Ni No Kuni One-shots

Rags and Riches (Part 4)

A Cinderella AU where Evermore exists before Evan's birth. Violet is a Servant; Evan is Crown Prince of Evermore. This is going to be a really long chapter. 

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It took Violet less than five minutes to reach her manor's gates. From there, it was another two before she was in the safety of the house. She hurried up the stairs with a warm sardine sandwich prepared by Vorpal, Wiff-Waff, Jubjub, and Tumtum. She wasn't supposed to have food in her room, but she wanted to strip off her wet gown and change into her nightgown as soon as possible. She hoped she would have an hour or so before her Stepmother and sister were home.

"Was it everything you imagined?" Jubjub asked excitedly as Violet regaled her experience.

"That and more," she replied dreamily as she wrung water out of her hair. Her gown was hung to dry next to her window, and she gazed at it lovingly as the rainwater dripped down the glass. "I will treasure the memory forever and ever."

Vorpal pursed his lips as he examined the prism slipper on the vanity next to her bed. "How was his Highness faring amidst the pressures of the court?" he asked her, absently. "I can't imagine being a man of such high status is easy."

Violet lowered her washcloth from her face as she pondered the fiery Higgledy's honest question. "How do I explain that...?" she pondered aloud. "Evan— Prince Evan seems to be handling things very well. For how long I cannot say, but... for the moment he's handling everything with the same ease he always had. It's—It's really his father's ailment that concerns him; and indeed, King Leonhard did look very ill for much of the night. I bumped into him on my way out, and though he was standing and smiling kindly he was still awfully sickly."

"Whatever it is, it better not be contagious," Tumtum added.

"I saw several doctors among his staff," Violet remarked. "I imagine he underwent a full examination prior to the event to ensure proper care and diagnosis."

"I hope so."

"Vee-Vee, where are you going to hide the slipper?" Wiff-Waff asked, worriedly. "After all, we don't want Madam Black-Moon to get a hold of it; who knows what she'd do!"

Violet nodded as she tightened the ribbon in her hair and the strings of her linen chemise-nightgown. She walked to the bed and pulled out one of the drawers underneath it, where she had stashed a wooden box carved with her family insignia: the moon itself and a long, twisting, elegant dragon. She pressed the pad of her left middle finger against the lock and the lock popped open. She used her Witch's Touch so infrequently she sometimes forgot she was a Witch in the first place.

Inside were some of her most prized possessions: her leather-bound diary from her father, her great grandfather's Wizard's Companion spellbook, and her mother's golden locket. She pulled the diary from its place and set it lightly on the bed. Wrapping the slipper in a spare piece of cloth, she tucked it into place inside the box.

"There..." she confirmed, lightly pressing the lid closed and closing the drawer. "I'll just have to find another place to hide my diary."

She laid back on her bed, the straw-filled mattress feeling comfortingly lumpy after a long day, pulling her diary and a pen into her lap. She wrote down the memories of dancing with the Prince, exploring the gardens at his side, and sharing his pain and worry with a tale of her own. She recalled how the heavens blessed her with a kind and generous Fairy Guardian, who allowed her askance for a night to enjoy for herself to be fulfilled. Though she was back in rags and tattered clothes once more, she would be happy knowing she spent just one more night in pleasant company.