A/N: okay, two updates in ONE day on the SAME story... OMFG!!!! this is EPIC!!! sorry if it's short or long or whatever.... i have NO idea anymore...... ENTER YU KANDA!!! YAYS!!! i THINK i have him OCC at the end, but oh well!! for those of you who don't know, OCC means out of character. i mean, he's MAD nice.... WAIT!!! i NEED to stop before i give it al way!!! just put the freaking disclaimer already!!

DISCLAIMER: i do NOT own Cinderella, it is own by Disney and whoever wrote it.. D. Gray-Man is Hoshino-sensei's!!!!

~Chapter 2~

"LAVI!!!"

Lavi awoke with yet another start as he looked at the giant clock tower. Again, too early for anyone to be up. Then he remembered, today was the day of the Prince's return. Come to think of it, Lavi never really saw the Prince before… If he had read all the fairy tails correctly, then the Prince would come riding in on a white stallion with a huge trumpet fanfare and flags and banners and such…

"LAVI!" This time, it was all of them calling.

Lavi groaned and threw on some clothes and ran down the stairs, exhausted by the time he reached the kitchen. He saw Tyki and Road dressed in the new clothes they got yesterday. Tyki was in a black suit and top hat while Road was wearing a pink, puffy dress with many bows and lace and frills with a wide brimmed pink hat and umbrella. Klaud was wearing a dress of a similar style, except this was deep red and less frilly.

"Well, why are you not dressed?" Klaud asked, flipping some of her blonde hair out of her eyes.

"I am dressed!" Lavi said, getting a swift slap to the face.

"Why are you not dressed in something more appropriate?" Klaud scoffed, blowing on her hand. "Don't tell me you thought that you would show your face in public with US dressed like THAT, did you?"

"I wasn't aware that I was going with you…" Lavi said, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Well, now you know. So go get dressed!" Klaud said, missing slapping Lavi by a few centimeters as he ducked out of the room.

"Man… I can't believe this…" Lavi said, going through his trunk to find his suit. "I can't believe I'm being forced to go see some stuck up rich snob come home… he's just a prince… not like there's anything special about him…"

Lavi checked himself in the mirror. His slightly faded black suit still fit him. He ran a brush though his hair, flattening the fire red locks over his eyes. He adjusted his eye patch and ran back down the stairs.

"I'm ready!" Lavi said as he jumped the last three steps.

"Good, let's go," Klaud said as she opened the front door and walked out of the house, Tyki and Road close in step.

Lavi hung back for a minute to lock the doors before he ran to catch up to his family.

~*~

"MAKE WAY FOR HIS MAJESTY, THE PRINCE!"

Loud cheers were hear all down the main road as the Prince came through the gates on his horse. It was a black Trakehner (1) horse with not a spot of any other fur color on him. The horse was trimmed out in gold colored reins and bridle and a pure leather saddle.

But it was the figure in the saddle that caught Lavi's eye. He had seen the pictures of the Prince that Road had, but they did not do justice to the god that was before him. Perfect porcelain skin with not a mark on it; long black hair that shined like the sun that was puled back into a high ponytail, but some of it fell in front of his face like a fringe; this fringe also covered beautiful, deep blue, almost black eyes that revealed nothing. If the eyes were the window to the soul, then his would be made of the darkest colored glass, hidden behind many locked steel doors with combinations that Lavi just had to crack.

Lavi just stared at the Prince, making sure that his mouth didn't hang open. He couldn't pull his eyes away. He could swear that he met this guy somewhere before… but he couldn't place where…

"WE LOVE YOU, PRINCE KANDA!!!" Road and her fan club screamed. Road was so happy that he accidentally pushed Lavi out into the road, and right in the path of the horse.

The horse reared back at the Prince tried to stop it before he crushed the kid. The horse came to a stop as the Prince dismounted and walked over to the redhead and extended his hand.

"Need some help?" the Prince asked.

"Thanks," Lavi said, taking the hand as he stood up. He bowed deeply and said, "I'm terribly sorry, Your Majesty."

"Who pushed you?" the Prince asked in a deadpan voice.

"The president of your fan club," Lavi said with a groan. "She's my stepsister."

"Oh, Road? Man, I feel bad for you," the Prince said, rolling his eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah… I'm fine," Lavi said, a bit taken aback at the casualness of the conversation.

"Good," the Prince said, a smirk on his face. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lavi…" Lavi said, a little nervous at all the people staring at him. The Prince looked around and seemed to get why.

"Hey, why don't you all head to the palace now? I'll come by later," the Prince said, looking to his entourage.

People looked around a little nervously before one of the dukes stepped up and said.

"All right, you heard his Majesty," the Duke said, moving everyone along. "Civilians back to your homes and jobs, everyone else, let's do as the Prince said!"

Everyone began to groan and moan but did as they were told. Lavi tried to slip away with his step family, but was held back by the Prince.

"Where do you think you're going?" the Prince asked, holding on to Lavi's wrist.

"Um… well, I was going to go home with my family…" Lavi said but stopped himself when he saw the look in the Prince's eyes. "Or I could stay here…?"

"That's better," the Prince said with a smirk, letting go of Lavi's wrist.

Lavi and the Prince waited till everyone was gone. And it didn't take very long either. The entire road was cleared away in a matter of minutes. Very soon, the two were alone, and it created an awkward silence.

"Um… so, you're Majesty…" Lavi said, trying to start a conversation. "Um… why did you want to see me alone…?"

"Well, I guess I feel bad for you," the Prince said a little shyly. "I mean, I know how you feel, being with family that you can't stand; a family that treats you like a slave… I can comiserate."

"Really?" Lavi asked incredulously. "I mean, you're a prince, you're supposed to be fawned over and swooned over by maids and such, right?"

"How many fairy tales have you read?" the Prince asked with a sweet laugh. He suddenly got more serious as he said, "I'm like a slave in my own house… Everyone's always telling me how to act and what to say. I'm able to go anywhere without my entire entourage following me… and all those diplomats asking me opinion on this and that when I really don't know what the hell they're asking… The palace life isn't all it's cracked up to be…"

"Yeah, I guess so…" Lavi said, knowing that he had heard those words somewhere before… "But still, it must be better then my family… My parents left me with my grandpa, who's never around… and my stepmother and her children make me do everything and get nothing for it… I can't do anything or go anywhere either…"

"I guess we're in the same boat, huh?" the Prince asked, the smirk back on his face. He walked over to his horse and asked Lavi, "So, you ever ride a horse before?"

"Well… I watched my stepsister do it once…" Lavi said, walking up to the horse and gently petting it's side. "Then she got me on the horse and it bucked me off… I haven't been on one since, I'm too scared…"

"That sucks…" the Prince said. "It happened to me too, the first time I rode… But, my father told me that I needed to be brave and get back on, cause the longer I stayed off, the more scared I'd be."

"So, when was the next time you go back on?" Lavi asked, looking at the horse.

"The same day," the Prince said with a smirk. "It wasn't too bad the second time… You want to give it a try?"

"Wha…? Lavi asked, a little thrown off.

"Do you want to get back on a horse?" the Prince asked, looking at Lavi with the same smirk on his face.

"Um…. I don't know…" Lavi said, a little shy. "I'm a little nervous…"

"When did that incident happen again?" the Prince asked.

"Um… I was 7 I think…"

"And you're how old?"

"18…."

"I see… eleven years is a long time…" the Prince said. "Still, do you want to try?"

"Why are you being so insistent?" Lavi asked, a little peeved that the Prince would be pushing this so much.

"To be honest, I have no idea…" the Prince said, suddenly a solemn tome to his voice. "I guess it's because we're so alike… I'd hate to see someone like that scared… of anything…"

"Then I guess I can give it a try!" Lavi said with a smile on his face. "I mean, how hard could it be?"

"Well then, come on," the Prince said, mounting the horse. He extended his hand to Lavi to help him up, which the redhead took and mounted. "Now, I like to go fast, so hold on."

"Um… okay…" Lavi said, tentatively putting an arm around the Prince's waist.

The Prince took off at a lightning speed. It shocked Lavi at first, so much so that he had to grip tighter to the Prince just to stay on. The Prince just smirk and urged the horse faster.

"I told you to hang on!" he said over the wind.

"I know!" Lavi said, laughing slightly. "I guess my family is right in saying that I'm a dumb rabbit!"

"I guess so," the Prince said with a smirk. "Baka Usagi."

"Very mature," Lavi said with a half glare.

"Thanks," the Prince said, responding with a smirk.

(1) Trakehner: a type of black horse, veyr gracefull and very fast

anyways, enjoy ppls!!!! i WILL update In Synch soon, i have the next chapter written!! just give me some time and it WILL be up!!!

for now, enjoy Cinderella with a twist!!