Work Text:
A long time ago, there was a small city ruled by a king and queen. The king and queen had three beautiful daughters; Celes, the eldest, Ayano, the middle, and Shizuka, the youngest. Shizuka was known for having extraordinary beauty, and men came from all over to admire her. The men would give offerings to her, create statues in her honor, and many believed that she was the second coming of Sayaka, the goddess of beauty.
Sayaka herself was not pleased to hear this, and began to loathe Shizuka. With people adoring the mortal girl, they neglected to leave offerings for her and tend to her temple. She simply could not let this go on. And so, she called upon her son Kiyotaka, the god of love. "My son, I have a request for you. Down in the land of mortals there is a girl with incredible beauty by the name of Shizuka. Her beauty has made the people forget about me, for they would rather worship a mere human. Therefore, you must use your powers to make her fall in love with the most hideous creature on earth."
Kiyotaka accepted the task and left to fulfill her wishes. However, upon glancing at Shizuka as she slept, he found himself entranced by her beauty. Distracted, he accidentally pricked himself with his own arrow. He couldn't make someone so lovely fall for an ugly creature. Having fallen in love with the princess, Kiyotaka was overcome with the desire to have her for himself.
Meanwhile, Shizuka's father began to worry for his daughter. While both Celes and Ayano had married, his youngest daughter had yet to find love. Unknown to them, Sayaka's spite towards the girl made it so that no man would fall in love with her. Afraid that they had incured the wrath of the gods, he traveled to the oracle of Byakuya with the hopes that his prayers would be answered. But no good news came.
"Your daughter will not marry a human, for her husband is to be a winged beast that even the gods themselves cannot resist. She must be dressed in black and brought to a mountain where she will await her husband."
The king was filled with despair. Upon returning home, he informed his daughters of Shizuka's fate. Hearing the news made Shizuka's heart sink. How could she be wed to a horrible beast? She would never find happiness with such a life. But if that is what the oracle predicted, she could not fight her fate.
She was dressed in funeral attire and brought to the mountain as instructed, in a a strange rite of passage that mixed together marriage and death into one. Her family left her there, believing that they would never see her again. Shizuka waited for her beastly husband, and standing at the cliff she contemplated throwing herself off the edge. But before she could make her decision, she felt the wind pick her up and carry her, unaware that it was the god of the west winds. As she traveled, she found herself falling asleep.
When she woke up, Shizuka found herself in a beautiful meadow. She explored the area, wondering where she had been taken, until she stumbled upon a magnificent house. The walls were silver, the columns were gold, the floors made out of jeweled mosaic, and the ceiling carved out of citrus wood and ivory. This was surely the home of a god or a king, yet it seemed abandoned. Moving with caution, she entered the house and heard a voice call out to her. "Greeting Shizuka, please make yourself comfortable."
"Who said that?" she asked. "Where are you?"
"Don't be frightened, this palace is meant for you. We voices are your servants."
"For me?" Shizuka asked. "What about my husband?"
"He is not here at the moment, but you need not concern yourself with that. Please enjoy your new home to your heart's content. The bath is waiting for you, and after that you may enjoy the feast that has been prepared."
Shizuka did as the voice told her, enjoying a most refreshing bath and dining on food that tasted so good they didn't seem real. As she ate, she heard the sound of a harp playing to her. She looked around but couldn't find see a harp anywhere. The music soothed her and made her worries vanish. The rest of the day she found herself alone, her only company being the voice. Something in her heart told her that her husband would come to her at night. And just as she thought, he had.
As the night approached, she was guided towards the bedroom. She could not see in the darkness, but she heard whispering in her ear. "Hello my dear Shizuka." His voice soothed the young woman, her fears vanishing.
"Are you my husband?" she asked. "Please, let me see your face."
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to see it." Her husband replied. "Have you any doubt about my love? If you saw me, perhaps you would fear me, perhaps adore me, but all I ask of you is to love me."
She didn't know how, but listening to him speak made her believe that he couldn't be a monster. He had to be a loving husband just like she wished for. "Very well." she said.
And so, Shizuka began to live in happiness. Even though she could never see the face of her husband, she longed to see him every night. While she was curious about his appearance, she knew she had to keep those thoughts to herself. She even became pregnant. Yet during the day, she found herself struck with loneliness. Her mysterious husband was always gone by morning, filling herself with sadness and boredom. It didn't take long for her to miss her family. Surely they must have been mourning her fate. The idea that her family was suffering was something Shizuka couldn't bear. Surely they deserved to have news about her.
That night, when her husband returned, she decided to ask him a favor. "My love, I need to ask something important."
"What is it, my beloved Shizuka?" She heard him ask.
"You see, during the day when you are gone, it feels rather lonely here. And during these times, I cannot help but think about my family and how they must be worried about me. Therefore, I'd like to have my sisters come to see me for a day. It would also do good for them to see me so that my parents know that I'm safe." she said.
He was silent, gathering his thoughts. "I'm sorry, I cannot allow it." he said.
"Oh..." Shizuka said, trying not to let tears fall. "Alright, if you say so. I just figured I would ask." She prepared to fall asleep when she heard him speak once again.
"Wait... I suppose I can allow it." he said. "However, you must not let your sisters influence you in any way. Otherwise, our relationship will be destroyed and you will suffer."
And so the next day, Celes and Ayano were brought by the winds. Shizuka greeted them with open arms and lead them to her home. Upon seeing the splendor in which their younger sister lived in, Celes and Ayano became jealous of her. How did she come to obtain such riches? They had to know. "So tell us Shizuka, just who is your husband?" Celes asked as they were dining.
"My husband?" Shizuka asked. She knew little about her invisible husband who was gone all day. She had to say something though. "Why, he's a handsome young man who spends all day hunting in the mountains!"
"Is that so?" Ayano asked. Neither of them believed her story for a second. A simple hunter managed to gather all these riches? Impossible. He had to be a man with power, a king or even a god. And so they continued to ask her questions to get the truth out of her. Question after question came in the hopes she would slip up, each one harder to come up with a lie for. Eventually Shizuka cracked and told them the truth.
"I don't know much about my husband." she said. "He's gone all day and only comes at night. I've never even seen his face, he refuses to let me see it."
"Really now?" Celes asked. "Poor Shizuka, you've been blinded by your husband."
"Blinded? What do you mean?" Shizuka asked.
"You remember what that oracle told father, don't you?" Ayano asked. "You were to be married to a horrible winged beast. I wouldn't be surprised if he devours you and your child when the time comes."
"That can't be true though!" Shizuka said. "I just know that he's not a beast!"
"But you've never seen his face, how can you tell?" Celes asked. "He probably forbids you to see him so that you won't know his true form."
"Or perhaps he's hideous." Ayano suggested. "And just one look at his face would cause you to run away in fear and leave forever. Poor Shizuka, how can you sleep with such a horrible creature?"
"He might even think you're the ugly one, which is why he refuses to stay during the day." Celes said.
"You're wrong!" Shizuka said.
"If you're so sure of that, then prove it." Celes said. "Wait until your husband is sleeping, then enter with a lamp and knife to see for yourself."
"If he truly is a monster, then you can kill him and come back home. If you don't find out, then we can have father send soldiers here to kill him." Ayano said.
"Very well, I'll prove it to both of you that he's not a monster!" Shizuka said.
As her sisters left, she began to plan for that night. Questions entered her mind as she waited for night to fall. Why didn't her husband tell her about his life? Was she truly sleeping with a beast like her sisters said? Why didn't he want her to see his face? Night soon fell, and her husband had returned. As he slept, she took out a lamp and knife she had previously hidden and shined the light to see him. But what she found surprised her.
Lying in the bed was no monster, but a gorgeous young man. No doubt the most handsome man Shizuka had ever seen. And on his back was a set of wings. She found herself stunned by his beauty, and realized how foolish she was for doubting him. She had been blessed by the gods with a wonderful husband and didn't think to trust him. In her distraction, a drop of hot oil fell from the lamp and landed on his back. The pain awakened him and he glanced at Shizuka, seeing the lamp in her hand. He looked her in the eyes, feeling furious that she betrayed him like this. Without a word, he flew out the window.
Shizuka panicked and began to follow after him, the beautiful house disappearing behind her. "Wait, please don't go! I'm sorry!" she cried out.
Even with the light of the moon, she couldn't see him as she tried to pursue. But a heartbroken voice called out to her. "Shizuka, is this how you repay my love? After having disobeyed my mother's commands and made you my wife, will you believe I am a monster and cut off my head? But go; return to your sisters, whose advice you seem to think preferable to mine. I inflict no other punishment on you than to leave you forever. Love cannot dwell with suspicion." With that, he vanished. She could no longer hear him in the darkness of the night.
She stopped where she stood, struck with realization. That man was the god of love, Kiyotaka. She didn't trust him and now she was all alone. Feeling lost and heartbroken, she fell to her knees and cried. She had nowhere to go and had lost the only man who truly loved her. She cried until the morning. She couldn't just let him go. She had to find him, to prove her love for him. Feeling depressed, she stood up and began her search.
First she sought out her sisters, telling them both what had happened. Both sisters became even more jealous hearing their sister was married to a god. Believing that they would be better replacements for Shizuka, they sought out the mountain and jumped, waiting for the winds to carry them. But the winds never came, leaving them to fall to the bottom.
Shizuka wandered the earth in search of Kiyotaka. As she wandered, she stumbled upon a temple of Chiyo, goddess of the harvest. The temple was in disarray, with offerings spread out everywhere. She knew this was no state for a temple to be left in, and quickly went to the trouble of fixing it up. Upon setting everything in its place, Chiyo herself appeared before her.
"Oh Chiyo, please help me." Shizuka asked, getting down on her knees and praying. "I am searching for my love Kiyotaka, and need some help."
"I would help you if I could," Chiyo answered. "But the goddess Sayaka has forbid me from helping you. I'm afraid I can not assist you in your quest."
"I see." Shizuka said. "Then I shall speak with her at one of her temples. Perhaps settling things with her shall bring me forgiveness" Distraught, she left in search of the proper temple.
After much searching, she found a temple of Sayaka and prayed to her. "Oh Sayaka, please speak to your son Kiyotaka. You must persuade him to take me back, for I regret what I have done to him."
However, Sayaka was still filled with hatred for the girl. She was still jealous of the girl, and was even more furious for what she did to her son. But she enjoyed the idea of having Shizuka under her power, for this was her chance to fill the girl with misery. She appeared in front of her and brought her to her handmaids to be whipped. "You really think you can betray the trust of my son, who is still recovering from the wound you gave him, and then come to me so that I may convince him that you're worthy of his love?" she asked. She tore off Shizuka's clothes and bashed her head into the ground. "Especially since you've conceived a child in a sham marriage? Truly you must be foolish!
"However, I'm willing to prove your worth, for I must make sure that you're an appropriate wife for Kiyotaka even after what you've done. You must complete the tasks I give you in order to prove your skills. If you succeed, then I shall reunite you with him. Fail just one task though, and my son will be lost to you forever."
Sayaka brought her to a storehouse, where a large mound of grain waited. "This is the grain that I feed to my birds." she explained. "I need you to separate them by each type of grain. Wheat with wheat, barley with barley, and so on. You must sort them all by evening, otherwise I shall never let you see Kiyotaka again. Good luck." Sayaka left, pleased with herself.
Shizuka began to despair. There was no way she could separate each individual grain by then! Tears began to fill her eyes, she would never see her lover again. But as luck would have it, an ant colony appeared before her. "Do not worry, young lady. For we shall help you with this task! We saw you cry and pity you. We're experts at a task like this!"
And so the ants went to work, separating the grain into piles for the poor girl. Once finished, they disappeared into the ground. Sayaka returned at that moment, shocked that the task was finished. Someone had to have helped her, there was no way a mortal could have finished by herself. Furious, she threw only a crust of bread at Shizuka. "You have yet to complete the tasks." she said. "This is all you shall eat for the night. At dawn, you shall receive your next task."
Leaving the girl, Sayaka returned to her home. She went to Kiyotaka's room, where he was still in pain from his wound and mourning over Shizuka's betrayal. He did not need to know of the girl's attempts to prove her love. No matter what she did, Sayaka would never see her as worthy for him.
Dawn came, and Sayaka retrieved Shizuka to begin her next task. She brought her to a river with sheep and rams on the other side. "See those sheep over there? You must cross this river and retrieve wool from every sheep for me." she instructed. "However, those rams are violent, and aren't fond of humans. But I'm sure that after separating all that grain, a task like this would be no problem for you. I shall return for you once the task is done."
Once again, Shizuka began to despair. Those rams would kill her and there was no way to avoid them. Perhaps it would be better if she just drowned herself in the river. Before she could, a voice spoke to her from the river.
"There's no need to drown yourself! There's still a way! Wait for the noontime sun. When it comes, the flock will all rest in the shade. At that point, you can go and collect the wool without the rams killing you."
She did as the voice said and waited for noon. As the sheep and rams went into the shade, Shizuka crossed the river. She carefully plucked wool from every sheep she could find and returned to give it to Sayaka. Once again, the goddess was furious. Those rams should have killed her! Someone had to have helped her again! "Don't believe your work is done." she said.
The next task was certain to be difficult for the girl. Sayaka brought her to a hill with a waterfall. "Can you see the black waters descending from that hill?" she asked. "That is the river Estige, awful and abhorrent. Fill this bottle with its water, and you shall be ever closer to reuniting with Kiyotaka." Sayaka left the bottle and vanished.
Shizuka reached the waterfall, seeing that the rocks the waters rushed through were slippery and steep. Only a creature with wings could possibly make it to the top safely. What could she do? As luck would have it, an eagle was flying overhead and saw her plight. It flew down and took the bottle in its beak, going to the top and collecting the black water. It returned the bottle to Shizuka and flew away.
Sayaka returned and saw the water-filled bottle. There was no doubt in her mind, she was getting help. She smiled coldly at the girl. "You were helped by someone, there is no way you could succeed at this task by yourself. I am giving you one final task to prove your determination." A box appeared in her hands. "You must take this box and go to the Underworld. Once there, you must ask Kumiko, queen of the dead, to drain a pinch of her beauty and place it inside. Tending to Kiyotaka has drained me of my own looks, and I need this to attend to the theater of the gods. Should you complete this final task, Kiyotaka shall be with you once again."
Shizuka took the box and made her way to find the Underworld. But what could she do in order to get there? Only the dead could enter. Was she supposed to kill herself? It seemed like the only answer. She walked up to a cliff, preparing to jump off. But a voice whispered into her ear, stopping her.
"No, there's another way. There exists a cave that is an entrance to the Underworld, you may enter through there. But you must not go in empty handed. You must carry cakes of honeyed barley in both hands and two coins in your mouth. The cakes will allow you to get past Cerberus, and the coins will allow you to pay the ferryman. There will also be many figures who will beg you for help, but you must ignore them for they will lead you astray. And you must stay silent."
Shizuka listened to what the voice told her carefully, doing exactly as instructed. She found the cave and descended into the Underworld, speaking to no one and ignoring any cries for help. She gave the cakes to the large three-headed dog, and the coin to the ferryman in order to make it across the River Styx. She eventually reached the palace of Gundam and Kumiko, approaching the queen of the dead. "Daaaaaang, you managed to get here unscathed! Not bad!" Kumiko said.
"I have come here on Sayaka's request." Shizuka said, presenting the box. "She requires a drop of your beauty."
"Welllll, you did come all this way, so why not! Plus you managed to get here without trouble, so I can't just tell you to beat it, now can I?" Kumiko said.
The box filled with the beauty, Shizuka made her way out of the Underworld, the voice returning to tell her not to open the box. Making it back to the world above, curiosity managed to get the better of her. She had to see what was inside. Plus if she had some of that beauty, then surely she'd be worthy of Kiyotaka's love. But when she opened the box, no beauty was inside, and instead she fell under a deep sleep in the middle of the road.
However, Kiyotaka was aware of the trials his wife was going through, and felt touched by her actions. He had been sending help her way and silently gave her advice throughout. The wound from the oil healing into a scar, he escaped from his mothers home and quickly found her body lying on the ground. He gathered the sleep from her body and pricked her with one of his arrows, awakening her instantly. "What am I to do with you, Shizuka?" he asked. "Once again, your curiosity has nearly brought you misfortune. Will you ever learn?"
"But I have learned." Shizuka said. "I was a fool not to trust you before, and I ask for a second chance."
"You do not need to ask." Kiyotaka said. "I was foolish as well. Come, you still need to deliver this box to my mother."
"But what will I do after that? There is no way she will accept me as your wife." Shizuka said.
"I shall deal with that matter myself." Kiyotaka said. "Just know that even if she does not approve, I love you."
"As do I." Shizuka said.
---------------------------
"Matsuki-kun! Wake up! This is no time for sleeping!" The painter slowly opened her eyes, finding herself in the library with Ishimaru. In front of her was a book on Greek mythology. "It's not like you to fall asleep during our study sessions."
"Sorry, Ishimaru-sempai." Matsuki said, rubbing her eyes. "I had to pull an all-nighter in order to finish up a commission. I didn't think it would have any consequences."
"While I commend you on trying to finish your work, you should not sacrifice sleep to do so!" Ishimaru told her. "Pulling an all-nighter is not good for your health! "Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you, Matsuki-kun?"
"You could take this fool to her dorm room so she can get some proper rest." Matsuki joked.
"Let me return this book to it's proper place first." Ishimaru said, picking up the book and glancing at what she had been reading. "Ah, the tale of Eros and Psyche! One of the most well known stories of love in mythology, and quite a subject in classic art! I can see why you were reading it!"
"I didn't think you'd read it before." Matsuki said as she tried to stand up.
"W-well, mythology is a fascinating subject!" Ishimaru said, his face turning red. "Even if these events did not happen, they were what shaped the ancient world and art!"
"You're blushing." Matsuki said with a smirk.
"A-am I?!" Ishimaru asked. "Strange, I h-have no idea why!"
Matsuki giggled. "Perhaps Eros has struck you with one of his arrows." she teased.
"Don't be ridiculous! Eros is only a myth!" Ishimaru said.
Matsuki continued to laugh before letting out a huge yawn. She was more tired than she thought.
"We should get you to your room before you pass out!" Ishimaru said, placing the book back down and taking hold of her.
"It's okay, if I fall into an eternal sleep I know you'll wake me up." Matsuki joked, leaving a kiss on his cheek.
Ishimaru's face went red again as they left the library. "Please don't make jokes like that." he muttered.