A/N: What is wrong with me? I'm a complete Namixas-shipper, and Namine's one of my fav characters... but I had to make a story with Xion as the MC. I just did. The story starts off a little slow and I admit the first chapter was badly written, but it was the best I could do now. I have finals this week, but I had to get this off my mind. The first chapter will probably undergo an edit later on. The actual start of the story begins next chapter and the writing will get better from here on. Consider yourself fooled, and just stick with me till chapter two?

Today's song [MIKA - HAPPY ENDING]

We all know the story.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful and kind girl named Ella. After her loving father passed away, the greedy step-mother and the ugly step-sisters made Ella's life a living hell. But with a pumpkin, a few mice and a swoosh of her fairy godmother's magic wand, Ella went to the ball all dolled up where she met the handsome prince. They fell in love after one dance and as things were getting interesting, the clock stroke twelve. Ella vanished, leaving the prince with one glass slipper and a broken heart. Well, the crazy prince flipped and turned the neighborhood upside down trying to find the owner of the shoe, and you know how the rest goes. He finds his princess, the shoe fits perfectly, and they live happily ever after.

What a load of bullshit. Full of lookism, sexism, and plot holes. Even when I'm being very understanding, there are still flaws that are unacceptable. I mean, why didn't the shoe disappear with the rest of the magic? How could the prince be the only wish the girl's heart made when she'd never even met the prince before? And let's not even get started on the glass slipper fiasco. If it were 'true love' he should have at least been able to recognize her face.

So what really happened? Let me start from the top.

When I was five and my big sister Larxene was seven, Dad's business went bankrupt. I don't remember much, but according to Larxene, things became really bad and we went from house to house, hiding from angry investors. As days turned into weeks, depression and guilt took over Dad until one day Mom found him hanging from the ceiling with a note saying 'Sorry.' Even years after, Mom sometimes had this really sad look in her eyes, and I could tell she was thinking of Dad. Larxene feels nothing but anger towards how irresponsibly he left us. I hardly remember him, so I don't know how to miss him. In the end, the investors caught up with us. I guess it must have been an ugly sight. Dad swinging from a rope, Mom in hysterics, Larxene with a bloody fist from punching the wall… They took pity and allowed us a week to hold a simple funeral. While we were burying Dad in the town's cemetery, Mom met a fellow griever. He had lost his wife to the plague a few months back. A conversation struck up, and after hearing what happened, the man offered to pay the debt in her stead, saying that his wife would have wanted him to do so. Mom declined a few times, but he was insistent. He said she could work at his house in exchange. Frankly, with two young daughters to care for, she really couldn't think about her pride. With a face flaming with shame, Mom said yes.

The man turned out to be loaded. He lived in a small mansion just off the center of town. I'm sure he could have gotten a castle or something, but when I asked him, he once told me he thought it unnecessary. There were a few workers there already, so Mom became a little nervous. When she said that her help seemed needless, he told Mom that her job was special. The man had a six-year-old daughter, but because he was always off on business trips, he needed a loving figure to take care of the motherless child. Mom was to take care of her as if the daughter was one of her own. Well, Mom's gorgeous and when she smiles, she exudes a kind of warmth that makes anybody feel special and loved, so I could tell why he chose her.

Except the townspeople didn't see her that way. They called her a money-crazy witch. In their twisted minds, all they could see was a greedy woman with no morals who seduced a wealthy gentleman that had recently lost his wife. Even the workers in the house who knew the situation weren't very welcoming of Mom until they got to know firsthand that she was honestly incapable of doing such blasphemy.

Well, Mom did what the man asked and took care of the daughter. The daughter's name was Namine. She still remembered her mother, and Mom was just what the girl needed. They became really close. As if hogging up all of Mom's time in the day wasn't enough, Namine began joining our bed at night, leaving Larxene and me no time to be with mom, just the three of us. And our family had desperately needed time alone to mend the still oozing wounds left by Dad. Mom apologized to us, but the damage was done. Our hearts didn't mend properly and ended up with ugly scars. Is that why another name for love is affection? It's scary how it affects us. As years passed, Namine grew up a sunflower. The way she was supposed to, as everyone's angel – beautiful, kind, and lovely. Who wouldn't when you get everything you want? Larxene became a rose covered in thorns - a cold, proud, and overwhelming kind of beauty. Me, I couldn't even become a real flower. Plain, sarcastic, and unconfident, the most I could become was a wallflower. The two of us didn't like people in general, and in turn, they didn't like us.

One day, the man came home with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. I still remember that day. It was on my fifteenth birthday, not that it interested him at the very least. As a gift, Mom had given me the necklace that Dad had given to her when she turned fifteen. It was the start of their relationship and one of her most treasured possessions. She was carefully putting it on me when the man burst into the room with the flowers. He knelt on one knee and proposed to Mom. The necklace slid from Mom's hand and I could only watch as it crashed onto the floor. The paopu fruit pendant in the middle cracked neatly in half. When I looked at Mom, she was covering her mouth with her hands. But she wasn't looking at the necklace. She was looking at the man as if she was the happiest woman in the world.

She took the flowers with quivering hands. "Y..yes. If it's allowed, I would." she said.

The man picked up Mom bridal style and whirled her around. "Of coure, my love, we shall plan our wedding immediately!"

A sardonic voice cut in.

"When did this happen?"

Larxene's face was dark.

The man set Mom down. Both of them still had stupid grins on their faces.

Mom blushed. "It's been some time."

"I fell for her a long while back. It was her lovingness. She was just so good to Namine."

That explained why the man was home so frequently during the past few months, and why Mom seemed out of it these days.

"Larxene? Xion?" It was Mom. She wore a worried look.

"Can I have this happiness? Will it be okay?"

The worry lines on her face suddenly seemed deeper than I remembered. Ever since Dad passed away, Mom had barely been alive. When was the last time she smiled the way she did today? Did I have the right to strip Mom from this happiness? My lips refused to make the word 'no'.

Stupid mom. Paopus are supposed to last forever. Flowers wilt in a week.

"…Sure, Mom."

It seemed Larxene was thinking along the same lines as me, because while her face looked like she chewed on lemons, she said, "…Whatever."

Mom beamed and she looked at the man with happy eyes.

But then the person we least expected to oppose spoke up. She spoke in a quiet unhappy voice.

"Dad, does this mean she'll be replacing Mom?"

We all turned to look at her.

Namine turned bright red. "I don't want it… I mean... I heard the stories from the marketplace."

Mom looked lost. She looked towards the man. But the stupid man didn't chastise his daughter, defend our mom, or say anything. He just stood there.

Mom quietly set the flowers on the table. "Perhaps it was impossible after all." She tried to put on a smile and failed. "I..I need to go out for a while." She hurriedly left the room.

That put the man out of his stupor. "Wait!" He followed Mom out.

That left the three of us in the room. Larxene was looking Namine in disbelief. I'm pretty sure I had a similar look on my face as well.

Larxene glowered at the girl.

"You've got some nerve."

Namine flinched, but didn't shrink away. "I don't understand."

"You of all people shouldn't be able to say that with that stupidly innocent face of yours."

"I just like the way things are right now."

"Our mom's been acting as your mother for the past few years, and you never had a problem with that. But when she's actually going to become your mother, you can't have that? Unbelievable. You want to have your cake and eat it too, don't you. Just what are people to you?"

"…I heard the stories from the marketplace," she repeated.

"What stories, you imbecile? It was because of your pathetic father that Mom's being misunderstood the way she is! You should yourself know very well by now what kind of person my mom is."

"If my dad's so pathetic, why didn't you say no?" she shot back.

"You're right. I'm against this. I hate your silly face, and I can't stand that man. He says he loves her, but he can't even say a word to protect her from his bratty daughter. That sad excuse of a man can't protect my mom. He doesn't deserve her."

Namine bristled, but couldn't say anything back.

"But that weak selfish man is what makes Mom happy. You saw her face, she was f*cking glowing! After all she's done for you, she can't have this?"

Namine remained silent.

Larxene let out a scornful laugh. "Of course, a spoiled princess like you wouldn't be able to understand what I'm saying. Keep living that way." She stormed out of the room.

Only the two of us were left. I leaned down to pick up the broken necklace. We stood awkwardly.

Namine spoke first. "If you have anything to say, please do."

I glanced at her from the side of my eyes. She was holding back tears.

"Um... well, I don't like you and I don't like your dad. I don't like this situation either. But sometimes, it doesn't matter what you don't like. If it's for those precious to you, it shouldn't matter. Not just my mom, but your dad too. You saw how happy he was."

It became silent between us again.

"…Well, you decide. See you around."

"Xion?"

I turned to look at the girl. She blushed.

"I...I was wrong… and I'm sorry this had to happen on your birthday..."

"Yeah, me too. Tell your father it was my birthday for me, will you?"

In the end, they got married. Namine did what I asked because the man sheepishly gave me a pink frilly hair clip the next time he saw me…. Yeah. I'm sure it's still lying around somewhere. It was awkward for us. We had a hard time opening up to one another, but we were all trying our best for the sake of the ones we love. After a year, just when everything seemed to be okay again, the man had to leave on a business trip.

"Come home safe." Mom had begged of the man. It was futile. The ship turned up wrecked on an island two months later with no survivors. Mom refused to believe it until his wedding ring came home along with a death certificate.

It broke everyone. The fragile ties that were holding us together shattered and hearts began bleeding again. Mom barely ate and locked herself up in her room. Larxene dropped all pretense of being lovely and harmless, and went all out with her thorns. Namine found comfort with the animals in the house, and started spending time with the cook and maids – the ones that had known both her mother and father. I couldn't stand the stuffiness in the house, and desperately made my way outdoors where I could lose myself in the bustling crowd.

This is where the story begins. The story of Cinderella, the prince, the flamethrower, and Cinderella's sister.

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