Yuki-Onna

Chapter 5

As the clerk disappeared, there was, of course, a lot of commotion. After the rumor passed, as if he had been inundated in the mountain by chance. And that was the end. That block was delivered to the king, as was ordered. Everyone immediately said that a fifteen-year-old boy named Haru had found her, for which he then received his freedom and ceased to be a worker in the mine.

A few years later, he was finally able to keep the promise he had once made to the ice maiden, Inessa. They got married and they had three daughters. Each of them inherited the power of ice, since they were half-breeds. Despite the fact that not everyone had a spirit of union of man and demon, Inessa and Haru were happy, especially since thanks to the union with her, he stopped aging and even looked like a young man after years.

***

- When I was a little girl, we lived with the whole family in a village, in a large wooden house. This then we moved to the city. I spent part of my childhood in the village. We had a big family. I, dad, mom, Kasumi's twin sister, and Naomi's older sister. I don't know if we had other relatives. Dad is an orphan and does not know his parents, and mom, if I ask her about it, translates the topic. It seems to me that they are hiding something, but I do not insist. We are probably not old enough for this.

- Once upon a time, in one country there lived a lonely young man. An orphan without a clan or tribe. He worked in the mountain, extracting crystals. He really wanted to find a friend or lover. - Inessa was not reading this tale for the first time, but her girls liked her so much that she was ready to read it even for the hundredth time. Moreover, it was their story with Haru.

Inessa sat on the bed, picked up a book, waited for Naomi, Kasumi and Juvia to settle next to her, and began to read. Juvia loved to sit on her lap to see a book in front of her, Naomi and Kasumi were lying on her stomach, on either side of her, enjoying the gentle voice of her mother and her beloved fairy tale.

- Of all their books, I loved fairy tales the most. Especially those that my mother wrote for us. It was my favorite. It told about a lonely boy who worked in the mountains, extracting crystals. His life changed when one day he met the mistress of those places - the ice maiden Yuki-Onna. There are many terrible legends about her. She is described as a bloodthirsty demon who captivates the victim with her beauty, and then drinks her blood like a vampire. But not all demons are like that. Yuki-Onna is kind in this story. She helped Har and other workers to find freedom, and he also happiness, because she fell in love with him, as he did with her. I also like stories about heroes. About those who save the world, protect people, help them with their troubles. I wanted to be such a hero. I wanted to help my family and others. Unpleasant things were often said about us and I wanted to change that. I wanted to become a hero from a fairy tale for them.

- You're such a good girl! - Inessa clapped her hands, smiling running towards her with a basket in her daughter's hands. - A real hero, thanks to whom I can cook my signature cookies!

- Cookies, cookies! - clapped little hands Kasumi, sitting in a large piece of cloth tied to her mother's back, as if in a bag.

- "Good work, little Ju." - Gently stroked her head Naomi. -"You are a real angel."

Inessa grabbed her daughter in her arms and spun. Their long blue hair fluttered like icy flames. The girl's sapphire eyes shone from her overwhelming happiness and joy. Haru, who had previously watched them from the side, ran up and hugged his most beloved and dearest girls in the world, laughing with them.

"At school I was an outcast. Perhaps due to the fact that our family was not loved by adults, this was passed on to their children. I could not become a hero in the eyes of other people, but I was a hero for my family. Then I realized that the happiness that is breaking before your eyes smells like blood. "