Part Five

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It was him. This was the nutcracker prince. This was the man who had lost his love and his heart all in one day. This was the man she was supposed to save. Locking gazes with his electric onyx colored eyes; in her heart Sakura vowed that she would do whatever she could in order to help him.

But there was something odd about him. Sakura couldn't quite place her finger on it. The eyes that once held that mysterious secret were now devoid of any signs of life. His whole face was lacking any kind of emotion. What was wrong with him?

Because his attention was focused on her, the nutcracker prince did not see when the rat had quickly retaliated sending the prince flying to the left with its thick hairless tail.

"Nutcracker!" Sakura screamed in horror when she saw that he wasn't getting up. The rat had found a new target and so Sakura was forgotten for the moment. Crawling past her dripping blood from its oozing eye the rat stalked after the prince intent on ripping the poor young prince apart.

Sakura was near hysterics. Her breathing came in shallow pants. If she didn't act fast, then the nutcracker prince would surely die. No! Her heart screamed out. She couldn't let him die. She had to save him somehow.

Behind her, a trumpet blared, and Sakura was shocked to see that all of the toy soldiers had come to life and looked perfectly human just as the prince had. The tiny valiant soldiers were now waging war with the other hideous rats that had emerged from the shadows.

But Sakura could care less about the miniature battles that raged on all around her. It was like she had blinders strapped on to the sides of her petite head. Her beautiful prince was about to be killed right before her jade hued eyes. No! She couldn't let that happen. She had to do something to protect him! But how could she? All she had on her person right now was her skimpy night dress and her slippers. Slippers! It certainly wasn't exactly a machine gun but it was a projectile none the less.

Just as it seemed that the monstrous rat was going to shred the prince with his jaws Sakura charged chucking her slipper directly at the rat's vulnerable skull. Thank goodness her aim was on target Sakura thought relieved as the shoe mercilessly made contact with a large thud.

The look of rage on the rat could melt a man into his shoes. However, Sakura stood her ground defiantly albeit though she was visibly shaking with suppressed fear.

"Hey! I'm the one you want, not him! Now come on you coward! Face me!" Her voice shook with each word bit Sakura was determined to protect the prince with her life if need be. Her jeering taunts were rewarded as the rat moved away from the defenseless prince and stalked toward her with renewed fervor. Its growling and hissing made Sakura want to run for all she was worth but her legs had suddenly gone numb and so the only motion she could achieve was to fall on her back.

Tears streamed down her face as she could now see her imminent doom. Who was going to save her now if the prince couldn't? So much for a prince being a hero. He couldn't save his princess back then and he couldn't save her now.

But those doubts were shattered when out of the blue she could see the blade of a sword sticking out of the bloody chest of the impaled rat. Blood ran out of the jaws of the dying rat like bubbling syrup and it was all Sakura could do not to wretch.

With a hard twist, the sword was ripped out and the rat fell to the ground instantly struck dead. Apparently, the sword had been lodged directly in the heart of the gruesome beast.

"You will not touch her." The deep smooth baritone voice of the prince was icy cold and devoid of any kind of emotion. If it wasn't for the fact that her life had been seconds from ending then Sakura would have blushed hard from how incredibly sexy he sounded. Whoa…was the resounding thought in her head.

But there was no time to daydream not when said prince was now kneeling in front of her.

"Are you alright?" His voice and facial expression were blank. Sakura couldn't help but contemplate the reason why this was. Was it even humanly possible to be this cold?

"Y…yeah," her affirmation clearly pointed out the obvious negative. A deep blush colored her cheeks and Sakura cursed herself for not being able to conceal it. He would totally know that she was checking him out! No! He couldn't know that! He would think she was some kind of pathetic fan girl who had not even the semblance of a life. With those piercing ebony eyes of his he would be able to see right through her and see her for the truly unworthy being that she was.

Leaning down, he leant an outstretched hand to her. Sakura gulped as her hand trembled on its path toward his invited one. Upon contact with his strong and calloused hand, Sakura could swear that she felt a spark of electricity pass between them. Hesitantly she locked gazes with him once again. A gasp of air was exhaled from her lungs as he gently pulled her to her feet. Sakura was so startled that she felt her knees go weak and she stumbled awkwardly into his awaiting arms. Her face came in contact with his firm chest and she felt her cheeks flare.

He's so tall. Sakura thought absently. But all coherent thoughts were effectively washed away when she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist gently. What is he doing?! His warm breath was now caressing her neck in a soothing pattern of inhaling and exhaling. However, the inverse effect occurred for Sakura. She was hypersensitive to his touch, aware of everywhere that his body pressed against hers. She had never been in such close contact with a male before and it was exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. The next whispered words from his lips made her tense all the more.

"Thank you…" Sakura felt her sharp intake of breath. Slowly, the prince moved back so that he could look at her once more. Surprisingly, he found that her eyes shone with unadulterated confusion. She couldn't seem to grasp that she had just managed to courageously save his life from his tragic and seemingly endless tormented fate.

But then again, how could she? He supposed he would have to educate her since the answers were obviously not surfacing.

"You saved my life." His answer was blunt and short with no other explanation leaving poor Sakura almost as puzzled as she was previously.

"What?" the question was out of her mouth before she could mentally stop herself. It seemed inevitable to Sakura that she was destined to make herself out to be a complete idiot in front of this breath taking male in front of her. For a moment, the young ethereal looking man stared at her with an unreadable stoic look but then sighed relenting to give her the answer she sought.

"When you threw your shoe at the rat prince, you saved my life, and for that I am very grateful." He stepped away and gave her a stiff bow resembling that out his wooden counterpart. Sakura blushed and looked away flustered shaking her head in disagreement.

"No, what I did was nothing; you could have probably beaten him easily.

"No, I would have died." His sharp rebuke was enough to startle Sakura. He said it unapologetically like it was the most common of facts. The young woman felt a sinking feeling in her chest at the uneasy feeling of knowledge that was probably too tragic to comprehend.

"How, how could you know such a thing?" Her voice was pleading with him to tell her that what she already knew in her heart was truth, was really just a terrible lie. She locked gazes with him once more, and she found herself sick at the knowing gleam in his eyes.

Onyx orbs turned away to gaze at the skyscraper of a Christmas tree in a daze that told her he was reliving some kind of painful memory though his face remained blank. His tone was unwavering and smooth despite the horrifying words that seeped from his perfect lips.

"Because, up until this night, every girl that is transported here escapes through the magic of the necklace and every time, my body is ripped apart. My fate was always the same, the rat would always tear me apart with his claws and only the magic of this night would save me from total devastation."

When the prince returned his gaze to Sakyra, he found that her cheeks glistened with the steady river of tears that spilled from her eyes. His eyebrow quirked in curiosity as he stepped closer to her. Her chest heaved in poorly suppressed sobs and her whole body shook with the force of it all.

"Why do you cry for me?" he asked as he used his thumb to wipe away the tears that were staining her cheeks. He could not comprehend why this petite woman shed tears for him. He had never met anyone like her in his centuries of life. He could not grasp why someone would be so emotionally attached to a stranger.

Sakura hiccupped trying to get a hold of her out of control emotions. If she kept this up, she was going to hyperventilate.

"B…Because y…you've had to suffer for so long. They…they all left you. How could they? How could they let something so terrible happen to you? I…it's not fair, you never asked for any of this!"

Sakura succumbed to another fit of sobs. How much pain did he have to bear all of these centuries? How many times had his body been ravaged by that abomination? But more importantly, how could those girls let him die like that? Were they heartless? How could they leave him to a fate like that? It was inhumane and sick. And to think, she had been close to doing the exact same thing. Sakura felt disgusted with herself.

No, I'm not like them. I'm going to help him no matter what it takes! She thought in resolution. She would help this fairytale prince and try not to lose her heart to him in the process.

"What are you feeling right now?" The absurd question ripped her from her valiant thought process. What kind of question was that?

"What are you talking about?" The prince simply sighed and looked at her as if he was going to tell her something, but when the explanation never came, Sakura was left in a quandary.

"Please, just…could you tell me how it felt when you were crying? Tell me what it feels like when you cry." His plea was simple and all the while retained his steady tone his request sounding more like a bland statement. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. Why was he asking her this?

"Why, I mean doesn't it feel the same way when you're sad?" The prince's countenance remained impassive as he delivered the unbelievable news that was uttered next.

"Probably, but you see I fear that I have forgotten what it feels like to be sad. In fact, it has been many centuries since I have felt anything at all." Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

"But how can that be?" The prince looked her square in the eye.

"It's quite simple really. All those years ago I lost my heart and I fear that I have lost all semblances of it as well."

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