One day in the country of China, there was a very beautiful man named Yao. Yao was small and he had very long, black hair. Yao was the son of the emperor, who was a very kind and strong man. He made sure there was always peace in China. He also made sure that Yao was always happy.
But once, there was a day when Yao was feeling very depressed and this worried the emperor. He tried so many things to help his son become happy again, but nothing would work. The emperor would not give up, he went to seek the ancient dragon at the very edge of China, very far north, who would tell him the reason of his sons misery. He hired a man named Alfred to help him with his empire while he went to the dragon. What the emperor didn't know is that Alfred was a very bad man who wants the country of China and Yao all to himself. So while the emperor was out, he started to change everything about China. He first hired many servants and charged great taxes. He also took the emperor's clothes and jewels wore them.
He would also go to Yao and ask him if he would marry him. Every time, Yao would refuse. This angered Alfred, so he then treated him very badly.
Yao grew very worried by all the pain that Alfred caused him and his country. He then left the palace to find his father and tell him of the great misery that Alfred has put on the country. Yao traveled all day, heading north, and he saw no sign of his father. As he got farther north, he noticed that it kept getting colder and colder. As night came, Yao grew very tired and very cold. He found this giant castle and thought to himself, "Its so cold out, surely they will let me stay for the night, aru." Trembling from the cold, he knocked at the great castle door. As he knocked, the door opened, but no one had answered it. Freezing, he walked in to the castle, finding it very warm inside. He closed the door behind him. The room was very dark and there was an erie silence. He then felt a presence that made his skin crawl. "I-is anyone there, aru?" He called out. No one answered, but he thought he saw a dark figure move near the corner. Then he heard a voice,"Who are you?" it asked. Yao felt himself start to tremble,"I-im Yao." He squeaked. "Why have you come here?" The voice boomed. Yao gulped,"I was out searching for my father and it got dark, aru. I-i was so cold and I feel so weak. Please may I stay for a few days so I may regain my strength, aru?" He asked. The voice was silent, then he saw the figure step out of the corner. He saw that the figure was really a very handsome, tall man with silvery hair and deep purple eyes. Yao was shocked to see how beautiful the man was and he felt his cheeks warm. "You may stay," said the man,"But only under one condition. You must stay in your room the whole night. Only when you see the first rays of dawn, you may come out." Yao nodded,"Ok" then he yawned. The man held out his hand, but didn't face him,"I see that you are tired, let me show you to your room." Yao took the man's hand and was lead down a dark hallway. They stopped at a big door and the man said,"This is where you will stay." Yao nodded again, then saw a second door from the corner of his eye. "What room is that, aru?" The man's eyes went cold and he said in a low voice,"That room is off limits. You are not to enter there, ever! Understood?" Yao nodded,"Y-yes." The man started to turn away, but Yao stopped him,"Wait, may I have your name before i go to sleep, aru?" The man stopped, then turned his head slightly and said,"My name is Ivan." Then he left. Yao stood in the door way for a second and thought to himself,"Ivan, aru..." Then he went into the room and crawled in bed.
Yao woke up in the middle of the night and heard loud sounds. He couldn't tell whether it was moaning or crying. He was scared and wanted to see what it was, but as he got out of bed, he remembered that he must stay in his room. So he got back in bed and fell back asleep.
The next day, Yao got woke up to see Ivan in the room. Yao quickly pulled the blankets up, because he was wearing only his pants, and his face was red,"I-Ivan! When did you come in here, aru?!" Ivan had the same cold stare and turned around and started to walk out of the room. "Breakfast is ready, come into the dinning room when your dressed" Ivan left and Yao's face was still red. He threw the blankets off of him and started to get dressed."Aiyah..." he muttered. He saw that there were cloths in the dresser in his room. He opened the drawer and saw something pink and silky. He smiled and saw that it was kimono and pulled it on. After he got dressed, he walked out of the room to see that the hallway was as dark as it was at night. He walked down the hallway to see a big room with a long table. "This must be the dinning room, aru." Yao said to himself. The table was under a big, dark chandelier with black crystals dangling from it. The room was dim and cold. He sat down on one end of the table and jumped when he saw that Ivan was already at the other end. "So' Ivan said,'How do you like my home so far?" "U-um..' Yao decided to pick his words wisely, he didn't want to upset Ivan,'I think it's very lovely. I like the darkness of it all." It was silent for a second. "Darkness?' Ivan started, "You think my home is dark?" Yao thought he saw the air around Ivan get purple and dark. Yao's heart started to pound and he was scared. "I-I didn't mean that your home is dark! Wh-what i meant was-" Ivan cut him off. "No, I know what you meant. I let you into my house and you called it dark!" Ivan yelled. Yao started to tremble with fright. "You' Ivan said,"Are afraid of me, aren't you?" Yao didn't know what to say. He was terrified of Ivan, but he didn't want to make him even more angry. So Yao shook his head no. Ivan stood up quickly, making his chair fall back, "LIAR!" He yelled. Yao stood up and backed away. "I-i-i'm not l-lying, aru." He said as he trembled. "You ARE scared of me! I know you are! You think i'm a beast!" Ivan yelled so loud that the chandelier shake. Yao started to back away from the table, he was trembling so much. Ivan then banged his fists on the table,"Fine! Just get out of here! Go back to your room!" He yelled. Yao started to sob and he ran out of the room.
Yao fell asleep after a while. His face wet with tears and his eyes red. Some time in the middle of the night, he heard a strange noise that woke him up. He got out of bed, but this time, he opened the door and looked out into the dark hallway. The noise had gotten louder as he leaned out into the hall. He then remembered that he was to stay in his room the whole night, so he went back into the room and fell back asleep.
The next morning, Yao woke up feeling very tired. He saw that Ivan wasn't in the room this time. Yao felt relieved, but a bit sad for some strange reason. He got out of the bed and looked for something to wear. This time he found a lime green kimono with a red trimming. He pulled it on, then saw something red from the corner of his eye. It was a single rose and a note. It read,"Yao, I am very sorry for yelling at you yesterday. I misunderstood you and I felt bad when you left. If you would, meet me at the north wing at noon today. Love, Ivan" Yao smiled that Ivan apologized. He made sure that he would be on time to meet Ivan. He reread the note and blushed at Love, Ivan.
At about noon, Yao made his way over to the north wing. He passed many doors and he couldn't tell which way he was going. He started to get worried about being late, so he started to run. He ran until he saw this big, dark door in the middle of the hall. The door was very strange and seemed to pull him in. He started to slowly open the door, but he heard a voice call him. "Yao!" he heard. He saw that it was Ivan at the other end of the hall. Yao started to walk quickly over to him and said,"Aiyah, Ivan! Im so sorry! I couldn't find the north wing and I didn't want to be late and-" Ivan cut him off by holding out his hand. "Come" he said. Yao took his hand and Ivan lead him to a staircase. The stairs lead them to a big ball room. The room was so full of light, that it shocked Yao. "It's so pretty in here, aru" He said. Ivan let go of Yao's hand and walked into the middle of the room. Yao followed and when the met in the middle, Ivan slightly bowed and held out his hand,"Yao," He said,"Would you dance with me?" Yao blushed slightly and nodded, "Yes, aru" Ivan held Yao close and they slowly danced around the room. Yao heard that music was faintly playing in the back round. The music got a bit louder and they danced gracefully. Yao smiled as they danced and for the first time, he saw Ivan smile as well. His smile was so sweet, that it made Yao's heart pound. He looked into Ivan's eyes and started to blush. They both danced all day long, but when night fall came,"I must go to bed now. You should do the same" Ivan said with the same coldness he always had. Then he left.
That night, Yao couldn't sleep. He kept thinking of that day. The way they smiled, the way they danced. When Ivan left that night, Yao felt his heart break. He had never felt this way about anyone before. Yao's thoughts were then interrupted by the same noise that woke him all those nights. Yao got up and walked to the door. he knew that he was to stay in his room, but he couldn't stand it anymore. He opened the door and walked out into the hallway. The hall was dark and the candles that were normally there were out. As Yao walked into the darkness, the noise got louder. He finally stopped at the door from the day before and heard that the noise was coming from the inside. He slowly opened the door and walked in. He saw that the room was also dark, but a small light was around a wall. He waled to the end of it and peered over the side. He saw Ivan was standing there, holding something black. The room was torn up and there was a painting that was ripped by claws. Yao saw that the thing Ivan was holding was his other hand. It was black and there were claws at the end of his fingers. Yao gasped and Ivan turned to him. Ivan was shocked and his eyes were scared. "Yao!" He said,"I told you to stay into your room!" Yao walked closer to Ivan, Ivan backed away. "I-Im sorry, aru. I just heard a noise and... Whats wrong with your hand?" Ivan's eyes went cold,"Its the beast hidden in me. The part of me that died when she died." He said. Yao tilted his head to the side,"Died? When who died?" Yao asked. Ivan walked over to the torn painting and put the torn part in place. Yao saw that it was a woman, a woman that looked like him. "When she died, my wife..." Ivan said. "When she died, I was so sad. I stared to get angrier every day and my heart went black. At night, this beast hidden inside me would surface and no one wanted to be around me. Im a beast in human form..." Yao's eyes stung with tears and he walked closer to Ivan. "Your not a beast," He said. "You just a person who needs to find the light, aru" Ivan turned away "That light died a long time ago. No one loves me. No one wants to be near me." Ivan shouted. Yao shook his head and hugged Ivan,"I do! I love you, even if you are a beast!" Yao yelled. Just as he said that, a light began to form. The light was coming from Ivan. Slowly, Ivan turned back to normal, the beast held within had died. Ivan turned to Yao with a smile. "I love you too." He said, then he leaned down to kiss Yao. The light turned into the sun rising.
Yao and Ivan got married the next day. Together, they found Yao's father and they all mover back to the palace. They killed Alfred for all the trouble he had caused and brought China back to normal. Together, they were all happy. Ivan had found his light, and Yao had found his.
END