Miku recognized him, that cloaked figure with blond hair; the fear and agony in his eyes betrayed his intentions. In one hand, he held a piece of paper. In the other was a knife. He looked down at the paper, the innocent bearer of the "wish" of his princess, delivered in the glass bottle. "Kill her." That was all it said. With tears running down his face, he raised the knife.
"I'm sorry," the servant said, his words barely coming out, for his voice was failing him as he held back his emotions. His hand wouldn't move. His teary eyes squeezed shut and he bowed his head, his hand slightly lowering. Miku stared with her mouth slightly open, her expressions changing as she thought about her options. On one hand, she could take advantage of the servant's hesitation and run. She could find Haku, and they continue their life together. The servant could also run away, but considering the infamous stubborn quality of Princess Rin, she figured he wouldn't get far. On the other hand...
Deciding quickly, Miku grabbed the knife and smiled, her eyes off focus, as if she were looking at something behind the servant. She plunged the knife into her chest, and the pain conflicting with the smile transformed her face into an insane expression. Len looked on in horror, his tears stopping momentarily.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "Tell Kaito I'm sorry!" She collapsed lifelessly in the servant's arms. The servant laid her down gently against the well, and let his emotions take over.
"Why can't I stop crying?" lamented Rin and her servant in two different places, at two different times, yet both for the same reason.
News that all the women with green hair had been killed traveled to the surrounding kingdoms. In the country of blue, where Kaito had fled to protect his people in case of attack, the prince was filled with rage and immediately went back to the green country, only to find his love dead by the well where they had talked so many times before.
In the country of yellow, Meiko heard too and was determined to overthrow the princess. Together, Meiko and Kaito gained the attention of angry citizens that raised weapons in hope of overtaking the princess. No longer afraid,they surrounded the castle, taunting and yelling insults at the princess. Only the entrance to the castle was barricaded, and they worked to break through.
Rin watched this through a window in her room. Her gazed unfocused, she forgot for a moment who she was. She noticed the pounding noise becoming louder downstairs. Still, she stared out her window at the sun setting. "The sun is so powerful. Yet, it's always alone...isn't it? Just like...me." Just then, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder. Not surprised, she turned, but then gasped.
Meiko shouted encouragements as she too worked to break down the door. Soon it was slammed open and Meiko strolled into the castle with a few others. She took her time, knowing the princess had nowhere to go. She eventually found the princess's room, and reached to open the door. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked and she entered.
The little teenage girl with short blond hair and blue-green eyes turned around and smiled. Some guards who had been turned against the princess rushed in and grabbed her. Meiko studied the girl, who wasn't putting up any fight. Nonetheless, she ordered the guards follow her back downstairs.
"How dare you, you insolent fools!" the princess yelled. It almost seemed fake to Meiko, who had watched the princess willingly let herself be caught. But, then again, she may just be crazy. Kaito was waiting at the door, and the princess stopped. "Miku..." she lowered her voice, "Miku says she's sorry. Please forgive the princess."
Kaito stared after the princess, wondering the same thing Meiko did. They led the prisoner a cell while the citizens were cheering them on. Meiko took one last long look at the princess, then told her, "You will be punished for your crimes at 3 'o clock." The princess stared with a determined look that made Meiko feel...almost regretful. But no matter, it was revenge, no matter how the princess felt the hurt...
Haku had made her way to the country of yellow and found a little church by a port. She began her new life there, lonely and drained of hope. She wished she had been the one to die.
"I'm sorry I'm alive," she would say to herself repeatedly, as if it were her favorite phrase. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered how she had said that before she had met Miku. But she knew better than that now. She could handle life on her own. After all, it was better not to be attached to anyone.
Soon, Haku heard a rumor that the princess had been captured. She was rather glad to hear it, though she had never been one to take revenge. Supposedly the evil girl would be executed at 3 'o clock by the guillotine, but Haku didn't bother to go watch.
At five until 3, the princess was taken out to the guillotine. The crowd gathered angrily, cheering and shouting insults. Meiko watched them from a platform next to the guillotine. Her fear returned, as she saw a hooded figure in the front of the crowd; blond hair was all that was showing, but the figure was not shouting like everyone else. It was the princess's servant no doubt, Meiko consoled herself.
The clock struck 3 and Meiko raised her arm, preparing to signal the execution. The servant with blond hair in the crowd was taking deep breaths as the cheers became louder. Just before the end, the servant looked straight up at the criminal and made eye contact. Hiding the tears behind a smile, the servant bravely showed happiness to the princess. The princess stared, then returned a genuine smile just as the blade came down.
The servant ran, the smile now accompanied by tears, and Meiko knew exactly who she had killed.
Having fled to the edge of the sea, the servant let out sobs, letting go of the smile that had been held so painfully. The events of the day replayed in the servant's mind.
While staring out the window, the princess felt a strong hand grab her shoulder. She turned around, thinking the swordsman with red armor had already made it upstairs. She instead saw her servant, the one who shared her likeness.
"You know this country is coming to an end," the servant said quietly.
"Yes...but...I defeated the country of green. I'm certainly still powerful," the princess asserted hopefully.
"Your soldiers suffered from that war," the servant said even quieter, "Now they've been defeated, and you're about to be too."
"You need to run away," the servant suddenly said decidedly. "I'll take care of it." Suddenly it dawned on the princess what the servant planned to do. She looked back at her loyal servant with a horrified protesting look in her eyes. The servant looked away, because he couldn't bare to look at the princess's sad face. He looked back up firmly. "Give me one of your dresses."
The memories getting too painful, the princess that was now dressed in servant's clothes sobbed by the seaside, but the memories just kept coming all too clearly.
"Wear this pair of clothes," the servant said, handing her a servant's outfit, and for once, the princess obeyed her own servant. She didn't want to, but no one could stop him from getting his own way two faced opposite ways to change their clothes. When they finished, the servant studied Rin. For a moment, his light hearted nature came back.
"I'm the princess," he declared, smiling, then he went back to being serious. "But you're the fugitive, so run. Run as far away as you can as if you were one of the other servants." He paused for a moment, looking at Rin's hopeless expression, listening to the beating coming from below, where the angry citizens were trying to break down the door.
"But don't go yet," he suddenly said, and Rin looked up at him. "You don't seem to remember...we're twins, you know, and that's why this will work. Nobody will be able to tell. But that aside, power is a terrible thing sometimes, and it split our parents apart. You were raised here, Rin, in an arrogant and selfish lifestyle. Do you understand that? Don't continue to live like that. But whatever you do, please remember my wish, please." Len blinked hard, and two tears stayed at the corners of his eyes. "I want to be your servant to the end. Now go. Wear the cloak and no one will notice. I love you, Rin."
Crying, the princess could only respond with, "I love you too..."
"...Len," he finished for her.
"Len. Please don't do this," she cried, hugging the clothes close to her. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but Len motioned for her to leave. She ran reluctantly out a different exit, but pressed her ear to the door to listen. Len met Meiko and Kaito with his ironic smile, knowing that Rin would be safe. Rin heard him say something to Kaito, but couldn't make it out exactly. She wondered who "Miku" was.
Rin knew she had a duty to fulfill, but she was emotionally and physically tired, so she decided to make her way to the church that she knew was near. As she neared the church, she tripped. Exhausted, she tried to push herself up but was too tired and didn't care enough to give in the effort. Haku saw this girl and went to help her up automatically. Rin managed a smile of thanks, and Haku smiled back. Both needed a friendship, and could already feel a connection between themselves.
Rin stayed at the church all day, and, later at night, prepared to make a confession. Haku happened to hear Rin repenting for her sins. Suddenly, Haku made sense of the words. Overcome with shock, she listened as Rin confessed of being selfish, proud, a liar, ungrateful, cruel, heartless, angry: a daughter of evil.
It felt to Haku as if the world were crashing down on her. Everything was that girl's fault. She couldn't begin to imagine how the princess had escaped execution, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that the princess should pay for all the pain she'd caused.
Haku ran off and left Rin unaware of what was about to happen.
Taking a glass bottle and a piece of paper with writing on it, Rin finally went down to the sea. She was about to set the bottle with the paper in it into the water when her memory pierced her heart once more. All those times Len had set the bottle in the water, it was all for her.
"You know if you write a wish on a piece of paper and put it in a glass bottle, then put it out to sea, and the sea carries it away, your wish will come true?" Len said lightheartedly, after Rin had watched him do it day after day curiously. "Do you want to try,Milady?"
"Oh come on, it's just entertainment for children and peasants," she replied insensitively, laughing at his immaturity. She stopped smirking when she saw Len's hurt look. "I mean," she said, recovering herself, "You already grant me my wishes, don't you?" she finished, smiling sincerely.
Len looked taken aback by this, and returned a smile of gratitude. He put the glass bottle in the water and watched it get carried out in the waves. He turned back and looked happily at Rin. "
So, what do you wish for?" Rin asked slowly. "You do this every single day after all. It has to be important." She waited for his answer expectantly.
"I wish for Miss Rin's chest to grow bigger," he said laughing. Rin gasped, drawing her arms up to her chest indignantly and began protesting angrily.
"Just kidding," he said, still smiling. Then his smile had changed from that of a joking one to a more sincere and loving smile. "I wish for Miss Rin to be happy," he said. Then it was Rin's turn to be taken aback. The selfish princess was, for a moment, sincerely grateful.
"If you want that..." she started, staring into the sea at the wish floating further and further away, "...then stay by me, always." Len stared at her as if he was the slightest bit surprised, then a soft smile returned. "Is that so? I'll be glad if I can do that." They stood side by side, watching the waves and listening to them lap against the shore.
Rin felt guilty as she remembered how she had given her selfish wishes to Len written on a piece of paper and placed in a bottle. That wasn't what it was really meant for, was it?
Suddenly a bitter emotion hit Rin, standing with the bottle in her hand. She ran forward into the shallow waves.
"Len!" she called. "Len I'm sorry!" Her voice failed her, and she cried long and hard. She tried to assure herself that she had given Len his wish. She had smiled at him as he was about to be executed. He had smiled back, and she was sure he knew what she meant.
"Why can't I stop crying?" Rin cried out.
Haku returned with a knife, and stepped up on the shore behind the blond haired girl. She stepped carefully into the water, her splash lost in the sound of crashing waves. She raised the knife angrily.
The tears that had been suppressed by Rin came flooding into the sea once again. "Why am I so cruel? Why is it that I realize my sins after it's all over?" she cried. She threw her wish out to the sea as hard as she could. She crumpled to her knees sobbing. "God," she said. "God please..."
Haku had been frozen, about to stab the princess and end her selfish life. Then she realized, Rin was her past self. Rin was lonely, outcast, helpless, and just wanted and understanding friend. Haku understood the impact of a loved one die for herself, and, unable to take revenge, lowered her knife. She backed away and watched from a distance.
Rin saw her little glass bottle get further and further away and tried to smile. She stood, watching, her thoughts urging the wish further out. She began to wish out loud, "If we were to be reborn..."
"...It'll be nice if we become twins again," said a familiar voice that seemed to come from the ocean. Rin looked up, startled, scanning the ocean for the source of her brother's voice, but Haku, standing further up on shore, saw a blond haired boy appear on the shore behind Rin.
Startled, Haku ran back to the church, afraid of being seen, and wondered at the strange apparition. Still standing in the midst of the waves, Rin suddenly realized what Len had wished on that last day, even when he should have hated his sister.
She smiled: at last truly happy. She was overcome with emotion, but peaceful at the same time. She finally whispered, "Yeah, it will."