Once upon a time... Part 5
Aug. 17th, 2005 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lotus_beautyGyah, I forgot to post this last night because a storm moved in and I went to bed ^^;
Fic description and first two parts can be found here
Part 5
You’s stomach fell. That wolf howling was all he needed to hear to take off again. You didn’t know which way the castle gate was, but he knew which way the wolves were, and he made damn sure he went in the opposite direction. He’d been running so much; it didn’t take long before his tired body started to slow. He cursed his insatiable curiosity about that stupid piano as he ran. Why had he gotten up to investigate it tonight? He should have known something like this would happen. He was supposed to be sleeping right now, not running in a forest from some wolves. He could hear them before he even saw them and found his second wind, taking off faster than he had before, but it obviously wasn’t enough to outrun them because they kept right on him. His chest burned even worse than before and he didn’t bother to look back as he knew it would only slow him down.
Yes! The outer wall of the castle property was up ahead! If he could get there and get on the road, he would be home free. It would be easier running on the road than this uneven ground. But as soon as the thought ran through his head, he felt his foot hit a tree root, and he knew it was too late. The blonde went tumbling and knew there was no way he could outrun them now. As he hit the ground, You scrambled to get up, only to cry out in pain. His ankle was twisted—he couldn’t run from them anymore. He turned just in time to see one wolf latch on to his leg and screamed. The pain spread through his every pore as the wolf tried to drag him away. He attempted to kick it off but it started to shake its head back and forth causing him to cry out again.
He barely noticed the white blurs at the edge of his vision as pain clouded it. Just as suddenly the wolf bit him, it was knocked off of his leg by something dark that growled loudly. Then Cha was in front of him, yelling something completely unintelligible. Hiromi had already ripped the part of his pants that had been bitten through and she and Ren were working on his leg as Cha held him still. He winced as they tied a tourniquet and moved his eyes away from their work, not wanting to watch his pain unfold.
You’s distraction came in the form of shock and soon he paid no attention to them at all. His eyes were locked on something far more horrifying. The man who had yelled at him not fifteen minutes ago was on the ground drinking the blood of the wolf that had bitten him. He couldn’t believe his eyes; it was all too dreadfully real. Cha shook You as the vampire slowly stood and turned to him; his eyes matched the blood that covered his mouth and teeth. It dribbled down his chin slowly, sickeningly. For all the pain in his leg, You couldn’t help kicking the three servants off of him to turn and wretch on the ground. He coughed and spit whatever was left in his mouth as his body shook; waiting for another heave to move his body, but nothing else came.
Once the adrenaline of the action faded, he whimpered from the pain in his leg and turned back to sit again. Hiromi moved forward to wipe You’s mouth with a cloth as he noticed that Gackt was covered in his cloak facing away from them. You felt terrible, apart from the ankle and the bite. He hadn’t wanted Gackt to feel like he was disgusting and now the vampire caused him to throw up.
“We need to get him back inside,” Cha said as he tried to help the young man up.
“No, OW!” You yelped as they let him sit again. Suddenly, he was in the air, two arms supporting him as he realized the cloaked man was holding him. The three trailed behind the vampire as he carried You out of the forest and down the road to his castle. Gackt was surprisingly gentle as he held the young man, walking slowly so as not to jar him and cause him pain. You was thankful for his care, but he couldn’t look at the man because of what he’d seen. The image of the blood dripping down his chin was engrained into his mind. He tried not to think about it, but it kept rushing back at him. He squirmed as his stomach rolled again.
“Gackt…I’m going to…” He didn’t have to finish because the man had him on the ground just as it came up again. Even after his stomach was empty, dry heaves wracked his body for far longer than he would have liked. Once it was finally over, he really wished he could get the horrid taste out of his mouth as he spit, trying to get rid of at least some. Hiromi came over and whispered words to him as she wiped his mouth again. You managed to murmur his thanks before Gackt picked him up again. This time, You wrapped his arms around Gackt’s shoulders and held tightly as he shook, hiding his face in the vampire’s cloak as he cried. He felt so stupid and weak, like a child, but extremely glad that they’d saved him. He knew that Gackt would be angry once they were back inside, and he didn’t dare think about what might happen. All he wanted was to never go back to that dungeon.
“I’m sorry,” he heard the vampire murmur as their pace increased. You couldn’t tell if he was apologizing for the sight, or for whatever pain he might endure from more jostling, but he couldn’t really feel his leg anymore, what with the sprained ankle and bite being on the same leg.
You didn’t really notice when they got near the castle, or even inside. He only realized it when Gackt slowed to carry him through the doorway to his room. You pulled back to see that it was lit and extra servants were scurrying around. His shaking had finally subsided by the time they were inside and he was glad because he didn’t want to look too pathetic in front of everyone. He still clung to Gackt’s cloak as the vampire lowered him onto his bed and he didn’t want to let go.
“Please stay with me,” he murmured, still not having the heart to look at the master.
“I shouldn’t,” Gackt replied.
“Please, stay—” You stopped short when he decided to look Gackt in the eyes and found them black. He stared in wonder to see that Gackt’s face was the soft color that it should be, and his hair was brown, just as Cha had described. He was stunned by the man’s beauty—it was just like in the painting. “How…” he whispered as he pulled the hood back and touched his hair. For some reason it felt like he was seeing a ghost from his past.
“It doesn’t last,” he whispered, the sadness in his eyes making You’s heart ache. And just as if he was speaking the future, the vampire shuddered and his cursed state came over him, the change making him sigh as he looked at the young man with yellow eyes again.
You didn’t have the chance to say anything except a bark of pain as some of the servants got to work on his leg. Unfortunately, his hand had been on Gackt’s hair and he pulled it hard when the pain hit him. His eyes went red in an instant and instead of You, he growled at the servants who froze for a moment, their movements slowing, more careful.
“I’m so sorry!” You told him and whimpered as he gripped Gackt’s cloak tightly. “It’s not the bite, it’s my ankle. I sprained it,” he managed before howling in pain again. When the servants heard this, one ordered someone to get some ice and they stopped lifting You’s leg from his ankle.
“You couldn’t have known,” Gackt told them. It made You wonder if it was his way of apologizing for the growl.
“I don’t think we’ll need to do much more than clean his wounds and wrap it up,” the servant closest to Gackt told him. “The wolf was healthy?”
“The blood was fine,” the vampire assured them. “Let go,” he told the young man.
You whimpered and let go of Gackt’s cloak, happy to hold his hand instead. The vampire took the cloak off and handed it away as Hiromi arrived with some ice. She stole some pillows from the pile of cushions and blankets from the floor where they’d strewn the items from his bed, save the pillow behind his back. With the other servants, she carefully raised You’s leg and piled pillows under it before leaning his foot on the pile and carefully placing the bag of ice on his ankle.
Cha appeared at Gackt’s side, handing him a glass of water as well as an empty one. He gave the servant a frown of confusion as Cha urged him to let You drink. The young man leaned closer to sip some of the water, swishing it around in his mouth before spitting it out in the empty cup, glad to get most of that terrible taste out of his mouth. Gackt then handed him two pills which he drank down with the rest of the water and laid back. It all felt so surreal. He didn’t know what to think of what had happened. In fact, he didn’t want to think about it at all. He just wanted to go back to sleep and forget it had ever even occurred.
“I’ll tell you a story,” the deep voice murmured in You’s ear as the pills started to make him sleepy.
“Okay,” he mumbled in reply, his eyes heavy.
“Once upon a time…”
~***~
“…in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired the prince was cruel, selfish and unkind.”
Hiro glanced down to see the old woman who owned the vegetable shop he was in. She was reciting a story to her granddaughter who listened intently. He smiled and listened quietly as the grandmother went on.
“One stormy night an old beggar woman came upon the castle, and asked for shelter, offering in exchange a single red rose for his hospitality. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned her away.”
The little girl made an indignant sound and Hiro hid a smile with his hand, sharing a glance with the grandmother.
“But she then warned him not to be fooled by appearance, because beauty could be found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman’s ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late. She could see that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there.”
The granddaughter gasped. “Did he really turn into a beast?” she asked intently.
The old woman nodded. “He was ashamed of his hideous form, so the beast hid himself away in his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 18th year. If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell at the midnight of his birthday, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain in this hideous form for all time.”
“I sure hope he can find someone who will love him!” she told her grandmother.
“I do too!” the old woman replied. “Now, go on and play!” she shooed the little girl off her lap and watched as she ran away to her friends on the corner.
“That was a wonderful story,” Hiro commented as he looked over a tomato.
The old woman laughed. “My son visited not to long ago and said he heard a fun story from the people he worked with.”
“Oh?” he asked, thinking that the story sounded familiar for some reason.
“Well, my son told me that the prince was actually the son of a lord and that he’d turned into a demon instead of a beast, but I think that was too much for a child to hear,” she told him. “My son told me that he wasn’t just cruel, but that he was obsessed with perfection for some weird reason. It sounded far too real for a bed-time story, a little too adult, so I changed it for my granddaughter. He also said the demon’s eyes glowed red and that he was cursed until he was twenty-one instead of eighteen.”
Hiro stopped mid-reach to a potato. “Red eyes,” he murmured.
“Yes, isn’t that silly?” the grandmother asked and laughed. “He should be above such juvenile stories, especially since he works at the lord’s castle in the forest.”
“He does?” He stared at her in surprise. The demon let his servants out to their families? Maybe he was as civil as You had written.
“Yes.” She nodded. “He doesn’t get to visit often. Most people forget that there is a castle in the forest. It’s probably because the lord and his wife haven’t visited the town since they went abroad years ago.”
Hiro nodded. “I don’t remember them visiting since before my wife passed.”
“I see.” The grandmother smiled. “Did you enjoy the story?”
“Very much!” he replied with a smile. “I’d like these.” He held out a bag of vegetables to her and finished their transaction quickly to hurry away as he thought. If the story was true, then that meant that demon Gackt in the castle was being punished for what he’d done. Good, he deserved it, Hiro told himself. But if You told his father that Gackt was trying to change, then maybe he was trying to make up for the things he’d done, whatever they might have been. Hiro sighed as he neared his home and shook his head. If he kept thinking about this, he was going to get a headache.
When he looked up, he saw Ren sitting on the steps of his home and hurried over. “Another letter?” he asked as the young man stood.
“No, actually I have some news,” he told the man quietly. “Let’s go inside,” he suggested and followed Hiro into the house.
“What happened?” Hiro asked worried, wondering if his son was okay. Ren told him to sit down and recited the story from the night before. The events made You’s father go pale, but he felt better when the servant told him that his son was okay. So the old woman and right, he really was a demon.
“Gackt sent me to tell you what happened, but said you should probably stay home, since the weather seems to be getting colder every day.” Ren bowed.
“What’s my son doing now?”
“Resting, sir. They said his leg should be fine.”
“I see.”
“If that will be all, I’ll get going,” Ren told him and turned.
“Wait.” Hiro looked up as the young man stopped and looked at him expectantly. “Are you from this village?”
Ren nodded. “I am.”
“You have a mother that runs a vegetable shop, don’t you?”
“Where did you hear that?” the red head asked and sat at the table.
“Your mother was reciting a tale about a beast today and it sounded an awful lot like your master’s situation,” Hiro told him. “I didn’t say anything about it, but she told me her son had told her the story and that he lived in the castle in the forest.”
The young man sighed. “I told her not to tell anyone.”
Hiro chuckled. “She edited the story so that it was a beast instead of a demon, and told a watered down version to her granddaughter.”
“That would be my niece,” the servant smiled. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have a myth being told in the town. It’s not like anyone will come hunting for Gackt if they hear it anyway.”
“No, I suppose not. Are you here to visit your mother?” Hiro asked to receive a nod. “Would you return after you do and take a letter to my son?”
“Of course.”
~***~
Please comment if you read ^_^v
Fic description and first two parts can be found here
Part 5
You’s stomach fell. That wolf howling was all he needed to hear to take off again. You didn’t know which way the castle gate was, but he knew which way the wolves were, and he made damn sure he went in the opposite direction. He’d been running so much; it didn’t take long before his tired body started to slow. He cursed his insatiable curiosity about that stupid piano as he ran. Why had he gotten up to investigate it tonight? He should have known something like this would happen. He was supposed to be sleeping right now, not running in a forest from some wolves. He could hear them before he even saw them and found his second wind, taking off faster than he had before, but it obviously wasn’t enough to outrun them because they kept right on him. His chest burned even worse than before and he didn’t bother to look back as he knew it would only slow him down.
Yes! The outer wall of the castle property was up ahead! If he could get there and get on the road, he would be home free. It would be easier running on the road than this uneven ground. But as soon as the thought ran through his head, he felt his foot hit a tree root, and he knew it was too late. The blonde went tumbling and knew there was no way he could outrun them now. As he hit the ground, You scrambled to get up, only to cry out in pain. His ankle was twisted—he couldn’t run from them anymore. He turned just in time to see one wolf latch on to his leg and screamed. The pain spread through his every pore as the wolf tried to drag him away. He attempted to kick it off but it started to shake its head back and forth causing him to cry out again.
He barely noticed the white blurs at the edge of his vision as pain clouded it. Just as suddenly the wolf bit him, it was knocked off of his leg by something dark that growled loudly. Then Cha was in front of him, yelling something completely unintelligible. Hiromi had already ripped the part of his pants that had been bitten through and she and Ren were working on his leg as Cha held him still. He winced as they tied a tourniquet and moved his eyes away from their work, not wanting to watch his pain unfold.
You’s distraction came in the form of shock and soon he paid no attention to them at all. His eyes were locked on something far more horrifying. The man who had yelled at him not fifteen minutes ago was on the ground drinking the blood of the wolf that had bitten him. He couldn’t believe his eyes; it was all too dreadfully real. Cha shook You as the vampire slowly stood and turned to him; his eyes matched the blood that covered his mouth and teeth. It dribbled down his chin slowly, sickeningly. For all the pain in his leg, You couldn’t help kicking the three servants off of him to turn and wretch on the ground. He coughed and spit whatever was left in his mouth as his body shook; waiting for another heave to move his body, but nothing else came.
Once the adrenaline of the action faded, he whimpered from the pain in his leg and turned back to sit again. Hiromi moved forward to wipe You’s mouth with a cloth as he noticed that Gackt was covered in his cloak facing away from them. You felt terrible, apart from the ankle and the bite. He hadn’t wanted Gackt to feel like he was disgusting and now the vampire caused him to throw up.
“We need to get him back inside,” Cha said as he tried to help the young man up.
“No, OW!” You yelped as they let him sit again. Suddenly, he was in the air, two arms supporting him as he realized the cloaked man was holding him. The three trailed behind the vampire as he carried You out of the forest and down the road to his castle. Gackt was surprisingly gentle as he held the young man, walking slowly so as not to jar him and cause him pain. You was thankful for his care, but he couldn’t look at the man because of what he’d seen. The image of the blood dripping down his chin was engrained into his mind. He tried not to think about it, but it kept rushing back at him. He squirmed as his stomach rolled again.
“Gackt…I’m going to…” He didn’t have to finish because the man had him on the ground just as it came up again. Even after his stomach was empty, dry heaves wracked his body for far longer than he would have liked. Once it was finally over, he really wished he could get the horrid taste out of his mouth as he spit, trying to get rid of at least some. Hiromi came over and whispered words to him as she wiped his mouth again. You managed to murmur his thanks before Gackt picked him up again. This time, You wrapped his arms around Gackt’s shoulders and held tightly as he shook, hiding his face in the vampire’s cloak as he cried. He felt so stupid and weak, like a child, but extremely glad that they’d saved him. He knew that Gackt would be angry once they were back inside, and he didn’t dare think about what might happen. All he wanted was to never go back to that dungeon.
“I’m sorry,” he heard the vampire murmur as their pace increased. You couldn’t tell if he was apologizing for the sight, or for whatever pain he might endure from more jostling, but he couldn’t really feel his leg anymore, what with the sprained ankle and bite being on the same leg.
You didn’t really notice when they got near the castle, or even inside. He only realized it when Gackt slowed to carry him through the doorway to his room. You pulled back to see that it was lit and extra servants were scurrying around. His shaking had finally subsided by the time they were inside and he was glad because he didn’t want to look too pathetic in front of everyone. He still clung to Gackt’s cloak as the vampire lowered him onto his bed and he didn’t want to let go.
“Please stay with me,” he murmured, still not having the heart to look at the master.
“I shouldn’t,” Gackt replied.
“Please, stay—” You stopped short when he decided to look Gackt in the eyes and found them black. He stared in wonder to see that Gackt’s face was the soft color that it should be, and his hair was brown, just as Cha had described. He was stunned by the man’s beauty—it was just like in the painting. “How…” he whispered as he pulled the hood back and touched his hair. For some reason it felt like he was seeing a ghost from his past.
“It doesn’t last,” he whispered, the sadness in his eyes making You’s heart ache. And just as if he was speaking the future, the vampire shuddered and his cursed state came over him, the change making him sigh as he looked at the young man with yellow eyes again.
You didn’t have the chance to say anything except a bark of pain as some of the servants got to work on his leg. Unfortunately, his hand had been on Gackt’s hair and he pulled it hard when the pain hit him. His eyes went red in an instant and instead of You, he growled at the servants who froze for a moment, their movements slowing, more careful.
“I’m so sorry!” You told him and whimpered as he gripped Gackt’s cloak tightly. “It’s not the bite, it’s my ankle. I sprained it,” he managed before howling in pain again. When the servants heard this, one ordered someone to get some ice and they stopped lifting You’s leg from his ankle.
“You couldn’t have known,” Gackt told them. It made You wonder if it was his way of apologizing for the growl.
“I don’t think we’ll need to do much more than clean his wounds and wrap it up,” the servant closest to Gackt told him. “The wolf was healthy?”
“The blood was fine,” the vampire assured them. “Let go,” he told the young man.
You whimpered and let go of Gackt’s cloak, happy to hold his hand instead. The vampire took the cloak off and handed it away as Hiromi arrived with some ice. She stole some pillows from the pile of cushions and blankets from the floor where they’d strewn the items from his bed, save the pillow behind his back. With the other servants, she carefully raised You’s leg and piled pillows under it before leaning his foot on the pile and carefully placing the bag of ice on his ankle.
Cha appeared at Gackt’s side, handing him a glass of water as well as an empty one. He gave the servant a frown of confusion as Cha urged him to let You drink. The young man leaned closer to sip some of the water, swishing it around in his mouth before spitting it out in the empty cup, glad to get most of that terrible taste out of his mouth. Gackt then handed him two pills which he drank down with the rest of the water and laid back. It all felt so surreal. He didn’t know what to think of what had happened. In fact, he didn’t want to think about it at all. He just wanted to go back to sleep and forget it had ever even occurred.
“I’ll tell you a story,” the deep voice murmured in You’s ear as the pills started to make him sleepy.
“Okay,” he mumbled in reply, his eyes heavy.
“Once upon a time…”
~***~
“…in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired the prince was cruel, selfish and unkind.”
Hiro glanced down to see the old woman who owned the vegetable shop he was in. She was reciting a story to her granddaughter who listened intently. He smiled and listened quietly as the grandmother went on.
“One stormy night an old beggar woman came upon the castle, and asked for shelter, offering in exchange a single red rose for his hospitality. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned her away.”
The little girl made an indignant sound and Hiro hid a smile with his hand, sharing a glance with the grandmother.
“But she then warned him not to be fooled by appearance, because beauty could be found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman’s ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late. She could see that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there.”
The granddaughter gasped. “Did he really turn into a beast?” she asked intently.
The old woman nodded. “He was ashamed of his hideous form, so the beast hid himself away in his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 18th year. If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell at the midnight of his birthday, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain in this hideous form for all time.”
“I sure hope he can find someone who will love him!” she told her grandmother.
“I do too!” the old woman replied. “Now, go on and play!” she shooed the little girl off her lap and watched as she ran away to her friends on the corner.
“That was a wonderful story,” Hiro commented as he looked over a tomato.
The old woman laughed. “My son visited not to long ago and said he heard a fun story from the people he worked with.”
“Oh?” he asked, thinking that the story sounded familiar for some reason.
“Well, my son told me that the prince was actually the son of a lord and that he’d turned into a demon instead of a beast, but I think that was too much for a child to hear,” she told him. “My son told me that he wasn’t just cruel, but that he was obsessed with perfection for some weird reason. It sounded far too real for a bed-time story, a little too adult, so I changed it for my granddaughter. He also said the demon’s eyes glowed red and that he was cursed until he was twenty-one instead of eighteen.”
Hiro stopped mid-reach to a potato. “Red eyes,” he murmured.
“Yes, isn’t that silly?” the grandmother asked and laughed. “He should be above such juvenile stories, especially since he works at the lord’s castle in the forest.”
“He does?” He stared at her in surprise. The demon let his servants out to their families? Maybe he was as civil as You had written.
“Yes.” She nodded. “He doesn’t get to visit often. Most people forget that there is a castle in the forest. It’s probably because the lord and his wife haven’t visited the town since they went abroad years ago.”
Hiro nodded. “I don’t remember them visiting since before my wife passed.”
“I see.” The grandmother smiled. “Did you enjoy the story?”
“Very much!” he replied with a smile. “I’d like these.” He held out a bag of vegetables to her and finished their transaction quickly to hurry away as he thought. If the story was true, then that meant that demon Gackt in the castle was being punished for what he’d done. Good, he deserved it, Hiro told himself. But if You told his father that Gackt was trying to change, then maybe he was trying to make up for the things he’d done, whatever they might have been. Hiro sighed as he neared his home and shook his head. If he kept thinking about this, he was going to get a headache.
When he looked up, he saw Ren sitting on the steps of his home and hurried over. “Another letter?” he asked as the young man stood.
“No, actually I have some news,” he told the man quietly. “Let’s go inside,” he suggested and followed Hiro into the house.
“What happened?” Hiro asked worried, wondering if his son was okay. Ren told him to sit down and recited the story from the night before. The events made You’s father go pale, but he felt better when the servant told him that his son was okay. So the old woman and right, he really was a demon.
“Gackt sent me to tell you what happened, but said you should probably stay home, since the weather seems to be getting colder every day.” Ren bowed.
“What’s my son doing now?”
“Resting, sir. They said his leg should be fine.”
“I see.”
“If that will be all, I’ll get going,” Ren told him and turned.
“Wait.” Hiro looked up as the young man stopped and looked at him expectantly. “Are you from this village?”
Ren nodded. “I am.”
“You have a mother that runs a vegetable shop, don’t you?”
“Where did you hear that?” the red head asked and sat at the table.
“Your mother was reciting a tale about a beast today and it sounded an awful lot like your master’s situation,” Hiro told him. “I didn’t say anything about it, but she told me her son had told her the story and that he lived in the castle in the forest.”
The young man sighed. “I told her not to tell anyone.”
Hiro chuckled. “She edited the story so that it was a beast instead of a demon, and told a watered down version to her granddaughter.”
“That would be my niece,” the servant smiled. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have a myth being told in the town. It’s not like anyone will come hunting for Gackt if they hear it anyway.”
“No, I suppose not. Are you here to visit your mother?” Hiro asked to receive a nod. “Would you return after you do and take a letter to my son?”
“Of course.”
~***~
Please comment if you read ^_^v
