Princess
The inn was small but well kept and very homely. It was a wonder that they were able to get a room there at all. Luckily the inn keeper's wife was overly maternal and, upon seeing their ragged appearance, insisted that the two exhausted teens stay for as long as they needed. At the moment Pazu was helping feed the live stock since neither he nor Sheeta wanted to stay without giving something in return. Sheeta had helped Hayazaki-san prepare and serve dinner but that was an hour ago, now she had nothing to do but sit in the room she and Pazu shared and wait for his return.
With a sigh Sheeta sat down at the small vanity and lifted a scratched wooden brush. It had been a long day. Well more like a long week really. It had only been six days since she had first fallen from the air ship she had been held captive on and yet she had already met Pazu spent a day running from pirates and the army through abandoned mines, destroyed a military base by reviving an advanced robot, joined up with a band of pirates, flew through a hurricane, found the mythical castle of Laputa, saved the world from an evil power hungry man, destroyed Laputa, some how survived the destruction, and had her pigtails shot off.
Sheeta sighed as she reached up and touched her now short brown locks. She had been growing out her hair since she was a child. He mother and grandmother both had long braids and somehow wearing her hair like that had made her feel closer to them, but now… The soft hair slid swiftly to the end of Sheeta's fingers and fell away from her hand. Tears filled her dark eyes as she gazed at her reflection.
After everything she had been through, having her hair cut off seemed to be such a trivial thing and yet…it was the thing that probably hurt the most. Sure she hadn't even thought about it until now but before there had been more important things to worry about. Now she had nothing to do but sit here and stare at the mirror until Pazu returned from his duties.
'Pazu…' Sheeta thought with a sigh. 'I wonder if he liked my hair long…?'
That was the final straw. She snapped. Heavy sobs wracked her shoulders and fat tears spilled from her eyes to land muffled on her bare arms. Maybe it wasn't just because of her hair. Maybe it was a combination of all of the feelings she had kept shut up inside. She didn't know, and she didn't care. All she knew was that her hair was cut off and she really needed a reason to cry.
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Pazu yawned widely and scratched the back of his head with his raised right arm. It amazed him how much easier things like hauling buckets of animal feed seemed to be so much easier after this past week. In fact, a lot of things seemed to loose their rough edge since he and Sheeta had returned from Laputa. Of course many things were still the same. He was still a hard worker and always tried his best, even if it didn't always work out. Pazu sighed and grinned softly. It was nice to know that not everything had changed after that last adventure.
Another yawn escaped from his mouth and Pazu picked up his pace. He was really tired and right now all he wanted was to wash his face and climb into bed. He was just about to push open the door to the room he and Sheeta shared when a soft sniffling sound stopped him in his tracks. Pazu frowned. It sounded like someone was crying. His heart fell as he realized who it must be. Slowly Pazu pushed open the wooden door and stuck his head inside.
"Hey, Sheeta?" he asked softly. "Are you alright?" Quietly he entered the room and shut the door behind him. Sheeta didn't answer him, not having heard his voice though her tears. "Sheeta?" Pazu asked again as he set his palm on her trembling shoulder.
Sheeta jumped and looked at him through red and puffy eyes. It took her a moment before she finally recognized him. "Oh, Pazu," she whispered as she tried to wipe away the signs of her tears. "I didn't hear you come in. H-how did it go?"
Pazu didn't answer as he took her face in his hands and turned her to look at him. "Are you alright?" he questioned. "What happened?"
Sheeta's lip quivered and she tried to look away. "N-nothing." She answered, not wanting to appear weak infront of the boy that had come to mean everything to him.
Pazu smiled at her softly. "You know I already know you better then that." He told her and Sheeta nodded inspite of her self. "So tell me what's wrong. I can help."
"M-my hair looks ugly…" Sheeta whispered, not wanting to be heard.
If he hadn't known that she was serious, Pazu would have laughed at Sheeta's words. Instead he knelt down by her chair and held her hands in his.
"What makes you say that?" he asked.
"I-it singed and uneven and dusty and - and – I hate it!" she shouted before she started sobbing again.
Pazu didn't respond as he slowly stood and pulled the shorter girl into a gentle hug. He didn't make a sound as he allowed her to soak his already dirty and torn shirt with her pent up tears.
Sheeta was really grateful that Pazu didn't say anything as he held her. She wasn't sure why but she had a feeling that anything that was said would only make her feel worse for a little while longer. It was the second time Pazu had held her this way as she cried and she felt herself hoping that the next time he did it wouldn't be to comfort away her tears.
Several more minutes past before Sheeta had calmed down enough to pull away. Pazu allowed her to move away just enough so that he could maneuver her to sit down on the bed next to the vanity.
"Are you alright now?" Pazu asked softly as he sat down next to her. Sheeta nodded in reply as she layed her head down on his shoulder. More silence filled the room only broken by Sheeta's occasional sniffle or hiccup. Finally Pazu spoke again; his words soft and reassuring. "I like your hair."
Sheeta gasped lightly and pulled away to look at the boy with wide eyes. "You d-do?" she asked in shock.
Pazu nodded with a grin. "Yep, I think it's really cute." Sheeta blinked and Pazu blushed. "Well, that is, it really brings out the features of your face. Makes you seem older, wiser somehow." He grinned wider. "Like you've just been though a life changing expiriance and came though stonger." He said with a wink. Sheeta giggled and lay her head back on his shoulder.
"Thank-you, Pazu."
"You're welcome Princess."
"Hm, I like that..."
"What?"
"When you call me princess..."
"Really?"
"Yeah…"
Pazu smiled softly as Sheeta took a deep breath and fell into a calming sleep. "Alright then," he whispered as he lay her down and tucked her into bed.
Standing up he moved over to the vanity and blew out the lantern before he lay down on the blankets next to the bed. The night was filled with stars that shown brightly as their light fell though the closed window and reflected off of Sheeta's pale skin.
Pazu smiled again as he lay back and placed his head on his crossed arms. "Goodnight princess…" he whispered before he too fell into a deep sleep.
The end
Kaliea: Hiya. I just watched Castle in the Sky yesterday and once it got to the end I thought: 'Gee, she's taking this whole episode rather well…Maybe a bit to well.' So I figured she was either in denial or shock. Not to the point where she stopped functioning but to were the events had yet to sink in. I suppose it was kind of odd to make her let out all of her emotions because she realized that she no longer had her hair but I figured it was kind of like the last straw that broke the camel's back. Anyway, review and tell me what you think. Thankies! Ja ne!