cinders // kyouhaba au

i

yahaba shigeru was a wretch. he was filthy. he was a waste. scum, dirt, rubbish.
well, that's what his stepmother says anyway.

the truth, however, was the very opposite. he was clever, quick and witty. kind. maybe too kind for his own good.
he was also beautiful. his pale skin, small nose, pink lips, doe eyes and creampuff hair looked wondrously elegant on his skinny frame.

unlike his looks, his past wasn't exactly appealing.
the yahaba family originally lived a content and happy life, even when shigeru's real mother grew gravely ill, she would still sing. no matter how tired she was, it didn't stop her from singing Lavender's Blue each night to her beloved son.

"lavender's blue, dilly dilly
lavender's green
when I am king, dilly dilly
you shall be queen"

yahaba's father was a caring man, whose intentions were only of goodwill. even when his wife died, he married a rich woman, in hopes of a better future for his son after the tragedy. despite not loving the woman, he was willing to go to any extent for his remaining family. yahaba's father pitied and could empathise the stepmother, as she was a widow like himself, with two daughters she'd raised without any help from a spouse. he was positive she would be welcoming towards shigeru, as would his new stepsisters. in front of him, they were exactly that. behind his back, they were horrible. the stepmother treated shigeru like a slave, the habit passing onto her daughters, who called him names and turned him into the joke of any possible situation.
even if they did this, the stepsisters didn't hate shigeru. they only ever wanted to please their mother.
it would take someone without a heart to hate shigeru, he was just so... lovely.
as his father died, his stepmother took the advantage of the situation, taking all of the possessions and money (even though she had more than enough already) left in his will and with him gone, she could make yahaba her own live-in slave.

although she detested him, the stepmother never hit him or physically abused him in any way. she was smarter than that, for she knew if she did, the marks and bruises would show clearly on the boy's skin, so if he ran to the market for an errand, people would notice and grow suspicious.

she would scold her stepson by telling him

"there's no place for you filth.
not even in the cinders."

she rarely called yahaba by his name. only "cinders".

verbal abuse was a regular thing for shigeru, but he tried not to let it get to him by distracting himself in his chores and letting his real mother's words ring in his head

"have courage and be kind"

that was the rule he swore to his real mother that he would live by, no matter what happens to him or other people.

however, the boy he loved lived a very different life.

***

kyoutani kentarou was a prince. a failure of a prince. a part of the royal family who wasn't regal at the least.

for starters, his haircut. his buzzed hair with an odd dye job of blonde with brown strips was "unseemly" and it made him look like a "delinquent" was what his parents had told him.
being the rebellious youth he is, the young prince refused to get rid of his dye job, but he did let his hair grow slightly longer, just about long enough to run your hands through, as not to disappoint his parents even further.

he tended to avoid social gatherings such as balls, partiesand jubilees hosted by the king and queen, so his face wasn't very well known across the kingdom. kyoutani used this to his advantage and often snuck out to the forest.
it was on one of these visits where he first saw yahaba.

***

the river flowed soothingly, the songbirds' sweet sound filled the air and the subtle flowery scent tickled kyoutani's nose as he strode past the trees.
the animals always welcomed him warmly, they never told him that he wasn't good enough, only the friendliest of actions.

wolf cubs would occasionally nuzzle his toes before scampering off back to their mother, the bluebirds would chirp hellos, the squirrels would wave their tails, not running away as they knew he would surely not hurt them, and the forest would give off a peaceful aura with the leaves dancing under the sun. there was dew glistening on each blade of grass which made it seem even more magical and nothing but beauty.

kyoutani stopped and inhaled the forest air, embracing himself in the wonders, clearing his once cloudy and worried mind into a free spirit. 
however, his brain snapped back, fully alert, as he could hear something, something in which you could almost grasp the whirl of emotion.
it was a boy.
a boy, singing a song almost as lovely as he looked.
he was sitting on the opposite side of the river, dipping his toes in, words rolling off his tongue into song.
oh, so pretty, in a pale blue dress which reached just above his knees, the sunlight hitting him, lighting up the soft angles of his face and his deep brown eyes along with his fluffy brunette locks. he looked angelic in the serene atmosphere, the charm of his voice cast the illusion of a spell and the young prince was instantaneously captured in it.

kyoutani hid behind a tree, crouching, as not to startle the boy. he didn't want to interrupt the other's serenade, so he stayed silent and listened intently.

"lavender's green,
dilly dilly,
lavender's blue.

if you love me,
dilly dilly,
i will love you.

let the birds sing,
dilly dilly,
let the lambs play.

we shall be safe,
dilly dilly,
out of harms way.

i love to dance,
dilly dilly,
i love to sing.

when i am queen,
dilly dilly,
you'll be my king."

yahaba hit each note perfectly, kyoutani thought he could listen forever to this angel, but it was short lived as there was a muffled shout in the distance which caused the brunette to grab his basket full of apples and speed off through the pines.

the young prince peeked his head out from behind the tree, watching as shigeru ran, his pale blue dress billowing around him and his brown hair windswept, he was still breathtaking at every move he made.

'will i see him again?'

***

a/n: i've been planning to write this for like 3 months lmao because i absolutely love the 2015 version of cinderella it's honestly amazing
thanks to killuatbh because she's a great friend and supports my fics yay