"Well I saw her in the ballroom, and I said; 'You're making everything look so beautiful we should have a dance tonight'. I never imagined she'd actually say 'yes'!!!" Crowfeather was saying as he scrubbed the shampoo into his fur. "What was I thinking??"

"You weren't." Ravenpaw snorted.

"That doesn't help Ravenpaw. Anyways, Crowfeather this is perfect!!" Greystripe meowed. "The rose has only four petals left, which means tonight you can tell her how you feel!"

At that Crowfeather stood up in the tub, covered by the curtains. "Feel like a fool! She never loved me and never will!"

Sandstorm and Squirrelflight exchanged a "is this dude for real?" look.

"Do not be discouraged-" Greystripe began, but gradually got splashed on by water. His waxy hands once again lit aflame and he used one of them to light his two waxy ears back up. "She is the one."

"I really wish you'd stop saying that!" Crowfeather hissed. He was now finished with his shower and he plopped down on his bed. "There is no 'one'!"

"You love her though, don't you?" Greystripe prodded.

"Of course I do! I have loved her since I was a kit!" Crowfeather snapped.

"Well then, woo her with beautiful music and romantic candlelight!" Greystripe meowed.

"Yes!" Silverstream added. "And when the moment is just right..." She giggled at the end.

"Well how will I know?" Crow questioned, cocking his brow.

"You'll feel slightly nauseous." Ravenpaw said.

"Don't worry Crowfeather, you'll do fine." Greystripe says.

"Just try not to be so nervous and tell Leafpool how you feel!" Sandstorm said, before adding more harshly; "Because if you don't I promise you'll be drinking cold tea for the rest of your days!"

"In the dark." Greystripe adds dryly.

"Covered in dust." Silverstream gave him a blank "don't you dare not do this" look.

"Dark, and very, very, dusty." Greystripe finished. He then made a clinging sound with his now metal wrists. "Start with the hair! Women love nice hair!"

"I'll tend to the fingers and toes." Sandstorm said, not wanting anyone to mess it up.

"Chapeau, brush those teeth!" Ravenpaw ordered. "They need it."

"Dip, dip!" Greystripe called. "Snip, snip, polish the nails... Shine the horns..."

"Eyes closed!" Silverstream warned, and Crowfeather obeyed, knowing what she was about to do. "Poof, poof!" She said as she dabbed his face with powder.

"And to top it all off..." Greystripe watched as the coat rack lifted a wig up onto his master's head. "Voilà!"

But Crowfeather didn't look any better than he had before, if anything, he looked worse.

"Oh-kayyyy..." Greystripe cringed. "I-I can fix this..."

Meanwhile upstairs, Sorreltail was just finishing up on Leafpool's dress.

It was a stunning yellow, adorned with gold embroidery, creating a stunning design on her gown.

"It's perfect!" Sorreltail squealed.

There was a knock on the door, and Leafpool told them to come in.

The door opened and Sandstorm gasped at her daughter.

"Oh don't you just look lovely!" She meowed

Leafpool felt her face flush, "Thank you." She murmured.

"Come," Sandstorm's cart began backing out of the room. Leafpool ended up following her and was soon face-to-face with Crowfeather.

He stared, his heart racing as his breath hitched. What did I do to deserve to be in the presence of this angel?

Leafpool smiled, looking down at her paws shyly. "Are you ready?" She whispered.

With a deep breath; Crow nodded, stepping down the stairs, Leafpool followed.

The two intertwined tails, Sandstorm and Squirrelflight watching from the top of the steps.

"🎶 Tale as old as time~ 🎶" Sandstorm began. "🎶 True, as it can be, barely even friends; then somebody bends, unexpectedly. 🎶"

"🎶 Just a little change~ small, to say the least! Both a little scared, neither one prepared; Beauty, and the Beast~ 🎶"

As the music played, Leafpool curtsied, and Crowfeather bowed. The two breathed in deeply, before turning to face opposite directions, and intertwining tails again as they both moved gracefully around the room.

"🎶 Ever just the same~ ever a surprise. Ever as before, ever just as sure, as the sun will rise! 🎶"

"🎶 Tale as old as time! Tune as old as song~ bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong! 🎶"

"🎶 Certain as the sun~ 🎶" Squilf couldn't help but add a bit to her mother's beautiful song.

"🎶 Rising in the east~ tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty, and the Beast~ 🎶" the two sang angelically.

"🎶 Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast~ 🎶" as the music faded, the two padded out to the balcony and looked out to the courtyard.

"I haven't danced in years..." Crowfeather murmured. "I'd almost forgotten the feeling."

The two stood in an awkward silence for a while, before Crow finally spoke again;

"It's foolish, I suppose." He said, "for a creature like me to hope, that one day he might... earn your affection?"

"I don't know," Leaf shrugged, "maybe."

"Really?" Crowfeather said hopefully, "you think you could be happy here?"

Leaf thought for a moment, biting her lip before returning her gaze to her dear friend. "Well, can anybody be truly happy if they aren't free?"

Crowfeather's heart dropped, and he turned back to look out at the courtyard again. The silence between them was long, long, and cold. Like ice forming on a window sill.

"My father taught me to dance," Leaf finally broke the unbearable silence between them. "I used to step on his toes a lot."

Crowfeather turned to her, his two pools of blue sea water locking with her saddened fall gold ones.

"You must miss him." Crowfeather said quietly.

"Very much." Leafpool whispered, and Crowfeather's heart ached at the small sob in her voice.

Never in all his life had he felt so horrible, well, maybe except for the day he'd been cursed, losing Leafpool had turned him to stone.

He looked at her, and then he remembered the mirror not very far away.

"Would you like to see him?" He asked.

Leafpool nodded, and followed him through the castle and into the room where the mirror was kept.

Crow picked it up, looking into his reflection for a moment, before handing it to Leafpool.

"I'd like to see my father." Leaf's breath hitched as her reflection faded, revealing her dear father in a cell, she glimpsed Tigerclaw and Darkstripe behind him, and her heart lurched as she watched as he coughed, falling to the floor of the cell.

"Papa!" She exclaimed, tears clouding her vision. Crowfeather looked up, his face suddenly worried. "What are they doing to him?! He's in trouble." Leaf cried, terror flooding through her limbs.

"Then you must go to him." Crowfeather murmured.

"What did you say?"

"You must go to him." Crow repeated, a slight whine to his voice. "No time to waste." Alone again... He thought. Of course.

Leafpool felt a wave of shock hit her like freezing sea water.

She went to give the mirror back to him, but he pushed it back towards her. "No," he said, "keep it with you, that way, you'll have a way to look back on me. Like I did you."

She didn't quite know what he'd meant at that last part, but she didn't think on it for long. "Thank you." She whispered, and kissed his soft cheek before bolting out towards the door.

Welp, this certainly took a while...

I hope y'all liked this one, and I did actually start a 'The Lion King' crossover if anyone's interested. It's titled 'The Warrior King'!

Biiiiiiiiiiiiii

-Vaeh