Like A Fairytale

Bonus 10

Many, many years ago.

It was an April day when a past Ferry Goldbird unexpectedly fell in love.

He visited his brother in Flugstadt, the first city to move exclusively in the air. Originally, the city had a different name, but the original city went up in flames due to a tragic accident. Most of the inhabitants could be saved because the city was located near two new villages. The villagers evacuated the townspeople. Their descendants now inhabited this new, flying city.

One of the victims of this fire was Soel Goldbird, which meant that an unfinished, younger clone had to wake up quickly and replace him. This Soel was still a child. Seven at the time, he was now twelve years old, forty years younger than the other clones, but with the knowledge and behavior of an adult mixed with childlike needs.

Flugstadt couldn't be without a clone, and so they sacrificed this young clone that should have woken up much later. All the memories were too much for a child's brain.

The fate of the awake, young Soel was not a nice one. There could be no age shifts between the clones. That only messed everything up. So he had to die when the bodies of the other clones who were currently ruling failed. They always went to their deaths together.

For each clone, there were always two spare clones to compensate for such possible complications. Bodies that were not needed were disposed of.

Ferry visited Soel to see how well the child was coping. His nanny, the adviser, and the doctors surrounding him sounded the alarm, and so Ferry came to his brother in person after Flugstadt docked unscheduled at the seat of government.

The boy Soel struggled with the many memories of his predecessors. His young brain, which wanted to play, fought against the adult memories. The boy seemed overwhelmed, which is why Ferry had him put an adviser at his side from the beginning to relieve the child.

He quickly realized that this had not been enough.

The adviser was too eager to decide for the boy, while Soel tried to assert himself over an adult. To enforce the will of the clones. And there was no adequate compensation for these struggles, as he was denied childhood.

During this visit, Ferry met his brother's chosen nanny. Tina Past. Twenty-five years old, conscientious and beautiful. Soel liked her very much, so he demanded that Ferry talk to her. While Soel's affection was a mixture of love for a mother, a sister, and a childlike infatuation, it hit Ferry like a bolt of lightning.

He let Flugstadt stay a little longer than planned.

Officially, to give his brother more advisors so that he actually had time to be a child. Something he needed to endure the memories and agony of the past.

In fact, Ferry wanted to spend time with the young woman with the ocean-blue eyes. A pale, slightly grayish, and yet deep blue, like that of a sea in winter.

Even though he was so much older, she returned his feelings. Both denied each other a real relationship, for which there was no place in this world. Not between them. The danger that all the clones would fall in love and fight each other, for the same person, was too great, and it would be unfair to her.

And Soel needed the best nanny; unfortunately, that was her, and she knew too many secrets to just fire and replace her. Ferry couldn't bear the thought of having to have her murdered to replace her.

In the end, Ferry let Flugstadt go. With Soel and the danger that his younger brother would actually fall in love at some point and win Tina's heart.

This did not happen.

While Soel had feelings for her, she fell in love with another, a security guard, and eventually died of an illness. She died five years before Soel was forced to follow his brothers to their deaths to prevent further postponements. The clones were not allowed to be of different ages, as they knew all the more now. It only led to conflicts and problems.

Then, almost 200 years later, when a new Ferry lived in the seat of government, the unexpected happened: a new chambermaid was hired by Aisling Willow. A young girl who did not yet know what her life should be like after graduating from school and had therefore spent a whole year without a job. Aisling liked the girl very much and therefore pushed through a temporary hire. When Ferry saw the young woman, he froze. She looked almost too much like Tina. As if she was the same person.

She was so similar to her. Her appearance, her personality, her love... Ferry succumbed to his feelings and risked everything. They fell in love, shared a secret affair, made love in the shadows until he had to send her away. His brothers would soon arrive at the seat of government, and Abril was engaged and would not work in the seat of government for more than a few months. She was a cousin of Aisling Willow, and that's how she got the short-term job. This was supposed to help her find her way.

Abril Spring, his beautiful bringer of doom, came from Burgstadt, and she missed her family. She returned to her family, the affair remained secret, and Ferry greeted his brothers.

A few months later, a letter reached him when Burgstadt was once again at the seat of government. How Abril had managed to send it to him was unclear to Ferry. Citizens could not simply send letters to him. Someone must have helped her.

It was a final farewell letter. She was now married to someone named Oke, expecting her first child, and wanted to reassure him that she was happy.

No letter ever reached him again, and Abril remained a beloved shadow in his memories, until one day a young man, almost a boy, stood before him.

A boy with purple hair, Abril's gentle features and...

Ferry had almost not been able to stop staring at the boy.

(c: sasi)