'll follow him anywhere if it means they will all be safe.
When Roger's eyes flicker to the fusuma, Rouge knows what his answer is. Her eyebrows shoot upwards, and she feels Marco start in confusion.
"You can do that?" Rouge asks, and Roger narrows his eyes, as if considering his power. It's a yes then, Rouge thinks, for if he has to consider it, Roger knows he has the capability to do it.
"Say Marco," Roger says, and Rouge's chest warms at how much love is dripping from those simple words. "How would you like to see somewhere special? It has more places to explore than here."
Marco's eyes are bright, the perfect combination of a child on the edge of adolescence. He nods, taking Rouge's hand gently, and Roger grins.
"Everyone grab what you need!" he calls loudly, and Marco shouts in joy, running to grab his favourite books and toys. Roger begins packing clothes, and Rouge sends a fond look to her favourite cooking pot, her books, and a dress Roger made for her a few years ago. They'll be coming with her, whether she's to be queen or not.
Roger's hands are soft and gentle as he places them on the fusuma. Marco takes her hand and shifts excitedly as the world begins to move, coming alive properly for the first time. Rouge is reminded of her time as a rabbit, running through the Mirror World, but this will be so much more. Roger can create life, and he's created an entire world just to keep them safe.
Though there were promises Rouge would be queen, in actual fact her role is very much the same as it's always been. The people of the world – and they are real people, Rouge doesn't quite understand how, but they are as real as the people in the world they have left behind – are respectful, knowing that Roger maintains the balance of their world, protecting their world from outside influences and those that would destroy it. They are kind too, and since they stepped into this world, Rouge has seen Marco learning so much more than in the world they left.
"He'll be a fine man," Rouge says one night. Marco is staying at a friend's house, and Roger is curled at her side, sleepily peering at her in their nest of covers and pillows. Rouge strokes his cheek fondly, closing her eyes. She takes Roger's hand, sliding her fingers between the gaps of his and resting his palm against her stomach.
"Rouge," Roger says, pulling his hand back in surprise. Rouge smiles, rolling over to face Roger. His eyes are wide, jaw slack, but at her nod he smiles, jumping out of bed and pacing the room, practically vibrating with joy.
"Rouge!" he says, laughter echoing through their room. She sits up, covers sliding from her body to reveal a slight curve over her stomach, a firmness there that reveals her secret. She is pregnant, can feel the life of her child flourishing, and she cannot wait to tell Marco.
When she says as much to Roger, he stills, shoulders drooping and smile faltering. Rouge frowns, pulling him back to bed with a thousand questions, worry clawing at her as Roger hangs his head.
They can't stay in the Mirror World, he says. It's the words Rouge has never wanted to hear, though she knows why. If she remains here, she will fade. Her child may live, but Rouge certainly wouldn't. She would be cast back to her original form and, though it is selfish, she cannot bear that.
There is another place she can go to. Roger had told her of it when she'd shared the story of the Bodhisattva giving her human form. Rouge knows she will go to this place, and she does so willingly. She'll live, give birth to a healthy child, and then one day she'll return.
Roger has other ideas.
"You will not go alone!" he practically shouts, shaking his head in disbelief some days later. Rouge stares at him coldly, well aware Marco is asleep in the room next door.
"What about Marco then? I will not abandon one child for the sake of another!" Any selfish desire to keep Roger for herself is thrown out of the window. Marco needs them, they are family, and she will fight tooth and nail to keep their family together.
"I can't…" Roger trails off, closing his eyes tightly. He reaches out for her, but Rouge shakes her head, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Edward's been in contact," he says, and Rouge's eyes widen. She sits down slowly, and knows that whatever Roger has to say, it will not be good news. He's been keeping this from her, she realises, and she knows there is no way out of this that keeps their family together.
"The Shrine knows of this world," Roger says simply, and Rouge shakes her head. This world is a breach of Roger's powers, a sin in the eyes of the Shrine. This world shouldn't exist, but it does, and if the Shrine can, they will rip it apart.
"Edward says they're willing to make a deal, and that's the best he can offer." Roger's face darkens, and Rouge knows it's not for his brother. Edward never wanted to take the position of High Priest, but Roger left him little choice. They're lucky Edward has warned them, bargained for them and protected them. If it was anyone else, they wouldn't have been so fortunate.
"If I become a Priest, they'll leave this world alone," Roger says, and Rouge closes her eyes. This is everything Roger has wanted to avoid, for his power will be abused if he becomes a Priest. There is little choice, though, and she wants to cry for the injustice.
"Marco," she says, eyes drifting to the wall. She cannot bear to leave Marco, but the world outside of this one is no place for him. Rouge will be living in exile, and Roger will be dealing with threats beyond her wildest imagination. He is better off here, safe from the Shrine. If they find out about Marco's immortality too, Rouge knows they'll stop at nothing to chain Marco for their own use.
"Edward's always wanted a family," Roger says, and Rouge feels hope for the first time. She can trust Edward. He will love their son while she and Roger cannot.
Marco isn't pleased when they tell him they will be leaving. He's a young man now, but he turns away from them, hand twitching towards his tantō. Rouge closes her eyes, pulling Marco close and holding him. He's as tall as her now, and she wonders where the time has gone. They've been together for a long time, yet it's no time at all. It's not fair.
"I love you," she whispers in his ear, and Marco's grip tightens around her. She knows they need to leave soon if they are to meet Edward as planned, but she cannot bring herself to let go of her son.
"Rouge," Roger says gently, and Rouge lets her arms slide from Marco, wiping her tears before anyone can see them. She sniffs, pressing her lips together, and takes their mode of transport from her pocket. It's a hand mirror, a hibiscus flower carved into the back, and she closes her eyes.
The power Bodhisattva bestowed upon her flows through her body, and Rouge feels the mirror leave her hands. It floats for a moment, a ghostly reminder of how they came into this world, before a door appears. It opens slowly, the mirror fading, and Rouge tucks it away, looking into the gloom before her.
"Edward," Roger says as a figure moves towards them. Edward is even taller and broader than Roger, but he had a kind smile on his face as he pauses before Rouge. He nods at her, full of respect, before stepping into her world.
Rouge feels a little regret curl in her stomach. Edward will do what she cannot, love Marco when she cannot. Grief wells in her chest, and she hopes, oh goodness how she hopes, that she can come back here one day.
"My successor is a compassionate man," Edward says, and his voice is deep. It is a stable voice, a grounded voice, and Rouge knows that this is the right choice. "His name is Sengoku," Edward finishes, and Rouge smiles weakly.
There is one more thing to do before they leave, and she watches Roger move to stand in front of Marco. She knows the words he is speaking, knows he is passing his title onto him. Marco will rule this world in their stead, Edward at his side to support him. There will come a time, Rouge is sure, when Edward's role will be fulfilled by someone Marco loves dearly – just as Roger loves her – but that time is far off.
Rouge sees Marco's face anger, and she knows Roger has passed on the last of the powers he can. Marco is practically a god himself now, made rather than born. He has the power of the sacred beads, though Rouge knows he won't understand the power for a long time now. Marco looks as if he hates them right now, and Rouge cannot blame him. If she were in his position, she'd hate them too.
"Take care," she whispers, threading her fingers with Roger's as they turn away from their home. The portal closes with a resounding thud, and Rouge takes a deep breath, turning towards the Holy Ground.
Roger is, as always, constant by her side.