Promises Kept
A/N: I didn't feel like writing fluff for 'First Beyond Reason'. This one is written from sheer boredom.
Er…I guess you can consider this my first official AU for China x Russia (Yao x Ivan in this case).
Hm…I guess I should put a warning out that this is horror(?). Not a happy ending? Read at your own risk.
Once upon a time, a brave young boy ventured into the forest that surrounded his small, quaint town. Long before the boy was born, the forest was rumored to be home of the Queen of Monsters. It was a legend passed down for generations. While some believed it to be true and never wandered close, others laughed at the tale.
"It's a children's fairytale," Some said.
"Told to little kiddies to scare them away," They laughed.
However, the laughs soon turned into fear. No one knew when it began, but one night the sound of a woman sobbing echoed out from the dark depths of the forest. From then on, night after night, the desolate cry of the woman could be heard.
And so, the little boy went into the forest to find the Queen of Monsters.
The little boy knew no fear as children wont. He was just curious as to why she would cry so dreadfully. In his naïve little heart, he hoped he could stop her sadness.
Deeper and deeper into the forest he went until the endless trees opened into a clearing with a ruined castle built at the center.
"Who dares disturb my peace?" A soft, melodic voice floated from the castle walls.
"I'm Ivan from the village," The little boy replied innocently.
A beautiful woman dressed in black emerged from the darkness of the castle. "What brings you here, Ivan from the village?"
The young boy asked the Queen of Monster's a question, "You're always crying sadly at night. How long are you going to keep doing that?"
The Queen paused in thought before a smile touched her bloodless lips. "Little boy, are you not afraid of me?"
He shook his head.
"Are you not curious as to why people call me the Queen of Monsters?" She asked persistently.
Without hesitation, the boy answered no.
Finding the boy to her liking, the Queen beckoned to the boy to come closer. When he was finally within her reach, she patted his head lightly.
"If you grant my wish, I shall stop being sad," The Queen replied to the question he posed before.
She smiled down at him, "But if you break your word…I shall eat you. So, dear boy, will you still make your promise?"
"I will," The boy nodded his head vigorously.
The Queen continued to smile, her hand caressing the little boy's soft, cherub face. "Then I shall tell you."
"In my selfish wish to gain immortality, I lost sight of everything else. For everything, there is a price. In exchange for immortality, I was inflicted with the insatiable hunger for human flesh. One by one those I loved slipped away from me either from fear or age.
"For eons, I have subdued this need, but no more. I am at my limit. My soul is weary from the loneliness and my body demands to be nourished. That is why you hear me cry out at night, Little Ivan."
"Then are you sad because you're lonely?" The boy asked, completely ignoring the horror of the Queen's story.
The Queen laughed at Ivan's complete innocence. "Yes. Yes, I am lonely. So will you visit me everyday, Little Ivan? Until you're dying breathe? Maybe by doing so you can help me keep my sanity."
"I promise!" The little boy replied with a silly grin on his face.
Present Day
The snow fell unexpectedly heavy from the sky. Outside, the winds were howling. Nothing could be seen but a blanket of white. It didn't matter.
In the crowded ski resort, Ivan snuggled up in the big, comfy armchair- a cup of hot cocoa in his hands. In a way, he was glad there was a snowstorm. All of his classes today were thankfully cancelled due to it. Even if the job was only available during the Winter season, he could only take so much of a group of giggling girls flirting with him. Ivan stole a glance around the room. Hopefully none of his students woul find him in his crowded area. He should hurry up and finish his cocoa.
His hopes were quickly dashed when a sultry voice asked from behind him, "Is this seat taken?"
"Ah," Ivan tried to come up with a quick excuse, but sighed. There really was no point in lying. He'll just have to deal with her and drink his cocoa fast as possible. "No. The seat isn't taken."
"Thank you," The woman replied, sitting down on the seat next to him. She took off her gloves and then hood.
Ivan couldn't help but notice she was a dainty little thing. The way she took off her glove indicated she was a person who liked order and precision. She is exactly the type of person he hated to deal with. Their stubbornness and refusal to listen often grated on his nerves. As the woman began to unzip her huge downy coat, Ivan had to admit she was very beautiful. The beauty she exuded wasn't what he was use to. She had common brown eyes and black hair typical of people with Asian descent, but still he found her captivating. Was it the way she held herself or was it the striking contrast of milky skin against the rosy lips? The woman delicately placed the coat on the back of the chair...and Ivan burned his tongue with the cocoa.
The woman he was admiring a second ago was actually a man.
"Are you alright?" The man asked in concern.
"Yes," Ivan coughed, "I'm fine. Thank you."
The man furrowed his brows in confusion. Slowly, a smile crept into his lips and amusement danced in his eyes. "You thought I was a woman didn't you?"
Ivan flushed. "I-I deeply apologize. It's just you're voice a-and you look-." He took a deep breath. "I'm making a fool of myself aren't I?"
"A little," The man laughed, but shook his head, "Don't worry about it. I actually get that all the time." He took a strand of his hair, staring hard at it, "Maybe it's my long hair. Should I shave myself bald, you think?"
The corners of Ivan's mouth twitched. "I don't think it's the hair, Mister…."
"Yao," The stranger offered his hand, "Just call me Yao."
"Yao, is it? Then call me Ivan." Ivan reached to take the proffered hand. The moment their fingertips touched, Ivan jerked his hand back as he felt a strong electric current run through his hand, numbing it.
Yao in turn simply smiled, lightly placing his own hands to rest in his lap.
"So, uh, what brings you here?" Ivan asked to break the sudden silence- rubbing his wrist. It seemed like the numbing sensation was crawling up his body….
"I'm here to see an old friend I haven't seen in a long, long time," Yao answered, sipping on his hot cup of tea.
Ivan watched as Yao set his cup down. The world was beginning to blur.
"Have you heard of the fairy tale 'The Queen of Monsters'? It's very old and unlike the other popular fairytales, it's fairly unknown." Ivan could hear Yao speak, but he seemed so far away.
A little boy made a promise to the Queen of Monsters to stay with her until his dying day. Ever since he made the promise, he began to stay by her side. Every single day without fail, he would visit the beautiful but pitiful, lonely Queen.
Ivan shook his head, trying to clear his vision, but the scenery before his eyes swayed. He didn't notice he was laying his head on Yao's shoulder, a sickeningly sweet scent assaulting his senses.
People whispered that he was possessed, that he would soon be eaten.
The boy didn't believe them.
What concerned him was the top of the tower of the crumbling castle. Sometimes the Queen would hide there and not allow the boy near her.
But one day, the boy gathered his courage and went to the place where the Queen of Monster was hiding. What he saw there was….
Ivan couldn't even feel Yao's hand caressing his cheek. All he could do was listen as the other kept telling the children's tale as if it was a memory from his past.
"Did you know what the little boy saw, Ivan?" Yao whispered into his ear.
The eyes Ivan called common but a moment before became swallowed by darkness; the whites from his eyes completely gone.
The little boy screamed as he saw the Queen drenched in human blood as she ate her fill. As he ran down the stairs, out the castle, and away from the forest, he could still hear the crunching of the human fingers echoing in his mind.
And from that day on, the little boy never visited the Queen of Monsters again….
Yao softly, lightly kissed the cold, blue lips of Ivan, breathing against it gently, "He broke his promise."
"Is something wrong with him?" A couple walked up to Yao and Ivan.
"He just has a headache from the chill," Yao replied cheerfully, placing Ivan's arm over his shoulder and hoisting him up with surprising ease. "I'll just put him back to bed and let him rest."
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" They asked.
Ivan wanted to scream, his throat burned to yell for help.
But his voice long since stopped functioning.
It didn't take much persuasion on Yao's part to dismiss the concerned pair. Slowly but steadily, the smaller man carried Ivan to his room where they would be alone. Each step they took, Ivan could feel death lurking close by, waiting for a chance to sink its' fangs into his body.
When the door clicked shut, it was not just death that sank its' teeth into his flesh.
When the little boy did not come the day after, the Queen waited. Day after day; even as the trees changed from green to yellow, she waited for the little boy. They had made a promise after all…and promises are meant to be kept. Time to an immortal like the Queen was nothing. She had patience, she could wait.
But no matter how long she waited, the boy did not come.
At last she was forced from her castle as the forest around her died. Searching for a new home, she wandered into the little boy's village.
"Since I'm was here, I'll find him," the Queen thought, "and if he asks for forgiveness, I'll give it to him."
However, there was no forgiveness to give. Fifty years had passed without the Queen noticing- time stopping for her alone.
The boy had grown into an old man and died from old age.
She had hoped and wished there was a mistake, that the little innocent boy who solemnly promised to stay by her side would keep his promise.
But she was wrong.
He had lied.
But…just because he broke his part of the bargain, did not mean she had to break hers.
So she swore.
If she were to ever find the boy again…she would eat him until not a scrap of him remained.
And there was nothing left.
When maintenance came the next day, they saw nothing. Not the small black haired man or the large ski instructor.
Only a blood drenched sheet indicated they were there at all.
A/N:
Did not proofread. I usually go over what I write and see if it flows smoothly…but eh…this was just written for fun. So do excuse the laziness.
I actually wouldn't classify this as horror...but I didn't know what other genre to put it under XD. Anyway...first horror fic? LOL, good practice hopefully.
No, Yao is not a vampire. He literally ate Ivan, bones and all. The first version I posted up was very confusing…so I condensed it and made it more simple.
Anyway, I purposely left the "Queen" as a 'her' even though Yao is a guy in the fic. The reason is that fairytales are often changed over time so it's not surprising Yao got changed into a girl in the fairytale, "The Queen of Monsters". He did mention people often mistaken him for a woman.
If the 'fairytale' sounds familiar, it was taken from the manga "Dance in the Vampire Bund". Word for word this is the original story.
Once upon a time, a young boy asked the Queen of Monsters a question….
"You're always staring sadly out at the world. How long are you going to keep doing that?"
"If you grant my wish, I shall stop," The Queen replied, "But if you break your word…I shall eat you. So, dear boy, will you still make your promise?"
"I will," The boy nodded vigorously.
"Then I will tell you. My wish is…."
Ever since he made his promise to the Queen of Monsters, the boy began to stay by her side. The people whispered…that he was possessed, that he will soon be eaten.
The boy did not believe them.
What concerned him was the top of that tower. Sometimes the Queen would hide there and not allow the boy near her.
But one day, the boy gathered his courage and went to the place where the Queen of Monster was hiding. What he saw there was….
(the "..." is exactly how it is left. The story never finished but left it to your imagination.)