Title: The Beginning

Word Count: 542

Summary: Kazuha shares a story with her daughter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan. No, I just advertise it to my friends and drive them crazy with it.

Notes: This will the first of part of a arch-thingy in my livejournal. If interested please visit it. Username is jikie. Now please excuse this somewhat shameless bit of advertising.

"Mommy, tell me more of that story." A little girl stood in the doorway of her mother's room, blanket clutched in her hand.

"What about your brother?"

"He's sleeping, and I can't go to sleep."

"Wait on the bed then, I'll be there in a minute." The woman put pencils and papers away, then closed the laptop she was using. Picking up a bundle of papers, she sat down on the bed next to her daughter.

"We left off at the part where they were facing off the dark knights!"

Her mother glanced at some papers, putting them in order, and then started to read.

"The prince was getting desperate, because the dark knights were about to kill his lady and her family. He tried reasoning with them, anything that came to his mind. Then the dark knights attacked." The small girl gasped. "The one's who knew the prince's real identity rushed to his aid. From the West came the Green knights, from the East came the blue knights, and the Golden knights came from the North. The prince's own Red knights were also in the fight. But the fight was soon over, and the dark knights escaped again, leaving the prince miserable."

The woman read on, a final confrontation where the dark knights were conquered, how the Prince was able to come out of hiding and return to his true love. How the magician's identity was revealed, and how the princess of the Green knights ran away.

"Mommy, why did the Green princess run away? Didn't she love the prince of the Green knights?"

"Yes, she did. But the princess believed that the prince loved another. She didn't want to hurt the prince and his love with her feelings, so she went away."

"But the prince and princess were meant for each other! And you said the princess believed the prince love another person. What if she was wrong?"

Her mother's green eyes were dark, "Not everything happens like the way we would want them to. I'm sure that the princess had a valid reason for running away from the prince."

The little girl was determined that the prince and princess should be together, "But what if the prince loved the princess? But he was an awkward person, like my friend! Then how would he find her?"

"Then the princess made a mistake. But she had already waited a long time." The dark eyes became bright as they filled with tears. "The princess was confused at the time. Everything seemed to be going against her; she had no one to turn to."

"But, why?"

"Someday," she enveloped her daughter in an embrace, "maybe someday you will understand what I did and forgive me." Tears threatened to fall from her glassy green orbs. "Maybe someday, you'll meet your father."

The little girl continued to hug her mother, sensing some sort of sadness. Eventually the daughter fell asleep and her mother carried her back to bed. She lingered in the doorway for a while, gazing at her children, her son who inherited his father's features and her daughter his blunt personality.

Her last words were carried out the open window by the wind. "I'm sorry, Heiji." And the heavens opened up to cry.