In one of many villages in Fiore, there lived a messenger boy named Apollo. His hair resembled the sun, yellow, shining, and free. It wasn't just his hair that resembled the sun, it was him himself. Apollo was greeted with smiles everywhere he went. Of course he was so well known for delivering mail but his kindness truly made people look forward to his visits. He was friends with a girl his age, Selene. Selene had dark hair and eyes. Her skin was pale as she spent most of her time indoors when Apollo wouldn't drag her out. Selene would much rather read books or watch her grandmother sew than to talk to anybody she wasn't familiar with. Though the village was small where everybody knew each other's name, Selene only felt comfortable talking to Apollo or her grandmother. Selene very much admired Apollo. She'd read her books about princesses and princes falling in love and she'd picture it as her and Apollo instead. Selene had told her grandmother about her feelings before, often adding she and Apollo's possible future. "We'll get married in the church," Selene had said, "And there will be a humongous cake made by the baker. It'll reach the ceiling!"
Selene jumped up and outstretched her arms.
Her grandmother would let out an amused chuckle and say, "That's quite a big dream for a small girl,"
One warm afternoon, Selene was pulled out of her house by Apollo. "It's a wonderful day outside, Selene!" Apollo said cheerfully as he pulled her down the streets, "There's plenty to do!"
"Like what?" she asked. She pretended to sound annoyed though her heart was jumping at the feeling of Apollo's arm around her's.
"I was thinking that we can form a small concert for some money," he said, "I play the harp and you sing,"
Selene stopped in her tracks, almost falling forward. "You know I can't do that,"
"You can," Apollo encouraged, "That's why I'm asking you,"
Selene frowned and stared at her foot which she moved back and forth to make marks on the ground.
"Come on," Apollo continued, "It'll be fun. And it's about time everybody hears you sing other than me. But not like I'm tired of it,"
Selene giggled and blushed. She felt as if she couldn't say no to Apollo. So she'd say yes, just this once and she just hoped she wouldn't make a fool of herself. Just then, Selene felt something brush against ankle and she flinched, quickly looking down. Her shoulders relaxed when she realized it was just Periwinkle, the village tabby. Periwinkle had fluffy orange fur and big green eyes that made almost everybody in the village willing to give her something to eat. Selene picked her up and nestled her in her arms. "Are you hungry, Peri?" Selene cooed, "Let's find you something to eat. Apollo, let's find--Apollo?"
She looked at him, his eyes staring at the bakery. Selene frowned at the bakery then back at Apollo. "Hey, what's the matter?"
Apollo pulled Selene closer to whisper something which made her almost freeze. "Don't you see her?" Apollo whispered
"Why…why are you whispering?" Selene stammered, still gathering her thoughts.
Apollo looked at the bakery again, this time Selene followed his eyes. She saw the village baker, Matthias, and he was laughing with a tall man standing in front of him. That tall man…had a crown. There was a girl next to him, he made her look tiny in comparison. She had a tiara and a beautiful blue gown that had velvet material. Her dark black hair was let down, stretched down to her back. Even from behind, Selene's mouth gaped open as she recognized the king and Princess Jupiter.
"Why…why are they here?" she asked, now whispering.
Apollo hushed her and they listened in.
"It's going to be your twelfth, am I correct?" the baker Matthias asked.
Jupiter nodded. "My daddy said that he has a lots and lots of gifts for me,"
She stretched out her hands and Matthias laughed. Then the king spoke up. "The reason we've made this visit is a request. I'd like you to make a cake for Jupiter. I have heard you sell the best cakes in the village,"
Matthias rubbed his head modestly. "Really now? Well I'll be delighted,"
Jupiter clapped her hands with excitement. "Excuse me? Could you make it strawberry, please? I really like strawberry,"
"Why of course!" Matthias said cheerfully.
Selene had gotten somewhat bored of looking at the princess and tugged Apollo's sleeve as Periwinkle leapt from her arms. "Let's go now, Apollo," she said, "I want to do the concert you were talking about,"
Suddenly, Apollo jumped and covered his face. "She's looking at us!"
"Why are you so frightened--?" Selene asked.
Then she looked up and Princess Jupiter was walking towards them. She stood there, frozen as Jupiter got closer. She was always told to curtsy and smile if she ever came in the presence of the princess. Now she couldn't do anything but stare. Apollo immediately bowed and Jupiter gave him a smile of acknowledgement before reaching down and patting Periwinkle on the head. "What an adorable tabby," the princess gushed, "Does he belong to anybody?"
"It's a she," Selene said quickly, suddenly feeling defensive. She picked up Periwinkle. "And this tabby's name is Periwinkle,"
Jupiter hardly listened, instead she placed her hand in front of Periwinkle. The cat stared at the princess's hand for a moment before nuzzling her nose against it. Jupiter withdrew her hand with a giggle. "Ha! That feels funny!"
Selene took a step backward, she looked at Jupiter as she spoke stiffly. "Apollo and I have to go. We have a concert to practice for,"
Selene looked over at Apollo and realized he hadn't spoken a word the whole time. Very unlikely of him. Jupiter clapped her hands, "A concert? Perhaps I could join? I could sing!"
Selene scrunched her nose. "I was already going to sing. Right, Apollo? Apollo!"
Apollo blinked and looked over at Selene. "Ah? Yes?"
Selene sighed while Jupiter giggled. "This is Apollo?"
"Yes," Selene said in a rush, taking Apollo's arm, "We must get going, very busy,"
As Selene pulled Apollo away, Jupiter called, "Goodbye! I hope to see the concert!"
When Selene was sure they got father away from the princess, she turned Apollo around to face her. His cheeks were the colors of fresh roses and then a smile grew on his face. "She knows my name…" he whispered.
Selene felt her heart sink as she allowed Periwinkle to leap from her arms and travel elsewhere. "What's so special about that? A good princess would know everybody's name,"
"Do you know everybody's name?" Apollo asked
"Well…um…no, but--" Selene stuttered
"Her being a princess doesn't make her obligated to know everybody's name," Apollo said as he began walking gleefully, "But she is very friendly and as a wonderful laugh,"
Selene hurried to catch up with him. "I hope you're not falling for the princess. She wouldn't even be able to marry you,"
"What--?" Apollo asked but he lost his balance and fell over. He scratched his head, "I guess I have fallen for her!"
He began to laugh but Selene's frown deepened. He thought this was some joke but it wasn't. Selene tried reassuring herself that it wasn't possible for the princess to return feelings for Apollo. She was a princess, he was a messenger boy in the village. Even so, the king would surely not allow it. She smiled to herself and helped Apollo up. "Well you should stop falling," she said, "We have a concert to prepare for!"
Before practicing, the two decided to let as much as people know about the concert. Selene didn't really want many people to know about it, the less people who saw her sing the better. But Apollo was really looking forward to it, he loved playing his harp any chance he could get. Selene and Apollo walked over to a house that was rather small. It was located on a hill and had an apple tree behind it. Apollo smiled and waved to a girl who was sitting on one of the branches of the apple tree. She smiled and waved back. The girl's name was Persica. She was known in the village for acting a bit different than the rest of the girls. She wore pants and shirts instead of dresses and she always had dirt on her hands. That was because she liked to garden with her mother. Selene wasn't necessarily sure about her, she believed she was a bit odd but she never said much to Persica.
"Hello, Persica!" Apollo said
"Hello, Apollo!" Persica said back, waving her hand around, "Have you got any mail today?"
"Not today," Apollo said, "Unless if you count an invitation,"
Persica raised her eyebrows. "An invitation?"
Apollo nodded. "Me and Selene are going to be doing a concert this evening and we were wondering if you'd like to attend,"
Persica smiled and looked between Selene and Apollo before eagerly nodding. "I'd love to! Is it fine if I bring my other too? She loves music,"
"Of course!" Apollo said.
Selene's shoulders slumped. There were just more and more people being brought from around the village. As Selene and Apollo walked away from Persica's house, the thought of telling Apollo that they should stop asking more people to come crossed her mind. But then Apollo said, "I have an idea! What if we invite the princess to come!"
Selene stopped walking and in turn, Apollo spun around. "It will be fun! She had said she wanted to be invited,"
"That doesn't mean she should come," Selene said quietly, kicking the dirt.
Apollo frowned and walked over to her. "You don't like her, do you? The princess I mean,"
Selene looked at her friend with wide eyes. She then quickly shook her head, the red growing on her face clear as day. "I never said that, Apollo!"
"But I can very much tell," Apollo said, "You're not good at hiding things,"
Selene just crossed her arms in defeat. "I don't trust her,"
She didn't want to tell Apollo her feelings for him. She felt as though it would complicate things more. She just had to make sure the princess wouldn't get in the way. And that was by making sure she never came to their village again.
"You don't trust her?" Apollo repeated with a frown, "What is there not to trust? She isn't spoiled or anything,"
"How would you know that?" Selene snapped back.
Apollo scratched his head and looked at her helplessly. Selene sighed, dropping her hands to her sides. "Forget about it. Let's go practice,"
All afternoon long, Selene and Apollo practiced at her house. It was fun, mostly because it was just them. Selene wanted to sing the Celestia Bloom song she had made up. It was her favorite flower and she figured it would be the most appropriate for the concert. When evening was nearing, Apollo heaved his harp. He wobbled a little before studying himself. "Come on, Selene! We have no time to waste!"
Selene bit her lip as she watched Apollo walk in a zig zag as he struggled towards the door. "Go help him open the door, Dear," Selene's grandmother said, as she did some patching work.
Selene rushed towards the door to open it before Apollo could lose his balance trying to do so. "Ah, thank you, Selene," he said.
Selene anxiously followed him. A few of her neighbors waved to them and said that they couldn't wait for the concert. Selene held her stomach in fear of throwing up. She looked over to see the old lady, Maudie, who usually sat in front of her house, watching the day go by. She gave Selene a friendly nod.
"I cannot wait for your concert, dearies!" she called
"Thank you, Maudie!" Apollo said back.
Selene's eyes grew wide. "We didn't tell her to come, hadn't we?"
"No," Apollo said. He grunted and placed his harp down with a thud, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Then he picked it back up again. "Although I can't believe we missed her. Oh well, at least she's going to show up!"
Selene trembled, there was going to be more people than she expected. She knew this wasn't a good idea, at least not on her part. She just wanted to make Apollo happy. But would it be worth it? He might like the princess more than her.
They got to the village square and Apollo put down his harp, exhaling loudly. "We made it!"
"Oh, I hope people show up," Selene said. She didn't want it to appear as if anything was wrong.
"Don't worry," Apollo said, "Who wouldn't want to see a good concert?"
Selene took a deep breath. Maybe the concert wasn't such a bad idea. It would keep her from being shy, maybe more like Apollo. Or a little less. She didn't want to be like Persica who was too full of energy. But Selene wanted her own version of confidence.
Selene looked over at Apollo, "We should practice a little before the concert begins,"
She was met with no response. She frowned and waved her hand in front of his face, as he was off staring. That could only mean one thing. "She's here," Apollo gasped, "I can't believe it!"
He quickly covered his mouth and cowered backward, "I hope she didn't hear me,"
Selene looked up and spotted her. Princess Jupiter, with a different gown than before, standing with her father and speaking with some of the village folk. When had she gotten to the village? Why was she here? She couldn't have known that the concert was today. She looked back at Apollo and he suddenly seemed focused on his harp. Selene gritted her teeth. "Apollo, quit acting like a coward--"
"Oh it's you two!" the princess's voice came from behind them.
Selene froze her shoulders tensed while Apollo looked as if he wanted to hide behind his harp. Juipter went over to them and first waved at Selene. "Hello," Jupiter said, "Um…I never did get your name,"
"Selene," Selene replied, barley letting Jupiter finish her sentence, "My name is Selene,"
Selene felt nervous when she saw the princess frown. She hoped she didn't sound rude, as much as she wasn't fond of her, she didn't want to get on the princess's bad side.
"Selene," Jupiter said, "What a pretty name. Now, where's your friend? Apollo I think?"
Selene wanted to lie and say that he hadn't arrived at the square but it was no use. The princess had spotted Apollo and almost ran to him when she saw the harp. "How gorgeous!" she exclaimed, "A harp! I love the sound of harps. Such a beautiful melody they play,"
Apollo's face was now embarrassingly red as he stared at his harp as if he was speaking to it. "Wonderful, isn't it?"
Selene wanted to smack him, instead, she kept her fists firmly to her side and marched over to Apollo. "Excuse me," Selene said harshly to the princess, "We have a concert and we would not like to be disturbed,"
Jupiter frowned, taking a few steps back before walking away without saying a word. Selene looked at Apollo and his face was slowly clearing.
"Why did you do that?" Apollo asked, "That was my chance to talk to her!"
"But you barely could," Selene said briskly, "Now hurry, we need to practice,"
Selene placed her hand on his shoulder but he shook it off. "I don't feel like practicing," he said.
Apollo sighed and sat next to his harp. Selene glanced around nervously. She thought Apollo was mad at her.
"Why can't I talk normally?" he sighed, "I made a fool of myself,"
Apollo covered his face. Selene had never seen him this upset, it made her more concerned than jealous. She offered Apollo a hand. "There's no time to fret about that now. And besides, you can show the princess how good you are at playing the harp!"
Apollo smiled gratefully, took her hand, and got up. "I suppose you're right,"
He looked around. The village square was now almost filled with people. Matthias the baker was even handing out muffins. Selene winced, she had to sing in front of all of those people. Including the king. That just made things even worse.
"This was a lot more than I expected," Apollo said, surveying the people.
"You did insist on inviting a lot of people," Selene huffed
"Oh, right," Apollo said, "Oh well, a crowd's a crowd,"
Selene stared at the people and hoped by some chance they could all just disappear and go to their houses. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. Selene jumped and quickly turned around to see the princess, timidly holding a muffin. "Hello," Jupiter said.
Selene didn't say anything as she was confused why Jupiter was speaking to her again. She assumed that she made it clear that she didn't like her.
"Matthias is giving out muffins," Jupiter said, handing the muffin to Selene, "Here take this,"
Selene reluctantly took it from her. She looked at the princess closely who smiled in return. Selene took a bite. The muffin was warm, fluffy, and sweet, most importantly, it calmed her nerves. Just a little.
"I felt like we started off on the wrong foot," Jupiter said meekly, "So I just thought.."
"Excuse me! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!"
Selene nearly jumped at Apollo's loud voice and accidentally dropped her muffin. Surely he'd have no trouble singing.
Jupiter giggled. "I can't wait to hear you sing,"
She waved and walked over to meet her father. Selene stepped next to Apollo who made his lengthy announcement. She could hardly listen to what he was saying. Her eyes darted to each villager. And in front was the king and her daughter. She couldn't believe she had to perform in front of royalty. Selene thought this would be some simple fun concert. Villagers would walk by and chip a coin in. But now, several eyes were watching them, their feet planted on the ground. And they weren't planning to move until the very end of the concert.
"Pst!" Apollo whispered, "Selene, start when you are ready!"
Selene blinked and looked at Apollo who was now standing next to his harp. They were going to begin already? She felt her palms sweating. Now all eyes were on her. And Apollo of course, but she was going to be singing. For a brief moment, Selene had forgotten what she was going to sing. Her nervousness messed with her memory and her senses. She turned back to Apollo who was giving her an encouraging smile even though there was a hint of nervousness to it. The song Selene was to sing resurfaced her brain and she felt at ease knowing she wasn't the only one who was nervous. No matter how good Apollo was at talking to people, he could even get nervous sometimes. Selene faced the audience, took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to sing.
"Croak!"
Selene gasped and covered her mouth. Was that…her? She looked around. Apollo had stopped playing the harp, stared at her with furrowed brows and shrugged. He then motioned her to just sing. Selene faced the audience. It looked as if some people wanted to laugh which made Selene feel nervous. She wasn't sure what was going on but she wanted to sing and get it over with. As Apollo played the harp again, Selene cleared her throat this time before singing.
"Croooaakk!"
This time, the croak was met with a bunch of laughter. Selene held her throat. She was helpless, with people confused and thinking it was one big comedy act, she wasn't sure what to do. Selene looked at Apollo again.
"What are you doing, Selene?" he asked.
Selene wanted to say that she didn't know, but a frog's croak came out her mouth instead. She quickly covered her mouth and the audience laughed harder. Why did she sound like a frog? She was perfectly fine before… Selene's head whipped towards Jupiter who looked almost confused as she was. Selene gritted her teeth, Jupiter feigning innocence made her more angry. She pointed her finger at Jupiter, wanting to accuse her but all that came out was a loud, "Croak!"
The audience laughed louder, even the king let out a chuckle. Selene's lips quivered and her eyes glistened. She had made a fool out of herself and it was by trusting Jupiter. Even for a brief moment and taking the bite of the muffin, could cause an unexpected humiliation. So in defeat, Selene ran off and didn't stop until she made it to her house.
Selene's voice went back to normal in about two days. During those two days, she didn't leave the house and nobody came inside the house. Apollo had tried to visit and even a few of the village people tried to come and visit but Selene's grandmother would tell them that Selene wasn't ready to have guests. Even after her voice was better, Selene didn't want to come out of her house. She didn't want to see anybody either. She felt angry at the princess, she always knew that she was rotten, right from the beginning. At least Apollo wouldn't like her anymore and hopefully he and Selene would get married in the church one day with the big cake.
One late afternoon, the door knocked. Selene's grandmother sighed as she trudged over to the door and opened it. Selene peeked to see who it was. But once he saw her grandmother curtsy, she already had an idea of who it was. Before she could turn around and go to her bedroom, her grandmother said, "Princess Jupiter is here to visit you, dear,"
Selene slowly turned around and stared at Jupiter who was allowed in. The grandmother made her way back to the sewing table while Jupiter slowly walked towards Selene. She was holding a plate and on top of it was something covered by a handkerchief. "Hello…Selene," Jupiter said quietly
"So you did it, didn't you?" Selene asked, her voice trembling.
Jupiter looked confused. "What? No… I don't know what happened honestly,"
"You knew you bewitched the muffin," Selene accused
"No, no!" Jupiter shook her head, "I'm not sure if it was the muffin…"
"It could be that evil witch," Selene's grandmother spoke up, only looking up briefly from her sewing, "Only she is cable of magic such as that,"
"What witch?" Selene asked
"The Witch of the High Tower," her grandmother replied ominously, "Such an evil, bitter being she is. Though no one has actually seen her…just rumors,"
Jupiter and Selene exchanged looks. The grandmother had gone back to sewing as if she said nothing. Selene looked over at Jupiter, if she was innocent, that means Apollo had reason to be in love with her again. That bothered her but she wasn't as angry as before.
"Why did you come if you knew you didn't do it?" Selene asked
"I felt sorry about what happened," Jupiter said, stepping forward, "Everyone was confused and assumed it was a joke. That was until you ran away,"
Jupiter handed Selene the plate, who took it cautiously. Jupiter could sense Selene's wariness and looked guilty.
"I promise it's fine," Jupiter said, "It's my birthday cake. Me, my father, and the castle staff ate some and it was perfectly fine. It's strawberry,"
"I don't like strawberry," Selene said quietly
"I like strawberry," her grandmother chirped.
Selene placed the plate on the table near her grandmother.
The girls stood, avoiding to look at each other. Jupiter looked at the door. "Well, I have to go now. Hopefully I'll see you again, Selene,"
Selene didn't reply so Jupiter walked out the door in a hurry, closing the door behind her.
"Most people would have loved to make friends with the princess," Selene's grandmother said knowingly
"But I'm not one of them," Selene replied gruffly and marched towards her bedroom.
Later that evening, Selene and Apollo found themselves sitting at the brook. It was a long day, for Apollo it was mailing and for Selene it was thinking. The two of them sat in silence. The only sound was nature. The water rushing down the stream, the trees rustling, and the occasional chirps of birds.
Apollo picked up a fallen leaf and twisted it between his fingers. "I'm sorry that I didn't do anything, Selene," he said quietly.
Selene looked up. "You were confused like everybody else,"
"Yes but…" Apollo trailed off, "I don't know…"
"That's over with," Selene said, sounding more sure than she felt, "My voice is better and…I know Jupiter didn't cause it,"
Apollo raised his eyebrow. "You thought she had done it?"
Selene had regretted mentioning Jupiter right then. But she had no choice but to answer him. "She was the one who last gave me the muffin. But it must've been the witch. The one from the High Tower,"
Apollo scratched his head in confusion but shrugged it off. "I saw Jupiter as I was delivering mail. She said she was going to visit you. She also said that she liked the sound of my harp though she would like to here it more one day,"
He chuckled sheepishly and Selene had to try not to roll her eyes. She figured there was no point in it anymore. How could she compete with a princess? She was a beautiful princess after all. A beautiful, kind princess.
"Well, Apollo," Selene sighed, "If you're in love with the princess, that's fine by me,"
Apollo blinked, processing her words and then his face began to turn pink. "What…? Why would you say such a thing--"
"Let's go search for Periwinkle," Selene said, getting on her feet and pulling Apollo up, "It'll be like a treasure hunt!"
Apollo smiled and then started running away. Selene followed after him, almost tripping over sticks and tree roots. "Hey!" she called, "Wait for me!"
After a long evening with Apollo, Selene sauntered back to her house as nightfall came. She walked inside the house, almost forgetting to close the door as she did so. She threw herself on to a chair next to her grandmother. The very nice plate Jupiter brought now had crumbs on it and the handkerchief was placed folded next to it. Selene let out a heavy sigh. "Why can't it be me?" she asked, "Not her?"
"Well, as I like to say," he grandmother said, pulling the thread through the cloth, "The sun belongs to the sky,"
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