[Fic] [Round 24] I Hated You Before I Saw You, K
Author/Artist: raynehargreaves
Characters/Pairings: Yuuri, Greta
Words: 939 words
Rating: K
Warnings: None
Theme/Prompt: "I Saw You"
A/N: Final part out of three of a collection of "Before I Saw You" one shots. Two "After I Saw You" one shots coming up after this [regardless of whether I make it in by the deadline or not]! And one of them is a Special. Oooh.
Greta's my favorite out of what little female characters there are in KKM. It makes me sad that you can't see more of her in the series [she had some great episodes though]. So here's a mini tribute to her and Yuuri. Er...I kind of feel like I rambled on about the history I made up of her and her uncle than concentrating on her relationship with Yuuri though...
"I hated you."
Yuuri paused, pulling the hairbrush away from his daughter's cascade of brown curls. "I know you did Greta." He leaned forward so their faces appeared right next to each other in the mirror. "Do you want to talk about it?"
The little princess sat motionless for a moment, carefully stroking the head of the worn-out doll in her hands. Many other seemingly useless and old things were set on the vanity's tabletop, and her gaze lingered on each and every article there, her changing expressions telling stories within themselves.
Her uncle's family had visited Blood Pledge Castle that afternoon, leaving only a curt acknowledgement of Yuuri's position as Maou, and a tiny box of her childhood things. Greta had not even come out to see them, nor had her uncle inquired about her. When Yuuri searched for her later, she was in her bedroom, hiding under her covers. Now it was nightfall, and he was helping her get ready for bed.
"Ojii-san was a very busy person. Sometimes I wouldn't see him for weeks. It didn't matter when I was little...I didn't understand anything. But then I got older, and every time, he would talk about how f-foolish she was...he said that she didn't need to help her people in the war, that she was the queen and shouldn't even have to think about doing such a l-lowly task...and that her foolishness got her k-killed in the end..."
Yuuri wordlessly pulled her into a tight hug as she started crying silently. "He didn't like Haha-ue, and he didn't like me. He said I couldn't do anything right. He said Zoraccia would be ruled by him, not a rowdy...unintelligent...sentimental girl like me...I didn't even care that he wanted to be the king. I only wanted him to say that he liked me. Just once. Nobody in that castle had ever said they liked me. I felt so useless and lonely, I would've done anything to have them say it just once."
She faltered, clinging to the doll that had no doubt carried her through her troubled times. Yuuri gently wiped away her tears, whispering, "I like you Greta, I like you Greta, I like you Greta" until she calmed down again. She gave him a wobbly smile. He returned it, then turned solemn again, continuing on her story.
"And then I became the Maou...and Greta thought killing the new Maou would be a way to get your Uncle to like you a little bit since he hated all Mazokus..." He tucked her head under his chin as he lifted her up, carrying her to her bed. She nodded, memories of that assassination attempt turning her expression ashamed and regretful.
"You were someone in the way of Ojii-san liking me, because he took all his effort into hating you. So I began to hate you too. And when I decided to try and kill you...I never even thought about the fact that there was the possibility he wouldn't like me even if I did. I thought that if I did it, I'd have earned his love for the rest of my life. But after you helped me and adopted me, even after all of that, I decided that I wouldn't try to make Ojii-san like me anymore. I'd try to make you and Wolfram and Gwendal and Conrad and everyone else here like me, because they're the ones that could. Ojii-san didn't have any ability to love, so he couldn't give it even if I did something that made him happy... But here if I'm good, then everyone likes me just fine."
Yuuri smiled as he tucked her in. "Greta, here you don't have to earn everyone's love. Love is freely given, so if someone loves you, it's out of their own free will and not because you did something to make it that way. If you ever did do something to make everyone love you, it's that you act just as yourself, our sweet little Greta."
Greta closed her eyes, sighing. "I don't hate you anymore Yuuri. I love you."
"I know. That's all that matters now. Good night Greta. I love you too." He kissed her forehead and extinguished the candle, leaving quietly out the door. After he left, she opened her eyes again and set her doll on her nightstand.
"Thank you for listening to me when I was alone. Tomorrow I'm going to put you back into the box with all my other things, so I don't have to remember the sad times I had in Ojii-san's castle. I have Yuuri and Wolfram now, and I know they love me, so I don't have to pretend that you love me anymore." She pet the doll's head then snuggled back under the covers, slipping into a dreamless sleep.
There were still bitter memories of the past, but she would be alright. As long as she had her fathers' love, she would be alright.
Characters/Pairings: Yuuri, Greta
Words: 939 words
Rating: K
Warnings: None
Theme/Prompt: "I Saw You"
A/N: Final part out of three of a collection of "Before I Saw You" one shots. Two "After I Saw You" one shots coming up after this [regardless of whether I make it in by the deadline or not]! And one of them is a Special. Oooh.
Greta's my favorite out of what little female characters there are in KKM. It makes me sad that you can't see more of her in the series [she had some great episodes though]. So here's a mini tribute to her and Yuuri. Er...I kind of feel like I rambled on about the history I made up of her and her uncle than concentrating on her relationship with Yuuri though...
"I hated you."
Yuuri paused, pulling the hairbrush away from his daughter's cascade of brown curls. "I know you did Greta." He leaned forward so their faces appeared right next to each other in the mirror. "Do you want to talk about it?"
The little princess sat motionless for a moment, carefully stroking the head of the worn-out doll in her hands. Many other seemingly useless and old things were set on the vanity's tabletop, and her gaze lingered on each and every article there, her changing expressions telling stories within themselves.
Her uncle's family had visited Blood Pledge Castle that afternoon, leaving only a curt acknowledgement of Yuuri's position as Maou, and a tiny box of her childhood things. Greta had not even come out to see them, nor had her uncle inquired about her. When Yuuri searched for her later, she was in her bedroom, hiding under her covers. Now it was nightfall, and he was helping her get ready for bed.
"Ojii-san was a very busy person. Sometimes I wouldn't see him for weeks. It didn't matter when I was little...I didn't understand anything. But then I got older, and every time, he would talk about how f-foolish she was...he said that she didn't need to help her people in the war, that she was the queen and shouldn't even have to think about doing such a l-lowly task...and that her foolishness got her k-killed in the end..."
Yuuri wordlessly pulled her into a tight hug as she started crying silently. "He didn't like Haha-ue, and he didn't like me. He said I couldn't do anything right. He said Zoraccia would be ruled by him, not a rowdy...unintelligent...sentimental girl like me...I didn't even care that he wanted to be the king. I only wanted him to say that he liked me. Just once. Nobody in that castle had ever said they liked me. I felt so useless and lonely, I would've done anything to have them say it just once."
She faltered, clinging to the doll that had no doubt carried her through her troubled times. Yuuri gently wiped away her tears, whispering, "I like you Greta, I like you Greta, I like you Greta" until she calmed down again. She gave him a wobbly smile. He returned it, then turned solemn again, continuing on her story.
"And then I became the Maou...and Greta thought killing the new Maou would be a way to get your Uncle to like you a little bit since he hated all Mazokus..." He tucked her head under his chin as he lifted her up, carrying her to her bed. She nodded, memories of that assassination attempt turning her expression ashamed and regretful.
"You were someone in the way of Ojii-san liking me, because he took all his effort into hating you. So I began to hate you too. And when I decided to try and kill you...I never even thought about the fact that there was the possibility he wouldn't like me even if I did. I thought that if I did it, I'd have earned his love for the rest of my life. But after you helped me and adopted me, even after all of that, I decided that I wouldn't try to make Ojii-san like me anymore. I'd try to make you and Wolfram and Gwendal and Conrad and everyone else here like me, because they're the ones that could. Ojii-san didn't have any ability to love, so he couldn't give it even if I did something that made him happy... But here if I'm good, then everyone likes me just fine."
Yuuri smiled as he tucked her in. "Greta, here you don't have to earn everyone's love. Love is freely given, so if someone loves you, it's out of their own free will and not because you did something to make it that way. If you ever did do something to make everyone love you, it's that you act just as yourself, our sweet little Greta."
Greta closed her eyes, sighing. "I don't hate you anymore Yuuri. I love you."
"I know. That's all that matters now. Good night Greta. I love you too." He kissed her forehead and extinguished the candle, leaving quietly out the door. After he left, she opened her eyes again and set her doll on her nightstand.
"Thank you for listening to me when I was alone. Tomorrow I'm going to put you back into the box with all my other things, so I don't have to remember the sad times I had in Ojii-san's castle. I have Yuuri and Wolfram now, and I know they love me, so I don't have to pretend that you love me anymore." She pet the doll's head then snuggled back under the covers, slipping into a dreamless sleep.
There were still bitter memories of the past, but she would be alright. As long as she had her fathers' love, she would be alright.