サあ, ひざまずき なさい! The Story of Evil
Hella long story under the cut. Seeing the new Daughter of White, I decided to try to work out how they all the Story of Evil songs (including the fan ones about Miku, Kaito, and Meiko) go together. I expanded on a few details and motives, that sort of thing, and took into account some of mothy's comments from his blog which don't actually get said outright in the songs. People (shikuchi in particular, since you know the story), what do you think (other than the triteness of the language)?
A king and queen of a country-- we will call it the Kingdom of Yellow-- have twin children, a boy and a girl, born into high expectations for their futures. However, the king and queen die of a disease, and the ministers who are left behind take control. They cannot do this outright though, they must manipulate one of the heirs: they decide a girl would be easier to control, so she becomes the figurehead ruler while her brother is raised as her servant. Bitter toward the minister for separating her from her brother and burdening her with the crown, and blaming the "dirty" peasantry for making her parents ill, she acts spitefully and selfishly. She makes no effort to rule the kingdom properly, and raises taxes arbitrarily. When one of the national heroes (a general who had overcome his low birth and made a name for himself in war) objects to her utter disregard for her people, she snaps and goes from negligence to outright cruelty, having him executed in front of his wife and daughter. Many others who incur her displeasure meet a similar fate. The kingdom is failing, corruption among the nobles is completely unheeded by the crown, and the young princess becomes quickly known as
"The Daughter of Evil."
Throughout this all, the one person she has trusted and not become embittered and hateful or careless toward is her brother, the servant. Around him she is able to laugh and act the way a child her age deserves to. Her brother, seeing her decline, vows to protect the innocent and happy her that he knew and believes still remains, even though he knows that she is-- not without reason-- hated by almost everyone. He ignores the growing evil, instead continuing as always: baking her pastries (brioche is her favorite), taking her and her horse (Josephine) out to the country, telling her stories, and taking her to the beach or just out and about.
There is a nearby land which had lost out in wars with the Kingdom of Yellow, and though it has regained a level of prosperity, it is under Yellow's rule and those who remember the war hold a deep grudge. It is known as "the kingdom of green" for the lovely green hair that the all women from that area have-- all except one albino who, for her white hair, is considered unusually ugly and made to do the most tedious and menial labor. The town beauty, however, befriends the white-haired woman after she (the white-haired one) finds her (the beauty) passed out in the forest after getting lost. At first the white-haired woman is doubtful, but when it becomes clear that the beauty truly values and cares for her, the white-haired woman becomes the green-haired one's devoted companion. The green-haired woman suggests they run away from the mockery of the townsfolk, and so the two move to a bustling port town in the Kingdom of Yellow. What the white-haired one does not know is that this beauty has been raised on tales of revenge and duty to overthrow Yellow, and is simply moving in to strike. Once in the Kingdom of Yellow, the two take work as servants in a merchant lady's house, and though it is not easy the white-haired woman is happy to have a new life with her friend.
Across the sea is a third kingdom, the Kingdom of Blue. The prince of that land is considered by all to be exceedingly handsome and charming, but he has never been able to settle on a bride, instead flirting with countless noblewomen. However, his ministers insist that by his age he really must take a queen, and the ministers of Yellow, desperate for a way to maintain the extravagant style of the upper class and restore some dignity to their rapidly declining nation, eagerly offer the Princess of Yellow (the Daughter of Evil), who is known to be quite infatuated with the Prince of Blue. A meeting is arranged to take place between the Prince and Princess in a busy seaside town. The Prince arrives, and while looking for the Princess he encounters a beautiful green-haired woman in the town square. It is the beauty from the, lying in wait for him to sow discord between the countries of Blue and Yellow. Sure enough, when the Princess arrives to see the two talking in a very friendly manner, a dark jealousy takes root in her. As the woman leaves, she and the Princess's servant catch each other's eyes: each one sees in the other the face of one who is living life for someone else's purpose, and they smile at each other.
The Princess and the Prince meet several more times, and the Princess's servant takes these times to meet the green-haired town girl. However, while the Princess is becoming more and more taken with the Prince, he is being all-too successfully-- and not at all secretly-- led on by the woman from the land of Green. The Daughter of Green, in turn, is falling in love with the Princess's servant (and he with her), despite knowing it is against her plan and that were he to discover her intentions against his sister and his country, it would cause him despair. Eventually, the Prince of Blue rejects the Princess of Yellow outright. Enraged, the Princess of Yellow wants the woman who stole the Prince's heart dead, but she realizes she does not actually know who the green-haired woman is. Rather than give up, she simply plunges further into darkness, and gives the order for all green-haired women to be hunted down and killed. The Princess's servant, panicking, wants to save the Daughter of Green, but is stopped by his sister who, still completely unreachable in her state of fury, gives him a knife and tells him to kill the woman who broke her heart. Though overcome with despair at her order and the change in her, he cannot refuse her, and he seeks out the beautiful woman. Silently, he leads her out to a well in the woods and draws his knife, but his hands tremble too much to actually kill her. She, however, knowing this is just the chance she needs to secure her plans, takes his hands and stabs herself, saying that she was happy to have known him and apologizing for selfishly wanting to have it be him who killed her.
News of the massacre of the women of Green spreads swiftly. The white-haired woman falls into depression, wishing she could have died in place of her friend. The people of Yellow, convinced their princess is utterly mad, finally are led to revolt by the red armor-clad daughter of the war hero that had been executed earlier. They are joined by the forces of the Kingdom of Blue and the devastated Prince, who had never found out about the Daughter of Green's lack of feelings for him and who had indeed fallen deeply in love with her. What few soldiers remain with the Princess are not enough to stay the mobs and the army, but as the palace is about to be stormed, the Princess's servant tells her to switch clothes with him and flee, saying he will take her place. Because they are twins and still young, the disguise works, and the servant plays the part of the proud mad princess perfectly and is captured. His sister, meanwhile, gets lost in the mob as it breaks in.
An execution date is set for the princess, and the red-armored woman goes to the jail to see the princess's condition. However, when she sees the "princess", she realizes something is not right. She decides, though, that the execution must go forward, for the people. On the day of the execution, the actual princess, disguised, finds her way to the main square just in time to see the clock strike 3. True to his part, the servant merely comments "Ah, snack time" before the guillotine blade drops. His last thought is that if he and his sister were to be reborn, it would be nice to play again like they did when they were younger. With the "princess" dead, the armored woman to speak on behalf of the people, and the Kingdom of Blue supporting, peace slowly returns to the land.
In the seaside town, the white-haired woman finds a girl unconscious by the shore, and takes her home to care for until she revives. The girl has no home and is clearly unsuited to most work, so she stays with the white-haired woman, who teaches and cares for her. The two become quite close. The girl often goes down to the shore and looks out with an air of regret. She is thinking of the story her brother told her, that people would make wishes and send them out to sea in bottles. He had sent out a bottle wishing her to be happy, and she had thought it was silly back then. Now he was dead, and as she looks out at the sea, she realizes it was her own selfishness that had caused him, herself, and others so much pain. She goes to a confessional and repents for her old self-- the Daughter of Evil. The white-haired woman, who was going to the church just then, overhears this and is stunned. That evening, the girl goes down to the seaside with a message in a bottle, and as she casts it adrift she begins to cry uncontrollably. She does not notice the albino, who followed her and raises a knife, pointing it at the girl's back-- and then stopping. Though the woman had wanted to avenge her friend, she sees in this girl her own former self: unwanted, clumsy and useless, alone. It is too sad to think about, and she knows the girl is trying to change-- she clearly is sorry, and she has been working as best she can to be useful; her cooking, for instance, has gotten much better. She had made a brioche just that afternoon. Just then, the white-haired woman thinks for a moment she sees a phantom standing beside them on the shore, a boy she does not know but who looks familiar, and the girl looks up, thinking she hears for a moment her brother's voice echoing the wish she had just made: that if they could be reborn...
A king and queen of a country-- we will call it the Kingdom of Yellow-- have twin children, a boy and a girl, born into high expectations for their futures. However, the king and queen die of a disease, and the ministers who are left behind take control. They cannot do this outright though, they must manipulate one of the heirs: they decide a girl would be easier to control, so she becomes the figurehead ruler while her brother is raised as her servant. Bitter toward the minister for separating her from her brother and burdening her with the crown, and blaming the "dirty" peasantry for making her parents ill, she acts spitefully and selfishly. She makes no effort to rule the kingdom properly, and raises taxes arbitrarily. When one of the national heroes (a general who had overcome his low birth and made a name for himself in war) objects to her utter disregard for her people, she snaps and goes from negligence to outright cruelty, having him executed in front of his wife and daughter. Many others who incur her displeasure meet a similar fate. The kingdom is failing, corruption among the nobles is completely unheeded by the crown, and the young princess becomes quickly known as
"The Daughter of Evil."
Throughout this all, the one person she has trusted and not become embittered and hateful or careless toward is her brother, the servant. Around him she is able to laugh and act the way a child her age deserves to. Her brother, seeing her decline, vows to protect the innocent and happy her that he knew and believes still remains, even though he knows that she is-- not without reason-- hated by almost everyone. He ignores the growing evil, instead continuing as always: baking her pastries (brioche is her favorite), taking her and her horse (Josephine) out to the country, telling her stories, and taking her to the beach or just out and about.
There is a nearby land which had lost out in wars with the Kingdom of Yellow, and though it has regained a level of prosperity, it is under Yellow's rule and those who remember the war hold a deep grudge. It is known as "the kingdom of green" for the lovely green hair that the all women from that area have-- all except one albino who, for her white hair, is considered unusually ugly and made to do the most tedious and menial labor. The town beauty, however, befriends the white-haired woman after she (the white-haired one) finds her (the beauty) passed out in the forest after getting lost. At first the white-haired woman is doubtful, but when it becomes clear that the beauty truly values and cares for her, the white-haired woman becomes the green-haired one's devoted companion. The green-haired woman suggests they run away from the mockery of the townsfolk, and so the two move to a bustling port town in the Kingdom of Yellow. What the white-haired one does not know is that this beauty has been raised on tales of revenge and duty to overthrow Yellow, and is simply moving in to strike. Once in the Kingdom of Yellow, the two take work as servants in a merchant lady's house, and though it is not easy the white-haired woman is happy to have a new life with her friend.
Across the sea is a third kingdom, the Kingdom of Blue. The prince of that land is considered by all to be exceedingly handsome and charming, but he has never been able to settle on a bride, instead flirting with countless noblewomen. However, his ministers insist that by his age he really must take a queen, and the ministers of Yellow, desperate for a way to maintain the extravagant style of the upper class and restore some dignity to their rapidly declining nation, eagerly offer the Princess of Yellow (the Daughter of Evil), who is known to be quite infatuated with the Prince of Blue. A meeting is arranged to take place between the Prince and Princess in a busy seaside town. The Prince arrives, and while looking for the Princess he encounters a beautiful green-haired woman in the town square. It is the beauty from the, lying in wait for him to sow discord between the countries of Blue and Yellow. Sure enough, when the Princess arrives to see the two talking in a very friendly manner, a dark jealousy takes root in her. As the woman leaves, she and the Princess's servant catch each other's eyes: each one sees in the other the face of one who is living life for someone else's purpose, and they smile at each other.
The Princess and the Prince meet several more times, and the Princess's servant takes these times to meet the green-haired town girl. However, while the Princess is becoming more and more taken with the Prince, he is being all-too successfully-- and not at all secretly-- led on by the woman from the land of Green. The Daughter of Green, in turn, is falling in love with the Princess's servant (and he with her), despite knowing it is against her plan and that were he to discover her intentions against his sister and his country, it would cause him despair. Eventually, the Prince of Blue rejects the Princess of Yellow outright. Enraged, the Princess of Yellow wants the woman who stole the Prince's heart dead, but she realizes she does not actually know who the green-haired woman is. Rather than give up, she simply plunges further into darkness, and gives the order for all green-haired women to be hunted down and killed. The Princess's servant, panicking, wants to save the Daughter of Green, but is stopped by his sister who, still completely unreachable in her state of fury, gives him a knife and tells him to kill the woman who broke her heart. Though overcome with despair at her order and the change in her, he cannot refuse her, and he seeks out the beautiful woman. Silently, he leads her out to a well in the woods and draws his knife, but his hands tremble too much to actually kill her. She, however, knowing this is just the chance she needs to secure her plans, takes his hands and stabs herself, saying that she was happy to have known him and apologizing for selfishly wanting to have it be him who killed her.
News of the massacre of the women of Green spreads swiftly. The white-haired woman falls into depression, wishing she could have died in place of her friend. The people of Yellow, convinced their princess is utterly mad, finally are led to revolt by the red armor-clad daughter of the war hero that had been executed earlier. They are joined by the forces of the Kingdom of Blue and the devastated Prince, who had never found out about the Daughter of Green's lack of feelings for him and who had indeed fallen deeply in love with her. What few soldiers remain with the Princess are not enough to stay the mobs and the army, but as the palace is about to be stormed, the Princess's servant tells her to switch clothes with him and flee, saying he will take her place. Because they are twins and still young, the disguise works, and the servant plays the part of the proud mad princess perfectly and is captured. His sister, meanwhile, gets lost in the mob as it breaks in.
An execution date is set for the princess, and the red-armored woman goes to the jail to see the princess's condition. However, when she sees the "princess", she realizes something is not right. She decides, though, that the execution must go forward, for the people. On the day of the execution, the actual princess, disguised, finds her way to the main square just in time to see the clock strike 3. True to his part, the servant merely comments "Ah, snack time" before the guillotine blade drops. His last thought is that if he and his sister were to be reborn, it would be nice to play again like they did when they were younger. With the "princess" dead, the armored woman to speak on behalf of the people, and the Kingdom of Blue supporting, peace slowly returns to the land.
In the seaside town, the white-haired woman finds a girl unconscious by the shore, and takes her home to care for until she revives. The girl has no home and is clearly unsuited to most work, so she stays with the white-haired woman, who teaches and cares for her. The two become quite close. The girl often goes down to the shore and looks out with an air of regret. She is thinking of the story her brother told her, that people would make wishes and send them out to sea in bottles. He had sent out a bottle wishing her to be happy, and she had thought it was silly back then. Now he was dead, and as she looks out at the sea, she realizes it was her own selfishness that had caused him, herself, and others so much pain. She goes to a confessional and repents for her old self-- the Daughter of Evil. The white-haired woman, who was going to the church just then, overhears this and is stunned. That evening, the girl goes down to the seaside with a message in a bottle, and as she casts it adrift she begins to cry uncontrollably. She does not notice the albino, who followed her and raises a knife, pointing it at the girl's back-- and then stopping. Though the woman had wanted to avenge her friend, she sees in this girl her own former self: unwanted, clumsy and useless, alone. It is too sad to think about, and she knows the girl is trying to change-- she clearly is sorry, and she has been working as best she can to be useful; her cooking, for instance, has gotten much better. She had made a brioche just that afternoon. Just then, the white-haired woman thinks for a moment she sees a phantom standing beside them on the shore, a boy she does not know but who looks familiar, and the girl looks up, thinking she hears for a moment her brother's voice echoing the wish she had just made: that if they could be reborn...