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meepwritessometimes · 1 year ago

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uhhhhh mafuena royal/painter thing

welcome back to another episode of ‘i wrote fan fiction for a school assignment’. we were given the them of ‘rebellion’ so i uhhhhhhh

it’s not my best work ever but i am happy with it, and it’s not explicitly romantic. it might also be a bit ooc idk man

fic under the cut

The roses glistened with morning dew. Leftover petrichor from last nights’s storm lingered in the air. Ena averted her gaze from the worms stranded on the pavement, bringing her focus back to her canvas. The flowers looked fine, but there was something about the piece that was… lifeless? Unappealing? No, maybe stagnant. Ena’s work had been stagnant lately.

When her father had left for a commission of great importance, he had begrudgingly allowed Ena to complete any small jobs that she “had no chance of screwing up”. So, for the last few days, she had painted a few landscapes, and now a few flowers. The roses were the last order on her small list, so it didn’t really matter if she was happy with how they turned out. Finish the painting, put it on the order table, relax.

Half an hour later, Ena packed up her supplies. The sides of her hands were stained red and orange, the thin layer of paint flaking off a bit as she clutched her brushes with a fist. The sun was nearing its apex, so she had plenty of time to unwind. She arrived at her- well, her father’s -workshop and washed her hands of the day’s work. As the painter dried her hands, she heard the door jungle. Crap, had she left the door open?

“We’re closed, come back tomorrow.” Ena returned to the foyer, only to find a magpie tilting its head at her. It had a scroll in its beak, bearing the unmistakable seal of the royal family. Ena sucked in a sharp breath, snatching it from the bird. She unrolled the scroll. It was addressed to her father, asking him, as talented and famous as he was (Ena scrunched her face), to paint a portrait of the princess for her 18th birthday.

…

This was a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad idea. This was one of the stupidest things Ena had ever done, which was saying something. This very much counted as a decidedly not small job in the slightest that she had a very good chance of screwing up. If she failed this, her father might actually disown her. On the other hand, if she succeeded, he and the rest of the world would have no choice but to acknowledge her ability. It was an opportunity she couldn’t possible pass by, no matter the risk. Which was exactly why she found herself heading to the castle, art supplies in tow.

By the time she had convinced the guards she was here in place of her father and was being escorted to the princess’s room, Ena was trying not to shake. This was actually happening. What the heck.

“Princess Mafuyu, the painter is here.” The guard next to her announced to the door.

“Ah, yes, come in! Thank you Bernard.” (presumably)Mafuyu replied.

“Of course, my liege.” The guard, Bernard, replied.

Ena fidgeted with the strap of her jumper. She couldn’t be this ridiculously formal.

Bernard opened the door, and the artist stepped inside. After glancing around the spotless room, Ena’s eyes landed on her subject (art subject, rather. Technically Ena was the princess’s royal subject). The young woman smiled politely. They were about the same age, but Mafuyu exuded a certain aura of maturity that seemed to add another year or two. She sat poised on the edge of her bed, hands folded in her lap.

“Is this pose alright?” The princess cocked her head slightly.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Ena pulled her eyes away from Mafuyu, unpacking her supplies.

…

Several hours later, the portrait was more or less complete. Thanks to a large, annoyingly placed window, the light had shifted as the day flew by. As a result, Ena’s shading was inconsistent in places. She sighed, scanning her work again for anything else she should fix. The painted girl stared at her, acrylic eyes hiding layers of imperfections that had been painted over several times. The artist glanced between her work and her subject. The anatomy was fine, she had successfully captured fabric folds and details on the princess’s dress, the background wasn’t distracting… and yet, something still felt off.

Ena looked back up. “You can relax now, you know. I’m basically done.”

Mafuyu nodded, softening her perfect posture a little, though her back remained straighter than Ena’s ever was. Maybe that was the problem. Mafuyu was simply too perfect, and Ena was far too flawed to ever hope to capture her. ..No, that was stupid. Nobody was perfect, not even pretty princesses with impeccable manners and rooms so clean one could see their reflection in the floor.

“We need to go somewhere.” Ena set her brushes and palette down, taking the canvas off the eisel so she could collapse the latter.

“Where?” Mafuyu tilted her head again.

“Anywhere but here. I can’t paint you properly here.”

“But… you just did, no?” The princess gestured to the portrait, confused.

“No, I didn’t. And I won’t be able to as long as we”re in this lifeless place.” Ena remembered she was in royal quarters. “Uh, not to insult your interior design tastes.” Even though it really was horribly dull and near suffocating.

Mafuyu’s expression flickered for a second before returning to a smile. “We’ll, you’re the artist here, I suppose. Where should we relocate to? The throne room? The dining hall? The gardens?”

“Gardens, sure.” That was the only good option, really. The other two might’ve even been somehow even more smotheringly perfect than the princess’s room.

Mafuyu got up, heading towards the door.

“Actually,” Ena interrupted the movement. “Do you have anything a little less…” She eyes the princess’s dress. “Ornate?”

…

They made their way to the garden, passing a few guards along the way. If they noticed that Mafuyu was wearing her nightgown, they didn’t say anything. To Ena’s dismay, the gardens were flawless too.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Mafuyu smiled. “Everything is in its own perfect spot, exactly where they should be.” The princess spoke as if she was reciting words she’d heard a thousand times.

Ena clenched her fists. “Are you kidding me? It’s stupid! Nothing’s perfect, that’s a lesson I had to learn the hard way, and honestly still am learning. Especially not nature! Plants don’t do… that!” She waved her hands at the rows of flowers, identical one after another, not a single petal astray. “Whoever thought making them all stiff like this was a good idea clearly doesn’t understand the point of gardens.” Ena took a breath and huffed. “My point is, this isn’t gonna work either. We need to get off the castle grounds entirely. This whole place is the problem.”

Mafuyu’s polite smile was wiped clean off her face. ashe stood frozen, eyes darting around before finally landing in the misery that was eye contact right now.

“Uh- crap, um, sorry. Didn’t mean to get so worked up, it’s just been bothering me all afternoon.” Ena turned away, crossing her arms.

“I-“ Mafuyu pulled her hands together by her waist, taking a shaky breath. “I can’t leave the premises, my mother will be terribly worried.”

Ena narrowed her eyes. “Can’t worry if she doesn’t know.” That had been her little brother's response to the same line of reasoning when they were younger. Though, admittedly, asking the princess to sneak away from the queen was another thing entirely.

Mafuyu was conflicted. She gazed at the perfect rows of flowers around the,. then at Ena, and then closed her eyes. “Okay.” It was quiet, but it was enough.

…

Even as soon as they had left through the public exit, people were staring. Ena watched Mafuyu’s face light up whenever anyone looked at them for a few minutes before realizing they should be more subtle.

“Hey, princess, you’re a little too recognizable.” Ena elbowed Mafuyu, who turned her head towards the painter in turn.

“Hm, I suppose that does come with being part of the royal family.” She thought for a moment, then took her ponytail down. It was actually kind of surprising how such a small change made Mafuyu look significantly less like the princess everyone knew.

“Not bad… Here, this’ll make it look a little less like you’re in your pyjamas.” Ena shrugged off her light jacket and handed it to the other.

“Thank you so much, er…”

“Ena. Also, stop smiling like that. People will think you’re weird now that they won’t immediately recognize you as the princess.”

“Oh, alright.” Mafuyu’s face relaxed to neutral, like someone lying down after a long day.

They walked together, the painter lugging her supplies behind her in the usual cart. The sun was now falling from its perch, bathing the world in a soft, warm glow (Huh, Ena hadn't realized it had gotten so late). Mafuyu watched as people walked towards the markets, chattering away with plans for the weekend and playful gossip. Ena tried not to stare, but she still had to properly paint Mafuyu, and every second they relaxed in the fresh evening, that seemed more and more possible.

The two of them didn’t go anywhere busy, just walked through a small park by the market square. There were people sitting on benches enjoying treats from nearby stalls, but nobody playing or causing a ruckus as there would’ve been earlier in the day.

A rustle in a bush to their left drew both young women’s attention. The light hitting Mafuyu’s face was gorgeous, but the expression on it was tense. The bush thing moved a little more, until a small black rabbit wiggled its way out from the shrubbery.

“Can’t believe we just got stopped in our tracks by a bun- huh?” Ena watched Mafuyu smile, but not like the polite one from before. This smile was small and tender. Nostalgic, even. This was the Mafuyu Ena wanted to paint.

…

The moment had passed to quickly for Ena to really capture, but she had manages to grab a smaller canvas and start sketching fast enough to get the eyes, which would’ve been the trickiest to do from memory. Mafuyu straightened her back again once she noticed.

“Oh! Are you ready to paint now?” The polite smile returned.

“No- I mean, yes, but stop making that face again.” Ena sighed, sketching hurriedly as the golden light faded. Mafuyu hesitated, but complied.

By the time the sketch was done, it was too dark to start painting. Annoying, since Ena’d had to drag all her paints over here, but it wasn’t like there was much she could do about it now. She only hoped that fleeting instant that Mafuyu truly smiled would stay fresh in her mind’s eye for later.

“I… really should get going.” The princess gazed up at the crescent moon. “Thank you for tonight.” She left too quickly for Ena to respond.

That night, Ena worked tirelessly on the painting of Mafuyu. It was messy, a collage of warm sunset tones, rich purples and light grays from her memory. It was imbued with feelings that were likely more Ena’s than the painting’s, but that was alright. It wasn’t stagnant in the slightest, it wasn’t perfect in the slightest, and Ena was happy with it. Maybe it wasn’t the picture of the flawless princess that had been commissioned. Maybe they’d hang the first portrait up, its lifeless, polite gaze baring down the palace walls, and it would fit right in. Maybe Ena would never have a chance to show Mafuyu the new, better one. But then again, maybe she would.

End

#kinda speedran a good bit of mafuyu’s arc tbh #gahhhh #amatuer writer #project sekai #mafuyu asahina #ena shinonome #mfen #mafuena #pjsk fic

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