Merlin rode through the night on the bunny's back, going as fast as possible towards the White Castle, the only thing on his mind being saving Cinderella. Eventually the castle came into view, but only for the bunny to veer leftwards into the woods.

"Hey," Merlin yelled at his substitute steed. "Wait! Your running the wrong way. The castle's over there!"

This turned into a scream however as the bunny dove down the opening to a large well, landing with a large thud and Merlin practically standing on it's back, arms tense. Once the shock of falling wore out, the prince took the time to examine his surroundings as he dismounted the bunny, finding a doorway in the side wall illuminated by the moon.

Pushing the stone door open, he looked on with wariness as he stepped into it, turning around when he noticed the bunny trying to push inside. "Uh, sit," he told the creature before running up the stairwell.

*******

In another part of the castle, Regina's lair specifically, Cinderella was still unconscious and was tied to the withering remains of the tree her shoes ha come from. Suddenly a light sparked to life, the blonde stirring awake and looking up to find Regina standing smugly in front of her.

Cinderella was absolutely scared out of her wits, but non the less she put on a brave face to not show any weakness. She wouldn't give the witch the satisfaction of seeing her squirm.

"You know, from the minute I laid eyes on you, hon, I knew you were going to be a problem."

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked.

"Well if you really want to know, I'll have to clear a few things up for you. Tell me," she roughly grabbed the girl by her chin so they could lock eyes. "Do you know what these shoes do?"

Cinderella shook her head no, and the queen stepped back, releasing her hold on the girl's face. "You see, these shoes grow from magic trees and sprout red, and their magic allows the wearer to transform into whatever version of themselves they desire. The magic they posses actually reads the wants of the wearer and gives them what they desire, making it so the shoes can't be removed. That was the extent of it...until you took them for a spin."

"You see, my original plan was to use these shoes to regain my youth, but when they turned to glass a new...window opened so to speak. Apparently the magic of the shoes states that if the person who wears them holds no selfish desire they will turn into glass and gain the power to grant one. Single. Wish. And as for you, well if i'm being honest you've always been an obstacle. With your beauty, and smile, and goodness,"she gagged at the word, "You somehow always manged to outshine my looks, so really getting you out of the way is just a bonus."

Cinderella looked at the witch with a new horror, as in her eyes she saw the madness that had consumed her. "So that's your goal, get rid of me, wear the shoes and use the wish to make yourself young forever. It'll never work. I'll..."

"You'll what?" Regina cut her off. "You'll fight back or wait for your little prince to come and save you? Well, sorry. Your out of luck. However I do have an alternative solution."

This peaked the blondes interest as she raised her head to the queen, shrinking back when she reached into her cloak and pulled out an apple "Eat this, and you'll get your freedom."

The girl steadied her breath as she spat out, "What happened to the king? Did you give him this ultimatum as well?"

Regina simply rolled her eyes at Cinderella. Honestly, she was too persistent. "Uh, you loyal little girl, pining for her king. This is getting a little dull, me just monologuing, so I need you to take a bite and I'll tell you."

"I won't let you win. You've torn apart this kingdom and stolen countless peoples lives, and you will not get away with it Regina! Not if I can help it."

The queen simply made a noise of disgust and smirked at Cinderella. "Oh, I'm so scared, Cindy. Very well, a different approach." The door of the chamber then began to unlock as Regina smirked at Cinderella, who adopted a look a shock and fear on her face when a tied up, gagged dwarf Merlin was brought into the room via the sentient tree branch

"Merlin!" She called out to him, the wizard letting out a muffled scream of "No" as he noticed the blonde in the room. "Eat the apple or watch him die," the queen said holding out the fruit. "That's your choice."

Cinderella's eyes widened at what she had been presented. Either sacrifice herself or let the man she loved die. It took no hesitation to make up her mind, despite him letting out cries of "don't do it" in the background. She turned her head to the witch, her mind made up. "Promise me you'll let him go!"

"Oh, of course," Regina said smoothly as she stroked the fruit. "Just one bite and everything will be how it should be."

Merlin continued to scream as the queen held the fruit down, the vines releasing Cinderella so she could reach up to grab it. Once she had it in her grasp, she brought it down in front of her chest and gazed it, knowing her life, as well as Merlin's rested in her hands.

She gave Merlin one final smile before telling him words she wanted him to hear before she reached her end. "Thank you for everything, Merlin. I love you." His eyes widened in shock at her confession before turning to horror as she took a bite from the apple.

Then, the fruit landed on the floor as Cinderella fell forward, grasping the grass as she writhed in agony, her pale skin turning brown and taking on a wooden texture. Then, he was dragged out of the room, calling out for Cinderella still as Regina's cackle could be heard.

The doors to the chamber closed as he became human, the strength he now had letting the prince struggle against the vine as he was dragged across an outdoor bridge into a dark room with the magic mirror. Just his luck the castle had to rest on a cliff with a several hundred foot drop.

"The legendary, handsome, fearless rescuer of princesses sitting in a tree, not getting k-i-s-s-i-n-g'd." The mirror taunted as Merlin was brought in front of it, his gag being removed as he continued to struggle against his bindings.

"You don't have to do this, just take the shoes and let us go," Merlin pleaded with a serious look, after catching his breath from screaming. "Uh, I wish, it'd be less work for me." The mirror responded. "The shoes are made of pure magic. They used to be made of the fruit of temptation, which feeds on your desires until the bond is permanent, but as your little girlfriend didn't have such desires they turned glass with the ability to grant a wish. You can imagine why we wouldn't want to give those up."

However, while soaking in this information a new thought came to Merlin, one that shook him to his core. "What's going to happen to her?"

"Well once she eats the apple, she will turn into a magic apple tree. GONG!" he imitated a clock for punctuation. "First bell. Nothing really happens but very dramatic. The tree bears fruit and GONG! The second bell chimes and the morning sun touches the fruit turning it into a new pair of red shoes but this time infused with the magic of the glass slippers. Then GONG! number three, the circle of life."

"And then what?" The wizard asked, pulling his face forward from the vines. "Regina will become the most beautiful person in the kingdom. Forever," responded the mirror, however this still didn't answer Merlin's question, and irritation grew at the mirror's response. How did it come to this? All he wanted to do at the moment was run to the blonde, hug her and tell her that he loved her as well. But apparently that was too big a request!

"I don't care about her," he spat at the mirror. "What about Cinderella?"

The being then took on a look a smugness that made the prince fill the dread. "The tree withers and dies, and so does Cinderella."

Pure rage filled him at that. How dare they lay a hand on her. He let out of cry of "NO!" as the mirror merely laughed and began to lift Merlin upwards, his struggling only intensifying. By some miracle, the prince managed to maneuver his hand to grab one of his few remaining spell cards. With a flick of his wrist, it sparked to life, allowing him to blow up the vine and fall freely to the ground.

However, another vine came shooting down to strike him, causing him to back flip away. When he landed he looked up to find three more vines springing from the ground, and armed himself before rushing forward dodging a series of strikes successively. Eventually, he ducked around a pillar with the door insight, and the mirror calling, "Why don't you come back and play?"

When he was only a few feet away from the door, Merlin clapped his hands together and shot a hole through the door only for a vine to curl around his waist and yank him back before he could jump through it. "Not so fast," the mirror laughed as Merlin screamed and was thrown into a pillar, his satchel falling off along with his spell cards.

The four vines pulled him upwards in front of the mirror, hooking on to each one of his limbs as they started to pull, trying to tear him apart. "Oh yeah, stretch him out!" The mirror cheered. Just as everything looked hopeless, the window behind Merlin was smashed to pieces, the rest of the F7 leaping though it, fully armed. 

Hans threw his shield like a disc, the weapon slicing through the four vines and releasing Merlin who fell to the floor. "Uh oh," called the mirror as he looked on at the triplets robot which shot out a smoke bomb for cover.

"Where here, mate," Arthur called as he and the rest ran up to Merlin. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the wizard responded, clutching his side. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm so glad to be chubby and green again."

The sound of bursting concrete averted their attention as the mirror summoned a plethera of vines. "Seven to one? I like those odds. Let's go." The vines then all shot out towards the team, with the robot charging headfirst towards them and fending them off.

Merlin, meanwhile, was climbing on the back of the bunny, still clutching his side. "Are you up for this, bud?" Arthur asked from the ground. "Wow," the wizard changed the subject as he gazed at the weapon in the other's hand, "You finally pulled out Excalibur!"

"Uh, yeah. I did it," Arthur replied sheepishly, hiding the hilt behind his back praying Merlin wouldn't notice the rock still on it from when they had just smashed the stone. "That's exactly how it went down."

On the other side of the bunny, one of the bears stepped forward with Merlin's satchel and tossed it up to him. "Here, Merlin. Your gonna need these."

"Thanks," he replied as he caught the bag, his head snapping upwards as the first GONG sounded. They would have to hurry. As soon as the bad was placed on his waist, the team assumed a formation, and holstered their weapons, the wizard saying, "Now, let's get dwarfed." 

They charged forward, Jack vanishing under his invisible cloak, and Arthur and Hans leaping onto the bunny. Ahead, the mirror had binded the robot and was about to pierce it with a chunk of cement. "This is where the fairy tale ends," it shouted before Merlin shot a beam of lightning at the vine, setting the triplets free.

Arthur then leaped on onto another vine that was tossed at them, cleanly slicing it with Excalibur, and allowing the bunny to leap closer to the door. The mirror then picked up a boulder which Hans tossed himself at, the stone colliding with his shield in a cloud of smoke.

With this cover, the mirror was to late noticing the bunny hopping past him along with the robot which promptly smashed the vines created to cover the hole in the door. The door instead shattered all together as Merlin and the bunny leaped forward across the canyon between the castle chambers, a web a vines trailing behind them. 

Back in the room, Jack uncovered himself from the cloak, catching the mirror off guard and smashing it to buts with his fist. "A'revour mirror."

This instantly cancelled out the being's magic, the vines all instantly dissipating as Merlin was tossed forward onto the other chambers edge, the bunny not coming over with him. 

Looking back over, the prince sighed in relief as he saw the bunny climbing safely onto another ledge below, and continued to run when the second GONG sounded. He ran up to the top of the chamber, to the circular window Cinderella had used to sneak in almost a week ago, before looking back towards the horizon as the sun began to rise. "It's a good day to break a curse."

The third GONG sounded, and he leaped through the window, the disruption of light grabbing Regina attention as she looked over in his direction. Wasting no time, Merlin ran at her and grabbed her by the waist, pushing her out the door, sparing a glance at the tree Cinderella had become.

"I'm sorry, Cinderella," he thought to himself. With no regrets left, he pushed himself and Regina off the edge of the castle and into the abyss below, her screaming all the way. His spells fluttered out of his satchel as he intended, as he pulsed electricity to life in his hands, all the cards above him lighting up, starting a chain reaction.

Eventually, the electricity flowed down towards the two, a large ball of energy encompassing them, only for it to implode on itself, sending a white light and shock wave upwards.

Back on the main ledge of the castle, a light pink mist surrounded the bunny as it changed into King White, while on the other side the rest of the F7 looked over the edge in search of their friend before a mist swept over the bears revealing three little children. Around the castle, all remnants of Regina's vines turned to dust as her reign had ended.

"Papa," a female voice sounded from behind the King, causing him to turn around only to find his daughter. "Snow," he called out as the two ran towards each other and embraced.

"Told you I'd do it." A soft clicking of shoes accompanied by a gentle voice signed out, causing the two royals to break their hug and look on with wide smiles as a now normal Cinderella stepped out from the shadows.

"Cinderella," they both cried out, the blonde dashing forward to her friend, wrapping her in an uncostumery yet welcome hug. "You did it. You saved us," the brunette cried as she gripped her friend for dear life, the blond lightly crying in happiness.

She pulled away from her princess when she felt a tug on her hand, revealed to be king White when she looked up. "I don't know how I could ever repay you for what you've done."

"No thanks required, your Majesty. I..." She was immediately cut off however when she took note of the downtrodden F7 on the other side of the bridge.

"Wait, where's Merlin?" She asked the king. While her head told her to expect the worst, her heart was holding out for the possibility that he was okay. However, she knew she was wrong as soon as the king's eyes drifted down.

"I'm so sorry. He sacrificed himself to stop Regina."

Not wanting it to be true, Cinderella bolted to the edge of the broken bridge and looked down, hoping for some miracle. "Merlin! Merlin!" she called down, the only sound being her echoed voice. It couldn't end like this. She hadn't gotten the chance to say good bye, to break the curse. It was so unfair. He was the one that ended Regina when it came down to it. This wasn't what he deserved.

On the other side, Arthur was looking for his friend in the chasm below, his eyes teary as Jack and Hans stood behind him, eyes lowered. Snow and the king looked on in sadness at the weeping Cinderella in front of them, knowing it was best to leave her be.

Eventually, the princess couldn't watch her friend cry any longer and she ran to her side, grabbing her forearms and pulling her into her chest to cry. A rumble sounded behind them, causing the blonde to look away to find a sight the only furthered her sadness.

The triplets robot was hovering midair above the drop, Merlin lying in care of Pino, Noki, and Kio. Reluctantly, she stood up to clutch his body, cradling it in her arms. "M..Merlin, your okay. Your gonna be fine, okay," she cupped his cheek, hoping for a response, but when their was none, Cinderella completely broke down in a fit of tears, everyone around her including the rest of the dwarfs watching on as she cried.

"No, don't leave me! You can't leave me, Merlin. There's still so much I have to say. Come back," Overcome, she let out a scream as she punched the ground next to her, and then...an idea sparked in her head.

The shoes.

Regina had said they could grant any one wish, so whose to say they couldn't save Merlin. So, with that in mind, Cinderella ripped off her slippers, clutched them to her chest, and uttered her one desire. "Please, save him. Save Merlin."

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but the worst gut punch of all was what did happen. Nothing. Merlin's corpse still laid in her lap, unmoving and unchanged. The shoes magic had failed her.

With no tears left in her system, Cinderella calmly set the shoes aside, leaned down and pressed her forehead to Merlin. "I'm sorry, Merlin. I love you." And with that, she braced herself as she clutched his face in her hands, closed her eyes, and finally pressed her lips to his. A parting gift.

Then, in what had to have been nothing short of a miracle, a wave of golden light plumed out around Merlin, causing Cinderella to retract her face and look on in awe at the smoke. When it cleared however, the person in her lap wasn't the Merlin she had become familiar with. No, in her lap was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.

He had a pale complexion, beautiful features, silky brown hair and a strong, yet lean build. The change left the blonde gasping lightly as she stared down at the man. Was this who Merlin truly was? When he opened his eyes and she saw the familiar shade of brown, all her doubts flew out the window and she instantly knew that, yes, this was him.

"C..Cinderella," he murmured as he gaze focused on the blonde. Still reeling from shock the girl scooted back to give him some room, the wizard slowly sitting up before lifting his now flesh colored hand in wonder. He knew she was the one.

"Your alive?" Cinderella questioned herself, still breathing lightly and trying to rouse herself to believe it. "Your alive!" she finally declared with certainty and practically tackled him with joy. Merlin eagerly returned the embrace, reveling in the fact that he could now hold her, be with her properly.

Once the too broke away, Cinderella finally let her eyes graze over him, a little laugh escaping her. "So, this is you? You really are a prince."

"Yep," he smiled lovingly at her. "I know I'm not really your type but..." he was cut off as she placed her finger over his lips. "Says who. After all, I do recall earlier saying that," she took a deep breath before looking at him with hopeful eyes, "I love you."

Just like before, the wizard's eyes widened in shock, before his face dissolved into an expression of pure joy and love. Tentatively, he cupped both her cheeks with his hands and titled her head up, before saying what he had wanted to say since day one.

"I love you to."

And with that their lips finally connected, the sound of cheering from those around them in the background as Cinderella and Merlin basked in the love they had found in each other.

Note: So we've finally finished the climax and the ship has sailed, but fear not for I still have three to four more chapters in the works before this books conclusion. After all, what is a Cinderella story without a ball? It'll take a bit longer however as I'm staring up online school again and the hours aren't exactly short. I'll see you next time and please comment, they make my day - Lulu