Sound of the Ocean

Once upon a time, there was a prince, but don't call him that, he hated being called that. Let's call him the mighty warrior. He was going to be arranged to be married to the fairy princess of the neighboring kingdom. Neither him nor the princess rebelled, for the sake of publicity of their respective kingdom's relationship with one another. However, the mighty warrior gradually grew feelings for the fairy princess...

*

When his parents announced they'd arranged a summer vacation on Andrasia with Skadi, it was undeniable that Hiroto was excited. An entire week without his meddling cousin Honey in between him and the princess or his father's generals teasing him would be worth it, he told himself. What Hiroto didn't realize was that Skadi barely talked without Honey. Now, he was on a state of awkward silence, while Skadi leaned toward the train's window, staring at the yellow trees they passed by. If Hiroto was alone, he would just pull out his headphones and listen to some metal, but he wasn't.

What would he ask her, anyway? How she saved those kids in a skiing accident last winter, thus gaining her a new transformation set? Knowing her, Skadi was probably tired of hearing it. Maybe ask her about her grades in Liriahin? Again, knowing her, that was a bad call, as Skadi would most likely take it as an indirect insult that her grades weren't enough. Music? It was a very touchy subject, as Hiroto learned previously, it would make her burst into tears and he didn't want to do that to her again.

"Where would you want to go first?" Hiroto's mouth opened and spoke those words with such fluidity that he was surprised himself.

Skadi turned her gaze to Hiroto, "after we unpack?" she turned to the window again, "A restaurant, probably...a quiet one...you've been to Andrasia..."

Hearing this, Hiroto thought of every possible landmark to show her before taking her to a restaurant. She was right, he'd been to Andrasia several times, so he knew which way was where.

*

The mighty warrior and the fairy princess were coaxed by their kingdoms to be alone together on a beach resort, because it's cliché romantic, duh. Of course the kingdoms would expect them to be truly in love after a week, because why not?

*

They would live on the same private villa overlooking the beachfront for seven days, but they had separate rooms, yet Hiroto never felt so lucky and anxious at the same time. Although the anxiousness left him as his pride of knowledge overtook him, pointing out places and landmarks as he and Skadi strolled. The princess, however, would just nod quietly at whatever Hiroto was explaining.

"That's the restaurant I was talking about," Hiroto was bold enough to hold Skadi's hand - her very, very cold hand, "Are you alright?"

"I just don't want to be hot," she replied, holding back his hand. Hiroto stopped himself from saying something perverse, as he felt frost forming on his palm. He chose to ignore it for now, as he led Skadi inside the restaurant.

After they'd ordered food and sat undisturbed and ignored by the rest of the customers, Hiroto observed Skadi freezing her drinks and utensils; her already dark-colored eyes seem to darken.

"You can always tell me what's wrong, you know," Hiroto's voice lowered. Skadi freezing things usually meant she was enraged at something.

The princess looked at him, blinking, "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"Of course not!" he exclaimed, his voice startled some of the customers, but then they ignored him after a second or two. "I'm just worried...and annoyed...that you look bothered and you wouldn't tell me..."

"Is that so?" Her gaze shifted to her food. "Sorry for worrying you, then. It's just...I don't like the ocean."

"Why?" Hiroto raised a brow, "Can't you swim?"

For the first time in their journey, Skadi smiled.

*

What the kingdoms didn't realize was that the fairy princess hated the ocean, so epic fail in their part. However, the mighty warrior wouldn't give up easily. He would show the princess that he harbored feelings for her...

*

Andrasia's red-orange sky was filled with a stagnant sunset that didn't leave until around eight, and the calm, fire-like ocean reflected this. It was beautiful, Hiroto thought, almost as the princess beside him.

"I get it," Hiroto placed his hand on Skadi's shoulder. He realized what the ocean dilemma was all about when he could've thought about it sooner. "It's about her."

"Of course it's about her," Skadi started, "I admired her...I bothered her until she would teach me how to play and compose...and when I thought I knew I could..." tears started to fall from her eyes, yet Skadi, Hiroto observed, stopped herself from shaking off her rigid posture, "...I made that song for her...I wanted to capture the sound of the ocean she loved so much...and she...she..." Skadi stopped, her eyes on the sand.

Hiroto's immediate response was to embrace Skadi, letting her sob on his chest. He looked at the waves rolling to the shore, inhaling the salty breeze. His heart clenched as the soft murmurs of the water reached his mind.

"Why do you think I was called this?" a voice from his memories resurfaced like an old record.

"Why?" Hiroto's child-self replied.

"Because I drowned them, princey," the voice from his memories continued, "I even drowned mermaids, princey...now if you can't carry this sword today, you will drown, too."

"Hiroto?" he felt a familiar cold hand on his face. It was Skadi, looking at him intensely as if he had zoned out...which he did.

"You're right...the ocean sucks," he smirked at her and she nodded, understanding what he meant.

*

Finally, the mighty warrior and the fairy princess knew that they had mutual feelings: that the ocean sucked. Not the very romantic scenario that their respective kingdoms hoped for, but hey, it's still the first day, am I right?

*

Hiroto and Skadi just stood there for a moment with the stagnant sunset above, listening to the sound of the ocean and what it taught them.

*

a/n: this was once posted a while back in Winx Club Amino and was once a Winx OC fanfiction, but I decided to opt to have it more original, since it can stand on its own without it being a fanfiction.

It's not a very direct story, and I did make it to be a bit more nuanced.

I made the illustration, and I am @_z.e.p.p.y._ in Instagram

Would you like more Hiroto and Skadi? Comment below if you'd like this continued.