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Hello!
This fanfic is a forfeit fic that I had to write because I didn't finish in time my part of the fic �A day of relax� by the deadline Kyomine gave me.
So she made me to write another fic, under four impossible conditions [1] she decreed.
In a word, this fanfic it is all her fault, so, take it out on her! ^___^
Part 1
Once upon a time there was a squirrel. A common European red squirrel with a big and soft tail. This squirrel was collecting the provisions for the autumn and went away from the trees to go picking some walnuts that had rolled into a meadow: he was so busy that he didn't notice a fox coming. The squirrel thought all was lost, because he was too far from the trees and began running, chased by the predator. He was already feeling the fox's teeth in his tail when a shot rang out: the fox was lying on the ground, stone-dead.
And then appeared to him a splendid horseman who mounted an enourmous black horse, a severe face under the three-cornered hat and marvellous mouse-grey hair: in his hand a rifle was still smoking. The squirrel became lost in that contemplation: he was his saviour, to whom he owed his life.
The hunter dismounted and took the fox, completely ignoring the little rodent. Actually he didn't even see him! However, the squirrel believed he did save him intentionally and when the horseman mounted again he began following him.
The rodent wanted to know everything about the one to whom he owed his life and decided to move to the park that surrounded the horseman's mansion. He followed him during his days to observe his life: the squirrel felt admiration for that human being. In short, the admiration turned into obsession and the obsession into identification.
But there is nothing to be surprised about: if there may be men who believe themselves to be Napoleon, there may just as easily be a squirrel who believes himself to be the General Jarjayes.
So the squirrel had decided to live close to his god, his alter-ego... for this reason he came back to the forest to take away his belongings. Yes, one could wonder about what a squirrel has to move in a new den, but it is clear, isn't it: his food provisions. Walnuts, hazelnuts, acorns and assorted grains.
The little rodent had almost finished his task and the night was about to fall. He had to hurry up, or the dark could catch him in a not very much safe place such as the forest. While he was going along his path, his cheeks full of food (well, yes, squirrels don't have bags) he got near to a clearing and between the leaves he could see something unusual.
A thin fog rose up and some lights went through it, as if coming from the trees and the flowers. And it was really like that: the squirrel was seeing, astonished, hidden between the branches of a tree, the spirits of the forest showing themselves. The lights took human forms while becoming more and more consistent. A form more imposing than the others came out from a thousand-years-old oak. He was the king of the forest's spirits, a divinity of the nature. At the same time from a willow came out a more graceful and gentle form, the queen of the forest spirits.
The little rodent couldn't believe his own eyes: so all the stories the old squirrels used to tell the youngsters were true! There were really spirits in the forest, and they ruled nature.
From other plants and flowers came out other spirits and he saw in particular four charming feminine forms coming out from four flowers: the colchicum (a brunette), the yellow daisy (a blonde), the impatiens (a brown-haired) and the field marigold (a redhead). [2]
The spirits began speaking.
�Oh, for my roots, how much time has passed since the last time!� said the little spirit of a mushroom.
The spirit of a thorn bush echoed him: �Yes, it was about time to stretch our legs!�
�What legs?�
�Yes, it is true that we are spirits and we don't have real legs, but it's an idiom, come on! Don't be silly!�
And all the spirits made a big racket of greetings, walking under the stunned look of the squirrel.
A grave voice roused him from his vision: the imposing spirit of the oak had sat down on a log, as if on a throne, and he ordered them all to be silent.
�Spirits of nature, be quiet! It is your king who orders you!�
Everybody keep quiet, a bit made shy.
�Well, what is the reason of this meeting? Where is my prime minister?�
Meanwhile the beautiful queen sat down next to the king, all smiles.
A little, cute spirit that came out of a wild apple tree and that was keeping a curious round shape, like an apple, came closer, and began to say: �Sire, this meeting was automatically convened because there is a subversion of the nature's rules that has been going on for too much time now, and it is necessary to talk about that here and now.�
The king opened his eyes wide: �What is the situation?�
The prime minister wild apple tree replied, �The human lord of this land, called Count Jarjayes, raised his last daughter like a man, because he hadn't a heir. He wasn't satisfied with his lie, but he made her to lead a man's life for all of her life.�
Murmurings of disapproval rose among the spirits.
�And not only that: he made her to play the comedy before everybody, to pretend to be a man, and renounce the natural desire for love. And of course this meant no husband, no children... the natural purpose of the perpetuation was in this way prevented.�
The king of the nature was grinding his teeth with rage and his wife barely managed to hold him back by his arm.
�But it's an affront! And why is it that no action was taken before?�
�Your Majesty, as usual it is left a chance to the humans in order to mend their ways... we were waiting for the lord of Jarjayes to come back to reason. And actually, he understood lately and he was ready to return his daughter to her true nature by making her get married, but this time she was the one who refused. And yes, the reason why she rejects her nature is because love disappointed her once. She doesn't want to have anything to do with love anymore and lies to herself. She refuses to listen to her nature and her heart. Because she loves, but she is blinded.�
�How dare this woman defy nature!� the king of nature roared.
The queen turned towards his husband: �My dear, calm down, come on... it isn't completely the fault of this young woman... take into consideration that she must have suffered in her life...�
�This has nothing to do with it! There are things that nobody could ignore... there are immutable laws, it isn't possible change at one's own will!�
The queen sighed and asked the apple tree spirit: �You said that she loves... well then... who does she loves?�
�My queen, she loves a commoner... it is one of those strange humans' ways, to attempt to reverse the rules of nature... there are people who believe themselves to be better than the others and the humans create differences where nature has made all equal... there is the need to fix this as well...�
The spirits of the nature all nodded, murmuring like branches of trees shaken by the wind.
The charming young women came out of the flowers said in a chorus: �We do know the man she loves; in fact he is a handsome young man. What a waste!�
The queen turned her head: �Really? And you, my girls, do you look at the humans?�
The spirits of the flowers blushed a bit, but not enough, because the spirit of the impatiens said, shamelessly: �Well, yes, there is no harm in looking... and well, if she doesn't return his love, we could take a bit advantage of it...� she concluded, winking at her friends.
The queen sighed, there was nothing to do: when spirits take an interest in a human, they always find the way to satisfy their envy... naturally!
The king was irritated. It was necessary to punish those humans and make them understand that they can't defy the nature this way.
With a grave voice, he said: �I have made my decision. The lord of Jarjayes is forgiven, but not his daughter. She must be punished for her behaviour. So, I have made this decision: if she lies to herself then she won't be able to say anything anymore regarding her feelings; in their place, she will say a lie. If she would like to say white, she will say black instead. And this shall continue until she returns to her true nature.�
The queen was stunned. �But my dear, you are too much harsh, come on... it isn't all her fault and she has the right to have a chance to understand like it was given to her father...�
The king became annoyed: �Do you mean, my dear, that you do not agree with what I have decreed?�
The queen didn't surrender: �Well, no. If you are the king of nature, I am the queen. Love and women's nature fall within my competence and are under my jurisdiction.�
�Well, my dear queen you didn't monitor the situation very well.�
�Neither have you! Enough, I'm going away... I will be back when this madness will be ended!�
�Very well, then!�
The king and the queen disappeared, leaving the Court of the spirits chatting about this new quarrel between the two of them. The spirits of the flowers meanwhile where squabbling. They began talking about that human who was so handsome, and all of them had wanted to approach him, taking advantage of the fact that he had been rejected by the woman he loved. It was necessary console him, in a word...
The colchicum: �Hey, well, what do you think... I like him as well, I won't leave him to you...� and the yellow daisy answered her: �You are dreaming! I am the one who's not leaving him to you... I saw how he looks at the golden flowers, it is clear he likes my colour...�
The field marigold, sharper than ever: �And you are not very charming to think to be able to conquer him ...� The impatiens replied: �The beauty queen has spoken! Not everybody likes the redheads, you know!�
The four feminine spirits indifferent to the looks of disapproval of the other spirits, began to lose control with their quarrel, until a little spirit told them: �But why do you quarrel? All of you may have him...� They looked at each other and smiled... and in a few seconds they disappeared.
The squirrel was still hidden between the branches of a tree, trembling because of what he had just seen and heard. In few seconds all the spirits vanished, leaving only a thin fog in the grass.
The squirrel roused himself and turned on his little brain: he had to do something; the daughter of his beloved sire was in danger. Or, at least, she seemed to be in it! Yes, he had to rush to tell her what was going on, make her understand... Without thinking more he began running. One can't ask for more from a little squirrel with a brain as big as a walnut and the cheeks full of the afore-mentioned.
Jumping from branch to branch he arrived to the park of the Jarjayes mansion, braving all the dangers on his path: the evening already had fallen down and everything was wrapped by the darkness. Where could the daughter of the general be? Well then, he had to think, calling back to his mind his observations about the life of those human beings. He had studied them during long days: yes, at nightfall everybody went back to the mansion, and everyone to his own room. The squirrel looked at the mansion's windows. He recalled to his mind that the room of the general's daughter was at the first floor, where he sometimes saw that strange young woman playing her piano, because he had been attracted by the music.
Luckily some plane-tree planted in front of the mansion's fa�ade stretched their branches almost touching its walls: the squirrel came close to the cornice, but the closest branches didn't touch... He had to jump... A little space, but big for such a little creature. The squirrel concentrated, calculated the distance and took a run-up before jumping. And he managed it so well that his face got squashed against the wall. Stoically he didn't let out even a single moan, perhaps because he still had his cheeks full of his food provisions. He felt a bit dizzy, but immediately resumed his mission: finding the general's daughter and warning her about this big danger.
He began running along the cornice to get closer to the boudoir's window of Oscar's room. Now he recalled her name, because he had heard it once pronounced by his lord. Here, the piano's sound -even in the dark, the sound guided him- told him that he was at the right room, and now he had to get inside.
Meanwhile, a very unhappy Oscar was crushing the piano keyboard with her steely fingers. One would say a lament rather than a music was coming from the poor instrument. One of the mansion's biggest most deplorable expenses was the monthly supplying of new piano keys and the restorer's invoice.
What was the matter with her? She couldn't understand herself anymore. Ah, yes, she had decided to live like a man... to be a man... and she had kept her decision... she had defied her father, refusing the arranged marriage, yes, but... in these last months... so many things had happened... and she had discovered in her heart such an incredible thing. That night she thought she would die with Andr�, together but separated by an enraged crowd, beaten almost to death; her heart had shouted the truth: she loved Andr�.
And now? She didn't know... she wasn't able to control the feelings. She didn't know how... if she had the right... how to love. How to tell him... if she could ever tell him, �I love you�, after all the pain and suffering she had inflicted on him.
And yet, she didn't want to change... she was afraid of the unknown. If she had opened her heart to him, could he love her as she was? A voice in her heart was telling her that it was Andr�, the person who had been closest to her in her life, the one who knew her more thoroughly than anyone else. He had always loved her like that... so... what she was afraid of? She kept tormenting her piano's keyboard.
She was so taken up with her affliction that she didn't notice a noise against the windows: the squirrel was politely knocking at the glass' window.
The little rodent tried to knock more heavily, but she didn't hear. The noise was suffocated by the piano. So, there was nothing else to do than utilize the final weapon: like a cat he stretched out his claws and scratched the glass. The sound that was produced had the effect to immediately stop the music: Oscar had shivers down her spine and looked astonished at a squirrel that was completely smashed against the glass of her window. The contact had been established.
As if she was dreaming, Oscar got up and drew near the window, slowly. The squirrel didn't seem about to go away, he seemed to be really waiting for her, her indeed, so that she would open the window for him. Oscar opened the window and drew back, to see what the little animal was going to do.
She thought the most normal thing... that he could be hungry, maybe he had been a domestic squirrel who had ran away from his owner; she was holding her breath, looking at the animal. The little rodent entered the room and with martial gait, on two legs, behaving like the general, he headed for the writing desk. He didn't sit, naturally, but he jumped on it. Standing, with his cheeks puffed-out because of the food provisions, he performed the military salute. Oscar couldn't believe her eyes, it was like she was seeing the squirrel version of General Jarjayes. Only the mouse-grey wig was missing.
The gestures, the facial expressions, everything reminded her of her father.
She rubbed her eyes: no, she was awake... and there was really a squirrel on her writing desk. Oscar approached the animal, that was walking back and forth on the writing desk, his front paws crossed behind his back, exactly like her father used to do when he's thinking. Then the squirrel stopped, looked Oscar in the eyes with a serious stare, raised the right foreleg and beckoned her to come closer.
The rodent thought that the only way to get her to understand what was going on was to mime it. He put his paws close to his ear, beckoning Oscar to pay attention and listen. To tell the truth, he couldn't say anything, not even in the squirrels' language, because he had his mouth still full and he didn't want to leave his provisions.
The squirrel passed to action: here he was becoming the king of the forest spirits assuming a threatening and frightening air. A second after he was the queen who tried to calm down the king, blinking and smiling foolishly. Then he was the four flowers' spirits who menaced Andr�'s virtue, quarrelling, and in the end the terrible punishment, turning into Oscar who can't say the truth about her feelings anymore, shaking his head to say no and yes several times: the whole thing was chaos, such a confused bedlam that Oscar was left open-mouthed.
She turned towards the coffee table, where a bottle of brandy that had kept her company that evening, was laid... and she could see that was still half full after all... she hadn't yet drank the sufficient dose to have hallucinations!
Notes:
[1] First condition: �A squirrel who believes himself to be the General Jarjayes tries to warn Oscar about a great danger.� By now you may have recognized him, my model is the squirrel Pip from the movie by Disney �Enchanted�. Kyomine thought this crazy condition after having seen no less than twice (!) the above mentioned movie.
[2] Well, the flowers: in French the common names of these flowers are evocative.
The �marguerite dor�e� is the yellow daisy. The Latin name is Chrysanthemum segetum L. The meaning of Chrysanthemum is golden flower.
The colchicum is an autumnal flower, his Latin name is Colchicum autumnale L. There is a well known French poem by Guillame Apollinaire, �Les colchiques�. The colchicum is an extremely poisonous flower.
Impatiens is the scientific name of the spotted snapweed: I have used this name to evoke the French name �impatiente� that means, exactly, impatient. Latin name: Impatiens Balsamina L. It is included among the Bach flowers remedies.
Calendula is the field marigold, in French �soucis des champs�. Latin name, Calendula arvensis L.
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