Utapri Short Stories

Love Magic - Part 2 (End)

Until Van thought they were close enough to try to kiss her on the cheek.  Haruka was startled and pushed him, knocking him off his horse. “Oh! I'm sorry! Did you get hurt?” She asked really concerned, but Van just denied it with a giggle. It had hurt, but it was nothing serious. So they went back to the castle.

The king and queen noticed a subtle change in the prince's behavior, but attributed this to the fact that the young woman he found was not giving him the attention he wanted. Still, they decided to wait and see what would happen between the two youngest.  Haruka agreed to spend more time with Van little by little, because she needed to know if he was really in love with her.

On one of the dates they took together, Van introduced her to some of his friends in the village and the girl was very happy to know more about games and human friendships. As time passed, Van stopped giving her expensive gifts, started paying more attention to the little things that made her smile. He wanted to see her smile more.

“Why are you looking at me that way?”  Haruka asked suspiciously. “Because I like it when you smile.” Van replied with a silly smile. He had just given her a box of sweets that he had learned to make with the castle cooks.  He wanted to learn how to cook when he saw how these sweets made the girl happy. Everyone had noticed that Van was in love and commented on it.

Haruka knew he was in love because of the magic the mermaids used and it started to bother her. She knew that the prince was not perfect, nor was he an example to be followed, but he had changed a lot. She was starting to feel bad about having deceived and bewitched him. And she felt even worse when thinking about what she would have to do next.

The mermaid queen had managed to send a message to her daughter, demanding that she explain how the plan was going. She was impatient to punish the prince for his unworthy behavior. But Haruka had also developed feelings for the prince and she no longer wanted to follow the mermaids' plan. “Your Highness... Prince Van... Can we go for a walk on the beach today?” Haruka asked with a sad look.

Van found her behavior a little strange, but accepted the request. It was cold and the sky was dark, a storm was threatening. Even so, the two were on the beach. “Why did you want to come here? A storm is coming!” Van looked up at the sky with concern. Haruka shook her head and took a deep breath before revealing the whole truth to him.

“And I'm really sorry for what I did.” She said at last, ready to return to the seas and be punished by her mother for having failed in the mission. The rain started to fall and the prince grabbed her hand in despair. “No! You can not go! Haruka, I... It wasn't magic... I...!” But she interrupted him and gave him a quick kiss to break the spell for good and release him.

However, contrary to what she expected, Van did not seem to change after the kiss. He continued to hold her hand and asked her to stay beside him. “Haruka, I love you. It doesn't matter if you are a mermaid or a human.” And he shook his head, pulling her to him. “I know you cheated and lied, but I also did it with other people and I regret it a lot now.  Now I know how it hurts to be cheated.”

Haruka was crying, as was Van, but the rain that fell disguised their tears. “I regret it too... I shouldn't, but I fell in love with you too. You changed for me...” She explained and smiled slightly. “But the magic that makes me human will not last forever. I need to go back.” And she tried to get away from him once again. Van didn't know what to do. He didn't want to lose her.

The storm was getting worse and they both needed to make up their minds soon. Haruka held his face in her hands and gave him one last kiss before finally leaving for the ocean.  Van dropped to his knees in the sand and started screaming. He asked the mermaid queen for mercy and promised her that he would do anything to get Haruka back and allow them to be together.

The queen heard what the prince had to say and noticed that Haruka had really managed to bewitch him, but not with the magic of the mermaids, but with the magic of love. She had managed to make him truly love her. Still, the queen wanted to be sure and offered him one last test to prove his love. “Prince Van, the vain! To prove your devotion to my daughter, Haruka, and to have her back, you will have to give up your beauty! You will be the ugliest of men!”

Hearing what the queen of the mermaids had to say, in the midst of that terrible storm and amid the sadness he felt at saying goodbye to Haruka, he made a decision. “I accept whatever you want, your majesty. Just give me back my beloved...” And he closed his eyes, lowering his head to wait for the magic that would make him ugly. He feared that Haruka would no longer love him for becoming ugly, but he thought he should take a chance anyway.

The queen cast her magic on the prince and, as she had promised, returned Haruka to dry land in human form. This time, she had a necklace-shaped amulet that allowed for this transformation as long as she wore it. Haruka ran to Van and hugged him tightly. Van hugged her too, but he seemed to hide his face, embarrassed by something. “What's wrong?” Haruka asked worriedly.

“Don't you think I'm ugly? Are you still going to love me anyway?” Van asked at once, fearing the answer as much as before. Haruka chuckled and kissed his cheek. “I would love you anyway because your beauty comes not just from the physical, but from within. It is your personality that has enchanted me.” She explained with a kind smile. “You proved yourself to be more than others thought you were.”

The mermaid queen did not take away the boy's beauty because the true beauty was inside his heart. Haruka and Van were married and the party cheered both kingdoms. Their love grew more and more and proved how that feeling is capable of changing even someone's worst habits. The prince who did not know love came to be loved and thus also learned to love.

The End

This Story was originally published in my Instagram account _utapri.stories

Chapter cover edited by me.