AN: uakari is partly to blame for this. Seriously. Also Shion's sweater because it really is an evil sweater. Other than that... I have nothing to defend myself. xD Enjoy this insanity, everyone.

"Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a young prince. His hair was white as snow and his eyes as red as blood. He had a scar that resembled a snake wrapping itself around his body due to an illness he had as a child.

Despite his somewhat shocking physical appearance, the prince was loved by his subjects. He was kind to everyone, though a bit naive. Fortunately, he had advisors there to deal with those who would take advantage of his kind nature.

One of the people who helped the prince most was his childhood friend, whom everyone called "Rat." He had appeared at the palace on the prince's twelfth birthday, heavily injured. The prince had insisted he be let in, and treated the boy's injuries himself. (He had wanted to practice what he'd learned about healing from his tutor.)

Due to the storm that had hit the kingdom the very day the strange boy arrived, the prince demanded that he stay. After the storm finally passed, and the roads were safe to travel, the strange boy did not leave, and remained at the prince's side ever since.

No one knew how old "Rat" was, nor his true name. It was assumed that he was around the prince's age, though they suspected even the boy himself did not know. He was quite mysterious to the kingdom's citizens, especially due to his silver eyes, and dark hair.

In any case, the boy was the person the prince trusted above anyone else, so the citizens learned to accept him. He wasn't as loved as the prince, due to his ascetic nature, and many called him a "brat" on the street, but they did not attempt to cast him out. Any sort of revolt against his presence would have been useless, anyway.

For four years, the kingdom lived in relative peace. On the prince's sixteenth birthday, a holiday was declared to celebrate his coming-of-age. The entire kingdom was invited, and many affiliated with the crowns of other kingdoms received an invitation, as well.

At the party, the prince received many gifts. One of these gifts was a powder-blue sweater that resembled something an elderly man would wear far more than something a young boy of 16 should even consider wearing. But the boy, being as kind as he was, put it on immediately, and thanked the person who had given it to him, promising to wear it often. Unfortunately, the whole kingdom knew he would keep his promise - that was the kind of person he was.

After this, the subjects of the kingdom noticed a dramatic change in their prince. He was more prone to violent outbursts when people were vaguely rude to another person. Even if it was unintentional, the boy was prone to bodily dealing with these sorts of issues now, instead of politely asking people to be kinder like he had done in the past.

It was particularly evident whenever someone insulted "Rat" in any way. One poor unfortunate man who had insinuated the boy would be make a good whore (due to his beauty and acting skill) was nearly choked to death by an incredibly irate prince. The only person who had been able to control the prince's rage was "Rat."

Though the kingdom at large never realized it, the boy had noticed the changes in his friend, and it made him quite sad. "Rat" was a boy who was used to the streets, and used to the cruelty human-kind could deal out. He was a tough boy, not at all sheltered like the prince had been.

Though he had often teased the prince about being "naturally airheaded" due to his exceedingly kind nature, "Rat" found that he actually missed the prince's old ways once he'd changed. This was not the prince that he knew, and he wanted the prince to remain himself.

One day, the two boys went hunting together in the words bordering the land of an old general who had lost enough of his sanity in battle to be dispatched from service when he was still young. The man was known to lack reason, and would shoot anything and anyone who had the misfortune of wandering onto his property. Many lived, but those unfortunate enough to be hated by the general never made it back alive.

The boys, while hunting, had found an area of the forest they had not seen before, and decided to explore this area a bit. "Rat," being more used to the forest, walked a bit ahead of the prince, to make sure the path they took was safe.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and "Rat" felt a sharp pain in his leg. There was a second gunshot, and he felt the bullet shoot through his arm as he stumbled from the force of it. He turned to see the crazed general staring at him down the barrel of a rifle.

"Little Rat, sneaking onto my property. I've heard about you. I don't like you. I'll just put you out of your misery now, brat," the general snarled.

"Rat" could only stare down the barrel of the gun. His face showed only anger and defiance, but inside, he was frightened. Was this really the end?

The man's finger hovered over the trigger, twitched, and then a gunshot rung through the forest. The general fell to the side, and "Rat" turned slowly to the side, seing the prince. The prince's rifle was pointed at the general, who was still alive and bleeding on the ground.

"How dare you do that to 'Rat,'" the prince said in a cold, mechanical voice. "Rat" felt his eyes widen as the usually kind prince made his way towards the injured general. The general was reaching for a pistol that had apparently been hidden on his person but had gotten dislodged when he fell.

"No... stop it! Don't do it! You.. you would never!" "Rat" called to his friend, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't get to the boy fast enough, he couldn't stop him. He could only watch with horror as the prince picked up the man's pistol and point it at the general.

"Rat" tried once more to call to his friend, but the prince did not hear him, and shot the general in the head. Blood spattered all over the prince's sweater, and seeped into the ground.

"Rat" could only kneel in the same spot, crying. This boy in front of him was surely not the prince. Had he lost the prince forever?

The prince didn't react for a few moments, but eventually seemed to come back to his senses. He was horrified at what he had done. He heard his friend crying, and went to his side to comfort him.

"It's my fault, I'm sorry," "Rat" said through his tears. "I should have been more careful about where we were going."

The prince assured his friend that it was alright, and eventually, calmed him down and offered to treat his wounds. He removed his sweater, and tore off strips of it to stop the other boy's wounds from bleeding. He explained it would have to do until they could return to the castle and get proper medical care for the injuries.

Suddenly, the prince fainted. "Rat" only just managed to catch him, and called to his friend, worried. He saw a bright light, and looked up to see a young woman standing in front of him. She reminded him of the princess of the neighboring kingdom - Safu, he thought her name was - who had also been a friend of the prince's for some time.

"I know I must have startled you, but I must thank you," the apparition said, her voice kind. IT was more matronly than that "Safu" girl's was, despite their nearly identical appearance.

"I have taken this form due to this boy's memories, but I am the spirit of this forest. I am called Elyurias. You, child, have saved the world from a great evil," she said, looking down at the two boys gently. "Rat" looked at his friend with concern. Surely she did not mean-?

"The sweater the boy was given. It was cursed by an evil wizard. He snuck into the party, and gave the boy this sweater in order to corrupt him: in order to make him into a person full of hatred. The wizard was trying to gain more power than I, because he is my enemy. He knew that the boy often came to hunt in my woods, and as such, would use this child to corrupt all that lived in my forest."

The spirit paused for a moment, and looked at "Rat" with a strangely fond expression.

"What the wizard did not know, however, was that the evil could be neutralized by strong feelings of love. The love you share with this boy was what held him back many times, and this love - which drove him to treat your wounds with his precious sweater without a second thought - has completely undone the curse. You have saved this forest, and you have saved the kingdom, young man. And I must offer you my greatest thanks. I am removing the remnant effects the curse had on your friend, and when he awakens he shall be just as he was before. He will have memories of this event, but he will not change. I will heal your injuries, as well."

Again, the spirit smiled.

"Thank you, young man. You have saved us all."

With that, she disappeared. The prince woke up not much later, and the two returned to the castle together.

And they lived happily ever after. The end!"

Nezumi snapped the book shut enthusiastically, grinning down at the person resting in his lap.

"Judging by His Highness' expression, I'll assume that the story was not to his tastes?"

Shion merely stared at his partner with a completely unimpressed air.

"That still doesn't excuse you for burning my sweater, you know."

"Weren't you listening to the story at all? I did it to save everyone! I saved the world by destroying that sweater!"

"Liar. You just didn't like it. I'll have you know it was my favorite."

"Okay, I did you a service. Something that ugly just has to be evil. I wasn't going to wait around for you to become evil, you know. I had to take action! I had to save you from yourself."

"..."

"It really was an ugly sweater, even if you couldn't see it. Something that ugly should be a crime, really."

"... Sometimes you are a real dick, you know that?"

"But you still love me for it~"

"Shut up."