"You have ten minutes."

Sion found himself in a beautiful field of flowers. They blew gently in the wind, each a different vibrant color and smell. These flowers couldn't exist in the real world. Sion guessed he was in the magical realm. If this was a regular day Sion would be eager to go exploring. He would study each flower and see if they had different properties then the ones from the human world. He would bring a bunch back and try to grow them in his garden. Maybe if he was lucky a wandering alchemist might pass by and help Sion make the flowers into potions or antidotes. Of course, this wasn't a regular day and the flowers were not Sion's top priority. Right now, Sion needed to figure out what happened since that night in the natural garden. It wasn't normal to find one's self in the middle of the magic realm with no recollection on how they got there.

Sion blinked in the sunlight. He felt disoriented. Had he always been this tall? For some reason his mind thought he should be smaller. The prince looked down at his hands confused. He knew he didn't have hands for a while but then what did he have? The white-haired man tried to think back on what happened between the night in the garden and now. He knew time passed since that night, but he didn't know how much. What did he do yesterday or the day before? As he strained his mind, vague blurry memories started to appear.

He remembered being small and helpless. He remembered fearing the big scary humans who spoke in loud voices. He remembered their rough hands grabbing and hurting him. He remembered the smell and sound of the terrifying dogs that that came after him. He remembered being hungry and cold. He remembered living in a dark stone structure. He remembered cold water filling his lungs and the feeling of drowning. He remembered pain and fear.

Sion shivered at these memories. They were unpleasant and unhelpful. He couldn't think of the contexts behind them, just the emotions and feelings. It was a world without thought. Sion tried again to see what else he remembered. As he did some pleasant memories began emerging.

Sion could remember the nice smelling human who was with him. That human provided food. That human provided warmth. That human provided shelter. That human provided safety. That human had a nice smelled and a gentle voice. That human had gentle hands and a nice heartbeat. That human always was there when there was danger. A part of Sion's mind recognized the human, though he couldn't think of who it was. All he knew was that staying with that human meant safety and security.

The prince sighed in frustration. Once again, his memories gave him no context to work with. He had no idea what happened to that human who stayed with him. He didn't even know who that human was. If Sion wanted answers, he would have to find it somewhere other than his memory. The prince turned his head hoping to see the person who spoke earlier. The first thing he remembered after finding himself in the magic realm was a woman's voice saying something about having ten minutes. Sion had no idea what that mean but if she could give more information it would be very helpful to him. As Sion searched, he located the woman. She was heading towards a floating castle. On closer inspection the white-haired man realized she was a fairy like the one in the natural garden. Unlike Cinderella's fairy however this one was older and more magnificent. Sion recognized the patterns on her wings as a patter he found in a book about different types of fairies. This fairy was one of the head fairies of a fairy community. Judging by how her wings were similar to Cinderella's fairy godmother Sion guessed she was the head fairy godmother.

As Sion watched her go, he realized his had miss his chance to call out to her. The fairy was too far away to hear him if he called, and Sion doubted that he could get up. Right now he was a little woozy just sitting there. The prince sighed and continued to look around hoping someone else was nearby. To his surprise there was someone else in the field of flower. A few feet away staring at him was Nezumi.

The initial shock of seeing his boyfriend in the magic realm was quickly replaced by concern. The dark-haired man looked awful. His usual kept hair was disheveled and messy. His clothes were worn and tore. He was thin and had a starved look to him. Sion noticed that the dark-haired man had bandages on his arms and legs. The parts of him that weren't bandaged were scraped and bruised. He was pale and had huge circles under his eyes. The actor looked absolutely exhausted. Sion wondered what happened. How did Nezumi get this beaten? Nezumi wasn't someone who couldn't handle himself. Something really bad must have happened between that night and now. Sion wanted to ask what happened but as he took in Nezumi's appearance something else flashed in his mind.

I was turned into an animal.

This distracted him. Was he really turned into a rat? Sion frowned to himself. No that wasn't right. He was most definitely not a rat. He knew he had a tail, but it was small and fluffy. He also had ears, but they were long and floppy. Fluffy tails and floppy ears were not found on rats. There were found on other animals like bunnies. Sion frowned at that thought.

"Did I get turned into a rabbit?" The voice coming from his throat startled him. Was he always that loud? Nezumi started at him for another couple of seconds before laughing hysterical. He laughed and laughed, falling back.

"Nezumi?" Sion watched him worriedly. Nezumi had always been in control of his emotions. He must have been tired to act this way.

"Of all the things you ask that's the first one that came to your head? How do you not know you were a bunny?" He sat up and smirked at Sion. "I knew that I was a rat when I was turned into a human."

"Give me a break." Sion pouted. "I guessed I was a rabbit, but I wanted to make sure. I've never been an animal before."

"Alright then, yes you were a bunny." Nezumi smirk grew. "A small helpless dumb bunny with no survival instincts." He snorted. "You have no idea how many times I tried to set you free in order to save you. You just kept coming back to me." Sion stared at Nezumi as he mulled over his words.

"It was you. You were the nice smelling human!" Sion's eyes glistened. Then another thought hit him, and he frowned. "Nezumi are you this beaten up because you were protecting me?" The dark-haired man's expression softened.

"You could say that."

"What happened between then and now."

"That's a long story." Nezumi sighed. "Too long for the amount of time we have." He glanced over at Sion. "I'm just relieved you're back."

Sion looked over Nezumi again. Although he still didn't know what happened, knowing that Nezumi was the nice smelling human put things into context. From his memories Sion concluded that the actor must have been through hell protecting him It made him feel guilty to see Nezumi hurt because of him. Sion knew Nezumi could take care of himself perfectly fine. The only reason for Nezumi to look like this was because Sion was helpless. If he was taking care of bunny Sion, he wouldn't be able to easily protect himself. There was no way that Nezumi would let Sion feel fear, cold, pain, and hunger unless he had no choice in the matter. In that case there was a good chance that Nezumi had been suffering in the same way. Sion wanted to apologize but thought Nezumi would take offense at that. His boyfriend always complained that the prince apologized to much. Instead he said,

"Thank you."

Nezumi stared at him in confusion.

"That was unexpected. What's with your sudden gratitude?

"Back when I was a rabbit, you didn't abandon me."

"Why would I abandoned you?" Now Nezumi looked insulted. He crossed his arms and stared indignantly at Sion. This made the white-haired man laugh lightly.

"Don't give me that look. I'm just saying you must have been through a lot to save me. I mean of all animals I could have been I was a rabbit! I must have been extremely helpless. Besides magic doesn't happen a lot in my kingdom. What was the chances of me turning back?"

"Next to none." Nezumi said uncrossing his arms. "That being said, if you had stayed a rabbit, I would have made sure you lived a nice peaceful life until you died. I would never willingly abandoned you." Sion's eyes filled with tears. How did he get so lucky to meet someone like Nezumi?

"Thank you." Sion sniffed. Nezumi rolled his eyes.

"Stop being so dramatic." Nezumi poked Sion on the nose. The prince puffed his cheeks out in a pout.

"I'm not being dramatic! Just because you're kind doesn't mean everyone is! Not everyone would stay with someone after they turned into a bunny!" Now it was Sion's turn to cross his arms.

"They would if it was their boyfriend."

"Even so, if there was next to no chance of getting them back..."

"Then he would take care of his bunny boyfriend."

"That seems like a lot of work" Sion eyed Nezumi's clothes. "Especially since you seemed to have suffered because of it."

"I would still take of you." Nezumi said.

"Yeah, because you're kind."

"Sion I'm worst then most humans."

"But most humans probably wouldn't do what you did."

"Fine it helped that you were a cute fluffy ball, happy? Your fur was ridiculously soft, and I enjoyed it when you curled up next to me." Sion's pout lessened. Nezumi surveyed Sion for a moment. Of course," Nezumi leaned in closer, "Your hair is softer than your fur. I much prefer running my hands through it." Sion felt his face heating up.

"Nezumi that's not fair! I just got turn back into a human. You can't flirt with me like that. I can't take it."

"Oh?" Nezumi purred leaning close. He gently put his hand on Sino's head and ran it through is hair. "But I'm only speaking the truth. You have hair like silk." Sion's mind went blank. It felt so good. He missed Nezumi's touch. The prince closed his eyes and leaned into his hand. A few seconds later Nezumi pulled something off the white-haired prince's head. Sion looked down to see a crown of flowers.

"How did that get there?!"

"The fairy children were making it for you."

"They were fairy children?" Now Sion had even more questions. "Nezumi how did we get here, and where is here exactly?

"I don't know fairy land?" Nezumi sighed and leaned back. "I traveled through a magic passageway." He smirked at Sion. "It seemed your Midnight Fairy Circle was a doorway to a magical world." Sion's eyes widened and his heart started pound with excitement.

"I was right!" No one believed Sion when he claimed that the circle of rocks could have magic properties. Sir Williams even band him from going, saying it was a waste of time. Now it seemed like he was right. If Nezumi had passed through the circle that would mean that there would be a Midnight Fairy Circle on this side. Sion turned his head and saw, to his delight, that there was a circle of rocks behind them. Wonder filled him as he noticed the pond in the middle.

"Nezumi look! The moon is shining even though it's day here. It must be still midnight in the human world! Do you know what this means? It means that time works differently between our two worlds. I always thought it did, but I couldn't test it to make sure." He turned back to Nezumi "I wonder if…" He trailed off as he noticed that Nezumi was staring at him with a soft expression. The white-haired man fidgeted under his gaze.

"What do I still have bunny ears or something?" He put hand on his head but only felt hair.

"No." Nezumi whispered. "I forgot how excited you could get…I forgot so much about you, even though it was only a little over a week." His eyes were oddly misty. "Damn it!" he turned away. Sion stared at him in confusion. He had no idea what was going on. As he watched he noticed that Nezumi was trembling slightly. Sion wondered if the actor's usual wall that he hid his emotions behind was crumbling

"Nezumi…are you crying?"

"No." Nezumi glared over his shoulder. "I'm not crying, I just feel…damn it. I don't know how to explain. Happy? Angry? Relieved? You have no idea how much I missed you when you were a rabbit." Nezumi turned away again. Sion watched him speechless. He always loved Nezumi more than anyone else but at that moment he realized Nezumi loved him the same amount. It was both heart warming and heart wrenching. It was nice to know his feelings were reciprocated but he never wanted to see Nezumi this broken.

"Hey, you don't need to be tough in front of me." Sion said gently reaching for him and pulling him into a hug.

"Shut up." Nezumi muttered before relaxing and returning the gesture. "I told you I'm not crying." Sion hummed in acknowledgment. After a few seconds Nezumi sighed and started talking.

"Although it was only a short amount of time it felt like forever. I thought we weren't going to make it. I thought I had failed you. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have been so indecisive. You were just so helpless…" Sion listened to Nezumi open up. It must have been so hard for the actor to have to take care of Sion and find the doorway to the fairy realm. Sion reached up and slowly ran a hand through his hair. After a minute or so Nezumi pulled back and Sion saw he was back to his normal self.

"You know it's unfair for you to be this cute right after you turned back into a human." Nezumi scolded at Sion. "It overwhelms me."

"Sorry?" Sion said uncertainly. "But you have to try to be less flirty."

"I'm not being flirty." Nezumi muttered.

"And I'm not being cute!" Sion huffed. Nezumi groaned.

"See just now. Don't do that."

"I'm not doing anything." Sion protested. Nezumi sighed and put his face in his hands.

"You're too much. What am I supposed to do with you?" He dropped his hands and looked over at Sion. "You're hopeless." Sion opened his mouth to retort but before he got any words out Nezumi glanced over Sion's shoulder and stiffened. His expression darkened as his eyes filled with a resigned tiredness. The dark-haired man turned back to Sion; all playfulness gone from his face.

"Sion, I need to tell you something before it's too late."

"To late?" Sion asked concerned turning to see what Nezumi had been looking at. It was that head fairy. She was approaching reluctantly with a solemn expression. Sion felt a chill go down his spine. Something was wrong and he didn't like it. "Nezumi what's going on?"

"Look at me." Nezumi said gently turning Sion's face towards him. "Just listen for a moment." His boyfriend took a steadying deep breath. "When I first met you, I had no idea how much you would change my world. You made me see the joys of being a human. You taught me so much. It wasn't until you were gone that I realized how much you did for me. You did everything from protect me for the nobles to teaching me how to take care of myself when I'm injured. You're my world Sion. I love you."

"Nezumi?" Sion said confused. "I don't understand where this is coming from. I mean I love you to but why does this sound like you're saying goodbye?"

"Because." Nezumi let his hands fall to his side. "It is. I had to make a deal with the fairies, and that deal included me turning back into a rat.." Sion stared at Nezumi as he struggled to understand what his boyfriend was saying. Nezumi had made a deal with the fairies? Nezumi was going to be turned into a rat again? That didn't make sense. They already fought off Cinderella's fairy godmother. There shouldn't be any reason that Nezumi had to be turned back unless Nezumi wanted to be a rat again.

"I thought you wanted to stay human."

"I do." Nezumi nodded. Sion started at him for a few seconds longer.

"Then why are you making this deal?"

"So, they would turn you back into a human."

Sion felt fear creep into his stomach. That was why he was allow to become human again, because Nezumi had to give up his humanity? The prince didn't want to believe that it was true. He didn't take the spell for his boyfriend and get turn into a rabbit so Nezumi could leave him. This couldn't be happening.

"Then take back the deal." Sion's voice was deadly calm. Nezumi frowned.

"That would mean you would have to be turn back into a rabbit. That can't happen. I won't let that happen."

Sion looked into the face of his boyfriend. He looked for any sign that he was lying. The prince felt a sense of Deja vu. He had done the exact same thing when Nezumi had broken up with them. The disconnect between himself and the world was forming again as his heartbeat became too loud. He hoped this time was different. He hoped that Nezumi was lying. As he searched the actor's face he found, like last time, no traces of falsehood. Panic weld up inside of him.

"That's unfair." Sion couldn't lose Nezumi just when they were united. "They can't just turn you back into a rat. Why can't we both be humans?"

"Natural order or some other bs."

"That's unfair. They shouldn't get to decide that." Sion knew he sounded winey, but he didn't care. He wouldn't let Nezumi go again. This couldn't let this happen.

"Sion, how many times do I have to tell you that life isn't fair." Nezumi softly ran his hand through Sion's hair. The prince looked into Nezumi's eyes and found that his boyfriend had accepted his fate. Nezumi was willing to throw it all away for him. Nezumi was willing to let go. The world crashed around Sion and he threw himself into Nezumi's arms weeping openly. The whole situation was extremely unjust. He had protected Nezumi back then even if it meant being turned into an animal. He couldn't have Nezumi give everything up. He knew he had a responsibility to his kingdom but there were other nobles where were more fit to rule then him.

"It's time." The head fairy said.

"I see." Nezumi muttered.

"No." Sion said fiercely, struggling to get in front of Nezumi. "Don't do this! He wants to be human! Why do you guys want to take that away from him?"

"Prince Sion please."

"No!"

"We must preserve the natural order. We can't have an extra human running around." The head fairy looked imploring. "You must understand you were never meant to meet him. You were supposed to meet and fall in love with Cinderella."

"Again, with that!" Sion exclaimed. "Who said I would have dated her if Nezumi wasn't in the picture?" He was so tired of Cinderella being dragged into his love life. Yes, he did like her. She was his closest friend, and someone he enjoyed spending time with, but he felt no romantic feelings for her. Why couldn't people understand that.

"If Nezumi wasn't in the picture you would have dated Cinderella" The fairy's mater of fact voice made Sion's blood boil. He opened his mouth to deny but then closed it. Truth be told if the mysterious dark-haired man hadn't shown up, he probably would have started dating Cinderella. It wouldn't be because of any romantic feelings but instead because it was better to date a friend then a random noble.

"See what I mean?"

"That doesn't count. I wouldn't have fallen for her. I would have been content but not happy. It would be unfair to both of us. I could never give her the love she deserved, and she could never make me happy. Meeting Nezumi was one of the best things to happen in my life."

"Meeting Nezumi was a mistake. If he had just stayed by the coach, he would have been turn back into a rat. If Rosemary had handled it better and brought him back here with her, we would be able to turn him into a rat."

"So, you're saying Nezumi was turned into a human against his will to play a servant for Cinderella?" Sion asked angrily. "That's unfair to him! "

"Animals don't care as long as they can be turned back into humans."

"Nezumi is different!" Sion shouted. He hated this. How could someone compare anybody or any animal to Nezumi. He was his own special person. There was no one like him in the world.

"Sion" Nezumi said gently putting his hand on the white-haired man's shoulder.

"No!" Sion yelled shaking it off. "If that's the case then I might has well have stayed a rabbit! That way you could have had a chance at doing what you wanted, instead of what these fairies decided for you!"

"Sion." Nezumi's voice was stern. He turned the he prince around and looked him in the eyes. "You have a kingdom and a family to return to. Everyone misses you. Sir William, Cinderella, your mother, they all want you. You have people who depend on you. You can't afford to do this."

"But…"

"Sion its time to let me go."

"That's unfair. Don't I get a say in this."

"Nope." A weak smirk crossed Nezumi's face. "For once in my life the fairies gave me a choice and I choose to save you." Sion stared at Nezumi. He hated not getting a say in this. Even so he could see that Nezumi wasn't going to let him become a rabbit again. The prince's shoulders slumped as he leaned into Nezumi's arms.

"What am I going to do without you?" Sion sobbed.

"No need to be dramatic. Things will get better over time and eventually," the dark-haired man swallowed hard. "you'll find someone new." Nezumi's voice sounded painfully sad. "I bet he'll be better than me anyways."

Sion sobbed harder and tightened his grip. He highly doubted that he would be able to fall in love again. In his world love did not come easily. People were always trying to manipulate him in order to get his kingdom. Until he had met Nezumi, he had closed off his heart to loving new people romantically. Nezumi was the one exception. Since their first meeting he had treated Sion completely normal.

"I doubt it." Sion muttered. "I doubt I will be allowed to find someone I like who has no alternate motives." He sniffed and peered over at Nezumi. "Do you think you'll be able to get over me in time?"

"I…" Nezumi sighed. "I'll be a rat again. I won't be able to regret anything or remember anything."

"I remembered you." Sion whispered softy. "When I was a rabbit, I remembered you enough to stay with you."

"Only because you were a human first." Nezumi pressed his forehead to Sion's "You still had lingering human instincts and connections. I have lingering rat instincts as a human. Now that you're back to your original form however do you have anything animal instincts remaining?" Sion thought it over. Although he had faint memories, he didn't have any of his animalistic nature left. He shook his head.

"See, when I turn back, I might have a few lingering ideas but those will not include human instincts." He pulled away to look Sion in the eyes. "Rat don't love like humans."

"I'll find a way to save you. Like you did for me. I won't let it end this way." To Sion's surprise Nezumi's face darkened.

"Please don't" he begged. "It will only ruin you. You're aware that other than the Midnight Fairy Circle there isn't another well known portal. You would have to travel far to find a way to turn me back."

"But you would have done it for me!" Sion protested.

"I don't have a kingdom to run." Nezumi pointed out. The white-haired man opened his mouth to protested but Nezumi cut him off. "Also think about this, a rat's lives is shorter than humans. When I'm a rat again I'll only have a couple of years left to live. It would be bad end back for both of us. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a cage. You would have to find a way to run your kingdom and find a sorcerer. Eventually you would end up running out of time and then blame yourself for my death. Just let me go. Return to your kingdom and do all the things you want to do." Nezumi kissed Sion's hand. "I know you'll be an amazing king."

"This is unfair…" Sion hated how he was just repeating those words over and over, but he didn't know what else to say. A part of him wondered why he even met Nezumi in the first place if fate was only going to pull them apart again. It hurt so much. Sion didn't know he could feel this much pain. This was the second time he felt his heart being pulled apart. Not that Sion regretted meeting Nezumi, but it felt unjust.

"Goodbye Sion." Nezumi said.

Sion cried harder into Nezumi's arms. He felt his boyfriend's grip tighten. The prince started begging anyone to save him. At that moment he would give anything for Nezumi to remain human,

"No, no please Nezumi no." he cried, repeating those words over and over again as if it could save them. As he sat there crying, he felt a weird sensation cover his body. The world around his swelled and collapsed. Suddenly he wasn't in the field anymore. Instead he was in a grass clearing. The full moon shone above, and his men were lying sleeping around them.

Sion looked up dully and stared into the darkness. If he cared, he would wonder why his men were sprawled around the clearing. As it was, he didn't care about anything. Before Sion's senses had time to adjust, a sharp pain shot through his hand. He yelped and pulled it back, looking down to see what bit him. Sitting in his lap was a large black rat. It pulled back it's lips and hissed at him. If Sion didn't know who it was, he would have been afraid. This rat was everything he hated about the rodent. It was big, mean, aggressive with sharp teeth and an ugly long tail. Its's black eyes glistened with untamed wildness as it stared angrily up at the white-haired man. Sion however knew that it was Nezumi. Instead of fear, grief filled him, and he hugged the creature tightly to his chest. He could feel Nezumi scratching his arm, trying to get out. If he wasn't so numb it would probably hurt.

"Why…why does it have to be like this?" Sion sobbed into the struggling animal. He cried out loudly into the night, his wails mingling with the twelve long tolling's of the midnight bells.