Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there was a young prince who's only joy was to play around the village with his dear friend. However, his friend was an average girl from a low status family, so he was banned from seeing her since he couldn't have any sort of relationships with her kind of people. His life became even more grey than it already was, waiting for someone to light and brighten up his world with colours. Once the prince turned 22, he had to begin the journey of finding his one and only soulmate, so he could get happily married and turn himself into the King everyone wanted him to be. So, he did. The King and Queen brought every single Princess from kingdoms far and wide for their son to meet. But, to their displeasure, none was his true soulmate. Just when the prince was close to giving up, he decided to visit the old and beautiful town of his kingdom. It helped the prince calm down as its beauty was very comforting, and the villagers were so nice to each other that it only brought happiness to him. He disguised himself and met with his friends from his small village, and he could swear that any tiny bit of sadness and nervousness from his current situation faded away thanks to them. But what happened next, was something the prince would never forget nor expected to happen.
He met with her.
He met with his childhood friend. He could recognise her anywhere and everywhere. And to his surprise, when they both met eyes, the boring and plain black and white colours faded into bright and shiny ones, truly unknown for both. The prince had finally met his soulmate, and she was the most beautiful and kindest girl he had ever known. He didn’t waste any more time. Spending the whole evening into the night, the prince couldn’t risk the chance of never seeing his soulmate again. As they fell asleep, he prayed that his parents would allow their union. But, when he brought the idea to them, the King and Queen were horrified by the discovery. They forbade him from marrying his true soulmate and the Prince had to make a choice. So, without hesitation, he ran away with her. It didn’t matter to him that he was abandoning his duties, the Prince couldn’t risk losing the colour that had entered his life again. So they ran and ran far away to another kingdom to start anew. No task was too big if they were together. For their love would always win against every odd.
...
"That's it? They ran away? And got away with it?" The little girl pressed as the older girl just let a soft chuckle out before closing the book.
"Well, it's just a story anyway. A short one, that is. I'm sure it wouldn't be that easy to get away." The girl answered back as she placed the book on the shelf, turning her head towards the small boy who just tugged on her old and dirty dress.
"But... could it be true? Can that happen? A prince having a non-royal soulmate?" He asked, eyes wide.
The girl smiled down at him as she crouched to get to his height. She tilts her head cautiously as her warm smile remained in place. "As much as I'd love that to happen, I'm afraid there haven't been cases of it yet, or at least not publicly. But, I do think it could happen. Soulmates work in a really strange but beautiful way."
"Have you found your soulmate, Miss Suzuki?" Another boy asked as he joined the small group around the girl, who just smiled at them before shrugging.
"I haven't. Not yet at least."
"I still have so many questions!" The first girl that had spoken started again, "Why did the prince discover it was his soulmate that late when they used to play together as kids? I just don't understand! Shouldn't they be seeing colours then? Wasn't she his soulmate before?"
Miss Suzuki genuinely laughed at the little girl's confusion, finding it really amusing. "Okay, okay, you can't find your soulmate when you're a kid-"
"Why!?" The teacher was startled by the sudden choir of protest from the kids, making it even harder for her not to laugh again.
"Oh kids... listen. You can only find your soulmate once you guys turn 17. From then, you'll have your whole lifes to bump into them-"
"Seventeen!?" The kids protested again, the elder finally bursting into laughter as she found their reactions way too funny.
She started to pack her things up as it was close for her to get going. "Trust me kids, time passes by really fast, enjoy while you're still children."
"Mari Suzuki?"
Said girl turned around at the caretaker, and smiled at her while nodding before turning back at the kids. "I'll get going, but I'll be back tomorrow for another story!" She said her goodbyes and the kids immediately said them back back, all of them hugging her, or well, trying to at least.
Mari couldn't help but just smile warmly at the kids. She had been working in the orphanage for too many years, five years she remembered exactly. And she grew up to be very fond of them.
Once she bid her goodbye to them, she turned back to the caretaker and followed her towards the exit. She glanced around the orphanage for the last time that day, feeling her heart sink at the sight of how poorly it looked. So old, so... broken. She hated the thought of those wonderful kids living in a place like that.
"Thank you again, Mari. You have no idea how grateful I am for you coming here."
"You don't have to thank me for this, Polly, it's my pleasure. If I got the privilege to read a while back, then these kids should too."
Polly smiled at her, the amount of gratefulness visible in her eyes. "We really appreciate this, truly."
They both soon stopped as they reached the exit of the orphanage, bidding their goodbyes one more time before Mari headed back to her home.
She glanced around the village and smiled at the kids running around while playing with a rock. An old woman gossiped with the same woman every single day. Two boys sharing bread with each other. It was... peaceful, yet sad.
She could see the happiness in these people, yet she couldn't help but to also notice the struggle in their lives.
Life in the Solyum Kingdom's village was hard. Even after living there for 7 years, she was still trying to adjust to her new life. Nevertheless, she had to keep going, even if it was very hard to. She had to do it. For her mother.
For her brother.
Mari continued her walk home before spotting the rather famous bakery, which the whole village truly adored. She smiled as she walked towards it, and opened the door slowly to see if there were any clients around, and once she saw none, she walked in.
Mari looked around and simply loved how basic, but cosy it was. Despite the owners not having enough gold to support themselves, they still made this place work and brought so much happiness to the village with their delicious pastry.
She still remembered the day she walked into the bakery for the very first time.
...
"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" The boy shook his head firmly, clearly not wanting to move away from his spot.
Mari was beginning to get slightly worried about his attitude. He'd been acting more and more distant, not wanting to go outside or interact with any villager. She knew that their situation was a lot to take in. Even Mari herself, who was just 17, had a hard time facing their new reality. So she decided to let it be.
For now.
"Okay... I'll try to buy you a meal." She didn't even let the boy protest about it as she walked inside before he could do so. She knew he would scold her for wasting their gold, and well, he was partly right for it. However, a small pastry wouldn't be a big problem, would it?
Once the girl was inside, Mari's eyes widened at the sight of the bakery. It was small, yet cozy, enveloping her into a weird sense of comfort and warmth. And the smell of fresh baked pastries made Mari almost drool for the first time since she’d moved.
She was so dazed that she didn’t even notice a woman approaching her. “Excuse me. Miss?” Mari snapped back to reality and gave the woman an embarrassed smile. The woman looked pretty… grown up? She couldn’t be any older than her 50s, but despite her age looked healthy and tidy, “You must be new around here… are ya, darling?” The woman smiled warmly when Mari nodded at her question, “Are you lost? I can send my grandson to help you out--”
¨Oh, no, ma'am. We were actually taking a walk around the village to get to know it better and we stumbled across this wonderful bakery! Everything smells delicious, and the place looks so beautiful as well!” The woman let out a small giggle at Mari's excitement, clearly pleased and grateful for her kind words. Mari found this all comforting.
¨I'm really glad to hear you're liking our small establishment, but may I ask who's 'we'? If my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, I can only see one of you here?¨
Before Mari could explain, the new voice of a young boy interrupted her. ¨Excuse me miss, but could it be that boy over there?¨
Mari looked over where the blonde boy was pointing at, and saw her little brother peeking through the door. He seemed slightly startled at first by the sudden faces turning to look at him, but just focused on his sister's face as he fully walked in now. ¨I-... um. It... smelled pretty good...¨ He mumbled the last part, but everyone was still able to comprehend him. A small smile was brought on Mari's lips. She was proud of her little brother managing to walk inside.
¨My, my! Look at this handsome boy! You seem to enjoy the smell of our pastries, am I right?¨ The boy now turned to look at the nice woman who was attending them. Mari found it very amusing seeing her little brother embarrassed as he nodded to her question. He seemed so awkward. ¨Well, since it's your first time here, me and my grandson will gladly treat you to some free pastries!¨ Both Mari and the boy were close to turning down the offer as they thought it would be unfair for their business, but the woman was faster to interfere. ¨And no excuses! Go on honey, give them the freshly baked ones!¨ The woman cheerfully said to the blonde boy, who immediately ran off to do so.
The blonde walked over to Mari to give her the bag and soon turned to face the other boy, giving him a small smile before handing him his bag. The raven haired boy grabbed the bag rather reluctantly, but still mumbled a small 'thank you' to the blonde, who seemed to understand perfectly. ¨You're very welcome! Hope to see you again around here. I'm Basil Alexiou, what's your name?¨
The other boy looked nervous by the sudden question and presentation, maybe a little bit startled as well. He turned his head to look at Mari for a second, who just gave him a small encouraging smile. The boy turned to look back at Basil as he slightly bowed his head in respect. ¨Sunny. Sunny Suzuki.¨
...
Mari let out a content sight as she remembered that day perfectly, but a door being opened made her snap back to reality.
The girl soon spotted the blonde boy carrying two boxes towards the counter and placing them carefully, and Mari couldn't help but admire how strong and handsome the small boy she once knew grew up to become.
After the first encounter, the Suzuki family had grown quite fond of the Alexiou family--especially the two boys. Even if their first meeting was awkward, Sunny and Basil had become close to one another and regarded the other as their best friend. In a way, this relieved Mari. After the… incident, she worried that her little brother wouldn’t trust people again and close himself off of the world. She was thankful to witness that moment in the little bakery.
They all started visiting the bakery more often. They even met the third member of the Alexiou family, Basil's cousin, Polly. She worked as a caretaker in the village's orphanage, and Mari offered herself to work there since she was eager to be part of the village and help those kids who weren't able to get a proper education like she once had. Meanwhile, her little brother offered his help at the bakery. Though he was just 16, he seemed to be a quick learner and did all he could to help Basil and his grandmother out. Who would've thought Sunny would be selling pastries? Mari sure didn't.
Basil finally noticed Mari after he put the boxes away, and smiled brightly at the sight of her. "Mari! You already finished your shift at the orphanage?" Once she nodded, the boy hummed as he organised the pastries on the shelf. "Time really passes by fast, huh."
"It really does. How are you doing Basil? How's your grandma?"
Basil smiled wider as he continued arranging, sparing a look at Mari for a second. "Honestly? Pretty good actually, grandma's doing better too. And the bakery has been getting even more attention, so you know what that means."
"More gold."
"Exactly!"
Mari smiled at the boy's excitement, at least that hasn’t changed. Despite being all grown up now, he was still that kind and shy boy she once knew. "I'm really glad, Bas." She then looked around, as if she was looking for someone. "Where's Sunny?"
"Oh, Sunny? I told him that we needed more flour and he immediately ran off to get some." Basil explained with a small chuckle, making Mari chuckle softly as well.
"I'm glad he's taking this seriously."
"He always had, though. I'm glad to have him as my partner--truly, he's been really helpful here."
Mari smiled as she knew how fond Basil was of Sunny, and how Sunny was just as fond of Basil. They were truly the best of friends. She couldn’t even begin to explain just how much they’ve helped each other.
"Well, I must get going, mom might freak out if I get too late. You know how she is."
Basil nodded in agreement before stopping what he was doing just to walk towards Mari. He brought her into a hug, and the girl hugged him back giggling. She loved his hugs, they were cosy and full of love. Once Basil stepped back she noticed how tall he’s grown as well., slightly taller than her and Sunny. Her poor brother didn't grow much after his 18s.
"Be careful on your way back, okay? Also, greet your mother for me, please!" Mari nodded at Basil before leaving the bakery, bidding her goodbye once again as she finally stepped out.
Her way back home was calm… way too calm. She expected to bump into Sunny, but he was nowhere to be seen. He really must be caught up looking for flour. Mari continued to look around the village, admiring how captivating and lovely it was. She was sure that if she were able to see colours, the village would look even more beautiful and vivid. Soon, her eyes landed on the castle's towers, which was the only visible part for them in the village. She stared for a few seconds before her eyes moved down from the castle towards the rich part of the kingdom.
"Mari?"
Said girl turned her head startled by the sudden voice behind her. She spots a black haired boy with a big bag of flour in his arms. It seemed he was struggling to keep it still. She smiled brightly. "Sunny! I see you've found flour."
Sunny looked down at the big bag of flour before looking back at Mari, slightly tilting his head. His once short hair was slightly longer now, bangs flowing with the soft breeze. Even if he’s grown up into a young man, he still looked very much the same. However, the once smiley and lively kid he used to be had vanished into a more... neutral one to say the least.
"Uh, yeah. Kinda hard to find but... I did." Her brother replied back as he was still trying to arrange the bag of flour into a better position. "You've met with Basil?" Mari nodded. "Is he busy? Should I pick up my pace?"
The girl smiled as she shook her head. "He seemed fine, there weren't too many customers yet, so don’t worry little brother." Sunny sent a small smile back at her before nodding, finally shifting the bag of flour into a better position.
"Thanks Mari, we'll see each other back home." After Mari nodded in agreement, Sunny turned to make his way back towards Basil's bakery.
¨Wait!¨ The boy stopped abruptly before turning to look at his sister expectantly. ¨Just... be careful on your way back, 'kay?¨
Sunny could almost laugh at her worry. ¨Please. Mari, I'm always careful, you know that already. Besides...¨ he arranged the bag of flour one more time before looking back at her smiling, ¨…there's nothing that scares me here.¨
Mari huffed lightheartedly and watched her not-so-little brother leave.
The smile that Sunny gave her a few seconds ago… It was fake. No longer did his smiles reach his eyes that grew more lifeless as each day passed. She knew that she shouldn’t worry about him getting into danger--Sunny always had a way to keep himself safe. But mentally… Mari didn’t know how to bring that sparkle back…
And she hated it.
The girl sighted and continued her way back home. She would think about it later.