The Fairy’s Robe

Cdrama fanfic. Loosely based on the the mythology of the fairy robe/selkie skin, but without the tragic ending.

Once there was a young official who was traveling for his first court assignment to a village deep in the mountains. The youth had been raised in the city, and not being much for hunting, had never set foot in the woods before this journey. 

Every snapping branch or rustled leaf in the underbrush was clearly a wolf or tiger waiting to devour him. Even seeing that it was a deer or squirrel didn’t reassure him, because perhaps the next sound would be a ferocious predator. Perhaps it was this constant state of startlement that led him to loose his footing and tumble off the path and down a steep slope to the bottom of the hill.

Dazed, but unhurt, he stood looking up at the hill he had fallen down. He knew he wouldn’t be able to climb it with his poor skills so instead he determined to follow the toe of the slope and hope that the path would come down to a place where he could reach it once again. Stiffening his resolve and ignoring the inner voice that was telling him this was a terrible decision, he set off into the woods.

The scholar walked for hours. He had long ago lost track of the crest of the path and was now just hoping to find water somewhere around the next turn. He was contemplating giving up hope and just laying down to die in the woods when he heard splashing sounds ahead of him. Scrambling forward he skittered over several piles of boulders that he would have considered impassable in his normal frame of mind and found himself overlooking a pool of crystal clear water.

The water made a soft rushing sound as it poured into the large, shallow pool from a small waterfall and tinkled merrily as it flowed over the rocks of the stream that carried it deeper into the forest. The pool itself was filled with naked, laughing, splashing young women.

The scholar immediately turned his back, blushing furiously as he closed his eyes. It was harder to slither back down over the rocks with them closed, but he didn’t dare open them. That is until he got to the bottom and tripped over a loose stone, which cause him to fall and end up wrapped in something. He opened his eyes to try to figure out what he was tangled in and found himself surrounded by the most elegant clothing he had ever seen. 

Silks dyed in any and all colors and combinations, and embroidered with threads that glittered and shone in the dappled sunlight. They were lighter and softer than anything he could ever have imagined. He would have admired them more if he hadn’t been tied up in them… Slowly and carefully he extracted himself from the mess, trying with all his might not to rip anything or make a sound.

When he was finally clear he moved well away from the clothing and called out, “Most beautiful fairies of Heaven, be careful with your robes! They are too easily found in the place where you have hidden them!”

There was silence from the pool, followed by shrieking. The man kept his back turned and his eyes closed, prepared for either silence from the fairies fleeing or an attack from maidens furious that he had seen them bathing. Either way, he was too thirsty and tired to run any more.

What he had not expected was to get punched in the face by a large, hairy man with several dead rabbits on a line slung over his shoulder.

“What? Who are you?” He asked, clutching his bleeding nose.

“I’ve been watching these beauties for a month trying to decide which one of them to take for a bride and you’ve ruined it! Today was going to be the day!”

The official was appalled. He knew the stories of course, everyone did. If you could steal and hide a fairy’s celestial robe you could force her to wed you and she would bring you luck as long as you could keep her. The thought of someone actually doing it sickened him.

“They’re people,” he said.

The hunter snorted, “They’re beautiful women. They belong to whoever can keep them.” 

He raised his fist to punch the official again and was blown backwards by a great wind that slammed him into a tree, knocking him unconscious. The official turned and saw the most incredible woman he had ever seen in his life. Her perfect skin was dewy from the pool and her slender frame was elegantly draped in a robe the color of a sunset. Her long willowy arms were still in the position she had used to summon the wind and a stray breeze blew strands of her waist length black hair around her soft, sculpted features. He felt the breath go out of him as surely as if the hunter had landed his second blow. Unsure of what else to do he knelt before the goddess.

“Thank you for the warning,” she said in a low, soft voice which contrasted with the anger still glittering deep in her eyes.

He dared to look up, behind her he could just make out other fairies disappearing through a door which glowed with a soft, otherworldly light. He tried to speak, but couldn’t think of an appropriate response. 

She caught the direction of his gaze, “Are you wishing you had captured one of my sisters for your bride, now that you have had a good look at them?” Her voice had an edge of menace to it now.

He shook his head violently. “I don’t want a wife who is forced to be with me. It’s better to have a homely woman who cares for me than a beautiful woman who holds me in disdain.”

The goddess tilted her head, as if seeing him from a different angle would make his words more reasonable. “You would prefer an ugly woman?”

He gave a wry smile, “I would prefer a pretty woman,” he said truthfully, “But as long as my wife cares for me I will be content.”

The goddess didn’t reply, but turned away and followed her sisters.

“Wait!” He cried after her, “How do I get to the village? Can you help me?”

She looked over her shoulder and flicked a finger. A dancing ball of blue light appeared in front of him. “Follow it,” she said simply, and disappeared.

He looked at the foxfire. “Can I get a drink first?” He asked plaintively.

The ball bounced and floated over the pool.

The official walked for another day and a half before reaching the town he was supposed to manage. It was larger than he had expected, there were almost two hundred people in residence, but much smaller than any town he had lived in before. He was content however, since it had everything he needed, a residence for himself and the servants he hired, a decent tea house, a few restaurants, and a small theater for traveling performers. He found himself settled in rather quickly and almost forgot his encounter in the woods, although he still dreamed of the goddess in red often.

***

After several months there was a message from his family that they were sending him a bride. It was a political arrangement and he was to treat her with respect and try to ignore her eccentricities. No picture was sent and he was curious what they could have meant by the rather cryptic letter.

She arrived three days later and he suddenly knew why the details provided by his parent had been so sparse. The woman who climbed down from the cart was spectacularly unattractive. Short, plump, with lank hair that both hung limply and frizzed at the same time she was the opposite of the current trend in beauty. Her features were regular, but her face was wide and flat with a small turned up nose and several moles scattered about and her skin was rough and shiny with oil. As he catalogued her features he did notice that her eyes were large and fine and her mouth, while small and pale was nicely shaped. He looked at her face again and realized that she wore no cosmetics at all. 

Eventually he met her eyes again and she bowed to him. “Hello, husband,” she said shyly.

He swallowed hard. “Wife,” he said a little unsteadily. “Are you sure you wish to marry me, this is a small place far from any true entertainment or luxury.”

Her eyes crinkled up as if she were secretly laughing at him, “You think there are so many offers for my hand that I’m eager to return to the city?” She asked him.

He shook his head before he thought and then tried to recover himself, “I wasn’t thinking about that, I was thinking of your own daily entertainment.”

“I don’t need much,” she said, and he noticed that her voice was low and sweet.

He thought about refusing her, but his own words from months ago came back to him, as long as my wife cares for me I’ll be content. He looked down at her eyes which still held a bit of laughter as well as the expectation of rejection. I can always get a concubine, he thought, extending his arm to her.

That night he went to her room to perform the wedding rites, but after the cross cupped wine when she began to move towards the bed he stopped her.

“Not tonight,” he said. “We don’t know each other that well yet.”

She said nothing, but the accusations hung in the air. He could almost hear the words, you don’t want me, though they remained unspoken. He stepped towards her and braced himself, closing his eyes he brushed his lips against hers. To his surprise they were warm, supple, and welcoming. The kiss was soft and undemanding, but it drew him in and it took him longer than her would have thought to pull away.

He drew back slowly and looked into her face. Without makeup he could see the flush on her cheeks that his kiss had brought out and when she looked at him her eyes were soft with unexpected desire. “When we know each other better,” he said.

His heart gave a hard thump as she gave him her secret smile that crinkled her eyes, but never reached her mouth. “As you wish, my husband.”

Their married life was peaceful. He found that his new bride played several instruments and sang in a voice so rich and pleasing that he was able to forget everything else when he listened to her. They ate meals together and learned each others preferences as they talked over meals. To his surprise she was more well educated than he had expected and they were able to have lively debates over the teachings of various philosophers. During the day he worked in the yamen and she worked in their home overseeing the servants and taking care of domestic tasks. All in all he was quite pleased with their life together, though he had yet to bring himself to share her bed.

They had been married almost three months before she came to the yamen for the first time. She entered the complex with her head down and carried a stack of takeout dishes with her. He heard his men murmuring amongst themselves.

“Who’s the ugly girl?”

“She must be visiting a prisoner right?” 

“She’s heading straight to the magistrate’s office, she can’t be his wife? Poor man, I can’t believe he has to bed that!”

His ears burned, but he couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. He was ashamed that his wife’s appearance was so shabby that his men commented on it and angry at himself for being ashamed. When she entered the room he snapped at her.

“Why are you here?” He barked.

She looked down and offered the box she was carrying. “ You didn’t eat much at breakfast, I was worried about you, so I brought some snacks.”

Shame crushed him. “O-o-oh…” he stammered. “Thank you…” he held out his hand to take the box so he could rush her home, his pride still stinging from his co-workers’ comments.

She pulled it back a little, “My lord, only the top box is for you, the others are for your men.”

He was startled, but she handed him the top section of the tray and proceeded to address each of his men individually.

“Constable Yu, your wife told me that you like red bean filling the best,” she handed him a small plate with several flower shaped cakes.

“Constable Wang, your mother told me you haven’t been feeling well, so I added some tea with yours. It’s a remedy from my hometown that might help you.”

She had something for each of his men as she greeted all four of them by name. When she was done she handed the last two plates to him, “ The one on the left is for your scribe and the one on the right is for the coroner. Don’t mix them up, your coroner is allergic to eggs, so I used a different recipe for his.”

He looked at her in amazement. “When did you have time for,” he gestured with his plates. “Any of this?”

She crinkled her eyes at him, but said seriously, “Women here like to talk and gossip as much as anywhere else I’ve lived. It’s easy to get distracted talking while I do the morning shopping.”

He was only more confused. “Don’t we have servants to do the shopping?” He asked.

She shook her head, “You never hired a cook. The servants do their best, but why trouble them when I know how to cook and have the time.” 

There was that brief flash of amusement in her eyes again and he wondered what it would take to get her to truly smile at him. He set the plates on the desk and took her hands in his. She looked startled and surreptitiously tried to pull them away, but he held fast. He hadn’t reacted kindly when she had come in the room. A fact that he regretted now, knowing how much she had been doing to take care of him.

“Thank you,” he said, trying to convey both his gratitude and his apology.

She said nothing, just looked at him expectantly and he released her hands. As she collected her carrier and left the hall the thought again crossed his mind that he had never seen her actually smile and he wondered how he could achieve the feat. The thought stayed with him the rest of the day.

***

Starting from that thought, he attempted to court his wife for no other reason than to see her real smile. He brought her flowers and treats, fabrics and jewelry, but nothing seemed to work. On the suggestion of his men he bought her rouges. She the flowers she kept by her bed, the treats were shared with the younger servants, the fabrics were used to make him new robes, and the jewelry was worn regularly, replacing her old pieces. Only the rouge was set aside and never touched.

He sat in her room talking after dinner one night, fiddling with the little pot of powder. “Why have you never used this?” He asked, idly thinking that with some color on her face her unusual looks wouldn’t stand out as much.  It didn’t even occur to him that he no longer thought of his wife’s features as unattractive, just different.

“I’m allergic,” she admitted as if it were a grave sin. “My mother and sisters were always humiliated, they said it was like going into public with someone only half dressed.”

Anger boiled up in him at the injustice. His wife was charming, thoughtful, and clever, how dare they shun her because she couldn’t use makeup. Only then did he realize that he had never thought to bring her out either

“There is a troop of performers in town, shall we go see them tomorrow night?”

Her eyes sparkled in answer.

The next night he escorted her to the finest restaurant in town. She tried to keep space between them, walking a little behind him, her eyes cast down.

“Why are you walking so far away?” He asked, puzzled.

“So you can pretend you don’t know me,” she replied.

He stopped so quickly she ran into him. He took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. “Nonsense,” he said. “ You are my wife and I am proud to have you walk beside me.”

She looked up at him and smiled so brightly he thought it would blind him. For the rest of the night he felt ten feet tall.

A few days later he was in the study staring at the account ledger. His head hurt and the numbers, as poorly written as they were, danced before his eyes.

“Husband, it’s late,” his wife said, placing a cup of tea on the desk in front of him. He was so tired he hadn’t even heard her come in.

“I’ll go to bed after I finish this,” he said to her. 

“Is this about Merchant Chen’s suit against his bookkeeper?” She asked. “Let me look.” 

She moved closer to him, staring at the page. After a few moments she smiled, “It’s obvious really,” she said, the corners of her lips twitching upwards. “Look here, see where he bought flour for the month, but look he bought it again a few days later. It could just be higher demand, but look it happens every third month for the exact same amount. And here,” she leaned over his shoulder and her breast brushed against his arm.

He suddenly couldn’t make out a thing she was saying because of the blood pounding in his ears. While they had lived together for some time now it was rare for his wife to come close enough to touch him, never mind something this intimate. He turned his head and saw her lips curled up in a self satisfied smile.

He couldn’t help himself. He leaned over and kissed her. Fire raced through him and he tugged her gently across his lap, trying  not to startle her into pulling away. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and tentatively kissed him back. 

When they broke away he stood and led her gently to his bed on the far side of the room. It was time they had their wedding night.

The next morning he woke up and found his bed cold. He was disappointed until she came in with a tray for breakfast, smiling as she set it down. 

“I thought you might be hungry,” she said.

“I’m very hungry,” he laughed and tugged her back into bed.

***

They couple lived in contentment for many years and his wife did her duty well. She bore him five children over the course of time, three boys and two girls. To everyone’s surprise each was more beautiful than the last. They grew strong and healthy as well as skilled in every art they tried, from poetry to archery.

Whenever someone commented on the appearance of his offspring the official would laugh and tell them that none of his children were as beautiful as his wife. Strangers were inevitably confused by his response, but the townsfolk all knew that it was due to the love that had grown gradually and steadily between them through the years that produced his answer.

The official loved his wife and was happy with her by his side, but there was one thing he always found strange. In all the years they were married he never once saw his wife sleeping. 

It was the end. The official lay on his bed, too weak to move much. His wife sat next to him, his children and grandchildren gathered around as they said their goodbyes. One by one his wife shooed them out of the door until it was only the two of them left. His breath was slow and rasping as he looked at his wife, whom he had loved with all his heart.

“Husband,” she said after a moment, “There is a secret I never shared with you until this moment.” 

He nodded, speaking was too hard.

“Years ago you told a fairy in the woods that you would rather have an unattractive woman with a willing heart than a captive beauty. I have to admit I didn’t believe you and wanted to prove you wrong. So I came to this town in the guise of your bride in a form I knew most humans would find ugly, knowing you would turn me out for someone prettier and I could prove to myself and the other immortals that all men were the same. 

I didn’t expect respect. I didn’t expect thoughtfulness or kindness. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you.”

He smiled and forced himself to speak, “I was never sure, but I always thought maybe. It didn’t matter. You are my wife and I love you.”

“And I love you.”

“Could I see you as you really are?” He asked, “Just once?”

His wife nodded and let her guise melt away. Next to the bed sat his goddess in sunset colored robes.

The man smiled at her, closed his eyes, and died.

The goddess held his hand and wept.

Author's Note

Just FYI for the voice - this is a story told by another character in a longer story

Edited because I didn’t like some of the wording.

Reviews

[emmajoygreen]

Forgive me, but I so wanted to read your story but the small font and the length of the tale is too much for me. Might you use a larger font and perhaps divide your tale in to sections> Will willingly return if you could do either or - even better, both. .

[Lyra]

Done and done! Let me know if you need it a little bigger (the breaks are a little weird, the site was acting funny, but they should be in there)