thank sita for the sun kingdom
Here we have a Sun and Moon drabble. I got inspired to write this after seeing 'Sita Sings The Blues', a really great animated movie (watch on youtube, it's free!) Since in this 'verse the Sun Kingdom is based on eastern cultures, Mickey's telling a simplified version of 'The Ramayana', a Hindu epic.
Prince Mickey was no romantic, but even he had to question what was so fun about reading old scrolls to his beloved princess. As he finished the latest tale, he glanced over at Minnie, who was leaning on his shoulder, a bead of sweat hanging off a loose bang. It was still difficult to adjust to the Sun Kingdom’s immense heat, and it was made worse by the tight dress she wore underneath her dirty brown robe that was used to conceal her identity to outsiders. Yet despite such sweltering heat, she was smiling pleasantly at him. “That was such a wonderful story! Read another, read another!”
“Another one?” He repeated as he rolled up the scroll. “We already read five of ‘em! Can’t we go do somethin’ fun while yer here?” Her hidden visits could only afford to be so long, yet she was insisting on wasting their precious time by hearing him read the old legends of his kingdom.
“But this is fun.” Minnie lightly tugged on his arm. “The stories of your kingdom are the best! All of those brave warriors, and beautiful maidens, and scary beasts…” She sighed, thinking the fairy tales she had in her youth were now a terrible bore compared to these. It also helped that for every romance told in the tales, they were mentally replaced by the lovers that sat there.
Mickey grumbled, fingering the weathered paper in his hands. If he had to read one more scroll, he’d be bored to tears. He eyed the paper, and then an idea came to him. Who said that stories could only be told by reading off of dusty old scrolls? “All right, I’m gunna tell ya one more, but then that’s it! This is the last one.” Minnie nodded, though she doubted she could only settle for one more. Instead of pulling out another scroll from the long wall of held scriptures, Mickey tossed the one he had over his shoulder, and took Minnie by her hand, pulling her to her feet. She blinked at him, confused, as he began to walk. “What are you doing?”
“If we gotta get through one more story, then we’re gunna do it my way.” Mickey would not hear otherwise, which was fine as Minnie saw no reason to argue, curious as she was. Minnie’s castle was always full of servants going to and fro, but in Mickey’s clay-made palace, their footsteps echoed off into empty hallways. Minnie enjoyed the silence, slowly taking in the scenery as they passed by empty rooms filled with dirt and history. But when Mickey spoke again, she paid rapt attention. “Long, long ago, there was a king with many wives and many sons. His eldest son was gunna be king next, but when the…” he paused, blanking on the right term. “Uh… yanno… when it’s time ta make the next king thing, or somethin’…”
“Crowning ceremony?” Minnie offered. The sun was setting outside, casting long shadows on the pair.
“Sure, that. Anyway, it was almost time for that, when one of his other wives made a request ta the king. Every wife was allowed ta make one request, and hers was that the prince was ta be banished ta the forest of demons for fourteen years.”
Minnie was instantly at Mickey’s side, wrapped up in the story. “Why? That’s awful!”
“Aw, it’s always the same reason, with those types.” Mickey shrugged his shoulders, not understanding the greed that these villains had, as he had no competition to the throne he would inherit. “She figured he’d be killed by the demons, and by the fourteen years were up, her kid would be enough ta take the throne. The King obeyed his wife, the Prince obeyed the king, and off he goes. But he doesn’t go alone… see, the prince was married.” He stopped walking, and cast a smile over to his girl. “Married ta the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world.”
Minnie’s cheeks had a habit to turn darker than most other women’s due to her pure white fur, and such a gaze with such an implication was enough to make her redder than the sun that was leaving inch by inch. She cast her eyes away, embarrassed by her own colors. “… Go on.”
Oh but he enjoyed her meekness and her humble nature, so he couldn’t help but layer it on. “Prettiest girl that the gods ever made, and everyone knew it. And she was perfect in every single way.” He hugged Minnie from behind, making sure his mouth was hardly a hair’s split away from her ear. “Perfect hair, perfect hands, perfect way of blushin’ that made her look like a ripe tomato…”
“How is any of that relevant to the story?” Minnie spoke in a rushed squeak, feeling warmer in Mickey’s embrace than by the heat that still radiated even with the disappearance of the sun. Men of the Moon Kingdom were taught to only hold a lady’s hand during courtship and nothing more until marriage. Mickey was well aware of the societal norms of the opposite kingdom, and lavished every moment where he could flip Minnie’s expectations. He pushed at the peak of Minnie’s limits to see what she would allow, ready to back off if a real complaint was ever lodged. Yet she had proven, for all of her delicate upbringing, that she never truly resisted his actions and indulged in them - such as now, her body rested on his, her petite hands lightly touching his and not pushing away his fingers. She had never known a passion like this could exist, and so welcomed it, perhaps more than a stranger should have.
It was possible he could have done anything he wanted to her, but a sense of chivalry had an odd rhythm in Mickey’s heart. He could stir his little bird in her cage, but it might be too much for her to handle more. He kissed her ear, and loosened his grip, finding his fingers entwined with hers. “Okay, like I was sayin’… the prince and his wife go off to the forest of demons. But the prince turned out ta be a really great fighter, too. He was slayin’ demons left and right with his mighty bow and arrow!” He had to admit he enjoyed this part of the story, and with a free hand, he mimicked slaying imaginary foes. “He was the most powerful guy all around, and soon all the demons in the forest knew about him and his wife. That included the ruler of the forest, the Demon Lord!” With a villain in play, Mickey jumped away from Minnie, startling her. “He had seven heads, and seven arms, and was big and scary and ugly!” He wiggles his fingers to imitate claws. “Why, even uglier than Pete!”
Minnie bit her lower lip to keep from giggling. “Mickey, that’s mean.”
Undeterred, Mickey stomped around Minnie, continuing his impression of the evil lord of demons. “He didn’t care about the dead demons, but he wanted the wife all ta himself! Since she was the prettiest and all. So he went deep into the forest ta find her.” For the next part, Mickey straightened up, taking up a different role. “That day, the Prince was gunna go out huntin’, and he told his wife ta stay behind. He drew up a magic circle ta keep her safe.” Using his tail, he walked around Minnie, tracing a circle around her in the faint clay dust. “Nothin’ could get in, as long as she stayed in the circle. She promised ta stay in, and so he left.” Minnie sat in the finished circle, watching Mickey expectantly now that she had her own role. “The Demon Lord used his magic ta disguise himself as a wounded deer, and walked in front of the circle. Now, whaddya think the wife did?”
“She stayed.” Minnie replied simply, putting her hands in her lap.
“That’s right, she-” Mickey stopped, and looked back at her. “… What?”
“She stayed, didn’t she?” Minnie didn’t understand Mickey’s confusion, the answer being obvious to her. “She promised him, and she loved him, so she must have stayed.” After all, it’s what she would have done.
“… What about the deer?” Mickey gestured to the injured animal that wasn’t there.
“The Prince could come back and heal it. She made a promise to her husband.” It didn’t make sense for the story to go any other way. Minnie had been taught the importance of promises, even ones that weren’t made by lovers. But ones by lovers were especially important. She would never break a promise to Mickey, and knew that he would do the same. Having love meant having absolute trust, and she believed strongly in these ideals. “What happened then?”
Mickey stared at her, momentarily unsure of how to handle the moment. Such blind, unfaltering faith in love and trust! It was so very Minnie, and he wasn’t sure if his heart could keep in anymore love for her as her eyes innocently awaited the next part of the tale. It was taking much of his will not to tackle her down and smother her in adored kisses. “… Yup, she stayed.” This was a lie. The story he had heard dozens of times continued with the wife leaving the circle to help the deer, and getting captured as a result. “And… the Demon Lord got all impatient, and broke the magic circle, ‘cause… ‘cause demons can do that. So he snatched her up!” He clapped his hands hard, and then rubbed them together. “The wife knew the prince would come after her, so as the Demon Lord carried her, she dropped her jewelry on the ground ta make a trail. Like… the necklace!” He came to her side and knelt down, trying to take off her necklace.
Minnie flinched, and then grabbed the necklace as if her life depended on it. Mickey stopped again, wondering how close he had come to hurting her feelings, judging by the displeased emotions in Minnie’s eyes. It had been his first gift to her, and the one that had brought them together. There was no way Minnie would allow it to come off, even for a little while as child’s play. He smiled weakly. “Aw, I was just kiddin’!” He sat down, hurriedly telling the next part of the story as way of apology. “Anyways… he gets her ta his castle, but she refused ta come in, and stayed under this tree. He demanded that she marry him, but she refused, no matter how many times he asked her. Now, meanwhile, the prince came back, and saw that his missy was gone. He followed the jewelry trail, and along the way, the animals of the forest helped him out, since he was gettin’ rid of all the demons. They got ta the Demon Lord’s place, and-”
“Defeated the Demon Lord and saved the wife?” Minnie had evidently forgiven him, lured in by the story again. She had turned towards Mickey, curling up to him.
“Well if ya already know how it goes, why should I even tell ya?” Mickey poked her nose. “A’course they did!”
“And then they lived happily ever after?” Minnie smiled again, the moon and sun fused necklace hanging off of her as she leaned towards him. Already she had envisioned Mickey as the valiant arrow-wielding prince, striding proudly towards his white furred wife who was patiently waiting under a tree as pink petals fell upon her.
“Sure they did.” This was another lie, one that was easier told as he put an arm around her shoulders. The rest of the tale was much longer and far more tragic, as the story prince continuously doubted his wife’s purity after what had happened, but Minnie didn’t need to know about that. The stories of her kingdom were made to instill morals, whereas the old scrolls of the sun were mostly about creative answers. These kinds of endings were Minnie’s favorites, because they were the only type she ever heard. “Live with no troubles, have a buncha kiddos, the works. Folks like that always get their happily ever afters.” The sun was gone now, leaving them in faint darkness as torches outside were being lit.
“That was a lovely story.” Minnie nestled her head on Mickey’s shoulder, eyes closing as she sighed peacefully. “I can’t wait until we get our happily ever after.” That would have to be once the kingdom’s got over their differences, once the bans were banished, once all the hatred from every single person from both kingdoms was gone…
Mickey found himself unable to have the heart to tell her the grim reality of things. He knew their happily ever after would come. It would just take a long, long, long time. Those rustling thoughts pricked at the back of his mind, warning him about what could go wrong, the consequences they would face - and like always he pushed them away, not wanting to give heed to these warnings, living only in the present. “Probably won’t be until after ya stop blushin’ so much.”
Minnie’s head shot up at the remark. “I do not!” But that was the wrong challenge to ring forth, as Mickey’s lips were on her quickly, here and there as she shrieked with laughter. The story was gone, so what to do with the time left was of Mickey’s choosing, and he chose to grab and nip and tickle and play, watching her redden as she lost her breath. He kept her there with him, in their happily ever here.
Prince Mickey was no romantic, but even he had to question what was so fun about reading old scrolls to his beloved princess. As he finished the latest tale, he glanced over at Minnie, who was leaning on his shoulder, a bead of sweat hanging off a loose bang. It was still difficult to adjust to the Sun Kingdom’s immense heat, and it was made worse by the tight dress she wore underneath her dirty brown robe that was used to conceal her identity to outsiders. Yet despite such sweltering heat, she was smiling pleasantly at him. “That was such a wonderful story! Read another, read another!”
“Another one?” He repeated as he rolled up the scroll. “We already read five of ‘em! Can’t we go do somethin’ fun while yer here?” Her hidden visits could only afford to be so long, yet she was insisting on wasting their precious time by hearing him read the old legends of his kingdom.
“But this is fun.” Minnie lightly tugged on his arm. “The stories of your kingdom are the best! All of those brave warriors, and beautiful maidens, and scary beasts…” She sighed, thinking the fairy tales she had in her youth were now a terrible bore compared to these. It also helped that for every romance told in the tales, they were mentally replaced by the lovers that sat there.
Mickey grumbled, fingering the weathered paper in his hands. If he had to read one more scroll, he’d be bored to tears. He eyed the paper, and then an idea came to him. Who said that stories could only be told by reading off of dusty old scrolls? “All right, I’m gunna tell ya one more, but then that’s it! This is the last one.” Minnie nodded, though she doubted she could only settle for one more. Instead of pulling out another scroll from the long wall of held scriptures, Mickey tossed the one he had over his shoulder, and took Minnie by her hand, pulling her to her feet. She blinked at him, confused, as he began to walk. “What are you doing?”
“If we gotta get through one more story, then we’re gunna do it my way.” Mickey would not hear otherwise, which was fine as Minnie saw no reason to argue, curious as she was. Minnie’s castle was always full of servants going to and fro, but in Mickey’s clay-made palace, their footsteps echoed off into empty hallways. Minnie enjoyed the silence, slowly taking in the scenery as they passed by empty rooms filled with dirt and history. But when Mickey spoke again, she paid rapt attention. “Long, long ago, there was a king with many wives and many sons. His eldest son was gunna be king next, but when the…” he paused, blanking on the right term. “Uh… yanno… when it’s time ta make the next king thing, or somethin’…”
“Crowning ceremony?” Minnie offered. The sun was setting outside, casting long shadows on the pair.
“Sure, that. Anyway, it was almost time for that, when one of his other wives made a request ta the king. Every wife was allowed ta make one request, and hers was that the prince was ta be banished ta the forest of demons for fourteen years.”
Minnie was instantly at Mickey’s side, wrapped up in the story. “Why? That’s awful!”
“Aw, it’s always the same reason, with those types.” Mickey shrugged his shoulders, not understanding the greed that these villains had, as he had no competition to the throne he would inherit. “She figured he’d be killed by the demons, and by the fourteen years were up, her kid would be enough ta take the throne. The King obeyed his wife, the Prince obeyed the king, and off he goes. But he doesn’t go alone… see, the prince was married.” He stopped walking, and cast a smile over to his girl. “Married ta the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world.”
Minnie’s cheeks had a habit to turn darker than most other women’s due to her pure white fur, and such a gaze with such an implication was enough to make her redder than the sun that was leaving inch by inch. She cast her eyes away, embarrassed by her own colors. “… Go on.”
Oh but he enjoyed her meekness and her humble nature, so he couldn’t help but layer it on. “Prettiest girl that the gods ever made, and everyone knew it. And she was perfect in every single way.” He hugged Minnie from behind, making sure his mouth was hardly a hair’s split away from her ear. “Perfect hair, perfect hands, perfect way of blushin’ that made her look like a ripe tomato…”
“How is any of that relevant to the story?” Minnie spoke in a rushed squeak, feeling warmer in Mickey’s embrace than by the heat that still radiated even with the disappearance of the sun. Men of the Moon Kingdom were taught to only hold a lady’s hand during courtship and nothing more until marriage. Mickey was well aware of the societal norms of the opposite kingdom, and lavished every moment where he could flip Minnie’s expectations. He pushed at the peak of Minnie’s limits to see what she would allow, ready to back off if a real complaint was ever lodged. Yet she had proven, for all of her delicate upbringing, that she never truly resisted his actions and indulged in them - such as now, her body rested on his, her petite hands lightly touching his and not pushing away his fingers. She had never known a passion like this could exist, and so welcomed it, perhaps more than a stranger should have.
It was possible he could have done anything he wanted to her, but a sense of chivalry had an odd rhythm in Mickey’s heart. He could stir his little bird in her cage, but it might be too much for her to handle more. He kissed her ear, and loosened his grip, finding his fingers entwined with hers. “Okay, like I was sayin’… the prince and his wife go off to the forest of demons. But the prince turned out ta be a really great fighter, too. He was slayin’ demons left and right with his mighty bow and arrow!” He had to admit he enjoyed this part of the story, and with a free hand, he mimicked slaying imaginary foes. “He was the most powerful guy all around, and soon all the demons in the forest knew about him and his wife. That included the ruler of the forest, the Demon Lord!” With a villain in play, Mickey jumped away from Minnie, startling her. “He had seven heads, and seven arms, and was big and scary and ugly!” He wiggles his fingers to imitate claws. “Why, even uglier than Pete!”
Minnie bit her lower lip to keep from giggling. “Mickey, that’s mean.”
Undeterred, Mickey stomped around Minnie, continuing his impression of the evil lord of demons. “He didn’t care about the dead demons, but he wanted the wife all ta himself! Since she was the prettiest and all. So he went deep into the forest ta find her.” For the next part, Mickey straightened up, taking up a different role. “That day, the Prince was gunna go out huntin’, and he told his wife ta stay behind. He drew up a magic circle ta keep her safe.” Using his tail, he walked around Minnie, tracing a circle around her in the faint clay dust. “Nothin’ could get in, as long as she stayed in the circle. She promised ta stay in, and so he left.” Minnie sat in the finished circle, watching Mickey expectantly now that she had her own role. “The Demon Lord used his magic ta disguise himself as a wounded deer, and walked in front of the circle. Now, whaddya think the wife did?”
“She stayed.” Minnie replied simply, putting her hands in her lap.
“That’s right, she-” Mickey stopped, and looked back at her. “… What?”
“She stayed, didn’t she?” Minnie didn’t understand Mickey’s confusion, the answer being obvious to her. “She promised him, and she loved him, so she must have stayed.” After all, it’s what she would have done.
“… What about the deer?” Mickey gestured to the injured animal that wasn’t there.
“The Prince could come back and heal it. She made a promise to her husband.” It didn’t make sense for the story to go any other way. Minnie had been taught the importance of promises, even ones that weren’t made by lovers. But ones by lovers were especially important. She would never break a promise to Mickey, and knew that he would do the same. Having love meant having absolute trust, and she believed strongly in these ideals. “What happened then?”
Mickey stared at her, momentarily unsure of how to handle the moment. Such blind, unfaltering faith in love and trust! It was so very Minnie, and he wasn’t sure if his heart could keep in anymore love for her as her eyes innocently awaited the next part of the tale. It was taking much of his will not to tackle her down and smother her in adored kisses. “… Yup, she stayed.” This was a lie. The story he had heard dozens of times continued with the wife leaving the circle to help the deer, and getting captured as a result. “And… the Demon Lord got all impatient, and broke the magic circle, ‘cause… ‘cause demons can do that. So he snatched her up!” He clapped his hands hard, and then rubbed them together. “The wife knew the prince would come after her, so as the Demon Lord carried her, she dropped her jewelry on the ground ta make a trail. Like… the necklace!” He came to her side and knelt down, trying to take off her necklace.
Minnie flinched, and then grabbed the necklace as if her life depended on it. Mickey stopped again, wondering how close he had come to hurting her feelings, judging by the displeased emotions in Minnie’s eyes. It had been his first gift to her, and the one that had brought them together. There was no way Minnie would allow it to come off, even for a little while as child’s play. He smiled weakly. “Aw, I was just kiddin’!” He sat down, hurriedly telling the next part of the story as way of apology. “Anyways… he gets her ta his castle, but she refused ta come in, and stayed under this tree. He demanded that she marry him, but she refused, no matter how many times he asked her. Now, meanwhile, the prince came back, and saw that his missy was gone. He followed the jewelry trail, and along the way, the animals of the forest helped him out, since he was gettin’ rid of all the demons. They got ta the Demon Lord’s place, and-”
“Defeated the Demon Lord and saved the wife?” Minnie had evidently forgiven him, lured in by the story again. She had turned towards Mickey, curling up to him.
“Well if ya already know how it goes, why should I even tell ya?” Mickey poked her nose. “A’course they did!”
“And then they lived happily ever after?” Minnie smiled again, the moon and sun fused necklace hanging off of her as she leaned towards him. Already she had envisioned Mickey as the valiant arrow-wielding prince, striding proudly towards his white furred wife who was patiently waiting under a tree as pink petals fell upon her.
“Sure they did.” This was another lie, one that was easier told as he put an arm around her shoulders. The rest of the tale was much longer and far more tragic, as the story prince continuously doubted his wife’s purity after what had happened, but Minnie didn’t need to know about that. The stories of her kingdom were made to instill morals, whereas the old scrolls of the sun were mostly about creative answers. These kinds of endings were Minnie’s favorites, because they were the only type she ever heard. “Live with no troubles, have a buncha kiddos, the works. Folks like that always get their happily ever afters.” The sun was gone now, leaving them in faint darkness as torches outside were being lit.
“That was a lovely story.” Minnie nestled her head on Mickey’s shoulder, eyes closing as she sighed peacefully. “I can’t wait until we get our happily ever after.” That would have to be once the kingdom’s got over their differences, once the bans were banished, once all the hatred from every single person from both kingdoms was gone…
Mickey found himself unable to have the heart to tell her the grim reality of things. He knew their happily ever after would come. It would just take a long, long, long time. Those rustling thoughts pricked at the back of his mind, warning him about what could go wrong, the consequences they would face - and like always he pushed them away, not wanting to give heed to these warnings, living only in the present. “Probably won’t be until after ya stop blushin’ so much.”
Minnie’s head shot up at the remark. “I do not!” But that was the wrong challenge to ring forth, as Mickey’s lips were on her quickly, here and there as she shrieked with laughter. The story was gone, so what to do with the time left was of Mickey’s choosing, and he chose to grab and nip and tickle and play, watching her redden as she lost her breath. He kept her there with him, in their happily ever here.