AN: I've had a bunch of stuff happen since the last update. I've had a meeting with my psych, part of my wisdom tooth broke off, I've had two work shifts, lack of sleep, and some other things have been happening so I just decided to skip an update. I had an argument with a coworker who was trying to be my boss but he might have told about some things that happened in the past (me being uncomfortable and paranoid) so I'm wondering if I'll be talked to today and that makes me paranoid about losing my job (which I 98% don't believe is going to happen). Anyway, that's why I didn't update so please cross your fingers that things turn out okay and thanks for your patience.

Act 19: She Looks Like a Princess

Kyoko grinned eagerly as she walked down the hallway of where the shoot was being held. This was a time when she felt that she would transform into a beautiful princess. She not only was going to be in professional makeup as if she were an actress but she might have a chance to act opposite Corn and she was thrilled to be doing anything with her close friend.

"That is great!" Kyoko turned to one of the ladies from the costume department, "If this time you really can grab the opportunity you will become a true Cinderella."

Kyoko stopped as that name repeated in her head, each time echoing her heartbeat. Cinderella. Cinderella. Cinderella. This was something that she had always wanted to happen. She had wanted to be one of the princesses from her books and though Cinderella had to marry a prince to become a princess, she was a hard worker and had a good and strong heart. Cinderella was one of her inspirations, a role model one might say.

The woman from the costume department started speaking again, "Because you have the chance to snatch the lead role that has already been assigned to Ruriko-chan. You are really lucky. This alone is enough to set the media into a frenzy, and you will become famous overnight."

Kyoko paused. Famous overnight? Cinderella? Had this really happened to her?

Generally, Kyoko felt that she was rather an unlucky person. She had been bullied in school and her mother had never given her the type of love that other mothers had. She'd been dragged into Tokyo and then ditched after her old friend didn't see her as anything other than a housewife. Still, meeting Corn had been a miracle. Knowing that the fairy kingdom had let their prince live a life of an actor and that she was staying with him was something she had never thought would happen. Now her wants could really come true.

Kyoko looked ahead of her. As wrong as she felt taking another person's spot would have been were she more innocent and therefore much more foolish, she could take advantage of the situation from this point. Ruriko had bullied her, stepped on her kindness, and provoked her into this and Kyoko would rely in her dark side to be able to win against her. It wasn't impossible and she wanted the taste of fame. She wanted to prove herself worthy.

She might be a complete beginner when it came to acting but she could try her best and then maybe, just maybe, luck would be on her side today. She could be victorious to both Sho and Ruriko.

The two women stopped her outside of the room that they would be entering and the second woman spoke very casually, "So, you need to change clothes and then I will help you with the makeup."

Kyoko froze. She had already been told that she would be wearing makeup but she hadn't had the words make their way through her head before now. Hearing someone else say it made it so much more real. She had the word drum through her head and she looked at the women with an eager smile. They wouldn't be deceiving her now, would they?

…..

…..

Ren really wanted to see how beautiful Kyoko would be with some time spent on her appearance. It wasn't that he wasn't attracted to her already but these people in the makeup and wardrobe departments could do wonders and he was excited to see what they might come up with. He'd have to maintain composure though. People shouldn't know about his feelings for her. It might hurt both of them.

As he made his way to where Kyoko would exit from, he was surprised to see a very upset Ruriko. He wasn't a jerk, well he was never enough of a jerk to be cruel to someone who was upset and he knew that Ruriko had a crush on him. Actually, too many people in Japan had a crush on him for him to feel comfortable.

Without Ruriko and him working together though, this drama would never be finished and he had to concentrate on his acting and let Kyoko take care of herself. Unlike Ruriko, Ren deeply believed that Kyoko could take care of herself. She was gutsy and bold and independent and most girls weren't like that, they hadn't suffered in the same way.

"Tsuruga-san?" Ruriko asked as she looked at him in shock. She hadn't expected for Ren to come find her and it showed on her face.

Ren took a seat next to her and sighed, "The director seems serious this time," he told her and Ruriko sniffed before nodding. "I think you better stop saying things like you want to quit. If you want the director to change his mind," he advised, "then you can only rely on your acting skills."

Ren made sure that he didn't let his emotions show by speaking very gently. He looked over to Ruriko who had her head down and her eyes closed as if she wanted to guard herself from him. Ren hadn't meant to make her feel bad or that he was attacking her. He hadn't wanted for his attraction to Kyoko to get in the way of them being able to film a scene together. He had to work more on concealing his true feelings once again.

"Erm," Ruriko said and Ren looked at her with a gentleman's smile. "You know, Tsuruga-san?" she asked and Ren hummed as he watched her closely. The intense gaze seemed to melt her a little bit.

One of the women from the makeup department came along at this time, cutting Ruriko off from what Ren was guessing would have been an apology. She walked over to them. "Ah?" she asked, "Isn't this Tsuruga-san and Ruriko-chan? Why are the both of you sitting here?" she asked and Ren looked at Ruriko wondering if she already knew the reason. He had been trying to keep his emotions for Kyoko bottled up but maybe it was too obvious what he was thinking. "I know," the woman said with a smile, "Are you waiting here for Kyoko-chan to come out?"

Ruriko glared at her and Ren looked down now that Ruriko was turned away. He hadn't wanted Ruriko to find out as it might cause tension between the two of them which was never good for filming but he had wanted to see her, his childhood friend and his idea of the ideal Japanese woman.

"No, of course not," Ruriko denied but Ren wondered if he'd even have to say anything for people to realize the truth.

As Kyoko stepped out, Ren's breath stopped and he looked at her as if she were a goddess. He knew that she was beautiful even if other people would only see her as plain but he had never thought that he would see her in this way. He tried hard to keep his emotions in check but with how gorgeous she was it was hard for him not to feel like a schoolboy again. No other woman had captivated him in such a way. Nostalgia, it must be the magical witchcraft that accompanied nostalgia. He had held women. Had sex with women. He couldn't be drawn to her like this without his head being confused to nostalgia. It had been too long since he had been satisfied in bed.

Kyoko gazed into Ren's eyes and saw the way that Corn was watching her. He was looking at her as if she were a priceless artwork and it made her a little self conscious. She had thought that she looked like a traditional Japanese woman but Ren was staring at her as if she were more than that. Kyoko shook her head. She promised not to fall in love and love was a foolish emotion that she needed to crush and get rid of. However, imagining Corn looking at her with his emerald eyes made her cheeks heat up.

She was going to have a hard time denying her emotions for this fairy prince.

Kyoko had always wanted to be a princess in a fairytale and the way that she was being treated today made her believe that someone had blessed her with a magic spell. She felt stronger, happier, safer.

…

…

As Ren returned back to the set, he couldn't get Kyoko off of his mind. She was as beautiful as any model that he had ever seen and she made him feel weak and unmanly. This was a strange sensation that he had never had before. He didn't want to go against his decision though, he would say only what was necessary.

"How does she look?" Seiji asked, approaching the paler Ren. For some reason this great actor looked a little discomposed and unlike his firm and workaholic self. He looked weaker as if succumbing to emotion and Seiji wished he had the guts to tell him that.

"A complete transformation," Ren commented, "It is out of my imagination."

He felt a bead of sweat on his cheek. How could he start denying the connection that he had to Kyoko now? What was worse was that at some point soon he would have to tell her the truth and make sure that she heard it and then she would hate him as much as this Sho that she had always spoken about. In her eyes, he would be the most foul and loathsome person that she had ever met. It would be too hard to be attracted to her when she had such feelings directed towards him.

Before Seiji could ask another question, they heard the sound of sandals and Ren looked behind him, a smile flashed across his face before he tried to be more serious. She was so breathtaking. He really had to put a lid on his emotions before they all burst free.

Kyoko felt the crew flock to her, complimenting her on this transformation but her eyes met with Ren's. She nodded her head to him before walking away and then gestured for him to follow her. He excused himself and went to do so. She made sure that nobody could see them before straightening the collar of his shirt.

"You have to get a grip on yourself," she told him as he continued to stare at her speechlessly. "Sometimes human women change because of makeup and even though such things don't happen in the fairy kingdom where all fairies are naturally gorgeous, this happens all the time on Earth and I'd hate for you to be misled."

"Kyoko," Ren said slowly, "Mogami-san. I need to talk to you about that. Talk to you about the mentions of the fairy-"

"I'm so sorry," Kyoko said with a bow, "I know that I shouldn't be mentioning them. I mean, your secret has to stay safe to protect you. I am so sorry, Tsuruga-san," she apologized and he shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't wanted this to happen. He had gone too far with her and he had to stop himself because this wasn't fair at all.

"Mogami-san, the fairy kingdom doesn't…."

"Kyoko-chan!" Seiji called out and Kyoko felt her attention being pulled away and Ren shifted as he continued without her listening to him.

"It doesn't exist," he said but Kyoko, once again, didn't hear him. She was already being pulled over by the director and Ren stood nervously as he watched her go. This hadn't turned out the way that he had hoped that it would at all. However, it was for the best that she hadn't been listening to him. It was cruel to do it in public and he didn't want to risk embarrassing her. Tonight. He would tell her tonight when it was just the two of them alone.

End of Act Nineteen

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated

Thank you to the reviewers of Act 18

FleetingStarDust, Guest, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD, misherukuro, MWEH, PaulaGaTo

Author Response:

I'm glad that people are gravitating to the view points of the character. I feel that when I update a fic often people find it easier to follow 😊 I sometimes write random stuff and then because I don't edit, I just post, there's a bunch of weird things in there. I mainly write for me (though I honestly update this one so much to get the reviews which fuel me with writing) so I don't edit and sometimes don't even read back my work, total honesty.