The Faerie Chronicles of Kenshin & Kaoru: The Princess and the Assassin, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Epilogue

Some time later, the Seelie court was shaken by a thump - and then another, and yet another. "Someone find out what that is and stop it," the queen ordered in annoyance. When the fae exchanged lazy looks, Tomoe sighed and got to her feet.

When she crossed over to the human realm, she found a little girl crouching in the moonlight, crying as she beat at the ground. Her fist landed, over and over, in the center of a ring of mushrooms.

"What are you doing?" Tomoe asked sharply.

The sobbing girl turned her face up to the enchantress. "I want to go to the pretty place!" she wailed.

Tomoe paused. "You want...to go to Faerie?" she said cautiously.

"The mushrooms won't work!" the girl cried.

Tomoe carefully lowered herself to sit on the ground next to the girl. "Faerie is not a safe place for mortals, especially children." It wasn't a very safe place for fae, either, but there was no point in voicing that.

The girl put her hands over her face and wept into them.

Tomoe sighed. "Where are your parents, little one?"

The girl sniffled. "Mama's dead," she said heavily. "And Papa's asleep." She suddenly removed her hands from her face and glared at Tomoe. "Don't you wake him up! Or he'll make me go back to bed."

"He would be right to do so," Tomoe told her. "You belong in bed, at this hour of the night."

"Meanie!" the child shouted, then burst into renewed tears.

Tomoe's mouth tightened. She was so bad at this kind of thing... "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" she finally asked, trying to be sympathetic.

"Nothing," the girl said at once. But her sobs had quieted, and she sat there drawing in deep, moist breaths for awhile. "My nose is running," she said dolefully.

"Mm," Tomoe said uncomfortably. The graceful fae were not in the practice of carrying around pocket handkerchiefs. A little self-conscious, she took the end of one of her long sleeves and carefully wiped the little girl's upper lip.

The girl sniffed several times, looking happier. Then she looked up into Tomoe's face. "Are you betrothed, Neechan?" she asked.

Tomoe was rather taken aback. "Well, no. I'm not." She thought of Kenshin, and for just a moment, she was afraid she might cry; then the moment passed.

"Oh," the girl said, disappointed. She scooted closer, so that their hips were touching, and she pulled her knees up to her chin. "Papa might betroth me to someone soon," she mumbled.

Tomoe looked at her sadly.

The girl eyed her when there was no response. "That's bad, right?"

"Well..." Tomoe thought for a minute. "That depends very much on the person you are betrothed to."

"Huh?"

"I mean, if he is a good man, then it's not a bad thing to be betrothed."

"Oh," the girl said again, though more relieved-sounding this time. "What about Prince Phillip? Is he a good person to be betrothed to?"

"...I'm afraid I am not familiar with Prince Phillip."

The girl looked annoyed. "He's important," she insisted. "Everyone knows him. His papa is fat and nice, but kind of loud, and he says if Prince Phillip can't marry me, then there's another girl called Ororo or something he can marry instead."

"I see."

"Neechan?"

"Hm?"

"What if I'm betrothed to a bad man?"

Tomoe's breath caught in her throat. She honestly did not know what to say. "Little one...you are much too young to be worrying about such things."

The girl jumped to her feet, frowning. "No, I'm not! I'm a princess! I have to make sure my people are taken care of! Papa says that Prince Phillip's papa is rich. If I marry Prince Phillip, then we'll be rich, too, and there won't be dirty people in the streets, pulling on my skirts and asking me for money when I walk by. I...I give them money, but they're still dirty and hungry, and I don't know what to do to make them happy!" The girl's eyes were filling with tears again.

Tomoe stared at her. The child was so small, yet already she knew her place in the world, and her responsibilities.

"I just wish-" the girl said slowly, then suddenly gave Tomoe a very stern look. "Cross your heart," she ordered.

"Pardon me?"

"Cross your heart," the girl insisted, picking up Tomoe's hand. She pushed down all the fingers except one and moved it in an X motion over Tomoe's chest. "You have to promise not to tell, okay?"

"All right," Tomoe agreed, somewhat bewildered.

"Do you want," the girl whispered conspiratorially, "to know who I really want to marry?"

"Who?" Tomoe asked dutifully.

"I want to marry a nice person with red hair, and a bloody face."

Tomoe was startled, so that it took her a moment to answer. "Why a bloody face?"

"Because he's nice," the girl asserted. "And it's not real blood, anyway."

Tomoe thought about this for a long time. When she raised her head, she discovered that the girl had been chattering on while she wasn't paying attention.

"...and I named the pony Souji, after Sôjirô because it's got pretty eyes like him, but Kasshin said that wasn't fair to Sôjirô, so I had to pick a different name and I called it Ichigo because I love strawberries-"

"Have you ever met him?" Tomoe managed to cut in.

The girl was confused. "Met who?"

"The one you want to marry. With red hair and a birthmark on his cheek."

The girl shrugged. "No. Kasshin says he's just my imaginary friend. But the red hair boy is not my imaginary friend, my imaginary friend is Yotsuba, and she is my best friend and we play all the time-"

"Little one, what is your name?"

The girl blinked up at her. "I am Princess Kamiya Kaoru," she said importantly. "How do you do?"

"Hm? Oh. Very well, thank you." Tomoe smiled. "You are a very sweet girl, Kaoru-chan. I think I have an idea..."

"What is it?" little Kaoru asked interestedly.

"It's a secret for now. But, Kaoru-chan," Tomoe said quickly, before the girl could protest, "you really should be in bed. Would you like me to tuck you in and tell you a story so you can fall asleep?"

"Yes!" Kaoru said eagerly. "Yes, please, Neechan!"

Tomoe smiled. "Very well. Come along." She got to her feet, reached down to take the little girl's hand, and the two of them walked back to the castle.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: When I use the term "heart" in relation to Tomoe, it's often going to be figurative, not literal. After all, you don't literally feel love in your heart, that is simply an expression.

Prince Phillip is another reference to the Disney movie. (If you haven't guessed, "Ororo" is Kaoru's mispronunciation of "Aurora." I got the idea from the X-Men movie novelization, but I also like it because that's the sound Kenshin makes.) Yotsuba is the title character from the manga series Yotsuba&!.