Part one: The Early Days.
Thirteen year old Padraic J Ratigan was always different from the other children at school. He was large and bulkier then the others with piecing yellow eyes and thick black fur that was almost always messy and unkempt. Most of the other children avoided him, saying that he was a freak of nature since to put it simply, he was a rat while everyone else around him was a mouse. To them, he was inferior. He sighed as he sat alone on the playground, watching as the other students of his class played tag while he sat all alone. He just sighed again as he turned his nose back to his book. Even though he didn't have much friends, he took pleasure in reading about philosophy, mathematics and even legends from far of lands.
He was pulled from his thoughts when a voice asked;
"Do you mind if I sit with you?"
Padraic looked up to see a female mouse standing there and gesturing at the seat next to him. Her fur was a red brown and her eyes were strangely a light lavender color that regarded him with curiosity.
"Don't you want to be with the others?" He asked, honestly curious why she wanted to sit with him. She shrugged.
"I don't really fit in with the others. I'm a bit of a loner myself and I thought we could be friends." She held her paw out for him to shake.
"I'm Liera."
Padraic regarded her paw before taking it into his.
"Padraic."
"Nice to meet you."
Liera was nothing like Padraic had expected when they first met. She was a tomboy. Given the choice to either play with dolls or mud, she would choose to play in the mud in a heartbeat. However, her friendship with him cause a bit of a stir with other children. One day, Padraic was walking to meet Liera by the oak tree they would always meet at after school to walk home together when he spotted Liera being surrounded by Travis and his group of thugs. Travis was the model student for their class, and he also loved nothing more then to get Padraic into trouble. As Padraic drew closer, he could make out what Travis was saying to her.
"You know you can do better then him, Liera. Come be with me and you'll find that there are perks."
Liera was quiet for a long moment before she slapped Travis across the face with a loud crack that echoed across the quad. It caught Padraic off guard.
"You don't know him. How dare you think that I would abandon my friend for perks! You can bite me, Travis!" She turned and stormed off, leaving the boys all in stunned silence. Padraic quickly dashed after her to find her sitting at the picnic table they had first met at. She was holding her head and muttering to herself. She didn't even see him approach.
"Liera.."
She jumped, looking up.
"Oh, hi Padraic."
He sat next to her on the bench, setting his schoolbag next to her faded leather messager bag that she had tossed on the grass.
"Why were you talking to Travis?"
She looked up with a blush coloring her cheeks.
"You saw that?"
He only nodded. Liera looked down at her lap.
"He was saying that you aren't really my friend. That you aren't capable of real attachment because..."
"Because I'm a rat." He finished though clenched teeth. Liera looked up with a sad look in her eyes.
"So was that why you slapped him? Because you were defending me?"
"Well, that and I don't believe any of what he and the others say."
"You don't?"
She shook her head.
"I know the real you, and you are capable of kindness, Padraic." She hugged his arm.
"I want you to be my prince. If you will let me be your princess."
Padraic blinked before smiling and returning her sideways hug.
"Of course, Liera. I would love nothing more then to be your prince."
A/N: Well hello all you lovely readers!
I'm finally doing, I'm finally posting this rewrite. It only took, what? A while. I blame life for kicking my ass. DX Anyways, Hopefully you all enjoy this. I know I will. I only own my characters, disclaimer disclaimer. TTFN!
