The Wooden Heart Editing

Chapter 9

Disclaimer:

I do not claim the original fairy tale, but WH's plot and characters belong to me. Any famous songs, TV show/movies/books and manga names, and brands that are mentioned in this work belong to their rightful owners.

Willa Field

-.-.-.-.-.-

Eight:

Confession

-.-.-.-.-.

After ten minutes of driving to the spring fairies' home, Locia West sat in her old small car with a beating heart against her ribcage. The ginger knew she had to tell the male leader the truth of her would-be part in the kidnapping and what the King has planned for Maria, but she was afraid to lose the first real group of friends in her life.

Locia sighed deeply, closing her eyes in shame for the former mouse knew that she had no right to be afraid to lose them because she joined the group underneath circumstances of her orders and she had to face the fact Locia might lose everything, but this was her duty as Maria's friend. She needed to make sure she would be safe from the King's hold. And the ginger wanted to break free from his cruel hands for good so badly she would do anything:

So with a deep sigh of a breath, the young teen mustered all of the courage in her small frame and got out of her car, crushing the green grass under her feet as she strode to the double doors. Before knocking on one of the doors, she blew out a deep breath to steel herself as she waited for Michael to come, nervously clutching her shirt before the door squeaked open.

"Hey Locia, what's up?" He asked sweetly, a worried smile placed onto his thin lips, trying to not to show the worry shining in his hazel eyes. The younger teen knew where the worry came from and the ginger hated that she was going to add onto it.

She sighed once more, taking a moment to ready herself to confess the truth about herself and why she was there for:

"I need to tell you something, Mikey, and I don't know how you're going to react to it." Locia whispered sadly, biting her lip nervously as she lifted her eyes to his.

"What is it, Locia?" His eyes went wide.

"I think we should sit down, it is a lot to take in and I need you to listen." She held her hard gaze into the ravenette's eyes, a serious look placed onto her facial features. He blinked and stepped aside:

"Please come in." He said softly, unsure what to think about the change in his easy-going friend and he was worried about what she was going to tell him.

She nodded and stepped into the house, sighing deeply as her heart beat in worried and nerves. Let the explaining begin…

Two hours later, while sitting in the big living room and the sun peeking through the front window as it settled down for the night, Michael Ashgers learned the truth, growling deeply in his throat as he jumped to his feet in anger:

"You are the one of them! You played us!? You were going to send my love to that monster?" He asked, wild-eyed, his nasals flaring and his fisted hands shaking at his sides.

The ginger looked down at her hands ashamed, the tears coming down her cheeks.

"Yes, I am, or I was. Now I want to make sure that she is safe from Adam's filthily hands. I know that you don't believe me, but I'm not with them, I want to be with you guys." Locia stated softly, lifting her eyes again and a sad smile spread across her lips.

Michael growled deeper as he turned around from the younger teen, disgusted with his blindness to Locia's mask and so mad at himself for not seeing it sooner. This girl worked for that monster and he let her around his princess…

But as the moments passed, his anger faded into something else altogether. Michael realized that the ginger didn't have to tell him the plans for Maria, she did tell him for the safety of her new found friend. How could he be angry at her for seeking forgiveness? He asked himself as he looked at her with gentle eyes, he couldn't stay mad at her. Not when he remembered the first day they met the shy red head. He smiled at the memory:

-.-.-.-.-

"Hey, there's the new girl. Poor thing looks so lonely." Maria stated kindly, making the other three look where she was pointing to.

And that was when they first saw the pretty brown-eyed ginger.

She was sitting at a table in the Asza Quie's lunchroom, picking at her salad and she seemed to be in her own world and kept her eyes down when a small hand came on the girl's shoulder. Locia lifted her eyes to the face, and her jaw dropped at the sight in front of her sitting fame.

"M-M-Maria, hello." She stammered, her Irish accent shining through, and her cheeks flushed. Maria giggled, smiling her famous smile as her hand went back to her lap. She might be well known here, she mused amusedly.

"Hey Locia, that is your name, right? I noticed that you're all alone and was wondering if you wanted to join us?"

The ginger tucked her hair behind her ear, biting her lip as her eyes looked over the beautiful reddish blonde's shoulder at the table by the stage, holding a laughing group of teenagers.

But, she knew that the group was not just a normal group of magical teenagers. They were the other most popular click in the school. The Angel princess of the school wanted her to join them? Should she really do this? Become one of the group only to tear them apart?

She didn't want to be the one to ruin the beautiful girl's new life and that feeling was new to the mouse because all her life she was told she was heartless. Her only duty was to her King and she was to do anything to please him, but….

"Umm…..." She stuttered finally, realizing Maria was waiting patiently for her answer as Locia was in her thoughts:

"C'mon, we don't bite." The older teen winked, still smiling that almost irresistible smile and c****d her head towards the table.

The ginger bit her lips nervously, muttering over whether or not to join them, but after a few moments of thinking, the red head nodded slowly as she grabbed her tray and stood from her seat to move to her new friends:

Soon, the group and the new student were best friends. And with that, there were confusing and conflicting feelings warring deep inside of pretty Locia's heart:

Was she really evil like she was told or was she something different from her family? Was she really born to be a Rat, or was she born to be more than they dubbed her to be?

And soon, the ginger slowly came to realize that she could be more than she ever wished to be.

-.-.-.-.-.-

A sigh ripped the ravenette from the memory and he looked back at the ginger, who was hanging her head in shame and again he realized she was never evil or deranged at any point in the time they have known her. She was always just a girl who wanted to be a part of their family, to feel the kind of love she was probably declined

Michael smiled softly at the thought as he knelt down to her level, lifting her head up gently like a brother soothing a little sister:

"You are brave to leave your kind and do the right thing, Locia. I'm sorry that I got angry at you for a moment, I just was shocked and hurt." He uttered softly, tucking a stray hair behind her ear soothingly so to rid her of her worries.

The teenage girl's brown eyes widened in shock at her friend's tender words and gentle actions. Did he forgive her so easily after hearing the truth about her? Why? She voiced that question to him in a quiet tone, which gained her a sweet smile.

"Oh, sweet girl, because I realized you did nothing but loved us wholeheartedly. You never wanted to be a part of this plan, did you?"

"Yes, Mikey, but I hid it from—"

"You had to, you feared what would have happened if you decided to tell us and he was listening. You protected Maria the best you could by not telling us. But, you couldn't hide it, you had to tell the truth to seek forgiveness." He stated to her, c*****g his head to one side, his raven bangs falling lazily into his eyes.

"Yes." The teen whispered, unsure what to say rather than the simple 'yes'.

She was shocked that Michael was so kind after hearing the horrible truth, but she knew that he was a kind soul and he loved his friends, no matter what mistakes they made. The handsome boy smiled sweetly again, holding her hand while the ravenette held her eyes.

"Now you are free and we can protect her from the new kidnapper because we know Adam will never give her up. Don't worry, we will make sure you are safe as well."

Then, in relief and freedom, she laughed loudly before she jumped onto him, hugging tightly to her. She was so happy to be able to not worry about losing her friend and to be free:

"Thank you, Mikey, I needed that." She said softly, the hug tightened, the feeling of freedom rushing throughout her body. He chuckled softly.

"It's nothing, Locia. You are family now and we love you.

Locia smiled deeply at him, thinking that she was truly a part of their family and Locia would do anything to keep her family safe. She was not evil like her former kind was, no she was good to the bone and she was going to prove that to everyone. Locia was no longer a mere mouse whose sole purpose was to make the King happy. But, now she was a human being with loving friends behind her.

Now that the thoughts were slowly fading into plans for the party and how they will protect the winter princess, they talked for a few more hours. So, when the new kidnapper came, they would be ready for him. Michael wanted to have a plan this time around so they wouldn't be surprised. He wanted to surprise the kidnapper.

As seven neared, the teen girl laid a gentle hand was on Michael's shoulder, smiling sweetly at him as she slowly stood from her seat:

"Okay, Mikey, I'm going to go home now. Do you want to talk more about this tomorrow?" Locia asked, moving to the doors.

He smiled, nodding in response. He was thankful to her for telling him the truth to make sure her friend was safe and protected from the claws of the horrible rat king:

Safe from the terrible fate the king had planned for the fairy princess. She returned the smile and left.

After Locia left, Michael stood and walked to his room. His room was simple:

A couple of sword-fighting awards sat proudly on his dresser and a lot of photos of him and Bella from ages six to now of her as Maria and of his family. Looking over the pictures, a sad smile graced his lips, remembering the times they had shared.

It is hard to think that Michael was going to lose her again and go back to his fate as a cursed nutcracker after weeks of thinking they were safe. Michael was sure that they didn't have to worry about being apart again, but then the black-haired prince had read the terrible thoughts in his mate's mind, and he knew the feeling of freedom was a fleeting thing.

When he read the thought about the spell, it was like a knife pierced his heart, knowing that he might lose his true love once more after he thought the curse was something hidden in their pasts, something to forget and fade to the back of their minds. He foolishly thought that it was all over for them. Oh, how he was wrong.

But, the young man now knew that was her fate to save their home, no matter how much it pained him to realize that fact. Michael had to realize that, for a while, they would be apart from each other. For it was in their destiny, and no matter how much they wanted to fight the fate assigned to them, it was their duty as the two most powerful royals to sacrifice themselves and their own happiness to save their home and their people.

He sighed sadly, walking to his large bed and sat down by the window. This hurt the male fairy to live with that fact, but he knew they needed to fulfill their duty as royals. Michael reached up to touch the cool glass of the window, whispering a vow to his sweet mate:

"This time, Maria, when I find you, I won't let you go again. I'll be there forever to protect you and watch over you."

He pressed a kiss the cool window as he fell back onto his bed feeling so…so…he wasn't sure what he was feeling. This was hard for the prince to just accept this fate and go on, but the boy will for the beautiful reddish blonde who was his, to keep her happy.

And he knew whenever they meet again in their new lives; she isn't escaping him again, even if he had to lock her in the basement. He grinned at the thought as sleep fell upon him, rewarding him with sweet dreams after a rough day.

But, as the young man fell into sleep, he didn't sense the sensation of being watched from afar…...

.-.-.-.-.

The Rat King once again made a triangle with his two thumbs and pointer fingers; staring at the mirror with a scowl fit for the Devil himself. Damn it to all!

That damn slut turned her back on her own kind and joined the fairies! The nutcracker had won another round in this endless battle between them by turning one of his mice, but this wasn't over! He lost this round to that stupid prince, but the war is not over.

Not in the least, he thought as he slammed a fist against the wall while growling deeply in his throat. He will have her and that will happen! She will be his and she will be forever!

After a few moments of thinking of another way to get to beautiful Maria, he stood straight as he waved his hand across the glass, making the confessing scene disappeared. Adam has a new plan and this plan will surely lead him to what he desired most: Maria.

He grinned evilly before yelling for one of the strongest wolves in his army, Zack Saest. He ran into the throne room, his red fur was hugged by a simple all black armor and a grin placed on his full lips.

Zack bowed to his king, his deep, honey-like voice filled the room:

"Yes, Adam?" Zack asked as he bowed to his king like a good scolder, eager to please him in any way possible:

"Is there something you would like me to do?" He asked, finally looking up at the big rat.

"Yes, actually there is. I need you to go and kidnap the winter fairy princess, your fellow warrior failed at the task, so it's up to you now. When you take her, drug her and be careful with her, please?" Zack stared at his king with confusion, a minute passed before he put his eyes back on the floor to keep the order between them together.

"Yes, sir. But my king, you said that you wanted a woman to—"

"I know what I said, warrior. But plans changed, the wench I sent has betrayed us in the worst way possible, so I needed someone I know I could trust. Now, as you well know, that girl has the power I need to take over Da Fae and is the most beautiful woman in both worlds, she will give me the best heir I desire. I want you to get her and bring here to me, do you understand me?" He ordered his warrior, harshly forcing his eyes up to meet Adam's own coal pits of eyes.

"Yes, King Adam, whatever you want." He told him firmly, through the burning pain of Adam's claws digging into his lower cheeks. He must not show his king any weakness if he wanted to please him, Zack reminded himself:

"Good, now I want you to stay away from her until the time is right to take her, I don't need to another betrayal." He told the other male firmly, burying his claws into Zack's flesh harder to get the message across, earning a loud cry from the strong werewolf.

"Y-yes, your grace."

"Good, now go. A hotel room will be ready for you tomorrow. You won't need to put on an act like the little betrayer did, I'm just paying enough until I say grab her. Understood?"

The young wolf nodded slowly, bowing deeply to him before running out of the room. Adam grinned wide as he turned to the window, the plan going through his mind, making him giddy just thinking about it.

"Every inch of you will be mine finally, you will not be able to escape me now, Maria! You will be mine and mine alone!" He yelled into the empty room with an evil laugh.