What is Happily Ever After?

… and they all lived happily ever after, the end. But what does that mean? What happens during the happily ever after for characters in a story? Rue thought she knew, they lived happily and freely, as they chose. Going into Mytho's story with him had seemed so certain to her, but now she realized what it really was. The ending of one story was just the beginning of another, but without a writer to actively make a story happen the characters were trapped forever in a state of endless potential. The characters themselves didn't seem to notice, Rue realized once the epiphany hit that that was what was going on. None of them seemed to realize that their ages, their features, their clothes, even the people and buildings around then were in a constant state of flux. It was crossing Rue's eyes and giving her a headache, but she never said anything to Mytho.

Mytho was one of the characters, Rue reminded herself, he came from the story, was meant to be here, was always a part of it. And despite how everything changed around her Rue always had a steady oasis in Mytho. Oh, his clothes and crown were wont to shift between that of a Prince and that of newly crowned King, but his eyes and face were ever constant, and they were always smiling. Rue couldn't tell Mytho how much of an outsider she felt in this magical realm because he always seemed so happy to finally be home and see his family again, no matter if the number of his siblings (when he even had any) were always changing and whether or not his parents even lived seemed up to debate. So Rue smiled, smiled because his happiness was her happiness and hid her feelings.

Another thing that never changed were the whispers she could just hear from the court ladies. Oh, their whispers were not cruel or meant to hurt, but they preyed upon Rue's growing insecurity as she failed to adjust to her new life. Often she heard the women cluck and state sadly what a trauma she must have gone through to seem always dazed and confused about her surroundings and the people around her, or what a pity it was that such a sweet Princess should have such trouble with court life. Rue gritted her teeth as she fought the urge to scream at them, to yell that she wouldn't have such trouble simply walking through hallways if they weren't always shifting, or that she would remember who was who just fine if their faces and ranks didn't change from one moment to the next, or that her court manners would be impeccable if the court could simply settle on a single era to exist in. Instead she of giving into the rise of Kraehe within her she quickened her steps and tried to ignore the whispers around her. She couldn't even bring herself to find some quiet place to cry, whatever room she tucked herself away in was bound to shift and become filled with worried onlookers, and they were bound to remember even after it shifted into something more private.

Rue was so afraid, afraid that Mytho would find out how unhappy she was becoming. She wanted to be happy, she wanted him to be happy, but if he found out… She didn't know what might happen. But she couldn't help but feel that it would not end well. Until one night as she lay in bed next to him, feeling the bedding shift and warp around them as she tried to find a comfortable spot on a pillow that couldn't decide what it was stuffed with all of Rue's fears and insecurities came crashing down on her. "I don't think I'm happy here."

Rue stiffened and looked up at her husband's face in shock, the words had not come from her mouth. She opened her mouth to speak but all she could manage was a strangled, "What?"

Mytho grimaced as he began petting Rue's hair, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that, just forget I said it."

"No!" Both were startled by Rue's outburst. "No, if you're unhappy, you should tell me about it. Maybe just talking about it will help you feel better." Rue abandoned the pillow to rest her head on his chest and gaze up into Mytho's wonderful eyes. "Go on."

Mytho took a deep breath, "I'm not sure how to express myself, I think I miss Gold Crown Town." Rue nodded at his comment, of course she would have felt homesick even without the strange way the world shifted around her, she was born and raised in Gold Crown. "But it's more than that, I feel like I don't belong here anymore. The Story has changed while I was away, or perhaps I have changed while the Story hasn't. I no longer recognize anyone or anything." Rue nodded as she snuggled closer to Mytho in a gesture of comfort. "But that's a silly thing to feel, never mind all of that."

"I don't think I'm quite happy here either," Rue admitted quietly as Mytho tried to brush his ramblings off. It was Mytho's turn to stare at Rue as if he couldn't quite believe the words coming out of her mouth. "Everything is always shifting around, sometimes you're King and sometimes you're still just a Prince, the castle can't quite seem to figure out what it should be, and the people! Their ages and clothes and faces are always shifting from one thing to another. I can't keep up with it." Rue hid her face in Mytho's chest as she spoke, a little afraid to look into his face as she poured out her failings at his feet.

Mytho frowned at her words. "Do you truly mean what you say? The Story is shifting and changing around us?"

"Yes, a little." Rue admitted, still not looking up at Mytho. "I think it's because the Story is over, it doesn't know what to do with itself now. You didn't seem to notice and I thought you were happy, so I didn't say anything."

Mytho chuckled and hugged Rue closer. "How strong you've been for my sake when I've been quiet for your sake." Rue couldn't help smiling at that, looking up into Mytho's beautiful, amber eyes. "We should leave. We're not happy here, neither of us belong."

"But Mytho, of course you belong here!" Rue looked up at him in shock, not quite believing the words he was saying. "Besides, who will run the Kingdom?"

"I spent to long in the real world, a Story isn't enough anymore. And I have plenty of brothers and cousins, one of them would happily take over."

Rue snorted, the most inelegant sound she had ever made, "Sometimes you have brothers. Sometimes not, you'd think that would at least be constant since it's from the beginning of the story." Mytho grabbed Rue's hands and held them tight, stopping her from continuing with her little rant.

"Let's leave now, tonight. Let's throw caution to the wind and go where we can be happiest. Let's go back to Gold Crown with Fakir and Duckie."

Rue gasped at his audacious plan, "Can we even do that? I mean, the town isn't under the Story's control anymore, can we even leave it again?"

Mytho looked so excited and happy as he proclaimed in a loud whisper, fearing their being overheard, "I don't know. But we can find out."

"What if we can't? Or what if I can but you can't? What if we try to leave and something happens?"

Mytho gripped Rue's trembling hands tighter and looked deep into her eyes as he gave his response, "If we can't then we go on an adventure instead. We go out into this world and find whatever happiness we can with each other. We go search for a story where you can at least see clearly." Rue's eyes slid down and away in hesitation, unsure about leaving the safety of a finished Story for one with an unknown ending. "And Rue, what if we can go back? What if we can return to the Gold Crown Academy of Fine Arts and take ballet again?" Rue couldn't hold back the smile at the thought of seeing dear Duckie again, of dancing with her classmates again, of tormenting Fakir like she used to before remembering Kraehe and the Raven.

"Alright, let's go right now." She giggled happily, feeling light and free as they threw off sheets and ran to their wardrobes. Both eagerly threw off their night clothes and found the sturdiest and easiest to wear garments before sneaking out into the hallway. Mytho wrote a quick note and left it on the dresser, Rue understood and waited by the door excitedly as he quickly signed then joined her. Both were giggling like a pair of small children, hurriedly shushing each other as they crept through the castle and out into the courtyard. As if they were able to sense what the royal couple wanted, or perhaps merely summoned by the magic of being a Royal, Mytho's swan drawn carriage was waiting quietly for them. They quickly climbed in, and before they had fairly settled the swans pulled away. The only sound that was heard was the flapping of feathered wings and quiet giggles as the carriage flew into the night.

Xxx

So I've had this idea off and on for a while and finally sat down to get it down on paper. Those of you actually reading this can thank Elcarim-Soberian-1222, his or her (sorry, your profile is a bit Spartan) watching this collection reminded me that I have wanted to get this idea down for a while. I'm also happy that I've finally given the only truly canon pairing from the show some attention. Yes, Duck/Fakir is almost canon, but not quite.

And yes, I am still working on those multi-chapter fics I was talking about. More than one? I have lots of ideas, I'm just focusing on the one that is vying for the most attention. I was working on one, but the ideas for the one I'm actively working on would not leave me alone. I've gotten a lot of the first draft written, all that's left are a few connecting scenes and the entire ending. Not sure what to do from there, lots of rewrites and splitting it into chapters seems like the best step. Hopefully I'll get it out this year. I'm aiming for this summer.