Vocaloid Tales: The Summer and Winter Garden

Chapter 8: The Fair Folk

Miku gracefully bowed towards her adoring public as the stage was showered in red roses.  Yet all the red roses in the world meant nothing to her.  She kept seeking out the one that came from him.  When it never appeared, Miku clutched her hands to her chest and turned to leave, trying not to allow anyone to see her cry.

Crossing the curtain, her eyes moved past the ever regular presence of her "Prince", delivering the same fantastical proposal as usual.  She only wanted to see her true love... yet the familiar door was empty.

As the prince wrapped up his speech, all Miku could do was hold her head in her hands and cry.  The man she loved was gone...

Miku tried to drag herself out of her bed.  Her body felt tired and heavy, from both physical and emotional exhaustion.  Slowly, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, staring around at her own bedroom that she'd missed so much.  Her father had left it completely neat and clean for her – no doubt he'd probably checked on it for days on end, awaiting the day his beloved only child returned from her mysterious journey.

The only signs of disorder remained the discarded ball gown on her chair and the golden mirror resting on her vanity.  The two solemn reminders of the person she'd lost.  Her eyes began to tear up again, though she fought to stay strong.  Even if he didn't love her... she still intended to protect him.  If the people in her village knew just how close the dreaded Demon Prince truly was, they'd no doubt attempt to kill him like the Prince in Kaito's tales.  The tears in her eyes would only invite more questions she did not intend to answer.

Finally, she made it out of the bed, walking over to her ball gown, the mask still resting on the skirt.  Tenderly, she placed the mask in the top drawer of her vanity and the ball gown in her wardrobe.  For a moment, she tried to relive the hours upon hours she spent in his arms and how deliriously happy those hours were.  That one, precious kiss she dared take...

But the way it all ended...

Miku reached for her plainest house dress.  Her father would not be up until the sun rose, and she knew her sleep would not come easily.  Someone had to take care of everything... perhaps if she threw herself into nothing but hard work, she could protect her heart.

As she went to the vanity to pin up her hair, her eyes fell on a small brown keepsake box on the surface.  Her eyes flickered with emotion.  She began to reach for the box, then stayed her hand.  She didn't have the strength.  Not today.

Merchant Hatsune was awoken by the sound of wood chopping outside the house.  It was barely past dawn... far too early for anyone else to be up on a winter's day.  He'd barely slept a wink after his daughter had arrived in the night, dressed in elegant fineries and sobbing over a tale she refused to tell.

He put on his clothes to investigate.  As he walked outside the house, the sight in front of him struck terror in his heart.

"MIKU!  What are you doing with that axe?!"

Upon hearing his voice, Miku turned to face him, lowering the axe she was holding.  "I was just chopping some more firewood.  We're almost out!" she explained, "What does it look like?"

"But... but..."

Miku turned away from her father and raised the axe to split another log.  "Oh, but if you want to help me out, can you keep an eye on the porridge?  I don't want it to burn!"

Hatsune watched in stunned silence for several minutes as Miku effortlessly split several more logs on her own.  Unable to come up with a proper response to his daughter's sudden affliction of responsibility, he walked back inside.  Entering his kitchen, he saw a pot of porridge boiling on the lit stove.