A Sweet Fantasy (Kronfau)
Source for the art used: https://twitter.com/AMo_o_0/status/1597889792507019265
A maid made her way down the halls of the castle, saying good morning to anyone she’d come across. She stopped in front of a door. She took a deep breath, as if she was preparing herself to overcome a trial. In reality, it was just her daily routine.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Princess~.” She called out. “It’s time to wake up!”
No response.
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
“Princess! You’ve been holed up in your room for almost a week!” The maid raised her voice. “Today’s an important day! Please!”
Nothing again.
“Sigh… Very well…”
The maid opened the door and let herself in. She found the green-haired princess curled up into a ball in her bed, wrapped in her bedsheets.
“Princess Fauna!” She shook the princess. “Please wake up!”
“Mnnn… uuu…” Fauna shook her head. “Just five more minutes…”
“If it were any other day I would have indulged you, Your Highness.” The maid pulled the covers off. “But not today!”
She quickly opened the curtains to force the princess to wake up.
“Uuuuuuuuuuu…” Fauna covered her face. “I don’t wannaaaaaa…”
“Did you stay up again working on your potions, Your Majesty?” The maid asked as she looked at the princess’s study. It was chock full of books,. “You know this is unhealthy.”
“Yeah, yeah… I was just doing research for a new recipe…” Fauna rubbed her eyes. “I’m gonna have to run to the forest to get some ingredients.”
“That will have to wait, Princess.” The maid told her in a nervous tone.
“What? No way!” Fauna frowned at her maid. “Wait, why are you being so formal?”
“Because you’ll be busy today, Princess.” A stern voice said.
Fauna felt a shiver going down her spine. She looked at her bedroom door, locking eyes with her father.
“F-Father…” She tried to smile. “Fancy meeting you here!”
“Good morning, Fauna.” The king stepped closer and took a seat near Fauna’s bed. “I trust you haven’t forgotten you have to attend tonight’s celebration ball?”
Fauna winced in pain after hearing those words.
“Do I really have to…?” She asked.
“Of course you have to!” The king replied. “This ball is about you!”
“Uuu…” Fauna tried to hide under the covers, but the maid simply pulled them away from her. “Uuuuuuuuu…”
The king’s face softened, and he put his hand on Fauna’s head.
“I already know you’d rather just keep researching and brewing positions but…” He ruffled his daughter’s hair. “This is also part of your duties as princess.”
“But all those people care about are my potions.” Fauna started to sulk.
“That’s… well...” The king nodded. “No one expected you to make so many breakthroughs as an alchemist.”
“See?” Fauna moved her father’s hand away. “I don’t wanna do princessy stuff!”
“Let’s make a deal, then.” The king chuckled at his daughter’s reluctance. “You attend this ball and act like a princess and I’ll let you be for a month.”
“…Fine.” Fauna finally agreed.
Her father smiled at her. “Thank you.” He started getting up but stopped himself. “No running off to the woods, you hear me?”
“But Fatheerrr…” Fauna complained.
“Especially not when you don’t have an escort!”
“But my escort is always busy these days!” Fauna crossed her arms and pouted.
“And for good reason.” The king said. “Commander Kronii has been working hard to keep the peace in this kingdom.”
“I knoowwwww…” Fauna sulked again. “But she promised she’d join me…”
“Oh dear…” The king rubbed his forehead. “I’ll talk with her to see if she can spare some time…”
“Yay!” Fauna gave him a huge smile. “Thank you, Father!”
“Yeah, yeah… at least the royal guard can handle itself thanks to her training…” The king got up and started walking away. “Now get up and get ready!”
“Yes, sir!” Fauna saluted.
The king sighed and turned to the maid.
“Please help her.”
“Yes, Your Highness!” The maid bowed.
The king exited the room with a worried expression. Surely her princess could still act like one even after holing herself up for so long.
Meanwhile, Fauna could only think about one thing:
I wonder if she’ll be there today…
“Are you ready?” The king asked.
Fauna gave him a smile only a princess could make.
“Yes, Father.” She responded.
The king was stunned for a few seconds.
“…Is there something wrong?” Fauna asked.
“No, not at all. Just…” The king looked away. “It’s like you’re a completely different person, it’s quite surprising.”
“Ohohohoho…” Fauna kept smiling but the king could tell she was angry. “I’m so, very, terribly sorry about that.”
“Dear, don’t be rude to your daughter.” The queen nudged her husband. “She’s doing her best right now.”
“I apologize…” The king could feel the princess staring daggers at him. “Just try to keep appearances for now, Fauna.”
“I could say the same to you, Father.” Fauna responded.
They entered the venue together. Everyone respectfully greeted them and waited for the king to speak.
“Thank you, everyone, for gathering here today.” He started. “I have called this celebration because of my daughter, Fauna.”
Fauna did a curtsy to the best of her abilities.
Be elegant, be proper, be elegant, be proper, be elegant… She repeated to herself.
“It’s thanks to her advancements with alchemy that the quality of life in the kingdom has increased so much recently” The queen continued with a gentle smile. “So please, enjoy this ball to your heart’s content.”
The music started as the royal family joined the crowd. Fauna was instantly swarmed by nobles she’d never met.
“Your Highness, Princess Fauna, please allow me to thank you for all the help you’ve provided to the kingdom.”
“Princess, your work is a marvel, would you be interested in having a talk sometime?”
“Your Highness, would you like to dance with me?”
All of them gave her the same pleasantries, though she could tell some of them had ulterior motives.
“Oh, thank you so much for your kindness.” She said.
She tried to keep acting for as long as she could, but after an hour, her head was throbbing.
Ugh… My energy is running out… She thought, forcing a smile. I REALLY wanna leave. All I’m getting is empty flattery.
“…Where is she, anyways?” She asked out loud.
She looked around trying to find Kronii.
Knowing her, she should be as swarmed with guests as me. Her eyes turned to the places where the most people were gathered. Sure enough, she saw her friend dealing with a group of nobles.
Probably trying to gain her favor in case they do something bad later… She thought to herself. I guess she won’t have time for me today…
She sighed and continued to look, this time trying to find her father. She eventually locked eyes with him.
I’M DONE. I’M TIRED. She communicated with gestures. I’M GETTING OUT OF HERE.
…Very well. He responded then looked at the balcony. At least don’t leave the venue.
He was agitated watching his daughter greet more nobles as she made her way outside, but his demeanor changed when he noticed someone else heading her way.
The queen saw her daughter running off from the corner of her eye.
“Dear, is that our daughter heading for the balcony?” She asked.
“Hm? Oh, yes she is.” The king nodded nonchalantly. “Let her be, she’s done enough.”
“Are you certain?”
“Of course.” He reassured her. “She has someone trustworthy following her.”
“She does…?” The queen looked around for anyone fitting that description. “Do you mean her maid or…”
She noticed a certain woman in blue looking at her daughter.
“I see.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “She’ll be fine, then.”
The princess made her way to the balcony, making sure no one would follow her outside.
“Phew!” She stretched and leaned on the handrail. “Jeez, I don’t even know half the people who talked to me…”
She looked at the starry sky. As luck would have it, the ball happened during a full moon. The balcony overlooked the kingdom, she could see everything her father ruled.
“Sigh, I don’t even feel like admiring the view.” Fauna shook her head. “What I’d give to just be a witch in the forest.” She looked at the woods near the kingdom. “Just making potions all day, away from all the politics…”
“Your parents would lose it if they heard you.”
“HYAAAH?!” Fauna jumped after hearing a familiar voice. “KRONII, COULD YOU NOT?!”
“Hahaha!” She laughed. “Oh, come on, man. I’m sure you heard my footsteps.”
Fauna turned around to look at her friend.
“Sorry, I was sulking too much to hear you!” Fauna pouted.
“Okay, okay, calm down.” Kronii got closer to pat her head.
“My parents would also lose it if they heard you speaking so informally to the princess!” Fauna crossed her arms.
“Oh, my apologies.” Kronii took a step back and did a curtsy. “The Commander of the Royal Guard greets Her Majesty.”
“Hehehe!” Fauna giggled. “You didn’t have to actually do that.”
“I wanted to try it out with a dress at least once.” Kronii told her.
“Oh yeah, this is a pretty rare sight.” Fauna circled around her friend, checking her outfit out. “I got used to seeing you in your uniform, hehehe.”
Kronii was wearing a blue and white dress with subtle gear patterns at the bottom. She had ribbons on her chest and on the side of her hip. She was also wearing a white coat, protecting her from the evening breeze. It was quite a contrast to Fauna's pink dress.
“Blame my soldiers…” Kronii looked away from her. “Boss, you almost never go to these kinds of events!” She waved her arms around making fun of her kronies. “You gotta wear a dress at least once!”
“Well I like it!” Fauna smiled at her. “You look beautiful!”
“Um…” Kronii covered her blushing face. “Thank you…”
Kronii joined Fauna at the edge of the balcony. They watched the kingdom illuminated by the night sky together.
“It’s so peaceful.” She said.
“All thanks to you.” Fauna told her. “You really whipped the Royal Guard into shape.”
“Haha, well, it helped that they enjoyed it.” Kronii smiled. “But I think your potions helped even more.”
“I kinda doubt that.” Fauna leaned on the handrail and placed her head on her hands.
“I don’t.” Kronii kept admiring the view. “I still remember how you started. Back when we were kids, you were so desperate to help me when I got sick you ignored your father’s orders and ran off to get ingredients to brew a potion for me.”
“I mean…” Fauna started to blush. “You would’ve gotten better anyways without my help.”
“Maybe…” Kronii laughed. “But you still went on to help whoever you could with your potions.”
“I was just doing what I wanted.” Fauna sighed. “I couldn't help myself from trying to support everyone.”
“Which is why I still have to protect you.” Kronii looked at the princess. “Someone will eventually take advantage of your kindness.”
“It’s kind of already happening…” Fauna recalled the people who came to greet her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m married off to one of those nobles who just want to sell my work.”
“Your parents would never allow that.”
“I know, but…” Fauna made a worried face. “There’s always a chance something goes wrong…”
“That…” Kronii bit her lip. “I don’t know how to help with that…”
“You know…” She turned to look at Kronii. “The simplest solution would be marrying y—”
Kronii quickly covered Fauna’s mouth. With a smile, the commander slowly shook her head. The princess gripped the handrail, realizing how much weight those words would have.
She made a deep sigh. She faced Kronii again with a serious face and extended her hand.
“Could we at least dance?” She asked her.
“Pft.” Kronii contained her laughter. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one who has to ask?”
“Yeaaah, but I already know how wishy-washy you are.” Fauna giggled.
Kronii took Fauna’s hand and placed the other on her hip. They danced while listening to the music from the venue. Without anyone watching them, they danced to their hearts’ content. They swayed, they spun, they laughed and cheered for each other.
“This is fun, isn’t it?” Fauna asked.
“Yeah!” Kronii replied as she made Fauna spin. “Though it’s kind of hard to dance with this dress!”
“You’re doing great!” Fauna said with a giggle.
As they kept dancing, they slowly started to ignore the music, moving to their own beat.
“Ring-a-ring o’roses, fa-la-la+, round and round, fa-la-la-la~…”Fauna sang following their rhythm. “Flying up and down, fa-la-la~… I wanna stay here forever~.”
Kronii smiled as she tried to sing along with her princess. She eventually learned the song and they continued to dance. The moon shone brightly, letting Fauna lose herself in Kronii’s blue eyes.
As if going with the flow, Fauna closed her eyes and got near Kronii’s face. The commander blushed but she didn’t stop the princess. Their lips touched as they embraced each other.
Because of her duties as a princess and Kronii’s job as the commander, they didn’t know when they would be able to be together again. All they could do was wish this moment would last forever...
“…Zzz… mmm…”
Fauna slowly opened her eyes to find Kronii looking at her.
“Hey, you, you’re finally awake.” Kronii said. “You were trying to cross the border, right?”
“Pffft.” Fauna pushed Kronii aside as she started laughing. “Could you not do that just as I wake up?!”
“Sorry!” Kronii laughed with her. “I didn’t know what else to say.”
“Good morning would’ve been enough!”
Fauna had been taking a nap on Kronii’s lap. They were in the middle of a picnic, but Fauna felt too sleepy. Kronii offered her lap while she read a book.
“Are you feeling okay now?” Kronii asked.
“Uuuu!” Fauna got up and stretched. “Yeah! Thank you, Kronii.”
“I’m glad.” Kronii patted her kirin’s head. “Though you were sleep talking a lot.”
“Was I?” Fauna tilted her head.
“Yeah, you even started to sing something, but it was mostly mumbling.” Kronii explained.
Fauna closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, trying to remember what happened.
“Uuuuuu… nope.” She shook her head. “I can’t remember what I dreamt.”
“I think it was a nice dream.” Kronii put her book away in her bag. “You were smiling a lot.”
Fauna slowly put her fingers on her lips, as if she remembered something. She smiled.
“Hehehe, I’m sure it was.”
t. Name