Maidens of the Kaleidoscope

~Hakurei Shrine~ => Patchouli's Scarlet Library => Topic started by: Gappy on March 17, 2013, 04:57:32 PM

Title: Scarlet and Illusionary Origins - A Fairly Fair Fairy Tale
Post by: Gappy on March 17, 2013, 04:57:32 PM

(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4544/92a16d79192cd15259268fd.jpg)

~Scarlet and Illusionary Origins~
- A Fairly Fair Fairy Tale-

Blurb
Before the sanctuary that is Gensokyo came to be, there was what we now know as the Scarlet Devil Mansion, one of the few remaining havens for the world's dwindling phantasms. An island of safety amidst a world increasingly hostile to the existence of phantasms, many flocked to its doors seeking shelter. This was a time before Gensokyo, before the Scarlet Devil Mansion even bore the name 'Scarlet', before its namesake 'Scarlet Devil' even came to be. There was only 'Remi', the very young human headmaid serving the most bizarre household of the 1800s, and the mysterious 'Violet Hearn', a guest with strange ambitions. This is a firsthand account of the rise of the Scarlet Devil and the origins of Gensokyo as told through the eyes of one accidental fairy maid.

Update Log
15/3/13 - Posted Chapter 1, Parts 1, 2 and 3
24/3/13 - Posted Chapter 2, Parts 1 and 2

Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Part 1 (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,14471.msg956911.html#msg956911)
Part 2 (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,14471.msg956912.html#msg956912)
Part 3 (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,14471.msg956913.html#msg956913)
Chapter 2
Part1 (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,14471.msg959118.html#msg959118)
Part 2 (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,14471.msg959121.html#msg959121)

Author's Notes
So this sort of came out of a CYOA I tried to run a while back to clear my writer's block. It's currently going strong on a CYOA touhou site (if anyone's interested just PM me, I'll give you the link). I thought I'd post it here for previewing and further polishing before I go publish it.

Credits
My thanks goes out to:
The players whose votes directed the story.
You, for taking the time to read this. 

Title: Re: Scarlet and Illusionary Origins - A Fairly Fair Fairy Tale
Post by: Gappy on March 17, 2013, 04:58:47 PM

Chapter 1 Part 1

Ah, I beg your pardon, honoured guests, you took me completely by surprise. Yes, I was already expecting you. I just didn't expect to run into you so. Yes, the mistress has already notified me of your coming. Please, take a seat and make yourselves comfortable. I shall see to the tea and biscuits.

Here, please, help yourselves, enjoy. Now, I understand you wished to speak to me specifically? It is not very often our honoured guests seek out a fairy so specifically, let alone me. I feel humbled, and somewhat curious too. Whatever could the occasion be?

Ah, I see. You'd like to hear about that. And the mistress directed you to me, did she? That does make sense, though I feel I'm hardly the fairy, let alone person, most qualified to tell this story. Hmmm? The whole story, you say? Well, that might take a while, I'm afraid. I'm not as quick or smart as some of my cousins, you see. You don't mind? And you'd like me to start at the very beginning? Well then, what luck that we're so comfortably set up with tea and snacks. Very well then, dear guests, I will have to ask you to forgive my poor rambling excuse for storytelling. My memories of the beginning are only fuzzy at best. This will be my first time relating this tale to anyone too. But I will do my very best. If nothing else, trying my best is what I'm best at.

Now, please, sit back, dear guests, and enjoy my tale...my fairy tale.

---------------------------------------------------------------

When I was new to the world, I lounged on a bed of pebbles. It wasn't much, but it was my own little domain. From the deep vales cast purple in the dawn fog to the golden rings of snow-capped peaks in the sunrise, I sang, an echoing song of rolling stones, of the kiss of the sun upon my heart, of chasing rainbows in blind faith. I was slow, but I told myself I wasn't really in a rush to get anywhere. I was never able to keep up with anyone, but I told myself I had no need for company, just like my solitary Mother Mountain. I came from rocks of the Mountain, and to rocks I shall return.

And then one day I simply....was. I was still what I was, but I was also...me, a being with a body, eyes, ears, hands and feet, a person. I see you're already frowning at my explanation. I apologize, I will not pretend I know how exactly my kind are 'born', if we are 'born' at all. But I suppose in a way we are not too dissimilar, dear guest. Most of you humans were born when love was at its strongest. Similarly, we come to be when nature is at its strongest. And to complete the comparison, I may also add that some love is involved too. The love of people such as yourselves. Your love and faith in nature, to be precise. At least, that is what my mistress taught me.

Just try to imagine, dear guests, that sensation, the absolute freedom of being able to see, feel, taste the world, experience it in all its beautiful glory. To soar free across the snow-capped peaks, dive deep into the misty valleys, dip through the icy cold streams and surf the flowing glaciers. To do all that alongside my sisters, fellow mountain fairies, playing our silly games and singing our echoing songs all day long, season after season, year after year, century after century....It is simply beyond description.

Sure, I wasn't the swiftest or strongest of my sisters by any measure. While they were able to craft boulders and monoliths, I was barely able to roll pebbles. While they nurtured mighty firs and oaks, I barely gathered moss and the occasional mushroom. And yet Mother Mountain always encouraged me. She told me that even a little pebble (like me) could topple entire armies, reply with thundering echoes, wield the ferocity of the mountain fog and storm and even start avalanches. All I had to do was rock hard, roll harder, so she said. She told me a lot of things, my dear Mother Mountain.

She told me what it was to be a great mountain. She told me that any mountain can be strong, but to be truly great mountain, one must find one's own 'echo', one's own 'song', a song harsh yet benevolent, unyielding yet gentle, strong yet nurturing, and, most importantly, brave yet loving. I took her words very much to heart, spending my days in search of my 'song' to becoming a great mountain like her. Oh, how her gentle laughter echoed, whenever she watched me try to tap out songs on hollow barks and rock, icicles and nuts. I would simply huff and continue beating out my unique little tune and sing my heart out, my 'song'. At least my sisters liked it!

I don't know how much of my life I lived by Mother Mountain. Time there was as unmoving as our Mother Mountain. They say that if it weren't for you humans, we lighter folk would never have understood what time is. There is perhaps some truth in that. I remember the day your ancestors arrived. It was perhaps the first real thing I actually properly remember, however vaguely. We watched them, more out of curiosity than anything else. At first they seemed to come and go oh so quickly. They appear, small and helpless, in the hands of their parents, they grow, they become parents themselves, then...they disappear.

However, they always leave something behind. Their homes of wood and stone, their fields of wheat and fruit. But, more lasting, were the scars on our Mother Mountain and the lands around her. They were small at first, little things Mother Mountain could easily shrug off with the passage of time. Besides, it was in her nature to provide for your ancestors, for us, for everyone. But more and more of your ancestors arrived, enough to overwhelm what Mother Mountain could offer, what she could take. They began to dig deep, delve hard, to carve out Mother Mountain's heart.

I could remember the day Mother Mountain last spoke to me. I was the only child who remained by her side at the time. I could not remember what happened to the rest of my sisters but with each passing of the seasons there were fewer and fewer of us. Maybe they left. Maybe Mother Mountain told them the same thing she told me that day. That day Mother Mountain told me to leave, to find a new home and a new family. Being the obedient child I was, I did as I was told without question. I left.

I didn't understand anything at all at the time. I didn't even understand what the heavy feeling was in my chest. It was so heavy it felt like I was carrying Mother Mountain inside me. Perhaps that was it, I thought, and the thought gave me some measure of courage. And I needed it. The world beyond the mountain was vast, different, beyond anything I knew or understood...frightening. With nothing but the eastern wind as my guide, the sun, moon and stars as my company, I passed through glades and forests, mountains and valleys. But no matter where I went, I was simply passing through. I never found the 'home' Mother Mountain told me to find. Many seasons passed, during which a strange hunger within me grew increasingly unbearable. It had been but a tingle during my time with Mother Mountain. But by then it had grown considerably. No amount of wild fruits and nuts would satisfy me. I felt the strange hunger slowly consume me, weaken me. My strength left me. My mind faltered. My wandering became even more directionless.

When my desperation was at its peak I came upon a very strange place. It was by the pale light of the moon that I found it. It was massive. Nowhere near as big as Mother Mountain, but about as impressive, if not more so. Walls of dark red stone reached for the stars. Squares of light spilled with warmth. It was one of those human 'palaces' I had heard of, large stone homes filled with many many humans. But while I never felt comfortable approaching human homes, this one felt...different. It felt almost like Mother Mountain, my proud yet loving Mother Mountain, a long, long time ago when she was filled with the echoing laughter of my sisters. Perhaps it was how it was nestled by a lush forest, a beautiful sparkling river feeding into a nearby lake, surrounded by gentle rolling hills. Perhaps it was because it was the first human home I had come so close to. Or perhaps I was so tired and weak that anything at all short of my grave would appear welcoming.

A scent caught my nose. A most wondrous scent, the scent of something warm and delicious. It tickled my hunger. Surely a place so large had more than enough food for all the people it had to fit inside? Surely they wouldn't miss a bite or two if I snuck in and helped myself?
I fluttered over the high wall, my rumbling tummy begging me to seek out the source of the wondrous scent. If I'm crafty enough I might get away with a bite or two filling my tummy. And if I'm lucky who knows what else I might find in such a big, curious place! After all, Mother Mountain wanted me to be brave, right?

I flittered eagerly through the air now growing increasingly thicker with the wonderful odour. Below me the silver moonlight flooded a calm, serene garden, but I paid it little attention then. My tummy needed urgent looking after after all!

It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for - a small opening in the lower part of one of the walls looking into a bright, warm spacious place wafting with the most delicious smells. My heart leapt with joy, my tummy with excitement. This must be where they keep all their food! With an eager beat of my wings I fluttered through the opening, comfortably squeezing through.

The insides of human homes always confused me, the few times in my life I had been brave enough to even peer into them. So many straight lines! So many squares and angles! It was always so muddling and weird. And this one was no different. So much iron too! Cruel, black, lifeless iron....I quivered a bit at the sight of them. But then the source of the odour caught my nose, my eyes and my hunger. I left my fear at the window and fluttered closer to the large spread of colourful yummy-looking things set atop one of the really really big wooden squares.

Unable to resist any longer, I reached out an impatient hand and grasped one of the smaller yummy-looking bits. It was warm and soft to the touch, a little sticky too, but I knew my tummy wouldn't mind. My tiny mouth felt much too small as I took as large a bite as I could manage.

Ooh, dear guests, you couldn't even begin to imagine, the experience of eating your very, very first Mont Blanc, a delicate and wondrous meeting of soft cream and smooth chestnuts, with sprinkly sticky icing on top to boot, after a lifetime of knowing nothing more than mountain fruits and nuts. Not that there is anything lacking with mountain fruits and nuts, in fact they are still very much my favourites, but that softness, creaminess, that deep, flagrant sweetness....I honestly believed I would have simply passed from the surge of sheer happiness. In fact, I believed I really had and gone to wherever it was good little fairies go.

Ahem, but I digress. Now, where was I?

Ah, yes.

I ate. I ate and I ate, losing myself in the blissful warm sweetness of it all. For the first time in many, many seasons, so many I had lost count, I felt my hunger slowly disappear. The strength in my limbs and wings returned, the foggy haziness in my head lifted. I felt alive, more alive than I had been in a long, long while. Alive and happy.

But that feeling of happiness and satisfaction barely lasted. A loud squeak interrupted my feast, "Y-you! W-who are y-you! Y-you d-don't belong here! N-No you don't!" It was a high-pitched voice, trembling dangerously with fear. I almost choked on my heart as it leapt up to my throat while a chill crashed down in the pits of my now fluttering tummy. I froze, soft creamy food things falling out of my limp fingers. I had been caught, creamy-handed!

I noticed the source of the squeak standing in an opening leading out of the room. She was small, about my size and shape. In fact her soft, shimmering wings marked her as one of my cousins. But...she wasn't facing me. Rather, she was facing someone beyond the opening, someone I couldn't quite see. A stranger perhaps? Someone else here intent on stealing the yummy sweet things? I couldn't blame them. They were delicious! Pity there wasn't much left for them though...

Feeling genuinely guilty for not sparing any for the other hungry stranger...as well as for not really belonging there myself, but at the same time glad I wasn't in trouble...yet...I fluttered underneath the wooden square thing and peered out at my panicked cousin....

Just in time to see a figure wrapped all in dark purple run straight into her. I stiffled a little gasp of horror with a handy yummy sweet thing as my little cousin attempted to do the same 'K-KYAAA-...urk...' but her cry was cut short, and she didn't really have a yummy sweet thing on her.

With a soft sigh my little cousin slumped onto the ground, little hands tugging weakly on the purple figure's cloak. "I-In-...intruder!" She gasped, hoarsely. Even from where I was I could tell she was doing her best from the way her little chest was heaving painfully, "I-Intruder i-in the m-mansion! P-please...w-warn t-the...." She cried, before another swift motion from the purple figure's hand silenced her. "..ulp..."

I gave a stifled little squeak into my sticky hands. T-that p-person i-in that c-cloak...i-it hurt her! I-it hurt my poor cousin so much s-she couldn't even scream! I-it hurt a fairy, a fairy like me....i-it could do the same to me! T-to be hurt s-so much I couldn't even scream...the very thought made me freeze with bone-chilling terror.

But then as the purple figure turned to leave, it paused mid-step. It did a half-turn and looked down at the little hand grasping its long, purple cloak. It was my little cousin, clutching onto the cloak from where she lay on the floor, as if her very life depended on it. But...but...i-it noticed you! It noticed you're still moving! H-how would that help you in any way....?

"No....t-this...this is...o-our home....l-leave..." My cousin breathed, her voice barely a ragged whisper. "Don't....don't...hurt...hurt my...my family..."

Home...? Family...? The things Mother Mountain told me to find...Is that why...?

I gave the cloaked figure another look. It was at least twice my size. And now that I looked carefully, the hand it had run into my cousin held a cruel, sharp-looking piece of...o-of i-iron....cold...evil...i-iron. A-and...w-what was t-that s-sickly r-red stuff d-dripping f-from it....?

What d-do I do? I told myself I'm just a little fairy, just like my cousin who had already fallen. She couldn't do anything to this...this evil...thing. W-what if this attacker person was h-hungry? A-and it was here to take f-food too? Like me? What if it noticed I had eaten it all? W-would it g-get angry? W-would it eat me instead? What could a little fairy like me possibly do?

What did M-Mother Mountain say? I-I have to be...that's right, I have to be brave! Strong! Unyielding, wh-whatever that meant! I've spent a long, long time being a-a-afraid. But...but now I can't...because someone, a cousin, needs me! I have to try! I dashed out towards the purple figure, ready to be brave, ready to rock hard, roll harder!

...I wish I knew how I was going to be brave though...

Come on, think, me, think! What can I...? Oh, didn't Mother Mountain used to say I'm both brave and (a little) hard-headed (at times)? My sisters often agreed with the hard-headed bit. Maybe I can be both this time too?

Putting my head to some sort of plan as hard as I can as I hurtled towards him, I ended up using my head, on his. There was a dull, empty thunk as my head rammed into his sideways, sending him flying down the corridor. Ouchies, that was hard! His head was harder than iron! And my sisters told me I have a hard head!

Head reeling from the headbutt, I tried to force an emergency landing, which ended up more a cross between a barrel roll and a crash. Dazed, eyes rolling, I forced myself up onto my shaky knees. That was when I noticed that he was in fact a she. The deep purple hood had unfurled to reveal a woman...no...a girl, sporting long, dark, lavender hair secured by a simple crescent-moon hairpin. I stared. She stared back, intense orbs of fierce lilac burning with what I thought might have been more annoyance than anger.

A nearby metallic twang pulled our attention off each other and towards her blade that had embedded itself in the wall nearby. We looked back at one another. As if replying to the unspoken, she unfurled her deep purple robes to reveal....

....uh oh....

Iron...more cold cruel iron...and lots of it. Some sharp, some long and pointy, some especially sharp, some...what the obsidian is that?

...how'd...how'd you even w-walk straight with all that...?

Ah, pardon my giggling, dear guests. I agree that did ruin the tension. I assure you, back then it was anything but humorous. It was absolutely blood-curdlingly frightening.

Still, dear guests, under any other circumstances, it would have been quite comical, now, that I reflect upon it from the safety of this peaceful living room. The inner side of her robes was a veritable armoury, an arsenal of things from the sharp and pointy to the glowing and threatening. I wasn't as acquainted with holy water and crucifixes back then as I am now but I knew enough to know this girl was carrying quite the fearsome arsenal, enough to wage war on our mansion thrice over and still have enough holy water left over for tea. What I find most humorous is that now, all things considered, you really wouldn't have thought it of her....

Ah, but I digress again.

As the girl struggled to get onto her feet, I slowly backed away towards my fallen cousin. Mother Mountain used to say 'Mountain breeze before your mountain storm', 'kindness before violence'. I never really understood what she meant, but if I had to choose between keeping my cousin safe and testing my hard-headedness on her's again, I don't think I have to use my head that much. With a flutter of my wings I lifted off backwards, keeping a watchful eye on my foe as she got to her knees.

There was a small flicker of movement in her cloak. The next moment, a hot, sharp pain shot through my left wing. The pain, oh the pain! 'H-Hyaaah!' I squeaked out as the pain seared my wing, boring into my back. A surge of panic overtook me as I felt the wing move awkwardly, failing to pick up air. I twisted and tumbled through the air, desperately trying keep up in the air. But the very effort of staying up, let alone upright, was too much for my poor wings. They gave way, leaving me rolling into a crash landing beside my fallen cousin.

'Aauuuuh...' I squeaked tearfully. Back on the mountain I would simply lie and cry until someone, usually Mother Mountain, picked me up. But I knew full well I had neither the help nor the time this time around. This time, someone else needed my help. I looked around at her prone form and gritted my teeth. It's my turn to do the helping now! Blinking out my tears, I gave a little pained gasp as I picked my cousin up, slinging her arms over my shoulders against my painful wing, heaving her up onto her feet as best as I can.

That was when I noticed the look in her tearful moss-green eyes. I followed her gaze up to my wing and noticed for the first time the horrifying tear. Way up on the wall behind us was a long, thin, sharp-looking length of wood, its head embedded deep in the wall, still quivering from its recent flight.

I looked back at our attacker just in time to see her loading another similar length of wood into a some sort of cruel-looking device. I was slow but I had enough wits to work out that the cruel-looking device shot out those evil bits of wood, one of which had torn right through my poor wings.

I hefted my cousin up and half-carried half-dragged her towards the nearest cover, the place with all the food. I pulled her behind one of the wooden box-things and listened as hard as I can for our attacker.

The moments dragged on for what felt like an eternity. On and on. I strained my ears as best as I can for the slightest hint, the smallest clue, of our attacker-person's pursuit, every little bit of me tensed up ready to make another desperate dash for survival.

Much to my relief I heard hurried footfalls growing fainter and fainter in the distance. She was leaving! Perhaps we managed to scare her off? Or maybe she didn't think we or the food were important enough now that she's been discovered? Pity, I wouldn't have minded sharing if she had only asked nicely instead of hurt us....

I let out a breath of relief, turning towards my cousin's crouched trembling form leaning against the wall. That was when I took in her appearance for the first time. She was about my height, with long light bluish-green hair the colour of mountain streams, tied into a ponytail on one side. Her wings curved and curled beautifully, not unlike young tree sprigs, glowing a soft watery blue, gently...almost...kindly? Soft and kind, just like her face and eyes, I might say. She was dressed in a very neat deep blue dress, covered by a frilly white cloth-thing on the front, with a matching frilly white headband-thing on her head. It was much too neat and well-made to have been made by any fairy I knew of, but then I didn't know that many fairies who aren't mountain fairies.

That was when she spoke to me for the first time, grasping me by the hem of my plain gray roughspun tunic, "P-please..." She breathed, her voice raspy and ragged, "I-I'm sorry...cousin...I-I don't even recognize you...and you've already saved me... b-but...p-please...t-the young...m-mistress...she's in d-d-danger....please...save h-her too..." She gasped, wincing, holding to her side.

Noticing the worried look on my face she added, "I-I'll b-be fine....these...these wounds will heal soon e-enough...we're fairies a-after all." She gave me a pained yet brave smile. "B-bu-but it's all over if she kills the y-young mistress..."

"...." I didn't reply immediately, working my head as hard as I can. My sisters and I have always healed most injuries pretty quickly, it's true, so it was perhaps the same for all fairies? Still, that doesn't make being hurt any less painful. But from what she said, this 'young mistress' is probably not a fairy and is probably in real danger? I didn't know what 'kill' is but it sounded like something worse than being hurt. Perhaps this attacker person wasn't after food after all but was in fact here to hurt this young mistress person? Do I....do I really want to go save a complete stranger?

Title: Re: Scarlet and Illusionary Origins - A Fairly Fair Fairy Tale
Post by: Gappy on March 17, 2013, 04:59:46 PM

Chapter 1 Part 2

Mother Mountain used to say that to the Mountain all are strangers. We must be unforgiving and generous to all in equal measure. This young mistress is a stranger I haven't even met before but I must still go help her if she needs it!

"Where can I find her?" I asked my trembling cousin, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze, something I felt I needed myself more than anything. "Don't worry, I promise I'll find her and keep her safe." I did my best to reassure her. Not that my best was much. Usually it was me being reassured by my sisters and Mother Mountain. It didn't help that I've always found talking to others....awkward at best.

I finished with a little gulp, realizing that I had jumped at making that promise. I didn't make promises often, especially not big promises like that. 'A promise carries as much weight as its Mountain' Mother Mountain said. Promises have to be kept, no matter what. And the thought weighed me with a newfound fear, fear that I might fail. Still, I had little else to reassure her with at the time, and a promise felt like the best I could do.

Thankfully, it seemed my best had some effect. My cousin seemed to calm down a little as she breathed a little sigh of relief.

"Thank you, cousin....I...I owe you my life...and even more now. She's in t-the basement..." She wheezed. Seeing the lost look on my face she added, "J-Just take the stairs down." Noticing how the lost look on my face barely flickered, she frowned in concentration, "....just...find...the lowest part of this place...g-go down that way and t-take the first path downwards..." I nodded, finally getting an idea of my destination.

"H-Here...the key...you'll need this to get in..." She reached into her dress and brought out a small oddly-shaped piece of black iron. My blank look returned. Well, Humans bang each other on the head with iron things. Now if that attacker person's carrying dangerous iron things then...then I suppose I should be bringing one too? Very thoughtful of her...though how this one compares to the one that attacker person is carrying...well...

I took the little iron thing and gave it a few experimental swishes through the air, "Umm...like this?" I asked.

"...." My poor cousin gave me a pained look, one that was probably not caused by her wounds. "uumm...it's not a w-weapon, it's a key...muuu....you know, to open a door?" She returned my puzzled look with one of her own as she tried to search for the right words. "...when you find...a door...a big iron wall in your way...put this in the hole and t-turn it. It will let you push the iron wall open...."

"Ah...I-I knew that!" I blushed deeply, "Well...I k-knew it wasn't to bang people's heads....at least..." I blushed an even deeper red on noticing I was tugging and twiddling on the hem of my tunic in my embarassment.

"....please...be careful...all you need to do is warn her and get her away safe....don't...don't try to bang that person's head...again." My cousin said, worriedly. "I...I don't want you get hurt again, cousin...please..." She said, tears welling up in her eyes again.

I gave her a little nod, more for her reassurance. I didn't know what I would find down below or what I'd have to do to carry out my promise. I didn't like hurting people because the idea of being hurt myself is so very frightening. But if that's what I had to do to protect the person this cousin of mine calls 'family'....

I tore myself from the thought. Such things felt so very alien to me. They were things for big people, not something for little fairies like me, right? Besides, I had more important things to worry about, like finding this 'bass-man' place.

I felt I had to say something to my cousin before I left. "Firm steps. I'll be back." Was all I managed without tripping over my own words.

"Un." She nodded, giving me a feeble little smile, "Safe winds. I-I'll be w-waiting for you."

A thought struck me as I was about to leave the food place. If this thing's not for banging people's heads then I should pick up an iron thing that does. I looked around the food place and found a few iron things. Too big. Too sharp. Too rusty. Too....what the pebbles is this weird thing? And this one...Ah, this one looks round and friendly and it even has a wooden bit I can safely hold onto. It even reflects the starlight outside. You need a name, friendly round iron thing. I will call you 'stargazer' and you'll be my head-banging friend.

Hmmm? What is that, dear guests? My vocabulary? Yes, yes, I know what a vocabulary is. I may be slow but I'm not that slow. Yes, I didn't have that big a vocabulary back then. I was but a mountain fairy freshly descended from the mountain. While I've observed humans I've never felt the need to give names to all the human peculiarities I see. For example, do you know what a heat exchange thermocouple is? Most of you probably couldn't put an image to the name because it is not something you make use of on a daily basis. Necessity is the mother of vocabulary after all.

Ah, but what you want to know is why I'm telling you the story using my younger self's vocabulary and language? I understand your confusion, dear guest. Allow me to appease your curiosity. You see, we fairies don't remember things the way you do. Our memories function somewhat differently. Borrowing one of your human figures of speech, we fairies don't drive down memory lane like you might. We walk it, live it, breath it, again. When we wish to recall a memory we relive the experience in our minds.

On the one hand it is impractical, thus why most of us are quite happy being forgetful like we are. On the other hand it means we have near-perfect recollection...which is perhaps why the mistress chose to have me convey this tale to you. Ah, does that mean I relive all the pain I experienced as well? Yes, I see your cause for concern, and I appreciate your worrying for me, dear guest. Yes, when I said 'relive', I do mean reliving the experience in its entirety, including the sights, smells, sounds...and...yes, the pain. But it is but a memory. It causes no real harm or injury. Besides, even if it did, as I've mentioned, we fairies don't 'die' in the same way you do. So, please, worry not for me, dear guests.

But we digress yet again. Now, where was I? Ah, yes, little stargazer...

With the reassuring weight of stargazer in my hands (reassuring because there wasn't much else to feel assured about) I peeked out towards where the attacker person last was. I was half-relieved that she was nowhere in sight. Still, Mother Mountain used to say that no fox in sight means a fox in hiding. Taking a deep breath I ventured forth deeper into the human home place, wondering to myself if all human homes were this massive on the inside...or this dangerous. It felt odd, walking on the soft, fluffy red floor, but I had little choice. My wings won't be carrying me again anytime soon. Even then the twinges of dull throbbing pain continued shooting through my back, but I carried on, ignoring them.

Just as I reached a larger, grander part of the home with paths leading away in many directions, a thought occurred to me. If this 'key' thing I'm carrying opens the big iron wall leading to the young mistress...and if the attacker person doesn't have the key, then she can't get to her, right? So if I just keep this key thing safe...

That was when a loud thunder-like sound rocked the home. White flaky stuff rained down on me from above as I fell to my trembling knees, squeaking in fear. The shadows about me danced as the big round metal light thing above me swayed about, creaking painfully as it did. I felt the earth tremble below my bare feet. It came from below. It felt like when the humans began to dig into Mother Mountain using their thunder-fire things. But at the same time I felt the tingle of...magic? Here? Another thought clicked in my head. If a little iron thing can open that iron wall then a big thunder-fire could too....

Another loud thunder-like sound rocked everything around me. This time it came from outside. Peeking out from between the arms cradling my head near the floor, I saw lights outside one of the big openings in the wall...is that fire? Raining down from the sky? But...fire doesn't form beautiful, colourful patterns like that...

"Intruders! Outside the mansion!" A distant, muffled voice shouted, "Eirin needs help outside!" I heard a rush of footsteps and heavy slamming in the distance. More shouts followed, but were too distant and muffled for even me to make out.

B-but...t-they're inside! Well, one of them is! I wanted to shout and warn them, but there was no way I could make myself heard over that loud booming outside, not even with my mountain echoes.

I looked around. The path deeper down towards where the young mistress person probably was was tucked away in an opening to one side of the grand area. I gulped, weighing up my choices.

I decided I had no time to go warn the other people in the house. That attacker person may already have opened the iron wall and reached the young mistress person by now. Besides, Mother Mountain used to say 'Even a single pebble can move mountains."I hurried down after her, stargazer at the ready. If I hurry I could probably catch her before she harms the young mistress!

I stopped at the top of a set of stone steps that lead down into pitch-black darkness. I gulped a little, clutching the stargazer tightly against my thumping chest. Down there, somewhere, in the dark, was the attacker-person and her cruel bits of iron and her evil wood-shooting device. The very thought was enough to root me to the spot. But another little voice told me that the young mistress person, someone my cousin was ready to be hurt for, someone dear to her, a person who needed my help, was down there.

Deep breaths. No tears. Only courage, me! Courage! I'm not a little pebble anymore! I need to be a mountain! For her! For my cousin! For me!

....Talking to myself is one thing, doing is another. I took one step. Another step. Another smaller step. A chill ran down my spine as the darkness swallowed me whole. I told myself it was just the feel of the cold stone steps under my bare feet but my heart knew better. It wasn't really the darkness that unsettled me, it was what I knew was lurking in it somewhere. Soon the sound of distant explosions melted away into nothingness. All I could hear were the soft pitter-patter of my bare feet on the long, long stretch of stone steps echoing eerily in the darkness.

I picked up my pace. I had to hurry, I told myself. Pitter-patter...pitter-patter...the echoes picked up pace too. So did my heart, throbbing away in my chest, threatening to deafen me. Even the dull throbbing pain in my wings couldn't distract me anymore from the dread, the knowledge, that I was all alone.

Well...alone with her.

I shook myself as best as I could and hurried onwards, whispering 'courage, me, courage' over and over under my breath like a mantra.

Thankfully being a fairy of the mountain meant I was no stranger to the darkness under the earth. Despite having it my entire life, my dark-seeing eyes still unsettled me, however. All that would be colourful and bright in broad daylight would meld together into alien blurs of blacks and grays. Still, they did their job. My dark-seeing eyes saved me tripping on the last stone step as it evened out into a long, long passage, the walls of which I could barely make out even with my dark-seeing eyes.

I hurried on, pitter-pattering my way across the dark stone passageway. I felt myself begin to miss the soft flooring and bright warmth of the home above. Why would anyone want to live down here, beyond the light of the sun and the warmth of the earth? Behind a wall of iron no less? My heart leapt mid-thought as I lost my footing mid-step. With a gasp I found myself stepping off a small ledge and onto a bed of loose rock.

Catching myself, I looked around. In the dim haziness of my dark-seeing eyes I could just about make out a shallow hole in the ground as if a giant had half-heartedly scooped out the earth. It was littered with loose stone that fanned out in a wide arc. At the center of the arc, just beyond where I stood, was a wall, one of cold, dark iron, where the passageway ended. Was this it? The place the 'young mistress person' was? I clutched the iron key in my pocket as I slowly stepped closer to the wall.

Title: Re: Scarlet and Illusionary Origins - A Fairly Fair Fairy Tale
Post by: Gappy on March 17, 2013, 05:00:09 PM

Chapter 1 Part 3

Wait. That attacker person. Is she nearby? Is she... watching me? From the dark somewhere beyond the reach of my dark-seeing eyes? Somewhere along the walls? Maybe even behind me? Thick, heavy dread crashed into the pits of my tummy as the cold hard realization hit me. I had hurried straight into a trap!

I felt my blood turn to ice from the inside out, freezing my bare feet to the ground. Where is she? Is she coming for me? Will she...hurt me? Will she...Will she steal this key thing from me? Will she hurt the young mistress person? Will she...will she 'kill' her?

A new fear overtook my fear of the attacker-person. It was my fear of failing. My fear of losing this young mistress person my cousin held so dear to this attacker person. My mind ran, much much faster than it had ever worked before. This key thing is all that can stop her! She absolutely must not have this key thing!

If she gets me she will get the key thing. It's not safe with me, so...my dark-seeing eyes darted across the passageway...the far corner? Under the rocks below my feet? Where I can I keep this safe...?

My ears only barely registered the brisk swish of cloth, the soft clatter of loose stone, behind me. There she was. I heard her approach. She would get me. I knew she would. But not this key thing, absolutely not!

My heart fluttered. My dark seeing eyes finally found what they were seeking. There was a small gap between the bottom of the iron wall and the floor, just wide enough for me to aim for.

"No!" The attacker person shouted. So she knew I had the key thing. She probably realized what I was about to do with it too. But she was too late.

Gripping the key thing like I would a pebble, I threw it as best as I could at the gap. It bounced off the loose stone, clattered across smoother stone, spun wildly across the remaining distance, before...

....it finally slipped safely under the iron wall.

My heart sang. I did it! I...

"Hyaaaaaauuuu!"

Oh, the pain, the pain, dear guests, like a bolt of lightning searing the soft flesh of my shoulder, tearing me from the inside out. The pain ran through me, shaking me to the core. My tear-ridden dark-seeing eyes barely made out the length of cruel-looking wood splintered through the cloth about my trembling right shoulder, one not unlike the one that tore through my wing before. Horror struck me as I felt the cloth dampen with something hot and sticky.

I heard the clatter of something being thrown onto the ground behind me. That shooting device, it only shot one length of wood at a time. She's probably gotten rid of it which meant that meant she would be using something else next, maybe her cruel bits of sharp iron. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I willed my one good arm to protect myself.

I whirled around clumsily to face her, feet scattering loose stone in a wide arc, stargazer flying out in my outstretched good hand. There was a bright spark and a loud resounding clang as cold iron met cold iron. The Stargazer flew out of my trembling hand, flung out by clang of iron on iron, disappearing with a disheartening clatter in a dark corner of the passageway. The glint of cold metal in the attacker person's hand told me she hand't lost hold of her own. A glint of metal in her other hand told me she had a second, which she brought up following her first, straight into me.

"Ulp..."

....

S-sorry, dear guests...j-just give me a moment....t-to catch m-my breath....y-yes, sorry, w-where was I? The pain...y-yes...the pain...the pain...it was beyond a-anything I had ever experienced, even more overwhelming than having my wing torn or my shoulder pierced. Searing, white, excruciating pain tore through me like wildfire on a mountain. It was pain so overwhelming I couldn't even summon my voice to scream. That was my first time experiencing being 'hurt so bad I couldn't even cry out'. More pain came. And more. More cold cruel iron were driven through my helpless body, one after another. She was as brutal as she was thorough, as if nothing short of overkill was enough, as if she was bent on ensuring I would never rise again.

For what felt like forever there was nothing but burning, blinding white pain. I felt nothing else, knew nothing else. So...i-is this what being 'k-k-killed' is? It hurt, it hurt so much! I was so sc-scared...so frightened...wh-what happens after you get killed? Would it hurt more? What else c-could she do to me? C-could s-she make it hurt even more? What could I do? I couldn't do anything. I'm just a little fairy. I've always been just a little fairy. What did I think I could do?

As the fierce all-consuming fire of the pain subsided into a lower roaring crackle, room appeared enough for my other senses to return. I felt the cold unforgiving loose earth beneath me. I felt the searing frost of the many, many cold iron blades against my warm insides. It appears I had been pushed onto my back after she had driven blade after blade after blade through my body. As my vision swam clearer, I saw the back of my attacker-person as she knelt by the iron wall, just where I had thrown the key thing. Is she trying to get the key thing from under? But surely I had thrown the key thing far enough? What if...what if...

....N-No! I had promised my cousin that I would keep her family, whoever she was, safe! I carried a mountain called courage in my heart, and no matter how scared, how frightened I was, no matter how much she hurt me, my mountain will not fall!

I reached two shaking hands up and grasped the hilts of two of the cold iron blades. My hands froze. Pain! Searing cold bitter numbing painful pain! Gritting my teeth against the pain I pulled on the iron. A sliver...an inch...it moved, every little inch an eternity of soul-wrenching pain. But finally it came free. Free! Slowly, unsteadily, I raised myself, pushing myself up onto my knees.

Her back was turned towards me. This was my chance! My chance to...

...do what?

I turned my hazy, blurry gaze down at the two cruel pieces of iron I held in my shaky, sticky hands, dripping with my own cold blood. What would I do with these...?

...hurt her? Hurt her like she had hurt me? ...soak these blades with her blood too?

Could I do that? Could I be that cold? Could my blood become as cold as the blood on this blade? Could holding a blade make anyone's blood that cold?

A loud click interrupted my thoughts. What was that? It came from up ahead? From the iron wall? The attacker person looked up at the iron wall. So she had noticed it too. So it wasn't just an imagination of my fevered mind.

There was a creak, and a groan of heavy iron. My weary heart leapt. A gap appeared on one side of the iron wall. The iron wall was opening, inwards. Why?!

The attacker-person was quicker than me in overcoming her apparent surprise. She stood up and reached her right hand into her cloak, no doubt drawing another cruel evil object with which she would harm the young mistress person behind that iron wall.

I had no choice. The attacker-person had made it for me. Tears blinding me, I forced what little strength my little body had left into my feet, willing them to carry me that one last distance to my mission. It was a miracle. They did, shakily, clumsily, they did.

I gathered what little breath I had left in my weak, gurgling lungs. Choking back whatever thick, hot, bitterness was welling in my throat, I cried out with my mountain echo as loud as I can, willing the person behind the iron wall to hear my warning. "....aa...aaaa...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Was all my ragged, hole-ridden lungs managed.

But it was enough. The attacker-person was sent staggering forwards by the force of my mountain bellow. Her right hand flew out of her cloak, clutching a small red square object that glimmered threateningly in the dark.

It wasn't until much, much, much later that I learned that my shout had stopped her from completing the incantation for the spellcard in her hand. Incidentally, it was a prototype for what you may now know as the 'Royal Flare'. Yes, I notice the familiarity dawning on your face, dear guest. You've no doubt heard of it, probably even witnessed it. Few in Gensokyo today have yet to hear of the brilliance that is the Royal Flare.

I didn't know this at the time. Seeing the iron wall drawn fully open, seeing it reveal the small figure standing behind it, seeing the attacker-person staggeringly recover, dangerous-looking object in hand....I wasted no time in covering the last few steps between me and her. With no strength left, entrusting my blades to my clumsy charge, I fell upon her like a fir tree struck in a gale. I buried one deep into her right shoulder, hoping, praying it would be enough to stop her using her evil to harm the young mistress person.

"M-Mukyuuuuuuuuh!" She screamed in pain. I didn't let her do much else. The rest of my broken little body did the rest of my job for me. I pinned her writhing but otherwise helpless form to the ground. I will hold her. With my own broken body if need be. And I will not stop until this mountain inside my heart crumbles to dust.

She looked up at me. Our eyes met. Angry violet eyes starred up at mine. Slowly, they turned towards the other blade in my other trembling hand, raised, poised for one last strike.

"...demon..." She hissed in one agonized panting breath, "Foul...demon..."

"P-please..." I rasped, risking choking on my own blood, "P-Please...give up.....just...give up...don't...make me...do...more..." I pleaded, begged, with all my weary heart. "...please..."

Hurried footsteps echoed across the passageway behind us. "Young mistress!" A voice called out, "Flandre!". A bright light lit up the passageway from behind. "Are you alright?!"

"...." The realization hit us both, both me and the attacker-person. It was over. She stopped struggling. I merely stopped.

As what was left of me wound down, turned off, like the last flicker of a spent wildfire, my failing gaze fell upon one last thing. It was a figure, looming above me, dressed in a red not unlike the red that now soaked my once-gray tunic, her face just a blur to my fading eyes.

"...why...didn't you destroy her...?" I heard her ask as darkness took over me for good.

...Why...why?

Title: Re: Scarlet and Illusionary Origins - A Fairly Fair Fairy Tale
Post by: Gappy on March 24, 2013, 03:40:20 PM

Chapter 2 - Part 1

Allow me a moment to refill your cups, dear guests. And mine too. Reliving a death often leaves my throat a little dry. Hmm? Oh, no, I'm fine, dear guests, but I thank you for your kind concern. As I said, it is but a memory, nothing more.

I noticed the mention of Ms. Eirin earlier confused some of you. I can imagine why. Our Scarlet Devil Mansion isn't a place you would associate with Ms. Eirin. Then again, back then there wasn't even a 'Scarlet Devil Mansion'. In fact, even its namesake 'Scarlet Devil' hadn't come to be just yet. Back then this place was known simply as the 'Mansion', the world's last safe haven for us creatures of spirit, us 'phantasms'. Yes, this was a time before even the wonderful cradle that is Gensokyo came to be.

Yes, you're probably beginning to understand why Ms. Eirin was there. Do not worry, dear guests, I will get to her and the other residents of the Mansion of that period in good time.

Now, where were we? Ah, yes, I 'died'. As I mentioned, our 'deaths' do not quite take the same meaning as yours, dear guests. In fact some of my cousins choose to make a distinction. I believe Luna's words for it is 'going out of commission'. While we fey children are creatures of spirit, we take on the form of flesh and blood, and therefore we have to follow the rules of flesh and blood. When our flesh ceases to function, so do we. But because we are children of nature, our spirits merely return to nature and... 'regenerate', I suppose, is the word. Yes, we 'regenerate' our flesh and blood bodies and come back nice and whole.

So that was how I first learned of this fact. I woke up with a start, gasping for air to fill up my fresh new lungs. My heart, beating its first few beats, was already racing. My eyes, barely used to light, was already darting about in panic. I felt myself all over. No bits of cold, cruel iron sticking in me? No sticky, icky blood coming out? In fact, no pain at all! Perhaps the only problem niggling me was how nature was enjoying a joke at my expense with my newly regenerated bladder already desperately full.

I spent barely a moment marveling at the miracle that is me before returning to my regularly scheduled panic.

Where was I? What was I doing? What's happening? Why am I lying on cold, hard stone in the dark? Why is the only light coming in through the slits between some cold, scary-looking iron bars in the wall? Why is it dark? Why is this room so small? And why is it so scarily dark? And why is that person lying there? Why is she breathing so quickly? Why is she dressed all in purple? Why am I here with the...oh yes, the attacker-person? Or now former-attacker-person? And why is it so dark?

...what the pebbles happened?

I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position to better take in my new surroundings. There wasn't much to take in. It was a very, very small square room, lined by cold, hard, lifeless stone. In fact, it was much, much too small. So small it felt it would choke the air out of me. There was nothing more than a round iron thing in a corner and a tray with two wooden bowls. The only opening I could see was barred by a stout wooden wall with a little hole for key things much like the one on the iron wall before. What did that cousin call it? A door? Except I didn't have a key thing to open it with. High up on the wooden wall thing was an opening bearing the scary-looking iron walls through which what little light we had was coming through.

Is this...one of those scary prison things where naughty children are locked in forever and ever...? But..but...I haven't been naughty at all! I've been good! I've been a good fairy! I...well...I did sneak in...and nick some of that sweet creamy stuff....and hurt the nasty attacker-person....but...but...

...calm down, me. It's alright. "A mountain watches, a mountain waits." What can I do now? I should first....

...examine that now-former-attacker-person. Why is she breathing so quick? And shivering too? Is she sick?

I crawled over the freezing cold stone towards her. She was a lot more bedraggled than the last time I saw her, which made me wonder how long I was out for. On coming closer I noticed there were a few other objects littered about her. Odd...were they there before? Maybe I missed them in the dim light? Curious, I inched towards one. It probably wasn't the wisest thing to do considering all the items I've seen her hold have all been about as safe as a mountain wildcat in a rabbit's den. But I could not not be curious. It would be like trying not to be a fairy.

I reached out for one of the objects, giving it a cautious poke as I would poke an unfamiliar mushroom. Happy that it wasn't immediately harmful, I picked it up. It immediately opened up in two, many many sheets flipping out in between the two pieces, rushing and rustling like leaves. Ooooh...I flipped it back and forth, marveling at the feel of the sheets. They were smooth and filled with many, many squiggles and the occasional picture. One suddenly tore and fell out. I gave a little gasp, holding my breath as the sheet slowly glided onto the floor.

Was that...supposed to happen? I hope it was. I didn't want to be any more naughty than I already was, considering I was probably in here for being naughty.

I picked up the sheet and turned it over and over. It rustled under my touch..and flapped too! Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh! I flapped it. It went flap, flap flap...

....rip....

...was THAT supposed to happen? Ummm....I really really hope it was. How did that happen anyway? I just held it here and made it go....riiiiip....

Ooooooooooooooh....

...rip...riiip....riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip....

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh....

Apologies, dear guests. That sometimes happens when I relive a moment where I discover an amusing new toy. We fairies are...to put it simply, 'children' at heart. It wasn't until much, much later that I learned that these were 'books' and not quite 'toys'. In fact the book I ravaged was the very last of the original prints of Merlin's Principia Magia. Yes, dear guests, millenia-old magical knowledge was reduced to shreds in a minute's worth of fairy amusement.

...it was very, very good amusement, mind you.

I was giggling madly, cheeks flushed with sheer happiness. That was the most fun I had had in a long, long, long time. I threw up more little pieces of those fluffy sheet things up into the air before flapping my wings as hard as I can, creating a little snow storm around me. I squeaked and squealed as I ripped another sheet and tossed it high up above me, dancing and leaping as the pieces twirled in their slow dance about me.

That was when I heard a low groan from below. "Mukyuuh...mukyuuuh..." The attacker person panted, seemingly more desperately than before. Giving myself a kick for forgetting what I had meant to do, I slowly lowered myself to her side and looked her over. Her face was very pale. Very very pale, almost as pale as the ashes left behind by a wildfire. I reached out slowly, carefully to touch her. I almost jumped, flinching as I withdrew my hand on touching her. She was burning! Oh no! The human person's burning! What does that mean? It can't be a good thing!

"Mukyuuh....mukyuuuuh..." She panted, each ragged pant almost a pained gasp, as she lay there on the cold stone floor, trembling violently.

I looked around for any other clues as to what might be wrong with her. I looked down at where I had driven that iron blade into her. The surrounding torn cloth about her shoulder was stained a deep, dark, ugly red. The wound beneath it was...not oozing blood...but oozing something else, a very smelly and putrid yellowish, reddish white. Oh...no....blood shouldn't be that colour, right? Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

That was when I noticed something odd. There were more of those square things around her? Was there a pile of them there before? How did I not notice them?

No, wait, pay attention, me! This person, she's in trouble....

She had hurt me before. But I had hurt her too. And now she's still hurting, and it was my fault, no matter what she had done to me. I...I don't like seeing people hurting, especially when it was my fault. Mother Mountain said I have to find my song, a 'benevolent, nurturing, loving' one....maybe I could start here? Maybe I could help her?

Ah, wait, there's some water in those wooden bowl things on that tray. Maybe I can use that to stop her burning up? But I can't just drench her with it...if I had something I can make wet first? Her clothes? She probably needed those with her lying on that cold, cold floor. Then...my clothes? I looked down at my torn, ragged, blood-stained tunic. Well, this obviously didn't heal as well as my body did. It's not much use as clothes anymore so I might as well use it to clean her wound and cool her down too.

I froze midway through pulling my tunic off, my trembling body suddenly reminding me just how much even a ragged tunic can do against the biting cold of the room. I was tempted to listen to my shivering body's protests for a moment as goosebumps rode their way up my bare back. Still, 'An avalanche begins with one rock.' Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so Mother Mountain used to say.

...I wondered for a moment, what am I gaining?

The question pressed me for an answer when I padded over to the tray and looked down at the two bowls of water. One to soak the cloth to clean her and cool her down...and her throat sounded awfully dry so another bowl for her to drink...and there was barely enough for even that. But what about me...?

'One rock, one rock...' I whispered to myself, ignoring the nagging question, looking down at my tunic, readying myself to tug it apart. Perhaps I could have dwelt on how it was Mother Mountain's last remaining gift to me. Perhaps I could have thought about how it was the one and only thing I really owned. But I didn't, not really. It's another interesting thing about us fairies, we don't often get attached to things, especially inanimate objects.

Soaking a rag and cleaning out her wound before wrapping up her wound with a dry rag was surprisingly easier than I expected. The rot didn't go deep, thankfully. Just as I finished, she cried out, causing me to almost jump out of my skin, which would have been quite bad considering it was all I had to protect me from the cold. "No! No more...!" She moaned, writhing uncomfortably. "No more books! No more magic! Stop it! Stop the pain! Please!"

I lowered my hand from my mouth. The only thing I managed to understand was that she wanted the pain to go away. Is the burning causing her pain? Then I should hurry and put it out! I soaked another rag and gently dabbed her forehead, face, neck and what parts of her body I could reach under her thick clothes. It was nothing short of miraculous, watching her panting and groaning slowly fade into soft, peaceful breathing. The pained look on her face slowly unknit itself into a look of gentle peace. "M-..mama..." She moaned, softly, but not a pained one this time. No, more a contented one. I marveled for a moment. How could such a kind, gentle, peaceful face belong to anyone evil? How could someone with a mother, someone who would call out for her mother like that, be capable of evil?

As I continued on wiping off the heat from her body, I continued on marveling at her. It was the first time I was that close to a big human...and she didn't seem all that big or scary at all. It was hard to imagine she was in any way related to the scary humans who hurt Mother Mountain. It was difficult to imagine she was the same person who drove all those evil bits of iron into me just before. We were so alike in almost every way, from our small hands, our delicate arms, our soft, smooth, pale skin...

...That was when I noticed her skin wasn't quite the same as mine. There were marks on her chest, black straight lines and a circle all in a row, similar to those squiggles I saw before. One moment, allow me to write them down for you.

V.O.I.L.E.

I had no idea what it meant back then. Just as I was pondering the mystery of the strange markings, my eyes drew my attention to yet another oddity.

....that big towering wooden box thing filled with those rippy square things wasn't standing by that wall before! I froze, staring at the strange new object as hard as I can in case it was the cold getting to my eyes, or, worse, my head. I rubbed my eyes, blinked them silly. But no, it stubbornly remained. It was massive, stretching from the floor to the ceiling, lined with rows upon rows of those rippy square things. Oh no, more lines, more squares. It was almost painful to look at for my poor little head.

Not to mention there were more piles of those rippy square things lining the already small room now. Where are they coming from? When did they appear? How did I not notice them appearing? Pebbles, WHAT are they?! Are they angry that I ripped up one of their friends? Oh no...that's it, isn't it? They're angry...and now lots of them came to get back at me! Oh no...no...please...please don't hurt me rippy square things...

I spent the rest of the...I wasn't even sure whether it was day or night, but it was a long, long time, kneeling as close as I can to the former-attacker-person, distracting myself with looking after her as best as I could, feeding her sips of water and cooling her down, trying my best not to stare at the piles of rippy square things slowly but surely gathering in the room. I was trembling and shivering all throughout, but only partly from the cold. It was mostly from imagining what they might do to me when enough of them had gathered. Would they all crush me together like an avalanche? Or snap and bite me to bits? Or rip me apart like I did to their poor friend? Sorry...sorry...I'm so sorry little rippy thing...

It was many, many ages later, when my fear and desperation were at their worst, when the question returned to me.

"...what do you gain?"

I don't know....

"...why are you helping her instead?"

...Because...

...wait a moment, that sounded a little too real to be my poor head or the cold or the cold's hold on my poor little head....

I looked up towards the wooden door thing. What I saw almost struck me down like the attacker-person's iron blades. There was a face behind the scary iron bar things in the wooden door thing, peering down at me through glowing ember eyes. Those eyes...I had never seen eyes that looked so...old...so tired...so full and empty at the same time. It was difficult to explain, it was like looking at a dying flame made of dirty logs, a sick and dead lake at sunset. All but those intense glowing eyes were shrouded in a deep shadow cast by the light behind it. But there was enough light around the sides to make out the shimmering golden blonde hair that framed the little face.

"...she tried to destroy you. You could have destroyed her. But you didn't destroy her. You didn't. Why didn't you?" It asked. It was a slow, almost weary voice, but it was still the unmistakable voice of a child, a girl, not unlike me. "Tell me. Tell! Why didn't you destroy her? Why did you let her live? Why are you helping her live? Why? Why why? Why?"

I gulped...somehow, something, told me I had to answer...and not just any answer...I needed the right answer...

Why? Why didn't I 'destroy' her?

Title: Re: Scarlet and Illusionary Origins - A Fairly Fair Fairy Tale
Post by: Gappy on March 24, 2013, 03:41:19 PM

Chapter 2 Part 2

"...."

Who is this strange girl? Why is she asking me such a difficult question? I did it. I've already done it. Do I...really need a 'why'? Why?

"Yes, you do. So do we. That's why, we need your why." She said. Wait, I didn't say all that out loud? Or did I? "We need to know. We incest I need to know. Incest, you know? Yes, you know, so you will tell me what us wants to know, so I know too. Pease? Yes, peace. Please."

If it wasn't so freezing cold already my poor little mind probably would have melted. Or maybe it did and I just didn't know. I understood her words, many as there were. I didn't understand what she meant. If only my little mind had room left for more words I would have wondered who exactly is 'we' and 'us'. Except my poor little mind simply did not want to accept that there could be more of her out there.

As if answering my thoughts again, she....

....did she just turn into a bat? A lot of bats?

It was like watching a dandelion burst, but with less fluff and more bats. Lots of bats. Pieces of her face peeled itself off before folding themselves into bats, many, many, many bats. They poured in through the bars like a surge over a broken beaver dam, rushing at me. I gave a loud squeak as I dove for the ground, raising my hands up to my face. Furious flapping wings rushed all around me, threatening to deafen my poor ears. And, just as suddenly as it began, the rushing sound disappeared, replaced by a feeling of something weighing down on my tummy. Not too heavy though, saving her grace.

I slowly, very slowly parted my arms to peer out...

...I very quickly regretted that. A pair of ruby-red eyes peered in right outside the gap right back at me. I gave another loud squeak of terror, but before I could do anything more a pair of hands took hold of mine and pinned them down to my sides. There she was, sitting astride my tummy, leaning down towards me, so close I could feel her soft, calm breaths against my cheeks, so very different from my own panicked panting. Before I could begin wondering (and panicking) about the bats, about her being so close, and those fiery red eyes and are those fangs and why is she so close oh my, she spoke again.

"Look, someone stole our doormat. Mine and hers. I liked that doormat. It had cats on it. Left a crater in its place. We don't want a crater for a doormat. Or a cat. And flood too, with blood, you know? Yes, yes, you do, half of it was yours. Or was it three quarters? Was it half full or half empty? It depends, are you a pessimist or an optician? You bleed a lot for an optician." At this point she was leaning in so close our noses were barely touching, "It makes for a sticky doormat, you know. You can't dry your shoes on blood, it would get all wet. And red. And sticky besides, but you know that. Yes, you know, because you were rolling in it. With her, destroying each other. But you stopped. You didn't destroy her. That's the why we want. You know why, but I don't know if she knows that we know that you might know so you must tell us what you know if you know, you know?"

It was like trying to look for a mountain in the middle of a mountain storm. It's there, you know it is, you're in its storm, but you won't find it either until you walk out of the storm or until you bang your head on it. And my head felt banged up alright. I tried to sort out her words, trying to find some meaning. But...when you seek something like a mountain, you know what you're seeking for, you just need to find it, right? So...maybe she knows what it is she seeks? So...maybe if I just ask her she might answer her own question? Oh, I hope so, please, just spare me having to think anymore!

"...y-you...you know why...?" I asked, a lot more squeakier than I would have liked. But it was difficult to help it with that much vampire in your face. Not that I knew what a vampire was back then, but I was learning quickly, the hard way.

"Do I know why?" She seemed to think about this for a moment, "Ah, reflexing the question back at us. Clever, like a mirror, but with errors. You see, I don't know how to not destroy. She doesn't either. So you can't have a why before you have a how. But you know how. We know you do. Because you didn't destroy her. So please, tell us the why to your how, quick." She looked around, quickly, as if imaginary watches lined the walls, "Before they find me. And you. And us. So quick, intimately, without decay!"

uuh...umm...quick? Err...quick....I thought, I thought as much as I could, thinking harder than I've ever thought, ever. It was more than just 'what do I gain?', that much I was sure. Was it because I was scared? I was scared of being hurt, scared of hurting her too. But...that doesn't explain why I'm helping her. Because I didn't have to? No...that doesn't explain things either...

And then it came to me. Just like that. It was so simple. The answer was in me all along. It was me. It was her too. It was everything. From the day Mother Mountain created me, I already had my answer. I just had to...turn it into words, words she could understand...and having heard the way she uses/abuses words, I had a sinking feeling it would be an uphill battle.

"...because...it's easy to destroy. Too easy. If I get a little angry...if I have a cold piece of iron in my hand...I could destroy. But...to create...to create is difficult. It takes a lot of love, a lot of patience, a lot of care and time. Mother Mountain's love was great enough to create me...and just like me someone had to have enough love to create her" I looked over at the once-attacker-person, "...so so so much more than what it takes to destroy. I...I want to let that 'love' win over that dark feeling that told me to destroy. I want to believe in that love...I want to protect it like my Mother Mountain would...if that makes sense..."

"..." She gazed down at me, her face unreadable. She remained there for what felt like the longest time. I remained there too, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice with the way she had me held down.

Then, she moved. Much to my shock and horror, she moved even closer towards me. I've had my sisters close to me before, but it's never felt this...awkward. I felt her rest her soft, silky hair against me, against my chest. It felt ticklish as she nuzzled against me a little, before finally settling down there, one ear pressed against my chest, perfectly still and silent.

I waited, breath held, not knowing what would happen if I dared even as much as breath in against her head resting on my chest. It felt like the ages stretched on forever.

Finally, not being able to bear the strange silence any longer, I breathed in and opened my mouth, "...ummm?" I was quickly silenced by a finger pressing gently on my lips.

"Ssshh...we're looking for it..." She said, but said nothing more.

I don't know how long we remained there like that. I had never experienced time that way before, both short and long at the same time.

When she did finally release me and sat up, she wore a puzzled expression, but not an unpleasant one, as if she had found a blackberry in a mulberry bush. Then, as sudden as she had arrived, she burst into yet another surging cloud of bats and rushed out the way she came.

"W-Wait!" I cried out the first thing that came to mind. You'd think that would be the last, considering I had found the whole experience unnerving at best. But I had...so many questions. Who was she? Why the questions? And where was I? And...most importantly....how do I get out of here?

"Nope, sorry, can't waste! We've wasted enough already! Taste, now, that's what we need! Or was it chaste? Or maybe the haste thing. Ah yes!" I heard her voice echo from somewhere further down the corridor. And just like that, she was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts which were an even bigger mess than before. Eyes? Bats? Questions? So many things I didn't know!

I had a lot of time to be confused by myself. My only distraction was tending to my attacker-person....who was beginning to look more and more like a child to me. It was bound to happen, I suppose, after taking care of her for so long. And did feel like a long, long time, at least until my next visitor arrived.

I was called out from my deep thoughts by a knock on the door thing. I looked up and stared at it, not quite sure what to make of knocks on door things. Then it came again, a little louder this time. Finally another came, accompanied by a little voice, "ummm...hello?"

I was quick to recognize the voice. How could I not? It was the voice I had been longing to hear from the moment I woke up in this place. It was my cousin. She was safe and sound!

"Cousin, you're alright!" I said as I padded over to the door and knelt down by it.

"Y-Yes, I am. And...umm...it's thanks to you, cousin." The voice from the other side said. There was a click. A very small, narrow opening in the lower part of the door thing slid open, allowing a little more light to spill into the dark place.

Another tray slid in through the opening, this one holding four bowls, two large, two small. The two smaller bowls held water, much like the ones I had, but the two larger ones bore something thick and steaming that filled the room with such a wonderfully delicious smell. There were a few soft-looking brown lumpy things beside the bowls and some fruits but what caught my eye the most was the creamy soft thing I had tasted when I first arrived. My heart leapt for joy for a moment, before I reminded myself why I was there.

"I...I know you like Mont Blancs...so I stole some from the kitchen..." The voice from the other side said, giggling a little, though with a note of sadness in it. "You...you like these, right?"

"I'm...here for stealing these, aren't I?" I asked, "Because I was naughty."

"N-NO!" She gasped, seemingly in horror. I saw her crouch down, her face peering in through the space. I frowned a little on noticing a dark blue mark about her right eye, as if she had taken a rather bad knock to her it. "No! Absolutely absolutely not! You saved me! You saved the young mistress! You even caught the evil meanie person for us! You're....you're a hero, cousin!"

"But...then...why am I here?" I asked, puzzled.

There was a little sniffle as my cousin slowly sat up again, hiding her face from me. "I-I'm...I'm sorry. I tried. I promise I did, I really did. But miss Eirin wouldn't listen. She thinks you were with that...that nasty meanie person. But...but a person as nice as you can't ever be that meanie's friend! Ever! If...if only the headmaid were here, she'd listen! She'd help you! She'd even help you stay here with all of us! She's really nice, our Remi. She's the best! Way better than Miss Eirin! But...but she's away right now, doing some errand thing for the mistress....Remi....Remi, come back soon...please..."

I listened as I looked over the items on the tray. That was when I noticed something underneath the creamy soft sweet thing. It was...a key thing? Why is there...?

"Is this a key thing?" I asked, picking it up and eyeing it in the light spilling through the small space. It looked different from the key for the iron wall door thing, it was a lot smaller and rustier to begin with.

There was a long moment of silence before I finally heard a very soft, quiet reply, "...yes...it is." There was a little sniffle, "It's...it's the key to this door....you can...use it to get out, cousin."

My heart soared at the thought. I hadn't been in that place all that long, but it already felt like years upon years. How I missed the smell of the open air, the sight of the blue sky over my head, the feel of the soft grass under my toes. And now it was within my hands, right here, in this key thing. I simply had to...

....

"No." I said, sliding the key back out under the little opening and crossing my arms. Deep down inside I felt my heart sink as I felt the blue sky and green grass slip away from my fingers. But it was the right thing, I told myself. Courage, me, courage.

"....bye bye, cousin, please be carefu-...eh?" My cousin gave a little gasp, "What...did you just say?"

"Oh, right, sorry, I forgot to say 'thanks'." I added, slightly puzzled at her response.

"No, umm...do you not understand? You can use this key on this door and get out. I taught you how to use keys, didn't I?"

"I know, I'm slow but not that slow." I replied, pouting a little.

"Then....why?" My cousin asked, leaning down to look up at me through the little opening. "You could so easily get away."

"Cousin, I can't do this. Not to you. I don't want you to get into anymore trouble. Not for me." I said, crossing my arms.

"But...you've...you've already saved me, yes you have. And I've already put you in so much trouble. It's...it's only fair."

"I've decided." I said, sounding a lot more brave than I truly felt, "And a mountain stands firm. That's what Mother Mountain said."

"But what will you do? You're trapped in there with...with her...."

"I can...hmmm....I can wait for this Remi person to return. She can help me right?" I suggested.

"Oh yes!" My cousin suddenly perked up, "Yes, she will definitely help you out. She always helps us fairies out. Nobody here dares go against Remi, not even Miss Eirin! She's the bestest!" I watcher her eyes light up again at the mention of this Remi person. She must really like her. I began to wonder what sort of person this Remi person might be. "Yes, the moment she returns I'll go get her, I sure will! So don't worry, cousin, I'll save you this time! Promise! Cross my wings, this oath I sing, else I suffer Mother Mistral's sting."

I was a little surprised. As I mentioned, fairies don't take promises lightly. And oaths sworn on our mothers even more so. "Thank you, cousin. And...can you hurry? You see, the meanie nasty person..." I looked back at my newfound 'child', "She doesn't seem right. I think she might be really hurt."

"She's...sick?" My cousin peered in at the still form of my 'child'. "Oh dear...Miss Eirin's the person who knows how to make people right again...but she probably won't help unless Remi makes her."

"Can you please get me more water then?" I asked, "And something to keep her warm? I'll try and take care of her until this Remi person gets back." I said, with confidence I didn't really have.

"O-oh kay!" She nodded, seemingly more cheerful now. "Oh...cousin?" She paused as she was about to leave to look back at me, "...where are your clothes?"

"...." I looked down and remembered that I was clothesless. Ah, right, that's why it's so cold. "Oh, right, I tore it up to help make her better." I said.

"Oh, I'll get you a blanket too then. Yes, that's what I'll do." With that, she fluttered off.

True to her word, she made several trips, leaving me with two big metal circle things filled with water and two thick fluffy cloth things she called 'blankets'.

"Safe winds" She wished me, before she finally quickly snuck out. Apparently she wasn't even supposed to be down there with me. Such courage, for a cousin...

Feeling grateful and a great deal warmer under my new blanket thing, I returned to minding my 'child'. I was slowly beginning to understand, this is probably how Mother Mountain felt all the time, the feeling of watching something so helpless, so needy, in short, a 'child'. It was a strange feeling, a difficult one to describe. But I didn't dislike it. It was a good feeling.

I spent the rest of my time in that place tucking into my delicious meal and minding my 'child'. I won't bore you with the details as nothing more happened beyond the occasional moan from my 'child' in her sleep and more and more of those rippy square things appearing out of nowhere.

I had tried to stay awake, just in case the rippy square things try to get me in my sleep. But I must have failed as the next moment I knew I was waking up with a start to loud voices approaching outside.

"....they came in to murder Flandre and Lady Owen! They are lucky I allowed them to live! That is worlds better than what the others received! Elly had to go over the grounds with a rake to clear them all up!" It was a voice, cold and commanding, probably the sort of voice blades of iron would have if they weren't busy being so stiff or sharp.

"...Oh, my, I am so very moved by your most generous show of kindness, Miss Eirin! Allowing them to live indeed! I'm sure placing them in the dungeons was an act of unusual charity on your part too?" Another voice, this one much younger, much more lively, but filled with just as much power, if not more.

"Where else, pray tell, do you put your prisoners, Remi? In the pantry, perhaps?"

"We have 366 rooms in this mansion. 142 of them barely ever see any use. You could have put them in any one of them, anywhere but the dungeons! Good heavens, these have never even been used!"

"Why, then, do we have dungeons?"

"Because whoever built this place had a very morbid sense of humour, one that you obviously share, Miss Eirin. More importantly, you threw a fairy in there with her!"

"I maintain that the fairy is an accomplice, Remi. A degree of suspicion, at least, would be prudent. You must agree that nothing goes before the safety of this mansion's residents. I merely wished to make double sure of that."

"By locking up an INNOCENT fairy?! Did the moon not receive its fair share of common sense?!"

"Fairies are anything but innocent. You know better than anyone the mischief they are capable of." The voices were right outside the door thing.

"Mischief, yes. Malice, NO!" There was a click in the door thing. "Fairies are children of nature, Miss Eirin. They are physically incapable of evil!"

"Remi, by the moon, if you open that door...."

"You will what, Miss Eirin?" The door thing swung open with a loud bang, revealing what seemed at first glance to be a young girl. A human one, dressed in clothes not unlike the one my cousin was wearing - a long dark blue dress, covered over the front by a length of frilly white cloth. As she stormed into the room, I came to realize that she was in fact a lot smaller than she seemed at first. In fact, on looking closer, she was just a child, a very young child. It was like seeing through the raised hackles on a mountain lion. I began to wonder whether it was her clothes or her voice that made her seem bigger and...well...grander than she really was. She held her head high, her deep, brown eyes gleaming with a sharpness I had yet to see on any other person. Her short, shoulder-length hair was...a pure, snow white, a colour I have only ever found in elder humans.

"You're just a maid, Remi! If you think for one moment that you can..." Another woman strode into the room after her. Almost the child's exact opposite, this one was a fully grownup human woman, a tall towering pillar of rage, hair the colour of cold silver, eyes the red of dying blood, dressed all in darkest blue.

"...I will remind you, dear guest, that I am no mere maid. I am the head maid of this household. My word is only second to the mistress'. So I don't have to think I can. I really can." The little girl snapped at the grownup woman. It was truly a strange scene to watch. I could only cower as I peered out from underneath my blanket where I sat next to the 'child' I was caring for.

"Now, little one...." Much to my horror, the human child made a beeline for me, kneeling before me, bringing herself closer down to my height. I couldn't help but scrabble back as far as I could across the cold stone floor, which wasn't very far as my back quickly hit another pile of those rippy square things. "Please, don't be afraid." She said, soothingly, lowering and softening her voice. "I heard you've already been a very brave girl. Your sister told me so." She smiled at me, a smile so...warm and gentle...it had been so, so very long since I last saw a smile so sweet, so beautiful. Her eyes, her face, all seemed to light up with her smile. It was a smile that drew me in, a smile I felt I could loose myself in. "Now, I want you to be brave for me one more time. Can you do that for me?" She asked, tilting her head to one side, "I promise you we won't do anything to you. Cross my wings, this oath I sing, else in Mother Moon's darkness I sink."

A fairy oath? Another one? Why would this human use a fairy oath? As my mind dwelt on the mystery that is this strange little human girl, I found myself nodding a little. I couldn't help it. She had gone so far as to make a fairy oath after all. As I did so I noticed the grownup lady roll her eyes and shake her head.

"Good girl." The human child gave me another encouraging smile, "I want you to tell me the truth. Why were you in the mansion the night before last?" She looked straight at me, straight into my eyes. It felt as if she could look straight through me if she wanted. Could she? Would she be able to tell if I lied? Do I need to tell her the truth?

My heart raced, threatening to break out of my chest. My breathing caught, painfully. I probably couldn't lie to save my pebbles. It was the one thing Mother Mountain never taught me. If anything, she taught me the opposite, to be honest and true no matter what. What was it she used to say...?

"...D-Do not hide, stand with pride, Mountain in the light..." I said, half to myself, gulping, "My Mother Mountain taught me to always tell the truth, miss. Y-You didn't need to ask me for it." I said, looking straight back up at her. "I...I always tell the truth." That in itself was a bit of a lie, to be honest, but since I was going to tell the truth....

"That was wise of your mother, little one." The girl smiled, "I'm sorry for implying otherwise."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my poor nerves, "I...I was on a journey, miss." I said, deciding to start at the beginning. "Mother Mountain told me to...to leave her behind. She said I had to find a new home. And...I got hungry, really really hungry on my journey...no matter what I ate I stayed hungry. And then...I'm...I'm sorry, miss, the smells...the smells from your home smelled so delicious I...couldn't help it. I was so hungry...and...and..." Telling the truth was...more difficult than I thought. Maybe...maybe if she was mean or cruel to me it would have been easier...but...but she was so nice. Tears welled up, but I fought it...no...don't cry, me...

"It's alright, little one." The girl reached out for me. I flinched. W-was I about to be punished? But...but...you promi-...

...she patted me on the head, stroking my hair gently, almost...lovingly. "You came in and had a bite to eat. And I think nobody can blame you for that. My recipes are the very best if I do say so myself." She smiled again, that beautiful gentle smile.

"Y-yes..." I nodded a little, blushing deeply in sheer embarrassment, "I-I'm s-sorry...really really sorry, miss...t-they were r-really really good though..."

"You believe her then?" The tall woman asked, coldly. "Just like that?"

"Fits the story, Miss Eirin." The young girl's voice changed again, snapping back at the older woman. "I couldn't ask for more from such a brave child."

"Ah, so you'll believe Daiyousei's story too." The tall woman rolled her eyes, "We know there is a traitor in our midst, Remi. Would you put it past Daiyousei?"

"Her name's 'Mana', Miss Eirin, 'Mana Fey', my 'great fairy'. And I named her that for a reason." The young girl said, slowly turning to look up at the elder woman, "Let me spell it out for you, just in case. I would trust her with my life. If you dare accuse my fairies of disloyalty ever again, so our Lord help me...." Her eyes widened on noticing someone at the door. "M-Mana! Miss Eirin didn't mean it that way!" She cried out at the little figure hiding by the door thing. But it was too late. My cousin had heard the accusation. Wide, horrified eyes brimming with tears, she took off.

"...tsk..." The tall woman muttered under her breath, "I told her to stay upstairs."

"EIRIN!" A dark, scary look took over the young girl's face, "I swear, you..."

"My my, apologies, am I interrupting something...?" Another person arrived at the door thing, this one a tall, towering woman, even taller than the Eirin woman. Her long, beautifully decorated green and gold dress was so massive it took up most of the door opening and trailed along on the floor behind her. Long red hair, the colour of mountain roses, flowed down her back like a deep, red sunset. "I heard the commotion and I could not help but worry."

"Your highness, I-I'm so very sorry. It was...a little housekeeping problem, nothing more." The Remi girl rose to her feet and then quickly bowed again, pulling bits of her dress up. "I'm sorry that you should see our home in such a state just as you arrive. If you could please bear with us just a moment longer I'll show you to your room..."

"It is fine, Remi." The new arrival smiled. Her smile was more a peaceful, gentle one, like the caress of the breeze upon a still mountain lake. "You've already done much by travelling all the way to Port Dover to pick me and my companions up. Besides, I am here to help, not to be served. That said, I already told you many times, we are in your home, not China. I am no princess in your home, so, please, call me 'MeiLing'." Her speech was slow, speaking as if she was plucking each word out of the air, but carefully, almost gracefully, as if determined to shape each and every word perfectly. Her voice, however, was something to experience. It was ringing, flowing, like a crystal clear river of music.

"Yes, y-your hi-...I m-mean, M-Meil...Meyl..." The young girl bit her tongue, "O-oo...I-I'm sorry, I..."

"Or you may call me 'China' if that is easier." The woman in green said with a smile as she glided into the room. "Now, this child here looks quite ill." She said, kneeling down by the 'child' in my care. "Though I see someone has done her best to take care of her. Was that you, little one?" She asked, looking up at me.

"You would expect no less from an accomplice." The Eirin woman muttered.

My heart leapt. D-does that mean I'm in trouble again? For helping her? "I-I'm sorry!" I squeaked, "I...she just looked like she was in so much pain...and...and...I was the one who hurt her...and....she's so helpless like a child...I couldn't help it...I..." My mind ran away, taking my tongue with it. I gave a little gasp as I noticed hot tears streaming down my cheeks. "I-I'm sorry! I'm s-so sorry!" Why? Why'd I lose it? Why'd all the fear and worrying from all this time come at me all at once? I was doing so well! I....

"It's alright, it's alright, little one. You did well." I found myself pulled into a sudden hug by the young girl. Surprised, shocked beyond belief at her gentleness, her kindness, I...I simply lost any strength I had left. I broke into honest, earnest tears, the first I shed in a long, long time. "You've been a very, very brave girl. Few could have done what you did that night, sacrificing yourself for your sister and complete strangers, fewer still would have had the courage to care so much for their enemies."

"Indeed, you've taken really good care of this child." The woman in green nodded, "I see her wound has been cleaned and bandaged well and care has been taken to control her fever....were these your clothes, little one?" She asked, having untied the rag around her arm.

I gave a little nod against the young girl's clothes, hicupping a little all the while.

"I am...impressed. In all my long years I have yet to see anyone dedicate so much even to royalty, let alone an enemy." The woman said, beaming at me.

"Miss Eirin...I will not ask why our prisoner is so ill. But I will ask that you do your job as house physician and treat her." The young girl said, pointedly.

"...." The Eirin woman gave the young Remi girl a dirty look, "I am not touching her. You carry her to the infirmary."

"Allow me." The woman in green said, smiling.

"Y-your highness..." The Remi girl gasped, but before she could protest, the woman in green had hefted the former-attacker-person up in her arms, carrying her almost effortlessly. "Please, I could..."

"She is unconscious, so anyone could carry her. However, you, Remi..." The woman in green nodded down at me, "...already have your hands full." She gave another one of her smiles before turning to the Eirin woman, "Lady Eirin, was it? If you could please lead the way?"

Without another word the Eirin woman swept out of the room. The woman in green followed behind, bearing her burden with surprising ease.

Left alone in the room with the young girl, I became awfully conscious of how I was clinging so tightly onto her. But...it felt so...so comfortable...so warm...it was like being...

...yes...like being back with Mother Mountain again...

"Sigh....that Eirin...." The girl sighed, "She means well. She really does. But she can be so...stiff sometimes." She shook her head. "Now, little one..." She placed her hands on my shoulders before kneeling down before me, "Do you have a name?"

I shook my head as I quickly dried my tears on the backs of my hands. "N-no miss."

Naming each other is a strange concept to us fairies. Why so, you ask, dear guests? Well, it is difficult to compare, but the closest comparison would be like you naming each and every part of your own body. Yes, indeed, you have your general words for things like 'nose', 'hair', and 'nose hair', but you wouldn't name your ears 'Koakuma' or your fangs 'Remilia' now, would you? Or maybe you would, but that would be strange, even by human standards. It's the same for us fairies. We are all 'one' the same way all of nature is 'one'. There are no strangers, no friends or enemies, among fairies. There is just 'us'. Though there are those among us who bear names, as you know. Most of us get named by other beings, especially humans, for want of something to call us by. And sometimes it sort of 'sticks'. We don't particularly mind it, and it saves you humans a lot of trouble trying to address us individually.

Now...where was I? Ah, yes, Remi.

"That's perfectly fine, little one. It's not usual for you and your sisters, is it?" The girl said kindly. "You can call me 'Remi'. Just 'Remi', no need for this 'miss' business. I'm no 'miss', though by storm I will be 'lady' one day." She said with a little grin. "Ah, yes, 'lady Remi'..." She repeated to herself, almost wistfully. "Ah, are you cold?" She asked, noticing that I was shivering again. My warm blanket thing had fallen off my shoulders amidst all that. "Let's hurry and get you warmed up then." She said, pulling off her white frilly cloth thing and wrapping it around me before draping my blanket thing back around my shoulders. "So, would you like something to eat first? Or shall we get you cleaned up? Or would you rather get some clothes on first? Or perhaps you should rest? You're not feeling unwell yourself, are you? You look like you've been pushing yourself a little too much, little one."