As the weather continued to warm up, the plants in Sion's and Nezumi's garden continued to grow. The couple found themselves working longer in the garden, weeding and tending it. It was amazing to see the small green buds, that appeared in the ground, spring up into stocks and vine. Sion enthusiasm seemed to grow with his plants. When they first started working, he was interested in their type and functionality. Now however he had made a personal connection with the plants. He started speaking to them as if they could hear him and gave a few of his favorite's names. Nezumi teased him lightly about it much to the prince's dismay. Usually Nezumi would have mocked him ruthlessly but he found it endearing. Sion put so much love and care into everything he did.

"Sir Tomato Erpingham is growing nicely" Sion said pleased. "We should have some tomatoes in a couple of weeks."

"Oh good." Nezumi said as he spread fertilizer around the base of a small bush. "Then we can try that "tomato tart" you want to make." He paused and smiled evilly at Sion, "And I'll collect the rotting ones to throw at you when you read a book out loud."

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Sion huffed as he pulled out some weeds.

"Your voice sounds like wood. Classics were never meant to be read in monotone. I've heard children read with more expression then you. You assassinate the book's auto quality." Nezumi sighed and looked sadly over at Sion. "At night I still hear Homer's and Shakespeare's cries of, "Avenge us Nezumi!" Your crimes have not gone unnoticed."

"Oh stop." Sion rolled his eyes and lightly wacked Nezumi on the arm. The dark-haired man chucked as he got back to work. After a few minutes Sion wiped his forehead and glanced up at the sky.

"It's gotten so warm out. Summer will be here before we know it."

"Then some of our fruit will be ripe enough to pick." Nezumi said. He was looking forward to eating fresh fruit. He loved fruit when he was a rat and his enjoyment of them only increased as a human. Sion shot him a knowing look and Nezumi glanced away. Although the dark-haired man never told him, the prince was able to figure out Nezumi's weakness. Now every time they went on a date there was always a snack of fruit available. Sion even went as far to bribe Nezumi with strawberries once when the actor didn't want to spend the day at a gardening meet. Nezumi got the impression that hanging around him had made the innocent prince's dark side grow.

"Anyways, we better hurry up and finish." The dark-haired man muttered. "You have to meet some nobles for lunch, right? I won't work in the garden if you're not here." Sion's face fell.

"Don't remind me." He groaned. "I rather eat lunch with you." Then his eyes lit up. "oh yeah I wanted to show you something!" he grabbed Nezumi's hand and guided him to the far side of the garden. Look! Sleeping Beauty has reached adulthood."

Nezumi's eyes followed to where the prince was indicating. There, in full bloom was the Coral Rose. It had sprouted beautiful buds of yellow and red.

"It's grown nicely." Nezumi observed. Sion beamed.

"I know!" he said. "We can pick some now!"

"Is that a good idea?" Nezumi asked hesitantly.

"It'll be fine!" Sion said as he picked up his clippers and snipped off one of the stems. The prince handed the flower to Nezumi. Nezumi took it in his hand, happiness blooming in his chest. He still remembered the conversation they had about the flower all those months ago.

"This rose represents the mixture of friendship and romance, right?" Nezumi said softly looking down at the plant.

"Yeah the yellow is friendship and red is romance." Sion said smiling. Nezumi looked at Sion. There was something about this plant that fit so well with their relationship. Although they were dating there was still elements of their friendship mixed into it. It made dating both romantic and fun.

"Of course, it has other uses as well." Sion said snapping Nezumi out of his thoughts.

"Right sleeping powder." Nezumi rolled his eyes. "It's hard to forget when you gave it such a lame name."

"If you don't like the name you could always change it."

"I'm not going to name the plants." Nezumi said dryly.

"Then don't complain about my names."

Nezumi huffed and pulled out a handkerchief to wrap the flowers in.

"Anyways I'm going to borrow that book and make some tonight. It'll be nice to have for my next show." He pocked the flowers and turned back to Sion. The prince was watching him with an amused look on his face.

"What?"

"Are you really planning to put your fans to sleep?" Sion asked leaning on one elbow.

"Only a few of them." Nezumi retorted. "There's one fan in particular that has been causing me…problems"

"Oh?"

"He broke into my room and tried to steal my stuff. He's rich enough to get away with it too. He's been harassing me almost every performance. It's getting tiring having to sneak in and out of the theater."

"Wow fans are crazy." Sion said his eyes wide. Nezumi made a sound of agreement.

"That's why I want to make some sleeping powder as soon as possible." Nezumi concluded. "So, I can make a clean escape from my fans." Sion paused for a second before bursting out laughing.

"You sound like a criminal planning his escape from prison." The prince snorted. He lowered his voice shifting his eyes back and forth. "Once the fans are taken out by the powder, steal the key and head out the back door. There will be a horse waiting for you there." He burst out laughing again. Nezumi chuckled lightly, his heart soring. The dark-haired man loved the sound of Sion's laugher. It was a pure sound, full of life. Although Sion laughed for other people, he never did it as freely as he did around Nezumi. It made it even better if the dark-haired man was the cause of the laughter. Nezumi could listen to that sound for the rest of his life.

"Speaking of fans." Nezumi said once Sion's laughter subsided. "As I recall, you bribed me after my last show to stick around and talk to my fans." Nezumi's eyes gleamed. "I believe you said you would teach me how to cook a cherry pie." Nezumi leaned forward. "You're not busy after lunch, right? Let's make some then. We still haven't tried that recipe from the cookbook that we bought last week." To Nezumi's surprise Sion's smile faltered and he hesitated.

"Um, maybe we could wait to do that?" He murmured. Nezumi shot him a questioning look. It was unlike Sion to pass up a chance to teach Nezumi to baking. It was one of the things Sion excelled at and he always wanted to share his passion with the dark-haired man.

"Ok…"

"It's just that." Sion bit his lip. "We are currently having a…rodent problem in the kitchen."

"A rodent problem?"

Sion was quite for a moment. Nezumi noticed that his ears were starting to turn red. The prince fidgeted with his figures.

"There have been some rats in the kitchen." He finally said. Nezumi stilled, his heart beating fast.

"You don't like rats?" he said trying to keep his voice neutral.

"I don't really dislike them" Sion muttered embarrassed. "I just find them…kind of scary." His cheeks turned pink. "I mean some rats carry diseases and…and they're so big! They're also aggressive. They will bite you if you get near them. Mice are nicer." There was a rock in Nezumi's stomach. It felt like Sion had punched him in the gut. He tried to ignore the feeling. Keeping a steady voice, he said,

"You aren't wrong. Rats are…aggressive and intimidating."

"You're mocking me." Sion grumbled. "I knew you would." Nezumi didn't answer. It felt surreal hearing about Sion's fear of rats. The actor knew he shouldn't be surprised. Sion was right about all those things. Nezumi had always prided himself on being a big aggressive rat. If he was still a rat and had bumped into Sion he would probably hiss and snap at him. Now however he wished he was a small harmless mouse. Maybe that way he wouldn't be feeling so miserable.

"Cinderella likes rats though." Sion continued. "She says they're good listeners." Nezumi forced himself to snort and rolled his eyes. That's how he would usually react to that information, right? It was hard to remember how to act normal when his heart was pounding.

"Yeah if you feed a rat they won't run and since they can't speak back all they can do is listen."

"The rats should be gone soon though." Sion said. "The cook set up some traps." Nezumi was silent again. He felt kind of sick hearing Sion speak about rats as pests and vermin. He knew humans had to set up traps in order to get rid of rats. It wasn't like they were going to leave on their own. It still bothered him. If he was a rat, Sion would be talking to Cinderella about catching and killing him as casually as he was now. It made his chest hurt just thinking about it.

Nezumi clenched his teeth. He was being unfair to Sion. Sion didn't know about Nezumi's past. How could he if the actor never told him? Sion had every right to not like rats. Many did carry disease. Most were big and aggressive. It wasn't Sion's fault that rats weren't the nicest animals. Besides Sion didn't hate them, he just didn't understand them. Fear and hatred were two different things. Perhaps over time Nezumi could show Sion the positive side to rats. He clung to that thought and used it to calm himself down. He would try to show Sion rats aren't that bad.

The toll of the noon bell startled Nezumi out of his thoughts. Sion put down his trough and sighed.

"Well time to go,"

Nezumi pressed his lips. He didn't want Sion to leave with this negativity between them. Although the prince was unaware of it, Nezumi didn't want to carry this around with him all day. He let out his breath slowly and pushed away his complicated emotions. He could deal with that later. Sion meant nothing by it after all.

"It'll be over sooner then you know." Nezumi said. "You've dealt with nobles before."

"Usually they're fine but this group…" Sion shivered. "They want me to marry either their daughter or son. Those two are just…I don't care much for them. I've already told them I wasn't interested but they're persistent."

"Do you need any sleeping powered?" Nezumi offered. "That way the next time you have to dine with them, you could make them mysteriously fall asleep."

"That's very tempting." Sion admitted. "But I'll pass. Sir William would figure it out and I would get in trouble."

"Just blame it on food poisoning." Nezumi said dismissively.

"I've never heard of food poisoning that put all your guest to sleep." Sion cracked a smile. "And even if there was, I already told Sir William about the sleeping power so he would know."

"This is why you should've kept it a secret. So nosy knights don't interfere with your scheme to put tedious nobles to sleep." Nezumi scolded. Sion laughed. The sound made the pain in Nezumi's heard fade.

"Even if it worked, it wouldn't solve the problem. They would just postpone it to another day." Sion shook his head. "Don't worry I'll use my usual methods of getting through."

"Oh, what are those?"

"You know." Sion started counting them off on his fingers. "Daydreaming, rewarding myself afterwards for dealing with nobles, pretending I'm anywhere else but there…" Sion's eyes lit up. "And my newest method of coping: Trying to decide what snarky remark you would make if you were in my situation."

"Does that work?" Nezumi asked amused.

"Extremely well." Sion beamed. "I'm getting better at them too!" The bell stopped tolling and Sion sighed again his lighthearted mood fading.

"Enough stalling. Time to meet my fate." He brushed off his pants. "I'll meet you after lunch at the library if I survive.

"I will be anxiously waiting for you." Nezumi said bowing deeply, "Onwards my Prince. You must completed your destiny!" Sion chucked again.

"See you." The prince glanced around to make sure they were alone before leaning in and giving Nezumi a kiss on the cheek. He waved once more and then scurried off to the castle.

Nezumi watched him go, his heart beating wildly, his sour mood nowhere in sight. Once the prince was in the castle, he stripped off his gloves and returned the tools to the shed. After washing his hands, he headed to the library. It was hard to find the books on potions and remedies that Sion had used. Luckily when he did located it, he found that Sion had bookmarked the page with a title card:

Nezumi's Sleep Beauty powder

Nezumi chuckled and flipped open the book to that page. He glanced over the ingrediencies and found to his delight, that other than fresh coral rose all the other ingrediency would be easy to locate. The dark-haired man smiled and lay the rose across the open page, leaving it on the table. He would go collect the items he needed then return for a snack and some cuddling with Sion. After that he would start working on the sleeping powder. First thought he needed to write down the ingredients. As Nezumi opened his bag to retrieve a paper and a pen, his eyes fell on something else in the bag and he froze. Slowly he reached in and took out the leaf the fairy godmother gave him. The usually green leaf had turned a bright silver.

The fairy godmother had finished her spell.

Nezumi stared at the leaf his mind blank. It was shocking to realize that over the last couple of months he had entirely forgotten the fairy godmother's spell. He hadn't forgotten his desire to become a rat again, that was always there, but it was in the back of his mind. Now he realized his mistake. He had let Sion's beauty and excitable personality overwhelm his senses. Nezumi ran a hand through his hair swearing. The prince was dangerous. His red eyes and enthusiastic smile were more deadly than a siren's call. He had let the white-haired man in and now he was paying the price. His emotions were too tangled to separate. Nezumi couldn't deny it anymore. He wanted the prince to himself. He didn't want to share the prince's smile and warmth. He wanted Sion as his mate. Although he had an overwhelming desire to stay with Sion, he still had an overwhelming desire to be a rat.

"It would never work out." He muttered to himself. "He's scared of rats. We're just to different."

"I would be surprised but it wouldn't change my feelings about that person. I mean, who they are now is more important than who they were"

Sion had said that as well. Sion would understand if he explained things…but could he? Nezumi always had this secret as his last defense. It was a way to protect himself from humans, to remind himself that he was separated from them. Forfeiting the secret to anyone was like forfeiting the last bit of him that was free. Even now Nezumi knew he wouldn't be able to tell Sion. Nezumi swore again, slamming his fist against the wall. He wanted to be a rat again. He wanted it so badly. Now that the spell was complete, the aching in his heart that called him to return to the wild had increased…. but the thought of living without Sion made his heart ache as well. He really went down too far. He should have never dated Sion in the first place. Easy fun? Getting it out of both of their systems? What a joke. He fallen hard and fast. He hated himself, what he had become. Why did he do this, why?!

Nezumi blinked as he felt something wet on his face. Putting up a hand and he was startled to find tears streaming down his cheeks. Was he crying over this? It was pathetic. He had been in worse situations as a rat. He had almost been killed, almost starve to death. He had been injured and in pain. Even then Nezumi didn't just curled up and cry, he moved forward. He always moved forward. This was different, however. Nezumi was a human now. He had human weakness. He was a pathetic human with too many feelings and emotions. The dark-haired man curled up and drew his legs to his face. He was trapped, suffocating. It had become too complicated. Why didn't he just stay by the coach like the fairy godmother told him? Why did he have to meet Sion? Why did he have to follow Sion back to his library? Why did he have to read a book? Why?

At that moment he wanted to be a rat again more than anything. He wanted all the confusion and doubt to disappear. He was tired, tired of always feeling things. It was to much. He knew this was his last chance to turn back into a rat and be free. This was his last chance to get out. He needed to escape…. He needed to leave right now!

Nezumi took another deep breath and held it as he tried to calm his panicking mind. Did he still have time? Could he erases all of the memories he and Sion made together? Could he go to the fairy without hesitation?

It wasn't a matter of choice. He HAD to go to the fairy. He had to be a rat again. This was his last chance. If he didn't he would regret his decision for the rest of his life. At least as a rat he wouldn't need to live with his regret. The Little Mermaid and the prince didn't belong with each other. The mermaid should have return to the sea so she could be free. That's the choice he would make….

Nezumi let out his breath crossing his legs. Slowly he began surrender his memories of Sion. All the feels and desires he locked up. Any that tried to escape, he crushed ruthlessly. He emptied himself of everything. He worked and worked, suppressing the better part of himself. He knew he couldn't get rid of the memories; all he could do was to push them away. Sion was in every part of him so every part must be compressed. He worked until he could feel nothing at all. He wasn't Nezumi the rat, nor was he Nezumi the human. He could move and function as needed, but he was no longer thinking or feeling. There was a buzzing sound in his head that blocked everything out. It didn't matter, he didn't need to think. All he needed to do was to go meet the fairy and be done with all of this. He welcomed the numb buzzing as a distraction. If he let a single thought cross his mind, he knew Sion would appear and the world would crash around him again.

"Hey Nezumi!" Sion's voice called out. Nezumi didn't look up or react to the voice at all. Sion's voice seemed to be miles away in a happier place. Was Nezumi there at one time? He couldn't remember. The prince entered the library and stopped when he saw Nezumi sitting on the floor with a blank expression. "What's wrong?" Nezumi didn't answer. He worked to control his emotions. The second the prince entered Nezumi's heart stated pounded. He fought until his heartbeat was back to normal. When he was ready, he spoke in a dull voice.

"We need to talk."

"Ok." Sion said softly as he sat next to him. "What is it?" Nezumi hated the gentle look on his face. He wished the prince would disappear, so he didn't need to do this.

"We need to break up." Nezumi's mind screamed in protest at his words. He struggled to keep the raging storm at bay.

"What?" Sion asked shock. "Why?"

"Because." Nezumi said simply. Sion blinked for a second and then scold.

"Stop joking that's not funny."

"I'm not joking."

"Hey," Sion leaned in and touched Nezumi's arm "What's wrong? Why are you acting like this?"

Nothing's wrong. I just want to break up." Nezumi could see Sion frown in frustration.

"Are your serious right now?"

"Completely."

"Come on Nezumi!" Sion complained. Nezumi didn't answer he just gave the prince a blank look. Sion glowered for a moment before the light of realization dawned in his eyes and he backed away a little.

"You mean it." He whispered. He gulped a few times, his eyes brimming with tears. "Why?!" Now he sounded angry and hurt. "Did I do something wrong?" Nezumi was silent again. Sion's anger swelled.

"Say something!" the prince yelled. His frustration and anger hit Nezumi like a title wave. The dark-haired man welcomed it. It was something he could concentrated on. Anger was a negative feeling and he needed to feel something negative. It made it easier to push down his own thoughts.

"It's not like that." Nezumi finally said "I just want to break up. Didn't I tell you back when we started dating that it would be temporal? Well now I want to end it." Nezumi pointed out mildly.

"This is stupid!" Sion was practically screaming. "You can't just break it off like this!"

"Why not?"

"B-b-ecause!" Sion stammered angrily. "You have to give me a warning, or at least a reason!"

"That was not part of our deal."

"Those are basic human decencies."

"Who said I was decent?" Nezumi forced a cruel smile on his face. He needed Sion to yell more. He needed Sion to rage and yell so that it made it easier to walk away.

"You are a decent human." Sion said tears pricking at his eyes. "I know you are."

"Maybe you should have listened to everyone when they warned you that I was horrible."

"I won't believe it!" Sion trembled. "Come on Nezumi I know you're better than this. Just be reasonable. You said up to a year, right? Let's go on for a little while longer. You gave me a warning." His voice became pleading. "I promise I won't fight you when the time is up. Just give me a week. After a week we can break up and act like we were never together."

"No."

"Please Nezumi. Don't do this to me." Sion was sobbing on the ground. "Maybe I'm being selfish, but I need a week longer. I love you Nezumi. I love you so much it hurts." Nezumi started at him with a cold expression while his mind was in a panicked. Crying was not what he wanted. He wanted Sion to go back to yelling. He felt like he was going to vomit listing to his boyfriend crying. He wanted to run to Sion. He wanted to hold the prince close and comfort him. He wanted to take back everything he said. Sion was right he was being unfair. Instead Nezumi held his position.

"I don't love you." Nezumi said dully.

Lie: Nezumi wanted Sion as his mate.

"I thought you realized that I dated you for your own sake not mine."

Lie: Nezumi thought it would be fun as well.

"Why would I love you anyways? You're a strange looking and weird."

Lie: Sion was beautiful and interesting.

"Do you think I really enjoyed our dates? I'm an actor after all. You should have known it was just an act."

Lie: For once he had been able to be himself.

"I had to put up with you for months now. Do you really think I want to push it off for another week?"

Lie: Of course, Nezumi wanted to put it off for another week.

"You're just being selfish."

Lie: Nezumi was being selfish. He should have just told Sion no in the first place. He led him on. He let him belief they could be more. He fooled the prince as well as himself. Nezumi knew he would end up as a rat again before they started dating. He knew it yet he still started something that he couldn't see through to the end. It had to end. Nezumi didn't belong here. He clearly showed how horrible he was.

Sion sobbed again. He looked so small and hurt. Nezumi knew if he stayed any longer, he would break. He could feel the protesting emotions and thoughts slam against his wall. It was already cracking. He didn't have any time.

"Goodbye Sion." Nezumi said and without another word he turned and left, leaving Sion crying on the floor. The dark-haired man made it through the gate and halfway to Cinderella's library before he collapsed on the ground. He fell to his knees and puked. The burning in his throat was nothing to the pain in his chest and head. He felt sick. He hated himself at that moment more then he hated anyone before. He didn't even know it was possible to hate one's self as much as he did. What he did to Sion was terrible. He was terrible. He wanted pain. He wanted punishment. He wanted Sion. He wanted to be a rat.

"Only a little bit longer." He groaned. Once he was a rat all these feelings would fade. He just needed to tell Cinderella where he was going so she could comfort Sion. Once that was done he would no longer be obligated to deal with humans. After that he would go to the meeting place and end his miserable existence.