hello! srry for the long wait!

thnk u to all those who have favourited thsi story! mwah mwah to all! :3

warning : this story contains yaoi

disclaimer : i do not own ben ten alien force

THE FAIRYTALE WAY

Chapter eight : Cinderella's glass slipper

Collin and Green Shadow were now poised for a sharp duel with the Gellaven who seemed to not consider much of them. And then, all of a sudden, the two young men shot themselves in full thrust at the intruder.

The problem was that all three were excellent swordsmen; and not one of them was ready to lessen their want of victory. Blades clashed and struck each other; green sparks of magic flew from Green Shadow's sword; black-blue from Gellaven's; whilst the prince not having any magic in him did not emit any. However, that did not lessen his status as a formidable opponent.

Gellaven handled the two men suavely, he was experienced and skilled, and now he was starting to feel irritated; for over yonder a few feet away, was the room that housed the most powerful object of the Kingdom, and here he was, shooing away two men who stung at him like vengeful bees.

Green shadow put out his hand and formed a transparent, green shield of energy when Gellaven's sword was about to make contact with Collin's abdomen whilst the prince tried to shove his own sword down the intruder's shoulder.

Dodging a slice of blade that the prince aimed at him, Gellaven somersaulted in the air and landed nimbly on his feet a few steps away; his blue hair fluttering to a stop gently behind him. He raised his head, with a smirk on his face, "Sorry, gentlemen, as much as I would like to keep entertaining myself waltzing with two youngsters; I have a rather important job to do! So why don't you play along with my men?"

By the powerful command of his mind, he summoned a few of his men. Green Shadow turned around towards the stairs and groaned, "Not them again!" as he watched several of Gellaven's men, all dressed in black like he had been, swarmed in and attacked the prince and vigilante.

This was better to Gellaven. Although he could not keep the prince for some entertainment, atleast he could covet the precious Orb while the meddlesome vigilante and the prince were distracted by his men.

The two younger men were now surrounded by the ten men, all armed with long deadly swords. Green Shadow and Collin stood with their backs to each other, whilst they held their swords pointed out in defence. The prince looked over shoulder to speak to the vigilante behind him, "Masked knight, you must stop Gellaven from taking the Orb of Omnius!"

The vigilante spoke back, "I can put up a few strong spells upon the ones already on the door; it will buy us time to capture him and keep the Orb safe, both at the same time!"

They both looked over to where the man was, and saw that he was already standing in front of that one gold-rimmed door, his right hand directed at it, fingers outstretched. There was a slow rumble of invisible wind swirling gently around him, his blue hair fluttering softly as he used his strong magic to break down the barriers one by one. There were seven barriers, and as he broke the first, a ripple of gold sparkled around the door in a circle before dissolving away. Now, he worked on the second barrier.

The vigilante looked back at the Prince Collin who stared with alarmed eyes. "Prince Collin; if I must reach that door to stop that man, I will have to leave you alone with all these men! Would you be able to handle them?"

"Green Shadow, I command you as the Royal Heir himself; please leave these men to me;" he smiled encouragingly, "I may not have the magic to kill them, but my way with my sword is my magic! Now please, go!"

Green Shadow gazed with his visible eye and then nodded. He turned to the direction of the door, where Gellaven smiled sly to himself as he dissolved yet another barrier and continued with the third.

Slashing through the men attacking him, without caring whether he killed them or not, the vigilante gracefully squirmed his way towards the man. Turning back once, the Green Shadow caught sight of the prince fight the several men; it was a sight that dazzled him. Collin had put justice to his words; his skill was like magic itself, his sword moved like it had a mind of its own and knew its masters want to finish off all those who stood in his way to keeping his Kingdom safe. Elegant twists and crafty moves of his hand-sword combination were winning him victory over the men so easily, that the Green Shadow smiled to himself; he now had an equal in sword-fighting.

Turning back to Gellaven who was breaking the third barrier still, Green Shadow shot a beam of green magic at him. Gellaven sensed the green bolt hurry to him and he moved away just in time; the green bolt striking the wall instead and leaving a burning impression upon the concrete. Now that his concentration was disturbed, the third barrier, that he had almost dissolved, healed back into itself.

"Urgh, you good for nothing!" Gellaven frowned angrily, pulling out his black gleaming sword and charging at the vigilante. The intruder lurched at him in great speed, Green Shadow had expected this in every way, and hence he twirled up in the air in a graceful forward flip. The charging man skidded to a stop and followed the somersaulting Green Shadow who landed back on his feet.

It took a second for Gellaven to realise that Green Shadow now stood between him and the door.

"Hmmm, clever indeed, masked man!" Gellaven nodded, his smirk still playing at his thin lips, "To actually try and reseal the door with more spells, by making me move away from the door! I congratulate you on your smartness. But I shall take my price nonetheless!"

Gellaven directed his sword at the Man in Green, great swarm of navy blue sparks flying in painful speed towards him. If hit, the sparks could tear the young man apart into pieces. But Green Shadow put out his own sword and it created a strong green shield, protecting himself from the torrent of raining magic that Gellaven kept forcing at him. With the shield that protected him, Green Shadow turned his attention to the door and raised his free hand with their gloved fingers spread, took a deep breath, chanting a few barrier spells. A small ruse of glittery green sparks emerged and swirled about the door, confirming the planting of one spell. In this way, he re-erected a different set of spells, one after the other, upon the remaining five barriers made by the wise old warlocks of the castle. Gellaven realised that the more spells Green Shadow put, the harder it shall be for him to penetrate into the sanctum of the room. He needed to stop this Green Shadow.

His eyes fell on a mirror that sat high up on the wall to his left, and a sudden thought struck him. He smirked again, continuing to shower the strong magical spears at the vigilante, but without the masked man's notice, Gellaven pointed his free hand at the mirror far away. He angled his hand in just the precise manner, such that if he shot a blast of magic, it would reflect off the mirror and strike the Green Shadow without the latter's knowledge. He grinned to himself, seeing it a success in his head.

Gellaven had just gathered some magic into his fingertips and was about to shoot, when all of a sudden, the vigilante turned and scowled at him through his cape collar.

"Not so fast, sir!" he hissed, his green eye glowing in anger, Gellaven noticed the mirror buzz and shake and then suddenly explode into shards and powder.

Gellaven was not shaken by his failed plan, but he growled, "Meddlesome creature!" and he sliced at Green Shadow's shield with his sword, almost succeeding in cracking it. But now that the vigilante had put a fair share of many spells upon the previous ones, he could direct all his attention to capturing Gellaven. And hence started their duel.

Meanwhile, Collin slashed down the last of the ten men, watching the body before him drop to his knees and fall limp at his feet. Grim in anger and irritation, he turned to the door in front of which the vigilante and intruder duelled, both effortlessly talented as they clashed their oppositely coloured blades (Green Shadow's silver and Gellaven's black) in anger.

Unclipping his maroon cape that was blood-splattered and dropping it to the floor, the prince was now standing in his ivory-coloured suit with red blotches of blood smeared across it, he suddenly charged towards the two, his sword raised to slice through the head of the intruder. But being aware of his surrounding, the man twisted his leg in particular manner thereby throwing his own body sideways, so he survived the slash, but it cost him a very deep gnash on his arm as the sword licked through his shirt and his skin.

"AH!" he groaned, his left hand paralysed in pain, dripping in darkening blood that oozed ceaselessly from the diagonal slash on his arm. His face darkened in pain and anger as he leaned against the wall, "You sly mongrel!"

Prince Collin scoffed, pointing the tip of his sword to the man's face, "You deserve worse than death, Gellaven! I shall have you suffer ten agonising nights before you are beheaded!"

Meanwhile, Green Shadow put a final spell upon the barriers for precaution, and then approached the prince. "Your Highness, shall I deliver this man to your General?"

The prince gazed into the semi-covered face, smiling gently, "Thank you, Green Shadow; you have done great help for me today. I shall see to it that you are rewarded aptly", and the vigilante's cheeks flushed from behind the cape collar, thankfully it was oblivious to the prince. Collin looked at the single visible green eye, it shone like a small opal of iridescent emerald, reminding Collin of...

"Your Highness, we must release this man of consciousness lest he try and escape," the Green Shadow lowered his head a little, so that his eye was covered by the shade of the large hat. He had noticed Collin go into a daze trying to remember who it was that had the same shining eye, and the vigilante feared that the prince might connect him to Benjamin. And the prince would not stop watching him even after he had lowered his head.

Gellaven smirked at the odd tension extending between the two young men, using it to his advantage to heal his own torn shoulder. When he had healed enough for him to move his previously paralysed arm, although his wound was fresh and painful, Gellavan shot back to his feet, making Green Shadow and Prince Collin start in frustrated surprise.

"Foolish youngsters! Your sweet little conversation is a boon to me; thank you!"

And before either could blink an eye, Gellaven shot sideways, running towards one of the large French windows for escape.

Green Shadow cursed himself under his breath; having worked alone for so long, he had not quite mastered handling a partner without being distracted from his mission, especially with a partner who was so beautiful that even the stone-cold hearts would gaze in childish obliviousness. Sighing, he prepared his sword again, and he heard the prince sigh too, "I am sorry to have let this happen, Green Shadow!"

"Fret not, my handsome prince, I shall tether him, no matter what the cost!" nodding at the raven man encouragingly, "Prince you must stay here, I shall capture him!"

Collin did not wish to meddle with the vigilante's work, and hence he nodded, he watched the young man spring into a sprint, chasing the blue-haired intruder towards the window. Gellaven shot a beam of black-blue magic from his right hand, shattering the painted delicate glass pane, leaving it wide open to show the starry night that lay without.

He stepped on the sill, and walked out the window, landing nimbly on the head of one of the two stone gargoyles that was placed on either side of the base of the window, like every other window of the castle. The dragon-faced sculpture gaped out to the night, and the intruder stood upon the head, his blue hair fluttering in the strong winds that laced the air so high above the ground. If fallen from this height, any man would shatter all the important life-sustaining parts of his body. Gellaven was ready to fly out using his magic, but the Green Shadow swiftly joined him on the stone gargoyle.

Immediately, after a hiss of insults that they threw at each other, they restarted their sword duel. Collin approached the window from within, concerned about the vigilante who stood nimbly upon the stone column. It was only wide enough to place one foot, and hence both the vigilante and the intruder stood with one foot behind the other, occupied with the task of duelling whilst trying to stay upon the gargoyle without falling off. The green cape and blue hair bannered in the strong winds. Down below, six floor deep, the Place Garden glittered with tiny garden fairies and fireflies. Collin felt his heart ring for the Green Shadow in slight fear, which his mind countered with the fact that the vigilante could fly through the air if he were to fall off the gargoyle.

Gellaven could not focus on flying off the gargoyle, for his shoulder was still healing and he needed that much energy to be spent on the healing while he fought this man. He was now trapped; he could either surrender to the vigilante, or jump off the gargoyle with the hope that he could fly away, which if he didn't, he would fall to his death.

His blue eyes landed on the Prince who watched them fight, from the Hall. Deciding to use the young male as distraction, Gellaven managed to pull close to the vigilante during a particular manoeuvre , hissing at the green cape collar, "Beware! Your lovely prince is in danger!" at which the green eye stared wide at him. Green Shadow turned around and saw that a blue beam of magic had zoomed out of Gellaven's finger, and was now approaching a startled Collin in great speed.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!" he shouted, and in cue, the prince, although surprised but not frozen, jumped aside in time. However, Gellaven had achieved that one split second's time that he needed, in order to grip the vigilante by the shoulders and absorb a little of his energy to heal his shoulder. The young green-dressed crusader gave out a howl of anger, as some of his emerald energy spilled into Gellaven, whose blue hair furiously bannered around him in the strength as he fed on the vigilante's powers, his twisted face smirking as he healed faster than he expected.

Green Shadow felt his balance falter as he tried to overcome in the sudden dizzy feeling; he had never been tapped of energy like that, and it put his young self in a confusion of senses; only powerful elderly wizards and witches could recover from a attack as that.

Green Shadow staggered a little from his position on the gargoyle, gripping his head with his free gloved hand. Collin gaped, alarmed that in the state of confusion he was in, the vigilante might fall off the ledge and ...

"Green Shadow!" he called out, running to the sill, stepping upon it, and without a thought, he walked on to the gargoyle's head, clasping the swaying green-dressed figure in both his arms, holding the slender body close to his. He had only feared for the man, and nothing else had crossed him. But when a gentle wind licked him across the face and tussled his beautiful silken hair, he realised how far above the ground he was, how narrow was the gargoyle's head, and how evil the sneer on Gellaven's face was.

"Why you!" Collin hissed angrily, redrawing out his sword from his sheath with his right hand, whilst embracing the vigilante with his left. The green cape beat the air like a sheet, as Collin struck the intruder, who, having reenergised himself, grinned whilst ducking and sneering. The green eyes opened and blinked rapidly as the vigilante came to. Collin made the mistake of turning to the saviour whom he had saved, "Green Sh-"

"My Prince!" the vigilante shouted from within the raven's grip, as the black blade of the intruder swung at him. Green Shadow shoved the handsome man aside just in time, but alas, the tip of the sword brushed across the ivory skin of his royal cheek, and the prince gave out a hiss as he staggered. Green Shadow swung his own silver blade at Gellaven, who jumped at the air and levitated in the sky with a smile, "London bridge if falling down...falling down...falling down... if you can see what I mean...hahah!" he had looked pointedly behind Green Shadow and laughed.

Green Shadow looked around and saw that the prince had toppled over and was wildly thrashing his arms around, trying to balance on a single foot as he staggered on the gargoyle.

His foot gave away, and the Prince fell head first.

"NO!" Green Shadow gasped. Gellaven have out another laugh and he turned and flew away in a blur of blue. The vigilante panicked whether to follow the intruder or catch his prince. He looked up at the sky.

Meanwhile, everything was happening extremely slow for Collin. As soon as his foot had left the gargoyle, his heart went numb in fear. He was going to topple to his death, from the sixth floor of the tall large castle, and die the instant he reaches on the ground. He could see everything upside down, for he had fallen headfirst and since he was actually falling fast, not a lot of his vision was feasible. His heart rang again, the adrenaline flowing furiously through his falling body.

I am going to die... young at the age of twenty... I am so sorry Uncle Samuel that I could not marry a beautiful woman and continue my bloodline... I am now going to die, putting an end to my family of Laquinelles... the late souls in heaven will receive me with contempt and regret for having no heir to continue their family... I am going to die...never to see that intriguing man named Benjamin ever again... never to see those iridescent green eyes that made my heart burn in a warm manner...

The next moment, he saw those very same eyes. Well, actually, just one eye. A beautiful green one, the exact same shade.

It was the Green Shadow.

The vigilante had chosen to save the prince, so he had jumped after the falling prince, flying upside down as fast as he could towards him. And now, they faced each other, upside down, falling at great speed, black hair flying wildly, green cape and hat fluttering wildly.

Collin drew in a gasp of confusion. The very same eyes on the Green Shadow. In the wind and the wild fall, the hat moved a little to show both the eyes that gazed gently at him as they fell. It was the very same pair, the ones that had been smiling at him from the Hall, the ones that had sent his breath rising in speed when they gazed at him, the ones now gazing at him calmly.

"Hold tight, my prince", came the soft whisper.

Another gasp drew from Collin as he suddenly felt arms coil around his waist and pull him closer to the lithe vigilante. Their noses almost touched, their breaths mingling with the air blew into each other's faces.

Green Shadow panicked despite his calm eyes. He saw the flicker of recognition on the prince's face; he realised that the prince knew him to be Benjamin. Benjamin had taken the oath to his Mother Willow that he, Green Shadow, would never tell anyone about his true identity, ever. And if the prince knows of him, he feared consequences.

And thus, holding the prince closer, the vigilante chanted a soft spell. A spell that would not let the prince connect Benjamin and Green Shadow no matter the fact that they had the same eyes and every time the prince will think of connecting them, his mind would object to it.

A flicker of green appeared in Collin's brown eyes, and it disappeared as soon as it had come. The Prince blinked a few times, while Green Shadow held him closer. The prince gazed into the green eye, mentally exclaiming how beautiful it was, until he felt a jolt.

Green Shadow spun suddenly in a single somersault, and since he held on to the prince, Collin spun too. The next second, they slowed their descend to a gentle levitation, and landed on to the garden on their feet, in a soft swirl of wind.

Collin could not hear anything but his furiously drumming heart. A few moments later, his heart calmed into slow steady beats. He gave out a sigh of relief, and gazed thankfully at the man who still clung to him absentminded by the waist.

"Prince Collin..." Green Shadow whispered, his two eyes now visible between the shade of his hat and the collar of his cape. They peered up at Collin's beautiful brown opals which gazed back in beaming gratitude, and the silken voice whispered gently, "You...you saved my life, Green Shadow...!"

The lower eyelids of the green eyes scrunched as the lips hidden behind the collar smiled. "I am just doing my duty, Your Highness."

The green eyes then moved lower to the cut on the prince's left cheek, which oozed blood gently and slowly.

"You are hurt, Your Highness..." he whispered, and in reflex, he raised his gloved right hand to the pale cheek, his fingers brushing over the wound softly, the red liquid colouring the milky white of the gloves with blotches of crimson. He did not notice that his thumb had brushed over the prince's lips, but the prince did, and he felt sparks and fireworks explode within his abdomen. Gulping gently, he whispered, "W-who are you...?"

The green eyes shot back to the brown pair in surprise, a streak of red running across his young cheeks. He blushed further when the prince raised his hand and caught Green Shadow's right hand with his left. "Please, tell me, who are you?"

Green Shadow looked back calmly, releasing the hand around the prince's waist, and pulling away from the close proximity they held between themselves, "You do know who I am!"

Collin looked blankly at him, "I do?"

"Yes; I am the Green Shadow, honoured to have saved your life."

"No, what I imply is..." Collin refused to let go of the right hand he firmly held in his grasp, "Who are you, under that costume?"

Green eyes twinkled. "Your Highness; if I wanted you to know who I was truly, would I go through the trouble of disguising myself?"

Collin remained speechless. He could only gaze back, as the vigilante femininely flustered and struggled gently to relieve his palm gripped in the strong grasp of the prince.

"Please, Prince Collin, I must leave!"

"But..." Collin stepped closer, but the vigilante pulled further, and the prince reluctantly let his hold a little loose, but he still had his fingers curled around Green Shadow's fingers.

Green Shadow tugged gently, but firmly, and his hand was finally free, but the glove on that hand remained in Collin's grasp. The silken cloth, so small and petite, sat within the manicured and clean fingers, and he watched in desperate longing as the vigilante paused a moment ignoring his bare right palm, and then turned away, his green cape twirling behind him. He ran a few steps away and then shot for the sky in a burst of green sparkles that awed the prince.

Collin smiled in frustrated gratitude as he watched the green comet-like spectacle move across the glossy black sky, and disappearing from sight.

"There he is, sir!Your HIGHNESS!"

"COLLIN! MY NEPHEW!"

Collin did not even notice as several people suddenly surrounded him; everything was happening so slow and calm. His mind was preoccupied with so much of green eyes and so many mixed feelings that as he still gazed at the sky, he did not even realise that his uncle had embraced him tightly, sighing, "Oh my gosh, Collin! You are safe! I thought the intruders had done you harm! Good lord in Heaven! Thank goodness!"

"Your Highness?" General Helmour called confusedly at the young man who continued to stare at the sky, over the head of his blonde uncle.

Samuel pulled back from his embrace, gasping, "Oh! He's hurt! His cheek has been slashed! Who did this to you, my son?!"

Collin dazedly answered, "The head of the intruders; Gellaven..."

"Collin! What has happened? What are you looking at?" the blonde man looked behind himself, following the line of Collin's sight, but he saw nothing but the starry night.

When he turned to Collin again, the prince bedazzled him with an innocent smile of pure gratitude, "Uncle; I was kidnapped by Gellaven and...he saved me."

"Who saved you, Your Highness?" Helmour asked. The prince turned to him and all the soldiers who looked at him in awe.

"Green Shadow. He even saved my life. I fell from up there, from a gargoyle and he saved me!" he looked up at the neck of the stone gargoyle that was so small that it was barely visible from his position. his hand held tightly on to the small white glove which he slipped into his pocket unnoticed by anyone.

"Green Shadow?! Ofcourse... bless him!" Samuel sighed, hugging his beloved nephew again in relief.

- End of Chapter –

Yeah; green shadows glove is cinderella's glass slipper! :3 and the london bridge is falling down thing reminds me of sebastein michealis fro Black Butler! :D

review pls!