hitsumatsu fairytale drabbles
Drabble 1
Title: "Rangiku", alt. version of Rapunzel
Rating: T
Genre: AU/Romance
Once upon a time, there was a couple who lived next door to a fox demon. He had a lovely garden, filled with chrysanthemums in bloom all year round, and the wife always admired them from afar.
But her and her husband longed for a child, and once she got pregnant she had to lie in bed all day long, with nothing but the view of those lovely flowers to gaze upon day and night. Her admiration turned to obsession, and it became so bad that she couldn't live without holding one of those lovely flowers close to her chest and she inhaled its scent.
Her husband, desperate to keep both his wife and baby healthy, snuck into the fox demon's garden one night to snatch a flower, for he dared not take more. Her wife was so happy, and everything seemed alright, until the next day when the wife found the flower wilted despite the wealthy amount of water she had provided with care.
At his wife's wails, cries and declarations of wanting to end her life, the husband returned to the demon's garden. This time, he took a whole bunch of the beautiful flowers, but before he could make his escape, the fox demon himself appeared before him.
"What're you doin', raidin' my garden and destroyin' my priceless flowers?" he said, an eerie grin on his human-like features. The husband fell to his knees, begging for his life; horrified by the flash of red eyes as the demon glanced down on him.
"Very well," he said, tired of the pathetic man's pleads and feeble excuses of his wife. "I'll allow you to live, and provide you with one new flower each day for the rest of your life - if you agree to give your first born to me."
The husband, by now desperate, agreed without second thought.
"Good," the fox demon continued. "You will name her Rangiku, after my beautiful Chrysanthemums, and after the distortion of this event. Now, get out!"
Not needing to be told twice, the man hurried away, absently wondering why the demon seemed to sure his child would be a girl.
A few days later, most of the encounter seemed more like a dream to the man, even as he held his baby girl for the first time. Why would a demon want a child? And a baby at that?
Months passed, and soon a full year had gone. The man had yet to tell his wife about the deal he made, but there was no need, since the demon had yet to arrive he must not want it after all. But, he did.
One night, when the child was two years old, the fox demon arrived at the couple's doorstep. They could do nothing as he took the girl away, and it would be the last time they ever saw her again.
-
Years passed, and the rumour of a beautiful young woman locked high up in an unreachable tower spread across the land. It was said the infamous fox demon held her prisoner, hiding her beauty from the world and killing any man who tried to free her. Yet, they still continued to try, for she was said to be the closest to a goddess a human could come. Some even suggested she might be a nymph, or even a demon herself.
But it was far from the truth.
She was human, very human indeed. At times, she would stand by the lone window of her tower and wonder how long time would pass before she hit the ground if she jumped, and if her fox would be angry to find the bed of chrysanthemums underneath crushed by her body. She never did try this out, for she held a surprisingly positive attitude towards life which allowed her to hope that one day, she would be free.
Today, however, was not the day.
"Let down your hair, luv, so I can climb that golden stair," a familiar voice called from the ground. Sighing, Rangiku did as told; flinging her long, long braid out of the window and bracing herself as it fell down. The fox, who frequently reminded her to call him Gin, started to climb. Without the magic embedded in her hair, he wouldn't have been able to get up, and she would, surely, cut it a lot shorter for comfort. But as it was, the hair was stronger than any rope.
Gin's visit this time was short, he merely left her a meal and a few new books. Even when she asked him to stay just a little bit longer, to converse and keep her from going out of her mind, he still left. She tried to grab a hold of his long coat, but he slipped out of her grasp and ceased smiling, for once.
"Sorry, Rangiku, you should've held on a bit tigther."
She guessed she should've, but she was sure he would've escaped anyway.
The hours passed, and the evening turned to night, and the night to morning. Gin didn't come for breakfast. She waited, leaning out of the window and gazing at the horizon with her braid already falling along the stone wall; ready for the fox's return. The growling of her stomach prevented her from noticing the rustling and crunching of the flowers surrounding her tower, but when she felt something tugging at her braid, she finally looked down.
"Gi--" she began, but was cut off short by the sight greeting her. A young man, perhaps a few years younger than she, stood looking up with a curious expression on his pale face. She noticed that his hair had the same unnatural colour as her fox demon, only this stranger's shade was pearly white rather than a light grey. His unnaturally clear, teal eyes were visible even from distance and she wondered if he was, perhaps, another demon. Her suspicions were confirmed when the boy suddenly sprouted wings of cold, blue ice and flew up the tall tower in a matter of seconds.
"What are you doing here?" was the first thing he said, and she wondered if perhaps he was a bit dense as well. Once of the stupid demons, maybe?
"Oh, nothing. Just playing the part of a hostage. How about you?" she replied, voice mockingly light as she tried not to laugh at his frown.
"I was told I would find Gin, the fox demon, here. Are you, by chance, his hostage?" the white-haired boy said, sounding slightly irritated. She nodded, curious what business he had with the fox but too thrilled by talking to someone other than Gin that she didn't really care.
"Yes, I am. He comes here to deliver my meals and keep me company for a few hours a day. He hasn't been around much lately though, and didn't bring any breakfast so I'm really starving. Oh, but never mind, where are you from? What's your name? What kind of demon are you? Is that real ice? Say, you wouldn't have any sweets on you, no? I could really use something to eat, but---"
"---Look, lady, just tell me in which direction he went and I'll promise to free you, get you some food, and bring you home, alright? Do we have a deal?" he interrupted before she could continue her ramblings. She didn't usually talk this much nonsense, but to her excuse, she had to say that it was her first time having an actual conversation with an outsider. Usually, Gin killed them before they could even greet her properly.
"Deal," she said after a few moments, coming to a conclusion that she would be terribly stupid if she turned down this offer, even if he probably didn't intended on keeping his part of the deal. "He went east."
"Thank you," he said before leaving in a swish of icy wings. She watched him disappear into the forest with a sigh, only now realizing that there was a chance he was after Gin to kill him, and if he did, no one would come and give her food or company. She would be dead within a few days.
"Damnit."
-
Because the white-haired boy with the wings is a person of moral and with a kind heart beneath all that cold ice, and because the Happily Ever After was decided before this story was written, Rangiku, named after the Chrysanthemum she resembled, didn't die.
Before dawn, the boy whose name she learned was Toshiro returned and helped her down to the ground. She managed to persuade him to fly just a little bit more before putting her down, because it was the most exciting experience she had ever had, and he did so with a few half-hearted protests.
However, he was very agitated to find that she had nowhere to go and no home to return to, which neatly landed her in his hands. That she was prone to walking straight into danger and force him to come to her rescue only added to his irritation, but in the end, he didn't really mind. He grew used to her company, and eventually to the attraction he had harboured since he first saw her gaze out of that lone tower, with long, golden hair shining in the sun.
But what about Gin, the fox demon? Well, that epic battle is for another story.
Drabble 2
Title: A Different Snow White
Rating: T
Genre: AU/Romance
Once upon a time, there was a magical mirror. He (for it had a gender, and it was male) was said to be able to answer any question you could possibly ask. Kings and Lords, who wanted advice on warfare and such, offered great rewards for those who would bring the mirror to them. However, it often ended with fake mirrors being presented instead and many gave up hope of ever finding the mysterious object as the years passed.
Meanwhile, during the frantic search for him, the mirror was safely placed on the wall of an old woman's bedroom. He was quite happy there, even if the intellectual stimulation the old granny provided was limited to discussing different recipes and herbs. He also got quite good at crosswords, since she had a habit of asking him for help. But when he got a word wrong, she was surprised to realize that yes, he replied to every question she had, although the answer didn't always had to be a correct one.
A young girl called Momo soon joined the household. She looked slightly older than the reflection in the mirror that represented his face, but the old woman was not fooled, for he had been alive several centuries more than either the girl or herself.
Momo quickly befriended the slightly moody mirror, and the mirror found that he quite liked the lively presence the girl provided. He even let her know his name, which only the old woman knew, and she said she didn't like it. So she called him Snowy instead, because of his white hair and fair complexion.
It was upsetting for the mirror when Momo met and married King Aizen, not only because she was leaving but because she turned him in for His Highness' uses as well. A wedding gift, she said.
The following years became quite dreary, and the mirror found himself locked up in an empty room with little light and nothing but old, worn wallpaper to stare at. It took King Aizen a long time to realize the mirror didn't necessary know the answers to everything, but once he did, he also figured out that the mirror had pretty much been messing up as much as possible for the tyrant of a King.
The mirror soon missed fooling the royal bastard, because it had been his only interaction with someone else than Momo, who had taken to a bad habit of asking him who was the most beautiful in the world. Apparently, she was afraid King Aizen would somehow find her less attractive than yesterday, and so he assured her that indeed, she was the most beautiful. Even when her dear husband told her the mirror didn't always speak the truth, she continued to ask almost everyday.
It was making him quite loopy, despite being a magical mirror and all.
So when, one day, the door to his room opened and revealed someone other than Momo or her King, he had trouble containing the maniac grin that spread across his otherwise stiff reflection. It turned out to be the King's new (since the mirror had proven quite useless) advisor's sister, Rangiku. At first he didn't believe her, for he had seen the new advisor with his silver hair and fox-like grin, and she looked nothing like that creepy man. Her golden hair fell in waves, and her lips were full and pulled in a soft smile that made him blush for the first time in years. When she said Mr Fox wasn't her blood-brother, but step-brother, the mirror understood.
She continued to come whenever she had time to spare, and the mirror looked forward to visits, despite her tendency to bring a lot of wine. Her eccentric ways and noticeable intelligence intrigued him, as well as the fact that she never asked any other questions other than inquiring of his health or his day, and sometimes books or food (which he knew a lot about, after his time with the old granny).
The mirror then realized that she didn't really have to ask anything, because he found himself telling her anyway. She even liked his name, but admitted that 'Snowy' suited him as well.
It was easy, having a conversation with her, and he hardly noticed how Momo's visits became fewer and fewer. He didn't really notice until Rangiku told him that she had a message from her that said;
"I won't be able to visit for a couple of months, but answer this;
'Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who is fairest of them all?'
and tell Rangiku to deliver the answer to me."
The note had been interrupted by Rangiku's laughter once she read the poem Momo used to pose her question, which had briefly led the mirror to explain how she always asked the same question and had thought it necessary to make it more dramatic. It was then he realized that Momo's absence didn't bother him enough to give her note much thought.
So when he told Rangiku to tell the Queen that she was no longer the "fairest of them all" (he had found a much more beautiful woman, although she did not know of his opinion yet), he didn't really consider the consequences.
It was a good thing that Rangiku fell asleep in his room one night, because otherwise, he would've been nothing but shards of broken glass on the floor. He was surprised to find that Rangiku had quite the reflexes, and not to mention her right hook; Momo was out cold within seconds.
That night he was relocated to another set of rooms that were so much more pleasant, but he was too worried about what would happen to Rangiku once the Queen was found unconscious with a swollen cheek. She assured him it would be alright, and surprisingly, Momo chose to keep silent about the matter on the grounds that she had not known what she was doing, trying to kill her long-time friend. Rangiku just shook her head and downed another bottle of wine, telling him she was glad it was over, and kissing his cheek to leave a red kissmark on the otherwise spotless glass.
It seemed there was a happily ever after before a real story had a chance to begin.
Not that the mirror minded.
Title: "Rangiku", alt. version of Rapunzel
Rating: T
Genre: AU/Romance
Once upon a time, there was a couple who lived next door to a fox demon. He had a lovely garden, filled with chrysanthemums in bloom all year round, and the wife always admired them from afar.
But her and her husband longed for a child, and once she got pregnant she had to lie in bed all day long, with nothing but the view of those lovely flowers to gaze upon day and night. Her admiration turned to obsession, and it became so bad that she couldn't live without holding one of those lovely flowers close to her chest and she inhaled its scent.
Her husband, desperate to keep both his wife and baby healthy, snuck into the fox demon's garden one night to snatch a flower, for he dared not take more. Her wife was so happy, and everything seemed alright, until the next day when the wife found the flower wilted despite the wealthy amount of water she had provided with care.
At his wife's wails, cries and declarations of wanting to end her life, the husband returned to the demon's garden. This time, he took a whole bunch of the beautiful flowers, but before he could make his escape, the fox demon himself appeared before him.
"What're you doin', raidin' my garden and destroyin' my priceless flowers?" he said, an eerie grin on his human-like features. The husband fell to his knees, begging for his life; horrified by the flash of red eyes as the demon glanced down on him.
"Very well," he said, tired of the pathetic man's pleads and feeble excuses of his wife. "I'll allow you to live, and provide you with one new flower each day for the rest of your life - if you agree to give your first born to me."
The husband, by now desperate, agreed without second thought.
"Good," the fox demon continued. "You will name her Rangiku, after my beautiful Chrysanthemums, and after the distortion of this event. Now, get out!"
Not needing to be told twice, the man hurried away, absently wondering why the demon seemed to sure his child would be a girl.
A few days later, most of the encounter seemed more like a dream to the man, even as he held his baby girl for the first time. Why would a demon want a child? And a baby at that?
Months passed, and soon a full year had gone. The man had yet to tell his wife about the deal he made, but there was no need, since the demon had yet to arrive he must not want it after all. But, he did.
One night, when the child was two years old, the fox demon arrived at the couple's doorstep. They could do nothing as he took the girl away, and it would be the last time they ever saw her again.
-
Years passed, and the rumour of a beautiful young woman locked high up in an unreachable tower spread across the land. It was said the infamous fox demon held her prisoner, hiding her beauty from the world and killing any man who tried to free her. Yet, they still continued to try, for she was said to be the closest to a goddess a human could come. Some even suggested she might be a nymph, or even a demon herself.
But it was far from the truth.
She was human, very human indeed. At times, she would stand by the lone window of her tower and wonder how long time would pass before she hit the ground if she jumped, and if her fox would be angry to find the bed of chrysanthemums underneath crushed by her body. She never did try this out, for she held a surprisingly positive attitude towards life which allowed her to hope that one day, she would be free.
Today, however, was not the day.
"Let down your hair, luv, so I can climb that golden stair," a familiar voice called from the ground. Sighing, Rangiku did as told; flinging her long, long braid out of the window and bracing herself as it fell down. The fox, who frequently reminded her to call him Gin, started to climb. Without the magic embedded in her hair, he wouldn't have been able to get up, and she would, surely, cut it a lot shorter for comfort. But as it was, the hair was stronger than any rope.
Gin's visit this time was short, he merely left her a meal and a few new books. Even when she asked him to stay just a little bit longer, to converse and keep her from going out of her mind, he still left. She tried to grab a hold of his long coat, but he slipped out of her grasp and ceased smiling, for once.
"Sorry, Rangiku, you should've held on a bit tigther."
She guessed she should've, but she was sure he would've escaped anyway.
The hours passed, and the evening turned to night, and the night to morning. Gin didn't come for breakfast. She waited, leaning out of the window and gazing at the horizon with her braid already falling along the stone wall; ready for the fox's return. The growling of her stomach prevented her from noticing the rustling and crunching of the flowers surrounding her tower, but when she felt something tugging at her braid, she finally looked down.
"Gi--" she began, but was cut off short by the sight greeting her. A young man, perhaps a few years younger than she, stood looking up with a curious expression on his pale face. She noticed that his hair had the same unnatural colour as her fox demon, only this stranger's shade was pearly white rather than a light grey. His unnaturally clear, teal eyes were visible even from distance and she wondered if he was, perhaps, another demon. Her suspicions were confirmed when the boy suddenly sprouted wings of cold, blue ice and flew up the tall tower in a matter of seconds.
"What are you doing here?" was the first thing he said, and she wondered if perhaps he was a bit dense as well. Once of the stupid demons, maybe?
"Oh, nothing. Just playing the part of a hostage. How about you?" she replied, voice mockingly light as she tried not to laugh at his frown.
"I was told I would find Gin, the fox demon, here. Are you, by chance, his hostage?" the white-haired boy said, sounding slightly irritated. She nodded, curious what business he had with the fox but too thrilled by talking to someone other than Gin that she didn't really care.
"Yes, I am. He comes here to deliver my meals and keep me company for a few hours a day. He hasn't been around much lately though, and didn't bring any breakfast so I'm really starving. Oh, but never mind, where are you from? What's your name? What kind of demon are you? Is that real ice? Say, you wouldn't have any sweets on you, no? I could really use something to eat, but---"
"---Look, lady, just tell me in which direction he went and I'll promise to free you, get you some food, and bring you home, alright? Do we have a deal?" he interrupted before she could continue her ramblings. She didn't usually talk this much nonsense, but to her excuse, she had to say that it was her first time having an actual conversation with an outsider. Usually, Gin killed them before they could even greet her properly.
"Deal," she said after a few moments, coming to a conclusion that she would be terribly stupid if she turned down this offer, even if he probably didn't intended on keeping his part of the deal. "He went east."
"Thank you," he said before leaving in a swish of icy wings. She watched him disappear into the forest with a sigh, only now realizing that there was a chance he was after Gin to kill him, and if he did, no one would come and give her food or company. She would be dead within a few days.
"Damnit."
-
Because the white-haired boy with the wings is a person of moral and with a kind heart beneath all that cold ice, and because the Happily Ever After was decided before this story was written, Rangiku, named after the Chrysanthemum she resembled, didn't die.
Before dawn, the boy whose name she learned was Toshiro returned and helped her down to the ground. She managed to persuade him to fly just a little bit more before putting her down, because it was the most exciting experience she had ever had, and he did so with a few half-hearted protests.
However, he was very agitated to find that she had nowhere to go and no home to return to, which neatly landed her in his hands. That she was prone to walking straight into danger and force him to come to her rescue only added to his irritation, but in the end, he didn't really mind. He grew used to her company, and eventually to the attraction he had harboured since he first saw her gaze out of that lone tower, with long, golden hair shining in the sun.
But what about Gin, the fox demon? Well, that epic battle is for another story.
Drabble 2
Title: A Different Snow White
Rating: T
Genre: AU/Romance
Once upon a time, there was a magical mirror. He (for it had a gender, and it was male) was said to be able to answer any question you could possibly ask. Kings and Lords, who wanted advice on warfare and such, offered great rewards for those who would bring the mirror to them. However, it often ended with fake mirrors being presented instead and many gave up hope of ever finding the mysterious object as the years passed.
Meanwhile, during the frantic search for him, the mirror was safely placed on the wall of an old woman's bedroom. He was quite happy there, even if the intellectual stimulation the old granny provided was limited to discussing different recipes and herbs. He also got quite good at crosswords, since she had a habit of asking him for help. But when he got a word wrong, she was surprised to realize that yes, he replied to every question she had, although the answer didn't always had to be a correct one.
A young girl called Momo soon joined the household. She looked slightly older than the reflection in the mirror that represented his face, but the old woman was not fooled, for he had been alive several centuries more than either the girl or herself.
Momo quickly befriended the slightly moody mirror, and the mirror found that he quite liked the lively presence the girl provided. He even let her know his name, which only the old woman knew, and she said she didn't like it. So she called him Snowy instead, because of his white hair and fair complexion.
It was upsetting for the mirror when Momo met and married King Aizen, not only because she was leaving but because she turned him in for His Highness' uses as well. A wedding gift, she said.
The following years became quite dreary, and the mirror found himself locked up in an empty room with little light and nothing but old, worn wallpaper to stare at. It took King Aizen a long time to realize the mirror didn't necessary know the answers to everything, but once he did, he also figured out that the mirror had pretty much been messing up as much as possible for the tyrant of a King.
The mirror soon missed fooling the royal bastard, because it had been his only interaction with someone else than Momo, who had taken to a bad habit of asking him who was the most beautiful in the world. Apparently, she was afraid King Aizen would somehow find her less attractive than yesterday, and so he assured her that indeed, she was the most beautiful. Even when her dear husband told her the mirror didn't always speak the truth, she continued to ask almost everyday.
It was making him quite loopy, despite being a magical mirror and all.
So when, one day, the door to his room opened and revealed someone other than Momo or her King, he had trouble containing the maniac grin that spread across his otherwise stiff reflection. It turned out to be the King's new (since the mirror had proven quite useless) advisor's sister, Rangiku. At first he didn't believe her, for he had seen the new advisor with his silver hair and fox-like grin, and she looked nothing like that creepy man. Her golden hair fell in waves, and her lips were full and pulled in a soft smile that made him blush for the first time in years. When she said Mr Fox wasn't her blood-brother, but step-brother, the mirror understood.
She continued to come whenever she had time to spare, and the mirror looked forward to visits, despite her tendency to bring a lot of wine. Her eccentric ways and noticeable intelligence intrigued him, as well as the fact that she never asked any other questions other than inquiring of his health or his day, and sometimes books or food (which he knew a lot about, after his time with the old granny).
The mirror then realized that she didn't really have to ask anything, because he found himself telling her anyway. She even liked his name, but admitted that 'Snowy' suited him as well.
It was easy, having a conversation with her, and he hardly noticed how Momo's visits became fewer and fewer. He didn't really notice until Rangiku told him that she had a message from her that said;
"I won't be able to visit for a couple of months, but answer this;
'Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who is fairest of them all?'
and tell Rangiku to deliver the answer to me."
The note had been interrupted by Rangiku's laughter once she read the poem Momo used to pose her question, which had briefly led the mirror to explain how she always asked the same question and had thought it necessary to make it more dramatic. It was then he realized that Momo's absence didn't bother him enough to give her note much thought.
So when he told Rangiku to tell the Queen that she was no longer the "fairest of them all" (he had found a much more beautiful woman, although she did not know of his opinion yet), he didn't really consider the consequences.
It was a good thing that Rangiku fell asleep in his room one night, because otherwise, he would've been nothing but shards of broken glass on the floor. He was surprised to find that Rangiku had quite the reflexes, and not to mention her right hook; Momo was out cold within seconds.
That night he was relocated to another set of rooms that were so much more pleasant, but he was too worried about what would happen to Rangiku once the Queen was found unconscious with a swollen cheek. She assured him it would be alright, and surprisingly, Momo chose to keep silent about the matter on the grounds that she had not known what she was doing, trying to kill her long-time friend. Rangiku just shook her head and downed another bottle of wine, telling him she was glad it was over, and kissing his cheek to leave a red kissmark on the otherwise spotless glass.
It seemed there was a happily ever after before a real story had a chance to begin.
Not that the mirror minded.