Chapter Text
Day 7: fairytale au
Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Remastered//Henry Manchini
The First Thing You See//Bruno Major
Rhiannon//Fleetwood Mac
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a kingdom that was ruled by a great king. The people loved their king and under his rule, the land prospered and the people lived in harmony. The king’s son, the handsome young prince, admired by all those across the land, was in training to become the heir to the throne and carried on with his family’s legacy.
On the north of the kingdom, passing through acres of woods and away from the capital of the land, there stood a castle. Even the fierce beasts that inhabited the woods did not dare to go near the gloomy fortress, not to mention the people that lived in the villages near the woods. The sky above always seemed to be covered by grey clouds and black crows circling the many towers of the grand building. In the castle, there lived a wizard. It was rumored that the wizard was one of great powers, and he had enchanted his castle so that no one was able to ever enter his home.
The people of the kingdom hated the wizard.
In all fairness, the people didn’t really know why they hate the wizard but they just did. There were rumors of how cruel the wizard was and the horrible crimes he had committed. Some whispered that he hid in the deeps of the woods inside the protection of the high walls because he was cursed that all those who see his face would be turned into the crows and those birds that circled the sky of the castle were once humans who stumbled into his residence. Parents would tell their young children that they must behave and return home before sunset, or else the wizard who lived in the castle on the north would capture them and eat them alive. Many, many tales about the heartless wizard spread among the streets and lanes of the kingdom. No one knew if they were true or not but again, people were too afraid to find out for themselves. It was much easier to hate someone than to see if they were worth hating.
The great king was especially concerned about the wizard’s castle on the north. It brought fear to the people and fear wasn’t good for ruling a peaceful kingdom filled with kind-hearted people. Having this piece of land where no one could enter simply would not do and he must do something about.
And so an order was made to all the people of this kingdom that whoever could enter the wizard’s castle would marry the handsome prince.
The order shocked everyone from the nobles to the farmers in the countryside and who would succeed in entering the castle quickly become the talk of the country. Many who admired the prince or yearned for power eagerly marched their men and horses towards the north of the kingdom.
“I’m going to enter the wizards castle.”
“What?” your mother looked at you in shock as you nonchalantly mentioned. You were not a noble or a knight by any means, only an average peasant who gathered on the hill near the castle to watch as the first challenger set up their weapons and army. “You are never going to make it! You don’t have any arms or any way to break through the gates!”
You bite your tongue and didn’t say a word, only staring at the distance where the first attempt at breaking into the wizard’s castle unfolded. They wouldn’t know and even if you did tell them, no one would believe you but you had a plan. For now, you ignored the nagging of your mother and continued to watch.
The first person to make the challenge was a knight. People said that he had gone to battlefields and the enemies would shiver at the mention of his title. The knight stood afar as his men lined up in front of the main entrance of the castle, holding a gigantic wooden column on their shoulders.
Once the soldiers blew their horns and the knight swung his shining sword to give his command, the men roared and banged the column at the tall, heavy door to the wizard’s castle. You could feel the ground shook at each bang at the door and soon enough, the door slowly creaked open and the men charged into the castle as the crowd cheered.
“See? I told you that the chance isn’t yours to take!” your mothered chirped as she watched the soldiers barged through the doors in anticipation. You didn’t even spare her teasing words any attention as you fixed your stare at the tallest tower of the castle. When everyone was busy focusing on the knight’s attack, you seemed to be the only one who catch a glimpse at the hooded figure who ran past the high walls and up the tower.
You turned your gaze back to the main entrance where the soldiers went when you heard the loud gasps from the crowd around you. The many soldiers, each brave and chivalrous in their own rights, were screaming as they ran out from where they first entered the castle. There were flames bursting from the large doorway as the men escaped and the door shut in front of everyone. You could only imagine what happened to those who did not make it out on time.
“It’s a curse from the wizard!” The muttering from the crowd grew louder and louder, passing straight into the knight’s ears and he gritted his teeth in anger. He didn’t care about the failure, he wasn’t the one who was burnt by the fire after all, but his pride and reputation was severely wounded, and there was nothing more important to a knight than his glory.
As the knight marched away with the little men he had left, your mother leaned towards your ear and whispered, “Still think you can enter the wizard’s castle?”
“Of course,” you replied, “I have a plan that wouldn’t go wrong.”
The second person to arrive in front of the wizard’s castle was a general who brought with him canons and weapons that the people of the kingdom had never seen before. You heard from the people around you that the general was sent by the royalty of a foreign kingdom who hoped to marry their princess to the young prince. The general was wiser and more calculated than the knight who just faced his defeat, none of the foreign army went anywhere near the castle. Instead, the general had archers lined up on the hills that faced the building and lit the arrows on fire.
At the roar of their leader, the archers shot the arrows straight into the sky and towards the castle. The arrows landed behind the brick walls of the grand building and smoke quickly started to rise from within. The fire was not put out and the cracking of the flames could be heard even from where you stood.
“Look at that! I’m sure that they could enter the wizard’s castle this time round!” the person behind you exclaimed and pointed at the growing fire inside the castle.
You searched for the hooded figure on the walls of the castle. He ran down from one tower to another and as he sprinted, the edge of his hood blew up to show the strands of purple underneath. He stopped at what seemed like a huge wheel at the side of the castle and started turning it. A few large poles quickly appeared from the top of the castle and water poured out from it, putting out the fire.
The sky was covered by smoke as the water came in contact with the heat and everyone suddenly lost sight of what was going on. As the people coughed and tried to clear their vision, the loud screech from the hills broke through the air and quickly captured everyone’s attention. When the smoke finally started to clear off, you could see the many arrows that shoot across the sky back at where the army was standing by and the soldiers scrambled to find cover.
So it seemed that the wizard made good use of the present from the opposing forces.
The general quickly ordered for his troops to leave and the hills started to clear out of people as the soldiers darted away from the arrows flying towards them.
Your mother looked at you with worry written all across her face, “Are you sure about your plan?”
“Of course,” you said without even batting a lash, “I’m positive that it would not fail.”
Many, many different groups of people came and went in front of your eyes as no one managed to enter the wizard’s castle. Among those people, there was some of the most powerful people walking in the kingdom. Wealthy merchants, intelligent scholars, brave challengers of different sorts, all of them walked up to the tall walls of the castle with their heads high in confidence and left with nothing but the plain urge to stay alive. The longer the process continued, the more people were convinced that the wizard’s castle was cursed and it was impossible for anyone to get in. “The wizard is simply too powerful.” someone in the crowd said and everyone murmured in agreement.
“I’m going.”
“What?” your mother shouted and caught the attention of many around you as she frantically held onto your arm, “You can’t go! Didn’t you see what happened to everyone who went? You will not make it out alive!”
You tried to assure her that you would be alright but she latched onto you, “Please don’t go, I beg of you...”
You patted the back of her hand and pulled away from her grasp, “Don’t worry, I have a plan.”
The people around you whispered to one another as you made way past the crowd, you even heard snickering at some point.
“They are nothing but a peasant, they will ran out screaming so fast.”
“Poor thing, I’m sure they won’t make it out alive!”
You ignored all the things they were saying behind your back as you kept walking. The crowd’s muttering only got louder as you started heading up the path towards the wizard’s castle. You did not seem to carry any weapon, you weren’t the most well-built person out there and you certainly did not know any magic. Where did you get the confidence that you could do better than all those who failed just earlier?
People held their breath as you got closer and closer to the door, nervous to see what the wizard’s curse would do to you. Your mother nearly started crying as you stood in front of the door, closing her eyes tight and not dared to witness what would happen to her child.
And then you knocked.
The sound echoed through the woods. Nothing happened for a while and suspense filled the air. Everyone’s jaw dropped to the ground as the heavy doors slowly opened and you walked in.
The doors slammed shut after you got in and you took a glance at your surroundings. For the home of someone who was supposed to be ruthless, it sure looked a lot more domestic than you expected. There were books littering across the floor and the main hall was illuminated by glass bulbs that you had never seen before. You walked closer to one of them to take a better look and saw that there was a glowing wire inside of the glass, was that made with the wizard’s magic?
“You knocked.”
You snapped up upon hearing the voice from the top of the staircase to see a man with a black hood shadowing his face. You had wondered what the wizard would be like and the deep, husky voice that passed through your ears left a much better first impression that you thought.
“Nobody has ever knocked.”
“I figured that it was the polite thing to do.” you tried to be at ease as the wizard ascend from the stairs and walked towards you.
You were afraid that the wizard was offended by the way he stayed silence. Tensing up as he stopped in front of you, you almost thought you had made a mistake with your hearing when you heard a laugh from under the hood. “You are the first person to think of asking for my permission,” the wizard said in amusement, “and for that, I thank you.”
Your eyes widened as the wizard pulled off the hood. When people spoke of the wizard, they always described him as an old man or an ugly person but that could not be any farther away from the truth as the man that stood in front of you was neither old nor ugly. The wizard that people so feared of did not look that much older than you and if you were being honest, he was actually rather easy on the eyes.
The man ran his hand through his untamed hair that was poking out in every direction and said almost sheepishly, “Sorry for the way I look, I really wasn’t expecting any guests. I’m Shinsou.”
You mentally smacked yourself for being shocked that the wizard had a name. Of course he had one, everyone had a name. People were so used to calling him nothing but ‘the wizard’ you had forgotten that under the many rumors, there was an actual person with a life and a story living in the castle on the north.
“Do you live here on your own?” you asked as you shook his extended hand.
“Yeah, it’s only me after my mentor left years ago.” he noticed that you were trying to hold yourself back from looking around and tentatively asked, “Would you like a tour around the castle?”
The wizard smiled for what felt like the first time ever in his life when he saw you nodded your head eagerly at his offer.
The castle was even bigger on the inside then it seemed to be when you looked at it from the outside. Following Shinsou closely, you felt like you had been walking for ages in the twisting hallway before he finally came to a stop. He pushed the door open and you were at awe at what you saw.
All you could see around the room was books. Tall shelves occupying each wall and filled with books from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. In the middle of the high ceiling was what looked like a chandelier but made with the same glass bulbs as the ones in the main entrance. There were blueprints and drawings scattered across the floor and a large desk place at the corner.
“This is my study where I plan all the construction in the castle. It’s really just me here so I have a lot of time to come up with different knick knacks.” Shinsou said as he picked up one of the scrolls on the shelf and rolled it out on the desk. “Wizardry is fun and all, but it can get boring very quickly if you just conjure things out of thin air all the time.”
You pointed to the chandelier hanging above your head, “So those glowing bulbs aren’t enchanted?”
“Oh, no,” he rummaged through the drawers of the desk and pulled out one of the smaller bulbs you had seen before and placed it on your palm, “I was annoyed that the candles kept blowing out so I tried to make something that would last longer.”
He felt his heart swelled with pride as you inspected the light bulb curiously, it had been a while since someone showed genuine interest in what he did. “I don’t really blend in well with people so I try to make sure that I can get everything I need in the castle.”
You thought that you would not be more amazed each time you stopped in front of a new room but the wizard’s castle did not fail to leave you speechless each time you enter a new part of the castle.
Shinsou showed you the living room and it was the coziest place you had ever been in. There were cushions everywhere and the fire place was crackling, emitting a warm glow to the entire room. He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment when he admitted that he did use a bit of the magic he was taught to keep the fire place burning all year long but quickly added that he was finding a method to still keep the fire without using log.
You nearly tripped when you felt something bumping your ankle and squealed when you looked down to see a black cat rubbing its head on you.
“Oh, hello, how did you get in here?” Shinsou cooed as he bent down to pick up the cat, “I usually don’t let the cats come in here because they get fur on all the furniture.”
Your eyes lit up at the mention that there was more than one cat and made it your mission to find everyone that was hiding in the corners of the castle as he toured you around. Although Shinsou claimed that the cats hid themselves very well, you managed to catch glimpses of the glowing eyes in the dark gaps and the tip of their tails poking out from under the furniture from time to time as you walked.
“Strange,” Shinsou mumbled under his breath as he saw you gingerly petting one of them who was napping by the window, “they usually don’t come out at this time of the day.” He supposed his cats were just as curious about his guest as he was. He sighed and thought to himself that these felines were too smart for their own good as the orange kitten that was curled in your arms flashed its owner a smug look while you cooed at it.
You frowned when you let the cat go and the feeling of fluffy fur lingered on your arms. Being back in the main hall once again, you stretched as you felt the sore muscles on your back from carrying the kitten for too long. “Was that all of the castle?”
Shinsou turned to look at you, his hand still holding onto handle that opens the door, “Oh no, we barely went through half of it. You haven’t even been in the towers and the underground.”
“Oh.” his heart dropped at the disappointment in your voice but he also couldn’t help but feel flustered at the idea that you actually didn’t mind being around him.
Truth was, he would love it for you to stay just a little longer. He was so deprived of company for such a long time that he had forgotten how nice it was to talk to someone who could give responses that was more than a meow. But the people outside would probably be worried sick of you if you didn’t return before sunset. “I would love to show you the rest of it but it’s getting late and I’m sure it’ll be late at night after you’ve seen everything.”
“I can stay the night.” his eyes widened at your quick response. You lowered your head bashfully at how rude you must sounded to invite yourself into someone else’s home like that. “If it’s fine with you, that is.”
Shinsou had to physical pursed his lips together from stopping himself from grinning ear to ear as he took you to one of the many spare guest rooms that were never used in his castle.
Flopping onto the large bed, you let out a content sigh when you felt the soft covers touching your skin. It was definitely a lot more luxurious than the linens you were used to sleeping on back home. You relaxed your tensed muscles, all that walking made your legs really tired. When you said you were going to enter the wizard’s castle, you never thought that you would end up enjoying your stay. You did it mostly out of curiosity and spite that everyone thought you could not do it but the wizard was actually a really nice person and nothing like the tales you had heard. The more you spent time around him, the more you realized that he was not that different from any other person of your age which led to the million questions swimming in your head as to why people hated the wizard so much.
You never stopped pondering that as your eye lids got heavier and heavier and you drifted off to sleep, dreaming of all the things that you would do the other day.
“There is a place I must show you.”
You looked up at Shinsou as you rubbed the black cat that was rolling on the ground. If yesterday was a day full of eye openers, then you could safely say that you had been treated to nothing less than wonders the following morning once you woke up. He led you to the astronomy tower where you saw the most fascinating charts and records on the way stars move, you thought his study was already impressive enough but then you were shown to the library and you didn’t even know that there were so many books in this world, there was a glass house at the middle of the castle that allowed plants to grow all year long even when it was winter and you were convinced that it was magic despite Shinsou’s denying smirk, and so much more. The things you had seen were already more than anything you could imagine and seeing that excited look on his face, you almost felt giddy at what he was so eager to show you.
“You know how the entire castle has access to water?”
“Yeah,” you said as you carefully followed him down the spiraled staircase with a hand on the cold tiles of the wall for support. You remembered the pipes that released water when the foreign general tried to burn down the castle and it shocked you when you twisted the facet in your room to see clear water coming out of it last night. “you said it isn’t wizardry but honestly, I’m not convinced.”
He chuckled, “Which is why I’m taking you to where the water comes from.” He stopped in front of a door that looked a lot more worn out than the other ones in the castle. There were a few cracks at the joints of each wooden board and a few darker patches splattered across the door.
He opened the door and you were left speechless.
When he said “where the water comes from”, you weren’t expecting a lake to be hidden under the grand construction that was the castle. There was small boat tied to the platform and you took Shinsou’s hand as you carefully stepped onto the boat, its body rocked gently as you sat down and you had to hold onto him for support.
Something about his strong, steady hold on your forearm felt right.
He rowed the boat to the middle of the lake and you looked around as the boat glided through the water, creating ripples on where it passed by. The lake was inside what seemed like a rock cavern and the mineral that made up the cave gave off a magical glow that you could not begin to describe. If you look closely, you could see that some of the rock actually had a glimmer to it when the ray of light from the cracks shine on it.
“It has been a while since I come down here,” Shinsou said amidst the soothing sound of the water moving, “I don’t really come here unless I have to fix the pipes.”
“Why not? It’s beautiful in here.” you said as you leaned on the side of the boat, completely at awe of the way the ripples of the water reflected onto the top of the cave.
“It gets awfully lonely sometimes,” he looked down and smiled, “when you see such views but there was no one to share it with.”
The knot in your stomach tightened at the way his smile did not reach his eyes. “Well,” you tried to sound as cheery as you could, “good thing you’re not alone now!”
“But you have to leave soon, don’t you?” Shinsou chuckled and somehow it sounded empty, like nothing but an echo of what laughter was supposed to be,”Besides, you got into the wizard’s castle! You will be marrying the prince in no time, they must be planning a celebration of some sorts.”
“But-” I never wanted to marry the prince.
You were cut off by the sudden sound of horns echoing through the cavern, your reflection on the serene surface of the lake faltered as it shook under the vibration from the walls. “It’s the king, they must be here for you.” Shinsou looked up and said, pulling his hood down once again, “You should go.”
Leading you to a balcony on top of a tower, Shinsou stopped in front of the door and smiled, urging you to go on. You took one final look at the wizard before pushing the door open. The loud cheers of the crowd was the first thing you heard as you stepped out of the door. You were slightly overwhelmed but still managed to put on a smile and wave.
“Our child of the kingdom, you had entered the wizard’s castle and showed us your great bravery.” the loud announcement of the king’s messenger flowed from the top of the hill straight to your ear, “As promised, this act will grant you eternal glory and your name will go down in the kingdom’s history as the other half to his majesty’s heir.”
The crowd roared once again and you raised your hand to calm them down. You had never spoken to such a large crowd before, not to mention to the people of the king’s court. You stopped your hands from trembling by holding onto the rail of the balcony. “Thank you. I am not worthy of such praise and I will be forever grateful for his majesty’s offer...”
You took a deep breath,
“...but I will not marry the prince.”
Everyone gasped but you ignored the crowd and continued, “Because it is the wizard I’m in love with.”
All was silence as the people of the great kingdom let the words they just heard settle in, none of them could believe what they heard until the silence was broke by a loud laugh from behind you, a laughter that was clear and joyous like silver bells. The last thing people could see was a hooded figure pulling you into the tower before the door slammed shut.
As the door swung back, you were pulled into a tight embrace by the man you fell in love with in just two days. His head buried at the crook of your neck as he never stopped laughing, for someone chose to stay with the horrid wizard who lived in the castle on the north of the kingdom instead of marrying the young prince that was loved by many. You smiled at the sweet sound that was ringing at your ear and wrapped your arms around the wizard’s waist, thinking of all the things you could do together from now on.
There had never been another person who could enter the wizard’s castle on the north ever since.