Cinderella made her way down the road that lead to the castle. It was a nice evening out; the sun was setting, and the birds were chirping goodnight. Usually she would be enjoying her stroll to visit the prince. Today however she had a lot on her mind. She just finished her job and had dropped by her house to grab a few things when she ran into Nezumi. The dark-haired man told her that the leaf had changed colors and that he was going to finally meet the fairy godmother in order to turned back into a rat. Cinderella congratulated him and promised to leave out some extra scraps out for him if he got hungry. Even though this was what he wanted Cinderella, had a feeling that something was off about the dark-haired man. Nezumi looked awful. He was pale and shaky, and he smelled like vomit. What was even stranger was how he acted. He spoke without any of his usual flair, his eyes dead and without hope. His face held no feelings, he didn't seem happy or upset just…out of it.

Cinderella was a little concerned, but she didn't say anything. It wouldn't matter soon. Once Nezumi was back to being a rat, whatever was ailing him would disappear. A small part of her was going to miss him. She had gotten use to him lounging around the castle or her father's library. A greater part of her was kind of relieved he was gone. He seemed (at least to her) extremely miserable as a human. He hated human rules and connections. He acted on any random whim that occurred to him, like when he decided to live in Sion's library. He was hard to deal with and never tried to understand anyone around him.

As Prince Sion's library came into view Cinderella pulled herself out of her thoughts. She hadn't realized she crossed into the castle's grounds. Looking around she found that the sun had set, and night was fast approaching. She shivered in the cool night air. It had been a warm day, but the night was looking slightly chilly. She wished she brough a shawl with her. Spring weather was always unpredictable and if she hadn't been preoccupied with Nezumi's situation she would have remembered that. Cinderella signed and continued towards Prince Sion's library.

As she got closer, she heard gentle sobbing coming from inside. Cinderella paused. No one was allowed in Prince Sion's library except for Nezumi and the prince himself. Since Nezumi was unlikely to cry, the only person left was the white-haired prince. All thoughts of Nezumi disappeared from her mind as she hurried into the library. It was dark inside, and Cinderella had to grope around in order to light a candle. Once she did, she was able to locate the prince curled in corner. He looked up at her tears streaming down his eyes. Cinderella felt a chill rush down her spine. The fact that the prince was crying in the corner, in the dark, suggested that he had been there since before the sun set hours ago and was to distress to light a lamp. Even though the prince was emotional, Cinderella had never seen him so defeated before. She couldn't fathom what happened to him. Without another thought the young woman hurried over to him and fell to her knees beside him.

"What's wrong Prince Sion?" she asked gently. The prince stared blankly at her. It seemed to take him a few seconds to recognize her at all. When he did, he gave a loud sniff and whipped the tears from his eyes.

"Cinderella?" he croaked. "What are you doing here?"

"I said I would visit you this evening remember?"

"Ah, yeah you did." The prince gave another loud sniff. Cinderella waited a moment but when the white-haired man didn't continue, she pressed on.

"Your Highness what's wrong?"

Prince Sion stiffened; hesitation written all over his face. He paused, chewing on his bottom lip. Finally, his shoulders relaxed and he gave a long sigh.

"I suppose I could tell you now. It's over after all." He curled up tighter. "Nezumi broke up with me." His voice was barely over a whisper. Cinderella wondered if she had heard right.

"Broke up?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"But…you weren't dating. How could you break up?"

"We….we were dating….he wanted to keep it a secret though, Nezumi I mean. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone but since it's over I guess there's no harm sharing it." He buried his face in his arms. "I feel so….so awful right now….So small and pathetic…"

Cinderella mind was blank as she tried to process the information. Prince Sion and Nezumi…dating? It was so ridiculous. A human and a rat couldn't fall in love. Nezumi was rude and cold. He never treated Prince Sion like the prince he was. He was too casual, too spiteful. He would never fall for Prince Sion. The only option left was that the dark-haired man had played with the prince's heart the whole time. No wonder he wanted to keep it a secret. Nezumi knew Cinderella and Sir William would see though his act and try to convince the prince to end it with him.

That thought of Nezumi's cruel actions should make her angry. She should be outraged that Prince Sion's kindness was used like that. Instead she felt her heart ache. She loved Prince Sion. She thought Prince Sion might see her the same way. Now however she saw that his love for her was just that of a friend. The one he truly wanted to be with was Nezumi. It was so absurd to think that all this time, smug annoying Nezumi held the prince's heart.

"Why would you fall in love with Nezumi?" she finally chocked out. Prince Sion looked up in surprise.

"Why wouldn't I fall in love with him?" he asked confused. "He's interesting and has a unique way of viewing the world. He acts cold and sarcastic but he's really caring. He loves reading and it's fascinating to listen to his insight on books."

Cinderella watched the white-haired prince babble on. As he spoke, he of Nezumi he seemed to brighten up a little. He seemed lost in his own memories.

"You really love him." She finally whispered. Prince Sion blinked at her. Then reality seemed to hit him, and his face fell. as reality came back to him and his face fell.

"I do…" he said taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, for not telling you…for dumping all of this on you." He smiles faintly at her. "You're such a good friend. Sorry I'm such a mess right now."

Cinderella felt like crying. She wanted to be the one who the prince loved. She wanted him to describe her the way he described Nezumi.

"I was so stupid." The prince buried his face in his arms "Why did I think my forced feelings suddenly made Nezumi like me? I love him so much. I was the one who agreed to his conditions." The while haired man sat back and looked at Cinderella. "What do you do when you feel like the world is collapsing around you?"

"Talk to some." Cinderella said quietly. "I talked to the rats and mice at my house. Sometimes when life felt too much just saying it out loud helps." Prince Sion paused then his shoulders slumped.

"I-I guess I'm overreacting…Nezumi told me it was only temporary" A sad smile appeared on his lip. "He always was too good for me. He only dated me because I pressured him into it." Prince Sion stared blankly at the window across the library. "I feel frustrated and angry right now. I'm angry at Nezumi for leading me on. I mean he could give me a warning first! He just…broke up with me and then refused to give any reasons." His arms slumped. "I'm also angry at myself for acting like a child. Why couldn't I have been more mature about it? I know how to keep my temper. I've been in court my whole life. Why did I just lose control like that?" The prince pulled at his hair. "Ug! I'm just so angry at the world! Why did this have to happen?! Is it me? Is it Nezumi? Who was being unfair?"

As Cinderella watched the prince rant, her anger finally rose over her heartbreak. Listing to the prince confirmed her suspicion that Nezumi had played with the while-haired man's heart. Prince Sion was always so honest, and now his purity was being repaid with cruelty. Everything the prince said about Nezumi was false. The dark-haired man secretly kind? That was such a lie. Nezumi was empty, just a rat pretending to be a human. But he was also an actor. He knew how to act in a way to get the prince wrapped around his fingers. Prince Sion didn't seem to be aware of this. He truly felt that he was somewhat responsible for Nezumi playing with him.

"You are worth much more then him!" Cinderella exclaimed. "He's just a cruel person. You deserve better!" The prince paused in his angry rant then gave another long sigh.

"I doubt it." Prince Sion calming down. "Nezumi usually doesn't do things without reason. I just wish he told me what that reason was." Cinderella watched the white-haired man lament. She knew the reason why Nezumi left. She always kept the dark-haired man's secret. She never told anyone. Now however, she felt angry at him. If Nezumi was going to play with the prince's emotions, then she would no longer protect his secret.

"I know the reason why he broke up with you." She admitted. Prince Sion's head shot up and he looked at her pleadingly. "This is supposed to be a secret, but I'm going to tell you anyways. Nezumi is a rat." Her comment was met by silence.

"I know." Prince Sion finally said confused. "Nezumi means rat."

"No, I mean he was a rat." At the prince's lost expression, she elaborated. "Remember when I told you about my fairy godmother and how she turned animals into servants in order to get me to the ball?

"Yeah, she turned the mice into horses and the lizards into horsemen." Prince Sion nodded.

"Well she also turned a rat into a footman…" At her worlds Prince Sion's widened in shock.

"But you told me they all turned back after midnight."

"They did! All except Nezumi at least. He read that human book and was stuck as a human. He didn't want to be one. He wanted to be a rat."

"All this time?" Prince Sion said weakly. "I didn't know." He looked down at the ground. "He must have suffered a lot as a human." He blinked for a second before laughing. "No wonder his past was so strange." He sobered up "It's my fault after all then. I was the one who brought him to my library. I wish he had told me the truth."

"It doesn't matter anymore." Cinderella said soothingly. "Tonight, my fairy godmother is going to turn him back into a rat." To the young woman's surprise Prince Sion's expression turned to horror as he jumped to his feet.

"Tonight?" He cried. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes." Cinderella said startled. "He's meeting her in the natural garden near the signpost outside of my town."

"I have to go there." Sion muttered weakly as he turned to the door. Cinderella stood up and grabbed his arm.

"You can't stop him!" she exclaimed. "He wants to be a rat.

"I know that!" Sion said desperately not turning around. "But I don't want a fight to be the last conversation we ever had. If he's going to leave, I want to make it up to him."

"He's going to forget everything anyways. He needs to lose all human knowledge and memory in order to become a rat again."

"Oh." Prince Sion said in a small voice his shoulder slumping. He turned back to her his eyes filled with sadness. "So, he won't remember me at all?" He looked so hurt that Cinderella almost lie just to make him happy. Instead she reluctantly shook her head.

"No. He won't remember anything that happened as a human."

"I see." Prince Sion said softly. He turned away and headed towards the door again.

"Wait!" Cinderella cried in confusion reaching an arm out towards him. "Why are you leaving now? It doesn't matter if you tell him or not!"

"It matters to me!" Sion exclaimed. "I want to tell him. I want to apologies. Besides," Prince Sion gulped "I want to be there until the end…." At that moment Cinderella understood how much the prince loved Nezumi. She dropped her arm in defeat. She couldn't stop him from going. She couldn't have the prince.

"Hurry," she said. "He left a while ago, but he was taking his time to get there." She could still remember the way Nezumi had staggered slowly at the door. "You might still have a chance to catch him." Prince Sion nodded and rushed out of the room. Cinderella watched him leave. When he disappeared from view, she allowed her eyes to fill with tears. She didn't want the prince to see her cry, not when he was emotional distressed himself. The young woman staggered to a nearby chair and fell in it. She hid her face in her hands and wept openly. She wanted all her feelings for the prince to disappear. She wished Nezumi wasn't in the picture. She wished she hadn't fallen for the prince at all. She didn't know how long she had been crying when a voice interrupted her misery.

"What's wrong my lady?"

Cinderella looked up startled to find Sir Williams watching her. The young woman hadn't even heard the knight enter the room.

"N-n-nothing." She stammered wiping her eyes and standing up. The knight frowned deeply.

"It's unusual to find you so sad."

"I'm just going through something." She forced a smile. "I'm fine." Sir Williams didn't look convinced but didn't press matters.

"I'll go find Prince Sion." He said gently. "I'm sure you want to talk to him…." The knight paused. "though truthfully I don't know where he is." He scowled. "I'm guessing the prince is running wild with Nezumi again." Cinderella glanced away upset. When he mentioned Nezumi a new fit of negative feelings rose in her. Her actions did not go unnoticed. A frustrated sigh left the knight's mouth.

"He really needs to stop playing around. Now that he's come of age, his subjects are expecting him to take the throne soon. Of course, he should marry before then." He smiled at Cinderella. "Many believe you're going to be queen." Cinderella laughed dejectedly. She knew he said this to try to cheer her up, but it only hurt to hear.

"He doesn't love me like that." She whispered. The knight's smile faded.

"I see." He said uncomfortably. "That's too bad, you'd make a wonderful queen." Cinderella swallowed the lump in her throat. Sir Williams had always been nice to her. After the initial integration to make sure she wasn't an assassin he had seemed to like her. The old knight always put in the effort to make sure she was happy and comfortable whenever she visited the castle.

"There's another that he loves." She admitted. "I never stood a chance." At her worlds Sir William's stiffened.

"Who?" he asked incredulously. "He doesn't spend any time around anyone but you and Nezumi. And it can't be Nezumi." Cinderella gave a small laugh that sounded more like a sob.

"Believe it or not it is actually Nezumi. I just learned they were secretly dating." The knight clenched his fist, anger edged on his face.

"For how long?" He demanded. "What have they been doing?" A look of horror crossed the knight's face. "What did Nezumi do to the prince?" He looked anxiously towards Cinderella. "Where are they now. I need to talk to the prince immediately! They can't date. I-… I mean the queen would never approve!"

"They've already broken up." Cinderella said quickly surprised by the knight's venom. She had almost forgotten that he distrusted Nezumi. "Nezumi ended it today. Prince Sion is heartbroken. I never seen him so defeated before."

"I see." The knight said calming down. "Dating that man would only ever end in heartbreak." He sighed. "If Prince Sion had told me I would have warned him." The older man gave a long sigh. "I better do damage control. I need to find Sion to make sure he's alright and I need to find Nezumi to…." His eyes narrowed "Have a long talk with him. Do you know where either of them is?"

"Prince Sion went to the natural garden near the signpost right outside my town." Cinderella said.

"That's a strange place to go along at night." Sir Williams muttered. "He must really be distraught."

"He's going there because that's where Nezumi is heading." Cinderella said. At this comment the knight's eyes widened in horror.

"Prince Sion went after Nezumi?"

"He wanted to say goodbye. Nezumi's leaving tonight." The young woman said softly.

"Nezumi's leaving..." The knight looked alarmed. "This is bad."

"Why?"

"There's been a scandal in Maphodora." The knight said fretfully. Cinderella watched him confused. Maphodora was a neighboring country that they were on poor terms with for years. She had no idea what it had to do with Nezumi.

"I knew Nezumi was up to something." The knight said as he began to pace. "I should have put it together, Maphodora has been too quiet."

"I don't understand."

"Nezumi's from Maphodora. I bet he's an assassin sent over to kill or kidnap Prince Sion."

"There's no proof about that!" Cinderella gasped. It was unlike Sir William to jump to conclusions. Usually he was a calm and collective.

"First he dates the prince and convinces him to keep it a secret." He stopped and faced Cinderella. "Prince Sion has never kept a secret like this from be before. We both know Nezumi is a terrible influence on him." Th young woman opened her mouth to protest but Sir Williams continued. "Then Nezumi suddenly breaks the prince's heart. He knows the prince would go after him. This was planned."

"No" Cinderella said. "I know Nezumi acts suspicious but he's an assassin-"

"Cinderella." The knight said worriedly. "You haven't heard the news yet but in in Maphodora, the duchess Isabell just killed her husband. He's on the high court and was popular with their subjects. Do you know what uproar this will cause? It only happened day ago and already there are riots in the street. They have started recalling all their men. Why would Nezumi suddenly break up with Prince Sion right after such a scandal? The timing lines up perfectly. Nezumi was recalled so he needs to complete his job quickly and return home."

"It's just a coincidence-" but the night wasn't listening anymore. He was back to pacing franticly.

"I knew I should have kept a better eye on him." He muttered. "Everything makes sense now. Why didn't I see it before?"

Cinderella watched him alarmed. She knew the knight distrustful Nezumi, but she didn't realize that he was this paranoid about the dark-haired man. She didn't completely blame Sir William. Nezumi never acted trustworthy. He ignored the wishes of the nobles and knights and did whatever he pleased. It made it worse when he began sneaking Prince Sion in and out of the castle. Then there was Nezumi's mysterious lack of history. It was no wonder then that Sir William was waiting for Nezumi to give him a single reason to suspect him of treason. The whole castle was probably waiting for the dark-haired man to show is true colors. Nezumi had made many enemies and very few friends.

Of course, it wasn't completely the actor's fault either. As a rat recently turned human Nezumi didn't really understand politics. He saw humans in all the same way. To him spiting Sir William was the same as insulting one of his fans. Cinderella knew she had to say something to stop the knight.

"Sir William" she started but before she could finish her sentence the older mand had turned and rushed out the door. Cinderella to watched helplessly. She knew she couldn't catch up to him nor could she stop him. Now that she thought of it, she doubted he would believe her story anyways. He was always skeptical about magic. All she could do was to hope that Nezumi a rat again before Sir Williams showed up or that they find Prince Sion before Nezumi.

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Sion's heart was pounding, and his breaths was coming out uneven. He had never run this far nor this fast before. The white-haired man guessed that he was only running on adrenaline at this point. As he turned a corner and charged down another empty street, he felt a pain in his side and his chest feeling like it was going to burst. Even so he pushed himself to run faster. He didn't know how much time he had left. He didn't know if Nezumi was already a rat. The thought of missing Nezumi before he had time to say goodbye and to apologize was horrible. He wanted Nezumi to know he still cared. He wanted Nezumi to know it was alright for him to want to be a rat again.

"You told him rats were scary" a voice in his head mocked him. At that thought a new wave of panic hit Sion. He had called rats vermin. He had said so many terrible things about them. He didn't want Nezumi to leave thinking that he felt that way about him. Yes, rats were scary but over time he could learn to accept them. Nezumi must have known he didn't know any better when he said those things. He must have seen Sion meant nothing by it. The prince couldn't have known after all.

They grew up in completely different worlds. She doesn't understand some of the basic rules of land. Even if she wants to be human, she will eventually regret becoming one. The human's world is extremely restrictive with too many rules and laws. She wouldn't be free. And the prince doesn't even know she's different. How is he supposed to understand her?

Nezumi had said that about the little Mermaid. It made complete sense now that Sion knew the truth. Nezumi was the restricted mermaid who wanted to live freely in the sea and Sion was the ignorant prince who didn't understand him. The thought of it made him cry all over again. He had really messed up without even knowing it. Why didn't he read the clues Nezumi was dropping? Surely, he could have figured it out….

Sion shook his head. No there was no way for him to figure it out. He couldn't even figure out that Nezumi meant a rat colony, not a human one. Looking back, it was almost amazing how ignorant he was. He wished that Nezumi had told him in the end. Not that it would have mattered in the long run. If Nezumi wanted to be a rat, then Sion would accept it. The little mermaid and her prince were never meant to be together. Neither was the prince and his rat.

"Not everyone gets a happy ending. Not everyone gets what they want."

Nezumi had said that about tragedies. He had said that was what made them realistic, that it ended bad. The dark-haired man always like tragedies. Sion wondered if he like this one.

Sion mentally slapped himself. He didn't have time to sink into self-pity. Nezumi had made it clear that he had only dating Sion because the prince pestered him. For that Sion should be grateful. He got months of pure joy and love from Nezumi. The dark-haired man indulged the prince's curiosity by tell him about his past (even though it only made sense now). Nezumi had even let the prince kiss him, even when he felt uncomfortable about it. The actor had been generous. Yes, he did break it off suddenly and hurt Sion. Perhaps he could have did it another way. But it still didn't mean that Nezumi was bad or cruel. He had given Sion everything.

And now Sion would go to him. He would apologies for acting selfish, and thank Nezumi for the treasured memories and their time together. Then he would say his goodbyes and stay there until Nezumi was a rat again…

Tears prickled from Sion' eyes. He angrily wiped them again. He shouldn't cry. He needed to remind himself that Nezumi wanted to be a rat again. Sion was being selfish, wanting Nezumi by his side. Nezumi didn't ever see Sion that way. No, he was going to see Nezumi off and he wouldn't cry or whine in his presents.

He would just be there until the end and hope Nezumi enjoyed the rest of his life.