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“Say, Mizuki,” Ena chimes up after long, quiet minutes.
“Hmm?” Mizuki lilts in response, propping herself up on her forearms. They have both been lying down on the sandy beach for the past few hours, simply letting the warm water lap at their feet with every new wave that comes rushing to the shore. It’s a warm day—Mizuki is sure there are no clouds in the sky.
For her, the scenery is pitch black—it has been so since she was five years old. By now, she has mostly forgotten what anything really even looks like. She can’t say she minds, though.
“Do you… Nevermind.”
Ena’s voice becomes ever-so-slightly fainter as her sentence comes to an end, and Mizuki knows she must have turned her face away from her.
Mizuki sits up properly and reaches out with her arms—a voiceless demand. She hears Ena sigh and the sound of her clothes rustling as she comes up to a sitting position. The smell of the sea is even stronger now, and some stray droplets hit Mizuki’s cheek as a big wave comes crashing against a nearby boulder.
Ena scoots forward until her face makes contact with Mizuki’s outstretched hands. Mizuki feels around Ena’s familiar features, looking for answers—her mouth is slightly downturned, and the little dimple between her brows is deeper than usual, though not as much as when she is angry.
“You’re anxious,” Mizuki declares proudly, and feels the dimple deepen under her touch as Ena knits her eyebrows closer together.
“Well, I think it was already obvious by my voice,” Ena grumbles, annoyed. Mizuki grins at her companion’s grumpy reactions and adjusts her hold so she can gently lead Ena’s face towards hers, using her thumbs as a guide to aim for Ena’s mouth.
She places a feather-light kiss on Ena’s pouty lips before straightening up to smile at her some more.
“Why did you kiss me?”
Ena sounds slightly out of breath, and that alone makes the smile on Mizuki’s face grow even wider. She finds it quite adorable how, after so many years since they have started traveling together and after the myriad of kisses they have exchanged along the way, Ena still gets flustered, sometimes. Mizuki can feel the skin of Ena’s cheekbones growing warmer and warmer under her fingertips.
“Felt like it.”
Ena snorts, but then she breaks into a huge grin, marked by the muscles in her cheeks moving upwards.
“So? What did you want to ask me?”
Mizuki thinks she already knows the answer to the question, but she wants to give Ena the chance to voice it herself.
Ena hesitates—Mizuki can feel her opening and closing her mouth a few times, looking for the words. Keeping a firm grip on one side of her face not to miss any reaction, Mizuki uses her other hand to gently caress Ena’s cheekbone, to comfort her.
Ena sighs heavily.
“You know it’s about what happened this morning.”
Mizuki nods.
This morning, some men clad in shiny armors have come for Ena, calling her a monster. Mizuki spent the whole time hiding behind a big boulder, unable to do anything like usual, as the men blindly swung their swords and threw javelins at Ena, trying not to look into her eyes lest they be turned into stone. Eventually, half of them fled in terror, while the other half became part of the rocky terrain near the beach south from where they are now.
Wannabe heroes have often come for Ena’s head, so what happened this morning was nothing new: Mizuki always hides, Ena always wins, and then they look for a new place where to live their lives in peace before the next strike.
However, something different happened this morning.
While Ena took care of the last two attackers, a young man around Mizuki’s age came to seek shelter in her same hiding spot. When he saw her, he grew convinced she was Ena’s unwilling prisoner. He decided he was going to “save” her and did not listen to Mizuki’s protests, believing her to be under some kind of spell. Her grabbed her arm and tried to drag her away, but Mizuki eventually managed to free herself and run back in Ena’s general direction, stumbling and falling as the young man chased after her.
“You don’t love her!” He screamed, an edge of desperation in his voice. “These- these monsters, they trick humans! She has poisoned your mind, but you can still live a normal life! Believe me, your fellow human.”
His voice was kind, worried, panicked—he truly believed Mizuki was a maiden in need of help, and he was doing his best to save her out of the kindness of his heart, despite the danger he was facing. At last, Mizuki found herself in Ena’s familiar embrace. Ena held Mizuki to herself with one arm as she lifted the other, which Mizuki believed held a sword.
“Either look me in the eye and turn to stone, or take charge and be pierced by this sword.”
“Free her,” the man begged, “I promise I won’t get your head, I will leave you alone. But free her.”
“Leave.”
Ena’s tone made Mizuki’s skin run cold. She had never heard Ena speak like this—like her voice was laced with venom. Like she was nothing close to human. The snakes on her head hissed menacingly, and Mizuki clang to Ena’s dress, drenching it in tears.
“You can’t-”
“Just go!” Mizuki screamed against Ena’s chest, interrupting the man’s passionate plea. “I love her.”
“You’re obviously under a spell. No one could love something like this.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he tried to charge at them. Ena swiftly stepped in front of Mizuki and a loud thud resonated in the plain, marking the man’s fall to the ground. Mizuki still isn’t sure what happened to him, and has not asked Ena.
She does not care. All she cares is that she is still here, with Ena. That they managed to find a hidden bay where the sea feels warm and where they have been enjoying the sun holding onto each other’s hand.
“I know I love you for real,” Mizuki murmurs, “And you’re not a monster. You’re lovely.”
The muscles in Ena’s jaw grow tighter, and Mizuki gently rubs her thumbs over them to loosen them.
“Do you ever wonder…” Ena chokes on her own words, hanging her head. Mizuki gently nudges her chin up.
“No,” she answers firmly. “Never.”
Ena shakes her head.
“Ena, listen to me. Even if I could see with my eyes what you look like, that would change nothing. I already see you.”
To prove her point, Mizuki runs her fingers all over Ena’s facial features, mapping them for the thousandth time.
“You’re beautiful,” Mizuki whispers, reaching for Ena’s hair, “All of you is beautiful. And I’m quite fond of the little guys too.”
The snakes growing out of Ena’s head cheerfully greet Mizuki, gently wrapping around her fingers and wrists and hissing softly. A few of them affectionately rub their heads against her.
“You really aren’t under a spell, you know.”
Ena’s voice is slightly nasal—she’s trying not to cry.
“I know,” Mizuki replies gently. “Come on, I’ll braid your hair. The little ones are all tangled up today.”
Ena surprises Mizuki by planting a soft kiss on her cheek before repositioning herself so that she’s sitting in front of Mizuki, giving her back to her. Mizuki gets to work, getting lost in the familiar task she has so often performed. The snakes let themselves be braided by Mizuki, and she makes sure to pat each of their little heads, reminding them she cares about them too.
The sun feels warm on her skin, causing a tingling sensation brought by the dry sea salt clinging to her. Ena’s snakes are soft in her hands, the smell of the sea is overpowering. She finds herself humming a soft melody, and Ena gently joins in, adding little harmonies.
Mizuki is completely at peace.
Ena is no monster, after all. Ena is kind, gentle, caring. Ena always gets angry when Mizuki teases her, and if she’s hungry she’s even more short-tempered than usual. Ena always sings to her snakes, and sometimes argues with them about silly things. She always makes sure Mizuki eats first, and gently guides her by the hand in their travels. She fusses over Mizuki, sometimes a bit too much, and never leaves her side for too long. No matter how angry or shy she gets, she always, without fail, allows Mizuki to touch her face, so that she can see her.
Ena is no monster, not one bit. Mizuki thinks that all the aspiring heroes who come trying to slay her just so they can bring her head home as some macabre trophy are worse monsters than Ena could ever be. There is nothing ugly, unsightly, or horrifying about Ena. Nothing.
Once she’s done braiding her snakes, Mizuki leans forward to hug Ena’s waist and kiss one of her shoulders.
“My Ena,” she whispers. Ena’s skin is warm and salty under her lips. “I should compose a poem about you to rival Homer’s.”
Ena snorts, shuffling around so that she can lie down with her head resting on Mizuki’s lap.
“Corny.”
“What, you think I can’t?” Mizuki teases. She frames Ena’s face in her hands, ready to read her amusement.
“I guess you can sing,” Ena concedes, smiling bright underneath Mizuki’s touch.
“I’m basically just like Homer, you know.”
Mizuki feels Ena frown even as her grin widens.
“Oh?”
“Well, yeah,” Mizuki nods confidently, “He was also blind, no?”
Ena laughs, happy and carefree—exactly what Mizuki hoped for.
“You’re silly,” she eventually sighs, sounding as in love as Mizuki feels.
Mizuki simply smiles at her.
“I guess I wouldn’t mind hearing your verses about me, if you ever compose anything.”
“Well then, I better get to work.”