A Happy Married Life
A Fairy Tale Story
Once upon a time, in a world where fantastic creatures and humans coexisted, a lonely being lived in a dark forest. Far from anything, and without any form of its own, it longed for salvation and love.
One day, as if its prayers had been answered, a beautiful fairy came to save it from its loneliness. She was tall, with long blond hair and amber eyes. By some miracle, the being took shape as a result of this encounter with the fairy. It took on a humanoid form, with female features. Its skin was very pale, like a porcelain doll. Long silky silver hair covered her head, and its eyes shone with a golden glow. The only things that set it apart from any other life form were its black wings, claws, and dark shades on certain parts of its body.
"Dear, it looks like you were meant to be a beautiful girl." The blonde-haired fairy praised the new female being with a radiant smile. "A very special one," she added, noting its "special features."
For the first time in its entire existence, the being now known as "she" managed to smile.
"Do you have a name for yourself?"
"..." The now silver-haired girl remained silent.
"Poor little thing," she said, laying a hand on her cheek. "From now, your name will be Mélusine."
From this day on, the life of Mélusine at the side of the fairy had been better. She taught her a lot of things about the world and life itself. However, the silver head felt that something was missing, and even though she was living a good life here, she still wanted to find out what it was.
"Aurora, why am I not allowed to go outside of the house?" Mélusine asked her caretaker in an innocent manner.
The blonde woman sighed at her insistence."Dear, I thought I already told you many times before. The world is dangerous, especially for someone as special as you." Aurora explained her, pointing out her animalistic traits."People get easily afraid of those who are different from them, after all."
The young looking girl lowered her head sadly, but she was not about to give up.
Eventually, night fell, and so the girl took advantage of the opportunity to satisfy her curiosity. Slowly, trying not to wake the fairy, she left her room and went downstairs. As she approached the door, a shiver ran down her spine as the wooden floor creaked beneath her feet. Mélusine instinctively stopped for a moment. She was afraid that the noise might have woken Aurora up. One second, two seconds, three seconds passed, and nothing happened. Relief washed over her. She put her hand on the doorknob and finally opened it.
It had been a few hours ago since Mélusine had left the house for the forest. The fresh breeze of the night soothed her, as she took a deep breath of air. It seemed like an eternity since she had stepped foot outside. The feeling of freedom that the usually cloistered girl was experiencing right now was new for her. Sinking deeper into the woods, she suddenly heard some voices.
"My prince, please be reasonable," a blonde-haired man pleaded.
"Don't be like that, Gordolf," a young man with black hair said to his companion."I have responsibilities, I know, but I can also get some rest from time to time, right?"
The man named Gordolf sighed."You are always so careless... and why take a walk in such a place?! And at night, no less?!"
"Because it's the only time of day I'm free," he explained."And don't you find this forest mysteriously beautiful?"
The silver-haired girl listened to them the whole time, but her main focus was on the young man. Something about him attracted her. So much so that she could smell his scent from where she stood. 'A prince?' she thought. 'Like in fairy tales stories?'
"Listen to me, my prince. If you stay up late, you may be too tired for the ball tomorrow."
'A ball?'
"Yeah, yeah, I know," the prince agreed somewhat with a wry smile."All right, you win, Gordolf. Let's go back to the castle."
"Glad to see you are reasonable, my prince."
When they started to walk away, Mélusine instinctively took a step to follow them, or... to follow the prince to be more precise. Unfortunately, she was not paying attention and stepped on a tree branch.
"Do you heard it, my prince?!"
"..." The young man remained silent and quickly turned his head toward the noise.
"Come back here, my lord! It may be dangerous!"
As the prince began to walk closer to her location, she didn't know what to do anymore. Should she stay here, reveal herself, and get a chance to learn more about him?
"People get easily afraid of those who are different from them, after all."
The silver head remembered Aurora's words. In her mind, she imagined a frightened or disgusted expression on the young man's face. At the last second, she suddenly panicked and ran away. With her wings outstretched to their full length, she took flight in the presence of the two men.
"Have you seen it?! It's a monster, my prince!" Gordolf exclaimed, obviously frightened by the shadow of the black winged creature."I knew we shouldn't have come here!"
The young man said nothing. His eyes were focused on the winged being that was almost already far away from his field of vision. Only one word could describe his expression right now. Fascination.
Upon her return to her room, Mélusine felt ashamed of herself. She finally had the chance to go outside and especially to talk to this young man, this prince, and she wasted it. "I have to found a way to talk to him," she thought aloud desperately. Then the silver-haired girl remembered something."The ball! He will surely be there tomorrow! I just have to find the place." However, when she passed by her mirror, she noticed her own reflection in it. Her eyes saddened as she observed her 'special features'."...I have to fix it as well, but... how?"
Unbeknownst to her, a person was watching the scene from the shadows. A smile adorned the figure's face."It looks like someone has been a very bad girl, this night, but it doesn't matter anymore. I have a better idea, now. All I have to do is give her exactly what she wants."
The sun rose this morning, and Mélusine was thinking deeply about last night. She still had no idea how to solve her troubles.
"What's on your mind, Mélusine?" Aurora pulled her out of her thoughts.
"No-nothing..." she stammered.
"Really, sweetie?"
"..."
"You know, I know exactly what is going on with you."
"...!" Her golden eyes widened in surprise."H-how?"
"I noticed you were gone, and... you can guess what's next," the fairy admitted.
"I'm sorry... I-"
"Don't worry. I understand you, dear."
"...Really?"
"You've had a taste of the outside world, and you want more, but..." She looked up and down at the silver-haired girl."Your appearance is not easy to hide, am I wrong?"
"..." She lowered her head sadly.
"Well, I have a solution to your problem."
"You do?!" Hope regained her eyes.
"Yes, but in exchange, you would to give me something in return." The blonde-haired woman saw a worried look on Mélusine's face and smiled reassuringly at her."Don't worry, it's nothing worth to talk about." The fairy began to approach her. "Now, you just need to close your eyes."
Not wanting to let this chance go to waste, the silver head did as her caretaker said. When she was finally told to open her eyes, she watched directly at her reflection.
Mélusine was in amazement when she looked at herself in the mirror. Her skin had become completely flawless without any black shades. Her hair was soother than ever. The black wings that spread out from her back were no longer there, and her hands looked completely normal. Moreover, she was now dressed in a magnificent blue dress outfit. For once in her life, a confident smile appeared on her face.
"So, are you ready for the ball, princess?"
The silver-haired girl turned to the fairy. "Honestly, I can't thank you enough, Aurora."
"If you really want to thank me, you should stop wasting your time here."
She nodded happily and walked out of the house.
From her side, Aurora just smiled."I really didn't think an opportunity like this would present itself so soon. Luck is really on my side, isn't it?"
Following Aurora's instructions, Mélusine made her way through of the forest, and finally saw a huge castle.
"It looks like this is the place."
She was heading toward the building, when two guards stopped her.
"Halt! Do you have an invitation?"
"...Huh?" The silver-haired girl blinked at their intervention.
"You have nothing to do here if you don't!"
"I...see?" Confusion was written all over her face as she walked away from them."I guess I have to find another way to get in there." With a quick glance around, she saw an open window. Without even giving it a second thought, she immediately flew to it. "Luckily, I can still fly without my wings, even if a bit slower." Now inside, she began to explore the place. Everything looked luxurious here. There were many painting on the walls and beautiful rugs adorned the hallways. All of this was so unfamiliar to her.
"I'm so tired of all of that..." A male voice suddenly made itself known, and Mélusine instantly turned to the source. A certain young man with black hair was standing just in front of her. For an instant, time stood still as they both looked at each other.
'It's...him!'
"You're... no." The prince had his eyes glued to her. He had never seen a girl as beautiful before, and was like entranced. "You definitely are not a part of the guests, are you?" the young man finally asked her in a light tone of voice.
Surprised at first, a smile finally appeared on her face."No..." the uninvited one replied in the same way.
"I see." There was something familiar about her, but he couldn't figure out what."Presentations are therefore in order. I am Ritsuka, and you?"
"...Mélusine."
"What a beautiful name," he praised.
"Thanks!" she responded with joy.
After talking for a while, the two of them found themselves sitting next to each other on a balcony, looking up at the night sky.
"You know, you are really different from any people I have ever met." The black-haired man admitted.
"In a good or bad way?" Mélusine asked curiously.
"Guess yourself." He smiled, covering her hand with his own.
She couldn't help but blush as a smile adorned her face.
As the pair made a move to get closer, the silver-haired girl felt a strange sensation. Her eyes widened when she saw her hands had turned back in claws.
The man saw a shocked expression on her face."What's wrong?"
"S-sorry, I-I have to go... now...!"
"Wai-"
Without further explanation, she suddenly readier herself to jump through the railing, not wanting him to see her in this state. Little did she know that the prince had grabbed her hand at the last second, and when she took her flight, a look of horror crossed her face. The black-haired man had fallen, undoubtedly trying to catch her. As soon as Mélusine saw this, her instincts kicked in and immediately caught him.
Once back on the balcony, a silence settled over them. Her appearance was now completely visible to him, and she was afraid of how he was going to react.
'And if he-'
"Thank you."
"H-huh?" She blinked at his reaction.
"You really saved me in my reckless attempt to...save you," the prince continued."But it was obvious you weren't risking anything. You just didn't want me to see you like this, did you?"
Mélusine was dumbfounded. She was seeing no fear, no disgust, no hatred, only a smile graced his face."You...you really don't mind my... appearance?"
"Well, to tell you the truth, that was quite... unexpected." He chuckled lightly."But you are you. You are perfect just the way you are. There is nothing to be ashamed of."
The silver-haired girl stood still, like entranced by his words. She perceived no deception, no lies, only honesty in his eyes. It was like a dream comes true for her. She, who had always been isolated from the world, afraid of how people would react once they saw her real nature. As she realized this, she slowly closed the distance between them and hugged him.
"I-I'm so happy you're accepting me as I am...!"
The black-haired man returned her hug gently. Some minutes passed, and he suddenly thought about something."I was wondering, was it you by chance who was in the forest the other day?"
"...!" She widened her eyes slightly, embarrassed."I-I..."
"Don't worry, it's not a problem!" he reassured her, and then laughed as if remembering something."You scared Gordolf so much, too! It was pretty funny, wasn't it?"
Her lips curved into a smile and a sound came out of her mouth. For the first time in her life, she laughed, too.
"Oh, it seems that Mélodie has fallen asleep." Mélusine remarked with a warm smile as their daughter was sound asleep in her bed.
"Hey! I want to know what comes next!" her husband complained with a whisper to her.
She chuckled at her husband's childish behavior. "Maybe next time, Dear."
"Too bad..." Ritsuka feigned a pout, much to the woman's amusement."In any case," he continued."I didn't know you had storytelling skills."
"Neither did I," she admitted."Call it maternal instinct."
"You know..." he started with a wry smile."Even though I like your story... especially how accurate the expression of feelings between the two main characters is..." His wife giggled sweetly at his words, watching him affectionately."You would've been a much better princess than me as a prince."
"Is that so?" The silver-haired woman titled her head curiously.
"Yeah. You always had this princely air, after all," he explained his thoughts. "You definitely would've made a wonderful princess."
In reply, she slowly wrapped her arms around of his neck with a lovely smile on her face."You know how much I love it when you praise me, don't you?"
"Yeah, but I'm just telling the truth," he replied to her in kind, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I know. That's what I've always loved about you. Your pure honesty and kindness."
"I know."
They both looked deeply at each other.
"Next time, I could be the princess if you want, and..." she paused mid-sentence, moving her lips close to his ear. "You could be my knight in shining armor?"
A shiver ran down his spine as he felt the warmth of her breath against his skin."Me? A knight?" Ritsuka asked in a low voice with amusement. Golden orbs met blue ones as their faces started to get closer and closer.
"You underestimate yourself, you'd be a perfect knight." Their lips were only a few inches apart."Or then..." A playful smile crossed her face."I could be a knight of a ruthless queen and you a stranger from an another world?"
The couple shared a small laugh before closing the distance between them.
Author Note: Hello. I really want to thank you for your support. It's a real pleasure to know you enjoy it. I also want to let you know that I am only playing the US version. This means that there will probably not be much mention of the contents from the JP version until at the very least their respective releases. This obviously includes Mélusine's Valentine scene, the Summer Event 8, and her Summer/Ruler version. However, I was kind of already aware of what you mentioned about her Valentine in the review, even if it's just a little bit.
So, as usual, feel free to review on whatever was good or bad.
See you.