Servant of Cendrillon

Three rings from the clock tower.

I set the silver plate covered in brioche in front of my princess. It was quite a nice day outside. The flowers were in full bloom, the sun was shining high and the silence of the villagers was heard.

"Princess, this came in the mail for you today." I handed her the clean ivory envelope, with blue markings and golden trim. She opened it carefully, pulling out the paper inside as cautiously as she could.

"Ah, we are invited to Prince Kaito's birthday ball tomorrow~" She chirped happily, the black bow in her hair flitting around. A light smile fell onto my face. My princess had always adored Prince Kaito. I picked up a golden brioche, taking a bite out of it.

"But for now, it is time for my snack."
~x~
"Come, Len, we must hurry!" The moon was peeking out from behind their blue stoned castle, lanterns prestigiously hung from a pole every 10 feet or so. Roses covered the bases. I snatched an odd yellow flower from the foliage before running after Rin.

The castle was absolutely grand; shiny marble floors, diamonds studded into the walls, crystal chandeliers. There were some people talking in the extravagant hall. I dashed into the even-grander ballroom. Then something caught my eye, or rather, someone.

Her golden hair was almost floor length, tied high up on her head, and the green dress that rested on her body was long and had a shiny sheen. A bejeweled headband was almost hidden by her hair, glistening in the lights. My view of her was obstructed when the prince, Kaito, waltzed past me with Rin. I smiled - she was having fun, and so far that was all that mattered.

Passing by many people, I nervously made my way to the girl. She was by a balcony, threatening to step outside. My pace quickened slightly, as I grabbed her gloved wrist. She whipped around, surprised yellow eyes glaring at me.

"Would you care to dance?" She turned to face me more, her expression softening.

"O-of course." I hadn't realized the rose was still in my hands. I tucked it into some of her hair, the smile on her face widening as I rested my hand on her waist and held her other. The blush on my face only intensified as we began floating around the dance floor. I mentally thanked Rin for making me take ballroom dancing lessons.

"So who are you, exactly?" She asked, never losing the perfect rhythm. Her heels clacked against the marble tiles with every precise step.

"I am the servant of the Princess of Yellow." She pouted a bit.

"You must have a name."

"Len." She brightened up again, holding my hand a bit tighter and pressing up against me more. The song the orchestra was playing seemed to be on an endless loop.

"How fitting. An adorable name for an adorable face, no?" I hope I wasn't as red as I felt. I looked away, hoping she wouldn't notice.

The clock on the wall signed eight o'clock now. An hour, dancing with this beautiful girl? I couldn't get much luckier. The waltzes stopped, and the slower songs started, much to both my dismay and excitement. Though this girl had almost captured my heart, I didn't even know her name. She placed her head against my chest. I hoped she couldn't hear how fast my heart was beating.

"Why are you so nervous? Your heart is beating at a million a second." I knew it, my luck had to end somewhere. It only sped up with her question. I glanced around - I hadn't noticed until now that we were in the middle.

"I don't know you, yet." Instead of explaining, I held her closer. Now her face turned crimson, her hair draping over her shoulder. Even the back of her dress was studded with jewels. The spotlight - which obviously wasn't meant for me - lightly fell upon us, creating odd shadows on the floor.

"Ah, now your face is red as well." I teased, intertwining our fingers. She blew some hair of out her face.

"Well, here I am, dancing with a guy I barely know, but a guy I've almost-" A tap arrived at my shoulder. I let go of her waist, coming face to face with the blue haired prince. The song changed again, becoming a happy ballad.

"Would you mind if I stepped in?" I offered him her hand. He took it, though she was no longer smiling. I nodded to her before running beside Rin.

"Can you believe it?" Rin asked me, eating a jumbo shrimp. I poured myself some of the punch as streaks of brilliant colors flew past. It was eight-thirty.

"Believe what, your highness?"

"He left me for her! It's obvious that I'm prettier than she is!" A fake smile was plastered onto the girl's face, though the prince seemed unable to control his glee. I didn't notice the smile drop off of my face either.

"Would you like to dance, my princess?" I asked my adorable twin, outstretching my hand. She smiled proudly.

"I'm glad I made you take those ballroom dance lessons."
~x~
I had danced with many girls by the end of the night. I didn't know I was so popular in the royal community. I danced with the princesses of Teal, Pink, Blue, Green and even Fuchsia. Though I had waltzed with almost all of them (I was extremely tired, but I couldn't find the heart to say no to any of them) I found myself back at the snack table, chewing on the last of the jumbo shrimp.

"Dance with me, one last time." I turned around, facing pleading yellow eyes once again.

"Tell me your name. I've been wondering all night." Eleven-forty five. I saw Rin find her way back to Kaito.

"Call me..." she thought about it for a second.

"Cendrillon. Just call me Cendrillon." I decided not to think about it. Eleven-fifty two. Her green dress seemed to be losing its shimmer.

"I'll be heading off soon." She glanced at the door, which made me notice she still had my rose in her hair, along with a blue one. Eleven-fifty six.

"But why? I want to keep dancing with you." I folded my hands into her's again. Did her gloves get shorter, or were they always wrist length? Eleven-fifty eight.

"Me too, but perhaps we'll meet again!" Eleven-fifty nine. How anyone could run that fast in heels, I would never know. I tried to run after her, to no avail. By the time I had reached the towering doors, her carriage was speeding away. I picked up the transparent slipper she had left. Glass? I had no time to think, as Rin stormed out of the castle as well.

"Let's go, Len." she snapped, stomping angrily towards our yellow and black carriage. I quickly jumped in too, in fear that I'd be left behind.

"What happened, Rin?" I tried my best to hide the shoe. We skipped over rocks and cracks, and the bridge that separated our countries.

"He rejected my marriage request, because he is in love with the girl in the green dress!" I lowered my eyes, my heart sinking as well.

"He is?" The darkness of the night was contrasted with a generous sprinkling of stars, not to mention the bright lights emitted from the castles of the Color Kingdoms. Each one stuck out, illuminated with their respective colors.

"Yeah! He's a total jerk, couldn't he see that you got her first?" I smiled lightly as our carriage skipped into our country.

"We are also invited to the weekly ball tomorrow."

She didn't say anything after that, which probably meant she was thinking about something very important. We had just traveled into the vicinity of our castle when she began to talk again.

"Kill her for me, Len." I froze. Was she serious?

"W-what?" Tonight had been a bit confusing, I was probably just hearing things.

"Kill her, Len, please. I need Kaito to love me." The fragments of my heart were only snapped in half.

"Is this an order from my princess?" She bobbled her head up and down quickly, blue eyes pleading me.

"As...as you wish."
~x~
Same time, same place, same heartbreak and disappointment.

Climbing into our yellow and black chariot, Rin's prized horse, Josephine, sped towards the blue country yet again. My best tie was wrapped around my neck. Sometimes I wished I could use it as a noose.

"Dead, Len." She was much less excited today, her pace quite a bit slower than yesterday. I inspected the flowers once again, grabbing yet another yellow rose from the blue. Why was there always the odd gold one?

I sauntered into the ballroom, glancing around for her again. I heard some of the princesses I had danced with last night whispering gleefully to each other, my name being said quite a few times. I sighed. Breaking hearts was just about as fun as scraping nails against a chalkboard. I exhaled sharply - I didn't see her. I also mentally slapped myself; why was I so sure she would be here? Suddenly, something warm wrapped around my hand.

"If you don't dance with me, I think I'd just leave." Her smile was so sweet and inviting - it was sad to think that it might be the last time I'd see it. The orchestra they had hired tonight seemed to be the same.

"That's no fun. Are you a sore loser?" I asked sarcastically, putting my hand on the familiar curve of her waist.

"I'm not loser, Mr. Contradicting." Our noses touched lightly, though I was bent over just a bit. The clicking sounds of fifty pairs of shoes were perfectly synchronized, heels touching down at the exact same time. The outside had already fallen with a somber twilight tinge, stars generously splattered onto the canvas that was the night.

"You're so mean." I complained, pouting. I saw the prince brush by us out of the corner of my eye. Subconsciously, I pulled her closer to me, my grip on her hand tightening.

"Please don't let the prince dance with me again." She begged suddenly, pressing the side of her face into my chest. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I can't say no to someone of a higher status than of myself. Why is it so bad that you're dancing with royalty anyway?" This girl was definitely odd. The huge clock read seven forty-five. This ball had started quite a bit earlier than yesterday's.

"He wasn't nice to me the first time we met." Judging by how vague her response was, I assumed she didn't want to talk about it. I was good at that kind of stuff.

"Do you like jumbo shrimp as much as your sister does?" She asked, signaling to Rin. The black bow in my sister's hair fluttered around a bit as she stuffed about five shrimps into her mouth. I sweatdropped.

"Er...no..." She giggled cutely as I spun her around playfully. Somehow I felt like this night couldn't get any better already.

"Would you mind if I stepped in?" I always had to be right. I immediately offered the bluenette prince her green clothed hand. I mouthed an apology to her before heading to Rin once again.

"He really doesn't see that you got her first, huh?"
The plate of jumbo shrimp was almost finished. Sighing, I ate one of the bite-sized cupcakes.

"I don't know. She said that she didn't want to dance with the prince again." Shrugging, Rin took one of the deviled eggs.

"Oi, Princess Rin." I had never known the prince of Teal to be so casual and outgoing.

"What do you want, Prince Mikuo?" She straightened up a bit, shoving the deviled egg into my mouth instead.

"Dance with me." She glared at him harshly before placing her hand in his. I tried my best not to die choking.

"If you're scheming anything, don't bother because I have my heart set on Prince Kaito." He chuckled to himself lightly.

"Wasn't even thinking about it." A tap arrived to my shoulder as soon as the two floated away.

"Would you care to dance again?" I swallowed the egg as fast as I could, turning to face the princess of Green. My face was bright red - that egg could've killed me.

"Of course."
~x~
I hadn't known what a grand view the royalty of the Blue Country had until I stepped out onto the balcony. The rooftops were tinted azure, the gardens were all perfectly trimmed and almost every one of Color Kingdoms was visible. The air was twisted with the scent of roses and delicious food from the kitchen below. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"It truly is gorgeous, isn't it?" Her sudden presence surprised me, almost enough to make me fall over the edge.

"Y-yeah, I guess it is."

"Could I trouble you for the time?" I pulled my golden pocket watch from my jacket, flipping the metallic lid open.

"Nine twenty-seven." Her content expression was quickly converted to one of disappointment.

"He danced with me longer than I had wanted him to." I folded my hand into hers again. The sun waved goodbye before sinking below the horizon.

"Who would you rather be dancing with?" She glared at me, her intense yellow eyes asking if I was serious or not.

"Are you that dense? I'd rather dance with you." I smiled idiotically, scratching the back of my head nervously.

"Ne... I've never been good with all of this lovey-dovey whatnot." I turned away shyly, trying to hide my awfully intense blush.

"Oh, really? Well, you're an awfully good heartbreaker." I looked back into the huge ballroom, seeing the princesses I had danced with earlier silently weeping about someone, that someone being me. I sighed exasperatedly.

"I don't want to break hearts, I don't know why royalty like them would ever like someone like me in the first place." She blinked twice, seeming appalled at my answer.

"I don't even know you yet, and I can already tell you that I have almost completely fallen for you. You're sweet, kind, caring, cute, and you have this idiotic smile that makes me melt!" I probably looked more moronic than before, which was a hard feat to accomplish. Her smile only grew with my stupid expression. Some incoherent chatter came from inside.

"Len, I want to tell you right now, before I regret anything, that I l-"

"Oi, Len!" Rin trudged towards me, with most of the princesses in tow. I already knew this was going to go somewhere I didn't want it to. I silently cursed. What was she going to say?

"Yes, my princess?" Most of the girls went 'kyah!', something I was far too used to hearing.

"Dance with Princess Gumi later, alright?" I twitched a bit, but no one noticed.

"As you wish, my princess." They stalked away together, squealing in delight. I facepalmed.

"Notice how she said later?" I took her hand, pulling her slender body close to me once more.

"It's because she knows I want to dance with you now." We made a dramatic entrance to the ballroom, twirling as we found a spot close to the middle. She beamed as I whimsically spun us around, her hair lagging like a ribbon.

"Oh my God, I'd kill to have a pair of those shoes!"

Out of those twelve words, I only heard the word kill. I remembered my mission. To kill this girl, no matter how badly my heart would shatter.

"I'll be right back, Len." She told shyly, reluctantly letting go of my hands.

"Oh, alright. Would you mind if I danced with Princess Gumi while you are away?" I asked. I wanted to check as many things off of my list as soon as possible.

"Dance with all of them, if you want." She skipped away without another word. I sought out the neon haired princess, who was talking with the other princesses again.

"Ne, Princess Gumi?" Her face was bright red when she turned to face me. The others listened in excitedly.

"Would you care to dance?" I asked, smiling the sweetest smile I could.

"Of course! I was the one who asked Rin to ask you, after all." I took her into my hands again, waltzing in sync with everyone else. It was ten thirteen now.

"Len," She started slowly and almost mysteriously.

"You're in love with that girl in green?" She asked, somewhat crestfallenly. I glanced at the blonde again - she was being swept off of her feet by the prince of Teal. He was a playboy, like his sister had told me many times.

"...I don't even know her. I met her yesterday." I didn't want to break her heart anymore than it already seemed to be.

"It's alright if you are, you know, I can't stop you from loving someone. That's like stopping the sun from shining." I chuckled a bit.

"Why do you and the rest of the princesses like me, anyway? Look at all of the handsome prices that we have from the Color Kingdoms." The few oddly haired princes that showed up seemed to be slightly awkward, very shy and not asking anyone to dance.

"But you are so sweet, and cute, humble, forgiving, loyal - It's no contest!" She told me sweetly. I sighed, smiling, though; there was no use in arguing with a princess.

It was ten forty-two by the time the prince of Silver had worked up enough courage to ask the princess of Green to dance. He shyly tapped on my shoulder.

"W-would you mind if I stepped in?" He seemed completely unconfident about himself. I gave him her hand, flashing him a look of thankfulness.

"It was a pleasure, Princess Gumi." It seemed the prince of Teal really fancied my sister, because they were dancing together yet again. I still had to kill the girl in the green, whom I could not seem to find. I hope she had ran away, fast and far.

"Len, what's bothering you today?" She asked me. Though I was happy she was here, I had truly hoped that she would've fled.

"Nothing, let's dance." Ten fifty-seven. I only had an hour to do this. I held her hand again, kissing her forehead lightly. I had decided to use a drug to kill her instead, I didn't to make a bloody mess in someone else's castle. The poison I had chosen was Cantarella. It was what the seller recommended for "those people you need to kill off without making a scene about it." What that meant, I don't think I'd ever want to know.

"Hey, do you want some champagne or something?" I offered. Her eyes lit up again.

"Sure, I'll wait for you over on that balcony!" Perfect. I walked slowly to the table, pouring two glasses of champagne. I managed to slip the Cantarella into her drink without anyone noticing - the potent poison was quickly diluted into the drink.

"Here." I made sure I handed her the one I had prepared just for her. She didn't need to finish it off - just a taste would be enough to kill. My heart ached horribly - why didn't I just throw myself off of the veranda now?

"How about a toast?" She offered, smiling brightly. I grinned a bit too, the glasses clinking together. We each took a sip - no going back now. I quickly downed mine, with the intentions of drowning myself. She did as well.

"I guess we're both pretty thirsty right now." She laughed. I chuckled with her - her giggle was adorable, and it only made me blush. She took my glass.

"I'll get us more, don't move!" I nodded in compliance before looking out to the night sky again. The stars were even brighter than before, glaring at me like spotlights. The background was pitch black now. I exhaled sharply, before turning around to face her again.

"Here." It tasted so sweet, running past my tongue and down my throat - what brand was it? It tasted different than my last glass, but I didn't bother thinking about it.

"You know, Len, I-" I must've already gotten drunk, or I realized that I'd never have another chance. I pressed my lips against hers, for as long as my weak lungs would allow me. She didn't resist, instead wrapping her slender arms around me.

"Sorry." I apologized sheepishly as soon as I broke from her. Not like I wanted to.

"Don't be. Let's dance." It hadn't taken effect yet, thank goodness. I guided ourselves back onto the floor. My head was spinning - why?

"Len, I feel a bit dizzy right now." She told me, folding our hands together as she leaned against me, begging for support.

"I-I do too, it's awfully hot in here isn't it?" I admitted, trying to keep my balance as well. I couldn't be drunk already, champagne was about as subtle as you got it. A few more minutes of hell later, and she started talking again. It was eleven forty-seven.

"Before I collapse, Len, I must apologize." My eyes barely widened. I didn't have anymore energy.

"Cantarella. It has a wonderful taste, does it not?" I grimaced, holding her to me one last time.

"Since we're being honest here, I poisoned you, too, my sweet Cendrillon." I started chuckling lightly to myself.

"Who's Cendrillon? My name's Neru. Neru." She had used an alias, smart girl. Eleven fifty-two.

"Cendrillon is the French word for Cinderella." I spouted randomly. Our steps became sluggish and weak.

"Doesn't it make sense? The poor girl went to the ball and fell in love with the prince." She smiled, giggling all the while. People started to murmur.

"But I'm not a prince, I'm but a simple servant."

"You're my Prince Charming."

I couldn't take it anymore - I fell over, and she did too, crashing right beside me. Our hands were still intertwined, and neither I nor her had any intention of letting go at anytime. Many people gasped, and I knew Rin had jumped beside me. I could barely hear, I could practically feel myself shutting down, and it hurt like hell. I knew it was eleven fifty-eight. I could feel it.

"Talk to me, Len!" I curled my mouth into a smile for the last time. I couldn't open my eyes if I wanted to. I felt her, with all her might, squeeze my hand, and I knew what she meant.

"...Love."

Two after twelve. We'd be dead soon.