I'd Buy You A Little Fuzzy Bunny...
By Skankin' Lionel
Nadia lay in her room, face buried in one of the many royal pillows she’d spent unprecedented amounts of time stripping the lace off of. Though her aides had been at hand hours earlier, when she first started to cry, they were less inclined to offer whatever assistance they could after the princess started throwing books and jewelry at them. They remained outside, while the king tried without avail to pry her problems out of her.
“Nadia, if you won’t tell me what the problem is, how can you expect me to help you?” The king pleaded. Nadia lifted her head out of the deluge that her pillow had become and turned her tear-streaked eyes to the door.
“Daddy! There’re some things nobody can help me with! I just have to work things out with myself...” the rest of Nadia’s sentence was muffled by the pillow she tried desperately to hide within. The king was prepared to have the lock picked, but the one of the aides spoke up against doing so.
“Your highness, pardon me, but I think it best that you leave her be. She’s a young woman, and all young people have problems they are unwilling to share with any, no matter how close those who want to help may be.” The king sighed, shoulders sagging under the burden bestowed by the manic issues of adolescents. The other women concurred, bantering over the greater troubles of their angst-filled youths. As the king sulked back to the throne room, the chancellor did his best to console him.
“Don’t let it disconcert you, your Highness. We were all of such temperament in our youth. Her issues are those of worldly naïveté. She’s conflicted over facets of life that she can’t agree with. Were we no different? Do you even recall our youth?” At this, the king smirked.
“Yes. I recall it quite well, actually. I doubt the expression of old Ozzie’s face will ever escape my mind. It’s astonishing that that line of buffoons made it through eight generations. They control the mystics, no less! Hah, Medina Square was not exactly the best place for us to be in those years after. I really am surprised we didn’t start another war. At least old Ozzie’s son doesn’t seem to be have the arrogant clown his father was.” Now the king was grinning from ear to ear.
“At least the flagrant disobedience your daughter has displayed has been of the best intention and even better recompense for all. We were hardly so righteous.”
“I know we weren’t. I know that her problems will pass as well. It just hurts to see things happen to her that are out of my control. The things I have no hand in are those that occupy the most of my thought.”
“..As it often happens. She is growing up though, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t keep her from living a life of her own. I don’t advocate trying, either. I do feel it best that you take it upon yourself to make sure the matters you can control are dealt with appropriately.”
‘You’re quite astute, Dedrius. It’s really a shame you’re so prone to being locked inside trunks.” The king laughed to himself as the chancellor stretched his arms in response to the memory.
Crono found himself clenching the knob to the great oaken door of Lucca’s villa. He often came to her when things weren’t going to plan. It was rather logical, because Lucca could always have blueprints laid out for his life an hour later. Opening the door, he realized he forgot to knock. It was really irrelevant by the time he actually did knock, because the bang of the door shutting drew her attention away from the experiment she’d been working on.
“Hey Crono! Come in and have some of this drink I just made.” It was more than evident she’d been working on something, as some sort of stain seemed to be all over her face and jumpsuit. Crono started to back his way out the door, however, when he saw that whatever covered Lucca seemed to be the prime ingredient of the glasses on the table.
“Don’t be such a baby. Here, look.” Lucca picked up a glass of the purplish-gray pulp and took a swig. She smiled and handed him one of the other glasses. “It’s really good. Give it a try.” After the mandatory rolling of eyes and shrug between such friends, he tasted it.
“Good, isn’t it?” Crono nodded vigorously. “Would you like to know what it is?” Crono, again, nodded vigorously. Lucca pulled an ingredient list out from under a pile of books and loose papers on her counter. “Okay, the prime ingredient is a blackberry and currant juice extract, but that’s not the most important thing. See, these slurries are some of the most nutritious things you could possibly ingest. The important thing that I did was all in vitamin and mineral extraction. One glass of this stuff contains all the nutrients necessary for the day. I isolated zinc, iron, phosphorus, and other minerals from various sources, while I was able to obtain needed protein and amino acids from soy and white rice. Other vitamins and just simply the taste were acquired through the addition of fruits such as oranges, cherries, strawberries…” Crono started jumping up and down. “…bananas, mango, and peaches. There were a few other important ingredients, but I’m not sure if I’m going to do this again. The cost of the importing was… Hey, Crono… You look all puffy…” He ran to the mirror. Lucca was right. He was all puffed up and he had hives all over his face.
“OH DAMMIT!!! It was the strawberries! I’m so sorry Crono. I completely forgot. We’re gonna have to purge this though…” She ran to the medicine cabinet and grabbed a couple of bottles. “Here, drink these.” Crono drained the bottles as fast as his swollen throat would allow.
“You’re probably gonna want to go to the bathroom before that stuff kicks in.” Lucca couldn’t help hearing as Crono dashed down the hallway and purged the contents of his stomach. The sounds she heard only made her feel worse for having given him the one thing he was severely allergic to.
Twenty minutes later, Crono stumbled out of Lucca’s bathroom. He fell down to his hands and knees as soon as he let go of the wall. Lucca grabbed him a glass of water for him and he sat back against the wall, exhausted. “You alright?” Crono simply nodded in response, much like always. “Yeah, puking your guts out really takes it out of ya. I’m sorry about the strawberries. It just slipped my mind entirely.” Crono stared at her with tired eyes.
“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! I feel bad enough as it is. Er... So why’d you stop by?” Crono pointed to a picture on the wall of the two of them and Nadia.
“What’s up with Marle? When did you talk to her last?” Crono signaled that they were broken up.
“What!? When did that happen? We were all hanging out in the Square last week and you guys were getting along.” Crono started to tear up, so Lucca withdrew, leaning back against the wall, perplexed. “I just don’t get it…” Crono sat with his face hidden behind his hands, unwilling to let Lucca see the tears stream from his eyes. He was doing a rather poor job of it, and he knew it. After a moment, he gave way, pulling his hands from his eyes and moving them down to the rug beneath him. As he struggled there, he felt as if holding on to that rug was the only thing that was holding him together. Lucca couldn’t watch him sit there, wracked by the sobs he couldn’t control. She flipped herself around to face him, leaning in close, her forehead resting against his.
“Listen Crono, listen closely. I love you like you’re more than any brother could be, and I can’t watch you get hurt. Don’t tell me anything short of what you feel is true.” Crono looked at her. The tears ceased flowing from his eyes as he waited for Lucca to say something that would fix everything. After thinking about such an expectation, he realized that she couldn’t do a thing, and the tears began to flow anew. It hardly mattered, as Lucca had started to whisper into his ear and he was hearing every word she said.
“I know you’re in love with her, and I’m pretty damn sure she’s in love with you.” Crono sniffed, wiping his nose and nodding as she spoke on. “She can’t see how hard you try to show her, and I know why. You try to display your affections in ways wholly unnatural to you. I just want you to remember two things. The first, and most important, is that you are the two best people in the world when you’re together. I see it all the time and you both know how you feel about each other. The second is just a matter of communicating it again and again so you never forget. There are other ways to prove your love aside from saying it to her. You’ll figure something out.”
Lucca kissed him on the cheek and they both stood up slowly with the weight of the last discussion sitting heavily on their minds. “You gonna be okay, Crono? You know I love you, right?” Crono smiled and gave Lucca a hug that lifted her right off the ground. She giggled as he set her back down. “Thanks Crono. Please go work things out with Marle.” Crono grinned and dashed off towards his house.
Nadia sat on her bed, the torrent of thoughts within her stripping enough of her self restraint that she found herself rocking back and forth in anxious turmoil. Though she had been alone in her room for two days, she felt as if all of Truce was there with her, all posing questions she had no answer to. She’d weave in and out of consciousness, fighting against exhaustion and hunger that were consequences of the mental battles she’d fought through to no conclusive end.
Why can’t he tell me he cares? Her heart began to race even faster. He’s not said a word since that night we got him back, but he CAN! Tears rolled down her cheeks, running onto silken sheets. I know he can… She fell forward, lacking the strength to hold herself up merely through her irrational uncertainty. Uncertainty is what is tearing my soul to shreds. Her eyes closed, teeth gritted. I thought he loved me, I was so sure… Will all the energy she could pool, she reached towards her dresser. He hasn’t told me a word since that night. Hands shaking uncontrollably, she barely managed to grasp the handle. Have I simply been used? She pulled the drawer open, blindly rooting through its contents. I don’t think I could live in a world where he doesn’t care… She grasped the handle of her dagger, finding a surge of strength in the lunacy of her intended actions. You’ll be sorry for wasting me, you bastard… Three knocks on the door, and she broke from her suicidal trance. Concealing her dagger back in the bottom of the drawer, she went to see who dared to disturb her. She opened the door, only to see her aides subconscious on the sofa next to the guard’s chair, in which the guard lay soundly asleep.
“Wow. We might have to seriously consider restaffing this place.” As Nadia stepped out into the hallway, she kicked over a small, soft object. She looked down at what she’d knocked out of the way. It was a small rabbit doll. It was the softest bunny she’d ever felt. She rubbed the unnaturally soft fur against her cheek, causing a wave of happy childhood memories to crash into her. She smiled as she thought of how she used to play with her cat, Marle, who had the softest fur she’d ever felt until this moment.
As she stood there, rubbing the ears of the doll, she noticed the envelope tied to it. It was addressed to “Marle” so she tore it open, hoping for the solace she had been unable to find in the days that had past. She unfolded the note within. It had been written on a lavender rice paper with an ink smelling of the sweetest blackberries. She sat down right there in the hallway, leaning against the wall, and dove into the letter, searching for happiness.
Dear Marle,
I’ve found that nothing in my life contains worth when I don’t feel you there with me, certain that you are feeling it too. You being away from me, out of my reach, unable to be touched, you being unable to touch me, is making me want to give up. Life is anguish, agony, without you. I’m wish you feel the same, because I think we both know that without one another, emptiness is the only emotion we are able to feel. I have no longing for life to continually fight with me. Why live without purpose? You gave me purpose. Everything that has happened to us since we met, I’ve done it for you. The whole time we were trying to set things right, I’d get so scared. Then I would glance to you, and gain strength from the realization that, if I failed, I’d never get to be with you. You’d never get the chance to be. What I said that night, it was the only way I could think to let you know how I cared. I realize now, that it meant everything to you. It sounded so hollow, so insufficient, when it came out of me. I vowed that I could only try to show you how much I cared, because saying it to you wasn’t enough for me. I love you more than you could ever imagine. I love you more than possible. I can’t really tell you how very much I care. I want your love, for I can’t endure being without you. You are my angel, my reason to be. All I want to be is with you. Please accept me. If I have to live without you, I won’t be able to. I’ll do anything to please you. I love you, Nadia.
Your Greatest Love, Crono
Marle was so moved by the letter, she found herself unable to even hold it. Crono stepped out from behind the curtains that adorned the walls of the hallway. He leaned in towards her, reaching out and holding her arms. She leaned in against his chest.
“Take me back, Marle. I love you. I’ll do anything you want. You fill my thoughts, night and day. You are all I want for eternity. I love you so unbearably much.” Nadia kissed him, and then pulled back slowly, just long enough to look into his eyes.
“Yes. Forever. I love you forever.” Their embrace lasted throughout the night, and Nadia never let go of her bunny…