Chapter Text
Knock, knock, knock, knock!
Tsukasa woke up on a cold January morning. His significantly large bed was too warm to get out of right away, but he had to do it. He had to open the door.
Bragging, he took sleepy steps until his hand reached the doorknob and turned it.
"Good morning, Prince!" A very energetic voice for six in the morning greeted him. A short boy was standing in the doorway, carrying a tray containing his breakfast. "Oh, good morning, Len! Please come in." The other blond boy skipped into the room, went to the small table in the corner, and set down the breakfast. "Here, eat quietly while I prepare your clothes." The prince nodded and sat down to eat.
Len and Rin were in charge of assisting the siblings during the mornings. Len took care of Tsukasa, and Rin took care of Saki, although she wakes up a little later, because she doesn't tolerate mornings like her older brother.
Len took a couple of clothes out of the large wardrobe in the room and spread them out on the bed. By the time the prince finished his breakfast, worthy of a star (or at least that's what he asked the chefs to do), the short boy had already finished his task in the room and retired so Tsukasa could dress in privacy. While he was dressing, his mind was tormented by the tasks he had to do now that his parents were no longer in charge. He let out a long sigh and rubbed his face. "Okay, I know I'll make it, you can do it, Tsukasa!" he thought, clenching his fists and putting on a confident face.
–“Ahhh!!!!”
A scream pierced the ears of the boys in the room.
What the hell was that?! Tsukasa ran out of his room and headed toward the source of the scream. His heart leapt when he saw it was coming from Saki's room. Every step he took felt heavier than the next, completely surreal. His blood ran cold, and he felt chills when he finally reached the door. –“Rin, what's wrong?!” He asked, completely exalted, and then he saw her.
Saki was lying in her bed, motionless with her eyes closed, expressionless, her skin a sickly pale and shiny more than usual. She looked delicate.Something bad happened last night, something beyond his control, not even the guards noticed. Tsukasa didn't take this news well, he blamed himself for what had happened. No one knows who it was, or how Saki got into that state, and that made Tsukasa furious and feel even worse.
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Deep in the forest, there is a residence of witches and wizards, who lived together. They are peaceful people, however, the villagers choose not to mess with them. It's not that they had a bad reputation—quite the opposite—but the name "witch or wizard" made them sound quite intimidating, and they just preferred to avoid trouble with them.
Young Kamishiro lived there with his companions. It had been about a year since Rui first arrived at the residence. Absolutely no one knows for sure how he ended up in this town; he was a mysterious man, politely weird, with crazy ideas, and perhaps resentful of the other people around him.
Meiko still remembers the night he arrived. He looked like an abandoned kitten, wet from the rain. She still remembers the look in his eyes; he had that lost look that left her speechless. He had his head down and, almost like a robot, said to her, “Hi, is it okay if I stay here tonight?” She let him stay, only because she knew he was also a wizard. His attire spoke volumes, and although she was surprised to see where he came from, she just let him in. Little did she know, Rui wasn’t going anywhere after that.
And it was there that he met a pair of super friendly girls who warmly welcomed him to their new home, they were happy living with Meiko. He got along well with the other girls, but he almost immediately connected with a girl named Kusanagi Nene. Nene was a little shy at first, but despite their differences they ended up getting along better than they expected and little by little they began to talk more and their friendship became natural.
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“Tsukasa.” A gentle voice called his name, bringing him back to reality. The girl had teal hair, wore a large black top hat, and stood to his right, while he sat at his desk.
“Oh, yes, what is it, Miku?” the prince asked energetically. She bowed slightly, placed her hand on his shoulder, and adjusted her monocle with the other. “I know everything will be okay,” she stated with a big smile.
Miku was Tsukasa and Saki’s royal advisor. She was a very important and close person to both of them, she always comforted them whenever they weren’t feeling well, and not only did she help them morally, but she also took care of most of the heavy lifting for the kingdom, as her job often involved signing treaties, drafting laws and ordinances, receiving ambassadors, among other tasks the two young siblings were unqualified to do.
“I know, but I can’t help but think the worst.” He envied the wisdom with which the girl used to speak.
“Our plan will go great, the witches will be here soon so there’s nothing to worry about.” Miku tried to remain calm at all costs beneath that facade, but deep down she knew that if anything bad happened, she would be the one in charge of keeping everything under control, and that only made her more stressed.
He knew about the witches and wizards who lived in the forest, and without wasting any more time, he sent his knights to find them. The plan was for the witches to try to find a cure to bring back the Saki they all loved and remembered. Suddenly, two of the castle knights opened the doors to Tsukasa’s room. “Akiyama, Shinonome, what a relief to see you here!” said the boy, who stood up from his desk chair. “Prince, we have brought the witches you requested,” Mizuki said, letting those who were at the door pass.
With elegance and shyness they formed in front of Tsukasa and finally an elegant woman with short brown hair spoke "Dear Prince Tenma, my name is Meiko and we have come just as you ordered" She cleared her throat as she stepped aside to introduce her young sorcerers "I brought my students, allow me to introduce them myself" Meiko extended her hand towards a girl with light brown hair who wore a side ponytail and a cute red outfit "This is Mochizuki Honami" Honami gave a small bow and nodded "Nice to meet you your highness!" Meiko continued towards the other girl “This is Kusanagi Nene” the green haired girl blushed and just gave a slightly shy bow, the woman continued “This way we have Hoshino Ichika” Ichika much more confident bowed with a palm on her heart and said “It’s a pleasure” in a calm voice and finally Meiko introduced the last of them “Oh, and this is Kamishiro Rui” the boy significantly taller than the other girls made the last bow to Tsukasa “We are at your service dear prince”
The blond boy stared at them all, quite flattered by the latter's words and the formality of their welcome. "Thank you all so much for coming. I need your help as soon as possible." Tsukasa sounded alarmed. "Please come with me."
The guards led the way to take everyone to Saki's room. The news hadn't yet spread throughout the village; Miku had decided it was best to prevent chaos from invading the kingdom's peace.
“Okay, here we are,” Akito said, slowly opening the door to the room with Saki’s name delicately engraved in gold. When it opened, a large and beautiful room revealed itself. The decor was so pretty that it felt peaceful to be in it. It was all white and pure, with light shades of pink and gold that adorned the room in different ways. Then everyone looked at the large bed in the middle.
There she was, Princess Saki resting on her bed. Tsukasa could feel the sorcerers’ smiles fade almost instantly. “My God,” Ichika said, approaching the bed where the princess lay. “How did something like this happen?” Tsukasa also approached the bed and ran a hand over Saki’s cheek. “We don’t know. We think someone came in during the night and left her like that.”
Meiko approached, analytical, with one hand on her hip, thinking about something, but nothing seemed to come to her mind. Honami came closer to inspect her. The hair was still real, but her skin had been completely replaced by porcelain? "Wait a second, can you hear that?" Honami approached the princess's ribcage. A deep silence fell over the room, and suddenly a soft melody was heard. "It's like a music box," Ichika said.
Nene also approached and checked if she still had joints, and indeed she still had them, but they looked like those of a doll. "She's still breathing," she said, almost unable to believe what she was seeing. Rui walked slowly over to Meiko and patted her shoulder. “I’m not really sure what I’m going to say, but I read this somewhere.” Rui bent down and carefully turned Saki over. Sure enough, a small crank was slowly turning in circles. “Mmh, look at this.”
The kids couldn’t believe what they were seeing. “Do you know what’s wrong with her?!” Tsukasa yelled as he looked at Rui in terror. Rui, for his part, looked thoughtful, one hand on his chin. “I don’t want you all to get upset about what I’m going to say, but if my calculations are correct, we have time until the song ends and the crank on her back stops turning.”
Tsukasa was so stunned that he fell to his knees on the floor, covering his mouth. "This can't be possible," he said, on the verge of terrified tears.
"I don't remember exactly where I last read that, it's hard to remember" Rui said uncomfortably, pretending to be deep in thought.
Fear and unease grew as time passed, and no one seemed to respond.
"Come on, there has to be some way for you to remember!" the blond boy shouted. The other girls exchanged glances, hoping someone would come up with something useful. Miku approached Tsukasa and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Dear Tsukasa, please calm down. We're all doing the best we can."
Miku knew the prince didn't mean to anger Rui, much less argue with him. He was just frustrated and probably afraid, along with many other emotions he was carrying with him today.
"But you have to remember, please! You are a wizard after all, please!" The expression on his face emanated deep fear.
Although Rui didn't remember exactly, the reason he remained silent was different, as he knew exactly where and in which section of the bookshelf the book was located. It was just that it was in a completely different realm.
Rui hides his past from everyone.
He grew up in the Dark Realm, spending his childhood and almost all of his adolescence there. What many people don't understand is that the Dark Realm wasn't a bad place, or hadn't always been.
There, he had been called the royal sorcerer of the castle. The castle where he lived was very beautiful and elegant. It belonged to the Aoyagi family, a very important and wealthy family. They had an impeccable reputation, and each member behaved extremely carefully. No one made mistakes; they were the perfect family.
“What a big lie” said a girl’s shrill voice. “Haven’t you seen the prince’s fake smile? Or, much worse, Asahina’s?!” The girl took a long sip of her strawberry milkshake. “They’re really creepy, but it seems only I know what I’m talking about!” She sounded quite indignant as she clenched her fist on the bar table. On the other side of the table was Rui, who was drinking a cup of coffee and listening intently to what Emu had to say. “Wow, I’ve never thought about it that way. Are you saying the people of the kingdom don’t know how to truly smile?” he replied while crossing his arms. “Exactly! There’s been something strange about the atmosphere these past few days, the citizens are acting really weird!” The purple-haired boy remained silent as he wondered what all this could be about.
“Emu… you’re a genius.”
Rui thought as he approached the castle gates. It all made sense, it was evident that something more than “just the haze of today’s citizens” was happening. The amount of magic the boy could perceive from out there was abysmal. What the hell was happening to the kingdom? Going to ask King Aoyagi was definitely not going to be a good idea. Keeping quiet was the best thing he could do.
When he finally entered the castle, he headed straight for his "room," if his basement could even be called that. It really wasn't the best in the world, it was much smaller than he would have liked, but he couldn't complain, at least he had something. Rui wasn't treated equally, that was a fact. The castle maids often forgot that he was also part of that place. It was very frustrating. He was fed up with it, but in his solitude, he sometimes found a certain peace that let him breathe. Other times, he could only spend his days melancholically reflecting on every little thing that crossed his mind, thinking that maybe everything would be better for him and that he just had to wait for the right moment.
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It was already midnight. The witches had successfully settled into the Tenma castle. The girls were tirelessly researching the great books in the library.
And Rui remained distant.
He was outside. He had decided to go get some fresh air. He sat down on a bench in the garden and let out a long, frustrated sigh. "What am I going to do? Will the prince be angry with me? They might exile me if they find out I'm from the enemy kingdom. Besides, I'm wasting the girls' time, pointlessly investigating where they won't find anything." All the worst-case scenarios ran through Rui's head. "I just want to live my life in peace for a moment. Why does this have to happen to me now?" His hands landed on his face, and he roughly rubbed his eyes.
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Huh?"
Turning around, he saw a familiar figure smiling at him. It was Meiko, who was approaching and sitting next to him. “Rui, are you okay?” Rui looked away and fiddled with his fingers. “Ah, Meiko-san, honestly, I'm a little scared.” He turned to face her and gave her a lame smile. “Do you want to talk about it?” the brunette insisted. “I don't know.” Rui said
Meiko was about to say something when the boy suddenly spoke. “You remember the day I arrived here, right? You know I'm not from this kingdom.” As he spoke, he almost regretted the things he was about to say. “Yes, I remember it quite well. What about it?” In reality, she knew where the situation was coming from, but she wanted to hear it in her apprentice's own words: "The book is not here, and that's not even the worst of it, it's in the enemy kingdom, where, if I can remember correctly, they are probably looking for me to cut my head off." When he said the final part, he let out a slightly nervous laugh, speaking ironically.
Despite the confession he'd just made, Meiko wasn't too surprised, since Rui had been wearing clothes with that kingdom's logo on them the day they met. Boy, was he lucky he wasn't seen wearing them.
"Oh, dear, what a surprise." The woman ran the palm of her hand down his back, stroking it in circles. "Are you sure everything's okay?" Rui thought about her question for a while, his head a jumble of thoughts. "Yes, it's just that I'm a little stressed." Meiko nodded and pulled him closer. "I see. We'll have to find a way to tell everyone. I can take care of it, but let me tell you, I'm sure we'll find a solution to this problem. Everything will get better." The witch wanted to give Rui kind words so he wouldn't give up. "Fufu, how can you be so sure?" he asked.
“I'm always right, dear.” Meiko winked at him, and Rui laughed. “Meiko” he said, breaking up the laughter.
“Tell me, Rui.”
“I don't need you to tell everyone on my behalf, because I feel I should take responsibility, but it would help if you told Miku-san, especially so the girls would stop wasting time looking for something they won't find.”
Meiko watched him for a few seconds. “Rui, you're a good boy. Too bad you can't see that” she thought, smiling and finally saying “ I accept your decision.”
“Whoa…” the woman sighed as she left and went back inside the castle. The echo of her heels could be heard resonating through the hallway as she quickly headed toward an elegant tall door “I haven’t spoken to Miku in a while, and this is more serious than I thought.” Suddenly, she stopped in front of a door. “I hope she’s here,” she opened it with both hands.
There she was, Miku sitting in front of a stack of papers, writing with a pen on one of them. “Huh? Meiko?” she said, turning her head to the side. “What’s going on?”
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“Hey Kamishiro, can we talk?”
Tsukasa stood in the doorway of Rui’s temporary room. He’d calmed down after all the commotion, but he still needed to talk to the other boy. He needed to clear things up.
“Ah, of course, have a seat” he pointed to a stool next to his desk. “Thank you, excuse me” the prince said, sitting down, looking at the sorcerer who was now sitting on the bed in front of him. “Miku told me you had something to say to me, and before that, I’m sorry about today. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just that this whole situation has me upset.” Tsukasa looked down, his gaze downcast.
“You shouldn’t be the one apologizing I also misbehaved today. I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly.” Tsukasa nodded and accepted Rui’s apology. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he finally asked, “Did something happen? You know, with the book thing. You… don’t just run away at the mention of a book you don’t remember.”
Ah, of course he was right. He was a fool to have acted like that. “Prince, I need you to listen to me?” Rui stared into Tsukasa’s eyes, his expression now much more serious. “Yes?” said the prince, lost in the amber of his eyes.
“I know where the book is.”
Tsukasa looked at him, looked at him, and looked at him for a few more seconds. “REALLY?” His eyes shone with hope, he was excited, finally some hope. But then he saw Rui again, who had remained silent, unable to continue speaking. “Wait, something’s wrong, right?”
The boy sitting on the bed looked at him with fear, afraid of Tsukasa's reaction upon learning the truth, afraid of being banished from the kingdom, or something even worse. The words came out of his mouth fearfully, "I need you to trust me. Can I count on you?"
To say Tsukasa was confused was an understatement, but he quickly responded, "Of course." And he looked at him to reassure him that everything was fine. "The book is in the Dark Kingdom, where..." Rui paused briefly before saying that last part. "Where I come from."