After being showed a dream where we danced all night, it seems that everything will disappear at midnight's chime.
(cendrillon!au, alkaid x little painter, major character death, angst, tragedy, tw warning: suicide
"If it is a single night of bliss you want, I can grant you that."
"I only ask for one thing in exchange."
The sound of the rattling carriage is the only thing you can hear, aside from his words.
"Kill the prince."
You clutch your shawl tighter around you, hoping to stave off the chill of the night. It does little, you still shiver no matter how many times you try to rub your hands together. This dress may be beautiful, but it was not made to keep warm. Internally, you curse at your fairy godfather, couldn't he have added a thermal layer?
Though there's no point in complaining now, you're used to it anyways. So you do as you always have and endure the icy cold, holding yourself together.
As time ticks by, you notice the carriage slowing down and decide to take a peek out the window. The sight that greets you is akin to that of a fairytale; a splendid and magnificent palace towering over the sky as if it were trying to compete with the beauty of the stars. It does so well, and you feel all breath escape from your lungs.
It's 5 hours to midnight.
You've arrived much later than the given opening time, but you didn't care. Even an hour anywhere than where you came from would be worth it all, so you take the chance to compose yourself.
You slip your hands into a hidden pocket of your gown, feeling the coldness of the dagger that the fairy godfather had given you. It unnerves you, to carry such a dastardly thing while adorned in luxury, but the weight of it is not at all foreign. So you grip the handle, convincing yourself that everything will be fine, that everything will go according to plan.
You've done this before, only this time, you're being rewarded. You'd be a fool to pass up this opportunity.
"We're here."
The carriage comes to a stop, but the only sound that replaces the creak of the carriage wheels is the thrum of your heart. You hear nothing else, not even as the driver opens the door and extends their hand towards you.
"It is time for your night, my lady."
You straighten your back and raise your head as you step off the carriage, taking the driver's hand. You don't dare look up at him, and the strange scent of ash and roses accompanies you as he escorts you to the entrance.
He soon bids you farewell, disappearing into the night with not a trace of either carriage or man left to be seen anywhere else.
The closer you are, the louder the sounds of happy chatter and music become. Your hand is still in the hidden pocket, and you withdraw your hand to take out a mask, before placing it on your face.
"The theme of the ball tonight is a masquerade. Wear this mask, and no one will ever point their fingers at you for killing the prince."
You listen to his instructions, ensuring that the mask is well adjusted. Once you're done, you make your way inside the castle.
You have 4 hours and 55 minutes to midnight, before the clock strikes twelve and everything ends. So you take haste, your footsteps becoming just a tad bit more impatient, as you restrain yourself from being too overly excited.
Soon you reach the entrance, and the guards flash you a suspicious look as you approach them. But before they could block your way, you hold up an invitation adorned in green and gold.
"This is my invite."
You sound suspicious indeed, but all they do is take one glance at the invitation in your hands before nodding their heads and stepping aside to let you through.
"May you enjoy your night tonight, lady."
The security is rather lax, you think. They hadn't even bothered to look through the letter or ask your name, but you don't question why. Your fairy godfather must have done this.
So at last, you finally enter the palace, and if the sight of it from the outside wasn't enough to steal you away, the interior does so for sure. The reception area alone is captivating, not decorated too ostentatiously–contrary to your expectations–and is instead dressed with olden walls of dull gold, curtains of black seamed with silver, and white roses.
The white roses smell divine, the scent of it surrounding you, calling out to you. You are almost lured away by it but you quickly stop yourself.
You must find the prince quickly, you must kill him soon before midnight.
So with reluctance, you tear yourself away from the temptation to linger around and quickly scan the large room. People are milling about without much care, either taking a break from the fevered rush of the ballroom, or simply having a conversation without being disturbed by the music.
Quickly, you realize that not everyone here are noblemen or noblewomen. There are orphans here, all gathered around in this feast of grace, and your fairy godfather's words echo in your head once more.
"The one who kills him first will have a never-ending life of pleasure and riches."
You recall his smile, the old wrinkles on his face twisting even more, and remember the disgusting look of glee and malice in his eyes. You have seen people like this many times in your life, always taking and taking from others as if it were their right. But having grown up in the same type of environment has turned you into something as monstrous as all of them.
You make eye contact with one of the attendees–a man with a missing eye–and watch as he sneers at you before taking off. Catching the glint of a blade beneath his well-tailored coat, you sneer back at him. In your head, of course.
can a prince and a young martial artist whose families are in opposition end up together?
(martial artist!little painter, crossdressing, prince!Cael, politics, martial art world setting, Lin, childhood friends, forbidden love(?)
The sound of chatter can be heard around the compound as young lords and ladies from various martial clans gather among the lake garden to celebrate. With the head of the Pangho clan's 80th birthday, people from all over the country have traveled to the region in order to give him their best wishes, and gifts. In hopes for his favor.
With the festivities lasting a total of one week, today serves as a gathering for the younger generation, where those who have not passed coming-of-age take the opportunity to socialize and form connections. This rings true as well for the young lady of the Pangho clan, the clan head's 2nd granddaughter.
"Announcing her ladyship, Pangho Lin!"
The idle chatter slows to a halt, as a young lady no older than 15 appears at the entrance of the pavilion.
"Hey, is that...?"
"Shh..."
"Lin."
A young man with dark eyes calls out to her and invites her to his table which has been situated at the edges of the designated area, chosen with the intention of deliberately avoiding attention. There are two others there, a boy and a girl, but the concentration between them having broken by her arrival has resumed once more as they go back to glaring at each other.
The young lady pays no mind to the subtle whispers at his invitation and makes her way over, an adolescent boy dressed in formal combat uniform trailing behind her. He must be a guard.
She takes a seat and gives her greetings. "I hadn't expected for you to call out to me, Lord Fuyu."
The young man is only 17, but still crinkles his face in likeness of an old man at her words. "And you are still addressing me formally."
"My apologies." She doesn't seem apologetic at all and continues to speak in a formal tone. But then she smiles at him, "Well then, Fuyu. Care to tell me why it seems as if Chungli and Mao look like two vengeful ladies about to tear each other's hair out?"
Mao spoke up immediately.
"She started it."
"I did not!"
Alas, neither of them have ever gotten along and continue to bicker regardless of how much their friends reprimand them. After halfheartedly trying to stop them, Lin and Fuyu withdrew back in silence, mainly because one of them has no need for conversation while the other is a hopeless idiot.
Feigning idleness, the lady picks up her tea and takes a sip. While in reality, she is covertly listening to every bit of gossip passing from mouth to mouth in this pavilion. After all, information like this can be vital, even among the martial world. People who claim to be of the righteous faction are not above using words for swords, and many clans in history have been put to an end due to dire accusations against them. It has become important enough that Lady Lin has even put in the effort to use qi in order to enhance her hearing.
"Ah, so I've heard the Guhuo clan's eldest master has..."
"Really...?"
"The imperial palace has gotten more tense..."
"Isn't that clan involved in...?"
"I heard that the young lady of the Hui clan has been engaged!"
Lady Lin's hands pause, her hands still holding the teacup. She takes another sip before settling down the porcelain with as much composure and grace as possible. Fuyu–having known her for longer than most–frowns at her small mistake but doesn't brave mentioning anything about it.
"Oh my, the one close with the imperial family? And to who?"
The excited chatter rises in volume the more others become curious, inquiring the news bearer.
The girl lowers her voice to a hushed whisper, the action itself not doing much at all as Lin completely focuses on using her qi to zero in on the conversation.
"It seems as if the young lord of the Shennong clan wished to propose to her directly. My father mentioned to me that a messenger from the clan had entered the Hui estate recently!"
"How would he know about that?"
Unfortunately, nobody cares much about the real questions.
"The Shennong family is not a bad match at all. And you say he proposed the marriage himself? How romantic."
Lin had half the mind to throw her cup to remind them that a one-sided proposal is not at all romantic, but what do they care?
"Yes, yes. It is unlikely that anyone would refuse such an offer. Though I do wonder why would he propose to someone of that clan out of all possible options." The girl snickers slightly in response to their own words, but her friend whacks her by the arm, earning her a yelp.
"I'm not surprised. The Hui clan may have relations with the imperial family, but they are close to being one of the strongest under the heavens. Most certainly more prestigious than your own clan."
The girl shoots a glare back at her friend as she rubs her arms. "Ah, well. Chances are that the marriage has already been fixed. Any girl would be utterly mad if they were to refuse the prospect of being the next lady of the Shennong clan."
The topic continues in earnest, as the girls began to discuss and assume more intimate details for their own amusement.
"Lin?"
"Hm?"
It's only when her friends call out to her worriedly, does she realize that her grip on the porcelain cup has tightened considerably. She feels her personal guard behind her fidget in slight fear, as she looks back up at her friends with startling calmness.
Mao narrows his eyes. "Is there something the matter?"
On most occasions, she would have replied to him immediately. But today, she's not feeling it. She needs to get this out of her system.
Fuyu reaches out to her. "Li-"
She stands up abruptly while slamming both hands on the table and sees him retract his hand so fast he almost punched his own face.
"It seems as if I have forgotten the gifts."
"The gifts?"
Chungli questions her, but all she does is nod.
"The gifts. Now if you'll excuse me."
She takes her leave and exits the pavilion, ignoring the gazes that follow her from behind as she leaves.
"Make sure no one else follows me."
She instructs the Pangho guards on her way out, and they bow obedience. Lin then makes her way through the compound in search of a more secluded spot, with her personal guard still following behind her.
'I have a bad feeling about this.'
Once they reach the private area of the White Jade garden, a present gifted to her by her grandfather on her birthday, she turns around...
And slams you against the wall using both of her arms as a cage.
"Is it true that you're getting married!?!?!?"
Lady Lin has lost all semblance of an elegant lady, now frantically questioning her guard, and her closest friend.
The young lady from the Hui clan.
The Hui clan has a secret long-standing tradition, in which if given consent, a women from the Hui clan will be allowed to masquerade as man and receive special training from any clan who is willing to take them in.
What is the reason for this?
To allow the young ladies to find their true love.
The origin of the Hui clan first started off when a young lord from the imperial family was saved by a mysterious man, who was in fact, a woman crossdressing as a male. Regardless of her gender, the young lord hopelessly fell in love with her, and stepped down from the comfort of his position just to stay by her side.
Only years after did he find out her true gender, but his feelings remained as steadfast as they did before. They got married, had babies, and the rest is history.
Though the tradition itself is not mandatory, some girls use it as an opportunity to learn techniques from other martial clans.
You shake your head as you lower her hands as gently as possible. "Of course not!"
"Are you sure? Then what was that all about?" Lady Lin can't help but feel anxious for her friend, who was already at the prime age for marriage.
All you do is toss your head back and laugh.
"I don't know."
"You don't know???"
Why are you still here laughing without a care? This is your marriage they're talking about!
"I do know however, that my parents won't force me into a marriage I'm not interested in, so if I guess correctly a letter from them should be arriving soon."
"But are you not interested in marriage?" Lin can't help but ask this question. Regardless of how much prestige the Shennong clan holds, it is not out of the question for her friend to want to settle down.
But you wave her off, "Or course not. My life but a trashy romance novel in comparison to yours. Besides..."
You take the opportunity to embrace her playfully, the ends of your dark purple hair tickling her cheek. "I would much rather watch over my lady, who is far too dense in the matters of romance!"
Lin tries to pry her off. "What exactly do you mea-"
"Lin?"
Lady Lin freezes as she notices Fuyu standing there at a distance watching over them. She vaguely realizes that he should not be here, and questions her guard.
"You knew he was there didn't you?"
The both of you vaguely notice the murderous aura coming from Fuyu as he walks slowly over to them, looking like a beast about to pick a fight. And as if to further provoke him, you squeeze your master one last time before letting go. You are purposefully riling him up, taking advantage of your disguise as a boy to hasten the relationship progress between these two losers in denial.
Lin simply shakes her head. "Hui, ask the maids to ready the gifts in my room and reprimand the guards for having allowed an intruder in despite my orders. I'll head back first."
"Yes, my lady!"
You affirm her orders in a salute as you watch the lady scold him with an exasperated tone before she leads him out of the garden. The boy's head hangs low in guilt, and you can't help but send a small apology to him in your head. It was you who had called out for him after all, having sent a message to the guards using qi-speak, "Send for Lord Fuyu."
Remembering the day he first caught you hugging Lady Lin in sisterly affection, you shudder and trace a finger over your neck at the memory of him having almost cleaved your head off. He hadn't held back at all and had it not been for your own skills, you wouldn't have gotten out unscathed.
Before you lower her hand, you find a stray wisteria metal on the junction of between your shoulders and neck. Picking up the petal absentmindedly, you can't help but press it between the pads of your fingers. It's soft to the touch, the scent faint.
You find it overwhelming.
You sigh and loosen your hold to let the petal fly freely with the wind, before whispering;
"I wasn't lying, when I said my life was a trashy romance novel."
You slap your cheeks with both of your hands. You can't be dillydallying right now and resolve to quickly carry out Lady Lin's orders immediately. You cast one more glance towards the garden, where only few wisterias bloom among the flowers, and head towards the banquet hall to reap the cons of your mischief. The lady herself should know what happened by now.
After telling instructing the maids at the entrance of the garden, you make your way back to the banquet hall through a shortcut; the rooftops. Your agility allows you to remain mostly unnoticed by the servants of the Pangho clan, with the occasional disciple looking up in confusion. It's not when you are two buildings away from your destination, do you hear someone calling you.
"HEY! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT CROSSING OVER THE ROOFTOPS?"
You have half the mind to ignore Zhenzi-a maid who personally serves Lady Lin-and continue on. But before you could do that, she throws a rock at you.
"Woah!"
"Get down here right now! The lady has received a message!"
That makes you curious, and you finally hop down from the rooftop.
"A message? It must be important if you had to call out to me personally."
You are half-serious as you say this, for all you know Zhenzi had just wanted to get your attention and stop your roof-hopping. But you freeze, as you see an elaborately decorated scroll on a plated wooden tray in her hands.
The seal which binds it closed, is that of the imperial seal.
You can't help but guffaw in amusement.
"That kid-! Ahahahaha! He really...!"
Zhenzi tries to kick you on the shin but you narrowly dodge it by the last second. "This is no laughing matter! Now will you bring this to her ladyship or not!"
You quickly compose yourself and stifle your laughter. "Ahahaha, yes. Of course."
You take the wooden tray off her hands, but before you can leave she reminds you once again, no roof-hopping. This time, you finally agree and walk towards the pavilion like a normal person.
When you've finally reached the entrance where the guards remain standing–whom you give thanks to as they shoot you dirty looks–you hear your lady consoling her friends and giving them the gifts she had promised. It seems as if the maids had gotten there quicker, despite using you using your Fox Flee technique. Perhaps if you hadn't been held back, you would have gotten here sooner. But there's no point in thinking about this now.
Lady Lin gives you a look of utter disappointment and exasperation, but she she doesn't say anything else, addressing the tray on your hands. "What is that?"
You lower your head as you offer up the tray to her and she takes away the scroll with calculated elegance. The people around secretly try to look over to mayhaps learn something new, but you set up a qi barrier to prevent anyone from listening in.
Unbinding the scroll, her friends crowd around her in curiosity as she reads the letter. You see Lord Fuyu's frown grow deeper, and Lin's face becoming more impassive by the second.
"Sigh..."
She mumbles something you cannot hear under her breath and rolls back up the scroll. You wave a maid over to take the tray away and position yourself next to your lady once more. You keep your distance from her this time to avoid Lord Fuyu's wrath.
Your catch your master's shoulders slouch for a second, before straightening her posture and facing her friends.
"Well, what was it?"
Chungli questions her, not having read anything thanks to two burly boys blocking her view. Your lady sighs for the second time and turns her back towards the attendees to prevent anyone from reading her lips.
"It seems as if his Highness, the fourth prince, will be attending the last day of my grandfather's birthday banquet as the main representative..."
You snicker to yourself in your head. Her ladyship as charming as she is, seems to be continuously pursued by all sorts of suitors. It was only a while ago–long after they had met–did she learn about the prince's true identity and resolved to put a fair amount of distance between them.
Though it seems as if none of her attempts have proved drastically fruitful, the poor thing.
"...And will be accompanied by his Highness, the first prince at a later time."
...
...Oh.
Oh no.
"That's...interesting..." Fuyu doesn't seem to be all that angry, his frown smoothing over in an attempt to retain his impartial appearance. But you know better, you know he cares about this.
You wonder if you feel the same.
The rest of them chatter away discussing the new announcement, and while the conversation is mostly centered around their unexpected attendance, you notice your master glance at you every once in a while with a worried look.
You give her a reassuring smile each time, hoping that it would convince her that you're fine.
You feel the ice creeping inside your veins, and you know that you are not fine at all.
But you must not break the facade you've set yourself in, so you keep your face impassive, your thoughts closed. Trying not to show the turbulence inside of you, as your heart beats quicker and your head turns foggy with memories you find both happiness and bitterness in.
You never thought you'd ever see Cael again like this. Everything feels like a sick joke. But you only have yourself to blame, for running away, for having the feelings you've kept hidden in your heart for the last ten years.
The reason why nobody thought it weird despite the fact that the lady of the Hui clan had left her home, was because in the eyes of others, she had never left at all.
There is another reason for her disguise as a man. And that was to protect her twin brother, the next head of the Hui clan who almost lost his life in an assassination attempt.
Currently, he is recuperating in the Hui clan disguised as a women. His safety having been exchanged for his dignity.
And in his place, you took it upon yourself to play the role of the next clan head, masquerading as a male and fending off every other assassination attempt in his stead. It was the reason why you have been sent away to the Pangho clan, to divert their attention and keep your brother safe.
It would take you more than one hand to count the times your life had been put in danger, the morning after often reeking of blood.
Did you hate this? Not at all, you were the one who chose to do this.
The Hui clan was the only family in the martial world involved with imperial politics. Many look down on you from being from such a clan, but you took pride in what your family has done. You thought you'd be able to do what your father did, to support the imperial family for the sake of the greater good.
You hate what has become of everything now. Hate what this world has thrown at you.
When you were young, your parents would take both you and brother along to work with them, and had consistently visited the imperial palace as a result. The second prince and your brother would often play together, and while you enjoyed playing with them, there were also times where you just wished to explore as you please.
You had been idly wandering by the outskirts of an old palace, taking a wooden stick and drawing on the dirt of the ground. You purse your lips in frustration, not knowing what to draw at all, until you heard a weak tweet from a bird from afar.
"...?"
You toss your stick aside and curiously made your way to the sound, blindly following the bird's cries for help.
Walking deeper into the garden, you pass by dozens of trees covered with scratches that could only come from a blade. You continue wandering without caring about how far you've walked and that's when you see him.
Past the thicket, a boy with young silver hair stands still as he stares into his palms.
"...Um, hello?"
You tentatively approach him in case you scare him off, but all he does is simply glance up at you before turning his attention back to his hands. That's when you finally notice the baby bird in his hands, no longer tweeting. Silent.
You see the blood on the edges of his sleeves and realize it's dead.
You felt scared, did he do it? Was he the one who killed the bird?
Shaking of your doubts the best you can, you ask him, "What happened?"
He sighs and finally looks at you properly. "I found it on the ground over there. Judging from it's wounds, it must have been caught by a predator."
You see him gesture at you to come closer and you do. Upon further inspection, you see a horrid wound marring the poor thing and have to use all your willpower not to gag in front of this strange boy who has yet to show any bit of emotion.
"It's okay if you find it disgusting."
He covers the dead bird with his sleeves, blocking it from your sight before you stop him.
"No! It's not that. It's just..." You try to explain yourself, reign in the ugly feeling you consider to be disrespectful towards the creature that has passed away.
All he does is shake his head.
"It's like I said, it's okay." But he removes his long sleeves, no longer hiding the carcass from your sight. You breathe in deeply, and force yourself to look at it. If only to honor the passing of this small life.
"Are you going to bury it?" You ask him.
He seemed to be at a lost.
"Ah..." He glances down at the dead bird in his hands. "I'm not sure how to."
You offer to do it for him, to which he agrees. A few minutes later, you place the body of the baby bird in a small hole you've dug with your hands–now dusted and covered with dirt. You don't care though, and cover the hole with the soil you've set aside.
"Here."
Having left earlier, the boy comes back holding a fresh white wildflower in his hands. It looks out of place, with his hands bloodied and sleeves a spotting splatters of dried blood. It still looks beautiful amidst all of that.
You pat the earth mound as flat as you can, and he places the flower atop the newly made resting place.
"Is this the part where people pray?"
You stare at him with mild surprise. Earlier it had seemed as if he knew nothing of this sort of thing, but now it doesn't feel like that at all. You presume he must be older than you by around 3-5 years, meaning he should be around 14.
"Yes."
When you answer him back, he glances back at his bloodied hands. "I should clean this off first."
He takes out a fancy looking handkerchief and tries his best to wipe off the blood. It doesn't do much, and you see him visibly frown.
A pretty face like that should not frown, you think. So you take his hand in yours, watch his eyes widen in surprise at your audacity and boldness.
But when he looks at your joined hands, he realizes that both of them are as unclean as they could be. Blood mingling with dirt, but you don't seem to care at all as you smile at him.
"I think it's okay to pray like this."
Your words sound familiar to him, echoing his own.
It's okay.
You can't see the turbulence that rages inside of him and continue to speak. "So long as we pray with all of our heart, I'm sure the bird will still rest in peace!"
Silence, but then he nods his head slowly.
"Alright then."
He thinks your a tad bit naive.
The both of you sit down on the ground kneeling and praying for the baby bird's passing, clasping your dirtied hands. Once your done, you can't help but want to peer at the beautiful boy and quietly open one eye. He catches you quickly though, and opens both of his eyes to stare back at you.
Dammit, he caught you. You quickly start to feel nervous under his sharp eyes.
"So what's your name?" You quickly change the subject in an attempt to distract him, but you see him shake his head.
"I'd rather not tell."
You shift awkwardly at his answer, not having expected that at all. He doesn't seem to be all that interested in pleasantries does he? Not once has he shown an actual interest in who you are.
So you stand up and wave at him awkwardly. "Ah, well. It was nice meeting you uh... unknown boy."
All he does is nod, again.
You take your leave, and throw one more glance at him over your shoulder as you make your way past the thick trees. And it's only after 30 seconds do you realize;
You don't know your way out.
"Um, excuse me!"
The boy jolts his head up in surprise–having still staring at the small grave–as you burst through the bushes to ask him for help.
"I forgot my way out, do you know how I can leave?"
"..."
He gives you a good stare of disbelief before standing up and agreeing to help you out.
