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Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived the King and Queen of the Ninomae kingdom. Filled with love for one another, the royal couple resolved to have an heir. Despite their efforts, the two failed to conceive. Seeking the counsel of doctors, healers, and scholars, no solution could be found.
Finally, the King made contact with a sinister group known as the Cult of the Ancient Ones. Robed members offered to produce an heir on the condition that the child was returned to the cult as a member. Desperate, the king conceded to their terms.
Nine months later, Princess Ninomae Ina’nis was born. A beautiful baby girl with her mother’s hair dark as night and grey-blue eyes, her parents resolved to keep her away from the cult’s evils.
Celebrating the birth of the Princess, every citizen of the Kingdom of Ninomae gathered together in the castle’s walls for feast and blessing. Bursting through the front doors, the air grew cold, and all chatter silent.
Mori Calliope was a reaper, a disciple of Death himself. A tall, looming figure, Reaper Mori wore a shadowy, tattered cloak with long pink hair and piercing red eyes. Coldly reaching her scythe toward the baby, Mori warned that unless Princess Ina’nis was turned over to the Ancient Ones, she would sleep on her sixteenth birthday and never fully awaken.
Enraged, the king ordered his guards to slaughter the intruder, but not a hand could be laid on the reaper before she vanished in a cloud of smoke. Scornful murmurs spread throughout the dining hall, cursing the reaper and her lack of compassion.
However, one man, a bartender, knew different, remembering the Reaper for her fondness of wine. Mori was reduced to tears, devastated by the idea of cursing an innocent child. The Reaper had no desire to cause harm but knew what horrors could be unleashed with the wrath of the Ancient Ones.
Suddenly, the bartender was subject to a sight like no other. Takanashi Kiara, the goddess of Life herself, stood right near the counter. With long locks of fiery orange hair, threaded with cyan like the water of life. Kiara’s pink eyes shone with compassion, dressed in a flowy red gown like the blood in life’s veins. Coming in the form of a Phoenix, Kiara lit the dingy bar with an otherworldly glow.
The diety had always had a particular fondness for the reaper, who spoke to her with respect and dignity without groveling or relentless adoration. So much so, that the two spoke to each other with nicknames, “Kiara” and “Calli”.
Calli, wracked with guilt, clutched desperately to Kiara’s arm, eyes glistening with tears. Calli begged Kiara to spare the young Princess. Struck with pity, Kiara had never seen the reaper vulnerable before. Gently caressing Calli’s hair, Kiara promised help to the sobbing girl. Although Kiara could not reverse the Ancient Ones’ curse, she could ensure that a ray of hope in the form of true love’s kiss would waken the princess once more.
As time grew on, the King and Queen sheltered their daughter away from the world, paranoid of the harm that could be caused to her. Discovering the Book of the Ancient Ones, the Princess committed the text to memory. Eventually, Princess Ina’nis became convinced that the Cult was corrupt, and she could use the Ancient Ones’ knowledge to help others.
Horrified upon finding this, the king burned the Book, ordering his daughter to be confined to her room. Angered at her father’s ignorance, the princess fled her room one night, using techniques from the book and her knowledge of the castle, Ina could slip out undetected. Making it as far as the outer woods, Ina grew scared, her vision obscured save for the gleam of midnight.
Then the midnight hour struck, her sixteenth birthday. Ina collapsed on the ground, consciousness drained from her body. In a cruel countermeasure to Kiara’s blessing, Ina’s hair grew orange, squishy accessories, her mouth with a fang, and bizarre flaps on her hair, as well as tentacles extending off of her body.
Sensing her predicament, Kiara sent two of her closest friends to protect the sleeping princess. An English time-traveler, Amelia Watson, managed to create a time-neutral zone around Ina to protect her from time’s disadvantages. Her girlfriend, Gawr Gura, stayed armed with a trident to vet any potential suitors for the young girl.
Many tried and failed to court the princess. Some were repulsed by Ina’s new features, others frightened. Some were chased away, by tentacles or by Gura. Sadly, none could wake her. Ina’s parents gave in to despair, convinced she was abducted by the cult.
IRyS was a Nephilim, mothered by an angel and fathered by a demon. Persecuted by both realms, the poor creature was cast down to earth and raised by a peasant family. IRyS lived life as a beggar, using her talent for singing to earn food or money.
Enjoying long walks in the forest, IRyS often enjoyed listening to the songs of the birds. A natural harmony, it felt almost as if nature itself was singing to her when she stumbled upon a girl in slumber.
The little shark trotted her way up to the stranger, trident raised. Dressed in a strange blue garb the white-and-blue haired creature walked cautiously, with eyes like the sea narrowed in suspicion. IRyS quickly raised her hands, explaining her story.
Gura gazed upon the tall stranger, with black horns, ruby-red hair, a pink and a blue eye, and humble leather rags. Letting her guard down, Gura allowed the singer to proceed.
Looking upon the sleeping priestess filled IRyS with sadness. Ina lay unmoving, her lips seeming cold and dead. IRyS didn’t see flaps or tentacles, but a beautiful young woman deserving of love. Stooping down to her knees, IRyS gently kissed Ina on her lips, savoring the smell of lavender and the violets surrounding her.
“Well… wood you look at that?” Ina smirked. IRyS couldn’t help but giggle, her eyes glancing to the trees surrounding them.
“Sorry to startle you, I didn’t want to leaf you lying there,” IRyS replied with Ina chuckling.
Sitting upright, Ina felt her hair, still detecting the flaps and feeling the tentacles moving from behind her.
“I--I don’t understand, I’m supposed to be beautiful,” Ina murmured.
Hugging her tightly, IRyS ran a hand gently through Ina’s dark hair.
“You are beautiful,” IRyS smiled.
Trying to stand, Ina’s legs trembled from exhaustion, leaving IRyS to carry her back to the castle.
One bright spring day, IRyS carried Ina up the aisle. IRyS wore a burgundy tuxedo accentuating her ruby-red hair, while Ina donned a beautiful white dress contrasting with her darker features.
Ina’s parents treated IRyS’ family as guests of honor, not caring for the gender of the bride so much as seeing their once-lost daughter again.
Kiara and Amelia were present, with Gura serving as the “best man” for trusting IRyS. Some were skeptical of Calli’s invitation, but Ina chose to forgive the reaper, knowing the circumstances behind her message. In time, the Cult was reformed to be a positive, charitable group, with fanatics imprisoned or exiled.
For now, all that mattered was the look given between brides, as they leaned in for a tender kiss.
And so the two lived happily ever after.