Fairytale - Ink & Paper, part the second

[maderr]

*~*~*

"I promised you another night of Carnivale," Rem said, lazily kissing his chest, "but I confess I am sorely tempted to keep you here all night."

Enitan snickered. "I can think of worse ways to spend Carnivale." He stretched out on Rem's bed, and turned his head to glance at the window. The heavier drapes had been drawn back, but the pale blue sheers were still covering the windows. At Rem's request, he had come the very moment his store closed and he'd been able to sneak away.

Though he had worried he would stand out like a weed amongst roses, arriving well before dark, he had wound up only lost in a throng of people entirely too drunk for the early hour. It made him laugh, and shake his head, and then Rem had appeared and carried him off – to the palace gardens, through the royal galleries, and finally to his bedroom.

The palace clock had chimed the eighth hour a little while ago, and he could hear the revelries already reaching a fever pitch. He wondered just how wild the palace would be by the last night. The lavish parties of the Royal Carnivale took place on the first, third, and fifth nights.

He doubted the palace would survive if the fetes went the full five. Days two and four were days of needed respite, though Rem had told him that nearly everyone simply went down and played peasant on those nights.

Beyond the sheer curtains, it should have been complete dark – but shreds of rainbow light slipped through as easily as the racket, infinitely more colorful than even the noise which lulled him to sleep every night in the city.

"What are you thinking about, my pretty clerk?" Rem asked, wrapping his arms around Enitan from behind, nuzzling the space between his shoulders. "Paper? Ink? If you are, I have not been putting forth my best, though if I try any harder I may well break something."

Enitan laughed. "Only enjoying the noise. Every now and then the city falls silent, and I can never sleep those nights. I was noticing that here, the noise is similar, and yet completely different."

"Pretension and arrogance are always loud," Rem said with a snort. "They also sound like nothing else." He kissed the space he had been nuzzling. "I think you should give them lessons in being sweet and charming and modest." He threw one leg over Rem's, continuing to nuzzle and kiss. "Then again, if you acted like that, they would all want to try and seduce you, and I will not tolerate that."

"I think you worry overmuch," Enitan said with an amused snort. "Sweet and charming and modest? I see you are a bit mad, as well."

Rem nipped his shoulder. "I am perfectly serious. You are far too wonderful to be a simple shop clerk, though you do that beautifully." He licked the spot he had just bit. "How did you wind up with such a pretty shop? I confess I had only been looking for inks that night, but had nearly forgotten them for flirting with you."

Though he should be well past blushing, Enitan could feel his cheeks grow warm at the memory. "My mother bought the shop when I was a babe barely able to walk. We made it what it is today…though my stepfather did much for it, I concede, when he married my mother five years ago." She had died almost two years ago now, and thinking of her caused an ache in his chest.

"You do not own the store?"

"No," Enitan said, the warm glow of being with Rem, cozy in the fine bed as though he were some lording himself, fading beneath the pain caused by the reading of his mother's will. "She was old-fashioned enough, I guess, to feel her husband should take it over entirely."

Rem kissed the space beneath his ear, the touch somehow soothing. "Your father left no provisions for his wife and child?"

Enitan shrugged. "I don't know anything about him; mother never spoke of him. I suppose he left the money with which she purchased the shop, but I do not know for certain." He turned in Rem's arms, brows furrowed. "Why all the questions?"

"I'm just curious," Rem said with a smile, and kissed his nose. "According to my mother, it's simply crass nosiness, but as she's no better…" He winked and then gave Enitan a proper kiss. "Now, as delicious as you look, I did promise you another night of Carnivale and I thought we could try a few of the games tonight."

"Games?" Enitan asked. He had not played any of the Carnivale games since he was a boy. Did he even remember any of them? "Are they different here in the palace?"

Rem laughed as he threw back the blankets and clambered from bed, moving to where they had carefully discarded their clothes earlier – and only because they knew they would have to put them back on. "They involve more money, and also more alcohol. Likely more cheating, as well. Have you any favorites?"

Enitan shook his head and slowly climbed from bed to begin donning his own clothes. It was a slow process, each of them hindering the other more than helping. "I loved the piñata as much as any boy, when I was very young. As I got older, I of course got into the usual drinking games…after that, I became too busy with the shop, and mother getting sick…" He shrugged. "I have not thought about games in a long time."

"Well, we shall certainly fix that," Rem declared, and tugged his mask into place before handing over Enitan's.

He had not thought it possible, but Rem looked even better as a wolf than he had as an owl. An exact duplicate of his own costume, but like the owl, the colors were black and white and gray.

"Those colors bring out the fire in your eyes," Rem murmured, stroking Enitan's jaw. "The most perfect amber, your eyes."

Enitan drew away, but with a smile. "Idiot. What game are we going to play first?"

Rem yanked him back and nipped his jaw. "Do not protest my compliments. I was thinking perhaps a treasure hunt?"

"Treasure hunt?"

"Mmm, yes, it will have been set up by now in the east garden."

"How can you see anything?" Enitan asked, going along easily when Rem took his hand and led him from the room, through the mazelike hallways until at last they spilled out into the south end of the palace and the impressive collection of gardens that stretched out seemingly forever.

They had looked briefly at the maze, before, and Rem had assured him someday they would get lost in it and have a fine time.

The east gardens, however, were the flowering bushes and small trees.

"Fairy lights," Rem explained, and as they drew closer Enitan could see he was right – small candles set into balls of colored glass, turning the lush garden into an otherworldly place.

He could hear more than see other people, laughing and giggling, beckoning and friendly taunts. Shadows moved here and there, the fairy lights occasionally glinting on metal or jewels.

"The goal," Rem murmured in his ear, "is to find all the fires, and snatch out a token from each. The more you find in a given span of time, the better the prize you get at the end."

Enitan laughed. "Let us go treasure hunting, then."

Now that Rem had mentioned fires, he could see one or two – they looked much like the flames he associated with snapdragon, a game he and his mother had always played during the winter festivities.

A few minutes later they were on their way, given half an hour to find their way through the enormous east garden hunting snapdragon bowls.

They found the first one almost immediately, tucked low in the center of a circle of rosebushes. "You or I, my love?" Rem asked.

Enitan jumped at the endearment, then shook it off as Rem being Rem. "You."

Rem nodded and thrust his hand through the snapping flames, brandishing a small gold token as he drew it out again. He grinned, mostly shadow in the fairy light garden. "Onward."

Laughing, stealing a quick kiss, Enitan led the way from the roses and further into the garden, wandering frequently off the stone path to investigate nooks and crannies and spaces from which he saw other shadows slink.

When they finished, as breathless from hasty kisses as the hunt itself, they had a total of seventeen tokens.

He presented the tokens to the attendant with a smile. "Sir."

"Well done, my lords," the man said, smiling at them. "The second highest number I have seen all night." He reached into the shelves of the booth in which he sat, and then presented two dark, square velvet boxes. "Enjoy the rest of the Royal Carnivale."

Accepting the boxes, Rem nodded and set down a few silver coins. "Thank you, we will. The very same to you, good sir."

Turning away, he handed Enitan one velvet box and took his hand, leading the way back inside.

Where he promptly snatched two flutes of champagne from a passing tray.

Enitan flipped open his box, and nearly bit his tongue. He almost asked if some mistake had been made, but did not want to appear foolish.

Inside was an elaborate cravat pin – a rose made from ruby chips nestled in emerald chip leaves, set in silver and resting against pearls of white, rose, and blue. A rose against fairy lights. "It's beautiful."

"Mm," Rem said in absent agreement, and thrust the champagne at him. "Carnivale prizes are always a lark. What shall we try next?"

Enitan shrugged. "Surprise me?"

Rem leaned close and kissed him hard. "Gladly. This way."

Laughing, Enitan let himself be dragged along – and crashed hard into Rem, who had drawn to a sudden stop.

He frowned at the champagne which had splashed over the rug, then dragged his eyes up – and nearly choked.

"Majesty," Rem said, voice shockingly steady, and swept into a deep bow.

Enitan mimicked him, wondering if the floor might be good enough to swallow him whole.

The King nodded. "Revelers," he said, looking vastly amused. "Are you enjoying yourselves?"

"Yes," Rem replied. "We thank your Majesty for your immeasurable generosity."

"Indeed," the King said. "Well, carry on, then. The night is yet young, for Carnivale."

Rem grinned, and Enitan was eternally grateful that he was so bold and willing to speak – his own tongue had turned to stone.

He did not breathe again until the King was well out of sight.

"Shall we, then?" Rem asked, and took his hand again to lead the way to another game.

Enitan simply shook his head, and was content to be dragged along.

*~*~*

"I seem to recall that two nights ago someone vowed he could not dance," Rem said cheerfully as they dropped their hands, switched directions, and pressed opposite hands together, stepping perfectly in time as they moved in a circle, moving apart to match up briefly with different people, before the music brought them together. "You dance as though you have done it your whole life."

Enitan rolled his eyes. "That is because I am remarkably sober compared to the rest of the floor."

Rem laughed. "True enough." The music came to a close, and they clapped with the rest of the dancers, moving together again when the next dance began. "Still, you will dance better than I by the close of Carnivale."

Something twisted hard in Enitan's gut at the mention of Carnivale close. Did it have to end, he thought miserably. What would become of him when the bell told that last hour, and the rising of the sun brought reality with it?

Would Rem still want to see him? Had all this just been a Carnivale tryst, a place to play where Rem would not be dragged away by…whoever had come after him all those days ago.

He wanted to ask, but how did one pose such a question? Even he knew those things were tacitly understood, not explicit, and if he did not know how the matter fell – that was his breeding, or lack thereof, showing through.

Really, that answered the question.

Except he didn't want to hear the answer, and so he turned all his attention back to dancing, to returning the smile that curved beneath a mask of glistening blue-black scales.

As their dance came to an end, Rem drew him closer than was strictly proper. The idea of protesting never entered Enitan's head; instead, he leaned in to steal a quick kiss.

"Keep that up," Rem murmured, "and we will not remain here long enough for the formal unmasking."

Enitan laughed. "I think, my dear, that there is little point in a formal unmasking for you and me. Unless there is some bit of you I have not yet managed to see." He flicked his tongue out to just barely lap at Rem's lips. "Or touch."

Rem shivered against him, peacock eyes hot and bright. "Then, unless you want to dance more, I say we end the Carnivale in true carnal fashion."

"I think that sounds most agreeable," Enitan replied, and stole a bit of champagne on their way out, savoring it as best he could before setting the flute aside to savor the infinitely finer flavors of his Carnivale lover.

Minutes and forever later, he was gasping and thrusting in time with Rem's fierce pounding, gripping the broad shoulders he so loved, taking a hungry kiss before he tore away to scream his release.

Rem grunted several minutes later, and finally moved off him, cuddling close, leg and arm thrown possessively over Enitan. He nuzzled at the hollow of Enitan's throat.

The after, the cuddling and nuzzling and lazing about – that was the hardest part, and long after Carnivale, it would be what he most remembered. It more than anything made him feel as though he were not alone, would never be alone.

Dawn was only a few hours away, and this time tomorrow night, in all likelihood he would be sleeping alone. There was nothing to be done about it, save to accept it, and Enitan did not think he would be able to do that easily.

He would not have a choice, of course, for a lord as wonderful as Rem must surely have people clamoring for his attention – people far more important than a lowly stock boy.

Still, he had a few hours left. He would not spend them moping. Instead, he settled back against the body which seemed to fit so perfectly with his, content to doze for a few minutes. Then they would move to round two.

A soft mewing coaxed his eyes open, and he smiled at the soft thump of something small landing on the bed. Then came the firm press of delicate feet as Rem's small, white cat made her way gingerly up their bodies.

He heard Rem sputter as he got a mouthful of fur, and laughed, sitting up as Rem pulled away – and shoved the cat away as it tried to settle into his lap. "No claws while I'm naked, cat," he said, and settled her on a pillow instead.

Typical to cat nature, she decided that was inadequate, and jumped back off the bed to go settle in the window seat for a good sulk.

Enitan laughed - -then yelped as he was yanked back down.

"Are you laughing at me?" Rem demanded.

"Maybe," Enitan said.

Rem grinned. "That's not very nice."

"Going to punish me?"

"I think so," Rem said with a growling sound, and pushed him down into the bedding, rising up to straddle his hips, teasing lightly over Enitan's hardening cock.

Enitan started to speak, but a series of sharp knocks at the door forced him into a startled silence.

Rem frowned and moved off of him, yanking up the bedclothes and throwing them over Enitan. Just as he drew breath to call for the knocker to enter, the door flew open to admit a liveried servant. "Highness, your father requires your presence for an urgent matter."

The world went still around Enitan as that one word crashed through him. Highness

"I'm coming," Rem snapped. "The next time you are sent to summon me, do not enter without my express permission."

"Yes, Highness," the servant said, eyes wide with fear and dismay. He did not linger, but turned and bolted.

Throwing aside the bedclothes, Rem slid from the bed and began to yank on his clothes.

Enitan opened his mouth, then closed it again. Tried again.

Just as he started to try a third time, Rem surged toward him and kissed him hard. "I'm sorry," he said. "I have my reasons. Stay here, I'll be back." He stroked Enitan's cheek, then kissed him again, more softly.

Then he was gone.

Enitan stared blindly at the bed clothes, as a million little things that should have clued him in came together, making him feel incredibly stupid.

The crown prince. The only and much loved son of the king.

Swallowing, he climbed shakily from bed – the bed of the crown prince, he was going to scream or cry or something – and began to dress with short, jerky motions.

Stay, Rem – oh, god, his name wasn't Rem, it was Prince Remiel why the hell hadn't he made the connection – had said.

He couldn't stay. What was the point? He was a shop clerk, a stupid stock boy.

Finished dressing, Enitan located his cloak where it had wound up under the bed, then considered his options.

Rem – his Highness – had shown him the palace well, however, and it took only a moment to locate the gardens, and slip out a servant's gate at the farthest edge of the property.

It took him just over an hour to get home, and his room looked so plain and pathetic next to the splendor in which he had indulged over the past week.

Pathetic…yes, that's what he was. What other word was there for a peasant stupid enough to fall in love with the crown prince?

*~*~*

In the end, he had opted to leave without a word to anyone. What would he say to his stepfather? His stepbrothers? They would not even care, except that someone else would have to do the cleaning and inventory.

Packing his belongings had taken so little time, it was laughable – or would be, if his ability to laugh had not seemed to have vanished.

Three days of hard travel, on a rented horse which had taken a fair bit of his meager savings, saw him in a little town just outside the city. Finding a job was not hard, though it had taken him another two days.

A full week had passed now, and he hated it.

The little town was too quiet, too settled. Why he should miss the sounds of drunks and high-volume arguing, he did not know, but he did.

He missed the sounds of the city, but he positively ached to feel a certain body curled around his. There was no reason for it, except that a single week was apparently all he needed to fall hard and fast for someone he simply could not have – not the way he wanted, and probably not at all.

Still, sleeping alone had never been so difficult a thing to do.

What would have happened, he wondered, if he had remained?

It did not bear thinking upon.

Sighing, he turned in bed and dragged his pillow over his head, smelling the mustiness of a bed long disused, the strangeness of it. Well, he would grow used to it…eventually…maybe…

Probably never, but he had no choice.

When it became obvious that sleep would not be forthcoming, a state of affairs with which he was becoming all too familiar, he threw back his blankets and pulled on his clothes.

Downstairs, he quietly fixed a cup of tea in the kitchen and fetched a ledger to continue the work he had left off before going to bed. Though his new place of employment and home was nothing like his own shop, it was quaint and well-stocked and the people of the town were friendly, his employers generous.

The owner's wife clucked her tongue in disapproval when she appeared a couple of hours later to begin the day's baking. "You aren't sleeping enough."

Enitan shrugged. "I know. On the bright side, the bookkeeping will not need tending for a good century."

She laughed, and began to bustle about the kitchen, setting breakfast in front of him in good order.

An hour later he was in the shop, smiling and conversing with a gentle, soft-spoken old man dressed in his Sunday best who had come into town to have a letter written to his granddaughter several hours away. When the bell over the shop door rang, he did not look up, concentrating on the old man's barely audible words, neatly writing out the rough draft of the letter.

He noted absently that the shop had gotten quiet, though he could hear the owner conversing in low tones with the customers. "Anything else, sir?" he asked politely.

The old man shook his head. "No, that is all."

Enitan smiled at him. "Then if you will return in an hour, I will have the final copy written up and you will be able to send it out this very day."

"Thank you very much," the old man said, and bowed, then ambled slowly from the shop.

Smiling, for writing happy letters was one of his favorite parts of being a stationary clerk, he drew out a fresh piece of paper and read over the rough draft to familiarize himself with it, to lesson the chance of mistakes on the final.

He had written out two paragraphs when something fell upon the paper.

Enitan froze, and suddenly found it hard to breathe.

His Carnivale cravat pin. He'd been crushed to realize he had left it in the palace – he had wanted that one stupid little token to remember the best three nights of his life, even if they were also the worst. Setting his quill aside, he reached out to pick up the pin.

Then he slowly forced his gaze up.

Rem glared angrily at him, perfect blue eyes bright with the depths of his rage.

Enitan stared back, not certain what to stay.

He was still as beautiful as ever, though this time there was nothing lordly about his dress -- it was entirely royal, right down to the various pins and rings he wore, making it impossible this time not to realize his true identity. Like the first night they had met, he wore a coat that almost perfectly matched the breathtaking color of his eyes. Enitan wondered miserably how in the hell had he never made the connection.

"I told you to stay," Rem said quietly.

"You're the prince," Enitan replied. "How could I?"

Rem's lips tightened with anger. "We are going," he said, and grabbed hold of Enitan's arm, yanking him and dragging him to the door. "Find his things, see they are packed," he barked at a guard standing near the door. "We are not to be bothered once during the journey home."

Before Enitan could express his opinion on the manhandling, he was all but thrown into a black and green carriage.

The sound of the door closing seemed ominous, somehow.

"You could have stayed!" Rem burst out after a long stretch of silence. "Was that too much to ask?"

"You could have told me you were the bloody prince!" Enitan snarled, hands fisting in his lap. "What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"Stay," Rem snapped. "I said I would be back, I would have explained—"

"That you're the crown prince?" Enitan cut in. "I may be just a naive, gullible, foolish shop clerk, but I'm not so stupid that I don't know what is what."

"You could have stayed instead of slinking off and running away like a bloody coward," Rem replied. "Was I not good to you the whole of Carnivale? What did I do so wrong that you could not wait a few moments to hear me out, to listen to me? After all we did, you could have given me a chance to explain."

Enitan wanted to hit him. "You could have told me the truth," he snapped. "Why did you deceive me?"

"Because I'm the prince!" Rem bellowed. "I feared that if you knew, you would have nothing to do with me -- a fear you have proven to be warranted!"

"That doesn't excuse it," Enitan said quietly. "I knew you were important, and I guess I'm just more stupid than I thought for not figuring it out when it seems so obvious now...but you should have told me. Lo--dallying with a lord is completely different from dallying with a prince."

Rem's voice was quiet and solemn when he replied. "I devoutly hope that little slip of the tongue was what I think, for if I am the only one who thought our time more a great deal more than a dalliance, then I will be heartbroken."

Enitan swallowed, and looked down at his white-knuckled hands, forcing them to unclench. "You're the prince," he said miserably. "I'm a shop clerk. How I feel doesn't really matter."

"It matters," Rem said, voice ragged. He reached out and took one of Enitan's hands in his own. "Please, Enitan. I'm sorry. I never meant for you to find out that way. I thought...I thought it would be easier if it was just the two of us - Rem and Enitan -- for the Carnivale. I was going to tell you the truth at the hour of unmasking. By then, I thought it would not matter as much to you."

Nodding, Enitan held tightly to Rem's hand. "I'm sorry I ran. It was...too much. It still is, really. Why would the crown prince want me?"

"That is a long list, my love," Rem replied with his familiar grin. "We shall go over it in intimate detail, but later, because there is something else that you need to know, and which I was also going to tell you that night."

Enitan frowned at him. "What else could you possibly have to tell me? That you're married? You have a secret brother?"

"No," Rem said, but his smile was a weak attempt. "Not about me...about you..."

Enitan laughed. "What? Am I prince too? Prince of the stockroom, maybe."

Rem winced. "Do you know anything about your father?"

"No..." Enitan replied, frowning. "You have brought him up before. Why?"

Taking a deep breath, Rem let it out slowly, and only then finally replied, "Enitan...you are very nearly the spitting image of the late Marquis Lakeside."

"Who is that?" Enitan asked, feeling a headache coming on. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Rem smiled, and lifted his hand to kiss the back of it. "The Marquis Lakeside is the title given to the man who will inherit the title of Grand Duke. The Grand Duke is your grandfather. He has been searching for you for a very long time."

"You're lying," Enitan replied, feeling dizzy from disbelief and lack of sleep and the rush of seeing Rem again. "That's impossible."

"I assure you it is not," Rem said gently. He reached into his jacket and drew out a small, gold portrait case.

Enitan took it with trembling hands, fumbling a bit before he finally managed to get it open.

Tears spilled down his cheeks as he saw the portrait inside.

He had never seen his father -- had not even realized, until that moment, how much he resembled his father, though he had always wondered and hoped. Two men were in the portrait; they might have been young and old versions of the same man -- the Marquis Lakeside and the Grand Duke. His father and grandfather. There was no denying it when he looked so much like them.

The portrait case tumbled to the floor of the carriage as his trembling hands lost control of it. "I--" he swallowed and gave up speaking, not trusting that he could form actual words.

Rem moved from his own seat opposite to sit next to Enitan. "Truly, I am sorry. I meant to inform you as gently as possible, but I have botched the affair from beginning to end."

Enitan made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "Your execution does rather need some work."

Snorting, Rem pulled him into a loose embrace.

"So why did you come to the store that night?" Enitan asked, thoroughly confused now. "To fetch me? But how would you have known?"

"I came only for ink," Rem said. "That much is true. Every time I ordered someone else to find what I wanted, they brought back inks that were not up to my standards. So I decided to do it myself. I saw you and thought two things -- one, you belonged to me, and two, your grandfather would fight me for you."

Enitan laughed again; shakily, but the sobs were gone. "You're an idiot."

Rem kissed his brow. "I will not argue you that point. I promise I did not mean for things to go this way. I saw you, realized who you were...and then realized you had no idea, not even the slightest hint. The Carnivale, I thought, would be a good way to acclimate you. By the end of it, I thought you might be a bit more comfortable with my identity and your own." He sighed.

Echoing the sigh, Enitan said, "I cannot think I'll be anything but abysmal at this...I am not fit to be a Marquis or anything else." God, the Grand Duke was his grandfather. The idea was too hard to think about. It couldn't be real.

"He has been looking for his grandson for a long time," Rem said softly. "He did not even know of your existence until his son's will was read and everything was left to his 'wife and child,' but your mother, I guess, ran away. I do not know how we never found you right here in the city." Rem blew out a frustrated breath. "Nevertheless, he knows all about you, now, and eagerly awaits your arrival."

Enitan nodded, and did not protest when Rem tugged him even closer. "I'm not a noble. I know nothing about being one."

"You far surpass them all," Rem said firmly "Anyway, you have me and the Grand Duke and my father. It will work out, I promise." He brushed a soft kiss across Enitan's mouth. "If you want no part of it, then do not do it. Shop clerk or Marquis, you are mine."

"Anything else you need to tell me?" Enitan asked, trying to sound amused but sensing he sounded more fearful.

Rem turned Enitan's head up, and kissed him softly. "Only that I love you, and I'm sorry for this mess."

Enitan swallowed, those simple words more shattering than even the revelation of his birth. Shattering, but somehow steadying, especially in light of the fact that Rem had come after him. "That's all right, it was obviously all a mess before you came along." He swallowed again and curled back into Rem's arms, suddenly tired. His eyes closed of their own volition as he settled against Rem, who kissed his brow again. "I love you, too," he whispered, and decided that the rest could take care of itself, as he fell asleep surrounded by the warmth and scent and feel of his lover.

Comments

[grenadebunny.livejournal.com]

Gwah!!!! it's so cute!, i love Rem and you just want to glomp Enitan and never let go:p

[(Anonymous)]

-peeks out of a dark corner-

Cinderella will always be love. ^__^ Especially when you're the one writing it.

-goes back to lurking-

[ruselkie.livejournal.com]

poor sucker. that's a hellalot to deal with in oh, a 10 min convo.

interesting twist with the grand duke. it both makes it MORE of a fairy tale (long lost grandson ahoy!) and LESS (more equal births = more acceptance?). hm. i must mull over this.

thankee! and i'm right with you with my nose glued to the tv on the swimming events. gods bless 'em.

[lady-ocean.livejournal.com]

I hope you know that I abandoned cooking dinner to read this.
And that it was so worth it.

No matter what, your stories are amazing. Especially the masques and fairy tales, and well, everything else too.

I loved the cat, too. Typical kitty. Enitan is adorable, and his interactions with Rem = love.

[suzume-tori.livejournal.com]

OMG YES

Romance. Fairytale. Inks. Pretty clothes. Long-lost family-members. Dancing. Irrational behaviour caused by crazy feelings.

I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

I think this ranks among some of my favourites in your fairytale collection. I seriously love this. **sparkly eyes** THANK YOU FOR WRITING AND SHARING.

You seriously rock my world with what you do. If you ever need a favour that I can grant, please ask. (Uh, my meagre selection of talents includes... semi-fluent French, art, mindless slave labour, etc.)

[maderr.livejournal.com]

*giggle* I am glad it gets such high marks ^___^ If my silly fluff can please, I am content, my dear.

[maderr.livejournal.com]

I hope you went back to it, starving is no fun <3

Thank you thank you ^____^

Yes, and as I was writing, a cat decided my chest was the best place to rest. That was interesting.

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I felt kinda bad, but it was ten mins or go on for fifty pages, and I want not to be killed in my sleep ^_~

Mmm, that was my deliberation, but Cinderalla's status was always sorta hazy. Typically I leave the character a peasant, so I thought thist ime I would go for the sekkret noble.

[maderr.livejournal.com]

thank you ^___^ Enitan is a bit of a woobie.

[maderr.livejournal.com]

<<<3333 Thank you ^___^ I am honored. You do not have to keep lurking <3

[aggybird.livejournal.com]

Aw, I crushed on this story so hard. Silly, emo little shop boy. These poor lovesick boys always think OH NOES HE'S THE PRINCE how r we ever gunna b 2gether??? They should stop and think, Dude, he is the fucking prince, he will just FIX SHIT.

Are - are we gonna get to see the scene where the poor, broken old Duke finally meets his grandson for the first tiiiiiime? With like, gruff, stoic, tear-filled eyes and awkward hugs? I am desiring that liek whoa. It tugs all my wee heartstrings.

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Heh. Now would be the fun if they thought logically? Though, a hideously logical cinderalla would be fun *makes note*

Of course. I had planned for it to be in the story, but that obviously would not have fit well, so a near-future drabble it would be. I'd write it tonight, but I am too giggly and silly to write something serious.

[terialk.livejournal.com]

So cute and adorable~! *huggles*

[pastorra.livejournal.com]

loved it!
hmmm ... maybe in the future we can have some happily ever after drabbles? (Like the fight between prince and grand duke over our pretty?)
anyway, always love your stuff

[maderr.livejournal.com]

^__^

Drabbles are planned, never fear.

thank you very much ^____^

[bleedtoblue.livejournal.com]

Your stories always make me very happy. Thank you!

[aggybird.livejournal.com]

Haha, like a Cinderella mystery? You know what I was thinking the other day? What if there was a story about a fairytale detective! Like, the very logical, methodical detective that everyone calls to solve their problems. Lost the girl of your dreams and all you have is her slipper to find her? No problem! Fallen in love with a narcoleptic princess? He's your man! Thinking about buying a spinning loom? Let him research the top models!

I dunno, kind of a variation on the "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" motif. This is why I don't type out a lot of things that I think in my head. XD WHICH WE'RE ALL THANKFUL FOR, I'M SURE.

Aw, yaaaaaaay!

[shattereternity.livejournal.com]

*___________* I knew it!!!! Related to the Grand Duke ::pats self on back::

King Duke Arthur-esque cinderella!!!!!! I so love you for doing the orphan of unknown parents born to greatness thing :DDDDD

and just imagine, all those pompous lords and ladies trying to curry favor with him while raising their noses at his upbringing and his stepfather having a cornier when the truth comes out ::cackles:: This is really going to change political dynamics *_* I <3 CHAOS AND UPHEAVAL! ^.^

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Hey, you reminded me of the delicious abs link. Love all around!

[maderr.livejournal.com]

You little anarchist you ^_~

[cornporngirl.livejournal.com]

gah! I love your rewrites of fairytales, it's like seeing a childhood favorite told over again but even better this time around ^_^

[stoplightgodess.livejournal.com]

*blink* teardrop *blink* so PRETTY!!!!!!!!!!!

[theotherdibbler.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one who feels sorry for the old man in the village whose letter got interrupted and left unfinished?

Otherwise, much love. :)

[theotherdibbler.livejournal.com]

Someone has to write that. I don't care who as long as it's good. I'd do it myself but I fail at plot. It has to be written though, a story like that deserves to be more than a random idea.

[bare-bear.livejournal.com]

Aw I loved it! They are so cute, those boys. And I adore how Enitan is bold and takes what he wants...in a cute, modest, shy kinda way. :D I can't wait to see the drabbles! They are one of my favorite parts of your stories, the little glimpses into the happily ever after. I'd love to see more of the kitty, cuz that would be all kinds of cuteness! Thanks so much for sharing!