BEAUTY BEHIND THE MADNESS

TRUTH BE TOLD, SHALL IT?

This was never supposed to happen.

Zootopia should have been in chaos right now, savage predators roaming free and killing anyone they liked. She would have been far away from it all, peacefully safe from all the danger. That was what they promised her. Instead, Zootopia remained the same, not to mention she wasn't away from this web of lies, she was stuck there. Sentenced to jail for the rest of her life, there was nothing she could do but mope in her cold, hard cell.

Her job was supposedly "easy" if she said so herself. They had ordered her to be the pretend leader of the Night-howler mission, giving the white lamb a chance to hurt Leodore Lionheart, who broke her more times than you can imagine. "Take this flower." They had said, handing her a purple blossom, wrapped in a clear plastic covering. "Take it and seek revenge on those who treated you wrong." Oh, how she wanted to spit in their faces right now. She gave up everything for them, including her innocence, and this is what she gets? A lifetime in jail? She deserved better than this! Heck, she deserved better a long time ago.

She was young then, about four, when she met the lion cub who would be her best friend. He ran into her accidentally, crashing into her tiny woolly form head on. She remembered being knocked off her hooves, and seeing the golden brown clumsy cub grinning sheepishly as her.

Shy Lamb as she was, she couldn't help but feel like she had a special connection with this adorable cub. The two hit it off immediately, Leodore talking the ears off Dawn, who didn't seem to mind at all. They did everything they could think of together, imaginary missions to save mammals in distress, tag, hide and seek, everything.

The first day of kindergarten arrived, and they came in holding paws/hooves while grinning happily. Those five years before fourth grade were bliss to her, each day filled with fun and oh so exciting adventures she would run home to tell her mother about every day.

But of course, mammals grow up, and soon everyone thought the friendly relationship between Dawn and Leodore was "gross" and "unnatural". They were hurt their classmates thought of them like this, and decided to meet in secret, still going on all those adventures together. Dawn had sensed the change in Leodore, obviously, but she didn't want it to be true. He was her only real friend, someone she could rely on and trust with all her heart.

Then her world broke down that afternoon. She had gone to their secret place, a little clearing in the forest near their houses. It was always safe there, living in Bunnyburrows did have the perks of at least somebunny around. She could still remember the cold, emotionless chocolate brown eyes staring at her, telling her he wasn't going to keep doing this, keeping up this "facade" as if they were still friends.

It still hurt her to this day, but what happens after left scars in her heart forever. Struggling with the now painfully clear truth, she made friends with her other classmates, even if she was a bit on the shy side. The way Leodore had left her changed her entire personality. She was no longer the shy, quiet lamb, she was now the outgoing kind of crazy friend every mammal couldn't help but to be friends with. her new bubbly personality was the perfect mask to hide her real, hurt self in, not to mention her emotions as well.

If anything like this happened to another mammal, they would without a doubt choose not to be friends with them again. That's where Dawn went wrong. She had let Leodore back into her life, after a show of apology she had so naively believed. Oh, how easily she had fallen into his trap, his web of fakeness.

At about the end of grade seven, their classmates found out, that once again they were friends. The shunning towards both of them resulted in the next problem. Leodore had lied all along, it was all a trick. Why? because he wanted to prove to his other "friends" that he could hurt someone as well as they could. Hurt her he did, all right. He had ditched her at this "party", saying he had to get something. When he returned, he came just in time to watch her crumple down and cry after all the taunting and bullying his squad did to her. The years of high school were harder for her now, seeing the faces of her bullies every day. Her old friends didn't want to be friends anymore, afraid of the Leodore's wrath. The only solid ground she had was her studies. Throwing herself into it, she got recommended for assistant mayor. She was ready to accept it until she saw who was running for the job of mayor.

Leodore Lionheart.

She didn't want the job anymore, and came up with plenty of excuses to reject the recommendation. That was when the Prowlers of the night (POTN) came to her. Strangely, they knew of her dilemma with Leodore, and had offered her chance at revenge. She would take the job, work hard for a few years to fool everyone with her supposed innocence, and ruin Leodore's reputation when every mammal is at its weakest and pointing fingers (or claws, paws, you know...).

She wasn't that dumb to accept such a risky job like that, but it came with a extra burden. Obey, or your loved ones shall die. What kind of daughter would she be if she let her mother die? She had no choice but to comply.

They had told her she was the best, and that they would protect her. If so, then where were they? What type of slag-eating mammals they were! As soon as she gets out of here, if ever, she will find them and teach them a lesson.

LEODORE'S POV

What did I do to myself?

Leodore depressingly sat at a nearby cafe, head in his paws. An untouched mug of still-steaming coffee sat on the oak table, adding to the look of "help me I'm so lonely!" Yes, he did look pathetic, and he could just imagine his father yelling at him for exposing his weaknesses and destroying his ego. Like the hell he cared about that now.

Look, he wasn't the one to blame things on someone else, but his father had ruined his relationship with Dawn. She seemed quiet when you first meet her, but she really was quite fun once you get to know her! She was the only good friend he would actually trust with all his secrets, and all of his fears as well. That was just one of the many things his father ruined for him.

His drunk dad was terrible to him and his poor mother. That must be why she left them? Dawn was the only happy thing thing in his childhood memories, and the others he didn't want to resurface again. He had never thought his classmates would judge so harshly. Every hateful look of disain, every shake of the mother's heads added to his breaking point. He broke, when a police officer, A OFFICER, FOR GOODNESS SAKE, stop him and tell him not to mess with innocent lambs like Dawn. Like, the hell he was ever gonna hurt her!

Okay, okay, he did hurt her, way more than he wanted to. His friends then acted liked he had control over them, when really it was the other way around. He listened to his manipulating friends, the asshole he was, and ending up hurting his real friend beyond repair.

Leodore really thought he could have made it here without her, but he knew deep inside he was wrong. She was the reason why he tried so hard at campaigning, the reason why he woke up at three. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to prove to Dawn that he's better than he was, and he would like to make peace for his
actions.

Dawn was not one of those forgiving mammals though.

At least he could try... To apologize.

It wouldn't be easy, considering how much he's hurt her, but there must be some form of her old happy self in there...

He's gonna try and find it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi! 2starryeyes here!

I know, all of this I have wrote before... but this needs a little backstory as well! I hope I gave y'all enough to read the next chapter, which will be OUT SOON!

This will progress a lot faster than the other one, don't worry! I just have to get my muses straight once more!

Thank you for sticking through with me!

And yes, I have restarted the ENTIRE story, since the content in the future is WAY different.

Until the next chapter!

*2starryeyes*