Summary: Prince Ichigo is taken away from the love of his life, the Prince Grimmjow, and put under a spell by the Lord Aizen that turns him into a swan by day, only able to turn back into a human when the moonlight hits the lake he now resides in. But neither of these princes are just going to give up when it comes to their love.

Warnings: AU, yaoi, slight violence, reads somewhat like a Disney movie.

...

Moonlight Part I

A Grimmjow/Ichigo inspired by the ballet Swan Lake

Written for faithnfantasy

...

Prince Ichigo had always believed in the power of love.

Well, true love, that is. The kind of love that was supposed to conquer everything, even death itself. However, no one would ever know that he believed in such a thing, that he was a hopeless romantic. It could almost be said that it was his deepest and darkest secret.

Perhaps his idyllic picture of love had come from seeing his father, King Isshin of the kingdom of Zangetsu, lose the love of his life, Ichigo's mother, and had never even so much as looked at another woman ever since. Perhaps it had come from the endless storybooks and fairy tales that had been stacked in the castle's library in positively colossal masses, the ones he had only ever read as long as they had the cliche happy ending. Perhaps it had come from his own idealistic, ardent nature.

But most likely it came from the fact that he had experienced this kind of love firsthand. He knew what it was like to love someone so much it physically hurt, and to have loved someone for so long he couldn't remember where he ended and they began.

You see, Ichigo's father had been quite close with the king of the province of Desagarron, and when he had passed away, King Isshin had taken it upon himself to make sure to keep his friend's widow, the Sovereign Princess Nelliel, company during the summer months. And so he would gather Ichigo and his two other children, the princesses Karin and Yuzu, and travel to Desagarron's royal palace for the entirety of the summer. But the prince of Zangetsu had never minded, not at all, because it meant he could see the reason why the very first day of June was his favorite out of the entire year.

The Sovereign Princess had only ever had one son before her husband passed away, and he had inherited his father's bright turquoise hair and deep sapphire eyes, so unusual that he deserved a name that was even more so. And so, that son became Prince Grimmjow Jaegerjaques of Desagarron, and Prince Ichigo's best friend.

Ever since they had first met at the delicate age of one and three, respectively, they had had some sort of instant connection, immediately becoming the best of friends. Their bond was so strong that it took the jaws of life to pry the two apart when it came to be the first of September, when the royal family of Zangetsu would have to return to their home in their native country. But when they were together, nothing else mattered.

As young boys are wont to do, they ran about the castle causing quite a ruckus during those summers. They threw rocks through the windows, breaking the glass and hitting the palace guards on their armoured heads. They shot down birds with slingshots and then eventually bows and arrows (though Ichigo would never admit to purposefully missing so that he wouldn't kill the poor creatures.) They ran through the hallways, screaming and laughing and sword fighting until it was so late in the evening one of their parents were pressed to forcibly wrestle the two into bed so that the castle would have a brief reprieve from the terrible twosome.

Ichigo and Grimmjow could never get enough of each other. Even after they were too tired to move any more they would stay up half the night talking about different things. Ichigo loved Grimmjow's brashness and confidence, the likes of which he had never seen. He loved the other boy's toothy ever-present grin and he certainly loved the way those eternally blue eyes gleamed with excitement whenever they were hunting out in the woods or sometimes, when he thought Ichigo wasn't looking, how they grew soft in ardor as Grimmjow stared at the other prince.

Eventually Prince Ichigo grew into a lithe young man, with hair the exact color of the sunset that brushed his shoulders, every bit as warm and beautiful as the natural phenomenon. It didn't escape his notice that people around the castle started to look at him in a different way, taking notice of his long legs and sparkling cinnamon and cocoa colored eyes framed by long, dark lashes. Of course, it also didn't escape him that everyone was starting to look at Grimmjow differently as well, for the blue-haired prince had grown to be a beauty indeed.

Tall and broad-shouldered with tousled sky blue hair and eyes the exact color of the deepest part of the ocean, the prince of Desagarron was heartbreakingly beautiful, with such perfectly carved features, every angle and plane of his body so perfect that he had been asked several times to pose for the kingdom's best artists. But he never accepted, which disappointed Ichigo as he secretly thought to himself that he would love to have a Grimmjow statue to bring with him when he left to return to his home country.

And as time went on, Ichigo found that his dreams were plagued with thoughts and visions of the blunette prince, and not in the usual way. No, he dreamed of the time he and Grimmjow had gone swimming in the river by the castle. He had been fifteen at the time and the other, seventeen. For some reason, just as he was about to strip down just as they had done so many times before, he had found himself frozen, a flush upon his face as he stared at the other's nearly nude form as Grimmjow dove into the river. He hadn't been able to move an inch as the other male had stepped out of the water, droplets running down tawny skin in the most sweetly torturous way, to see what was wrong.

Ichigo had shaken off the warm, tingling feeling he had gotten from seeing Grimmjow in such a way, but the memory was forever etched into his mind. Not that he was complaining, of course. But he had never looked at his best friend the same way ever again, because the orange-haired prince had come to realize that Grimmjow was more than a best friend to him, he was everything.

There was nothing that Ichigo wouldn't do for Grimmjow. Trite and silly as it may seem, he would throw himself off the tallest tower if it made the other man happy. Not that Ichigo thought it would, no, not all. Because one of the reasons why he would do anything for Grimmjow was because he knew the other cared just as much for him and that knowledge was just about the sweetest there was.

But he wasn't sure if Grimmjow loved him the same way Ichigo had come to realize he loved Grimmjow.

Currently the orangette was visiting the neighboring kingdom of Desagarron yet again. Or more specifically, the country's prince's bedroom, Grimmjow's bedroom, and it was quite a delicious feeling that Ichigo knew that not a soul knew he was there as he was supposed to be in the guest room reserved for him. Well, no one knew except for the owner of the bedroom, whom was presently laying beside him, their breathing both slow and lethargic as they had just come back from an arduous hunting trip and they had changed into fine tunics that royalty usually wore when they had no formal event to go to. The sun was just setting and its warm glow filtered in through the window, catching the silvery blue gray fabric of Grimmjow's tunic and the pure white of Ichigo's, making it sparkle.

Tomorrow was the first of September. Tomorrow was the day Ichigo would leave to return to Zangetsu for the bitter months of fall and winter, all the while wishing for it to be summer once again.

He had spent the past three months in mental anguish as he debated when the right moment was to tell Grimmjow how he felt, none of them seeming to be right. He wanted it to be perfect in every way, just in case the blunette decided to say those three little words in return.

Now wouldn't that would be something, especially since Ichigo very much doubted that Grimmjow did return his feelings in any way.

But if he did...

Ichigo looked to his right, seeing that Grimmjow was laying on his back like him, a hand over his abdomen and his pretty blue eyes closed as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, though Ichigo knew the other man was not asleep. He was only proven right when a cyan orb appeared as Grimmjow opened one eye to stare at him almost questioningly, seeing the anxious look on Ichigo's face. He could always tell when something was bothering the other.

"Somethin' the matter, Ichi?" he asked in his rough, velvety voice that was still as smooth as melted chocolate, causing Ichigo to bite into his lower lip rather harshly. He could feel the tingling of anxiety beginning in his stomach, a horde of butterflies fluttering around.

"I, uh...well, I'm leaving tomorrow, and..." Ichigo paused, unsure of how to best phrase what he was about to say. Of course he had gone through countless ways in his mind of how to say those three little words, but he had come up empty-handed. Nothing sounded perfect enough. He watched from the corner of his eye as Grimmjow propped himself on his elbow, palm cradling his head as surveyed the orangette with a gaze too intense to be real.

"Come on, spit it out then," he encouraged, a slight grin stretching his lips. Ichigo took a deep, shaky breath, wondering if he was about to ruin everything he had with the prince of Desagarron.

"We've been friends for a long time, Grimm, and..." he trailed off, raising himself up to lean on his elbows as he boldly met Grimmjow's intense stare head on.

It was now or never.

"And I think ever since I first met you, even though I was only a year old, ever since then I've loved you, and I don't mean in a friends kind of way. I mean I love you love you."

Ichigo's words were rushed and slurred, blending into one another. For a second he wondered whether or not Grimmjow had even heard him as the other prince was as still as a statue on the luxe bed they lay on, and when Ichigo saw that there was not even a hint of recognition of what he had just said in those sapphire depths, his heart clenched and he closed his eyes. He was just about to mumble an apology for wrecking everything by saying such a thing and slip out of the room so that he could perhaps leave early for his trip back home when silken lips pressed to his in a searing kiss, stealing the words from his mouth.

Chocolate brown eyes snapped open to take in the fact that Grimmjow, the prince and heir to the throne of Desagarron, his best friend, the person he loved more than anything else in the entire world, was kissing him. And it felt amazing, better than heaven and nirvana and all those good places mixed together.

It was a short kiss, lasting less than three seconds, and in his surprise Ichigo didn't even have time to respond, only gasping loudly as Grimmjow pulled away, eyes dark and sinful lips parted.

"Please tell me I'm not dreamin'," the blunette whispered uncharacteristically softly, brushing one large thumb over Ichigo's freckled cheekbone.

"Wh-what?" The orangette was so confused at what had just happened that he could barely even get one word out of his still tickling with the sensation of Grimmjow's lips. The other male chuckled.

"I've only been wantin' for ya to say to that to me fer five years now."

Ichigo sputtered, unbelieving of what the blue-haired prince had just revealed to him as if itwas just so obvious.

"Y-you...you bastard!"

The widening of Grimmjow's ethereally blue eyes were the only evidence to the fact that the man was shocked by Ichigo's exclamation.

"What?" he asked, obviously not believing that he had heard the other prince right. Meanwhile, Ichigo was infuriated, to say the least.

"You've been waiting for me to say it for five years when you could've said it your damn self all this time?" the orangette nearly roared, sitting straight up and putting both of his hands on his hips. If Grimmjow had been a lesser man he would've cowered at the sight of Ichigo's infamous temper, but instead he merely rolled his eyes, smirking as he too sat up, swinging his long legs off of the bed.

"Yeah, and I've been waitin' to give this to ya, too," he said over his shoulder as he stood to crouch by the ornate bedside table, reaching into the bottom drawer to pull out a small, wooden box. Ichigo frowned, even though the blissful realization that Grimmjow returned his feelings was beginning to set upon him, making his heart swell so much he thought it may burst.

"What is it?" he questioned almost reverently as the blunette sat back on the bed, holding the wooden box out to him, which he could now see was intricately carved with designs traditional to the Desagarron kingdom, panthers and lions covering the pretty thing.

"Jus' open it," Grimmjow advocated as Ichigo took the box into his hands, slowly prying the lid open to reveal a pendant necklace laying innocently on a bed of blue velvet the exact color of the prince's eyes.

The pendant was a design made up of the sun and moon curving around each other, fittingly made out of sun and moonstone respectively. It was just like the two princes, completely different and yet perfectly complementary. Hell, even their coloring fit the two solar bodies flawlessly.

Ichigo took the pendant out of the box, slipping it over his head so that it came to rest in the center of his chest, just two inches right of his heart. Unable to find the words as he had always been more of a physical person, he leaned forward and curved his hands around Grimmjow's sinfully divine face, closing the distance between them in order to lay a soft, tender kiss on the other's lips. Pulling away after a moment, he pressed their foreheads together, noting that the blunette's eyes were still closed.

"I'm still mad at you, you know," he whispered.

"Wouldn't expect anything less."

...

The next morning, Ichigo sat in his royal carriage, fingering the pendant that hung from his neck. He had decided to leave a few hours later than his sisters and father, as he had no desire to rise early after he had spent most of the night engaging in certain...activities with his new lover. He was even still wearing the white tunic, only having bothered to throw on a cloak and strap his sword to his waist.

He was absolutely blithe as he remembered what had transpired between him and Grimmjow. He had finally confessed his feelings and to find that the blunette returned them just as much. And even though he was leaving to return to his kingdom, they had discussed this very morning that the prince of Desagarron would come to visit him in Zangetsu for a change at the end of the month and would stay until the winter holidays were over. Well, when he said 'discussed' Ichigo meant more that he demanded that Grimmjow come and stay with him and the other prince knew better than to try and argue.

Ichigo was just about to pull out a piece of parchment from the trunk that was inside the carriage to start writing his first letter of the season to Grimmjow, as he had every time he left the kingdom of Desagarron, when the carriage suddenly lurched to a halt. He nearly fell from his seat, but luckily caught himself just in time, hands splaying against the walls of the carriage as inertia gripped him.

Once he was steadied, he rose to his feet, abandoning caution in favor of throwing open the door to the carriage and looking around to see what had happened.

At first, he noticed nothing unusual, just the same wooded path they always traveled on, but then he realized the masses of silver lying prone on the ground. Eyes widening, he stepped onto the ground to survey the five bodies of his armed royal guard, bloodied and completely still. Dead. Without hesitation, he lay his right hand on the sword strapped to his waist, wrapping his fingers around the hilt as his cinnamon eyes darted around. He couldn't see anyone, or anything, for that matter.

"Ah, look at tha' wittle itty bitty princess, isn't he a cutie?"

Drawing his sword, Ichigo whipped around in search of the person whom had spoken. However, instead of just one person, there were three. The one whom had presumably spoken was looking at him with a manic grin, the man's skin as white as snow and with hair to match. But his eyes were a frightening black and gold combination, completely malicious as they glittered in the high noon sun.

Two others stood a few feet behind him, one with silver hair and a wide, tight-lipped smile, eyes looking almost closed the smile was so broad. The last man was not alone, as he was smiling as the other two were, but his smile was small and tepid. His sepia brown hair was brushed back from his face, one single curl falling in front of his matching eyes. Ichigo bit the inside of his cheek, wondering how he was going to get out of this because though he was very capable of defending himself, these three had obviously so easily managed to kill five of his most capable guards.

"Who are you?" he asked in a voice that shook more than he would have liked. The albino cackled loudly whilst the silver-haired man chuckled quietly, but it was the brunette who spoke.

"My name is Sosuke Aizen. Do not worry Prince Ichigo, this won't hurt...much."

...

That night, Prince Grimmjow was very peacefully relaxing by the massive fireplace in his private chambers alone when someone burst into his room, disturbing the mental picture of his new lover pinned under him that he had been replaying in his mind for several minutes.

"Your Highness!" the man whom had flung open the door immediately sunk to his knees, hands bracing himself as he panted heavily as if he had been running for quite a while. Grimmjow didn't recognize him but was automatically on his feet, wondering what had caused the man to burst in, unannounced.

"What's going on?" he asked gruffly, eyeing the man as he looked up, recognizing him to be one of the kingdom's many soldier patrols, the ones who policed the forest surrounding the country's border with the country of Zangetsu. Suddenly, his gut twisted and his heart plummeted to land somewhere in his stomach.

"Y-your Highness, we were patrolling the forest, and we...we found," the man took a deep breath, looking down to the stone floor. "We found the royal carriage belonging to the Prince of Zangetsu, it-"

But Grimmjow didn't hear the rest of that sentence, as he was already out of the room, barreling down the hallway as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran past several people who tried to ask him what he was in such a hurry for, including his own mother, and ignored them all. He didn't stop once until he got to the stables, immediately heading for the beautiful white mare with piercing blue eyes that matched his own.

Forgoing a saddle and reins, he hopped onto Pantera bareback, spurring her into motion as best he could without stirrups. Many voices called after him, but again he ignored them. He had to get into the forest and that was all he could think of as he fisted his hands into Pantera's snowy mane as she charged into the dense wall of trees.

He rode fast and hard, absentmindedly murmuring words of encouragement to the horse below him even as she neighed in distress as they dashed through the thick underbrush of woods, Grimmjow using the sword he had had luckily strapped to his belt at the time the messenger had barged into his room to cut away low-lying branches. After about forty minutes, they came to where one of the narrowest parts of the wooded path that led to the border between Zangetsu and Desagarron intersected with the self-made path Grimmjow had taken.

The blue-haired prince couldn't stop from letting out a pained gasp as he saw the broken mess of wood and metal and fabric that had once been the royal carriage of Prince Ichigo. Around it were the strewn bodies of the orangette's royal guard, all looking like they had died rather bloody deaths. Sliding off of Pantera, the poor horse panting as she tried to catch her breath, he walked ever so slowly to where the ruined carriage lay.

Ichigo wasn't here. He knew that, he felt it. And he knew that the man he loved more than anything else wasn't dead, either, he definitely would have felt that, would have known with every fiber of his being if the life that meant everything to him had been extinguished.

He nearly would have stepped on something on the ground if it hadn't been for the moonlight reflecting off of it, catching his eye. Crouching down, his gaze zeroed in on what exactly lay there and he let loose a low growl before almost reverently picking it up in a gentle grip, thumb brushing off the dirt that had collected on the sun and moonstone pendant that he had given to Ichigo not even twenty four hours before.

No, Ichigo was definitely alive somewhere, and Grimmjow was going to find him, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

...

"Come now, Ichigo, it's not that bad, is it?"

Ichigo glared up at Aizen, the only thing he could do in his present state, which was a lot more...fowl than it was before. If he could speak, he would ask why the brunette man was doing this to him, but unfortunately whenever he tried to speak, the only thing that came out of his mouth were crass-sounding honks and hisses. To say it was frustrating would be quite an understatement.

"Yea' Ichi, I think ya look great this way. In fact, I got a little somethin' fer ya," the albino whom he had now learned was called Shiro (a quite fitting name, really) said, reaching into the dark cloak he wore to withdraw something small and circular, almost like a woman's bracelet. It was gold except for a singular citrine stone in the very center. Ichigo tried to back away as Shiro approached him with the thing, but only ended up falling onto his rump as he was unused to his new legs.

Shiro cackled and roughly set the thing upon Ichigo's new, smaller head like a crown.

"There, now ya look like a real king," Shiro said, standing back up to his full height and towering over Ichigo, whom was now desperately trying to throw the circlet off of his head by thrashing his long neck around. "Bahahaha, all hail tha Swan King!"

Ichigo gave up trying to get the blasted thing off and instead returned to glaring back up at Shiro and Aizen, whom were both looking down at him with amused smiles, one bordering on insane and the other still that same mild half-smile that drove the orangette positively mad with frustration. How he wanted to knock that look right off the face of the man that had killed five of his most trusted personal soldiers and had then forcibly taken him to this lake where he had turned him into a...

A swan.

Ichigo was now a white-feathered bird with wings and webbed feet and the famously long, elegant neck of the swan. No one would ever recognize him now, except if they looked close enough to see the infamously blazing mahogany eyes that would always be his, whether he be human or swan.

"But do you know why it's not so bad, my dear prince?" Aizen questioned, tilting his head just the slightest bit. Ichigo just continued to shoot daggers with his eyes, as he couldn't very well respond, now could he?

"Because, only in the exact moment the moonlight hits the lake and you are in it, you will turn back into a human."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Did that mean that once the sun rose he would be back to normal? That he could change back to being human and kill these men and then run back to the royal castle and fling himself into Grimmjow's arms and forget that any of this had ever happened?

"However, when the sun rises, no matter where you are you will return to being a swan, my little swan king."

One Year Later...

"Ichigo, wait up!"

"Yeah, we can't swim that fast!"

The swan that was several feet ahead of the five others rolled his still cocoa brown eyes underneath his gold circlet crown, craning his long neck to look behind him at the five pure white swans that struggled to keep up with him. Slowing down, he allowed one of them to catch up with him, the other swan bobbing his head up and down as he gave an eerily toothy grin for a water fowl.

Shinji had always been rather creepy, whether he be a swan or his normal human self.

A year had passed since Ichigo had been put under the enchantment of the mage Aizen that turned him into a swan by day and his regular form by night, and since then it seemed that the enchanter had grown fond of using the same spell on others that he believed had wronged him in some way.

Ichigo had learned in that past year that Aizen apparently held some sort of grudge against his father, deciding to take it out on the king's only son instead of the man himself, and that's why he had attacked the prince's carriage that day and had kidnapped him. But over those twelve months, four other men and one woman so far had been cursed with the same affliction. Swan by day, human by night.

"So, Ichigo, the sun's setting," Shinji said nonchalantly, brown eyes flitting up to the sky.

"Yeah," the orangette replied as they swam together to the center of the lake, the deepest part of the water. The sounds of the rest following them as they prepared for the the moon to rise and the enchantment to take effect and make them human once more, only for the night.

"And that means we'll have nice, long legs for running..." Shinji trailed off and Ichigo huffed, frustrated with the other's antics. Every night since Shinji had been tossed into the lake with the rest of them a month ago he had been trying to gather everyone in an attempt to escape the lake. A noble cause, but he always failed to see the problems that Ichigo pointed out to him every time.

First of all, there was the guard that Aizen had patrolling the lake, a lousy, rather large man named Yammy who carried a shepherd's crook that he liked to hit the swans over the head with every time they were on land, no matter how many times he received vicious bites from the poor birds. And Ichigo knew the guard wouldn't hesitate to use brute force if they tried to leave at any time, day or night. He felt a phantom pain in his temple as he remembered Yammy's blow to it a month or so after he had been taken to the lake by Aizen and he had tried to escape. He had been unconscious for about a day or two after that.

Secondly, there was the fact that if they did manage to leave, they wouldn't know where to go as they had no idea where they were, only that they were in a lake in a wooded area where Aizen lived in his tall, pure white tower.

And then there was the issue of the enchantment, as they would turn into swans when sunrise came and then they wouldn't be able to return to the lake at sunset in order to change back.

It pretty much sucked. And Ichigo hated it that Shinji had to remind him of that.

"Quit it, Shinji. We're not going anywhere," he grumbled, ruffling his wings as he settled into his usual spot, the first place the moonlight hit the lake in the evening.

"But we never even try!" Shinji whined, flapping his wings about in a frustrated motion, nearly taking the eye out of another swan that had just swam up to them.

"Ugh, Shinji, don't whine, it isn't very beautiful," said swan commented, elongating his long neck so that his bill was high up in the air in a mightily snobbish fashion. Another male swan followed closely behind, his own neck bent as his eyes darted around, presumably looking for Yammy as he always liked to fight the large guard, regardless of whether he was swan or human.

"Tch, whatever," Shinji rolled his eyes just as the sun set and the final two swans reached them, one's face marred by three long, vertical scars that he had earned getting into a scrap with a vicious bobcat that had been skulking around, hoping to eat swan meat for dinner. The other immediately swam up to Ichigo, pressing herself to his side.

"Oh, Ichigo, the moon's about to rise and I get so lonely during the night. Do you mind keeping me company?" she simpered, using her long neck to wrap around him, rubbing her bill against the side of his face. Ichigo could feel that if he were human at the moment, he would be bright red and so he untangled himself from the female swan without seeming harsh as best he could.

Yes, Shinji, Yumichika, Ikkaku, Shuuhei, and Rangiku were quite a bunch, but they were the only allies Ichigo had in the entire world.

"I...uh," he tried to find words in order to explain to Rangiku that he had never had any interest in keeping a woman company at night, even though he suspected she already knew that and just loved to tease him. "Oh, the moon's here!" he stuttered, rushing to the perfect position in which for the moonlight to strike him.

The silvery light hit the rippling water and his white plumage, sending something like a shock of electricity through his blood, causing him to shudder as the water moved around him, encircling his body as he briefly disappeared, his being nothing but glitter in the air as it formed into a man, the outline then filled in with flawless bronzed skin and bright orange hair. And there he stood, knee deep in the lake, as the man known as Ichigo, Prince of Zangetsu.

He turned to see that the others had turned as well, five humans standing where the swans had once been. Yumichicka immediately fell into Ikkaku's arms and they walked off together, per usual. It wasn't a secret that they were head over heels for each other.

Rangiku and Shuuhei waded to the shore of the lake, sitting down in the grass as the strawberry-blonde woman talked the brunette man's ear off about something or another while he just nodded and pretended to listen. Ichigo, still dressed in that same white tunic he had been wearing for a year now, cornered his eyes to see Shinji standing beside him,now with long, blonde hair and arms crossed as he frowned deeply.

"I don't understand, Ichigo. Don't you want to leave? Don't you have anyone waiting for you, wondering where you are?"

Being that Shinji was from a foreign land, he didn't know Ichigo's true identity as a prince. He didn't know that there was indeed someone wondering just where Ichigo was.

The orangette turned away, deciding not to answer, staring up at the moon. He placed a hand over his chest as if he could still feel the pendant that had once been there.

...

"You cheater!"

"What?I won fair and square!"

Prince Grimmjow rolled his eyes, slapping the playing cards in his hand on the table. He never had much fun playing with his two closest friends, Nnoitra and Kensei. They were both terribly sore losers and argued over every hand. They didn't even notice when he pushed back his chair and walked away, leaving them behind as they yelled and screamed, hands going to their swords. Hopefully they didn't kill each other, as then Grimmjow would be out of friends.

The blunette prince stalked down the hallway, nodding his head to all of the servants that bowed to his presence and uttered pleasant greetings to him. Eventually he came to the largest room in all of the castle, the ballroom, which was usually completely empty except for the ornate, decorative walls and chandeliers, all embossed in gold and ivory.

However, today servants were rushing in and out of the large hall, setting up circular tables and covering them with lace tablecloths and arranging flowers and banners and in the center of it all was the sea green-haired Sovereign Princess Nelliel, his mother. She was pointing out a banner that just ever so slightly crooked to an advisor beside her before she noticed her son staring with wide eyes at the ballroom currently being decorated as if they were having...well, a ball.

"Oh, Grimmjow, darling!" she exclaimed, rushing over to him, careful to pick up the full skirt of her shamrock green dress.

"Mother," the blue-haired man addressed his mother, seeing that her gray-green orbs were shining with excitement as she came to stand in front of him, hands clasped together. "Wha's all of...this?" he asked, gesturing towards all of the preparations being made when he had no idea that they were hosting any kind of function.

"Oh, well, it's just something I'm throwing together at the last minute. I'm just having some old friends over...and their sons and daughters," she said nonchalantly, muttering the last part so quietly that Grimmjow had to strain to hear her, but he did and growled at the confirmation that his mother was trying to set him up again.

"So then ya won't mind if I don't show up?" His tone was dangerously low and the Princess panicked, gripping onto her son's tunic sleeves.

"But you have to come!" she cried, looking precariously close to tears as her lower lip started to quiver. Grimmjow felt a vein start to tick in his forehead as his mother used his one weakness against him. "Please, Grimmy?"

The blunette sighed heavily, prying the Sovereign Princess' hands from his sleeves, resting his own on her shoulders.

"Fine, but I'm not wearin' that stupid cape you bought me," he said, wincing when his mother squealed loudly, reaching up to give him a big, wet kiss on the cheek.

"Oh thank you, Grimmjow! I promise you'll have fun."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Grimmjow huffed, wiping his face as he stalked out of the ballroom. Almost impulsively, his hand traveled underneath his tunic where he drew out a pendant necklace made from sun and moonstone. He stopped and leaned against the wall, staring at the thing that he had had made what seemed so long ago for the person that had meant the world to him, that still meant the world to him.

Grimmjow had searched through the forest of Desagarron for weeks after he had found the ruined carriage on the path that day, looking for any patch of bright orange in the endless greenery. But he had come up empty handed and it had taken his mother actually coming out to where he was deep in the woods to finally convince him to stop searching. She had said then that it was time he let go, but he wouldn't ever do such a thing. He had always been rather stubborn like that.

He didn't blame Nelliel for trying to set him up with one of the nobles' son or daughter. She hadn't known about him and his best friend turned lover, no one had but them. How cruel it was that the day after they had finally confessed their feelings, the other prince had been taken away from him.

But Ichigo wasn't dead, he knew that, felt it. Ichigo was still out there somewhere, and someday, Grimmjow would find him. He was sure of it.

He was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of boots on the stone floor and he looked up to see that Kensei and Nnoitra had finally stopped arguing (though now sporting several cuts and bruises) and had decided to seek him out. They could always tell when he was thinking about Ichigo, as it was very obvious, sapphire eyes misty and fingers brushing over the sun and moon pendant.

"'ey, Grimm. We heard there's a great bevy of swans up near the border. Feel like goin' hunting?" Nnoitra asked as if he wasn't trying to cheer the other up as it wasn't a very masculine thing to do. Grimmjow sighed, tucking the pendant back into his tunic.

"Yeah, I need ta get away from this place."

...

Though it was getting very late in the day, Grimmjow saddled up on Pantera and took off into the forest, sticking to the wooded path as Nnoitra and Kensei followed behind on their own mounts. They rode fast in order to make it to this lake the others had heard of before the sun went down, Grimmjow racing far ahead of the other two as Pantera was the fastest horse in the entire kingdom. And after about an hour of barreling down the trail, Grimmjow finally spotted something white in the sky, making him grin maniacally. He had always loved to hunt and there was something about this particular bird that was making him more excited than he had felt in a very long.

"'bout damn time," he muttered to himself, cyan orbs zeroing in on the form of an elegant swan flying just over the tops of the trees. He reached for his bow at his side and an arrow in the quiver strapped to his back just as Pantera broke through the trees to appear on the shore of a rather large lake, in which there were four pure white swans not including the one circling overhead.

Always one to take on a challenge, Grimmjow slid off his now panting mare and knocked his arrow, aiming for the swan that was flying. He ran toward the edge of the lake, stopping and following the bird with his arrow, looking for the perfect shot.

However, as soon as he was about to let the arrow fly, the swan changed direction and started to fly...towards him. Confused, he dropped his bow and arrow just the littlest bit, absentmindedly noticing that the sun was now just setting over the horizon.

Grimmjow stared in wonder as the swan dipped down over the lake, flapping its wings as it remained stationary not twenty feet from him in the air. He had to admit the swan was a perfect specimen, perfect for bringing back as a trophy, but there was something that stopped him from raising his bow again and shooting the creature down with his arrow. Why was this swan so content to stare at him, when he was obviously trying to kill the thing?

Was that a crown on its head?

But then the last of the sun's rays disappeared abruptly, leaving them in the darkness and Grimmjow mentally cursed himself for being distracted by such a strange animal and closed one eye as he took aim once more. This time, however, the swan darted away, flying as fast as it could back to the water, where the four other swans were watching, enraptured. It was eerie, frankly. He didn't know birds could act in such a way.

The swan with the crown on his head landed on the lake's surface and Grimmjow was just about to let his arrow fly when very suddenly the light of the moon fell across the bevy of swans, creating a sort of sparkling light that had the blunette faltering, nearly dropping his bow as he witnessed just what happened next.

Water swirled around the porcelain-plumed bird, creating a sort of ethereal whirlpool at it blocked the swan from sight. Grimmjow felt his mouth part in surprise at the sight of the air shimmering all around as the four other swans disappeared in a similar manner, his bow and arrow clattering to the ground below him.

When the shimmer in the air had dissipated and the water had stilled, in the crowned swan's place was a young man with shoulder-length hair as bright of an orange as the sun itself and sparkling cocoa brown eyes, so familiar it ripped his heart right in half.

It just couldn't be.

...

Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes, hadn't believed them for the last few minutes, from when he first saw that head of blue hair through the trees near the lake. It was too incredible to be true, too terrible, too wonderful. Grimmjow couldn't be here, he just couldn't.

But it had been an entire year since he had laid eyes on the beautiful blue of the prince's hair and eyes and he felt his heart seize painfully at the sight. He had known that Grimmjow had been getting ready to kill him ever since he first spotted the bow and arrow in the blunette's hand, but he hadn't even realized that he needed to flee from the danger, not even in the back of his mind. No, his being had been completely consumed by the thought of seeing Grimmjow once again so much so that nothing else mattered.

He had barely even recognized that he had transformed back into his human self and was now taking a step towards his prevailing reason for living.

"Grimmjow." The name fell from his lips like a prayer, every bit as reverent and full of hope. He absentmindedly took note of the fact that the others had changed back too and were looking on motionless and silent, but after the entire world melted away, leaving just him and the man he had loved for nineteen years now standing before him as beautiful as ever.

Grimmjow's eyes were wide and his mouth was still opening and closing and he wondered if he had broken the other with the shock of seeing his former lover change from a swan to his usual human self.

"It really is you," the blue-haired prince whispered and it confused the orangette a little until Grimmjow abandoned the shore to run into the water and in the blink of an eye had his strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him off of the underwater ground he stood on. "Ichigo," he breathed, entangling his hands in the sunset colored hair.

Ichigo thought that he must have died because he still couldn't believe that Grimmjow was there, holding him so close to his body that it was as if they would dissolve into each other. He wasn't sure where he began and the other ended. Cliche as it may seem, in that moment they were one again.

"Grimmjow," he said once again, nearly choking on the lump in his throat and loving the taste of the name in his mouth as he hadn't uttered out loud in so long, only saying it over and over in his mind like a mantra for the past year.

Ichigo felt as Grimmjow retreated just the slightest bit and he looked up through hooded eyes to the face of the man he had loved ever since he could remember. The eyes that were a smoldering, fathomless midnight blue, the full lips the perfect shade of peachy pink, the straight nose and strong chin, the defined cheekbones, the furrowed, thin blue eyebrows. Everything was just the same as it had always been and yet, somehow, better. Perhaps from missing the other so terribly it physically hurt.

His entire body trembled as their lips met for the first time in a year's span and he clutched onto Grimmjow's tunic as if it were the only thing holding him to the earth, as if he loosened his deathly tight grip even just the slightest bit the blunette would disappear and he would be alone once again.

Suddenly Grimmjow pulled away, breaking the kiss and setting Ichigo back onto the ground, holding him out at arm's length. His ultramarine eyes were now blazing, having lost their glazed cast from earlier.

"Where tha fuck have you been?" the prince nearly roared, shaking Ichigo like a rag doll. "And why tha hell were you a fucking bird a minute ago?"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and swatted Grimmjow's arms away from him, his blissful small smile turning into a frown. "Knock it off, Grimm. I've been here the whole time!" he defended himself, throwing his arms out in frustration. "And if you want to know so badly, ask that bastard Aizen."

The other swan-people behind him gasped as Ichigo uttered Aizen's name. It seemed as if the mage had some sort of super-sonic hearing and would appear almost instantly after someone had said his name, furthering his already ridiculous god-complex.

However, before Grimmjow could even ask just who Aizen was, as Ichigo knew he would, there was a splashing sound as someone stepped into the lake where they were all standing. Mentally praying he hoped it wasn't who he thought it was, Ichigo stepped around Grimmjow to see Yammy already shin deep in the water and walking towards him, shepherd's crook slung over his shoulder.

"Oho, yer in trouble now, little swan king," Yammy chuckled, using the nickname that Shiro had given to Ichigo his first day as a swan, along with the circlet crown that he hadn't been able to get off of his head ever since. The orangette's hand twitched, brushing over the place his sword used to be out of habit. It was just too bad it had been taken away from him when he had been kidnapped by Aizen and the others, Shiro and Gin. Otherwise he would've decapitated the disgusting man already. However, before Ichigo could tell Yammy to get the hell out of there, Grimmjow had fisted his hand in the back of his tunic and jerked him backwards, he himself stepping forward with a menacing growl that even had Yammy stopping in his tracks.

"Who tha fuck are you?" he asked lowly, letting go of Ichigo in order to grip his sword and unsheathe it, the dangerously sharp blade glittering in the moonlight that had the lake's guard nervously gulping, but he turned his beady little eyes onto Ichigo, narrowing them in an effort to appear tough.

"I'll just go get Aizen, then," Yammy said, resembling a petulant child as he turned around and stalked off. Grimmjow made to follow but Ichigo grabbed onto his arm, stopping him.

"No! Just let him go," the orange-haired former prince commanded, closing his eyes in anguish. It killed him to say what he about to."You have to get out of here, Grimm. If Aizen comes, he'll kill you!"

"Ha! I'd like to see this Aizen try," Grimmjow scoffed. "I'm not leaving you here, Ichi, have ya gone completely mental? Yer comin' back with me," he demanded, sheathing his sword back around his waist. Ichigo bit into his lower lip hard, trying desperately to stifle the tears that wanted to fall as they gathered in the corners of his eyes.

"I can't, once the sun rises I'll just be a swan again," he said bitterly. It wasn't like him to sound so hopeless.

"I don't understand," Grimmjow said solemnly, reaching out with his right hand to softly caress the side of Ichigo's face.

"Aizen's some sort of mage, he put this spell on me a year ago. I have to be on the lake at moonrise in order to turn back into a human, but just until the sun comes up," the orangette explained. The other man's brow furrowed as he worked out the situation in his mind.

"So this Aizen guy is tha one who attacked yer carriage last year?" he asked. Ichigo just nodded, but Grimmjow shook his head, laying a hand on the hilt of his sword yet again. "Then let him come, I'll shove my sword so far up his-"

"Grimmjow, no!" the former prince cut him off, blinking away the still yet to fall tears and grabbing a hold of the blunette's face, pulling him down so that they were eye to eye. "You need to go, he'll kill you," he whispered, his tone desperate as he pleaded with the other man. Grimmjow frowned so heavily Ichigo almost regretted saying such a thing, big, cobalt orbs looking sadder than he had ever seen them.

"I'm not going to let you go, Ichi. Not when I've jus' found ya again," Grimmjow murmured, encircling the other's wrists with his large, tanned hands. Their noses brushed together as their breath intermingled in the sultry night air and Ichigo thought that maybe he could just forget everything about Aizen and the enchantment, or at least was willing to try.

"It's not the end," he assured his lover. He wouldn't give up.

"Damn straight it's not, because yer gonna come to the ball my mother's throwing tomorrow night."

Ichigo's eyes snapped open, staring at Grimmjow in disbelief.

"Grimm, I can't, I-" but before he could get another word out, the blunette lay a finger against his lips, silencing him.

"Listen, the path is just ta the south of this lake, it's a straight shot to tha castle. Come back and we'll figure outta way to get rid of this...Aizen," Grimmjow said resolutely, sapphire eyes seemingly staring into Ichigo's very soul as they burned with the prince's determination...and love. The orangette could have acted the damsel in distress right then and collapsed into the other's arms and not felt even a little bit bad about it, but it seemed that was not meant to be as Shinji's voice called out to him from several feet away. He had entirely forgotten the other four enchanted people were there.

"Ichigo, Aizen's coming!"

The former prince looked around, now noticing the familiar pressure in the air that always occurred right before Aizen made his appearance. He pushed Grimmjow away, his heart speeding to beat three times its normal rate.

"Shit, Grimmjow, you need to go!" he hissed, continuing to push the other man to the edge of the lake.

"Promise me you'll come tomorrow, Ichi," Grimmjow insisted, barely resisting as Ichigo pushed him.

"Yes, yes, I promise, I-" but again he was cut off something covering his lips, only this time it was Grimmjow's own that did so. The kiss was short and sweet, but no less full of passion and Ichigo was panting when the blunette pulled away, noticing that something had been slipped over his head and was now resting on his chest. Confused, he reached down to pull up to his face the sun and moonstone pendant Grimmjow had given to him a year ago, practically glittering in the dim light.

"I love ya, Ichi."

And then he was gone, leaving Ichigo alone once more and something like a hole where his heart had been before Grimmjow had taken it with him.

"My, my, wasn't that romantic?"

The former prince whirled around, looking desperately for the mage whose voice carried out over the entire lake though it was still as pleasant and mild as always. However, the only people he saw were Shinji and the others huddled together on the opposite shore, all looking about for Aizen as well. Yumichika clutched onto Ikkaku's arm, obviously remembering the enchanter's last visit.

Aizen appeared with the two others that were always at his side, the two pale-haired men with lilting voices and strangely broad grins. From what Ichigo had noticed over the years, Gin was training under Aizen to be a mage and Shiro was somewhat of a surrogate son to the man.

The orangette narrowed his eyes but refused to move out of the lake even as Aizen and the others waded into the water until they were but a foot from him, all of them up to their mid-calves in the lake.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ichigo spit out, glaring daggers at the mage before him but mentally praying that Grimmjow had made it far enough away to be safe from the dangerous user of dark magic.

"Oh, but I think you do," Aizen chuckled softly and in a motion too fast for Ichigo to see, snatched the pendant around the younger man's neck and dangled it from his fingers. If Ichigo hadn't known what the man was capable of, he would've killed him as he watched the precious sun and moon pendant swing about in the air. "But I'm afraid you're going to have to cancel your plans for tomorrow night. Have you so easily forgotten, my little swan king?"

Ichigo said nothing, wondering exactly what Aizen meant, but just when he was about to ask, the brunette elaborated.

"Tomorrow night is the new moon."

...

A/N: So sorry to split this up too! But come on, this was getting a little long-winded. Next part will be the conclusion. Oh and another contest entry. :D Special thanks to faithnfantasy for letting me use it in the contest and for submitting such an awesome request! Oh, and for all the kind words and encouragement, you're amazing chica!

Hope everyone liked this, it was completely exhausting to write, and thank you for all the lovely reviews and requests! Just don't forget when you make a request that it has to be inspired by some form of media or it has to be historical. See you guys and gals later. :D