A not-so-typical fairytale (oneshot)
Title: A not-so-typical fairytale
Pairing: ...
Genre: Crack
Rating: PG
Summary: She wasn't born in the right world. That didn't mean it was a bad thing.
Disclaimer: I surely don't own anybody in this!
Note: Total crack.
________________________________________________
A not-so-typical fairytale
Once upon a time, lived a girl named Rachel who, while not a princess, had a heart just as pure. However, the girl had the misfortune of being born in a world in which she could not survive. Fortunately, her parents were blessed by the king, whose daughter was friends with the little one, and were able to move into the castle where there were as many nurses and servants as needed. They gave little Rachel a sterilised room up in the highest tower and, while this seemed to sound as if she were to become a lonely prisoner, she did not feel that way because she was a simple-minded person and she fully appreciated the presence of all the visitors who came for her.
As she grew up, her body grew less and less fragile to the evils of this world, but she still had to stay up in her room for a good part of the day, and people still had to wear the right attire to come and visit her.
“This is ridiculous!” dramatised the princess as she turned around and looked into the mirror again. “You’d think that after, 20 years, they would have made more fashionable ones! I totally look ridiculous! I cannot be seen like this; no prince would marry me!”
Rachel rolled her eyes. She had no time to feel bad; the princess went through that tirade every time she visited... which meant every day.
“I am the princess, for god’s sake! I should be able to give the order to make prettier ones, but Father tells me that it is not necessary and doctors agree with him. Stupid doctors who have no sense of fashion,” she mumbled.
“Hey, those stupid doctors keep me alive by the way,” the maiden remarked.
“Oh I’m not saying they’re not competent; I do want you alive after all. I’m just saying they have no sense of fashion. Have you seen how Jinki dresses?”
The back of her hand was pressed against her forehead and her face expressed utter horror.
Rachel shook her head, amusement in her eyes, “What about Kyuhyun then?”
The princess shrugged, “Meh, he is okay in both departments, but god does he not have any taste in choosing his friends!”
A cough, “Go on.”
A sigh, “He is friends with that new entertainer my father has hired.”
“What’s wrong with him? I heard he was very talented.”
“He annoys the hell out of me!” she exclaimed with arms in the air, making her handmaiden scoff at her use of bad language.
Rachel nodded lazily, “What did he do to you?”
“He does these magic tricks where he makes women - should I call them women? They dress as if working in a cabaret or worse, a brothel - disappear, and impresses kids with giant bubbles, and cuts pieces of wood in two - his hands must be so ugly...”
Another lazy nod, “Like I said, what did he do to you?”
“He gets on my nerves. Nobody is allowed to get on the princess’ nerves! And-”
But she stopped her rant when she saw that her friend was only half listening to what she was saying - literally half listening; she had an earphone plugged into her left ear.
“What are you doing?” she asked out of curiosity and moved to stand behind her companion...
“YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO ME BECAUSE YOU’RE WATCHING DOCTOR WHO?!”
*
One day, as she came back to her tower after her private lessons, she heard a strange noise.
Even though she had lived in that tower for almost two decades, she still was not used to its strange noises and would often get scared. That explained why she grabbed the sword of the statue standing in her room.
She looked around for any sign of movement. She quickly hid behind the side of her bed and looked at the walls, the ceiling, the corners of her room and, finally, her only window...
... where a head had appeared. A head with a handsome face... and a body following it.
The young man brushed the dust off his clothes and, when he finally looked up, smiled at her,
“HI!” he exclaimed before smiling again, his perfect teeth biting his bottom lip.
Rachel dropped her sword in astonishment, eyes wide. The man was just perfect. Not too tall or short, part of his hair tied in a small ponytail, sparkling eyes and warm smile. He was wearing a short sleeved plaid shirt and loose jeans.
He was simply handsome.
She felt an asthma attack coming up and had to mentally concentrate on breathing. Once she got that right, she thought about getting some words out of her mouth, like the ones one would normally think in these circumstances: Who are you?
“You just put dust into my room.”
That wasn’t what I was aiming for...
The sparkling eyes became round, “Oh. Sorry.”
“And you’re not wearing the appropriate attire.” Oh somebody, make me shut up!
“Oh. Sorry again.”
“Do you know who I am?!”
That’s it, Rachel. Those years in this tower definitely did you bad. What’s the point of living if it’s to make good things run away?
“I... eh... I...” he stuttered and she took pity of him because she knew what it was like to be in that situation; she had always been a shy person.
He cleared his throat, “Sorry about that. I’m Aiden. I needed an English tutor and the... princess has recommended you to me.”
He held his hand out to her.
“Why didn’t you use the main door?”
“Eh... because I thought climbing up would be... fun?”
“Oh,” she said simply, not moving an inch.
He looked disappointed, “I have money, you know! I...”
She seemed to wake up from her trance. “Oh no, I don’t need money!” she exclaimed.
His eyes sparkled again.
“But I do need some company... and if this is the princess’s will...”
“It is!”
“... then I don’t see why I shouldn’t teach you. I’m Rachel, by the way,” she held her hand out to him as well.
He took it in his and brushed his lips against it. She concentrated on her breathing.
He smiled, “Nice to meet you, teacher.”
*
Because Rachel was a good friend, she kept listening to her highness going on and on about that entertainer who got on her nerves, and, because she was a quiet girl, she did not tell her about her own romance.
Not that the princess had a romance going on, but that was what Rachel had decided to call it.
Days went by. Aiden kept climbing up her tower and she did not mind it - she actually found it pretty romantic... but anything coming from Aiden looked or sounded romantic to her anyway. She taught him after her lessons, right before her time with the princess. Then, she would offer an ear and pretend to listen to the royal maiden repeating her rant about that entertainer while she daydreamt of a handsome man who looked like an adorable dinosaur.
On one particular day, though, he did not come for his lesson, and that worried Rachel a little, so she asked the princess if she knew something about it.
“What are you talking about?” her highness asked, confused.
“Aiden. He was supposed to come here, like he does every day, but-”
“Have you let a man enter your room, Rachel?!” she suddenly stood up, eyes wide, expression of horror on her face.
Uh oh...
And now she remembered that he had never, not once, used the main door, that he was never accompanied, that the whole castle probably did not know of his existence...
“Oh my god...” the princess said softly. “Rachel, I... I would have never allowed any man in your room. What kind of friend do you think I am?!”
“No, I know that... I...”
“I... I will talk to my father. No one is allowed to steal... oh my god, what if somebody had seen?!”
Rachel nodded. That would have been worse, indeed.
“You,” the princess turned to her handmaiden, “will absolutely stay silent about this. There is no way I will let that rascal get away with it!”
“He didn’t do...” her friend stuttered.
“Well you’re lucky he didn’t! I’ll be taking my leave earlier than usual, Rachel. Good night.”
The door was slammed behind them.
*
She heard the familiar sounds of climbing the day after and decided that she was going to confront the man herself, without any help from the royal family. She already owed them too much.
“Hi!” she heard the familiar voice, and she felt a sudden pain in her chest at the idea of never seeing his beautiful face again.
“Aiden,” she said calmly, but he was no fool (even though his outer appearance gave him that image); he sensed something was wrong.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “You lied to me.”
He looked stunned.
“Why?” she asked.
At that moment, his expression turned into one of an innocent boy and it hurt her even more to see it. He was too adorable; she would not believe that he had ill intentions.
He fell onto his knees and lowered his head, “I’m sorry.”
She looked down at him and waited.
“I... I heard that the most beautiful woman in this world lived in the highest tower of the castle, and that she had to stay there because her beauty was too great for this world.”
She gasped. She was sure her heart had stopped beating.
He went on, “And I was curious. I wanted to see her... and it turned out it was true.”
Oh no... please, god whom I may or may not believe in, please stop any upcoming asthma attack.
He stood up and took her hands in his, his eyes meeting her shy ones,
“And I fell in love with her...”
Now, she was sure she was going to lose consciousness. It was only a matter of seconds...
SLAP!
“Huh?” Rachel woke up from her trance to find Aiden on the floor, princess standing behind him with her arms folded.
“I heard you, dumbass!” she yelled. “Most beautiful... how dare you?! Inside my castle! How dare you put me in second place, you lowly...” but she was interrupted by strong arms stopping her from punching the young man on the floor again.
“Calm yourself, my lady. As flattered as I am that you’ve shown skills I have taught you this quickly, I think this situation may not be appropriate,” a man’s soft voice told her.
The princess turned around in panic, standing straight and bowing a little, “Prince Sungmin! What are you doing here? And... oh my god, where is my handmaiden?”
He chuckled, “Do not worry, I sent her away and told her I would be taking care of you myself. And your friend is here, so you are not unaccompanied. But I think that is not the main issue, my lady.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow, but did not say anything.
Aiden seemed to be able to stand up and did so. The princess stood in front of him,
“Follow me, young man. You are to attend an audience with the princess. Rachel, you may come too if you want.”
Well, I do want to know if she’s going to kill him...
*
“My name is Donghae! I am the son of the fisherman. I live right next to the East Sea,” the young man confessed on his knees, on the red carpet of the throne room.
The princess sat straight on her throne, a serious expression on her face. Her father sat next to her in his own throne, watching the scene with amusement, and Prince Sungmin stood on her other side.
“You do know that my friend deserves more than a simple fisherman, right?”
“I have money! I’ve worked hard all my life and have saved enough to take a maiden under my care.”
She scowled. Rachel was becoming red.
“You do know that you need my permission to court her. Rachel cannot live anywhere but the castle!”
“I do know that, you Highness. That is why I spent a day building a sterilised room in my humble home. That was on the day I could not come and greet my lady. After that, I was hoping to ask her hand in marriage.”
They all heard a loud gasp coming from the girl who was, again, on the verge of an asthma attack.
The princess frowned and turned to her friend, “How can you marry before me?!”
“He said he was going to ask! I’m not getting married before your Highness... yet.”
The princess scoffed and her friend grinned.
Fortunately, even though her personality seemed to show the opposite, the princess, as a true princess, had a very pure heart and, after making sure that the young man was worth it, allowed her friend to live her romance.
The couple left and were allowed to take a walk in the park on the sole condition that three nurses could follow them.
The princess sighed in her throne.
“Who am I going to visit now? I will feel so lonely...”
She heard a chuckle next to her. She had forgotten that the prince was still standing there.
“I doubt it, my lady... I doubt it.”
She gave a sceptical expression. He offered a hand,
“Would you like to join me in the ballroom? I also know how to dance.”
She blushed, but accepted with a timid nod.
*
“So... a prince, huh?”
“HE ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!” the princess yelled, overjoyed, as she displayed her ring for the millionth time.
Her friend chuckled, “See? You do not have to worry about marriage anymore. Now tell me, wasn’t he supposed to be an entertainer?”
The princess suddenly became very silent and Rachel could see her cheeks turning red.
“My father pretended to hire him as an entertainer. He actually was interested in me and Father judged that he did deserve me, so he kind of... gave advice to him because I kind of... rejected all the princes who came to court me up until now?”
Rachel rolled her eyes. Figures...
“Hey! I would gladly have married either Prince Hangeng or Prince Heechul if they weren’t so in love with each other!” she exclaimed when she saw her friend’s expression.
They both laughed.
“So... when are you moving out?”
“Tsk... not too soon. I have to wait until you get married because I have to be your bridesmaid... and then, I can’t move out when I, myself, am not married, right, Princess I-won’t-let-any-man-in-your-room?”
The princess laughed.
“Oh my lady!” yelled a voice they both recognised.
“Hi Donghae,” Rachel said.
“Your highness,” he bowed (he made sure to salute her first because not only was that part of etiquette, but he wanted to keep the right to marry her friend, so he made sure to get on her good side). “My lady,” he grinned and offered her a bouquet of flowers.
“You did not bring her flowers, right Donghae?” the princess sneered.
“Oh no, your Highness! These are paper flowers I made myself!”
“Oh Donghae!” Rachel exclaimed and jumped into his arms.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” moaned the princess.
She, however, knew how to read the atmosphere and knew when her presence was not needed.
Luckily, a beautiful white horse was passing by with its equally beautiful master.
“Need a ride, my lady?” he asked with a grin.
She grinned in return, “Perhaps, more than one,” and took his hand.
And they all lived happily ever after.
________________________________________________
Pairing: ...
Genre: Crack
Rating: PG
Summary: She wasn't born in the right world. That didn't mean it was a bad thing.
Disclaimer: I surely don't own anybody in this!
Note: Total crack.
________________________________________________
A not-so-typical fairytale
Once upon a time, lived a girl named Rachel who, while not a princess, had a heart just as pure. However, the girl had the misfortune of being born in a world in which she could not survive. Fortunately, her parents were blessed by the king, whose daughter was friends with the little one, and were able to move into the castle where there were as many nurses and servants as needed. They gave little Rachel a sterilised room up in the highest tower and, while this seemed to sound as if she were to become a lonely prisoner, she did not feel that way because she was a simple-minded person and she fully appreciated the presence of all the visitors who came for her.
As she grew up, her body grew less and less fragile to the evils of this world, but she still had to stay up in her room for a good part of the day, and people still had to wear the right attire to come and visit her.
“This is ridiculous!” dramatised the princess as she turned around and looked into the mirror again. “You’d think that after, 20 years, they would have made more fashionable ones! I totally look ridiculous! I cannot be seen like this; no prince would marry me!”
Rachel rolled her eyes. She had no time to feel bad; the princess went through that tirade every time she visited... which meant every day.
“I am the princess, for god’s sake! I should be able to give the order to make prettier ones, but Father tells me that it is not necessary and doctors agree with him. Stupid doctors who have no sense of fashion,” she mumbled.
“Hey, those stupid doctors keep me alive by the way,” the maiden remarked.
“Oh I’m not saying they’re not competent; I do want you alive after all. I’m just saying they have no sense of fashion. Have you seen how Jinki dresses?”
The back of her hand was pressed against her forehead and her face expressed utter horror.
Rachel shook her head, amusement in her eyes, “What about Kyuhyun then?”
The princess shrugged, “Meh, he is okay in both departments, but god does he not have any taste in choosing his friends!”
A cough, “Go on.”
A sigh, “He is friends with that new entertainer my father has hired.”
“What’s wrong with him? I heard he was very talented.”
“He annoys the hell out of me!” she exclaimed with arms in the air, making her handmaiden scoff at her use of bad language.
Rachel nodded lazily, “What did he do to you?”
“He does these magic tricks where he makes women - should I call them women? They dress as if working in a cabaret or worse, a brothel - disappear, and impresses kids with giant bubbles, and cuts pieces of wood in two - his hands must be so ugly...”
Another lazy nod, “Like I said, what did he do to you?”
“He gets on my nerves. Nobody is allowed to get on the princess’ nerves! And-”
But she stopped her rant when she saw that her friend was only half listening to what she was saying - literally half listening; she had an earphone plugged into her left ear.
“What are you doing?” she asked out of curiosity and moved to stand behind her companion...
“YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO ME BECAUSE YOU’RE WATCHING DOCTOR WHO?!”
*
One day, as she came back to her tower after her private lessons, she heard a strange noise.
Even though she had lived in that tower for almost two decades, she still was not used to its strange noises and would often get scared. That explained why she grabbed the sword of the statue standing in her room.
She looked around for any sign of movement. She quickly hid behind the side of her bed and looked at the walls, the ceiling, the corners of her room and, finally, her only window...
... where a head had appeared. A head with a handsome face... and a body following it.
The young man brushed the dust off his clothes and, when he finally looked up, smiled at her,
“HI!” he exclaimed before smiling again, his perfect teeth biting his bottom lip.
Rachel dropped her sword in astonishment, eyes wide. The man was just perfect. Not too tall or short, part of his hair tied in a small ponytail, sparkling eyes and warm smile. He was wearing a short sleeved plaid shirt and loose jeans.
He was simply handsome.
She felt an asthma attack coming up and had to mentally concentrate on breathing. Once she got that right, she thought about getting some words out of her mouth, like the ones one would normally think in these circumstances: Who are you?
“You just put dust into my room.”
That wasn’t what I was aiming for...
The sparkling eyes became round, “Oh. Sorry.”
“And you’re not wearing the appropriate attire.” Oh somebody, make me shut up!
“Oh. Sorry again.”
“Do you know who I am?!”
That’s it, Rachel. Those years in this tower definitely did you bad. What’s the point of living if it’s to make good things run away?
“I... eh... I...” he stuttered and she took pity of him because she knew what it was like to be in that situation; she had always been a shy person.
He cleared his throat, “Sorry about that. I’m Aiden. I needed an English tutor and the... princess has recommended you to me.”
He held his hand out to her.
“Why didn’t you use the main door?”
“Eh... because I thought climbing up would be... fun?”
“Oh,” she said simply, not moving an inch.
He looked disappointed, “I have money, you know! I...”
She seemed to wake up from her trance. “Oh no, I don’t need money!” she exclaimed.
His eyes sparkled again.
“But I do need some company... and if this is the princess’s will...”
“It is!”
“... then I don’t see why I shouldn’t teach you. I’m Rachel, by the way,” she held her hand out to him as well.
He took it in his and brushed his lips against it. She concentrated on her breathing.
He smiled, “Nice to meet you, teacher.”
*
Because Rachel was a good friend, she kept listening to her highness going on and on about that entertainer who got on her nerves, and, because she was a quiet girl, she did not tell her about her own romance.
Not that the princess had a romance going on, but that was what Rachel had decided to call it.
Days went by. Aiden kept climbing up her tower and she did not mind it - she actually found it pretty romantic... but anything coming from Aiden looked or sounded romantic to her anyway. She taught him after her lessons, right before her time with the princess. Then, she would offer an ear and pretend to listen to the royal maiden repeating her rant about that entertainer while she daydreamt of a handsome man who looked like an adorable dinosaur.
On one particular day, though, he did not come for his lesson, and that worried Rachel a little, so she asked the princess if she knew something about it.
“What are you talking about?” her highness asked, confused.
“Aiden. He was supposed to come here, like he does every day, but-”
“Have you let a man enter your room, Rachel?!” she suddenly stood up, eyes wide, expression of horror on her face.
Uh oh...
And now she remembered that he had never, not once, used the main door, that he was never accompanied, that the whole castle probably did not know of his existence...
“Oh my god...” the princess said softly. “Rachel, I... I would have never allowed any man in your room. What kind of friend do you think I am?!”
“No, I know that... I...”
“I... I will talk to my father. No one is allowed to steal... oh my god, what if somebody had seen?!”
Rachel nodded. That would have been worse, indeed.
“You,” the princess turned to her handmaiden, “will absolutely stay silent about this. There is no way I will let that rascal get away with it!”
“He didn’t do...” her friend stuttered.
“Well you’re lucky he didn’t! I’ll be taking my leave earlier than usual, Rachel. Good night.”
The door was slammed behind them.
*
She heard the familiar sounds of climbing the day after and decided that she was going to confront the man herself, without any help from the royal family. She already owed them too much.
“Hi!” she heard the familiar voice, and she felt a sudden pain in her chest at the idea of never seeing his beautiful face again.
“Aiden,” she said calmly, but he was no fool (even though his outer appearance gave him that image); he sensed something was wrong.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “You lied to me.”
He looked stunned.
“Why?” she asked.
At that moment, his expression turned into one of an innocent boy and it hurt her even more to see it. He was too adorable; she would not believe that he had ill intentions.
He fell onto his knees and lowered his head, “I’m sorry.”
She looked down at him and waited.
“I... I heard that the most beautiful woman in this world lived in the highest tower of the castle, and that she had to stay there because her beauty was too great for this world.”
She gasped. She was sure her heart had stopped beating.
He went on, “And I was curious. I wanted to see her... and it turned out it was true.”
Oh no... please, god whom I may or may not believe in, please stop any upcoming asthma attack.
He stood up and took her hands in his, his eyes meeting her shy ones,
“And I fell in love with her...”
Now, she was sure she was going to lose consciousness. It was only a matter of seconds...
SLAP!
“Huh?” Rachel woke up from her trance to find Aiden on the floor, princess standing behind him with her arms folded.
“I heard you, dumbass!” she yelled. “Most beautiful... how dare you?! Inside my castle! How dare you put me in second place, you lowly...” but she was interrupted by strong arms stopping her from punching the young man on the floor again.
“Calm yourself, my lady. As flattered as I am that you’ve shown skills I have taught you this quickly, I think this situation may not be appropriate,” a man’s soft voice told her.
The princess turned around in panic, standing straight and bowing a little, “Prince Sungmin! What are you doing here? And... oh my god, where is my handmaiden?”
He chuckled, “Do not worry, I sent her away and told her I would be taking care of you myself. And your friend is here, so you are not unaccompanied. But I think that is not the main issue, my lady.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow, but did not say anything.
Aiden seemed to be able to stand up and did so. The princess stood in front of him,
“Follow me, young man. You are to attend an audience with the princess. Rachel, you may come too if you want.”
Well, I do want to know if she’s going to kill him...
*
“My name is Donghae! I am the son of the fisherman. I live right next to the East Sea,” the young man confessed on his knees, on the red carpet of the throne room.
The princess sat straight on her throne, a serious expression on her face. Her father sat next to her in his own throne, watching the scene with amusement, and Prince Sungmin stood on her other side.
“You do know that my friend deserves more than a simple fisherman, right?”
“I have money! I’ve worked hard all my life and have saved enough to take a maiden under my care.”
She scowled. Rachel was becoming red.
“You do know that you need my permission to court her. Rachel cannot live anywhere but the castle!”
“I do know that, you Highness. That is why I spent a day building a sterilised room in my humble home. That was on the day I could not come and greet my lady. After that, I was hoping to ask her hand in marriage.”
They all heard a loud gasp coming from the girl who was, again, on the verge of an asthma attack.
The princess frowned and turned to her friend, “How can you marry before me?!”
“He said he was going to ask! I’m not getting married before your Highness... yet.”
The princess scoffed and her friend grinned.
Fortunately, even though her personality seemed to show the opposite, the princess, as a true princess, had a very pure heart and, after making sure that the young man was worth it, allowed her friend to live her romance.
The couple left and were allowed to take a walk in the park on the sole condition that three nurses could follow them.
The princess sighed in her throne.
“Who am I going to visit now? I will feel so lonely...”
She heard a chuckle next to her. She had forgotten that the prince was still standing there.
“I doubt it, my lady... I doubt it.”
She gave a sceptical expression. He offered a hand,
“Would you like to join me in the ballroom? I also know how to dance.”
She blushed, but accepted with a timid nod.
*
“So... a prince, huh?”
“HE ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!” the princess yelled, overjoyed, as she displayed her ring for the millionth time.
Her friend chuckled, “See? You do not have to worry about marriage anymore. Now tell me, wasn’t he supposed to be an entertainer?”
The princess suddenly became very silent and Rachel could see her cheeks turning red.
“My father pretended to hire him as an entertainer. He actually was interested in me and Father judged that he did deserve me, so he kind of... gave advice to him because I kind of... rejected all the princes who came to court me up until now?”
Rachel rolled her eyes. Figures...
“Hey! I would gladly have married either Prince Hangeng or Prince Heechul if they weren’t so in love with each other!” she exclaimed when she saw her friend’s expression.
They both laughed.
“So... when are you moving out?”
“Tsk... not too soon. I have to wait until you get married because I have to be your bridesmaid... and then, I can’t move out when I, myself, am not married, right, Princess I-won’t-let-any-man-in-your-room?”
The princess laughed.
“Oh my lady!” yelled a voice they both recognised.
“Hi Donghae,” Rachel said.
“Your highness,” he bowed (he made sure to salute her first because not only was that part of etiquette, but he wanted to keep the right to marry her friend, so he made sure to get on her good side). “My lady,” he grinned and offered her a bouquet of flowers.
“You did not bring her flowers, right Donghae?” the princess sneered.
“Oh no, your Highness! These are paper flowers I made myself!”
“Oh Donghae!” Rachel exclaimed and jumped into his arms.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” moaned the princess.
She, however, knew how to read the atmosphere and knew when her presence was not needed.
Luckily, a beautiful white horse was passing by with its equally beautiful master.
“Need a ride, my lady?” he asked with a grin.
She grinned in return, “Perhaps, more than one,” and took his hand.
And they all lived happily ever after.
________________________________________________