Forever Young
Special 1: The likes of love
Forever Young © Kitty Ocean
Special ©
Acrocat
Naraku
was whistling, while she and Shadowhunter
were walking in the snowy forest near the
>Do you really have to make that awful sound ?< Shadowhunter asked annoyed.
>I’m sorry Shadowhunter .< Naraku replied, >I forgot that you don’t like whistling.<
>I don’t mind the melody, but the sound is just so sharp to my ears .<
They were already walking for quite a while when Shadowhunter stopped, her ears pricked.
> Shadowhunter what’s-<
>Silence !< Shadowhunter sharply interrupted her.
Naraku listened hard, but she couldn’t hear anything.
>I hear something, it’s very faint but it sounds like a cry of help< Shadowhunter said eventually.
>Can you show me where ?< Naraku asked.
>I think so, follow me .<
Together they sped away. Because of the thick snow it was a slow run. Shadowhunter kept on tripping in the snow, while Naraku’s snowshoes (a present Hane had left just before he died) made Naraku trip as well. After a while though, Naraku could also hear a muffled cry for help. They exited the forest at the base of one of the mountains and saw something sticking out of the snow. They ran to it and saw in was a hand. The sound had died away and the hand was numb. Without hesitation Naraku and Shadowhunter started digging. They were surprised to find an Elf girl with long green hair. Her eyes were closed and she was hardly breathing.
>We have to take her to Morningsnow !< Naraku said urgently.
Shadowhunter nodded. Naraku placed the unconscious Elf on Shadowhunter’s back. They tried to get to Morningsnow as fast as they could, but it was a very slow progress. Shadowhunter kept on sinking away in the deep snow, causing the Elf girl to slide of her back.
>This is no go .< Shadowhunter said after a while.
>What are you talking about? We have to go on .< Naraku said.
>We are too slow this way. I’ll stay with the girl, you go get the others .< Shadowhunter lay down on the cold, numb Elf body in an attempt to keep her warm.
>But what if the snow wolves find you ?<
>The more reason for you to hurry up. The faster you’ll go, the less chance for me to encounter snow wolves. Now get !<
Naraku sprinted away once more, trying to run as best as she could with those accursed snowshoes. She knew that if she would take them off she would be even slower. Thinking of the snowshoes made Naraku thing of her dead friend and tears formed in her eyes.
It was quite a distance from the nearest mountain range to castle Morningsnow . Naraku could only pray that she would be back in time to save the Elf girl. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t watch the road and fell over something. When she looked around she saw something white and furry lying on the ground. The snow was painted red around it. Naraku had tripped over a dead snow wolf. Soon other snow wolves emerged from the bushes, the alpha male in front.
The young male had a few fresh cuts, but he would survive. He obviously had just fought the old alpha male for the leadership of the pack. He was determined to show the rest of the pack that he could also handle a human being.
Naraku was surrounded. Even worse, her fall over the dead snow wolf had sprained her ankle. Her only chance was to hope to show the wolves she meant no harm. She bowed her head so she didn’t look the young alpha male in the eyes and spread her arms.
“Please.” She said, “Please let me go, I mean no harm. I need to help someone. She’s an Elf. You like Elves right? They are very fond of nature.”
But the alpha male didn’t listen. He howled as a sign for the others to attack. Naraku hesitated no moment and grabbed her sword, but she didn’t know where to start. She couldn’t run away, and the wolves were advancing on her from all directions. She slashed with her sword at the nearest wolf, but he jumped away. In the meanwhile another wolf had jumped on Naraku and was trying to reach her throat. Naraku pushed the wolf of her, but as soon as she had one wolf away from her another one had jumped on her.
There was only one way out. She didn’t like to hurt the wolves, especially not in this way, but she had no choice. Naraku closed her eyes and tried to concentrate . She knew wolves were afraid of fire. Without knowing exactly how Naraku had formed a shield of fire around her. The wolves stepped back, looking frightened, but they still surrounded her. The fire shield broke into a lot of pieces that shot in every direction. The wolves ran away, some of them with some burned hairs but Naraku as sure they would be all right. However it had drained a lot of her energy, she was just too tired to go on. She was so close to Morningsnow . Perhaps, hopefully, close enough to be in the telepathical range.
>Help me guys. Matsuru ,
Blade, help
“Sushi, have you seen Ao and Clover? They’d promised to help me with washing Grasshopper.” Matsuru asked his Elf friend.
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen them both all day.” Sushi replied.
“Oh don’t bother with those two. Didn’t you know that they like to hide out in the north tower so they can be all alone?” Kai interrupted.
“Well I don’t mind that they like each other, but they still have their duties, especially know Naraku has slipped off again.” Matsuru sighed, “She’s just like Grasshopper sometimes, at least I know of whom that little wolf has got it.”
The others laughed.
“Hey I wanna see my bro’s face when we’ll bust him with Clover come on.” Sushi said, and she’d left for the north tower before anyone could answer.
Kai, Rain and Matsuru , who were all curious to see how their new couple would react, followed the red haired Elf. Blade, Mah -Lin and Mayonaka left behind muttering about being impolite to disturb them.
Silently the four people went up the spiral staircase that led up to the north tower. Sushi faced her friends and counted to three on her fingers before they busted into the tower room. What they saw caught them completely by surprise. The whole room was spick and shiny. They had placed curtains before the window on the right making the room dim. To the left a table with two chairs was placed with some food leftovers on the plates. The fireplace on the opposite end of the room was lid and giving off a pleasant warmth. Before the fire were a lot of cushions covered with blankets.
Ao was sitting comfortably on it with a sleeping Clover in his arms, stroking her blonde hair. He looked up being shocked. Not soon after that he flushed so furiously that they all wondered whether his head was going to explode. He nudged the sleeping young warrior so she awoke.
“Why did you wake me up? I had such a wonderful dream.” Clover complained.
Ao didn’t look at her but pointed at the others. Clover looked around and turned as red as Ao . Sushi jumped forward.
“SURPRISE!” She yelled, “You should see the looks one your faces, they’re just priceless.”
“Sushi!” Ao yelled angrily, “Can’t you give us a bit of privacy?! Mat, Rain, Kai, I thought better of you guys!”
They just laughed at Ao’s furious reaction while Clover had hidden herself behind Ao . Suddenly Matsuru stopped.
>… lp …e… ys .< Only Matsuru seemed to be the only one to have heard it since the others kept on laughing. “ Naraku ?” He wondered aloud.
“What?” Kai asked him, but Matsuru didn’t answer. Instead he beckoned them all to be silent.
>Mat… Bla … lp …e…<
“That sounds like Naraku !” Blade shouted.
“She’s in trouble!” Matsuru confirmed.
“We must go and find her!” Kai was already halfway down the steps when he said that.
Matsuru , Blade, Kai and Mah -Lin quickly got their weapons, while the others remained behind. They followed the large gaps in the snow, which were left behind, by Naraku and Shadowhunter . They kept on calling for Naraku , but no reply came. They all feared the worst.
“Guys I think I see something!” Matsuru said after they had walked for quite a while now.
They all ran to Naraku’s numb body. Mah -Lin let go a scream of terror when she saw her. Some of the cuts looked pretty nasty, and her lips had turned blue because of the cold.
“She’s still alive.” Kai said after he had examined Naraku , “She’s hypothermal but alive.
“Look at that.” Mah -Lin said as she pointed at the dead snow wolf.
“Hey, wasn’t that the leader of the pack.” Blade asked them.
“How do you know? All those wolves look the same to me.” Matsuru said.
“One thing that makes you a good hunter Mat, is by recognizing all your pray. This was an old wolf, he must have been challenged by a younger one. This means we must be very careful. The snow wolves will be even more vicious for a while.”
“Talking about wolves.” Kai interrupted, “Where’s Shadowhunter ?”
“I hope she’s not been taken by the snow wolves.” Mah -Lin said fearfully.
“There’s only one way to find out.” Matsuru said. > Shadowhunter ! Shadowhunter are you there somewhere ?<
>What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for more than an hour now .< Shadowhunter replied angrily.
>Waiting? Why and where are you waiting ?< Matsuru asked bewildered.
>Didn’t Naraku tell you? We found an Elf girl in the snow, but we couldn’t take her all the way to the castle .<
>The snow wolves attacked Naraku . Her telepathy only barely reached us .<
> Naraku’s hurt?!< A great gulf of guilt washed over Shadowhunter . If only she had been there.
>Yes, but she’ll be fine once we get her to Morningsnow . Mah -Lin and Kai will come to get you, Blade and I will take Naraku back .<
>Please hurry…<
The others had been listening to the conversation so Matsuru didn’t have to explain everything. Mah -Lin and Kai immediately set off to get Shadowhunter and the Elf girl while Matsuru hoisted Naraku on his back and set off to Morningsnow with Blade.
It did take Mah -Lin and Kai a while before they reached Shadowhunter . Naraku had run quite a distance before she ran into the snow wolves. The boys found the wolf shivering in the cold snow. Shadowhunter’s fur wasn’t set for these extreme temperatures. Kai took a quick look at the Elf girl and concluded that she also suffered from some heavy hypothermia. He took the Elf girl on his back while Mah -Lin took care of Shadowhunter . Shadowhunter was cold, but she could still walk for herself. After a while she seemed to be better.
As soon as they reached the castle Shadowhunter ran to Naraku who was under the good care of Sushi and Mayonaka . She had even gained consciousness and was telling the others exactly what happened while she was still shivering with a blanket wrapped around her and a cup of a potion Sushi had made with her herbs. Kai placed the Elf girl on the bed Naraku had just used and Sushi and Mayonaka immediately took care of her. When Sushi saw the Elf girl however she turned slightly pale, but nobody seemed to notice it.
Ao , who was curious about this Elf girl, joined them after a while with Clover right behind him. She still seemed a bit embarrassed about earlier. It was a big step of her to admit her love for Ao , and she still didn’t feel all too comfortable with it in the presence of the others. Ao took a look at the Elf girl and his expression suddenly became pained.
>Eh sis ?< He asked his sister in telepathy only she could hear, >Isn’t that who I think it is?<
>I’m afraid so bro .< Sushi replied, still looking slightly pale.
>But what is she doing here ?<
>How the hell should I know? I can’t read her mind or something .< Sushi was getting angry.
Exactly at that moment they heard a grumble coming from the bed as the green haired Elf girl started to wake up. Mayonaka already stood ready with another one of Sushi’s potions. She gently poured it into the girl’s throat. The girl could feel her insides warming up as the potion did its work. Shivering she looked around at the people in the room. Her gaze paused at Sushi and Ao .
“Oh me gosh! Oh me gosh! I have found yeh !” She exclaimed.
She jumped out of bed, forgetting that she was still very cold. Her legs couldn’t support her yet, so she fell right back on the bed.
“Sushi! Me best friend ever! An’ Ao , I told yeh I would keep me promise ter yeh !”
The others looked at Sushi and Ao being rather stunned, while Sushi and Ao turned from white to red.
“Also hello Uramu .” style='font-size: 10.0pt; Sushi mumbled.
“I’ve been on th ’ road fer so long ter find yeh two.” Uramu continued cheerfully.
“Hey Ao , do you know this girl?” Clover asked, being herself again.
“Well… sorta .” Ao replied.
“Are yeh kiddin ’ me Ao ? O’ course we know each other. Heck, we grew up t’gether . An’ Sushi *yawn* an’ me, we are *yawn* best…” But before Uramu could finish her sentence, she fell asleep.
The Icehunters quietly left the room. Sushi and Ao tried to quickly get away, but were stopped by Matsuru and Blade.
“All right you two, we owe a full explanation from you.” Matsuru demanded.
“All right, all right.” Sushi sighed, “That’s Uramu .”
“Like we hadn’t found that out yet.” Blade murmured to the others.
“She’s of our tribe.” Ao continued.
“And she’s the nitwit of vanity!” Sushi screamed, “She always used to boss all the kids around! She always thought all the boys were in love with her! She always thought all the girls envied her! And that only because her father was the leader of our tribe!”
“Plus.” Ao continued for her, “She thought of Sushi as her best friend, but that was only because she doesn’t have any powers. Eventually all the other kids were better than her in using our earth powers. All except for Sushi of course.”
Sushi looked a bit down when Ao mentioned her inability for using earth powers.
“So I was the perfect target for her slavery.” Tears started to form in Sushi’s eyes, “She was one of the reasons I left the tribe.”
“But there’s more. Of all the boys she picked me to be her one true love.” Ao took a quick glance at Clover who was looking rather angry, “But I didn’t feel the same. I also left the tribe because of her, and because I was worried about Sushi.” He said quickly and Clover’s face brightened up a little, “However, just before I left she promised me that she would come to find me one day.”
“Well she obviously did.” Clover said smugly, “So what now? Do I have to fight her for you Ao ? Why didn’t you tell me! ”
“I…I had forgotten about her Clover.” Ao said as he backed away.
“Hey Blade, do you have a secret lover somewhere?” Mah -Lin asked him as she looked sternly at him.
Blade started to sweat as he heavily shook his head, “Not that I know of.”
The following few days were tense in castle Morningsnow . Clover was still a bit angry with Ao while Mah -Lin held a close eye on Blade. Naraku kept on asking Mayonaka what was going on between her friends. Mayonaka tried to explain it to her, but Naraku didn’t understand.
“But Ao can just say to Uramu that he loves Clover, and not her?” Naraku asked her one day.
“It isn’t that simple Naraku .” Mayonaka said patiently, “ Uramu is considered quite beautiful. Mah -Lin and especially Clover feel that there’s a competition. They don’t want to lose their boyfriends. Although we may know that Ao and Blade will stay with Clover and Mah -Lin, Clover and Mah -Lin feel that they have to watch closely over their loves.”
“I still think Ao should just tell Uramu that he wants Clover and be done with that.” Naraku replied stubbornly.
Mayonaka just smiled at her young chieftess . She didn’t mind if she had to tell her he same story over and over, at least it gave her something to do.
Uramu recovered quite quickly and had told them what had happened, “An’ then I came ter a village an’ asked them if they knew a green haired Elf boy. A sad lookin ’ girl told me tha ’ there lived one in a castle quite nearby. She gave me directions an’ I set off. I got caught up in th ’ blizzard an’ got lost in th ’ forest. Eventually I reached tha ’ mountain range where I was surprised by an avalanche. I was lucky though tha ’ I was stuck in an air chamber, and tha ’ me hand was still sticking out. I tried ter free meself , but I couldn’t. Then I started callin ’ an’ callin ’ till I fainted. Next thin’ I know, I was here.” She finished her story.
“You were lucky that Naraku and Shadowhunter decided to escape their daily duties to take a little walk.” Matsuru said.
“Well you know that we don’t like to be locked up Matsuru . I’d planned to come back in time to do my duties.” Naraku accused and apologized at the same time.
“Anyway.” Uramu interrupted, “I’ve kept me promise ter Ao an’ we’ll marry as soon as possible. I think t’morrow will do just fine.” And with those words she walked away to make preparations.
“So you ARE going to marry that twit!” Clover growled, “You’ll leave me behind like some licked off sandwich! Well only in your dreams mister!” She drew her sword and waved it at Ao , “Any last words?”
But before Ao could answer or Clover could hurt him, the others had restrained her.
“Clover, listen to me.” Ao said, “I love you Clover, only you. I already told you that I don’t love Uramu , and I’m NOT going to marry her. She’s still stuck in that little dream world of her where she’s everything.” He walked to her and kissed her, “I promise Clover, I will never let you down.” And he kissed her again.
The others let go of Clover, who had stopped struggling. It seemed that she wanted to cry, but before the others could see that, she ran off to her room. Ao sighed and walked to the room they had given to Uramu . He was just about to enter when he heard her sing.
Just one week remains
Then the blood within my veins
Will be lost to him
He is the greatest sin
But now I’ve found my love
I saw the white dove
Flying over me
I must marry you see
My love, please don’t go
I love you so
I searched with my life
Because I promised to be your wife
Ao please understand
This is not my hand
It is my blood you take
I know my love is fake
Ao was shocked by this song. At first she said she loved him, but then she says her love is fake . And what was that about taking her blood? There was only one way to find out. Ao knocked on the door and was told to enter. Uramu tried to be cheerful, but Ao could see that she had been crying.
“ Uramu ?” He said hesitantly, “We need to talk.”
“Oh yeh want ter know what color me dress will be so yeh can get a color fittin ’ suit. Well I thought ‘bout light yellow, does Sushi still tan? She can make me dress an’ your suit. Do yeh have a good cook? I want a big cake fer our weddin ’-“
“ Uramu !” Ao interrupted, “That’s not what I wanted to talk about.” He walked to her and took the chair next to her, “I…I just heard you sing.”
Uramu turned pale, “ Yeh ..yeh have heard every word?”
Ao nodded, and Uramu started to cry. Ao took her hand and asked what the song was about.
“It’s been a secret ever since it happened. When I was born me family was cursed by an evil man. Me parents were barren, so I would be th ’ only heir. Th ’ curse he brought on me was tha ’ nobody would ever like me. Th ’ last part of th ’ curse was tha ’, if I were not ter marry before me eighteenth birthday, I would have ter marry him, an’ so th ’ tribe would be in his hands. I have ter marry in a week, or our tribe is doomed.” She told between her tears, “I prayed fer the High Ones every day. One day a white dove flew over our heads, an’ I knew tha ’ it was a sign of th ’ High Ones tha ’ yeh would be th ’ one ter break th ’ curse.”
“But I can’t.” Ao said, “I can’t break the curse Uramu . Did you see that blonde girl? That’s Clover and she’s my girlfriend. I even think that she’s my sonaï .”
Uramu started to cry again, “Then all hope is lost!” She wailed, “If yeh won’t break th ’ curse then who will?”
Ao waited a moment before he asked his next question, “And what did you mean in your song with taking your blood?”
“ Th ’… th ’ evil man is…is a v…vampire.” She managed to say, “If h…he marries me th … then he’ll have b…blood fer a very long time. Wh … when we Elves are b…bitten by a vampire, we wo …won’t turn into one. And he’ll also get my Earth powers, you knew tha ’, r…right?”
Ao hadn’t known, but he nodded to make Uramu feel better. Now he stood before a big problem. The High Ones wanted him to marry Uramu , but at the same time they wanted him to marry Clover. It was all very confusing. He didn’t want to turn Uramu over to a vampire, but he also didn’t want to hurt Clover.
“I’ll find a solution Uramu .” Ao assured her, “Even if we have to kill that vampire, you will not have to marry him.”
During the next few days Ao could either be found in the library, looking up every bit of information about vampires, or wandering through the castle with a look of hard concentration on his face. He didn’t give any attention to Clover which made her feel bad. She was either in her room or at the stables. As long as she was away from the others.
Just three days before Uramu’s birthday Naraku and Shadowhunter had slipped out of the castle again and were now walking is the snow, which had already started to melt. Ao had not told his friends about Uramu’s problem, so Naraku had little worries on her mind. She was just about to turn around to go back when she heard somebody call.
“Hey you human! Don’t worry I mean no harm!” The voice, which sounded gentle, called.
Naraku looked around and saw somebody appear from between the trees. She couldn’t help just to keep her hand on her sword just in case. She was surprised when she saw an Elf boy appear from between the trees. The boy was handsome with his short light-blue hair, and one long purple string which fell across his face, and his silvery-gray eyes.
“Just how many Elves will we be expecting this month?” Naraku asked surprised.
“You mean that you’ve met an Elf recently?” The Elf boy asked when he had reached Naraku , “Did she had beautiful green hair and a voice of a nightingale?”
“Well I don’t know much about the nightingale part, but she has green hair yes.” Naraku replied.
“My name is Nozoite , do you know where she is?”
“Sure, she’s in our castle.”
“Please, take me to her.”
Naraku nodded and led the way. She didn’t altogether trust this Elf. He kept on talking about his boring long journey, and he kept on complaining how cold it was here. She also didn’t like the way he kept on referring to her as human. He didn’t even bother to ask her name. Shadowhunter also kept a close eye on him.
“How can you even stand the cold here human?” He asked for what felt like the hundredth time.
“This human has a name you know.” Naraku said while she was getting agitated, but Nozoite didn’t even listen to her.
Naraku was glad when she saw Morningsnow getting in sight. She quickened her pace. She knew it was impolite to do it, since Nozoite couldn’t keep up with her, but at this moment she felt a very strong urge to burry this guy in the snow.
When she entered the castle she was glad that she saw Sushi.
“Hey Sushi, there’s a guy out there who wants to talk to you.” She called to her Elf friend.
Sushi sped away to the door. She was expecting an order of fabrics, so she thought they had finally arrived. She was surprised however when she looked into the handsome face of an Elf.
“Sushi? Is that you?” Nozoite asked her in disbelief.
“Yeah, is that you Nozoite ?” Sushi got excited.
“Yeah.”
“Oh my god, it has been such a long time. Oh wait till Ao sees you. Come on lets find him.” And Sushi sped away, dragging Nozoite along with her.
They found Ao in the library as usual. He was reading the somanyest book about vampires. This book was called ‘Vampires and their history.’
“Hey Ao , look who’s here.” Sushi called when they came in, “Look, it’s Nozoite , your best friend.”
Ao looked up, gave a small nod and bend back over his book again.
“Hey hello! Seken to my Elf bro. We’re talking about your best friend here. Can’t you leave those stupid books alone for a minute? Since when are you so interested in reading anyway?” Sushi took the book Ao was reading and looked at it, “Vampires? Since when are you interested in vampires?”
“Hey give that back!” Ao angrily took the book back, “I just want to know about them okay? Is there something wrong with that?”
“You’re acting very strange ever since we found Uramu .”
“So Uramu IS here.” Nozoite interrupted, “That purple haired human wasn’t all that clear.”
“Purple haired human? You mean Naraku ?” Sushi asked.
“Well yeah, I don’t know, it didn’t even give me its name.”
“It?”
“Hey, I don’t know the differences between male and female humans. I don’t understand how they see the differences.”
Sushi giggled, Nozoite never was really fond of humans, so he sounded pretty dumb when talking about them, but Ao became angry.
“Hey my girlfriend is a human, so don’t you go insulting her!” He shouted.
Nozoite stepped a few steps back while Sushi kept on giggling. After a while she dragged Nozoite out of the library so Ao could be alone again.
“I’m sorry for my bro’s behaviour .” Sushi appoligized , “He’s acting weird ever since we found Uramu .”
“Is she okay?” Nozoite asked concerned.
“Yeah, although she’s also acting odd. She only shows herself at meals, and is looking sad all the time. Most of the time she just locks herself up in her room, and only Ao is allowed to come in.”
“What?! Ao is seeing Uramu ?!” Nozoite shouted, while tears formed in his eyes. “Then my long journey was for nothing.” He sank to his knees.
“Why did you come here Nozoite ?” Sushi asked him.
“I…I came here to marry Uramu .”
“Marry her? Have you lost your mind Nozoite ? Do you remember how she used to boss us around and stuff? She made our lives miserable.”
“Don’t you talk about her like that! She only did that because she was cursed!”
“Cursed? What are you talking about?”
“Her father told us just before she and I left the tribe. She was cursed so nobody would like her. Now she has to marry before her eighteenth birthday or else she must marry to a vampire. That vampire will have blood for a very long time, the leadership over our tribe and he’ll get her Earth powers.”
Sushi was shocked when she heard about this. So that’s why Ao has been reading about vampires so much lately. Uramu wanted him to marry her to break the curse. She never meant to be this way, but she had no choice. Sushi felt a great gulf of pity and guilt wash over her. At the same time, questions started to pop up in her mind.
“But how can you love her then Nozoite ?” She asked.
“Love is very different from like Sushi. It’s the loophole in the curse. Nobody would ever like her, but it didn’t say anything about loving her.”
“Come, let’s go see her.” And Sushi sped away closely followed by Nozoite .
When they were just outside her room Sushi knocked on the door, saying it was her.
“Go away Sushi!” Uramu shouted, “I only want ter see Ao .”
“ Uramu …” Sushi paused to gather courage, “ Uramu , I know about the curse. Right here next to me is someone who can help you.”
It was silent on the other end for a while, but then they heard silent footsteps. Uramu opened the door to see who was with Sushi. Uramu’s tear stricken face shocked them both. Uramu looked at Nozoite and Nozoite looked back.
“I’ve found you, and just in time.” He whispered.
He walked to her and hugged her. Uramu didn’t understand, but it felt right to hug him. She knew, somehow deep within her heart, that he was meant to be with her. That he was her sonaï .
“But how? Th ’ curse- “ Uramu started.
“I do not like you Uramu , I love you. There’s a great difference in that.” He interrupted.
“But… th ’ white dove.”
“ Ao wasn’t the only one who was there Uramu . I was there, really close to you, but you didn’t know I was there. You were singing a sad song as you walked to Ao . The white dove first flew over my head, and then over yours. You hadn’t seen it fly over my head, so you assumed that Ao was meant to break the curse.”
They both hugged each other again, while tears of love gently rolled across their faces. Sushi closed the door, and went to the library.
Three days later there was a great party at castle Morningsnow. Ao and Clover had made up again and were now standing hand in hand as they listened to Kai. Kai was standing on an improvised platform telling a story about a princess named Odette, who was a swan during the day, and a girl during the night. About how an evil man had placed this curse upon her, because he wanted to marry her. Eventually her prince came to rescue her, and they lived happily ever after.
Uramu , who looked absolutely enchanting in her light yellow dress Sushi had made for her, and Nozoite , who was dressed in a light blue suit, which was also a creation of Sushi, were sitting hand in hand right in front of Kai.
When Kai had finished his story everybody clapped their hands. Kai wanted to start another story, but was shoved away by Rain, who was supposed to wed the young couple. Just before Rain came to the ‘I do’ part they all started to feel cold. The lights inside the castle were put out, and a pale man with a black suit and a blood red cape appeared in a puff of smoke, as he changed from his bat form. The man’s laugh boomed through the entire castle.
“You are too late you miserable little Elf.” The vampire said to Nozoite , “You were supposed to wed her before her eighteenth birthday, not on it. So now I’ve come to claim my price.”
“You are wrong about that you blood-sucker.” Uramu shouted, “Technically, I’m not eighteen yet. Right now it’s five to twelve, and I was born at noon exact. I still have five minutes to marry Nozoite .”
“And do you think that I will allow that, now that I’ve come so close? You are wrong little Elf, wrong. Your blood, your powers and your little tribe will soon be mine!”
“Not if I can help it you won’t.” Ao interrupted calmly, “Let’s see if my hard studying has paid off.”
He reached into his pocket and took a net of garlic out of it. He held it right in front of the vampire. The vampire laughed again.
“Do you really think garlic would scare me off boy? Why, I even eat it once a week. It’s been fairytales you’ve been reading.”
Ao stepped back. He had hoped the garlic would have worked. Luckily he had taken more security measures. He put his hand in his pocket again and this time he withdrew a silver necklace. The vampire stepped back, horror written all over his face. He screamed as Ao advanced on him. The vampire tried to resume his bat form, but was stopped by Sushi, who had quickly taken her old wooden spear. Without any hesitation she had thrown it right through the vampire’s heart. The vampire screamed again, and a moment later there was nothing left, but a puff of smoke and Sushi’s wooden spear. The lights in the castle went on again, and the sun was shining through the windows.
Everybody was shaking as they took their seats again. Uramu and Nozoite were married without any other interruptions. When the time came for the gifts everybody seemed to cheer up. Ao gave Uramu the silver necklace with which he had driven the vampire back, and from Sushi they got her old wooden spear. The other gifts were nothing compared to these two gifts.
The party afterwards was a blast. They all danced, laughed and had a great time. The cake, made by Mayonaka and Mah -Lin, was gone almost before they had taken it out of the kitchen. Then came the moment that everybody but Uramu formed a circle. Uramu said down on a chair and began to sing.
Just five minutes remained
Then the blood within my veins
Would have been lost to him
He was the greatest sin
But now I’ve found my love
I saw the white dove
Flying over me
I have married you see
My love, please don’t go
I love you so
I searched with my life
And now I am your wife
Nozoite you searched the lands
And now you’ve got my hands
You took my blood as well
My love is as warm as hell
People I thank you
I didn’t know what to do
But now I’m free to go
With my sonaï whom I love so
The end!