Princess Tutu fic, Miracles (gift for spheralunaris)
Title: Miracles
Fandom: Princess Tutu
Characters: Rue, Mytho, OC.
Warnings: Too much cute?
When Eva was a young girl, her baby sister flew away, and never returned.
It always seemed to her like something out of a fairytale, and if she hadn't seen it herself, she doubted she would have believed it. Hell, there were times she wondered if it hadn't all been some sort of wild nightmare, an invention of her little girl's mind. More than once she's had to call up her mom to make sure it wasn't so.
She remembered the day clearly. It was rainy and bleak, a cold midwinter's day, perfect for staying inside and enjoying the fire. It was by all means terrible weather to take a baby out in, but they'd had no choice, her sister had come down with something nasty, and Eva and her mother had to take her to the doctor. Well, Mom had tried to get Eva to stay home, but she insisted.
It happened in an instant, as they were taking her back home. Her pram was the strange sort with a detachable basket; they'd gotten it so they wouldn't wake her up when they got home. She remembered a sudden wind (Or was it the sound of wings?), and then her sister was gone, going up, up into the air, higher and higher until the raven got behind some trees, and went out of sight.
They looked for her for three days, searching in every corner of the town's walls, asking every person they saw. Eva, feeling weak and useless after being told she would only get in the way if she helped search, decided to to climb to the very topmost tower of the church. There was the place that legend said the ravens claimed their own. Even though she was scared of the way they looked at her, deep red eyes glittering in her direction, she stood her ground. Plucking up as much courage as a young girl of ten could have, she begged the ravens to return her sister to her, offering everything she could think of in return.
But she didn't come back.
Eventually, an old man found the remains of the basket, washed up on the banks of the river that ran through town. Eva could still remember the look on her mother's face when she saw that basket, torn up, covered in dirt, water, and raven's feathers. After that, everyone stopped searching. People just assumed she'd been dropped in the river and drowned. No one ever said that, of course, but Eva knew that was exactly what they thought.
For a long time, she didn't know what she thought herself. She knew, everyone told her, that it was better if she resigned herself to the fact that her sister was gone. But still, she couldn't shake that childish hope that one day, a miracle would occur, and her sister would appear, running into her arms, with that smile that could have lit the whole world. When she was still young, she often imagined her coming down from the church tower, finally having escaped the prison of the wicked ravens, perhaps after cleverly solving a riddle, or tricking their king into telling her the secret to winning her freedom. As she got older, she realized the unlikelihood of this, but she still couldn't give up hope completely. What if a kind old widow had found her at the banks of the river, like young Moses in Egypt?
By the time she graduated from the Academy, nearly all hope of ever seeing her sister again had vanished. The world now seemed to be such a serious place, a place where the fairy-tales of lost girls raised by ravens or widows seemed all but impossible. Just as her dreams of attending art school had been dashed by realism, so too had the ones of her sister's safe return. Until one day, when, for a moment, the world became a place of magic once again.
She'd been walking through the park, trying, with all her might, to recapture the beauty her drawings once had. But every time she tried to sit down and sketch something, she would look at it a second time, and it would seem too mundane, too commonplace to consider. This continued for some time, until she began to hear muffled voices speaking, and, in embarrassment, hid herself and her sketchpad behind a tree.
Eva realized very quickly there was no need to. It was only a little girl, about ten or eleven, and a slightly older boy. The girl was thin and a bit gangly, as girls her age often were, but she moved with a certain grace that caught her attention. She wore a dress made of black feathers, so tightly and carefully woven it looked like it was part of her skin.
Carefully, delicately, the little girl crawled into his lap.
"Prince," she said leaning against his chest. "Tell me you love me."
Behind the tree, Eva shifted awkwardly. It was probably only an innocent situation, but somehow she felt like she was intruding upon something deeply private.
"I love you."
A bright smile lit up the girl's face, and suddenly Eva was reminded of another rainy afternoon, a much happier one. She'd been stuck inside all day because of the storms, bored out of her mind, as any child would be in that situation. While Mom was busy fixing lunch, she tried to get her little sister to laugh, but she'd been fussy that day, and refused to do anything but cry. Finally, as children do, she began to cry herself from frustration, and something very strange happened. Her sister stopped her own tears, and, when Eva reached over to smooth her hair back, broke out into that same bright smile, that seemed to light up that dark and depressing day.
And it was the same today. Quite suddenly, Eva felt the tingle of inspiration at her fingertips. Somehow, her childish wish for magic to return to the town had been granted by this little girl's smile. It didn't matter if she wasn't really her sister, if there really wasn't any kind widow. She just knew that this was what she was looking for.
"Excuse me?" she said, stepping out from behind the tree. The girl started, then looked over at her with an irritated expression.
"What is it?" she said, her face reddening as she moved in front of the boy, as if to conceal him. "Were you watching us?"
Eva couldn't help but smile.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." The girl looked unconvinced. "I just want to draw you. You... have a really pretty smile."
"I do?" The girl stared at her strangely, as if those words were so alien to her she could scarcely believe she heard them. Eva kneeled down to her level, holding out her hand.
"You do. You should smile more often, I think."
The little girl looked down at her feet, face becoming redder still.
"I guess... I could let you draw me. Just don't take too long. I have to go back to Father at sunset."
She nodded, and pulled out her sketchpad as the girl moved to kneel daintily on the grass. They spent the rest of the afternoon like that, Eva happily drawing as the young girl with her sister's smile laughed and played with the boy she called Prince. Every moment that day seemed bursting with the same magic she had felt as a child, when her sister was born. And even after the girl and her strange friend was gone, the sketches, and her feelings, remained, a perfect miracle in her eyes.
Fandom: Princess Tutu
Characters: Rue, Mytho, OC.
Warnings: Too much cute?
When Eva was a young girl, her baby sister flew away, and never returned.
It always seemed to her like something out of a fairytale, and if she hadn't seen it herself, she doubted she would have believed it. Hell, there were times she wondered if it hadn't all been some sort of wild nightmare, an invention of her little girl's mind. More than once she's had to call up her mom to make sure it wasn't so.
She remembered the day clearly. It was rainy and bleak, a cold midwinter's day, perfect for staying inside and enjoying the fire. It was by all means terrible weather to take a baby out in, but they'd had no choice, her sister had come down with something nasty, and Eva and her mother had to take her to the doctor. Well, Mom had tried to get Eva to stay home, but she insisted.
It happened in an instant, as they were taking her back home. Her pram was the strange sort with a detachable basket; they'd gotten it so they wouldn't wake her up when they got home. She remembered a sudden wind (Or was it the sound of wings?), and then her sister was gone, going up, up into the air, higher and higher until the raven got behind some trees, and went out of sight.
They looked for her for three days, searching in every corner of the town's walls, asking every person they saw. Eva, feeling weak and useless after being told she would only get in the way if she helped search, decided to to climb to the very topmost tower of the church. There was the place that legend said the ravens claimed their own. Even though she was scared of the way they looked at her, deep red eyes glittering in her direction, she stood her ground. Plucking up as much courage as a young girl of ten could have, she begged the ravens to return her sister to her, offering everything she could think of in return.
But she didn't come back.
Eventually, an old man found the remains of the basket, washed up on the banks of the river that ran through town. Eva could still remember the look on her mother's face when she saw that basket, torn up, covered in dirt, water, and raven's feathers. After that, everyone stopped searching. People just assumed she'd been dropped in the river and drowned. No one ever said that, of course, but Eva knew that was exactly what they thought.
For a long time, she didn't know what she thought herself. She knew, everyone told her, that it was better if she resigned herself to the fact that her sister was gone. But still, she couldn't shake that childish hope that one day, a miracle would occur, and her sister would appear, running into her arms, with that smile that could have lit the whole world. When she was still young, she often imagined her coming down from the church tower, finally having escaped the prison of the wicked ravens, perhaps after cleverly solving a riddle, or tricking their king into telling her the secret to winning her freedom. As she got older, she realized the unlikelihood of this, but she still couldn't give up hope completely. What if a kind old widow had found her at the banks of the river, like young Moses in Egypt?
By the time she graduated from the Academy, nearly all hope of ever seeing her sister again had vanished. The world now seemed to be such a serious place, a place where the fairy-tales of lost girls raised by ravens or widows seemed all but impossible. Just as her dreams of attending art school had been dashed by realism, so too had the ones of her sister's safe return. Until one day, when, for a moment, the world became a place of magic once again.
She'd been walking through the park, trying, with all her might, to recapture the beauty her drawings once had. But every time she tried to sit down and sketch something, she would look at it a second time, and it would seem too mundane, too commonplace to consider. This continued for some time, until she began to hear muffled voices speaking, and, in embarrassment, hid herself and her sketchpad behind a tree.
Eva realized very quickly there was no need to. It was only a little girl, about ten or eleven, and a slightly older boy. The girl was thin and a bit gangly, as girls her age often were, but she moved with a certain grace that caught her attention. She wore a dress made of black feathers, so tightly and carefully woven it looked like it was part of her skin.
Carefully, delicately, the little girl crawled into his lap.
"Prince," she said leaning against his chest. "Tell me you love me."
Behind the tree, Eva shifted awkwardly. It was probably only an innocent situation, but somehow she felt like she was intruding upon something deeply private.
"I love you."
A bright smile lit up the girl's face, and suddenly Eva was reminded of another rainy afternoon, a much happier one. She'd been stuck inside all day because of the storms, bored out of her mind, as any child would be in that situation. While Mom was busy fixing lunch, she tried to get her little sister to laugh, but she'd been fussy that day, and refused to do anything but cry. Finally, as children do, she began to cry herself from frustration, and something very strange happened. Her sister stopped her own tears, and, when Eva reached over to smooth her hair back, broke out into that same bright smile, that seemed to light up that dark and depressing day.
And it was the same today. Quite suddenly, Eva felt the tingle of inspiration at her fingertips. Somehow, her childish wish for magic to return to the town had been granted by this little girl's smile. It didn't matter if she wasn't really her sister, if there really wasn't any kind widow. She just knew that this was what she was looking for.
"Excuse me?" she said, stepping out from behind the tree. The girl started, then looked over at her with an irritated expression.
"What is it?" she said, her face reddening as she moved in front of the boy, as if to conceal him. "Were you watching us?"
Eva couldn't help but smile.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." The girl looked unconvinced. "I just want to draw you. You... have a really pretty smile."
"I do?" The girl stared at her strangely, as if those words were so alien to her she could scarcely believe she heard them. Eva kneeled down to her level, holding out her hand.
"You do. You should smile more often, I think."
The little girl looked down at her feet, face becoming redder still.
"I guess... I could let you draw me. Just don't take too long. I have to go back to Father at sunset."
She nodded, and pulled out her sketchpad as the girl moved to kneel daintily on the grass. They spent the rest of the afternoon like that, Eva happily drawing as the young girl with her sister's smile laughed and played with the boy she called Prince. Every moment that day seemed bursting with the same magic she had felt as a child, when her sister was born. And even after the girl and her strange friend was gone, the sketches, and her feelings, remained, a perfect miracle in her eyes.